Women

Margaret Amelia Aberline was listed on the 1903 electoral roll as a general servant. It is thought she may have worked in one of the large houses in the area that were owned - at the time - by parliamentarians and wealthy businessmen. Alternatively, she may have worked in one of the many guesthouses in the area.

She is thought to have been born in Victoria c1868 to James and Jeanette Aberline. 

       

She was a woman of her time, making history by being among the first women to obtain the right to vote in NSW in 1903.  It would seem that she moved back to Victoria c1909 and died there in 1946.

Early Residents - Ralph & Ida Abercromby

The Sydney Morning Herald dated 26.4.1926 carried the obituary of Ralph Scott Abercromby 'Vineta' Springwood.  He was aged 69 and his funeral was a private affair with a request that no flowers be sent. Ralph, who was born in Lanark Scotland, lived in Essendon Victoria during the 1890s.  Newspaper accounts from that time show that he may have been a victim of the economic downturn which hit Australia in the 1890s because  he was declared insolvent in 1896.   He was a commercial traveller, and the Warrigal Guardian dated 12.6.1896 related that his wife, Ida Laura, was the breeder of St Bernard dogs.  

At some point in time Ralph and Ida moved to New South Wales because in the 1920s they lived in the cottage 'Vineta' in Railway Avenue Springwood.  The property had some 15 acres attached plus a motor garage, coach house and stables.

Local ancedotal history suggests that he was a train commuter and - according to cemetery transcripts - fellow commuters were accustomed to the sight of Ralph striding ahead to catch the train followed by a coloured man carrying his bag and umbrella. 

An article in the Sydney Morning Herald dated 18.7.1936 confirmed that Ida lived  in Strathfield and resided there for about ten years.  She died in 1950.