Isabella Violet (Hesketh) Price (1876 - 1957)

Born 25 Apr 1876 in Huckvale, Nottinghamshire, England

Ancestors

Wife of Frederick Alfred Price — married 5 Mar 1898 in Palmerston, South Australia, Australia

Descendants

Died 29 Oct 1957 at age 81 in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Biography

The 1881 England Census has that Isabel Hesketh was the 5 yrs old daughter of John Hesketh (45), a Labourer and Anne Hesketh (42), and was residing with her family at Watnall Cantelupe, Nottinghamshire. She had been born at Huckvale, Nottinghamshire in about 1876.

In the 1891 England Census, Isabel V Hesketh, aged 14 yrs, is indicated to have been born in Hucknall Torkard, Nottinghamshire, with her father John Hesketh (54) a Colliery Labourer and wife Lavina Hesketh (37) also born in Hucknall Torkard. They were residing at Watnall Chaworth, Nottinghamshire. This gives a birth year of about 1877. However, the England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index has Isabel Violet Hesketh's birth registered in the April quarter of 1876 at Basford, Nottinghamshire. An Ancestry Family Tree^[1] has the specific birth date as 25 April 1876 but does not give a source. It is however confirmed in the National Pioneer Women's Hall of Fame Alice Springs article^[2].

She emigrated to Australia in 1894, aged 18, arriving in Port Darwin.

On 5 March 1898, aged 21, Isabella Violet Hesketh, whose father's name is confirmed as John Hesketh, married Frederick Alfred Price, son of Henry Francis Price. The marriage took place at 'Res Of H I B Carbery Palmerston', and was registered at Palmerston, South Australia, Australia. Palmerston lies 20 kms south of Darwin, now in the Northern Territory. Fred Price had met Isabella Violet Hesketh (Ivy) in Port Darwin, where he had been transferred in June 1891 from the Central Telegraph Office in Adelaide (Traynor, 2016, p.243).

Their first 3 children were born in the north before Fred was transferred back to Adelaide in 1904, where they had 3 more, before he was transferred to Hergott Springs in 1912, on the OT line as Postmaster. Ivy could not stand the isolation and went back with their 4 surviving children, Hilda, Molly, Pearl and Alf to Adelaide. Fred was able to return there in 1913, and they had their last child, Ron in 1914 in Adelaide.

In 1916, Fred was offered the post of Postmaster at Alice Springs, where he was joined by his wife Ivy, and children Molly, Pearl, Alf and Ron, in 1917; Hilda staying behind to work as a Milliner in Adelaide. By 1924, after 8 years at Alice Springs, Fred desperately needed a holiday, and they all went south to Adelaide. Fred had to spend sometime in hospital before the family could go to Sydney to visit Ivy's sisters but had to return to Adelaide, where Fred died in hospital on 12 August 1924 (Traynor, 2016, p.263).

After Fred died so unexpectedly, Ivy and her 4 children, aged 10 to 17 years, set out to take up the lease on the Harper Springs Station, southeast of Tea Tree Well, and northeast of Alice Springs, which they had planned to do when Fred retired. They travelled by horse and buggy, driving 200 merinos, some goats, 3 camels and horses, with the help of one young Aboriginal man, taking 8 weeks to reach Harper Springs. It proved unsuitable for sheep and they moved to adjacent Woolla Downs, on the west side of Harper Springs, which they had also bought and where the sheep multiplied (ref.2). Both Mollie and Pearl are outstanding riders, and with their mother were doing all the shearing, and were also excellent trackers, according to an article in the Northern Standard (Darwin, NT : 1921 - 1955) of Tue 24 Jan 1928, Page 4^[3].

Ivy was the "First lone woman (with her four children) to run a station in Central Australia - Harper Springs near Ti Tree (1924-1930s). Widow of Telegraph Master of Old Telegraph Station, Alice Springs (1916-24)" (ref.2).

In 1934 and in 1937, Isabella Violet Price was on the Electoral Roll at Harpers Spring, as a married woman.

Her Northern Territory Probate Index gives her residence as Woolla Downs in January 1940, with her Occupation as Widow/mother/admin.

In 1943 on the ER she gave her residence as Alice Springs and doing Home Duties. Also on the same 1943 ER at Alice Springs was Isabella's son Alfred, as a Mail Driver.

The Ancestry, Australia, Death Index has her date of death as 29 October 1957. According to the Ancestry FT, she was buried in "Payneham Cemetery Adelaide South Australia. With her husband and children Ivy Wakefield, Cyril Frederick Hesketh and Hilda M.F. (Mrs. Wright)".

Sources

1. ↑ https://www.ancestry.co.uk/family-tree/tree/25000928/
2. ↑ https://wmoa.com.au/herstory-archive/price-isobelle-violet-hesketh
3. ↑ https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/48033593

• Birth and Residence: Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1881 England Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Class: RG11; Piece: 3321; Folio: 66; Page: 6; GSU roll: 1341792.
• Birth and Residence: Ancestry.com. 1891 England Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. The National Archives of the UK (TNA); Kew, Surrey, England; Class: RG12; Piece: 2659; Folio: 85; Page: 6.
• Birth: FreeBMD. England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Volume: 7b, Page: 201.
• Traynor, Stuart, 2016, 'Alice Springs: From singing wire to iconic outback town', Wakefield Press, South Australia.
• Marriage: Ancestry.com. Australia, Marriage Index, 1788-1950 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Page Number: 1116, Volume Number: 194.
• Residence and Occupation: Ancestry.com. Australia, Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. 1934, 1937, 1943
• Probate: Ancestry.com. Northern Territory, Australia, Probate Index, 1911-1994 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. Genealogical Society of the Northern Territory Inc; Darwin City, Northern Territory, Australia; Reference Number: 330; File Name: E96 1911-1941 Alphabetical; Folio: E96.
• Death: Ancestry.com. Australia, Death Index, 1787-1985 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Page Number: 6535, Volume Number: 866.