Jessie Johnston Blair

  General Notes:

Jessie came to Australia when she was 21 years old with a girlfriend, Jeannie Ross Wills, and another young lady, Annie Hay. They travelled from Sydney to Grenfell, accompanied by the Rve. George Cowie of the Grenfell Presbyterian Church and arrived there on Wednesday, 30th of July 1924. They were the first girls to be sponsored to Australia by the Grenfell Presbyterian Church. They were to work as domestic servants for the members of the local community.

They were minor celebrities at the time appearing in the Sydney Morning Herald, the Sun, the Daily Telegraph and the Grenfell Recorder.

Jessie Subsequently married Norman, her friend Jean remained in Greenthorpe and married Bill Baker about 1927.

Norman and Jessie and the family moved after the war because of Norman's job; living in Taree, Tamworth and finally moving to St. Mary's.

Arrived: 28th July 1924, Sydney, NSW- C of A Archives- Passanger List.

Emmigration 17 June 1924- SS Jervis Bay.

Occupation Domestic Servant and homemaker.
(Andrew Graham)

Jessie married Norman Gladstone Russell, son of Isaac Alfred Russell and Bessie Balsdon, on 3 Jun 1925 in St. Andrew's Presbyterian Manse, Grenfell, New South Wales, Australia.¹²⁵ (Norman Gladstone Russell was born on 28 Jan 1903 in Nevertire, New South Wales, Australia,¹²⁵ died in 1984 in Grafton Hospital, Granfton, New South Wales, Australia ¹²⁵ and was buried in New South Wales, Australia.)

  Marriage Notes:

Rev. George Gowie was the presiding minister and Jeannie Ross Wills and Leslie Russell were the witnesses at the ceremony.
(Graham Andrew)