Ola May (Truscott) Chapman (1891 - 1936)

Born 1 May 1891 in Emmaville, New South Wales, Australia

Ancestors

Wife of Percival Augustus Chapman — married 5 Jan 1918 in Waverley, New South Wales, Australia

Died 8 Apr 1936 at age 44 in Emmaville, New South Wales, Australia

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Biography

Ola May Truscott was born in Emmaville, NSW in 1891^[1]. She was the daughter of John Truscott and Elizabeth Coad.

Ola married Percival Chapman in Waverley, NSW in 1918^[2].

On January 5th 1918, Ola and Percy were married in the Chapel at the Burwood Ladies College, their reception was held in the Hotel Grand Central in Clarence Street, Sydney. At the time of his marriage, Percy was in charge of the Oxford Street Store of Joe Gardiner's Shoe Shop. Ola and Percy were married by Rev James Carruthers (Percy's uncle).

Their Sydney home was in Stanmore ('Olaville') and while living there, Nessa, Marie, and Beth were born. All three girls were born in the same hospital. Later, they had a fourth daughter, Carol.

Ola May died in Emmaville on 8th April, 1936^{[3] [4]}. She was buried in Emmaville cemetery^[5].

Her daughter Nessa wrote about her own life for a Truscott family history being collated by her cousin Jim Truscott, but included family history about her mother Ola:
"When Ola was born, she had 4 older brothers, James (John) – 20, Sidney – 18, Thomas – 17 and Percival – 3.

Ola May started her education at the Convent School in Emmaville and later attended the Burwood Methodist Ladies College. In 1906 – 1908 she was the number 1 tennis player in the College. She was very good at painting and music and in 1914 was awarded the Silver Medal at the Conservatory College of Music in London. She played often at concerts etc. including a concert in the Town Hall for the Governor General (but not professionally).

Ola May went on a cruise to Fiji with her mother, and it was while they were in Fiji that Ola met Percy Chapman who was working as an overseer on one of the banana plantations (I remember some of the stories Dad told us about his job – how once every year he had to go to some other island and organise a group of natives who would work on the plantations for a six month period of the year.) Before they married, Percy had returned to Australia. On January 5th 1918, Ola and Percy were married in the Chapel at the Burwood Ladies College, their reception was held in the Hotel Grand Central in Clarence Street, Sydney. At the time of his marriage, Percy was in charge of the Oxford Street Store of Joe Gardiner’s Shoe Shop. Ola and Percy were married by Rev James Carruthers. Their home was in Stanmore ("Olaville") and while living there, Nessa, Marie, and Beth (7th November 1922) were born. All three girls were born in the same hospital.

In 1924, Percy decided to take the job offered to him in South Australia as an agent for Blackman and Rose – shoe manufacturers (both Percy Blackman and Gil Rose were working friends of his). He was also apprentice agent for (men’s) Taylor Brand shoes. We had our own home at Burnside with large gardens, a ¾ tennis court, and a large orchard next door. In the paddock at the back of the house, we were able to have our own cow (fresh milk, cream and our own homemade butter). I also had my own pony, lots of chooks. A couple of years later, my father bought a small farm up Mt Lofty way – he had a manager (& family) who ran the farm and we all went up for the weekends. There was a herd of cows (which were milked twice daily), butter was made in wooden churns and we had regular customers (shop owners) who would buy the butter. We had a big collection of poultry and quite a few pigs.

Life in Adelaide was great. We had our own pets – a couple of pedigree Irish Setter dogs, fowls, quite a few rabbits in their own special yard and not forgetting our cats – especially Puss, our beautiful Persian. And a special pet – Snowy – a big white goose. Snowy always came to the beach with us in the car and the dog (Towser) travelled in a special frame on the running board of the car.

I remember too when Dad bought Mum a new car for her birthday, it was an Erskine sedan with arm rests on the side of the back seats, we all thought it was wonderful. An Erskine was a smaller version of our car – a Studibaker – ours was a tourer, but the new one was a sedan – black or navy colour.

Often Dad and I would go fishing up the Murray River. We would camp overnight in a tent off the side of the car. As I was the oldest with no brothers, I was treated as the boy of the family. On one excursion, my mother came with us for the weekend – we stayed at Blanchetown (Marie and Beth stayed home, had a lady who helped Mum to look after them). We went out on the Murray River fishing in a flat-bottomed boat – the first time Mum had ever been with us. On our return to shore, we noticed a ferry boat was making its way across the Murray, as we were rowing along, the rope of the ferry came up under our boat and lifted us out of the water – naturally we yelled – luckily they heard us, stopped and reversed the ferry and gently our boat returned to the water. That was the one and only time Mum ever came with us on a boat (or fishing).

In 1930, everything crashed – Dad was out of a job, and no hope of a job anywhere. He decided that he would have a better chance of finding work if we were to return to Sydney. Mid 1930, Mum and we three girls returned to Sydney by train and stayed with friends at Arncliffe and went to Bexley Public School. (In Adelaide I was in Grade 7, but as I hadn’t passed an ‘entrance to High School Exam’, I had to stay in 6th Grade).

Dad remained in Adelaide to sell our house and ‘tie up all ends’, then he drove over to Sydney with Towser, our dog. When he joined us, it was decided to have a couple of months in Emmaville with Ola’s mother (her father died early 1900’s), before settling back in Sydney. We again returned to school, Emmaville Public School, where I continued in 6th class, did my ‘entrance to High School Exam’ and passed to St George High School (the one I had nominated nearest Bexley). In mid January 1931, we moved to Sydney where Dad rented us a house in Sixth Avenue, Eastwood. It was on top of a hill, with a very slope-y backyard. Mum enrolled Marie and Beth at the Eastwood Public School and enquired about me being able to transfer my pass to Hornsby High School (nearest to Eastwood – quite a trip by electric train daily). When Mum was talking to the Headmistress, she (the Headmistress) asked me a few questions, then suggested I repeat 6th class as my accent was ‘funny’ – in Adelaide, the dialect was more like the English; so I repeated 6th class. I won Dux of Eastwood School in 1931 – also won one of two bursaries available in 1931.

During the winter of 1931, my mother developed pleurisy and pneumonia, she was very sick, and after she recovered, my father decided it was the cold winds on the top of the hill which were partly responsible, so we moved down the hill to Florence Avenue, West Ryde (very close to where Denistone Railway Station now stands). It was on the opposite side of the road from the Denistone Nursing Home reserve. This house was much better, the backyard was level, so Dad was able to grow plenty of vegetables, and as there was vacant ground on all sides of our house, we were able to have a cow (which I had to tether out each morning before going to school) and also quite a few chooks, which gave us eggs to sell and trade for chook food.

During the winter of 1932, Mum again developed pleurisy and pneumonia. She was very sick and tuberculosis set in – I didn’t know at the time that Mum was pregnant before she got sick. I can still remember the time her doctors sent her to a Macquarie Street specialist, and when I came home she had a pencil and note pad and wrote that the specialist said she wasn’t to speak for three months. At the end of three months, she couldn’t speak, her voice box had been destroyed. She could only whisper and her voice never returned.

Mum was very sick that year and on Christmas Eve she was taken into West Ryde Hospital. Her daughter was born on Christmas Day, and we were all so excited, as to what we could call the baby – being Christmas, we thought of Noel, etc, etc and finally we all thought Carol was the best.

Mum was still very sick, couldn’t look after the baby, so Marie and I had to go to the hospital and learn how to look after the baby, what to do, change and bath baby, etc. before we could bring her home. Dad still hadn’t been able to get a job, he had sold the car to make ends meet.

Mum’s doctor advised that as she still wasn’t at all well and she had TB, it would be a help to her health if she were to return to the climate (place) where she was born. Dad didn’t get on 100% with Grandma, but Mum was the most important thing, so we sent Mum back to Emmaville, then finalised things in Sydney (Mum was too sick to look after the baby so she went on her own). I stayed home from school to help Dad look after the baby. We girls and Dad went up by train.

The newsagent in Deepwater wanted to sell his business, so Dad bought the newsagency (only rented the shop and a house in Forbes Street - Deepwater is only 17 miles from Emmaville and on the railway line). Mum was able to move back with us in Deepwater and Mrs Thomas, who lived next door, was a great help (she also did our washing and ironing). My mother’s condition was not improving and acting on the specialist’s advice, Mum moved over to Emmaville and lived in Grandma’s house; she had to have a trained nurse live in to look after her. In those days, shops used to close on Wednesday afternoon, stay open late on Friday night and regular trade on Saturday. We used to open the newsagency section about 6.45 am when the papers arrived on the morning train. Sometimes we would go over to Emmaville (only 17 miles away) after the shop closed, but always on Wednesday afternoon and all day Sunday. Carol was still with us in Deepwater and my sister Marie left school when she completed 8th grade so she could look after Carol and the house.

In 1936, we all knew Mum was very sick and that there was little chance of any improvement. I remember that Tuesday afternoon we went over to see her; she was in bed (as usual). She had long fair hair and that Tuesday night as we left she was propped up in bed brushing her hair (she had always said you should brush your hair 100 times a day with a good brush). About 2 am the following morning, she lapsed into unconsciousness, and as soon as we got word, Dad rushed over to Emmaville and sat with her. She passed away about 1.30pm that afternoon (Wednesday 8th April 1936) without regaining consciousness, and as Dad used to say “she didn’t even know I was there”. (It really broke him up.)

That Wednesday was just before Easter, and her funeral was next day Thursday (at Emmaville). We girls had to stay home, only Dad went to her funeral – Grandma (Truscott) had been buried in the Emmaville Cemetery beside her husband and Mum was buried on the other side of her father.

^[6]Obituary
MRS. P. CHAPMAN
Mrs. P. Chapman, of Deepwater, died at the home of her brother, Mr. J. H. Truscott, on Wednesday 8th. inst. at the age of 44. Deceased, who was born in Emmaville, was the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Truscott, of Emmaville.
After her marriage in Sydney to Mr. P. Chapman in 1917, the late Mrs. Chapman lived in Sydney and Adelaide before coming to Deepwater. Her mother died in October, 1935.
She is survived by her husband, and four daughters— Nessa, Marie, Beth and Carol; and four brothers— Messrs. James Truscott (Emmavilie), Sidney (Jandowie), Thomas (Sydney) and Percy (Muswellbrook).
The Rev. D. F. Almond officiated on Thursday afternoon at the Methodist Church when he spoke of the many fine qualities of deceased as a church woman, wife and mother.
The funeral. was largely attended, the many floral tributes showing the esteem in which the family are held in Emmaville. Funeral arrangements were in the hands of Messrs. Schumacher Emmaville) and Lightfoot (Glen Innes).

Sources

1. ↑ https://familyhistory.bdm.nsw.gov.au/lifelink/familyhistory/search/result? TRUSCOTT OLA M 12734/1891 JOHN C ELIZABETH EMMAVILLE
2. ↑ https://familyhistory.bdm.nsw.gov.au/lifelink/familyhistory/search/result? 1801/1918 CHAPMAN PERCIVAL A TRUSCOTT OLA M WAVERLEY
3. ↑ https://familyhistory.bdm.nsw.gov.au/lifelink/familyhistory/search/result? CHAPMAN OLA MAY 9910/1936 JOHN CHARLES ELIZABETH EMMAVILLE
4. ↑ http://ryersonindex.org/search.php CHAPMAN Ola Death notice 08APR1936 Death age 44 at Emmaville Sydney Morning Herald 29APR1936
5. ↑ https://austcemindex.com/?family_name=chapman&cemetery=emmaville Chapman Ola May b.1 May 1891 d.8 Apr 1936 age44 dau/John Charles & Elizabeth Emmaville NSW
6. ↑ https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/178294951?searchTerm=sidney%20truscott%20emmaville Glen Innes Examiner (NSW : 1908 - 1954) Thu 16 Apr 1936 Page 3 Obituary

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