Adams, Chamberlain & Associated Families in Australia 1830 - 2023

Charles Allen Chamberlain¹

M, #37267, b. 12 April 1853, d. 1 July 1926

Pedigree

Father*

William Alexander Cumming Chamberlain¹ b. 3 Sep 1831, d. 6 Nov 1902

Mother*

Rose Sherry¹ b. c 1836, d. 12 Mar 1899

Last Edited

9 Feb 2021

Birth*

Charles Allen Chamberlain was born on 12 April 1853 at Rushcutters Bay, New South Wales.^1,2

He was the son of William Alexander Cumming Chamberlain and Rose Sherry.¹

Marriage*

Charles Allen Chamberlain married Annie Alback in 1875 at Sydney, New South Wales^G; reg: 415/1875.^3,2

Death*

Charles Allen Chamberlain died on 1 July 1926 at Woollahra, New South Wales, at age 73.^1,2

Burial*

He was buried at South Head Cemetery, Vaucluse, New South Wales.⁴

Family

Annie Alback b. Jan 1854, d. 22 Feb 1946

Children

Rose Frances Chamberlain+¹ b. 22 Jun 1875, d. 6 Apr 1953
William Alexander Chamberlain+¹ b. 24 Apr 1876, d. 9 Dec 1946
Mary Theresa (Minnie) Chamberlain¹ b. 25 Oct 1880, d. 24 Jun 1944
Florence Ann Chamberlain+¹ b. 10 Nov 1883, d. 18 May 1967
Charles Henry Chamberlain¹ b. 25 Sep 1884, d. 1 Jan 1885
Edith Lillian Chamberlain+¹ b. 1 Jan 1886, d. 24 Nov 1961
Cecil Charles Chamberlain¹ b. 13 Apr 1889, d. 19 Aug 1965
Ida Elizabeth Chamberlain¹ b. 14 Aug 1890, d. Jan 1891
Violet Isabel Chamberlain+¹ b. 25 Aug 1892, d. 22 Nov 1975
Henry George Chamberlain¹ b. Jan 1894, d. 22 Nov 1949

Relationships

1st cousin 3 times removed of Neil James Bradley
1st cousin 3 times removed of William (Bill*) McElroy

Charts

Chamberlain Family
Chamberlain Family Indented

Citations

[S261] Heather De Sain, Degner Family.
[S309] Ancestry.com, online www.ancestry.com, Margie Hunt, Harvey, Turner, Holmes - margretjoyhunt.
[S66] BDM's, AVRI.
[S632] Find A Grave, online findagrave.com.

Annie Alback¹

F, #37268, b. January 1854, d. 22 February 1946

Pedigree

Last Edited

9 Feb 2021

Birth*

Annie Alback was born in January 1854.¹

Marriage*

She married Charles Allen Chamberlain, son of William Alexander Cumming Chamberlain and Rose Sherry, in 1875 at Sydney, New South Wales^G; reg: 415/1875.^1,2

Death*

Annie Alback died on 22 February 1946 at Woollahra, New South Wales, at age 92.^1,2

Burial*

She was buried at South Head Cemetery, Vaucluse, New South Wales.³

Family

Charles Allen Chamberlain b. 12 Apr 1853, d. 1 Jul 1926

Children

Rose Frances Chamberlain+⁴ b. 22 Jun 1875, d. 6 Apr 1953
William Alexander Chamberlain+⁴ b. 24 Apr 1876, d. 9 Dec 1946
Mary Theresa (Minnie) Chamberlain⁴ b. 25 Oct 1880, d. 24 Jun 1944
Florence Ann Chamberlain+⁴ b. 10 Nov 1883, d. 18 May 1967
Charles Henry Chamberlain⁴ b. 25 Sep 1884, d. 1 Jan 1885
Edith Lillian Chamberlain+⁴ b. 1 Jan 1886, d. 24 Nov 1961
Cecil Charles Chamberlain⁴ b. 13 Apr 1889, d. 19 Aug 1965
Ida Elizabeth Chamberlain⁴ b. 14 Aug 1890, d. Jan 1891
Violet Isabel Chamberlain+⁴ b. 25 Aug 1892, d. 22 Nov 1975
Henry George Chamberlain⁴ b. Jan 1894, d. 22 Nov 1949

Charts

Chamberlain Family
Chamberlain Family Indented

Citations

[S66] BDM's, AVRI.
[S309] Ancestry.com, online www.ancestry.com, Margie Hunt, Harvey, Turner, Holmes - margretjoyhunt.
[S632] Find A Grave, online findagrave.com.
[S261] Heather De Sain, Degner Family.

Susan Rebecca Jane Chamberlain¹

F, #37269, b. 3 April 1855, d. 8 February 1927

Pedigree

Father*

William Alexander Cumming Chamberlain¹ b. 3 Sep 1831, d. 6 Nov 1902

Mother*

Rose Sherry¹ b. c 1836, d. 12 Mar 1899

Last Edited

29 Mar 2025

Birth*

Susan Rebecca Jane Chamberlain was born on 3 April 1855 at Rushcutters Bay, New South Wales.¹

She was the daughter of William Alexander Cumming Chamberlain and Rose Sherry.¹

Marriage*

Susan Rebecca Jane Chamberlain married Henry John (Footy) Pearce on 2 January 1875 at Darling Point, New South Wales.¹

Death*

Susan Rebecca Jane Chamberlain died on 8 February 1927 at Woollahra, New South Wales, at age 71.¹

Burial*

She was buried at South Head Cemetery, Vaucluse, New South Wales.²

Family

Henry John (Footy) Pearce b. 21 Dec 1851, d. 31 Jul 1920

Children

Rosina Elvira Elizabeth Pearce³ b. 5 Oct 1875, d. 31 Aug 1877
Susan Ann Pearce+³ b. 20 Jun 1877, d. 20 May 1955
Henry William (Harry) Pearce+³ b. 22 Jun 1879, d. 23 May 1948
Elizabeth Ruth Pearce+³ b. 24 Aug 1881, d. 4 Jun 1956
Sidney Charles (Sandy) Pearce+³ b. 31 May 1883, d. 14 Nov 1930
Ernest Peasley Pearce³ b. 1 Nov 1886, d. 19 Sep 1973
Minnie Pearce³ b. 29 Mar 1887, d. 2 Jul 1951
Lily Pearce³ b. 17 Aug 1889, d. 12 Feb 1970
Arthur Chamberlain Pearce+³ b. 18 Sep 1890, d. 19 Aug 1961
Walter Cook Pearce³ b. 25 Jan 1892, d. 6 Dec 1945
Alice May Pearce³ b. 9 May 1893, d. 18 Nov 1978
Edith Pearce³ b. 16 Jun 1894, d. 28 Oct 1894

Relationships

1st cousin 3 times removed of Neil James Bradley
1st cousin 3 times removed of William (Bill*) McElroy

Charts

Chamberlain Family
Chamberlain Family Indented

Citations

[S261] Heather De Sain, Degner Family.
[S632] Find A Grave, online findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/234717355/…
[S309] Ancestry.com, online www.ancestry.com, Thorb - ruthorbe.

Henry John (Footy) Pearce¹

M, #37270, b. 21 December 1851, d. 31 July 1920

Pedigree

Last Edited

29 Mar 2025

Birth*

Henry John (Footy) Pearce was born on 21 December 1851 at Hounslow, Middlesex, England.^1,2

Marriage*

He married Susan Rebecca Jane Chamberlain, daughter of William Alexander Cumming Chamberlain and Rose Sherry, on 2 January 1875 at Darling Point, New South Wales.¹

Death*

Henry John (Footy) Pearce died on 31 July 1920 at Woollahra, New South Wales, at age 68.¹

Burial*

He was buried at South Head Cemetery, Vaucluse, New South Wales.³

Family

Susan Rebecca Jane Chamberlain b. 3 Apr 1855, d. 8 Feb 1927

Children

Rosina Elvira Elizabeth Pearce² b. 5 Oct 1875, d. 31 Aug 1877
Susan Ann Pearce+² b. 20 Jun 1877, d. 20 May 1955
Henry William (Harry) Pearce+² b. 22 Jun 1879, d. 23 May 1948
Elizabeth Ruth Pearce+² b. 24 Aug 1881, d. 4 Jun 1956
Sidney Charles (Sandy) Pearce+² b. 31 May 1883, d. 14 Nov 1930
Ernest Peasley Pearce² b. 1 Nov 1886, d. 19 Sep 1973
Minnie Pearce² b. 29 Mar 1887, d. 2 Jul 1951
Lily Pearce² b. 17 Aug 1889, d. 12 Feb 1970
Arthur Chamberlain Pearce+² b. 18 Sep 1890, d. 19 Aug 1961
Walter Cook Pearce² b. 25 Jan 1892, d. 6 Dec 1945
Alice May Pearce² b. 9 May 1893, d. 18 Nov 1978
Edith Pearce² b. 16 Jun 1894, d. 28 Oct 1894

Note*

Pearce, Henry John (1852–1920)

by Suzanne Edgar

Henry John Pearce (1852-1920), professional sculler and master fisherman, was born in Hounslow on the River Thames, London, son of James Pearce, labourer, and his wife Ann, née Young. Best known as Harry, he migrated to Sydney in 1859 and worked on Thomas Playfair's butcher boats at £4 a week. He began competitive rowing in 1869 and in the 1870s rowed with Elias Laycock's four-oared crew which was seldom beaten. The champion Edward Trickett beat him in 1874.

Successful in light skiffs and heavy watermen's boats, the wiry, close-knit Pearce began to attract notice as a possible champion. On 1 January 1880 he defeated Richard Hickey in Newcastle and on 26 January won the Sydney Morning Herald trophy of a new cedar skiff in the watermen's skiff handicap at the New South Wales anniversary regatta, with 'strength but very little science'. In February he laid £100-£60 to row against Laycock over the championship course on the Parramatta River in equal watermen's skiffs. Rowing with 'a swing as regular as a clock's pendulum' Pearce won by twelve lengths. In July he was involved in a dispute over fouling William Trickett's boat on the Clarence River at Grafton. Sports columnists attacked Pearce but the local regatta committee exonerated him and upheld the umpire's decision, yet he had difficulty in arranging matches for some months. In 1881 he made a comeback at the Pyrmont regatta in January where his extraordinary performance in winning three races on the same day had never been equalled. He won the wager boats race, defeating W. Trickett, John Laycock and Power; then with J. Lynch he won the double sculls; with only time to change boats, he came out against fresh men in the watermen's race, carried top weight of 100 lbs and 'rowed his opponents down one after another'. Pearce was now seen as 'a fine piece of stuff', and 'the coming man for the championship of Australia'.

On 26 December Pearce beat William Beach carrying a 45 lb. (20 kg) weight in the boat. When E. Laycock returned to England in 1882 he took with him Pearce whom he considered 'second to none in the colony'. Supported by J. Davis and others, Pearce had to sell his boat to raise the fare but left on 3 March in the Potosi. At Putney, backed by Laycock, he was twice matched against England's second sculler, John Largan, but failed because he was overweight. Pearce amazed the English by demonstrating the prehensile toes from which his nickname 'Footy' derived: he could lift a 56 lb. (25 kg) weight with each foot and knock them together in the air. Deflated by their failures, Pearce and Laycock returned to Sydney on 30 August in the Sorata but on 30 December when Largan visited Sydney Pearce beat him on the Parramatta River before huge crowds.

In 1884 Tom Clifford beat Pearce who now found himself too heavily handicapped to make competition worthwhile and retired. Out of 60 races he had won 25 and was placed in 9. He became one of the most eminent master fishermen and boatowners on the harbour.

A member of the Royal Order of Foresters and a highly respected trader at the Woolloomooloo markets, Pearce married Susan Rebecca Chamberlain in 1875; with five sons and seven daughters he founded a well-known family of sportsmen and fishermen. His son Harry was a sculling champion in his father's lifetime and Sydney a prominent footballer; his daughters Alice and Lily rowed successfully against a visiting Maori team in 1911. Aged 68 Pearce died on 31 July 1920 at Pearce Street, Double Bay, and was buried in the South Head cemetery with Anglican rites.

Select Bibliography
¦J. E. Tonkin (ed), The English, Australian & American Sporting Calendar (Syd, 1884)
¦Sydney Mail, ‘Aquatics’, 31 Jan 1880–24 Feb 1883
¦Town and Country Journal, ‘Aquatics’, 31 Jan 1880–24 Sept 1881, 4, 11 Jan, 1 Feb 1911
¦Sunday Sun, 24 June 1906
¦Australasian, 31 July 1920
¦Sydney Morning Herald, 2 Aug 1920
¦Bulletin, 5 Aug 1920.

Citation details

Edgar, Suzanne, 'Pearce, Henry John (1852–1920)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/pearce-henry-john-4379/text7127, accessed 9 September 2012.

This article was first published in hardcopy in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 5, (MUP), 1974.⁴

Charts

Chamberlain Family
Chamberlain Family Indented

Citations

[S261] Heather De Sain, Degner Family.
[S309] Ancestry.com, online www.ancestry.com, Thorb - ruthorbe.
[S632] Find A Grave, online findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/218830206/…
[S381] Australian Dictionary of Biography, online sdb.anu.edu.au/biography/.

Joan Rose Farquharson¹

F, #37271, b. 15 October 1939, d. 1 July 1963

Pedigree

Father*

Wallace William Farquharson¹ b. 26 Jan 1904, d. 21 Aug 1985

Mother*

Doris Ellen Stanley¹ b. 1 Mar 1912, d. 18 Jan 2004

Last Edited

27 Dec 2010

Birth*

Joan Rose Farquharson was born on 15 October 1939.¹

She was the daughter of Wallace William Farquharson and Doris Ellen Stanley.¹

Death*

Joan Rose Farquharson died on 1 July 1963 at age 23; cancer.¹

Relationships

3rd cousin 1 time removed of Neil James Bradley
3rd cousin 1 time removed of William (Bill*) McElroy

Charts

Chamberlain Family
Chamberlain Family Indented

Citations

[S261] Heather De Sain, Degner Family.

William Frederick Chamberlain¹

M, #37277, b. 14 June 1918, d. 17 July 1997

Pedigree

William Frederick Chamberlain

Father*

Frederick George (Snowy) Chamberlain¹ b. Oct 1891, d. 12 Dec 1949

Mother*

Violet Hope Jackson¹ b. 3 Sep 1898, d. 30 Sep 1969

Last Edited

16 Jan 2020

Birth*

William Frederick Chamberlain was born on 14 June 1918 at Fremantle, Western Australia^G.¹

He was the son of Frederick George (Snowy) Chamberlain and Violet Hope Jackson.¹

Death*

William Frederick Chamberlain died on 17 July 1997 at Canowindra, New South Wales, at age 79.²

Relationships

3rd cousin 1 time removed of Neil James Bradley
3rd cousin 1 time removed of Victoria Rae (Vicki*) Barrett
3rd cousin 1 time removed of William (Bill*) McElroy
4th cousin of Thomas Anthony (Tony*) Harrop

Charts

Ellen Adams Line (Headland)

Citations

[S89] The West, 26/2/2004, 50, 21/6/1918 pg 19.
[S608] Susan McCourt,NSW.

Alma Florence Chamberlain^1,2,3

F, #37279, b. 1910, d. 7 January 1990

Pedigree

Father*

Harold John Chamberlain¹ b. 1884, d. 16 Aug 1935

Mother*

Florence Elizabeth Beresford¹ b. 1888, d. 10 Dec 1910

Last Edited

7 Mar 2013

Birth*

Alma Florence Chamberlain was born in 1910 at Fremantle, Western Australia^G; reg: 666/1910.^1,2

She was the daughter of Harold John Chamberlain and Florence Elizabeth Beresford.¹

Marriage*

Alma Florence Chamberlain married Leonard George Keir in 1932 at Fremantle, Western Australia^G; reg: 81/1932.⁴

Death*

Alma Florence Chamberlain died on 7 January 1990 at Bentley, Western Australia.³

Family

Leonard George Keir b. 1911, d. 12 Sep 2014

Relationships

2nd cousin 1 time removed of Neil James Bradley
3rd cousin 1 time removed of Victoria Rae (Vicki*) Barrett
2nd cousin 1 time removed of William (Bill*) McElroy
4th cousin of Thomas Anthony (Tony*) Harrop

Charts

Harriet Adams Line (Chamberlain)
Chamberlain Family
Chamberlain Family Indented

Citations

[S89] The West, 26/2/2004, 50, 9/12/1911 pg 1.
[S201] WA BDMs, online http://www.bdm.dotag.wa.gov.au
[S62] MCB, online mcb.wa.gov.au.
[S162] Reverse WA Marriage Lookup, online http://www.wamarriage.info/