GeniAus - #AtoZChallenge - A is for Artie

During April 2020 the month of this #AtoZChallenge I will be sharing short posts on some of the 2,000+ descendants I have identified of my 3x Great-Grandmother, Elizabeth Phipps. 

Elizabeth Phipps 1785-1869 was a convict who was transported from England to New South Wales in 1814 per Wanstead. 

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One day back in October 2011 I was at home preparing dinner when I got a phone call from Mum's second cousin, Arthur Henry Beetson who was wanting help with our family tree. Neither Mum or I had ever met Arthur but we both  knew of this famous Australian cousin who was better known as "Big Artie". 

I was saddened that Artie passed away at the relatively young age of 66 a short time later on December 1, 2011 before I was able to send him any family history files. Arthur was the 2xGreat-Grandson of  Elizabeth Phipps.


Relationship to Phipps Elizabeth

Phipps Elizabeth  Bef 1785 - 1869

Westbrook James  1784 - 1859

Magick James  1826 - Bef 1880

Hayward Bridget Ann  Abt 1830 - 1872

Magick Bridget Ann  1867 - 1934

Beetson Andrew Alfred  1854 - 1938

Beetson William Henry  1897 - 1975

Loder Marie  1912 - 1982

Beetson Arthur Henry  1945 - 2011

Beetson Arthur Henry is the 2 x great grandson of Phipps Elizabeth

Artie was a proud indigenous man -  the first Indigenous captain of a major Australian sporting team, The Australian Rugby League team, The Kangaroos.   Beetson received a Medal of the Order of Australia "in recognition of service to the sport of Rugby League"

I will not share a story of Artie's life here as it is well documented on many internet sites. You can read Artie's obituary here, http://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/beetson-arthur-henry-artie-16716, on the Obituaries Australia website (note the incorrect date of death in  the article title - it should be 1945-2011).

Please take a look at The ARTIE Academy,https://www.artie.net.au/about/, a charity set up in Artie's memory.

I love to connect with cousins and fellow researchers. Should you find any errors in my post or have additional information please contact me. 

On World Genealogy Day....

I am sitting with my grandson and telling him about some famous Aussies he is related to.

I think he is more impressed with being the 3rd cousin once removed of Darren Middleton from Powderfinger than being 2nd cousin three times removed of Football legend Arthur Beetson. Unfortunately I could only think of these two famous people. I didn't want to bore the grandson lest I turn him off so I only shared one more ancestor story, that of his 3xGreat-Grandfater, James Pusell, who bit off a chap's ear in a drunken brawl.

1896 'Biting off an Ear.', Goulburn Evening Penny Post (NSW : 1881 - 1940), 25 July, p. 4. , viewed 09 Mar 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article98568791

As my Grandson was strumming his guitar earlier I showed him the video of Jake Shimabukuru at Rootstech, I thought he would enjoy this maestro's skill with the ukelele. The Grandson thought Jake was "awesome".

We also watched a Facebook live video I made at Rootstech and worked out a way to download it in MP4 format. These techie things come so naturally to 12 year old boys.

Talking about family history with a young descendant is a satisfying way to celebrate World Genealogy Day.

A Gentle Man - A Football Giant

It is always sad when one has to add a new death date to the family tree.

I was distressed yesterday to hear of the passing at 66 years of age of Arthur Henry Beetson, who was my mother's second cousin. I had previously blogged about Artie's relationship to our family this year after my cousin asked "Who is our relative the aboriginal footballer? " My readers who are not Australian might wish to read the Wikipedia article that outlines Arthur's impressive career.






Several months ago another distant cousin contacted me and asked if he could give Arthur my 'phone number as Arthur was keen to find out more about his family history. I replied in the affirmative as I was keen to talk to Arthur and discover his story. When Arthur contacted me around six weeks ago we had a lovely chat, I was so impressed by his gentle manner and his concern that he would be putting me out with his request.  I assured Arthur that it would be a pleasure to put something together for him.

I took a look at the branch of the tree that we share and decided that I needed to relook at the branch and to then write a piece about them, not just for Arthur, but for all the descendants of our plucky convicts, Elizabeth Phipps, James Westbrook, Robert Hayward and William Magick. I am deeply saddened that I did not get to finish that task before I heard the news of Arthur's passing on the radio yesterday.

Arthur Beetson's Ancestry on Geniaus' Site 

Who is our relative the aboriginal footballer?

Who is our relative the aboriginal footballer? ...is a question a cousin of mine who is not into genealogy asked in an email yesterday.

Arthur Henry Beetson

I replied that Arthur Henry "Big Artie" Beetson is a second cousin of our mothers who are sisters. My mother's grandmother Harriet Magick is the sister of Artie's grandmother Bridget Ann Magick .

Over the years quite a few of the descendants of Bridget's parents, my convict ancestor James Magick and his wife Bridget Ann Hayward (who was born in the colony), have written asking me if I knew if we had aboriginal ancestry. Various older family members had been told that they had an aboriginal ancestor but no-one has any proof. Aboriginal ancestry was often swept under the carpet in years gone by.

People have written to me:

• " I am curious to know if you know of any Aboriginality in the Magick family?" 
• *"I have found a Robert Hayward, who had a daughter Sarah,  to Biddy Segeant. According to papers I have, Biddy is listed as a native. I thought that the Aboriginal  link may have come in here, through Bridgett Ann Haywood, who married James Magick, but it seems to me that Bridgett Ann Hayward has no direct link to Biddy Sergeant" 
• *My great aunt, Maggie Hoy who died at age 104 years old, always said that there was Aboriginal ties through the Magicks." 
• Can you please comment on this request? Comment re possible aboriginal ancestry of xxx and xxx

My theory is that Bridget Ann Hayward's mother was the aboriginal named Biddy Sargeant. Her father Robert Hayward, a convict, fathered a child Sarah Hayward with Biddy in 1834, Bridget was born 4 years earlier in 1830. It has been reported by various family members that the aboriginal line comes from Bridget so that makes me think that Bridget's natural mother was Biddy Sargeant.

It seems that Robert did not hook up with his future wife, Ann Blake, until around 1840. They had a son Robert who was born in 1841 and a daughter, Lenore. Ann Blake is recorded as Bridget's mother on Ann's death certificate but this could have been because Bridget had been living with her father and Ann Blake. 

When I worked on this family line many years ago I wasn't too careful about recording sources so my records on this line are patchy. I think it's time to revisit this line and record the sources for some of the information I have.

I am sure, however, that Big Artie is a relation of mine.