THE WALSH FAMILY – CHAPTER NINE – ELLEN.

ELLEN WALSH (MARKHAM) – SPRING VALE

Ellen Walsh was the youngest of the Walsh family who emigrated from a farm at Castle Erkin, Co. Limerick, to the Cowra district of New South Wales. Although her death certificate states that she had been 62 years in New South Wales when she died in 1916, there is no record of her arrival by ship.  However, as she was sponsor at the baptism of her brother Patrick’s daughter, Sarah, on 16 May 1852 at the Weddin Mountains, it seems likely that she travelled out under the protection of her married sister (Mrs Catherine Hartigan) in 1850 on board the Lord Stanley.  Ellen would have been fifteen years old.

By 1855, Ellen was reported by her brother-in-law (Thomas O’Shaughnessy) as living with her sisters Mrs Bridget Neville and Margaret Walsh in a house in Cowra which they were fitting up for a public house. On 23 May 1858, Ellen (aged 23) married James Markham (aged 22) a grazier of Spring Vale, Milburn Creek, Lachlan River, in a public house at Cowra. The Rev. Father Murphy officiated and Daniel Neville and Catherine Hartigan were witnesses.

James Markham was the only son of Edmund Markham who came to New South Wales from Rathkeale, Co. Limerick, after being sentenced to seven years transportation under the Insurrection Act at the Special Sessions in Co. Limerick on 1^st  March, 1822.

The Insurrection Act passed by the British Parliament on 11^th February, 1822 aimed at suppressing the rural uprisings in Ireland. The Act introduced a curfew between sunset and sunrise and Justices of the Peace were given the right to enter any house. If they found any person absent from home he was deemed idle and disorderly unless he could prove otherwise. Anyone administering or swearing oaths of allegiance to secret groups, such as the Whiteboys or Captain Rock, or anyone circulating notices to excite riots or demanding money to assist the rebels was deemed idle and disorderly. Carrying arms or being found in a public house between 9 pm and 6 am or gathering anywhere in groups resulted in transportation for seven years.

In his book, Transported In Place of Death, Christopher Sweeny claims that the Insurrection Acts resulted in some men being transported for just being out at night after the curfew. William Nix who came on the Mangles (2) with Thomas O’Shaughnessy and Edmund Markham in 1822 was a labourer, aged 31, from Limerick. He was convicted in March 1822 for being out of his house between the hours of seven and eight at night. He told the court that he had been ordered to paint his name on his door and, being illiterate, had gone to ask a neighbour for help when the offence occurred. On the ship Mangles (2) which left for Australia in 1822 there were 25 other men transported for the same offence of breaking the curfew.^[1]

Edmund Markham was one of the young men convicted in March 1822  but no record of his trial or offence was found in New South Wales or Dublin until 1989 when a newspaper account of his trial was found in Dublin City Library by Edmund’s g. g.-grandaughter, Joan Dawes, showing that he was arrested for having in his possession, a case containing two pistols, when his house was searched by police. (See report of trial.)

In the Outrage returns from Rathkeale for January 1822, held at the State Paper Office, Dublin, T.Lloyd of Beechmount, Rathkeale, reported that “the distress of the poor class is beyond description. The severe weather has caused the loss of almost all  their turf and they are cutting down orchards etc for fuel. There are robberies and extortions in the neighbourhood under pretence of buying gunpowder. Swearing-in is extending daily. Suggest application if the Insurrection Act.”

Edmund Markham and 29 other men, including Thomas O’Shaughnessy, petitioned Richard Marquis Wellesley, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, claiming that they were not guilty, had been convicted by accident and that neighbouring magistrates would verify this.^[2] However, the petition was unsuccessful and Edmund was placed on board the Mangles (2) which left Cork on 21 June 1822. The voyage to New South Wales took 140 days with the ship calling at Rio de Janeiro on the way and arriving in Sydney on 8 November 1822

Edmund was ‘forwarded by water’ to Parramatta, then to Airds near Camden, where he was assigned to James Byrne of Appin and later to John McHenry of Evan (Penrith).^[3] Edmund was described as a ploughman aged 20, five feet seven inches tall with a ruddy complexion, light brown hair and grey eyes.^[4] He obtained his Ticket-of-Leave in 1827 and was overseer for McHenry in 1828 before gaining his Certificate of Freedom on 4 May 1829. On his Certificate of Freedom he was described as being 5 feet ten and a half inches tall!^[5]

On 2 March 1830 Edmund applied for a grant of land stating that he was 28 years old, unmarried and had never had any land by grant or purchase or otherwise. He had two horses and 10 cattle and while in the colony he had borne irreproachable character. His application was witnessed by John McHenry, Magistrate, and by the Rev. Henry Fulton who both stated that they believed the applicant’s statement to be true.^[6]

On 28 April 1830, Edmund Markham wrote to Captain Dumaresque, Private Secretary to Governor Darling,  asking why he had received no reply to his request as he was now a constable in No. 1 District, had 10 cattle and two mares and was destitute of any place for his cattle.^[7] No records have been found of Edmund Markham for the period 1831 to 1835 and there is no record of a land grant having been given during this period.  It seems likely that Edmund was squatting at Milburn Creek at this time.

It also appears likely that a son, James, was born to Edmund Markham aged 34 and Bridget Slattery aged 16 in 1836 as an obituary notice in the Cowra Free Press on 24 June 1913 states that James Markham was aged 77 when he died and that he was born at Milburn Creek. James’ death certificate confirms that he was 77 years old but states that he was born at Darby’s Falls. If James was born in 1836 he anticipated his parents’ marriage by two years, and if he was born in the Milburn Creek area it suggests that his father, Edmund, was residing there before he had legal title to the land. Delays in marriage due to lack of clergy were not unknown and squatting on land while waiting for a grant or purchase was also common.

On 3 January 1838 a deed was prepared in favour of Edmund Markham for 1002 acres at Milburn Creek on the Lachlan River. On 25 June 1838, Edmund Markham of Milburn Creek purchased the 1002 acres at Milburn Creek for ₤250 10. 0.^[8]

On 15 September 1838, Edmund Markham and Bridget Slattery were married at St Mary’s Church in Sydney. Edmund Markham’s abode was given as Lachlan River and Bridget Slattery’s as Sydney. Why Bridget stated that she lived in Sydney  if she had given birth to Edmund’s son at Milburn Creek is not known. A daughter, Catherine was born in 1838.  Catherine later married John Nowlan of Grenfell and had four children:  John (b.1862), Mary (b.1863), Catherine (b.1867) and Margaret (b.1872). Catherine (Markham) Nowlan died in 1877.

On 21 September 1838, Edmund Markham applied for more land at Milburn Creek while residing there – 1050 acres, one mile north of the original 1002 acres.^[9] Edmund also applied on 3 September 1839 for 13 convicts to be added to the 30 convicts already in his service at Milburn Creek, stating that he held 1002 acres by grant and purchase at Milburn Creek, of which 60 acres were under plough and hoe culture.^[10]

 On 19 July 1839 Edmund applied for a licence to depasture on Crown Lands at Bald Hill.^[11] When assessed for tax by the Commissioner of Crown Lands in 1839, Edmund Markham’s Bald Hill lease near Grenfell ran 330 head of cattle and one horse and was supervised by Cornelius Daley.

In 1840 a second daughter (Ellen) was born at Milburn Creek. She later married Frederick O’Leary and had nine children – Christopher, Ellen, Patrick, Herbert, William, George, Frederick, Bridget and Lucy. Ellen (Markham) O’Leary died in 1919. Also in 1840 a Crown grant was issued to John Terry Hughes for the parcel of land Edmund had applied for  in 1838.

The 1841 Census showed Edmund Markham as a  proprietor of land at Milburn Creek, living in a timber house. There were 10 males and 3 females on the property. The ages suggest that they included Edmund and his wife, Bridget, and their two older children, James and Catherine. The men listed all came to New South Wales as convicts but both women came free. There were 5 Church of England, 1 Church of Scotland and 7 Roman Catholics in the group. Six of the males were still in private assignment.

Carcoar was the closest settlement to Milburn Creek and the Markhams travelled there by bullock dray to get supplies. On 2 October 1847 the Sydney Chronicle reported that Mr Markham gave the leading donation of ₤50 pounds towards the building of a Catholic Church at Carcoar, while in 1848 Mrs Edward (Edmund) Markham donated ₤10 to the building fund for the Catholic Churches of Carcoar and Kings Plains.

Besides showing an interest in the Catholic Church, the Markhams were also concerned for the education of their children and the children of their working men and Edmund engaged tutors to conduct a school at his property. Thomas O’Shaughnessy, in his diary, recalled that c. 1843, he walked three miles to school at Edmund Markham’s place, Spring Vale, on Milburn Creek each day and stayed overnight on Friday in order to attend school on Saturday morning.

 The Markhams also enjoyed gatherings of friends and relations at their homestead.  In Catholic Cowra History, Father Reen records that ‘Father Bernard Murphy used to ride down from Mt McDonald into Spring Vale to celebrate Mass at the homestead while Paddy O’Dwyer armed with his fiddle rode with Patrick O’Brien and company from the districts of Morongola (sic) and the middle Lachlan to the hospitable home of the Markhams for periodical nights of dancing’.

In 1845, Edmund Markham’s sister Anne Catherine Grum and her husband William Grum arrived as Bounty Immigrants on the ship, Herald. Anne stated that her native place was Rathkeale, Co.Limerick. Her parents were James and Ellen Markham, listed as deceased. However it seems possible that her mother, Ellen, was still alive and living in Rathkeale. Anne was a farm servant who could read.  She had a brother  living in the colony but did not know where he lived.

 William Grum came from Ballingary, Co.Limerick. He could read and write. His parents were James and Ellen Grum. He had two females under his protection, Ellen Grum, his sister and Ellen Towhill, his niece. He had relations in the colony, including William Curtain of Brisbane Waters. A bounty of ₤17.17.0 was paid for each person.

Anne Grum found her brother, Edmund Markham  at Milburn Creek and on 4 January 1848, a son (Edmund Grum) was born to Anne and her husband, William Grum.  The birth was recorded in the Blayney Catholic Records. Edmund Grum  is mentioned in Edmund Markham’s will in 1865 but no further record of the Grums has been found. Family legend said that William and Anne were buried at Kangaroo Flat, between Mt McDonald and Cowra.

On 16 April 1849, Edmund Markham and H. Fulton were among the six signatories to a request to the Commissioner of the Board of National Education asking for a grant of ₤200 towards the erection of a schoolhouse in Cowra.^[12]

On 23 August 1850 , The 1000 acres at Milburn Creek near its confluence with the Lachlan River, previously granted to John Terry Hughes, was conveyed from the Bank of Australia to ‘Edmond’ Markham, settler, for the sum of ₤325. It seems likely that Edmund was already leasing the land.

In 1852 a daughter (Mary) was born to Edmund and Bridget Markham. Mary later married Patrick O’Leary and had seven children:  Frederick, Elizabeth, Leslie, Herbert, Kate and Nora. Mary (Markham) O’Leary died in 1933.

On 28 September 1854 at the first sale of Cowra urban lots held at Carcoar, Edmund Markham of Milburn Creek, purchased one lot. On 10 January 1856 Edmund and Bridget Markham were witnesses at the marriage of Thomas O’Shaughnessy Jnr and Margaret Walsh in Cowra.

  In May 1858 James Markham of Spring Vale married Ellen Walsh at Cowra and on 4 July 1859 James and Ellen’s twins, Edmund  and Brigid Markham, were born at Spring Vale. On 28 September 1860 Daniel Neville, a coachmaker, born in 1832 in Limerick, married Anne Kelly aged 19 at Spring Vale, the witnesses being Catherine Markham and John Kelly.

On 6 February 1861 a correspondent with the Bathurst Free Press wrote an account of his travels through the bush on horse back:  “I came to Spring Vale, the residence of Mr E Markham;  here I was at home – so went in and had a tough yarn with the Patriarch of the Vale, ate some of his Sunday dinner – a fine goose stuffed with no end of good things. The yarn at an end, and my dinner safely stowed away in my own particular paunch, I bid my old friend goodbye and started to follow out the object of my journey.”

On 6 April 1866 Edmund Markham died six months after a fall from a horse. His death was not registered and no record has been found of his burial but his will was sent for probate. Edmund  had signed his will on 13^th May 1865 but made no mention of his son, James, who may have been provided for during his father’s lifetime. He left Spring Vale, containing 1,000 acres, to his daughter, Mary, when she married or came of age provided that she marry with the consent of her mother and Edmund’s executors. Other provisions in the will were:

•  To his grandson (Edmund Markham) he left Wash Pin Flat on the Lachlan (containing 1002 acres) when he attained the age of 16 years.
•  To his married daughter (Catherine Nowlan) he left a farm of 46 acres on Milburn Creek and town allotment of 1 acre in the village of Cowra.
• To his married daughter (Ellen O’Leary) he gave a farm of 55 acres on Milburn Creek and a town allotment of 1 acre in Cowra.
•  To his nephew (Edmund Grum) he left a farm of 44 acres on Milburn Creek and a town allotment in the village of Carcoar.
•  To his wife (Bridget) he left a town allotment in the village of Cowra and he divided his horse stock amongst his wife, children and Edmund Grum.
•  His horned cattle were to remain on his establishment to support his wife, daughter Mary and Edmund Grum.
•  “His present establishment” was left to his wife ,Bridget, with all stock to support her, Mary and Edmund Grum “so long as she conducts herself properly and remains single and unmarried”.
•  He divided his sheep amongst his three daughters and Edmund Grum.

 Frederick O’Leary, John Nowlan and Andrew Lynch were appointed executors and the signature was witnessed by Frederick Joseph O’Leary and Christopher O’Leary

 Unfortunately for his heirs some of Edmund’s property was already mortgaged at the time of his death.  In 1870 the Mortgagee of Edmund Markham’s estate advertised in the Bathurst press the sale of 1000 acres of land belonging to the estate of the late Mr Edward (Edmund) Markham of Milburn Creek. This portion of land had been left to his daughter, Mary, in Edmund’s will.

Aubrey Murray (great-grandson of Edmund Markham) recorded that Edmund’s daughter, Mary, told him that Edmund  sent a bullock dray to Sydney once a year for supplies. He killed about 60 pigs each year and sent cheese, butter and bacon to Sydney. Stock were usually taken by road and bush track from the Vale to Melbourne to be sold. Ploughing was done by wooden single furrow ploughs drawn by bullocks and crops were mown with reaping hooks and tied in bundles. For one year’s crop of hay supplied to the police barracks at Barrack Flat, Cowra, when the bushrangers were out, Edmund Markham received ₤125 per ton.

 According to Aubrey, when Edmund died he had 10,000 acres of leased land as well as over 2,000 acres of freehold stocked with 2,000 head of cattle and 2,000 head of sheep. So far documentary proof that Edmund owned 2,000 acres at Milburn Creek and leased another 2,000 acres has been found. He is known to have expressed interest in obtaining further leases but the extent of these leases is not known. His land extended from The Vale Road (Darbys Falls – Mt McDonald) along Milburn Creek to the Lachlan River.

 

There is some confusion over the names of Edmund Markham’s properties. Sometimes Edmund was listed as the proprietor of Milburn Creek. His property adjoining Spring Vale Creek was known as Spring Vale.   Woolgonga  was the name of the land at the junction of Milburn Creek and the Lachlan River, occupied by his son, James and later by his grandson, Thomas Markham, while the land bordering the Lachlan River was known as Wash Pin Flat. (see map)

Some of the men said to have worked for Edmund Markham were:

•  Burns (Irish),                                 Mick Halpin (a tailor)
•  Jimmy Doolan (Irish),                   Dan Hourigan (a blacksmith)
•  Barney Bluff (a bullocky),             Pat King (a labourer)
•  P. Dewar Snr, (a carpenter),           Dewar’s son (a labourer,)
• Dave Howard worked at the Vale for 12 years until his wife and family came out from England. He then started his own property at Biggs Mountain with cattle given to him by Edmund Markham.
• A convict, Henry Carvill, who arrived on the Hercules in 1830, was assigned to Edmund Markham, Lachlan River and wrote a letter on 20.2.1839 asking for his Ticket-of-Leave to be restored after being taken from him in 1837.
•  Two of the school teachers who worked at the Vale were Messrs Hanley and Winters.

By 1873 the homestead at Spring Vale had fallen into ruin and Edmund’s son-in law (Frederick O’Leary) wrote a poem recalling Markham hospitality

    ODE TO SPRING VALE

By F.J. O’Leary – Boorowa, 1873

There shone a day that numbers no

  Among the mould’ring past

When here the Farmer wrought his plough

  and golden grain sheaves cast

when stately ricks of hay were seen

  Around the barn floor

And lowing herds upon the green

  Made Markham feel secure.

By him the rover oft was fed

When other hearts denied

One morsel from the store of bread

  That nature free supplied

But now alas! proud thistles bloom

  Where then the plough boy toiled

The mountain brooks have wrought the loom

  In ravines deep and wild 

The old farm house in ruin lies

  Its wreck is dear to me

To creaking walls the roof replies

  A dirge of Times decree

No more we see the lowing herds

  Assemble round the Spring

No more we hear the Farmer’s words

In kindly welcome ring.

                                           In death he sleeps beneath the sward

  Another fills his place –

The guilty agent of discord

  Among the old man’s race

Those acres broad he prided well

  When he was young and strong

Each grassy brook, each forest dell

  To strangers now belong  

But still I see the willow tree

  Weep o’er the lonely spring

The same wild flowers are on the lea

The same blithe birds on wing

Which  tends to prove to frail man

  With all his earthly store

Allotted is the briefest span

                                                            On Life’s uncertain shore

The proudest home that man can raise

  Or costly mansion build

                                                   Though subject to a nation’s praise

  Through varnish, pomp or gild

Will fall beneath the hand of Time

  Or tremble in decay

While Nature’s bloom above it shine

  Full bright as yesterday

 

Then brother cease thou to adore

  The living God of gold

And seek the path unto the door

  Of thy Eternal fold

 

In 1870 Edmund Markham’s widow Bridget Markham (spelt Marcum on the Marriage Certificate) aged 52, married Nicholas Joseph Jordan in Cowra. This was the second marriage registered in Cowra and  Bridget signed with a mark “ x”. Bridget died 14^th  June 1898 and according to her death certificate, her father, Thomas Slattery was a stonemason, and her mother’s name was Catherine.  However,  it has been established that Bridget was the daughter of Timothy Slattery from Co. Limerick, who was transported for seven years for sheep stealing in 1825 aged 50 years.

 Timothy Slattery arrived in Sydney on 18 July 1826 per Mangles (4) and in 1831 petitioned for his family to join him. His son James,( aged 20 years) arrived as a free settler on the Rosslyn Castle from the hulk, Essex, on 2 October 1832.  His wife and children Mary, Catherine, Bridget aged 13, and Timothy aged 8 arrived on the Surrey in 1833. A census in 1841 recorded that the two women residing on Edmund’s property had arrived free.  One of these was Bridget (Slattery) Markham.

James and Ellen Markham later moved from Spring Vale to Woolgonga on the banks of the Lachlan River, up river from the present Darby’s Falls bridge. They had ten children: Twins, Edmund and Bridget (b.1859), Tom (b.1862), Patrick (b.1864), James (b.1866), Francis (b.1868), Nicholas (b.1870), William (b.1872), Daniel (b.1875) and Margaret (b.1877).

Little is known about the lives of James and Ellen Markham at this time except for the notes in Thomas O’Shaughnessy’s diary which record that:

•  James and Ellen came from Milburn Creek with wheat for the flour mill at Cowra on 28 January 1867.
• On 23 August 1867 Ellen Markham went to her brother Patrick Walsh’s funeral at Grenfell.
•  On 14 April 1879 Mrs James Markham moved to Cowra to live. On 6 December 1881 James Markham, a resident of Cowra, signed a petition to have an evening school formed in Cowra to provide elementary education for adults over 14 years who had been deprived of schooling in their youth.
•  In 1883 Ellen Markham and her niece, Bridget Walsh from Kikiamah, left Cowra by coach bound for Sydney.
•  On 30 January 1887 Mrs Markham was at her brother Tom Walsh’s Court House Hotel laid up with typhoid fever. However, by 21 August she had recovered sufficiently to travel to Sydney again.

 

James Markham played the fiddle and his sons formed a brass band which played in the Cowra district. Tom was bandmaster and cornetist, Ted was second cornet, Bill played the horn, Paddy played the trombone, Jim played the euphonium, Nick played the bass and Frank played the drums. They practised in Murray’s Hall (later known as the Lyric Hall), Cowra and  the Markham Band played at the opening of a new school at Darbys Falls in 1891. The Markham brothers were sawmillers at Goolagong, Mt McDonald and Darby’s Falls. The youngest Markham daughter, Margaret was a dance pianist and played for dances at Mt McDonald, Reid’s Flat, Bigga, Bennett Springs and Darbys Falls.

James Markham Snr. died 24 June 1913 and was the first to be interred in the new cemetery at Darby’s Falls. Ellen (Walsh) Markham died at Darby’s Falls in 1916 aged 81 years. She was described by her grand-daughters as a small lady who retained a strong Irish accent in her old age.

          Obituary – Cowra Free Press – 24.6.1913

The Late Mr James Markham

“It becomes our painful duty to chronicle the death of yet another of our old residents, in the person of the late Mr James Markham, of Darby’s Falls. Deceased, who had reached the patriarchal age of 77 had resided in this district all of his life time, and had seen it grow from a very sparsely populated locality into the progressive centre it now is.  The late Mr Markham leaves a widow and large grown up family to mourn their loss, viz., Edward, Thomas, James, Patrick, Nicholas, William, Mesdames John Ward and Murray, besides a large number of grandchildren and other relatives in this and surrounding district. Deceased was born at Milburn Creek Station at the time of the discovery of the famous copper mine there.

The funeral took place at Darby’s Falls on Wednesday, it being fitting that such an old resident should be the first interred in the new cemetery there. Rev. Father Casey officiated at the grave.

 

            Obituary – Cowra Free Press – 26.2.1916

        The Late Mrs Ellen Markham

“It is with very great regret that we have to record the death of Mrs Ellen Markham, relict of the late Mr Jas. Markham, which sad event occurred at her late residence, Darby’s Falls, on Tuesday, 22nd inst. The subject of this brief notice was in her 81st year, and for some considerable time, dating from the demise of her late husband, to whom she was devotedly attached, enjoyed anything but robust health;  consequently her peaceful passing away was not unexpected by her relatives and friends. Deceased had resided with her husband at Cowra for a number of years, subsequently removing to ‘Woolgonga’ (owned by a son) where, after residing for a space, finally settled at Darby’s Falls, from whence they have both been called to their last long home. Deceased was a most exemplary Catholic, and passed to her reward fully prepared and fortified by the last sacrament of the Church, she being attended frequently by Very Rev. D. O’Kennedy and Rev. Father Casey, of Cowra. Of the bereaved family, five sons – Wm. Joseph, (Cowra), Nicholas J., Edmund, Thomas, James and Francis (Darby’s Falls) and two daughters, Mrs George Harris and Mrs J. Ward (Darby’s Falls) survive to mourn their sad loss.  There are 35 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. The interment took place the following day at the Darby’s Falls cemetery and, considering the unsettled state of the weather, a fairly large number of relatives and friends followed the remains to their last resting place. Very Rev. Father O’Kennedy recited the prayers at the grave, and the funeral arrangements were carried out by Messrs Poignand & Co., Cowra.

The late Mrs Markham, who was born in Limerick (Ireland) in 1836, was a daughter of the late Mr & Mrs P. Walsh. She came to Australia when 18 years of age and settled near Goolagong with her brothers, Thomas and Patrick Walsh. She later resided with her sister (Mrs Neville, afterwards Mrs Challacombe) at the Green House, which stood on the site of the premises now occupied by Messrs Reid, Smith & Co., and it was from there that she married, 56 years ago. They were the second couple married in Cowra, her late brother Thomas and Miss Hannah Middlemis being the first.

Of Ellen (Walsh) Markham’s two daughters, Bridget (b.1849) married John Ward on 5 November 1879 in Sydney and they had twelve children: Catherine (Tot) b.1880, James(Wriggle) b.1882, Aida b.1883, Reginald (Cuthy) b.1886, Mary Clare (Lal),b.1888, John (Jack), b.1890, Dorothy (Doss) b. 1891, Francis (Mick) b.1893, Eric (Bull) b.1898, Neville (Didler) b.1899, Beryl b.1903, Maurice (Jock) b.1904.

When widowed, Bid Ward  brought her adult family back to Darby’s Falls to live. They devised, organised and performed concerts to raise money for the Red Cross during World War I when several of the sons went overseas to serve in the Army.

Margaret (b.1877), the youngest  child of James and Ellen Markham, married Francis Conyngham Murray in 1900. Frank Murray was originally from Ulladulla and met Margaret while working at Mt McDonald  in the 1890’s. Frank was a tenor who entertained at concerts at Mt McDonald in 1899 while Margaret Markham accompanied him on the piano and occasionally sang duets with him. Frank and Margaret also joined the other young people at Mt McDonald at dances, tennis matches and bush picnics.

After the birth of their first son, Aubrey at Mt McDonald in 1901 and Ellen (Nell) at Cowra in 1902 Margaret and Frank Murray moved to Nevertire where Frank worked in a store. Doris (b.1905) and Neville (b.1906) were both born at Nevertire but two-year-old Doris died after contracting meningitis and was buried at Nevertire. The family moved to Darbys Falls where James was born in 1908.

 Frank developed tuberculosis and spent six months at Waterfall Sanatorium but the disease progressed and he returned home to die. He insisted on spending the last months of his life in a tent away from the house and would not let his small children come near him for fear of infection. Margaret nursed him until his death and supported her family after he died in 1909.

 Margaret became Postmistress of Darbys Falls about this time and remained in the position until 1948. She also ran a boarding house, taught piano lessons and played the piano for dances. She travelled by horse and buggy, leaving at 4 pm to play for  dances at the surrounding villages, playing all night at a hall or woolshed and leaving after breakfast for the drive home – often with a heavy frost on the ground.

Margaret married a second time to George Harris of Bennett Springs in 1915 and had another son (George Harris Jnr).  George Jnr and Margaret Harris conducted the local store and Post Office at Darbys Falls. Margaret was given a fond farewell when she left Darbys on 19 September 1955 to live with her daughter, Nell Cooke, in Sydney. She died in 1957 aged 80 years and was taken home to be buried near her mother, Ellen (Walsh) Markham in Darbys Falls cemetery.

ELLEN WALSH DESCENDANTS

….. 1 Ellen Mary WALSH b: 1835 in Castle Erkin, Co Limerick, IRE, Arr. Australia: 26 Aug 1850 ‘Lord Stanley’, d: 22 Feb 1916 in Darbys Falls NSW

….. + James MARKHAM b: 14 Jul 1836 in ‘Spring Vale’, Milburn Creek, NSW, m: 23 May 1858 in Cowra NSW, d: 24 Jun 1913 in Darbys Falls NSW

……….. 2 Bridget Mary MARKHAM b: 04 Jul 1859, d: 21 Feb 1946 in Darbys Falls NSW

……….. + John Thomas WARD b: 06 Oct 1848 in Maitland NSW, m: 05 Nov 1879 in Glebe NSW

…………….. 3 Catherine Ellen (Tot) WARD b: 01 Oct 1880, d: 12 Nov 1949

…………….. + Patrick J (Paddy) WHITTY b: 1868 in Reg. Carcoar, m: 1930 in Annandale NSW

…………….. 3 James Patrick (Wriggle) WARD b: 27 Sep 1882, d: 28 Oct 1949

…………….. 3 Aida WARD b: 10 Oct 1883, d: 09 Oct 1978

…………….. + Patrick W JORDAN m: 1926 in Drummoyne NSW

…………….. + Patrick William JORDAN b: 1867 in Carcoar NSW, m: 1926 in Drummoyne NSW

…………….. 3 Reginald (Cuthy) WARD b: 27 Oct 1886, d: 04 Dec 1970

…………….. 3 Mary Clare (Lal) WARD b: 15 Aug 1888 in Sydney NSW, d: 11 Jan 1979 in Sydney NSW

…………….. + John Ambrose (Tiger) MARKS b: 05 Jul 1884 in Reid’s Flat NSW, m: 17 Oct 1922 in Cowra NSW, d: 22 Aug 1965 in Sydney NSW

…………….. 3 John Thomas (Jack McGuirk) WARD b: 26 Jan 1890, d: 18 Feb 1950 in Darbys Falls NSW

…………….. + Edith E (Edie) SMART b: 31 Jul 1899 in Boorowa Reg, m: 1921 in Boorowa NSW, d: Darbys Falls NSW

…………….. 3 Dorothy (Doss) WARD b: 07 Dec 1891 in Waverley NSW, d: Sep 1959

…………….. 3 Francis Bernard (Mick) WARD b: 13 Apr 1893, d: 20 Oct 1934

…………….. 3 Eric Stanislaus (Bull) WARD b: 07 May 1898 in Ashfield NSW, d: 1975

…………….. + Thellie WATERS

…………….. 3 Neville Philip (Didler) WARD ,GM, QPM, b: 20 Jun 1899, d: 22 Jul 1995 in Harbord NSW

…………….. + Lillian May SMALL , JP., b: 06 Feb 1905 in Ulmurra, NSW, m: 1929 in Bellingen NSW, d: 1988

…………….. 3 Beryl Margaret WARD b: 29 Jun 1902, d: 14 Jan 1974 in Orange NSW

…………….. + Cyril Francis (Sam) EGGLESTON b: 1900, m: 1929 in Cowra NSW, d: 1982 in Croydon Park NSW

…………….. 3 Maurice Joseph (Jock) WARD b: 03 Oct 1904, d: Oct 1993 in Tenterfield NSW

…………….. + Billie ? m: Tenterfield NSW

……….. 2 Edmund MARKHAM b: 04 Jul 1859, d: 31 Oct 1935 in Darbys Falls NSW

……….. + Rebecca Emily (Emily) BOLTON b: 1858, m: 1882 in Grenfell NSW, d: 22 Nov 1904 in Grenfell NSW

…………….. 3 Arthur George MARKHAM b: 12 Sep 1883 in Grenfell NSW, d: 11 May 1952 in Maclean, Lower Clarence NSW

…………….. + Vera I M LOGUE b: 27 Jan 1889, m: 1912 in Dubbo NSW, d: 30 Jul 1975

…………….. 3 Thomas MARKHAM b: 14 Jul 1885 in Grenfell NSW

…………….. + Florence Jane HAMMOND m: 1910 in Grenfell NSW, d: Aft. Jul 1981

…………….. 3 Eleanor M MARKHAM b: 1887 in Grenfell NSW, d: 1889 in Grenfell NSW

…………….. 3 Ernest Augustine MARKHAM b: 1890 in Grenfell NSW, KIA WW1 d: 04 Jan 1917 in 12 General Hospital, Rouen, France

…………….. 3 Edmund MARKHAM b: 1892 in Grenfell NSW, d: 1897 in Grenfell NSW

…………….. 3 Margaret C MARKHAM b: 1895 in Grenfell NSW, d: 1896 in Grenfell NSW

…………….. 3 James L MARKHAM b: 1897 in Grenfell NSW, d: 1897 in Grenfell NSW

…………….. 3 Irene Alice (Molly) MARKHAM b: 1898 in Grenfell NSW, d: 28 Jul 1974 in Grenfell NSW

…………….. + Frederick SIMPSON b: 1890, m: 1924 in Parramatta NSW, d: 20 Jun 1970 in Grenfell NSW

…………….. 3 John Patrick MARKHAM b: 1901 in Grenfell NSW

…………….. + Jean WEBSTER m: 1934 in Grenfell NSW

……….. 2 Thomas Walsh MARKHAM b: 25 May 1861 in Cowra NSW, d: 09 Feb 1933 in Darbys Falls, NSW

……….. + Mary Julia JORDAN b: 1864, m: 1900 in Cowra NSW, d: 19 Dec 1946

…………….. 3 Eileen May MARKHAM b: 22 Apr 1901 in Cowra NSW, d: 26 Mar 1969 in Darbys Falls NSW

…………….. 3 Rose Veronica MARKHAM b: 27 Nov 1902 in Cowra NSW, d: 20 Feb 1973

…………….. + Kenneth Lawrence FORD b: 23 Oct 1897 in “Willow Valley”, Peelwood NSW, m: 1936 in Cowra NSW, d: 06 Dec 1981 in Campbelltown NSW

…………….. 3 John Clarence Jordan (Clarrie) MARKHAM b: 13 Apr 1907 in Cowra NSW, d: 23 May 1980 in Darbys Falls NSW

…………….. 3 James Clive Walsh (Clive) MARKHAM b: 13 Apr 1907 in Cowra, d: 13 Feb 1984 in Darbys Falls NSW

…………….. 3 Oliver Thomas MARKHAM b: 1909 in Cowra NSW, d: 11 May 1952 in Darbys Falls NSW

……….. 2 James Milburn (Oakey) MARKHAM b: 10 Jun 1863 in ‘Spring Vale’, Milburn Creek, NSW, d: 24 Jan 1951 in Orange NSW

……….. + Bridget Maria RYAN b: 1878 in Mayoh’s Station , Young NSW, m: 1903 in Grenfell NSW, d: 07 Jul 1959 in Sydney NSW

…………….. 3 Cecil G MARKHAM b: 1905 in Cowra NSW

…………….. + Doreen HAMEY m: 1931 in Orange NSW

…………….. 3 Mary V MARKHAM b: 1906 in Cowra NSW

…………….. + Hylton WASS b: 1894, m: 1929 in Cowra NSW

…………….. 3 Ellen M (Nell) MARKHAM b: 1909 in Cowra NSW

…………….. + James S C MORRIS m: 1929 in Orange NSW

……….. 2 Patrick Bernard MARKHAM b: 10 Jun 1864, d: 24 Jul 1912 in Darbys Falls NSW

……….. 2 Francis Dusculum (Doll) MARKHAM b: 03 Sep 1867 in Milburn Creek, NSW, d: 16 Jan 1944 in Darbys Falls

……….. 2 Nicholas J (Nick) MARKHAM b: 12 May 1870, d: 07 Feb 1939 in Darbys Falls NSW

……….. + Bridget RYAN b: 25 Aug 1866, m: 1903 in Sunnyside, Canowindra , NSW, d: 24 Nov 1953

…………….. 3 John Thomas (Tom) MARKHAM b: 23 Jun 1904, d: 14 Mar 1980

…………….. 3 Ena Mary MARKHAM b: 04 Apr 1907 in Cowra NSW, d: 16 Jan 1988 in Cowra NSW

…………….. + Herbert William (Herbie) WASS b: 1901 in Burrowa NSW, m: 1936 in Sydney NSW, d: 21 Jul 1986 in Cowra NSW

…………….. 3 Nicholas J MARKHAM b: Jan 1909 in Cowra NSW, d: 15 Apr 1909 in Cowra NSW

……….. 2 William Saint Augustine MARKHAM b: 28 Aug 1872 in Milburn Creek, NSW, d: 21 Jun 1945 in Cowra NSW

…………….. 3 Iris Mary MARKHAM b: 1911 in Cowra NSW, d: 1942 in Cowra NSW

…………….. + Reginald Henry PUTTOCK m: 1940 in Cowra NSW

…………….. 3 Elwynn (Lee) MARKHAM b: 07 Jan 1925 in Cowra NSW, d: 01 Jul 1976 in Sydney NSW

…………….. + Ellen Anne (Nell) MURPHY b: 11 Feb 1925 in Winton QLD, m: 07 Feb 1959, d: 30 May 2004

…………….. 3 Urban W MARKHAM b: 1914 in Cowra NSW, d: 25 Dec 1976 in Cowra NSW

……….. + Rosanna Mary Ruperta (Rose) JORDAN b: 1879 in Cowra NSW, m: 1910 in Cowra NSW, d: 08 Jul 1965 in Cowra N.S.W

…………….. 3 Iris Mary MARKHAM b: 1911 in Cowra NSW, d: 1942 in Cowra NSW

…………….. + Reginald Henry PUTTOCK m: 1940 in Cowra NSW

…………….. 3 Urban W MARKHAM b: 1914 in Cowra NSW, d: 25 Dec 1976 in Cowra NSW

…………….. 3 Elwynn (Lee) MARKHAM b: 07 Jan 1925 in Cowra NSW, d: 01 Jul 1976 in Sydney NSW

…………….. + Ellen Anne (Nell) MURPHY b: 11 Feb 1925 in Winton QLD, m: 07 Feb 1959, d: 30 May 2004

……….. 2 Daniel David Bernard MARKHAM b: 09 Feb 1875 in Cowra NSW, d: 16 Aug 1876 in Kendall  St. Cowra NSW

……….. 2 Margaret MARKHAM b: 01 Jun 1877 in Cowra NSW, d: 05 Jun 1957 in Fairfield NSW

……….. + Francis Conyngham MURRAY b: 30 Jun 1861 in Sydney NSW, m: 05 Nov 1900 in Mt

McDonald NSW, d: 14 Feb 1909 in Cowra, NSW

…………….. 3 Francis Aubrey MURRAY b: 29 Apr 1901 in Mount McDonald NSW, d: 12 Mar 1972 in Wyangala, NSW

…………….. + Thelma Clara BARNES b: 1900 in Newtown NSW, m: 1922 in Randwick NSW, d: 1986 in Sydney NSW

…………….. 3 Ellen Conyngham (Nellie) MURRAY b: 30 Oct 1902 in Cowra NSW, d: 1983 in Canberra ACT

…………….. + Thomas Charles  COOKE b: 1897 in Snowball, nr Braidwood, NSW, m: 1926 in Darbys Falls NSW, d: 04 Dec 1949 in Concord NSW

…………….. 3 Doris MURRAY b: Jan 1905 in Nevertire NSW, d: 16 Oct 1905 in Nevertire NSW

…………….. 3 Neville (Dibbie) MURRAY B E M, b: 25 Apr 1906 in Nevertire NSW, d: 03 Jun 1980 in Canberra ACT

…………….. + Winifred  McGUINESS b: 29 Jan 1909 in Trangie NSW, m: 24 Jun 1933 in Bondi, Sydney, NSW, d: 16 Sep 1992 in Canberra ACT

…………….. 3 James Nicholas  MURRAY b: 17 Apr 1908 in Darbys Falls NSW, d: 08 Aug 1974 in Canowindra NSW

…………….. + Pauline Marjory  CROWE b: 17 Oct 1917 in Canowindra NSW, m: 09 Sep 1949 in Canowindra (RC) NSW, d: 27 Aug 2009 in Canowindra, NSW

……….. + George William (Sonny) HARRIS b: 1863 in Bennetts Springs NSW, m: 1913 in Darbys Falls NSW, d: 1941 in Cowra NSW

…………….. 3 George William HARRIS b: 1915 in Cowra NSW, d: 1990 in Canberra ACT

…………….. + Emilie HENDERSON b: 01 Dec 1918 in Cowra NSW, m: 1941 in Cowra NSW, d: 14 Jul 1997 in Canberra ACT

To return to Walsh INDEX, click here.

To go to CONCLUSION and ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS, click here.

 

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