Born: 6 July 1855 Bristol, Gloucester, England
Died: 27 April 1918 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Father: Alfred Brice Salmon
Mother: Eliza Matilda Underwood
Wife: Emily Rebecca BROWN
Born: Nov 1865 Rotherhithe, Surrey, England
Died: 26 Jan 1897 Malvern, Victoria, Australia
Married: 2 Sep 1889 Collingwood, Victoria, Australia
Father: Christopher BROWN
Mother: Rebecaa RICHARDSON
Children:
Clara Alice Born: 1891 Carlton, Victoria, Australia Died: 29 Jun 1947 South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Alfred George SALMON - Life Story
Alfred was the first-born son of Alfred Brice Salmon and his wife Eliza Matilda Underwood. He was baptised in the old church of St James, Bristol on fourth day of November 1855. The family lived in Wales for about five years where Alfred senior worked as a house carpenter. The family later returned to live in Bristol. (1)
By the age of fifteen Alfred George had gained a carpentry apprenticeship making picture frames. A short time later he was lured to join the Navy. It is unclear if Alfred was pressed into the navy or volunteered of his own free will. A detailed description of each seaman was recorded. Alfred George Salmon born 6 July 1855, St Peter’s Bristol, Gloucester, height 5’ 4” tall with brown hair, hazel eyes and a fair complexion. He had no visible scars, adorning his left wrist was a tattoo of a woman’s head. His trade was a carpenter. The enlistment period was for ten years commencing on the 6 July 1873. (2)
He served on several vessels, Cambridge, Implacable, Rifleman and Vulture and his character each time was very good. He served on the HMS Royal Adelaide twice during his service. The captain of Royal Adelaide in 1876 was Captain John Ommanney Hopkins. The vessel was a flagship for the port Admiral at Devonport, fulfilling a depot ship role having been converted for this purpose in 1860. Anchored in the Hamoaze estuary, Plymouth, acting as a crucial part of the port's naval infrastructure. The Hamoaze is the estuarine stretch of the River Tamar in Plymouth, which serves as the primary naval anchorage and home to His Majesty’s Naval Base, Devonport. Despite Alf’s good conduct he failed to return from leave in February 1876.
Thirteen years later…
The next siting of Alfred was in Australia in the inner Melbourne suburb of Collingwood, where Alfred married Emily Rebecca Brown, daughter of Christopher Brown and Rebecca Richardson.
HMS Royal Adelaide
lying at anchor in the Hamoaze, Devonport, England
Emily Rebecca BROWN
Emily was born in Rotherhithe, Surrey and shortly afterwards her father Christopher died. Emily’s mother Rebecca made a living repairing men’s clothing. By the time Emily was fourteen she was working as a domestic servant. Emily immigrated to South Australia aboard the Romsdal. The Romsdal transported thousands of assisted British immigrants to Australia during the 1880s. The vessel arrived at Port Adelaide in August 1883. Upon arrival the single women were housed at Servants Home, Flinders Street, Adelaide until they were hired.
Emily worked as a domestic servant in Adelaide for five years before moving to Victoria. The couples only child Clara Alice was born in the Women’s Hospital, Carlton in January 1891. Emily died six years later from heart disease, aged 31. Her remains were interred in the St Kilda Cemetery. It is not clear who cared for Clara (also known as Alice) in the years after her mother’s death.
A Fresh Start
Four years later Alfred married Fanny Gunner, and the couple made a home in Neptune Street Richmond. They raised three children, Wilfred Stewart, Amy Margaret and Laura Jean. Shortly after the birth of Laura, the family moved to Sydney, New South Wales. Alfred’s daughter Clara remained living in Melbourne.
There are many unanswered questions in the life of Alfred George Salmon. Did Alfred return to Melbourne to attend his daughter’s marriage? Whatever the reason he left his family in a crisis with little money or food. After several months absence Fanny went to the local police and reported Alfred missing. Several months earlier her husband had told her he was going to Melbourne.
Alfred returned to Sydney but was estranged from his family when he died. Alfred was admitted to Sydney hospital suffering from chest pains and died shortly afterwards. The scant information on his death certificate fails to mention his current wife and children, only referring to his late wife Emily and daughter Clara. His remains were interred in the Church of England section of the Rookwood Cemetery. (4)
Clara Alice Salmon
From an early age Clara was working as a domestic servant in homes around Richmond. By the age of eighteen Clara was living by herself in a precarious situation, pregnant and destitute when she gave birth to a daughter. Clara named the baby girl, Amy Jean. Unable to provide for her child she was placed into care. Parents of destitute and neglected children were required by law to provide financially for the upkeep of their children whilst in care. In August, a warrant was issued for outstanding fees of two shillings a week and arrears of one pound and seven pence. Clara was described as about 20 years of age, a Victorian, 5 feet 3 inches tall, medium build, dark complexion with black hair and was wearing a black dress and a white fur hat. (5)
The following year Clara met Leopold Lyster, and they were married in St Philip’s Church, Collingwood. Leo’s sister Kathleen and brother-in-law Alfred McClelland witnessed the nuptials. No doubt they bonded over the mutual loss of a parent. Leo’s father having died when he was only five months old. They had six children but only three survived to adulthood. Amy Jean, John Joseph, and James Fleury. Clara’s life was one of poverty and uncertainty, her husband Leo suffered from ill health for several years and died in the Cheltenham Sanitorium on 10 June 1922.
Alice navigated through the Great Depression and saw her children grow into responsible adults. She witnessed the effects of two World Wars all the while making a meagre income to support her family. A tough life, a survivor a remarkable woman.
Baptism, Alfred George Salmon, 4 Nov 1855, Bristol. Bristol Archives; Bristol, England; Bristol Church of England Parish Registers; Reference: P.st J/R/2/H. Ancestry.com. Bristol, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1922.
Alfred George Salmon, UK, Royal Navy Registers of Seamen's Services, 1848-1939 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.
