Alma Gertrude Alchin

Alma Gertrude Alchin - Great Aunt

Alma Gertrude Alchin – Great Aunt

by Garry Norman Smith

Alma Gertrude Alchin

Alma Gertrude Alchin was born at Gunning on 15 May 1909, the third-born daughter and eighth child of Edward Alchin (1863-1941) and Elizabeth Anne Alchin (nee Bailey) (1872-1964).

Edward Alchin's land at Gunning was on portions 37 & 49, just outside the Village and
not far from the Gunning Permanent Common

Alma was 11 years old when most of her family moved away from Gunning to Glenorie near Sydney, where her father operated an orchard. Prior to this time Alma was raised at the Alchin property “Rockdale”. In 1916 Alma and her family farewelled Alma’s oldest brother, William Edward Thomas Alchin (1893-1918) as he went off to war during World War 1; William died on 14 March 1918 in Belgium.

Alma (right) with sisters (l-r) Ida, Marcella and Myra (seated)
in the Glenorie orchard

In 1928 Alma was bridesmaid for her sister Myra who married Albert Victor Watson. The following year, 20-year-old Alma married Stanley William (Jim) Stevens at Ryde on 30 March 1929. Stanley was born at Newtown, Sydney on 28 November 1904.

The Wedding of Alma & Jim (l-r) Gwen Stevens, Frank Stevens, Jim Stevens, Alma Stevens (nee Alchin), Hazel Alchin, Sid Lewis, Ida Alchin, Dawn Stevens

The wedding of Stanley and Alma was reported in The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate (Friday 26 April 1929, 9).

“She was attended by two bridesmaids, Miss Ida Alchin, sister of the bride, and Miss Gwen Stevens, sister of the groom. … Mr. F Stevens, Jnr, was the best man and Mr. Sid Lewis groomsman.”

The tragedy of Alma and Jim’s marriage was that it lasted so little time; Alma Stevens (nee Alchin) died 4 days after giving birth to her child, Noel Stanley Stevens on 22 September 1929. The official cause of death was acute yellow atrophy of liver (aka malignant jaundice), after 3 days illness. Alma was only 19 years old when she died on 26 September 1929.

My great aunt Alma is buried in the Church of England Cemetery, Field of Mars; her grave was unmarked and unremarkable until recently – her grandsons are planning a permanent marker for her.

The Plaque will be made permanent

Comments

First Settlers in Lade Vale: Frank and Catherine Lawless

Is this the house that Frank built? Remains of a substantial granite block house on land once owned by the first settlers in Lade Vale, Frank and Catherine Lawless. It may well have been built by Frank when the family took up their circa 1826 land grant. While we cannot be absolutely certain this is his work, there can be no doubt it is just the sort of house a skilled builder/bricklayer such as Frank would have constructed to settle his family in. Frank and Catherine Lawless – The Lade Vale Years The Story So Far This is the second chapter in our look at early colonial settlers Frank and Catherine Lawless written by their 3rd great granddaughter, Carmel Peek, in association with GDHS. At the end of our last episode: Bricklayer Frank [as he was commonly called rather than by his formal given name Francis] had been transported to Sydney from Ireland in 1809 following his conviction for highway robbery; He compounded his failings and misfortunes in late 1810 whe...

Lees Family Origins: Links to Gunning

Waratah (now Warrataw) Street, Gunning, circa 1905. Article by Kim Lees The Lees family emigrated from Germany in the 1850’s as Bounty Immigrants under a scheme to bring citizens from various countries to Australia to assist in establishing farming and other industries. They came from the wine growing area of Grossbottwar, some 26 kms north of Stuttgart. It has been possible, through a German Ancestry organisation ‘Beyond History’, to trace the Lees family in Grossbottwar as far back as the late 1500s, some 6 generations before the family emigrated from Germany to Australia. In 2013 I visited Grossbottwar where I met with a cousin and his family who still live there. The Lees family (parents Johannes (48) & Louisa (44) and children Conrad (20), Adam (16), Jacob (14), Fredricka (9), and David (6)) travelled to Australia on the Dutch Barque ‘Helene’ with 215 other German Immigrants. The youngest child, a daughter Christiana (aged 5 months) died on the voyage to Aust...

Walking and Unwitting Death Trap: September Bird of the Month

Image courtesy Duade Paton https://www.photos.duadepaton.com From Gladstone's Notebook: Sometimes Poisonous, yet a Culinary Delight and the Explorer’s Saviour – the Common Bronzewing This is number 9 of a 12 part series in which we take a bird recorded in Gladstone Weatherstone’s notebook between 1962 and 1981, see if anything is different today and, if so, try to explain why. Gladstone was a dedicated and knowledgeable amateur naturalist who lived on Lyndfield Park near Gunning from 1941 until 1996 Image of Gladstone Weatherstone courtesy Wayne Weatherstone. The Common Bronzewing On 3 September 1967, Gladstone wrote “ Several Bronzewing Pigeons seen near Jerrawa and possibly nesting near Catherine’s Creek ”. This bird makes only a few appearances over the 19 years covered by his notebook. In June 1973 he wrote “ Bronze-winged Pigeon observed feeding around the house today, also two days later. First time seen in close ....

Gunning & District Historical Society

Search This Blog