The Tree of Me

The three photographs below are of a house in Franklin , Tasmania that my great great grandfather, Dr William Lee Dawson had built in 1861. Home of Dr William Lee Dawson, Franklin, Tasmania Side view of the home According to his diary, William Lee Dawson, his wife Emma (Seabrook) and their two eldest children Catherine Ellen and William Henry moved into the house on Wednesday 20th March, 1861. Two further children, Lousia and Robert were born while the Dawsons lived here. They continued to live in this house until William's death in 1871. Shortly after his death, Emma rented the property to a Robert Walker and moved to Hobart Town and later to Melbourne. The house cost a total of £236 3s 6d to build. From the ledger in William Lee Dawson's diary we can ascertain that the house had a green baize door. The baize would have been attached to the door that separated the servant living quarters from that of the family. Baize had the effect of quietening the noise. ( Wikipe...

In this series of posts I will highlight former family residences. The first is one of the childhood homes of my grandmother Elsie Ryan. Although born in Smithfield in Sydney she moved to Kyogle with her family when she was about 3. She lived with her parents Michael and Sarah, sister Mary and brothers Bert and Jack at Groom Street in Kyogle. Groom Street, Kyogle, probably 1910's On a recent visit to Kyogle, I photographed the house. 2011 It looks like the fence is still standing after one hundred years. The roof has been redone and the bullnose verandah has gone and has now become part of the roofline. I wonder who planted the tree behind the house?