Francis John Bathgate (1872 - 1956)

Born 10 Jan 1872 in Ashby, Clarence River, Colony of New South Wales

Ancestors

Husband of Beatrice Ethel (Frost) Bathgate — married 13 Apr 1898 in Maclean, New South Wales, Australia

Descendants

Died 2 Jul 1956 at age 84 in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia [uncertain]

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Biography

Bio Researched and Written by Susan Stopford. First Publ. 5 Sep 2019. Last updated: 29 September 2023. ©2019-2023 Susan Stopford

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Francis John Bathgate was born in the Colony of New South Wales (1788-1900)

Francis John Bathgate has Scottish Ancestors.

Francis John Bathgate has English ancestors.

Francis John Bathgate has Welsh ancestors.

Francis John Bathgate was born on 10 January 1872 at Ashby near Maclean in the Colony of New South Wales, probably on his parents' property. He was the second son and fourth child of fourteen born to early pioneers in the district John Bathgate (1829-1891) and his wife Susan Jane Hamlyn (Gale) Bathgate (1850-1935). His father John was born in Lauderdale, Scotland and emigrated to the Colony with his parents and siblings when he was a young man; his mother Susan was born in Bristol, England to a Welsh father and English mother and came to the Colony with her family as a girl. Francis' birth was registered in Grafton. He spent his childhood on the Clarence River where his parents owned property at Ashby and on Ashby Island where they engaged in farming. He continued to farm the property after the death of his father in 1891.^[1][2] He was known as Frank Bathgate.

Frank married Beatrice Ethel (Frost) Bathgate (1879-1941) on 13 April 1898 in or near Maclean. Beatrice was a daughter of John Frost and Charlotte Schofield who moved to the Maclean district in 1872, lived on Woodford Island for a period of time, and later at Taloumbi. Frank and Beatrice's marriage was registered in Maclean.^[3] In 1915, Frank's younger brother Simon married married Beatrice's sister Myee Helena Frost (1889-1977) so two brothers married two sisters.^[4]

Frank and Beatrice had four children - Francis John, Arthur, Gordon and Harry.

The extended Bathgate family were at Ashby and Ashby Island for many years, where they grew corn and sugar cane, and raised cattle.

In 1906, Beatrice's sister Freda Frost married Albert John Harris in a ceremony which was held in Frank and Beatrice's home at Ashby.^[5]

In 1929, Frank was involved in a serious accident on the property. He was rolling corn with a pair of horses attached to the roller, and while turning the team on the headland, a cornstalk became entangled in a leg of one of the horses. In attempting to remove it, he stumbled and the horses started forward, the end part of the roller passing over his body. Three of his ribs were fractured, and he sustained other injuries, including wounds on the head. He was unconscious for some time but recovered.^[6]

The four Bathgate brothers Frank, Charles, Simon and William continued to farm at Ashby and on Ashby Island well into the 1930s, and Frank and Charles until the 1940s. Initially, Frank was assisted by his four sons but one by one they left the property to pursue other careers. His eldest son, Francis John, became a State school teacher. His second son Arthur was still farming at Ashby in 1932 but later moved to Glen Innes where he operated a hotel. Frank's two younger sons Gordon and Harry remained on the property after their older brothers left for many years. By 1940, his youngest son Harry had left too and was working as a hairdresser in Kyogle.

The war years were tough for the family. Frank's youngest son Harry enlisted in the Australian Army in June 1940 and was killed in action in New Guinea on 12 March 1945. While he was serving overseas, Frank's wife Beatrice died in 1941 aged 62 years at their home at Ashby Island.^[7]

His brother Charles died on his property on Ashby Island on 13 May 1947.^[8]

Frank advertised his farm for sale by auction the following year and retired to Maitland. According to advertisements, the property comprised 52 acres, with 12-acre permit, a Tram-line and a 7-roomed house which had been in the Bathgate the family for the previous 80 years. It was purchased by George Harvey in early 1949.^[9][10]

Frank Bathgate died on 2 Jul 1956 in or near Newcastle, aged 84 years^[11] and is buried in Maclean Cemetery alongside Beatrice.^[12]

In 1942, Frank was interviewed by a journalist working for the Glen Innes Examiner in which he shared various recollections of his early life:

Glen Innes Examiner (NSW : 1908 - 1954), Thursday 31 December 1942, page 4

A Wet Year-end Fifty Years Ago

Mr. Frank Bathgate of Ashby Maclean who is visiting his son, Mr. Arthur Bathgate, of the Club Hotel, recalled in conversation with an "Examiner" representative this morning that on his first visit to Glen Innes in the Christmas-New Year week of 1892 the weather was very much what it has been this week, only wetter.

Leaving Maclean after dinner on Christmas Eve, 1892, Mr. Bathgate with a companian set out on horse back for Glen Innes. The first night they stayed at Walker's Hotel at South Grafton, the next night at OBX Creek, and the third night at the hotel at Dalmorton kept bv Mrs Laird. The fourth night found them at Bald Nob, and early on the fifth day they rode into Glen Innes in teeming rain. They put up at the Imperial Hotel, and by "tipping" the groom arranged for their horses to be given the run of a paddock down on the park creek.

Mr. Bathgate had taught his saddle horse to come to him when he whistled, but next morning when he whistled at the paddock gate the horse did not respond. Closer investigation revealed that his hooves had collected so much black mud he could not budge. It was some time before he could be freed of the cement-like substance which impeded his progress.

Mr. Bathgate, who is 71 years of age, went with his father to Maclean when only nine years of age, and has resided there ever since. He has followed farming and grazing pursuits for many years, and it is interesting to learn that he is not opposed to the dipping of cattle under the Government's tick eradication plan. Though severely criticised by some of the more ardent opponents of dipping, he maintains that, with the provision made for compensation for losses of stock caused by dipping, there can be no justification for cattle men refusing to obey the law of the land.

Sources

1. ↑ Birth (index): NSW Government. Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages. Birth Index. Name: BATHGATE FRANCIS J. Registration No.10410/1872. Father's given name: JOHN. Mother's given name: SUSAN J. E. Registration District: GRAFTON. Accessed 18 September 2019. Birth search page [Event Date=10 January 1872]
2. ↑ Mother's Obituary: 1935 'OBITUARY', Daily Examiner (Grafton, NSW : 1915 - 1954), 29 July, p. 4. , viewed 29 Sep 2021, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article194293230
   

   Extract from an Obituary for Susan Jane Hamlyn (Gale) Bathgate (1850-1935)

   ...The children of Mr. and Mrs. Bathgate were 14 in number and they are all living. They are 'Mrs. C. N. Lauretizan (Brisbane), Mrs. James Rowles (North Queensland), Mr. G. D. Lamb (Meerschaum Vale, Richmond River), Mrs. O. Morton (Cooran, Qld.), Mrs. J. Rutledge (Wyrallah, Richmond River), Mrs. Ross Anderson (Warregah), Mrs. F. W. Eglington (Cudgen, Tweed River), Mrs. R. Rutledge (Sydney) and Mrs. Donald McPhee (Grafton). The sons are Messrs. Charles, Francis, and Simon (Ashby Island), John (Condong, Tweed River) and William (Ashby Island)...

3. ↑ Marriage (index): NSW Government. Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages. Marriage Index (Marriages search page : accessed 29 September 2022), Groom's name(s): BATHGATE FRANCIS J; Bride's name(s): FROST BEATRICE E; District: MACLEAN; Registration Number: 3558/1898. [Event Date=13 April 1878]
4. ↑ Brother's marriage to Beatrice's sister: New South Wales Government. Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages. Marriage Index. Marriage Registration: 5485/1915 BATHGATE SIMON J. Bride: FROST MYEE H. District: MACLEAN. Accessed: 17 July 2019. https://familyhistory.bdm.nsw.gov.au/lifelink/familyhistory/search?1
5. ↑ Sister-in-law's marriage (article): 1906 'Orange Blossoms.', The Clarence River Advocate (NSW : 1898 - 1949), 1 May, p. 3. , viewed 01 Oct 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article121386347

   Orange Blossoms.

   A very pretty wedding was celebrated at the residence of Mr. F. Bathgate, Ashby, yesterday, when Mr. A. J. Harris, of Lawrence, and son of Mr. W. Harris, Maclean was united in the holy bonds of matrimony to Miss Freda Frost, daughter of Mrs. Frost, of Mullumbimby, and late of Maclean. ...

6. ↑ Accident: 1929 'ACCIDENT ON FARM', Daily Examiner (Grafton, NSW : 1915 - 1954), 24 August, p. 4. , viewed 29 Sep 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article195249500
7. ↑ Wife's Obituary: 1941 'OBITUARY', Glen Innes Examiner (NSW : 1908 - 1954), 19 June, p. 7. , viewed 1 Oct 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article178558506
8. ↑ Brother Charles' Obituary: 1947 'OBITUARY', Daily Examiner (Grafton, NSW : 1915 - 1954), 17 May, p. 2. , viewed 4 Aug 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article194439183

   Mr. Bathgate was predeceased by his brother, John, and sister, Mrs. C. Morton. Three brothers, Frank, Simon and William reside at Ashby. Surviving sisters are Mesdames M. Lauritzen (Kyogle), J. Rowles (Sydney), G. Lamb (Lismore), J. Rutledge (Wyralla), Ross Anderson (Warregah Island), R. Rutledge (Sydney), F. Eglington (Cudgen) and D. B. McPhee (Grafton).

9. ↑ Newspaper Advertisement: 1948 'Advertising', Daily Examiner (Grafton, NSW : 1915 - 1954), 31 August, p. 6. , viewed 23 Sep 2023, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article194149290
10. ↑ Newspaper Article: 1949 'FAREWELL AT CHATSWORTH', Daily Examiner (Grafton, NSW : 1915 - 1954), 18 March, p. 5. , viewed 29 Sep 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article194889734
11. ↑ Death (index): NSW Government. Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages. Death Index (Deaths search page : accessed 29 September 2022), Entry for BATHGATE FRANCIS JOHN ; Father's given name(s): JOHN; Mother's given name(s): SUSAN J E; District: NEWCASTLE; Registration Number: 25506/1956
12. ↑ Burial: Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/145251813/francis-john-bathgate: accessed 23 September 2023), memorial page for Francis John Bathgate (unknown–2 Jul 1956), Find a Grave Memorial ID 145251813, citing Maclean Cemetery, Maclean, Clarence Valley Council, New South Wales, Australia; Maintained by SusieQ2076 (contributor 50201721).

See also:

• Cemetery Record: "Australia, Sydney Branch Genealogical Library, Cemetery Inscriptions, 1800-1960", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FLJ5-JJ3 : 2 December 2019), Francis John Bathgate, 1956.
• Obituary of Susan Elizabeth Whybin: 1923 'OBITUARY.', The Maitland Weekly Mercury (NSW : 1894 - 1931), 9 June, p. 5. , viewed 03 Oct 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article136714366
  • Susan Whybin (born Frost) was his sister in law, a sister of his wife Beatrice (born Frost). Frank Bathgate is named as a brother in law and chief mourner.