Dear Johngirl,
I reckon that she went back to hospital......call it a gut feeling, but she didn't register the birth of Robert for 3 months, which to me would indicate that she might not have been all that well, but if she was suffering a mental illness that had it's onset at childbirth, then Fred may have triggered another episode.
To this end I have asked the Tas Archives if she was re-admitted and if she died at the hospital and I have been scouring the handwritten microform converted to digital records of the Victorian asylums (fascinating reading) where the rest of the family ended up. If she died in hospital and there was an inquest there may not be a death certificate per se. (Have heard this from several people now who have located rellies through inquest findings). I am going to the NSW State Archives next week and will look up the NSW asylum records if I haven't located her by then.
Fred.........well, her family moved to Waratah, so I wonder if he was just absorbed into the larger family, or indeed, if he was adopted out.
I have the sense that he may always remain a mystery, but for some reason, I am determined to find out what happened to the much maligned Ellen.
Susie
