Russell Beuzeville Hewlett (1846-1888)
Early Life and Education
Russell Beuzeville Hewlett, the third son of James Philip Hewlett (1810–1878) and Elizabeth Shackleford (1815–1906), was born at Charlton, Dover, Kent.
At the age of fourteen, Russell attended St Iver Grammar School, Kent. At the time of the 1861 census, the school had a total of thirty-six pupils. The headmaster was John Mummery, and Sophia Mummery, aged sixty-eight, is also listed.
Marriage
Russell married Jane Roberts (1847–1932) on 28 November 1865 in Birkenhead, Cheshire. He was just eighteen years old, although his age was recorded as twenty-two on the marriage certificate.
Migration to Australia
Family sources suggest that Russell and his family migrated to Australia on the sailing ship Sorata, arriving in 1883, although no shipping records have yet been located. The family does not appear in the 1881 English census records, leaving an unresolved gap in the timeline.
Hardship in Victoria
The family of Russell B. Hewlett faced severe hardship during their early years in Australia. Only seventeen months after their arrival in Victoria, while living in Montague Street, South Melbourne, their second eldest daughter, Edith Jane, died at the age of sixteen on 17 May 1885. She was buried two days later in St Kilda Cemetery.
The cause of death was recorded as “Enteric Fever and Asthma, fourteen days.” Her father’s occupation was given as “clerk.” She was attended during her illness by Dr Sparrow, and the undertaker was J. Hill. The death was registered by her father, and there is no record of a clergyman officiating at the burial.
Portland Terrace, South Melbourne, Victoria.
Death and Burial
Russell died in 1888 at 18 Portland Place, South Melbourne, from chronic phthisis (tuberculosis).
He is buried in St Kilda Cemetery, Victoria, with his wife Jane, two daughters—Edith Jane and Gertrude Esther (later Orme)—and James Arnold Orme, an infant.
Commemoration
In 1988, the descendants of Eveline Beuzeville Hewlett laid a memorial stone at the site of the grave to commemorate the centenary of his death.
Children of Russell & Jane Hewlett
Lillie Elizabeth Hewlett (1867–1958)
b. England
d. Victoria, Australia
m. Richard Penderel Moss
Edith Jane Hewlett (1869-1885).
b. England
d. Victoria, Australia
m. Unmarried
Gertrude Esther Hewlett (1876-1895)
b. Cowley Road, Oxford
d. Victoria, Australia
m. Hampden Hughes Orme, 1891
Evelyn Beuzeville Hewlett (1873-1948)
b. England
d. Victoria, Australia
m. Charles William Stark.
James Philip Hewlett IV (1875-1919)
b. Cowley Road, Oxford
d. Wagin, Western Australia
m. (1) Helen Laura Foley
James Philip and Helen Laura had the following children:
Edith Elizabeth Hewlett (1897-1903)
Gertrude Esther Hewlett (1899-1990) m. Leslie Thomas Hunt (1897-1956)
Elsie Selina Hewlett (1900-1994) m. Walter Nicholls.
m. (2) Lavinia Marvell (1879-1943) (defacto relationship)
James Philip and Lavinia had the following children:
Herbert Edward Hewlett (1909-1995)
James Philip Hewlett V (1911-2008).
Arnold Ernest Hewlett (1877-)
b. England
m. Caroline Joyce at Williamstown, Victoria on March 13, 1899
Arnold and Caroline had, at least, one daughter.
d. Unknown.
Lucie Melville Hewlett (1881-)
m. (1) Unknown Edwards,
(2) Will Mennell in Shanghai.
d. Unknown
Notes & Sources
The death certificate of Edith Jane enables the calculation of the year of the arrival of the family in Victoria:1883.
Many thanks to Peggy Jones for sharing her research with me.