Catherine Wilson
William Wilson > Catherine Wilson > Catherine Withers
Catherine Withers, nee Wilson
Catherine Wilson was my great-grandmother. She was the daughter of William Wilson and Winifred Seery.
It's likely Catherine was born on 13 July 1860 at Devil's Hole Creek (later Clarke's Creek), near Mudgee [1], where her father was a goldminer. I have been unable to find a birth record for her and the records which exist are a bit unclear about her birth date and place of birth.
Catherine married in 1879 however neither her age nor her date of birth is given on her marriage certificate. Her baptismal record gives her date of birth as 13 July 1963 however I'm pretty this is incorrect for the following reasons:
These records support my view that Catherine was born on 13 July 1860.
If Catherine was born on 13 July 1860, she was born at Devil's Hole Creek.
We know that the family was living at Devil's Hole Creek until mid-1861 because their third child, Bridget, was born there on 27 May 1861. However, Bridget was christened on 5 November 1861 at St John's Anglican Church in Hartley, indicating that the family had moved on from the Mudgee area by that time. I've been unable to find out whether they stayed in Hartley for any length of time and I suspect they were just passing through on their way to the Crookwell area.
The family eventually settled on a farm in the Cotta Walla area, near Crookwell, and Bridget and Catherine were baptised into the Catholic faith at St Peter and Paul's Catholic Church in Goulburn on 1 December 1866. Bridget's birth date was incorrectly given as 4 May 1862 and Catherine's as 13 July 1863.
I suspect the fudging of both girls' birth dates was to cover up the fact that their parents had waited so long to have them baptised. This was probably because they were busy moving and setting up a new home, clearing land, etc. At the time, there were no Catholic churches in the area and the 40-50km journey to Goulburn would have taken several hours by horse and buggy.
It's likely Catherine was born on 13 July 1860 at Devil's Hole Creek (later Clarke's Creek), near Mudgee [1], where her father was a goldminer. I have been unable to find a birth record for her and the records which exist are a bit unclear about her birth date and place of birth.
Catherine married in 1879 however neither her age nor her date of birth is given on her marriage certificate. Her baptismal record gives her date of birth as 13 July 1963 however I'm pretty this is incorrect for the following reasons:
- Catherine married in 1879 and would have been only 16 at that time. This is possible but I think it's more likely that she was 19;
- she gave her age as 26 in 1887 when registering the birth of her daughter, Anastasia;
- she died in 1954 and her age was given as 94;
These records support my view that Catherine was born on 13 July 1860.
If Catherine was born on 13 July 1860, she was born at Devil's Hole Creek.
We know that the family was living at Devil's Hole Creek until mid-1861 because their third child, Bridget, was born there on 27 May 1861. However, Bridget was christened on 5 November 1861 at St John's Anglican Church in Hartley, indicating that the family had moved on from the Mudgee area by that time. I've been unable to find out whether they stayed in Hartley for any length of time and I suspect they were just passing through on their way to the Crookwell area.
The family eventually settled on a farm in the Cotta Walla area, near Crookwell, and Bridget and Catherine were baptised into the Catholic faith at St Peter and Paul's Catholic Church in Goulburn on 1 December 1866. Bridget's birth date was incorrectly given as 4 May 1862 and Catherine's as 13 July 1863.
I suspect the fudging of both girls' birth dates was to cover up the fact that their parents had waited so long to have them baptised. This was probably because they were busy moving and setting up a new home, clearing land, etc. At the time, there were no Catholic churches in the area and the 40-50km journey to Goulburn would have taken several hours by horse and buggy.
Death of Catherine's Mother
Catherine had four siblings:
Edward, born 17 December 1856;
James, born 7 February 1859;
Bridget, born 27 May 1861;
Mary, born 4 June 1866 > Annie Chuck > Myree O'Brien > Nerida Lang > Cindy Allen
Their mother, Winifred, died in August 1871 when the children were aged 15, 12, 11, 10 and 5 years old.
Their father, William, remarried on 25 May 1879 and Catherine appears to have been close to her step-mother (who would also become her mother-in-law), however, there is no doubt that the death of her mother when Catherine was only 11 years old would have been a huge loss. There is a family story that the younger children were sent to live with another family after the death of their mother and that they were treated well but, as this would have been an informal arrangement, I have been unable to find any record of it.
Edward, born 17 December 1856;
James, born 7 February 1859;
Bridget, born 27 May 1861;
Mary, born 4 June 1866 > Annie Chuck > Myree O'Brien > Nerida Lang > Cindy Allen
Their mother, Winifred, died in August 1871 when the children were aged 15, 12, 11, 10 and 5 years old.
Their father, William, remarried on 25 May 1879 and Catherine appears to have been close to her step-mother (who would also become her mother-in-law), however, there is no doubt that the death of her mother when Catherine was only 11 years old would have been a huge loss. There is a family story that the younger children were sent to live with another family after the death of their mother and that they were treated well but, as this would have been an informal arrangement, I have been unable to find any record of it.
Marriage
On 18 June 1879, Catherine married George Richard Withers at St Luke's Church of England in Taralga. George was Catholic, as was Catherine's mother, Winifred, and Catherine had been baptised into the Catholic church. However Catherine's father, William, was not Catholic which I imagine meant the couple were unable to marry in a Catholic church. George would have been 22 at the time of the marriage and Catherine 19.
Note that in May 1879, Catherine's father and George's mother had married, both having been widowed. Catherine's sister, Bridget, was also involved in a relationship with George's brother, Edward/Edmund so there were several connections between the Withers and Wilson families.
Note that in May 1879, Catherine's father and George's mother had married, both having been widowed. Catherine's sister, Bridget, was also involved in a relationship with George's brother, Edward/Edmund so there were several connections between the Withers and Wilson families.
Children
George and Catherine had 12 children together:
Winifred, 1880-1970
Margaret Matilda, 1882-
Joachim (Joe), 1884-
Edward James, 1886-1938
Anastasia (Hannah), 1888-1911 (children Lorna and Kathleen Stacey, no descendants)
Charles Albert, 1889-1910
Bertha, 1892-1982
Lillian (Rose) Mary, 1893-1973 (no descendants)
Mildred Mary, 1896-1920
Clement Percival, 1898-1917 (killed in Belgium, no descendants)
Francis (Frank), 1902-1957
Catherine Pearl, 1905-1995
Winifred, 1880-1970
Margaret Matilda, 1882-
Joachim (Joe), 1884-
Edward James, 1886-1938
Anastasia (Hannah), 1888-1911 (children Lorna and Kathleen Stacey, no descendants)
Charles Albert, 1889-1910
Bertha, 1892-1982
Lillian (Rose) Mary, 1893-1973 (no descendants)
Mildred Mary, 1896-1920
Clement Percival, 1898-1917 (killed in Belgium, no descendants)
Francis (Frank), 1902-1957
Catherine Pearl, 1905-1995
Life in Crookwell and Goulburn
Catherine and George initially lived around Woodhouselee and Tarlo where Catherine's father and step-mother lived, including at a property called Currabungla where George appears to have worked as a labourer and farm hand until about 1889.
By 1889 the couple were living in Goulburn.
In 1910, George registered the death of his mother, Margaret Wilson, giving his and Catherine's address as Fisher's Lane, Goulburn.
By 1889 the couple were living in Goulburn.
In 1910, George registered the death of his mother, Margaret Wilson, giving his and Catherine's address as Fisher's Lane, Goulburn.
Death
Catherine's obituary states that she died at 56 Goldsmith Street however she was actually living at 35 Goldsmith Street with her daughter, Catherine Murphy, when she died. Her death certificate states that she died at 44 Werriwa Street.
