Finding William Wilson
Updated 29 January 2023
William Wilson was my great-great-grandfather.
I've had a lot of difficulty tracking William after he married his second wife, Margaret Withers (nee Murphy), on 25 May 1879 in Tarlo.
Margaret died on 5 October 1910 in Goulburn and I'm fairly sure William predeceased her. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find a death record or burial place for William. This page is a holding place for my research into William Wilson's life and death.
William Wilson was my great-great-grandfather.
I've had a lot of difficulty tracking William after he married his second wife, Margaret Withers (nee Murphy), on 25 May 1879 in Tarlo.
Margaret died on 5 October 1910 in Goulburn and I'm fairly sure William predeceased her. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find a death record or burial place for William. This page is a holding place for my research into William Wilson's life and death.
Birth
The Willis Wilson I found in Arkansas who may have been William's father died in Hempstead in America in 1866. Thus, he is not my William Wilson [edit: this doesn't make sense and I don't know why I wrote it.]
Residences
1863 Cotton Valley (Cotta Walla) - from daughter, Catherine's, baptism record;
1866 Tarlo - from daughter, Mary's, birth certificate;
1872 Upper Tarlo/Woodhouselee;
1879 Upper Tarlo - from William's marriage certificate when he married Margaret Withers, (nee Murphy);
1880 Woodhouselee - from the record of daughter, Bridget, giving birth to her son, Isaac, here at 18. Suspect she lived with her parents;
1884 Currabungla or nearby. Margaret Wilson helped her stepdaughter, Catherine Withers (nee Wilson), deliver her son, Joachim, at Currabungla;
1866 Tarlo - from daughter, Mary's, birth certificate;
1872 Upper Tarlo/Woodhouselee;
1879 Upper Tarlo - from William's marriage certificate when he married Margaret Withers, (nee Murphy);
1880 Woodhouselee - from the record of daughter, Bridget, giving birth to her son, Isaac, here at 18. Suspect she lived with her parents;
1884 Currabungla or nearby. Margaret Wilson helped her stepdaughter, Catherine Withers (nee Wilson), deliver her son, Joachim, at Currabungla;
Death
Margaret, William's second wife, died on 5 October 1910 in Goulburn and William seems to have been dead by then. Margaret was living in Goulburn, presumably with one of her children, and there is blank on the form where "conjugal status" appears. Her son, George, registered her death.
The article below is from 1890 and seems to indicate that William had already died. Although James was Mrs Margaret Wilson's son (and William's step-son), I think William might have been mentioned if he had still been alive when this accident happened.
The article below is from 1890 and seems to indicate that William had already died. Although James was Mrs Margaret Wilson's son (and William's step-son), I think William might have been mentioned if he had still been alive when this accident happened.
Notes on where William might have been buried
Winifred, William's first wife, died in 1871. She is buried in the Catholic section of the old Goulburn Cemetery in Mortis Street. She has a headstone and there is no mention of William being buried with her. Also, she is buried in the Catholic section and William was not Catholic so I doubt he is buried with her.
Margaret, William's second wife, died in 1910. She is also buried in the Catholic section of the old Goulburn Cemetery, however I have not been able to find a record of her burial or a headstone. Again, as William was not Catholic, I doubt he was buried with her.
Margaret, William's second wife, died in 1910. She is also buried in the Catholic section of the old Goulburn Cemetery, however I have not been able to find a record of her burial or a headstone. Again, as William was not Catholic, I doubt he was buried with her.
Notes on looking for William's death certificate
William probably died sometime between 1879 (when he married for the second time) and 1910 when his second wife, Margaret, died.
There were a number of men named William Wilson living in and around Goulburn in the period 1879-1910. Four are recorded as having died in the areas of Goulburn, Crookwell, Tarlo and Gunning between 1879 and 1910. These have all been ruled out as not being my William Wilson:
14284/1888: William J, son of James and Jane, died Gunning. Death cert on file.
5730/1892: William, son of Samuel and Ann. Wife was Catherine Cameron. Death cert on file (see below);
9264/1910: William, son of William and Catherine. Not married. Death cert on file (see below);
1479/1909: William K, son of William and Phoebe. Not married. Death cert on file (see below);
I think the William Henry Wilson referred to in the following excerpts from the electoral roll is from another family.
There were a number of men named William Wilson living in and around Goulburn in the period 1879-1910. Four are recorded as having died in the areas of Goulburn, Crookwell, Tarlo and Gunning between 1879 and 1910. These have all been ruled out as not being my William Wilson:
14284/1888: William J, son of James and Jane, died Gunning. Death cert on file.
5730/1892: William, son of Samuel and Ann. Wife was Catherine Cameron. Death cert on file (see below);
9264/1910: William, son of William and Catherine. Not married. Death cert on file (see below);
1479/1909: William K, son of William and Phoebe. Not married. Death cert on file (see below);
I think the William Henry Wilson referred to in the following excerpts from the electoral roll is from another family.
death-certs-false-william-wilson.pdf | |
File Size: | 144 kb |
File Type: |
Currabungla
Currabungla is near Taralga and Woodhouselee. Now an alpaca farm, it seems to have been a locality before that. It had a school in 1903 which burned down (newspaper article). There was/is a Currabungla Creek. Referred to as a locality within the Crookwell local government area in an 1895 article in the Goulburn Evening Penny Post. Also mentioned as a district on Joachim Withers' birth certificate (1884).
Mona McIntosh knows the history of Currabungla: 4837 3238 (referred by Penny Pittard).
Currabungla is near Taralga and Woodhouselee. Now an alpaca farm, it seems to have been a locality before that. It had a school in 1903 which burned down (newspaper article). There was/is a Currabungla Creek. Referred to as a locality within the Crookwell local government area in an 1895 article in the Goulburn Evening Penny Post. Also mentioned as a district on Joachim Withers' birth certificate (1884).
Mona McIntosh knows the history of Currabungla: 4837 3238 (referred by Penny Pittard).
Still to Research
Goulburn electoral rolls 1879-1910