52 Ancestors #4 - May Leonie Brooks - a second cousin once removed

This post is for Week 4 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge - 2015 - by Amy Johnson Crow from No Story Too Small. Prompt for Week 4, Closest to your birthday .

May Leonie Brooks

No too much to think about here. I looked through my database of ancestors and came across quite a few with birthdays near me but stumbled across one with the same date and month - May Leonie Brooks - my second cousin once removed.

May Leonie was born on the 27th April 1883 in Grafton, New South Wales. Her parents were John Henry Brooks and Martha Jane Miller. She was the third of seven children and the second daughter.

May married William Henry McClaer (McClear) in 1904 in Grafton. William and May also had seven children, three girls and four boys. The family lived on Dunoon Road near Lismore, New South Wales.

May with Rainbow Lorrikeets

May died on 3rd April 1965 in Lismore, aged 81 years  just 24 days before her 82nd birthday and William died on 1st June 1965. They are both buried in the Lismore Memorial Gardens.

I wonder how May Leonie celebrated her birthday -  did she look forward to her day? Did she have a special cake for her birthday? May married in her 21st year - did she celebrate her coming of age or did her wedding take preference?  I hope that May enjoyed her birthdays. I certainly enjoyed mine when I was younger, now I'd rather forget the years.