Jane Hannah was born about 1854, in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland. A daughter of William Hannah and Agnes Baird and probably their fifth child, her siblings were Robert (1844), Margaret (1847), Janet (1849), Agnes (1852), William (1857), Mary (1859), Isabella (1861), Thomas Baird (1863) and John Cooper (1867).
At this time little is known about Jane. She is listed in the 1861 Kilmarnock, Ayrshire census as a seven year old daughter of William Hannah, a scholar, and her birth place recorded as Kilmarnock.
A daughter was born to Jane on the 25th February 1871, and named Agnes Baird Hannah for Jane’s mother. No father was named on the birth entry. At the time of birth, Jane gave her address as that of her brother John Cooper Hannah, 17 Malta Street, Gorbals and her occupation as mill piecer.
Sadly baby Agnes died ten days later of “premature and debility”.
At the age of 19, she married Alexander Souter, also aged 19 and her next door neighbour, on the 31st of December 1872 at 5 Abbotsford Place, Glasgow “after banns according to the forms of the Church of Scotland”. At the time of the marriage, Jane was a power loom weaver of 110 Main Street, Gorbals. Alexander was an iron rivetter (Journeyman), of 108 Main Street, Gorbals.
Alexander’s father, also Alexander Souter, a sergeant in the 42nd Foot Division, was recorded as deceased. His mother was Helen Hall (formally Souter, maiden surname Menzies), also deceased.
According to the GRO records in Scotland, Helen Menzies Souter was born to the couple on 15th September 1873 at 29 Alma Street, Govan, Glasgow, but is not recorded in NSW death records and so probably died before leaving Scotland.
Jane’s mother Agnes died the following December, and she witnessed the death of her father William in August 1874.
Attempts to trace the couple’s movements for the next decade then have not been very successful. Unfortunately, little on Scotland’s records have been found. They do not appear to be listed on the 1881 census. They may have moved to South Leith, Edinburgh where at least daughter Jane (1884) was born, as this information is provided on her death certificate. There were other children to the marriage, however the details of these have yet to be confirmed.
In 1885, Jane and Alexander left their home country with their two remaining children Agnes and Jane, and arrived in Sydney probably as unassisted immigrants in October of that year, settling in Goodsell Street, Balmain. Their daughter Jane died two months after arrival, on 18th December 1885 at the age of 1 year and 9 months. The cause of death was given as “atrophy”, a wasting disease. She was buried in Balmain Cemetery.
Jane’s husband Alexander died in Leichardt, Sydney in 1899, and was also buried in Balmain Cemetery.
Jane died in Balmain Hospital, Sydney NSW on the 4th October 1902, 17 years after arriving in the colony. Her cause of death was given as “retroperitoneal abscess and exhaustion”. She was buried on 5th October in the Presbyterian Section of Rookwood Cemetery, Homebush NSW. Her memorial inscription simply reads “My Mother”, apparently a tribute from daughter Agnes.
Before her death, Jane was living at Rose Street, Kerosene Bay, North Sydney. This was more likely Ross Street (put the difference down to a Scottish accent) where she would have been living with her sister Margaret who died a year later in 1903. Kerosene Bay is now known as Balls Head Bay. Family legend recalls that Margaret and Jane quite enjoyed having a beer together.
Jane was 48 years old when she died. Although six children had been born to the couple, only Agnes was living at the time of Jane’s death.
Daughter Agnes married Richard Augustus Longbottom at Dungog, NSW in 1904. She died at Dungog in 1918, survived by her husband and three children.
Last updated January 2019 Bruce Hannah
