Margaret Withers, née Farrell
Margaret Withers was the wife of Edward James Withers, the fourth child and second son of Catherine Wilson and George Richard Withers, my great-grandparents. She was the sister-in-law of my grandmother, Catherine Withers (later Murphy).
Margaret is not directly related to me however I'm recording some of the information I've found out about her as it may help other researchers.
Margaret was the daughter of James Farrell and we know she was born in about 1887. I suspect this is her birth record: NSW BDM 16411/1887. This record indicates that she was born at Boorowa in 1887, is the daughter of Mary and James and was named Maggie at birth.
Margaret and Edward were married in Goulburn in 1913 (NSW BDM 15156/1913). They had two sons together, Billy and Tommy:
Tommy was three or four and Billy just a baby when their mother died in 1918 in Bowral (NSW BDM 951/1918).
Family stories told by Catherine Withers, the boys' paternal grandmother, suggest that, after Margaret died, her two sons went to live with Margaret's parents on their farm in Bowral. According to the stories, their grandparents were unkind and even harsh with the two little boys and they were unhappy. When Tommy learnt to write, he wrote to his paternal grandmother and asked her to come and get them which she did. With her daughter, Winnie, Catherine Withers - known to everyone as 'Mother' - hired a horse and trap and went to fetch Billy and Tommy who she then raised. In later life, Tommy lived with his father for a while when he was older but Billy lived with Mother until he got married.
In 2022 I discovered that the story Billy and Tommy passed down to their families was that they went to a boys' home after their mother died and that it was from the home that Mother rescued them. They had no contact with their maternal grandparents after their mother died. Edward Withers married Alice Morton in Sydney in 1937 (NSW BDM 17074/1937) [1].
Note: Tommy - grandsons are Lee Withers and Jimmy Withers;
Note: no record of Billy and Tommy in the Dependent Children Register, NSW State Archives;
Margaret is not directly related to me however I'm recording some of the information I've found out about her as it may help other researchers.
Margaret was the daughter of James Farrell and we know she was born in about 1887. I suspect this is her birth record: NSW BDM 16411/1887. This record indicates that she was born at Boorowa in 1887, is the daughter of Mary and James and was named Maggie at birth.
Margaret and Edward were married in Goulburn in 1913 (NSW BDM 15156/1913). They had two sons together, Billy and Tommy:
- Thomas James born 1914 in Goulburn (NSW BDM 18968/1914);
- William P born 1917 IN Paddington in Sydney (NSW BDM 52597/1917);
Tommy was three or four and Billy just a baby when their mother died in 1918 in Bowral (NSW BDM 951/1918).
Family stories told by Catherine Withers, the boys' paternal grandmother, suggest that, after Margaret died, her two sons went to live with Margaret's parents on their farm in Bowral. According to the stories, their grandparents were unkind and even harsh with the two little boys and they were unhappy. When Tommy learnt to write, he wrote to his paternal grandmother and asked her to come and get them which she did. With her daughter, Winnie, Catherine Withers - known to everyone as 'Mother' - hired a horse and trap and went to fetch Billy and Tommy who she then raised. In later life, Tommy lived with his father for a while when he was older but Billy lived with Mother until he got married.
In 2022 I discovered that the story Billy and Tommy passed down to their families was that they went to a boys' home after their mother died and that it was from the home that Mother rescued them. They had no contact with their maternal grandparents after their mother died. Edward Withers married Alice Morton in Sydney in 1937 (NSW BDM 17074/1937) [1].
Note: Tommy - grandsons are Lee Withers and Jimmy Withers;
Note: no record of Billy and Tommy in the Dependent Children Register, NSW State Archives;
The inscription on Margaret's headstone reads:
Sacred to the memory
of
Margaret Withers
Died 10th Feb 1918
Aged 30 Years
Sacred heart of Jesus
Have mercy on her soul
Erected by her loving father James Farrell
Sacred to the memory
of
Margaret Withers
Died 10th Feb 1918
Aged 30 Years
Sacred heart of Jesus
Have mercy on her soul
Erected by her loving father James Farrell
[1] Info from Lee Withers 25/2/22 via Facebook;
Page updated Friday 25 Feb 2022