William henry Cox (crompton) was registered in 1882,the same year his father died. He added the Crompton at a later date.

William Henry Cox was born in 1882 in Mt. Jeffcote, Victoria, and it was not long after this that his father, also William Henry Cox, passed away. William's mother, Elizabeth Emily Milner Crompton, was unable to cope with the new arrival and the loss of her husband. As such, she gave William away to her brother and his wife, Charles Walter Crompton and Elizabeth Cox. Charles and Elizabeth were, in fact, unable to have children of their own. William's upbringing, with his uncle and aunt, was very tough as Charles worked him very hard on the farm and it is said that he was basically a servant. It is most likely that this was the reason that William ran away at the age of 13. He was living in Victoria at the time and when he ran away he made his way across the desert to Western

Above: William Henry taken 9 January 1943

Australia. William moved around through his teenage years and into his twenties, presumably trying to find work etc. At one point he was stung by an insect on his eye and he ended up losing the sight in his right eye. He was befriended by a tribe of aborigines at one point and he lived with them for a time and they looked after him. After many years he eventually made his way back to Victoria, but not to his family. He met and fell in love with a lady by the name of Alice Jessie Mabel Dobson, a domestic servant born in South Brighton in 1890. Alice's parents, Robert (b.1856) a railway employee and Jessie Cochrane Dobson (b.1860), (nee Carse) of Poowong, Gippsland, South Victoria did not like William at all as he was a heavy drinker and very keen gambler. No doubt he picked up these vices as product of his nomadic life up until that point. Alice was given an ultimatum by her parents: stop seeing William Henry or be disown. Alice stuck to her guns though and William and Alice married on 03 May 1913 in the Dorcas Street Presbyterian Church, South Melbourne. Alice never spoke to her parents again.

Click on the image for a 488Kb full size image.

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It's interesting to note that William's marriage certificate records his surname as Cox-Crompton, which he no doubt had because his uncle and aunt were Crompton. But, on his daughter's birth certificate (Stella May, born in 1922 and married at Marrickville, NSW) and his death certificate he had changed back to Cox.

At the end of his life William Henry Jnr. worked in the gardens of Hurlstone Agricultural College. He died at the College whilst resting on a shovel and telling a joke.

Husband: William Henry Cox CROMPTON Birth: 1882 Place: Mt Je(ffcot), Vic(toria) Source: Victoria Pioneer Index Ref: 17071 Occupation: Farmer Father: William Henry Cox (1842-1882) Marriage: 03 May 1913 Place: Dorcas Street Presbyterian Church, South Melbourne Wife: Alice Jessie Mabel DOBSON Birth: ?1890 Place: South Brighton, Vic(toria) Occupation: Domestic servant Father: Robert DOBSON (1856-) Mother: Jessie Marie Cochrane CARSE Minister: William Goyer(?) Witnesses: Ellen Caroline Eldridge and Thomas Crompton Forsyth Right: Alice Jessie Mabel Dobson perhaps taken in the late 1930's, 1940's or early 1950's when dressed, perhaps for one of her children's weddings.

Colin William Cox Crompton

See above. Note he is registered as Crompton.

Source: GW Index Ref: 5580
William Cox CROMPTON
Birth: 1914  Place: Melb(ourne) E(ast), Vic(toria)
Source: Death Index Ref: 28762
Death: 1981  Place: Chel(tenham) (Melbourne) Vic(toria)

There is also another interesting story that involves William and Alice. This one surrounds their first son Colin (my great uncle).

When Colin was in his late teens he had a relationship with a girl who didn't have the cleanest reputation. One day she turned up at Colin's house and said that she was pregnant and that Colin was the father. However, it was well known that Colin would not have been the only potential father but, for whatever reason, this girl picked out Colin as being the one.

Colin's parents, William and Alice, were having none of it and refused to let this girl see Colin. The police became involved as in those days it was a serious crime to get a girl pregnant out of wedlock and not take responsibility for it in terms paying maintenance etc. So, to escape the clutches of the police, William and Alice packed up their son and sent him down to Victoria to stay with one of the Cromptons. Before he left, William and Alice advised Colin to take his grandmother's maiden name and to be known as Colin Crompton.

Colin had to lay low in Victoria and keep a low profile. He was never caught by the police, though they tried. At his dad's funeral in 1944, the police were in attendance in case he turned up.

My grandma was about nine when Colin left at the age of about 18 or 19. She didn't see him again until she was in her late 40's, when she went on a holiday to Victoria.

Colin was a very talented cricketer and rose to the level of the state team. But, nobody new why Colin wouldn't go on tour and travel with the state team to NSW. He was afraid of being arrested as soon as he got over the border. Colin didn't attend his mother's funeral as the police were believed to waiting for him.

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Colin eventually got married and had a son, Colin Neil. Neil was a talented sportsman and played Australian Rules Football for Melbourne and cricket for Victoria.

Source: James Thorne and his mother.

Alice Jessie Elizabeth Crompton

Source: GW Index Ref: 5251
Alice Jessie Elizabeth CROMPTON
Birth: 1916  Place: Melb(ourne) E(ast), Vic(toria)

Walter Henry Crompton

Source: GW Index Ref: 28304
Walter Henry CROMPTON
Birth: 1917  Place: Drouin, Vic(toria)

Heather Jean Cox Crompton

Source: GW Index Ref: 21014
Heather Jean Cox CROMPTON
Birth: 1919  Place: Melb(ourne) E(ast), Vic(toria)

Stella May Cox

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				Stella and Franks wedding 9 January 1943 Left to right: John (Jack) Edmonds (the grooms younger brother), Heather Cox, Janet Cox, Francis Edmonds, Stella Cox, William Henry Cox-Crompton, Carmen Cox, William Graham (Gray) Haydon (husband of Heather)
		Frank Edmonds, Stella's husband and William Henry's son-in-law. He enlisted in the Australian Air-force to fight in WW2, but was forced to leave because he had high blood pressure.
Right: A young Stella Cox of an unknown date. The photograph shows the Crompton wavy hair.				Stella one week before she died in August 1978. She and Frank had retired a month earlier and moved up the coast to Bateau Bay. They had spent the previous couple of years building their retirement home there. Five weeks after they moved in, she had a massive heart attack and died.

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This page was created by Richard Crompton and maintained by Chris Glass	Version B6 Updated 21 June 2006