Thursday, July 12, 2012

E is for....


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.

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”