James Thomas Percival CONGDON

1888 - 1955  (66 years)

• Name	James Thomas Percival CONGDON  [1]
  Born	19 Nov 1888	Thebarton SA   [2]
  Gender	Male
  Achievements	James Congdon Drive (left off Hilton Bridge) in Mile End is named after him.
  Biography Notes	He lived in railway cottages at Mile End and went into Adelaide Railway Station to work. After getting home from work he would always, whatever happened, walk out to his front gate at 7 pm to watch the Melbourne Express go past. One of his duties had been to inspect the Melbourne?s brakes during the day before her return journey.
  Biography Notes	Remembering life at the Mile End railyards: Every night, without fail, Ailsa Pocock's father used to watch Australia's longest train, the Melbourne Express, shuffle past his front gate. One of Adelaide's longest serving station masters, James Congdon, had a fascination for trains even an eight-hour, exhausting shift would not diminish. "Dad would get home about 6pm, and he would always, whatever happened, walk out to watch the Melbourne go by", Mrs Pocock said. "He had seen the Melbourne in station, inspect its brakes and come home for tea ... But at 7pm, he always went to the front gate." Mr Congdon, who died in 1960, lived in one of the railway cottages, which were demolished in 1995, for some 20 years. He served as station master at the Mile End railyards for 19 years, and a road in the Mile End redevelopment is named after him. Mrs Pocock, who lives at Marion, also lived in the cottage with her family for three years as a teenager before she was married. Although is was only a short stay, from 1934-1937, she fondly remembers the lively rail-yards - the continual stream of noisy trains, trolleys and the unloading and stacking of goods. The family home was wedged between railway tracks, with a rail line only 'yards' from her back door. Mrs Pocock recalled catching the passenger train into town to go to school. "We used to see the train signal go off (from the house) and of course we were running late, and we used to shoot out the front to cross the railway tracks be the time the train came," she said. (source: Which newspaper, what date?)
  Marriage/Wedding	21 Aug 1912	Hindmarsh SA   [3, 4, 5]
  	No further knowledge available yet. Mary died at 32yoa. Buried:West Terrace Cemetery
  Occupation	Lived at Port Adelaide when first married Railway cottage near the Mile End railyards for about 20 years
  Occupation	Rose grower  [1]
  Occupation	Adelaide SA   [1]
  	SA Rail Station Master at Mile End rail yards for 19 years. He might have been one of Adelaide?s longest serving station masters at the main station in Adelaide (or was this Mile End?).
  Died	31 Oct 1955	Brighton SA   [1, 6]
  Buried	1 Nov 1955	Brighton SA
  Person ID	I-1582	Christina and Donald McLean | Allan McLean's descendants
  Last Modified	19 Mar 2021

  
  

  Family	Eva May MCLEAN,   b. 23 Feb 1886, Strathalbyn SA ,   d. 28 Jun 1988, Unley SA  (Age 102 years)
  Married	25 Jun 1932	Adelaide SA   [7]
  Children	+ 1. Ailsa Crawford CONGDON,   b. 24 Dec 1916, Kilkenny SA ,   d. 1 Nov 2003, Pasadena SA  (Age 86 years)   2. Findlay CONGDON,   b. 1931, Adelaide SA ,   d. 1931, Adelaide SA  (Age 0 years)  []
  Last Modified	19 Mar 2021 02:18:57
  Family ID	F-3016	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• STORIES

  5023 - Eva McLean & Albert William Sturtzel & James Thomas Congdon Allan's descendants - biography as published in the BRB in 1995.

  
  

• Sources

  [S-3] BRB 'Donald & Christina McLean & Their Descendants', 1995 copies available, Copies of the BRB available Strathalbyn National Trust Museum & Library, several libraries around Australia including State Library SA, and Western Australian Genealogical Society Bayswater WA Request assistance for locating a copy through 'Contact us' on this website. . [S-75] BDM SA, https://www.genealogysa.org.au requires log in , 12 Mar 2021 Researcher Lorna Mclean. Thomas Percival Congdon Birth Aug 26 1884 Chain of Ponds, South Australia Death Oct 31 1955 South Australia Parents Thomas James Congdon Eliza Congdon (born Rawling) Siblings James Alfred Congdon Lillian May Congdon Mildred Blanche Congdon Arthur Chloride Melbourne Congdon Mabel Annie Congdon Leslie Frank Congdon [S-245] Warren McLean - ID 1506 - family tree on MyHeritage, my heritage (with a log in), 23 Feb 2020 Researcher Lorna McLean. James Thomas Percival Congdon Birth Nov 19 1888 Thebarton, South Australia, Australia Marriage 1912 Hindmarsh, South Australia, Australia Marriage Marriage to: Mary Crawford Thom Aug 21 1912 Hindmarsh, South Australia, Australia Marriage 1932 South Australia, Australia Marriage Marriage to: Eva McLean June 25 1932 Adelaide, South Australia, Australia [S-75] BDM SA, https://www.genealogysa.org.au requires log in , 9 Apr 2020 Researcher Lorna Mclean. CONGDON James Thomas Percival married THOM Mary Crawford Marriage Date: 21-Aug-1912 Marriage Place:Congregational Church Hindmarsh Groom Age:23 Groom Marital Status: S Groom Father: James Thomas CONGDON Bride Age: 21 Bride Marital Status: S Bride Father: George THOM District:Hindmarsh SA Book/Page:252/463 [S-98] CEMETERY ACA ENFIELD, WEST & SOUTH TCE, CHELTENHAM, West Terrace Cemetery, 9 May 2019 Researcher Lorna McLean. the marriage ended with Marys death in 1930 aged 39 yoa and seemingly no children? yet found. Congdon Mary Crawford d.22/02/1930 buried 22/02/1930 West Terrace Cemetery Adelaide SA (Barker, Path 5, Aspect W, Site Number 56) [S-75] BDM SA, https://www.genealogysa.org.au requires log in , 12 Mar 2021 Researcher Lorna Mclean. Thomas Percival Congdon Birth Circa 1884 Age at death 71 Death Oct 31 1955 Burial Brighton (Saint Jude) Cemetery, Brighton, South Australia [S-245] Warren McLean - ID 1506 - family tree on MyHeritage, my heritage (with a log in), 23 May 2021 Lorna McLean Researcher. James Thomas Percival Congdon Birth Nov 19 1888 Thebarton SA FIRST Marriage 1912 Mary Crawford Thom Aug 21 1912 Hindmarsh SA SECOND Marriage 1932 Eva May McLean June 25 1932 Adelaide SA