E is for
Elizabeth
Lack of energy
and exhaustion or excuses, excuses, excuses…. But excited to still be able to
take part in Gould’s challenge of “Family History through the Alphabet”
From Wikipedia, the name Elizabeth or Elisabeth is
the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew name Elisheva, meaning "God's
promise", "oath of God", or "I am God’s daughter”. Elizabeth
and Elisabeth are the parent unit names of Lisa, Liza, Lilly, Lizzie, Liz,
Beth, Betty, Ella, Elisa, Elise, and Eliza; Elsa, Bitsy, Betsy, Isabel, and
Isabella are etymologically related variants.
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| Elizabeth Olive as a young girl |
Elizabeth is the
first name of my Great Grandmother, her full name being Elizabeth Olive Dillon,
though everyone called her Lizzie. Born in 1876 in Sydney, the granddaughter of
convicts and Irish bounty immigrants, “Old Nana” lived two houses away from
where I was born. I called her “Old Nana” to distinguish between her and my
Grandmother Doris, or “Nana” who lived next door to my family; so we had 4
generations in three houses all in a row.
She died in 1966 when I was a child,
but was a huge influence on my childhood. Strong willed, with strong opinions,
living for 34 years after her husband had passed away, she kept her family
bound to her by that will.
 |
| Obituary of Elizabeth Olive Dillon |
“Old Nana” had a
goitre that endocrinologists are amazed to see today, but Lizzie was not one to
fuss with doctors.
 |
| Elizabeth Olive Dillon, in her home 1963 |
I often wondered why
the majority of our family members bled Red and Green
blood; were Rabid Rabbitoh’s or in other words, South Sydney NRL club supporters.
It was only a few weeks ago, in correspondence with another family descendant
that I found out that Elizabeth Olive’s uncle by marriage was Henry
Clement Hoyle, who amongst other things, was a founding member of the South
Sydney Rugby League Club in 1908. This I believe is the foundation of a legacy
that has been passed down through at least 5 generations. So Lizzie’s legacy
lives on… “Go Rabbitoh’s”
