Elizabeth Sloan

Third (and last) wife of Thomas Hawkless
Born 1818 in County Armagh, Ireland
Free settler to Australia - possibly with her parents aboard Champion 1842.
Married Thomas Hawkless on 15 September 1843 in Ryde, NSW, Australia
Died in Sydney 24 November 1902

Photo is thought to be Eliza Sloan with her son Thomas, circa 1858 - click on photo to enlarge

Ten people (descendants and/or spouses) met at the Field of Mars Cemetery on 24 November 2002 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of our common ancestor, Elizabeth Hawkless (Sloan) who died on 24 November 1902.

For those who had not visited the Field of Mars, a couple of "old timers" in the group provided a guided tour of known Hawkless burial sites - many are unmarked and several were used for multiple burials. The youngest of our group at 11 is aptly named Thomas, whilst the eldest, Fred, is 82. To escape the high temperature and burning sun, we adjourned to the North Ryde RSL Club where we shared lunch, family history, photos and anecdotes - even down to comparing inward-turning little fingers. Fred Hawkless related his early memories of visiting the cemetery in a horse and sulky.

At Sidney George's grave (Eliza's grandson from her son Charles): (l to r) back row: Fred, Tom, David; front row: John, Caroline, Joyce, Pam, Margot, Lorraine	At Eliza's grave on the 100th anniversary of her death in 1902: (l to r) Fred, Margot, John, Caroline, Joyce, David, Tom, Lorraine, Pam

Elizabeth was also known as Eliza Sloan(e). Not much is known of Eliza's family at the time of publishing to the web, but research continues ...

Cathy McHardy, a descendant of Thomas and Eliza's son Thomas, who provided the photos on this page of Eliza, writes in her article for the Ryde Historical Society:

"Eliza was living at Great North Road, Gladesville, Sydney, at the time of her death on 24 November 1902 - some 21 years after Thomas' death. She was buried in the Church of England Section of the Field of Mars Cemetery, Ryde. Her grave is located in the first row of Section D, grave number 61. She was aged 83 years and her gravestone bears the following inscription:

"Sleep on dear Mother, sleep and lay at thy rest.
Lay down thy head upon thy sorrowful breast,
We loved thee well, but Jesus loves thee best,
Goodnight dear mother, goodnight"

Photo on left - taken April 2002 - is Eliza's gravesite at Field of Mars Cemetery, Ryde. This grave also contains Marian Elizabeth Hawkless (nee Drummond) and Stella Eileen Hawkless (aged 2 mths) - one of Eliza's daughters-in-law and an infant grandchild respectively..
The adjacent gravesite (number 60) contains the remains of Robert Hawkless (d.1894 aged 46) and his daughter Rebecca May (d.1908 aged 20).
Arrangements are underway for a "working bee" to refurbish the site ahead of the 100th anniversary of ELiza's death in November 1902

An older Eliza - click to enlarge

Name	Date of Birth	Date of Death	Comments
James	1845	1874	buried at St Anne's Church of England, Ryde
Amy Elizabeth	1846	1880	buried at St Anne's Church of England, Ryde
Robert	1848	1894	buried at Field of Mars, Ryde
Thomas J	1849	1911	Photo on this page with his mother, Elizabeth
Annie Elizabeth	1851	1933	buried at Field of Mars, Ryde
Charlotte	1853	1882
Maria Matilda	1854	1943	buried at Field of Mars, Ryde
Rebecca	1857	1942	died at Bankstown, NSW
Charles	1859	1920	buried at Field of Mars, Ryde
Emily	1865	1882	died at Gladesville, NSW Sara's twin
Sara J	1865	1903	married Archibald Dickson 1885 and died at Gladesville. She is buried at Field of Mars Cemetery, Ryde. Emily's twin