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Dadswell Family

Barbara (Dadswell) Nethercott - Family Researcher

Photo of Barbara Nethercott

Ever find yourself wondering just who is this Barbara (Balch) Nethercott, whose name has been so prominent in research of the Dadswell family?

Barbara shares ancestors with our Australian branch of the Dadswell family.

Although we call her our "cousin", in reality she is the third cousin of the Australian generation who are the offspring of Henry and Jessie Dadswell.

[For the sons and daughters of this Australian generation, she is a "third cousin once removed".]

Barbara and our Australian generations share these ancestors:

It was here that our common heritage parted into different directions. James and Charlotte had 10 children, including these two brothers -

  • "her" Alfred (b1823), who married Mary Ann Cole, and who lived in Sussex; and


  • "our" Thomas William (b1828), who married Helena Aurora Scheer, who both emigrated to Australia in 1857 and who eventually settled at what became known as Dadswells Bridge.

Another brother, James, emigrated to the US - Henry Dadswell said he had been told that both James and "our" Thomas migrated to the US, but that they parted ways after a disagreement. Recently Barbara found the shipping arrival details for James and his wife Louisa (Gaston), but there was no mention of "our" Thomas on the ship.

That does not mean the story is not true (after all, Thomas did display some rather feisty behaviour here in Australia), but at this time we have no evidence that Thomas went to the US.

Barbara Nethercott and Harley Dadswell at Dadswells Bridge, Victoria

Just as this generation of Australian Dadswells are the great grand children of Thomas William and Helena Aurora Dadswell, so too Barbara and her siblings are the great grand children of Alfred and Mary.

Barbara was born Barbara Theresa Dadswell, daughter of Walter Henry and Mary (Valenti) Dadswell, of Trenton, Ontario, Canada.

[It was not until 1909 that Barbara's parents migrated from Sussex to Canada].

The friendship between Barbara and our Australian Dadswells goes back almost 40 years, to 1973, when a letter, written by Harley Dadswell to one of Barbara's relatives, was passed to her.

Since then, the two have been in regular contact, exchanging information, building family knowledge, and each visiting the other. The above picture shows Barbara and Harley at Dadswells Bridge on Barbara's visit (with husband Arnold Nethercott) to Australia in 2001.

Barbara's persistent research has uncovered a wealth of information which has linked many branches of the Dadswells around the world. We all owe her a great deal. Sadly, Barbara died in her home city of London, Ontario on 11 November 2021. She was 91.

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