Mrs A. Seager
Alexandra Seager, née Laidlaw (10 November 1870 – 12 March 1950), generally known as Mrs. A. Seager, was a businesswoman and philanthropist in South Australia, remembered as the founder of the Cheer-Up Society which provided comforts for servicemen in World War I.
History
Seager, whose birthname may have been Alexandrine[1] or Alexandrina,[2] was born in Ballarat, Victoria, the eldest daughter of William Laidlaw ( – ) and his wife Helen Mickel Laidlaw, née Dickson ( – ) who married in 1869.[3] Laidlaw had a previous marriage on 2 March 1864[4] to Alexandrina Marjory Fraser, who died shortly after giving birth to a son.
She married Clarendon James Seager (c. 1857 – 1941) on 16 June 1891 and settled in Adelaide in 1908.[1] She opened a governess and domestic servant placement business "Scholastic Agency, Royal Exchange" on King William Street, Adelaide in 1911 or earlier.[5]
In November 1914, after visiting her son at the Morphettville training camp she decided they could use a morale boost. She organised hundreds of volunteers to cater for a "Cheer Up Our Boys" luncheon at Montefiore Hill for the 1,100 soldiers of the 2nd Contingent who had completed induction at the Morphettville and Jubilee Oval camps, and were about to be posted overseas.[6]
From this sprang the Cheer-Up Society, with registered woman volunteers of good character and over twenty years of age. which did much good work during the war and of which Mrs. Seager was the indefatiguable Hon. Secretary. President was William Sowden.
Other activities
"Our Soldiers' Song," with words by Mrs. Seager and melody by Louis William Yemm,[7] was a "hit" with soldiers. Not to be confused with a similarly popular song of the same name by H. Brewster Jones and C. R. Beresford.[8]
Family
The Seagers had six children:
- Major Harold William Hastings Seager MC (6 July 1893 – ) married Joyce "Joy" Debenham Tearne on 28 July 1925. They had one son.
- Edward Clarendon Seager (c. 1895 – ) married Mavis Lavinia Ann Jones in 1925
The two brothers served with the 1st AIF and were allocated land on Kangaroo Island, on which they raised sheep.
- George Routhwell Seager (c. October 1897 – 7 August 1915) killed at Gallipoli.[9]
- Nina Clarendon Seager ( – 18 December 1975) married Reginald H(erbert) E(arn) Murray on 3 October 1928, lived at "Hathaway, Mount Lofty". He was a descendant of John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl.
- Florence Emilie "Flo" Seager (1907–1991) married Dean Charlton Wood (8 July 1910 - 27 February 1998) in 1935. Dean was a brother of Rex Wood.
References
- ^ a b Robert Thornton (1988). "Australian Dictionary of Biography: Seager, Alexandrine (1870–1950)". National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
- ^ "Family Notices". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 30, 482. Victoria, Australia. 9 May 1944. p. 2. Retrieved 28 May 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Family Notices". The Ballarat Star. Vol. XIV, , no. 265. Victoria, Australia. 6 November 1869. p. 2. Retrieved 28 May 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ "Family Notices". The Star (Victoria). Vol. IX, , no. 54. Victoria, Australia. 3 March 1864. p. 2. Retrieved 28 May 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ "Domestic Helpers". The Advertiser. Vol. LIII, , no. 16, 441. South Australia. 27 June 1911. p. 8. Retrieved 28 May 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ "Everywoman". The Journal (Adelaide). Vol. XLIX, , no. 13561. South Australia. 7 November 1914. p. 19. Retrieved 27 May 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ "Military Night at Unley". The Daily Herald (Adelaide). Vol. 6, , no. 1580. South Australia. 15 April 1915. p. 6. Retrieved 28 May 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ "Our Soldiers' Song". The Mail (Adelaide). Vol. 3, , no. 123. South Australia. 5 September 1914. p. 2. Retrieved 28 May 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ "The AIF Project: Seager, George". University of NSW, Canberra. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
Category:1870 births Category:1950 births Category:Australian philanthropists Category:Australian businesspeople