Edgar Smith Wigg

Edgar Smith Wigg (7 June 1818 – 14 September 1899) was an Adelaide, South Australian bookseller and stationer, founder of the firm E. S. Wigg and Son.

A son of Richard Wigg (c. 1790–1856), of Tunstall, Suffolk,[1] he commenced work as a bank clerk and developed a book club for the benefit of his fellow workers. Sensing an opportunity, he opened a bookshop in Warwickshire. He married Fanny Neale Morewood of Atherstone, Warwickshire in September 1846. Their first child, Edward Neale Wigg was born in 1847 and shortly afterwards they migrated to Australia, perhaps seeking a healthier climate,[2] leaving on the "William Hyde" on 29 January 1849 and arriving in Port Adelaide in May 1849. He rented a shop at 4 Rundle Street and started manufacturing account books. In August 1857 the business moved to larger premises at 12 (later renumbered to 14) Rundle Street and a decade later founded a purchasing office in London. He opened a pharmacy at 34 King William Street.[2]

He served on the City Council from 1871 to 1874 and from 1876 to 1880, then retired from business, handing it over to his eldest son E. Neale Wigg and his son-in-law W. L. Davidson.

He maintained a close relationship with the North Adelaide Baptist Church and the Institution for the Blind.[3]

Siblings of E. S. Wigg

Two brothers of E. S. Wigg migrated to Australia in the 1850s, as did a widowed sister, who arrived on the maiden voyage of the Clipper Torrens[4] in 1876 and lived in North Adelaide.

  • R(ichard) Horace Wigg (c. 1822 – 25 September 1888) arrived in South Australia with his wife Elizabeth "Bessie" (c. 1824 – 26 May 1890) and son on the barque Lady Bruce in October 1853 and established a wholesale grocer's and wine and spirit store on King William Street,[5] became "R. H. Wigg & Sons" in 1876.[6] Their children included:
  • Frederick Horace Wigg (1 February 1853 – 7 October 1924), J.P.,[7] married Julia Marianne Barber ( – April 1930) in 1876,[8]
  • Margaret Amelia Wigg (1854 – 2 August 1859)
  • J(ohn) Richard Wigg (1856 – 26 April 1921) married Emily Margarette Frederica Barber on 4 December 1879. The Barber sisters were nieces, and wards, of J. W. Smith, American Consul in South Australia.
  • Elizabeth Jane Wigg (1858–)
  • Robert Wolton Wigg (1859 – 1 July 1943) married Ada Clarice Cutten in September 1882, lived in Victoria
  • Edward Turner Wigg (1861 – 15 February 1885)
  • Horace William Wigg (1863 – 3 January 1873) died after a fall at Waterfall Gully
They had a home "Woltonhurst", on the corner of Beulah Road and Kensington Terrace, Norwood.
  • Wolton Wigg (c. 1826–1915), was a brewer in Rushworth, Victoria.[9]
  • Mary Spencer, née Wigg (c. 1816 – 29 December 1882)[10] was a sister.

Children of E. S. Wigg
1887 Wigg family at 'Wockwalla', their summer residence at Bridgewater. Standing (from left): William Davidson, Nellie Wigg, Annie Wigg, E.S.Wigg. Seated (from left): Edith Wigg (née Parham), (probably) Olive Wigg, Mrs E.S.Wigg (née Jane Eccles), Alfred Wigg, Mary Wigg, and Florence Wigg

With Fanny Neale Wigg (née Morewood) (ca.1823 – 1 April 1853):

  • Edward Neale Wigg (1847 – 12 December 1927) bookseller and chairman of directors BHP 1890-1913[11] Edward Neale Wigg married Janet N. Davidson on 6 September 1871.
  • Frank Morewood Wigg M.B., Ch.M. (Edinburgh)(c. 1873 – 23 January 1901) died of pneumonia in Edinburgh aged 28 [12]
  • Jessie Ann (22 April 1852 – 17 May 1853)

In November 1853 he married Alice (sometimes called Ann) Lane (ca.1819 – 13 January 1855) who came from Boscombe, Devon. They had no children. In November 1855 he married Jane Eccles ( – 22 July 1895); they had two boys and four girls:

  • Alfred Edgar Wigg (2 February 1857 – 1 May 1914), a prominent medical practitioner.
  • (Winifred) Olive Wigg ( –1964) married John Stanley Murray (1884–1971) on 8 June 1910
  • Henry Higham Wigg (18 July 1858 – 22 April 1950) also a medical practitioner, married Lillie Margaret Melrose ( – 10 March 1932), a daughter of George Melrose, on 29 April 1891. He was Health Officer for Unley Council and was one of four patrons, with brothers-in law W. L. Davidson and F. A. Joyner, and miner Charles Henry de Rose, who sponsored the 20-year-old Hans Heysen's studies in Europe.[13]
  • Mary Jane Wigg (6 April 1860 – ) married William Laidlaw Davidson (1853-1924) on 1 September 1885. Davidson's sister Janet had previously married Edward Neale Wigg.
  • Ellen Deborah Wigg (9 January 1863 – 9 March 1954).
  • Florence Fanny Wigg (29 May 1864 – February 1940).
  • Annie Adelaide Wigg (28 January 1867 – 14 August 1949) married Frederick Allen Joyner (ca.1864 – 15 December 1945) on 28 September 1889.

Their home for many years was at Lefevre Terrace Medindie. He bought the land in 1851 and had a cottage built there.[2]

Sources
gollark: I'm sure streaming services would *never* randomly pull content.
gollark: Meanwhile, you can fit probably several thousand movies in DVDish quality on a single high-capacity HDD these days.
gollark: Besides, with DVDs you have to physically *store* them and move them around and it's irritating.
gollark: Those are bad at transcoding and generally have slow storage.
gollark: I don't think your assumptions there are accurate. At all.

References
  1. "Family Notices". South Australian Register. South Australia. 21 July 1856. p. 2. Retrieved 31 December 2019 – via Trove.
  2. Out Among the People The Advertiser 17 June 1949 p.4 accessed 20 April 2011
  3. Death of Mr. E. S. Wigg South Australian Register 16 October 1899 p.6 accessed 19 April 2011
  4. "To Captain Angel, Ship Torrens". The Evening Journal (Adelaide). South Australia. 8 March 1876. p. 1. Retrieved 31 December 2019 – via Trove.
  5. "The Week". South Australian Weekly Chronicle. South Australia. 29 September 1888. p. 11. Retrieved 31 December 2019 – via Trove.
  6. "Celebration Dinner". The Evening Journal (Adelaide). South Australia. 16 November 1876. p. 2. Retrieved 31 December 2019 – via Trove.
  7. "Obituary". The Register (Adelaide). South Australia. 9 October 1924. p. 8. Retrieved 31 December 2019 – via Trove.
  8. "Niece of Consul". The News (Adelaide). South Australia. 10 April 1930. p. 8. Retrieved 31 December 2019 – via Trove.
  9. "Mr Wolton Wigg". Murchison Advertiser And Murchison, Toolamba, Mooroopna And Dargalong Express. Victoria, Australia. 12 November 1915. p. 2. Retrieved 31 December 2019 – via Trove.
  10. "Family Notices". The Evening Journal (Adelaide). South Australia. 22 January 1883. p. 2. Retrieved 31 December 2019 – via Trove.
  11. Obituary The Register Thursday 15 December 1927
  12. The Argus (Melbourne, VIC) Wed 24 Apr 1901.
  13. "Hans of Hahndorf". The Mail. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 3 May 1913. p. 8. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
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