janilye on Family Tree Circles

Charles EATHER and his twin brother Thomas EATHER were the first of the EATHER family born in the Hawkesbury district.
On 1 October 1800, three years after they had settled on their thirty acre grant of land at Green Hills, Thomas EATHER formerly HEATHER 1764-1827 and his wife Elizabeth, nee LEE 1771-1860 became the proud parents of twin sons, whom they named Charles and Thomas.
The forename Charles had not appeared in the Heather family in the four previous generations, but Thomas EATHER had had a good friend in one Charles MARTIN 1769-1797. They had been fellow inmates of the prison at Maidstone and had come out to the colony together on the "Neptune".
Thomas had attended Charles Martin's wedding at Parramatta on 2 August 1792 to SARAH GITTENS (1772-1845) and had been recorded as a witness to that event.
Sadly, Charles Martin had been murdered on the 25th.October 1797. There was a dispute over money between Charles and John Morris, Morris kicked Charles in the groin and left him to die. MORRIS was later charged and convicted of manslaughter. Perhaps Thomas named the first-born of his twins after his late friend.

Just after Charles EATHER turned five he was baptised on 11 October 1805, along with his twin brother Thomas and their infant brother John, who was eight days old, by the Reverend Samuel MARSDEN, during his visit to the Hawkesbury.
Charles spent his childhood on the EATHER farm. He saw the floods which innundated much of his parents' farm in March 1806, and worse floods in the winter of 1809, when hundreds of pigs, sheep and cattle and countless stacks of hay were washed away . He saw too the gradual development of a small township on Green Hills and was quite a big boy when Governor MACQUARIE visited the district and named it Windsor.

During his teenage years Charles undoubtedly learned many of the skills of farm labour as he assisted his father and brothers in various tasks on the family farm. Nevertheless, Thomas EATHER evidently believed that it was important that his twin sons should learn the skills of a useful trade. As teenagers, both trained to be shoemakers, probably under an apprenticeship to a local artisan. When the General Muster was taken in 1822 both Charles and Thomas were recorded as being shoemakers. It seems unlikely that they practiced their trade for long for being brought up on a farm in what was a rich farming district, they probably felt that agriculture offered a better future than a trade.

On 20 June 1820 their father, Thomas, had sent a petition to the Governor, seeking a second grant of land. About the same time Charles and Thomas also made applications for grants. Ten months later, on Saturday, 28 April 1821, the "Sydney Gazette" carried a long list of names of 'new tiers' who were to receive grants of land, and old settlers, who were to have "additional lands located for them in the year 1821". The list included the names of Charles EATHER , Thomas EATHER and Thomas EATHER Snr. The exact District of Charles EATHER's block of land has not been verified, but it was evidently on the river flats at Cornwallis, quite close to the Hawkesbury River. Records show that Charles farmed at Cornwallis for many years, and that in the next generation his sons had also farmed there.
Although flood-prone, the land at Cornwallis was very fertile and only a short distance from Windsor. The area of his grant was probably 50 acres, that being the area that his father received.
By 1822 Charles was most likely farming his land rather than practicing trade of shoe-making.

The EATHER sons belonged to the increasing proportion of the population which consisted of offspring of the emancipists, soldiers and settlers, born and bred in the colony and recognizing Australia as their native land. By the time they were in their early twenties most of the males naturally casting around for likely spouses, and the EATHER's were no exception in this respect. Males were still far more numerous than females in the colony, but eldest brother Robert EATHER had succeeded in finding a marital partner in young Mary LYNCH , and by 1823 they were the parents of three young children.
By then Thomas EATHER had formed a romantic attachment with Sarah McAlpin, the daughter of blacksmith, Peter McALPIN, and sister to Peter McAlpin, William Glas McAlpin and Catherine McAlpin. Thomas and Sarah married in the following year on the same day that Robert and Mary married.
In 1823 Charles also found a lifelong marital partner in Ann GOUGH, at three years his senior, recently separated from her husband, and at the age of 26 years the mother of 7 children.
What took her to the Hawkesbury district is uncertain, because she had lived at Sydney until she and her husband had parted late in 1822. Charles showed her compassion in her unfortunate situation and provided a home for her and several of her young children.

Ann's maiden name was CAIN. She had been born in Ireland about 1797 to Mary CAIN and husband whose forename has not emerged from records researched. When she was sixteen Ann CAIN came to Australia as a free woman on the ship "Earl Spencer", which sailed from England on 2 June 1813 under the command of Captain MITCHELL. On board were 200 male convicts (of whom 4 died during the voyage),free passengers, and a detachment of the 73rd. Regiment, together with their wives and children. During the long voyage, the vessel called at only one port, Madeira, where it stayed for ten days and took on supplies. After a voyage of over four months, the ship dropped anchor in Sydney Harbour on 9 October 1813.
Ann's name was not listed amongst the passengers on board the ship "Earl Spencer". There was one passenger, Mr D MALER , who had four servants accompanying him. Their names were not listed and Ann might have been one of them, or she might have been the daughter of one of the Soldiers. One of the convicts on board was Patrick KANE, age 40 years, a native of county Derry in Ireland. There is no reason other than the similarity of surnames to suggest that he was Ann's father. Amongst the passengers on the ship "Earl Spencer" was one who later won himself a place in the pages of history as an explorer. He was William HOVELL, who was accompanied on the voyage by his wife and children. In 1824 he accompanied Hamilton HUME on the historic first journey of exploration from the settled areas near Goulburn south to Port Phillip. On 25 November 1813, only six weeks after her arrival in the colony, Ann CAIN (spinster married to George TRAITS (bachelor), a seaman, at St Phillip's Church, Sydney.
She was age sixteen years. Her signature on the Church record of the marriage was not in running script, so she might have been able to write her name without being literate. Subsequently her name appeared in records with a number of variations such as Trails, Traitis, Fraites and even Streets. No further mention of George TRAITS has been located in any records after the wedding, so what became of him remains a mystery.
In March 1814, five months after her marriage, Ann TRAITS was charged and found guilty of theft. She received a short sentence and, when the Muster was taken later that year , she listed as a convict and was on Government Stores at the hospital at Parramatta. By 1815 Ann TRAITS had gone to the Hawkesbury district and was residing at Windsor with a convict, James GOUGH, when she gave birth to a son who was named James after his father. On 11 February 1817, at the age of 20 years, Ann was married to 26 year-old James GOUGH at St John's Church of England at Parramatta. The ceremony was performed by the Reverend Samuel MARSDEN. Both the bride and groom were listed as being of that parish, which at that time took in the Hawkesbury district as well as the Parramatta district. Permission for the marriage had been granted on 8 January 1817. It showed James as a prisoner and Ann as free. She had evidently completed the sentence imposed upon her in 1814. Both were recorded as having come to the colony on the ship "Earl Spencer".

James GOUGH had been born in London in 1790, and at the age of 22 years was living with his wife in a room over a stable when he was arrested and accused of breaking into a house on 24 April 1812 and stealing. Tried at the Old Bailey on 13 May 1812, he was found guilty and sentenced to death . This had been commuted to transportation for life and he had been one of the 200 male prisoners who made the voyage to New South Wales on the ship "Earl Spencer" in 1813. He was described in convict records as age 23 years, 5'10" tall, with brown hair and eyes and a fair to ruddy complexion. He was a joiner by trade. At the time of the 1814 Muster he was in gaol at Sydney. In April 1815 he was listed in the "Sydney Gazette" as having absconded. However, there is no record of his apprehension or punishment. After their marriage in 1817, he and Ann were residing at Windsor again when their second child, Mary, was born. James had been appointed overseer of Government carpenters and was involved in the construction of St.Matthew's Church at Windsor as superintendent of brickwork. About 1819 James GOUGH was overseer of the lumber yard at Parramatta, and it was there that their second son, Alexander, was born. About 1820 a second daughter, Louisa, was born and she was followed by another daughter, Ann, about 1821 . On 26 January 1821 James was granted a conditional pardon and was described as a carpenter, 5'11" tall, with brown hair, hazel eyes and fair complexion. At the time of the Muster in September 1822, James GOFF (sic) and wife Ann were residing in Sydney and had with them their children , James 7, Mary 6, Alexander 4, and Louisa 3. Their infant daughter, Ann, had died in June that year at Sydney. Towards the end of 1822 marital disharmony erupted in the GOUGH household and Ann and James parted.
The "Sydney Gazette" of 22 November 1822 carried the following announcement: NOTICE: I,the undersigned, do hereby give this public Notice (Deeds of Settlement and Separation having been made and executed between myself and my Wife, Ann GOUGH, whereby we have mutually agreed to live separate and apart from each other), that I shall not hold myself responsible for any Debt or Debts that my said Wife may contract, ample provision being made in the said Deeds, by me, for her future support and maintenance. James GOUGH."
It seems that in the break-up of the family, James kept the eldest three children, James, Mary and Alexander, and Ann took little Louisa. To add to her problems caused by the domestic upheaval, Ann was pregnant again at the time of their parting, and during the early months of 1823 she became the mother of twins, Stephen and Phoebe. It was some time during that year or in 1824 that Charles EATHER offered her a home and she had become his wife. What had caused her to return to the Windsor district after her separation from James GOUGH is unknown. Perhaps She returned to friends of the days when she had lived there a few years before .

Charles and Ann lived together for the next 48 years, but they never married because Ann was not legally free to do so as long as her husband James GOUGH was alive, and he outlived her. With Ann's three infants Charles began married life with a ready-made family. It increased about 1825 when his first son, Charles, was born. At the time of the 1825 Muster Ann's daughter Phoebe was listed as a child age 2 years. Three years later, when the 1828 census was taken, Ann, age 31 years, was listed as the housekeeper to Charles ETHER (sic) of Cornwallis, farmer. had with her Louisa (age 8 years ) and Stephen (age 5 years). For some reason daughter Phoebe was not listed anywhere in the census records. She had not died, so it can only be presumed that she also with her mother and had somehow missed being recorded. All three were recorded as being Roman Catholics. Charles and Charles Jnr (age 3 years), were listed as Protestants.
In 1824 James GOUGH acquired an inn about ten miles from Parramatta on the Windsor Road and he remained there it 1828, but when the census was taken he was a builder living in Cambridge Street, Sydney. With him were James (age 13 years), Mary (age 11 years), and Alexander (age 9 years), and also John (age 5 years) and Thomas (age 1 year). The last two were the children of James and Mary ALLEN (nee SHERWIN). All were listed as Protestants. Another son, Thomas, was born to Charles and Ann soon after the census was taken. They continued to farm at Cornwallis and more children were added to their family. William, born 1831, was followed by Charles ' first daughter, Frances, about 1833. Another son, George , born about 1834, and finally another daughter, Rosina, was born on 13 December 1836. Ann was almost 40 and Rosina was her thirteenth and last child. The break-up of her marriage to James GOUGH and the division of their children did not result in Ann's losing contact with her three eldest children. During the years that James had been inn-keeping on the Windsor-Parramatta Road, she had undoubtedly seen them from time to time. Then as they grew up they tended to return to the Hawkesbury district .
By 1836 James GOUGH was living at Berrima and had a carrying business between Liverpool and Goulburn, but the three children had been with him from the days of his marriage to Ann, were probably all in the Hawkesbury district by then.

The EATHER farm at Cornwallis probably saw frequent coming and going of Ann's older children as they called from time to time. Charles' six children would have come to know all their halfbrothers and half-sisters well as the years passed. Ann was a grandmother by the time Rosina was born. Her eldest daughter, Mary, had married Edward Roberts in St Matthew's Church at Windsor on 28 March 1835. It was a ceremony that Ann and Charles would have attended. Mary's first child, William, was born at Windsor on 29 January 1836.
Thereafter, there were frequent additions to Ann's growing number of grandchildren. On 8 January 1838 at Pitt Town Ann' s eldest son James, age 22 years, married Amelia BRINCHLEY WARD, daughter of Michael and Sophia Jane Elizabeth Ann WARD. Amelia's young brother was Frederick Wordsworth WARD 1835-1870 CAPTAIN THUNDERBOLT the bushranger and horse thief.
Amelia and James lived at Windsor, where James worked as a carpenter, and the first of their eleven children was born in December that year. Three months after James married, his brother, Alexander, was married in St Matthew's Church at Windsor on 5 April 1838 at the age of 19. His bride was 17 year old Jane ROBINSON, daughter of Richard and Mary ROBINSON. Alexander took his bride to live at Clarendon near Windsor, and he earned his living as a cooper. Their first child was born early in 1839.
On 25 February Ann's second daughter Louisa, age 18, was married at Portland Head to George FORRESTER, a son of Henry FORRESTER and Lucy UPTON. George's grandfather, Robert FORRESTER, had arrived in the colony on the ship "Scarborough" with the First Fleet. After their marriage Louisa and George lived at Grose Vale near North Richmond. Their first child was born on Christmas Day 1839.
In 1826 Charles's brothers-in-law, Joseph ONUS and Robert WILLIAMS, had been amongst the first wave of pastoralists who had taken stock onto the Liverpool Plains and had "squatted" on runs in the region outside the defined limits of settlement. During the next few years many other pastoralists followed their example, and amongst these were Charles and his brothers, Robert and Thomas. In partnership they established a run called "Benial" on the Namoi River and grazed cattle there. The role that Charles played in this partnership is unknown. He undoubtedly contributed some of the cattle and some of the men whom the partnership employed. He probably visited the station on occasions. In July 1836 the Legislative Council passed the first Act to legalise an d control the practice of squatting, and the very first application for a licence to depasture stock 'beyond the limits of District' was made by the three EATHER brothers.

The joint memorial of Thomas EATHER, Robert EATHER and Charles EATHER, brothers of Richmond, to the Governor, Sir Richard Bourke, read as follows:- "That your Memorialists are Natives of the Colony and Landholders residing at Richmond. That your Memorialists are possessed of a Considerable Numb er of Horned Cattle as their joint stock which for some tim e past and now are depasturing at a Place called 'Benial' on the Banks the Namoi River. That your Memorialists acting in conformity with the meaning of the Act of the Legislative it recently passed for the prevention of encroachment on the Waste Lands in the Colony will be permitted to Graze their Cattle on the Waste Lands unless your Memorialists shall obtain a licence from the Government permitting them so to do. That your Memorialists therefore most respectfully solicit that Your Excellency will be pleased to Grant them a licence to Depasture their Cattle at 'genial' on the Namoi River and that Memorialists as in duty bound will ever pray etc ." The licence was duly granted and renewed in the years that followed. Charles did not capitalise on this early interest in the pastoral industry. The partnership was soon dissolved. Thomas retained the station on the Namoi River and passed it down to his sons. Robert went on extend his pastoral interests away out on Narran Creek, and involved some of his sons in the venture. Charles did not further his early interest and is not recorded as holding any other station in the north or north-west. He seems to have been content to limit his farming and grazing the Hawkesbury district.

In 1822 Robert, Charles and Thomas had each been allocated an allotment of land in Cox's Lane in Windsor at a time when the settlers were being encouraged to build themselves homes out of the flood-prone areas. None of them had made use of their allocation in the years that followed.

Then, on the same day, 22 November 1841, all three wrote separate memorials to the Colonial Secretary seeking deeds of grant for their respective allotments. The requests were refused on the grounds that little or no attempt had been made to use or improve the ground in the intervening years. Having failed in this attempt to obtain an allotment in Windsor. Charles looked to other means of satisfying his requirement, and on 4 July 1842 he purchased an allotment in George Street from his brother Robert. It was the south-western third of an allotment which Robert had purchased about twenty yeas previously. Charles paid 50 for it, as it was an allotment without any house upon it.
On 1 June 1842, another of Ann's children married. Phoebe GOUGH and Dio BALDWIN exchanged vows in the Presbyterian Church at Windsor. Dio was the youngest of the twelve children of Henry Baldwin and Elizabeth RAYNER. The young couple resided at Wilberforce for the first few years of their marriage and their first two children were born there. During the 1840's Ann's grandchildren increased in number at a rapid rate, and by 1850 numbered 22 living out of 25 born. All of her five married children were living in the Hakesbury district, within ten miles of the EATHER farm, so she saw them frequently and watched the infants grow to children and the children to teenagers. On 3 December 1849 there was another wedding in the family when Charles, the first child of Charles and Ann, was married in the Wesleyan Chapel at Windsor to Frances Emma WATT, a young migrant girl who had been born in London, England and had come to the colony as a child with her parents, John and Maria WATT.
Five months later, Thomas, the second son of Charles and Ann, married Emma Mary STAPLES on 2 April 1850.

In 1853 Charles EATHER gave up farming when he was granted a publican's licence for the "Woolpack Inn" at North Richmond. His sureties were his nephews, William Onus and Joseph ONUS, sons of his sister Ann. He spent several years in business there as an inn-keeper. On 2 October 1855 William , his third son, was married to Catherine MCMAHON, a daughter of John and Mary MCMAHON of Kurrajong. Catherine had been born in Ireland and had came to Australia with her parents and brothers and sisters on the ship "Charles Kerr" in 1839 when she was still a small girl.
Four months later there was another family wedding, when Rosina, the youngest of the family, was married on 19 February 1856 to Alfred DALTON in St Matthew's, Church of England, Windsor.
More family weddings followed during the next few years. In 1857 there were two marriages with which Charles and Ann were connected. Jane, the wife of Alexander GOUGH, had died in 1853, and on 2 May 1857 he remarried in St Matthew's Church. His second wife was Elizabeth WALKER, she was over twenty years his junior. Just prior to Christmas, on 19 December 1857, Rosina's elder sister, Frances 1833-1869, married John BATEMAN.
The last of Charles and Ann's children to marry youngest son, George. He was 24 when he married Dorothy KINSELA, daughter of Martin KINSELA 1793-1860 and Ellen Henlen/HENDLING/HANLON 1794-1862, in St Matthew's, Roman Catholic Church at Windsor on 17 April 1860. None the four sons of Charles EATHER and Ann GOUGH had had any formal schooling and therefore grew illiterate. At their respective weddings each signed the marriage register with a cross.

During the many years that Charles EATHER had farmed at Cornwallis the Hawkesbury River not been flooded to the extent that it had in 1809, when he had been a boy. Then in 1864 there was a major flood, and land along its banks that had not been inundated for over fifty years covered by flood waters and much damage done to crops, fences and buildings, while numerous head of stock were drowned. In June 1867 heavy rain fell over the catchment area of the Hawkesbury and its chief tributaries, the Nepean and the Grose Rivers. The river rose and by Thursday 2Oth the farmers knew that another major flood was upon them. At that time three of the sons of Charles and Ann: Thomas, William and George, together with their respective wives and children, were living on adjoining farms at Cornwallis.

The rising water flowed across the flats, creating an island of some land near the river where their farms were situated. On the Thursday afternoon a boat under the direction of one George CUPITT was taking some men away from the area in a boat, when one of the men said to Mrs George EATHER (Dora), "You had better go up in the boat to your sisters and take the four children with you." At first she refused, saying that she would have to bake some bread and get everything into the loft before the next morning, but the men succeeded in persuading her to go. Just as they were getting into the boat, George's brothers, Tom and Bill, arrived from their farms with their wives and children, planning to take refuge in George's house, which was fairly new, and which they believed would be sturdier than their own houses. Mrs Bill EATHER ( Catherine, nee McMahon) remarked to the men, " You won't forget us if the waters come over the ridge". She was asked to get in the boat too, but refused. The boat departed.
That night the flood waters rose fast and the two families climbed onto the roof of George EATHERs house and stayed there for the remainder of the night. On the Friday morning, Mrs George EATHER another lady and Mrs Smith, went into Richmond from Clarendon and spent all day trying to get a boat sent over to rescue the two families stranded at the farm. Men were out in boats in various parts of the district, rescuing people who were stranded by the floods, and the ladies had no success in persuading anyone to go out to the Cornwallis farms.
At nightfall, they gave up trying to arrange a rescue and went back to Clarendon. About 1 am they saw a signal light away over the water in the direction of the house. Believing that it was from the families still at the farm, they returned the signal by tying papers and rags to the end of a fishing rod and lighting them. Then they rushed down to a man with a boat and told him. A dozen men were standing around, but none offered to go.
It was dark and raining. Mr DIGHT's' coachman, a man named RILEY, came along and upon being told of the trouble, passed the information on to Mr DIGHT's, who sent him galloping away to try to secure the public boat when it reached the shore, and to offer the crew 50 to go at once and rescue the EATHER's. He succeeded in getting the message to the crew and three men volunteered to go out. The signal had been a last desperate effort by the EATHER brothers to get help. The waters had risen so high that on the Thursday night they had been forced onto the roof of George EATHER's house. There the sixteen souls waited all day on Friday,expecting a boat which didn't arrive, and there they stayed into a second night.
The waters continued to rise and, reaching a record height, were over all the roof except the last three rows of shingles when the signal light was lit.
In the cold and the rain the families waited until, after twenty hours on the roof, it collapsed and all were swept away amid screams and cries. Thomas, William and George EATHER and Thomas's eldest child, sixteen year-old Charles Frederick, managed to reach a tree to which they fastened themselves. About half an hour later the boat arrived and rescued them. Tom's wife Frances and their other five children, and Bill's wife Catherine and their five children, were all drowned. The news of the tragedy spread through the district the next day and hearts went out to the survivors and their relatives. It has gone down in history as the worst single disaster of all Hawkesbury floods of all time.
The 1867 flood still remains a record for the river. Charles and Ann shared the grief of their sons. They had lost two daughters-in-law and ten of their grandchildren in one single disaster.

Over the years Charles had retained ownership of the large allotment in George Street, Windsor that he had bought from his brother Robert in 1842. When he had moved to the "Woolpack" Inn, he had rented the allotment to tenants.
On 1 July 1868 he gave it to his son George out of "natural love and affection" for the use of the said George his heirs and assigns forever". William BEDWELL was appointed trustee.
Two years later Charles and Ann suffered another bereavement when on 22 September 1869 their daughter Frances died, age of 36 leaving two small sons and a husband to grieve their loss.

Ann suffered a great deal of ill-health during the early months of 1871, and in the winter of that year became seriously ill. She was attended by local doctor, Dr. DAY but despite his efforts she died at Windsor on 18 July from natural causes. Dr Day had last visited her on the previous day. On 20 July she was buried at Windsor with the Reverend Charles F GARNSEY of the Church of England officiating at the graveside, and Thomas Primrose and Son performing the duty of undertakers. Her death was registered by her daughter, Louisa FORRESTER of Richmond Road. Ann's age was recorded as 74 at the time of her death. She had been born in Ireland and had spent 58 years in New South Wales. It was recorded also that she had been married in Sydney at the age of 16 to James GOUGH. Her father's name was not known and her mother's was stated as having been Mary CAIN . Ann's children were recorded as six males and four females living. Their names were not recorded on the death certificate, but the sons were James and Alexander GOUGH and Charles, Thomas, William and George EATHER; and the girls were Mary ROBERTS, Louisa FORRESTER, Phoebe BALDWIN and Rosina DALTON.

Ann spent almost 58 years spent in the colony and lived her last 48 years with Charles EATHER.
Her first husband, James GOUGH, was still alive and was residing in the Gundagai district.

At the time of Ann's death, 80 grandchildren had been born and eventually the number reached the enormous total of 113.

Charles continued to live in the Richmond district. Further sadness came his way when his daughter Rosina, died at Windsor on 20 January 1875 from a liver complaint. He was 75 then, but he lived for another fifteen years.

Little is known of how he spent his declining years. In his old age he resided with his youngest son George and family in March Street, Richmond. It was there that he died on 30 May 1891 at the age of 90. According to family oral history he dropped dead at the table while dining with the family. He was the only child of Thomas and Elizabeth EATHER to reach the age of 90, and his youngest brother James was the only one of their children to survive him. He had outlived his twin brother Thomas by over 4 years. He was survived by his four sons and over 30 grandchildren, as well as several great-grandchildren.
Windsor and Richmond Gazette, Saturday 6 June 1891
A very old resident of the district Mr. C. Eather, died on Sunday at the ripe old age of
91. Mr. Eather was born in Windsor at the residence now occupied by Mr. Wall. He resided
there for a great many years,and then removed to Richmond where he resided up to the
time of his death.
NOTE: Mr. Wall is James B. Wall who lived in the house in George Street up till his death on Monday 29 July 1895.

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The children Of Charles EATHER and Ann GOUGH nee CAIN:-

1.Charles EATHER b: May 1825 Richmond, NSW. d: 7 September 1899 at Blackall, Queensland. m. Frances Emma WATT 1829-1866. In the early 1890's he moved to Queensland to live and his many decendants have since made the name familiar in that state. Although by trade a cabinetmaker, he spent much of his life in Farming.

Charles age 74 died at the Blackall Hospital from the effects of arsenic poisoning. He was camped at Ravensbourne Station at Blackall and it was supposed that arsenic was accidently mixed with the flour supplied by the station. Several others in the same camp were taken ill after eating damper made with the flour.

His children of the marriage between he and Emma WATT were:-

Edward Charles EATHER 1850 1937 never married
John James EATHER 18521920 m. 1. Victoria TAYLOR 2. Emma YATES
Frances Emma Eather 18541946 m. Henry Alban GRAY
Albert E EATHER 1857 1857
Maria W EATHER 18581939 m. Charles Frederick ROSE
Louisa EATHER 1860 1860
Charles Olenzo EATHER 18641949 m. Emma ORBORNE

Next Charles 1825 had a relationship with Maria NORRIS, the children of this relationship were:-

Annie EATHER 1867 1867
Emily EATHER 1867
Lavinia Eliza EATHER 18681955 m. Hugh MCINTOSH
Frederick Charles EATHER 1872 m. Ellen RICE
Eva Louise EATHER 1881
Ada Florence EATHER 1883 1958

Frances Emma 1854-1936, had married Captain Henry Alban Gray, a ship's pilot in Sydney, and they seem to have led the migration to Queensland for they were living at Bundaburg in 1889. In that year, Mrs. Gray's sister, Lavinia Eather, visited them and met another shipping man, Capt. Hugh McIntosh from Aberdeenshire, Scotland, whom she married at Bundaberg on 26 December 1889

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2.Thomas EATHER b: 1828 Hawkesbury, died 14 November 1916 at Windsor, NSW. m.(1).Emma Mary STAPLES 1828-1867 Emma and all but Charles died in the 1867 Flood of the Hawkesbury
The children of this marriage were:-

Charles Frederick EATHER 18511885 m. Mary Ann MCKELLAR 1857-1925 his stepmother's youngest sister.
Ann Emma EATHER 1853 1867
Elizabeth Frances EATHER 1856 1867
James Rowley EATHER 1856 1867
Angelina EATHER 1862 1867
Emma Maud Mary EATHER 1865 1867

(2) Thomas next married Caroline Margaret MCKELLAR 1847-1915 the children of this marriage were:-

Thomas EATHER 18701944 m. Lillian Elizabeth BRADLEY
Arthur E EATHER 1872 1916
George William EATHER 18751961 m. Maria HOLLAND 1864-1931
Henrietta EATHER 1877 1878
William Henry EATHER 18791968 m. Hilda M MAHONEY 1892-1926
Harry EATHER 1881 1945
Leslie James EATHER 18831940 m. Charlotte Matilda HANN 1890-1967
Alice Maud EATHER 18851965 m. Francis Joseph PYE 1883-1974
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3.Frances EATHER 1833 1869 m. John BATEMAN the children of this marriage were:-
John H Bateman 18591926 m Josephine M F DOWNES 1870-1942
George Bateman 1862 1945
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4.William EATHER 1833 Richmond, NSW d: 8 September 1899 Rockdale, Sydney. married;
(1) Catherine MCMAHON 1831-1867 Catherine and All their children their children apart from John died in the Hawkesbury flood of 1867.
The children from this marriage were:-
Mary Ann Eather 1856 1867
Catherine Eather 1858 1867
Charles Eather 1860 1867
John Eather 1862 1866
Clara Teresa Eather 1864 1867
William Vincent Eather 1866 1867

(2) On the 2 September 1869,William next married Emma DODD 1830-1911. The daughter of Johh DODD and Isabella BEVITT. Emma was the widow of Joseph JASPER 1807-1862 who had been killed when a heavily laden dray he was driving ran over him at Green Swamp near Mudgee leaving Emma with 9 children.
William EATHER and Emma had only the one child:-
Sarah Eather 1871 1872

A further act of tragedy played out for William, for he met a violent death, when he was run down and killed by a locomotive at Rockdale railway station.
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5.George EATHER b:1834 Richmond, NSW died 17 May 1912 Richmond m. Dorothy 'Dora' Kinsela 1839-1915 the youngest child of Martin KINSELA 1793-1860 and Ellen HENDLING 1794-1862. George and Dora were married at St.Matthews Catholic Church Windsor on the 17 April 1860.
The children from this marriage were:-

Louisa Eather 18611950 m. Arthur Frederick CARR 1872-1936
Arthur G Eather 18621901 m. Florence HUNT
Helen Eather 1864 ?
Walter Leslie Eather 1865 1940
James William Eather 18671949 m. Sarah H WRIGHT 1874-1952
Ambrose M Eather 1869 1941
Emma M Eather 18721961 m. Allan MCNIVEN 1872-1949
Florence Ann Eather 1873 1901
George Raphael Eather 1875 1877
Henry V Eather 1877 1878
Dorothy May Eather 1879 1924 m. Richard Thomas FAHY 1886-1969
Charles George Eather 1881 1881
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6.Rosina EATHER 13 December 1836 (birth reg. Rosina GOUGH) 1875 Rosina died of liver disease after a long illness on the 20 January 1875 at Windsor. m. Alfred DALTON 1830-XXXX
The children from this marriage were:-
Lavinia Ann Dalton 1857
William Henry Dalton 1862 1919
Linda Rosina Dalton 1862
Sloper Edwin Dalton 1865
Alfred Ernest Dalton 1868
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The children of Ann GOUGH, nee CAIN and James GOUGH 1791-1876:-

1.James Alexander Gough 1815 1898 m. Amelia Brinchley WARD 1820-1872 the daughter of Michael Hanley Thompson WARD 1788-1859 and Sophia Jane CROLSTON 1788-1874. James and Amelia married in the Presbyterian church at Pitt Town on the 8 January 1838.

The children from this marriage were:-

Sophia J Gough 1838
James Alexander Gough 1841 1923
Harriett Gough 1846
John T Gough 1850
Charles Edward Gough 1852 1921
Amelia A Gough 1854
William G Gough 1857 1857
Emily J Gough 1858 1872
Victoria L Gough 1862 1863
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2.Mary Gough 1817 1890 m. Edward ROBERTS 1813-1890 The children from this marriage were:-

William Roberts 1836
Ann Roberts 1837 1914
Kezia Roberts 1838 1920
Maria Roberts 1840 1913
Robert Roberts 1843 1909
John Roberts 1845 1913
George Edward Roberts 1849 1930
Edward Richard Roberts 1851 1899
Henry Roberts 1852 1935
Mary Jane Roberts 1856 1887
Charles James Roberts 1859 1942
Laura Luoisa Roberts 1861 1945

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3.Alexander Gough 1819 1885 m. (1)Jane ROBINSON 1820-1853 The children from this marriage were:-

Emily Gough 1839
Jane Gough 1840 1841
John Gough 1842 1912
Alexander R. Gough 1845
Ann Gough 1848
James Gough 1851 1910
(2) Alexander next married Elizabeth WALKER 1840-1899 The children from this marriage were:-
Louise Gough 1860 1943
Jane Gough 1862
Letetia Gough 1865 1927
William Gough 1867 1945
Gough 1869
Charles A Gough 1871 1943
Sarah Gough 1873
Emily Matilda Gough 1876 1943
Edith Ellen Gough 1878 1937
George Samuel Gough 1881 1940
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4.Louisa Gough 1820 1897 m. George FORRESTER 1821-1878 on the 25 Feb. 1839 at Portland Head, NSW. The children of this marriage were:-

Henry F Forrester 1839 1853
William James Forrester 1841 1913
Robert H Forrester 1850 1915
Fanny Forrester 1853 1854
George Henry Albert Forrester 1857 1861
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5.Ann Gough 1821 1822

6.Elizabeth Gough b:1 December 1822 Sydney. d:1865 Mittagong m. Richard SOUTH 1814-1851 on the 10 December 1841 at St.Andrews Scots Church, Sydney

7.Phoebe Gough TWIN 1823 1905 m. Dio BALDWIN 1818-1878 The children from this marriage were:-

Elizabeth Baldwin 1843
Mary Ann Baldwin 1845 1884
Louisa Baldwin 1846 1851
Emily Baldwin 1848 1892
Henry Baldwin 1850 1920
Edwin Baldwin 1852 1852
Phoebe Baldwin 1854 1938
Wellow Baldwin 1858 1930
William Wynn Baldwin 1860 1944
Georgina Baldwin 1862
Victoria A Baldwin 1866 1947
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8.Stephen Gough TWIN 1823 1863 died in Hobart ?
____________

Notes:

Ann Cain Married in the name Ann Fraites to James Goff
Reg no. v18172006 3A/1817 by Reverend Samuel Marsden at St John's C of E Parramatta.

Charles had the nickname 'Holy GO'

Charles was my third great grand uncle.




written by Janilye using research notes from newspapers, Hawkesbury Family records, my own family records and several sources within the Eather family and the Society of Genealogists Australia
Alt Ancestral Ref#: 1SGN-D8L S.O.G aust.

The sixth child and fourth son of Thomas EATHER and Elizabeth LEE was born at Green Hills in the Hawkesbury district on 3 October 1804 and was named John. Two days previously his twin brothers, Charles and Thomas, had turned four. John had been a family name amongst Thomas's ancestors since 1647. Early in August 1805 Thomas and Elizabeth had their infant son John and the twins christened. These baptisms were recorded at Parramatta on 11 August 1805. In all 42 baptisms were recorded in the Parramatta register that day. In none was the place of the baptism recorded, but from a survey of the names it is obvious that most, if not all, of the baptisms were of Hawkesbury district children. Their birthdates ranged from 1798 to 1805. It is believed this is how the birthdates of the twins Charles and Thomas were given as 1805 to records at NSW BD&M. Obviously a minister of the Church of England had made a rare tour of the Hawkesbury district, which still had no Church, and residents had made use of the occasion to catch up on the christening of their children. When John was an infant his father was farming fifteen acres, apparently half of the land that he had been granted in 1797 on Rickaby's Creek at Green Hills. The family home was on higher land above the farm and it was there that John lived until he was about sixteen. When he was three his sister Rachel was born, and when he was six his brother James joined the family. One of the experiences of his childhood which might have become indelibly etched upon his memory , was the sight of the 1809 record flood, when all of the lowlands around Green Hills were submerged and the Hills rendered into a temporary island. In the hard year for the EATHERS that followed, John was one of their children victualled by the Government store.

John was about seven when Governor Macquarie visited Green Hills; decided that it would be the site of a town named Windsor, and supervised its layout. In the years that followed, the town gradually developed. As a child in a community that was largely illiterate, John grew up without the benefit of formal schooling. As a teenager, he undoubtedly gained experience as a farm labourer, while assisting his father in the various chores on his farm. He saw the gradual growth of the town as new shops, hotels and dwellings were erected. When he was about fourteen he saw his brother-in -law, Joseph Onus, carting loads of bricks in his dray to the site on the hill where the new St Matthew's Church was slowly taking shape. In the early 1820's, when John was in his late teens, his father Thomas EATHER purchased a rectangular allotment on the south-eastern side of George Street, the main street of Windsor. In due course the members of the EATHER family still living at home, took up residence in an L-shaped house on the north-eastern corner of the allotment, close to George Street . After 1824, when his brother Thomas was married, John and his younger brother James were the only EATHER children living at home with their parents. On 22 March 1827, when John was 22, his father died. On the following day John was one of the group of mourners who gathered in the churchyard of St Matthew's to see the old man laid to rest. The only member of the EATHER family who was probably missing from the family group on that sad occasion was John's elder brother Thomas, who was establishing himself as a farmer on land far away over the ranges at Wollombi Brook and was most likely unaware that his father had passed away.

Thomas EATHER left a will which had been written at some time during the last two years of his life, after the birth in 1825 of his grandson, Henry Charles the son of his son Charles and Ann HOUGH. Under the terms of this will, the 'three messuages or dwelling houses situate in George Street in the town of Windsor ... together with all horned Cattle, Carts, Ploughs, Harrows and all the implements' were beqeathed to his 'beloved Wife Elizabeth', along with 'all household furniture, goods and effects'. The will further decreed what was to become of the houses, property and effects upon Elizabeth's death. Under the sixth clause John was to receive ''the three back rooms of the house in which I now dwell also situate in George Street aforesaid with all my working Bullocks, Carts, Ploughs, Harness, Harrows and other Agricultural Implements I may be possessed of at the time of my decease''. John was also to share with his younger brother James the household goods and any other effects not already allocated. James was to receive the front two rooms of the house and one cow and calf. Why John should have been singled out to receive the working bullocks, carts and farm machinery can be readily understood. His three older brothers, Robert, Charles and Thomas, were already out in the world with occupations and families of their own. James was still a teenage lad. John was the single adult amongst the sons. Thomas's decision to divide the house in which he dwelt between John and James, while the other two houses were divided amongst his grandchildren, is also logical. John and James were the two sons still living at home, and therefore they wouldn't have to move out of their home upon the demise of their mother. In real terms the content of his father's will had little immediate impact upon John. He continued to reside at home with his mother. He had probably been the member of the family who had made the most use of the carts and farm machinery during the last few years of his father's life, and he probably continued to do so. Judging from the contents of his will, Thomas EATHER owned no land other than the George Street allotment after 1825, and the farm machinery and working bullocks would have been idle except when John used them in labouring jobs or contracts in the district. He would have shouldered increased responsibility with the passing of his father, as his mother would have become dependant upon him in many ways, ranging from transport to maintenance of the family home. When the census of New South Wales was taken in 1828, John was the only one of Elizabeth EATHER's children residing at home with her. James EATHER was then seventeen and still single, but was away from home at the time that the census was taken. John's occupation then was that of a labourer. Elizabeth had decided to supplement her income by taking in boarders, and in the years that followed, usually had a few lodgers staying at her house. This may have thrown more responsibilities upon John. Unlike his four brothers, John remained a bachelor throughout his life. How much this was due to his feeling of responsibility to his widowed mother, we shall never know.

Little is known about his life after 1828, when he was 24. Research has not revealed any application in his name for a land grant, although his brothers Robert and Thomas both applied for such. He evidently had no interest in squatting on the Liverpool Plains, as had both Robert and Thomas. There is no record of his ever having taken out a licence to depasture stock 'beyond the limits of District'. If he ever did ride up the Hunter Valley to the Liverpool Plains it would have been in the minor role of a stockman or drover. He does not appear to have owned any land in the Hawkesbury district. His name does not appear amongst those enrolled on the electoral roll in 1860. Perhaps he rented land for farming purposes, but whether he was concerned with farming we do not know. Possibly he became skilled in one of the trades as a blacksmith, harness-maker or wheelwright and plied those skills in or near Windsor. Perhaps, being without family responsibilities, he was content to earn a living as a labourer, either in town or on the farms. After 1836 when his brother James married, John was the only single member of the family. It is likely that he continued to reside at home and was a companion to his mother as she got older. Elizabeth had a long widowhood of 33 years and probably continued to live on in her George Street home until the frailties of old age forced her into the care of one of her daughters, all of whom resided in or near Richmond. Elizabeth passed away on 11 June 1860 after having attained the age of about 90. John was then 55 and was almost surely one of the mourners who gathered in the churchyard of St. Matthew's Anglican Church at Windsor to see her laid to rest in a grave beside that of her late husband. With the passing of his mother, John inherited the three back rooms of the George Street house and half of the household possessions. The carts and farm machinery, if they hadn't been disposed of in the intervening years, were his property at last. His father's working bullocks weren't around to be inherited. Age and hard work had gradually claimed their lives over the years. Following Elizabeth EATHER's death the EATHER allotment in George Street, Windsor was surveyed and sub-divided into six small allotments, each approximately fourteen and one -sixth perches in area, with a frontage of about thirty feet to George Street and a depth of about 128 feet. As the result of some agreement amongst those who were to share the land, John was allocated the second of these. The L-shaped house, which he was to share with James, was on the first allotment, which had been allocated to James. A year later, in June 1861, James mortgaged his allotment to a grazier, John HOSKISSON, for ?250. He evidently came to some arrangement with John to compensate him for his half of the family home, which was on the allotment mortgaged. John EATHER retained his small allotment for over nine years. What he did with it in that period we do not know. It is unlikely that he had a cottage erected on it. Judging from the low price at which he eventually sold it, there were no improvements on it. At last, on 9 September 1869, shortly before he turned 65, John sold his allotment to John HOSKISSON for the sum of ?40 sterling. On the same day, HOSKISSON became the owner also of James EATHER's allotment. James had never paid off the ?250 for which he had mortgaged it in 1861. Instead he had borrowed another ?200 from HOSKISSON on 17 August 1867. Thus, on 9 September 1869 an Indenture was drawn up , under which HOSKISSON obtained possession of the house and allotment for the sum of ?480 sterling. James had in effect sold his property for the ?450 he had borrowed, plus interest of ?30 that had accrued over the eight years. How John EATHER spent his later years is a matter for conjecture. The likelihood is that he continued to live in or near Windsor, as he had done for the rest of his life.

The only later information about him is that revealed by his death certificate. On 5 November 1888, a month after he turned 84, he died in the Windsor Hospital. Perhaps he died a lonely man. The informant who registered his death was unable to provide the name of his parents. His three sisters and his brothers Robert and Thomas had all predeceased him. His younger brother James was living far away at Narrabri on the Liverpool Plains. The other brother to survive him was eighty-eight year-old Charles, who was living at Richmond . John had numerous nieces and nephews residing in the Hawkesbury district. Perhaps some of them were present at his funeral when he was buried in the same Churchyard as his parents. John EATHER never married and left no descendants - he died at Windsor hospital and the informant for his death certificate had no knowledge of his family.

Thomas, eldest son of Robert EATHER 1795-1881 and Mary nee Lynch 1802-1853, was married to Susannah Merrick at Kurrajong on the 26th August 1844 by Father R. J. Dunne, Susannah was the daughter of Edward MERRICK 1763-1839 and Mary Elizabeth Russell 1765-1840. She had been born on 7 January 1812 at North Richmond, NSW. Susannah had been in a relationship with William WATERFORD 1800-1876 and to him had a son John Merrick WATERFORD 1831-1917

After Thomas and Susannah married, Thomas set up in business at Windsor as a wheelwright, with farming as a profitable sideline.

Poor business acumen cost him dearly in the late 1850's when a series of miscalculations conspired to ruin him. In the one year, 1859, he unwisely spent 150pounds on enlarging his home (at the corner of George and New Streets, Windsor, rented from Abraham Cornwell, lost 200pounds out of renting a farm at Richmond Bottoms, and sacrificed another 100pounds in employing some men to cut timber for him. As his financial affairs plunged, he endeavoured to effect a recovery by transferring the lease of the Richmond Bottoms farm to his brother, James, who also bought his horse team.

By August 1862 he was reduced to working as a drayman for his son-in-law Thomas PRYKE 1835-1922, driving on the Southern Road for 1pound 5 shillings per week.

Later he went west of the Blue Mountains to Orange, still working as a carrier, and there he was accidently crushed to death by a wagon on 25 June 1874.

Susannah died at Bathurst on the 16 October 1894

The children of Thomas and Susannah EATHER were:-

Mary Elizabeth EATHER 1841-1917 m. John Thomas PRYKE in 1859
Susannah EATHER 1845-1921 m.Peter KEARNS in 1871
Caroline Margaret EATHER 1847-1915
Thomas Joseph EATHER 1849-1935 m. Mary Jane Fishbourne 1851-1932 in 1874

The son of Robert EATHER 1795-1881 and Mary LYNCH 1802-1853.

On his father's squattages near Wee Waa in the north west of New South Wales, and further north on the Narran River, James gained much of his early bush experience at the price of having almost every bone in his body broken at various times.

One of his early reminiscences illustrates the hardships of bush life as well as the toughness of those who undertook it: After a drought the stray cattle were rounded up on a high river-bank and each man was entitled to claim any beast which he could cut off from the herd. James's choice, in trying to evade capture, leaped over a cliff into the river but he pursued and caught it, still on horseback, for bullocks were too precious to be let escape so easily.

Despite his many adventures in the outback, his residence was at North Richmond until 1861 when he took over Thomas's farm at Richmond Bottoms.

James married Bridget Harriet HONAN the daughter of Patrick HONAN and Margaret FLANAGAN, she was born in Croagh a small village about 20 miles north of Limerick city in Ireland. James and Bridget married at St.Matthews Catholic Church in Windsor in 1855.

The benefits of North Richmond, where normal amenities were close at hand, would have been much appreciated by Mrs. Bridget Eather.
She could read, write, sew and play the piano. All accomplishments which were much appreciated after she left the civilisation of Richmond with her husband and several small children for the barely explored wilds of the Bellinger River district. The date on which that difficult journey was undertaken was in 1863 when the Richmond Bottoms proved as unrewarding to James as it had to his brother.

They arrived at Urunga Heads in a sailing vessel and from there on it was hard travelling with a horse and three slides for twenty three miles up the river to the spot where they settled, at Boat Harbour near the later town of Bellingen.

The attractions of the district to which the Eathers came, among the very first who accepted the invitation of paying off their farms under the Free Selection legislation of 1861, were the lush river flats, temperature climate and limitless expanses of virgin land.

At first, however, the only economic use to which the land could be put was cedar-getting. The earliest settlers cut the cedar from the foothills of the valley, axing their way finally onto the Dorrigo plateau and sending out the precious logs on the boats which brought in their supplies.

The land was in it's virgin condition requiring much toil before crops could be sown and it was 1864 before the first blocks, including the Eather's could be surveyed.

There, on what became the "Orange Grove" property, the Eather children grew to sturdy adulthood, the daughters were taught sewing by their mother who had somehow managed to bring both sewing machine and piano to the little clearing in the frowning forrest, and both boys and girls finding their recreation in the Irish jigs which she taught them. She was obliged likewise to instruct the elder children in reading and writing, for a provisional school was not yet established on the Upper Bellinger until 1869 when James Eather became one of the members of the local board.

One of the other members of the board was William Jarrett, reputed to be the first settler on the river. Before many years the link between the two families was made even stronger with the marriage of the eldest Eather daughter, Mary, to Thomas Jarrett.

The Children of James Joseph EATHER and Bridget were:-

1. Mary Eliza EATHER 1856?1933 m. Thomas W Jarrett 1851-1935 in 1875 at Bellingen, New South Wales

2.James Joseph EATHER 1858?1920 m. Millicent Sarah BATH 1867-1960 at Walcha, New South Wales, on 31 August 1885.

3. Abraham Robert EATHER 1860?1860

4. Matilda Sarah EATHER 1861?1942 m. Joseph MURPHY 1860-1940 at
Boat Harbour Bellinger River, New South Wales on 5 March 1889.

5. Teresa Jane EATHER 1865?1886 m. Michael MCCRISTAL 1861-1921 at Bellingen, New South Wales on 25 November 1885.

6. Margaret Charlotte EATHER 1868?1932 m. Charles P KEEBLE 1867-1932 at Bellingen, New South Wales, in 1893.

7. Thomas Charles EATHER 1869?1958 m. Anne BROWNLEE 1879-1933 at
Bellingen, New South Wales in 1899.

8. Abraham R EATHER 1872? XXXX

9. John Louis EATHER 1876?1954 m. Ruth F TAYLOR 1880-? (Queensland) at Glen Innes, New South Wales in 1915.

10. George EATHER 1878 ? XXXXI can't find any record of him apart from an attestation paper on enlistment into the A I F where he claims Mrs. Margaret Keeble is his sister. She is listed as next of kin.

Bridget Harriet died at Bellingen on the 3 May 1886.
James Joseph EATHER died at Bellingen on the 21 November 1906.

The wife of James Joseph Eather 1821-1906, son of Robert Eather 1795-1881 and Mary Lynch 1802-1853

The benefits of North Richmond, where normal amenities were close at hand, would have been much appreciated by Mrs. Bridget Eather, an Irish woman of some culture, originating from Limerick. She could read, write, sew and play the piano. All accomplishments which were much appreciated after she left the civilisation of Richmond with her husband and several small children for the barely explored wilds of the Bellinger River district. The date on which that difficult journey was undertaken was in 1863 when the Richmond Bottoms proved as unrewarding to James as it had to his brother.

They arrived at Urunga Heads in a sailing vessel and from there on it was hard travelling with a horse and three slides for twenty three miles up the river to the spot where they settled, at Boat Harbour near the later town of Bellingen.

The attractions of the district to which the Eathers came, among the very first who accepted the invitation of paying off their farms under the Free Selection legislation of 1861, were the lush river flats, temperature climate and limitless expanses of virgin land.

At first, however, the only economic use to which the land could be put was cedar-getting. The earliest settlers cut the cedar from the foothills of the valley, axing their way finally onto the Dorrigo plateau and sending out the precious logs on the boats which brought in their supplies.

The land was in it's virgin condition requiring much toil before crops could be sown and it was 1864 before the first blocks, including the Eather's could be surveyed.

There, on what became the "Orange Grove" property, the Eather children grew to sturdy adulthood, the daughters were taught sewing by their mother who had somehow managed to bring both sewing machine and piano to the little clearing in the frowning forrest, and both boys and girls finding their recreation in the Irish jigs which she taught them. She was obliged likewise to instruct the elder children in reading and writing, for a provisional was not yet established on the Upper Bellinger until 1869 when James Eather became one of the members of the local board.

One of the other members of the board was William Jarrett, reputed to be the first settler on the river. Before many years the link between the two families was made even stronger with the marriage of the eldest Eather daughter, Mary, to Thomas Jarrett.

Robert EATHER The son of Thomas EATHER 1764-1827 and Elizabeth LEE 1771-1860, was born on the 29 April 1795 at Parramatta, New South Wales.
On the 24 August 1824 at St.Matthews Church of England, Windsor, Robert married Mary LYNCH the daughter of Dublin couple Thomas LYNCH 1769-1831 and Celia Catherine DALEY 1768-1826.

Thomas LYNCH, was born in Ireland in the parish of St Paul's, Dublin in February 1769.
He joined the 61st regiment of foot (South Gloucestershire) on 1 May 1790, and served in it until 5 February 1791. He then transferred to the 56th regiment of foot (West Essex) & served in it until 26 June 1794. He joined the New South Wales corps (102nd regiment) in London on 15 August 1796 & for 2 years helped overseer convicts in the hulks on the Thames.
On 6th August 1798 he sailed from London to Cork in the transport ship "Minerva".
The ship was delayed at Cork by the Irish Revolution and other causes and it took over six months to embark 191 prisoners. Of these, 78 were political prisoners.
The ship "Minerva" finally sailed from Cork on 24 August 1799 under the military command of William COX, the later builder of the road over the Blue Mountains.
On the ship "Minerva" Thomas met Celia Catherine DALEY who, born in Dublin in 1768 & convicted at the same place in May 1798 for an unknown offence, had been transported for seven years. The date of their marriage is not known although the settlers muster book of 1800 records that they were living together at that time. Their only surviving child, Mary, was born in 1802/03 but it is possible that an infant named Thomas LYNCH who died in 1801 was an older child. In the Indents Thomas is described as being 5'7" in height, of swarthy complexion, with grey eyes, dark brown hair and a long visage.

Celia died in 1826 age 58 years & was buried on 16 November 1826 with the rites of the Roman Catholic Church.
Private Lynch's total military service of 31 years and 27 days included 4 years and 56 days in the 61st Regiment, 13 years and 222 days in the 102nd. Regiment, and 13 years and 214 days in the Royal Veterans.

( His military career, by later confusion of ancestors, seems to be the origin of a common belief that Thomas Eather, the pioneer, was a soldier).

On discharge in 1827 Thomas Lynch was granted one hundred acres of land which he unsuccessfully endeavoured to select at the Hunter River. Taking up his residence with Robert and Mary Eather in George Street, Windsor, he made a further attempt to select his grant, this time at Kurrajong, but he was again frustrated and his death occurred before he could choose his land. The grant was finally secured by Robert Eather in the Field of Mars district (Ryde) and named "Eather's Retreat".

Robert Eather received his first grant of land from Governor Macquarie at Mittagong.

The stony, scrubby land of the southern highlands, then so remote from the settled districts and so unfamiliar to a Hawkesbury native, induced him to exchange it for a small herd of cattle which he took to a sixty acre farm which he leased at Cornwallis.

He was prospering for in one year, 1828-1829, his stock increased from 20 cattle and 6 horses to 100 cattle, 11 horses and 40 pigs.

Shortly afterwards he spent a brief period in Tasmania, presumably in company with Jonathan Griffiths, an old family friend who had come out to New South Wales at the same time as Robert's father and who was by that period engaged in some very important pioneering work in Launceston.

Before the Tasmanian interlude, he moved with his wife and six children in 1829 onto the Cornwallis farm where he had constructed a comfortable dwelling.

Ten years later he was living at Richmond, having obtained a six years lease of the farm of Jonathon Griffiths from the beginning of 1836 and taking as wards three of Griffith's orphaned grandchildren as part of the arrangement.

He was also interested in land in the north, across the forbidding mountain ranges which his brother, Thomas EATHER, had been one of the first to penetrate and tame.

He used land between the Bulga Road and the Colo River; he leased an area near Howe's Valley a little later, and was lessee at various times of a number of runs in the far north west of New South Wales.

The children of Robert EATHER and Mary, nee LYNCH were:-

1. Thomas EATHER 1820 ? 1874 m. Susannah MERRICK 1812-1894 on the 26 August 1844, St.Matthews Catholic, Windsor.

2. James Joseph EATHER 1821 ? 1906 m. Bridget Harriet HONAN 1833-1886 at St.Matthews Catholic Church, Windsor.

3. Elizabeth EATHER 1822 ? 1874 m. Thomas GRIFFITHS 1820-1856 on 3 Feb. 1840 at St.Matthews Presbyterian Church, Windsor

4. Robert Vincent EATHER 1824 ? 1879 m. Ann CORNWELL 1831-1889 on 29 May 1847 at Richmond, NSW.

5. Cecilia Teresa EATHER 1826 ? 1913 m. Michel Thomas DESPOINTES 1815-1865 at St.Mary's Cathedral, Sydney, on 14 Sept. 1848

6. Abraham Joseph EATHER 1828 ? 1906 m. (1) Margaret MCELLIGOTT 1830-1856 at St.Matthews Catholic church Windsor,17 June 1851 (2) Ellen FARRELL 1842-1928 on 16 September 1863 at Windsor.

7. Mary EATHER 1830?1902 m. (1)Mathias GRIFFITHS 1823-1863 at St.Matthews Catholic church Windsor, in 1850 and (2) Thomas COOPER 1823-1902 at St.Matthews in 1865.

8. Charlotte Cecilia EATHER 1835 ? 1862 m. Michael Benedict HEFFERNAN 1835-1877 at St.Mary's Roman Catholic Cathedral, Sydney in 1858

9. Rachel Teresa EATHER 1836 ? 1912 m. William John KING 1829-1905 at St.Matthews Catholic church Windsor, on 18 June 1855.

10. William EATHER 1839 ? 1842

11. John Joseph EATHER 1841 ? 1842

12. Sarah Mary EATHER 1843 ? 1921 m. James EATHER 1838-1935 on the 16 September 1863. James was 1st cousin, son of James EATHER 1811-1899 and Mary Ann HAND 1815-1894

Mary EATHER nee LYNCH died on the 9 June 1853 at North Richmond. She was buried the next day at the Windsor Catholic Cemetery.

Then on 6 December 1856 at St Patrick's Roman Catholic Church in Parramatta, Robert Eather married Elizabeth BROWN, the widow of one Mark BROWN and the mother of three children.
She had been born in Dublin in 1801, the daughter of Martin CREAGH and Mary O'ROURKE, and came to Australia as a convict on the ship 'Hooghly' which reached Port Jackson on 27 September 1831. She had been tried at Limerick on 13 March 1831 and the indents describe her as being 5' 2?" in height with hazel eyes and brown hair and having a sallow, freckled appearance.
By occupation she was a 'dress maker and house keeper' and her crime was stealing money from her master.
On arrival she was assigned to James COX at Parramatta and, at the time of her marriage to Robert, she was managing four boarding houses in York Street, Sydney behind the present B.B.C. Hardware (formerly Nock and Kirbys). Robert appears to have assisted her in this occupation for some time during the 1850's and in 1858/1859 is listed as the manager of a boarding house at 98-104, York Street, on the east side, two doors from Market Street.
Elizabeth died at North Richmond on the 22 April 1873 and is buried at Windsor Cemetery.

janilye? 2009

The second son of James and Mary Ann Eather nee Hand was James born at Agnes Banks in 1838 who in 1863 married his first cousin Sarah, daughter of Robert Eather.

Although a teetotaller, James made his mark as a publican at South Bowenfels, Lithgow and Rooty Hill. At South Bowenfels, on the Bathurst-Sydney Road, he conducted the Glasgow Arms Hotel until 1882 and then, from 1886 onwards, the Royal Hotel, in a handsome two-storey stone building which still stands. In the intervening period, he kept the Cosmopolitan Hotel at Lithgow.

Andrew Henry EATHER alias Alain John COOPER,the son of Andrew Eather 1875-1965 and Enid King 1886-1931 -
The James EATHER Line.

For some unexplained reason Andrew Eather changed his name. Perhaps it was to get away from the law or perhaps a Mrs. Andrew Eather for it seems Andrew enjoyed a good wedding.

His new name began as Alan John Cooper and under that name he went to Grafton and married Monica Ruth BURNS in the Catholic Church at South Grafton on the 12 April 1941

The next year on 19 May 1942 under the name of Alain John Cooper he joins the 1st Armoured Regiment and gets shipped off to New Guinea as a driver. After the war he remains with the army till 1946 when he is discharged.

Before his discharge on the 22 August 1945 he marries again. This time using the name Alain John Cooper he goes all the way down to Goulburn and marries Jean LANHAM in the Church of England.

This 'wife juggling', doesn't last very long for the wives find out and on the 20 December 1945 Jean LANHAM hands him an annulment for Christmas. Not to be outdone, the following week on the 27 December Monica Ruth up in Grafton wishes him a Happy New Year with a divorce.

On a sad note Monica Ruth had a son in 1941, which they named Alain John Cooper, who died in infancy.

1946 rolls around and on the 13 July 1946 Alain John Cooper ties the knot again. This time with Dulcie Elizabeth NEIL. However this time Alain sticks and remains true, for they produced 10 children.

Alain John Cooper formerly Andrew Henry Eather died at Redcliffe, Queensland in the year 2000.

As a footnote I'd just like to add, that if you happen to be a decendant of Andrew Eather 1914-2000 and you were brought up wondering what happened to him. Now you know!

When Andrew Eather left home, he left a family, to live out their days wondering whatever became of him.

written by janilye from several sources:
NSW State records,
NSW.BD&M
National Library of Australia

The youngest son of Robert Eather 1795-1881 and Mary LYNCH 1802-1853 was Abraham, born in Windsor on 5 October 1828. In later life he settled in the Sydney suburb of Belmore and he died there on 12 May 1906.
His early years were spent as a jackaroo on his father's north-western properties and at the age of 19 he almost perished in a desperate adventure on the Narran River after setting out with a brother and two friends from Barwon with cattle and horses. It was then less than three years since discovery of the Narran and knowlege of local conditions was scanty. The waterholes had all dried up, so after travelling thirty miles Abe EATHER and James WARD left the other two in order to hurry to the Narran for water, but they lost their way and their companions, fearing disaster, tried to push on without the cattle. Young Abe was found by an aboriginal, almost dead after two days and nights without water.
With his brothers Tom and Jim, Abe spent some years on the Narran at his father's station at Angledool and on other family holdings nearby until they were driven out by drought.
In old age Abe used to talk about how in those remote parts he lit his pipe with one foot in Queensland and another in New South Wales.
On occasions Abe drove his father's stock from Angledool to Homebush, near Sydney, around 480 miles.
In the 1850's Abe settled in Sydney as a produce merchant in Sussex St. where he met and married his first wife, Margaret McELLIGOTT 1830-1856, who died at Ultimo leaving one daughter, Mary EATHER 1852-1853.
During this period, he was the winner of two pedestrian races which have gone down in the records of Australian sport. The former of these contests was held over 150yards on the Cook's River sporting paddock on Easter monday, 28 March 1853, with each contestant backed for 50 pounds. Eather was billed as the "pet' of Windsor while his competitor, HATFIELD, was backed by his hometown, Liverpool. Abe won easily and Liverpool rode home disconsolate; Windsor high up in the stirrups.
With his Easter success to support him, EATHER matched FARNELL of Parramatta at Cook's river on 25 April 1853, backed by his brother James, and Michel Despointes ( brother-in-law married to Cecilia) for a 100pounds each over 150yards. Excitement over the approaching contest gave circulation to some imaginative doggerel;

Parramatta says "Farnell
is a real Nonpareil" -
Windsor answers from afar,
"Look at Ether, see a star"

And indeed he was a star for he won easily.

"Abe used to race a horse fifty yards there and back for a wager.One day some shrewdies turned up with a stock pony instead of a racehorse; it turned the peg as fast as Abe did and Abe lost all his money".
Abe finished up running an hotel, but was a teetotaller all his life.
Abraham Eather's second wife, by whom he had eleven children was Ellen FARRELL 1842-1928 of Yarramundi, near Richmond. She survived him by many years and died at Belmore on 8 September 1928.

The children of Abraham and Ellen, nee FARRELL were:-

1. Margaret Eather 1864?1865

2. Abraham Eather 1866?1947 m. Mary Ann DUTCH 1867-1903

3. Herbert William Eather 1868?1955

4. Ellen Balbina Eather 1870?1957 m. Robert Francis Piers MURPHY 1868-1943 at Richmond, New South Wales in 1893.

5. Theresa Eather 1872?1946

6. Gertrude Elizabeth Eather 1873?1955 m. James Stephen LYNCH 1873-1948 at Canterbury, Sydney New South Wales in 1916.

7. Mary Magdalene Eather 1878?1952 m. Percy PLUMRIDGE 1892-1957 at
Belmore, New South Wales, in 1922.

8. Kathleen Cecilia Frances Eather 1881?1969 m. Vincent Joseph GATTENHOF 1881-1958 at Canterbury, New South Wales on 24 April 1906.

9. Joseph Bernard M Eather 1883?1944 m. Ellen Kinsela MADDEN 1886-1954 at Parramatta, New South Wales, in 1921.

10. Eileen Benedicta Eather 1890?1965 m. John Cole MEDCALF 1880-1947 at Canterbury, Sydney New South Wales,in 1915

The Family Name:

EATHER, the family name, has it's origin in Australia. All EATHER's are related.
Thomas and Samuel, the uncle and nephew who were the progenitors of the Australian EATHER's both arrived with the surname of HEATHER. The subsequent evolution of the family name from HEATHER to EATHER can be attributed to the poor standard of literacy existing in New South Wales during the early years of the colony. It is amongst the HEATHER's of England, therefore, that we must look for the ancestral background of the EATHER family.

Early Background

The HEATHER family seems to have roots in England going back at least to Norman times. When the convention of family names developed in the twelfth century, the names adopted came from a variety of sources, such as place names, occupations, skills, colours, plants, and others. It does not necessarily follow that the family name HEATHER was derived from the shrub of that spelling. It appears that the family name was not pronounced the same as the name of the shrub, but as "Heether" and sometimes even as "Heefer". This would account for the spelling variations such as "Heyther", "Heither", and "Hether" which appeared from time to time in the period before spelling was standardised in the middle of the eighteenth century. It would also account for the current pronunciation of the EATHER family name in Australia. It is interesting to note that there is a village named Heather a few miles west of the city of Leicester in the English Midlands, and it's name is pronounced "Heether".

The earliest known appearance of the HEATHER family name in English records is to be found in the Subsidy Rolls for the county of Worcestershire, where in the year 1327 the name John Henry le Hether is recorded. This is well back into Feudal times and only a few generations after the convention of family names had become the practice in England. The Heather family name does not figure prominently in English medieval history, so it is likely that the Heathers were people of fairly humble circumstances who did not rate highly in the feudal hierarchy of their day. Nevertheless, one branch of the family did achieve the distinction of Armorial Bearings.

When researching ancestors, be aware of the illiteracy of the previous generations. Names were written as they were pronounced, sometimes on birth and death certificates, often on marriage certificates and in many cases legal documents such as the case before the Supreme Court below (which I have posted merely as a matter of interest).


[ Decisions of the Superior Courts of New South Wales, 1788-1899
Published by the Division of Law Macquarie University
[murder - domestic violence - Wollombi]
R. v. FINNIE
Supreme Court of New South Wales
Stephen J., 6 August 1839
Before Mr. Justice STEPHEN and a Military Jury.

Thomas FINNIE was indicted for the wilful murder of Elizabeth FINNIE, his wife, at Wollombi, or Cockfighter's Creek, in the district of Hunter's River, on the 23rd of April last.

The prisoner was a small settler at the Wollombi, and having conceived that his wife was in company with a bullock driver, or some person who was staying at a neighbour's hut occupied by one Samuel Ether, went there and enquired for his wife, who had just escaped out of the back door, having by some means heard that her husband was coming; he went out afterwards and found her about six or seven rods from Ether's hut, beat her with fists for about ten minutes, then returned home, fetched a musket, and beat her about the head and body until he broke the musket; then dragged her by the hair of her head to the threshold of ETHER's house, and dashed her head against it; threw her down again, and lifted up a tub of water standing in the verandah and threw the tub and all over her face, then dragged her by the hair again to an iron-bark tree about seven rods, where his conduct was disgustingly indecent and brutal. After this he beat her dreadfully, and on taking her home threw her down and jumped upon her; ultimately, with assistance, he took her home, where she died.

These facts were sworn to by Ether's wife and her servant LOUGHLIN, and although there were some slight discrepancies, their evidence was corroborative on all the material points. Guilty.
His Honor, in passing sentence, told the prisoner that it was totally impossible that any mercy could be extended towards him.
The prisoner was defended by Messrs. FOSTER and WINDEYER.
Source: Sydney Herald, 9 August 1839

The ETHER's in the above were:-
Samuel HEATHER born 17 MAY 1795 • Saint Paul's Cray, Kent, England
TRIED at Maidstone, Kent in 1817, sentenced to 7 years for Larceny
departed England on the 'Morley' 18 July 1818 and Arrived at Port Jackson
on the 17 November 1818. He received his Certificate of Freedom on the 20 January 1825.
His wife Mary HEDGES alias DONOVAN was born in Cork, Ireland in 1807
Tried on the 26 March 1806 and found guilty of House Robbery and sentenced to 7 years.
She departed England on the 'Brothers' on the 3 October 1826 and arrived in Sydney Cove
on the 2 February 1827. Mary and Samuel were married on the 15 February 1828 at Newcastle
New South Wales, The marriage was registered as Samuel HEATHER and Mary DONOVAN.
Their first daughter born 22 April 1828 was registered as EATHER.
Samuel HEATHER died at Warkworth on the 10 September 1841 the Death registered as EATHER
NSW.BD&M.DEATHS/ V18411756 25B/1841 EATHER SAMUEL AGE 54
The sudden change between Heather and Eather in this case was due to the fact that after the marriage they moved to an area where cousin Thomas EATHER and the EATHER/ETHER family well known.
Thomas's twin brother Charles EATHER residing south in Cornwallis near Windsor was, according to the 1828 Census, Charles ETHER.