janilye on Family Tree Circles

It is said, The Singleton Argus, on 25th September 1835, when writing about Peter McAlpin 1809-1898, described him as a man with "a roaming disposition, a giant and in every sense of the term, physically and morally with high principles, lofty ideals". I have been unable to find this article. Never-the-less, he was, all of that.

Peter McALPIN Senior 1758-1850 had taken his family out to the Hawkesbury district and set himself up as a blacksmith at Windsor after arriving with the family as free settlers on the 'General Graham' on the 29 January 1812.

Here the family lived until the end of 1815, when Peter Snr. sold his shop and two houses by auction, the family moved to Richmond early in 1816, again setting up a blacksmith shop, when young Peter was only 7.

In 1822 Peter together with his brother William Glas and Catherine (nicknamed, Kite) attended the school in Richmond for only about a year, just long enough to learn to read and write and do their sums.

In the 1825 census Peter was recorded as living at Richmond, however it was not long after the census that Peter showed his wanderlust by making a trek up north to Muswellbrook, or perhaps he was a little bit envious of his brother's wanderings.

Two years earlier in 1823, Peter's brother William known as Billy Mack at thirteen, had been one of Archibald Bell's party who, with the help of aboriginal guides marked the Bells Line of Road which was an alternative route to Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworths road across the Blue Mountains.

In the 1828 census Peter was living in Bathurst and working as a labourer for John Neville 1780-1854 and his wife Elizabeth nee Vincent, whom Peter had met in Richmond, when they were living there. They had offered him work and Peter was keen to take it.

I'm not sure how long Peter remained with John Neville and his family but John Neville moved from Bathurst to Rylstone in 1830 and Peter didn't like to stay in one place for long.

In 1831 Peter set himself up as the Blacksmith in Patrick's Plains. It's thought that Peter visited Richmond around Christmas 1831 when his little sister Catherine 'Kite' announced she was going to marry William Clark on the 16 January 1832. Of all the family Peter was closest to Kite and I don't see him missing her wedding day.

Another big wedding took place on the 1 February 1833 when brother Billy Mack married Susannah Onus 1815-1882 at Christ Church in Castlereagh. William built a brick home in 1834 in the main street of Richmond, NSW with financial help from Joseph ONUS (the father of his wife, Susannah) and set up a blacksmiths shop at the rear.

On the 9 January 1935 at a chapel in Maitland where his sister and her husband William Clark were now living Peter married Elizabeth Cole alias Harrison, a convict woman whose real name was Phebe Cole, nee Stirrup
1807-1885. Phoebe was a widow with two children.

This marriage was seen as a convenience for both parties and did not last very long. It seems Peter sold the shop bought Phoebe a house, gave her some money and then took off for Victoria. Neither one looking back or having any regrets.

It was on the 30 August 1835 that the first settlers arrived in Melbourne and commenced building along the Yarra River. This pioneering group led by Captain John Lacey with his builder from Launceston George Evans, his servant Evan Evans, carpenters William Jackson and Robert Hay Marr, the Blacksmith James Gilbert and his wife and a ploughman called Charlie Wise. In 1840 Peter McAlpin made his way there not to seek his fortune ( he could have made that in New South Wales), but for the adventure of it all.

From this point on it's not easy to track Peter. He did have a blacksmith shop in Little Bourke Street Melbourne, in 1847. In March 1851 he was shot in his left arm in the city of Melbourne at 1am by George May Smith after Peter called he and his companions some names. George May Smith was charged with assault and fined twenty shillings. Another shot in the arm in 1851 was because Peter was out of the state of nsw for so many years phoebe, had him declared dead. She married Frederick WINGRAVE 1797-1876, at Windeyer on the 31 March 1852.
Then in 1853 we see Peter at the McIvor diggings. I doubt he was digging more likely running the blacksmiths shop.

All told Peter spent thirty five years in Victoria not returning to New South Wales until 1875.

Peter died on the 23 September 1898 in Singleton, New South Wales.
His death certificate states he died without issue

His grave is at the Glenridding Uniting Church Cemetery, formerly known as
the Glenridding Presbyterian Cemetery, on the Putty Road, Singleton, NSW.
The headstone reads-
PETER MCALPINE
23 Sep 1898
Age: 89y

Obituary
Singleton Argus (NSW : 1880 - 1954), Saturday 24 September 1898

Death of an Old Colonist.
"In his 90th year, Mr Peter M'Alpin, of Bulga, died in the local Hospital yesterday,
after a short illness, his death being due to senile decay.
The deceased was a native of Sterling, Scotland, but was only three years of age
when he arrived with his parents in Victoria he lived there for 35 years, when he removed
to N. S. Wales, and has since lived in this part of the colonya term of 51 years.
Mr M'Alpin was married in Maitland, but there was no issue to the union.
The old gentleman was well respected, and those who knew him intimately
in his earlier days retain many pleasant memories of the acquaintanceship "

Note: He arrived with parents in NSW on 29 Jan 1812.
He Lived in Victoria for 35 Years and
in NSW for a total of 51 years.


written by janilye, 2004.
Thank you to Rob Fountain for information re- Phoebe Stirrup

Sarah Eather
BIRTH: 22 April 1828 at Wollombi, New South Wales.
DEATH: 27 April 1919 at Jerry's Plains New South Wales

MARRIAGE: 1. John Isaac FRITH 1810-1859 at Warkworth Cof E on the 5 April 1847.
Children:
Isaac Arthur Frith 1849 - 1930 m Ellen Marion ROWE 1853-1919
Mary Ann Frith 1851 - 1931 m. Henry Walter WEALE 1850-1933
Eliza Frith 1853 - 1853
Charlotte Frith 1855 - 1939 m. Philip LOGUE 1852-1934
Alice Frith 1857 - 1919 m. 1. John Joseph SMITH 1855-1898 2. Walter HANCHANT 1865-1933
John Frith 1859 - 1936 m. Mary Ann MEYER 1866-xxxx

MARRIAGE: 2. Henry Hugh TUDOR 1819-1872 at Sydney, on the 5 August 1861
Children:
Agnes Tudor 1861 - 1947 m. Theodore John NIERIKER 1864-1947
Harriet Tudor 1864 - 1930 m. Clement William GEE 1872-1945
Henry Herbert Tudor 1866 - 1930 m. Mary Jane HARRIS 1872-1964
Blanche Maria Tudor 1868 - 1871
Walter Charles Tudor 1870 - 1944 m. May TUCKERMAN 1872-1964

Sarah's father was Samuel HEATHER/EATHER born 17 May 1795 at St.Paul's Cray, Kent his parents Robert Heather 1758-1815 and Charity Williams 1759-1815. (Robert Heather is the brother of my ancestor and 4th great grandfather Thomas EATHER 1764-1827 ) Sentenced to 7 years for Larceny (stole 2 chooks)and transported to New South Wales on board the 'Morley' arriving in Sydney on the 7 November 1818. He married Mary HEDGES Alias DONOVAN on the 15 February 1828 at Newcastle. Mary was born in Cork, Ireland and sentenced to 7 years for House Robbery and transported on the 'Brothers' she arrived in Sydney on the 2 February 1827.
Samuel HEATHER is recorded as EATHER in the 1822 Convict Muster
Samuel died on the 10 September 1841 at Warkworth, New South Wales

There were 8 children registered to Samuel HEATHER/EATHER and his wife Mary:-
Sarah Eather 1828 - 1919 m.1. John Isaac FRITH 1810-1859 2. Henry Hugh TUDOR 1819-1872
Mary Eather 1830 - 1913 m. William THORLEY 1825-1901
Robert Eather 1832 - 1897 m. Mary CURTIS 1853-1887
Samuel Eather 1834 - 1894 m. Elizabeth GILES 1845-1954
Hannah Eather 1836 - 1918 m. Thomas PITTMAN 1831-1910
Charlotte Eather 1838 - 1922 m. Henry PITTMAN 1827-1916
Elizabeth Eather 1840 - 1903 m. 1 Samuel WALLACE 1828-1867 2. Peter HORNERY 1838-1922
*Thomas Eather 1843 - 1900 m. Jane BARNETT 1845-1932

After Samuel died Mary married John Quantrill on the 15 October 1844 at St.Andrews Church, Cockfighters Creek, New South Wales. Mary and John QUANTRILL had a son John QUANTRILL 1847-1874.

Mary left John at the end of 1857 and on 7 January 1858, John QUANTRILL placed this notice in the Maitland Mercury
NOTICE
WHEREAS my WIFE, MARY QUANTRILL, formerly MARY EATHER, has left her home without any cause or provocation: This is to caution the public not to give her any CREDIT, as I will not be responsible for any DEBTS she may contract after this; and 1 further give notice that any parties found driving cattle from the undermentioned estate will be prosecuted according to law.
JOHN QUANTRILL.
De Quiros Villa,
Cockfighter's Creek,


Note*: Some branches of Quantrill family have a history of what was then called hereditary chemodectoma or known these days as Paraganglioma
Thomas was the illegitimate son of Mary born after Samuel died Registered as Thomas Heather mother Mary. There was much speculation as to who his father was as there are no records of Quantrill acknowledging him as his son. HOWEVER: I have been told by members of the Thomas Eather/ Jane Barnett family, Chemodectoma is present in some of their decendants.

Mary died on the 13 November 1880 at Goorangoola, New South Wales.

Below is the headstone of Sarah and Henry Tudor at Jerrys Plains Old Anglican Cemetery, Pagan Street, Jerrys Plains, New South Wales, Australia
Remarks
Death Date: 27 May 1919 Age: 91y Remarks: Sarah TUDOR nee EATHER formerly FRITH; w/Henry; mother

Sarah Eather
BIRTH: 22 April 1828 at Wollombi, New South Wales.
DEATH: 27 April 1819 at Jerry's Plains New South Wales
MARRIAGE: 1. John Isaac FRITH 1810-1859 at Warkworth Cof E on the 5 April 1847.
Children: Isaac Arthur Frith 1849 - 1930
Mary Ann Frith 1851 - 1931
Eliza Frith 1853 - 1853
Charlotte Frith 1855 - 1939
Alice Frith 1857 - 1919
John Frith 1859 - 1936
MARRIAGE: 2. Henry Hugh TUDOR 1819-1872 at Sydney, on the 5 August 1861
Children: Agnes Tudor 1861 ? 1947
Harriet Tudor 1864 - 1930
Henry Herbert Tudor 1866 - 1930
Blanche Maria Tudor 1868 ?-1871
Walter Charles Tudor 1870 - 1944

Sarah's father was Samuel HEATHER/EATHER born 17 May 1795 at St.Paul's Cray, Kent Sentenced to 7 years for Larceny and transported to New South Wales on board the 'Morley' arriving in Sydney on the 7 November 1818. He married Mary HEDGES Alias DONOVAN on the 15 February 1828 at Newcastle. Mary was born in Cork, Ireland and sentenced to 7 years for House Robbery and transported on the 'Brothers' she arrived in Sydney on the 2 February 1827.
Samuel died on the 10 September 1841

There were 8 children registered to Samuel HEATHER/EATHER and his wife Mary:-
Sarah Eather 1828 - 1919
Mary Eather 1830 - 1913
Robert Eather 1832 - 1897
Samuel Eather 1834 - 1894
Hannah Eather 1836 - 1918
Charlotte Eather 1838 - 1922
Elizabeth Eather 1840 - 1903
*Thomas Eather 1843 - 1900
After Samuel died Mary married John Quantrill on the 15 October 1844 at St.Andrews Church, Cockfighters Creek, New South Wales. Mary and John QUANTRILL had a son John QUANTRILL 1847-1874.
Note: Some branches of Quantrill family have hereditory history of "chemodectoma" (coratid-body tumour, non malignant). I have been in contact with a decendant of Thomas EATHER 1843-1900 and the same disease has been discovered in his family as well. Since Thomas was born 2 years after Samuel died and the appearance of the disease in his decendants the odds that John Quantrill was his father are very good.
John Quantrill separated from Mary 22 December 1857 and he died at the Post Office Hotel, Singleton on the 26 May 1882.
Mary died on the 13 November 1880 at Goorangoola, New South Wales.

Catherine EATHER, the thirteenth and last child of Thomas EATHER 1800-1886 and Sarah, nee McALPIN, was born at Richmond, New South Wales on 13 January 1846. Her childhood home was the "Union Inn" in Windsor Street, Richmond where her parents resided and her father was sometimes the inn-keeper.
Her eldest brother and sister were already married when she was born and the next two were married when she was still too young to remember the respective events. Four more family weddings occurred by the time she was ten, and she became used to seeing older brothers and sisters departing from their home town for destinations over the ranges to the north.
She was only two when her sister Susannah died from burns and she probably did not remember her in later life. Her chief childhood playmates were her brothers James and John and some of her nieces and nephews who lived nearby. She was nine when her eldest sister, Elizabeth, became a widow and there was sorrow in the family. Of her older sisters, the ones whom she knew the best were Elizabeth and Annie, as they were the ones who continued to live at Richmond after their respective marriages. Catherine EATHER probably had formal schooling as a pupil at the school a few streets away and she would have gone along with her parents and other relatives on Sundays to the regular service in St Peter's Church. She probably went to Sunday school classes.

On 23 May 1866, when she was twenty, Catherine EATHER married twenty-nine year-old William Henry TAYLOR. The wedding was held at Richmond by the rites of the Presbyterian Church. The witnesses who signed the marriage register were two of her seventeen year-old nephews, Albert YOUNG and Henry Charles EATHER. The groom had been born at Richmond in 1837, the son of a farmer, Robert TAYLOR and his wife Sarah. Like many of the young men born on the Hawkesbury, he had ventured out onto the Liverpool Plains and beyond and by the time of his marriage he was a grazier in the Narran Creek district far out to the north-west of the colony beyond the township of Walgett. He signed the marriage certificate with his mark (a cross).

Soon after her marriage Catherine left her home district, just as most of her elder siblings had done, and proceeded to the Liverpool Plains. On the way she would have been able to have called upon her eldest brother and family at Bulga; her sister Sarah and family at the hotel at Muswellbrook, and her sister Charlotte and family at nearby Liddell. She didn't make her home permanently at Narran Creek. She and William spent most of their married lives on the Namoi River at Baan Baa. There Catherine was amongst quite a number of her relatives, as her brothers Charles, Peter and William were all married and living on or near the family station "Henriendi", and her single brothers James and John were also there except when away on droving trips or visits to the Hawkesbury or elsewhere.

During the first twenty-one years of their marriage, five children were born to Catherine and William. At some date between 1876 and 1883 William Henry TAYLOR changed his surname to ALLEN. The reason for this is still a mystery. His first three children were registered with the surname of TAYLOR, but William, born in 1883, was registered as ALLEN. Thereafter all references to the family members in official records, including the first three children, have the family name as ALLEN.
When grandchildren of Catherine and William became subscribers to the EATHER Family Newsletter in the 1980's, they were unaware that TAYLOR had once been the surname of two of their grandparents. Catherine EATHER became well-known in the Boggabri and Narrabri districts. She has been recorded as an expert horsewoman, riding side-saddle as many women did in those days.

She became an experienced mid-wife and for years travelled the countryside in the Baan Baa and Narrabri districts, attending to her patients. William remained a grazier, but according to oral family history he also drove coaches for Cobb and Co for several years in the 1890's. Eventually there came an occasion when bushrangers attempted to hold up his coach. Gun-fire ensued and the sound of it caused the team to bolt. William was thrown from the driver's seat and dragged along the ground for some distance. He was transported to the Narrabri hospital suffering from head and other injuries. He died in hospital eight days later on 7 October 1894 from "injuries to the brain". He was 57.
His daughter, Sarah age 23 years, provided the information for her father's death certificate. She was single and her place of residence was Nowley Station, Narrabri. His name was given as William Henry ALLEN and his occupation as grazier.
He had seven living children and none deceased. An inquest was held into the cause of his death. The coroner's verdict was, "Effects of injuries accidentally received" and the locality, "near Narrabri". Catherine survived her husband by thirty-four years.

She suffered further tragedy in her life when her second son William, who had enlisted in the AIF during World War I, was killed in action overseas.
Her eldest son, Thomas, also died during her lifetime.
She lived to see her three eldest children married, and to see grandchildren and great-grandchildren. At some time in her old age she left the Narrabri district and moved to Sydney.
After the death of her sister Sarah in Queensland in 1926, she was the only surviving daughter of Thomas and Sarah EATHER.
She was 82 when she passed away at the residence of her grandson, Athol HATHORN, at 125 Forest Road, Bexley on 26 October 1928. She was buried in the Woronora. Cemetery. Three children; Sarah (age 57), Mabel (53) and Frank (41) survived her. The information on her death certificate was provided by Athol HATHORN.

The Children of Catherine Eather and William Henry TAYLOR 1837-1894 were:-


Thomas Charles Taylor Allen 1868 ? 1919 m. Minnie Clara FREEMAN 1878-1965
Sarah Eliza Taylor 1871 ? 1955 m. Henry HATHORN 1866-1962
Mabel Kate Taylor 1875 ? 1958 m. William Henry ROBINSON 1877-1945
William Roland Allen 1883 ? 1917 ANZAC Killed in action
Frank McAlpin Allen 1887 ? 1956


Sources:
janilye
John St.Pierre
Eather family Newsletter
Eather Family History

John Rowland EATHER, the twelfth child and youngest son of Thomas EATHER 1800-1886 and Sarah, nee McALPIN, was born at Richmond on 14 November 1843. He was baptised at St Peter's Church on 10 December 1843 and his name was recorded in the baptism register of the Church as John Rowling. His father was at that time a publican in Richmond.

In his adult life John tended to dispense with the "w" in his name and most written records show his name as John Roland. He spent his early years with his numerous brothers and sisters at Richmond, where his parents resided in the "Union Inn" in Windsor Street. His father had a farm near the town, which he ran as one of his business activities, and John learned the skills of riding horses and attending to farm chores at an early age.

By 1868, when he was 25, he had left the Hawkesbury district and had joined his elder brothers Charles. Peter, William and James on the family station "Henriendi" on the Namoi River on the Liverpool Plains.

Little is known of John Rowland EATHER's life over the next decade or so. Presumably he worked on "Henriendi" and other stations in the north-west and may have done some droving. By the early 1880's he was working in the Goodooga district some thirty kilometres or so south of the Queensland border and north-east of Bourke. Goodooga was then a tiny township on the Bokhara River, which winds it way down from Queensland to join the Barwon River about fifteen kilometres west of Brewarrina. Somewhere in the Goodooga district John Roland EATHER was married on 29 June 1882 to Hannah Annie CROTHERS. Apparently the nearest Church to Goodooga at that time was at Brewarrina, a township on the Barwon River about 95 kilometres to the south. The record of the wedding is in the register of the Brewarrina Church of England. It states that the wedding was held in the home of the bride's parents. John Rowland EATHER was age 38 years and Hannah Annie CROTHERS age 23 years had been born at Maitland, the daughter of Henry CROTHERS and Jane IRWIN

When the birth of their first child was registered in 1884, John Rowland EATHER was a shopkeeper in the tiny town of Goodooga. This occupation didn't last for very long, as their second child Rowland was baptised at Brewarrina in 1885 and by then John was a grazier residing at "Estherville." When his fourth child was born in January 1888 at "Barlowbie," Goodooga, John was a storekeeper again, but in 1889 when his fifth child Colin Roscoe was christened at Brewarrina, he was a selector on a property in the Goodooga district. In these Church records at Brewarrina his second forename was recorded with the "w".

At some time during his life a family heirloom was passed down to John Rowland EATHER. It was a book, "The Life of Christ", which had been given to his father in 1824 when he married Sarah McALPIN. The book bore the signature of the Reverend SELKIN, who officiated at his parents' wedding. This book was later passed down to John and Hannah's son William Irwin EATHER.

In all John Rowland EATHER and Hannah Annie EATHER had ten children, of whom three died in infancy.

The children of John and Hanna were:-

Bessie Hilton Eather 1884 - 1965 m. Winsleigh Alexander MURRAY 1885-1917 ANZAC killed in action
Roland C Eather 1885 - 1885
Jeanie Irwin Eather 1886 - 1954 m. Samuel Lawrence GOLDMAN 1878-1974
Richmond Cornwallis Eather 1888 - 1966 ANZAC m. Mary Jane McFarlane LONGMORE 1887-1974
Colin Roscoe Eather 1889 - 1936 m. May RENNIE 1879-1944
McAlpine Eather 1890 - 1966 ANZAC m. Mary Janetta De Evelyn
Hutchinson Eather 1892 - 1892
Kate Eather 1893 - 1970 Never married
William Irwin Eather 1897 - 1981 m. 1.Nita Marion CAMPBELL 2. Doris??unknown
Kenneth Stewart Eather 1900 - 1989


Following the death of his father in 1886, John Rowland EATHER inherited his father's farm near Richmond; a portion of a house that his father owned in Francis Street, Richmond (his brother Peter EATHER 1831-1911 was to receive the other portion; and half of the residue of his father's personal estate which at the probate was sworn as being under £390 ($780).

John Roland EATHER died in the District Hospital at Tamworth on 15 January 1923 at the age of 79 years.



Sources:
janilye
Eather family Newsletter
Eather Family History Group

James EATHER was the sixth son and tenth child of Thomas EATHER 1800-1886 and Sarah, nee McALPIN, he was born at Richmond on 13 December 1839. He was baptised by the Reverend H T STILES on 5 January 1840. James EATHER spent his childhood at Richmond where his father was a hotel-keeper and farmer. By his late teens he had grown to a height of 5 feet 9 inches (175 cm). He was of solid build and he had hazel eyes.
During his teenage years James EATHER learned the skills of saddlery, probably as an apprentice. His father had been apprenticed as a shoemaker when he had been a teenager and he undoubtedly appreciated the value of the skills of a trade. In an era when most travel was on horseback or in a horse-drawn vehicle, saddlery was a trade which promised good remuneration.
As James EATHER later found, the skills that he had gained then in making and repairing saddles and harness generally, proved very useful to him throughout his long life. He probably learned also some of the skills of stock work on his father's farm and these too would have stood him in good stead when, as a young man, he left the Hawkesbury district and joined some of his elder brothers at "Henriendi", the family station on the Namoi River near present-day Baan Baa.

In 1859, at the age of nineteen, James EATHER was stricken with rheumatic fever. According to what he related to his family in later years, his dark hair turned grey after this illness, and he remained grey-headed for the rest of his life. Whether this illness occurred at Richmond or after he had arrived at "Henriendi" is not known, but he was on the Liverpool Plains by the time he was in his early twenties. James EATHER didn't settle permanently at "Henriendi".
He began practising his trade and moved from homestead to homestead repairing saddles and harness wherever he could find customers. It was probably during a visit to one of these stations that he met Victoria PRYKE. She had been born on the 9 June 1840, the daughter of Thomas and Ellen PRYKE, and had been baptised on 18 June in the Roman Catholic Church in the parish of Wollongong. Victoria was a sister of John Thomas PRYKE who was married to Mary Elizabeth EATHER, a grand-daughter of Robert EATHER.

By 1862 James and Victoria were living in a de facto relationship at Cox's Creek near "Henriendi". On 4 April 1863 a son, James Augustus, was born to them at Cox's Creek.
In October 1864 a second son, Augustus, was born. Both of these sons died within three days of each other at Cox's Creek in February 1865. They were probably carried off by some epidemic. The death certificate of Augustus, who died on 16 February, states that he had been sick for two days and no doctor had attended him. It would have been well nigh impossible to obtain the services of a doctor at short notice in that remote region in the years before townships developed on the Liverpool Plains. The deaths were not registered until 31 March when Victoria gave the particulars for the registration.
In 1867 a third son, James, was born to James and Victoria, but he died later in that year at Cox's Creek. Victoria and James parted soon afterwards.

Victoria PRYKE married some years later. James was living at "Henriendi" in 1868 along with his brothers Charles, William, and John Rowland. Perhaps he was using "Henriendi" as a base from which he went out plying his trade of making and repairing harness. Little is known of his life during the next decade. On the electoral rolls for 1878 and 1879 he was recorded as residing at both "Henriendi" and "Breeza", so it appears that he worked from both places from time to time.

On 24 November 1880, when he was forty, James and Isabella Jane were married at Breeza by the Church of England minister Frederick GOUGH. Witnesses were Albert Young and Isabella's sister Evelyn. Albert YOUNG was probably a nephew of James, the son of his sister Ann and her husband Edwin YOUNG. According to the wedding certificate, James was a saddler and his usual place of residence was Breeza. Following their marriage, James and Isabella lived in the Breeza district for about six years and their first three children: Edward Carl (1881), Sarah Elsie (1883) and Pearl Hilton (1885) were born there. A railway line had been constructed northwards gradually across the New England Tableland and by 1884 it was open as far as Glen Innes.
Isabella's brother William joined the railway department and when he was transferred away, his mother Sarah took the remainder of her family with her and moved north to Glencoe, a few miles south of Glen Innes. There she took up the position of railway gatekeeper, which she held until the turn of the century. At the same time, James and Isabella packed their belongings and moved north too, leaving the community where Isabella had lived for almost thirty years.
It was at Glencoe that their fourth child, Ruby Hellice, was born in 1888. By this time James had turned his hand to farming. They stayed at Glencoe for a few years, but by 1894 were further north along the Tablelands at Deepwater.
This was a small township which was developing close by a large sheep station of the same name. In the Post Office Directory for the years 1894 to 1902, James was listed as a farmer. He and Isabella both worked on Deepwater Station for a family named CADELL. James plied his trade as a saddler, mending harness, making whips and tending the horses. Isabella was employed as a cook for the household, and she also attended to washing and ironing. From where they lived they walked two miles (3.2 km) to and from work each day. Their children attended the school at Deepwater which had opened in 1884. After an elapse of almost twelve years, another child was added to the family when Isabella gave birth on 28 December 1899 to another son whom they named Claude Leslie. Isabella was 41 and James had just turned 60. However, their happiness at this new addition to their family was short-lived. On 13 January 1900 baby Claude died after 16 days of "debility and bronchitis'.
The century had ended sadly for James and Isabella, but they were proud of their four surviving children. Edward Carl turned nineteen that year and was quite a young man. By the time Australia became a Commonwealth at the beginning of 1901 the three girls were age 17 years, 15 years and 12 years respectively They assisted with many of the household chores, seeing that both their parents were working. Their duties included carrying buckets of water from the river on each Sunday afternoon in preparation for washing day on the Mondays. This was no mean feat as the river was about 400 metres from their home. About 1902 second daughter Pearl left home and travelled down to Sydney to take up employment with a family who had a young son. Pearl was his "nanny" and earned 7/6 (75 cents) a week. When a second child was born in this family, Pearl's elder sister Elsie joined her in Sydney. Where they lived in Sydney was a far cry from the little community at Deepwater from which they had come. They lived in a two-storey dwelling overlooking Sydney Harbour. When the family for whom they worked was planning to make a trip abroad, Pearl was offered the opportunity of accompanying them. However, she declined the offer because she had met the man with whom she hoped to make her future. Therefore the two sisters returned home to Deepwater.

In 1906, according to the electoral roll, James and his son Carl were both employed as labourers, while Isabella, Elsie and Pearl were all involved in domestic or home duties. Ruby was not yet old enough to be enrolled. The first family wedding took place on 6 May 1908 when second daughter Pearl was married at Deepwater to Robert John Hawksley LOCKWOOD, whom she had known since her school days. Other weddings followed on 21 June 1911 when Elsie married Andrew MOULE, and on 12 January 1914, when Ruby married John William WEBSTER. These weddings were also held at Deepwater. When time permitted, Isabella enjoyed doing embroidery. She was also a very competent seamstress and she stitched ball dresses and the wedding gowns for her daughters. She made everyday clothes for the whole family and later for her grandchildren. She became quite accomplished at making men's jackets and trousers. She also became a capable midwife and it was not unusual for her to be called upon to attend one or another of the wives in the district at the time of a birth. By the time she was in her mid-fifties she had ceased to work at Deepwater Station, but James, although seventy-six, still walked out and back each day and attended to odd jobs there.
According to the 1915 Post Office directory, James was still a saddler. Son Carl was making a living as a hairdresser. Carl was a young man who always had a neat appearance and a quiet demeanour. He worked for some years for the newsagency at Deepwater. He and his sister Ruby both had handwriting skills which won them many prizes in local shows.
In 1917 Carl moved to Glen Innes and joined the staff of the newspaper there. He took up residence in Church Street. By 1921 James and Isabella had joined their son in Glen Innes and were residing in Meade Street. James was then 82 and at last he had retired from work. They always resided in a rented house, and they changed their place of residence on a number of occasions over the years and had a number of different addresses in Meade and Grey Streets at Glen Innes. Carl was still single and hecontinued to live at home with them. Isabella commenced a service doing washing and ironing for prominent people in the town. This entailed a deal of walking between one house and another and back again. She was prepared to work six days a week, but Sunday was always a day for Church and rest. She was not averse to having an occasional bet on a horse-race.
On 31 October 1929 son Carl was admitted to hospital suffering from bronchial pneumonia. James and Isabella visited him in hospital and stayed for long hours, but despite all the care and attention that could be given, he died on 12 November. For a fifth time in his life James had to bear the loss of a son, and he was left with no son to survive him. He and Isabella changed house again soon afterwards, moving back to Meade Street. They were getting away from sad memories, but life was never quite the same again for them.

James EATHER was the longest-lived of all of the children of Thomas and Sarah EATHER, and after the death of his youngest sister Catherine in 1928, was their last surviving child. He was 94 when he was admitted to hospital at Glen Innes in September 1934 suffering from lobar pneumonia. He died on 19 September 1934 and was buried next to his son Carl in the Church of England portion of the Glen Innes Cemetery, following a funeral service in the local Church. The coffin was left open during the service so that those who wished could pay their last respects. Isabella was almost 76 when her husband died, and soon afterwards her daughter Ruby and family moved in to live with her. She was still a strong and independent woman and continued with her washing and ironing undertakings. However she reduced her workload by working just three days each week. For each wash and iron she was paid 5/- (50 cents). She still had a brother and a sister residing in the Glen Innes district and she would see them from time to time.

By 1947 she had moved once again and was residing in McQuarie Street. By then she had retired and no longer did washing and ironing.
When she was 91 Isabella had the misfortune to fall while hanging sheets on the clothes line. She broke her hip and spent the next eighteen weeks in hospital. She eventually made a good recovery and was able to walk quite well again. Her recovery was an indication of the spirit of determination which was a feature of her character. She lived another four years before she was admitted to hospital for the last time. On Saturday 17 July 1954 she died in the Glen Innes Hospital at the age of 95 years. Following a funeral service in Holy Trinity Church of England, her body was laid to rest beside James and Carl. She had survived her husband by almost 20 years. The longevity which they had both portrayed was emulated by the three daughters who survived them. Two lived into their eighties and the third to the age of 94 years.

The children of James EATHER and Victoria PRYKE:-
James Augustus EATHER 1863 ? 1865
Augustus EATHER 1864 ? 1865
James EATHER 1867 ? 1867

The Children of James EATHER and Isabella Jane NOWLAND were:-
Edward Carl EATHER 1881 - 1929
Sarah Elsie EATHER 1883 - 1964
Pearl Hilton EATHER 1885 - 1969
Ruby Hellice EATHER 1888 - 1982
Claude Leslie EATHER 1899 - 1900


Sources:
janilye
Eather family Newsletter
Eather Family History

Sarah EATHER, the seventh child of Thomas EATHER 1800-1886 and his wife Sarah, nee McALPIN, was born at Richmond on 24 August 1834. The first of the children to be born after her father had become a publican, she was baptised at Richmond on 21 September 1834 by the Reverend R FORREST and named after her mother. Sarah EATHER spent her childhood and teenage years at Richmond amongst an increasing number of sisters and brothers. On 25 January 1854, when she was nineteen, she was married in St Peter's Church to twenty-five years pf age William EATON. The service was conducted by the Reverend J ELDER. The groom was the eldest son of Daniel EATON and his wife Mary, nee THURSTON, farmers who lived near the confluence of the Grose and Nepean Rivers at North Richmond. William's grandfather, William EATON, was still alive and was probably amongst the guests at the wedding, as was Sarah's grandmother, Elizabeth EATHER. Soon after their wedding, Sarah and William EATON left the Hawkesbury district and moved to Murrurundi at the foot of the range on the road from Singleton to the Liverpool Plains. William was in business there as an Inn Keeper by the time their first child, Rowland Richard EATON, was born in August 1855. They were still operating the hotel at Murrurundi two years later when their first daughter, Loretta EATON, was born, and during that year William contributed ?2.0.0 to the building of the Murrurundi Roman Catholic Church. On 24 October 1857 he purchased the "White Hart" Inn at Muswellbrook from Richard WARD for the sum of ?2,250. Consequently, on 12 November 1857 he advertised in the "Maitland Mercury" that he intended to let the "Australian Arms" at Murrurundi. Soon afterwards William took his wife and children to Muswellbrook. The price of ?2,250 that he had paid for the "White Hart" Inn included the hotel on Allotments 9 & 10 Section 5, and Allotment 1 Section 4, which was a block of land across the street from the hotel. On 14 August 1858 William EATON advertised the "White Hart" Inn in the "Maitland Mercury" as being a "first class hotel". During 1858 a valuable horse owned by William EATON was stolen. On 16 July that year he advertised in the "Maitland Mercury" that he was offering a reward of ?30 for the return of a stolen horse. During that year he purchased Allotments 68 and 69 in the village of Blandford near Murrurundi from William Henry WARLAND. The purpose of this purchase is not known. At Muswellbrook Sarah and William saw from time to time relatives who called in while travelling to or from the Liverpool Plains. These included some of Sarah's brothers and occasionally her father. On one occasion Sarah's brother William arrived with his wife and children in two spring carts, making their way slowly to the family station "Henriendi" where they intended to settle permanently. They were glad to stay for a few days before moving on up the road. On occasions William's father and brothers called in while travelling between the Hawkesbury district and "Biniguy" and their other runs on the Gwydir River far away to the north. For a few years from 1858 Sarah and William EATON had relatives living at Muswellbrook. William's sister Susannah and husband James WILLIAMS were in business there as the proprietors of the "Family" Hotel in Sydney Street, Muswellbrook. James WILLIAMS was Sarah's cousin, the son of her father's sister Charlotte and the late Robert WILLIAMS. William and Sarah EATON continued to prosper at Muswellbrook. In 1861 William donated ?3.3.0 towards the erection of the Muswellbrook Roman Catholic Church and Sarah also donated ?1.0.0 to that cause. Sometime in 1861 William purchased from Edward WHITE of Edenglassie, Allotment 8 Section 5, land next door to their hotel. For this he paid ?180. Three years later, on 6 December 1864 he advertised that he had 10 loose boxes prepared for horses at the "White Hart " Hotel.
On 29 March 1866 the Muswellbrook correspondent of the "Maitland Mercury" reported:- " At the other end of our town our enterprising townsman, Mr William EATON, contemplates mak?ing very extensive additions and improvements to the well-known "White Hart" Hotel; but not as yet having seen the plans, I cannot fully describe them, but I may say that Mr EATON will provide the most ample accommodation for travellers and the public generally."
Two days later the "Sydney Morning Herald" of 31 March 1866 earned the following notice:? " To builders - Tenders required by 13th April for building a first-class hotel; at Muswellbrook for Mr EATON. O H LEWIS, Architect, 392 George Street, Sydney". On 16 May 1867 William EATON took out an Equitable Mortgage with the Joint Stock Bank. Allotments 8- 9-10 Section 5 and Allotment 1 Section 4 were listed as collateral. By this time the new hotel had been built and named "Eaton's Hotel" - a name which it retains today. The former "White Hart" Hotel had either been demolished or incorporated in the new hotel. In 1868 part of the land at the rear of the hotel was resumed for the construction of the railway line. William EATON was paid ?157/15/6 for the land resumed. During their years at Muswellbrook, Sarah had given birth to six more children, one of whom had died in infancy. Their last child was born in 1870.
Sarah outlived all except the youngest of her children. By 1870 William was one of the important property- owners in the town of Muswellbrook. According to the Muswellbrook Municipal Rate Book, he owned in that year 2 cottages in Market Street, Section 10; 4 cottages and a shop in Bridge Street, Section 4; saleyards and a grass paddock in Sowerby Street, Section 4; and an hotel, offices, store and assembly rooms in Bridge Street, Section 5. However, lie still carried the financial burden of his mortgage with the Joint Stock Bank. Early in 1872 there occurred a serious rift in the marriage relationship of Sarah and William. It was a rift which was aggravated by and may have had its origin in the state of their financial affairs. They parted and William returned to Richmond and his relatives there. Sarah and their children remained in Muswellbrook. On 26 July 1872 there was still an amount of ?2,150 outstanding on the mortgage to the Joint Stock Bank. On that day Thomas COOK of Turonville, Scone, agreed to pay to the Bank the sum of ?2,150 and to William EATON 5/- and in return he became the owner of the hotel and the allotment of land across the street. In that same month Thomas COOK took out a writ for ?1,383/3/-. This resulted in the Sheriff auctioning the two blocks of land that William EATON owned at Blandford, and at the same time Thomas COOK took over four other blocks of land that William EATON had owned at Muswellbrook.
The ownership of the hotel had gone, but for Sarah it was not the end of her association with it. In an arrangement with Thomas COOK, she took out an hotel licence in her own name and became the licensee of "Eaton's Hotel."
On 13 August 1872, Muswellbrook solicitor R G D FITZGERALD wrote the following letter to her husband:? " Mr William EATON, Richmond, Sir, I am instructed by Mrs EATON to inform you that on 8th July last she obtained a Judge's Order protecting her and her future property from you and from your debts and accounts, and that she now holds the licence for the hotel which you lately among other property conveyed to Mr COOK and that in the event of your returning you will not be admitted to the home. R G D FITZGERALD"
Sarah EATON remained the licensee of "Eaton's Hotel" for six years until 1878 and then she gave it up. She was followed as licensee by her brother, Charles EATHER, who had been a grazier on the Liverpool Plains and further out, but had struck financial problems during the droughts of the late 1860's and had become bankrupt in 1871. He held the licence in 1879 and 1880 and Thomas COOK remained the owner. The fine hotel which William and Sarah provided for Muswellbrook, still stands. In 1990 the Muswellbrook Family History Society produced a gold-rimmed souvenir tumbler depicting Eaton's Hotel twice - as it was in 1880 and as it was in 1990. The building is a large two-storied structure with at least seven brick chimneys. In 1880 it had wrought-iron lacework on the upper-storey veranda. Today it is little changed in external appearance, but the hitching rails for horses in front of the hotel have gone. Apparently Sarah EATON had been the guarantor for her brother Charles when he was granted his inn?keeper's licence. She was residing in Sydney when R G D FITZGERALD, the Muswellbrook solicitor, wrote to her on 15 February 1882 as follows: " Mrs W EATON C/o C W BECK Esq. 132 Elizabeth Lane Sydney, Madam, I am instructed by the Manager of the Commercial Bank, Muswellbrook to apply to you for the payment of the sum of ?22/9/6 being the balance due with interest to date, on Charles EATHER's dishonoured promissory note in favour of D EVANS for ?84/16/- due 8/2/1879 and I have to inform you that unless the above sum together with one guinea, my charges, be paid to me within seven days from this date my instructions are to commence proceedings against you for the recovery thereof without notice. Your obedient servant, R G D FITZGERALD".
It appears that Sarah EATON settled her brother's debt upon his behalf as instructed. Within a few months of receiving the above letter she travelled north to the town of Rockhampton in Queensland and before 1882 was out had become the licensee of one of the town's leading hotels, the "Criterion". For a few years previously its licensee had been Frederick MORGAN, one of the brothers who discovered gold in the ranges to the south-west and had the mining town there named after them. Sarah remained the licensee of the "Criterion" Hotel from 1882 to 1887 and then relinquished the licence and took a coastal steamer north to Townsville. There she became the licensee of the "Imperial" Hotel, but apparently was not impressed with life in that northern port. After about twelve months there she relinquished the license in 1888 and returned to Rockhampton. In 1889 she returned to the "Criterion" Hotel as licensee and remained there for the next six years. In 1895 she surrendered the licence and became the licensee of the "Grosvenor" Hotel, another of the town's leading hotels. She was still managing the "Grosvenor" at the turn of the century. William EATON was still living at Richmond in 1889 when his father made his last will and testament. He was appointed one of the executors of Daniel EATON's estate. Upon Daniel's death later in that year, William and his brother George, who was a bachelor, inherited "Eatonville", the family farm on the Grose River at North Richmond, which had been founded by Daniel's father in 1804. When George EATON died in 1898 William became the outright owner of the farm. He was then seventy years of age. Whether he and Sarah ever became reconciled is not known, but from the evidence available, it seems most unlikely. He died in the Sydney suburb of Marrickville on 17 April 1906. The family farm then passed down to his eldest son Rowland Richard EATON who sold it. Sarah EATON survived her husband by almost twenty years. Except for occasional holidays in Sydney, where she visited some of her relatives there, she remained in Queensland. When she finally retired from the commercial life of Rockhampton, she went out bush and lived on Glenmore Downs Station in the Clermont district of Central Queensland with her granddaughter Kathleen TOLSON, one of the three children of her eldest daughter Loretta. Sarah EATON (nee EATHER) died at Glenmore Downs on 19 February 1926, at the age of 91 years. Three days later on 22 February her body was buried in the Clermont Cemetery with the Reverend H R SINCLAIR officiating. Her death was registered at Clermont on 10 April 1926 by Kathleen TOLSON, granddaughter, of Glenmore Downs. Of the thirteen children of Thomas EATHER and Sarah McALPIN, Sarah EATON had a longer life than any d the others except her younger brother James. He lived to the age of 94 years. Sarah had had eight children, but sadly, when she died she was survived by only one of them - her youngest son, George Thomas EATON, then age 56 years. She had only a small number of grandchildren.

The children of Sarah EATHER and William EATON were:-

Rowland Richard Eaton 1855 - 1918 m. Emily S. PRESCOTT
Lauretta Eaton 1857 - 1890 m. Arthur McDONALD
Ada Blanche Eaton 1859 - 1889 m. William MUNRO
Florence Mary Eaton 1861 - 1904 m. John ELKINGTON
Minnie Eaton 1863 - 1864
Annie Thurston Eaton 1865 - 1884
William Daniel Eaton 1868 - 1924
George Thomas Eaton 1870 - 1968 m:1. Laura Jessie McKEE. 2. Jessie Melrose GLASS
OBITUARY
From the Brisbane Courier 24 February 1926
Early on Friday morning, February 19,
Mrs. Sarah Eaton passed away at the
residence of her granddaughter, Mrs. J
Tolson, of Glenmore Downs (advises our
Clermont correspondent). Mrs. Eaton was
in her 92nd year, and was born in Richmond,
New South Wales. Deceased was married In 1863,
and made her home at Eatonville, Richmond.
She came to Rockhampton 42 years ago, and
took over the Criterion Hotel.
For the last 23 years she had resided with
her granddaughter Mrs. Tolson.
Of eight children, the youngest, Mr. G. Eaton,
of Frankfield, Sussex, England, survives, also
11 grand-children
Deceased retained all her faculties practically
to the last, and only just a very short time before
her death, needed medical attention.
The funeral took place on Friday afternoon, the Rev. E. Olivant conducting the service at the graveside.

Sources:
janilye, 2000
Eather Family history'
Peter J. Moore
Carol Moore
Eather Family Newsletter
John St.Pierre

Elizabeth EATHER, the second child and first daughter of Thomas EATHER 1800-1886 and Sarah McALPIN, was born at Richmond on Christmas Day 1825.
She spent her early childhood to the age of about seven years on her parents' farm at Bulga, and thereafter lived at Richmond. She probably had formal education at the little school in Francis Street and attended Sunday Church services there with the other members of her family.
When she was sixteen, Elizabeth became involved in a romance with her twenty-one year-old cousin, Thomas ONUS, who lived nearby in Francis Street at Richmond. About April 1842 she realised that she was pregnant. Thomas agreed to do the right thing by her and they were married at Richmond on 22 August 1842.
They were both of the Church of England denomination, but the wedding wasn't held in the new St Peter's Church as would have been the normal practice. Instead the ceremony was performed under the rites of the Presbyterian religion by the Reverend Mathew ADAM of the Scots Church. There was a reason for this.
Thomas had been involved in an earlier romance with another young Richmond girl, Eliza JAMES, and was the father of a baby girl born in July 1841. It would appear that, for this reason the Reverend Henry STILES of the Church of England was not prepared to marry Thomas to anyone other than Eliza JAMES. Witnesses at the wedding were Elizabeth's parents, Thomas and Sarah EATHER, and her elder brother Thomas.
On 5 December 1842 at Richmond, Elizabeth gave birth to a daughter, who was baptised on 22 January 1843 by the Reverend I WALKER and named Ann. Elizabeth's husband was already a landholder and farmer. Upon the death of his father in 1835, he had inherited 490 acres (196 hectares) of land at Bulga and also a 35-acre (14 hectare) farm near Richmond and a couple of smaller allotments, one of which was in the town. He and Elizabeth resided in Richmond and he cultivated the 35-acre farm.
Over at Bulga he had an overseer in charge of his farming activities there. Thomas added to his landholdings at Bulga by purchasing another 300 acre (120 hectare) block from his step-father, William SHARP. This block lay on the western side of Wollombi Brook between the farm of James HALE to the north and William KIRK to the south, and was separated from his inherited farm only by William KIRK's farm and that of his brother-in-law, Thomas EATHER.
Back at Richmond he leased out the forty-acre (sixteen hectare) block that had been Watt's farm. In 1846 Thomas ONUS took out a licence as a publican and under an arrangement with his parents-in-law, he and Elizabeth took over the running of the "Union Inn" in Windsor Street, Richmond. Under the arrangement Elizabeth's parents continued to reside in the building. This arrangement continued for two years, and then Thomas and Elizabeth moved to their own hotel in the building down the street which had been the original "Union Inn'. They conducted it as the "Queen's Arms".
Elizabeth and Thomas continued to add to their family over the years and eventually five daughters and a son were born to them.
Thomas ONUS extended his grazing interests and became a squatter in the north-west of the colony. He established a run on Narran Creek, west of the site of present-day Lightning Ridge, and there in the 1850's he depastured a herd of cattle. His run was named "Ballaubillau," which was probably an aboriginal name for the locality.
On 23 May 1854 Thomas revoked his previous will and made a new one. Elizabeth was expecting her sixth child at the time and this caused some problems in making bequests, as he had to refer repeatedly to 'the child of which my wife is now pregnant', and to make allowance for the uncertainty of whether it would be a son or a daughter.
By 1855 Elizabeth was concerned for her husband because his health seemed to be impaired by a heart ailment of some sort. He consulted Dr WHITAKER, a local medico, who cautioned him about going fast in a trap or gig. One Saturday in March 1855 he ignored the warning and after rushing around the district in a gig with one of his friends, Fred DAVIS, he arrived home doubled up with pains in his chest. A few days later, on 28 March 1855, he died suddenly. He was only 34 years of age. Elizabeth was left a widow at the age of 29 years, with five children under the age of fourteen. She was well-provided for under the terms of her late husband's will. She inherited all of his personal estate, including his money, as well as all of his land, including the cattle station on Narran Creek. His cattle, horses and other stock were to be sold and the proceeds divided amongst his children and his wife, unless his executors decided that it was expedient to keep them.
At the time of her husband's death, the family was residing at the "Queen's Arms", which they were operating. Afterwards Elizabeth continued to run the hotel for two more years.
During this period there must have been many occasions upon which Elizabeth was grateful that her parents were living just a few doors away and were able to provide support and assistance whenever she needed it.
Elizabeth EATHER - After the death of her husband, Thomas Onus in 1855, Elizabeth backed by her father Thomas EATHER and her brother, conducted the "Queens Arms" Hotel in Richmond, NSW until her marriage to Joseph RUTTER in 1857
On 13 May 1857, after two years of widowhood, Elizabeth remarried. Her second husband was Joseph Hirons RUTTER, age 27 years, a butcher of Parramatta. The wedding took place in St Peter's Church at Richmond with the Reverend J ELDER officiating. Witnesses to the ceremony were her brother Charles EATHER and the groom's sister Rebecca Sarah. Joseph Hiorns RUTTER was the son of Dr Robert Champley RUTTER, who had been born in county Surrey, England in 1800, the son of John RUTTER, a brewer, and his wife Rebecca WILLIAMS. He had married Ann Jane FORD about 1825 and they had two small children when they migrated to New South Wales on the ship "Warrior".
Joseph had been born at sea in 1830 during the voyage. The vessel arrived at Sydney on 29 May 1830 and Dr Robert Champley RUTTER subsequently took up a medical practice at Parramatta. Joseph grew up there and became a fine athlete.
In the early 1850's he had become a noted foot runner at sporting events. His father had also been an outstanding athlete in his younger days. At Parramatta, Dr RUTTER was quite a distinguished figure, who always looked a perfect gentleman in his black frock coat and silk hat, which contrasted sharply with his grey hair and white Dundreary whiskers.
How Elizabeth had come to meet Joseph is unknown. He was age 27 years when they married and was over four years younger than her. What prompted him to marry a widow with four children remains something of a mystery. He had previously formed an association with a girl, Mary Anne JACKSON, with whom he had been living at Parramatta. By her he had two sons, born in 1854 and 1856 respectively, and he evidently led a double life for a time after his marriage to Elizabeth, as Mary Anne gave birth to his daughter in 1858. As a result of her second marriage, Elizabeth had two more daughters. Elizabeth's second marriage was short-lived. She and Joseph were residing at Richmond and he was in business as a butcher when, on 15 July 1861, he fell ill with a bilious fever. He was attended by Dr BROWN, but despite his care and attention, Joseph died on 21 July 1861 at the age of 31 years. His funeral was held at Parramatta on 23 July, with the Reverend R L KING of the Church of England conducting the burial service.
note:
It has also come to light that a woman named Ellen Shepherd,
named Joseph Hiorns RUTTER, the father of her son George Joseph Shepherd
born in 1857, the year Rutter married Elizabeth.
here is the comment:-
roslynjanetthornton Another twig in Joseph's tree: Hi, I also have Joseph Hiorns Rutter on my family tree as the father of George Joseph Rutter. George's mother Hellen (also Helen and Ellen) Shepherd named Joseph - a butcher - as the father of George. It is interesting to read this story. Joseph was a busy boy!


At the age of 35 years Elizabeth was a widow again. Her last child was scarcely a month old. She never married again and devoted herself to raising her six surviving children. Her eldest daughter Ann was nineteen when her step-father died and would have been good company for her mother and a help in caring for the younger children.

On 2 March 1863 came the first wedding in the family, when seventeen year-old Sarah married John Daniel EATON in St Peter's Church. John was the third son of Daniel EATON and his wife Mary Ann (nee THURSTON) who were farmers at North Richmond. He and Sarah had known each other since childhood. Elizabeth suffered further sadness four years later when her three year-old daughter Rebecca Sarah died at Parramatta from diphtheria.

A happier event occurred in 1868 when third daughter Susannah was married to William Collins GUEST, son of George GUEST. The wedding was held in St Peter's Church on 22 October with a large crowd present. In 1870 Elizabeth's only son Thomas Alexander turned 21 and the occasion was suitably celebrated. Elizabeth had no reason to feel any concern for her son's future. Upon his coming-of-age Thomas inherited a 40 acre (16 hectare) farm near Richmond, and about 500 acres (200 hectares) at Bulga, part of which was leased to his grand-mother's brother-in-law, William Glas McALPIN.

On 9 February 1871 a third family wedding was celebrated when eldest daughter Ann married Samuel CLIFT, son of Samuel CLIFT Snr, grazier of Maitland, and his wife Ann (nee DUNN).. The wedding ceremony was held in St Peter's Church before a large gathering of relatives and friends. One of the witnesses was Joseph ONUS, brother-in-law of the bride's mother and uncle of the bride.

During the 1870's Elizabeth had a new interest in life with the births of several grandchildren. In 1874 her daughter Sarah became a widow when John Daniel EATON died. There had been no issue of her marriage. On 17 June 1876 Sarah remarried. Her second husband was George William PAINE, son of Charles L PAINE and his wife Ruth. A son, who was to be Sarah's only child, was born to them in 1877.
On 28 February 1877, son Thomas Alexander married Jane Charlotte CAPP, daughter of Charles Solomon CAPP and his wife Mary (nee BROWN).

The last of Elizabeth's children to marry was daughter Anne Jane Ford RUTTER. On 25 April 1883 she married Alfred HILL. Elizabeth EATHER was not destined to live an old age as had so many of her relatives. On 1 March 1884 her mother died at the age of 78 years and Elizabeth survived her by only 14 months, Elizabeth died on 5 May 1885 at the age of 58 years, survived by her aged father and siblings.
She was buried in the cemetery near St Peter's, Church of England, Richmond, NSW.

The children of Thomas ONUS and Elizabeth EATHER:-
Ann Onus 1842 - 1905 M. Samuel CLIFT 1836-1912
Sarah Onus 1845 - 1910 m. John Daniel EATON 1834-1874
Susannah Onus 1847 - 1935 m. William Collins GUEST 1839-1900
Thomas Alexander Onus 1849 - 1934 m. Jane Catherine CAPP 1855-1921
Matilda J Onus 1852 - 1853
Elizabeth A Onus 1854 - 1855

The Children of Joseph Hiorns RUTTER and Elizabeth were:-

Anne Jane Ford Rutter 1858 - 1885 m. Alfred E S HILL 1840-1916
Rebecca Sarah Harborne Rutter 1861 - 1865


Sources:
janilye Research
John St.Pierre
Eather family Newsletter
Eather Family History