A Sad Demise
Family dynasties have always fascinated me, and every family hides a dark secret (or two). Today's blog is about a famous family which had many a peccadillo, but the subject today is a rather sad member who lost his way. MAXIMILIAN JOHN FOY Max, as he was generally known, was born in 1882, the youngest son of Mark Foy from his second marriage to Catherine Power, who he had married on Christmas Day 1879. Mark's first wife, Mary Macken, had died in March that year after having had eight children, the youngest being seven years of age. Mark had emigrated to Australia in 1858 chasing gold but eventually settled on opening a drapery shop in Collingwood. He eventually passed the drapery store to his son Francis in 1883. Francis, after a brief partnership with William Gibson sold the business to him and in 1885 Francis Foy went on to establish the Mark Foys department store in Sydney in partnership with his younger brother, Mark. Mark Foys Department Store (now The Downing Centre) ...