Rumsey, Herbert John (1866 - 1956)

Born at Leamington, Warwickshire, England, on 4 February 1866 and died at Dundas, N.S.W., on 1 February 1956.  

His family migrated to Australia in 1872, and his father became an instructor at the Sydney Technical College.  Young Rumsey had a keen interest in seeds and plants and developed the knowledge which provided the background to his widespread horticultural interests.  His business of Rumsey Seeds Pty Ltd was founded in 1895, and he held office in the Nurserymens’ and Seedsmens’ Association.  He travelled widely — to the U.S.A. in 1915 and Great Britain in 1924, 1930-31 and 1938.  In addition to horticulture he had a strong interest in genealogy and was a founder of the Australian Society of Genealogy (1932); he was elected a Fellow of the Society of Genealogists (London) in the same year. Rumsey wrote extensively on horticulture and genealogy.