GODSCHALL AND GODSCHALL JOHNON FAMILY HISTORIES
The following history falls into periods
each roughly covering 250 years.
Firstly that of the Godschall family from
1533 to 1793, and secondly that of the Godschall Johnsons descended from the
Godschalls in the female line, from 1700 onwards.
The name of Godschall has been written in
a great many different ways, some almost unrecognisable, but for greater
clarity the most usual form, spelt "Godschall", will be used in these
notes. Wherever found in sources, it has always retained the hard sound made by
the "sc" being pronounced "sk". The name is formed by two
words "Gott" or God, and "Schalk", meaning servant, ie.
servant of God.
The earliest reference found to the family
name is contained in a book published in 1914 Chronicles of Three Cities,
Hamberg, Bremen and Lubeck, by E. King. There it is stated that, in the
year 1066, one Godschalke , an able
and powerful man, forged for himself a kingdom by uniting several principalities
in Holstein and east of the river Elbe, countries lying on the shores of the
Baltic in north western Europe. This land was peopled by Wends and Slavs who
were then heathen. Godschalke was
himself a Christian, possibly baptised by his friend Adalborb, Archbishop of
Bremen, and became an ardent missionary forcing his heathen subjects to accept
Christianity. His people eventually rose against him and
killed
him. His wife, a sister of King Swayn of Denmark, fled with her two sons to
Denmark.
The surname Godschalke continues upon the Continent to this day and
particularly in Belgium. A coat of arms over 900 years old is attached to the
name Godschalke from Lisse in
Belgium. The coat is probably the original of the subsequent Godschall Coat of
Arms used, and added to, in England, by additional "supporters" from
various linked families.
It is recorded in Stow's History of London
written in 1600 that, in 1282, Henry Wales, Mayor of Hamden, was in dispute
with merchants of the Hanse League over the repair of Bishopsgate, a gate of
the city of London leading to the northeast of the country, and therefore used
by merchants from the Baltic Ports. The Manse League was a very powerful Guild
of Merchants, chiefly from north-eastern European cities, who had obtained
great trading privileges from Edward I, and succeeding sovereigns. They had
their own Guildhall (the Steelyard), in London, and officers resided in the
city. In return for these privileges, their officers had certain duties and
obligations. One of these was the maintenance of Bishopsgate.
As a result of this dispute, several of
their merchants and guildhallers were called into question, one being
Godschall, Burgess of Triven, a city on the River Moselle in Germany.
One hundred years later, in 1384, the City
of Aubesly, a Manse League City, was commanded in a revolt under a Baron
Godschall.
The ancestor to be concentrated on here is
a Jan Godschall of Utrecht. No connection with the eminent users of the name is
claimed, but the surviving records are mentioned for their intrinsic interest.
Certainly there are recorded very early
usages of the name.
The name is still found in parts of
northern Europe.
In the year 1558, Queen Elizabeth I came
to the throne of England, succeeding her half sister Mary, a fervent Catholic,
who had married Philip II, King of Spain. Elizabeth I remained unmarried and
was known as the Virgin Queen.
On the abdication of his father, the
Emperor V, Philip II inherited, in addition to Spain, the Burgundian
Netherlands, known also as the Spanish Netherlands, or Low Countries, which
included the State of Flanders.
Flanders, by reason of its exploits at
sea, and vast cloth trade, was a very rich country. Its merchants were sturdy
and independent, and had adopted the Protestant faith. They became a thorn in
the flesh of the Catholic rulers, by whom they were greatly persecuted.
Philip, King of Spain, claimed the English
throne, both as the husband of Queen Mary, and by descent from John of Gaunt.
Thus Catholic Spain became the enemy of England. Whilst keeping the enemy at
bay, it was Elizabeth's policy to encourage Spain's rebellious Flemish
subjects.
Flemish merchants had for a long time
traded with England, importing most of its wool, and sending in return cloth
and other woollen goods. When, therefore, religious persecution flared up in
Flanders, Elizabeth took the opportunity to invite the harassed Flemish
merchants to settle in England. By so doing, she gained not only cloth and
other trades and skill of Flemish weavers, but was able to call upon the rich
merchant émigrés for large monetary loans.
It was natural that Flemish families which
had for generations traded with England, should land on the south and east
coasts. We find settlements of "strangers", as they were called by
the local populace, in such places as Norwich, Colchester, Canterbury,
Sandwich, and Southampton, as well as in the merchant heartland of London.
Records of these places refer to them as
"strangers fled for their Faith". They were not popular with
the English merchants who were naturally jealous of the privileges bestowed on
them by the Queen's favour, and frequent squabbles took place.
The following is a typical broadsheet of
protest circulated by the apprentices of London:
Be it known to all Flemings and Frenchmen that it is
best for them to depart out of the realm of England between this and the 9th of
July next and if not then to take which follows. There shall be many a sore
strife. Apprentices will rise to the number of 2336 and all apprentices and
journeymen will down with the Flemings
and Strangers
Doth not the World see that you
beastly brutes, the Belgians or rather drunken drones and faint-hearted
Flemings and you fraudulent fatted Frenchmen by your cowardly flight from your
own natural countries have abandoned the same into the hands of your proud
cowardly enemies and have by a feigned hypocrasy and counterfeit show of
religion, placed yourselves here in a most fertile soil under a most gracious
and merciful Prince, who hath been contented with great prejudice to her
faithful subjects to suffer you to live here in between and in more freedom
than her own people.
Amongst the "Strangers"
who came to England at this time were many whose names later became well known
in every walk of life, particularly in the City of London, and are now
household words across the country.
With these people from Flanders came
several families, men, women, and children, bearing the name Godschall. Amongst them was Jan Godschall and his cousin Joon (Joos
or Joas) Godschall who will be mentioned later.
Jan Godschall was the ancestor of the
Godschall lineage dealt with extensively herein.
CHAPTER 1
In the Netherlands, 5 miles west of
Utrecht, is the small town of Maarssen. As the name implies, it lies in damp
marshy country, and is on land washed by the delta of the River Rhine.
It was at Maarssen, in the year 1533, that
Jan Godschall was born, In the following year, 1534, was born a female child,
to be named Margaret, who was later to become Jan's wife. Her surname has not
been discovered, and may be lost in the provenance and providence of time.
Both appear to have come from wealthy
merchant families and to have married within the parameters of their defined
social class, as was the custom of the time.
They
were married by or before 1561. In that year, with their infant son, James,
they emigrated to England. They probably brought servants with them, and
certainly money, and landed at Sandwich in Kent.
A number of refugees from religious
persecution were living in the district. There was a church for them in
Sandwich as well as at other places in the south and east of England. Records
of several of these congregations have been published by the Huguenot Society
of London.
Margaret, wife of Johan Godschalshe, was a member of the Sandwich Church of
which Johan Utenheve was the Minister.
In 1563, the family of Jan Godschalshe,
later referred to as John Godschall, moved to London. Margaret made application
for admission to membership of the French Church there, but was refused because
she had not paid her dues to the Church of Sandwich.
This particular Church, in London, had
been granted a Charter by Edward VI, and was established in Threadneedle Street
in the City. Its successor was the Protestant Church in Soho Square which
continued to display its original charter, and from whose Archives was derived
the minute of the records relating to Margaret and John Godschall.
The Dutch or Flemish Protestants had their
own church granted to them in 1550, in the former church of the Augustinian
Friars in the City of London. It is known now, as well as the district around
it, as Austin Friars. It still has the Dutch Church, which was rebuilt after
World War II.
To this Church, the Godschalls paid
allegiance. We particularly find names associated with the family of Joos
Godschall amongst its officers. John, and his descendants, frequented the
English parish church as well, and after several generations, gave up the Dutch
Church, although they still left legacies to the poor there.
Amongst those granted naturalisation and
Letters of Denization (permission to dwell), in 1562 is the name of John
Godschall "from the kingdom of the King of Spain". About the same
time, he and his wife, and their son James, all originally from Flanders, with
two daughters born in England, and their maidservant from Flanders, were all
living in Walbrook Ward of the City of London, in the house of Henry
Richardson, a draper. They were making their living by selling Bayes, a kind of
woollen cloth.
John Godschall was exempt from paying the
Lay Subsidy levied in 1561. It was customary for the Sovereign to demand
subsidies from her lay subjects from time to time apart from Parliamentary
taxes, but John Godschall was exempt from paying Lay Subsidy levied in 1561,
probably because he had already given a large "loan".
Two years later, in 1563, the family had a
house of their own in the Parish of St. Mary Abchurch (rebuilt after the Fire
of London in 1666).
According to Stow, who wrote his History
of London in 1600, this part of the City had been in Edward III's reign much
frequented by weavers of woollen cloth brought out of Flanders, but was, at the
date he wrote, "possessed by rich drapers sellers of woollen cloth, etc".
At that time, merchants lived above their
warehouses, and it is still possible to picture the Godschall's first London
home in the narrow winding Abchurch Lane which runs from Lombard Street to the
Thames, having on its west side the small Church of St. Mary, which stands on
slightly raised ground that was once its graveyard, but is now an open paved
court.
There was a picture by Franz Hals, the
Flemish artist from Utrecht (1580-1666), once in the National Gallery of
London, of just such a wealthy Flemish family, as the Godschalls no doubt were.
John Godschall lived, traded in wool and
cloth, and to all intents as can best be judged, prospered. He certainly found
himself in a position to acquire land, houses, and gardens, in Abchurch Lane,
and without Bishopsgate.
He married twice. His first wife was
Margaret, whom we have already mentioned. Her surname cannot be ascertained.
She was born in Maarssen in 1534. The couple married there, at least before
1560, when they emigrated to England. She bore John two daughters in England,
and died on a date before 1571.
John and Margaret had at least three
children, a son and two daughters, living at his death in 1587.
John's second wife was Hester. Again it
has not been possible to ascertain her maiden name, nor her previously married
name. She was actually a widow, probably with a daughter also named Hester.
John Godschall's Will is to be found at
the Central Registry, Somerset House, London, under reference P.C.C. Spencer
69.
It is in the form of a Declaration made
before certain reputable City merchants and officials; their names show their
Flemish origin, although the names are still known in the City of London today.
The witnesses, whose ages and callings
were given, together with the Public Notary, were gathered at the
"Dwelling House in Abchurch Lane of John Godschall of London, Merchant
Stranger", on the 21st of October, 1587, when he, John, being "sick
in body but in good and perfect sense and remembrance", made his
Declaration.
Though he was only 54 when he died, he
would have been considered an old man for those times.
Probate of his Will was granted on the 3rd
of November 1587, to his only son, James.
Particular mention is made in the Will of
houses and gardens in the Parish of St. Botolph-without-Bishopsgate, abutting
on "Three Tonnes Allee".
The whole of this District
was later covered by railway and goods yards, belonging to Liverpool Street
station.
In one early map, there was a plot marked
"Godschall's Garden". In earlier times, this land had belonged to the
Priory of Canons, but it passed to the City of London at the time of the
Dissolution of the Abbeys by Henry VIII. There was built there the first
Bethlehem Hospital for the Insane, from which became known the term "Bedlam".
The first two theatres, specifically for
the production of plays, were built close by in 1577. They were known as The Theatre and The Curtain, and were later utilised by William Shakespeare and his
companions.
John Godschall lived at his house at Abchurch
Lane, and his two daughters probably lived there also, at least till their
marriage, if not after.
Suzanna, the elder of the two, married
before her father's death in August 1587. She married Hendrick Hoevenaer. The
name Hendrick Hoevenaer, and the names of his children, appear several times in
the Dutch Church registers.
John's second daughter, Sara, was baptised
at Austin Friars in August 1571, and was married there in December, 1589, to
Hans de Behout, who was referred to in her father, John's Will, as being
"of Sandwich".
A third child, Hester, was living in 1587,
and named in John Godschall's Will. But by the wording of the reference, it is
not clear if she was his daughter by his second wife Hester, or her child by
her former deceased, husband.
Both Sara, and Hester, were of non-age in
1587.
Several relations were mentioned in the
Will, as well as friends. Amongst them were his sister Anna and her family, in
respect of whom he had evidently lost touch. They may have remained in
Flanders.
Other beneficiaries were his cousin Joos,
and his son, John.
The name, Joos or Joce, is the equivalent
of George, in Flemish. Joos was a prominent member of the Dutch Church at
Austin Friars. His pedigree, and Arms, are given in the Visitation of London made by the Heralds, in 1633 to 1635. The Arms
do not appear to have been granted by the English College of Arms. Possibly
there were recognised, or given mutual recognition, as being of valid foreign
extraction. Two hundred years later, the descendants of John Godschall valued
their heritage in this regard quite highly.
The term "cousin", was, at that
time, in general use in respect of a first cousin; the term "kinsman"
was used for more distant relatives.
The names of members of both Joos' family,
and John's family, appear as joint witnesses in the register of baptisms and
marriages, in the Dutch and French Protestant Churches.
Joos was the son of Daniel Godschall of
Neuchink in Flanders. Daniel Godschall was possibly, or even probably, the
brother of John Godschall's father, of Maarssen.
Joos married, in England, Ann, daughter of
John Caronell, a family who originated from France. The name, Caronell, appears
several times in the registers for the French Church, and later, was to be
found in Essex, a County which still has many names of émigré` background.
The name of Joos' son, John, to whom John
Godschall left a legacy in his Will, does not appear in the relevant passage
from the Visitation of the Heralds of the College of Arms in 1633-35, giving
rise to the suspicion that he may have died by this time. But a son of this
John, named James, was his heir, and James had a daughter, Abigail, who was
baptised in 1606. Abigail eventually married a John Rushout and left
descendants who may be found under the Barony of Northwick in Burke's Extinct Baronies.
Joos served the Dutch Church in Austin
Friars as an Elder in 1611 and 1617, and was later responsible for the
distribution of monies collected for needy members of the congregation.
The Church still possesses the silver
Communion flagon presented to it by Joos Godschall. It bears the following
inscription:
Dono Bedit
Joos Godschalk Senior 1635 ... Londino Belgicae,
as
well as the Godschall Coat of Arms.
It bears the London date letter for 1628,
and the maker's mark, R.B., in a shield with a mallet. The maker's name has not
been identified, but other pieces made by him are known.
Joos' son, James, was probably the
Minister of the Dutch Church, whose burial there is one of the first burials
recorded. He married there, in 1603, Catalyne van den Bende of Brussels.
James, and his infant son, died suddenly
of the plague in 1607. Their deaths are entered, with a note as to their place
of burial, in the registers of St. Helen's, Bishopsgate.
CHAPTER II
We return to James
Godschall, son of John Godschall.
James Godschall was born before 1560 at
Maarssen, in Flanders. He was brought to England as an infant, by his parents,
and was of full age at his father's death in 1587, and took probate of his
father's Will.
In one of the Returns of the Strangers of London, he is said to have "served
his father", so that we know that he too, dealt in "Bayes and Sayes"-
that is, woollen cloth of various qualities.
His first wife was a Jeanne or Jane. Her
surname is not known. The marriage occurred sometime before 1587. His first
wife bore him four daughters and a son. Her death is presumed at some stage
thereafter.
His second wife was a Rachel Bowman.
Rachel was described as a widow. There were no further issue by James and Rachel.
Rachel survived her husband and lived until 1652. She appears to have had a
daughter, a Suzanne Beck.
The eldest daughter of James and Jane
Godschall was baptised Jane Godschall at Austin Friars in 1587. She married
there in 1602, Jean de Rue or Veriun, and, in 1626, Abraham de Couter, leaving
de Couter issue.
The second daughter of James and Jane
Godschall was Elizabeth Godschall. Elizabeth married at Austin Friars, in 1601,
a Daniel Herinchoke. She bore him a son, Peter Herinchoke. The name Herinchoke,
in various guises, appears in the registers of the Dutch church for several
generations. Elizabeth Herinchoke was a widow in 1636.
The third daughter, Judith Godschall, was
baptised in 1596 at Austin Friars. She was married there in 1615, to a Jan Pollard
of Colchester, and left no issue.
The youngest daughter was Marie Godschall.
In 1600 she married Henrik Cuijl, by whom she had a son, Henry. Henry was
baptised at Austin Friars in 1602. Marie was left a widow, and married again in
April 1605, Nicholas Houblon, the second son of Jean Houblon and Marie de la
Fontaine. The Houblon family were an émigré` family from France who came to
England a little later than the Godschalls.
Nicholas Houblon and his wife Marie, nee`
Godschall, had a number of children, but Marie was again a widow by 1616.
The eldest brother of Nicholas Houblon,
was Pierre. Pierre and his wife died, leaving a family of young children, who
were brought up by Nicholas and Marie. Amongst them was James Houblon, who was
the grandfather of Ann Houblon. Ann Houblon became the wife of Henry Temple,
1st Viscount Palmerston.
The son of Henry and Ann Temple, nee`
Houblon, was Henry Temple. The latter Henry Temple died during his father's
lifetime, and so did not succeed to the Viscountcy, but had married Jane
Barnard whose mother was a Godschall.
There was a note in a family Bible of the
Godschall Johnson family stating that there was at least three links with the
Temple family. The connection through the Houblons could be said to be the
first of those links. James and Jane Godschall had four daughters, which have
already been mentioned, namely, Jane, Elizabeth, Judith, and Marie. They also
had a son named John.
John was born about 1587, possibly at
Colchester. He was the only son Jane was to bear to her husband James.
James Godschall died in 1636, leaving his
second wife, Rachel, a widow.
His Will is at Somerset House, indexed
under P.C.C. Lee 35. It is dated 17 November 1636. Besides property in the
County of Essex (Stock, West Hanningfield, and other places), and in Bethnal
Green, he mentions Bishopsgate property which belonged to his father as in
"Angell Alley". His son in law, Abraham de Couter, is named as an
executor, and his son, John, was granted probate.
In addition to the property and money left
to his son, there is a legacy to "My sonne John Godschall, the sum
of 6 (pounds) to buy him a silver bowl". This bowl or silver
cup, remained a treasured possession of the family until 1800. It is mentioned
in the Day Book of William Man Godschall, husband of Sarah Godschall (she was
the last of the family to bear the surname by birth). On the death of Mrs.
Younger in 1757, her aunt, formerly the widow of Sir Robert Godschall, it was
returned to Sarah. It was called "the old Godschall Cup", and was
recorded, amongst the silver upon which death duty was paid, as weighing 20 ozs
14 dwt, and noted up as "old family silver cup with cover... Jno.
Godschall my sonne". The cup was probably made
or commissioned in 1636, the year of James' death, in accordance with the
specific legacy in that regard. Its eventual disposition cannot be traced.
CHAPTER III
John Godschall was the only son of James
Godschall and his first wife, Jane. He was born about 1587. His place of birth
may have been Colchester.
His Banns of Marriage were proclaimed at
Austin Friars in 1617, as being in respect of one born in Colchester, although
this may refer to his wife.
The entry is "1617 John Godschall of
London to Elis Basel, widow of Thomas Welthers of Colchester".
The name Welthers could possibly be
Ultres, a Flemish name. The name Elis was at times written as Alice.
John Godschall and his wife lived in
Colchester in the Parish of St. James.
They had five sons and two daughters.
The eldest son was named John.
The name of the second son is not known,
and he may have died at childbirth.
Then there was James, who was born in
1620. James entered Colchester Grammar School in 1637.
Then there was Richard, who was born in 1628.
He was also educated at the Colchester Grammar School.
Then there was Samuel who was born 1637.
He entered the Colchester Grammar School in 1648.
James, Richard, and Samuel, are described
in the register of the Colchester Grammar School, as being the sons of John
Godschall, Merchant, and Alice, his wife, and was born in St. James' Parish.
Besides the entry in Samuel's name, in
1648, there is a note to say that Samuel's father was lately deceased.
The third son mentioned above, namely
James, died, unmarried, in 1656. His Will is at Somerset House under the
reference P.C.C. Berkeley 341.
The daughters of John Godschall and Elis,
or Alice, were Alice and Elizabeth.
Alice married Henry Lambe, an apothecary, of
Colchester, and died before 1648, leaving four children.
Elizabeth, the second daughter, married John
Worsnam, and had four children.
Both the Lambe and Worsnam children are
mentioned in the Will of their grandfather, John Godschall.
The Calendar at Somerset House spells the
name as John GodScall.
John Godschall died in 1648. He left a Will
made out in 1646. For reference purposes, it is unnumbered in the Calendar
P.C.C. Essex. The original Will, is however, available.
In it, he mentions three sons, and his son,
John's wife, Elizabeth, other relatives and friends, as well as the poor of St.
James' Parish, Colchester, and of the Dutch Church there.
Colchester had a large "Dutche"
population of early emigrants from the Low countries. The old Dutch merchants'
houses are today a great feature of this Essex town.
CHAPTER IV
John Godschall, the eldest son of John and
Elis, was probably born in Colchester, but his name is not in the register of
Colchester Grammar School where his brothers were educated.
His first wife was named Elizabeth. Her
maiden name has not been ascertained.
They were married at some stage before
1648. By her, he had four sons and two daughters. His sons were John, James,
Robert and William. William was buried at East Sheen (Mortlake) in 1667.
The daughters names were Jane and Selina.
Jane died unmarried in 1684.
Selina was born in 1661. She married
Edward Frewen, at Mortlake, in 1684.
Edward Frewen later became Sir Edward
Frewen. The descendants of Sir Edward and Lady Selina Frewen can be found in
Burke's Landed Gentry under Frewen of Northiam.
They were a family of Puritan Divines, two
of them bearing the names of Accepted
and Thankful.
Selina Frewen died in 1723, leaving
children, some of whom were baptised at Mortlake, and are mentioned in the Will
of their grandfather, John Godschall.
The second wife of John Godschall, (the
eldest son of John Godschall, now into grandfather status), was Jane Williams.
John and Jane appear to have had no children.
Jane died in 1700, and was buried at
Mortlake.
Her Will is at Somerset House under
reference P.C.C. Noel 99.
Her husband, John Godschall, son of John
Godschall (who had died in 1648), died himself in 1693, so that his second wife
survived him by 7 years.
John's Will is recorded under P.C.C. Coker
156. He is described as of the Parish of Christ Church, Newgate Street. He left
property there, in the County of Hampshire (Southampton), and at Colchester and
Sheen, which is part of Mortlake.
The Hampshire property was Westover Farm,
Wherwell, close to Romsey, a famous sheep raising centre, no doubt a useful
possession for a wool and cloth merchant.
The Colchester lands were known as
Battlewick, a manor now extinct. It was later known as The Firs, and stood in Sheen Lane, which leads from the Thames,
west of Mortlake Church, to Richmond Park. The house was on the left side of
Sheen. It was occupied as a family residence by the Godschalls for many years.
Later neighbours were the Temple family. Many years later, Sir Philip Francis
was a neighbour. Both these families were connected to the Godschalls by
marriage. The house and grounds were sold by William Man Godschall in 1801, but
the house was standing until 1949, when it was pulled down, having been damaged
by enemy action in 1944. Firs Road, and local government offices now cover the
site.
All of the bequeathed properties mentioned
above, eventually descended to John's great grand daughter, Sarah Man
Godschall.
In John's Will, he mentions as
beneficiaries, his immediate family, and his cousin, John Potter, of
Colchester, as well as the poor of Mortlake Parish.
CHAPTER V
John Godschall, the eldest son of John
Godschall, and his first wife, Elizabeth, was born in 1647, and married at
Westminster Abbey on 27 September, 1681, Bethia (sometimes spelt Elthia or
Elthiah), the eldest daughter, and co-heiress, of Nicholas Charlton of the
family of Charlton, of Chiswell, Nottinghamshire (see Burke's Landed Gentry).
In the marriage register, Nicholas
Charlton is described as a merchant of London, which is also the occupation
given for the bridegroom, John Godschall.
Bethia was born in 1662, and was therefore
fifteen years younger than her husband.
For the first time, one can see what
members of the family looked like. There were portraits of Bethia, and of her
eldest son Nicholas, painted by John Godschall, at Broadlands, in the
possession of the heirs of Countess Mountbatten.
They were left in the house in 1865, when
the 3rd Viscount Palmerston bequeathed the estate of Broadlands, near Romsey,
Hampshire, as well as the contents of the house, to his stepson, William
Cowper, the second son of Earl Cowper, his wife's former husband.
William Cowper took the name of Temple on
succeeding to his stepfather's property, and in 1880, was created Baron Mount
Temple.
He died without issue in 1886, leaving
Broadlands to his sister Emily, Countess of Shaftesbury.
Lady Shaftesbury was the great grandmother
of Countess Mountbatten, to whom Broadlands and its contents eventually passed.
Lord Palmerston was connected to the
Godschall family through his grandmother, Jane Barnard, and his mother, Mary
Mee, as well as an earlier link, which has previously been mentioned.
John Godschall's portrait of his wife,
Bethia, was painted in 1695, when she was aged 31. It is three quarter length
with the face turned over the right shoulder. She is wearing her hair over her
left shoulder, and could be said to have a fine neck. Though the portrait gives
the impression that she could not particularly be described as good looking,
one critique expressed is that she had a bold face.
The two portraits of Nicholas, their son,
show him as a boy of 5, and later on as a man.
John and Bethia had three sons and four
daughters. The sons Nicholas, John and Robert will be dealt with separately.
The eldest daughter was Sarah, the
ancestor who began the Godschall Johnson line. Her line will be followed in
detail.
The second daughter, Bethia, married at
St. Mary-at-Hill on 30 June 1715, George Lowen, and was a widow in 1725.
The third daughter, Jane, was baptised at
St. Dunstans-in-the-East on 15 March, 1687. She married at St. Mary-at-Hill on
5 October, 1708, John Barnard, a merchant, later to become Sir John Barnard,
Lord Mayor of London in 1737.
John Barnard was, at the time of his
marriage to Jane Godschall, a Member of Parliament for the City, and a most
eminent citizen and personage therein. Sir Robert Walpole was the Prime
Minister at the time.
Sir John Barnard's life is fully
documented in the Dictionary of National Biography, and many other books. His
portrait in Mayoral robes by Highmore, hung in the Guildhall Library, to which
it was presented by Lady Mountbatten in 1957. Sir John was born in 1685. He was
a merchant and politician, and an alderman of London between 1728 and 1756. He
was Sheriff of London in 1735, Lord Mayor in 1737, knighted in 1732, MP for the
City of London between 1722-61. He was recognised as a high authority on
financial questions. a Statue to him was erected on the Royal Exchange by his fellow
citizens in 1747. His publications include A
Present for an Apprentice, published in 1740. He died in 1764.
Sir John had no pretence to good looks,
but gives the impression of a well satisfied City magnate.
He lived at Clapham in his later years. Jane
Barnard, nee` Godschall, died in 1747, during Sir John's mayoralty. Both Jane,
and her husband, Sir John, are buried at Mortlake.
Sir John and Lady Barnard left sons, but
their male line is now extinct.
Their elder daughter, Sarah, was married
at St. Antholin's, Budge Row, to Sir Thomas Hankey. There are references in Burke's Peerage and Landed Gentry under
Hankey and Barnard Hankey.
The younger daughter of Sir John and Lady
Barnard, Jane Barnard, acted as Lady Mayoress during her father's term of
office, and was married at St. Antholin's in 1747 to Henry Temple, the eldest
son of Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston, by his wife, Anne Houblon,
already referred to.
Henry Temple died during his father's
lifetime, but their only child, also Henry Temple, succeeded his grandfather as
2nd Viscount Palmerston: see Burke's
Extinct Peerages.
The Temples were near neighbours of the
Godschalls at East Sheen.
This was the second connection between the
two families mentioned in the Godschall Johnson family Bible, in a note written
in by one of the Francis cousins.
The fourth, and youngest, daughter of John
and Bethia Godschall was Catherine. Catherine Godschall married Jonathan Hogg,
and was a widow in 1725.
Recapping, John Godschall was born in
1647. He died in 1725. He was noticed in the Gentleman's Magazine in that year. His wife, Bethia, predeceased
him in 1720. Both are buried at Mortlake. His Will, proved by his son,
Nicholas, in 1725, is at Somerset House, under reference P.C.C. Romsey 210.
CHAPTER VI
Of the three sons of John and Bethia
Godschall, namely Nicholas, John and Robert Godschall, the two younger will be
dealt with first, because they left no issue.
John, the second son, was baptised at St.
Dunstan-in-the-East on 28 August, 1690. He joined his father and brother in the
trade of Turkish merchants, and was sent to the Far East, where he travelled to
Antioch in 1715.
Several letters to him from his brother,
Nicholas, have been copied into the Day Book of his nephew, William Man
Godschall. They cover the years, 1715-1717. As well as referring to family
affairs and friends, they throw an interesting light on the shipping of their
bales of cloth to the Levant, and the purchasing of Carpets and Byes in Antioch
and other places in Turkey and Spain.
John Godschall married Jane Wilson,
daughter of Henry Wilson, of London, and St. Mary le Savoy. John died, without
issue, within 10 days of his own father's death in 1725. He died intestate, and
is described as of St. James's Carlickhithe, a Parish and Wharf in the City of
London.
His widow, Jane, nee` Wilson, remarried in
1734. Her second husband was the Rev. The Honourable William Carmichael, second
son of the 2nd Earl of Hyndford, who later became Bishop of Clonfert, and, for
six months before his death in December, 1765, Archbishop of Dublin. Jane
Carmichael, formerly Godschall, nee` Wilson, herself died at Bath in 1782,
without issue.
The youngest son of John and Bethia
Godschall, was Robert Godschall. Robert was born in 1691. He was a wine
merchant, and a member of the Worshipful Company of Ironmongers. He was
Alderman of Bishopsgate Ward in 1732, and Sheriff in 1736, and Tory Member of
Parliament for London in 1741. He was a Director of the Royal Exchange from
1729, until his death, and was elected Lord Mayor of London in 1741.
Robert Godschall married Catherine Tryon,
daughter of Nicholas Tryon, of Fenwell, Kent, an old French emigre` family: Burke's Peerage, Tryon of Burnford.
They left no issue.
In 1729, Robert Godschall bought the Manor
and estate of Weston Gomshall Albury, near Guildford.
Robert Godschall died during his year of
office in 1741/2, and is buried in the old church at Albury, where there is an
heraldic memorial to him.
Robert's widow, Catherine. remarried the
Rev. Richard Younger, Vicar of Guildford (1720-1757), but was always known as
Lady Godschall.
Catherine Younger, formerly Godschall,
nee` Tryon, died in 1755 at Guildford, where there is a memorial to her and her
second husband in St. Nicholas' Parish Church.
The estate of Robert Godschall, upon his
death as aforementioned, in 1741, was left to his only surviving brother,
Nicholas Godschall.
CHAPTER VII
Nicholas Godschall was the eldest son of
John and Bethia Godschall.
Nicholas was baptised at St.
Dunstan-in-the-East on 24 January 1686. Nicholas was named after his maternal
grandfather, Nicholas Charlton, London merchant and landed gentry, father of
Bethia Godschall, nee` Charlton.
Like his forebears, Nicholas Godschall was
a merchant dealing chiefly in wool, woollen goods, carpets and byes imported
from the Near East.
Nicholas was a member of the Levant or
Turkey Company, and the writer of several letters to his brother John, who was
travelling in Turkey and Spain. From these letters, it would appear that he was
taking his father's place as head of the family business, though his father was
still living.
Nicholas married, in 1727, Sarah Onley of
the Essex family now represented by Savill Onley: Burke's Landed Gentry.
Nicholas and Sarah Godschall had two
daughters. The first daughter was Jane. Jane died as an infant, and is buried
at Mortlake, where the family lived in the old Godschall house at East Sheen.
The second daughter was Sarah. Sarah was baptised at Mortlake on 15 February
1729.
Sarah eventually became heiress to her
grandfather, John Godschall.
Nicholas Godschall inherited Weston Manor
from his brother, Sir Robert Godschall (P.C.C. Strachan 177), who died in 1741.
Nicholas Godschall died in 1748.
His wife, Sarah Godschall, nee` Onley,
died in 1750 two years later than her husband.
Both Nicholas and Sarah Godschall are
buried at Mortlake where there is a memorial to them.
Their daughter, Sarah Godschall, was left
a considerable heiress at the age of 22.
Sarah Godschall was married on 26
September 1752, at Albury Church in which Parish Weston Manor was situated, by
licence, to William Man, of Clapham.
William Man's father was also named
William Man, or, to put it more accurately, William Man's father conferred upon
his son, his own christian name.
William Man, the bridegroom to Sarah
Godschall, was also the brother of Elizabeth Mee, nee` Man. Elizabeth Mee, nee`
Man, was the wife of Benjamin Mee, whose daughter Mary Mee married the 2nd
Viscount Palmerston.
On marrying Sarah Godschall, William Man
took the name and Arms of Godschall. He became known as William Man Godschall.
For the whole of their lives, William and
Sarah Man
Godschall
lived at Weston Manor, Albury, where William administered his wife's estates.
The house is shown in one of the plates in
Manning Bray's History of Surrey. It
has been demolished, but it stood not far from Albury Place, and had its own
Manor Court, which met from time to time.
William Man Godschall left a large
manuscript Day Book, a custom of the time. Its entries date from 1753 to the
year of his death in 1802. It later passed into the possession of Wm Floyd, a
member of the Bray family of Shere, connected by marriage with the Rev. Samuel
Man Godschall, the son of William and Sarah Man Godschall.
As well as the notes relating to the care
of Weston, he mentions relations, friends, and public events over a period of
fifty years.
He was in close contact with his own
relatives, the Mees and Kemps, as well as with the Temples and Lord Palmerston
(2nd Viscount), who was his nephew as well as his wife's first cousin once
removed.
He also mentions the Godschall Johnsons,
the Barnards and Hankeys of Godschall descent, and the Thorntons of Clapham and
Albury Place, where Samuel Thornton was his nearest neighbour.
Thorntons were later to marry wives of
Godschall blood.
Among the Godschall portraits at
Broadlands were pastels of William Man Godschall and his wife Sarah Man
Godschall, nee` Godschall.
The pastels are by John Russell, R.A., and
were drawn about 1701.
William is said to appear as a dapper
little man with very bright eyes, and Sarah, a larger woman wearing an immense
frilly cap. She is said to have the very pronounced eyebrows, said to be
characteristic of the Godschall Johnson family. They both appear to be about
60.
There were three sons of the marriage of
William Man and Sarah Godschall, namely William, Barnard, and Samuel.
The eldest son, namely William Man
Godschall, died unmarried in 1798.
The second son, Barnard Man Godschall,
died as an infant.
The third son, Samuel Man Godschall,
entered the Church.
William Man Godschall, the father,
previously William Man before marriage and assumption of the Godschall surname,
himself died in 1802 at Weston Manor.
Sarah Man Godschall, nee` Sarah Godschall,
had predeceased her husband in 1793.
They are both buried in the family vault
in Albury Church, where there is a memorial to them.
The memorial bears the Godschall Arms
impaling Onley.
Sarah Godschall left a very long Will
based upon a marriage settlement. It is at Somerset House (P.C.C. Dodwell 446),
and was administered by her husband.
Extensive property inherited from her
grandfather, John Godschall, her father Nicholas Godschall, and her uncle,
Robert Godschall, are listed.
As well as Weston Manor, and the old
Godschall family home at East Sheen in the Parish of Mortlake, she mentions
land and houses in the City of London, in Essex, Battlewick Manor in
Colchester, Stock and West Hanningfield in Hampshire, and Westover Farm,
Wherwell.
She left legacies to her cousins William
Temple, 2nd Viscount Palmerston, John Johnson and his sister Mary, and Jane
Johnson and Catherine Warner.
On
his death in 1802, William Man Godschall left everything, except a few small
legacies, to his only surviving son the Rev. Samuel Man Godschall. His Will is
at Somerset House under Man in the Calendar (P.C.C. Kenyon 915).
The Rev. Samuel Man Godschall was Vicar of
Ockham, Surrey.
He married Lucy Malthus, and died without
issue in 1821 (P.C.C. Mansfield 415). Very little of the Godschall property
seems to have descended to him, and he sold Weston Manor.
On the death of his widow Lucy Man
Godschall, nee` Malthus, in 1823, she left legacies to the remainder of her
Malthus relations, and bequeathed the Godschall portraits from Weston Manor to
Lord Palmerston at Broadlands.
With the death of Samuel Man Godschall and
his wife Lucy Man Godschall, the name of Godschall as a surname comes to an
end, and with it, the possession of all Godschall property collected by the
family for two and a half centuries.
CHAPTER VIII
The second part of this history now deals
with the Godschall Johnson family.
It begins with Sarah Godschall, the eldest
daughter of John Godschall and Bethia Charlton.
Sarah Godschall was born in 1682/3, and
married in 1707/8 in one of the City churches, William Johnson, a London
merchant.
William Johnson appears to be the son of
William Johnson, also a merchant, and his wife Suzanna.
There is a baptism of a son William in the
registers of St. Dionis Backchurch on 16 May 1686.
The registers of St. Dionis contain
earlier Johnson references. There is, for instance, the name of Otwell Johnson,
and his son, Israel, in 1547. There are also entries for the surname Tryon; a
Tryon, previously mentioned intermarried with the Godschall family, when Robert
Godschall youngest son of John and Bethia Godschall married Catherine Tryon,
daughter of Nicholas Tryon, in the early 1700's. There is also a registered
entry for a Godschall burial in 1604.
Otwell Johnson and forebears, are the
subject of a book, Tudor Family Portrait,
by Barbara Winchester, published in 1955.
Their connections with the Tryon and
Warner families may be noted as pointing to a link with the family of William
Johnson.
William and Sarah (nee` Godschall) Johnson
lived in the Parish of St. Gabriel, Fenchurch Street, close by St. Dionis'
Church.
Their first three children were baptised
at St. Gabriel's, and after 1712, they lived in St. Dionis Parish where other
children were baptised and an infant daughter buried.
Both churches have been demolished and
their parishes combined with neighbouring churches, but their sites are marked
by plaques on the street walls.
The Johnson Family Bible came into the
possession of Ralph Johnson of Mackay, Queensland.
The sheet containing the earliest records
of the Godschall family had been pasted into this Bible from an earlier Bible,
and then further entries were added. The names, dates of birth, and baptisms and
Godparents of each child are in the handwriting of either William Johnson or
his wife Sarah Johnson (nee` Godschall). As it was the custom of the time for
grandparents to be described collectively as father and mother, and
sisters-in-law, and brothers-in-law, to be described as "sister" or
"brother", it is not possible to say which parent undertook each
entry.
The issue of the marriage of William and
Sarah Johnson consisted of two sons and five daughters.
The sons were William and John.
The daughters were Sarah, Bethia, Mary,
Jane and Catherine. Mary died before 1726.
William Johnson, the eldest son, was born
on the 1st December 1709. A note besides his name in the Bible, written by his
nephew some years later, says that he died unmarried in 1740.
John Johnson, the second son, was born on
6 September 1712. He was baptised at St. Dionis on 14 September 1712.
The eldest daughter was Sarah Johnson. She
was born on 3 November 1710. She was baptised at St. Gabriel's on 12 November
1710. She married a Dr. Fullerton, and had one daughter, Catherine Fullerton.
She made her home close to the old Godschall house at Mortlake, and later at
Richmond.
The second daughter was Bethis (Bethiah)
Johnson. Bethis was born on 6 October 1711. She was baptised at St. Gabriel's
on 14 October 1711. In the register for St. Gabriel's, her name is spelt
Bethia. Bethis died unmarried. Both the names Sarah and Bethia now disappear
from the record as family names.
The third daughter, Mary Johnson, was born
on 5 September 1713, and was baptised at St. Dionis on 10 September 1713. She
also died unmarried.
The fourth daughter was Jane Johnson. Jane
was born on the 3rd February 1714/15, and was baptised at St. Dionis on 12
February. Jane never married. She is mentioned in William Man Godschall's MSS
day book on many occasions and lived to the age of 82. She was buried at
Mortlake on 14 September 1795.
The fifth and youngest daughter was
Catherine. Catherine Johnson was born on 3 April 1716. She was baptised at St.
Dionis on 15 April 1716. She married at St. Margaret's, Lee, Kent, on 22
September 1746, Edward Warner, of St. Mary-le-Bow Parish. In the register,
Catherine is described as being of Eltham, and Edward Warner, as a merchant.
Edward was the son of Colonel Edward Warner,
and the brother of John Johnson's wife, Elizabeth Ann Warner.
The marriage of Catherine and Edward was
solemnised by the Rev. Francis Byam (Burke's
Landed Gentry), of a family closely connected with Antigua where both
Edward Warner and John Johnson had plantations.
THE WARNER FAMILY:
The Warner family of Suffolk and Essex,
although they do not appear in Burke's,
have a very long pedigree set out and illuminated in a scroll which fell into
the eventual possession of Sir Pelham Warner.
Members of the Warner family appear in the
abovementioned book, in St. Dionis' Parish registers, and in a number of City
records.
They were early settlers at St. Kitts, and
other West Indian islands, of which Sir Thomas Warner was Governor in 1625.
The Warners held large sugar plantations
in Antigua, one of the West Indian Islands where the Byams and Waldronds
connected with them were also established.
Sir Thomas Warner was probably the first
identifiable West Indian Warner. He was born in Suffolk, and was a Captain in
the Guards of James I. He visited Surinam (Dutch Guiana) in 1620, and conceived
the idea of a West Indian settlement. He founded a colony in St. Kitts in 1624.
In 1625 he visited England, and in the same year, 1625, he was appointed
governor of St. Kitts, Nevis, Barbados, and Monserrat. In the Spring of 1626,
he commanded a privateer in the English Channel. Sir Thomas then returned to
St. Kitts in autumn 1626. He is recorded as having trouble with the French
settlers during the years 1627-1635, and with the Spanish filibusters in 1629.
He visited England and was knighted in 1629. He arranged for the colonisation
of Nevis in 1628, and Antigua and Monserrat in 1632. He attempted the
colonisation of St. Lucia in 1639-1641. He made another visit to England in 1636,
and returned as Parliamentary Governor of the Caribbean Islands in 1643. Sir
Thomas died at St. Kitts in 1649.
One of Sir Thomas' sons was Thomas Warner.
Thomas was born in 1630, and was nicknamed "Indian Warner", because
he was the son of Sir Thomas Warner and a Carib woman. Thomas joined the Caribs
and fought against the whites in 1645. He was Governor of Dominica between
1664-1675. He was held as a prisoner by the French in 1666-67, and was
treacherously killed by his brother Philip Warner, but, according to another
account, he fell in a fight with the English.
The other brother mentioned, Philip
Warner, was a younger son of Sir Thomas Warner, Philip commanded a regiment in
the reduction of Dutch and French Guiana in 1667, and in Antigua in 1671. He
was appointed Governor of Antigua in 1672. He was sentenced to prison in London
between 1675-1676 for a massacre of natives in Dominica. In 1677 he was
dismissed from the King's service. In 1679, he became Speaker of the Antigua
Assembly. Philip died in 1689.
Edward Warner was another son of Sir
Thomas Warner. Edward was born in 1632. Edward became Deputy-Governor of St.
Kitts in 1629, and Governor of Antigua in 1632. In 1640 his wife and children
were kidnapped by Caribs.
Into the nineteenth Century, the most
notable Warner was Sir Pelham Warner. Pelham Francis Warner was born in 1873 in
Trinidad. He was educated at Harrison College, Barbados, Rugby, and Oriel
College, Oxford, where he took a cricket blue in 1895. He played for Middlesex
against W.G. Grace and for Gloucestershire in 1894. He was called to the Bar
(Inner Temple) in 1900. Pelham made his first tour abroad to the West Indies
with Lord Hawke in 1897. He was selected to captain the English Test team in
Australia in 1903-4, and recovered the Ashes from those foul Australians. He
was selected again as Captain in 1911-12. England won that series against those
damnable Colonials. Pelham served in the Inns of Court Officers' Training Corps
during the 1914-18 War. He captained Middlesex between 1908-20. He excelled as
Captain rather than as a batsman. Although handicapped by poor health, he
amassed over 30,000 runs, including 60 centuries. He began writing for the Sportsman in 1897. He was invited by J.
A. Spender to write for Westminster
Gazette in 1903. He was the cricket correspondent for the Morning Post between 1921 and 1933. He
became editor of the Cricketeer in
1921. His publications included My
Cricketing Life, published in 1921; Cricket
Between Two Wars, published in 1942, Lords,
1787-1945, published in 1946; and Long
Innings, published in 1951. He was Chairman of the Test Match Selection
Committee in 1926, and between 1931 and 1932, and 1935 to 1938. He was joint
manager of the Touring Side to Australia in 1932-3. He was involved in the
"body-line" controversy. He became President of the MCC in 1950,
awarded the MBE in the 1919 Honours' List, and Knighted in 1937. A stand at
Lords was named after him in 1958.
CATHERINE WARNER:
Catherine Warner died in 1780, without
issue.
The three daughters of William and Sarah
Johnson which were mentioned in Sarah Man Godschall's Will were Mary, Jane, and
Catherine.
Sarah Johnson, nee` Godschall, died in
August, 1719, and is buried in the Great Vault in the Chancel of St. Dionis,
Backchurch.
John Johnson died in August 1725. His Will
is at Somerset House (P.C.C. Romney 174).
CHAPTER IX
John Johnson, the second but only
surviving son with issue of William and Sarah Johnson, was born on 6 September
1712, and was baptised at St. Dionis on 14 September 1712.
He married at St. Margaret's, Lee, Kent,
Elizabeth Ann Warner, daughter of Colonel Edward Warner referred to in Chapter
VIII.
She is described in the Parish register as
being of East Greenwich, and John Johnson as of Lawrence-by-Guildhall, a church
now known as St. Lawrence Jewry.
In a note beside the marriage entry in the
Family Bible, later written by their son, she is described as "daughter
and co-heiress of Col. Edward Warner".
Not
much is known about John and his wife. He was in partnership with his
brother-in-law, Edward Warner, in the sugar plantations of Antigua, of which
Savannah was one.
They employed slave labour on the estate,
and when the Act for the Abolition of Slavery came into force in 1833, a large
sum of money was paid to his heirs as compensation for release of slaves
employed on the estate.
John
Johnson and Ann Warner had a son and a daughter. He may have had other children
by a second wife.
The son was named Godschall Johnson. The
daughter's name was Sarah.
Sarah married in 1767 Walpole Eyre, Godson
of Sir Robert Walpole: see Burke's
Landed Gentry under Eyre of St. John's Wood.
The Eyre name is also connected to the
Jamaica mutiny of 1865: an insurrection occurred in October 1865 whose
supporters were responsible for a number of deaths. Governor Edward Eyre turned
the army loose on the population and allowed the troops to hang hundreds of
men, and shoot others indiscriminately. Men and women were flogged at random,
some with whips made of piano wire. A thousand Jamaican homes were burnt by
soldiers as a warning to future troublemakers. Edward Cardwell, the Colonial
Secretary, recalled Governor Eyre back to England, but nothing was done.
Eyre Peninsula in South Australia is also
named after a member of the Eyre family.
The descendants of the Eyre family owned a
large part of St. John's Wood.
Walpole Eyre died in 1773 after only six
years of married life, from food poisoning at a public dinner after which
several guests died as the result of partaking of turtle soup left overnight in
a copper saucepan.
Sarah Eyre, nee` Johnson, married a second
time, this time to Colonel Jeremiah Hodges, the Uncle of Godschall Johnson's
wife (see below). Colonel Jeremiah Hodges eventually succeeded to Boulney
Court.
Sarah Hodges, formerly Eyre, nee` Johnson,
had no children by her second husband, Colonel Jeremiah Hodges, but left one
daughter and three sons by her first husband, Walpole Eyre.
The three sons were Henry Samuel Eyre,
Walpole Eyre, and John Thomas Eyre. These names occur in later Johnson letters.
As a young woman, Sarah Johnson, later
Eyre, still later Hodges, is said to have been a good looking woman: Sir Joshua
Reynolds is said to have declared her the "most beautiful woman" he
had ever seen.
A vivid description of her in later life
at Boulney Court is given by her niece, Elizabeth Godschall Johnson, in the
Francis letters.
John Johnson died in 1775. His second wife
died in 1786.
CHAPTER X
Godschall Johnson was the eldest son of
John Johnson and Ann Warner.
Godschall Johnson was baptised on 12
September 1745 at the Church of St. Lawrence Jewry and St. Mary Magdalene, Milk
Street, London.
He succeeded to the Antigua estates upon
his father's death in 1775.
His heirs received a large compensation
payout for the release of slaves after the passing of the Abolition of Slavery
Act in 1833.
Godschall Johnson married on 28 March
1779, at St. Marylebone Parish Church, Elizabeth Hodges, second daughter of
Anthony Hodges.
Elizabeth Hodges was said to be of Boulney
Court, near Henley-on-Thames, Oxon. Her father had died before witnessing his
daughter's marriage. He had died four years earlier, in 1757. Elizabeth Hodges'
mother was Elizabeth Gordon.
Elizabeth Hodges was born on 16 July 1757,
a few days before her father's death. She had an elder sister, and a brother,
also named Anthony Hodges, who made a most unfortunate marriage with Anna Maria
Sophia Aston, daughter of the Rev. and Hon. Hervey Aston, son of the 1st Earl
of Bristol, who took the name of Aston on marrying the heiress of Sir Thomas
Aston: see Burke's Extinct Baronetcies.
Sophia was a lady of promiscuous habits,
whose several children were, by her own admission, by different members of the
peerage, one of whom was said to be a royal person, and none by her husband who
took her abroad from the house in which she was living in Pall Mall, but who
disclaimed paternal parentage of any of her children.
On Anthony Hodges' death, he left his
brother-in-law, Godschall Johnson, his executor. The latter was involved in a
long and acrimonious lawsuit with the widow over the payment of the marriage
settlement. It was finally agreed that an annual payment should be made to Mrs.
Hodges during her lifetime.
The only child who survived with issue was
known as Caroline Wyndham. In 1802, Carolyn Wyndham married the Rev. Fitzroy
Stanhome. Their descendants became the Earls of Harrington.
CHAPTER XI
Both Godschall Johnson and his wife
Elizabeth Johnson, nee` Hodges, were said to be very handsome. He was nicknamed
"Beau".
There was a portrait of him in existence,
of which only a photograph thereof is known to have survived.
The portrait was a miniature. It showed
Godschall Johnson as a man of about 50, with a heavily built and lined face,
large eyes and the very pronounced eyebrows which may be traced in many of his
descendants. He is wearing his own hair, which is dressed in rolls on either
side of his face.
Lady Thornton had in her possession a
miniature of Elizabeth. It was painted about 1786. She is shown as having
rather petite features, with grey eyes, and wearing her hair dressed high on
her head and powdered.
By this marriage, Godschall and Elizabeth
Johnson had three sons and two daughters.
The sons were Godschall, Henry Anthony,
and Ralph Botoler.
GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
see
later, as he continues the lineage.
HENRY ANTHONY GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
Henry Anthony was born in 1783. His
godparents were Henry Lord Palmerston, Martyn Fonnereau, and his grandmother, Mrs.
Elizabeth Johnson, nee` Warner. He died an infant, aged four, of whooping cough
in 1787.
RALPH BOTOLIER GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The third son was Ralph Botoler Johnson.
The middle name Botoler, is interesting:
it is the French form of Butler, although it is more commonly transcribed as
Botolier.
Ralph Botoler Godschall Johnson was born
on 15 February 1785. One of his godparents was Sir Ralph Payne (later Lord
Lavington): see Burke's Peerage
under Payne Galway. Just as his older brother, Henry, had derived his Christian
name, Henry, from his most eminent godparent, Henry, Lord Palmerston, so too
was Ralph named after his eminent godparent Sir Ralph Payne, later Lord
Lavington. The Christian name of Ralph as a family name started here.
In the family Ralph was pronounced Rafe.
It appears quite frequently in the later
history of the Godschall Johnson family, and has been said to have survived 200
years of family usage.
The other godparents to Ralph Botoler
Johnson were John Palmer Botolier of Henley-on-Thames, and Mrs. Woodley, wife
of General Woodley.
All of the children were inoculated
against smallpox, so prevalent at that time. It was administered by Dr, Joseph
Warner, a member of their grandmother's family, and a well known physician at
Guy's Hospital.
Ralph Botoler Godschall Johnson went with
his nephew Francis Godschall Johnson, to Canada, where he married, and is
buried there. It is not known whether he had any family.
ELIZABETH JANE GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The elder of the Godschall Johnson's two daughters
by his first wife was Elizabeth Jane, born at Mortlake in 1781. Her godparents
were George Stainforth, the Hon. Mrs. Jane Temple, Lord Palmerston's mother and
her father's cousin, and Catherine Fullerton, her own first cousin.
Elizabeth Jane married in 1805, Philip,
the only son of Sir Philip Francis K.B., the probable author of the famous Letters of Junius, dealing with
political matters, which at the time created a great deal of interest, and
whose authorship has always been a matter of speculation.
Philip Francis and Elizabeth Jane Francis
left a large family and from them are descended Herbert Francis and all the
Francis cousins.
There are portraits of Philip and
Elizabeth Jane in the Francis Letters,
collected by Beata Francis and Eliza Kearney, which were published by
Hutchinson about 1880. That book contains a number of letters written by
Elizabeth Jane Johnson and other members of both families.
EMILY GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The second daughter was Emily, born in
1788 in Bloomsbury, and privately baptised. There is no note of her godparents
probably because she was born eighteen days before the death of her mother.
She seems always to have been a very
lively and uncontrolled child, and was no doubt spoiled by her brothers and
sister.
On her father's second marriage to Mary
Francis in 1792, the daughters by the first wife, Elizabeth Hodges, were
brought up by their aunt, Sarah Hodges, formerly Eyre, nee` Johnson, and their
great aunt Mrs. Fullerton (Sarah Johnson, wife of Dr. Fullerton), who lived at
Richmond.
A very entertaining series of letters,
published in the Francis Letters
from Elizabeth Johnson to Catherine and Elizabeth Francis, daughters of Sir
Phillip Francis, were written from Boulney Court 1804, describing their aunt,
Sarah Hodges, and her very lively young sister, Emily Johnson, then aged 15
years.
In 1805, when Emily was just 16 years, she
fell in love with a handsome and dashing young officer stationed at Richmond.
Richmond was, of course near Mortlake and Sheen. He was Captain Edward Darvall.
Her great aunt Mrs. Fullerton, was
accused of fostering the romance.
DARVALL:
Captain, and later Major, Edward Darvall,
was born in 1773, the son of Roger Anthony Darvall (1751-1813), and his wife,
Orme Bigland. Roger Anthony Darvall was born in 1751, married in 1772, and died
in 1813. Roger Anthony Darvall was the son of Joseph Darvall (1726-1772), and
his first wife Elizabeth Goodwin, whom he had married in 1750 (followed by
later marriages, in 1762, to Anne Owen, and in 1771, to Eliza Salmon). By his
second wife, Anne Owen, he bore children Joseph Laurence Darvall and Eliza
Darvall. Joseph Laurence Darvall married Maria Wilkinson and had children
Joseph Darvall (who married F. Hall), George Darvall (who married E Aberdein), and
Maria Darvall, (who married Wakeford). The son George Darvall had three sons,
from whom we trace the lineage of Sir Roger Darvall.
Joseph Darvall, the parent, (1726-1772)
was the eldest child of Anthony Darvall and his wife Mary Anther, the other
children being Mary Darvall (who married C. Watson, and had a child Penelope
Watson), and Eliza Darvall (who married J. Anther).
The father Anthony Darvall was himself the
son of Anthony Darvall, born 1650 and his wife whose maiden name was Monke.
This Anthony Darvall, the earliest traceable ancestor, was a landed proprietor
in Lincolnshire.
Edward Darvall was born in 1773, the only
son of Roger Anthony Darvall and Orme Bigland.
He was born at Masulipatam in India in
1773.
He became a Lieutenant in the 19th
Dragoons in 1794.
He was present at the storming of
Seringpatam in 1799.
He was promoted to Captain and later,
Major.
He commanded a troop of the 9th Light
Dragoons in 1800, was brigaded under Lord Paget on the Sussex Coast in 1802,
and commanded a Squadron on King's Duty at Windsor Castle between 1803 and
1804.
THE ROMANCE:
Emily's father was dead, and the consent
of her stepmother and brothers was sought, but was refused, upon grounds of her
extreme youth and irresponsibility, and that no-one knew anything about Captain
Darvall's family. It was decided, therefore, to remove Emily to her brother
Godschall's house at Halliford-on-Thames, as Captain Darvall was stationed at
Richmond where she had been staying with Mrs. Fullerton.
At the beginning of June, after staying at
Halliford for a month, Emily eloped with Captain Darvall.
A vivid account is given of their pursuit
by Emily's brothers and a Rev. Runner. The runaway couple got a good start.
They were accompanied by two of Captain Darvall's fellow officers, and took the
road to Oxford, changing horses at Henley. They were 16 hours ahead and were
presumed to be heading for Holyhead and Ireland, but were eventually found
several days later at Carlisle, where they were staying after what was called a
mock ceremony at Gretna Green.
The young couple were quite unrepentant,
and blamed Emily's family for their opposition. There was a later marriage
ceremony in London, at the end of June. After a time, Captain Darvall was
accepted into the family, and was found to be a very desirable husband for the
headstrong Emily.
In 1839, the Darvalls and their children
sailed to Australia aboard the Alfred
where they made their home at Ryde, Sydney in New South Wales. Emily did not
survive long in the Colony, and died in 1841.
Her own daughter, Emily (junior), who was
to marry, in 1840, Robert Johnstone Barton, a retired East India Company
Captain, left an interesting account of their voyage.
The Darvalls left numerous descendants.
Among them in Australia were Darvalls, Katers and Baileys.
Edward and Emily Darvall had children:
George Edward Darvall, John Bayley Darvall, Frederick Orme Darvall, Emily
Darvall, Eliza Darvall, Rose Darvall, and Horace Darvall.
George Edward Darvall married Sofia
Docker, and was employed in the East India Service.
John Bayley Darvall married F. Shapland,
and from their lineage came the Sir John Bayley line, written of by Lady
Halliday.
Frederick Orme Darvall married Lucy
Shapland, and was the first Auditor General for the State of Queensland after
1859. His wife, Lucy Shapland, was born in 1822 near Calcutta. They had
children: Lucy Elizabeth Darvall, Edith Flora Darvall, Frederick Orme Darvall
and Ralph Shapland Darvall.
Frederick Orme Darvall later died in
England.
His eldest daughter, Lucy Elizabeth
Darvall, who was born on 17 January 1843, married in 1860, George Orme Weston
Wood, and had a son Waveney Weston Wood, who married B. Deakin, and had a
daughter, Helen. Lucy Elizabeth married a second time, George Cresswell Crump,
but had no further children.
The second daughter of Frederick Orme
Darvall was Edith Flora Darvall. She was born in 1844 and was the bridesmaid at
the 1861 wedding in Brisbane of her cousin Fanny Godschall Johnson to the Rev.
John Sutton.
The eldest son of Frederick Orme Darvall,
was Frederick Orme Francis Darvall.
Frederick Orme Francis Darvall was born in
1846 at Penrith and married Deborah North in 1870 at Fernie Lawn, near Ipswich. Deborah North was born on 31 August
1848, the daughter of Lieut J. North. Frederick Orme Francis Darvall and his
wife Deborah North had 11 children: Edward Orme Darvall, born 1872 in Brisbane,
Frederick Joseph Dundas Darvall, born 1873 in Brisbane, Edward Horace and Edith
Lucy Darvall, twins born in 1874 and who died in 1875, Guy Francis Darvall,
born in 1875 (and who later married Nell Asmus), Cecile Deborah Darvall,
(Molly) born in 1875, Cholmondeley Burnett Darvall, born in 1880, Marion Dundas
Darvall and Winifred Darvall, again twins, born in 1882 (Winifred dying in
1883), Roy Darvall, born in 1884, and Frederica Lucy Darvall, born in 1886 (and
who died in 1981).
Ralph Shapland Darvall, second son of
Frederick Orme Darvall, did not marry.
For a contemporary description of the
Darvalls who made it in Queensland, we must turn to that icon of early
Queensland history, Reginald Spencer Browne A Journalists Memories (1927. Brisbane. Read Press):
In the early eighties the Treasury offices occupied part of the
site of the present Treasury buildings...of the Treasury staff (that I knew or
remembered)...F. O. Darvall was a tall, florid, raw-boned Australian who was a
good cricketer and a capital shot in the field with a special weakness for the
rise of the snipe on the flats at Mayne in October or November. He left a
considerable family of sons, one of whom, Major Darvall, of the Militia
Artillery, married a Miss Morehead, but died young, as his father did. Another
son was Colonel "Joe" Darvall; another is a lawyer at Boonah, and
another served in the Big War and has a rattling good position with one of the
great engineering firms of the United Kingdom. I saw him last in St. Paul's,
London, in 1917, with Cassidy of Dalgety's, and they were having a little
respite from the mud of Flanders and the attentions of the Hun...
The chief Inspector of Distilleries was Fred Darvall, F. O.
Darvall jun., a very well known Brisbane man, and one of a very well-known
Australian family.
Going back one generation Emily Darvall,
married Robert Johnstone Barton, and her sister Eliza Darvall married Norm
Kater, and their youngest sister Rose Darvall married J. Templer.
Emily M Darvall, who, as mentioned above,
authored notes on her sea journey out, married in 1840, Robert Johnstone
Barton, at Sydney.
Robert Johnston Barton was born on 30 June
1809, the son of General Charles Barton and Susannah Johnstone.
Charles Barton was born in 1760 and was to
die in 1819. Susannah Johnstone, his wife, was born in 1775 and was to die in
1847. They married in 1798 in London. General Barton rose through the ranks (by
the then normal system of purchasing each commission, up to the point of Lieut.
Colonel), from Major then Lieutenant Colonel of the 2nd Life Guards; he had a
brother Lt. Colonel H. W. Barton also of the 2nd Life Guards of Waterfoot,
County Fermanagh. The Barton family were well connected, including to the Earl
of Spencer, in the lineage leading to Lady Diana Spencer, former wife of the
present Prince Charles.
Robert Johnstone Barton had been a
commander in the East India Service, captaining a warship which protected the
merchant fleet of the East India Company from pirates in the Indian Ocean. He
left that employment when the East India Service ceased to exist, having been
taken over by the operations of the official East India Squadron of Her
Majesty's Imperial Navy.
He had twenty thousand pounds retirement
funds, with which he bought the landed property at Boree (Nyrang) in western
New South Wales, south-west of Molong, around about 1830. With the run came a
number of sheep, cattle and horses, but, a few years after purchase, suffered a
considerable loss when the value of livestock plummeted.
As a result of this drop in prices, sheep
and cattle had to be boiled down for hides and tallow. Twice a year, tallow,
hides and wool were transported by bullock-team to the wharves in Circular
Quay, Sydney, returning to Boree with necessities for the run. Despite this,
Emily was said to never have left the run for 20 years. They had no neighbours, save Mr. Henry Kater,
25 miles away (near Cargo), and no doctor within 60 miles, and only assigned
convict servants for company, yet Emily managed to educate, clothe and look
after 9 children.
Robert Johnstone Barton and his wife Emily
M Barton, nee` Darvall had children: Emily Susannah Barton, (born in 1841, and
who married John Paterson in 1859), Robert Darvall Barton, in 1843, Mary J
Barton, in 1844, and a Rose I Barton, also in 1844, who must have died, for in
1845 they christened another child Rose Isabella Barton, (who was later to
marry Andrew Bogle Paterson, brother to John Paterson, and parents of Banjo
Paterson), Norah C. Barton in 1846, Charles Hampden Barton in 1848, Edward W
Barton in 1850, and Emily M Barton in 1852, Henry Francis Barton in 1853 and
Arthur S. Barton in 1856.
Norah Barton married Thomas Lodge Murray
Prior at Ryde in 1872. It was his second marriage. Thomas Lodge Murray Prior
was of a family claiming royal lineage. He accompanied Ludwig Leichhardt to
Queensland, was co-owner of Broomelton
station in southern Queensland, later bought Hawkwood in the Burnett District, then sold out and purchased a banana plantation at Ormiston, southeast
of Brisbane. In 1864 he purchased the property Maroon in the Boonah district. He served as Postmaster General of
Queensland in a Palmer Government, and later went on to live at Montpelier at
Kangaroo Point, Brisbane.
Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior had numerous
children: by his first wife, Matilda Harpur whom he married in 1846 at Cecil
Hills, Thomas de Montmoressi Murray-Prior (1848), William Augustus Murray-Prior
(1849-50), Roas Caroline Murray-Prior (1851)(who married Campbell Praed and
became a novelist), Morres Murray-Prior (1853-1897), Elizabeth Catherine
Murray-Prior (1854), Hervey Morres Murray-Prior (1856-1887), Redmond
Murray-Prior (1858), Westa Sophia Murray-Prior (1860-1860), Hugh Murray-Prior
(1861-1897), Lodge Murray-Prior (1863, died young), Matilda Murray Prior
(1865-1865), Egerton Murray-Prior (1866)...by his second wife, Norah Clarina
Barton, whom Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior married in 1872 after the death of his
first wife in 1868, Matilda Aimee Murray-Prior (1873), Emmeline May
Murray-Prior (1875-1876), Dorothea Catherine Murray-Prior (1876), Alienora May
Murray-Prior (1878), Frederic Maurice Murray-Prior (1880), Robert Sterling
Murray-Prior (1881), Julius Orlebar Murray-Prior (1884(, and Ruth Angela
Murray-Prior (1885)...by Emma Gale, a daughter, Jane Anne Quinn (1848)... by
Annie Smith, a daughter Catherine Smith (1861)...by Clara Van Zuethem, a son, Henry
Thomas van Zuethem (1864)...by Mary Ingoldsby, a daughter Annie Ingolsby
(1867).
Reginald Spencer-Browne said of Thomas
Lodge Murray-Prior:
Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior was of the purest Merinos, and a
handsome and cultured man, with a beautiful home at Maroon, out from Boonah.
Murray-Prior on an occasion showed his resource by driving his own bullock team
to Brisbane, and more than holding his own with a "bullocky" who
derided his polite words of encouragement to Strawberry and Bluey and others at
a nasty crossing on the way to Ipswich. He was the father of Mrs. Campbell
Praed, the novelist, of Hervey Murray-Prior, a barrister, and of other good
Queenslanders. When he came down to Parliament he always wore a frock coat,
light trousers and a top hat...
The Murray Priors were a brainy family...all were of charming
temperament, but the head of the house, I remember best- Thomas Lodge
Murray-Prior- and don't you forget it. It was he who, when driving his own
bullock team into Ipswich, was coarsely chaffed by a "common
bullocky" whom he fought, and really fair "go", and badly
walloped him "for your obscenity, dam' you"....
Dick Barker, son of William Barker of the Logan, owned Eungella
Station...my contemporaries of the Barker family in Brisbane were Harry and
Fred...Harry Barker married one of the beautiful Macdonald sisters, the other
becoming Mrs. Hervey Murray-Prior, and later Mrs. Charley Smythe.
The other notable in the Murray-Prior
family was Rosa Caroline Murray-Prior, known as Mrs. Praed. Of her, Spencer-Browne
had quite a bit to say:
I was in Brisbane when Mrs. Campbell Praed's book "Policy
and Passion" came out, and wrote a review for the "Observer". It
was considered then rather a hot 'un...it was a fine work, and it had a local
habitation, if not a name. Leichhardt's Land did not attempt to disguise the
fact that it was Queensland, and the local colour was very strong, but not as
strong as some of the yarn. Mrs. Campbell Praed was a daughter of Thomas Lodge
Murray-Prior of Maroon, between Boonah and Beaudesert, who was a member of a
Palmer Government...as Postmaster-General. He was a very fine man of the good
old "pure merino" type. Mrs. Praed, after her marriage, lived mostly
in England, a charming woman with a beautiful mind. That was how a mutual
friend described her. Another of her books was "Nadine", which was a
very vivid thing with a lot of sex in it and which girls were not supposed to
permit their dear mammas to read. Still another book was "Christina
Chard"... Mrs Campbell Praed puts lots of Australian and Queensland colour
into her work.
Robert Johnstone Barton, died on 4 October
1863 in Sydney. He had struggled for thirty years to make his run Boree, a
paying proposition, only to sell it for a loss, a price of only 15000 pounds,
(having bought it originally for 20000 pounds), at the end of the 1850's,
retiring with ill health to Sydney. Only a small portion of the property was
retained from the sale, and a few head of cattle, which his son Robert Darvall
Barton managed till his father's death shortly thereafter.
Emily, now a widow, continued to live on
the Parramatta River at Gladesville.
Incidentally, Henry Herman Kater, who had
married a Eliza Darvall was said to have had considerably more capital invested
than Robert Johnstone Barton. When he came out, he was said to have brought
about thirty thousand pounds worth of horses, cattle and sheep. He was said to
have brought out, at the time, some of the best blood horses that had ever come
to Australia, at the time, including a purebred stallion named Cap-a-pie. He also brought out
machinery for a wool factory for making cloth, but he found that it was a dead
loss and brought him nearly insolvent. He had to sell all his horse stock, and
put steam machinery for grinding wheat into his factory, operating the mill at
Caloola. By many years of hard graft
and economy, he succeeded in making good provision for his old age.
Of the later Kater descendants, one of the
eminent was Henry Edward Kater (born 1841), one of the sons of Henry Harvey
Kater and his wife Eliza Clarina Darvall, who was a grazier at Moss Vale and
became a Member of the Legislative Council of New South Wales.
Another son was Edward Harvey Kater, born
1846, who married Fannie M Matthews in 1877 at Wellington, and had six
children:
1. Mary Eliza Kater (1877),
2. Mary Agnes L. Kater (1879),
3. Edward Darvall Kater (1880)(who married Vera
A. Mack in 1907 at Narrowmine
4. Mary C. Kater (1882),
5. Frederick C. Kater (1884) (who married Mary Harrigan
in 1908 and Blanche Abbott in 1912), and
6. Eric S. Kater (1890), who married Evelyn
Macdonald in Sydney in 1923.
Henry Harvey Kater and his wife Eliza
Clarina Darvall also had two daughters, Emily M Kater in 1855, and another
daughter (unnamed in the registers) at Orange in 1856.
An Alice Eliza Kater married a Herbert
Salwey at Canterbury in 1882, and a Mary F. Kater married a Henry Salwey at
Burwood in 1889. These are either daughters of the abovenamed, or are otherwise
related.
Edward Darvall Kater and his wife Vera M.
Mack, who he married in 1907 at Narrowmine, had children
1. Katherine D. Kater born at Warren in 1908,
2. Darvall Edward Kater born at Dubbo in 1910
(who married Patricia Ann Russell Glasson at Woollahra in 1942) and
3. Vera P. Kater, born at Warren in 1912,
and there is also a Stillborn Kater who
died in 1943 at Cooma with parentage Edward Darvall Kater and Patricia.
In the year 1901, Kater Bros ran
Mumblebone Station, and Egelabra Station, at Warren in western New South Wales.
The eldest of those sons, Henry Edward
Kater, as abovementioned, married Mary Eliza Forster, daughter of William
Forster, at Ryde in 1870.
Henry Edward Kater became a Member of the
Legislative Council of New South Wales. He resided at Ryde and Moss Vale.
He and his wife had a son Norman William
Kater, born in 1874 at Ryde. They had another son Henry Harvey Kater who died
in 1902 at Moss Vale.
Henry Edward Kater died in 1924 at Woollahra.
Norman William Kater married Jean G. M.
McKenzie at Sydney in 1901 and had children:
1902 Henry E. F. Kater at Sydney, who in
1926 married Christina A. Atkinson,
1904 Norman H, M. Kater at Moss Vale,
1907 John B. D. Kater, at Cargo,
1907 Mary F. Kater at Cargo, who married
Douglas Tooth in 1929,
1909 Jean G. Kater at Cargo, who married William
R. Munro at Moss Vale in 1929,
1912 Gregory B. Kater at Cargo.
ROSAMUND MAERY DARVALL:
Rosamund Mary Darvall married Arthur J
Templer (although his name sometimes appears as John A. Templer) in 1844. They
appeared to have had a son, John A. Templer born in 1844 who died in 1847, and
a daughter Florence L. Templer in 1854. Arthur Templer may have died for there
is a marriage entry for a Rosanna Mary Templer in 1868 at Orange to a James A.
H. Poulton.
On Arthur Templer appears this story from
his nephew Robert Darvall Barton:
"I should like to relate a story in
which Arthur Templer did a feat in taking two bushrangers, but I shall have to
lead up to it by informing you that at that time there were no banks in the
country, and people owning stations a long way out had to take up their money
to pay their labour and expenses in cash. The very fact of this was one reason
why bushranging was a profitable employment. After the banks got out and
cheques were used, we were too poor to be worth robbing. Mr. Templer at that
time owned Nanama Station, close to what is now the town of Wellington, and in
taking a trip up from Sydney he had a large parcel of money wrapped in a
water-proof cover, which he strapped on to his carpet-bag. He got safely to
within about ten miles beyond Bathurst from Sydney; the coach was slowly
dragging up a steep hill when two men, carrying flint-lock guns, stepped into
the road and bailed them up. The coach stopped, of course; but Mr. Templer was
on the box-seat; one man stood a short distance from the coach covering it with
his gun; the other one put his gun down and started to search the passengers
for any money they might have about them; and, as there was always a danger of
being robbed in those days, you had to secrete your cash in your clothes where
you considered it least likely to be found. Of course, the robbers were up to
this trick, and each passenger had to undress, or nearly so. While the
bushranger was examining the passengers on the coach, Mr. Templer sat on the
box-seat, and when his turn came, the man came round and said: "Now you
get off and let me have a look at you." Mr. Templer was a fine athlete, of
splendid physique, and, on the impulse of the moment, he jumped off the
box-seat on to the robber, and caught him by the shoulders, and kept the
robber's back to the man with the gun, at the same time calling out to the
other passengers to come to his assistance; but their trousers not being quite
on, impeded their progress, and the bushranger with the gun, seeing that he
would have to do something, attempted to fire, but, fortunately- it was a wet
morning- missed fire. He then threw the gun down and made off. Mr. Templer then
threw the other man on his back, called out to the other passengers to secure
him, and followed the man who ran away, whom he succeeded in catching and
dragging back to the coach. They secured both men with straps and ropes, and
amused themselves by kicking them into the first police station, which was at
that time near Guyong. The thanks that Mr. Templer got for this action was a
paragraph in the Sydney Gazette.
Robert Darvall Barton married Fanny
Blanche Smith at Bathurst in 1873 and they had children: John a' Beckett
Darvall Barton in 1874, Roger Furnwall Darvall Barton in 1875, Claude N. H.
Barton in 1877 (died young in 1882), Edward M. M. Barton in 1878 at Bathurst,
and Emily Mary Barton in 1879 at Coonamble, Norah Margaret Darvall Barton in
1881 at Coonamble and Alan Sinclair Barton in 1886 at Coonamble. By 1902 he was
running Burren and Esrom Stations near Narrabri.
Charles Hampden Barton married Annie Smith
in 1877 and had children: Edith Marjorie Barton in 1881 at Bathurst, Ursula S
Barton in 1882 (West Macquarie), and Robert C. B. Barton in 1884 (West Macquarie).
He published a book Outlines of
Australian Physiography in 1899.
Arthur S. Barton married Lucy J. Smith in
1884 at Dubbo.
Edward Barton married Mary Ann Phillips in
1875 at Mudgee and had children: Lillian Barton in 1876 at Mudgee, Edward H Barton
in 1878 at Mudgee, Lillian Barton in 1880 at Mudgee and Mabel Aslen Barton in
1880 at Mudgee.
Henry Francis Barton is said by the
Australian Dictionary of Biography to have married a Miss Macansh (see later
herein for other references to the Macanashs), then a Miss Windeyer. The short
note in the Australian Dictionary of Biography says that he was born in 1853
the son of Robert Johnstone Barton and died Sydney in 1902, educated at Sydney
Grammar School, and Sydney University, studied for the Bar, Master in Equity
1884-1902, brother of Robert Darvall Barton.
Robert Darvall Barton wrote a book on his
pioneer life called Reminiscences of a
Pioneer, published in Sydney in 1917.
He too is mentioned in the Australian
Dictionary of Biography: Born Boree 1843 son of Robert Johnstone Barton, died
Sydney 16 August 1924, married Miss Smith, Educated Kings School, Parramatta,
jackerooed for J. P. Macansh, part-owner Nellgowrie near Coonamble 1871, bought
Conimbia 1876 and numerous other stations later, brother of Henry Francis
Barton and father of Alan Sinclair Darvall Barton.
Alan Sinclair Darvall Barton is mentioned
in the 1891-1939 later edition of the Australian Dictionary of Biography:
(1886-1950), medical practitioner, was born on 12 March 1886 at Bathurst, New
South Wales, son of Robert Darvall Barton, grazier and author of Reminiscences of an Australian Pioneer
(Sydney 1917), and his wife Fanny Blanche, a daughter of John Smith, sheep
breeder; he was first cousin of A. B. Paterson; educated at All Saints College,
Bathurst, and the University of Sydney, he became resident medical officer and
registrar at Sydney Hospital in 1910-11. Two years later he began private
practice at Coonabarabran.
When World War I broke out, Dr. Alan
Sinclair Darvall Barton enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force and was
commissioned Captain, Australian Medical Corps, in 1914; he was posted to the
2nd Australian General Hospital and sailed for Egypt. After serving with the
1st Australian Division at Mena Camp, he served with honour and distinction as
a medivac officer and surgeon in the final Allied evacuation from Anzac Beach,
Gallipoli, and in France at the Battle of Fromelles. After discharge he married
Dorothy Ellena Duffy in 1919 in Sydney, settled in Singleton and built up an
extensive private practice. He had a son and three daughters and died in 1950.
In 1859 Emily Susannah Barton married a
John Paterson at Molong.
In 1863, her sister, Rose Isabella Barton
married Andrew Bogle Paterson at Molong.
Andrew Bogle Paterson is described, in the
Australian Dictionary of Biography, as a lowland Scot who had emigrated to New
South Wales about 1850 taking up Buckinbah Station at Obley in the Orange
district.
In fact, Andrew Bogle Paterson was the
third of four children born to John Paterson and Ann Howison. John Paterson
married Ann Howison on 17 February 1829 at Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire, Scotland
and bore- James Paterson, born 2 December 1829 at Edinburgh, and baptised 2
January 1830 at Lesmahagow, John Paterson, baptised 2 January 1832 at
Lesmahagow, (who later married Emily Susannah Barton in 1859 in New South Wales
and died 1871), Andrew Bogle Paterson born 1833 and Jessie Howison Paterson,
born 1834.
Andrew Bogle Paterson and Rose Isabella
Paterson, nee` Barton, had seven children, the eldest, born on 17 February 1864
at Narrambla near Orange, being Andrew Barton Paterson.
Young Barty, as he was known to his family
and friends, enjoyed a bush boyhood. When he was seven, the family moved to
Illalong in the Yass district. Here, near the main route between Sydney and
Melbourne, the exciting traffic of bullock teams, Cobb & Co. coaches,
drovers with their mobs of stock, and gold escorts became familiar sights. At
picnic race meetings and polo matches, young Barty saw in action accomplished
horsemen from the Murrumbidgee and Snowy Mountains country which generated his
lifelong enthusiasm for horse and horsemanship and eventually the writing of
his famous equestrian ballads.
After lessons in his early years from a
governess, once Barty was able to ride a pony, he attended the bush school at
Binalong. In 1874 he was sent to Sydney Grammar School where in 1875 he shared
the junior Knox prize with (Sir) George Rich, and matriculated aged 16. After
failing a University of Sydney scholarship examination, Andrew served the
customary articles of clerkship with Hugh Salway and was admitted as a
solicitor in August 1886. For ten years from about 1889, Andrew Paterson practised
in partnership with John William Street.
As a young man Andrew joined
enthusiastically in the Sydney social and sporting scene, and was much sought
after for his companionship. Norman Lindsay in Bohemians of the Bulletin, (1965), remembered him as a "tall
man with a finely built, muscular body, moving with the ease of perfectly
co-ordinated reflexes. Black hair, dark eyes, a long finely articulated nose,
an ironic mouth, a dark pigmentation of the skin.. His eyes, as eyes must be,
were his most distinctive feature, slightly hooded (with the Godschall Johnson
legacy), with a glance that looked beyond one as he talked.
Andrew was a keen tennis player and an
accomplished oarsman, but his chief delight was horsemanship. He rode with the
hounds of the Sydney Hunt Club, and became one of the Colony's best polo
players. As an amateur rider he competed at Randwick and Rosehill.
During his schooldays in Sydney, Andrew
lived at Gladesville with his widowed grandmother Emily May Barton, nee`
Darvall, sister of Sir John Darvall, and daughter of Edward Darvall and Emily
Godschall Johnson. Emily had been widowed about 1861, when her husband Robert
Johnstone Barton had sold Boree station off for less that what he had paid for
it, left the dispersal of stock to his son Robert Darvall Barton, and returned
to Sydney, dying not long after.
Emily resided then at Gladesville till her
ultimate death. Andrew stayed with her during his schooldays in Sydney, and
Emily, a well read woman, had a substantial impact on developing Andrew's
literary tastes and in particular fostered his love of poetry.
Andrew's father, Andrew Doyle Paterson,
had had verses published in the Bulletin
soon after its foundation in 1880. Andrew (Junior) followed suit. He began
writing verses as a law student. His first poem El Mahdi to the Australian Troops, was published in the Bulletin in February 1885. Adopting the
pen name "The Banjo", which was taken from the name of a station
racehorse owned by his family, he became one of the sodality of Bulletin writers and artists for which
the 1890's were remarkable in Australian literature. He formed friendships with
E.J. Brady, Victor Daley, Frank Mahony, Harry "The Breaker" Morant,
and others. He helped Henry Lawson to draw up contracts with publishers and
indulged in a friendly rhyming battle with him in the Bulletin over the attractions or otherwise of bush life.
By 1895, such ballads as Clancy of the Overflow, The Geebung Polo Club, The Man from Ironbark, How the Favourite Beat Us, and Saltbush Bill, were so popular with
readers that Angus & Robertson published the collection, The Man From Snowy River, and Other Verses,
in October 1895.
The title-poem had swept the colonies when
it was first published in April 1890. The book had a remarkable reception; the
first edition sold out in the week of publication and 7000 copies in a few
months. Its particular achievement was to established the bushman in the
national consciousness as a romantic and archetypal figure. The book was as
much praised in England as in Australia. The
Times compared Andrew with Rudyard Kipling who himself wrote to
congratulate the publishers. Andrew's identity as "The Banjo" was at
last revealed, and he became a national celebrity overnight.
While on holiday in Queensland late in 1895,
Andrew stayed with friends at Dagworth station, near Winton. Here he wrote Waltzing Matilda, which was to become
Australia's best known folk song.
In the next few years, Andrew travelled
extensively through the Northern Territory and other areas, writing of his
experiences in prose and verse for the Sydney
Mail, the Pastoralists' Review,
the Australian Town and Country Journal,
and the Lone Hand, as well as the Bulletin.
In 1895, he collaborated with Ernest
Truman in the production of an operatic farce, Club Life, and in 1897, was an editor of the Antipodean, a literary magazine.
Andrew's most important journalistic
opportunity came with the outbreak of the South African War, when he was
commissioned by the Sydney Morning
Herald and the Melbourne Age as
their war correspondent. Andrew sailed for South Africa in October 1899. He was
attached to General French's column. For nine months he was in the thick of the
fighting, and his graphic accounts of the key campaigns included the surrender
of Bloemfontein (he was the first correspondent to ride into that town), the
capture of Pretoria, and the relief of Kimberley. The quality of Andrew's
reporting attracted the notice of the English press and he was appointed as a
correspondent also for the international news agency, Reuters, an honour which
he especially cherished in his later years. Andrew wrote twelve ballads from
his war experiences, the best known of which are Johnny Boer, and With French
to Kimberley.
Andrew returned to Australia in September
1900, and sailed for China in July 1901 as a roving correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald. There he met
G.E. ("Chinese") Morrison whose exploits he had always admired. His
accounts of this meeting have been said to be among some of Andrew's best prose
work.
Andrew went on to England where he met
again his old friend of the Bulletin
days, the cartoonist Phil May. Andrew also spent some time in England as the
guest of Rudyard Kipling at his Sussex home.
Andrew returned to Sydney in 1902, and
published another collection Rio
Grande's Last Race, and other verses.
In November 1902, Andrew decided to
abandon his legal practice.
In 1903, Andrew was appointed editor of
the Sydney Evening News.
On 8 April 1903, Andrew married in the
lovely old church of St. Stephens Presbyterian, at Tenterfield in northern New
South Wales, Alice Emily Walker, who was the daughter of W.H. Walker, the owner
of Tenterfield station, after which the lovely country town was named. Her
father had donated the land for the Church and Manse originally in 1884.
Andrew and Alice settled at Woolahra in
Sydney where a daughter Grace Paterson was born in 1904, and a son Hugh
Paterson, was born in 1906.
In 1908, Andrew resigned as editor of the Evening News.
He had
enjoyed his newspaper activities and had produced an edition of folk ballads Old Bush Songs, published in 1905,
which he had researched for some years. He had also written a novel An Outback Marriage, which was
published in 1906, but which had first appeared as a serial in the Melbourne Leader in 1900. But the call of the
country could not be resisted, and he took over a property of 40,000 acres, Coodra Vale, near wee Jasper, where he
wrote an unpublished treatise on racehorses and racing. The pastoral venture
was not a financial success, and Andrew briefly tried wheat farming near
Grenfell.
When World War I began, Andrew immediately
sailed for England, hoping unsuccessfully to cover the fighting in Flanders as
a war correspondent. He drove an ambulance attached to the Australian Voluntary
Hospital, Mimereux, France, before returning to Australia early in 1915. As
honorary vet, with a certificate of competency, he made three voyages with
horses to Africa, China and Egypt, and on 18 October 1915, Andrew was
commissioned in the 2nd Remount Unit, Australian Imperial Force.
Almost immediately, Andrew was promoted to
the rank of Captain. He served in the Middle East. He was wounded in April
1916, but rejoined his unit in July. Andrew was said to be ideally suited to
his duties, and was promoted to the rank of Major. He commanded the Australian
Remount Squadron from October until he returned to Australia in mid-1919.
Angus & Robertson had published in
1917 a further collection of his poems, Saltbush
Bill, J.P., and other verses, and a prose selection, Three Elephant Power, and other stories, heavily edited by A.W.
Jose, to whom Robertson confided: "It is amazing that a prince of
raconteurs like Banjo should be such a messer with the pen".
After the War, Andrew resumed journalism.
he contributed to the Sydney Mail
and Smith's weekly, and in 1921, he
became editor of a racing journal, the Sydney
Sportsman, an appointment which, with his love of horses, he found highly
congenial.
In 1923 most of his poems were assembled
in Collected Verse, which has now
been reprinted many times over.
Andrew retired from active journalism in
1930 to devote his leisure to creative writing. He was by now a celebrated and
respected citizen of Sydney, most often seen at the Australian Club where he
had long been a member, and where his portrait hung for decades.
In ensuing years, Andrew became a
successful broadcaster with the Australian Broadcasting Commission (the ABC),
on his travels and experiences.
Andrew also wrote his whimsical book of
children's poems
The Animals Noah Forgot in
1933.
In 1934, in Happy Dispatches, Andrew described his meetings with the famous,
including Sir Winston Churchill, Rudyard Kipling, G.E. Morrison, Lady Dudley,
and British Army leaders.
Andrew published another novel The Shearer's Colt in 1936, and in 1939
he wrote reminiscences for the Sydney
Morning Herald
In 1939, he was appointed a Commander of
the British Empire (C.B.E.).
Andrew died on 5 February 1941 after a
short illness and was cremated with Presbyterian forms. His wife Alice, and
children, Grace and Hugh, survived him.
The following testimonial is from Clement
Semmler. author of The Banjo of the Bush
(1966), and The World of Banjo
Paterson, in 1967.
By the verdict of the Australian people,
and his own conduct and precept, Andrew was in every sense, a great Australian.
Ballader-writer, horseman, bushman, overlander, squatter-he helped to make the
Australian legend. Yet, in his lifetime, he was a living part of that legend in
that, with the rare touch of the genuine folk-poet, and in words that seemed as
natural as breathing, he made a balladry of the scattered lives of back-country
Australians and immortalised them. He left a legacy for future generations in
his objective, if sometimes sardonic, appreciation of the outback; that great
hinterland, stretching from the Queensland border through the western plains of
New South Wales to the Snowy Mountains-so vast a country that the lonely rider
was seen as "a speck upon a waste of plain".
This was Andrew's land of contrasts:
"the plains are all awave with grass, the skies are deepest blue",
but also the "fiery dust-storm drifting and the mocking mirage
shifting", "waving grass and forest trees on sunlit plains as wide as
seas", but the "drought fiend" too, and the cattle left lying
"with the crows to watch them dying".
Although coming from a family of pioneer
landholders, who by their industry had achieved some substance, Andrew wrote
for all who were battling in the face of flood, drought and disaster. Andrew
saw life through the eyes of old Kiley who had to watch the country he had
pioneered turned over to the mortgagees, of Saltbush Bill fighting a well-paid
overseer for grass for his starving sheep, of Clancy of the Overflow riding
contentedly through the smiling western plains:
While the stock are slowly stringing,
Clancy rides behind them singing,
For the drover's life has pleasures
that the townsfolk never know.
In such lines as these Andrew lifted the
settled gloom from the literature of the bush.
On the night of Andrew's death, Vance
Palmer broadcasted a tribute:
He laid hold both of our affections and imaginations; he made
himself a vital part of the country we all know and love, and it would not only
have been a poorer country but one far less united in bonds of intimate
feeling, if he had never lived and written.
In 1983, his granddaughters, R. Campbell
and P. Harvie published a two volume complete edition of Andrew's works,
including hitherto unpublished material: R.
Campbell and P. Harvie (comp and introd): A. B. (Banjo) Paterson: complete
works 1885-1941, (Sydney 1983).
Andrew's portrait by John Longstaff won
the 1935 Archibald prize, and is in the collection of the Art Gallery of New
South Wales.
RETURNING TO GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
Godschall Johnson, on the death of his
wife in 1788, remained a widower until 1792, when he married at St. James,
Piccadilly, Mary Francis, the fourth daughter of Sir Philip Francis and his
wife Elizabeth Macrabie.
Sir Philip, not at that time a knight, was
living in St. James' Square.
The marriage was solemnised by the Rev.
Samuel Peach, of Mortlake.
Mary Francis was only 22 years at the time
of her marriage, and was therefore considerably younger than her husband.
Her brother Philip Francis, the younger,
afterwards married his sister, Mary's, step-daughter, Elizabeth Jane Johnson.
By his second wife, Godschall Johnson had
two daughters, Mary Elizabeth and Catherine.
MARY ELIZABETH GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The elder daughter, Mary Elizabeth, was
born in April 1796, in London, and baptised in June, 1796, at Putney, where
Godschall Johnson and Mary lived. Her godparents were Philip Francis, her
grandfather, Elizabeth Francis, and Mrs. John Julius Angerstein.
The Angersteins lived in St. James'
Square, and were friends of the Francis family. The famous Angerstein
Collection of pictures used to hang in the British National Gallery.
CATHERINE GODSCALL JOHNSON:
The younger child, Catherine, was born in
1798, at Putney. Her godparents were John Julius Angerstein, Lady Palmerston
(Mary Mee), and her aunt Catherine Francis, who later became the second wife of
George James Cholmondeley referred to later.
Mary Elizabeth Johnson was the favourite
niece of her aunt, Catherine Cholmondeley, and spent much of her time with the Cholmondeley.
George James Cholmondeley was the son of
the Reverend and Honourable Robert Cholmondeley and his wife, Mary Woffington.
Mary Woffington was the sister of the well
known actress, "Peg" Woffington.
George James Cholmondeley was first
married to Marcia Pitt, daughter of George Pitt. Marcia died in 1808, leaving
her widowed husband, George James Cholmondeley, with two sons and a daughter.
The daughter and eldest son were dead by the time of the second marriage of
George James Cholmondeley to Catherine Francis, another daughter of Sir Philip
Francis. The only surviving son was Horace George Cholmondeley.
Horace Cholmondeley was about the same age
as Mary Elizabeth Johnson, his stepmother's niece.
Horace George Cholmondeley entered the
Church. He and Mary Elizabeth Johnson were married at St. Marylebone Church on
31 August, 1825.
Of this marriage there were born two
daughters. Mary Louise Cholmondeley was born about 1827. The second daughter
was Jane Elizabeth Cholmondeley.
JANE ELIZABETH CHOLMONDELEY:
Jane Elizabeth died, unmarried, at Hurley
near Marlow, in 1891. She was affectionately known as "Aunt Janey",
who did so much to help all her relations, the Pitts and Godschall Johnsons.
The name, Cholmondeley, was subsequently
used as a Christian name by several generations of Godschall Johnsons, and
related families, the Thorntons and Darvalls.
Hurley was given as a name to a beach in
Queensland, at Redcliffe, but it was later changed to Suttons Beach in honour
of the Rev. John Sutton, who had originally bestowed the name Hurley Beach in
his Plan of Subdivision.
MARY LOUISE CHOLMONDELEY:
The eldest daughter of Horace George
Cholmondeley and Mary Elizabeth Johnson, was Mary Louise Cholmondeley. Mary
Louise Cholmondeley married, in 1847, the Rev. Francis Vansittart Thornton, who
was, at the time, Vicar of Misham near Marlow. The history of the Thornton
family, and of the descendants of Francis Thornton and his wife Mary Louisa
Thornton, were recorded in the records kept by their grandson, Reginald
Thornton.
Later in life, the Rev. Francis Thornton,
held a living at Callington with Southill, Cornwall, where they lived in a very
large house, and he carried out an experiment in bringing higher education to
the young people of the villages, who were, at that time, offered only a
primary education in the local parish schools.
CATHERINE FRANCIS GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The younger of the two daughters of
Godschall Johnson and his second wife Mary Francis was Catharine Francis
Godschall Johnson. She was born in 1798, two years after her sister, Mary
Elizabeth Godschall Johnson.
A version of accounts different to the one
given above has her as the one who married George J. Cholmondeley, not
Catharine Francis "another daughter of Sir Philip Francis."
George J. Cholmondeley was born in 1752.
Catharine Francis Cholmondeley nee`
Godschall Johnson, died in 1822, and her husband George J. Cholmondeley was to
die in 1830.
Godschall Johnson died in 1830, and his
second wife, Mary, daughter of Sir Philip Francis, in 1842.
CHAPTER XII
GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
Godschall Johnson, eldest and only
surviving son of Godschall Johnson and Elizabeth Hodges, was born in 1780 at
Charles Street, Cavendish Square (now known as George Street).
His godparents were his grandfather,
Anthony Hodges, Senior, William Culverden (who was married to Lady Palmerston's
sister), and Jane Johnson, his great aunt.
Godschall Johnson had a career that
involved a Commission as an officer in the 10th Royal Hussars and later British
Consul General to Belgium. He appears to have retired from the Army (usually
one then sold their Commission, hopefully for at least what one bought it for
originally) after his marriage to Bedfordshire where he resided at Oakley House
near the County centre of Bedford.
Godschall Johnson's first marriage was to
Lucy Bishop. They married in 1802. Lucy Bishop was the daughter of Sir Cecil
Bishop, 8th Baronet, of Parhem Park, Pulborough, Sussex. Lucy was a sister of
Col. Cecil Bishop, who lost his life on the Niagara frontier during the War of
1812-1814.
The fine house at Parhem Park was built
before 1600 and came into the later possession of the Pearson family. It was
opened to visitors as one of England's Stately Homes. It contained a number of
Bishop family portraits from the 17th and 18th Centuries.
The Bishop Baronetcy is extinct, but their
descent is to be found in Burke's
Extinct Baronetcies, and also under the ancient Barony of Zouche in current
peerages.
Ann Bishop, daughter of Sir Cecil Bishop,
6th Baronet, and Lucy's sister, married Robert Brudenel, third son of the 4th
Earl of Cardigan. They were the grandparents of Thomas Brudenel, the 7th Earl
of Cardigan, whose exploits at Balaclava during the Charge of the Light Brigade
in 1854, stand as a great moment in English military history.
It was recorded that, on an occasion in
1860, Lord Palmerston and Lord Cardigan, met at a friends house, William Butler
Godschall Johnson, the grandson of the Godschall Johnson being dealt with in
this chapter.
William Butler Godschall Johnson was then
a schoolboy, and remembered both of them telling him they were his cousins
through his grandmothers, and Lord Cardigan telling him about the Battle of Balaclava.
James Thomas Brudenel, seventh Earl of
Cardigan, was born in 1797. He entered the army and became a
Lieutenant-General. He was said to have become involved, by virtue of his
domineering temper, in constant wrangles with his brother Officers. He was MP
for Marlborough between 1819 and 1829. In 1830, he became a Lieutenant Colonel
by purchase of Commission. He became MP for Northamptonshire in 1832. He
commanded the 15th Hussars in 1832-3, and the 11th Hussars between 1836 and
1847. In 1837 he succeeded to the Earldom, becoming then the 7th Earl of
Cardigan. In 1847 he became a Major-General (field commission). He commanded
the Light Cavalry in the Crimea. The contributor to the National Biography
phrases it: "and destroyed it (the Light Cavalry) in the famous
'charge'", in 1854. That controversy raged, and, in part, continues. He
became a Colonel of the Dragoon Guards in 1859, and of the 11th Hussars in
1860, becoming Lieutenant-General in 1861.
Godschall Johnson and Lucy had a very
large family, comprising thirteen children, and when his first wife died, his
second wife had eleven children.
The thirteen children of Godschall Johnson
and his first wife Lucy Bishop, were:
1-4:the
first four children died either at birth or early infancy;
5.
Lucy Godschall Johnson;
6.
Godschall Johnson;
7.
Frederick Godschall Johnson;
8.
Cecil Godschall Johnson;
9.
Ralph Edward Godschall Johnson;
10.
William Godschall Johnson;
11.
Anna Maria Godschall Johnson;
12.
George Godschall Johnson;
13.
Francis Godschall Johnson.
Most of these children appear to have been
born at Oakley House in Bedfordshire; certainly a number were christened at the
Church of St. Mary in Bedford, Bedfordshire. Oakley House is in the Parish of
Oakley, 4 miles north-west of Bedford, as it was in those days. Oakley House
was always the scene of the Oakley Hunt. The House itself stood well back in
well-wooded grounds on the north bank of the Ouse River, southwest of the
village of Oakley, but on the north bank of the river, which was spanned by
Oakley Bridge, an old five arched stone structure, bearing an inscription to
mark the height to which the great flood of 1823 arose. The House was often the
residence of the agent for the Duke of Bedford, who, was the figurehead for the
Bedfordshire Regiment.
LUCY GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
Lucy Godschall Johnson married Jules
Denis.
GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
Godschall Johnson married and had a child,
one, at least. His fate is as big a mystery as the later fate of Charles
Godschall Johnson, son of Ralph Edward Godschall Johnson, which shall be
mentioned later.
One source has it that Godschall Johnson
"married and with his son lost all trace of in the bush". Another
source phrased it as "married and with his son disappeared into the
bush".
"Bush" is a typical Australian
term, although it has also been applied to South Africa.
The question is: do we have an earlier
ancestor who made it to Australia even before his aunt Emily Darvall did aboard
the Alfred in 1839? It is a real
intriguing proposition, and one for which we may never find an answer.
FREDERICK GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
Frederick Godschall Johnson was baptised
on 25 September 1811 at the church of St. Mary, Bedford, Bedfordshire.
There is a cryptic note in the source
against this name, that he had no issue. However he is probably the Uncle Fred,
who with his wife, Fanny, lived in Ireland, and raised Frederick Flower
Godschall Johnson for a number of years.
CECIL GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
Cecil Godschall Johnson was baptised on 6
July 1814 at the Church of St. Mary, Bedford, Bedfordshire.
Cecil Godschall Johnson married Charlotte
Parkinson and had seven children: Charlotte, Georgina, Gertrude, Laura, Arthur
Godschall Johnson, Algernon Godschall Johnson, and Cecil Godschall Johnson.
Of these offspring, Arthur Godschall
Johnson became a civil servant, Cecil Godschall Johnson had no issue, and
nothing is known about Algernon Godschall Johnson.
RALPH EDWARD GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
Ralph Edward Godschall Johnson was born in
England in 1812 (although he claims to have been born in Antwerp).
There is a record of his christening on 4
January 1813 in Saint Mary's Church, Bedford, Bedfordshire.
Ralph Edward Godschall Johnson married
Ellen or Eleanor Sarah Butler, said to be descended from the original Butlers,
first family of Ireland and there by the Plantagent dynasty of early England.
May Thornton said that the marriage
occurred in London, but there does not appear to be a record of their marriage
in England. As marriages were scrupulously recorded, for certain legal and
historical reasons, it is suspected that they may have been married on the
Continent, possibly in France.
Ralph and Eleanor had seven children.
It is noted in the French christening
records Francis Lucy, Frederick Flower, and Francis O'Neill were christened in
France, that Eleanor gave her name on the first record as Ellen Sarah Butler,
and on the two ensuing as Ellen.
Ralph emigrated to Australia in 1854 after
his wife died in 1853, bringing his children with him at various stages. His
descendants occupy most of the remainder of this book.
WILLIAM GODSCHALL JOHNSON
No information.
ANNA MARIA JOHNSON:
No information.
GEORGE GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
No information.
FRANCIS GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
Francis was born at Oakley House,
Bedfordshire, England, on the first of January 1817, the fifth of six sons of
Captain Godschall Johnson, formerly an officer in the 10th Royal Hussars and
British Consul General to Belgium, and his mother, Lucy Bishopp, a daughter of
Sir Cecil Bishopp. After attending
Harrow, he was sent to a college at Saint Omer in France, and later to Bruges
in Belgium. There he acquired an accomplished knowledge of French, which proved
most useful to him when he later settled in Montreal, Canada.
Francis Godschall Johnson emigrated to
Canada in 1837 with his Uncle Ralph Botoler Godschall Johnson, and later became
the Chief Justice of Lower Canada. He married twice, and left children by both
marriages. He spent his life in Canada. His first wife was Mary Gates Jones,
and his second wife, Mary Louise Mills. See the next chapter for his
descendants.
GODSCHALL & LUCY JOHNSON:
Lucy Godschall Johnson, nee` Bishop, died
in about 1823/24.
In 1825, Godschall Johnson married again,
to Francis Wetenhall, nee` Tomlinson. Francis was born in 1801 and was to
survive to 1847, dying at the early age of 46. Godschall Johnson, as a widower,
was to survive his second wife by 12 more years, dying in 1859.
There were eleven children by this,
Godschall Johnson's, second marriage:
1.
Eleanor Godschall Johnson;
2.
Lucy Godschall Johnson;
3.
Mary Godschall Johnson;
4.
Edward Godschall Johnson;
5.
Robert Godschall Johnson;
6.
Emily Godschall Johnson;
7.
Charles Godschall Johnson;
8.
Mary Godschall Johnson;
9.
James Godschall Johnson;
10.
Rachael Godschall Johnson;
11.
Franklin Godschall Johnson.
Godschall Johnson was H.R.H. Consul in
Antwerp for many years. He died in 1859, having been predeceased by his second
wife, Francis Wetenhall.
There was a miniature of Godschall
Johnson, which showed him at about the
age of 25 years. It was said that he did not have his father's good looks, but
his characteristic heavy eyebrows and dark eyes were quite noticeable. He was
wearing his own hair, heavily powdered, and is dressed in a high white stock.
His children by his second marriage, dealt
with in seriatim:
ROBERT GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
Robert Godschall Johnson was born in 1829,
to Godschall Johnson and his second wife Frances Wetenhall, nee` Tomlinson.
Robert Godschall Johnson married, in 1870,
his cousin, Emily Sophie Darvall.
Robert Godschall Johnson was in the
Foreign Office Service, and was a Queen's Messenger.
He and his wife Emily had two children,
Franklyn Godschall Johnson and Emily Francis Godschall Johnson.
Franklyn Godschall Johnson was born in
1872, and survived until 1913. He died unmarried.
Emily Francis Godschall Johnson was born
in 1874 and survived until 1950. She was known to later generations as
"Emmie".
Robert Godschall Johnson died in 1889.
RACHEL GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
Rachel Godschall Johnson was born in 1830,
the daughter to Godschall Johnson and his second wife, Francis Wetenhall, nee`
Tomlinson.
She died in 1910, unmarried.
EMILY SOPHIE DARVALL:
Emily Sophie Darvall was born in 1845.
She was a granddaughter of Captain Edward Darvall and Emily
Godschall Johnson.
Robert Godschall Johnson, her husband,
died in 1889, aged 60.
Emily survived her husband by 34 years,
dying in 1923, and was survived by her daughter mentioned above, Emily Francis
Godschall Johnson, but not by her son Franklyn Godschall Johnson, who had died
in 1913.
ALICE MARY DARVALL:
Emily's sister was Alice Mary Darvall.
Alice Mary Darvall was born in 1845.
In 1890, she married the Rev. Herbert
Parry Thornton. The Rev. Herbert Parry Thornton was born in 1856 and was the
son of the Rev. Francis Thornton and Mary Louise Cholmondeley, mentioned in
Chapter X.
They left no issue.
Alice Mary Parry Thornton, nee` Darvall,
died in 1913.
Her husband, the Rev. Herbert Parry
Thornton, survived his wife, dying in 1933.
CHAPTER XIII
FRANCIS GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
Francis
Godschall Johnson emigrated to Canada.
There
he married Mary Gates Jones.
They
had seven children:
Francis
Godschall Johnson,
Ralph
Godschall Johnson,
Edward
Cecil Godschall Johnson,
Philip
Godschall Johnson,
Mary
Lucy Godschall Johnson,
Leura
Wellwood Godschall Johnson,
Mary
Lucy Anna Georgina Godschall Johnson.
Francis Godschall Johnson had a second
wife, Mary Louise Mills.
By his second wife he had two children,
Charles Ralph Godschall Johnson, and Frederick William Godschall Johnson.
CHARLES RALPH GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
Charles Ralph Godschall Johnson married
Amy Wright, by whom he had a son Frederick Godschall Johnson.
FREDERICK GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
Frederick Godschall Johnson married
Pauline Forget.
They had two children: Louis Godschall
Johnson, born in 1915, and Charles Talbot Godschall Johnson, born in 1921.
FREDERICK WILLIAM GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The second son of Francis Godschall
Johnson and his second wife, Mary Louise Mills, was Frederick William Godschall
Johnson.
Frederick William Godschall Johnson
married Agnes Wuick.
They had five children: Frank Charles
Godschall Johnson, Vance Godschall Johnson, Olive Godschall Johnson, Harriet
Agnes Godschall Johnson, and Violet Godschall Johnson.
CHAPTER XIV
RALPH EDWARD GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
Ralph Edward Godschall Johnson, was the
eldest son of Godschall Johnson, by his first wife, Lucy Bishop.
He was born in England, though he claimed
to be born in Antwerp, in 1812, whilst his father, Godschall Johnson, was
serving as His Majesty's Consul to Antwerp.
He
married, it was said, in London, (of which there is no confirmatory record),
England, in 1832, at age 20, Eleanor Sarah Butler[1].
There is a possibility though, seeing English marriage records were
scrupulously kept, for the marriage to have occurred either on the Continent or
in Ireland.
Ralph and Eleanor Godschall Johnson had
seven children, three of whom appear to have been born in France.
The eldest was Ralph Cholmondeley
Godschall Johnson, born about 1833/4, probably in London, County of Middlesex.
The second son was Charles Godschall
Johnson, probably also born in London.
The third son was Frank O'Neill Godschall
Johnson, born about either 1836/7, which is May Thornton's date (in which case
he was probably born in London), or 1844 (another source), which places him in
the middle of the French period.
The fourth son was Frederick Flower
Godschall Johnson, born in 1846 at St. Omer in France.
The youngest son was William Butler
Godschall Johnson, born in 1849, possibly back in England.
The daughters of Ralph Edward Godschall
Johnson and Eleanor Sarah Butler were Ellen Elizabeth Ann Godschall Johnson and
Frances Lucy Godschall Johnson, known as Fanny.
Ellen Elizabeth Godschall Johnson was born
in 1841.
Frances Lucy (Fanny) Godschall Johnson was
born in 1842 at St. Omer in France.
Eleanor Godschall Johnson died about 1853,
leaving Ralph Edward Godschall Johnson a widower with seven children ranging in
ages from 5 to 20.
Family chipped in to help with the children.
Ellen and Fanny lived with the Thornton family at the Rectory at Basingstoke.
Frank, aged 10, and William, aged 5, boarded at a school at Chilton, Andover,
four miles away, and spent the holidays at the Rectory at Basingstoke with the
Thornton household. In fact, William had started with that boarding school the
year earlier, at the tender age of 4, and it is expected that Frank had already
spent a number of years there by the time his mother died.
Frederick, aged 8, was billeted in Ireland
with other family members, Uncle Fred and Aunt Fanny, where he was to receive
further education. The education he received was Catholic, and he was expected
to enter the Church, but he refused to take the vows.
Ralph Edward Godschall Johnson sailed to
Australia in 1854 with his two eldest sons.
He took with him his eldest son Ralph
Cholmondeley Godschall Johnson, and another son Charles, leaving the daughters
and other and younger sons to be educated in England.
On 4 October 1854 Ralph Edward Godschall
Johnson landed in the Port of Brisbane aboard the coastal steamer Boomerang, which was the regular
conveyance by sea, to and from Sydney to Brisbane. He was probably seeking
appropriate employment, suitable to a man in his station in life. He returned
to Sydney straight after Christmas, leaving Brisbane on 3 January 1853, aboard
the Boomerang, with Captain Wickham
and other notables aboard. Captain Wickham, as Police Magistrate, was the
Senior Government Official in the Colony of Moreton Bay at the time.
Ralph Edward and lady companion returned
to Brisbane aboard the schooner Shamrock
on 28 January, 1855, and his two sons Ralph and Charles aboard the Boomerang on 29 January 1855.
Ellen, Frances, William and Frank arrived
in Queensland in 1860. They travelled from London to Sydney aboard the ageing
sailing ship Vimiera, arriving in
Sydney harbour on 16 August 1860, after a five month voyage. Also on board was
Bishop the Right Reverend Edward Wyndham Tufnell, and six other, and mostly
young, Anglican clergymen. The Godschall Johnson party of four was accompanied
by a lady chaperone, in the young ladies' interests. Queen Victoria had
established the Colony of Queensland, by Letters Patent, in 1859, the previous
year, and also by Letters Patent, had created an Anglican Diocese of Brisbane,
within the new Colony, so that the spiritual needs of Queenslanders could be
catered for. The clerical party was to staff Churches and Administration within
this new Diocese, and administer to the spiritual needs of the Colony. The Vimiera dropped anchor in Sydney
Harbour on 16 August 1860. The Godschall Johnson party stayed in Sydney, until
they could take passage on the coastal steamer, Yarra Yarra, to Brisbane. The Yarra
Yarra weighed anchor from Sydney Harbour on 29 August 1860, and after a
slow five days up the coast of northern New South Wales, sailed up the Brisbane
River, on 2 September 1860, where the newly arrived party were greeted by their
father Ralph Edward Godschall Johnson.
Frederick Flower was said to have arrived
about 1865.
Ralph Edward Godschall Johnson was
appointed "Assistant Clerk in the Department of the Legislative
Assembly" on 26 July, 1860 at a salary of 300 pounds per annum; he held
that position until his death in 1876. Up till his death, he resided in a large
Queenslander style house in Tank Street, Brisbane, which was purchased in 1878
by Marrs to become a boarding house.
Both he and his son-in-law, the Rev. John
Sutton, purchased land at Redcliffe in the early days: he purchased Portion
188, comprising of 21.5 acres on the eastern foreshores of what was then known
as the area of Humpy Bong, on 30 December 1867 for 22 pounds fifteen shillings.
The Rev. John Sutton got in on the same land sale at Humpy Bong, and purchased
Portion 189, of 26.5 acres for 20 pounds 5 shillings, on 1 January 1869,
Portion 193, comprising 20.25 acres for 20 pounds 5 shillings on 1 January
1869, and Portion 227, comprising 21 acres, for 21 pounds, on 12 September
1865.
Ralph also purchased a small allotment of
land at Bulwer on Moreton Island.
Ralph Edward Godschall Johnson had an
interest in Bloomsbury station in the 1870's.
Bloomsbury run is north of Mackay. It was
first established from five runs bought by W. J. McCartney, his brother and
brother-in-law, in the 1860's. A few years later the partnership was dissolved
and McCartney took runs 4 & 5 which he called Bloomsbury, the southern
boundary of which was St. Helen's Creek.
Ralph Edward Godschall Johnson sent his
son Ralph Cholmondeley Godschall Johnson after the latter's marriage to Margery
Dill Reid at Bowen in 1872 to look after his interests in Bloomsbury and it was
there that their second born son, Ralph Godschall Johnson was born.
Ralph Edward Godschall Johnson died at
Tank Street, Brisbane on 8 July 1876.
He was 64 years of age at the date of his
death.
He died from Dropsy of Abdomen from
diseased Liver, as Certified by Dr. Andrews.
On the Death Certificate, his father's
name was shown as Godschall Johnson, British Consul, Antwerp. His mother's name
was not shown. It was also stated that he was born in Antwerp, Belgium, and had
spent 22 years in the Colony. The Informant for the Death Certificate was Fanny
Loewe, Householder, of Tank Street. It should be pointed out at there is no
record of his birth in Antwerp.
It was also stated in the Death
Certificate that he had been married in London, at age 20 years, to Eleanor
Sarah Butler, and that he was survived by Ralph Cholmondeley Godschall Johnson,
aged 38, Ellen Elizabeth Ann, aged 35, Fanny Lucy, aged 34, Frank O' Neill
Godschall Johnson, aged 32, Frederick Flower Godschall Johnson, aged 30, and
William Butler Godschall Johnson, aged 27, and that 1 male child was deceased.
Note that the spelling of Cholmondeley was
altered subsequent to the original registration on 12 July, 1876, probably by
someone in the family other than the Fanny Loewe, householder, who provided the
original details. It was originally entered in the register as "Cholwondely".
Given the variants in spelling that have occurred in respect of this name, it
is interesting to note that, in 1876, an original member of the family took
positive steps to ensure that the name was spelt "Cholmondeley". The
second "o" seems to have gone missing a few times in later years.
Ralph Edward Godschall Johnson was buried
in Portion 1 Section 32, Allotment 10, 1st Avenue, 8th Plot, in the General
Cemetery at Toowong, Brisbane. He was buried on 8 July 1876, the day after he
died.
The funeral was presided over by the Rev.
A. Bulgin, Church of England Minister, although the Rev. John Sutton was there
and signed his name as a witness to the burial. The Rev. John was probably too
emotionally involved to conduct the Service itself, although he probably
contributed a Eulogy.
Ralph Edward Godschall Johnson was known
widely as "Gentleman Johnson", and would have retained the dignity,
breeding, and good manners of a true English gentleman until the day he died.
This is borne out by a letter he wrote to
the editor of the Brisbane Courier
on 10 December 1859:
Sir: Under the heading of "On dit", I read in your
paper of this morning a paragraph wherein my name is held up to ridicule and
contempt, in a way at once offensive and cowardly: offensive, in as much as the
assuming or accepting the title of "Captain" would be a contemptible
absurdity, of which the "on dit" implies me to have been guilty, (but
which by the way has never been applied to me, nor do I think there is a
truthful man in Brisbane who would venture the assertion); and cowardly,
inasmuch as the enemy strikes at me in the dark. I am sorry that there is
anyone (I had nearly written man!) in Brisbane, mean enough to crack his (not
very clever) joke by bringing another's name thus unenviably before the public,
and I am sorry that you should open your columns as the vehicle for such
personal annoyance. If I were a public officer, my public acts would become
legitimate objects for public criticism; but as a private individual I protest
against my name being dragged thus publicly forward, by any designing coward
who may have access to the columns of a newspaper: and as to the
"friends" who would be glad to give me "a receipt in full",
etc., I venture to say that the fabricator of your "on dit" is not
one of those,
Your obedient servant,
Ralph E. G. Johnson.
Brisbane. 4 December 1859.
The article which had raised Ralph's ire
had appeared in the issue of the Brisbane
Courier for 6 December 1996, written by a journalist under the heading Local Intelligence:
On-Dit: That the Honourable Ralph Godschall Johnson, commonly
known as "Captain Johnson", has been invited to accept the office of
Colonial Treasurer in Queensland... the numerous friends of the first-named
gentleman will doubtless be glad to hear of his good fortune, as there are very
many of them who would be glad to renew their acquaintance with him by giving
him a "receipt in full" of all demands.
CHAPTER XV
Charles Godschall Johnson never married.
At some unspecified point he disappeared
into the outback of Australia and was never see again. One story has it that
this disappearance occurred about two years before the girls came out in 1860,
ie. 1858.
He was not alive at his father's death in
1876, and is the "one child deceased", recorded at the foot of his
father's Death Certificate.
What happened to Charles remains a
complete mystery.
CHAPTER XVI
ELLEN ELIZABETH ANN GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
Ellen Elizabeth Ann Godschall Johnson was
born in 1841, possibly in France.
Ellen was in the second party of Godschall
Johnsons to emigrate to Queensland.
Ellen came with Frances, William, and
Frank, aboard the Vimiera in 1860.
There is a photo of her and her sister
Frances, on board the Vimiera, with
their chaperone, and another unidentified lady, listening to two clergymen, one
of whom was the Rev. John Sutton, later to marry her sister Frances.
The Vimiera
arrived in Sydney on 16 August 1860. The group of young Godschall Johnsons
might have stayed with their Darvall relatives in Sydney, whilst waiting for
the coastal steamer Yarra Yarra to
leave Sydney Harbour on 29 August 1860, thirteen days later.
The Yarra
Yarra took five days to get to Queensland, arriving on 2 September, 1860.
The party was greeted at the wharves by their father, Ralph Edward Godschall
Johnson and possibly also by brother Ralph.
Frances was probably one of the
bridesmaids to her sister when she wed the Rev. John Sutton on 22 January 1861
at St. John's Church, William Street, Brisbane, although the chief bridesmaid
was a cousin, Edith Flora Darvall, who had come up from Sydney for the
occasion.
Ellen herself was to be married, at
Maryborough, Queensland, a year later, in 1862, by the Rev. Duncan Mackenzie,
to John Andrew Bonar (1855-1874), then a squatter living in Gladstone,
Queensland, the eldest son of Andrew Bonar of Edinburgh (see Burke's Landed Gentry, under Bonar of
Kimmerghome).
By then, her married sister Fanny Sutton,
was helping her new husband the Rev. John Sutton, establish the new Parish at
Gladstone, the next bit of incipient civilisation just up the coast of the new
Colony.
Ellen and her husband John, had only one
son, John Andrew Macdonnell Bonar.
John Andrew Macdonnell Bonar was born in
Queensland, probably at Maryborough, on 1 September 1863.
John Andrew Bonar sold out of his share in
the sheep station and headed north to Bowen about 1866/7.
They were at Bowen in 1870 when William
Butler Godschall Johnson drove a mob of cattle to Bloomsbury from Rodds Bay
near Gladstone and called in.
John Andrew Bonar (the father), died in
1874.
Ellen Elizabeth Bonar, now widowed, left
Bowen in about 1879 for Sydney and then to England, taking her only son with
her.
Ellen Elizabeth Ann Bonar, nee` Godschall
Johnson, died in 1877 in England.
JOHN ANDREW MACDONNEL BONAR;
John Andrew Macdonnell Bonar was born on 1
September 1863.
He was the only child to be born to John
Andrew Bonar, and his wife, Ellen Elizabeth Ann Bonar, nee` Godschall Johnson.
He married and had three children, a son Alistair
John Macdonell Bonar, and two daughters May Louise Macdonell Maher Bonar, the
eldest, and Marsali Glengarry Macdonell Bonar, the youngest.
John Andrew Macdonnell Bonar died in 1922.
ALASTAIR JOHN MACDONELL BONAR:
The son, Alistair John Macdonell Bonar was
born in 1891.
In 1923, he married Lorna Docker. They had
one daughter, Joanna Lorna Macdonell Bonar, who was born in 1924.
JOANNA LORNA MACDONNEL BONAR:
Joanna Lorna Macdonell Bonar was born in
1924.
In 1959, she married Major Federigo Stuart,
and they had a daughter, born in 1960, Marsale Lorna Macdonnel Stuart.
MAY LOUISE MACDONNELL MAHER BONAR:
May Louise Macdonnell Maher Bonar was born
in 1888.
May was the author of this original manuscript, which she wrote in
or about 1961, aged 73, after thirty years of poring through parish and other
records.
In 1946, May married her third cousin,
Hugh Cholmondeley Thornton, grandson of the Rev. Francis and Mary Louise
Thornton. Hugh was later knighted, and May became known as Lady Thornton.
MARSALI GLENGARRY MACDONELL BONAR:
Marsali Glengarry Macdonell Bonar was born
in 1898.
In 1944, Marsali married Humphry Gifford.
BONARS:
As the Bonar name is fairly rare, it would
not do any harm to mention other Bonars in early Queensland, who may be related.
A James Young Bonar married an Isabella
Hunter and their children were James Bonar (born 1865), William Bonar (born
1867), and David Bonar (born 1868).
A David Thomas Bonar married a Rosannah
Darrach, and they had one child, a Janet Darrach Bonar (born 1868).
In 1901, a William Brandon Bonar, and in
1903, a Thomas Young Bonar, were born to William Macadam Bonar and his wife
Alice Hannah Wellbourne.
In the 1901 Postal Directory, a William M
Bonar is shown as a mine manager at Herberton, in North Queensland. That is
probably William Macadam Bonar. When the mining town of Herberton became a
Municipality in 1888, pioneer store keeper John Newell became its first mayor.
Another mayor of Herberton during its brief life as a Municipality was William
Macadam Bonar, who held office between 1890 and 1892, and again in 1893.
William Macadam Bonar was said to be an
expert mining man. He was in turn the Manager of the Great Northern Mine and
the Bischoff Mill on the Walsh river, He came out from England in a sailing
ship as a teenager, and became a shearer on outback sheep stations in the
pioneering days. He gained his mining experience in the Herberton area. He died
in Herberton in 1925. His wife lived to be almost a centenarian, winning prizes
in the Atherton show for cooking as late as 1959. The future Mrs. Bonar landed
at Port Douglas and was carried ashore in a lighter, as was the custom, and
travelled by Cobb & Co. coach to Herberton, and then to Nigger's Creek
(Wondecla). She married W. M. Bonar in Mrs. Jack's home at Watsonville, then
set off on horseback to spend their honeymoon, riding with packhorses and
cattle down the range to Cairns. That story is told as being typical of
pioneers in those days.
In the same directory, there is only one
other Bonar mentioned. An A. J. Bonar is shown as manager of the cyanide works
at Cawarral.
Cawarral is near Chillagoe.
CHAPTER XVII
FRANCIS LUCY GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The second daughter of Ralph Edward
Godschall Johnson and Eleanor Butler was Frances Lucy Godschall Johnson.
Frances was born in 1842 at St. Omer, France.
She married, in St. John's Church, William Street, Brisbane,
Australia, on 22 January, 1861, the Rev. John Sutton. The Rev. Sutton had been
educated at Oxford, and was one of a party of clergymen, mostly young and
single, who had accompanied the first Anglican Bishop of Queensland, Bishop
Tufnell to Australia aboard the Vimiera
in 1860. It was onboard the Vimiera
that Fanny met the Rev. Sutton. Fanny was attended by her cousin Edith Flora
Darvall as bridesmaid, and her sister Ellen. Others at the wedding included her
father Ralph Edward Godschall Johnson, and her brother Ralph Cholmondeley
Godschall Johnson.
In the booklet entitled Redcliffe 160 Years , by Leslie
Edgar Slaughter, written in 1959, there appeared the following segment:
John
Sutton: When Queen Victoria signed Letters Patent on 6 June 1859, she
appointed Sir George Ferguson Bowen as the first Governor of the new Colony of
Queensland.
At the same time, she created the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane,
and appointed the Right Reverend Edward Wyndham Tufnell D.D. as its first
Bishop.
A shipboard romance: When Ralph Edward Godschall Johnson
left England in 1859, with Governor Bowen's party, he left his family behind.
They were Ellen, Frances and two brothers. Johnson was a widower.
Early in 1860, the four members of the family, with a
chaperone, left England for Australia, on the sailing vessel
"Vimiera".
On the same vessel was the first Bishop of Brisbane, the Right
Reverend Edward Wyndham Tufnell and seven bachelor clergymen, most of them
young.
Frances Johnson (she was Fanny to her relatives and friends)
was an attractive girl of 18 years. Therefore, the chaperone was careful to
advise her against allowing her charms to affect the young clergymen.
A sea voyage from England to Australia, in those days, in a
sailing vessel, occupied from four to five months.
The Reverend John Sutton was older than the other clergymen,
being 41 years of age.
When the chaperone noticed a friendship developing between
Frances and the Reverend John, it caused no concern to her. She thought that
the difference of ages of the two would be a safeguard.
John Sutton was born in 1817 at East Hanney, Berkshire,
England.
The "Vimiera" arrived in Sydney on 16 August 1860;
Bishop Tufnell, six clergymen, the Johnsons and the chaperone disembarked. (One
of the clergymen died on the voyage).
They left Sydney on the coastal steamer "Yarra Yarra"
on 29 August, and arrived in Brisbane on 2 September 1860.
The Reverend John Sutton lost no time in visiting Government
House where Ralph Johnson, Frances' father, was living with Governor Bowen. The
Reverend John's mission was to ask for Mr. Johnson's approval of Frances'
engagement to himself. Johnson readily granted this request.
The Reverend John Sutton's first appointment was to establish
an Anglican Church in Gladstone.
In January 1861, he returned to Brisbane for his marriage to
Frances. It took place at St. John's Church, William Street, on 22 January,
1861. Bishop Tufnell officiated.
Robert J. W. Herbert (later Sir Robert), first Colonial
Secretary (today the Office is called Premier), was best man and Edith Flora
Darvall was bridesmaid.
Ralph Edward Godschall Johnson was an Englishman. However, his daughter
Frances, was born in St. Omer, France.
He was appointed "Assistant Clerk in the Department of the
Legislative Assembly" on 26 July 1860.
The Reverend Sutton purchased land in Redcliffe in 1867, and
also subsequent to that time.
Their children were Florence, Percy, Cholmondeley, Holly,
Sydney, May and Joseph.
in later years, the Reverend John Sutton was rector of St.
John's Church, William Street, Brisbane.
He retired to Hurley House (later called Sutton House),
Redcliffe in February 1886.
He was an early member of the Redcliffe Divisional Board and
had a prominent part, in mnay ways, in the early progress of Redcliffe.
Frances or Fanny Sutton, lived her latter years in Redcliffe.
She was referred to as "Granny Sutton". Everybody who knew her loved
her.
She died on 4 October 1909.
Sutton Beach, Sutton and John Streets, and Sutton House,
perpetuate his name.
The article in the Redcliffe 160 Years publication was accompanied by two reproductions, one a photo of Frances
Sutton, and the other entitled "On
board the sailing vessel "Vimiera" in 1860, Second from left, Ellen
Johnson. Fourth from left, the Reverend John Sutton. Fifth from left, Frances
Johnson. It is evident in this scene, that the Reverend John has made an
interesting remark to Frances".
On 13 October 1993 the Courier Mail announced the demise of
Sutton House Redcliffe.
The announcement in 1993 read:
A long chapter of Brisbane property development history is
about to acquire a footnote as one of Redcliffe Peninsula's oldest landmarks
disappear under the bulldozers to make way for redevelopment.
Historic Sutton House on Marine Parade on the Redcliffe
waterfront was built in 1886, the same year as Brisbane's Bellevue Hotel.
The Redcliffe landmark was built by one of Brisbane's earliest
European settlers, the Rev. John Sutton, as a retirement house. It was
originally named Hurley House.
Mr. Sutton, something of a real estate entrepreneur in his day,
advertised his property as part of "The Redcliffe Estate" in the
Brisbane Courier in May 1878.
He described his development as "60 large marine villa
sites, each having frontage to the Bay...the distance to which is only three
hours steam from the city and about 31/2 to 4 hours drive over a first class
road".
However, the house still stands and was
built around by the developer.
The Suttons first charge was to establish
a new Anglican Parish at Gladstone.
Aunt Jane Cholmondeley gave the Suttons
some money, and John Sutton took up some country some 80 miles from Gladstone.
In 1862 or thereabouts, younger brother
Ralph Edward Godschall Johnston left school, of which he had done but one year
after arriving in Australia with his sisters, and went to Gladstone to the
Suttons. He was engaged upon the property that the Suttons had bought,
shepherding sheep. He worked there until 1864.
Later, the Rev. Sutton was appointed
Rector of St. John's Anglican Church in William Street, Brisbane, and they
moved back from Gladstone to Brisbane, probably about 1865.
They had a large family:
Violet
Edith Fanny Sutton, born on 22 October 1862,
Florence
Jane Sutton, born on 2 June 1865,
Percy
Sutton, born on 6 March 1867,
Ada
Mary Sutton, born on 3 February 1869,
John
Francis Cholmondeley Sutton, born on 20 February 1871,
Ernest
Sutton, born on 30 November 1872,
Cecil
Hervey Edward Sutton, born on 9 April 1874,
Horace
George Sutton, born on 1 October 1875,
William
Cyril Sutton, born on 9 September 1877,
Mary
Eleanor Sutton, born on 15 August 1879,
Frank
Comas Sutton, born on 12 November 1881.
Of those numerous children, three did not
survive infancy. Ada Mary died in 1870, Cecil Hervey Edward died in 1875, and
Ernest died in 1874.
The Rev. John Sutton B.A. had, it was
said, brought with him from Oxford, to St. Johns, what was known as the Catholic
spirit. When Bishop Hale succeeded Bishop Tufnell in 1880, the Diocese of
Brisbane was generally said to be Low Church, with two exceptions, All Saints
and St. Johns. All Saints, its parishioners, wardens, and rector, tended
towards High Church; St. Johns, to a lesser extent.
The Rev. John Sutton purchased considerable land on the Redcliffe
Peninsula. In 1865, he purchased Portion 227, of 21 acres. Then in 1867, his
father-in-law, Ralph Edward Godschall Johnson, purchased Portion 188 of 21.5
acres. Then in 1869, the Rev. Sutton purchased Portions 189 and 193 of 26.5 and
20.25 acres respectively. A map shows that, apart from adjoining Portions 188
and 189, the other two Portions are discrete. All fronted the Bay. Portions 193
and 227 are separated by Wharf Reserve Portion 226.
In A
Journalist's Memories by Reginald Spencer-Browne (1856-1943), written in 1927 by a former journalist on the Brisbane Courier, who had married a
granddaughter of the Rev. Sutton, a description is given of the Rev. Sutton's
holdings:
The Rev. John Sutton had the Redcliffe town area from the jetty
to the creek south of Orient House, then back to the main Woody Point -
Scarborough Road.
Spencer Browne was part of a syndicate
that purchased an allotment off the Rev. Sutton when the latter subdivided and
sold his land.
Spencer-Browne also gave an interesting
insight into life on the Redcliffe Peninsula at the time:
In 1881, we played cricket at Redcliffe on Sundays... the
remembrance was spurred by the decision of the Municipal Councils to allow
sports in the Brisbane parks on Sundays...The Rev John Sutton stood Umpire at
one end and the Rev. T. Jones stood Umpire at the other. The parsons had no
objection to spending the afternoon in that way, but they imperatively insisted
that every player had to have been to Church in the morning...We either went to
the Church of England service where Hurley House was built a year or two later,
or the little Congregational Church on the Woody Point Road.
The Rev. John Sutton died on 9 June 1897,
and Fanny Lucy Sutton, nee` Johnson, his widow, died on 4 October 1909.
There has survived a book of the Rev.
John's sermons.
FLORENCE JANEY SUTTON:
Florence Janey Sutton was born on 2 June
1867.
She married the Reverend. Herbert Cramer
Beasley, who had been born in England.
They had two children: Violet May Fanny
Louisa Beasley, and Edward McPherson Howard Beasley.
Violet Mary Fanny Louisa Beasley was born
on 5 September 1902.
She married Claude Delpratt. They had no
issue.
Florence Janey Beasley, nee` Sutton, died
on 3 September 1931.
Her daughter Violet Mary Fanny Louisa
Delpratt, nee` Beasley, died on 22 July 1965.
VIOLET EDITH FANNY SUTTON:
Violet Edith Fanny Sutton married Reginald Spencer Browne.
Reginald Spencer Browne was born at
Oaklands, Appin, New South Wales, on 13 July 1856, the son of William James
Merrick Shawe Browne, pastoralist, and his wife Rachel, nee` Broad.
His father, a native born scion of an
already old Australian family, was superintending officer of Yeomanry and
Volunteer Corps in 1854.
Reginald Spencer Browne was educated at
Appin, Corowa, and in England. He became a journalist, and, in the words of H.
J. Summers, contributor to the Australian Biographical Dictionary, he
"precociously" published slim volumes of verse in 1874-75 from the
offices of the Deniliquin Pastoral Times
and the Albury Banner. He was
subeditor of the Townsville Herald
in 1877, and editor of the Cooktown
Herald in 1878. When Sir Thomas McIlwraith arranged a cabinet syndicate to
control the Observer in 1881, Browne
moved to Brisbane as its editor and married Violet Edith Fanny Sutton of
Maryborough on 13 October 1881.
Spencer Browne joined the Brisbane Courier in 1882, and stayed
there for nearly all his working life. An associate editor of the Queenslander, he discovered and
encouraged the poet George Essex Evans. Spencer Browne was commissioned in the
Queensland Mounted Infantry on 20 December 1887. He was said to have found work
briefly on the London press to facilitate military study. He published Romances of the goldfield and bush, a
volume of slight prose sketches in London in 1890.
Spencer Browne commanded a flying column
of his regiment in western Queensland during the shearer's strike of 1891 but
was, nevertheless, always sympathetic to trade-unionism. He was promoted
captain in 1891 and major in 1896. In November 1899 he sailed for South Africa
as a special service officer with the first Queensland contingent, carrying the
local rank of major. With active service in many fields, he was appointed C.B.,
received the Queen's Medal with five clasps, was invalided to Australia in
November 1900 and mentioned in dispatches in 1901. His return to Brisbane was
said to be a triumph.
Spencer Browne progressed slowly through
the literary hierarchy of the Courier,
but devoted much time still to soldiering as Lieut-colonel commanding the 13th
Light Horse Regiment from 1903, and colonel of the 5th Light Horse Brigade from
1906; in 1911, he was transferred to the reserve.
Spencer Browne was disappointed in his
aspirations in 1906 to become Lieut-Governor of Papua and in 1908 acting State
Commandant. As an old friend and political adherent of Sir Littleton Groom, he
transmitted regular political intelligence and worked informally for the
Liberal Party.
On 4 March 1915, Spencer Browne joined the
Australian Imperial Force as Colonel commanding the 4th Light Horse Brigade.
When it was broken up, he took over the 6th Infantry Brigade at Gallipoli, at
the age of 59. He served at Lone Pine and Quinn's Post and was evacuated on 10
December 1915, but, too old for further service, was given charge of the
Australian Training and General Base Depot at Tel-el-kebir, Egypt, on 20 March
1916 as Brigadier General.
Publication by him in 1915 of The Heroic Serbians won him the Serbian
Red Cross. In 1916 in England, he commanded the Australian Training Depot at
Salisbury Plain, then moved to No. 2 Command Depot at Weymouth where he
probably met the novelist Thomas Hardy.
He returned to Australia, unfit, in
November 1917, commanded the Molonglo Concentration Camp at Canberra from
February to December 1918, was then demobilised, and was formally retired on 20
October 1921 as honorary Major General. For two years he was State President of
the Returned Soldiers' and Sailors' Imperial League of Australia.
Between 1925 and 1927 Spencer Browne
contributed a weekly article in the Courier,
giving his memories of men and events in Queensland of his time. These were
published as A Journalist's Memories
in 1927; the book is still the source of much of both the history and legend of
early Queensland.
In later years Spencer Browne was a famous
Brisbane identity. He was nominally financial editor of the Courier Mail, reporting only the
limited operations of the Brisbane Stock Exchange. He also edited the Queensland Trustees Review. His first
wife Violet Edith Fanny Sutton having died shortly after his marriage, with no
issue, on 7 August 1889, he had remarried Catherine Fraser Munro, a noted
musician and amateur actress. He died childless on 9 November 1943, his second
wife having predeceased him the year before.
PERCIVAL SUTTON:
Percival Sutton died unmarried.
JOHN FRANCIS CHOLMONDELEY SUTTON:
John Francis Cholmondeley Sutton married
May (or Pearl) Beasley in 1910.
HORACE GEORGE SUTTON:
Horace George Sutton married, on 24 March
1903, Margaret Ellison Coolson.
Margaret Ellison Coolson was born on 7
January 1879.
They had two children: Margaret Francis
Lucy Sutton and Reginald Thomas John Sutton.
Margaret Francis Lucy Sutton was born on
10 December 1904.
Reginald Thomas John Sutton was born on 25
June 1906.
On the 15th June 1956, Margaret Francis
Lucy Sutton married Jack Morrell Higginson.
They had no issue.
Reginald Thomas John Sutton married Ruby
Alice Hobbs.
Ruby Alice Hobbs was born on 19 May 1906.
Reginald Thomas and Ruby Alice Sutton had
three children: Judith Margaret Sutton, Spencer John Sutton, and Barbara Alice
Sutton.
Judith Margaret Sutton was born on 4
September 1942.
Spencer John Sutton was born on 13 April
1934.
Barbara Alice Sutton was born on 12 July
1935.
JUDITH MARGARET SUTTON:
Judith Margaret Sutton married Murray
Richard Quick.
Murray Richard Quick was born on 12
September 1937.
They have two children: Wayne Justin Quick
and Stewart Richard Quick.
Wayne Justin Quick was born on 10 January
1967.
Stewart Richard Quick was born on 24 June
1968.
SPENCER JOHN SUTTON:
Spencer John Sutton married Sheilagh
Deidre Hudson.
Spencer John and Sheilagh Deidre Sutton
had two children: Sean David Sutton, and Jonathan Peter Sutton.
Sean David Sutton was born on 4 February
1965.
Jonathan Peter Sutton was born on 29
January 1968.
BARBARA ALICE SUTTON:
Barbara Alice Sutton married Bernard
Earle.
Bernard Earle was born on 13 March 1933.
Bernard and Barbara Alice Earle had two
children: Graeme Robert Earle and Michelle Louise Earle.
Graeme Robert Earle was born on 10
September 1963.
Michelle Louise Earle was born on 9 August
1966.
Horace George Sutton, born 1876, died on
14 August 1948.
Margaret Ellison Sutton, nee` Coolson,
died on 27 June 1955.
CYRIL WILLIAM SYDNEY SUTTON:
Cyril William Sydney Sutton never married.
MARY ELEANOR SUTTON:
Mary Eleanor Sutton was born on 15 August
1879.
She married Aubrey Earnest Webb.
Aubrey Earnest Webb was born on 20 July
1876.
They had three children: Constance Nay
Webb, Hope Madeline Webb, and Phyllis Nancy Webb.
Constance May Webb was born on 6 December
1901.
Hope Madeline Webb was born on 21 March
1903.
Phyllis Nancy Webb was born on 6 November
1918.
Constance May Webb married Cecil Arthur
Hamilton Curtis, born 5 September 1895.
They had two children: Geoffrey Cecil
Hamilton Curtis, born 7 August 1932, and Anne Eleanor Hamilton Curtis, born 28
April 1935.
Geoffrey Cecil Hamilton Curtis married
Barbara Ellen Angus, born 1 October 1936.
Hope Madeline Webb was born on 21 March
1903, and married Thomas Rolfe Crouch, born 23 August 1903. They had no issue.
Phyllis Nancy Webb (daughter of Aubrey
Earnest Webb and Mary Eleanor Webb, nee` Sutton, and born 6 November 1918),
married Leslie Henry Shea, born 23 April 1916. They had three children:
Katherine Francis Nancy Shea, born 11 December 1945, Donald Kenneth Shea, born
28 September 1948, and Timothy Stephen Shea, born 24 March 1953.
Mary Eleanor Sutton died on 16 June 1932.
Aubrey Earnest Webb died in November 1959.
Constance May Curtis, nee` Webb, died on
28 July 1968.
Cecil Arthur Hamilton Curtis died on 9
July 1970..
CHAPTER XVIII
FRANK O`NEIL GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
Frank O'Neill Godschall Johnson was the
third son of Ralph Edward Godschall Johnson and Eleanor Butler.
Frank O'Neill Godschall Johnson was born
in 1834, at Stomer in France.
He was educated at a boarding school at
Chilton, Candover, between Winchester and Basingstoke, in England.
He worked for a while at Miriam Vale
station near Gladstone, then in 1870 headed for the Gulf of Carpentaria to
manage a cattle station named Koolatah in extremely primitive pioneer
conditions.
He returned to Brisbane to marry Alice
Harriet Atkinson.
Alice Harriet Atkinson was born on 8
September 1864 at Brisbane, the daughter of Paul Atkinson and his wife Jane
Creech, who had emigrated from County Cork in Ireland in 1862.
Paul Atkinson was the son of Richard
Atkinson and Ann Kent.
Jane Creech was the daughter of Samuel
Creech and his wife whose maiden name was Smyth.
Paul Atkinson and Jane Creech had other
children:
Jane Atkinson, born on 15 November 1862,
Henry Wallace Atkinson, born on 22 April
1866,
Ida Kathleen Atkinson, born on 22 August
1869, and
George Frederick Handel Atkinson, born on
21 August 1871.
A letter is included, from Alice to Fanny
Sutton, which mentions some of her family.
Paul Cole Atkinson, the father died on 14
May 1906, having been substantially predeceased by his wife, Jane, who died on
16 August 1885.
Frank O'Neill and Alice Godschall Johnson
headed for the wilds of north Queensland and had Harold, the first of their
four children there. All four children are listed below:
Harold
Lionel Godschall Johnson, born on 23 July 1886,
Evelyn
May Godschall Johnson, born on 21 May 1888,
Eleanor
Frances Godschall Johnson, born on 26 November 1892,
and
Cyril Francis O'Neill Godschall Johnson, born on 26 June, 1894.
On 29 September 1886, Frank wrote to his
sister Fanny (Sutton) a letter from Koolatah Station as follows:
Alice has just given me her letter to you to read, by it you
can form no idea of what she has gone through, or what a plucky woman she is,
the blacks are very bad here, & we never sit down to a meal, without
revolvers & rifle within arms length- we have been attacked by blacks
several times, but Alice has never yet shown sign of fear, & often at night
we have alarms, when we have to get up, and fire into the darkness hardly a day
passes without cattle or horses being speared.
We don't intend to live here very long; as it is rather trying,
what with fever & blacks, centipedes & snakes, but intend to live in
England, & then you will see us, I hope; with kind regards to your husband
& love from Alice & Harold to you.
I remain
Your affectionate brother,
Frank G. Johnson.
To set the scene for these comments about
Aboriginals, the following passage is taken from A Thousand Miles Away- A History of North Queensland to 1920 by
Professor G. B. Bolton from the Department of History of the Australian
National University:
Marketing and pasture problems may have dispelled the squatter's
optimism, but the most wearing strain on morale came from the hostility of the
Aborigines...Most settlers came expecting trouble. They soon had it. Resentful
of trespass on their lands, within two or three years the Aboriginals were
spearing stock and stockmen, until shepherds refused to work in danger areas
where basalt ridges or rugged hill country gave the natives cover...Robert Gray
estimated that between 10 and 15 per cent of the white men in outback North
Queensland were killed by Aborigines during the sixties. Accustomed from
previous Queensland experience to such hostilities, the squatters and the
native police took ample retribution. The manager of Reedy Creek station spoke
for many in asserting that "life was never safe, and the only wise thing
to do on seeing a black was to shoot and shoot straight, otherwise he would
certainly spear you"( George Elphinstone Dalrymple, tenth son of an
Aberdeenshire baronet, writing to Governor Sir George Ferguson Bowen 1 August
1864).(North Queenslanders at this period usually spoke of the
"blacks". "Natives" was a term reserved for Australian-born
whites).
Even within a few miles of Townsville and Bowen, this guerrilla
warfare lasted throughout the sixties. The conflict between naked spearsmen and
police rifles was not entirely one-sided. The Aborigines showed uncanny skill
at dodging punitive action, while leaving a sorry trail of slaughtered sheep
and maimed cattle: "if the owners do not get protection", exploded
the manager of a station not twenty-five miles from Townsville, "they will
have to take the law into their own hands and exterminate every Black within
the limits of their run, or abandon the country".
Angered and baffled by the Aboriginal psychology, many settlers
were tempted to take the shortest method with them. But others, especially
those with wives and young children, found the constant vigilance and struggle
too demanding. Several stations were abandoned, and other owners sought the
first opportunity of selling out.
Koolatah station was pioneer frontier
land. It was way up in Cape York Country near the Mitchell River, which flows
into the Gulf of Carpentaria. The headwaters of the Mitchell River were
constituted by the Palmer, Little Mitchell, Lynd, Walsh, Hodgkinson and Tate
Rivers. Other pioneer cattle stations last century in this broad expanse of
area were Drumduff, Dunbar, Lochnagar, Rutland Plains, Strathleven, Highbury,
Frome, Koolburra, Gamboola, Wrotham Park, Mount Mulgrave, Fairview, Bulimba,
and Blackdown.
Said Evelyn Maunsell, wife of Charlie
Maunsell, manager of Mount Mulgrave Station from 1911 to 1920:
The possibility of death was a thought we had with us
constantly in the Peninsula in those days. Less than sixty years ago it was
still untamed country, with large cattle runs, managed often by one white man
with a few black stockmen, and no other white inhabitants within 25, 50, or
even 100 miles...most of the Aboriginal tribes had been cannibals, some to
varying degrees.
As well as Aboriginals, gulf fever was
also a killer that struck down many a white person pioneering this remote area.
Said Reginald Spencer Browne:
The Alice River was named by a pastoral pioneer, Frank Johnson,
who was the first manager of Koolatah Station, taken up for McEacharan and Bell
many years after my time in the North (he was employed at Townsville for a
while). Johnson named the River after his wife, who was a daughter of Mr. Paul
Atkinson, a well known musician in Brisbane in the eighties, and a sister of
Mr. H. (Henry) W. Atkinson, architect of Brisbane.
Did they make it back to England as they
had hoped to do so?
They did make it to Brisbane, be it
briefly, as witness two further letters, written by Alice H. Johnson, nee`
Atkinson.
The first is dated 3 November 1887, and
the second 26 December 1887. The first was written from North Quay where the
family may have been staying with Ralph Edward Godschall Johnson, the father;
the second was written from "Haroldene", Norman Street, East
Brisbane. On both letters appears a Godschall Johnson Coat-of-Arms, the Castle
and Motto "Le Bon Tempe Viendra", the good times are coming.
Both letters were addressed to Fanny
Sutton.
The first read:
My Dearest Old Fan,
You will have heard from Jane that we all arrived here safely a
month ago & wasn't I thankful to be once more in civilisation-They are all
spoiling Harold as hard as they can go - we have had his photo taken, it is
simply excellent - I am sending you one, also one of Idas - mind you watch out
for them.
Jane will have told you that No.2 is over three months on the
road - isn't it awful to think of it, but I suppose it can't be helped - one
thing I won't be in the wretched hole I was with the first - I suppose your
little man is growing quite a big fellow - I do wish we could see him. Harold
runs about all over the place & chatters away like a little magpie - We are
leaving for Sydney on Saturday that's a treat in store for me - I am afraid our
trip to England will have to be postponed, but we won't despair - Jane is
coming to Sydney with us - it is simply astonishing how frightfully thin she
keeps. Ida has grown into a fine handsome girl, & as for George I hardly
knew him - Henry is quite a young man now - Liz looks just about the same as
ever; and is awfully fond of Harold.
We are going to buy a place here a little distance out of town
& furnish when we come back from Sydney - We have a great many articles of
furniture already, but there is so little room here that we must wait now till
we get a place to store it in -
This is really only an apology not a letter Fan so I hope you
won't mind not getting more news - I didn't like just sending the photos
without a line-
I will write and tell you all about our trip when we come back-
Now Fan dear, adieu for the present with fondest love from all,
to you all, & lots of kisses to the dear baby from Harold as well mind.
from your loving Sister
Alice H Johnson
PS. We went down to Humpy-Bong last Saturday and stayed till
Monday. We means Liz, Ida, George D'Arcy, Frank, Harold, Lilley (little
gin) & self - We got Harold christened while there by his Uncle-
Ally.
The Uncle who christened Harold was the
Rev. John Sutton.
The second letter is dated Boxing Day, the
26th December 1887, and is addressed from "Haroldene", Norman Street,
East Brisbane, to Fanny.
My Dear Old Fan
I only received your letter dated Sept 21st on Saturday last -
it was lying in Normanton all this time.
Fortunately I happened to wire up to the Post Master asking him
to forward any letters or goodness knows how long they would have lain there -
but still I have written to you since I came down & sent one of Harold's
pictures which I hope you got safely - We have such a beautiful little home now
everything that we can wish for & a darling little boy into the bargain -
he is growing such a fine little chap, rushes about everywhere & tries to
say everything he hears - he is getting on very well with his teeth he has 10
including 4 double ones - do you remember my telling you that we thought he was
never going to have any -
I had the family out to dinner yesterday (Jane, Ida, dear
George & young George) & about 8.30pm Henry who had just returned from
Gympie after having been there a week on business -the others were just getting
their hats on to go when Henry arrived, so they had quietly to wait until he
had something to eat as he was just famished -
I can scarcely write with the noise that's going on; people
fancying they're singing & making the most horrible noise - its a great
wonder to me that Baby can sleep - I hope your little Harold is thriving &
that you keep well - we were talking about you last night while we were sitting
out in the moonlight-
Jane is writing to you by this mail, so I won't give you a very
long letter this time - I am sending you a photo that we had taken while in
Sydney-
We did not remain there very long; the weather was so miserable
- the first 10 days it rained almost incesssantly.
Frank is particularly anxious to finish this for me but I think
I have said enough as Jane will be giving you all the news so I will say
goodnight wishing you all the compliments of the season with very best love
from all.
from your loving sister,
Alice H. Johnson
Alice Harriet Godschall Johnson, nee`
Atkinson, died on 6 July 1894 at Winton.
Francis O'Neil Godschall Johnson died on
23 June 1907 at Winton.
HAROLD LIONEL GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
Harold Lionel Godschall Johnson was born
on 23 July 1886 at Koolatah Station, in North Queensland.
He died on 28 December 1912, at Winton in
Western Queensland, when killed by lightning. He had taken a horse out to a
paddock, when a thunder storm developed. He took shelter under a gum tree, only
to be struck by lightning. It was a sad end to a 26 year old, who, as a baby, had
been the pride and joy of his mother' heart, as witness the pride in her baby
evidenced in the correspondence written by Ally to Fan.
Harold's niece wrote of her Uncle:
My Uncle Hal had the family ring with the crest on it, and
while swimming in the dam at Winton, got into difficulties and nearly drowned,
and in the process lost the ring. He went back many times to look for it but
never found it.
EVELYN MAY GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
Evelyn May Godschall Johnson was born on
21 May 1888 at Brisbane.
On 2 October 1907, she married, at Winton,
John William Wood.
John William Wood was born on 12 March
1872 at Condicote in Gloucestershire, England.
They had no issue.
John William Wood died on 7 July 1958 at
Brisbane.
Evelyn May Wood, nee` Godschall, died on
25 November 1971, at Brisbane.
ELEANOR FRANCES GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
Eleanor Frances Godschall Johnson was born
on 26 November 1891 at Brisbane.
On 21 July 1911, at Winton, she married
William Ryan.
William Ryan had been born on 27 September
1893 at Hughenden in Queensland.
They had one child, Evelyn Gwendoline
Ryan, born 1 December 1911.
William Ryan died on 12 May 1952 at
Townsville.
Eleanor Frances Godschall Ryan, nee`
Johnson, died on 11 August 1981, at Brisbane.
EVELYN GWENDOLINE RYAN:
Evelyn Gwendoline Ryan was born on 1
December 1911 at Brisbane.
On 31 August 1932, at Tolga, on the Atherton Tableland in North Queensland,
she married Thomas Henry Gibbins.
Thomas Henry Gibbins was born on 3 August
1908 at London, England.
They had one child, Gwendoline Dorothy
Gibbins, born on 28 August 1933 at Atherton.
Thomas Henry Gibbins died on 31 December
1984.
Evelyn Gwendoline Gibbins, nee` Ryan,
later name changed from Gibbins to Bevan, died on 11 April 1988 at Brisbane.
GWENDOLINE DOROTHY GIBBINS:
Gwendoline Dorothy Gibbins was born on 28
August 1933 at Atherton.
On 7 April 1956, at Brisbane, she married
Keith Johnson.
Keith Johnson was born on 19 April 1928 at
Murwillumbah in NSW.
They had one child, Elwyn Johnson.
Elwyn Johnson was born on 29 December
1957, at Brisbane.
Gwendoline Dorothy Gibbins married again
on 22 February 1964, Bruce Hampton Todd.
Bruce Hampton Todd was born
on 1 April 1918 at Brisbane, and died on 18 July 1984 at Brisbane.
ELWYN JOHNSON:
Elwyn Johnson was born on 29 December 1957
at Brisbane.
On 29 November 1980, at Southport, in
Queensland, he married Trena Lynette Moris.
Trena Lynette Moris was born on 8 May 1961
at Wellington in New Zealand.
They have two children: Sean James
Johnson, born on 27 April 1984 at Southport, and Aaron Keith Johnson, born on
15 November 1985 at Southport.
CYRIL FRANCIS O'NEILL GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
Cyril Francis O'Neill Godschall Johnson
was born on 26 June 1894 at Winton, in Queensland.
He
married Emma Burdell.
They had one child, Emmaline Alice Joyce
Godschall Johnson, born on 23 August 1939 at Winton.
Cyril Francis O'Neill Godschall Johnson
died on 16 February 1968 at Rockhampton in Queensland.
Emma Burdell Godschall Johnson, nee`
Burdell, died on 26 December 1970 at Rockhampton.
CHAPTER XIX
FREDERICK FLOWER GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
Frederick Flower Godschall Johnson was the
fourth son of Ralph Edward Godschall Johnson and Eleanor Butler.
He was born on 5 May 1846, in St. Omer,
France.
He was the last to come to Australia of
the family, and is believed to have arrived about 1865. This may have been
shortly after he declined to enter the Catholic priesthood. He had been raised
and educated in Ireland by an Uncle Fred and Aunt Frances, who may have been
Catholic, and they may have destined him for the priesthood. He did not wish to
take the vows.
In 1879, in Queensland, he married
Margaret Isabella Macdonald.
Margaret Isabella MacDonald was born on 10
October 1856 at Brewarrina in New South Wales. Margaret Isabella Macdonald was
said to be the daughter of Dr. George Macdonald. New South Wales birth
registers give little assistance in tracing her origins. Their is one close
entry for a Margaret Isabella Macdonald born in 1854 with parentage unknown,
and the next preceding marriage entry for a George Macdonald in New South
Wales, is that of an 1845 Marriage between a George Macdonald and Elizabeth
Dowse.
Frederick Flower Godschall
Johnson and Margaret Isabella MacDonald were married at the Cullen-la-ringo
station of Renny and Elizabeth Spencer Wills on 1 February 1879.
Cullen-la-Ringo is of course the site of
one of the biggest massacres of white people by aboriginals in Australian
history.
Cullen-la-Ringo had been taken up in
October 1861 by Horatio Wills who had come up from Victoria with a party of 25
persons and 10,000 sheep to pasture, and began building the first huts for his
new homestead, Cullen-la-Ringo.
Horatio Wills' experience of
Aborigines was gained from southern
tribes, and he apparently believed that as long as he treated the northerners
well, there would be no trouble. He was deceived. The natives saw the stores
being unloaded and watched. During the morning of 17 October, about a fortnight
after the Wills' party had arrived, about 60 Aborigines came into the camp, but
left before dinner-time, apparently on the best of terms with everybody. They
had been scouting out the lie of the land. Exactly what happened next is not
known. No-one lived to tell the tale.
During the evening of the next day, the
Aborigines attacked. The whites were caught totally unprepared. Only one hand,
John Moore, remained hidden to effect an escape. Before doing so, he witnessed
Mrs. Baker, the overseer's wife, scream "Murder" and then heard the
thud of a nulla-nulla crack her skull open. Moore escaped camouflaged by a
flock of sheep, ran for his life arriving exhausted at Rainworth Station thirty
miles to the south. Mr. Gregson, the owner of Rainworth, mustered a posse of
nine shearers, but by the time they reached Cullen-la-Ringo it was dark and
they could do nothing. Daylight revealed the terrible disaster. Ten bodies were
stretched out grotesquely on the ground among the huts and tents. Horatio
Will's body lay about three yards in front of his tent, a revolver by his left
hand, a double-barrelled gun by the other. Only one shot had been fired. Some
of the slain women still had sewing in their hands, and the children, their
heads smashed in by nulla-nullas, were lying next to their mothers. All the
bodies were horribly mutilated. Those killed in the Cullen-la-Ringo attack were
Mr. H. S. Wills, owner of the station, Baker, the overseer, and his wife and
four children, the youngest of whom was 7 months, Patrick Manion and his wife and
two children, and seven other men. Mr. T. W. Wills, the owner's son and James
Baker, a son of the overseer, were absent collecting stores at the time and
escaped.
It is noted that one of the avenging
parties was organised by Mr. P. F. Macdonald of Yaamba Station. He may have
been a relative of Margaret Isabella Macdonald.
Frederick Flower Godschall Johnson and his
wife Margaret Isabella Macdonald had ten children:
Margaret
Ellen Johnson, born on 30 October 1879,
Bertha
May Johnson, born on 27 May 1881,
May
Johnson, born on 4 September 1882,
and
Violet Johnson, also born on 4 September 1882, and a twin to May,
Constance
Ema Godschall Johnson, Jessie Sarah Godschall Johnson, Mabel Cecelia Johnson,
Charles George Johnson, Frederick William Johnson and Robert Godschall Johnson.
A lot of their descendants live in Western
Australia, where Frederick Flower Godschall Johnson ended up after spells in
Queensland, then Victoria. The Western Australia Dictionary of Biography records:
Johnson: Frederick Flower Godschall, arr. c. 1904 from
Victoria. Married 1879 in Queensland Margaret Isabella MacDonald who was born
in 1855 in NSW, died on 8 November 1944 in Western Australia, daughter of Dr.
George MacDonald. Children: Margaret Ellen, Violet & May (twins), Jessie,
Bertha, Mabel Cecelia b. 1888, Constance, William, Charles, Robert. Timber
inspector in Bunbury district in Government employ. He inspected timber used in
Government buildings, railways, bridges etc.
In 1910 it is said that he became Surveyor
General in Western Australia, at Bon Bridge, with Sir James Mitchell. Whether
this is true remains doubtful given any reference to it in the official
biographical note.
Frederick Flower Godschall Johnson died in
1915.
Margaret Isabella Johnson, nee` Macdonald,
died on 8 November 1944, as per the above biographical note.
A very interesting relic surviving in
respect of Frederick Flower Godschall Johnson is a letter sent to him by his
grandmother A. Butler, mother of Eleanor Butler, wife of Ralph Edward Godschall
Johnson, who died in 1853 before the remaining family migrated to Australia in
1859 (father, and two eldest sons), 1860 (two sons and two daughters), and 1862
(Frederick from Ireland).
The letter is undated and reads:
My very dear little Fred.
You much ... of mine Miss Wills and Frankeys
thanks for your kind
enquiries on one sheet of paper as Miss Wills is out shopping. Frankey is at
school and I am left alone to make use of the pen. I am sure you must be happy
with such a kind aunt and uncle. What a pretty little nail and tooth brush your
uncle bought for you; were you not delighted with them? You must indeed be a
pet to deserve such nice little things and I am sure that you will find that
your Aunt and Uncle love you too well to give you what you do not deserve.
Ralphy walked from Petworth to Winchester on Friday the 6th, and walked back
again on last Thursday. Frankey sends his love, and says he will write when he
has time. If he were obedient he would be one of the best boys in the world,
but he has never been thought to obey yet, and even he finds it a hard task.
Frankey likes school because he has a master who drills him, lends him a little
musket, and teaches to exercise like the soldiers. Your name is written very
nicely dear Fred. How pleased you must be with your wickets and bat. What a
lovely present. Does Aunt Dot know the place where I live? Very near the West
Gate. I had a family cushion sent me from Peterworth on Saturday the 7th my
birthday. Give love to your Uncle from your affectionate grandmother A. Butler.
All send you abundance of kisses...
Hazarding a guess, the letter was written
shortly after Frederick's mothers death in 1853 when Frederick, as the second
youngest child of the family was aged about 7. His younger brother William, was
4, at his mother's death, and was obviously staying with his Grandmother Mrs.
Butler, and his nanny, Miss Wills. We learn later that William, at age 4, went
to the same boarding school at Chilton, Candover, where his elder brother Frank
already was. Candover is between Winchester and Basingstoke, where the Rev.
Thornton was rector. It was with the Thorntons that the two girls, Frances and
Ellen stayed when their mother died. The girls had a governess at the Rectory.
The Rectory was about a mile from the school, and William recalls that he used
to spend his holidays, with Frank, at the rectory.
This letter suggests that Grandmother
Butler was nearby also. She mentions that Frank walked on two occasions to
Winchester and mentions the name Petworth (which is east in West Sussex) as one
place where he started his walk. Grandmother Butler talks of living at the West
gate. Would that be West Gate, Winchester?
Grandmother mentions an Aunt Dot, and
enquires whether Dot knew her, (grandmother's), address. It is understood that
Frederick was brought up by relatives in Ireland after his mother died in 1854,
until he was despatched to Australia about 1862.
William
Butler said, in his later years in 1935, that Frederick stayed with Uncle Fred
and Aunt Fanny in Ireland.
The mention of a gift of wickets and
cricket bat, unconnected with a normal occasion such as a birthday or Christmas
(which would otherwise have been mentioned, if that were the occasion), suggest
a close proximity to his mother's death and subsequent relocation to relatives
with a gift to an 7 year old to assist him to overcome his childhood sense of
parental loss.
We proceed now to mention the children of
Frederick Flower Godschall Johnson.
MARGARET ELLEN JOHNSON:
Margaret Ellen Johnson was born on 30
October 1879 in Queensland.
She married Clarence Theodore Elphick.
BERTHA MAY JOHNSON:
Bertha May Johnson was born on 27 May 1881
in Queensland.
She married James Blechynden.
Bertha died in 1921.
She left 19 descendants in the Bridgetown
area of Western Australia.
A postcard has survived written in the
handwriting of Frederick Flower Godschall Johnson, addressed to his
granddaughter Miss Ellar Blechynden on her first birthday.
The postcard bears a one penny Western
Australia stamp. It is addressed to Miss Ellar Blechynden, Springfield, Upper
Blackwood, via Bridgetown.
It reads:
M B Wied
Many happy Returns of the 1st little Birthday. Best love to
Mummy, Con, & Daddy. Look out for a little parcel by this mail & if it
doesn't come - let me know
Garfarner
At Bunbury was the old house Sunnymead where Frederick Flower and
Isabella Godschall Johnson lived for many years, and where a number of their
grandchildren were born.
VIOLET JOHNSON:
Violet Johnson was born on 4 September
1882, at Emerald, in Central Queensland,
and was a twin to her sister May Johnson.
Violet Johnson married Robert Williams.
Violet died in 1962.
She and her sister May kept up
correspondence with May Thornton in England.
MAY JOHNSON:
May Johnson was born on 4 September 1882,
at Emerald in Central Queensland, and was a twin to her sister Violet Johnson.
May Johnson married Charles Victor Draper.
May died in 1963 and left descendants.
CONSTANCE EMA GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
Constance Emma Godschall Johnson was born
in 1885 in Victoria.
Constance Emma Godschall Johnson married
George James Chidgzey.
Constance died in 1938, and left
descendants.
JESSIE SARAH GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
Jessie Sarah Godschall Johnson was born in
1886 at Brighton, in the State of Victoria.
She married Arthur Vincent Elphick.
Arthur Vincent and Jessie Sarah Godschall
Elphick, nee Godschall Johnson, had eight (8) children:
Walter
Arthur Frederick Elphick, born in 1913;
Doreen
Margaret Elphick, born in 1914;
William
Humphrey James Elphick, born in 1916;
Edgar
Basil Elphick, born in 1918;
Leonard
Harold Elphick, born in 1912;
Geoffrey
Edward Elphick, born in 1923;
Colin
Vincent Elphick, born in 1925;
Harold
Eustance Elphick, born in 1927.
Doreen Margaret Elphick married and had a
daughter, Margaret Kay, now Davey. Doreen died in 1982. Margaret has a daughter
Shirley, who lived in Adelaide.
Dr. Bob Elphick and his wife Dorothy and
family are descendants and live in Western Australia.
So too are William Humphrey James and Joy
Elphick who live at Mandurah in Western Australia.
There is also Frederick Edward (Ned) and
Patricia Elphick and their children and families. Ned and Patricia lived at
Bunbury.
MABEL CECELIA JOHNSON:
Mabel Cecelia Johnson was born in 1888 at
Cranbourne in Victoria.
She married Donavon Russell Elphick.
Mabel died in 1979.
She had a daughter Poppy who married
Ernest Knight.
CHARLES GEORGE JOHNSON:
Charles George Johnson was born in 1889 at
Brunswick in Victoria.
He married Jean Cunningham.
They had a daughter, Betty Johnson, now
Oaks, and a son, Robert Clinton Johnson, and he has a son Clinton, and grandson
Jai.
Robert, Clinton and family live in
Adelaide.
Robert, Clinton and Jai are changing their
names by deed poll to include the name Godschall.
Betty lives in Perth
Charles died in 1953.
FREDERICK WILLIAM JOHNSON:
Frederick William Johnson was born in
1891.
Frederick
served in England during World War I, as did his brother Robert.
Frederick married Mabel Constance Jarvis.
Frederick died in 1964.
ROBERT GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
Robert Godschall Johnson was born in 1894
in Gisborne, Victoria.
He served during World War I in England as
did his brother Frederick.
Robert married Agnes McDermott.
They had a daughter Jean Alice, who had
four children and ten grandchildren.
Robert Godschall Johnson died in 1961, his
wife Agnes in 1960.
CHAPTER XX
WILLIAM BUTLER GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The fifth and youngest son of Ralph Edward
Godschall Johnson and Eleanor Butler, was William Butler Godschall Johnson.
William Butler Godschall Johnson was born
on 30 July 1849, at Worthing in England.
On 1 January 1877 he married Jessie Emma
Collins, at Thornhill Station in Queensland.
Jessie Collins was born on 7 March 1858,
the daughter of James Carden Collins and his wife Mary Helena Glennie.
James Carden Collins was the son of Thomas
Collins and his wife whose maiden name was Danvers.
Mary Helena Glennie was the daughter of
James Glennie and Susan White.
James Glennie was the son of William
Glennie and Mary Gardiner.
Thornhill Station was at the time of
William Butler Godschall Johnson's marriage to Jessie Collins, managed by her
father James Carden Collins, but owned by James Glennie and his wife Susan, his
wife's parents.
Jessie had an older sister, Mary Denvers
Collins, born 2 May 1856, and younger brothers Charles Henry Collins, born 7
December 1859, and Arthur Percy Collins, born 26 May 1861.
Arthur Percy Collins died on 14 August
1862, and Charles Henry Collins died on 9 March 1963.
Mary Helena Collins, nee` Glennie, died on
6 December 1870 of pneumonia; her father died on 10 September 1876, but her
mother live to a considerable age, dying 8 April 1898, well over 90 years of
age.
Note that a Sophia Pamela Collins, nee`
Danvers, died in 1863. She was the daughter of James Danvers and Elizabeth
Andrew.
She may have been James Carden's Collins
mother, and accordingly one of Jessie Collin's grandmothers, the other being
Susan Glennie, nee` White.
After Mary Helena Collins, nee` Glennie,
died, in 1870, her widower husband, James Carden Collins later remarried Susan
Jane Cox Pugh, and had further children: Florence Montgomery Collins, born 2
April 1871, Arthur John Collins, born 26 March 1873, Ellen Margaret Cox Collins,
born 27 December 1874, and Carden Noad Collins, born 12 August 1876.
Alfred Carden Collins died 17 June 1871,
and Florence Montgomery Collins died 1 December 1871.
William Butler Godschall Johnson says
that, when he married Jessie in 1877, she was on Thornleigh Station. He also
said that when his first wife Mary Helena Collins, nee` Glennie died, (1870),
her father married again and was appointed manager of Torrilea Station, as
Thornleigh really belonged to his first wife's parents James and Susan Glennie,
and that other grandsons Fred and Frank carried on the work of Thornleigh.
However the 1868 Postal Directory shows
James Carden Collins as "superintendent Toorilla, Yaamba". This was
two years before his first wife's death.
Thornleigh is about 50 miles out of
Bundaberg, on the now Bruce Highway.
William Butler Godschall Johnson and
Jessie Emma Collins had a very large family indeed, namely of ten children:
Mary
Eleanor Godschall Johnson, born on 4 December 1877,
Jessie
Glennie Godschall Johnson, born on 29 April 1879,
Cholmondeley
Edward Godschall Johnson, born on 19 May 1881,
Maud
Alice Godschall Johnson, born on 20 October 1883,
Evelyn
Mabel Godschall Johnson, born on 9 October 1886,
William
Virgil Godschall Johnson, born on 4 January 1890,
Eric
Lesleigh Godschall Johnson, born on 26 December 1892,
Cardew
Hamilton Godschall Johnson, born on 23 June 1894,
Robert
Earl Godschall Johnson, born on 19 July 1896,
Phyllis
Muriel Godschall Johnson, born on 16 September 1901.
In the 1895 Postal Directory, William
Butler Godschall Johnson is shown as residing, without any further annotation,
at Ingham. Succeeding postal directories show the same curt reference, but the
1901 one expands it to manager of Stoneleigh Station at Ingham. Stoneleigh
Station was at the head of the Stone River, and was a cattle station he managed
at that time. His whereabouts throughout his life can best be gained from a
reading of his own life story, which has been included in its entirety.
It was at Stoneleigh Station that his
eldest daughter, Mary Eleanor Godschall Johnson was to marry her cousin Ralph
Godschall Johnson, in 1897, and also his second daughter, Jessie Glennie
Godschall Johnson, was, in 1904, to marry Thomas Joseph Good Atkinson.
William Butler Godschall Johnson died in
1935. He performed the duties of a Justice of the Peace for most of his life,
which in the country, meant taking turns at sitting on the local Justice's
bench. He would have been a prominent figure in the local community. He left an
interesting account of his life, written by him in 1935 and addressed to May
Thornton in England:
In my last days I give you an outline of my life up to the
present. Perhaps a few details and incidents during that time may interest you.
I will begin with my earliest recollections. I don't remember ever seeing my
mother - she must have died when I was very young.
My first recollection was a small boarding school at Chilton,
Candover, a parish between Winchester and Basingstoke, where the Rev. Thornton
was rector.
My brother Frank was at school with me. I think I must have
been about four years old. We used to go to the Rectory for our holidays, which
was, if I remember rightly, about a mile from the school, and where my two
sisters Ellen and Fanny lived with the Thornton family, and were taught by
their governess.
I don't remember about my brother Fred. He must have been sent
to Ireland before that, to Uncle Fred and Aunt Fanny.
I do not remember seeing my father and his two eldest sons, Ralph
and Charley - they must have come to Australia, before that.
I must have been at that school for 7 years because in 1860, my
two sisters, my brother Frank and myself were sent off to Australia in the old
sailing ship Vimiera. On board was the first Anglican Bishop, Bishop
Tufnell, and a number of clergy, to come to Queensland.
It was just after Separation from New South Wales. The Governor
who had just arrived was Sir George Bowen.
Some very fine English gentlemen formed the first Parliament of
Queensland about this time - very different from the present regime.
My father was the Assistant Clerk of the first Legislative
Council. He was a fine old Englishman, and was called Gentlemen Johnson.
He held that position until he died in 1876.
His greatest friend in Brisbane was the Honourable Douglas
Hamilton, a younger brother of the then Duke.
Mr. Hamilton had a run with a herd of cattle about 40 miles
from Brisbane, where he resided with his wife and family. His family consisted
of 3 sons and 2 daughters.
A nephew, Algernon Hamilton, was also staying with them.
At the time I was staying there, he married the eldest
daughter, Ida. Afterwards he became Duke. I think his son is the present Duke.
This is by the way. I am telling you this because the three sons of Douglas
Hamilton and I became great friends, and 2 of them were associated with me a
few years after, Alexander (Sandy) and Pat.
My sister Fanny married one of the clergy, John Sutton, and
they went to live in Gladstone where John was Parish Priest.
I met my father when we first arrived and I went to school for
a year.
This was the first time I saw my father, and my brother, Ralph,
came to see us when we were there.
Charley had been lost in the bush and was never seen again.
After a year at school, I went to the Suttons at Gladstone.
Aunt Jane Cholmondeley gave them some money, and John took up
some country about 80 miles from Gladstone. There I had to shepherd the sheep
and sleep near the yard at night to keep the wild dogs (dingos) away.
The blacks were not too safe in those days, and I got a great
fright one night. I was asleep on the ground under my blanket, (but no roof
over me), and my sheep dog was lying beside me. I woke up with a weight on me,
and a struggling mass on by blanket. I found some wild dogs were attacking my
sheep dog on top of me. I did not know then that the dingo does not attack
human beings, and I was very afraid.
In 1864, I got a job on a cattle station and started work on my
own account. I should like to tell you a few incidents that happened while I
was working on that station, "Kolonga", whose owner Mr. Holt, was
very kind to me.
He (Mr. Holt), taught me to ride, milk, and do all kinds of
cattle work.
One day, while working in the yard, a wild cow, instead of
running out of the yard as the gate was opened, charged me, caught me on her
horns, and dashed me against the fence. I did not recover consciousness until
the next day. I was very badly bruised, but there was no serious injury.
On another occasion I was training to ride some of the horses
in a race, and, as I was a little too heavy, I had to reduce weight by sitting
in an improvised Turkish bath - a chair, with a pail of hot water underneath -
and covered by a blanket. A black fellow covered me up, head and all, and he
went away. Mr. Holt came on soon after, and, seeing my head covered, pulled the
blankets off, to find that I had fainted; but I rode the race the next day and
won.
There were very few women folk on stations in those days, but
the Carden Collins station was an exception. It was about 15 miles from
Kolonga. The family consisted of 3 sons and 3 daughters: Minnie, Jessie (who
afterwards became my wife), and Mabel, the youngest.
They used to give parties sometimes, and we used to ride over and
dance nearly all night, and then ride home and start work again.
That is how I came to know my dear wife, when she was a young
girl.
My brother, Frank, was on a station called Miriam Vale, about
40 miles from Kolonga, and was therefore 25 miles from Thornhill - the Carden
Collins station, and we often used to go there to the dances. This was in the
60's (1860s).
The only noticeable event that happened out of the ordinary was
the capture of a bushranger called the "Wild Scotsman", who was not a
very bloodthirsty man, but had robbed the mail a few times. The mail was from
Gladstone to Maryborough, by horse once a week, and on two occasions, Mr. Holt
and I, armed to the teeth, escorted the mailman to the neighbouring station on
the Maryborough road. The manager there escorted him a little further.
The second time we went, the manager of that station, called
Monduroo, saw a man waiting on the road ahead who, when he saw the escort with
the mailman, went off into the bush.
The manager, Mr Nott and his man gave chase and caught the
bushranger, for it was he. He was in a destitute condition, having lost his
ammunition, and he had no food with him.
It is remarkable, but that manager, Mr. Nott, later married my
wife's aunt, and got a station of his own west of Rockhampton. His wife, who is
older than I am, is still alive and has children and grandchildren.
About 1864, I think, my sister married your grandfather, and he
bought a share in a sheep station, but sold out in a year or two and went up to
Bowen.
About a year later, my brother came to Australia and I saw him
for the first time.
In 1870, my brother Frank started for the far north of
Queensland, where he took up country and made money for a few years.
Afterwards, he went to Brisbane, married there, went into business and lost all
his money. He got a billet as Government Stock Inspector in the west of
Queensland, where he lived for some years, and he died out there. His family
consisted of 2 girls and 2 boys.
His eldest son, Harold, when he was about 22, was living in
Winton, a western town, took a horse out to a paddock a short distance away. A
thunder storm coming in, he sat down under a tree for shelter, when a flash of
lightning struck the tree and killed him instantly.
The other boy I have never seen, but believe he is still out in
the western country.
The 2 girls are married and living near Atherton. I often see
them. The elder has no children; the younger, Eleanor, has one daughter about
19.
When Frank was travelling north he got three boys from the
blacks near Mackay, and, calling at Townsville, he got them some clothes, and
had their photos taken. I will send you the old photo, taken about 1871, of the
three boys. Only Alec, the small boy on the left, is alive. Frank handed him
over to me when he went to Brisbane, and he has been attached to me ever since.
He is now a very decrepit old man.
This can't be such a very unhealthy climate; my wife's
grandmother lived till she was over 90, and Glen's mother-in-law Mrs. Atkinson,
died here at 93 years of age.
In 1870, I left the station I was working on, and went droving
- that is, taking cattle from one part of tthe country to another, perhaps
hundreds or even thousands of miles.
I took a mob of bullocks from Rodds Bay near Gladstone to a
station between Bowen and Mackay called Bloomsbury, and when I came back from
the droving trip to N.S.W., he wrote asking me to go up north and buy a mob of
500 cattle for him, and deliver to Bloomsbury, which I did.
As I was passing Bowen, I rode in and called at the house. Your
father, a small boy, came out to the gate and asked me to give him a ride on my
horse. I put him on the horse which i thought would be quiet, but never having
a child on his back, he began to buck and threw Johnny before I could take him
off. Fortunately, he was not hurt, only frightened.
My brother Ralph, was sent down to take care of father's
interests there - Bloomsbury - Ralph had been lately married and he took his
wife to Bloomsbury with him, where his son Ralph was born, and what seems a
strange coincidence, young Ralph and I should, after about 60 years, become
interested in Bloomsbury again.
There is a railroad station and small village at Bloomsbury
now, and Ralph and his sons took up a sugar farm there and asked me to join
them. I did so, but sold out to him later.
After delivering the cattle to Bloomsbury, I went back to my
old district, and after droving here and there for a year or two, got the
management of Moolboolaman station, as the owner, Mr. Barton, was going home to
England to get married. (The Mr. Barton mentioned here was Augustus Purling Barton)
I stayed with him for some years. He brought his wife out, but
I stayed on.
He went to England again in 1876, and I got married while he
was there, on 1st January 1877, to Jessie Collins of Thornhill, about 30 miles
away.
The day before the wedding, I had to ride 90 miles. One of my fiancé’s trustees
lived 30 miles from Moolboolaman, and I heard at the last minute that I must get
his consent in writing before I could get married, so I started early in the
morning and rode the 30 miles to the Trustee's station, then riding back to
Moolboolaman and then 30 miles to Thornhill.
In 1879, Mr. Barton returned from England and took full charge,
so I left and stayed for a short time at Thornhill.
At about that time your grandmother left for the south on her
way to England.
A few years before this, my wife's mother and eldest brother
died at Thornhill: the former from pneumonia, and the brother from a fall from
a horse.
Her father married again, and was appointed manager of Torrilea
station; Thornhill really belonged to my wife's grandparents, Mr. & Mrs.
Glennie, and the other 2 grandsons, Fred and Frank, carried on the work of the
station.
After leaving Thornhill, we took up a block of country about 40
miles north of Rockhampton, and put cattle on it.
My eldest daughter, Mary, was then 2 years old, and there, Glen
was born, 29th April, 1879.
I sold out of there and got the management of a station
adjoining Thornhill, called Warra. This was about 55 miles from Gladstone,
where I had to go sometimes on business. I used to drive in a buggy with 4
horses, and would often take Mary with me, strapped on the seat beside me, as
she was only a little over three years old.
Old Mrs. Glennie was very proud of her great grandchildren, but
Glen was of course the favourite. We often used to visit there. The old lady
used to say in comparing the children: the difference is that Glen is a Glennie
and Mary is a Johnson.
Glen could do no wrong, even when one day she caught 2 of the
old lady's little turkeys and held them under the water in a tub to see the
bubbles come up.
Cholmondeley was born there.
In 1882, I thought I could do better for myself by going into
business - a fatal mistake. I bought a share in an auctioneering business but
was not suited for that sort of life.
I bought a farm about 8 miles out of Brisbane, and used to
drive in every day to business, and take the 2 girls and Cholm to school.
Maude, Mabel and Virgil were all born here.
About 1887 gold was discovered at Croydon, and, as I had failed
in business, Pat Hamilton and I went to try our fortune, over 1000 miles away.
We got a little gold, but not much. The climate was very unhealthy, and we both
got malaria there. I recovered but poor Pat died.
I went back to Brisbane, and, in 1888, started bee culture, and
tried to make good on the farm, but unsuccessfully.
I was then offered a billet of droving a number of bulls to a
station near Ingham called Stoneleigh. That took three months. I only had two
blackboys with me, Alec and Larry, the boys my brother Frank brought down from
the north, and whose photos I sent you.
A very remarkable incident of faith cure happened on the way. I
must tell you first, that a few months before leaving Brisbane, Alec was in the
Brisbane hospital suffering from hydatids on the liver, but seemed to be well
on leaving, but after being on the road for sometime, the swelling over his
liver showed again, and one day his horse falling on him, the swelling must
have burst inside, and the boy was very sick. We went close to a station called
Borralee, and I asked the owner to allow me to stay for a day or two to give
the boy a rest, but he seemed to get worse.
The blacks on the station told Alec that a few miles away was a
camp of blacks, with a very good medicine man among them, and Alec was sure
that if he could get there, the medicine man would cure him.
So I arranged to take him to the camp, and watch the operation,
which was as follows: the man laid the boy on his back on the ground, and with
a long needle, put the point over the place where the swelling had been, but
did not ever break the skin, then he put his mouth to the place and sucked for
a time then spat out a piece of bad meat. Again sucking produced a piece of
chewed string, and next time a few nails. That completed the cure, and in two
days, the boy was well as ever.
The man must have been a bit of a conjurer, for, although I
watched very closely, I did not see how he got all those things into his mouth,
for he was quite naked, and had nowhere to conceal things.
Alec is still alive, but past work.
When I got to Stoneleigh, I had word from Brisbane to take 1000
bullocks to N.S.W., and that took me another seven months, so it was about
October 1891 before I got home again.
Then the Queensland Investment Co. offered me the management of
Stoneleigh, so I sold out everything in Brisbane and took all the family,
consisting of Mother and 6 children, the youngest being Virgil.
After being there for a time, I wrote to Sandy Hamilton to come
up, and we rented a farm from the Colonial Sugar Refining Co., which Sandy
managed. We grew sugar cane for the company for some years.
The estate was about 20 miles from Stoneleigh, and Sandy was
often up staying with us. He was a very fine man and a great friend of ours.
We had some Kanakas working in the cane, and one of them got
very ill. Sandy nursed him through his illness, which turned out to be
tuberculosis, and I think Sandy must have contracted the disease then, for a
few years afterward, he developed T.B. and died, although he was a very strong
man, much stronger than me.
While I was at Stoneleigh, there was a man butchering at a tin
mine about 16 miles away, and I knew he was stealing cattle, so I was there one
night and watched his yard all night, and just at daylight I saw him come down
to the yard and shoot the animals, so the man who was with me, and I ran down
to the yard and I said "Whose cow is that?" - he said "it isn't
yours".
Anyhow I looked at the brand, and saw that it belonged to a
neighbouring station, from whom I had authority to act, so I took the hide
straight to the police in Ingham, with the information.
The case came up for trial at Townsville, and the man got off
scott free, through some legal technicality, and the barrister who defended him
told the jury that I was no better than a bushranger, robbing the poor man of
his beef.
In 1895, the tick pest began to make its appearance. This is an
insect introduced into the Northern Territory by buffalo, which caused a
disastrous fever called Redwater, and killed thousands of cattle.
When the ticks first arrived there were 12,000 cattle on the
station, and after two years, there were only a little over 1,000.
All sorts of experiments were tried to relieve the cattle, but
it was only after three years, it was discovered, that dipping the stock in a
solution of arsenic would relieve them of the ticks, and after a time, the
stock became immune to the disease, but we still have to continue dipping to
relieve them of tick worry.
While we were at Stoneleigh, Eric, Carden, Earle, and Phyllis
were born, the latter in 1901, the year we left.
Mary was married to Ralph while we were at Stoneleigh in 1897.
They went south to Melbourne, and in 1899 went home to England,
taking Glen with them.
Glen also married at Stoneleigh in 1901 to Tom Atkinson, and
went to Kangaroo Hills station, of which Tom was a part owner.
We then went to the range near the tin mines, and I bought some
mules and started packing goods up to the mines and tin back to Ingham.
We had nearly 100 goats (partly angora), which we used for milk
and mutton, and the children had a team of them to cart wood and water for our
house.
One day the goats were missing, and did not come home at night.
They were away for two days before the children found them on the top of a high
hill in the midst of a quantity of a poison plant called "Gastro tobrien
Grandiflora", and nearly 60 of the goats died. There was great weeping and
lamentations over the loss of a lot of their pets.
We did not stay long on the range; it was a very out of the way
place, and no wheeled vehicle could get up there, so everything had to be
carried on horseback; some very awkward things I had to pack, among them a
quantity of train rails.
We went to live in Ingham for a time, but I still continued my
packing business and made a fair amount of money.
It was while at Stoneleigh I was made a Magistrate of the
territory, and I still continue to sit as a Justice of the Peace.
Then an old pioneer called Stone left the district, and we
bought his estate called "The Grange". This is where the photo of the
whole family was taken under a very old fig tree in front of the house. This was
a very fine old place, with a quantity of fruit trees, mango, cumquats, guava,
brazilian cherries etc., but the soil was not much good for sugar growing.
There were a number of snakes about this country, and one day,
I heard a commotion outside and someone calling me; I ran out and found Mabel
holding a death adder down with a rake, so I soon despatched him. On another
occasion, the boys were down in the field with their little fox terrier. the
little dog ran after a big brown snake, which turned and bit the dog and then
disappeared into a hole. The boys picked up the dog and started to carry it
home, but the poor little thing died before they got to the house. The death
adder and the brown snake are the most venomous snakes we have in Queensland.
When we first went to the Grange, the boys used to ride all the
way to Ingham to school every day, a distance of 10 miles.
Afterwards the Government built a school about four miles away
which made things easier for them.
Then one of the teachers, a Miss Jones, came to stay with us,
which enabled Phyllis to go in a small trap, which we lent the teacher. One
night Virgil and Eric were driving along the road after dark, to some
performance at the school, when they met some lads galloping along the road,
one of whom rode straight at the vehicle they were driving, the shaft of which
entered the chest of the lads horse, killing him (the horse) instantly. The lad
got a bad fall but was not seriously hurt.
About this time I took a contract to erect some miles of fencing
on a selection about 95 miles from Gunnawarra station, so I engaged a couple of
men and took my dray and horses and travelled up the 130 miles and camped at
the place where the fence was to be erected.
I had a small tent to myself, and the men had another a small
distance away. One night I was rudely awakened by something biting my nose. I
knocked it off and struck a match, and there close by was a native cat with all
its bristles on end looking very angry. It ran away before I could get anything
to hit it with, and I had the marks of its teeth on my nose for some time
after. The native cat is a small animal, not quite as big as a rabbit. They are
very savage, but I never heard of them attacking anyone unless cornered.
On another occasion, riding home with my son Eric and a
blackboy, through the bush in very wet weather, we came to a plain covered with
water, on which were some lagoons, which could not be distinguished owing to
the quantity of water.
Suddenly our horses lost footing and began to swim. The
blackboy and horse swam well and reached footing first. My horse swam well, but
Eric and his horse disappeared under the water. I let my horse go with the idea
of helping Eric, but he came to the surface quickly and swam off better than I
could as I was hampered with a waterproof coat, which got round my legs, and I
should have certainly drowned had not the blackboy managed to reach me and pull
me into the shallow water. In swimming horses, one generally gets out of the
saddle, holds on to the horse's mane, and lies flat on the water, and the horse
will carry one a good long distance in that way.
While we were living at the Grange, a Mr. and Mrs. Dyott, with
an infant daughter came and stayed a few days with us. They came out from
England, globetrotting, and strange to say, while I am writing this, 23 years
afterwards, the same people, with 2 grown up daughters and a girl friend, have
come to stay at Gunnawarra for a few weeks, to see bush life. Glen heard they
were in Cairns and invited them to come and stay awhile. They intend going from
here to Hong Kong on their way home to England, so we are a very big party now.
But to get back to the Grange; we lived there growing sugar for
about 10 years.
Virgil and Carden enlisted from there in 1915 I think, and in
1918 we left the Grange to Cholmondeley and came to Atherton and started dairy
farming, sending our cream to a factory close by.
I went up first on to the farm that belonged to Glen and her
husband. The house had been unoccupied for some time and was very dirty. I was
not at all comfortable, all by myself, as cats used to race through the house
squealing at all hours of the night and opossums walking on the ceiling
sounding like a man's footsteps, making me think of ghosts; especially as I was
told that the place was haunted, the former owner having had a man killed
there.
Afterwards, I hired a man to work for me, and he was taking
some iron off a roof of an outhouse when he fell through to the ground, on to
some iron, and was killed.
Eric got married about that time and took up a farm, with the
assistance of Tom Atkinson, about 12 miles from us, and also went in for
dairying.
The boys came back from the War in 1918, and came and stayed
with us for a time, then Carden went to Ingham and joined Cholm.
Virgil and Earle took up a dairy farm near Malanda, about seven
miles from us. They had very hard work clearing heavy timber off the land, and
Earle was nearly killed by a tree falling on him and fracturing his skull. They
had to carry him a long way before they could get to a road leading to a
hospital, and it was a very long time before he truly recovered.
The farm is just now beginning to repay them for all their
work.
While on the subject of accidents, I must record a terribly sad
one that happened to a lad some few years ago. He was riding one day in the
bush and, passing a dead tree with a small hole in it out of which he saw a
very pretty parrot emerge. The hole was too high for him to reach it while
sitting on his horse, so he stood on his saddle and inserted his arm into the
hole, trying to reach the young birds. Something startled his horse, which
moved off, leaving the boy suspended by his arm, which he could not extricate.
The horse went home and a search party went out. They found the poor boy next
day, still suspended and covered with blood. He evidently managed to get his
knife from his pocket and tried to cut his arm off - no doubt bleeding would
have caused his death.
We lived in Atherton for some years dairying in partnership
with my son-in-law Lex Clark-Kennedy, till 1923, when my dear wife died.
I then went to Mackay and took up a sugar farm with my nephew
Ralph Johnson, where I lived for 3 years.
Then I lost my farm, and also the sight of one of my eyes
through an unskilful operation. I was in hospital in Brisbane for some time,
then I came up to Gunnawarra to Glen, where I have lived ever since.
In the early seventies (1870's), I was head man under the owner
on a station in the Burnett district. The owner, we will call him, Mr. Brown,
was a fine old English gentleman, very short-sighted and very eccentric. In those days we used generally to employ,
beside the stockmen, a married couple - the wife to do the cooking and house
work and the man to milk, get firewood and make himself useful. It was a
strange thing, but we seldom got a couple who were both good, At the time I
speak of, we had a couple, the woman was very good, but the man was impudent
and lazy, and the boss disliked him very much.
One day I took a pair of boots out to the kitchen and told the
man to clean them. He refused to do so, saying he was not there to clean boots
and was very impudent. I did not say much to him as his wife was present, but I
waited till I saw him go out to the dairy which was about 20 yards away. I
followed him in and asked him what he meant by refusing to clean my boots. He
told me something rude and impudent, so I boxed his ears. Come outside he said
and I'll show you. At this moment, the boss came down and was rubbing his hands
and calling out "give it to him my boy, give it to him." I had just
finished him off, with a broken nose and two bloody eyes, and knocked him down
to the ground, when his wife came running to his aid from the kitchen with a broom
stick waving in our direction, whence Mr. Brown and I fled. Needless to say,
the couple gave us notice at once.
On another occasion, a blackfellow whom he had in our employ
bolted just after he had been given a nice suit of clothes, consisting of a
good shirt and a pair of moleskin trousers. The boss said "you go after
him my boy, and give him a good hiding and bring back the clothes".
So off I went to a neighbouring station, where a friend of
mine, Jack Dee by name, was in charge. He told me that Paddy the nigger was in
a camp across the creek, so after tea,
Jack and I went over. Jack had a new pair of spurs on which tripped him up as
they had very long reeks, so he took them off and carried them in his hand. He
also had a small pistol carrying a bullet in it about the size of a pea. We
found Paddy sitting by the fire quite naked. I said: "where are those
clothes?'. He pointed to the ground where he had been sitting.
I then proceeded to give him a hiding, as I thought, but there
was no-one there to referee, so Paddy closed with me, and, being much stronger,
threw me on the ground and proceeded to choke me, when Jack came behind and
jammed both spurs into Paddy' naked ribs. Paddy must have wondered what had
bitten him for he jumped up and ran for his life, and a shot from Jack's pistol
no doubt gave him a bigger fright. My throat was sore for days, but I took the
clothes back to Mr. Brown who was very pleased and asked me if I had given
Paddy a good hiding. I said that I had tried to.
I recall an incident which happened while on my way up to
purchase cattle for your grandfather - the aboriginals in those days were very
troublesome, murdering people and spearing cattle. I had a man with me and we
were camped by the fire, when about 10 o'clock at night we were awakened by
terrible shrieks nearby. I immediately jumped up, fired a shot with my revolver
and we took our blankets back into the darkness, thinking that the blacks were
upon us. We took turns to watch for the remainder of the night, but nothing
further happened. I learned afterwards that some men were camped some distance
away and they had a Kanaka with them. The Kanaka wandered away in the night and
came running back to their camp saying he had been attacked by blacks. I think
that when he saw our fire, he thought we were blacks, and the rest was pure
imagination on the part of the Kanaka. The shot from the revolver may have
frightened him also.
At Eolonga, the native dogs (dingo), were very numerous. One
night I went up to the yard where we had killed a bullock for beef to see if I
could shoot a dingo with a little pistol I had - about six inches long and
carried a bullet about the size of a pill. I was lying down against the fence
peeping over the bottom rail, when an old dingo walked past on the other side of
the fence, but within a yard or two of me. I shut my eyes, and fired, and the
dingo snapped, and snapped, I thought, at me, and I jumped to the top of the
fence very quickly. I thought afterwards that he was snapping at his wound, for
I had hit him in a vital place and found him dead next day. Mr. Holt was a very
kind man, and took a great liking to me, and I used to play some harmless
little tricks. Once riding alone with him on the road to the station, he was
riding a horse with a very short tail, and I got a stick of grass-tree and put
it under his horse's tail. The horse started bucking furiously but Mr. Holt was
a splendid horseman and was not thrown.
He only laughed at the joke when I told him.
There was a great friend of Mr. Holts living on the station, a
Doctor Sewell, a very gentlemanly man and a clever doctor,; he used to visit
all the neighbouring stations when required, but his great failing was drink. I
was sent to a neighbouring station to bring the Doctor to attend a sick man.
When I got there, I found the Doctor very drunk, as the manager had just
brought out a jar of spirits. However, I got the horses up and saddled them,
and got the doctor on to his horse, which started bucking, throwing the old
doctor, and breaking his arm near the elbow, His arm remained stiff ever
afterwards.
On another occasion I was sent for him again and found him in
the same state again, but I got him safely away. When we got about 4 miles on
the road, he stuck his spurs into the horse, which threw him, and he lay
insensible upon the ground.
I dragged him to the
shade of a tree, and saw that his arm was broken again, with a compound
fracture, the bone sticking out through the skin. I galloped back to the
station and they sent a buggy out and took him in. He always had a stiff arm to
the day of his death, He died many years later at Dunwich, a home for indigent
old men on an island in Moreton Bay near Brisbane.
CHAPTER XXI
MARY ELEANOR GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The first child to be born to William
Butler and Jessie Emma Godschall Johnson, nee` Collins, was Mary Eleanor
Godschall Johnson.
Mary Eleanor Godschall Johnson was born in
1878.
In 1897, Mary Eleanor Godschall Johnson
married her cousin Ralph Godschall Johnson at Stoneleigh Station.
They had a large family of ten children
Mary Eleanor Godschall Johnson was to die
on 12 May 1921, at Mackay in North Queensland.
CHAPTER XXII
JESSIE GLENNIE GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The second child to be born to William
Butler and Jessie Emma Godschall Johnson, nee` Collins, was Jessie Glennie
Godschall Johnson.
Jessie Glennie Godschall Johnson was born
in 1879.
In 1904 she married at Stoneleigh Station,
Thomas Joseph Good Atkinson.
Thomas Joseph Good Atkinson was the son of
James Atkinson and Catherine Good.
James Atkinson was born near Belfast,
Ireland, in 1824, but was of Scottish descent. Two brothers, John and William
Atkinson, who had married two Scottish sisters, emigrated from Scotland to
Ireland about 1660 at the time of the Restoration of the Monarchy. They
received land grants in what was known as the Plantation of Ulster, and started
the Irish linen industry, leaving a long line of descendants.
James Atkinson was the youngest of eleven
Irish born children, to Henry Atkinson and Jane Glendenning, and in his
twenties, was an officer in the British army, stationed at Farnham, south of
London. After his father's death, an allowance he had been receiving ceased. He
felt that he did not have sufficient means to keep up his Army life, and
hearing of bright prospects in Australia, arrived in Victoria in the early
1850's. He made sufficient money at the Victorian goldfields to invest in a
small property near Port Fairy, Victoria, where his cousin, another James
Atkinson had received a grant of 5000 acres at five shillings an acre,
consisting of the whole of Port Fairy, which he named Belfast. This was in
1839, when Victoria was still part of New South Wales.
His cousin James Atkinson, was a much
older man, and lived at Marion, Parramatta, outside Sydney. He effectively was
an absentee landlord in respect of his Port Fairy holdings.
James Atkinson had ten brothers and
sisters. Five emigrated to Victoria. One brother, Robert Atkinson, had three
properties near Port Fairy. His home was called Moynalla. He died unmarried, and left his properties to the three
sons of James Atkinson (Henry, Robert and Tom, (being the Thomas we are
concerned with here)).
James Atkinson married Catherine Good in
Victoria in 1860.
Catherine, or Kate, Good, had arrived in
Victoria from Ireland to housekeep for a bachelor brother, John Good, who, in
the 1850's, had established a shorthorn stud called Jnjemira, a part of which is still owned by descendants.
They had their first child, Elizabeth
Catherine Atkinson, at Tower Hill, Port Fairy, in 1861.
In 1864, James and Kate Atkinson, with
three year old daughter, Elizabeth, made the long overland trek by bullock
drays to Bowen in North Queensland.
Their next child, a boy, Henry John
Atkinson, was born at Firth's Lagoon, on the Burdekin River on 12 July 1864.
In partnership with a hardy pioneer Ezra
Firth, James took up Mount Surprise, the most northerly run at the time.
There, James and Kate had further
children, Robert James Atkinson, on 16 December 1866, and Joseph Thomas Good
Atkinson (whose preferred to be known as Thomas Joseph Good Atkinson), on 19
September 1869, both born on Mt. Surprise Station.
Said Glenville Pike in Pioneers' Country:
The Firth and Atkinson families were in the forefront of the
migration of the pioneers northward. James Atkinson joined Ezra Firth and his
family on the northward trail and he and Firth were partners on Mt. Surprise
Station in early times. James Atkinson established Farnham near Ingham in 1871
and bought Wairuna about ten years later. He founded a dynasty of pastoralists.
James Atkinsons' partner on Mt. Surprise
Station was Ezra Firth. Ezra Firth was a former stonemason from Yorkshire,
embued with a spirit of adventure, headed for the northernmost frontier of the
infant Colony as fast as his sheep could walk and his bullocks could pull his
dray. The Moreton Bay District became the colony of Queensland, and the
northernmost outpost of Bowen was established in 1861, and so, on moved Ezra
Firth to the limits. For two years the Firths lived by a lonely lagoon on the
headwaters of the Burdekin River (later known as Firth's Lagoon), then moved on
over the Divide on to Gulf waters and took up Mt. Surprise - so called because
of the sound of the drays bumping over the basalt boulders startled a tribe of
Aborigines who fled into the scrub on the mountain. It was then 1864.
It was from Fossilbrook, an outstation on
Mt. Surprise, that in June 1872, an exploring party led by William Hann
(pioneer of Maryvale and Bluff Downs), set out with a party of five men,
including surveyor Frederick Warner, a team of packhorses, and five months
supplies, furnished by the government of the day, to explore this remote
region. Hann crossed and named the Walsh, Tate, Palmer, Normanby, Kennedy,
Stewart, Hearn (Laura), Bloomfield, and other rivers. Hann reported excellent
grazing country on the Lower Walsh River and Elizabeth Creek, which led to the
arrival of a hardy Scot who had been a former commanding Officer in the
Queensland Rifles, named A. C. Grant, in 1874, the first pioneer thereon, who
selected the country for Henderson and Skene of Havilah Station, inland from
Bowen, and entering into partnership with them, returned late the same year with
700 head of cattle and occupied the run to become known as Wrotham Park.
It also should be mentioned that Mt.
Surprise figured in the fifth expedition of James Venture Mulligan in April
1875, which was financed by the Government. They had set out from Cooktown,
crossed the McLeod River, a headwater of the Mitchell, discovered the Barron
River, passed the future site of Mareeba, crossed the wild River, rode over the
future site of Herberton, noted the tin deposits in the Wild, and followed the
Wild down to the Herbert River, and finished up at Mt. Surprise before heading
back to Cooktown.
Ezra Firth, by the way, is later noted,
during the pastoral reverses of the 1870's, for accompanying the bullock-dray
taking his wool-clip to Townsville, walking 200 miles barefoot, because, with
wool prices then at 6d a pound, there had been no money to spare from the
previous clip to stock up on boots.
But going back to the start of the
pastoral rush in 1861, most of the good grazing country in the newly opened
Burdekin district was taken up during the first year, 1861, the land was thrown
open.
That is why Ezra Firth had to cool his
heels for a while on third-rate land near the top of the Burdekin.
The fertile Valley of the Lagoons had been
secured early by the explorer who had opened up the Burdekin, George
Elphinstone Dalrymple. Lacking capital for its development he entered into
partnership with the Premier of Queensland, Robert Herbert, in this holding, on
the understanding that when the Premier visited England in 1862, he would
endeavour to attract capital investment in the property. This he did. and
formed a syndicate, which consisted of Dalrymple, Arthur Scott, who was 29
years of age, and eldest son of a rich English squire from Hampshire; his
brother Walter Scott, who borrowed five thousand pounds to put into the
venture, and the Queensland Premier, who was a sleeping partner.
It was said that the Scott brothers sailed
back to Queensland with Herbert in 1862.
The Valley of the Lagoons was situate west of where Ingham was
later to be situate, inland, and at the headwaters of the Burdekin. The race
for title to some of the new pastoral runs which opened up with the declaration
of the Kennedy District, had been fast and furious initially, but slowed down
when reality (the unsuitability of sheep, the distance to markets, aboriginal
attacks etc) set in, and from 1866, expansion ceased completely in the Kennedy
district, no new pastoral lease being taken up for 6 years from 1866.
After 1863, with the Burdekin watershed
almost all taken up, the Government declared new pastoral districts of Burke
and Cook open on 1 January 1864. This led to runs being taken up on the
Etheridge and the Einasleigh, and, with J. G. Macdonald leading a foray to the
Plains of Promise in October 1864, this touched off a rush to the Gulf country.
Most of these runs were taken up by squatters already operating in the Kennedy
district and were partly stocked from there.
All roads led to Bowen. Roads led south to
Rockhampton, southwest to Bowen Downs and the Barcoo, and northwest as far as
the new runs on the Etheridge. Bowen itself grew into a town of some substance
with its own jetty, municipal council, and newspaper, the Port Denison Times.
Dalrymple dropped out of his interest in
the Valley of the Lagoons, around 1864, to become first member of Parliament
for the Kennedy District in 1865.
It was said that James Atkinson attempted
to occupy the run on its being vacated by Dalrymple in 1865, but that he was
been beaten to it by two days by the Scotts. That appears a family legend which
appears unsupported by facts.
The Scotts were in North Queensland by
1863 and definitely by January 1864, for in that month, George Dalrymple and
Arthur Scott took charge of an official expedition by sea to Rockingham Bay,
later named Cardwell, and was successful in blazing a trail up the Seaview
Range to the Valley of the Lagoons, thus giving their Station a shorter and
more convenient outlet. They were granted by the Government over 2000 pounds in
expenses in opening Cardwell as a port, which is only natural seeing the
Premier had an interest in the run. Robert Towns was endeavouring to open
Townsville as a port about the same time.
After the successful blazing of a track to
the Valley of the Lagoons they returned to Cardwell with a small mob of cattle.
On the way they had seen some very good country at the foot of the Seaview
Range which they named "Herbert Vale". Herbert Vale was taken
up by them and Henry Stone appointed as manager there. Henry Stone was to
return to manage the Valley of the Lagoons in 1870. In 1873 the Palmer Valley
gold rush enabled the Valley of the Lagoons to get rid of the last of their
sheep for good profits to ravenous gold seekers.
Walter Scott died in 1890, aged 55. He had
been managing partner of the firm of Scott brothers. Incidentally, before he
came to Australia in 1862, he had undertaken a term as secretary to the
Governor of Mauritius.
Arthur Scott died in England in 1895. He
was survived by his wife Mary, sister to the 3rd Duke of Wellington, and had
been county alderman and deputy lieutenant of the County of Hants.
Younger brother Charles inherited his
estate.
Charles intended selling the Valley as
soon as possible, and sold to Fenwick and Ramsden who owned the neighbouring
Kangaroo Hills (later to be managed by Tom Atkinson before he bought
Gunnawarra). Fenwick and Ramsden exchanged Kangaroo Hills for Lake Lucy, then
owned by McDowall, which, with the Valley of the Lagoons, became one station. Fenwick
later bought out his partner, then in 1906 sold the Valley to Owen Micklem. It
was later sold to the Love Estate, eventually falling to the Atkinsons.
But concentrating on Gunnawarra for the
moment, it was in the year 1865, that the Scott brothers, Arthur Jervoise
Scott, Walter Jervoise Scott, and Charles James Scott, together with the
Premier Robert Herbert, applied for a lease on Gunnawarra Station to the north
of the Valley of the Lagoons. The term of the lease on Gunnawarra ran from 1
January 1866. Rent was payable on an area of 50 square miles, but, upon a
proper later survey, this was shown to be 80 square miles.
The lease to Gunnawarra was forfeited in
1869, and between 1873 and 1877 it was twice sold at auction and forfeited,
until March 1877, when it was purchased by William Baker. He in turn
transferred it to W. E. Ewan in 1878. In 1879, the lease was held in
partnership of Dangar, Bell, Bell and Ewan, and in 1888, it was transferred to
James Ewan.
In March 1887, Ewan applied to consolidate
the other nine leases he already held with Gunnawarra into one holding to be
known as Gunnawarra. Under the provisions of the Crown Lands Act of 1884, this
holding was then divided into two sections, James Ewan was granted a lease
commencing 1 July 1888 on an area of 391 square miles, and the remainder of the
holding, comprising 164 square miles, was resumed by the Crown.
James Ewan retained the lease of
Gunnawarra until his death, and Atkinson interests took it over.
Meanwhile, returning to the James Atkinson,
in 1870, James Atkinson left Mount Surprise, and his share of the sheep to Ezra
Firth. The Aborigines were savage and warlike. The Firth's homestead was
attacked and burnt. By 1870, he had decided that sheep breeding in the North
was a failure - grass seeds, dingoes, and wild blacks, made inroads into the
sheep and as there were no fences, the sheep had to be shepherded during the
day and yarded at night. Bowen had been for a long time the nearest port for
Mount Surprise, until Townsville had developed, and it had taken three months
to take the wool clip down and another three months by bullock dray with the
yearly rations, and wool was only bringing 5d per pound.
In 1870, James Atkinson moved to Ingham.
He took his wagon, all his horses and cattle and family and came down the
Seaview range, following a track that had been marked by blazes on trees about
six years before.
There he took up 1000 acres of land, and
freeholded it for 2/6d an acre. He decided to build his house on this Herbert
River land, and called it Farnham.
There were only two other white women in
Ingham at the time, besides Kate Atkinson: a Miss McKenzie, and a Mrs. Smith.
Miss McKenzie married a Mr. Stewart who ran the mail by boat from Cardwell to
Dungeness.
Ingham derived its name from William
Bairstow Ingham, who had arrived in Australia with sixty thousand pounds to
invest, and bought land from Gardiner, and the town of Ingham was named after
him. But he later sold his Ingham lands and bought a paddle steamer to trade in
the Islands and enlist Kanakas for the canefields.
Ingham started to grow after the gold boom
of the late 1870's, and land suitable for sugar production started to be taken
up. Other settlers followed fast after the Atkinsons arrived, such as the
Allinghams and Cassidys. Neame Bros and Hawkins had been there prior to James
Atkinson’s arrival. A Hawkins pioneer grave lies in an isolated cemetery close
to a sugar cane farm that figures elsewhere in this Chronicle, owned in later
years by Godschall Johnsons. The Neames were neighbours.
James Atkinson also took up Wairuna
Station about 1880, and this was later worked by Henry Atkinson, who also
worked Greenvale station. About the same time he also purchased Abergowrie on
the Herbert River below the Seaview range, from the Valley of the Lagoons.
Wairuna
Station was a pastoral lease of about 600 square miles, on the head of the
Burdekin River, which was first taken up by a partner of Henry Stone in the
late 1870's. Henry Stone figured
earlier in Dalrymple's expedition, and at the time that the Wairuma lease was
taken up, was manager of Valley of the Lagoons under Walter Scott. It was not
stocked at first and was later sold unstocked to James Atkinson.
James Atkinson died in 1899, but his sons
continued the pastoral tradition.
Bob Atkinson married in 1894 and managed
Abergowrie at first. They had a record flood in the Herbert River in 1894, and
cattle were washed out to sea. Then in 1896 came the tick plague.
In 1904, Bob Atkinson took over Cashmere.
Also in 1904 the lease to Gunnawarra was
transferred by the executors of the late James Ewan to the Atkinson brothers,
sons of James Atkinson, namely Henry, Robert, and Tom. It remained in the
partnership until 1922 when the lease was transferred to Thomas Atkinson
solely. By the, the two older brothers, Henry and Robert were living at
Greenvale and Cashmere. Tom lived at Gunnawarra, although prior to acquiring
Gunnawarra, he managed Kangaroo Hills station from about 1896 for the then
owners Ramsden and Fenwick.
It was to Gunnawarra that he brought his
new bride Glen Godschall Johnson, in 1904.
They were to have seven children: Nell
Atkinson, Bill Atkinson, Jessie Atkinson, Nancy Atkinson, Bruce Atkinson,
Geoffrey Atkinson, and Vernon Atkinson.
Tom Atkinson died in 1930 and his widow
ran Gunnawarra till her death.
Jessie Glennie Atkinson, nee` Godschall
Johnson, was to die in March 1955, at Gunnawarra.
The property was then run by Geoff
Atkinson, who wrote the following treatise in 1978 upon the Centenary of Gunnawarra:
The story of Gunnawarra station goes back to the early days of
the Valley of the Lagoons. This, although initially taken up by Carwithen and
Hodgson in 1861, appears to have been consolidated into one area with several
other leases by 1864 when it was owned by the three Scott brothers (Arthur
Jervoise Scott, Walter Jervoise Scott, and Charles James Scott), Robert G. W.
Herbert and George Elphinstone Dalrymple.
In 1865, the Scott Brothers and Herbert applied for a lease on
Gunnawarra to the north. The term of the lease commenced on 1 January 1866.
Although rent was paid on an area estimated as 50 square miles, a later survey
of the run showed it to be 80 square miles.
The lease was forfeited in 1869, and between 1873 and 1877, it
was twice sold at auction and forfeited, until March 1877, when it was
purchased by William Baker.
He in turn transferred it to W. E. Ewan in 1878.
Dangar, Bell, Bell, and Ewan acquired the lease in 1879, and in
1888, it was transferred to James Ewan.
In March 1887, Ewan applied to consolidate the other nine
leases he already held with Gunnawarra, into one holding to be known as
Gunnawarra.
Under the provisions of the Crown Lands Act of 1884, this
holding was then divided into two sections.
James Ewan was granted a lease commencing 1 July 1888 on an
area of 391 square miles, and the remainder of the holding, comprising 164
square miles, was resumed by the Crown.
This division was gazetted after approval by the Land Board in
1890.
In 1904, the lease was transferred by the executors of the late
James Ewan to the Atkinson brothers.
It remained in their partnership until 1922, when the lease was
transferred to Thomas Atkinson.
The three Atkinson brothers were the sons of James Atkinson,
who had come from near Warrnambool, in Victoria, in 1860, and taken up Mt.
Surprise Station in partnership with Ezra Firth.
He returned to take up the Valley of the Lagoons, a few years
later to find that the Scott brothers had done this two days previously.
The two older brothers, Henry and Robert, lived at Greenvale
and Cashmere. It was the youngest brother, Tom, who came to live at Gunnawarra.
Although sometime before 1877, the first slab buildings were
erected there, which included the saddle shed and adjoining quarters, later storage
sheds, and probably part of the horse yards, it was not until Ewan came in 1878
that the homestead was commenced.
Ewan employed an Englishman by the name of Jack Broad to do the
building, who, in later years, also built Kirrima homestead on the Range.
Although Ewan was over six foot tall himself, the verandas on
both buildings were rather low; however, it is possible that the combination of
the uprights sinking and the later inclusion of timber floors produced this
situation.
The builder Jack Broad, and his partner, Williams, later bought
Euramoon on the Herbert River, and he lived there until his death at the end of
the 1920's.
The homestead was constructed from cypress pine, cut locally,
for the uprights and rafters, with the slabs and shingles being made from
stringey bark. This was brought in by dray from an area 20 miles distant, now
called Splitters Swamp, where they found the timber split easily.
The walls were adzed by hand and a solid construction built
which has not deteriorated over the years. The floor was dirt, of crushed
ant-bed, which when watered and rolled, would have given a hard surface. In
later years, hessian would have been hung to line the walls, which whitewashed
regularly, kept the rooms cool and clean looking.
Thomas Joseph Good Atkinson had owned Kangaroo Hills Station
near Ingham in partnership with Lionel O. Micklem.
When Lionel O. Micklem enlisted for the Boer war, they decided
to sell out, and Thomas Joseph Good Atkinson bought Gunnawarra.
However, although he purchased it in 1901, it was 1904 before
he brought his wife Glen, nee` Godschall Johnson, and daughter Nell, to live
there, travelling on horse-back with the 18 month old child up in front of her
mother. When they arrived, they moved into the slab building sheltering under
two pepper trees, with a cumquat tree flowing around the corner, and a gay red
hibiscus on the lawn in front of them. The two latter still flourish today, but
the peppers were replaced by mango trees during the First War.
Glen Atkinson recalled the early years at Gunnawarra as being
difficult ones as the country was still suffering the effects of the 1902
drought.
However, in 1908, they were able to build an addition to the
homestead, a bedroom wing in tongue and groove cedar. By this time, brothers,
Bill and Bruce, had joined Nell and the family were often accommodating
visitors, many of whom were travelling through to Herberton or the coast.
The journey in those days took two days to Herberton with an overnight
stop at Innot Hot Springs. They would change horses between Gunnawarra and the
Springs, and then again between the Springs and Herberton. Cobb & Co. had a
mail change at what is now called Russian Gully outside Mt. Garnet, which was
then known as Mail Change Creek; it is possible that other travellers changed
horses there too.
In those days there was a doctor in Mt. Garnet, and when, in
1911, during his father's absence in the mustering camp, little Bruce
contracted what was thought to be diphtheria, his mother dispatched a man on
horseback to procure medical aid. When the doctor came he injected the child
with anti-toxin, which he knew, was old, but there was no time to procure more.
Soon afterwards, the boy very suddenly died, and the burial had to be arranged.
The doctor refused to take the service, claiming that he "was not a
believer", so the sad task was left to Glen to perform.
Like other members in the bush, Glen had to meet and deal with
many sicknesses, accidents and other crises, without recourse to outside
assistance. However, the advent of the telephone in 1914 made such assistance
seem less remote. It also provided another kind of link with the outside world,
for during the war years they received daily reports over the phone of the news
from France.
The Atkinson children, of whom there were seven, were mostly
born in hospital, even in those early days, and this reflects a pattern not
evident in many European countries until at least thirty years later.
The family would go and stay in Herberton or Port Douglas or
wherever it might be, until the baby was old enough to travel home.
There was no regular water supply to the homestead in those
days, and when the well went dry, which was an annual occurrence, water would
have to be carted by dray from the "Big Lagoon" two miles away,
having been loaded into tanks with a bucket brigade of helpers.
The washing was also brought down to the edge of the lagoon;
however, this had its compensations, as the water was very clear and soft,
unlike the well water at the house.
It would be 1928 before a mechanical pump was mounted on the
well to give an improved supply of water, which, in turn, has been replaced by
a reticulated supply from a dam behind the house.
During the 1914-1918 War, the Atkinsons bought their first
motorcar, an American Chandler, whilst holidaying in the south. They hired a
man to give them lessons, and spent a month practising around Stanthorpe and
Toowoomba before returning north. The car was sent by sea to Cairns and thence by
rail to Mt. Garnet. Tom Atkinson met it there and proceeded to drive home.
Unfortunately, the centre stub between the gates, which then crossed the road
seven miles from town, tore the sump cap off. Tom Atkinson, not knowing what
the trouble was, continued driving until the car eventually stopped a couple of
miles from the homestead. It was then put away for six months before a Mr.
Hayden came, who recognised the problem and repaired the damage.
Tom Atkinson, well known as a first class horseman, both in the
show-ring and the mustering camp, was not interested in driving, so Glen became
the chauffeur. This meant that she had to become a mechanic too, as there was
no local garages in those days. She became an expert at all repairs, and
maintenance, and undertook many hazardous trips, including one overland to
Stanthorpe. This was a demanding feat as roads were non-existent and they had
their share of breakdowns on the way.
This mechanical aptitude stood her in good stead in later years
when they mounted pumps on various bores to replace hand-hauling of water for
stock in hot, still conditions. She supervised the installation and maintenance
of these, and, when Tom Atkinson died in 1930 as a result of an accident in the
stockyard, she was able to carry on, conversant with the jobs to be attended
to.
In 1912, the Gunnawarra Races were started, the Club being
registered as the Gunnawarra Picnic Hack Race Club. A course was cleared on the
banks of the Herbert River, which formed the eastern boundary of the property,
and country people from as far a field as Mt. Surprise to Ingham would ride
over and set up camp for a week of festivities.
Jack & Newell's Store from Mt. Garnet and the local bank
would set themselves up under bough shelters, and do a brisk trade with all
their customers. A cement slab was laid for a dance floor, but, ultimately, in
1928, a large room was added to the homestead 4 miles away, and the dances took
place up there. The Cook family from Mt. Garnet looked after the catering on
the course, and were kept bust throughout the proceedings. These races were
continued with enthusiasm until 1937 when regretfully they were terminated and
the Mt. Garnet Race Club took over the local meeting.
Even in the Atkinson's early days at Gunnawarra their supplies
came from Jack & Newell's Store in Mt. Garnet, which had developed around
the copper enterprises at the turn of the century. The supplies would be bought
out on a wagon twice a year, and there are numerous tales of perilous trips
over flooded creeks. Tom Atkinson, who was a strong swimmer, could swim across
the swirling waters of Rudd Creek, with a bag of flour on his head, whilst
other goods would be floated across in rafts constructed out of upturned
packsaddles and sheets of canvas.
The mail came out once a week on pack horses; the run, which
went through to the Valley of the Lagoons, and returned via Meadowbank, and St.
Ronan's (both then part of Gunnawarra), took a week to complete. The mailman,
Tom Smith, had a day's rest at the end of the trip and then set out once again.
In 1925 he acquired a truck and used this in good weather, but had to resort to
packhorses again when the wet season made roads impassable.
James Cook, who took over the mail-run from him in 1933, drove
a truck from then on, and he never missed a single mail-day in 33 years. His
round, which took him 2 days, went as far as Wairuna and then back through
Meadowbank.
In the early years of Gunnawarra, the Scott partnership ran
sheep there; but finally, the terrain and the native spear grass convinced them
that this country would be more suitable to cattle. Certainly since Ewan's time
in 1889, good class cattle were bred here. For many years, the herd was a
Shorthorn/Devon cross, and Gunnawarra in the first thirty years of this century
was noted for its good herd. In 1938 the smaller type Shorthorns were
introduced for the overseas markets, and this eventually spoilt the herd to an
extent.
After severe losses amounting to half the herd during the
series of droughts during the 1940's, it was finally decided after Glen
Atkinson's death in 1955 to introduce Brahmin blood, which has proved to be
ideal for the climate and conditions generally. Other breeds have also been
experimented with, but until the return of stable markets these trials have
been suspended.
When Glen Atkinson died, the family remaining on the property
decided to divide it. The third son, Geoffrey, retained the homestead block.
Jess, married to A.C. Hassall, remained on Meadowbank, which they had managed
since their marriage; whilst the youngest son, Vernon, took a section south of
the property which he named Minnammoolka. It included a large swamp abounding
with wildlife which was declared a sanctuary and fauna reserve.
It is recognised today what a contribution the local
aboriginals made to the development of the area. Many will be remembered down
the years for their faithful service, and a memorial tablet was erected at Glen
Atkinson's request after her death, to three who died in the 1918-19 influenza
epidemic. This tablet is located in the family graveyard.
Up until about 1926, the local tribes would come into the
station regularly and hold corroborees there, but later, as they were collected
up and shipped to Palm Island and other settlements, this of course ceased.
The name Gunnawarra is of course aboriginal in origin, and
means "little home", "gunya - home, warra - little or
small". In the early days before white settlers, this area was one of
their regular tribal camping grounds.
The homestead today covers 100 squares, the present owner,
Geoff Atkinson, having replaced the cedar bedroom wing built by his father,
with a modern structure after the old wing was badly damaged in the 1956
cyclone. Also part of the old fernery was filled in to provide a modern kitchen
and living area. In 1973 it was one of the first buildings in North Queensland
to be classified by the National Trust; as such it remains the focal point for
a way of life which droughts, floods and market recessions will never later,
and which this and future generations will struggle to preserve
Other Atkinson relations can be mentioned.
James Atkinson, the pioneering pastoralist
who had come up from Victoria in 1861, had a nephew John Fraser, who came north
in 1874 to seek pastoral land. Equipped by his Uncle James, John and a
companion Arthur Temple Clark set off from Farnham on the Lower Herbert (James
Atkinson's station), for the North. They avoided the jungle on the western edge
of the Atherton Tableland and followed down Granite Creek to the Barron. They
could have been 12 months ahead of Mulligan and his abovementioned expedition,
but Mulligan's journey was official and John's was not. On the headwaters of
the Mitchell, John decided to take up several hundred square miles of country.
It was well grassed and watered. He called it Mitchellvale. In late 1875, he
returned with 400 head of Lower Burdekin cattle to stock it.
In the 1890's, Mitchellvale was divided to
form part of Brooklyn, Font Hill and Southedge. The Mary River, where the
Maryfarms tobacco community was later established, was named by John after his
sister Mary Fraser, who had married William Baker, who for a short time in
1877-78 held the lease to Gunnawarra, and who was to become the mother of Harry
& Eric Baker. Harry Baker resided for most of his life in their historic
old homestead near Mt. Molloy (now demolished); Eric died in Mareeba in 1979
aged 91. Eric was born at Font Hill in 1888 and had spent his life amongst
cattle and horses, on stations and long droving trips.
The Kokokulunggur tribesmen speared John
Fraser's cattle and horses, but he tried to treat them with sympathy. He also
befriended a white man who was an outcast for a time.
This was the mysterious Christie
Palmerston.
John was in his mustering camp one day
when a bearded fierce-eyed man in red shirt, moleskin trousers, and worn top
boots, suddenly appeared out of the scrub. He carried a Snider rifle, a Colt
revolver, and a Bowie knife. He said that he was Christie Palmerston, was
wanted on the Palmer for the murder of a chinaman of which he was innocent, and
vowed he would never be taken alive. He told John he had found a route over the
mountains to Island Point (Port Douglas), and that his mate was now at
Thornborough to claim the reward that was offered for finding such a track.
Years late, John wrote: "He
eventually got a reward and a pardon but he still remained in the bush. He was
a brave man and would face anything".
Today, Christie Palmerston, the son of Madame Caradini, a famed opera
singer of the times, (although even another account says that Christofero
Palmerston Caradini was the Australian born son of an exiled, for political
reasons, Italian Count and his English wife), is an almost legendary figure,
but all accounts agree on his superb bushmanship in the dense rain forests of
the country behind Cairns. Palmerston's friends on the Hodgkinson were
evidently working on his behalf, for on 11 June 1877, an official report on the
new route was issued, giving Christie Palmerston full credit for the discovery.
In fact on 16 June 1877, outside the Royal Hotel in Thornborough, a meeting of
miners and citizens accepted a motion by Mr. Byers, after whom Byerstown was
named, that a subscription be taken up to reward Christie Palmerston, and the
good citizens contributed over 200 pounds to him in gratitude.
A road was pushed through, by axemen, on
Christie Palmerston's route to Port Douglas, and this was mainly used by heavy
bullock and horse teams. It was opened in Sept 1877 and the first dray to
ascend the range was Mackie's six-horse team loaded with stores for John
Fraser's Mitchellvale Station.
To show just how legends about people
develop, one need only read the version of Christie Palmerston written by
Hector Holthouse in River of Gold:
It was during this period (1874+) on the Palmer that the man
who was to become the scourge of the Chinese came into his own.
Christie Palmerston was one of the most remarkable men the
north ever knew. To the diggers he became a friend in need, to the Chinese a
death-dealing terror, and to the cannibal blacks a legendary figure who moved
among them unmolested. He had shot blacks down in defence of white diggers, but
on the other hand he had doctored and saved the lives of many who had been
wounded by the bullets of the diggers' Sniders, and once he had stayed with a
myall tribe for weeks to look after a sick child. He had an uncanny knack of
handling the wild blacks. At a time when white and Chinese diggers alike were
being killed and eaten by them, he was always able to make friends among any
tribe he chose and recruit young bucks who would follow him anywhere. For years
he roamed the unexplored ranges with a private army of myalls, picking up gold
wherever he could find it, defying the law whenever it suited him. But for the
Chinese he had a fanatical hatred. He raided them ruthlessly, robbed them of
their gold and stores, killed them by the dozen, and, it was alleged, bartered
those he took prisoner with the cannibal blacks knowing they would be used for
food.
The first thing that is definitely known of Palmerston is that
he turned up in Rockhampton in 1870, a young man of about 20, with plenty of
money which he set out to spend in one of the wildest sprees the town had ever
known. Slightly built, black haired, wiry and quick as a tiger cat, he had a
partly withered left arm that he would never talk about. One day in a pub
brawl, he nearly killed a man. Before the police could catch up with him he
disappeared.
He arrived on the Palmer early in the rush (1873), bearded, and
unkempt as a blackfellow, with a carbine slung over his shoulder, a Colt
revolver on his hips, and a small army of half-wild myalls at his back. No one
ever saw him digging for gold, but he always seemed to have a good supply of it.
Old diggers muttered darkly that it came from miners who had been murdered by
the blacks. In Cooktown's gambling dens he was nearly always lucky, and in the
dance halls women flocked about him.
In the rugged country between Cooktown and the goldfields, Palmerston
seemed to know his way about as well as the blacks themselves, and, with the
help of his black bodyguard, he developed the uncanny knack of knowing
everything that was going on in it. Several times, myalls, massing along the
track to ambush diggers, found themselves mown down by a fusillade from the
Sniders of Palmerston's men. Even the police admitted that Palmerston was worth
a whole regiment of troopers for the work he did in controlling the blacks.
But this only made his attacks on the Chinese the more
embarrassing to them. Little though many of the police liked it, part of their
duty was to protect the Chinese. In the early days of the rush, Palmerston had
organised his myalls into gangs to carry rations up from the coast. When
coolies began to compete, he retaliated by raiding their pack trains with his
blacks, stealing their stores to sell to the diggers himself, and, according to
some of the Chinese storekeepers at any rate, paying his cannibal recruits by
letting them have the Chinese prisoners as food. The blacks by then were doing
so much raiding on their own account that no one could tell whether Palmerston
had any part in it or not. Most of the white diggers could not have cared less
anyway.
They told the story of a white woman about to give birth to a
baby, let alone in an isolated shack while her husband went for help. A rising
river delayed him, and when he got back with the doctor, expecting the worst,
he found Palmerston's blacks camped in the bush nearby and his wife and her baby
safe and well. Palmerston had arrived at the shack in time to act as midwife
and had looked after the woman and her child until she recovered her strength.
When she tried to thank him, he just stood up and, without saying a word,
walked into the bush and disappeared. His blacks had remained to keep her
supplied with everything she needed. When the husband went out to look for
them, they had also vanished.
There were also stories of lost diggers, almost dead from
starvation, being tracked down by Palmerston and brought back to camp. There
were others he had found helpless from fever in tents and nursed back to
health. With stories like this going around, it was hardly likely that the
diggers would help hunt him down for the robbery of a few Chinese.
There was nothing Palmerston seemed to enjoy better than
finding a big gang of Chinese scouring the gravel in some isolated gully. With
his myall mob at his heels, he would charge down on them, firing wildly,
screeching the same hideous cockatoo battle cry as the blacks themselves, and,
as often as not, scarcely distinguishable from them. The Chinese would scatter
in panic, and while his followers pursued them, Palmerston would methodically
go through their chamois leather bags for gold.
Once the Chinese set a trap for Palmerston that nearly ended
his career. They knew that he was in the district, and when in due course he
and his screeching band came charging down on them, they dropped their tools
with more than usual haste and fled. Palmerston picked up a promising looking
bag, judged the weight of it in his hand, and unfastened the string around the
top. He was about to insert his hand when the head of a death adder shot out,
missing him by inches.
Christie Palmerston never compromised in his hatred of the Chinese.
His depredations never slackened. Influential Chinese of Cooktown and the
goldfields never ceased to lay complaints about him, and the police were
regularly out looking for him-ostensibly- for one outrage or another committed
against Chinamen. Warrants for his arrest were issued regularly, but there is
no record of any of them ever having been executed. There was always some
grateful digger to tip Palmerston off, or to put the police on a false scent to
enable Palmerston to escape. Once a digger who was sheltering him kept a
pursuing police constable in conversation while Palmerston sneaked out the back
door, round to where the constable's horse was tethered, and rode away on it.
Every so often, no matter whether the police were looking for
him or not. Palmerston would come into Cooktown for a spree. Always inclined to
the dramatic, he generally rode in dressed in an old cabbage-tree hat, goggles,
and shabby overcoat which the romantically inclined claimed still bore the
label of one of London's Bond Street tailors. The disguise deceived no one, but
the police were never known to interfere while Christie was being welcomed and
feted in every bar in town.
The gay ladies of Charlotte Street found Palmerston
irresistible. It was said in those days that it cost a good-sized nugget and a
fight to have Palmer Kate for the night- but she was Christie's for the asking.
As a gambler, his luck was equally good. Losers claimed he cheated, but none
dare challenge him to his face, or follow him into the bush where he camped at
night, surrounded by his black bodyguard.
The fact that he would disappear into the mountains for months
at a time, and that he always seemed to have gold, led to a rumour that he and
his blacks were working a secret claim. A party of disgruntled prospectors
decided to track him back to it and, the first time his back was turned, jump
it. Day after day, at a safe distance, they followed Palmerston and his blacks
up through rugged mountain country and deep gorges. They pushed through vermin
infested jungle, wallowed through swamps, and were nearly driven mad by leeches
and mosquitoes. Food ran short, and they went on half rations. The only thing
that kept them going was the sight of Palmerston's tracks in front of them. But
every day the going got worse, and every way they looked there were more
mountains.
At last they found themselves on the top of the Conglomerate
Tableland and stopped by a sheer precipice in front of them. They looked round
for any trace of Palmerston. There was none. He had laid a blind trail, doubled
back, and was probably miles away. Weeks later the would be claim jumpers
staggered back into Cooktown. They were lucky to have got out of it with their
lives.
It was generally believed that Palmerston had discovered a path
across the mountains that he had never revealed to anyone. Time after time when
police were following him he would vanish from under their eyes. Those who said
that the police were not trying were probably right. There were worse men loose
on the Palmer than Palmerston. His favourite hideout was a small hollow in
rough country in the south of Cooktown, which had come to be known as
Christie's Pocket. No one else knew how to get into it. There he had grass for
his horse, water, and a safe shelter to take it easy for as long as he like.
So confident was he of help from the average digger that he too
it for granted. A man who had been a boy on the Palmer recalled how a bearded
rider had reined in his horse beside his parent's wagon, said good-day, and got
straight down to business: "I'm Christie Palmerston. I'd like you to get a
few things for me at Byerstown. Bring them out when you are on your way back.
here's a list and money to pay for them- cartridges, tea, sugar, matches,
tobacco, flour, soap, and other goods. Say nothing about seeing me. I'll be
here to meet you".
He rode away singing, the writer recalled, and a fine voice he
had too. The song was Afton Water.
Some said Palmerston got his singing voice from a famous
Italian opera singer who they claimed was his mother. Whether this was true or
not, all who knew him agreed that Palmerston, though often morose in his
manner, was always ready to sing. Afton Water was one of his favourites
when in Cooktown, while on the track many a digger's first hint that Palmerston
was about was the sound of Christie's rather high-pitched voice raised in a
popular song of the day called The Girl with the Pretty Little High Heeled
Boots.
Though he could mix easily with anybody he chose and fight at
the drop of a hat, he had an innate aloofness that always kept him on the outer
fringe of the wilder types of goldfield ribaldry. His normal company was his
own, and his normal place the bush where he and his wild followers blended with
their surroundings like the trees.
Christie Palmerston one night after he had drunk more brandy
than usual produced from his pocket a bundle of white woman's golden tresses a
couple of feet long. He said that he had found them in a black gin's dilly bag.
The listeners immediately recalled the killing of the Johan
Strau and his wife and daughter.
In 1874, Johan Strau, his wife, and little girl, had proceeded
with their wagon on the road to the Palmer, when they were attacked by blacks
just past the Normanby turnoff.
A party of diggers later found Strau's body under his dray,
and, a little distance away, the body of his wife. A spear had been driven
through her mouth and had her pinned to the ground. Her clothing had been torn
off and she had been horribly outraged before her death. Of the little girl
there was no trace.
Next day another party of diggers had come upon the scene.
"There's something moving there in the scrub", yelled
one.
They found the little girl, lying on her back, an ugly gash
across her forehead, her stomach ripped up by a wooden knife,; they had
disturbed a black who had skunked off into the bush after trying to rip the
dead little girl's kidney fat out.
Arthur
Temple Clark, who is mentioned several pages back as an acquaintance of John
Fraser owned Cashmere for a while, after purchasing it from William McDowall,
who had originally purchased it from John Atherton and family. John Atherton
and family had trekked north from the Rockhampton district in 1875 and set up a
run 6 miles from the telegraph station at Cashmere. They left Cashmere shortly
after 1879, disposing of the run to William McDowall, and moved to Emerald End,
near the later site of Mareeba. The town of Atherton is of course named after
this prominent pioneer, whose son, Paddy Atherton later became a Minister for
Mines in the Queensland Parliament.
Arthur Temple Clark purchased Cashmere off
William McDowall, but, after the death of his young daughter, sold the run back
to McDowall who also owned Greenvale.
Arthur Temple Clark's young daughter is
buried in the small cemetery at Cashmere. In the same cemetery lies later
owners, Bob Atkinson, his wife, Connie, and her sister, Kitty. Bob Atkinson is
the son of James Atkinson and brother to Thomas Joseph Good Atkinson.
McDowall sold Cashmere after the drought of
1900-01, and Bob Atkinson bought it very cheaply in 1903. Bob Atkinson put a
caretaker in, a cousin Foster Atkinson, and then moved his family up the
Seaview Range from Abergowrie in 1904.
The only means of transporting goods at
the time was by horse teams from Mt. Garnet which was a copper mining town that
had come into existence about 1898 when John Moffat formed a syndicate to build
a private railway line from Lappa Junction to Mt. Garnet and built a smelter to
work the copper there. The loading was brought out twice a year by an old
teamster named Harry Evans. He had two wagons and the 45 mile trip would take
over a week with the last part of the track from Gunnawarra to Cashmere being
very rough country with several steep creeks to cross.
In 1909, Bob Atkinson bought two
properties about 25 miles south of Cashmere. These were grazing farms,
selections resumed from the Valley of the Lagoons, on the Burdekin watershed.
One block was called Glen Harding and had originally been taken up by Charles
Harding, a commission agent and auctioneer living in Herberton. The other
adjoined Glen Harding and was owned by John Moffat and Linedale. They had taken
up these selections to breed draft horses for their mining operations and also
to grow maize and lucerne for their working horses at the mines. Combined the
two properties were renamed Glen Dhu and were used by the Atkinsons to fatten
steers.
Bob Atkinson also bred light horses which
were sold as Army horses exported to India, both remounts and the light active
ones as gunners. He also worked on improving draft horses. The heavy drafts
were sold to the Irvinebank Mining Company.
Cane farmers and teamsters hauling logs
around the Atherton and Ravenshoe area also competed for good drafts.
Sons of Bob Atkinson, Ken, Alan and R. L.
Atkinson successfully tendered for Valley of the Lagoons (what was left after
several blocks had been resumed by the Crown) in 1963 when the Trustees of the
James Simpson Love Estate put it on the market, which just goes to show how the
wheel can turn a full cycle from the story that their grandfather James
Atkinson was beaten to it by a few days by the Scott brothers decades earlier,
back in 1865. It was turned into a Droughtmaster stud, run by a family company
incorporated as Valley of Lagoons Pty. Ltd, with Alan Atkinson as manager.
Henry John Atkinson was the eldest of the
brothers, and a partner in Atkinson Brothers until the dissolution of that
partnership in 1914. He then continued operations on his own account on
Greenvale Station.
The Greenvale homestead block had been
acquired during the existence of the original firm of Atkinson brothers, but
had been enlarged considerably since. With the Greenvale block, Henry Atkinson
retained Wairuna and Mount Lang as his share of the previously united
interests, but subsequently sold the two latter properties to his brothers and
devoted his interests in the district to Greenvale, including Mount Helen, a
freehold property of over 10000 acres on the coast near Ingham, and
considerable real estate in Townsville and Ingham. He married Isabell Frances
Mackay, daughter of Herbert Mackay, in 1898, and had three sons and a daughter.
Herbert Mackay was Northern District surveyor.
Their daughter died in 1919. The sons were
James Herbert Atkinson, born 9 May 1900, Henry Delwyn Atkinson, born 10
December 1904, and John Reay Atkinson, born 20 October 1910.
CHAPTER XXIII
CHOLOMONDELEY EDWARD GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The third child to be born to William
Butler and Jessie Emma Godschall Johnson, nee` Collins, was Cholmondeley Edward
Godschall Johnson.
Cholmondeley Edward Godschall Johnson was
born in 1881.
Cholmondeley Edward Godschall Johnson
married Janet Tooth from Ingham in 1908. Janet Tooth was the sister of William
Macanash Tooth (1876-1928), a cane and dairy farmer in the Ingham district,
born at Ingham, customs-excise officer with the Ingham Sugar Mills,
Vice-President of the Australian Sugar Producers Association in 1927, Chairman
of the Victoria Mill Co-operative, and President of the Ingham Show Society.
In fact Janet Tooth came from a family
that could almost be described as dynastic.
Janet Tooth was born on 11 April 1881, in
Queensland, to Charles Frederick Louis Tooth and his wife Anne Macanash.
There was a Dr. Macanash who with his
wife, was killed in the Indian Mutiny in 1857, leaving three girls as orphans.
The girls were sent from India to John Macanash, brother to the deceased
doctor, and his married sister, Mrs. White, at Canning Downs Station. Jane, one
of the girls, later met and married Samuel Maunsell, a former royal Navy
Midshipman, who took over the management of Talavera station in southern
Queensland. Their eldest daughter, Frances, and two sons were born there, and while
Samuel was out mustering all three contracted dysentery and both boys died.
There was no other white woman within miles. The station blacks and gins helped
Jane dig graves for the two little boys and bury them, she herself reading the
service. Then she had a fortnight to wait for her husband to return so she
could tell him his sons were dead and buried.
Samuel and Jane left Talavera Station
after that, and while Jane was staying with her sister at Walloon Station,
about 130 miles west of Bundaberg, Charles Maunsell was born at the nearby town
of Bundaberg. In 1883, Samuel went to manage Strathmore Station, about sixty
miles southwest of Bowen, in northern Queensland, and Jane and the children
joined Samuel there.
While they were at Strathmore Station, another
daughter, Phoebe, was born.
Samuel died in March 1899, aged 59. When
eldest daughter Frances married, Jane and younger daughter Phoebe, went to live
with Frances at Thornleigh in Sydney.
It is probable that Anne Macansh was the
sister of Jane Macansh mentioned above, for Anne Macansh married Charles
Frederick Louis Tooth and bore the following children:
22 May
1862, Charles James Tooth;
3
November 1863, John Tooth;
16
April 1865, James Frederick Tooth;
15
August 1867, Annie Elizabeth Tooth;
26
June 1868, George Tooth;
28
June 1870, Frederick William Tooth;
16
September 1872, Beatrice Annie Tooth;
14
September 1875, William Tooth;
28
April 1878. Archibald Tooth;
11
April 1881, Janet Tooth; and
2
August 1883, Maria Catherine Tooth.
Janet Tooth is the child born in 1881. Her
full name was probably Janet Newnham Tooth, for that is the name she used when
recording the death of one of her children. The "Newnham" again
indicates family.
Her elder brother George married a sister
of Cholmondeley Edward Godschall Johnson, Maud Alice Godschall Johnson.
Janet's father name was Charles Frederick
Louis Tooth.
Charles Frederick Louis Tooth was born in
Sydney in 1837, the son of John Tooth and Elizabeth Newnham.
John Tooth and Elizabeth Newnham had
numerous children:
1832
Fanny N Tooth; 1834 Janet M J Tooth; 1835 Catherine B. Tooth; 1837 Charles
Frederick Louis Tooth, 1840 John N Tooth, 1847 Agnes E B Tooth; 1847 Charlotte
B A Tooth, 1841 Elizabeth A Tooth; 1843 Nicholas E N Tooth, 1849 George A
Tooth.
So who was John Tooth?
John Tooth was born in 1803 at Cranbrook,
Kent, in England, the son of Robert Tooth, and his wife whose maiden name was
Butler. John had an elder brother named Robert, born in 1799, and another
brother William. William married Anne Fulcher and farmed at Cranbrook. Robert
married a Mary Ann Reader and was engaged as a hop merchant at Swifts Park,
Cranbrook, Kent.
Robert Tooth and his wife, Mary Ann Reader
had a family which included several sons who were to emigrate to Australia:
their eldest son was Robert Tooth, who was born on 28 May 1821, their second
son was Edwin Tooth who was born on 28 August 1822, and their fourth son was
Frederick Tooth, who was born on 14 February 1827. All these were nephews to
John Tooth.
William Tooth and his wife Anne Fulcher
had a family, a number of whom also emigrated to Australia. Two sons were
William Butler Tooth, who was born in 1823, and Atticus Tooth, who was born in
1827. A considerable part of this family emigrated to Australia, including both
the abovementioned sons and a number of sisters.
But we return to the senior emigrant, the
uncle to all these Tooth nephews and nieces, who was John Tooth. John Tooth was
the first to emigrate. He arrived in the Colony of New South Wales in 1828;
next came Atticus and part of his family in 1839; then William Butler Tooth and
two of his sisters arrived in 1841; then came Robert and Edwin Tooth in 1843;
and then Frederick Tooth came out in 1853. It was a real case of chain
migration, and one that was to prove a great success in their new land of
choice.
John Tooth arrived in Sydney in the Bencoolen in 1828. He brought with him
considerable family trained skills as a brewer with mercantile abilities. He
received a 2560 acre grant in County Durham. He then went on to acquire
numerous cattle runs and set up as a general merchant and commission agent in
Spring Street, Sydney. He had gone back to England in 1830 to wed his
betrothed, Elizabeth Newnham, daughter of John Newnham, brewer and timber
merchant. They were wed at Cranbrook on 22 March 1830. Not only did he bring
his new wife back out to Australia, but he also brought or was responsible, no
doubt, for the emigration to the land of opportunity of his wife's brother,
Charles Newnham, who had already acquired considerable experience as a brewer
in Kent. John Tooth and Charles Newnham entered into partnership in September
1835, and opened the Kent Brewery on a 4 acre site on the Parramatta Road in
Sydney. Charles Newnham withdrew from the partnership in 1843, and on 1
September 1843, John Tooth leased the brewery to nephews Robert and Edwin Tooth
who had arrived on the Euphrates on
5 August 1843. They set in train the merchant and brewing firm of R. and E.
Tooth.
Frederick Tooth joined the partnership about
1853.
The business ventures the Tooths engaged
in were widespread.
For instance, the first importation of
alpacas from Peru occurred in 1850, and were brought in by Robert Tooth in
conjunction with T. S. Mort.
Another venture engaged in by Robert and
Edwin, along with names such as Mort and the Mannings, was the formation in
1852 of the Twofold Bay Pastoral Association which acquired some 400,000 acres
on the south coast of New South Wales and Monaro, with their head station being
named Kameruka. Robert also speculated in buying other pastoral properties. He
rose to becoming a large squatter with over 600 employees, took a seat on the
Legislative Council, and ran unsuccessfully twice for the Legislative Assembly
of NSW. Their business interests spanned both Australia and England. Their
London house was known as R & F Tooth and Mort, and acted as agents for
Smyth's Sydney Marine Assurance Office, and the Peak Downs Copper Mining Co.
Robert Tooth's pastoral interests extended into Queensland, and with partners
Robert Cran, Sir F. F. Nixon and brother Frederick Tooth, held Yengarie near
Maryborough until 1872, and other interests in the Wide Bay and Burnett
Districts. These early Queensland runs were held from the 1850's, but Robert
Tooth progressively added to his Lachlan and Wide Bay interests by adding
Jondaryan and Irvingdale, almost 300 square miles on the Darling Downs and some
28 runs, amounting to 700 square miles, in the Maranoa district of Queensland.
Robert Tooth was a director of the Bank of
New South Wales (today's Westpac), in the 1850's and 1860's, and was President
thereof in 1862-63. He was a director of the Colonial Sugar Refining Co. in
1855-63, R. E. & F. Tooth being the second largest shareholders when the
company was established in 1855.
Robert Tooth built a home, Cranbrook, at
Rose Bay in 1859, but sold it to Robert Towns (the founder of Townsville), in
1864.
The firm of R & F Tooth and Co, as it
was later known upon the admission of J. S. Mitchell as partner, acquired most
of its not inconsiderable profits from importing wines, spirits, and beers, as
colonial beer was not widely drunk until the 1880's.
Robert Tooth's first wife was Maria Lisle,
daughter of Captain G. B. Forster. He married her in May 1849 at St. Mark's
Church, Pontville, Van Diemen's Land. His second wife was Elizabeth Mansfield
who he married in 1871. Robert died at Bedford in the United States of America
in 1893.
Edwin Tooth had pastoral interests outside
his partnership with Robert until 1855. He had bought J. C. Lloyd's stations,
and also runs in the Gippsland District of Victoria. He was in pastoral
partnership with his father (Robert Tooth snr.), brother Robert, Holt and T de
Lacy Moffat. He was a director and shareholder in the Colonial Sugar Refining
Co.
Edwin lived in Tasmania for many years,
then settled in Sydney in 1852, but left the Colony in 1855 for London. In
London, he was on the London board of the Bank of New South Wales. He died in
1858 at Staffordshire and was buried in the family plot at St. Dunstan's
churchyard, Cranbrook, Kent.
He had married Sarah, daughter of Francis
Lucas of Blackheath, Kent, in 1844 and had 3 sons and 3 daughters.
Frederick Tooth was a director of the
Southern Insurance Co. Ltd., the Bank of New South Wales (including a period as
president), and the Colonial Sugar Refining Co. In England he was on the London
board of the Bank with Edwin and lived at Sevenoaks, Kent. He died in 1893,
survived by his wife, son and three daughters. He had married three times:
first to Jane Jackson of Southsea, Hampshire, England; second to Susan Frances Gosling; third to Fanny Peach of
London.
The enduring legacy of this enterprising
pioneer family is the Kent Brewery on its original site on the Parramatta Road,
Sydney, and the famous "Tooth's K.B." beer. Tooth & Co. Ltd.
became a public company in 1888 and took over Edmund Resch's Waverley Brewery
(Resch's beer) in 1929.
Robert, Edwin and Frederick Tooth were
great uncles to Janet Tooth and George Tooth who married into the Godschall
Johnson family in North Queensland in the early part of the twentieth century,
(or was it a case of the Godschall Johnsons' marrying into the Tooth dynasty?).
Other great uncles, but this time
descended from their grandfather, John Tooth's other brother, William Headley
Tooth (Robert Edwin and Frederick were sons of brother Robert Tooth), were
William Butler Tooth and Atticus Tooth.
William Butler Tooth was born in 1823, and
Atticus in 1827, at Cranbrook, Kent, England, to William Headley Tooth
aforementioned and Anne Fulcher. They were nephews of John Tooth and cousins to
Robert, Edwin and Frederick Tooth.
William Headley Tooth was one of the sons
of William Tooth and Catherine Butler who had married in 1792. He was born in
1797; other sons were Robert, born in 1799, John, born in 1802 and Frances
Barham, born in 1827. William Tooth, the father was a son of John Tooth and
Sarah Knight, and was baptised in 1773; his brothers were Robert, born in 1775,
and John, born in 1779.
Catherine Butler may be descended from the
same French Boteler family who landed in Kent from France, that Eleanor Butler,
who later married a Godschall Johnson, was descended from. In England the
Boteler family anglicised their name to Butler. There is only one recorded
birth of a Catherine Butler, (spelt Botoler), prior to 1792, in Kent; that is
for Catherine Botoler to Thomas Botoler and Elizabeth Morrice in 1747 at
Tilmanstone.
Part of the family, including Atticus,
came to New South Wales in 1839 and settled near Camden. William reached Sydney
in the Lalla Rookh in December 1841
escorting two sisters. The brother's probably gained pastoral experience on
their uncle, John Tooth's, stations. In 1846, they overlanded a herd from the
Murrumbidgee to Wide Bay, Queensland, to occupy an abandoned run, then settled
on Widgee Widgee using it as a base to acquire further runs in the Wide Bay,
Burnett and Darling Downs districts. In 1853 they bought Clifton station near
Allora from the Gammie estate for 30000 pounds. They travelled constantly, acquiring
more stations from the Murrumbidgee and Darling Rivers to the Gulf of
Carpentaria. For five years they operated a boiling downs works at Ipswich.
In Aug 1850 William Butler Tooth married
Lucy Ann Harris, sister of George Harris.
In 1856 the brothers William Butler Tooth
and Atticus Tooth separated.
William Butler Tooth lived in Sydney
representing the United Pastoral Districts of Moreton, Wide Bay, Burnett,
Maranoa, Leichhardt and Port Curtis in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
in 1858-59. A founder of the Union Club, he was a committee man of the Sydney
Club, the Society for the Suppression of Cattle Stealing and the Agricultural
Society of New South Wales. He lived in fashionable suburbs and his children
attended prominent schools.
William Butler Tooth was notoriously
litigious and his obvious desire to live like an English squire led to constant
disputes with neighbours and workers. From 1857 to 1861, he fought a long
technical battle with Joseph Fleming over the stock of Talavera Station,
Queensland, and threatened a Privy Council appeal. In 1872 his violation of
traditional bush hospitality led to the burning of Clifton woolshed by a
disgruntled traveller. In 1874 he lost 500 pounds in damages and costs to a
selector who charged him with malicious prosecution and false imprisonment. He
began a long court battle in 1876 with a selector who challenged his right to
close a road, but after he, William Butler Tooth, died of cirrhosis of the
liver and dropsy, the case was dismissed.. His widow and 9 surviving children
were left with a debt of 102,000 pounds, owing mainly to the Bank of New South
Wales, which had held title to Clifton since 1875. A select committee
recommended an enabling Act of Parliament in 1879 authorising the family to
break the will and disperse the estate, but most of it went eventually to a
reluctant Bank.
Atticus Tooth was probably of a more
adventurous disposition. Atticus joined George Elphinstone Dalrymple's
expedition to Port Curtis in 1859 and settled near Bowen as a station manager.
In December 1869 Atticus married Sarah
Emmerson, daughter of a grazier. As a grazier, he rejoined William Butler
Tooth, who was the settled at Clifton. After William's death, Atticus managed
the Brisbane Municipal Markets but returned to Bowen just before his death in
January 1915. He was survived by his wife and 11 children.
There are still more Tooths in the family
that made a name for themselves.
There was a third cousin to Janet and
George Tooth: Sir Robert Lucas Lucas-Tooth.
Robert Lucas-Tooth was born in Sydney in
1844, the eldest son of Edwin Tooth and Sarah Lucas. He was educated in England
at Eton and returned to Sydney to join the firm of R. & F. Tooth & Co.,
and became active in the management of the Kent Brewery, later becoming a
partner in the firm. He had bought the Kameruka estate near Bega from his uncle
Frederick in 1864, which, due to land selection, was later reduced to a third
of its original size. He turned Kameruka into a very English style estate. With
his uncles Frederick and Robert he was a partner in Tooth and Cran in various
business ventures in Queensland. In Sydney in 1873 he married his cousin Helen
Tooth daughter of Frederick Tooth. In 1880 he won the Monaro seat in the NSW
Legislative Assembly. He was a director of the Bank of New South Wales in
1894-1907, served on its London board and was sometime chairman. He was a large
shareholder in the Colonial Sugar Refining Co., and a director in 1888-89. In
1888 the brewer Tooth & Co became a public company and he was, briefly, its
first managing director. In 1889 he took his family to England and settled
there. He assisted many charities and was created a baronet in 1906 for
services to the Empire.
The children of Cholmondeley Edward and
Janet Godschall Johnson, nee` Tooth, were Jessie, Cholmondeley, Nigel, Edward
(Ted), Janet (Sue), and Bill.
The Death Records also show a son Donald
Macansh Godschall Johnson dying in 23 January 1913 whose parents were
Cholmondeley Edward Godschall Johnson and Janet Newham Tooth. He probably was a
child who died in infancy.
CHAPTER XXIV
MAUD ALICE GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The fourth child to be born to William
Butler and Jessie Emma Godschall Johnson, nee` Collins, was Maud Alice
Godschall Johnson.
Maud Alice Godschall Johnson was born in
1883.
She married George Tooth of Ingham. This
is the George Tooth mentioned above.
They had four children: George Tooth
(Sandy), Noel Tooth, Dick Tooth, and Jessie Tooth.
CHAPTER XXV
EVELYN MABEL GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The fifth child to be born to William
Butler and Jessie Emma Godschall Johnson, nee` Collins, was Evelyn Mabel
Godschall Johnson.
Evelyn Mabel Godschall Johnson was born in
1886.
On the 4th October, 1915, she married A.
E. Clark-Kennedy at Cardwell in North Queensland.
Alexander Ewart Clark-Kennedy was born on
13 May 1887 to William Frederick Clark-Kennedy and his wife Sarah Alice Gordon.
Other children of William Frederick
Clark-Kennedy and Sarah Alice Gordon (who were married in 1882), were Alma Maud
Clark-Kennedy, born on 11 April 1883, Allan Gordon Clark-Kennedy, born on 17
August 1884, Kenneth George Clark-Kennedy, born 17 February, 1889, Wilfred
Muriel Clark-Kennedy, born 30 March 1890, and Aimee Dorothy Clark-Kennedy, born
14 August 1896.
A related family was that of John Charles
Clark-Kennedy who married Lucy Archer, and had children: Ellie Henrietta
Clark-Kennedy, born 1 July, 1887, Herbert Clark-Kennedy, born 25 June 1889,
Aletta Muriel Clark-Kennedy, born 20 June 1882, Ethel May Clark-Kennedy, born
27 November 1883, Minnie Clark-Kennedy, born 24 July 1876, Ruby Jean
Clark-Kennedy, born 26 November 1877, and William John Clark-Kennedy, born 20
February 1879.
Alexander Ewart and Evelyn Mabel
Clark-Kennedy, nee` Godschall Johnson, had four children: Ewart Clark-Kennedy,
Mabel Clark-Kennedy, Zuill Clark-Kennedy, and Alice Clark-Kennedy.
Alexander Ewart Clark-Kennedy was to die
on 17 October 1932.
His widow Evelyn Mabel Clark-Kennedy, nee`
Godschall Johnson, was to survive him another 25 years, and died on 29 July,
1957.
CHAPTER XXVI
WILLIAM VIRGIL GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The sixth child of William Butler and
Jessie Emma Godschall Johnson, nee` Collins, was William Virgil Godschall
Johnson.
William Virgil Godschall Johnson was born
in 1890.
He married J. C. M. Grant of Mandalee
Station, Mt. Garnet.
Jessie Cecilia Meredith Grant was born on
22 November 1899 to Franklin Stanhope Grant and his wife Jessie Rosina
Meredith.
An older brother was Franklin Leslie
Meredith Grant born on 23 October 1898, and a younger brother was James Lionel
Le Neave Grant born on 1 April 1902, who married Phyllis Muriel Godschall
Johnson, sister to William Virgil Godschall Johnson.
In Pioneers
Country by Glenville Pike, he says:
The Mt. Garnet area was then (when it started in 1896), on part
of the Mullabulla Station, run by R. Perrott of Evelyn. Grant Bros. bought
Woodleigh from the founder O. C. Garbutt, in the late 1880's. F. S. Grant took
up Mandalee in 1896.
That
would have had to have been shortly after his marriage in Brisbane to Jessie
Rosina Meredith.
In the 1908 Postal Directory F. L. Grant
is shown as being at Mandalee Station, Mt. Garnett, and Franklin S Grant, a
grazier, at Innot Hot Springs. Later directories show F. L. Grant continuing at
Mandalee and F. S. Grant, station owner, living at Herberton.
Franklin Stanhope Grant was the son of
James Grant and Charlotte Thomas. Franklin Stanhope Grant died on 20 December
1926.
The 1900 Postal Directory which shows not
only Franklin Stanhope Grant as a grazier at Innot Hot Springs, but also a
James H. Grant as the Manager of Woodleigh Station, Innot Hot Springs, suggests
that the father was still alive in 1900. He is not mentioned in the 1908 Postal
Directory.
James Grant married Charlotte Thomas at
Cromdale and Inverallen and Advie, Inverness, Scotland, on 9 March 1860.
William Virgil and Jessie Godschall
Johnson had five children: William Butler Godschall Johnson, Felicity C.
Godschall Johnson, Franklin Stanhope Godschall Johnson, James L. Godschall
Johnson, and David Virgil Godschall Johnson.
CHAPTER XXVII
ERIC LESLEIGH GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The seventh child to be born to William
Butler and Jessie Emma Godschall Johnson, nee` Collins, was Eric Lesleigh
Godschall Johnson.
Eric Lesleigh Godschall Johnson was born
in 1892.
He married R. E. P. Davidson of Mackay.
They had a child Alister who was adopted.
CHAPTER XXVIII
CARDEW HAMILTON GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The eighth child to be born to William
Butler and Jessie Emma Godschall Johnson, nee` Collins, was Cardew Hamilton
Godschall Johnson.
Cardew Hamilton Godschall Johnson was born
in 1894.
He married Marie Johnson of Ingham.
Marie Johnson was born on 13 November 1898
to Joshua Johnson and his wife, Marie Fitzgerald.
They had no children.
CHAPTER XXIX
ROBERT EARLE GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The ninth child to be born to William
Butler and Jessie Emma Godschall Johnson, nee` Collins, was Robert Earle
Godschall Johnson.
Robert Earle Godschall Johnson was born in
1896.
He married Mary Cole of Brisbane.
Mary Cole was probably the daughter of
Michael Joseph Cole and Rosanna Marsch, born 27 February 1899.
They had a son Earle Godschall Johnson.
Robert Earle Godschall Johnson died in
1963.
CHAPTER XXX
PHYLLIS MURIEL GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The tenth and youngest child to be born to
William Butler and Jessie Emma Godschall Johnson, nee` Collins, was Phyllis
Muriel Godschall Johnson.
Phyllis Muriel Godschall Johnson was born
in 1901.
She married James L Grant of Mandalee
Station, near Mt. Garnet.
James Lionel Le Neave Grant was born on 1
April 1902 to Franklin Stanhope Grant and Jessie Rosina Meredith.
James Lionel Le Neave Grant was a younger
brother to Jessie Cecilia Meredith Grant who married Phyllis' brother William
Virgil Godschall Johnson.
They had two children: Lionel Grant, and
Lenore Grant.
CHAPTER XXXI
RALPH CHOLOMONDELEY GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
Ralph Cholmondeley Godschall Johnson, the
eldest son of Ralph Edward Godschall Johnson and Eleanor Butler, was born in
1838.
On 7 July 1870, he married Margery Dill
Reid. Margery was born in 1849 in Rathmelton, County Donegal, Ireland to James
Reid and his wife Eliza, nee` Smith. Rathmelton, previously called Ramelton, is
on the shores of the ocean-fronting Lough Swilly. James Reid was a Presbyterian
Minister whose family had emigrated to Ireland in the late 17th Century from
Edinburgh. His father, John Reid, was a farmer with a University education, who
had three sons, all of whom secured a University education at Glasgow
University. John Reid, his three sons, Andrew, Mathew and (the Rev.) James, and
(the Rev.) James' three sons, James Smith Reid, Douglas Reid, and George
Macfarlane Reid, and his only daughter, Margery Dill Reid, were all born in the
same cottage on the banks of Lough Swilly.
John Reid's wife was Margery Dill. The
Dills were originally of Flemish stock, like the Godschalkes, and had emigrated
to England about the same time as Jan Godschall. Later, the Dills came across
to Ireland about the same time as the Reids, namely at the time of the Plantation
1608-1620. They settled too in various parts of Protestant Northern Ireland.
When Griffith did his valuation of County
Donegal in 1858, there was one Dill name mentioned in the Barony of
Kilmacrenan. That was of Anne Dill, no doubt a relation, in Main Street, Town
of Rathmelton, who tenanted a house and land to the value of 5 pounds.
SMITH:
Eliza Smith, wife of the Rev. James Reid,
was the daughter of James Smith and his wife Mary Macfarlane. James Smith was a
leading lawyer in Glasgow. Mary her mother came from the Macfarlanes of Luss.
Eliza was one of nine children of James and Mary Smith, six boys and three
girls.
JAMES REID:
The Rev. James Reid was to be the first
Presbyterian Minister to come to Queensland, arriving in Bowen in 1861.
Unfortunately the Rev. Reid died on 12 April 1866, after only five years in the
Colony. He was well appreciated by his parishioners, and had started a Boarding
School at Bowen.
An account of the Reid's voyage to
Australia, as told by Douglas Reid, one of the three brothers to Margery Dill
Reid, includes:
Douglas Reid, wrote for me
in 1920 this account of the family's life in Northern Ireland, voyage by
sailing ship to Queensland, and sojourn in Australia.
His father, Rev. James Reid, M. A., the first Minister in
Northern Queensland, only survived some four years in the prevailing rather
primitive conditions. But he was well appreciated and remembered, as an extract
from "Bowen Charge 1864-1935 (the History of Presbyterianism in Bowen
& District) shows.
The following is that extract:
"Bowen was settled by 111 souls under George Elphinstone
Dalrymple on 13th April 1861.
Arrival of Re. James Reid. M.A. A long-felt want was supplied
when Mr. Reid not only undertook to establish the Presbyterian cause but also
provided facilities for the education of youths by running a Boarding School in
which he taught English and Classics, while Mrs. Reid taught French, music and
Drawing. Mr. Reid also took a prominent part as a citizen and advocated
strenuously for the suppression of bushranging which was rampant in the
district.
Passing of Rev. James Reid
M.A.: Died at Bowen on 12th April 1866, at the age of 51. He was held in the
highest regard by the community indicated by the demonstration of respect at
his passing, when the flags of the town were flown at half-mast. His wife Eliza
Reid died on 6th August 1900 at the age of 77. (At `Rostrevor', Adelaide, South
Australia). Their graves in the Bowen cemetery are marked by a handsome
Aberdeen granite stone erected by their sons."
Sir
Ranald Macfarlane Reid in his foreword:
Left without financial resources the mother and family of 4
sons and a daughter battled on achieving very considerable success both for
themselves and in the development of Australia.
The eldest son, J.S. Reid, seventeen when his father died, was
always the leader. Early in the newspaper business, he started and ran no less
that seven in Australia mostly in the mining fields, pioneered and promoted
railways (particularly that of Silverton, Emu Bay etc.), and became one of the
greatest mining promoters in Australia. See "The Rise of Broken Hill" by
Geoffrey Blainey.
His records are in the Melbourne Archives which bear witness to
his great drive and ability. As does his lovely home Rostrevor in Adelaide (now
the centrepiece of the Marist Brothers College), and another home `Duneira' on Mount Macedon, Victoria.
My father (Sir Ranald Macfarlane Reid is speaking here),
George, the youngest brother, pioneered for some thirty years in Australia,
then on a trip "home" met and married my mother Gertrude, daughter of
Re. Alexander MacQuistan D.D., of Inverkip, near Glasgow, and settled in Scotland.
He became a director of the Australian Sulphide Corporation, which was started
by J. S. Reid.
The Macfarlane Reids in Western Australia and in Scotland,
together with the Scottish Lumsdens of Arden are his descendants.
Douglas Reid, the brother, also married and settled in the
U.K., and was a London director of Broken Hill Proprietary.
Most of the family remained in Australia and prospered: the
Dewez family of Sydney and the Grice family of Melbourne and western Australia
among them.
I have had this article by mu uncle Douglas Reid printed as a
memento to these pioneer Reids and I hope it will be of interest to their
descendants in Australia and in Britain.
So concluded the foreword written by Air
Vice Marshall, Royal Air Force (Retired), Ranald Macfarlane Reid, (Sir Ranald
Macfarlane Reid K.C.B., D.S.O., M.C.) in Perth, Western Australia, in October
1970.
Next is the account written by Douglas
Reid in 1920:
George Macfarlane Reid, my brother, was the youngest of the
family of four sons and one daughter of the Rev. James Reid and his wife,
Eliza.
Our grandfather, John Reid, of whom as a very old man, I have
some slight recollection, was a strong-minded, devout man.
He was a farmer with a University education - not very uncommon
in his day.
His wife, whose maiden name was Margery Dill, was described by
my mother as the best woman she had ever known: accomplished, well-read, and
deeply religious, she was of a most happy disposition.
The elder of her two brothers showed an enterprising spirit
which was well rewarded. Considering their father's small estate, left to them
in equal shares, was insufficient for the two of them, he let his brother take
the lot on condition that he was supplied with the means to carry on until he
was in a position to maintain himself.
Each had had a university education, and the elder, then well
over 30, returned to college to study medicine.
After taking his degree, he practised in England, and
ultimately became a man of considerable reputation as Dr. Dill of Brighton.
His patients included royalty, and he died worth upwards of
100,000 pounds, thought to be great wealth for a doctor fifty or sixty years
ago.
The Dills were masterful men, most of them in the learned
professions. Their strength of character was advertised in their strong
features, and in particular the "Dill mouth" was something out of the
common, so much so, indeed, that some of them were credited with being able to
whisper in their own ears.
They claimed to have come from a Dutch family, long resident in
England, while the Reid's originally hailed from near Edinburgh, and were said
to have been learned people.
The Rev. James Reid, our father, had two brothers, and all
three took their degrees in Glasgow University.
Young men worked for their education in their days: most of
them walked to and from College, and for the serious business of crossing the
Irish Channel, they had to charter small fishing boats.
On our mother's side, our grandfather was James Smith, in his
day the leading lawyer in Glasgow.
His wife, and the mother of his six sons and three daughters,
was, as the Scots lawyers have it, Mary Macfarlane or Smith, she being a
Macfarlane of Luss, and it was to her that George was indebted for his second
name,
At the time when our grandfather practised, there was neither
typewriting or shorthand, and busy lawyers such as he found their
correspondence and other composition a heavy tax on their time, but he at least
was equal to it.
Our mother as a girl often called for him to be taken to some
entertainment or other. It happened at times that she had to wait until he had
finished for the day, and she used to sit and listen while he kept three clerks
writing as fast as they could to his dictation.
His habit was to walk to and fro with his hands behind his
back, and as each of the clerks gave the last word, he was told the next
sentence or part of a sentence for the letter or legal document he was writing.
A successful lawyer, all went well with him until sorrow came
suddenly and heavily in the death, almost together, of his wife and two sons,
John and Douglas. The latter (Douglas) drowned in the Clyde River.
On the shore of the beautiful Lough Swilly my father had a little thatched cottage on
quite a small property, which included three tiny islands just out in the
Lough.
In front was an artificial stone plateau, with a sea wall to
forbid the Atlantic entering our front door.
At the back was a ceaseless flow of pure sparkling spring
water, and a sweet little garden, with flowers and fruit and box-bordered that
had a common meeting place in the centre, under the "arched tree".
These were really two trees, rowans, with trunks six or seven feet apart. They
were united at regular intervals by four arches of solid, living wood, almost
as thick as their trunks. These had been formed by bringing together some of
the topmost branches and binding them firmly. My father, as a boy, had made the
highest and last arch.
This was our frequent and to us children, altogether
delightful, summer home. It was directly over the water from the commanding
situation of the High Cairn.
It was the birthplace of our father and our grandfather.
It was also here that, in June, 1854, (died 1919, 65 years),
that our dear brother George came to us. It was a small world that he entered,
but a good one, holding for us few troubles.
The account then continues of their voyage
to Australia and subsequent adventures there.
James Smith Reid made a career in
newspapers, running seven in all, and promoted railways, such as Silverton, Emu
Bay and Chillagoe, and mining ventures, including the Broken Hill mines.
George Reid pioneered in Australia for
some 30 years, then returned to England. He married Gertrude MacQuistan,
daughter of the Rev. Alexander MacQuistan D.D. of Inverkip, near Glasgow, and
settled in Scotland. He became a director of the Australian Sulphide
Corporation, a corporation started by his brother Smith Reid.
Douglas Reid married and settled in the
United Kingdom as a London Director of Broken Hill Proprietary Limited.
Margery Dill Reid was 20 when she married
Ralph Cholmondeley Godschall Johnson. In her marriage certificate, she was
designated by the title of "Lady". Ralph Cholmondeley Godschall
Johnson was 28 when he married Margery Dill Reid. He was described in the
marriage certificate as a surveyor.
His place of birth was given as Middlesex,
England.
His parents were described in the Marriage
Certificate as Ralph Edward Godschall Johnson, Clerk, and Ellen Butler. The
description of Ralph Edward Godschall Johnson as "Clerk"
substantially understates his true position and role in history.
Both parties to the marriage gave their
usual place of residence as Bowen.
James K Black, Officiating Minister,
celebrated the marriage in “Mrs. Reid’s” house at Bowen according to the rites
of the Church of England.
The witnesses to the marriage were James
Smith Reid, and John Reid.
The couple were married on 7 July 1870.
The same day Ralph made out his will in favour of his new wife Margery, and
appointing brother in law James Smith Reid, of Bowen, brother in law John
Sutton, of Brisbane, and David Allan Day, Postmaster, of Bowen, his executors.
All these erstwhile gentleman were at the wedding. He describes Margery as his
wife, so the Will was executed after the nuptials, on the same day. James Smith
Reid and John Sutton witnessed the Will. The Will was handwritten by Ralph. It
is a steady handwriting, so that, if alcohol were consumed at the wedding
reception, the celebrations had probably not yet commenced. When Ralph died on
17 February 1884, after but fourteen years of married life, none of the named
executors sought to act as such. Widow Margery took out Letters of
Administration.
But we turn to the period when they were
married and both alive.
Their first child, Ralph James Godschall
Johnson was born on 12 May, 1871, at South Brisbane, but he was to die 6 months
later, on 6 November, 1871.
Their eldest surviving son, and second
born, was Ralph Godschall Johnson.
Ralph Godschall Johnson was born on 12
August 1872, at Bloomsbury. Bloomsbury is the cattle station in which Ralph
Edward Godschall Johnson had an interest and is mentioned in the story of
William Butler Godschall Johnson.
Their third son was John Godschall
Johnson. John Godschall Johnson was born on 17 August 1877.
Their fourth son was Frank Godschall
Johnson.
Frank Godschall Johnson was born on 22
November 1878.
Their fifth son was James Reid Godschall
Johnson.
James Reid Godschall Johnson was born on 2
December 1880.
Their sixth son to be born was Douglas
Reid Cholmondeley Godschall Johnson.
Douglas Reid Cholmondeley Godschall
Johnson was born on 26 February 1884, 6 days after his father's death.
Ralph Cholmondeley Godschall Johnson is
listed in one of the rare post office directories in 1864, as a surveyor at
Bowen. This was 6 years prior to his getting married, and 9 years after he had
landed in the Colony. Bowen itself was started in 1861. Ralph could have been
there almost from its beginning, as a single man.
Pastoralists looked to the Burdekin Valley
after the 1856 report from A.C. & F. T. Gregory on their journey from
Victoria River to Brisbane. Before the separate State of Queensland had been
formed, a Sydney based syndicate backed a land-based expedition to explore the
Burdekin by George Elphinstone Dalrymple. Dalrymple had with him Ernest Henry,
Phillip Selheim ( who later became one of the most respected wardens on the
Queensland Goldfields),and Henry Stone, a surveyor (after whom the Stone River
was named).
A seaward approach was taken by another
party of Captain Henry Daniel Sinclair, aboard the Santa Barbara, who cruised from Rockhampton to Upstart Bay, and
discovered an excellent harbour which they named Port Denison in honour of the
Governor of New South Wales.
The New South Wales Government, three
weeks before relinquishing control of the north, declared two new pastoral
districts open, Mitchell and Kennedy. The Kennedy extended from Cape Palmerston
to Halifax Bay and extended inland to include the Burdekin watershed. The new
Queensland Government stalled this pastoral expansion, and reassessed the
region. They sent Lieut. J. W. Smith in the Spitfire with Dalrymple and Henry Stone on board to compile another
report.
They reaffirmed the value of Port Denison,
and the Government decided to found a township there, to be named Bowen, in
honour of the Governor. On 11 April 1861, the first party of settlers landed,
from the Jeannie Dove in time for
the proclamation of the township of Bowen. Bowen then started to become the
base for the pastoral conquest of North Queensland. The Lands Office in Bowen
was headed by Dalrymple who was appointed Commissioner for Crown Lands in the
Kennedy District. Another member of his
initial exploring party, W. H. Thomas was appointed a Clerk in the Lands Office
there, as his reward. With the boundaries of squatting runs to be an initial
priority, as pastoralists sought the rich grazing lands of the Burdekin region,
the services of a surveyor or two would have been needed. Such no doubt
provided Ralph's opportunity.
In the Queensland Government Blue Book for
1868/69, he is shown as Land Agent, Bowen, and Recording Clerk, Kennedy. His
appointment as a Land Agent Class IV at a salary of 50 pounds per annum, dates
from 1 December 1869. This compares with the salary of his father Ralph Edward
Godschall Johnson, in Brisbane, as Assistant Clerk to the Legislative Council,
which was 300 pounds per annum. He married the following year, probably feeling
that he had a steady enough job to support a wife.
He performed numerous surveying jobs for
the Queensland Government, including surveying the centre of Townsville,
Walker, Sturt and Flinders Streets, in August 1874. This survey was done nine
years after Townsville was first settled. Townsville was started in 1865 when
Robert Towns, Sydney based merchant, on the verge of retirement, could not
resist one more enterprise: so he took up land at Cleveland Bay, and erected a
wool-store, wharf and boiling-down works. He abandoned his failing cotton
interests and concentrated on Townsville, which the Government named after him,
envisaging his own ships carrying his own wool out of his own harbour. With
this he took up and with J. G. Macdonald, stocked stations on the Gulf of
Carpentaria. Towns was 70 when he did this; he suffered a stroke in 1870 and
died in Sydney in 1873. Because the place was more an egocentric town
initially, it had a slow start, and competed initially with Cardwell.
Townsville, of course, won in the long term.
Ralph's report dated 3 August 1874 to the
Surveyor General in Brisbane mentions the existence of only two houses and two
huts on the area he surveyed. This was a year after Towns' death, and wider
interest in Cleveland Bay as a port open to all, rather than the deceased
Towns' private interests, may have prompted the Government to regularise the
future growth there.
Ralph reported:
Townsville. 3 August 1874
re: 74 220. Sections 55 to 64, Town of Townsville, and also
allotment 2 of section no not known.
Sir,
I have the honour to transmit herewith Plans, Field-Books, and
account in 5xplicate of Surveys noted in the margin. And I hereby declare that
I have personally surveyed and marked out on the ground all the boundaries of
the abovementioned portions, and that the Plans and Field-Books are correct,
and the whole survey performed with care and in strict accordance with the
regulations and practice of the Department.
I have the Honour to be Sir,
Your most obedient servant,
R. C. Godschall Johnson,
Licensed Surveyor.
On making the plans of survey of Sections 55 to 64...On
allotment 16 of section 61 there is a house which I value at 22 pounds; on
allotment 2 of Section 60 is a hut I value at 8 pounds. On allotment 12 of
section 61 is a hut which I value at 9 pounds. These are the only buildings of
any value on these sections.
I may also mention that the Corporation have run their road
through the South east corner of allotment 1 of suburban Section 1A, and that
consequently, the line I have surveyed has crossed it.
On allotment 2 of section not numbered, there is a house of Mr.
Harman's which I value at 18 pounds.
He was also involved in surveying
Cooktown. A total of 54 survey maps appear to have been compiled by Ralph
during his career with the Lands Department, between the years 1872 and 1875.
They cover Bowen, Proserpine, Townsville and Cooktown. His survey of Cooktown
is dated April 1875. The gold rush to Cooktown commenced following a Mining
Warden's Notice on 3 September 1873, so 19 months later, Ralph was in that
burgeoning swashbuckling town doing the first survey therein. One of the maps
of Cooktown states that it was "surveyed under verbal instructions from
the Surveyor-General dated 8 April 1875". This is believed to be the last
of his surveys done for the Queensland Government.
It is not known what Ralph did between
1875 and his death in 1884. He could have picked up an illness from Cooktown
such as dysentery or Gulf fever, which reduced his ability to be gainfully
employed. He could well have pursued his profession as licensed surveyor. He
might even have been tempted by one of the post Palmer gold or other mineral
(tin or wolfram) rushes, between the years 1880 when JR was born and June 1883 when lastborn Douglas Reid was conceived. It
certainly would have been a strong enough temptation, despite the
responsibility of a young family.
Ralph Cholmondeley Godschall Johnson died
on 20 February 1884, according to his death certificate, in Brisbane. It is
understood that he was sick, and went to Brisbane for medical treatment. His
wife, Margery Dill Godschall Johnson gave birth to her youngest child Douglas
Reid Cholmondeley Godschall Johnson, in Townsville, six days later, on 26
February 1884. She would have been in no position to accompany her dying
husband to Brisbane for medical treatment. It should be noted though that in
her application for Letters of Administration of her husband' estate, Margery
said that her husband died at Woogaroo. Such is contained in an affidavit she
swore in support of her Application, which affidavit was filed in the Supreme
Court of Queensland on 20 September 1884.
Margery Dill Godschall Johnson, now a
widow, resided at "Mayfield" at Mt. Louisa, near Townsville, after
Ralph's death. This may have been the family residence for a considerable
period of time that the family resided in Townsville while Ralph was alive. The
clue came from a reference in the diary of Margery's mother, Eliza, to Margery
having her hands full with young children at home at Mayfield.
The entry in the diary is dated 9 August
1890:
This is Margery's birthday. I suppose she will be home at
Mayfield now with her boisterous boys.
It is preceded by an earlier entry in
Eliza Reid's diary:
Wed 3rd Au. Dear Smith. Margery left Sydney last night by the Cinda.
The boat was to have left Saturday 5pm. But did not go till 11 pm. She saw the
great fire. It was a grand sight.
A map of Townsville published by the
Surveyor general's Office in 1886, two years after Ralph's death, shows
Portions 111, 165, and 326 , Parish of Coonamble, as being owned by R. C. G.
Johnson. The road shown along the eastern boundary of Portion 111 in this map,
although unconstructed, was known as Hastings Street, Mt. Louisa, and connected
with the Dalrymple Road at the south-eastern corner of Portion 111. A camping
reserve at Mt. Louisa adjoined these portions. Dalrymple Road was gazetted
through the Camping Reserve after 1886, and Portions 111 and 165 eventually had
frontages to this road. Portion 326 fronted Thorn Street. A later map, dated
1931, shows the owner's name for Portion 326 as M. D. Johnson, but the other
two portions remained in the name R. C. G. Johnson. This map may merely be
retaining the names of the original selector. All three portions have since
been subdivided into smaller allotments.
Mayfield was probably the family home till
Margery's death in 1912. The children would have left home in due course as
they grew up, although this may not have been till they were in their twenties.
Eldest son Ralph, for instance, may have resided there when he took a job with
the Townsville Municipality. His letter of resignation from this job has
survived and is dated 1891. Son John, known as Jack, could have left home early
as he was known to have become a miner and an adventurer to the south seas
Islands. He would have been fourteen in 1891, and that may have been the age at
which he set off.
It is not known how Margery supported
herself. She certainly could afford a trip to Sydney to see her mother. She
could have had insurance from her husband's death. For someone who was prudent
enough to get her husband to execute a will in her favour on the date of their
marriage, life insurance, very common in those days in the absence of any
government pension support, would have been a natural step. Mind you, she was
no stranger to a husband dying early and leaving a widow with a young family to
support. Her own mother was left the same way, and all the young Reids went out
to work.
Margery Dill Reid died in 1921.
CHAPTER XXXII
DOUGLAS REID CHOLOMONDELEY GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
Dealing firstly with the last born of
Ralph Cholmondeley Godschall Johnson, and Margery Dill Reid, namely Douglas
Reid Cholmondeley Godschall Johnson.
Douglas Reid Cholmondeley Godschall
Johnson was born on 26 February 1884 at Townsville in North Queensland.
In 1912, he married Alice Elizabeth
Caseley.
Alice Elizabeth Caseley was born on 5
November 1888, at Poplar, England.
They had eight children, six sons and two
daughters. One son died in his teenage years.
The sons were John Godschall Johnson,
Douglas Reid Cholmondeley Godschall Johnson, Alfred Henry Cole Godschall
Johnson, Peter Godschall Johnson, Frank Godschall Johnson and Thomas Godschall
Johnson.
The daughters were Charlotte Emily Cole
Godschall Johnson, and Rachael Godschall Johnson.
The eldest son, John Godschall Johnson,
was born on 4 November 1912, at Brisbane, in the State of Queensland.
The second eldest son, Douglas Reid
Cholmondeley Godschall Johnson was born on 11 August 1914, at Brisbane.
The third eldest son, Alfred Henry Cole
Godschall Johnson, was born on 19 April 1916, at Brisbane.
The fourth oldest son, Peter Godschall
Johnson, was born on 21 August 1921 at Brisbane. He survived only to 15 years
of age and died on 12 July 1936 at Townsville.
The fifth oldest son was Frank Godschall
Johnson. Frank Godschall Johnson was born on 10 May 1923 at Townsville. It is
noted that by 1923, the family had moved from Brisbane to Townsville.
The youngest son was Thomas Godschall
Johnson. Thomas Godschall Johnson was born on 18 September 1929, at Townsville.
The older of the two daughters was
Charlotte Emily Cole Godschall Johnson. Charlotte Emily Cole Godschall Johnson
was born on 31 December 1919 at Brisbane.
The younger of the two daughters was
Rachael Godschall Johnson. Rachael Godschall Johnson was born on 18 November
1925 at Townsville.
Douglas Reid Godschall Johnson died in
1965.
His obituary, as it appeared in a
Townsville newspaper, read:
Mr. Douglas Reid Cholmondeley Godschall Johnson, who was well
known in Townsville, died recently in Sydney at the age of 81. Mr. Johnson was
born in a private residence at the corner of Alexandra and Stuart Streets North
Ward (Townsville), in 1884, and he lived in Queensland all his life, mainly in
Townsville. He conducted a newsagency near the Old Queen's Park Hotel in North
Ward, and later lived at Belgian Gardens and Stuart (then known as Stewart's
Creek). In his retirement, Mr. Johnson resided at Nelly Bay, Magnetic Island.
His father, Ralph Godschall Johnson, was one of the original surveyors in the
planning of Townsville following the first settlement, and his grandfather,
known as "Gentleman Johnson", was the first Clerk of the Queensland
Parliament following this State's separation from New South Wales. Mr. Johnson
had many interests, especially in the field of natural history. While at Nelly
Bay he found several aboriginal stone axes, and he presented the best preserved
of these to the Sydney Museum. Mr. Johnson also presented a large specimen of
stonefish to the Adelaide Museum and made others available to the Nelly Bay
School. Mr. Johnson is survived by his widow, Mrs. Alice Elizabeth Johnson and
seven children- Rachael, Henry, Frank, and Thomas, of Townsville, and John,
Douglas and Charlotte of Sydney. His remains were cremated at Rookwood, Sydney.
The ashes will later be placed in the family grave in Townsville.
As the Obituary stated, Douglas Reid
Cholmondeley Godschall Johnson was survived by seven of his eight children.
CHAPTER XXXIII
JOHN GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
John Godschall Johnson, the eldest son,
married Phyllis Sarah Mather.
John and Phyllis had three children: Peter
Douglas Godschall Johnson, Ralph George Godschall Johnson, and Alice Elizabeth
Katherine Godschall Johnson.
John is a violinmaker extraordinaire.
There is a separate pages dedicated to his achievements.
CHAPTER XXXIV
DOUGLAS REID CHOLOMONDELEY GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The second son of Douglas Reid
Cholmondeley Godschall Johnson and Alice Elizabeth Caseley was Douglas Reid
Cholmondeley Godschall Johnson.
Douglas Reid Cholmondeley Godschall
Johnson, (the younger), was born in Brisbane in 1914.
Douglas Reid Cholmondeley Godschall
Johnson married Ellen Elizabeth Hardy.
Douglas Reid Cholmondeley Godschall
Johnson and Ellen Elizabeth Hardy had two children: Ian Douglas Godschall
Johnson and Leslie Godschall Johnson.
IAN DOUGLAS
GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
Ian Douglas Godschall Johnson married
Christine Emma Seddon.
Ian Douglas and Christine Emma Godschall
Johnson, nee` Seddon, had two children, Mark Ian Godschall Johnson, and Daniel
Eric Godschall Johnson.
LESLIE GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The second son of Douglas Reid and Ellen
Elizabeth Godschall Johnson, nee` Hardy, was Leslie Godschall Johnson.
Leslie Godschall Johnson married Jennifer
Dawn Moore.
Leslie and Jennifer Dawn Godschall
Johnson, nee` Moore, bore what may have been the first Godschall Johnson to be
born in the Mother Country, England, in over 100 years, namely Joseph Brendon
Godschall Johnson.
Joseph Brendon Godschall Johnson was born
1981 at London.
CHAPTER XXXV
ALFRED HENRY COLE GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The third son to be born to Douglas Reid
Cholmondeley Godschall Johnson and Alice Elizabeth Caseley was Alfred Henry
Cole Godschall Johnson.
Alfred Henry Cole Godschall Johnson was
born 1916 at Brisbane.
Alfred Henry Cole Godschall Johnson
married Edna Greer.
Alfred Henry Cole Godschall Johnson and
Edna Greer had three children: Lindsay Godschall Johnson Barbara Godschall Johnson,
and Peter John Godschall Johnson.
CHAPTER XXXVI
CHARLOTTE EMILY COLE GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The eldest daughter of Douglas Reid
Cholmondeley Godschall Johnson and Alice Elizabeth Caseley was Charlotte Emily
Cole Godschall Johnson.
Charlotte Emily Cole Godschall Johnson was
born 1919, at Brisbane.
Charlotte Emily Cole Godschall Johnson
married Stephen George McNeil.
Stephen George and Charlotte Cole McNeil,
nee` Godschall Johnson, had no children.
CHAPTER XXXVII
PETER GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The fourth son of Douglas Reid
Cholmondeley Godschall Johnson and Alice Elizabeth Caseley was Peter Godschall
Johnson.
Peter Godschall Johnson was born 1921, at
Townsville.
He died at age 14, on 12 July 1936, and is
buried in the Townsville General Cemetery.
CHAPTER XXXVIII
FRANK GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The fifth son of Douglas Reid Cholmondeley
Johnson and Alice Elizabeth Caseley was Frank Godschall Johnson.
Frank Godschall Johnson was born 1923 at
Townsville.
Frank Godschall Johnson married Valerie
May Collins.
Frank Godschall Johnson and Valerie May
Collins had five children.
The surviving children were Linda Joy
Godschall Johnson, Catherine Gay Godschall Johnson, Jennifer Ellen Godschall
Johnson, and Elizabeth Audrey Godschall Johnson.
CHAPTER XXXIX
RACHAEL GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The younger daughter of Douglas Reid
Cholmondeley Godschall Johnson and Alice Elizabeth Caseley is Rachael Godschall
Johnson.
Rachael Godschall Johnson was born 1925 at
Townsville.
Rachael Godschall Johnson married Gilbert
Thomas Francis.
Gilbert Thomas Francis was born in the
United States of America.
Gilbert Thomas and Rachael Francis, nee`
Godschall Johnson, had nine children: Gilbert Thomas Francis, Diana Elizabeth
Francis, Douglas Henry Francis, Rachael Godschall Francis, Rebecca Alice
Francis, Clare Emily Francis, Richard Joseph Francis, Charlotte Christiane
Francis, and Eva Louise Francis.
Gilbert Thomas Francis, husband to Rachael
Godschall Johnson, died on 27 April 1974, at Townsville, in north Queensland.
CHAPTER XL
THOMAS GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The youngest son of Douglas Reid
Cholmondeley Godschall Johnson and Alice Elizabeth Caseley was Thomas Godschall
Johnson.
Thomas Godschall Johnson was born 1929 at
Townsville.
Thomas Godschall Johnson married Yvonne
Suzette Morphet-Berridge.
Thomas Godschall Johnson and Yvonne
Suzette Morphet- Berridge have five children: Coralie Yvonne Godschall Johnson,
Vivienne Alice Godschall Johnson, Richard Thomas Godschall Johnson, Glen
Anthony Godschall Johnson and Rodney Stephen Godschall Johnson.
CHAPTER XLI
JAMES REID GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The second youngest son of Ralph
Cholmondeley Godschall Johnson, and Margery Dill Reid, was James Reid Godschall
Johnson.
James Reid Godschall Johnson was born in
1880.
In 1913, he married Marguerite Helen Landy
(“Pearl”).
Pearl Landy was a daughter of Patrick
Landy and Mary O'Keefe.
Patrick Landy was a son of James Landy and
Honoria Wallace from Frankford, in the County of Kilkenney, Ireland.
James Landy and Honoria Wallace had twelve
children; Nicholas Landy, born in 1833, Edmond Landy, born in 1835, Catherine
Landy, born in 1836, Patrick Landy, born in 1837, John Landy, born in 1839,
James Landy, born in 1841, Mary Landy, born in 1843, Michael Landy, born in
1845, Margaret Landy, born in 1849, Richard Landy, born in 1851, another
Richard Landy, born in 1853, and Margaret Landy, born in 1856. Some of these
may have died young.
Nicholas Landy is known to have married
Johanna Cormack, and had children: John (1873), James C. (1873), John (1875),
Nano (1877), Richard (1878), Michael (1880), Mary Jos (1882), and Margaret
(1884).
John Landy married Alice Egan, and had
children: James (1884), Honoria (1885), Brigid (1887), Margaret (1888), Brigid
(11889), Mary (1891), and Larry (1892).
Patrick Landy married Mary O' Keefe.
Patrick Landy and Mary O'Keefe had seven children: James Landy, Patrick Landy,
Wallace Landy, Gertie Landy, Kathleen Landy, May Landy, and Pearl Landy.
James Landy married N. Bunworth and had a
son, Peter Landy.
Patrick Landy, (son of Patrick Landy and
Mary O'Keefe), married C. Cosgrove, and had eight children: Patricia, Maureen,
Barry, Pat, Sheila, Billie, Brian and John.
Wallace Landy married L. Hendry and had
five children: Frank, John, Kevin, Pat and Elma.
Kathleen Landy married D. Ryan.
May Landy married Behan, and had a son
Harold, and daughters.
Pearl Landy married James Reid Godschall
Johnson.
James Reid and Pearl Godschall Johnson had
three children, Rita, Wallace and Reid.
Rita married Fred Frame, a National Bank
manager.
Wallace is dead. He had a son called
Ralph, who was in Mackay.
Reid Godschall Johnson married a Rita and
had daughters Rita Ann Godschall Johnson, and Constance Godschall Johnson.
James preferred to be known as Jim or
"J.R."
Jim used to own the Deluxe picture theatre in Ingham, in partnership with his brother
Frank. They also owned the cafes and shops to either side of the picture
theatre. Jim also owned a house on the beach at Lucinda. His brother Frank also
owned houses on the beach at Lucinda, a two story one and a longish one.
Jim was best man at the wedding, in 1910,
of his brother, Frank Godschall Johnson to Leila Josephine Bonning. He himself
was to marry three years later.
CHAPTER XLII
RALPH GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The second, and eldest surviving son of
Ralph Cholmondeley Godschall Johnson and Margery Dill Reid, was Ralph Godschall
Johnson.
Ralph Godschall Johnson was born on 12
August 1872 at Burnside on the O'Connell River, near Mackay.
Ralph went to work at age 13 years at a
printing office, in Townsville, and went to school at night. His hand was
crushed in a printing machine. He refused to let the doctors amputate his hand.
Later his hand returned to normal, and gave little trouble.
It is also said that he lost a lot of
money speculating in Broken Hill mining shares, but this cannot be verified.
In 1897, he married, near Ingham, his first cousin, Mary Eleanor Godschall
Johnson, daughter of William Butler Godschall Johnson. They lived near Ingham
for several years in a lovely old home which is now an old peoples' home run by
the Church of England. Their first three children were born there. The family
then moved to the Antigua sugar
farm, which Ralph farmed with his brother Frank.
They had five sons and five daughters.
Their eldest son was Ralph Godschall
Johnson.
Ralph Godschall Johnson was born on 24
August 1898.
Their oldest daughter was Mary Gertrude
Godschall Johnson (“Molly”).
Molly or Mary Gertrude, was born on 3 May
1900.
Their next son was John William Douglas
Godschall Johnson.
John William Douglas Godschall Johnson was
born on 24 May 1901.
All the above three first born were born
in the old home at Ingham.
Their third son, and fourth child, was
Frank Edward Godschall Johnson.
Frank Edward Godschall Johnson was born on
20 May 1904 on the farm "Antigua" at Ingham. This was when the family
had moved out to the farm.
The fifth child to Ralph and Mary Eleanor
Godschall Johnson was Margery Florence Godschall Johnson.
Margery Florence Godschall Johnson was
born on 28 June 1906.
The sixth child to be born to Ralph and
Mary Eleanor Godschall Johnson was Mabel Jessie Godschall Johnson.
Mabel Jessie Godschall Johnson was born on
28 June 1909.
The seventh child to be born to Ralph and
Mary Eleanor Godschall Johnson was Joan Eleanor Godschall Johnson.
Joan Eleanor Godschall Johnson was born on
16 August 1912.
The eighth child to be born to Ralph and
Mary Eleanor Godschall Johnson was Benjamin Godschall Johnson.
Benjamin Godschall Johnson was born on 26
May 1915.
The ninth child to be born to Ralph and
Mary Eleanor Godschall Johnson was Betty Godschall Johnson.
Betty Godschall Johnson was born on 19 December 1917.
The tenth, last, or youngest child to be
born to Ralph and Mary Eleanor Godschall Johnson, was Macfarlane Edmond
Godschall Johnson.
Macfarlane Edmond Godschall Johnson was
born on 12 May 1921.
In 1898, Ralph and Eleanor fitted in a
visit to England and Scotland, possibly on their honeymoon, where they were given
an inscribed silver cup from Gerty Reid, wife of George Reid.
Some years later, Ralph took a trip to
South Africa, on business, with his wife and three of his children. While away
the house at Antigua burned to the
ground. They lost all their valuables. Eleanor was totally shattered. However,
they rebuilt the home, and lived there for a few more years. They then moved
into the township of Ingham.
Ralph became an auctioneer and commission
agent. Not making much money out of this, they sold their Ingham house, and the
commission agency, and went to live on a big farm known as Loch Lea. This farm was bought, and later resold to John Rowe, who
later became Queensland Primary Industries Minister in the Government. It was
said that he had sold out before the good prices in the sugar industry. Whilst
they owned Loch Lea they had tennis
courts and a croquet lawn. Later, they moved to Runcorn, in Brisbane, where
they rented a house for a couple of years. They then moved back north after the
1918 cyclone.
Ralph was Town Clerk in Ingham for a short
while. He also stood for Parliament in 1918.
Mary Eleanor Godschall Johnson had been
born in 1878. She was to die on 12 May 1921 at Mackay.
Some time after her death, her widowed
husband, Ralph Godschall Johnson was to marry again.
Ralph Godschall Johnson married a second
wife, Flora Alice Mills.
Flora Alice Mills was born on 24 December
1896 at Mt. Britton in Queensland.
Ralph Godschall Johnson was to die on 5
December 1944 at Mackay.
CHAPTER XLIII
RALPH GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The eldest sson of Ralph Godschall Johnson and
Mary Eleanor Godschall Johnson, was Ralph Godschall Johnson.
Ralph Godschall Johnson was born on 24
August 1898.
In 1935, he married Marion Ethel Mott.
They lived in Mackay, and had no issue.
Ralph Godschall Johnson died at Bundaberg
in 1964.
CHAPTER XLIV
MARY GERTRUDE GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The second child to be born to Ralph and
Mary Eleanor Godschall Johnson was Mary Gertrude Godschall Johnson.
Mary Gertrude Godschall Johnson was born
on 3 May 1900.
Mary Gertrude Godschall Johnson was known
as "Molly".
Molly married Charles Davidson, later to
become Postmaster General of Australia, and who was also later to be knighted
to Sir Charles Davidson, thereby making Molly Lady Davidson.
Charles Davidson was born on 14 September
1897, at Brisbane. He was the son of Alexander Black Davidson and his wife
Marian Perry. Alexander, his father, came from Aberdeen in Scotland. His
parents were William Davidson and his wife Agnes Mathieson, who were married on
11 January 1852 at Tarves, Aberdeen, Scotland.
Alexander Black Davidson was christened on
23 June 1863 at Logie Buchan Aberdeen. His siblings were Margaret (1857), Mary
Jane (1860), Isabella (1862), and Agnes (1866). All children were christened at
Logie Buchan, Aberdeen.
Charles was educated at Townsville Grammar
School, and Trinity college, Cambridge.
Charles served with the 42nd Battalion of
the Australian Infantry Forces between 1916 and 1919. He was wounded in France.
They were married on 21 December 1924 at
St. Thomas' Church of England, North Sydney.
From 1925, Charles and Molly engaged in
sugar cane farming. Charles held various offices in the Queensland Cane Growers
Association, and was Assistant Secretary of the Australian Sugar Producers
Association.
Charles served again with the 42nd
Battalion of the Australian Infantry
Forces in the Second World War, between 1939 and 1944. He was promoted to
Lieutenant Colonel in 1942. Names like "Charlie's Hill" and
"Davidson Ridge", in the battlefields of Papua New Guinea, owe their
origin to Charles' wartime efforts.
In 1955, Charles was made an Honorary
Colonel of the 42nd Infantry Battalion (Capricornia Regiment).
Charles was Member of Capricornia for the
years 1946 to 1949 then Member for Capricornia for the years 1949 to 1963 in
the House of Representatives for the Parliament of the Commonwealth of
Australia. He represented the Country Party and was Deputy Government Whip for
the years 1950 to 1956, then Minister for the Navy 1956 to 1958, then Post
Master general 1956 to 1963. During his time as Post Master general, both
television and Subscriber Trunk Dialling (STD) were introduced and many other
important improvements to postal and telegraph services were made.
From 1964 to 1970 he was a Director of
Telephone and Electrical Industries, and from 1970 to 1975 a consultant to
Plessey Telecommunications. He was also a Director of Magellan Petroleum.
Charles was interested in cricket and
tennis. His clubs were the United Services in Brisbane and the Masonic Lodge in
Rockhampton.
Molly and Charles Davidson had three
children: Joan Mary Davidson, born 1931, John Alexander Davidson, born 1936,
and Margery Elizabeth Davidson, born 1938.
Margery, later Stutchbury had children,
Judith, Sarah, Elizabeth and Ralph.
Lady Davidson lived at Yeronga, Brisbane
in the State of Queensland, in her last years before her death.
Evelyn Maunsell, wife of Charles Maunsell,
of Mount Mulgrave Station, and later farming near Malanda on the Atherton
Tableland, recalls:
One day, plodding along the muddy track through our scrub, I
met a bullock team pulling a wagon-load of logs and driven by a young man so
spotless and clean in fresh trousers and Jackie Howe singlet that I stopped to
talk to him. His name was Charlie Davidson, he was just back from the war, and
was staying with his sister and brother-in-law and helping out by driving the
bullock team.
I met him again several times after that. People called him
Prince. He told me it was to distinguish him because his uncle's, cousin's, and
his own names were all C.W. Davidson. He was always so neat and spotless that
the name suited him. After rising to the rank of Colonel in World War II, he
played a prominent part in the organization of the Country Party, became
Postmaster-General, and now he is Sir Charles Davidson. But I shall always
remember him that first day up at Malanda, spotlessly clean in the mud, and
driving a team of bullocks.
In 1968, Evelyn's one and only son Ron
Maunsell, won a Country Party plebiscite and in March 1969, took a seat in
Federal Parliament as Senator Ron Maunsell.
Charles was the Member of the House of
Representatives for the Electorate of Capricornia between the years 1946 and
1949, then for the electorate of Dawson from 1949.
CHAPTER XLV
JOHN WILLIAM DOUGLAS GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The second son of Ralph and Mary Eleanor
Godschall Johnson was John (Jack) William Douglas Godschall Johnson.
John William Douglas Godschall Johnson was
born on 24 May 1901.
He married Selina Wilks.
John William Douglas and Selina Godschall
Johnson had a son, John Victor Godschall Johnson born 1935.
It is understood that John Victor
Godschall Johnson had a son.
CHAPTER XLVI
FRANK EDWARD GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The third son, and fourth child, of Ralph
Godschall Johnson and Mary Eleanor Godschall Johnson, was Frank Edward
Godschall Johnson.
Frank Edward Godschall Johnson was born on
20 May 1904 at the sugar cane farm known as Antigua outside Ingham.
Frank Edward Godschall Johnson married
Doris Muriel Bell.
Frank Edward and Doris Muriel Godschall
Johnson had four children: Marsali Merle Godschall Johnson, Margery Elizabeth
Godschall Johnson, Beverley Ann Godschall Johnson, and Frank Robert Godschall
Johnson.
All four children subsequently married.
Frank Edward Godschall Johnson, husband to
Doris Muriel Bell, and father to four offspring and grandfather to 12 of the
next generation, was to die on 27 May 1976 at Mackay.
CHAPTER XLVII
MARGERY FLORENCE GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The fifth child of Ralph and Mary Eleanor
Godschall Johnson was Margery Florence Godschall Johnson.
Margery Florence Godschall Johnson was
born 1906, at Ingham.
She married Cecil Thomas Wade, at St.
Thomas's Church of England, South Brisbane.
Cecil Thomas and Margery Florence Wade,
nee` Godschall Johnson, had three children: Cecily Florence Wade, Thomas Ralph
Wade, and Judith Rose Mary Wade.
There were ten grandchildren.
Margery Florence Wade lived at
Charleville, and her sister Joan Eleanor Wade, nee Godschall Johnson, also
lived at Charleville, but had no children.
CHAPTER XLVIII
MABEL JESSIE GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The sixth child of Ralph and Mary Eleanor
Godschall Johnson was Mabel Jessie Godschall Johnson.
Mabel Jessie Godschall Johnson was born
1909, at Ingham.
She married an August Grimm of German
extraction, and had two children: John August Grimm, born on 15 May 1935, but
who died on 19 March 1937, and Ralph August Grimm, born 1938.
August Grimm died on 19 May 1937 at
Mackay, before he could see the birth of his second son.
Mabel Jessie Grimm, nee` Godschall
Johnson, married a second time.
Her second marriage was to Alexander
Atkinson.
Alexander Atkinson was born 1902 in
Northern Ireland.
Alexander and Mabel Jessie Atkinson,
formerly Grimm, nee` Godschall Johnson, had five children: Margaret Ann
Atkinson, Ian Alexander Atkinson, Betty Edith Atkinson, Gwen Enid Atkinson, and
Peter John Atkinson.
Alexander Atkinson was to die on 17 May
1973.
His youngest child, Peter John Atkinson,
had died three years earlier, on 19 June 1970.
There is a surviving note recording a
conversation had with Mabel in later years, speaking of her tragic life. She
said that her first husband was killed in a tractor accident at Blivisbury near
Mackay in 1937; two months later her oldest child died, aged two years. Her
three daughters and two sons from her second marriage were, at that time, still
alive.
CHAPTER XLIX
JOAN ELEANOR GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The seventh child of Ralph and Mary
Eleanor Godschall Johnson was Joan Eleanor Godschall Johnson.
Joan Eleanor Godschall Johnson was born
1912, at Ingham.
She married Stewart Munro Dunn.
Stewart Munro Dunn was born 1909, and died
on 31 July 1945, in a Japanese Prisoner of War camp.
Joan Eleanor Dunn, nee` Godschall Johnson,
remarried, to Theodors Francis Wade.
Theodore Francis Wade was born 1913 at
Charleville in Western Queensland.
They had no children.
CHAPTER L
BENJAMIN GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The eighth child of Ralph and Mary Eleanor
Godschall Johnson was Benjamin Godschall Johnson.
Benjamin Godschall Johnson was born 1915.
He married Phyllis Ada Teale.
Benjamin and Phyllis Ada Godschall Johnson
had seven children, Pamela Godschall Johnson, Gloria, Mavin Godschall Johnson,
Bernard James Godschall Johnson, Glen William Godschall Johnson, Laurel Joan
Godschall Johnson, Gregory Steven Godschall Johnson, and Christopher Ralph
Godschall Johnson .and had twelve grandchildren.
CHAPTER LI
BETTY GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The ninth child of Ralph and Mary Eleanor
Godschall Johnson was Betty Godschall Johnson.
Betty Godschall Johnson was born in 1917
at Runcorn in Brisbane.
She married Arthur Williamson.
Arthur and Betty Williamson, nee`
Godschall Johnson, had four children: Mary Eleanor Williamson, Joan Ethel
Williamson, Peter Arthur Williamson, and Paul Robert Williamson, and 13
grandchildren.
CHAPTER LII
MACFARLANE EDMOND GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The tenth and youngest child to be born to
Ralph and Mary Eleanor Godschall Johnson was Macfarlane Edmond Godschall
Johnson.
Macfarlane Edmond Godschall Johnson was
born in 1921.
Macfarlane Edmond Godschall Johnson
married Thelma Ethel Dinte.
Macfarlane Edmond and Thelma Ethel
Godschall Johnson had four children: Lex Macfarlane Johnson,
Diane
Johnson, Lebon Edmond Johnson, and Trena Johnson, and four grandchildren.
CHAPTER LIII
FRANK GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The fourth son of Ralph Cholmondeley
Godschall Johnson and Margery Dill Reid was Frank Godschall Johnson.
Frank Godschall Johnson was born on 22
November 1878 at Townsville.
On 24 November 1910, Frank Godschall
Johnson married Leila Josephine Bonning.
Leila Josephine Bonning was a daughter of
George Bonning, carrier, of Ingham, and his wife, Mary O'Leary.
Leila Josephine Bonning was born in Ingham
in the north of Queensland on 20 August 1892.
Leila was 18 when she married Frank
Godschall Johnson.
The
wedding was conducted at the Holy Trinity Church at Ingham, by Wilhaa Harne
Bisset- Carrie, a priest of the Church of England.
Frank Godschall Johnson is shown on the
Marriage Certificate as a 31 year old farmer, a bachelor, of Ingham.
He gave his birthplace as Townsville, and
parents Ralph Cholmondeley Godschall Johnson, surveyor, and Margery Dill Reid.
Leila Josephine Bonning gave her marriage
certificate details as an 18 year old hospital nurse, resident at Ingham,
unmarried, born at Ingham to George Bonning, carter, and his wife, Mary
O'Leary.
The witnesses to the signing of the
marriage register were James Reid Godschall Johnson and Ethel Mary Bonning
which accords with the wedding photo showing them as best man and chief
bridesmaid respectively.
The wedding was followed by a wedding
breakfast at "Blythswood" after the 4 o'clock wedding.
A wedding invitation addressed to Mr.
& Mrs. Christie, has survived the annals of time. Leila's younger sister,
Etheline Jane Bonning married William McNaughton Christie, on 20 August, 1913,
almost three years later. The Mr. & Mrs. Christie were probably Peter and
Grace Christie, who had emigrated to north Queensland from Inverary and
Glenaray, Argyll, Scotland, with their children, in the 1880s.
Leila Bonning was the fourth of ten
children to be born to George Bonning and his wife Mary O'Leary. George Bonning
and Mary O'Leary were married in Queensland in 1887. George was the son of Job
Bonning and his wife Hannah Prior, both of whom had emigrated to Queensland,
probably some time before, when their offspring (George, Charles, and Thomas
Frederick) were small. Job's parentage was Thomas Bonning and Elizabeth Long.
Hannah's parents were Thomas and Pamelia Prior.
Frank and Leila Godschall Johnson had
three sons and two daughters.
The sons were Frank, Ron, and Marcus, and
the daughters were Margery and Mary.
In the early 1900's, Frank, in partnership
with his brother Ralph, worked the sugar cane farm named Antigua, after their ancestral holdings in the West Indies, on the
Stone River. At this stage, William Butler Godschall Johnson managed a cattle
station Stoneleigh at the head of
the Stone River. Another person to figure later in this story, Steve
Degiovanni, who, with his wife, emigrated to Ingham from Italy in 1911, built
the hotel at the Stone River.
Then Frank got married to Leila and took
his new bride back to Antigua.
In 1919, Frank and Leila built the White
Rose Cafe in Ingham. Frank and his brother Jim also bought the Deluxe theatre in Ingham, and the cafes
either side of it with shops. The White
Rose cafe was leased to a family called Con for about fifty years before
Leila finally sold it to them.
In 1925, Frank then developed a farm of
his own on the Townsville Road, a farm that was to become one of the biggest in
Queensland. It grew to 400 acres, by astute purchases of neighbouring soldier
settlement blocks that were unworkable by their original allottees, and
amalgamation became necessary through economies of scale. The farm would
eventually generate a harvest of 16,000 tons of cane.
In 1928, Frank built the
expansive Queenslander house on that property. The timber for the house was
ordered from Maryborough and railed up to Tokalon siding. There had been a disastrous
cyclone and floods in 1927, and Frank said that he was going to build a nice
strong house, which is what he set about doing. The posts used under the house
were as solid as a rock, and were still standing in 1982. The floor was cyclone
bolted to the posts, the walls were cyclone bolted to the floor, and the
ceiling was cyclone bolted to the walls. It was a very big spacious house, and
very roomy inside.
They had a tennis court, and are
remembered for the cordiality of their invitations with the younger set in the
district for tennis parties. Dot, at the time girlfriend of Frank junior, also
remembers evenings spent on the local beach in large groups of teenagers. Both
Frank and Jim had beach houses at Lucinda. Marcus and Frank both owned fashionable
Harley motorbikes in the 1930's, with sidecars for female friends.
At some stage, the farm was named Fmaron, named after the three boys,
Frank, Marcus and Ron.
When Frank senior suffered a stroke about
6 or 7 years before his death, he had to be moved into Ingham to be cared for
by his wife Leila, in a house property they had purchased in town, two doors
down from where Leila's elderly mother was living.
The farm was left to be run by the three
sons. Frank had served in the R.A.A.F. during the years before his father's
stroke, and made a decision not to return to the farm but stay in Brisbane
after the war and work for the Valuer General's Department. Ron also decided to
sell out. Ron too had served in the preceding war years in the R.A.A.F. Marcus
purchased his brothers interests.
One excerpt from a early newspaper shows
that Frank was quite an inventive genius. Even before his marriage, he was
quite adept at turning his hand to new inventions to service the farm.
In a 1968 issue of the Herbert River
Times, featured an article entitled "Looking Back", which said:
Looking back today turns its attention to the year of 1904 and
discovers that local farmers were as inventive then as they are now...
Dec 5 1904:- The trash cutter invented by Mr. Frank Johnson of
Antigua, Stone River, arrived during the week, and will be tested at Mr.
Townson's place at an early date. Since the burning of trash has fallen into
disuse farmers have gone to the expense of collecting it into drills
preparatory to ploughing it in, and it is claimed that Mr. Johnson's patent
will effect considerable savings in that direction besides being more
efficacious.
Frank died in 1951 and is buried in the
Ingham General Cemetery.
After Frank's death, Leila retired to live
at Coorparoo to be close to her eldest daughter, Margery.
Leila Josephine Johnson, nee` Bonning,
died on 3 July 1988, aged 96, one month before her 97th birthday.
She was 95 years old at date of death.
She was survived by four of her five
offspring, Leila Margery Godschall Johnson, then aged 77 years, Frank Godschall
Johnson, then aged 75 years, Mary Evelyn Godschall Johnson, then aged 74 years,
and Marcus George Godschall Johnson, then aged 71 years.
Leila's funeral service was conducted in
the Chapel attached to the Mount Thompson Crematorium, and it was during that
service that the following Eulogy was delivered:
We are here today to farewell a fine old Queenslander - Mrs.
Leila Johnson, who was nearly 96 years old.
Formerly Leila Bonning, she was born in Ingham in 1892 and,
when about 17 years of age, began a nursing career at the local hospital. She
was a dignified and quiet beautiful young woman, so, before long, she was
married to a young cane farmer called Frank Johnson.
They set up home on land outside Ingham - rather a primitive
place (or was in those days) - dirt floors, no refrigeration, and only
intermittent supplies from the township. In spite of this, or perhaps, because
of it, she became an excellent cook and house-wife, managing always to keep a
high standard of conduct and of the social niceties.
As time went on, the couple
moved to other areas outside Ingham, to carve out other farms. It was hard work
in the heat, but the Johnsons struggled on, and finally took up virgin land on
the Townsville Road, where they built a lovely Queenslander type home, with
wide verandas, an orchard and gardens, set in the midst of what became a
beautiful cane farm. By this time, too, they had also purchased a picture
theatre and other real estate in Ingham itself, so in their middle years, they
had something to show for all their effort.
In her husband's last years, Mrs. Johnson gave up all outside
interests and devoted herself entirely to his care. She was a good and faithful
wife and was always, almost fiercely supportive of her children - home and
family meant everything to her. On her husband's death at age 72, she bought a
house in Coorparoo, and here she lived alone until three years ago.
She had the sorrow of losing her youngest son, Ron, eight years
ago, and, though deeply grieved, in her usual proud and quiet manner she made
little outward show.
Her other two sons and her two daughters are present today, and
, with their families, are sad indeed at the passing of this reserved but
valiant and strong-minded pioneer of Ingham sugar farming - their dear Mother.
Christie and Bella King were full-blooded
Aboriginals who worked on the cane farm. In 1917, Christie pulled young four
year old Frank Godschall Johnson out of the well next to the shed on the farm
thereby saving his life. Frank, senior, swore that for this act, Christie and
his wife would find support and accommodation on their property for as long as
they lived. Frank also swore that Christie King was one of the best workers he
ever had. The family built a worker's cottage on the farm at Ingham where
Christie and his wife Bella lived till they died.
CHAPTER LIV
FRANK GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The eldest son of Frank Godschall Johnson
and Leila Josephine Bonning was Frank Godschall Johnson.
Frank Godschall Johnson was born in 1913
at Brisbane.
Frank Godschall Johnson married Doris Edna May Finter (“Dot”).
Dot was a young school teacher at Ingham
when she met Frank. Dot and her two sisters were born in the Tingalpa school
house, where their father was schoolmaster.
Frank served in the R.A.A.F. during World
War II, then worked for the Valuer General's Department in Brisbane, after
selling out his interest in the sugar cane farm at Ingham to brother Marcus.
They had three children, Marilyn Godschall
Johnson, Lorraine Godschall Johnson, and Rosemary Godschall Johnson.
Frank died on 14 January 1993.
The eulogy at his funeral read:
Frank was born in Brisbane, but lived nearly all his early life
in Ingham, the eldest son of pioneer sugar farmers. He went to school at All
Souls Charters Towers, Brisbane Grammar School, and Gatton College. He married
Doris in 1939 and became the father of three daughters. Frank served with the
R.A.A.F. for two and a half years, including a time in Canada. Soon after the
war, he sold his farm to his brother and brought his family to Brisbane to
live. Having studied to become a valuer, he served with the Valuer General's
Department until his retirement at age 65 years and spent the next 15 years
living quietly at Hamilton.
CHAPTER LV
RONALD CHOLMONDELEY GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The next son of Frank Godschall Johnson
and Leila Josephine Bonning was Ronald Cholmondeley Godschall Johnson.
Ronald Cholmondeley Godschall Johnson was
born 24 February 1923 at Ingham.
Ronald served with the R.A.A.F. during
World War II.
After the War, he married Victoria Lina
Lazzaroni.
They had four children, Ronald Godschall
Johnson, Jean Godschall Johnson, Gary Godschall Johnson, and Dennis Godschall
Johnson.
Ronald Cholmondeley Godschall Johnson died
in 1980.
CHAPTER LVI
MARCUS GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
The next son of Frank Godschall Johnson
and Leila Josephine Bonning was Marcus George Godschall Johnson.
Marcus George Godschall Johnson was born
in 1917 at Ingham.
Marcus George Godschall Johnson married
Guglielmina (Mina) Degiovanni, daughter of pioneer Italians in the Ingham
district, Steve and Maria Degiovanni, from Conzano near Casale, Monferrato in
Piedmont, Italy.
Mena's sister, Tessa, is renowned as an
excellent cook who ran a well known restaurant, Chez Tessa, on Petrie Terrace.
Tessa then became Tessa Morbelli. Tessa was also born in Ingham, as was Mena,
as their parents emigrated to North Queensland immediately after their marriage
in Italy.
Marcus and Mina have two sons, Frank
Stephen Godschall Johnson, and Marcus Godschall Johnson.
Marcus was mentioned in the Brisbane
Telegraph on 1 December 1978:
Rugby League football followers will feel at home at the new
Bribie Island Hotel-Motel near the bridge at Sylvan Beach.
The manager will be former captain of the Australian league
team, and former Brisbane club player, John Sattler. He is pictured with hotel licensee,
Mr. Marcus Johnson, and works foreman, Mr. Craig Unsworth.
The $1.6 million hotel, under construction since May, will open
for Christmas.
It will include 12 self contained motel units, a drive in
bottle department, and public and private lounges. .
CHAPTER LVII
MARY EVELYN GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
Mary Evelyn Godschall Johnson was born in
1914 at Ingham.
She married Anthony John Miguel born in
1911 at Ingham.
Anthony John Miguel served as a Dental
Surgeon during World War II.
His father was an original Spanish migrant
and pioneer sugar farmer in the Ingham district, Antonio Miguel.
Antonio (Senior) came from Santflieu in
Spain, 40 km south of the French border, a coastal town. He was an orphan, who
fled the advent of incipient fascism in Spain in 1909. The name Miguel is
generally a Christian name, and may have been assumed as a surname by Antonio, as
an orphan.
Anthony John and Mary Evelyn Miguel, nee`
Godschall, had a daughter Diane Mary Miguel, and a son, Anthony Gordon Miguel.
Anthony John Miguel died on 2 August 1962
at Toowoomba.
Before his death he practised dentistry in
Toowoomba.
His funeral cortege took up a whole
street.
The whole town turned out to show their
respect.
CHAPTER LVIII
LEILA MARGERY GODSCHALL JOHNSON:
Leila Margery Godschall Johnson was born
on 25 October 1911 at Ingham in North Queensland.
She was the eldest daughter to Frank
Godschall Johnson and Leila Josephine Bonning.
In 1938, she married Ernest Frederick
Kirchler.
Ernest introduced to the State of
Queensland the Hills Hoist rotary clothes line which replaced wire strung
between two poles.
They bore four daughters: Janelle Rosemary
Godschall Kirchler, Carolyn Liane Godschall Kirchler, Cheryl Gillian Godschall
Kirchler, and Paula Mary Godschall Kirchler.
Ernest died 1992. Margery died 1 October
1996
They are survived by their four daughters
with 10 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren.
§§§§§§
Most of those who are still
alive have been deleted from this chronicle, or mentioned only briefing in
passing, in accordance with family history conventions. Those who are still
alive have considerable exploits of their own, and are no doubt writing their
own chapter in history at this very point in time.