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William
Ramsay was born on the 23rd of February 1836 in
Kirriemuir,
Forfarshire
,
Scotland
.
After
he had applied for assisted passage to come to
South Australia
he sailed from Liverpool (
Birkenhead
) on November 22nd 1862 on the Morning Star. The
Captain was a Mr. Matthews. The surgeon was a Mr. J. C. Sanger,
and there were 452 people on board including 83 children.
During
the voyage there were 26 deaths on board. A note from the S.A.
Register, 17 February 1863 stated � �There is a good reason
for believing that many of those deaths are attributable to a
neglect, at the place of embarkation, of one or more of the
regulations, which are in force�.
When William Ramsay arrived in
South Australia
on the 14th February 1863 he was a single man and
approaching his 27th birthday.
Williams first job in
South Australia
was working for a Mr. Fleetwood, for three months at Surveyors
Point, Golden Grove.
Then while working for Robert Milne, William Ramsay
married Eliza Troup. They were married at Drumminor House on the
9-1-1867. District of Adelaide.
William and Eliza began farming but lost their entire crop
from red rust. They were able to save four bullocks, which
William then used to cart wood to
Adelaide
. Luck was against him again for his employers became insolvent
and he received no money. While living at Golden Grove two of
William and Eliza�s children, John and William were born.
Sadly William aged 8 months died at Houghton on 6-1-1870 of
Hydrocephalus.
Determined to make a new start William and Eliza travelled
to the west coast to Port Lincoln. Here William found work on
Dr.Brown�s station (Talia) near
Venus
Bay
. While living on Talia station three more of their children,
Margaret, James and Jessie were born. After a three-year
stay, in which time they managed to save some money, they came
back to
Adelaide
and proceeded to
Hope
Valley
. Here they bought 6 acres of land in section 822, along
Barracks Road
.
While living at
Hope
Valley
, William worked his land; he was a clever ploughman and was
soon regarded as a champion. During this time the rest of the
Ramsay children, William, Rosanna, Alexander, Emma, Albert
Edward and Alfred were born. William then took a job working for
Douglas A. Tolley, where he worked at the winery for the next 27
years. While working at the winery he rented a house that
belonged to Douglas Tolley on Tolley road.
William and Eliza Ramsay had 11 children - 7 boys and 4
girls.
John
--married Anna Johanna Helena Loechel and had 11
children and also worked at Tolley�s wine cellars.
William --died in 1870 aged 8 months (Hydrocephalus)
Margaret --married Thomas Burke
James --went to
New Zealand
Jessie --married John Josling
William-- died in 1883 aged 7 years (Typhoid Fever)
Rosanna-- married Richard Reeves
Alexander --married Bessie Smee
Emma--
Albert Edward --died in 1887 aged 2 years (Diarrhoea)
Alfred --married Marie Ann Simpson
Although
life was not easy for William and Eliza they were hard workers,
raised their children and made a valuable contribution to the
Hope
Valley
area. William was a councillor for the district of Highercombe
from 1904-1915. He was also a member of the United Order of Odd
Fellows. The U.O.O.F. originally lent him the money to buy his
land. Many others families in the area also borrowed money to
buy their properties from the U.O.O.F.
William
Ramsay died on 28th August 1922 aged 86 years and is
buried at the
Hope
Valley
Cemetery
.
Eliza Ramsay died on 14th December 1928 aged 84 years
and is also buried at
Hope
Valley
.
Footnote:
Eliza
Ramsay nee Troup daughter of George was born in Deeside,
Scotland in 1844 and came to South Australia in 1866 on the ship
�Atalanta� that was commanded by Captain Ballingall. The
voyage took 81 days and had 394 government immigrants.
The
house that William Ramsay and family rented was later the home
of Nancy Cato (the writer) and her husband when she lived at
Hope
Valley
.
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