Eliezer Hainsworth Dodd Snr

Tracing back through a distant family line I came to this gentleman Eliezer Hainsworth Dodd Snr.  I haven’t found out a lot about his life but what I have found out fascinates me!
He married Emily Pretty on 13 Nov 1854 in Adelaide.  They moved around within South Australia from Adelaide to Encounter Bay to Yankalilla and back to Port Elliot.  Eliezer was declared insolvent in 1856 and his occupation on these documents was listed as Miller.
South Australian Register, Friday 16 May 1856, page 4
He went into the Blacksmith business but didn’t fare much better and in 1862 he is declared insolvent once again.
South Australian Register, Friday 7 November 1862, page 2
By this time Eliezer and Emily have had five children although two little ones, William and Samuel have passed away.
Come 1875, during the booming river trade, Eliezer builds the PS Mundoo (Paddle steamer Mundoo) on Mundoo Island near Goolwa, South Australia.
I found this information on Trove the State Library of South Australia has a number of photos of the PS Mundoo also.
Eliezer operated the Mundoo on the Murray and Darling rivers, transporting goods to outlying stations and towns and bringing back wool to be exported to England, until his death in 1900.  More information about Australia’s river trading paddle steamers can be found here http://travelling-australia.info/Infsheets/Rivertrade.html
Barrier Miner, Wednesday 14 February 1900, page 2

This newspaper clipping tells how Eliezer had left Goolwa two or three months earlier with his steamer the Mundoo for Wilcannia but because the river was low they didn’t reach there.  He was about to come home over land when “he had an attack of an old trouble which necessitated his removal to the Wilcannia Hospital, where he died on Feb 8.”

Those who have read Nancy Cato’s book All The Rivers Run will be familiar with this awful scene of a paddle steamer stuck in a billabong when a health crisis strikes. 

7 thoughts on “Eliezer Hainsworth Dodd Snr

  • October 23, 2012 at 8:06 pm
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    Hi Kylie,
    I have a heap of info on Eliezer Hainworth Dodd, Snr, who appears on my family tree. I am in touch with his Great Grand-daughter, via her father Frank Eliezer Grundy who appears on your family tree. If you let me have your email address, I can email you a chapter of my book, which includes the stories of Eliezer and his family.

    Regards,

    Brian

    Reply
    • October 23, 2012 at 8:36 pm
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      Hi Brian
      Thanks so much for your message, I will be in touch so that we can swap stories!!

      Kylie

      Reply
    • May 28, 2014 at 2:02 pm
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      I am looking into the family tree for my husband and mother in law, She has given me some information that she has come across and it turns out that Eliezor Hainsworth Dodd is on their family. When I googles this name your site came up first. I see in the comment above that this gentleman Brian has a lot of information on Eliezer Hainworth Dodd.

      I would love to get some information if possible to give to my mother in law, she would love this

      Are you able to email me the information you have please

      Regards
      Libby Dodd

      Reply
      • May 28, 2014 at 3:40 pm
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        Hi Libby
        Thanks for getting in touch!! The information I have on Eliezer is on my tree http://kyliesgenes.com/individual.php?pid=I4191&ged=WillisonFamilyTree16Nov2011.ged

        and I also have a tree on ancestry.com.au and this is Eliezer’s page http://trees.ancestry.com.au/tree/6037348/person/5124372026 The graphics work properly on the Ancestry tree. I haven’t had a chance to fix them on my tree yet.

        If you have any questions or information you’d like to pass on please don’t hesitate to contact me. My email address is kira0030 at gmail.com

        Reply
      • May 31, 2017 at 8:45 pm
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        Hi – E H Dodd was my great grand father as well. My father was John Hainsworth Dodd, E H’s grandson. It seem the family had a bit of a falling out when E H remarried, and I don’t recall my father every mentioning cousins etc. Would be happy to get in touch

        Reply
  • June 1, 2017 at 8:47 am
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    Hi Charlotte
    To get in touch with descendants of EH Dodd I would suggest putting a post on Ancestry message boards, on Facebook family history groups and South Australian email lists. You can even go back to newspaper and put a note in the ‘Looking for’ section.
    All the best with your search!
    Kind regards
    Kylie

    Reply
  • February 20, 2018 at 9:13 pm
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    Hain was my Great Grand Father Charles(Pa)Dodd of Mannums brother.William Hainsworth(Pa,s)son was my Grandfather.He had two sons Alfred France(Frank)Hainsworth,my uncle and John Charles Jeffrey Dodd,my father.There was an infant brother, who drowned at six years.I would love to speak to anyone about the family on 0434812800 any time,with thanks, Gary Dodd

    Reply

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