Hi Ross,
Thank you so much for your email. My husband Ron, is the son of Marjorie McLean, sister to Leila & Gladys.
We are both amazed, as we had no idea that Glad had a twin.
What a shame that Leila died so young. Do you know what she died from?
Ron & I were very fond of Aunty Glad, & ironically & sadly, she passed away on the day of our Wedding, with a heart attack.
We have so many questions, but can't get over the fact that no one ever mentioned Leila. Did she know that she came from such a large family? Was she adopted by the Shaws? I wonder if Glad & she met.
Do you have a photo of Leila? Did you see the photo of Glad on our McLean Tree?
Were the Shaws related to the McLeans or just friends?? I see that Albert married Jane Williams 1892, & they didn't have any children. Was Leila their only child or did they adopt others.
Leila married Harold Garfoot in 1920, & died in 1929. Could we please have some details re Harold,& their children, so as I may add them to our Tree? Do you have a Tree on Ancestry?
So sorry for all the questions, but there are so many things we want to know about Leila & Harold & their family. We would appreciate any photos that you would like to share.
As to your questions about David McLean being the father of Gladys & Leila?? I don't think we will ever know, really.
The twins were born in 1900, Eliza was 20, so not too young to marry then. But she & David didn't marry until 1904, & Raymond was born in 1904, so it makes us think, that he wasn't the twins father, as she would have been free to marry in 1901, when she was 21.....so why wait until 1904.
I think David raised Gladys as his own, but she was considered a Baker.
In the book called Three New England Families, by E.A. Roberts, David McLean is reported as leaving Black Mountain, near Guyra, (his birthplace) around 1903. The book says he married Eliza Baker in 1904, & she already had a daughter, Gladys Baker.
On B.D.M's record for the births of the twins, Father is not listed, it makes us think that the Father didn't want to be known or was denying the fact. Its frustrating isn't it.
There are none of Glad & Leila's siblings still living, but Ron has an older brother, who was raised by David & Eliza McLean, & he may know a bit more. We shall give him a ring & will let you know.
We would love to find out more about the Bakers & Coultons. We recently visited the graves of Henry Baker & Sarah Ann Coulton, at East Maitland Cemetery. Did you know that the Bakers had a Brickworks at Morpeth, we also visited the site, nothing remains, but the locals still tell tales of how prosperous it was.
If you would like to contact us directly our email address is
romalypark@yahoo.com.auLooking forward to hearing from you, & thanks once again for contacting us & telling us about Leila.
Marg Williams