Percival Charles Richardson

I am making Percival's Timeline fairly detailed to help clarify his trajectory.

Can't find Percival's birth date. Lewis Richard married Melinda between 1871 (death of 1st wife) and 1873 (birth of daughter). Melinda was abt. 30 yrs at marriage so plenty of time for more children. Percival marries in 1902 so I would expect him to be no less than 20 yrs in 1902 so he could have been born as late as 1882 - maybe. Melinda would have been abt. 40 yrs by then, not a great time for childbearing, and Lewis much older. My guess is Lewis and Melinda married 1872, had Melinda Jnr 1873 and Percival in the next 2 or 3 yrs, which makes him born 1874 - 1876.

When Percival Charles marries Elizabeth, Highton in Geelong, just up the road from Louis Edward Richardson and his clan, in 1902, both his parents have died in Ontario. Perhaps Percival decided to spend his inheritance visiting his Geelong cousins. There also seems to have been a breakdown between Lewis Richard's first family and his second with Melinda. There is also a suggestion that he travelled with his parents. My impression is that the Canadian branch of the family also seems to travel more than the Australians. Australia has been a prohibitive distance from everywhere except New Zealand, and overseas travel was fairly unusual for ordinary people until WW1 sent thousands to the UK where they could meet long lost relatives.

Percival's father dies 1899 in an asylum, and his mother 1901. At the 1891 and 1901 censuses, Melinda/Malinda is living separately from Lewis. It seems unlikely that they travelled to Victoria as a family. Since Percival was gazetted as a NSW police constable in 1900, he must have arrived earlier than that.

MARRIAGE First name(s) Percival Charles Last name Richardson Sex Male Marriage year 1902 Spouse's first name(s) Elizabeth Irene Spouse's last name McLeod State Victoria Country Australia Record set Victoria Marriages 1836-1942 Registration number 4833 Probably staying with Louis Edward or one of the clan in Geelong, Percival meets and marries Elizabeth Irene M'Leod of Highton, at Highton 1902. New South Wales Police Gazette shows Percival Charles Richardson No. 7469 gazetted as a constable January 8 1900. Percival is next found working as a mounted police constable at Tumut NSW - the very same job his cousin Louis Edward has in rural Victoria. Has Louis Edward provided a role model? In March 1905 he is transferred from Wagga Wagga to Tarcutta. See docs for some articles.

Elizabeth, who was 11 yrs older than Percival, dies at Caulfield Victoria, aged 54yrs, and is buried 1919 at Box Hill Cemetery, so she left Calafat for the eastern suburbs of Melbourne some time after 1913. Percival married Lilian the same year so it seems likely that the first marriage had broken down and the pair were separated.

RESIDENCE First name(s) Percival Charles Last name Richardson Sex Male Birth year - Occupation Grazier Year 1913 Number - House name - Street - Address - Place - Sub-district Adelong District Wagga Wagga [For this electoral Roll, Elizabeth is also at Calafat]

A coincidence - Robert Richardson, son of James Robert and Eliza, is also a grazier 250 miles away near Dubbo, NSW. Unlikely they knew each other unless the Geelong Richardsons had maintained contact with Robert.

MARRIAGE First name(s) Percival Charles Last name Richardson Sex Male Marriage year 1919 Spouse's first name(s) Lilian Helen Spouse's last name Griffith State Victoria Country Australia Record set Victoria Marriages 1836-1942 Registration number 8366 Percival marries Lillian Griffiths on 22 Oct 1919 at St Paul's Church of England, Canterbury (Sydney,NSW). Percival lives at Yoorooga, Tumut, and Lillian in Albury. Her family are from Albury and her father is MLA for that electorate. They are living in the areas around Tumut, or Wagga Wagga, I think, where Percival is 'a grazier'. See docs.

ELECTORAL ROLL First name(s) Percival Charles Last name Richardson Sex Male Birth year - Occupation Grazier Year 1935 Number 1370 Property name - Killearnan Street - Address - Place - Sub-district Culcairn District Hume [Lilian is present for this electoral roll. Culcairn is abt 50km north of Albury in the Riverina]

1920: Percival sells "Yoorooga" his Tumut station, and possibly another, "Califat" in the same area where he lived with Elizabeth. It is unclear to me whether they are the same property, ie Yoorooga is located at Califat, or they are two properties being sold at the same time. There are several articles referencing "Yoorooga" being bought and sold, with owners other than Percival, and possibly with Percival selling more than once. All I can imagine is that "Yoorooga" was a much larger station sold in parcels, of which Percival owns one of 583 acres. This would help to explain how he went from being a mounted police constable to hob nobbing with landed gentry in a relatively short time. 583 acres is tiny compared with the thousands of acres that made up a real cattle or sheep station. Perhaps Percival began with buying a small slice of "Yoorooga" when it was gazetted for closer settlement, then went on to bigger things. His marriage to Lilian in 1919 suggests he was already on his way to bigger things.

It is also difficult to be clear about exactly where to locate "Yoorooga" - at Mount Horeb? At Califat? At Tumut? All are local names in the Tumut District.

I am adding a lyrical description of "Yoorooga" from 1910.

TRAVEL Percival is quite a wealthy man by 1920 and takes Lillian to London, Ontario, Canada in 1922 to visit his roots. Unclear if any family left there, and he reports none on his border declaration when they cross into USA. First name(s) P C Last name Richardson Title MR Gender Male Age 47 Birth year 1876 Marital status M Occupation NIL Departure year 1923 Departure day 15 Departure month 9 Departure port London Destination port Sydney Destination SYDNEY State New South Wales Country Australia Destination country Australia Ship name Orsova Ship official number 128278

First name(s) P C Mr Last name Richardson Age 47 Birth year 1876 Departure port British Arrival year 1923 Arrival month Oct Arrival port - Ship name Orsova State Victoria Record set Victoria Inward Passenger Lists 1839-1923

First name(s) Percival C Last name Richardson Title MR Gender Male Age 50 Birth year 1877 Marital status M Occupation GENTLEMAN Departure year 1927 Departure day 21 Departure month 6 Departure port Liverpool Destination port Sydney Destination SYDNEY State New South Wales Country Australia Destination country Australia Ship name Demosthenes Ship official number 129362 [Percival and Lilian are both on the passenger list, both age 50yrs] See docs

The border crossing declaration at Niagara Falls US customs says that Percival and Lillian arrived in "Makura" to Victoria in British Columbia, visited London Ontario, and Percival is 47 yrs old. Claudia has sent me a number of passenger declarations for Percival and Lilian visiting Canada and US in 1922, and 1936/7/8 See docs. Eventually all will become clear - I hope. I will also add them as a suite so their peregrinations are easier to follow.

1934: Percival buys a substantial sheep station near Tumut, and sells it in 1936 before setting off again to Canada and the US.

They celebrate their silver wedding anniversary in Albury 1944. See docs

1948: Percival dies at Mosman, on the lower north shore of Sydney, NSW