Shep's Place Family Tree

Our grandmother's name was Sarah Ann Box, and her mother's maiden name was Ladd, a family which came from Deal, Kent. One of the Ladds had a big hotel at Margate. Sarah's father was a wheelwright and had a brother who was a miller and another who was a farmer where Sarah visited as a child. In 1852 when she was aged 20, her parents allowed her to become a nursemaid/companion to the wife of a sea captain named Canny. Mrs. Canny was making the journey to Adelaide with her husband and three children - 2 little boys and a baby girl only 10 weeks old. Mrs. Canny became ill at sea, off the coast of South Australia, so the captain put his wife and children and Sarah ‎(Sally)‎ ashore at Adelaide, intending to pick them up on the return journey after concluding business at Sydney. But the ship never reached Sydney and years later a wreck off the coast of New Zealand ‎(the west coast)‎ was thought to have been Captain Canny's ship.

Sally had a shocking time. Mrs.Canny died of cancer and left Sally penniless with the three children to care for. She took a position with Dr.Hamilton and got the little girl escorted back to relations in England and the boys into foster homes on farms. When the boys grew up they both moved to N.S.W. and were involved in starting up ferries on Sydney Harbour. They always visited Sally when they came to South Australia.

From Dr.Hamilton Sally went to act as a companion to Mrs. Beech who had a pastry cook business in Hindley Street, Adelaide. One of Mrs. Beech's friends was H.H. Fenwick. Sally was aged 37 when she married grandfather and grandfather was aged 30. Our mother, Amy, was their only child and as far as I know, Sally was an only child.