Jane Nix (1848 - 1932)

Born 1848 in Heydour Parish, Lincolnshire, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Wife of Thomas Wattus — married 1867 in Port Stephens N.S.W. Australia

Died 25 Jun 1932 at about age 84 in Armidale, New South Wales, Australia

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Fred Nix [send private message] and John Nix [send private message]

Biography

Jane Nix is born in the hamlet of Azeby, Heydour parish, Lincolnshire, England probably in late June or early July 1848 [1][2]. She is baptised in the church of St Michael in the village of Heydour on July 9, 1848 [2]. Her parents are Thomas Nix (1820-1909) and Sarah Clarke (1820-1853).

One source suggests she is from Culverthorpe which is a hamlet about two kilometres from Azeby and is also in the parish of Heydour. The Nix family – the parents of Thomas Nix, live in Azeby and all their children are born in Azeby. It is possible that Thomas Nix, after marrying Sarah Clarke, lived in Culverthorpe, although the baptism record for Jane clearly shows the parents living in Azeby. It may simply be that, at the church, knowing that the older Nix family lives in Azeby, an assumption was used in the baptism record.

Azeby, sometimes spelt “Aseby” although the modern spelling is “Aisby,” is a hamlet about 12 kilometres southwest of Sleaford. Heydour, both the village and the parish, is often spelt “Haydor.” Google Maps shows Heydour to be 209 kilometres directly north of the centre of London taking the highways M11, A14 and A1. Sarah Clarke’s surname is spelt “Clark” on some records. And the full name of the church is St Michael and All Angels.

In 1853 Jane’s parents set sail on board the ship Java as government-assisted immigrants to Australia. They travel with Jane, a two-year old son, George Thomas, and an 11-year-old William Clark (or Clarke) [4]. William is Jane’s step-brother. Sarah Clarke had a son before she married Thomas Nix. Sarah Clarke dies on the voyage, so when the family arrives in Australia there is only Thomas with his two young children and the 11-year-old William Clark (no “e” on the immigration record) [4].

Jane marries Thomas Wattus (1843-1890) in Port Stephens, New South Wales (NSW) on July 16, 1867 [3]. (The marriage is registered in Port Stephens; we don’t know where the actual ceremony takes place.) Some sources show that there was one child from this marriage; however, this has not been confirmed:

• Jane Wattus 1870-?

Jane and Thomas move to Hillgrove shortly after gold is discouvered in the area. Hillgrove is 366 kilometres by road north of Newcastle. Thomas dies in 1890 in Hillgrove. Jane remains in Hillgrove and works as a midwife and general nurse [7].

In 1892, Jane re-marries in Hillgrove [3][6]. Her second husband is Arthur James Fuller (1848-1912). There are no children from this marriage. In about 1909, Jane and Arthur move to Armidale, NSW. Armidale is 34 kilometres by road west of Hillgrove.

Arthur dies in 1912 at the age of 64 and is buried in the Armidale General Cemetery. Jane dies on June 25, 1932 [7][8]. She is 84-years old and living alone on Barney Street in Armidale and falls as she is preparing to go to bed. She lays fallen all night and is discovered the next day. She dies in the Armidale and New England Hospital [7]. She is buried in the Armidale General Cemetery [8].

Sources

[1] information is from work by Stuart Gregory at http://stuart.scss.dyndns.info/FamilyTree/individual . . .. This source shows “no children” for Thomas Wattus and Jane Nix. Stuart Gregory attributes much of his work to Debbie and Robert Noakes who developed the Newlin-Noakes family tree. However, the Newlin-Noakes family tree shows one child, Jane Wattus, born in 1870.

[2] www.freereg.org.uk: baptism record: Jane Nix baptised on July 9, 1848, in St Michael church, Heydour, Lincolnshire, England. Her parents are Thomas & Sarah Nix who live in Azeby. Thomas’ occupation is shown as a cottager.

[3] Helene Shepherd’s family tree: shows Jane Nix married (1) THOMAS WATTUS, son of George WATTUS and Mary BOOTS, on 16 Jul 1867 in New South Wales, Australia. He was born on 22 May 1843 in New South Wales, Australia. He died on 07 May 1890 in Hillgrove, New South Wales, Australia. She married (2) ARTHUR J FULLER on 24 May 1891 in New South Wales, Australia. It also shows that Jane Nix and Thomas Wattus had one child named Jane (then has a note saying this needs to be confirmed). Jane Nix died on 25 June 1932.

[4] Australia – immigration. https://www.records.nsw.gov.au/ These records show Thomas Nix (32) arriving in Sydney or Newcastle on board the Java in 1853. They also show Sarah Nix (32) “died at sea,” George Nix (2) and Jane Nix (4). They also show a “William Clark” (11) “travelling with Nix, T” The list of passengers on the Java, arriving in Sydney on April 24, 1853 can also be seen at https://immigrantships.net/1800/java18530424.html This list shows the Nix family but it does not show William Clark.

[5] https://familyhistory.bdm.nsw.gov.au/lifelink/familyhistory/search/result?3 No birth record for anyone with the surname “Wattus” in the period 1869-1872 has been found.

[6] https://familyhistory.bdm.nsw.gov.au/lifelink/familyhistory/search/result?3 Arthur J. Fuller married Jane Wattus in 1891. Marriage certificate #4456/1891.

[7] https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/192991567?searchTerm=%22jane%20fuller%22%20armidale The Armidale Express and New England General Advertiser NSW Mon 27 Jun 1932 Page 4 INJURIES PROVE FATAL

Mrs. Jane Fuller, who suffered severe facial injuries and shock following a fall at her home in Barney-street on Tuesday night, died in the Armidale and New England Hospital on Saturday morning. Deceased, who was 84 years of age, lived alone, and it was her failure to respond to the milkman's knock on Wednesday morning that led to the discovery that she had lain all night in the passage. She was preparing to retire and, falling heavily, was rendered helpless through her injuries. It was an extremely cold night and, although Mrs. Fuller appeared to be rallying when, after medical attention she was admitted to hospital, the improvement was only temporary. Mrs. Fuller was a native of Culverthorpe, Lincolnshire, and came to Australia when 4½ years old. Her parents settled at Raymond Terrace and afterwards lived at Stroud. Here she married her first husband, Mr. T. Wattus, and accompanied him to Hillgrove six weeks after gold was discovered at Baker's Creek. Three years later Mr. Wattus died. His widow remained at Hillgrove and practised as a midwife and general nurse. Her second husband, Mr. Fuller, was also a resident of Hillgrove, but 23 years ago they moved to Armidale, and Mrs. Fuller has lived here ever since. She was widely known and highly esteemed. The funeral took place yesterday afternoon. There was a large attendance at the service at the Methodist Church and afterwards at the graveside, the Rev. A. Morris Yates officiating. Piddington's had charge of the arrangements.

[8] "Australia, New South Wales, Cemetery, Military, and Church Record Transcripts, 1816-1982," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVB6-Y4N8 : accessed 9 January 2016), Jane Fuller, ; citing Burial, Armidale Shire, New South Wales, Australia, Armidale General Cemetery: Methodist section, private collection of Clarice M. Cubbins, New South Wales; FHL microfilm 1,514,863. The record shows that Jane Fuller died on 25 June 1932 and that she is buried in Armidale General Cemetery, Methodist Section. Her husband was Arthur James Fuller.

Acknowledgements

This biography was written by Fred Nix in 2016. The current revised version was written by Fred in January 2024. Fred and Jane are first cousins, three times removed. Anonymous Phillip added valuable information (The Express and New England General Advertiser article) to this biography. Narelle Grant made some corrections to the text.