This is the story of family of Alexander Proctor written by Nikki Stern
BORN: 1865, PAYSANDU, URUGUAY
MARRIED: 1895, LEICHHARDT, NSW, AUSTRALIA
DIED: 1951, LEICHHARDT, AUSTRALIA
Pedigree
ALEXANDER PROCTOR’S LIFE EVENTS
| EVENT | DATE | AGE | LOCATION | OTHERS |
| Birth | 12/6/1865 | 0 | Paysandú, Uruguay | Parents: ALEXANDER PROCTOR CATHERINE PROCTOR (née DURIE) |
| Marriage | 16/4/1895 | 29 | Gladstone Street, Leichhardt, Sydney, NSW, Australia | Wife: MARGARET SCOTT (30) |
| Death | 28/8/1951 | 86 | Lidcombe State Hospital and Home, Lidcombe, Sydney, NSW, Australia | Informants: Manager of the Lidcombe State Hospital and Home; and CHARLES E. PROCTOR (Son) |
ALEXANDER PROCTOR AND MARGARET SCOTT’S CHILDREN
| BIRTH ORDER | NAME | BORN | MARRIED | DIED |
| 1. | WILLIAM SCOTT PROCTOR | 18/10/1895 Horsely Road, Prospect, Sydney, NSW, Australia | 9/10/1920 Aged 24 EVELYN CROSSLEY Burwood, Sydney, NSW, Australia | 24/8/1967 Aged 71 Croydon, Sydney, NSW, Australia |
| 2. | OLIVE MARGARET PROCTOR | 13/3/1897 Parramatta, NSW, Australia | _ | 25/9/1946 Aged 49 Leichhardt, Sydney, NSW, Australia |
| 3. | ALEXANDER SCOTT PROCTOR | 13/9/1900 Leichhardt, Sydney, NSW, Australia | _ | 5/5/1933 Aged 32 Parramatta, NSW, Australia |
| 4. | CHARLES EDWARD PROCTOR | 21/2/1903, Leichhardt, Sydney, NSW, Australia | 2/12/1926 Aged 23 Iris Ogilvy Annandale, Sydney, NSW, Australia | 10/11/1992 Aged 90 Lake Cathie, NSW, Australia |
ALEXANDER PROCTOR AND HIS SIBLINGS
| BIRTH ORDER | NAME | BORN | MARRIED | DIED |
| 1. | MATILDA PROCTOR | 17/12/1861 Fordoun, Kincardineshire, Scotland | _ | 7/10/1936 Aged 74 “Glendoon”, Horsley Road, Eastern Creek, Blacktown, NSW, Australia |
| 2. | AGNES PROCTOR | 7/7/1863 Garvock, Kincardineshire, Scotland | _ | 1/7/1930 Aged 66 Horsley Road, Eastern Creek, Blacktown, NSW, Australia |
| 3. | ALEXANDER PROCTOR | 12/6/1865 Paysandú, Uruguay | 16/4/1895 Aged 29 MARGARET SCOTT Leichhardt, Sydney, NSW, Australia | 28/8/1951 Aged 86 Lidcombe, Sydney, NSW, Australia |
| 4. | WILLIAM PROCTOR | 28/2/1867 Paysandú, Uruguay | _ | 27/12/1867 Aged 10 months Paysandú, Uruguay |
1865 – SCOTLAND AND URUGUAY BACKGROUND
Despite reigning monarch Queen Victoria’s affection for all things Scottish, there had been increasing cries for home rule. Scotland had suffered severe setbacks, including the spread of the Irish potato famine to the Highlands and a faltering textile industry after cotton supplies were frozen as a result of the 1861 American Civil War. The Highland Clearances – in which wealthy landowners purged their properties of crofters in order to graze sheep – resulted in the migration of farmers towards the coast where they eked out a living, often fishing. This period simultaneously saw a mass exodus of immigrants to America, Canada and Australia, with an estimated 30 percent of Scots leaving their homeland.
Meanwhile, in 1864 – the approximate time of the Proctor family’s immigration to South America – civil war had erupted in Uruguay. The entire region was destabilised as the city of Paysandú fell under siege and civilians fled. Eventually, the Uruguayan army defenders capitulated to the tripartite alliance of the moderate Colorado Party supported by Brazilian and Argentinian forces.
1865 – ALEXANDER PROCTOR’S BIRTH
Alexander’s parents, Alexander Proctor and Catherine Durie, had married in Fettercairn, Kincardineshire in 1861. Their first daughter Matilda was born later that year in Fordoun, with Agnes following two years later in Garvock. Around 1864, the family immigrated to South America, joining a Scottish colony deep in Uruguay. This area – Paysandú – was situated on the River Plate, the fertile basin surrounding the estuary between Argentina and Uruguay.
Paysandú is located on the Rio Uruguay (which forms the border with Argentina) and is about 400 kilometres north northwest of the coastal capital Montevideo. Although now a major metropolis, at the time of the Proctor’s immigration, it was rural and remote, having only been founded in 1772. Presumably the Proctors resided in a Scottish farming colony situated in the fertile farming lands surrounding the town, however the turmoil of the Uruguayan Civil War would have undoubtedly impacted their lives.
The Siege of Paysandú in 1865, just months before Alexander’s birth there
Alexander was the third child (and first son) born to the couple and his birth is recorded in the Proctor family bible. The baptism was performed by Reverend Lachlan McNeill, who served his scattered “parish” on horseback in Banda Oriental (now Uruguay) from the mid 1860’s. (He also preached in Gaelic at several “preaching stations” throughout his community, where Alexander’s christening most probably took place.) A transcription from the family bible reads as follows:
“ALEXANDER PROCTOR. Born on the 12th June 1865 in South America.
Baptised December the 9th
By the Revd Mr. McNeil.”
The entry in the Proctor family bible for Alexander’s 1865 birth in Uruguay
Years later back in Scotland, Alexander’s birth entry in the family bible was officially cited by the Reverend J. R. Leslie at Buckie Parsonage in Morayshire. (Buckie is situated on the coast just east of Lossiemouth, an area long home to the Proctor family.) The birth was “officialised” with the reverend’s own transcription, which reads as follows:
“I hereby certify that I have this day examined the “Family Register” in Alexander Proctor’s Bible, containing the date of his marriage, and the names and dates of birth and baptisms of his children, and that I find in it the following entry: –
“ALEXANDER PROCTOR. Born on the 12th of June 1865, in South America.
Baptised December the 9th by the Revd. Mr. McNeil.”
[Signed] J. R. Leslie. Incumbent of All Saints’, Buckie. The Parsonage, Buckie.
The original citation in Buckie, Scotland confirming Alexander’s birth and baptism, both in 1865
A South American record of Alexander’s birth derives from a listing of Scots Church Baptisms celebrated in Uruguay and nearby Entre Rios. The Presbyterian Church of Scotland in Argentina indexed christenings of persons with British surnames between the late 1850’s and early 1900’s, and Alexander’s record reveals the following details:
Name: ALEXANDER PROCTER.
Date of birth: 12th July 1865.
Location: Paysandu, B.O. [“Banda Oriental” – the early name for the Republic of Uruguay.]
Father’s name: ALEXANDER PROCTER.
Mother’s name: CATHERINE DURRIE.
Date of baptism: 1st February 1866.
This record has two minor discrepancies with the original bible entry: the date of birth is given as July rather than June 1865; and the baptismal date is several months later – although it is quite possible that Alexander was christened twice.
The fertile farmland of Uruguay’s River Plate near Paysandú
1867 – THE BIRTH AND DEATH OF ALEXANDER’S BROTHER WILLIAM PROCTOR
Less than two years later, Alexander’s younger brother was born and duly recorded in the Proctor family bible. A transcription reads as follows:
“WILLIAM PROCTOR. Born February 28th February 1867. Baptised July 8th
By the Revd Mr. McNeil.
Tragically, baby William only survived ten months before passing away on the 27th December 1867. The Proctor family bible records his death on the second page of the family register. A transcription reads as follows:
“WILLIAM PROCTOR, Son of ALEXR& CATHERIN PROCTOR
Died December 27th 1867.”
1868 – THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER’S MOTHER CATHERINE PROCTOR (née DURIE)
Just weeks after the death of baby William, a tragedy of massive proportions followed: Catherine died. Her passing, recorded in the Proctor family bible, is transcribed as follows:
“CATHERIN PROCTOR, Wife of ALEXR PROCTOR
Died February 2nd 1868.”
No doubt, Catherine’s immune system had been weakened and, according to great grandson Ian, she contracted cholera – as many did – from the unsanitary conditions in the colony. She was only 39 years old and left behind her 36 year old husband Alexander and their three young children: Matilda aged 6; Agnes aged 4; and Alexander, who had not even had his third birthday.
1869 – ALEXANDER ACQUIRES A STEP MOTHER – MARY ANN WARD (aka McLOUGHLIN)
On 1st July 1869 in Paysandu, a year-and-a-half after Catherine’s death, Alexander’s father married an Irish woman named Mary Ann Ward. The daughter of John and Mary Ward, she was born in County Down in 1818 and at 51, was about twelve years older than him.
A more official record in the Index of Marriages in the Scots Church for Entre Rios and the Banda Oriental (1868-1883) gives a slightly different date and her surname as McLoughlin, which was possibly the name from a previous marriage (although no marriage record can be found). The Reverend Lachlan McNeill, the same minister who officiated at Alexander’s baptism, performed the marriage.
c. 1872 – THE PROCTORS RETURN TO SCOTLAND
It is not known exactly when the family – comprising Alexander, his new wife Mary Ann plus the three children – returned to Scotland. According to Ian Proctor, “Grandfather” (as he called him) was 7-years-old – putting the date at around 1872 and making his sisters Matilda about 11 and Agnes about 9 years old. Either way, it was after the 1871 census, as they are not to be found on it, although Alexander’s parents (Alexander and Elspet) are still in Lhanbryd, Morayshire with one of their children, the unmarried Agnes, and her son, Alexander Davidson.
The Proctors returned to Lossiemouth in the north of Scotland, which had been the ancestral home of the family for generations. It was in this area of Morayshire (now renamed Elginshire) in northern Scotland that Alexander was brought up. Ian Proctor recalled how, whenever “grandfather” spoke of home, he was referring to the fishing village of Lossiemouth.
1881 – ALEXANDER ON THE SCOTLAND CENSUS (3/4/1881)
| Address: Balormie Farm, Drainie, Morayshire, Scotland | Age | Year Born | Birthplace | Relation to head | Condition as to marriage | Occupation |
| MARY CAMERON | 62 | 1819 | Rothes, Elginshire | Head | Unm. | Farmer (of 200 Acres, 170 arable; Employing 3 men, 2 boys & 2 women) |
| JAMES MILEN | 27 | 1854 | Duffus, Elginshire | Servant | Unm. | Farm Servant |
| WILLIAM KEITH | 20 | 1861 | Elgin, Elginshire | Servant | Unm. | Farm Servant |
| ALEXANDER PROCTOR | 15 | 1866 | N. America British Subject | Servant | Unm. | Farm Servant |
| ALEXANDER FORSYTH | 17 | 1864 | Duffus, Elginshire | Servant | Unm. | Farm Servant |
| ANN SUTHERLAND | 27 | 1854 | Drainie, Elginshire | Servant | Unm. | Agricultural Labourer |
| ANNIE WILKIE | 15 | 1866 | Duffus, Elginshire | Servant | Unm. | Housemaid (Domestic Serv.) |
| JESSIE WISEMAN | 18 | 1863 | Elgin, Elginshire | Servant | Unm. | Cook (Domestic Serv.) |
This is the first census where it is possible to find Alexander, as he was in Uruguay for the 1871 Scottish Census when he would have been 5 years old. Like his future wife Margaret Scott, the 15-year-old Alexander Proctor has left home young and is working as a farm servant in an eight-person household headed by a 62-year-old unmarried woman. The farmhouse, which was presumably where Alexander lived, had eight rooms with one or more windows.
Nothing concrete is known of the history of Balormie before the Reformation, but it first appears in 1575 when the minister of Ogstoun granted it to his nephew William Douglas, who paid £40 for the tenured feu-farm. Originally part of the estate of Balormie Castle – of which no trace now exists – it was owned at various times by Douglas and Gordon lairds.
At the time Alexander lived there, Balormie was situated in the parish of Drainie, Morayshire, and encompassed Lossiemouth and other smaller villages. It is bounded to the north by the Moray Firth and on its other sides by the parishes of Urquhart, St. Andrew’s Lhanbryde, Spynie and Duffus. Only a small parish, its dimensions approximate 7 kilometres from east to west with a breadth of 4 kilometres. The landscape is low and flat, the only two small eminences yielding freestone, which is much employed in building. The Loch of Spynie, which lies along the southern boundary, was drained in 1807, but the reclaimed land is very various in character.
Meanwhile, other family members are nearby: Alexander’s 48-year-old father (Alexander) is also living in Drainie with his new wife Mary Ann (misnamed as “Maiannie”) and working as a carter. Both Alexander’s older sisters are living nearby with farm families and working as domestic servants. Matilda (aged 19) is at “Midtown of Findrassie”, New Spynie in Morayshire, living in a household of nine. (Interestingly, her birthplace is given as “America”, although she was actually born in Scotland.) Middle sister Agnes (aged only 17, but listed as 20) is living at Upper Manbeen in Forres, Morayshire in a household of seven. Here, several generations of one family are farming 120 acres and employing three men, two girls (including Agnes) and one boy. Both Findrassie and Forrest are just a few kilometres from where Alexander is living at Balormie farm in Drainie.
1885-1886 – ALEXANDER’S SISTERS’ IMMIGRATION TO AUSTRALIA
According to Ian Proctor, Alexander’s two older sisters Agnes and Matilda were highly adventurous, immigrating to Australia on their own a year apart. Agnes, the younger of the two, travelled aboard the immigrant steamship Gulf of Mexico leaving London on the 25th of January 1885. Sailing via the Canary Islands and the Cape of Good Hope, she arrived in Sydney after two months on the 24th March 1885. Her record in the New South Wales, Australia, Assisted Immigrant Passenger Lists (1828-1896) indicates that her journey was subsidised by the government and that like many of the other single young women aboard, her passage was only £2 and there was no charge for bedding. She also provided the following details: she was 21 years old; gave her occupation as “Housemaid”; her “Native Place and Country” as Kincardine; her religious denomination as Presbyterian; stated she could read and write; and said she had no relations in “the colony”.
So horrendous had the journey been, that two days after the ship berthed, a long article entitled The SS Gulf of Mexico appeared on page 5 of the Sydney Morning Herald of 26th March 1885. It recounted how shortly after leaving Plymouth, tempestuous storms washed essential equipment overboard, including lifeboats (and their davits), a trysail boom, gaff and bulwark rails. One seaman was seriously injured, and later, a case of scarlet fever appeared requiring isolation. Considerable damage was also done to the storeroom, galley, and water closets.
Even after rounding the Cape of Good Hope on the February 23rd, “fresh trades with a nasty head sea were met”. Shortly after, the engines were eased and the hand-gear connected, but this was torn from the deck and smashed. Flooding water also severely damaged the single woman’s compartments, which is where Agnes would have slept. A second case of scarlet fever was reported, requiring the ship to be quarantined on its arrival. Despite the setbacks, the article described how “the immigrants, apart from the cheerlessness brought about by the stormy, unpleasant weather, have enjoyed very good health, and are reported to have behaved in the most exemplary manner under circumstances harassing to even experienced mariners.”
Matilda Proctor left from London aboard on the S. S. Port Pirie and arrived in Sydney in September 1886. Unlike her sister, she arrived as an unassisted migrant and her journey seems to have been uneventful. Her immigration record in the New South Wales, Australia, Unassisted Immigrant Passenger Lists (1826-1922) reveals the following details: she was 24 years old; of Scotch nationality; and single. Interestingly, she is one of the dozens of young women who have given their occupation as “domestic servant”.
According to Ian Proctor, Agnes worked for a judge, saving assiduously before her sister arrived. Having squirrelled away enough money, they bought the farm at Eastern Creek just outside Sydney, and moved there, presumably sending word to their younger brother Alexander back in Scotland.
1888 – THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER’S STEPMOTHER MARY ANN PROCTOR
Alexander’s stepmother Mary Ann died in February of 1888. She was 70 years of age, and left behind her 56-year-old husband Alexander and 22-year-old stepson, also Alexander. Alexander senior’s occupation is given as town crier and they had moved to Buckie in Rathven, Banff. Interestingly, Alexander (senior) was the informant listed on his wife’s death certificate – complete with his signature – indicating that he was most likely literate.
1888 – THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER’S FATHER ALEXANDER PROCTOR
A short nine months later – in November of 1888 – Alexander’s father Alexander passed away at the age of 57 from stomach cancer. The Proctor family bible records the death on the 24th of November, although the official entry from Dr. Gray’s Hospital in Elgin cites it a day later.
Alexander senior’s death certificate records his occupation as labourer and his usual residence as Lossiemouth. Although slightly inconsistent with him living in Buckie and working as a town crier just nine months earlier, one can assume that this is correct, since it was he who gave these details.
1888-1889 – ALEXANDER PROCTOR’S IMMIGRATION TO AUSTRALIA
There are two immigration records for Alexander, the earlier one from the Victoria, Australia, Assisted and Unassisted Passenger Lists (1839-1923). This indicates that the ship sailed via Colombo in Ceylon before arriving in King George Sound on Western Australia’s southern coast. The record reveals the following details:
Name: ALEX PROCTER.
Profession, Occupation or Calling of Passengers: Labourer.
Age: 23.
Married or Single: Single.
Estimated Birth Year: About 1866.
Nationality: English.
Arrival Date: 18th January 1889.
Arrival Port: King George Sound, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney, Australia.
Ship: Orizaba.
Although several assisted immigration schemes operated to New South Wales from the United Kingdom at this time, Alexander’s passage was unsubsidised. His second immigration record is found in the New South Wales Unassisted Immigrant Passenger Lists (1826-1922) and reveals the following details:
Name: ALEXR. PROCTOR.
Occupation: Labourer.
Port of Departure: London.
Port of Arrival: Sydney, New South Wales.
Voyage Arrival Date: 25th January 1889.
Vessel Name: Orizaba.
Given that Alexander’s arrival date was about 60 days after his father’s death, he would have left almost immediately. Travel by steamer was substantially faster than by sailing ship, and the journey from London would have taken around 45 days.
The Orizaba was just two years old when Alexander left London. It had been built by the English company Barrow for the Pacific Steam Navigation Company’s Orient Line service to Australia and had accommodation for 126-1st, 154-2nd and 412-3rd class passengers. It weighed just over 6,000 tons and boasted two funnels and four masts.
1889-1895 – ESTABLISHING A LIFE IN SYDNEY
It is not known when Alexander began work as a groundsman at Callan Park Hospital – but presumably he met Margaret there as she was working as a nurse. It seems that he also became an attendant there in later years.
Callan Park Hospital for the Insane opened in 1885 and so was relatively new at the time of Alexander and Margaret’s employment there. The complex was located in Sydney’s inner west on the shores of Iron Cove and was described as “a magnificent collection of buildings”.
1895 – ALEXANDER PROCTOR’S MARRIAGE TO MARGARET SCOTT
The couple’s marriage certificate reveals the following details:
Date: 16th April 1895.
Place: Gladstone Street, Municipality of Leichhardt.
Groom: ALEXANDER PROCTOR;Bachelor;Attendant at Callan Park.
Usual Residence: Leichhardt.
Bride: MARGARET SCOTT; Spinster; Nurse at Callan Park.
Usual Residence: Leichhardt.
Father: ALEXANDER SCOTT.
Witnesses: [Illegible] and MATILDA PROCTOR
Although not mentioned on the certificate, Alexander was 29 and Margaret was 30 years old. They both resided in Leichhardt – the Sands Directory recording them at number 48 from 1916 onwards – that was just a stone’s throw away from where they worked at Callan Park.
1895-1903 – THE BIRTH OF ALEXANDER’S CHILDREN
Just six months after their marriage, the couple’s first child William (“Bill”) Scott Proctor was born in October of 1895. That Margaret had been pregnant long before their marriage had been a very well hidden secret – according to grandson Ian Proctor. Born at the family farm at Eastern Creek, Bill was named after his father’s younger brother William who had died in infancy in Uruguay. Two years later, Olive Margaret Proctor was born, also at Eastern Creek – and this was followed by the births of Alexander Scott Proctor in 1900 and Charles Edward Proctor in 1903. These last two births occurred in Leichhardt (presumably at the family home in Gladstone Street), the inner city suburb where the family resided, close to Callan Park Hospital where parents Alexander and Margaret worked.
1899 – ALEXANDER IN THE NSW POLICE GAZETTE
In September 1899, Alexander reported a theft of jewellery, which was recorded in the annually produced New South Wales Police Gazette (1854-1930). A large tome of some 466 pages, the 1899 volume is divided into weekly listings of stolen property and other offences. Alexander’s entry is on page 370 – under the heading “Watches and Jewellery reported Stolen” – and a transcription reads as follows:
Date: 14th September 1899.
Owner’s Name and Address: ALEXANDER PROCTOR, “Kelvin”, Gladstone Street, Leichhardt.
Description: Gent’s 18 carat gold albert [Albert chain], curb links, with gold square locket, edges chased, woman’s head in centre, as pendant; pair of gold sleeve-links; lady’s gold dress ring, set with diamond in centre and ruby at each side, slightly bent.
Reference: 1151.
Interestingly, the Proctor’s house in Gladstone Street was called just “Kelvin” and not given the number 48 until later.
Albert chains, named after Prince Albert, were popular in the 19th century and often had curb links of the type, which lay flat. Typically sporting a T-bar at one end (to secure into a buttonhole), they were usually intended for a fob watch, although in this instance, it appears to have been used for a locket with what could have been a photo inside. The theft of this precious jewellery would have been a devastating blow for the family and most likely represented their most valuable and sentimental items.
1930 – THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER’S SISTER AGNES PROCTOR
The 1930’s saw a spate of deaths in Alexander’s immediate family. On the 1st July 1930, just days off her 67th birthday, Alexander’s younger spinster sister Agnes died at the family’s Eastern Creek farm. Her death certificate reveals the following details:
Name: AGNES PROCTOR.
Date: 1st July 1930.
Place: Horsely Road, Eastern Creek, Blacktown Shire.
Age: 67 years.
Cause of Death and Duration of last illness: (1) (a) Rheumatoid Arthritis (b) Myocardial Degeneration (2) Delusional insanity (a) 35 years.
Name and occupation of father: ALEXANDER PROCTOR; Carrier.
Name and maiden surname of mother: CATHERINE DURIE.
Informant: A. Proctor; Nephew; Horsley Road, Eastern Creek.
When and where buried: 3rd July 1930, Presbyterian Cemetery, St. Marys.
Name and religion of Minister: (1) George [surname illegible]; (2) Presbyterian.
Where born: Aberdeen, Scotland.
How long in the Australasian Colonies or States: 46 years in N.S. Wales.
Place of marriage, age, and to whom: Not married.
1931 – THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER’S WIFE MARGARET PROCTOR
A year later, on the 30 September 1931, he lost his beloved wife Margaret Proctor (née Scott), also aged 66 years. They had been married 36 years. She died in hospital of diabetes, having had a gangrenous leg amputated.
1933 – THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER’S SON ALEXANDER SCOTT PROCTOR
Although “Glen Doon”, the family’s Eastern Creek farm had seen the birth of Alexander, it was also the scene of unspeakable tragedy. In May 1933, Alexander’s second son Alexander Scott Proctor died mysteriously, being found shot dead on this same property near Parramatta. Presumably a suicide, he was only 32. His death certificate reveals the following details:
Name: ALEXANDER SCOTT PROCTOR.
Date: 5th May 1933.
Age: 32 years.
Occupation: Poultry Farmer.
Place: District Hospital, Parramatta Municipality; Late of Blacktown Shire.
Cause: Bullet wound in head, either self-inflicted whilst insane or accidentally inflicted. Finding at inquest held at Parramatta on 23rd May 1933 before H. Richardson Clark, J.P., Coroner.
Father: ALEXANDER PROCTOR; Mental Hospital attendant.
Mother: MARGARET SCOTT.
Registered: 24th May 1933, Parramatta.
Burial: 8th May 1933, cremated in Crematorium Rookwood.
Minister: Hector Alexander Shaw, Presbyterian.
Where born and how long in Australasian Colonies: Leichhardt, Sydney, NSW; –
Marriage/Children: Not married; None.
With so much tragedy, it was not surprising that Alexander devoted himself to help with the rearing of his young grandchildren. The first two offspring of his youngest son Charles were Ian who had been born in 1930 and Margie in 1931. The family lived some 25 kilometres north of Sydney at 44 Collaroy Street, Collaroy, just a short walk from the beach.
Circa 1934
1936 – THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER’S SISTER MATILDA PROCTOR
About three years after son Alexander’s suicide, Alexander’s oldest spinster sister Matilda, passed away on the family farm. Her death certificate reveals the following details:
Name: MATILDA PROCTOR.
Date: 7th October 1936.
Place: “Glendoon”, Horsely Road, Eastern Creek, Blacktown Shire.
Age: 74 years.
Cause of Death: 1(a) Chronic Myocarditis (b) Arterio Sclerosis II Rheumatoid Arthritis
Name and occupation of father: ALEXANDER PROCTOR; Farmer.
Name and maiden surname of mother: CATHERINE DURIE.
Informant: C. E. Proctor; Nephew; 44 Collaroy Street, Collaroy.
Burial: 8th October 1936, Presbyterian Cemetery, St. Marys.
Name and religion of Minister: B. R. Palmer; Presbyterian.
Where born: Auchcairnie, Scotland.
How long in the Australasian Colonies or States: 49 years in N.S.W.
Place of marriage: Not married.
1946 – THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER’S DAUGHTER OLIVE PROCTOR
Alexander was to lose another child: his second born Olive, who died prematurely at the family home in Sydney in September 1946. Her death certificate reveals the following details:
Name: OLIVE MARGARET PROCTOR.
Date: 25th September 1946.
Age: 49 years.
Place: 48 Gladstone Street, Leichhardt, Municipality of Leichhardt.
Cause and duration of last illness: I a) Cardiac Failure b) Myocarditis II Asthma; –
Medical attendant: Richard J. Speight, registered.
When he last saw deceased 25th September 1946.
Father: ALEXANDER PROCTOR; Hospital Attendant.
Mother: MARGARET SCOTT.
Informant: C. E. PROCTOR; Brother; 44 Collaroy Street, Collaroy.
Registered: 26th September 1946, Petersham.
Burial: 27th September 1946, Rookwood Crematorium.
Minister and witnesses: Geo. L. Sneddon, Presbyterian; T. C. Fisher, F. Foley, A. E. Baker.
Where born and how long in Australasian Colonies: Prospect, NSW; –
Marriage/Children: Never married.
Nephew Ian Proctor gave some insight to Olive’s life: “…she had once been engaged, but her fiancé was killed in the War and she had remained single. As a child growing up in Leichhardt, Auntie Ol used to play in the nearby timber yards in Louisfield. When she was fourteen, she had an accident there that seemed to have weakened her constitution. Later, she was in charge of sewing at D.J.’s [David Jones stores] and contracted asthma from all the surrounding dust – and that’s what killed her.”
1951 – THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER PROCTOR
Alexander had been living at his youngest son Charlie’s residence in Collaroy, but had moved to a nursing home in his dotage. The circumstances of his grandfather’s twilight years were vividly recalled by Ian Proctor: “Alexander lived in Lidcombe in an “Old Man’s Home”, as the relatives could no longer look after him. Sadly, he was bedridden and had poor eyesight.” Ian remembered how he would frequently visit his grandfather in the evening after college, and would stay with him, often playing cards. Ian, who was 21 at the time of Alexander’s death, reminisced: “Grandpa Proctor was of course a larger-than-life figure – a very fine old gentleman, affectionately loved and revered by his family.”
Alexander’s death certificate, although underestimating the number of years he’d been in NSW, reveals the following details:
Name: ALEXANDER PROCTOR.
Date: 28th August 1951.
Age: 86 years.
Occupation: Hospital Employee.
Place: Lidcombe State Hospital and Home, Lidcombe.
Usual residence: 44 Collaroy Street, Collaroy.
Born: Paysandu, Uruguay, South America; 58 years in NSW.
Father: ALEXANDER PROCTOR; Labourer.
Mother: CATHERINE DURIE.
Marriage: to MARGARET SCOTT in Sydney; 29 years old.
Conjugal condition: Widower.
Children: WILLIAM S. (54) and CHARLES E. (48) living; 1 male, 1 female deceased.
Cause of death: Senility.
Buried: 29th August 1951, Presbyterian Cemetery, Rookwood.
Religion of Minister: Presbyterian.
Informants: Assistant Manager of the Lidcombe State Hospital and Home, Lidcombe; and C. [Charles] E. Proctor, son, 44 Collaroy Street, Collaroy.
[The plot number at Rookwood (taken from the back of his portrait) is Lot 318 Row E.]
Thankfully, Alexander did not live long enough to witness the cruel tragedy of his grandson Allan’s disappearance and suicide in 1956.
1951 – ALEXANDER’S WILL
Alexander’s Will was drawn up on 8th August 1932, some nineteen years before his death. His estate was to be divided equally between his four children, however tragically, two of them predeceased him: Alexander Scott in 1933 and Olive in 1946. The estate was subsequently divided in two between sons William (Bill) and Charles, save for the £50 legacies to his grandchildren Allan, Ian Alexander and Margaret Anne (Margie) Proctor.
Interestingly, the witnesses were Alexander’s neighbours at number 50 Gladstone Street, indicating that most likely, he wrote out his will at home.
1951 – ALEXANDER’S PROBATE
Probate for Alexander’s estate was granted less than three months after his death. The record reveals the following details:
Name: ALEXANDER PROCTOR.
Residence Place: Leichhardt.
Death Date: 28th August 1951.
Grant of Probate Date: 20th November 1951.
Civil Place: New South Wales, Australia.
Occupation: Retired Mental Hospital Attendant.
Administrator: C. E. Proctor.
(Item number: Series 4-382976)
This biography has been written and researched by Nikki Stern. © Nikki Stern 2020
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