John Withers was born on 15th May 1831 at Campbelltown, NSW and died on 12th of June 1904 at Tarrabandra, NSW. John married his first wife Mary Ann World on 4th of April 1853 at Gunning, NSW, they had two children, Sarah Jane in 1854 and Susannah in 1860. John had one child John Alfred Withers, with his next wife Catherine Delaney in 1859. It is not known what happened between Mary Ann World and John Withers, but one would assume the marriage was over by the time Susannah was born in 1860. Mary Ann World remarried on 23rd of May 1872 in Goulburn, NSW a man by the name of Joseph James Golding, they had three children. Mary Ann died on 3rd of December 1888 at Goulburn.
Catherine Delaney was born on 21st of October 1843 in Collector, NSW and died on 10th of September 1919 at Gundagai, NSW. Catherine had 12 children with John Withers before they finally married on 3rd of September 1884 at Yass, NSW. John and Catherine had another 2 children after they married making a total of 14 children.
George Buchanan was born on the 14th of August 1852 in Hobart, Tasmania. I now have proof that dispels the tale of him being "born at sea" as quoted on his death certificate and in his obituary. George died on 15th of September 1931 at Narrandera, NSW.
Agnes Maria Conn was born on 19th of August 1859 in Narrandera, NSW and died in Narrandera, NSW on the 30th September 1901. George and Agnes married on 6th of October 1877 at Wagga Wagga, NSW one month after their first child Ruth Maria Conn (she was registered under Conn) was born. George and Agnes went on to have another 9 children.
Richard Sadler was born about 1832 in Sydney, NSW and possibly died on 14th December 1874 at Gladesville, NSW. Richard was described by my Uncle as a drunk who died of a drinking related disorder. On the death certificate I have it mentions that he had been married and had seven children, but no further details were recorded, so unfortunately this is as much as I know about this ancestor.
Emma Chard is recorded as the mother of Mary Jane Sadler and it is assumed that she is the mother of my great grandmother Emma Louisa as well, although this is unproven at this point in time. I'd love to hear from anyone with further information.
John Mills was born at Guildford, Surrey, UK in about 1825, it is not known exactly when he died. John was listed as a Carman in the 1881 UK census.
Mary Ann Young was born about 1833 at Selsdon, Surrey, UK and died at Lewisham, UK in 1900. Marriage details have not been found to date.
John Jones was born in Maidstone, Kent, UK in about 1826 and died in Alexandra, Victoria on 30th December 1870 from Heart Disease. John was a convict and was sentenced at Maidstone Quarter Sessions on 30th June 1842 for 10 years for stealing some lead and a brass cock from a smith in Maidstone. This was his 3rd conviction, he was convicted twice before of felonies. John sailed on 4th of April 1843 on the Gilmore (3) and arrived in VDL on 20th August 1843. Not a lot is known about his life in Tasmania, other than he received his TOL on 8th of November 1850. Somewhere between 1850 and 1855 he came to Victoria. John became a gold miner and in 1864 appeared before the Rewards committee regarding a claim he had made in Reedy Creek, near Broadford Victoria. John made the first claim in Reedy Creek and was awarded £100 by the Rewards Committee.
Elizabeth Williams was born on 29th December 1829 in Hobart, Tasmania and died in Dookie, Victoria on 10th May 1922. Elizabeth had a hard start to life as her father John Williams (see Great Great Great Grandparents) died when Elizabeth was only a few months old and when 7 years of age she was admitted to Queens Orphanage in Hobart for a period of 3 years. Elizabeth came to Victoria sometime before August 1849 with her mother. Elizabeth married her first husband Daniel Moylan on 27th of August 1849, they had one child Mary Elizabeth. Daniel was a convict, sentenced at the Old Bailey for burglary in June 1839 and sent to VDL for life on "Mangles", arriving on 27th of April 1840, he obtained his TOL in 1848. Daniel was killed by the Kurnai tribe in Orbost on 14th July 1851 when they came to rescue a girl he had abducted. The Kurnai were apparently horrified by the way Daniel had treated the girl and so speared and killed him, leaving Elizabeth a widow aged 21. John and Elizabeth married at St James Church, Melbourne on 8th of July 1859, nearly two years after the birth of their first born John. John and Elizabeth went on to have another four children of whom, the last, Stephen died in infancy.
Edwin Hooper Dix was born in Wells, Somerset, UK in 1830 and died in Launceston, Tasmania on 19th October 1900. Edwin was a convict, he was sentenced on 22nd October 1849 for stealing two pieces of mahogany and was transported to VDL for seven years. He arrived in Launceston on the Oriental Queen on 19th February 1853 as Edwin Hooper, alias Dix. While a convict he married Anastasia Wise on 10th of July 1854 at St Joseph's Catholic Church in Launceston. He was pardoned on 8th November 1854 as transportation had then ceased.
Edwin became an Officer of the Corporation at the Launceston Town Hall and had a reputation for knowing the property valuations of every house in Launceston. He was also a rate collector, summonsing officer and messenger to the corporation and lived at the Launceston Town Hall in Cameron Street for many years. Edwin was a Mason at the St John Lodge and was a member of the Court of Sherwood AOF at the time of his death. Edwin married three times and had 10 issue of which only one survived. See site for photo and more information: Launceston Family Album
Anastasia Wise was born between 1828 & 1831, location unknown and died in Launceston Tasmania on 9th of July 1860 from consumption. It is not clear how many children Edwin and Anastasia had, however, there are christening records for James Edwin, Nicholas & Edwin, the latter two died as infants.
Thomas Ah Chow was born in Hong Kong, China on 8th September 1834 and died 5th January 1918 at Bruthen, Victoria. Thomas was 21 when he came to Australia. My grandmother Maude told my mother that he jumped ship, which has made tracing him back to China near impossible. Thomas spent two years in NSW before coming to Victoria where he worked on ships between Port Albert, Melbourne, Warnambool and Tasmania. It's assumed that Thomas met his wife to be Agnes on one of these ships. Thomas was the first person to grow maize in Victoria.
Agnes Elizabeth Mason was born on 28th October 1853 at McIvor Diggings, Victoria and died at Bruthen, Victoria on 27th October 1906. Thomas and Agnes married on 30th May 1872 in Emerald Hill (aka South Melbourne) Victoria, they had 13 children of which one, Edward Thomas, their first born, died in infancy.
Margaret Sago was born on 15th January 1844 at Ryries Station, Victoria and died on 1st of January 1916 at Violet Town, Victoria. Margaret fell pregnant with her first child to James Wyatt when living at Fryerstown, Victoria and gave birth to William Charles in August 1862. It is not known known if the father of her second child Mary whom she gave birth to on 26th of September 1864, was the same James Wyatt. When pregnant with Mary, Margaret met Peter Roach and they married on 29th of August 1864 in Castlemaine, Victoria, Mary was to give birth one month later. Peter Roach was an Irish immigrant who had immigrated in 1861 with his then wife Charlotte Docherty, they had six children, one who died the year of their immigration in 1861. Charlotte Docherty died on 22nd of May 1863, after a physical altercation with Peter involving a candlestick and frying pan, however Charlotte's official cause of death was liver disease exacerbated by the birth of her last child. Peter married Margaret and gave both Margaret's illegitimate children his name. Peter and Margaret went on to have another 11 children together, making a grand total of 19 children born between them.
