GRANT Charles Henry Anthony
Charles Henry Anthony GRANT was born on 12 July 1870 at Gateshead, England. He was the first child of William Henry Grant and Mary Elizabeth Chambers and was baptized on 7 August 1870. At the age of 7, he accompanied his parents and other siblings on their migration to Australia aboard the “Dunbar”, arriving in Sydney on 18 October 1877.
Charles grew up in Balmain. His mother, Mary Elizabeth died on 11 January 1885 when he was just 14 years of age and William Henry remarried, widow Frances Anne Grant, on 6 February 1886.
We are not sure if Charles went to Boambee during 1887 with his father and the rest of the family. However, he turned up in Aramac, Queensland in 1891 and married Elizabeth Emma HUMBERSTONE at Barcaldine on 16 November 1891 (Australian Marriage Index, Page 12425, Registration No.000056). Charles was 21 years of age and Elizabeth 35.
Charles and Elizabeth had two daughters, Greta Jane (b. 11 Aug 1892) and Adelaide May (b. 18 Dec 1895). Both girls were born in Queensland.
Elizabeth Emma, was the daughter of Henry HUMBERSTONE, publican. Henry HUMBERSTONE was a ‘colourful’ character. Numerous newspaper articles tell stories of Humberstone allowing illegal gambling on his licenced premises, being accused of perjury and assault, being involved in other petty court cases as the complainant involving the theft of a baby’s perambulator and other items.
The Humberstones were in Aramac, Queensland when Charles married Elizabeth. Elizabeth Emma GRANT (Humberstone) died at Paddington on 26 January 1926. Source: (Alby Gamble)
Previously it was thought that Charles Henry Anthony GRANT left Aramac, Qld in about 1895, moving to the Western Australian goldfields with his wife’s family. It would seem however, that Charles Henry Anthony GRANT (place of birth Gateshead England) was confused with another Charles Henry GRANT (place of birth Southampton England) who died of typhoid in Kalgoorlie in 1902.
Recent DNA matching has shown (along with strong circumstantial evidence) that Charles parted ways with his first wife Elizabeth Emma HUMBERSTONE and their daughters, Greta and Adelaide. He changed his name to Raoul Charles LISTER, and married Clara Euphemia YATES in 1913. They had two sons and lived mostly in Frankston, Victoria. (Source: Sandy Gamble, Nov 2019).
DNA evidence shows strong matches with all our William Henry GRANT cousins who have undergone DNA testing, along with descendants of Mary Elizabeth CHAMBERS’s brother. (Source: Sandy Gamble, Nov 2019)
It is noteworthy that the Lister family of Shibdon Hall, Halifax were connected by marriage to the Grant family through Louisa Ann GRANT, being William Henry Grant’s aunt, and Charles Henry Anthony’s great aunt.