1821 Info 12a for Caleb Crompton |
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Mabel Frances BLACKMAN was born on 30 April 1881, the fifth child and third
daughter of Frances Emily CROMPTON and William BLACKMAN, a farmer of 'Lyndon',
Sulky, north-east of Dowling Forest, Victoria. (Victoria BMD
11028/1881) On 06 April 1912 she married Oliver
Otto PEARSON. (Victoria BMD 2955/1912)
Left: Mabel BLACKMAN c.1900 taken from a photograph of all the Blackman sisters. Source: Heather Schoffelen, her granddaughter |
The Australian Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980 shows
| Right: Map locating Bald Hills in relationship to Sulky and Ballarat |  |
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In the same year Mabel moved to Albert Park where she lived with her married brother
William Henry.
The family homes in Finley Street and Raglan Streets accommodated many family members between c1910-1915. Some that we know: Caroline (Cox) and WJT Pearson, Mabel and Oliver Otto Pearson, Leslie Milo Forsyth, William (Harry) Blackman and the Caldwells. Heather Schoffelen thinks they were rental boarding houses, rather than being owned, as they all moved on. She doubts whether they could afford to buy. Right: 6 Finlay Street, Albert Park under modernisation in 2015 Source: Author November 2015 |
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On 06 April 1913, Mabel married Oliver Otto PEARSON, who was born on 12 November 1886 in Clare, SA, in South Melbourne. Her granddaughter records that she was 'told years ago that Mabel and Oliver met at a cake shop in South Melbourne, possibly where Mabel was working.'
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| A quiet but pretty wedding was celebrated recently at St. Luke's Church, South Melbourne by the Rev. D Ross Hewton. when Mr. O.O. Pearson, of South Melbourne was married to Miss Mabel Blackman, third daughter of Mr and Mrs W. Blackman, Sulky. The bride, who was given away by her eldest brother Mr W.H. Blackman, was prettily attired in creme taffeta silk, with the customary wreath and veil, and carried a shower bouquet of white roses and ferns, the gift of the bridegroom. She was attended by her sister, Miss Emily Blackman, who was gowned in a pretty grey dress and grey chip hat, with pink wings, and also earned a bouquet of pale pink carnations and ferns. the gift of the bridegroom. The bride-groom was supported by Mr Leslie Forsyth as best man. After the ceremony a dainty wedding tea was partaken of in the Alexandra Hall, Albert Park, and the toasts incidental to the occasion wore honored (sic) in happy vein. A musical programme was also provided by Miss Muriel Bowra, Mrs W. Pearson, Mr L Forsyth, Mr F. W. Bowra, and Mr T. Blackman. The bride-groom’s gift to the bride was a pearl dagger brooch. The happy couple were the recipients of many handsome and useful presents. The bride’s travelling dress was a creme serge coat and skirt, the coat prettily braided and trimmed with buttons; fawn, hat trimmed with black velvet and white ostrich plumes. |
| Source:
WEDDINGS.
25 May 1912. The Ballarat Star p.2 (Accessed: 23 August, 2017)
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| Right: Mabel Frances Blackman circa 1900 Source: Heather Schoffelen |  |
| Heather Schoffelen continued: 'With all the family connections living
either together or in close proximity of the Albert Park, Middle Park and Port
Melbourne cousins were bound to meet up and mix socially. O.O. Pearson married Mabel
Frances Blackman and W.J.T. Pearson married Caroline Louisa COX. Therefore, the
Pearson brothers married first cousins'. Mr
Leslie FORSYTH, the best man, was the half brother
of Caroline COX.
In the 1914 Roll they lived in their own home some five minutes or 400m walk from Findlay Street. The site has now been redeveloped. Right: 33 Hambledon Street, Albert Park, typical Federation bungalow, next to the redeveloped number 35 where Mabel PEARSON lived. Source: Author November 2015 |
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In 1917 the couple had moved and Oliver changed his occupation for a short period
| Another move had occurred by 1919. The couple had moved, an 8.7km/18 minute drive,
to 36 Neptune Street, Richmond. In January 2009
the extended number 38 Neptune Street sold for $611000. Right: Mabel Pearson's 36 Neptune Street, Richmond Source: Author November 2015 |
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Oliver Otto's land in Boronia is dated 1921. If the family were living in Neptune Street in 1919 this would be 34km from the market garden. However, if they were living in Oakleigh in 1922, this would be 20km from the market garden.
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| Above: An official plan showing locating Oliver Otto
Pearson's plot plot at Boronia Source: Heather Schoffelen from Oliver Otto Pearson's Certificate of Title |
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| Above: Sketch map locating the Caldwell plot at Boronia along with the Pearson market gardens |
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| Above: The three market gardens imposed on a modern aerial map |
| Right: Sale of Otto's land to William John Thomas Pearson and subsequent sales with years Source: Heather Schoffelen |  |
and then to
| Right: Mable Pearson née Blackman with her husband, Oliver Otto and Iris Rita c.1923 outside their house on Box Hill Road Source: Heather Schoffelen |  |
where they remained until 1936 when their eldest son was added to the Roll.
There is only one record for the 1940s. It appears that the couple may have continued to lived at the Box Hill Road address within the SE12 Oakleigh postal code, though the address is recorded in three different ways.
| Mabel died on 09 May 1961 at 11 Kashmira Street, South Oakleigh, the home of her
daughter Marion Brown née Pearson and her husband Horace Gerard Brown. After her
death Oliver, still a labourer, lived alone until his death in 1972.
Right: 11 Kashmira Street, South Oakleigh/Bentleigh East |
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| Box Hill Road, Oakleigh East changed to Huntingdale Road, Huntingdale, in 1952.
The Oakleigh postal code SE12, which first appeared in 1928, is now 3166.
Right: 233 Huntingdale Road as it is today, a modern 'retirement home' (?) Source: Author November 2015 |
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Left: 231 Huntingdale Road as 233 may have looked before
it was redeveloped Source: Author November 2015 |
Heather Schoffelen writes: In 1961, Oliver Otto remarried after Mabel died. He met Milly at the local Senior Citizens' Club and they were married in Oakleigh in 1963. Milly Ruth Wallace was born in Devenish, Victoria in 1889 and died in Murrumbeena a Melbourne suburb in 1975, three years after Oliver.
Oliver was a labourer most of his life and it is not known whether he actually retired at any stage, taking cash-in-hand employment as he got older. Cash in hand? He was always busy with his vegetable and fruit tree garden, his chooks (chickens) and his brewing of beer down the back shed, which he bottled in 'long neck' bottles. He was very interested in politics and regularly attended meetings of the Labor Party.
Mabel's will is available at Public Records Office Victoria reference VPRS 7591/P3 unit 401, item 575/940 and probate VPRS 28/P4 unit 2462, item 575/940.
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| This page was created by Richard Crompton and maintained by Chris Glass |
Version A9 Updated 23 March 2024 |
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