Thomas J. Nevin | Tasmanian Photographer

Elizabeth Rachel NEVIN nee Day & children

DAUGHTERS of CAPTAIN JAMES DAY and RACHEL POCOCK 1847-1942
CHILDREN of THOMAS and ELIZABETH NEVIN nee DAY 1872-1974
MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE Albert NEVIN and EMILY DAVIS 1917

Elizabeth Rachel NEVIN nee Day (1847-1914)

Elizabeth Rachel Nevin nee Day ca. 1900 [cdv detail]

Thomas Nevin's fiancée Elizabeth Rachel Day ca. 1868
Photographs taken by Thomas J. Nevin
The versos of both photographs carry the studio stamp of the firm "Nevin & Smith"

Elizabeth Rachel Nevin nee Day 1873 and 1878
All portraits of his wife by photographer Thomas J. Nevin (1842-1923)
Copyright © KLW NFC 2005 Private Collection.

Elizabeth Rachel Nevin nee Day, wife of Thomas J. Nevin (1842-1923), was born in London on 26th March 1847 and christened at St Mary’s, Rotherhithe, London, UK on 28th April 1847. Her parents Captain James Day and Rachael Pocock were married at St David’s Anglican Church, Hobart on January 6th, 1841, witnessed by Captain James Day's brother-in-law, merchant mariner Captain Edward Goldsmith. Her father James Day, was born on 10th June 1806, Yorkshire, and died in Hobart, Tasmania on 21st November 1882. Her younger sister Mary Sophia Day was born in Hobart on 9th March 1853 and died in Melbourne on 18th June 1942. Their mother Rachel Day nee Pocock died of consumption in 1857.

Elizabeth Rachel Day was named after her father’s sister, Elizabeth Day, who married Captain Edward Goldsmith at Liverpool, UK in 1829. Elizabeth Rachel Day married photographer Thomas James Nevin on 12th July, 1871 at the Wesleyan Chapel, Kangaroo Valley, Hobart Tasmania. Their marriage notice appeared in several issues of the Hobart Mercury from 15th July to 10th August 1871.

TRANSCRIPT

NEVIN-DAY - On Wednesday, 12th July, at the Wesleyan Chapel, Kangaroo Valley, by the Rev. J. Hutchison, Thomas, eldest son of Mr. J. Nevin, of Kangaroo Valley, to Elizabeth Rachael [sic], eldest daughter of Captain Day, of Hobart Town.

Above: The NEVIN-DAY wedding photograph pictured here placed on the original brown paper in which a Nevin family descendant has kept this carte and several others of family members by Thomas J. Nevin.
Copyright © KLW NFC Imprint Private Collection 2003 ARR

Children of Thomas and Elizabeth Nevin
Thomas and Elizabeth Nevin had seven children between 1872 and 1888, six surviving to adulthood.

Children of Thomas and Elizabeth Nevin 1872-1888

1. Mary Florence Elizabeth (May) Nevin (1872-1955)
2. Thomas James (Sonny) Nevin (1874-1948) m. Gertrude Tennyson Bates (1883-1958)
3. Sydney John Nevin (1876-1877)
4. William John Nevin (1878-1927)
5. George Ernest Nevin (1880-1957)
6. Mary Ann (Minnie) Nevin (1884-1974) m. James Henry Alfred Drew (1878-1963)
7. Albert Edward Nevin (1888-1955) m. Emily Maud Davis (1891-1971)

Above: Archives Office of Tasmania
Colonial Tasmanian Families (search Names index)

May (Mary Florence Elizabeth ) Nevin (1872-1955).
Mary Florence Elizabeth Nevin, known as May to living descendants, was born at 140 Elizabeth St. Hobart Town, the location of Thomas Nevin's photographic studio (late A. Bock's). Her vocation was dressmaker. She was still living with her father when he died at 270 Elizabeth St. Hobart in 1923.

Above: May (Mary Florence Elizabeth) Nevin (1872-1955)
Copyright © KLW NFC Imprint Private Collection 2005 ARR.

Mary Florence Elizabeth Nevin, known as May Nevin, second from right in fur coat.
From left: Mary Sophia Axup's son Sidney Axup; behind him is his wife Emily Axup nee Tyson; in front of her is Sidney's mother Mary Sophia Axup nee Day; next in the fur is Mary Sophia Axup's niece May Nevin, (Thomas and Elizabeth Nevin's eldest daughter),and extreme right is Eva Baldwin nee Axup, Mary Sophia Axup's eldest daughter
Taken on the steps of St. John's 15.07.1939 at the wedding of Ella Baldwin to Glynn (David) Davis.

Thomas James (Sonny) Nevin (1874-1948).
Thomas James Nevin, known as "Sonny" to the family, and in later years, as Sergeant T. Nevin of the Salvation Army, was also born at the residence attached to his father's studio, the City Photographic Establishment, 138-140 Elizabeth St. Hobart Town.

Above: Sergeant Thomas James Nevin in Salvation Army uniform. ca. 1930
Copyright © KLW NFC Imprint Private Collection 2005 ARR

Above: Sergeant Thomas James Nevin in Salvation Army uniform. ca. 1945
Copyright © KLW NFC Imprint Private Collection 2005 ARR

This photograph was probably the last taken of Tom Nevin just before he died in 1948.

Thomas James Nevin jnr, known as Tom and "Sonny", taken by a family member ca. 1947
Photo copyright © KLW NFC 2020 Private Collection

Sydney John Nevin (1876-1877)
Sydney John Nevin lived only four months; he was born at the Hobart Town Hall where the Nevin family resided from Thomas Nevin's appointment as Office and Hall Keeper in January 1876 to December 1880. No photograph has been forthcoming from family collections of Sydney John Nevin. This photograph of a baby (with blue tinting on the pillow) and studio stamp verso printed in blue ink was taken before 1872 at Nevin's studio.

A cdv of a baby resting on a pillow which is heavily daubed with bright blue ink. The same blue-coloured ink was used to print the verso with Nevin's most common commercial studio stamp "T. Nevin late A. Bock" etc and dates to before 1872.
Courtesy of © The Liam Peters Collection 2010. All right reserved.

William John Nevin (1878-1927)
William John Nevin was born at the Town Hall, Hobart during his father's incumbency there as the Office and Hall Keeper. He was named after his father's younger brother, William John Nevin (1851-1891). This son, William, died in a horse-and-cart accident in 1927.

Above: William John Nevin (1878-1927)
Copyright © KLW NFC 2005 Private Collection.

Above: William John Nevin, furniture removalist ca. 1926
Copyright © KLW NFC Imprint Private Collection 2020

George Ernest Nevin (1880-1957)
George Ernest Nevin was also born at the Town Hall, Hobart.

George Ernest Nevin, aged 6 yrs, ca. 1886
Taken by his father Thomas J. Nevin, New Town studio,
B&W copy deposited 30/8/1974 by Drew family at the Archives Office of Tasmania
Ref: NS434/1/245 Tasmanian Archives Collection (TAHO)

Above: George Ernest Nevin ca. 1915 in best suit
Full length portrait with wicker whatnot
Copyright © KLW NFC Imprint Private Collection 2020 ARR.

Above: George Nevin ( extreme right with dog) and rabbiteers ca, 1900
Copyright © KLW NFC Imprint Private Collection 2009 ARR

Above: George Nevin on viewer's right, with his brother Albert's father-in-law, Jack Davis, 1930s.
Copyright © KLW NFC Imprint Private Collection 2005 ARR

On left, George Nevin ca. 1953 with unknown friend in light suit
Copyright © KLW NFC Imprint Private Collection 2020

Mary Ann (Minnie) Nevin (1884-1974)
Mary Ann Nevin, known as Minnie to living descendants was the second and youngest daughter born to Thomas and Elizabeth Nevin.

Above: Minnie Nevin, aged 2yrs, ca. 1886
Taken by her father Thomas Nevin, New Town studio,
B&W copy deposited 30/8/1974 by Drew family at the Archives Office of Tasmania
Ref: NS434/1/236 Tasmanian Archives Collection (TAHO)

Above: Minnie Nevin, aged 15yrs, ca. 1900. Unattributed
B&W copy deposited 30/8/1974 by Drew family at the Archives Office of Tasmania
Ref: NS434/1/230 Tasmanian Archives Collection (TAHO)

Above: Minnie Drew nee Mary Ann Nevin ca. 1915
Youngest daughter Mary Ann (“Minnie”) Nevin married James Henry Alfred Drew, carrier and van proprietor, formerly of Richmond Tasmania, on 28th March 1907 at her parents' residence, 270 Elizabeth St. Hobart. The ceremony was performed by the Rev. J. H. Cain. Minnie Drew gave birth to five children between 1908 and 1914: Reginald, Jean, Joyce, and twins Lola and Lorna..
Copyright © KLW NFC Imprint Private Collection 2020 ARR

From left to right:
Minnie Drew (nee Mary Ann Nevin) Thomas & Elizabeth Nevin's youngest daughter
Mary Sophia Axup nee Day, sister of Elizabeth Rachel Nevin nee Day and aunt of Minnie and May
Eva Baldwin nee Axup,Mary Sophia Axup's eldest daughter
and May (Mary Florence Elizabeth) Nevin, Thomas and Elizabeth's Nevin's eldest daughter
Taken ca. 1939. Copyright © KLW NFC Private Collections 2009 and 2020 ARR.

Albert Edward Nevin (1888-1955)
The last born child, Albert Edward Nevin married Emily Maud Davis in 1917 and fathered eight children. He is pictured here ca. 1917 with one of his pacers. He was a reinsman and trainer for more than forty years.

Above: Albert Edward Nevin ca. 1917
Copyright © KLW NFC Imprint Private Collection 2005 ARR.

Thomas J. Nevin may have taken this photograph and other family portraits about this time because he was still active as a photographer into the 1920s. Official documents dated right up to his death in 1923 state "Occupation: Photographer." His burial certificate of 1923 carries the same vocational title - "Photographer". The witness at his daughter Mary Ann Nevin's marriage to James Henry Alfred Drew in 1907, whether himself or another family member, would have completed the section of the marriage certificate requiring the bride's father's name and his occupation as "Thomas Nevin Photographer" just as the signatories to the marriage certificate of his youngest son Albert Edward Nevin - John and Frances Davis, the parents of his bride Emily Maud Davis - registered Albert's father Thomas Nevin's occupation as "Photographer" ten years later, in 1917, viz:

TRANSCRIPT

Father's Name (in full) ... Thomas Nevin
Occupation ... Photographer
Mother's Name (in full) Lizza Nevin née Day

Detail of document below:
Marriage Certificate of Albert Edward Nevin to Emily Maud Davis 4th March 1917
Thomas Nevin (father of Albert) Occupation: Photographer.
Copyright © KLW NFC Imprint Private Collection 2020

Marriage Certificate of Albert Edward Nevin to Emily Maud Davis 4th March 1917
Thomas Nevin (father of Albert) Occupation: Photographer.
Copyright © KLW NFC Imprint Private Collection 2020

Clearly, Thomas J. Nevin snr was still active as a photographer well into the 1900s. Family members who readily documented his occupation on official documents would have informed the Registrar otherwise, had it been the case. This document reveals that his wife, Elizabeth Rachel Nevin nee Day (1847-1914) who was deceased by the time her youngest son Albert married, was known to the family as "Lizza".

In Memoriam
Elizabeth Rachel Nevin died at the relatively young age of 67, on the 18th June, 1914. Thomas Nevin (1842-1923) was five years older than his wife and survived her by 7 years. She was buried in the grave of her father, Captain James Day, public grave 258K, Cornelian Bay Cemetery, Hobart.

Hobart Public Cemetery Records
No. 18704, Elizabeth Rachel Nevin, date of funeral 21st June 1914

Above:
Hobart Public Cemetery Records
No. 18704, Elizabeth Rachel Nevin, date of funeral 21st June 1914

Below:
Funeral Notice for Elizabeth Rachel Nevin nee Day, wife of photographer Thomas J. Nevin

NEVIN. - Friends of the late Elizabeth Rachel Nevin are respectfully invited to attend her funeral, which will move from her residence, 270 Elizabeth street, on Sunday Afternoon, at 2.30 o'clock, for Cornelian Bay Cemetery.
CLARK BROS.
Funeral Undertakers.
17 Argyle street

Source: The Mercury (Hobart, Tas.)Sat 20 Jun 1914 Page 1 Family Notices

On the first anniversary of her death, her husband and children published this notice in the Mercury, June 18th, 1915:

IN MEMORIAM
NEVIN. - In sad but loving memory of our dear mother. Elizabeth Rachel Nevin,
who died June 18, 1914.
'Tis just twelve months ago to-day
Since our dear mother passed away
Ah, loved one dear, we miss you here,
From the home you loved so dear.
We saw her suffering day by day:
It caused us bitter grief
To see her slowly pine away,
And could not give relief.
We miss thy kind and willing hand,
The fond and earnest care;
Our home is dark without thee,
We miss thee everywhere.
We think of you in silence -
No eye can see us weep -
And many a silent tear we shed
When others are asleep.
Our memory is as dear today
As on the day she passed away
Inserted by her loving family

Acknowledgements
Thanks to the late Denis Shelverton (Tasmania) for images of Thomas and Elizabeth Nevin from their son George Nevin's scrapbook. The original scrapbook page looks like this:

Above: scanned from copies of cartes and a half stereograph pasted into the scrapbook of son George Nevin (1880-1957), these are amongst several contemporary family portraits taken by Thomas Nevin to survive. The scrapbook is now part of a great grandson's collection.
Copyright © KLW NFC & The Private Collection of the late Denis Shelverton 2006-2010 ARR

Below Elizabeth's portrait is written the word "MAR" and below the portrait of Thomas Nevin, taken in his studio at 140 Elizabeth St. Hobart Town ca. 1876 (on right), is written the word "PAR". Centre is a cut-out of one half of a stereograph showing the path leading to the (Lady) Franklin Museum, Ancanthe, Kangaroo Valley, Hobart where the family settled in the 1850s. Although in poor condition, these images are valuable for researchers as well as family members.

Thanks to Axup family descendants (Victoria), to John Davis (Germany), and Suzy Baldwin (NSW), for the photographs of Mary Sophia Axup and her children.

Thanks to the descendants of Albert Edward Nevin (Tasmania and Victoria) for the early and very rare photographs of Thomas and Elizabeth Nevin, including their wedding photograph.

Many thanks to Jackie Cetnar (Florida USA) an American descendant of the Tennyson Bates Family who migrated originally to California in 1910. Their daughter Gertrude Tennyson Bates married Thomas James 'Sonny' Nevin in 1907 in Hobart. A genealogical schema forwarded by descendant Jackie Cetnar can be viewed here.

See also Key Dates 1842-1923.

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Mary Sophia Day (m. Axup), Thomas Nevin's sister-in-law

DESCENDANTS of Mary Sophia DAY and Hector Charles AXUP, Australia
NEVIN family daughters and their AXUP cousins 1930s

Verso inscribed by a grand niece of Mary Sophia Axup, who was always called simply Auntie Axup, by the children of her Nevin nieces and nephews, rather than the technically correct "Great Aunt Axup";

"NEVIN, DREW
Auntie Minnie youngest
Auntie Axup, [sic, she was the great aunt Mary Sophia Axup
Auntie Eva, Uncle Sid's wife
Auntie May, eldest NEVIN"

This much-handled photograph shows Thomas and Elizabeth Nevin's youngest daughter, Minnie Drew nee Nevin on left (b. 1884, so she would have been 55 yrs old here ), and their eldest daughter May Nevin on right (b.1872, so she would have 67 yrs old here) - a difference of twelve years separated their births. Their cousin Eva Baldwin nee Axup second from right was six years younger than May Nevin (b. 1878, so she would have been 61 yrs old here) and six years older than Minnie Nevin. Their aunt Mary Sophia Axup was born in 1853 and died in 1942, shortly after this photograph was taken. She would have been 86 yrs old on this occasion, which was possibly the wedding of Eva Baldwin's daughter Ella to Glynn Davis (1939). The Nevin sisters, who would have attended the wedding, posed here with their cousin Eva Baldwin and "Aunt Axup" as she was known, at the railway station on their way back to Hobart from Launceston.

Parents, sister and paternal uncle
Mary Sophia Day was born on 9th March 1853 at Hobart, Tasmania to mariner Captain James Day and Rachel Pocock. She was the younger sister of Elizabeth Rachel Day who married Thomas Nevin on 11th July 1871, and the youngest daughter of Rachel Pocock and master mariner Captain James Day who were married at St. David's Church, Hobart on 6th January 1841, witnessed by James Day's brother-in-law Captain Edward Goldsmith. She died in Melbourne on 18th June 1942, aged 89 years. Unnamed at birth, she was later registered as Sophia Mary Day on April 11th, 1853, and known thereafter as Mary Sophia Day:

1853 Births in the District of Hobart
Detail: Reg: 2187 March 9th - birth of female to James Day Master Mariner and Rachael Day formerly Pocock. registered by James Day, father Brisbane Street [Hobart] April 11th . Remarks: Sophia Mary.
Archives Office of Tasmania
Names Index: Ref: RGD33-1-4-P551

Although Mary Sophia Day's elder sister Elizabeth Rachel Day was born and baptised at Rotherhithe, London UK in 1847, she was born in Hobart in 1853. The address of their parents by 1854 was listed in the General Directory for Hobart, as "DAY, James, mariner, Bathurst Street" (NLA Ref: MCN 872). Their father, Captain James Day (1804-1882), was brother-in-law to Captain Edward Goldsmith (1804-1869), also a master mariner, with whom he served as First Mate and Navigator on early voyages to the Australian colonies. Captain James Day's sister, Elizabeth Day (1802-1875) after whom her niece Elizabeth Rachel Day was named, married Captain Edward Goldsmith at Liverpool, England in 1829.

Marriage: Edward Goldsmith mater mariner to Elizabeth Day 24 June 1829, Liverpool UK
Source: Marriages at St George Derby Square in the City of Liverpool
Marriages recorded in the Register for the years 1813 - 1837
https://www.lan-opc.org.uk/Liverpool/Liverpool-Central/stgeorge/marriages_1813-1837.html

Captain Edward Goldsmith was a signatory witness to the marriage of his brother-in-law Captain James Day to Rachel Pocock (ca. 1812-1857) at St David's Church Hobart on January 6, 1841:

St David's Hobarton
6th January 1841
James Day, 34yrs, Master Mariner
Rachel Pocock, 29 years, Spinster
Married in the Parish Church according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Uniting Church of England and Ireland, William Bedford, Senior Chaplain,
In the presence of Edward Goldsmith and Margaret Fuller

Day v. Goldsmith in Chancery 1872
On the death of Mary Sophia and Elizabeth Rachel Day's paternal uncle Captain Edward Goldsmith in 1869 at Gadshill, Kent, UK, his son Edward Goldsmith jnr contested the will in 1871 in a Chancery suit against his mother Elizabeth Goldsmith, widow, and his father's executors, William Bell Bentley and Alfred Bentley. He also contested his father's legacy as the plaintiff against his Tasmanian cousins, annuants and legatees Mary Sophia Day and Elizabeth Rachel Day. But in a cruel twist, in 1872 both Elizabeth Nevin and her husband, photographer Thomas Nevin, were named in a Chancery suit as defendants, along with Edward jnr and his mother, this time lodged in the name of Elizabeth's younger sister, Mary Sophia Day as the plaintiff (Ref: National Archives UK C16/781 C546012). Captain Goldsmith had wished to leave to his two Tasmanian nieces a row of eleven cottages in Higham, Kent, per this statement on page 4 of his will:

... the said will should convey and assure the testator's eleven cottages and hereditaments known as Vicarage Row Higham in the county of Kent unto the said Elizabeth Rachel Nevin and the plaintiff Mary Sophia Day their respective heirs and assigns as tenants in common ...

Page 4:
Cause number: 1872 D50. Ref:C 16/781/D50
Short title: Day v Goldsmith. Documents: Bill only. Plaintiffs:…
Reference:C 16/781/D50 Description:
Cause number: 1872 D50.
Source: National Archives UK

Was Mary Sophia Day successful in her claim against the will of Captain Edward Goldsmith? It appears not, at least in terms of the original will, since Page 12 was stuck through. Two factors mitigated against her claim proceeding further: first, she turned 21 years old in 1874, and second, she married Captain Hector Axup in 1878. By law she was no longer an "infant" - the term applied to a woman under 21 years old - and as a married woman she was precluded from claiming the annuity under the terms of Captain Goldsmith's will. The same two exclusions had already precluded her sister Elizabeth Rachel Nevin nee Day from filing a claim as a plaintiff.

The eleven houses at Vicarage Row which Captain Edward Goldsmith had specifically requested be set apart as a benefit for these two nieces, the daughters of his wife's brother Captain James Day, were on offer at the auction of the estate in 1870, and presumably were sold, the proceeds to pay funeral expenses and testamentary debts (Page 10 of the Will), the residue to be apportioned between the two nieces which would have been neglible by the time a dozen more claimants filed as defendants in the matter of the estate after the untimely death of the primary beneficiary (apart from his mother who died in 1875), his only son Edward Goldsmith jnr who died young in 1883.

Marriage and children 1878
Captain James Day's younger daughter Mary Sophia Day married Captain Hector Charles James Horatio Axup (1843-1927) on May 1st, 1878 at the Wesleyan Church, Kangaroo Valley (renamed Lenah Valley in 1922) where John Nevin snr had settled his family on property in trust to the Wesleyan Church adjacent to the Lady Franklin Museum in 1854 and established a school. He taught night class to adult males there in 1875 and his daughter Mary Ann Nevin taught local children at the schoolhouse before her marriage (1877). As father-in-law to Captain James Day's eldest daughter Elizabeth Rachel Nevin nee Day, John Nevin snr gave witness at her sister Mary Sophia Day's marriage to Captain Hector Axup alongside Captain James Day.

It was Hector Axup's second marriage. Born on 7th March 1843, at Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England, he arrived in Tasmania in 1876. He was registered on their marriage certificate as a widower and mariner, 34 years old. Mary Sophia Day was registered as a mariner's daughter and spinster, 25 years old. Witnesses were her father Captain James Day, her sister's father-in-law John Nevin snr, and Margaret McGuigan (the spelling of her name is not clear nor her role in Mary Sophia's life). They were married by the officiating minister Nathaniel Bennett according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Wesleyan Curch by virtue of Act 23 Vict No. 11.

Australia, Tasmania, Civil Registration, 1803-1933, RGD 37/37.
Marriages, 1878, image 9 of 224; Archives Office of Tasmania, Hobart.

By 1885, Hector and Mary Axup had moved to northern Tasmania and were based at the Pilot Station, Low Head. Hector Axup was a harbour pilot and leading tower assistant at George Town, Tasmania. Shortly before he died in Launceston in 1927, he published a "unique booklet" titled "The Reminiscences of an 'Old Salt' of 83 Years by H. C. Axup," (Launceston, ca. 1926). The unattributed photograph below appears on the front cover.

Hector Charles Horatio Axup ca. 1880s

Read more about Hector Axup's background and career here on this site.

Hector and Mary Sophia Axup had five children between 1878 and 1891. The names by which they were commonly known are indicated in heavy type.

1. Rachel Frances Eva Axup b. 1878 at Hobart, Tasmania
2. Sidney James Vernon Axup b.1882 at Hobart, Tasmania
3. Edward Harold Leslie Axup b.1885 at Georgetown, Tasmania
4. Patience Ella Mary Axup b.1889 at Georgetown, Tasmania
5. Olive Lilian Ethel Axup b.1891 at Georgetown, Tasmania

First cousins of the Axup family, children of Elizabeth Rachel and Thomas Nevin:

1. Mary Florence Elizabeth (May) Nevin (1872-1955)
2. Thomas James (Sonny) Nevin (1874-1948)
3. Sydney John Nevin (1876-1877)
4. William John Nevin (1878-1927)
5. George Ernest Nevin (1880-1957)
6. Mary Ann (Minnie) Nevin (1884-1974)
7. Albert Edward Nevin (1888-1955)

First Cousins
All five children born to Mary Sophia and Hector Axup shared family life events with their first cousins, the six surviving children of Elizabeth and Thomas Nevin. The Axups were frequent visitors to the Nevin property at 23-29 Newdate St. North Hobart from the 1920s. When Mary Sophia's fourth child Patience Ella Mary Axup, known as Ella, died of tuberculosis in 1913, her aunt Elizabeth Rachel Nevin and her Nevin cousins would have attended the funeral. This rare photograph of Ella, taken at the Vandyck Studios in Launcestion, Tasmania possibly on her 21st birthday (ca, 1911), was recently recovered from a deceased Nevin family estate (now held in the © KLW NFC Private Collections):

Studio portrait of Ella Axup (Patience Ella Mary Axup, 1889 -1913)
Taken at the VANDYCK Studios, Launceston, Tasmania ca. 1911.
Postcard format. Verso inscribed: "Cousin Ella Axup"
Copyright © KLW NFC Group Private Collections 2020

Verso: Studio portrait of Ella Axup (Patience Ella Mary Axup, 1889 -1913)
Taken at the VANDYCK Studios, Launceston, Tasmania ca. 1911.
Postcard format. Verso inscribed: "Cousin Ella Axup"
Copyright © KLW NFC Group Private Collections 2020

When Ella Axup was born at George Town in 1889, her father's occupation was recorded as boatman employed by the Marine Board.

1889 Births in the District of George Town [Tasmania]
Reg. 447. 19 June 1889. Patience Ella Mary. Female. Father's name Hector Axup. Mother's name Mary Axup formerly Day. Father's occupation Marine Board boatman. Registered by Herbet K. Harris Storekeeper, George Town, 26 July 1889.
Source: Archives Office of Tasmania Ref: RGD33-1-4-P551

Ella Axup had passed the Commonwealth Public Service exam to take a job as a telephonist in 1912 but died suddenly on 24th June, 1913. The notice of Ella's success in passing the exam was gazetted on 7th September 1912:

1912 COMMONWEALTH PUBLIC SERVICE.
Commonwealth of Australia Gazette (National : 1901 - 1973), 7 September, p. 1912.
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/232445784

Ella's death was published in the Examiner on 26 June 1913:

1913 'Family Notices',
Examiner (Launceston, Tas. : 1900 - 1954), 26 June, p. 1. (DAILY),
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/50712606

Death of Patience Ella Mary Axup
Source: Examiner (Launceston, Tas. : 1900 - 1954) Thu 26 Jun 1913 Page 1 Family Notices

TRANSCRIPT

DEATHS
AXUP. - on the 25th June, at her brother's residence, 54 Elizabeth-street. Patience Ella Mary, beloved second daughter of Hector and Mary Axup, aged 24 years.
So loved, so mourned.

Within a few months of her daughter Ella's death in June 1913, Mary Sophia Axup chaired a meeting of the Tasmanian Workers' Political League, the forerunner of the Australian Labor Party, seeking nominations for Labor candidates to stand for the seat of Bass in the forthcoming Federal election:

The Mercury 22 August 1913

TRANSCRIPT

Bass Divisional Council of the T.W.P.L. [Tasmanian Workers' Political League] met last week at the A.W.C. office, Launceston, Mrs Axup being in the chair. It was decided to invite nominations for Bass of those willing to stand in the Labour interests in the Federal campaign which may shortly be entered upon. The secretary Mr. J. Mooney was also instructed to advise all country branches to be in readiness for the campaign.

The late 1930s to 1942
May Nevin (second from right in fur jacket) was photographed on the steps of St John's on the occasion of the wedding of Eva Baldwin's daughter Ella Baldwin to Glynn Davis on 15th July 1939. Her aunt Mary Sophia Axup is second from left, her cousin Eva Baldwin on extreme right, her cousin Sidney Axup on extreme left and his wife Emily Axup nee Tyson in background.

From left: Mary Sophia Axup's son Sidney Axup; behind him is his wife Emily Axup nee Tyson; in front of her is Sidney's mother Mary Sophia Axup nee Day; next in the fur is Mary Sophia Axup's niece May Nevin, (Thomas and Elizabeth Nevin's eldest daughter),and extreme right is Eva Baldwin nee Axup, Mary Sophia Axup's eldest daughter.
Taken on the steps of St. John's 15.07.1939 at the wedding of Ella Baldwin to Glynn (David) Davis.

Above: Four generations, photographed in 1940
Top left: Eva Baldwin nee Axup, daughter of Mary Sophia Axup
Top right; Ella Davis nee Baldwin, daughter of Eva Baldwin nee Axup
Lower right: baby Barbara Davis, daughter of Ella Davis nee Baldwin
Centre: mother of Eva Baldwin, grandmother of Ella Davis and great grandmother of Barbara,Davis, matriarch Mary Sophia Axup nee Day (1853-1942).
Copyright © Private Collections of Davis and Axup descendants 2007 ARR.

Extreme left: Rev. Percy Baldwin, son-in-law of Mary Sophia Axup nee Day, married to her daughter Eva Baldwin nee Axup
Middle: Emily Axup nee Tyson her daughter-in-law, married to Sid Axup
Extreme right: Sidney Axup, husband of Emily Axup, brother-in-law of the Rev. Percy Baldwin
Photos courtesy © John Davis and Axup descendants 2007 ARR.

Great grandmother Mary Sophia Axup nee Day: four generations at the beach ca. 1940
Two daughters, one daughter-in-law, one granddaughter and one great grandchild
Photos courtesy of © John Davis and © Axup descendants 2007 ARR.

Obituary 1942
Mary Sophia Axup (nee Day) died in Melbourne on 18th June 1942, aged 89 years. Elizabeth Rachel Day, her elder sister by five years who married Thomas Nevin in 1871, died in Hobart on 29 June, 1914, aged just 67.

MRS M. S. AXUP
An old Hobart resident, Mrs. M. S. Axup, died in Northcote, Victoria, recently while on a visit to her son. She was in her 90th year, having been born at Lenah Valley in 1853. A daughter of the late Capt. James Day who sailed his own vessel, trading between Hobart and the Mainland before the advent of steam, she married a seafaring man, Capt. H. C. Axup, well known in shipping circles and the Launceston pilot until his death some years ago.
The deceased was interested in church and charity organisations until a few months ago. She left two sons and two daughters, and a great number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. A feature of the funeral service was that the coffin was carried by four of her grandsons, all in uniform, representing the three services. The services at the church and graveside were conducted by her son-in-law, the Rev. P.W Baldwin. Toc H padre.

Mary Sophia Axup (nee Day) outside the Bank of NSW (Sydney?) ca. 1939
Photograph strip cut from the original, now lost.
Copyright © KLW NFC Private Collections 2020 ARR.

PLEASE NOTE:
Descendants of the Nevin, Axup and Davis families have kindly supplied these photographs. Copyright on all these images must be strictly observed to protect works in progress.

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In his own words ...

"T. J. NEVIN
PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTIST,
Returns his sincere thanks to his friends and the public for past favours, and having made a considerable Reduction in his Prices to suit the times, he solicits a continuance of their patronage, and invites attention to his circulars, showing particulars of the small cost for a first- class faithful Likeness"
140 ELIZABETH-STREET"
Hobart Mercury, 1st February 1873

“I hope that you have not got it in your mind that I am implicated with the ghost“.
Hobart Mercury, 4 December 1880

"Defendant said that he was the father of a large number of children, and did not know which one was referred to. (Laughter.)"
Hobart Mercury, 11 August 1886

"Mr. Thos Nevin was under the impression that the police should be under stricter supervision."
Hobart Mercury, 19 July 1888.

BIOGRAPHY: professional photographer Thomas James Nevin snr (1842-1923) produced arge numbers of stereographs and cartes-de- visite within his commercial practice, and prisoner identification photographs on government contract. His career spanned nearly three decades, from the early 1860s to the late 1880s. He was one of the first photographers to work with the police in Australia, along with Charles Nettleton (Victoria) and Frazer Crawford (South Australia). His Tasmanian prisoner mugshots are among the earliest to survive in public collections, viz. the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston; the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart; the Tasmanian Heritage and Archives Office, Hobart; the Port Arthur Historic Site, Tasman Peninsula; the National Library of Australia, Canberra; and the Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW, Sydney. Thomas J. Nevin's stereographs and portraits are held in public and private collections in Australia, New Zealand, the USA, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark, France and Switzerland.

IMPORTANT NOTICES

INDIGENOUS NOTICE:
lutruwita/Tasmania/Van Diemen's Land (loo-tru-wee-ta) always was, always will be Aboriginal land.

This weblog pays respect to the ancestors and elders past, present, and emerging of the first Australian peoples and acknowledges their continued connection to land, sea and culture as the traditional custodians of this country.

Irish-born Thomas J. Nevin would have been keenly aware that the residence and photographic studio he occupied at No's 138-140 Elizabeth St. Hobart in the 1870s were built on the traditional lands, nipaluna of the palawa people. It is no small irony that today, the very same property, which is renumbered as No. 198 Elizabeth St. Hobart and is occupied by the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, has returned to its traditional owners.

Looking east from the corner of Patrick St., the Royal Standard Hotel, 142 Elizabeth St. then T. J. Nevin’s studio and residence, 140-138 Elizabeth St. Hobart, 1870s

We also acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora nation as the traditional custodians of the City of Sydney, and the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples, the traditional custodians of the Kamberri/Canberra region on whose lands this site is maintained.

PLEASE NOTE: images on this weblog represent deceased people, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Viewing such images may cause sadness and distress.

DISCLAIMER: We have not voluntarily contributed to any publication which supports the misattribution of T. J. Nevin's prisoner/convict photographs (300+ extant) to the non-photographer A. H. Boyd, nor do we condone any attempts by public institutions or private individuals to co-opt the work on these Thomas J. Nevin weblogs and associated sites to apply the misattribution.

Anthony Trollope at Port Arthur

Thomas Nevin's VIP commission 1872

VISIT TO PORT ARTHUR.- Mr. Trollope and the Hon. Howard Spensly, Esq., Solicitor-General of Victoria, accompanied the Hon. the Premier, J.M. Wilson, Esq., and the Hon. the Attorney-General, W.R. Giblin, Esq., embarked in the Government schooner late last night, some time after Mr. Trollope had concluded his lecture on "Modern Fiction, as a recreation for young people," and left for Port Arthur. Their visit to the Peninsula will be a very hurried one, and will afford them only scant opportunity of inspecting the penal establishment, it being the intention of Messrs. Trollope and Spensly to leave Hobart Town for the North, en route for Victoria in a few days ...

Source: The Mercury 2 February 1872