U is for Urana and the Widdup family

Join me on my Cemetery Searching expedition for the 2023 A to Z Blog Challenge. I’ll be re-visiting some cemeteries and preparing for a wish list of others. Some family members will be mentioned but I also have an interest in German family graves as well as those of people born in Co Clare Ireland.

Urana, New South Wales

It is believed that my 2xgreat grandmother, Mary O’Brien, emigrated together with her sister Bridget. Certainly Bridget’s death certificate confirms she spent a year in Queensland (then Moreton Bay) before moving to New South Wales. Why she made the move has been lost in time, but she married an Englishman, John Widdup, in southern NSW. The couple settled in Urana, a small town in the Riverina area.

Bridget O’Brien WIDDUP is buried with her daughter, Louisa LUCKIE in the Catholic section of the Urana cemetery.

Mrs. Bridget Widdup. (1912, June 20). *The Catholic Press (Sydney, NSW : 1895 – 1942)*, p. 22. Retrieved April 26, 2023, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article105008346

Bridget’s husband, John, is buried in the Church of England section of the cemetery. He is not registered in the NSW BDM, and I can find no obituary for him. His probate was processed 20 years later. When John died, Bridget was appointed poundkeeper in his stead.

Alfred England WIDDUP was the 6th child of Bridget and John.

MR. ALFRED E. WIDDUP (1938, November 1). *Narandera Argus and Riverina Advertiser (NSW : 1893 – 1953)*, p. 2. Retrieved April 26, 2023, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article100800266

Although son John Widdup jnr is also buried in the Urana cemetery, he has no gravestone that I found but an obituary can be read here. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article142876857

John William Thrupp WIDDUP was the grandson of John and Bridget and son of John Widdup jnr and his wife, Annie M Thrupp. He died on 10 JUne 1974.

https://socialism.com/fsb-article/david-widdup-pioneer-gay-liberationist-1947-1999/

I’ve always been intrigued by the story of this woman’s life. Adelaide Lamont married William Ah Kinn in Wagga Wagga in 1868.

Narrandera, New South Wales

Walter Ireland Widdup’s family lived in nearby Narrandera and he is buried there.

Walter Ireland WIDDUP died 3 May 1943 and is buried with his wife, Bridget nee McLennan and daughter Ida.

Sir Samuel McCaughey is buried in the Narrandera cemetery. He had strong links to Urana and made a significant bequest to The University of Queensland. https://hpi.uq.edu.au/mccaughey-chair-history and https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/mccaughey-sir-samuel-682

6 thoughts on “U is for Urana and the Widdup family”

Did you ever get to meet cousin David Widdup? Sounds like he had a great sense of humour coupled with a strong sense of social justice.

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cassmob says:

26 April, 2023 at 9:28 pm

Unfortunately not. If I’d met him when I worked at the HIV Centre I’d have been asking him family history questions about Bridget 😉

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1. kristin says:
  
  27 April, 2023 at 7:23 am
  
  Does it say in Bridget’s obituary that the couple had 9 children and in her husband’s that they had seven?
  Too bad you didn’t meet David.
  
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2. cassmob says:
  
  27 April, 2023 at 12:52 pm
  
  You gave me a fright there Kristin. No, Alfred England with 7 children is her son. I can’t find an obit for her husband and have that to the post.
  
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