Glenwood, Glebe

I have an ancestor on my paternal side William STANILAND (1861-1917). William was one of my ancestors who was born in England, and emigrated to Australia. William was born in Whaplode, Lincolnshire in 1861 and grew up on the family farm. In 1881 he was employed at Long Bennington (Lincolnshire) as a 'groom' for General Practitioner/Surgeon named William Bell IRVING. Doctors need horses to 'do the rounds' and visit patients, and William's job appears to have been to maintain the horses, stable and possibly carriage. Irving died in 1881.

We don't know what motivated William to move to Australia, but he likely arrived in 1884 on the 'Sorata', and he married Ann SNAPE the following year in Sydney (1885). William and Ann had three children, and lived in Hereford St, Glebe, till moving to Bay St, Croydon around 1914.

There are only a few clues to what William's occupation was living in Glebe. In 1885 when he married Ann, William stated he was a 'gardener' living in Forest Lodge (adjacent to Glebe), , though I could purchase the birth certificates for his three children (1885, 1886, 1891) which would probably help. 

We have insight into who William worked for and where he lived. The 1897 New South Wales Police Gazette listed 'Watches and Jewellery Reported Stolen'. It states that on 15 Oct 1897, 'William Staniland care of Mr. Cary, "Glenwood", Hereford-street, Glebe' had stolen 'White metal watch, 'Patriot' on dial'. Newspapers covered the trial of the thieves - four young boys who attempted to escape police by jumping in the harbour to swim away. From these reports we learn a little more about William and Mr. Cary:

Evening News (Sydney, NSW)
Thu 21 Oct 1897

The four boys, Joseph Costello, 15, William John Redmond, 15, Arthur Phelps, 14, and Leslie Phillis, 13, who were on Monday arrested by Sergeant Gibbons and Constable Coleman, of the Glebe division, under somewhat sensational circumstances, were brought up at the Glebe Police Court to-day, before Mr. W. M. Macfarlane, D.S.M. They were charged with having stolen a metal watch and portion of a hair guard, valued at 10s 6d, the property of William Staniland, together with two corn bags, of the value of 1s 6d,

the property of Alderman Carey (Mayor of the Glebe). Constable Coleman stated that about 10.40 a.m. on Sunday, the 18th instant, he and Sergeant Gibbons saw the accused at the foot of Kennedy-street, Glebe. Withers told them that they were wanted in connection with a robbery. Costello immediately dived off the wharf into Johnstone's Bay, and was followed by the other three boys. They swam away from the wharf and remained in the water for an hour and a half. When they came out witness arrested them, and took them to the Glebe Police Station. They made no reply to the charge. 

William Staniland a gardener in the employ of Alderman Carey, stated that he resided in Hereford-street, Glebe. On the 15th instant he saw the four accused leaving the yard of Mr. Carey's premises. Witness had left his watch in the pocket of his waistcoat, which was hanging up in the stable. Witness shortly afterwards missed the watch and the two bags. He chased the accused, who threw the bags down and ran away. The watch had not been recovered. Constable Coleman stated that the police had received numerous complaints about the conduct of the accused, who were a pest to the neighborhood. 

The bench remarked that he did not intend to send the accused to gaol ; but hoped the course he was about to pursue would have the effect of making the boys respectable members of society. Costello, Redmond, and Phelps were ordered to be sent to the Carpentarian Reformatory for five years, and Phillis to the Sobraon.

Another article mentions that Staniland lost the watch and a 'hair guard'. This item was in fact an alternative to a fob chain, made of long hair, often that of a loved-one. 

So William was a gardener for William Cary (1831-1906, pictured). Cary was well-known in public circles at the time of his death - he emigrated young from England, trained as a 'modeller and ornamental plasterer', and is credited with inventing pressed cement ornaments (possibly the first to apply the technique in Sydney). He established the successful firm of William Cary & Sons, which operated on George Street South. The business prospered, and at the time of his death in 1906 Cary’s estate was valued at 162,444 pounds. Cary was also a long-time Glebe Alderman and Mayor. In one of those curiosities of genealogy - a maternal ancestor named Michael Joseph CONLON (also a Glebe alderman) attended Cary's funeral (revealed in newspaper coverage of the funeral).

In Glebe, Cary lived at 'Glenwood', a prominent home on Hereford street. We also learn from the articles referred to above (the 1897 theft) that William and his family likely lived on the Glenwood estate. The Glebe Society has some useful information on the estate.

Glenwood, image from around 1912 when Glenwood was in possession of the British Immigration League. It was ultimately demolished in the 1940s.

This c1890s plan shows how massive the estate was.... and suggests the gardening requirements would be large!

This 1876 listing of its sale describes the house as 'massive' and 'out-offices' include servants' rooms, range of staling, coachhouse, and man's room over. The property (all lots) totaled over 2 acres.

William Cary's widow Emma remained at 'Glenwood' till her death in 1912, and articles show that William had stayed in the employment of the family after William's death. 

The Sun (Sydney, NSW) 
Tue 7 May 1912

Probate has been granted in respect of the will of Mrs. Emma Cary, who died at her residence 'Glenwood', Hereford-street, Glebe, on February 8 last. Subject to bequests of 25 pounds each to her coachman, William Staniland, and her companion and nurse, Janet Graham, and 10 pounds each to two domestic servants, the deceased devised her estate to her 10 children in equal shares.

And we see here William listed as 'coachman' for Mrs. Cary, similar to his 1881 occupation of 'groom' in Lincolnshire. The house was sold after Mrs. Cary died, and William appears to have left service, and Glenwood. 

William and Ann Staniland relocated to Bay Street, Croydon where they must have purchased their home. We know when they moved because Electoral Rolls show that in 1912 they were in Hereford St Glebe, and in 1914 they were residing in Bay St, Croydon. 

We can guess that their home in Croydon was purchased (and quite newly built) as in 1917 William Staniland died quite young, aged 56, of kidney failure at Western Suburbs Hospital (which no longer exists). At the time of his death, William had by necessity moved to a new occupation, as a 'shop assistant, clothing'.

The funeral notices for William state the the funeral party would depart from his home:

Glenwood, Bay-street, Croydon