AtoZ Challenge: H - Hannah Boyle
The Blogging from A to Z April Challenge is an annual challenge put out to bloggers, to publish a post from A-Z, every day in April, except for Sundays. April 1 is A, April 2 is B……….and so on throughout the month. Participants can post on a chosen theme or publish random posts with no theme at all.
About Theme
Family history often highlights the men of our past, yet it is the women who shaped daily life, family traditions, and community connections across generations. From mothers and daughters to widows, unmarried women, and the extraordinary pioneers in our families. The stories of women reveal resilience, creativity, and influence that are sometimes hidden in historical records.My intention with this series, is to explore the lives of the women in my family history. I will be drawing on records, letters, personal stories, and even my imagination, to uncover their contributions and ensure their voices are heard.
Hannorah (Hannah) Boyle
Hannah Boyle was my first cousin three times removed. She was born in about 1868 in Violet Town, Victoria, Australia. Her parents were Patrick Boyle and his second wife Maria Chute.
Hannah married three times and outlived all three husbands.
1st Marriage
Hannah Married Edward Robert Griffith in 1902. I’m not sure where they married but it was in Victoria.1
Five years after their marrige, Edward died in Melbourne in 1907. He died in a road accident on his way to work. At the time of Edward’s death, Hannah had one daughter, Hannah May Rose Griffiths, aged three years.
From: The Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic: 1869-1954) Sunday, 05 October, 19072
At the Morgue on 3rd October Mr. Candler, the City Coroner, inquired into the circumstances surrounding the death of a young man named Edward Robert Griffiths, who was thrown from a lorry and fatally injured on the 14th September.
Hannah Griffiths, widow of deceased said that she resided at Burnley. Her husband left home, as usual, with his horses and lorry on the morning of the 14th 14th ult. She next saw- him in the Melbourne Hospital. Deceased told me that he had fallen off a box which he used for a seat on his lorry ,shortly after leaving home on 14th ult., and that no person was to blame for the mishap. He explained to witness that his horse had shied at a trench in the road.
Deceased was not in the habit of drinking, and he had just about completed a series of payments that would have made the horse and lorry his own property when the accident happened. . .
Frank Matthews, James Schuyler, and Patrick Bourke, all residents of Burnley, stated that they spoke to the injured man shortly after the mishap, and he informed them that the occurrence was purely accidental.
Dr. Charles Inglis McLaren, of the Melbourne Hospital, stated that the deceased was admitted to the institution on 14th September, suffering from a compound fracture of the left leg. The injured limb was amputated, but the patient, who was conscious during his treatment in the hospital, died on 1st October from pyaemia, resulting from infection from the wound.
The Coroner entered the following finding; — “I find that on 1st October, 1907, at the Melbourne Hospital, Edward Robert Griffiths died from pyaemia, after a compound fracture of the leg, caused by having been thrown from a vehicle through the shying of the horse he was driving. I find that the occurrence was purely accidental.”
Edward was buried at Booroondarra General Cemetary. 3
2nd Marriage
In 1899, Hannah married George James O’Donnell.4 George’s parents were Nicholas O’Donnell and Ellen Barry who came to Australia from Limerick, Ireland. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find a date of death for George.
3rd Marriage
In 1919, Hannah’s third marriage was to Frank James Willett, in Melbourne. 5 Frank died on 23 February 1932, at age 62. He was buried at Booroondarra Cemetery in Kew, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. 6
Death of Hannah Willett
Hannah died on 20 September 1942 at Eltham, Victoria and was buried at the Eltham cemetery. 7
Death Notices
WILLETT: On September 20, at a private hospital, Hannah, the dearly beloved wife of the late Frank Willett, loving mother of Sgt. Fred O’Donnell, May (Mrs. Lynham, Dorrie (Mrs. M. Gillett), aged 72 years R.I.P.
WILLETT: On September 20, at a private hospital, Hannah, the dearly beloved mother of Dorothy and Mick and devoted grandmother of Olivette, Kevin, David, Mervyn and little Shirley, aged 72 years. R.I.P.
WILLETT: On September 20, at a private hospital, Hannah, the dearly beloved mother of May and Alf, and darling gran of Dorothy, Jean, Mary and Max, aged 72 years. R.I.P
WILLETT: On September 20, at a private hospital, Hannah, the dearly beloved mother of Fred and Stel, and loving grandmother of Lily, Bill and little Brian, aged 72 years. R.I.P.
Funeral
WILLETT: The friends of the late Mrs. Hannah Willett, of Eltham, are informed that her funeral will arrive at the Eltham Cemetery Tomorrow, at 3pm. E. Taylor and son, Phone Heidelberg 55.
Australia, Marriage Index, 1788-1950; Lehi, UT; Australia, Marriage Index, 1788-1950. Ancestry.com. Australia, Marriage Index, 1788-1950 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
1907 'LORRY DRIVER'S DEATH.', Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954), 5 October, p. 32. , viewed 21 Feb 2026, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article221259779
Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/208197870/edward_robert-griffith: accessed February 21, 2026), memorial page for Edward Robert Griffith (1868–3 Oct 1907), Find a Grave Memorial ID 208197870, citing Boroondara General Cemetery, Kew, City of Boroondara, Victoria, Australia; Maintained by woowoo (contributor 49949980).
The Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Victoria, Australia, Death Records Ancestry.com. Victoria, Australia, Death Index, 1840-1992 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2018. Original data: Victoria, Australia, Death Index, 1840-1992. The Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Marriage Boyle Hannah, Griffiths Edward, The Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Victoria, Australia, Marriage Records Ancestry.com. Victoria, Australia, Marriage Index, 1837-1962 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2018.
Original data: Victoria, Australia, Marriage Index, 1837-1962. The Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Source Information
Ancestry.com. Victoria, Australia, Marriage Index, 1837-1962 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2018.
Original data: Victoria, Australia, Marriage Index, 1837-1962. The Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/208266111/francis_james-willitt: accessed February 21, 2026), memorial page for Francis James Willitt (1870–23 Feb 1932), Find a Grave Memorial ID 208266111, citing Boroondara General Cemetery, Kew, City of Boroondara, Victoria, Australia; Maintained by woowoo (contributor 49949980).
Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/249179738/hannah-willett: accessed March 14, 2026), memorial page for Hannah Willett (unknown–21 Sep 1942), Find a Grave Memorial ID 249179738, citing Eltham Cemetery, Eltham, Nillumbik Shire, Victoria, Australia; Maintained by “Viscount Melbourne” (contributor 49778924).
