Christian William Harry Kyling (known as Henry) was a brother to my great-grandfather John William Kyling. This article records Henry’s short life and a couple of relics that have appeared after having been lost to the family.

Henry’s Life

Henry was born on 7 September 1866 at Allora near Warwick. His German-migrant parents Fred and Caroline Kyling were living there at that time where Fred worked as a carpenter. By the time of his christening on 11 May the following year the family had moved to Warwick township where Fred would work a while longer as a carpenter before taking on the licence of the European hotel. Henry was the third child of the family of 10 children (12 if you include the two girls from Caroline’s first marriage). He was 20 years of age when his father Fred passed away, and his mother would soon thereafter suffer insolvency and depression that would see her sent to Willowburn, Toowoomba in 1892.

At the age of 29 Henry married Jane Eckhardt on 25 September 1889. The wedding occurred at the Eckhardt family home at Sandy Creek. Consent for Jane, who was aged 19, to marry was given by her father George August Eckhardt. At the time of the marriage, Henry was working as a labourer and residing at Warwick.

Henry and Jane had three children: William Henry (b. 25 Mar 1890), Florence Jane (b. 8 Dec 1891) and Elsie Maud (b. 23 June 1901).

Soon after Elsie’s birth Henry took on a new work role:

WARWICK, December 21
CEMETERY TRUSTEES
A meeting of the trustees of the Warwick Cemetery was hold in the Town Hall yesterday afternoon for the purpose of appointing a sexton. For the position, which is worth, all told, £100 a year and a free house, there were eight applicants, and it was unanimously decided to accept that of Henry Kyling.
(Brisbane Courier, 25 Dec 1901, p. 6)

The 1903 electoral roll shows the family residing at the Cemetery:

He was an amateur runner, and participated in a number of local events including the Grand Handicap at Warwick on Queen’s Birthday weekend in 1888.

Henry was also a musician – an accordion player and is noted in the Warwick newspapers as playing at various local functions such as:

In 1890 at a social gathering for the Warwick Rugby Football Union: 'The music, provided by means of a piano, violin, and accordion, was quite up to the required standard of excellence. Mr. Harry Kyling handled the latter, while Mr. Sedgwick, and Mr. Jensen occasionally relieved on tho piano and violin.' 
(Warwick Examiner and Times, 11 Oct 1890, p.2)

In 1901 at a social dance at the Oddfellows' Lodge: Capital dance music was supplied by Mr. "Harry" Kyling and the Misses Ethel Sellars, A. Locke, and Noyes (piano). 
(Warwick Examiner and Times, 20 Apr 1901, p.2)

In 1901 at another social dance to celebrate the centenary of the Oddfellows' Lodge: 'The ball was brilliantly lighted with gas, and decorated beautifully with evergreens and a display of bunting. Mr Harry Kyling supplied music in his usual perfect style with an accordion, being occasionally relieved by Mr. Sedgwick at the piano.' 
(Warwick Examiner and Times, 13 Sep 1890, p.2)

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Henry’s Death

Obituary. Mr Henry Kyling, sexton at the Warwick cemetery, died at his residence on Saturday evening last. The sad event was not unexpected, as the deceased had been laid up for some time with an affection of the heart. He was obliged to take to his bed six weeks ago, and for the last month paralysis deprived him of the power of speech. The late Mr Kyling, who was 38 years of age, leaves a widow and three children. The funeral took place on Monday, the service at the grave being conducted by the Rev. T.L.H. Jenkyn.
(Warwick Examiner and Times, 22 Jun 1904, p.3)

The death certificate notes aortic valvular disease, dyspnea (breathlessness), paralysis and asthenia (abnormal physical weakness or lack of energy) and that he had these health issues for some years. The informant on the death certificate was Jane’s sister ‘Mrs G. Bell’ (Elizabeth nee Eckhardt) and George Bell is one of the listed witnesses to the burial that occurred at Warwick Cemetery on 20 June 1904. The children were aged 14, 12 and 3.

Two days after the burial Mr A. Clark was appointed as the new sexton of Warwick cemetery, and Jane and the children moved to William Street, Warwick.

Two years later Henry’s mother Caroline passed away at Toowoomba and was brought back to Warwick for burial with Fred. In 1910 all of Henry’s siblings gave their signed consent for assets to be sold so that Jane would be able to provide for her dependent children from what would have been Henry’s share of the proceeds.

In 1910 Florence married Vincent Cody, and Jane moved to Paddington (Brisbane) and William worked as a baker there.

OBITUARY.
The death took place in Brisbane on Tuesday night of Miss Elsie Kyling, who was only thirteen years of age at the time of her decease, which was due to heart failure. A daughter of the late Mr. H. Kyling who passed away about seven years ago, the deceased girl had been a resident of Warwick until a short time back. Her brother (Mr H. Kyling) and her sister (Mrs J. Cody) both live in Warwick, and to them sympathy is extended. The body was brought to Warwick on Thursday, and the funeral, which was well attended, then took place to the Warwick cemetery.
(Warwick Examiner and Times, 18 Jul 1914, p.3)

Elsie had suffered a severe bout of gastritis resulting in convulsions and heart failure. Her brother William Henry Kyling was the informant on the death certificate. She was buried with Henry and her name can be seen on the headstone above.

Soon after Elsie’s death William Kyling seems to have enlisted as a merchant seaman in the First World War. Though I haven’t been able to locate his enlistment papers, the National Archives in London holds a medal card for him:

and the National Archives of Australia holds an application for his war medals by William’s wife in 1951.
Applicant – KYLING Bertha Blanche [widow of William Henry Kyling] : Born – 1890 : Place of Birth – Warwick : Application for – Campaign Stars and War Medal : Date of Application – 9 February 1951.

He seems to have had an interesting life – along with his military contribution he travelled and worked in Melbourne and Sydney before his marriage to Bertha Blanche Bright in 1925. They appear not to have had any offspring. William died in 1946 in Sydney and he and Bertha are buried at the Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park.

KYLING.—June 30, 1946, at his residence, 5 Bobmos Flats, 151 Todman Avenue, Kensington, William Henry Kyling, dearly beloved husband of Bertha Blanche Kyling, age 56 years. Privately interred on July 1, 1946.
(Sydney Morning Herald, 2 Jul 1946, p.14)

Jane had passed away five years earlier in Brisbane:

KYLING.— The Relatives and Friends of the late Mrs Jane Kyling, of 28 Latrobe Terrace, Paddington, are Invited to attend her Funeral, to move from Alex. Gow's Funeral Chapel. Petrie Bight, this (Friday) afternoon, at 3.30 o'clock. for the Toowong Cemetery.
(Courier-Mail, 10 Oct 1941, p.10)

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Florence and Vincent Cody had four children. Florence died in Brisbane in 1975, and she and Vincent are also buried at Toowong.

The Relics

Back in 2006 I typed ‘kyling’ into the then Picture Australia database and found a copy of the funeral cards of both Henry and his mother. They had made their way into the John Oxley Library collection at the State Library of Queensland.

I wrote to the John Oxley library and asked if there was any providence information for them. The reply from the library was:

Unfortunately, there is no record of the source of these photographs – in the past, a great number of items in the collection seem to have been accumulated with very little information provided by the donors. l’m so sorry we are unable to help you with this.

Regardless of how these items made it into the library I’m so glad they did; if they had not, the only known images of these two might have been forever lost. The text around Henry’s picture reads ‘Though lost to sight … to memory dear’. In fact the opposite is now true – though there is now no living person with a dear memory of Henry, this photo means he is not lost to sight.

The Picture Australia database was later absorbed into Trove and the here are the links to these items for Caroline and Henry.

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In May 2021 I was contacted out of the blue by a person who 30 years ago had purchased an old bible from a collectibles shop in Queensland in a state of disrepair. She recently inspected it again, noticing the inscriptions and very generously sent me some photos of it.

It was the bible presented to Henry and Jane on their wedding day at Sandy Creek on 25 September 1889!

If you have ever found a family relic and sought a family member to send or provide a copy to – then thank you.
You may have added something significant to the story of a person’s life!