Edward John (Jack) Killion - 1854 to 1923

Edward John (Jack) Killion - Angus McNeil Collection, Macleay District Historical Society

Edward John (Jack) Killion is the oldest child of John and Jane Killion. He was born on 20 October 1854 in Port Macquarie, NSW. On 24 August 1893, Jack married Ellen Johnson at Vella near Nambucca, NSW. Jack and Ellen had one daughter, Mary Josephine, who was born on 25 August 1894 in West Kempsey, NSW.

The 1913 Australian Electoral Roll shows John and Ellen living at Jerseyville which is now a "satellite suburb" of South West Rocks between Spencer Creek and the Macleay River. Jack's occupation is shown as a "punt man". During this time, coastal shipping was the main method of transport between the major Australian cities and the Macleay River Valley, a timber production, farming and grazing area.

Thought to be Jack Killion, Mary Killion and Willie Ryan
 Angus McNeil Collection, Macleay District Historical Society

The photo above has been provided by our Killion family historian, Martyn. It's thought to show Jack with his daughter, Mary, and nephew, William Ryan (Willie). Willie was the youngest son of Jack's sister-in-law, Eliza Johnson (1865 to 1903), and was only one week old when his mother died.  

The Killion, Johnson, Kerrison and Ryan Families

Ellen, Jack's wife, and Eliza Johnson were born in Murrurundi, NSW. Their family moved to the Kempsey area.  

In 1885, Eliza married Joseph Kerrison at Nambucca Heads. Joseph Kerrison died in 1893 leaving Eliza with three young children. After Joseph's death, Eliza had two children. In 1902, Eliza married Edward Ryan in Kempsey.  

Young Willie was born in 11 October 1903. On 17 October 1903, Eliza died from complications following the birth and cardiac failure. Ellen's death notice below records the close relationship between the Killion and Kerrison families.  Jack and Ellen appear to have raised Willie Ryan as all trace of his father, Edward, is lost after Eliza's death. Tragically, Willie died in 1913 at 10 years of age.

In July 1921, Mary, Jack and Ellen's daughter, was appointed as the Librarian at the Kempsey School of Arts.

On 11 September 1923, Jack died at Regent Street, Kempsey, aged 68 years. Jack was the last of the five children of John and Jane Killion to die. Like his father, John, Jack and his four younger siblings died from bronchial related illnesses. Jack's brother, Thomas, died in 1917 followed by their three sister, Rosanna, Mary Jane and Margaret, in 1919 during the Spanish Flu Pandemic.  

George Kerrison, a son of Eliza Johnson, was the informant on Jack's death registration. George records that Jack was an "old age pensioner" having been employed as a "general labourer".  

Jack was buried, on 12 September 1923, at the Roman Catholic Cemetery, East Kempsey. Jack and Ellen had been married for just over 30 years at the time of his death.  

On 8 July 1925, The Macleay Chronicle reports that "Miss Mary Killion...recently resigned. Miss Killion's careful attention to patrons will be very much missed." It seems that Jack's wife, Ellen, and daughter, Mary, moved to Eastern Suburbs of Sydney about this time.

Ellen Killion (nee Johnson) died, aged 76, on 10 December 1947 at her daughter Mary's home, 3 Gardyne Street, Bronte. A few weeks prior, on 14 November 1947, Ellen's nephew, Joseph Kerrison, died at Mary's home as well.  

MRS. ELLEN KILLION. (1947, December 17). The Macleay Chronicle (Kempsey, NSW : 1899 - 1952), p. 2. Retrieved May 15, 2017, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article173395926