Curious

#52ancestors52weeks Week 3

Having found a box of treasurers in 2021 see “Treasurers in Hiding” I have spent some time sorting through the postcards to see who are they from and who they were sent to. They have now been stored in a archival sleeves in a safe cardboard box for storage. I still go back and look at time to see what else I can glean about the NOSWORTHY aunts. There are a number of photographs of people I have never heard of. One such photo I came across was named and dated on the back as Donald Robert Cole, 1 year 5 months.

So who was Donald Robert Cole and why would there be a photo of him? Donald Robert COLE was born on October 6, 1926 at Naracoorte [2]. His parents were William Robert COLE and Maud Jane NEWSOME [2].

From discussions with my mother that Mr Cole was a Methodist Minister and that he had been working in the district. He had also visit her grandparents at Lake Cargellico with the news that Uncle Frank was ill. Her mother talked about his visit and how all the children were hoping that the gecko on the roof would fall on him as he was talking. Geckos were able to get in and out of the house as there was no ceiling and only a ceiling with rafters. As a child she stayed with the Cole Family when they were living in Norwood at times when she couldn’t go home for the short school holidays from the School for the Deaf.

William COLE married Maud NEWSOM on the January 5, 1918 at the Norwood Christ Church [4]. The Australian Electoral Rolls, 1903 – 1980 show that William was a minister of religion and worked in a range of districts including Broken Hill, Saddleworth, Bordertown and Naracoorte [5]. This information explains why there was a connection. Esther GOULD nee NOSWORTHY and her sisters Eva and Edith were very involved in the Methodist Church. All of them ran and taught the Sunday School programs at both Lucindale and Conmurra (see Maiden Aunt and Next to Last – Esther Ann for further information).

Further search found a family photo that the Cole Family had sent prior to to Donald’s birth. On the back the inscription states: With love from us all Jack, Muriel M&W Cole, Dec. 1925.

1. Photo of Donald Robert COLE in the possession of the author.
2. South Australian Birth Registrations. October 6, 1926. COLE Donald Robert. Robe District, Book 181A Page 292. https://www.genealogysa.org.au : accessed January 13, 2022.
3. Hunter, Heath (2009). Photo of Marbled Gecko (Christinus marmoratus) in Adelaide, South Australia. CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
4. South Australian Marriage Registrations. January 5, 1918. COLE, William Robert and NEWSON, Maud Jane. Norwood District, Book 274 Page 64. https://www.genealogysa.org.au : accessed January 13, 2022.
5. Australia, Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980. COLE William Robert. https://www.ancestry.com.au : accessed January 13, 2022.
6. Photo of the Cole Family in 1925.

Feature photo – Old Church in Lucindale, taken by the author, October 1921.