Skip to main content

Dr William Lee Dawson - What Christian name did he use?

I've always referred to my great, great, great grandfather by using both his christian names William and Lee. This was probably to distinguish between father and son, William Henry Dawson. 


Dr William Lee Dawson 1819-1871

William Lee was named after his maternal grandparents. His grandfather was William Giles and his grandmother, Catherine Lee.

The Lee branch of this family has been well documented.  William Lee's maternal grandmother Catherine Lee was the daughter of the Rev Michael Lee, the son of Richard Lee, the son of William Lee who was the son of Emanuell Lee. 

The Lee family are mentioned in Rev George Hill's book The Plantation in Ulster. Others are referenced in Evelyn P Shirley's book The History of the County of Monaghan. The Rev Michael Lee graduated in 1726 with a BA from Trinity College, Dublin. 1

Now I'm wondering if my great, great, great grandfather went by the name of Lee, not William.

The only evidence I have for this is the death notice of his wife Emma in East Melbourne in 1885 but it is enough to make me wonder. It says she is the relict of W. Lee Dawson. 


The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) 29 July 1885, p. 1




William Lee, were you William or Lee?



1. http://homepage.eircom.net/~leeea/EmanuellCavan.htm





Comments

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...