3. Anthony Edward Corvan Brown

Anthony Edward Corvan Brown was born on Christmas Day, 1875, the third child and second son born to Robert Brown and Rosa Corvan. He was named after his maternal grandfather, Anthony Edward Corvan, who at the time of his namesake’s birth was living in New Zealand and regularly being hauled in front of the local magistrate on charges of drunkenness!
Until recently, nothing was known of Anthony beyond the fact that he died sometime around the end of World War One. His death certificate therefore provided a few surprises. Firstly, that at the time of his death in 1919, he had been married...on August 28, 1915, at Holy Trinity Church, Ararat, Anthony Edward Corvan Brown, a 39 year old miner, had married 30 year old Jean Arundel Stratford. At the time of the marriage, both were living at Ararat, where Anthony was a miner and Jean worked at ‘home duties’. Parental details were given as “Robert Henry Brown, miner of Bendigo, deceased, and Rosa Constance Brown (maiden name Corvan)” and “Charles Alexander Stratford, merchant of Avon Plains, and Louisa Wilhelmina Stratford, maiden name Reither.
Jane was one of nine children born to Charles and Louisa, who had married in Victoria in 1871. Her siblings were Alfred Edward; Charles Frederick Byron; Ferdinand; Henry Mason; Laurence Conrad; Martin Harold; Mary Georgina and Powys Lorraine. Despite their rather grand names, her brothers held down to earth jobs like labourer, groom, barman and prospector.
Witnesses to the marriage were Jane’s mother Louisa Stratford and her brother Martin Harold Stratford.
Another surprise on Anthony’s death certificate was the indication of a child from the marriage- “Jenice, D”, meaning the child had predeceased her father.
Consultation of the Victorian death index revealed that Jennice Lorraine Brown had died at Ararat, aged 1, in 1918. Her parents were incorrectly given as ‘Richard’ instead of ‘Anthony’, and ‘Gene Arundel Stratford’.
Anthony Edward Corvan Brown had already contracted the disease that would kill him by the time his baby daughter died. At the time of his death in 1919, he had been suffering from carcinoma of the face and neck for two years. He died on March 6, 1919, at 102 Bank Street, South Melbourne, aged 43 years.His occupation was given as ‘miner’, and his cause of death ‘carcinoma of face and neck 2 years, general debility chronic. Last seen by Dr. R.C. Hart of South Melbourne on March 3, 1919’.
Anthony’s parents were given as ‘Robert Brown, miner, and Rosa Brown formerly Corvan’, and he was buried at Boroondara Cemetery, Kew, on March 7, 1919. His birth place was given as Bendigo, and marriage details as ‘Married Ararat, Victoria, aged 39 years, to Jean Stratford”. His issue was ‘Jenice Deceased’.

Anthony Brown’s wife Jean never remarried. The electoral rolls for 1924, 1931 and 1936 place her at the following locations:

1924: Jean Arundel Brown, Lemon Avenue, Mildura, dressmaker.
1931: Jean Arundel Brown, Lemon Avenue, Mildura, dressmaker
1936: Jean Arundel Brown, Lemon Avenue, Mildura, dressmaker.

Jean Arundel Stratford Brown died in Mildura in 1966 at the age of 83.