Youngest

Week 32 #52ancestors in 52 weeks

Rose Elania Tilbrook COOPER was the youngest daughter of Charles COOPER and Ann WHALEN. Rose was born on the 2nd May 1880 at Robe in South Australia and was the youngest of 9 children. The family lived around the Robe, Kingston Wangolina area. While Rose was the youngest she certainly had the longest name. No-one is sure where the Rose actually comes from and it could be from her mothers side of the family of whom very little is known. The Elania comes from her mothers middle name. Her mother Ann didn’t use Elania when she married, but it was used in her obituary later in life. TILBROOK was the maiden name of Rose’s grandmother.  Charles had come to Australia with his parents in the late 1850’s after being born in Helions Bumpstead. Ann was an Irish immigrant girl and we think WHALEN is the correct spelling ass that is how Walter WHALEN COOPER is spelt. Walter was the only child to die as a youngster.

Rose’s father Charles was a shearer as were many of her brothers. They had made a name for themselves and worked around the district as shearers. While Rose was the youngest child as well as daughter, all bar one of her siblings survived to adulthood. This would have been very unusual in this day and age where deaths from childhood diseases was much more common.

In 1909 Rose married Herbert NOSWORTHY at her parents residence at Wangolina. After her honeymoon at Mount Gambier they made their home firstly at Mount Benson. See their story at Independence Week 27. https://loadesofbranches.wordpress.com/2018/07/17/independence-week-27. Like many women of her time Rose was busy running a household, managing the homestead along with bringing up a family of 6 children.  Rose passed away in August 1960 and is buried at the cemetery at Lucindale, South Australia.

[1] Featured Image – Robe Hotel prior to building of the sea-wall. Sand dunes extended right to the roadway. The sandy beach below the dunes disappeared when the seawall was built in 1874. The photograph shows the Robe Hotel on the corner and various other buildings leading up to the Customs House which was built in 1863 to cater for the Chinese passing through the port trying to avoid paying the Arrival Tax. The sand has all but covered the road in front of the buildings where a horse drawn carriage can be seen.This image has no known copyright restrictions. Please refer to the State Library’s Conditions of use. Robe B7777 photos, State Library SA

[2] Photograph Maggie and Rose Cooper in the possession of the author

[3] State Library SA 1916. Residents at Kingston [B41844]. No non copyright restrictions

[4] photograph of Rose NOSWORTHY nee COOPER in the possession of the author