The Family of Catherine Keith SHERIDANCatherine Keith SHERIDAN was born 10 April 1858 in Adelaide, the only daughter of John Beal SHERIDAN and Emma Mary BROWN. There was an older brother, John Reginald, but he had died in 1855, aged 2 months, before Catherine was born. Catherine's location in the KEITH family tree is shown here.
Marriage to Alexander BAIRDKatherine married Alexander Reid BAIRD at the Sheridan's Childers St home on 19th October 1881. The newspaper notice remarks that Alexamber BAIRD is "late of Glasgow". (Note, the Reid middle name is only occasionally recorded, but most importantly in his obituary where it is noted that he had married Miss K.K. (Katherine Keith) SHERIDAN in Adelaide).
Alexander BAIRD was born in Glasgow on 1 August 1852 to Alexander BAIRD and Christina REID (there were several Alexander Baird children born in Glasgow around this time, but only one has a mother with maiden name of REID). His father was a tailor and clothier.
Alexander came from a large family. The 1861 census records 10 children living at 48 London St, Glasgow. This address is in central Glasgow close to the Tolbooth and opposite the imposing MerCat Tower Building (London St was renamed to London Rd in 1920). In 1871 Alex was aged 18 and a tailor's cutter. By the date of the 1881 census (3 April 1881), Alexander was living elsewhere, perhaps he was already in Adelaide.
Catherine and Alexander had two children: Algernon Sheridan BAIRD born in 1885 in Melbourne and Adeline Rita Mary BAIRD born 1888 in Melbourne. Catherine died on 6 May 1911 in North Adelaide and is buried with her mother Emma Mary at West Terrace Cemetery, Adelaide.
Separate Life and Death of Alexander Reid BAIRDAlexander Reid BAIRD lived an interesting life if his obituary is to be believed (see below). It states he was an entrepreneur of same note, dealing in land development, gold mines and even the funding for the Victoria Brewery in Melbourne as it is known today. He obviously did not live in Adelaide for long, but soon after marrying Katherine Keith SHERIDAN they moved to Melbourne. He floated the Monte Christo Gold Mine on the London market in 1888 and the Victoria Brewery in 1894. There was extensive newspaper advertising in London for these events and we can presume they were successful. In both occasions Alexander Baird's name appears only as a party to the underlying contracts. Note the similarity of the advertising and the structure of the offering. Note also that they both had their headquarters at 23 St Swithin's Lane, London. Alexander BAIRD is said to have visited London in 1886 soon after his son Algernon was born in Melbourne in 1885. He must have returned to Melbourne soon after, as his daughter Adeline was born in Melbourne in 1888. Presumably he was in London again in 1894 for the launch of the Victoria Brewery Company. The obituary records that Alexander returned to London, presumably permanently, in 1902 and later moved to Paris.
Alexander's return to London in 1902 was not the last time he saw his family. In 1903 his wife and their two children travelled to London on the Orotava, arriving in London in May 1903.
Katherine and the children must have returned to Adelaide, as Algernon married Elsie WHITING there in 1912. Some time later he returned to London with Elsie. There is a shipping record for their return to Adelaide departing London on 13 October 1916 and arriving in Adelaide on 24 November 1916 by way of Marseilles, Bombay, Colomba and Fremantle. The ship was the Kaisar-I-Hind, a P&O ship built in Greenock in 1914 for the India route. The name means Empress of India in Hindi. The Bombay service was extended to Australia in 1916 and made 3 voyages to Australia that year. She was later used as a troop ship during the war. She was known as the "lucky ship" as she survived five torpedo attacks.
Alexander Reid BAIRD died in Paris in early 1933, aged 81 years. He had lived there for several years after moving from London. His death was widely reported in the Australian newspapers.
The Children of Catherine Keith SHERIDAN and Alexander Reid BAIRDAlgernon Sheridan BAIRDAlgernon was born in Melbourne, Victoria in 1885. The next we know of him is when he travelled with his mother and sister to London in 1903 to visit his father, but clearly he returned to Adelaide as he married there in 1912. Algernon married Elsie WHITING on 8 August 1912 at St Laurence's Church Adelaide. The church is in Buxton St a short distance from the Sheridan home in Childers St. Algernon and Elsie travelled to Britain after their marriage (presumably to visit his father Alexander). They returned to Adelaide in November 1916. Algernon died on 12 February 1920 at Edith St, Unley Park in Adelaide. He was only 35 years old. Tragically his wife Elsie gave birth to their only child, Rita Katherine Sheridan BAIRD, 10 days later on 22 February 1920. Algernon's Will was valued at "under £10,000".
Elsie BAIRD remarried on 23 January 1924 to Gerald Rupert JOLLEY in Adelaide.
The marriage did not last long however, as it soon became apparent that Gerald was an alcoholic. Gerald was charged with assault and the Court ordered the parties to separate and for Gerald to pay £1 a week towards the maintenance of his wife.
But being granted a separation was not the end of Gerald's or Elsie's troubles. Gerald was back in court again in November 1927 for arrears in maintenance. The marriage was finally ended by the court, when a decree nisi divorce was granted on 8 May 1929.
Having rid herself of Gerald JOLLEY, Elsie reverted to being Mrs Elsie BAIRD. She appears to have remained in Adelaide until her death on 27 April 1964 at Rose Park, Adelaide. I have found little else about her, but there is a newspaper report that an "Elsie Baird" of Toorak was fined £1 for operating an unlicenced radio in 1947. There are also reports of an Elsie BAIRD of Toorak being implicated in a real estate deal where she attempted to sell a property for a price above that fixed by the government. According to the records of the Adelaide Cemeteries, Elsie BAIRD is interred in the same grave as her son Algernon, although there is nothing on the monument to indicate this.
Rita Katharine Sheridan BAIRDRita was the only daughter of Algernon and Elsie BAIRD. She was born on 22 February 1920, 10 days after Algernon had died. Rita married Sylvester J. SMITH at St Laurence's Church, North Adelaide on 7 February 1942, the same church as her parents were married in. Their engagement had been announced in February 1941. Sylvester was living in Gilberton, another suburb of North Adelaide. After marriage the couple lived at 83 Alexandra Ave, Toorak, with Rita's mother.
Who was Mr Sylvester J. SMITH? He does not appear to have been born in Adelaide. He was probably not the Sylvester Joseph SMITH who married Lorna BRENTON in 1933 (wrong ages) but may have been the Sylvester Joseph who died in Gilberton in 1960. He was however, the Sylvester J SMITH, living at 50 Gilbert St, who won a £10 prize for a house design in 1937. In the 1943 electoral roll, Sylvester's occupation was Architect.
Mrs Rita SMITH appeared in court a few years later on a driving charge.
Divorce: On 9 March 1954 the newspapers reported the divorce of Rita Katharine Sheridan SMITH and Sylvester Joseph SMITH. Note that Rita's address was Alexandra Ave, Toorak - her mother's address.
After the divorce, Rita dropped out of sight, and out of the social pages of the newspapers. Her mother, Elsie who had divorced her second husband in 1929 died in 1964. What happened to Rita? Adeline Rita Mary BAIRDAdeline was the only daughter of Alexander Reid BAIRD and Katherine Keith SHERIDAN. She was born in Melbourne in 1888, following one of Alexander's return visits to Australia. The family returned to Adelaide where they became an established part of the local social scene. There are numerous newspaper articles about Adeline (known as "Rita") and her mother. Adeline appears to have had a wide circle of friends with whom she attended many balls and social events. She was also flower girst or bridesmaid at several weddings. Adeline eventually (she was 26 years old) married William Reginald Joseph (Bill) FAGAN from a wealthy squatter family who owned a large farm at Mandurama, west of Sydney. Theirs was a society wedding in Adelaide in 1915, marrying at St Laurence Church, North Sydney. The local newspapers reported extensively on the occasion. The Critic, 13 January 1915, for instance devoted a whole page to the wedding (reproduced below.) Note that neither of Adeline's parents were present and that the guests were received by Mr and Mrs McLauchlan as temporary parents. Adeline's mother Katherine Keith SHERIDAN had died in 1911, but her father was still very much alive but living in Paris.
Adeline (Rita) and Bill FAGAN lived on the family farm at Sunny Ridge, Madurama, NSW, together with Bills' brother John FAGAN. Their mother Mary Anne FAGAN (née POOLE) died in 1920 and she left her motor car and furniture to Bill.
Rita and Bill FAGAN had 4 children:
Other notable press reports. This image depicts Mr Reginald Joseph and Mrs Adeline Rita Fagan of Sunny Ridge farm in Mandurama, NSW on board the P&O Steam Navigation Company's RMS MOLDAVIA II. The photograph was possibly taken around the time of the 136th Anniversary Regatta, which took place in Sydney Harbour on 26 January 1924. The vessel was the flagship at the event and a luncheon was hosted on board for distinguished guests. Among those invited were guests of honour Governor-General Lord Henry William Forster, Lieutenant-Governor Sir William Cullen and Vice Admiral Saito Shichigoro of the visiting Imperial Japanese Navy squadron.
William (Bill) Reginald Joseph FAGAN died on 2 September 1944 at Lewisham Private Hospital, Sydney. He is buried in the Fagan family plot at Lyndhurst Cemetery, NSW.
The Obituary notes that Bill had been awarded the KCSG - this is the Knight Commander of St Gregory the Great, and is one of the five orders of knighthood of the Holy See. It is bestowed by the Pope upon Roman Catholic men and women in recognition of their personal service to the Holy See and to the Roman Catholic Church, through their unusual labors, their support of the Holy See, and the examples they set in their communities and their countries.(The KCSG should not be confused with the KCMG or Knight Commander of St Michael and St George, which is a British order of chivalry).
Adeline Rita appears to have remained at Sunny Ridge, Mandurama after Bill died. In 1950 she travelled overseas to visit Rome, but took in 16 European countries during her tour. She also attended a party at Windsor Castle and met King George VI. She then visited Malta to watch the Duke of Edinburgh play polo and then attended a ball with the Duke and Princess Elizabeth. (Note that her 3x great grandfather, Daniel KEITH was an acquaintance of the Duke of Kent, Elizabeth's 3x great grandfather.)
Adeline Rita Mary FAGAN (née BAIRD) died 13 November 1960 at Mandurama, NSW. She is buried in the Fagan family plot with her husband Bill.
Return to the Daniel Keith Family Index Page Return to the Benton Family Index Page Last updated: 20 May 2020 |
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