Sunday, July 22, 2012

K is for KILLED

Edith and her sister Milly
Edith Bound and her twin brother Ernest were born Hurlands Woods, Liskeard, Cornwall on the 27th March 1870.  According to family stories, Edith was a small sickly baby and it was thought that she would not survive.  There were no humidicribs in those times so she was placed under the vest, on the chest, of an old bedridden man, to keep her warm.

This was the first evidence of her strong will and she survived, while unfortunately her twin brother who was born a strong and healthy 9lbs died five months later.

When Edith was seven years old, her father, age 43, caught a chill and died from pleurisy, leaving a grief stricken widow with 8 fatherless children (3 children had already predeceased him) with Edith's youngest sister Lilly being born 2 months after her father's death.

"The Lord Provided" and 10 months later, on the 5th July 1878, the family were on board the barque Oaklands for the voyage to Australia.  According to information handed down through the family, the Oaklands was becalmed near the equator for several days and drinking water was rationed, with the younger children nearly perishing in the heat.  Additionally, the newspapers reported that there were several cases of whooping cough on board and many children died from various infantile diseases.  However the Bound family arrived safely at Port Adelaide on 21st September 1878.  Edith was now eight years old.

The family initially resided at Macaw Creek in South Australia and were initially frightened by the aboriginals  but this changed as the aboriginals provided them with rabbits and birds for the cooking pot.  Little is known about Edith's childhood but we can only imagine that it was quite tough without a father to support the family.  The older boys became farmers and supported the family, moving across the border to North Western Victoria.

When she was nearly eighteen years of age, Edith married Edward Ernest Edmund Geyer at Miram Piram, Victoria and their first child, my great grandmother, was born soon thereafter.  The family grew steadily and by 1898 Edith and Edward Geyer had six children with another on the way.

1911
Geyer Family
Back: Art, Mel, Lloyd & Ern
Front: Soph, Edith, Lil & Mabel nursing my grandmother, Eva
According to my grandmother, Edward Geyer was the Chief Mechanic/Miller at the local flour mill in Nhill and was at home sick in bed.  There were urgent mechanical repairs needed at the railway station, which was part of the flour mill and he was called in.  Edith didn't want him to go but he did.  He died two days later on the 5th May 1899 from exhaustion & intestinal haemorrhage due to Typhoid Fever, which had also claimed the life of Edith's mother and youngest brother six years earlier.

At age 29, Edith who was two months pregnant, was left a young widow with six children to care for. One month later on the 8th June 1899, Edith made "an application to the justices to be relieved of the care of five of her six children (the eldest 11 and the youngest 18 months), she being without means, and quite unable to support them."  

Horsham Times
6 Feb 1914
Within a week, £14 was donated to the "distressed Geyer family".  Although this may not seem like much money today, in those days it was sufficient to feed and clothe a family for some time and Edith was able to keep her children with the youngest born in December 1899.  She called her Lilly, which was the same name that Edith's widowed mother had given to her youngest daughter.

My great grandmother, being Edith's eldest child, left school at age 11 to help her mother with the younger children.  The family moved to Mildura in 1901 with her brother. You can read more about their remakable journey here.  Edith took in washing and picked fruit to provide an income.

By 1908, when Edith was 38, she was back  in Nhill and taking in boarders.  With the help of her doctor, she had become a registered mid wife.   My grandmother wrote "I think she brought all her grandchildren into this world - and there were many."  She was also quite handy with a hammer and nails and from donated timber she built additional rooms on the house.
Horsham Times
17 May 1949

Although she wasn't registered as a "maternity & medical nurse" until 1915, she established her first private hospital in 1914.  She operated several private hospitals in Horsham, Victoria;
1914 "River View" McPherson Street
1916 "Harlington House" Wilson Street
1920 "Liscard" Baillie Street
1924 Temporarily relocated to "Weymouth" Baillie Street
1925 "Liscard" Baillie Street

"Liscard" continued to operate until 1931 when Edith, who was 61, became the matron at the Goroke hospital for several years before her death in 1937 at age 66.


It was a car accident which killed Edith.  According to the inquest, Edith was sitting in the front passenger seat of a car driven by her son in law, Victor.  A truck coming in the opposite direction swerved on to the wrong side of the road.  At the last minute, Victor veered to the wrong side of the road trying to avoid the collision but at the same time the truck corrected and hit the front passenger side of the car, with the impact throwing Edith around causing broken ribs and internal haemorrhage, which killed her. The driver of the truck was fined £1/10/. for failing to report the accident, £2.10/. for driving on the wrong side of the road and £1/7/6 costs.

Nursing was a saviour to Edith Geyer.  She saved many lives and brought even more into this world but medicine could not save her. 

Nurse Edith Geyer with baby Lay, Mrs Reid, Mrs Hobbs with baby Hobbs, Soph (Edith's sister), Mrs Heard and baby Heard and Esther and Little Stan Walter
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25 comments:

  1. I enjoyed reading your fascinating, but very sad story enhanced by the photographs and press cuttings. You conveyed movingly how hard life was in those times, and what people had to do to survive their circumstances.

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    1. Thank you Susan. There are so many press cuttings to choose between so it was difficult to limit them.

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  2. What an amazing woman! Talk about G & D. Thanks for sharing this story, Sharon.

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    1. Thank you Fi. I had to stop and think about that one. Guts and Determination? Definitely!

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  3. A great story Sharon, you've found so much detail it makes it really come alive.

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    1. Thank you Kylie. One of the reasons that I love genealogy - putting together all the facts and stories to get an understanding of the person.

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  4. I too thoroughly enjoyed reading your story Sharon. Extremely well written and detailed tribute to an amazing lady. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Thank you Kerryn. My grandmother also wrote "I remember her well. Grand-ma was a lovely and kind lady. I was the eldest grand child so was a bit of a pet in that part of the family"

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  5. An amazing story, and it so sad that she died in a car accident. She deserved to live a long life and see all not only her kids and grandkids grow up, but the babies she helped bring into the world. She was obviously a very loved member of the community.

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    1. My feelings exactly. The results of the inquest also state "witness said that he knew the truck driver had some drink, but certainly would say he was not drunk"
      How times have changed!

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  6. What a hard life these women had but through hard work and determination they triumphed. You must be so proud of your ancestors.

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    1. Thanks Jill. I have "strong foundations". Your comments are so accurate. I have always taught my children that hard work and determination will always triumph and this was before I knew many of the stories of my ancestors who did the same thing!

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  7. What an amazing woman. Just to have survived the journey to Australia in those days was an accomplishment, but to go on to achieve so much in her life as well is extraordinary. Had she not died accidentally she probably would have lived to a good age and continue to do good works. It’s wonderful that you can provide this memorial for her through your writing.

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    1. Thank you Marilyn. Edith's elder sister lived until age 91.

      I thought that it was great to see her remembered in the 1949 newspaper article, 12 years after her death. I can only imagine that she would have been "chuffed" as my grandmother would have said.

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  8. What a wonderfully told story and so sad. She fought the way through so much only to be killed by a drunken driver.

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    1. Thank you Kristin. It doesn't seem fair does it!

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  9. That's an amazing story...she was an amazing woman!

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    1. Thank you Donna. I would have liked to have met her. She would have had many stories to tell.

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  10. Sharon, so very interesting and wonderful to read about your ancestors. Very tough women and it shows what they are capable to do. Sometimes very sad too because at this time was not enough medical help around. We arrived in Australia in 1974, the last voyage of the Galileo Gallilei http://underahottersun.blogspot.com.au This is my story. It was different, not as tough as your ancestors!

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    1. I look forward to reading it all Titania. What an adventure that you had and it is wonderful that you have recorded it for future generations.

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  11. A wonderful story and beautifully told Sharon. I so admire the "intestinal fortitude" of these amazing women we're lucky enough to claim as Ancestors. Thankyou so much for sharing this inspiring story.

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    1. What wonderful words "intestinal fortitude". I could have used them!

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  12. What an awesome lady to call family. You must be so proud :D

    I enjoyed learned about her and am so happy people helped, rather than taking her children away.

    Thanks for sharing

    --Saronai

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    1. Thank you. I really admire her.

      They were tough times but it is great to see that the community rallied around to help.

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