Dadswell Family History

Generation 9
Henry William Dadswell (1894-1978) and Jessie Smiley

On this page:
Ancestors of Henry William Dadswell
Henry William Dadswell's story
Key family dates
Photographs
Further information

Ancestors of Henry William Dadswell

Robert Doudeswell 1560 > Robert Doudeswell 1606 > Edward Dodswell 1659 > Alexander Dodswell 1686 > Thomas Dadswell 1732 > James Dadswell 1786 > Thomas William Dadswell 1828 > Alfred Otto Dadswell 1860 > Henry William Dadswell 1894

Henry William Dadswell's story

Henry William Dadswell, first child of Alfred Otto and Emma (Lewin) Dadswell, was born on 20 July 1894 in a cottage on his grandfather Francis Lewin's property at Mt Cole, Victoria.

He attended Mt Cole Primary School and shared with his brother chores such as milking the cows, getting in the firewood and trapping rabbits.

After schooling, Henry joined his father Otto as a carpenter and farming the 320-acre property which had become the family home at nearby Warrak.

At the age of 21, he joined the Australian Imperial Forces and after training in Victoria, sailed on the troopship Ulysses, becoming a signaller in the 5th Australian Divisional Signal Company, formed in Egypt in 1916.

He was drafted to service in France, and for gallantry in the Polygon Wood campaign, was awarded the Military Medal in 1917. He was eventually discharged in 1919, and returned home to find that of the 45 young men who enlisted from his home district, 15 had died overseas and all but two had suffered serious injuries.

A year after discharge he went to the Mildura district where his sister Ethel May (Dadswell) Mitting lived, and in August 1922 he was successful with his application for a soldier settlement property (called a 'block') at nearby Red Cliffs.

After originally living in a bag 'humpy', he and his father Otto built a timber home and planted the 16 acre property with grape vines and fruit trees.

Seven years after arriving, he married Jessie Isabel Smiley, born 20 February 1908, the eighth child and fourth daughter of Thomas Alexander Ward (1867-1951) and Marion Harley (Bunn) Smiley (1870-1957).

Henry and Jessie were both active in the Red Cliffs community, and had five children, who all grew up on the Red Cliffs property.

Henry died at Red Cliffs on 7 August 1978, aged 84. Jessie died in Melbourne three years later, on 14 December 1981, aged 73. They are buried in adjacent graves at Mt Cole Cemetery.

See also:
   Red Cliffs beginnings - Henry Dadswell
   Henry Dadswell - The Months Leading Up to War
   Henry Dadswell - The Quiet Times between WW1 Battles
   World War One Crisis for Dadswell Soldier
   Diary of a Sapper - World War One Reflections
   Jessie Isabel Smiley

Key family dates

1. Jean Marion Dadswell born 8 May 1928 - died 29 April 1985

2. Gladys Jessica Dadswell (Gaye Robinson) born 1 September 1930 - died 21 November 2019

3. Toz Dadswell

4. Douglas Dadswell

5. Harley Dadswell

Photographs

Click on any picture to see a larger size photograph.

Another early photograph of Henry Dadswell is on this website - see:
   Dadswell/Lewin Family Photograph, 1904 or 1905.

Further information

Generation 9 brother/sister of Henry William Dadswell
Information on Alfred Otto Dadswell (generation 8, father of Henry William)