Jean White Blackwood: My 2x Great-Grandfather’s Second Wife

When I started this blog, I shared that I had no agenda regarding topics; I would follow whatever caught my attention. This post is no exception.

What caught my attention this time was a random message on my Ancestry account. The message was from a woman named Heather, who was reaching out wanting to discuss my Blackwood/Burg branch of the family tree and to see if she could confirm a DNA link.

After a few exciting emails and exchanges of information back and forth, we worked out that we share the same 4x great-grandparents, Heinrich Burg and Elizabetha Rötger, from Eltville in Hesse, Germany, who emigrated to Australia in July 1849. This makes us fifth cousins.

It is Heinrich and Elizabetha’s grandson, Henry John Blackwood, my 2x great-grandfather that is the link to the topic of this post, Jean White. (I know it took a moment but we finally got there.)

This post explores Jean’s life as Henry’s second wife, her connections with his family, mainly his son Horace John, and the personal struggles that led to her tragic downfall. And thanks to my Pop’s family photo archive, we are incredibly lucky to be able to see a photo of Jean.

Jean was Henry’s second wife. They married in 1912, but unfortunately there are no marriage notices or wedding articles appearing in Trove, so I can’t provide any other details.

I was going to order a copy of their marriage certificate from Births, Deaths and Marriages, but the current cost for an emailed copy is $43.00. Damn! (I have since placed an order.)

Update: Order cancelled. I forgot, I have a copy of the Marriage Registration in my family archives. I had the opportunity back in 2018 of visiting the State Archives in Sydney and they had a copy which I photographed for free.

So Jean was known as Jane and she was a widow. White is a notoriously hard name to research—much like John—with millions of entries in records. I thought Jean’s maiden name might help considering it seems pretty unusual, Gasch. Again, crickets.

I did find one fascinating article from 1905 published in Launceston, where a Jean Gasch sued a young woman for negligence and, a Mr White appears as well.

But of course there is no way to confirm it was our Jean or Mr White. So frustrating but tantalising at the same time.

As a matter of interest I tracked down Henry and Jean’s addresses from the marriage registration. It looks like the house at Henry’s address still stands today on Windsor Street. No. 53 is the third door from the left in the photo.

And I can also confirm this is actually where he and Jean lived after the wedding, with this rather alarming article about Jean below, which must have been very upsetting reading at the time.

Jean’s address, 18 Burton Street, North Sydney, is unfortunately no more. It was demolished in the mid 1920s, and the site is now overshadowed by the northern approach to the Harbour Bridge.

I went down a bit of a rabbit hole of historic photos of the bridge construction on the State Library website in my search for a photo of the house. Wow, so many amazing photographs. No photos of the street before demolition unfortunately but check out these phenomenal views of the area below.

Although it is not marked on the photo, it is clear that the shot above is taken from very close to Burton Street, looking towards the northern approach of the Harbour Bridge, which is being built. It is looking back towards the city.

You can see the gantry under the road clearly in this next photo which matches with the ones above. Burton Street is the second smaller arch under the roadway. This matches with the image in (Figure 2d) above.

One last photo, just because it is an amazing shot and shows the bridge completed and I think possibly on it’s opening day. It also shows the remnants of Burton Street, Jean’s old street.

Don’t forget, you always get more in my posts than just what the title might suggest.

I have been aware of Jean and her connection to Henry for a while now but hadn’t really done any serious digging into her story, that is until Heather’s message.

It was while I was looking through the Burg Blackwood files for Heather that Jean appeared again. I started reading and remembered that the little that I do have saved on Jean tells a very sad story. (Spoilers I know, but I think the title sort of gives it away.)

The first piece of official evidence that I found of Jean’s life after learning of her marriage to Henry was actually discovering her grave at Rookwood General Cemetery in Sydney. She is buried in Plot 6, Zone C, grave number 2482.

You would think having this information would make it easy to find a grave when you get out into the cemetery grounds, but no. The scene below is very typical of what it looks like most of the time you are searching.

That is hundreds of unmarked graves, oftentimes completely indistinguishable from each other with no grave number in sight anywhere.

This shot above is actually the top section of Plot: 6. And the one below is the bottom of Plot: 5 that sits right next to it.

We knew that Jean was somewhere between these two sections. Alex, the boys and I initially searched for Jean in 2015, and back then the cemetery office could only provide a photocopied map with grave numbers listed on it. You had to try to locate a row number, then find a grave number you could see and then try to count graves, hoping you hit your relative at some stage.

It took us about an hour and a half to locate Jean’s resting place, and luckily for us, she had a headstone.

Today, in comparison, Rookwood has everything mapped digitally. That information is now available to search online with a very handy overlay of the numbered graves on the map of each plot and section. This is how easy it is to find Jean’s grave now. A damn pin is even dropped in for you.

How incredible is that? The office had a surprise for us when we made our initial enquiry about Jean: someone else was buried with her. That information is also available on their digital platform.

Jean’s resting place tenant, Horace John Blackwood (aka John, Jack and Jock) who was actually her stepson. Jack was Henry’s eldest born son.

Others here: I didn’t even realise that this was a thing, multiple people being buried in the same grave. I knew that cemeteries at the time would do this in specific sections for those who were destitute, homeless or whose bodies were unclaimed but apparently families could request this service as well. https://share.google/WiniMCowoISV5h4me

Jack was first to be interred here in 1920, and at the time Australia was only 18 months out from the ravages of the First World War and right in the grip of a global flu pandemic. Like most families then, I would imagine that Henry and his family were feeling the effects of the severe post-war economic strain, and having a single-depth individual plot dug just didn’t make economic sense. https://share.google/MVaBBcKHyI56g2Q3S

Below is a record of Jack’s burial details that confirm he is resting in the same plot as Jean.

The Mrs Blackwood named on this document is referring to Jean and not Jack’s actual birth mother. Jack’s birth mother was Georgina Blackwood, née Bowden, Henry’s first wife, who died on 28 September 1907. Jack was 20 years old at the time of her death.

Georgina’s funeral notices had some very interesting information contained within them.

The first piece of incredible information that jumps out is the fact that the second notice there was placed by a gentleman named, Ah Quan. I can only assume that Quan was a Chinese national living in Australia at the time and what a time it would have been.

In 1907 the general sentiment among white Australians towards the Chinese Population was overwhelmingly hostile, xenophobic and exclusionary. (Wow, nothing changes does it?) https://cass.anu.edu.au/news/australian-politics-explainer-white-australia-policy

This was the beginning of the “White Australia Policy” and by 1907 systemic discrimination was firmly institutionalised. Chinese men were barred from bringing their families to Australia and a single Chinese man like Quan would have been vilified and seen as a social and moral threat towards a white woman such as Georgina. https://theconversation.com/your-government-makes-us-go-the-hidden-history-of-chinese-australian-women-at-a-time-of-anti-asian-immigration-laws-154821

So to read Quan’s notice referring to Georgina as his “…beloved FRIEND…” is just incredible. What a find that would be to discover the story of their friendship, how it started and where it developed to.

The second piece of interesting information is Georgina’s address. The correct street number, was actually 75½ lower George Street or George Street North as it was also known. It extended from Essex Street and terminated down around Dawes Point. https://share.google/Unf5xeHINd1YfFPJ3

I was able to confirm the address from a number of sources. First this amazing map from the City of Sydney Archives which actually had the property number listed on it.

Then this amazing photo of the exact area pictured in the map. The photo is taken from above “Bushells” street on the very left of the map looking back to Circular Quay.

The Harrington’s building on the lower right of the photo is number 57-59 which means 75½ is in the next block down on the right.

On an interesting historical side note, the Observer and Orient Hotels on either end of the block that the Blackwoods lived on are still standing today.

Tiled Gallery 1: Courtesy of Google Maps

The P & O Hotel their immediate neighbour is still standing too but is no longer a pub. In actual fact it ceased operation as a hotel back in 1927 when it became a New South Wales Ambulance station which remained in operation until 1990. It now houses the Ken Duncan Gallery. https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10230382471641050&set=gm.7383765711662984&idorvanity=619553561417600

Tiled Gallery 1a: Courtesy of Les de Belin, Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10230382471641050&set=gm.7383765711662984&idorvanity=619553561417600

You might have worked it out already but the building on the very left of the photos is 75½ and it too still stands. This is where Georgina’s funeral departed from.

Back to Jean and Jack: I initially thought their shared burial reflected closeness, but the economics of the time offer a more plausible explanation.

It is not to say that they weren’t close as I think I may have found some other evidence to show they were but how Jean dies and when, leans more toward the economic. This will become clearer the more we delve into that part of Jean’s story.

But first, a bit of Jack’s story. As I pointed out above he actually passed away before Jean and was buried five years earlier. Jack had fought for three years in France in World War I. He was wounded three times, the third occasion severely, in the upper arm and nose. These injuries eventually led to his being discharged as medically unfit for duty and returned to Australia in February 1919. https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=3088919&isAv=N

When you look at the photo of Jack in (Figure 9), I wonder if that mark on the top of his nose between his eyebrows might be the remnants of the wound. This medical record entry from his war service recorded dated, 17 Oct 1918 certainly confirms that it healed quickly and could have looked like this in the months before his return in early 1919.

When he did return, the family had a welcome home dinner for him at their home in Longnose Point Balmain which just happened to get a mention in The Sun newspaper.

I was able to comb through the family archives and work out that we have photos of the family at the property that may have been taken around the time of the event.

These photos my Nan always referred to as the Blackwood photos whenever she brought them out to look at. The photo below shows the waterside home on Louisa Street Longnose Point.

I was able to confirm from the Sands Directory that the house sat on the western side of Louisa Road.

The “Off” refers to the fact that it was a second property on the lot sitting behind the main property that had the access to the street frontage. https://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/history/house-and-building-histories-guide/assessment-and-rates-books

Louisa Road sits high on a ridge with a steep waterfront embankment on the western side, this meant the house sat down on the waterfront and would have been accessed by the main gate of No. 22. This fits with the description of the property in the welcome home article above.

Unfortunately it is not so easy trying to find the property today. There have been several street numbering changes over the decades, as these maps show.

Tiled Gallery 2: Courtesy of the NSW Land Registry Services & State Library of New South Wales

My best guess, using the list in the Suburban Directory above and counting from Cove Street, is that it probably sat, conveniently, around the present day property numbered 22 Louisa Road, just up from the intersection of Louisa Rd and Rose Street.

I wonder what Henry, Jean and the rest of the family would think if they were still around today? The property at No. 22 today has 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and 4 car spaces and look what it sold for in May 2025.

You might be thinking at the moment, where is Jean in all of this, well not far actually. Jean lived at No. 22 for a number of years and I have multiple resources that confirm this that I will share shortly but first back to the photo of the house above.(Figure 15)

Here is a close up of the people sitting out front. I’ve done my best in identifying who is who in the caption below.

Here is a fantastic photo of Jean, Jack and his sisters, Jeannie and Nellie. Obviously taken on the same day.

This photo is one of those bits of evidence I mentioned early that may show there was a closeness between Jack and Jean.

Now I can be certain of Jack, Jean and Bobby in the above photos but the sisters I could have around the wrong way. Their husbands, Sid and William are a guess too. I have confirmed photos of Nellie and William in our archives taken when they were older and I was just comparing them to these.

Tiled Gallery 4: Courtesy of the Pyle Family Archives

Next, I wanted to try to ascertain when the family moved into No.22 and how long they were there for and look what I found to help with that.

Yes, that is right, that is Henry’s mother, Margaretha’s funeral notice and this confirms not only that she was still living there, but also that Henry and Jean may have been living there as early as 1917.

And again with the luck, we actually have a photograph of Margaretha, my 3x great-grandmother in the family archives thanks to another cousin, Margarita.

And this is where Margaretha was laid to rest.

Guess who is also resting with her.

Yes, with her son Henry. They are resting in Plot 5 just down from Jean and Jack in Plot 6.

As to how long they remained at Louisa Road, well, the rest of Jean’s story will fill in that detail. But before that let’s go back to the beginning of what I have been able to piece together.

Jean appears in 12 family trees on Ancestry.com.au. A few of them have a birthplace listed for her of Eastbourne in Durham, England, which matches with the marriage registration details, but I can’t find any birth registration with those details in Ancestry.

I do have this article below from Trove stating she is from Eastbourne near London, suggesting Eastbourne in Sussex (117 km away) rather than Durham (394 km away). However, I have not yet located definitive birth records to confirm which is correct.

I will share the rest of this article soon, I just don’t want to spoil the surprise of what it is all about just yet.

After this detail on Jean’s birth, that is it; there doesn’t appear to be any other information out there. I have scoured Trove and Google, and there is just no mention of her that I can find anywhere. The next time we pick up Jean’s story is when she and Henry marry in 1912, as mentioned above in (Figure 2).

The information in the article from (Figure 23) matched with the marriage registration details, that they were married on Saturday the 7th of September 1912 at St John’s Presbyterian Church in Paddington.

The Church has an amazing history. Its foundation stone was laid 171 years ago, on the 17th October, 1855.

It took nearly four years to complete and was opened to the public by May of 1859. No specific article on the opening, which is strange but this small mention from the 11th of May that confirms it was newly erected.

The church sits on Oxford Street just up from the Victoria Barracks.

I went looking for a photo of what it might have looked like at the time of Jean and Henry’s big day but there is no photo of the whole building that I can find.

This photo below, amazing as it is, is the best I could come up with. It shows what I believe to be the church sitting at the top of Oxford Street in 1871, forty one years before their big day.

If you check the map above you will see there is a Church of England School and Church on the corner of Oatley Road. This is the original St Matthias Garrison Church and School and yes it could be that building as it was built in 1848. https://eplanning.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/Common/Integration/FileDownload.ashx?id=!!aUGZS8sCxGDBS4FGjQs97X1TZLVKt9pWiwxtNg%3D%3DnGnY3qPiL0U%3D&ext=PDF&filesize=1966026&modified=2023-06-08T06:56:52Z

But I think it is actually St John’s, (which amazingly is still standing today) because when you look at today’s version of this shot below, it sits in the same eye-line from the bottom of the road where the original photo would have been taken from. I’ve marked the church’s position in yellow.

The old Garrison school and church building (which were to stand until 1891) were obscured behind the row of buildings on the left. I think this is because of the angle of the shot, which is why St John’s stands so prominently at the top of the road in (Figure 27). https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/15478293#

St John’s is no longer a working church, it was deconsecrated in 2000 and in 2010 it was developed into a retail and residential project. https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/north-shore-downsizers-seek-out-st-johns-paddington-offerings-through-savills

This gave me the idea to checkout Google Maps further dates section for the site and look what I found in 2009.

An image of the remnants of the church where Jean and Henry were married 150 years earlier. It is strange that there are not more historical photos of the building, considering it has been there since 1859. I found five other partial images, and that is it.

At the time of the wedding, Henry was 55 years old, and Jean was 31—a 24-year gap. I would have reservations about such an age difference. My measure: if you are old enough to have watched your partner in their crib as an adult, the gap is too large. (I know, controversial to share an opinion but I’m doing it people!)

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics this large of an age gap, even though not illegal as both Jean and Henry were of consenting age, it went heavily against the social norms and actual demographic practices for Australia in the 1910s. https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.NSF/bb8db737e2af84b8ca2571780015701e/B95347A43CC81FFFCA256B350010B3FB?opendocument

At the time the average gap between brides and grooms was only about 3-4 years. Most men married in their mid to late 20s and women in their early to mid 20s. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12293943/

There was an exception to this rule; the “remarriage exception”. A couple like Jean and Henry would still have been the subject of social stigma and gossip, but the fact that Henry was in his 50s and as a widower, the age gap would have been tolerated to a certain extent because he would have been expected to look for someone younger to take over the running of his household. https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.NSF/bb8db737e2af84b8ca2571780015701e/B95347A43CC81FFFCA256B350010B3FB?opendocument

I’m highlighting this particular fact and going into a bit more background detail about the age gap as I think it might have been a contributing factor to the sad downfall referred to in the title, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Hold this thought for now.

Back to Louisa Street at Longnose Point. I just found an article that helps with establishing the timeline of when they might have taken up residence.

It is an article about my great-grandparent’s wedding, that is Henry’s youngest daughter, Grace Blackwood to William Norman Rupert Nicoll. It just happened to be a double wedding, William’s brother, Bruce Nicoll married his Fiancée Annie Schofield at the same time.

Here is St Stephens Presbyterian Church in Phillip Street, Sydney. The Reserve Bank of Australia now occupies the site.

This next shot is amazing, it shows the actual spot where my great-grandparents stood with their brother and sister-in-law to make their wedding vows.

And this is where, Henry, Jean, Jack and the rest of the family would have sat to watch the ceremony.

This June 1914 article establishes that Jean and Henry had not yet moved to Louisa Street. They had relocated from Windsor Street in Paddington to Woollahra—the adjacent suburb—sometime between Jean’s accident, October 1912 and my great-grandparents’ wedding.

I think Jack Blackwood was living in Surry Hills at this time. The photo of my great-grandmother Grace with her friend, Lucy above, (Figure 35a) was actually a postcard that she had sent to her brother Jack. Here is the reverse side of that postcard.

We don’t have a number but Jack was somewhere on this street below in the mid 1910s.

I had actually seen a version of this article above (Article 1) in another newspaper, but it didn’t mention the name of the house where Henry and Jean were living. I went digging and discovered that Wimbeldon was actually a misquote. I then scoured the Sands Suburban Directory for Woollahra in 1914, and sure enough, I found the correct name of the house.

“Wimlaslnt….” Oh what the hell? Yeah sometimes the scanning doesn’t come up too well but not to worry, I checked 1915 and Yahtzee!

“Wimbedale” and more importantly the street address. No. 5 Russell Street, Woollahra.

According to information on Domain.com.au, the house was built in 1910 and is still standing today. This is the house where Jean and Henry were living when my great-grandparents, Grace and Norman were married in 1914.

Tiled Gallery 5: Courtesy of Domain.com.au

https://www.domain.com.au/5-russell-street-woollahra-nsw-2025-2009654272

Jean and Henry were there for another two years and had presumably left by 1917, as the Sands listing on the right shows Mr R. Stanley had taken up residency.

Tiled Gallery 6: Courtesy of City of Sydney Archives & History Resources

https://collection.sl.nsw.gov.au/record/74VKRDGXBgPy

I wonder if this is when they move into the property at Longnose Point. Don’t forget, 1917 is when Henry’s mother, Margaretha passed away. Perhaps they moved in with her a few months earlier to take care of her until her passing.

Turning now to the issue of Jean’s sad downfall, we have our first hint, from May 1915, when they were living here in Russell Street, that the relationship between her and Henry was under some strain.

Remember the 2018 State Archives visit I mentioned earlier? The file containing the marriage registration was actually Jean and Henry’s divorce file—yes, their lives together eventually imploded.

The following letters, written between 1915 and 1916, reveal the depth of Jean’s personal crisis and her struggle with alcohol. Check out this remarkable find tucked in with the divorce affidavits.

What a privilege it is to be able to read these tortured words of Jean’s. I’m sure if she was still alive she would be mortified that something so private is being shared but I am treating them with the respect they deserve.

I’m only sharing this letter because it is such an amazing opportunity to meet the real person behind the two-dimensional photos and scant press appearances that we have seen so far.

The shame and self-loathing are just dripping off the page. I can’t imagine the strength it must have taken for Jean to put pen to paper and admit her failings like this. The wording she uses, imputations and wretched, makes you wonder what she must have been like and what she said when she was drinking.

The file also contained another letter that Jean had written, this time to Sid Johnstone. Sid was married to Henry’s step-daughter, Jeanne Catherine Florence Skinner (also known as Jeannie Blackwood). She was the daughter of Henry’s business partner, for whom the bookstall business was named, Robert William Skinner and his wife, Jane Grace Skinner, née Vaughan.

Now, just before we get to Jean’s letter to Sid, there is something very intriguing that came up when I went looking for sources to confirm Sid and Jean Skinner’s marriage. Have a look at their marriage registration details from the NSW Births, Deaths & Marriages site.

I couldn’t find these details at first as Jean had her maiden name listed as Blackwood and not Skinner. I then went to cross reference these details with her birth registration, I tried Blackwood first this time, nothing, then Skinner, and look at what that produced.

Skinner, the last name of Robert William Skinner, Henry’s business partner whose name is also listed as her father. Then for the final trick, here is her death registration.

Henry’s name is listed as her father and not Robert. This discrepancy—whether due to adoption, legal guardianship, or deliberate concealment—illustrates why researching family history can be so tricky: you are relying on incorrect or misheard information or, oftentimes, information that is deliberately altered to hide some family shame. In Jeannie’s case, the shift from Skinner to Blackwood across her birth, marriage, and death records most likely reflects a formal adoption or guardianship arrangement.

Now, back to Jean’s letter to Sid Johnstone.

Again, so raw and so full of shame. I wonder what the aspersions were that she had made towards Jennie and Sid and what her delusions were about. Obviously she was really struggling with her addiction at this moment.

Unfortunately this letter is undated so I am unsure as to where it fits in the timeline of all the trouble. It is interesting to note that Jean has included the address of 121 Castlereagh Street, City as this was the site of the shop, “Skinner’s Bookstall”

We are incredibly lucky, I have two photos in our family archives of the shop with Henry actually standing out the front.

Yeah, the finger in front of the viewfinder is unfortunate but it is still a fantastic shot.

I’m fairly sure there were rooms above the shop that Henry used as accommodation. Perhaps Jean moved in here to give everyone some space whilst all the trouble amongst them was calming down.

I just went looking for some other resources to confirm that the family were able to stay on site at 121 Castlereagh Street and Jack’s Attestation papers confirm it. He gave this address as Henry’s, when listing him as his next of kin.

What I love about this document is that we get to see Jack’s signature that he penned over 110 years ago.

This is a great segue into the next chapter of Jean and Henry’s story. Jack’s enlistment on the 21st of February 1916. I can only imagine the stress this would have put on the whole family.

According to Jack’s war record, shown below, he enlists in Bathurst for some reason. Spends two months training there and then is sent to Liverpool Military Camp, west of Sydney on the 18 April. This is where recruits were sent for reception, medicals, swearing-in and basic training. https://share.google/5tX8zrJWCTk8W023D

Here is the first page of his war service record confirming these details.

Wow, a bit of digging around on Google with the aide of the incredible AI function it now offers provided the answer as to why Jack was in Bathurst. Apparently by late 1915 early 1916, Liverpool and Holdsworthy Camps, the main military recruitment and training hubs in Sydney were severely overcrowded and struggling to provide basic sanitation and logistics. https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/topics/heritage/blue-plaques/soldier-riots

To try and ease the pressure on these centres the Department of Defence intentionally diverted thousands of metropolitan enlistments, like Jack’s to newly established regional training depots in Bathurst and Armidale. Just two weeks after Jack enlisted the issue of the overcrowding in Liverpool and Holdsworthy was so bad that it lead to the “Sydney Soldier Riots”. Thousands of recruits commandeered trains from Liverpool and flooded into the Sydney CBD and rioted down George Street that resulted in a deadly shootout with Police at Central Station. https://dictionaryofsydney.org/blog/soldiers_riot_of_1916

I can only imagine that Jean, Henry, and the rest of the family must have been very worried for Jack’s safety, and he hadn’t even left the shores of Australia for a theatre of war.

The situation must have led to Jean feeling like she was at the point of despair. The Divorce file contained another two heartbreaking letters from Jean, penned on the 1st July, 1916, just two months before Jack embarked for Europe.

In case Jean’s writing is a little hard to decipher, the AI has provided a transcript of her letter below.

To Henry Blackwood, 1/7/16

Sir,

It is with extreme regret that I have caused you so much trouble and annoyance. I also regret that it was so foolish to throw hot water over you — for no cause on your part as you have always acted so kind towards me — I cannot find words sufficient to express my sorrow for words used against your family for no cause whatever. I ask you and your family to accept my sincere apology which will not occur again. Trusting you will accept this statement and also your family who I have the greatest respect for.

Signed, Jean Blackwood

In the presence of — Robert Roberts —

The whole trouble was caused by taking drink, I now intend to take the pledge and will truthfully keep it.

Signed Jean Blackwood
In the presence of Robert Roberts

Obviously things had really escalated, throwing hot water at Henry and continuing to say things against the family. It is interesting to note the addition of Robert Roberts witnessing her statement. I mean, was he a family friend or a court-appointed representative assigned when this matter was taken to the police? I can find no record in the NSW Police Gazettes for an entry on this episode and virtually nothing on a Mr Robert Roberts.

Tantalisingly though, I did manage to uncover details on a Robert Roberts who was a Private in the 19th Battalion like Jack — and I was thinking this can’t be a coincidence — but it was. His war service record shows that he was in France in July 1916, so definitely not him.

And then there is this one below, a Robert Roberts who was a bookbinder. I immediately thought he was a great candidate, with Henry and Jean both being involved in the bookselling industry, but without additional evidence—which at this time is not forthcoming—this remains speculation.

Of the three Robert Roberts candidates I investigated, none can be definitively linked to the family. The witness to Jean’s apology letter remains unidentified.

After finding these two articles above, my mind went straight to this amazing photo I have of Skinner’s Bookstall when it was at its previous address, 105 Castlereagh Street, before Henry moved it to the 121 Castlereagh site (you will see why in a moment).

I discovered this tiny Polaroid-sized photo buried in an old photo album of Sydney streets during a trip to the Mitchell Library back in 2018. It is the photo on the bottom right of the page.

Back then all I could do was zoom in and photograph the photo itself. It shows the old storefront at 105 Castlereagh Street with hoarding on it, either in the process of moving or just after Henry had moved the shop. Below is my close-up.

Good, but now, in 2026, just eight years later, with the assistance of the new WordPress AI photo scanning function, look at what it was able to transcribe from the front of the building.

Boom! How phenomenal is that? I know the CEOs of AI companies have recently warned of the existential risks from AI, and that we are all going to be wiped out but until then, I’m embracing it. How incredible is that image?

Obviously, the AI has filled in what it can’t recognise, but it picked out Skinner’s, H. J. Blackwood, Bookbinding and Circulating Library. I mean, that is amazing; these are all spot on in terms of Henry’s business, and the only input from me was to ask the AI to really focus on the letters on the facade of the building in order to transcribe them as accurately as possible.

I immediately thought of this photo because of the Book Binding written on the façade. Perhaps this is where the friendship between Robert and Jean developed while he was working with Henry at the shop.

And here is the second letter Jean penned on that day. In fact, it was the pledge she was about to make, mentioned in her letter to Henry above.

This pledge was known as the “Temperance Pledge.” Copies of it were aggressively distributed by the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union of NSW among the state’s population in 1916. https://collection.powerhouse.com.au/object/386111

Here is the formal version of the pledge I’m assuming Jean based hers on.

Just a month before Jean signed her version, the NSW Government held a liquor referendum, which was actually initiated by the soldier riots, and it resulted in the “6 o’clock closing” for pubs, or “6 o’clock swill” as it became known. It lasted for 39 years, until it was finally abolished on 1 February 1955. https://dictionaryofsydney.org/blog/the_liquor_referendum_and_the_six_oclock_swill

I wonder if Jean’s pledge and her resolve to abstain were tested by Jack’s departure, which, as mentioned, was just two months later.

And how is this for a fantastic find? An actual photograph of the 14th Reinforcements at Liverpool camp in July 1916. I’m sure Jack will be in here somewhere.

And here is A/18, H.M.A.T Wiltshire, the troop ship they departed on, pictured here in Sydney.

And this is where Jean and Henry would have said goodbye to Jack, the new Finger Wharf at Woolloomooloo. It is the wharf extending out into the middle of the bay, shown below.

It took 54 days for the Wiltshire to make the journey, arriving in Plymouth, England on the 13th of October, 1916. That is nearly seven weeks of silence from Jack. I can only imagine that this too would have put a huge strain on Jean and Henry.

Unfortunately, I don’t have any surviving letters from Jack to either Jean or Henry to determine when he next made contact with them, but I do know that he did.

This brings the first part of Jean’s story to a close. The surviving records that I have managed to uncover, have allowed us to trace her marriage to Henry, her place within the Blackwood family, the homes in which they lived, and the painful evidence of her struggle with alcohol.

They also raise important questions that the sources do not yet fully answer: What happened within Jean and Henry’s marriage, how long the family remained at 22 Louisa Street, and how Jean’s relationships with Henry’s family developed during this difficult period.

In Part Two we will return to these unanswered questions, examine the remainder of the newspaper article that I introduced earlier, (Figure 23) and follow the evidence of Jean’s continuing crisis more closely. I will also share how Jack later made contact with Jean and Henry again.

As before, I will do my best to distinguish wherever possible between what the records establish, what they suggest, and what remains uncertain.

This focus matters to me because Jean’s story deserves to be treated not as a sensational family scandal, but as the complicated, deeply human history of a woman whose voice survives only in fragments.