Skip to main content

Childhood Deaths - Tommy Scheikowski

I was fortunate last weekend to spend several hours at Dixson Library at the University of New England. Although I love using Trove, it only covers major newspapers up until 1954. Dixson Library has an almost perfect collection of newspapers from the north of NSW. While searching for family information I continually came across the deaths of small children. This has got me thinking this morning about children who have died unnecessarily in my family. This week my posts will be in their memory.

Tommy Scheikowski (c1946 - 1955)
BOY FOUND DROWNED AFTER NIGHT SEARCH
A nine years old boy was found drowned in a shallow waterhole beside a causeway in Rouse-Street North on Tuesday morning, after police had made a search for the boy throughout Monday night.
The boy, Tommy Scheikowski, of George-street, had been missing from his home since Monday afternoon.
Mrs Scheikowski told police that she first noticed her son was missing at about 3 p.m., but did not take any notice, as the boy usually wandered away from home.
She said she became anxious after 5 p.m., after the boy had failed to return home, and she contacted the police.
Sgt. L.F. Grogan organised a search party comprising Consts. C.M McHardy and J.K. Britt and local residents, and after searching for they boy, they found a bucket he had taken in a waterhole near his home.
Consts. McHardy and Britt waded through several waterholes, searching for the boy.
Early on Tuesday morning, Mr. Colin Kline, of Rouse-street North, found the boy floating face upwards in a waterhole, 30 inches deep, beside a causeway in Rouse-street North.
This waterhole was half a mile from the boy's home, and from where the police had conducted their search. The waterholes form a creek after heavy rain, but no water was running between the waterholes during the week.
Mr. Kline then contacted Sgt. Grogan, who with Const. McHardy, recovered the boy's body from the waterhole.
The Coroner, Mr N.H.E. Jennings, will hold an inquiry at a date to be fixed.
The funeral was held yesterday afternoon after a service in christ Church of England, conducted by the Vicar, Rev. W.V. Rymer. Mr J.P. Cooper had charge of the arrangements.

The Tenterfield Star, 29 September 1955, p. 1

Thomas Albert Scheikowski, the son of George Scheikowski and Constance Brauer and grandson of Roland Brauer and Rosalina Vaubel is buried in the Church of England section of the Tenterfield Cemetery in Row R, Lot 31.







Comments

  1. Bit of a busman's holiday spent in a library!

    Thanks for telling this sad tale - there are so many like this in our family histories.

    I look forward to reading more about your Armidale finds

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Caroline Chisholm

I am currently in England visiting my daughter who is working in London. Naturally I decided I would have to spend some time on genealogical pursuits. The problem was where would I choose for a few day's retreat from London? In the end I decided to go to Northampton to visit the grave of Caroline Chisholm. Caroline is known as the immigrant's friend. She was a well known social reformer of her day. Why is Caroline significant to me and my family? You may recall that Caroline Chisholm was on the original $5 note in Australia. As well as her image there was a picture of a ship. That ship was the Waverley . Caroline agitated at the Home Office to reunite the wives and families of convicts with their husbands and fathers. On 22 June 1847 she wrote that she ‘had just left the Home Office and had obtained a passage per Waverley for forty-nine souls.’ SMH 9 August 1847, extract from letter 30 March 1847. My great great grandmother Matilda Agnew, her older siblings James, Joh...

Family Homes - No 3 - Moolan Downs, Queensland

My previous Family Home post showed the childhood home of Catherine Ellen Dawson . After leaving Tasmania Catherine moved to Melbourne with her mother and siblings after the death of her father Dr William Lee Dawson. Catherine married Gustav Baumgarten in Melbourne on 30th November 1876. They lived at Pleasant Bank Vineyard at Barnawatha.  According to the Cyclopedia of Victoria they had 180 acres of vines, 465 acres of agricultural and grazing land and a further 300 acres under cultivation.   During 1908 the Baumgarten family moved from Barnawatha to Moolan Downs, near Meandarra west of Dalby. They left a thriving business with an established homestead and moved to western Queensland. One of their first tasks when they arrived was to build the dwelling shown below. Original dwelling at Moolan Downs - c1908 The second house at Moolan Downs The final homestead at Moolan Downs One can only admire our early pioneering families. Gustav died at Moolan Downs...