Louisa Mary Grove was the sixth child of Henry William Grove & Mary Ann Mays born December 18th, 1861 & christened February 16th, 1862 at St John the Baptist, Croydon, Surrey.
In 1871she was at home with her parents in Croydon.
Louisa & her parents, together with sisters Eliza & Ellen & brother George, all emigrated to Sydney, Australia on the ship ‘Samuel Plimsoll’ arriving in Sydney on December 16th, 1874.
Louisa married George Donald in 1886 in Sydney. George was born in 1859 in Newcastle, NSW, the son of Margaret Thomson & Robert Donald. George’s parents were both from Dunfermline, Scotland & had emigrated to Australia in 1850. George was one of 7 children.
Louisa appears to have returned to England following the death of her sister, Harriett Annie Fry, in November 1893. (In January 1894 there is a record of Mrs Donald, given as age 29, travelling from Sydney to London on the ship ‘Oroya’.) Louisa subsequently returned to Sydney, Australia with the 2 youngest orphaned sons of Harriett Annie, namely Arthur William Fry (5) & Percy Grove Fry (4). They are recorded as passengers aboard the Austral which sailed from London on September 7th, 1894, arriving in Sydney on October 22nd, 1894. Louisa was now described as a 40 year old, charwoman, who was recorded on arrival as being unmarried. The reason for Louisa being recorded as unmarried could be that she arrived with the 2 children but no accompanying husband.
George, a tramway employee, died on April 20th, 1901 at St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney & was buried at Rookwood cemetery.
Louisa remarried in 1912. Her second husband was Thomas Henry Weldon.
The electoral register of 1913 shows Louisa & husband Thomas, a carter, living at Dover St, Botany, Sydney. With them was Mary Josephine Weldon.
Louisa & Thomas continued to live at 20 Dover St & listed with them in 1934 was William Weldon, a tramway employee. All 3 were found together until 1937 at Dover St.
Thomas, aged 86, died in April 1942 & was cremated in the Eastern Suburbs Memorial Garden, Sydney. In 1943 widowed Louisa was listed alone & still living at Dover St.
Louisa of 20 Dover Rd, Botany, Sydney died, aged 82, on January 5th, 1944, her death being registered at Auburn, Sydney & was buried on January 7th, 1944 in the Presbyterian section of Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park Cemetery, beside her brother Charles Henry Grove.