Catherine (Riley) Jones (1853 - 1917)

Born 9 May 1853 in Wollombi, New South Wales, Australia

Ancestors

Wife of Edward Payne — married 15 Jul 1873 (to 22 Oct 1909) in Wollombi, New South Wales, Australia

Wife of Ruben Jones — married 31 Oct 1885 (to 16 Jun 1909) in Presbyterian Church, Moree, New South Wales, Australia

Died 24 Jul 1917 at age 64 in Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Shane Riley [send private message]

Biography

Catherine was born in 1853. She was the daughter of John Riley (abt.1815-1907) and Catharine (Reynolds) Riley (1820-1885).

After marrying Edward Payne (1848-1925) at Wollombi in 1873 they moved to Queensland and had one son. In 1881 Catherine sought to divorce Edward on the grounds of "cruelty, adultery, and desertion". A decree nisi for this purpose was granted in Sep 1881.

In Jan 1884 her only son Jonas Emanuel Erick Edward Payne (1874-1884) died and apparently she also then reverted to her maiden name. It is possibly around this time, if not before, that she returned to NSW.

In or by 1885 she reconnected with her cousin Ruben Jones (1859-1914) and they married in the Presbyterian Church at Moree on 1 Oct that year. In 1888 their son Reuben Vincent Jones (1888-1894) was born although he subsequently died, in 1894. They apparently remained together until August 1905 when "accusations against his morality were made by a young servant girl". In the course of an argument about the matter he apparently beat her unconscious and they then separated.

Ruben's and Catherine's marriage was annulled in 1909 after it emerged that her divorce from her first husband, Edward, had not been completed before she married Ruben. Ruben brought the matter before the NSW Supreme Court on 27 Nov 1908. Finding the arguments for annulment to be sound, the dissolution of the marriage was finalised in June the following year.

Catherine then applied to the Queensland Supreme Court to have the decree nisi for her original marriage to Edward (granted 28 Sep 1881) made absolute. In the hearing before the Chief Justice on 22 Oct 1909, his Honour granted the request but observed that by doing so he had effectively now negated the grounds upon which the NSW Court had made its previous judgement to annul her later marriage to Ruben.

Catherine died at Tamworth in 1917.

Sources

• NSW BDM birth record 1019/1853 V18531019 158
• NSW BDM marriage 4248/1873
• The Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld. : 1872 - 1947) Wed 28 Sep 1881 Page 3
• The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) Fri 27 Nov 1908 Page 5
• Evening News (Sydney, NSW : 1869 - 1931) Wed 16 Jun 1909 Page 8
• The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933) Sat 23 Oct 1909 Page 10
• NSW BDM marriage 5180/1885
• NSW BDM death record 11592/1917
• Probate Notice: la Express (NSW : 1899 - 1954) Sat 11 Aug 1917 Page 4 Advertising highlighting that Albert Jones, the brother of former almost-husband Reuben, was the executor of her estate
• Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 18 April 2019), memorial page for Catherine Riley Jones (9 May 1853–24 Jul 1917), Find A Grave Memorial no. 49533722, citing Manilla General Cemetery, Manilla, Tamworth Regional Council, New South Wales, Australia ; Maintained by T.V.F.T.H. (contributor 46496806). Find A Grave: Memorial #49533722