I had a great success today – I found the Death Notice for my 3rd Great Grandmother, Elisabeth (Lowe) Comber!
She has been what is known as an “elusive lady”… I have her marriage to James Comber (also Coomber) in 1815 at St Luke’s Finsbury, and I have the baptismal registrations for
- James Robert in 1818 in Shoreditch, London
- Ann in 1827 in Northampton, Northamptonshire
- Matilda in 1837 in Australia
In these 4 documents, she is referred to as “Elisabeth” – just Elisabeth.
And also, her name is interchangeable with the more frequent spelling of “Elizabeth”.
Using Trove, the National Library of Australia’s Digitised Newspaper site, I happened to plonk in “Comber” and “Coomber” in the same search field, and a date after the last mention of her in a Police Report against her husband James (1858). And there she was!
- Illustrated Australian News newspaper
- Leader newspaper
- The Age newspaper
And, while the content of each newspaper entry contains identical wording, the fact that there IS an entry, and that those entries are made in Melbourne (not Sydney) newspapers, is fascinating.
Mr. Manuell is Elisabeth’s son-in-law, William, who married daughter Matilda. The Manuells (William and Matilda) had married in Sydney in 1863, but up to this time, it appears that William was actually a Melbournian.
DEATHS.
COMBER.- On the 1st November, at the residence of her son-in-law, Mr. Manuell, Church-street, Richmond, Elizabeth Comber, aged eighty-five years. Sydney papers please copy.
The Manuells lived on the west side of Church Street, Richmond, between Pearson and Adolph Streets, around the vicinity of the current 480 Church Street.
Now I know have a fair idea what happened to James Comber and Elisabeth (Lowe) Comber after daughter Elisabeth’s marriage in 1863 to James Scoltock.
My current supposition is that James died around 1876 – but that is purely supposition!