William Wilson
William Wilson > Catherine Wilson > Catherine Withers
Updated 29 January 2023
William Wilson was born in about 1828 in Prescott, Nevada, Arkansas in America. This information comes from the birth certificate of his oldest son, Edward, who was born in 1856. (He also gave Arkansas as his birthplace when registering the birth of his second son, James, in 1859). On the certificate William gives his age as 28. Interestingly, neither Nevada County nor the city of Prescott were established when William lived there [1].
Information from other family researchers suggests that William Wilson may have been part African-American. This was never mentioned in my family however I have no photos of William and it could be true. Perhaps it was thought to be something to be ashamed of in New South Wales in the 1850s and so was not spoken about by his children.
I have been unable to find any information about William's family of origin in America or about his voyage to New South Wales. From the record of his marriage to Winifred Seery, we know that he was living at a place called Devil's Hole Creek near Mudgee by 1856.
In 1856, Devil's Hole Creek was a rough, gold-mining community which was later to be known as Clarke's Creek. Newspaper reports at the time mention the unpleasant nature of the settlement's name and by 1862 its name had been changed to Clarke's Creek. The creek is a tributary of the Meroo River. Gold was discovered in the area in 1851 and there is a mention in newspaper reports of the time of a William Wilson in the area in late 1851. Newspaper reports also mention gold miners from America working at Devil's Hole Creek in the early 1850s.
William Wilson was born in about 1828 in Prescott, Nevada, Arkansas in America. This information comes from the birth certificate of his oldest son, Edward, who was born in 1856. (He also gave Arkansas as his birthplace when registering the birth of his second son, James, in 1859). On the certificate William gives his age as 28. Interestingly, neither Nevada County nor the city of Prescott were established when William lived there [1].
Information from other family researchers suggests that William Wilson may have been part African-American. This was never mentioned in my family however I have no photos of William and it could be true. Perhaps it was thought to be something to be ashamed of in New South Wales in the 1850s and so was not spoken about by his children.
I have been unable to find any information about William's family of origin in America or about his voyage to New South Wales. From the record of his marriage to Winifred Seery, we know that he was living at a place called Devil's Hole Creek near Mudgee by 1856.
In 1856, Devil's Hole Creek was a rough, gold-mining community which was later to be known as Clarke's Creek. Newspaper reports at the time mention the unpleasant nature of the settlement's name and by 1862 its name had been changed to Clarke's Creek. The creek is a tributary of the Meroo River. Gold was discovered in the area in 1851 and there is a mention in newspaper reports of the time of a William Wilson in the area in late 1851. Newspaper reports also mention gold miners from America working at Devil's Hole Creek in the early 1850s.
William's Journey to New South Wales
I'm not sure whether William came to New South Wales from the goldfields in California or directly from his home in Arkansas as I've been unable to find a record of his arrival here. Given that we know many young American men at the time were leaving their homes and travelling to California to seek their fortunes, it seems at least possible that William went first to the goldfields in San Francisco and then from there to New South Wales when word was received in California that gold had been discovered in Australia. This is the path that many young men took during those years.
Sanger's Grave in Victoria is testament to the presence of American diggers on the goldfields of New South Wales and Victoria.
Records show that ships were travelling to San Francisco from Panama City from 1850 and it's possible that William travelled on one of them. There are records of two William Wilsons travelling on such ships in 1850: "Two listings of William Wilson...2 different ships... ship: CAROLINA, steamer, from Panama, arrived May 7, 1850 also William Wilson... ship PANAMA, steamer, arrived July 6, 1850 from Panama [2].
Sanger's Grave in Victoria is testament to the presence of American diggers on the goldfields of New South Wales and Victoria.
Records show that ships were travelling to San Francisco from Panama City from 1850 and it's possible that William travelled on one of them. There are records of two William Wilsons travelling on such ships in 1850: "Two listings of William Wilson...2 different ships... ship: CAROLINA, steamer, from Panama, arrived May 7, 1850 also William Wilson... ship PANAMA, steamer, arrived July 6, 1850 from Panama [2].
Marriage and Children
William Wilson married Winifred Seery on 28 October 1856 at Richardson's Point, Windeyer, according to the rights of the Church of England. Their first son was born in December 1856, just two months after the marriage.
The marriage certificate states that Willian and Winifred were married in the Church of the Redeemer but this church was actually not built until 1859. Before then, marriages were conducted in tents on the goldfields by travelling priests and vicars and it's likely that this is how Winifred and William were married. There is also very little family information on the certificate, suggesting a more informal marriage than usual. Sadly, William's parents' names are not on the certificate.
Winifred's name is recorded as "Winford Seymour" in the record of her marriage and this was almost certainly deliberate. Later information suggests that her first husband, John Manton, was still alive at the time of her marriage to William Wilson so the fudging of her name was probably designed to hide the fact that she was committing bigamy. Her parents names are also not recorded, probably for the same reasons. Since Winifred would have been visibly pregnant at the time of the marriage, I suppose the vicar was simply keen to have them married and willing to overlook the absence of those details.
It is likely that Winifred had her son, John Manton, living with her in Devil's Hole Creek. I can find no record of him being with her however John was only about two years old when Winifred and William were married so I think it is likely that young John was living with them.
William and Winifred had the following children together:
Edward
James
Bridget
Catherine
Mary
William and Winifred's first son, Edward, was born at Devil's Hole Creek on 17 December 1856. William was still a gold miner at that time. A second son, James, was born on 17 February 1859, also at Devil's Hole Creek.
The marriage certificate states that Willian and Winifred were married in the Church of the Redeemer but this church was actually not built until 1859. Before then, marriages were conducted in tents on the goldfields by travelling priests and vicars and it's likely that this is how Winifred and William were married. There is also very little family information on the certificate, suggesting a more informal marriage than usual. Sadly, William's parents' names are not on the certificate.
Winifred's name is recorded as "Winford Seymour" in the record of her marriage and this was almost certainly deliberate. Later information suggests that her first husband, John Manton, was still alive at the time of her marriage to William Wilson so the fudging of her name was probably designed to hide the fact that she was committing bigamy. Her parents names are also not recorded, probably for the same reasons. Since Winifred would have been visibly pregnant at the time of the marriage, I suppose the vicar was simply keen to have them married and willing to overlook the absence of those details.
It is likely that Winifred had her son, John Manton, living with her in Devil's Hole Creek. I can find no record of him being with her however John was only about two years old when Winifred and William were married so I think it is likely that young John was living with them.
William and Winifred had the following children together:
Edward
James
Bridget
Catherine
Mary
William and Winifred's first son, Edward, was born at Devil's Hole Creek on 17 December 1856. William was still a gold miner at that time. A second son, James, was born on 17 February 1859, also at Devil's Hole Creek.
Where Did the Wilsons Live?
1855-1861 Devil's Hole Creek (from children's birth records)
1863-1864 Cotta Walla Tarlo (from William's name on the Electoral Roll)
1866 Tarlo (from Mary Wilson's birth record)
1871 Goulburn (from Winifred's death record)
1879 Tarlo (from record of marriage between William Wilson and Margaret Withers)
1880 Tarlo (from Isaac Withers' birth record)
1884 Currabungla, near Tarlo
When Bridget was born in 1861, her parents already had two sons and were living in the gold-mining settlement of Devil's Hole Creek. Winifred's oldest child, John Manton, who would have been seven years old in 1861, may also have been with them. Devil's Hole Creek was a remote settlement and life would have been difficult for a family with small children.
My mother tells me that family stories say William became a farmer, that he owned a buggy and that the children at one stage all had their own cattle. This leads me to guess that William found enough gold to buy some land and that, after Bridget's birth in 1861, he and Winifred made the decision to leave Devil's Hole Creek. Winifred may also have wanted to move closer to her parents, who lived near Crookwell, and perhaps to other family members who lived around Goulburn and Crookwell.
After the gold rushes of the 1850s, large amounts of capital were available in New South Wales and, with increasing emigration, more people wished to settle on the land. However much of the land had already been taken up by squatters so the government was forced to act to free up land for more settlement [3]
In 1861, Robinson's Selection Act (actually the Crown Lands Alienation Act and The Crown Lands Occupation Act) was passed which freed up land to be leased or purchased by would-be farmers such as William and Winifred. This act allowed people to select portions of Crown land which included land held by squatters by pre-emptive right. These new farmers became known as "selectors" and their farms as "selections". Two tenures were provided for under the act: a Conditional Purchase and a Conditional Lease [4].
Between 1860 and 1870, selection of blocks took place in the Crookwell area following the Selection Act.
Hartley, where Bridget was baptised, is almost exactly half-way between Devil's Hole Creek and Cotta Walla/Tarlo area and it seems likely that in 1861 the family were making their way from Devil's Hole Creek to Cotta Walla or Tarlo to purchase land when they stopped in Hartley for a while and took the opportunity to have baby Bridget baptised.
We know that the family moved to the Cotta Walla area in about 1862 or 1863 because their daughter Catherine's birth place is noted as Cotta Walla. Catherine was baptised at St Peter and Paul's Catholic Church in Goulburn on 1 December 1866 at the same time as Bridget. The baptismal record gives Catherine's date of birth as 13 July 1963 and notes that she was born in Cotta Walla or Cotton Valley, as it was known for a time.
William's name appears as a leaseholder in Tarlo on the 1863-1864 Electoral Roll so we know that the family were living in Tarlo in 1863. There was a school in Tarlo from at least 1864 so it is possible Bridget and her siblings attended it. Mary Wilson was born in Tarlo in 1866.
In 1866, the following list of persons entitled to vote shows William Wilson living at a property called Lockersleigh. If this was my William Wilson, perhaps he was working on the farm.
1863-1864 Cotta Walla Tarlo (from William's name on the Electoral Roll)
1866 Tarlo (from Mary Wilson's birth record)
1871 Goulburn (from Winifred's death record)
1879 Tarlo (from record of marriage between William Wilson and Margaret Withers)
1880 Tarlo (from Isaac Withers' birth record)
1884 Currabungla, near Tarlo
When Bridget was born in 1861, her parents already had two sons and were living in the gold-mining settlement of Devil's Hole Creek. Winifred's oldest child, John Manton, who would have been seven years old in 1861, may also have been with them. Devil's Hole Creek was a remote settlement and life would have been difficult for a family with small children.
My mother tells me that family stories say William became a farmer, that he owned a buggy and that the children at one stage all had their own cattle. This leads me to guess that William found enough gold to buy some land and that, after Bridget's birth in 1861, he and Winifred made the decision to leave Devil's Hole Creek. Winifred may also have wanted to move closer to her parents, who lived near Crookwell, and perhaps to other family members who lived around Goulburn and Crookwell.
After the gold rushes of the 1850s, large amounts of capital were available in New South Wales and, with increasing emigration, more people wished to settle on the land. However much of the land had already been taken up by squatters so the government was forced to act to free up land for more settlement [3]
In 1861, Robinson's Selection Act (actually the Crown Lands Alienation Act and The Crown Lands Occupation Act) was passed which freed up land to be leased or purchased by would-be farmers such as William and Winifred. This act allowed people to select portions of Crown land which included land held by squatters by pre-emptive right. These new farmers became known as "selectors" and their farms as "selections". Two tenures were provided for under the act: a Conditional Purchase and a Conditional Lease [4].
Between 1860 and 1870, selection of blocks took place in the Crookwell area following the Selection Act.
Hartley, where Bridget was baptised, is almost exactly half-way between Devil's Hole Creek and Cotta Walla/Tarlo area and it seems likely that in 1861 the family were making their way from Devil's Hole Creek to Cotta Walla or Tarlo to purchase land when they stopped in Hartley for a while and took the opportunity to have baby Bridget baptised.
We know that the family moved to the Cotta Walla area in about 1862 or 1863 because their daughter Catherine's birth place is noted as Cotta Walla. Catherine was baptised at St Peter and Paul's Catholic Church in Goulburn on 1 December 1866 at the same time as Bridget. The baptismal record gives Catherine's date of birth as 13 July 1963 and notes that she was born in Cotta Walla or Cotton Valley, as it was known for a time.
William's name appears as a leaseholder in Tarlo on the 1863-1864 Electoral Roll so we know that the family were living in Tarlo in 1863. There was a school in Tarlo from at least 1864 so it is possible Bridget and her siblings attended it. Mary Wilson was born in Tarlo in 1866.
In 1866, the following list of persons entitled to vote shows William Wilson living at a property called Lockersleigh. If this was my William Wilson, perhaps he was working on the farm.
Moving from Devil's Hole Creek to Cotta Walla
The years 1855-1861 were the most productive for the Meroo goldfield, which included Devil's Hole Creek. During this period more than 100,000 ounces (c284kgs) per year were sent to Sydney with the Gold Escort. However by 1861 the annual return was down to 260 ounces (ca 16 kgs), and by the 1870s most gold was produced from reef rather than alluvial mining.
The Wilson family were living at Devil's Hole Creek on 27 May 1861 when their third child, Bridget, was born, 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 Windeyer area by that time.
It seems likely that the family decided to leave the goldfields because the alluvial gold mining undertaken by miners such as William was no longer profitable. With at least three young children (four if John Manton was with them), it's likely William and Winifred were keen to establish themselves somewhere with more prospects and a better lifestyle.
The 1861 Robinson's Selection Act made it possible for men like William to acquire land however we know that land in the Windeyer area was not suitable for farming, the rocky clay soil being unable to support large numbers of stock and not suitable for crops [p.26].
With Winifred's extended family living in the area around Crookwell, it seems likely that the family left Devil's Hole Creek in mid-1861 with a view to acquiring farming land in the Cotta Walla area. We know that they travelled via Hartley, though I don't know how long they stayed there. We know they eventually settled in Cotta Walla because my great-grandmother, Catherine Wilson, was born there on 13 July 1863.
I have been unable to find birth records for Bridget or Catherine and the information about their births comes from their baptismal records. Interestingly, Bridget was baptised for a second time, this time at St Peter and Paul's Catholic Church in Goulburn on 1 December 1866, along with her sister, Catherine. At the time of this second baptism, Bridget's birth date was given as 4 May 1862, which is incorrect.
William and Winifred's last child, Mary, was born on 4 June 1866 in Tarlo.
The Wilson family were living at Devil's Hole Creek on 27 May 1861 when their third child, Bridget, was born, 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 Windeyer area by that time.
It seems likely that the family decided to leave the goldfields because the alluvial gold mining undertaken by miners such as William was no longer profitable. With at least three young children (four if John Manton was with them), it's likely William and Winifred were keen to establish themselves somewhere with more prospects and a better lifestyle.
The 1861 Robinson's Selection Act made it possible for men like William to acquire land however we know that land in the Windeyer area was not suitable for farming, the rocky clay soil being unable to support large numbers of stock and not suitable for crops [p.26].
With Winifred's extended family living in the area around Crookwell, it seems likely that the family left Devil's Hole Creek in mid-1861 with a view to acquiring farming land in the Cotta Walla area. We know that they travelled via Hartley, though I don't know how long they stayed there. We know they eventually settled in Cotta Walla because my great-grandmother, Catherine Wilson, was born there on 13 July 1863.
I have been unable to find birth records for Bridget or Catherine and the information about their births comes from their baptismal records. Interestingly, Bridget was baptised for a second time, this time at St Peter and Paul's Catholic Church in Goulburn on 1 December 1866, along with her sister, Catherine. At the time of this second baptism, Bridget's birth date was given as 4 May 1862, which is incorrect.
William and Winifred's last child, Mary, was born on 4 June 1866 in Tarlo.
Marriage to Margaret Withers
In 1879, Margaret Withers (nee Murphy), had been a widow for two years, her husband, Edward, having died in 1877. I think William was living in Tarlo and Margaret in Grabben Gullen.
On 25 May 1879 William and Margaret married at William Wilson's home in the parish of Upper Tarlo, near Crookwell. They were married according to the rites of the Church of England. William gave his occupation as farmer and both gave their address as Upper Tarlo so I suspect they'd been living together at William's home (farm?) before they were married.
On 25 May 1879 William and Margaret married at William Wilson's home in the parish of Upper Tarlo, near Crookwell. They were married according to the rites of the Church of England. William gave his occupation as farmer and both gave their address as Upper Tarlo so I suspect they'd been living together at William's home (farm?) before they were married.
Death and Burial
When did William Wilson die and where is he buried? I've been trying to discover this for some time.
He married Margaret Murphy in 1879 and she died in Goulburn in 1910 so I think William was already dead at the time Margaret died. William is not mentioned in her obituary and I suspect Margaret had moved to Goulburn because William had died.
So it's likely William died between 1879 and 1910. So far I've been unable to find a match in the death records in NSW BDM.
On 25 May 1879, when he married Margaret Withers (nee Murphy) he was living in Tarlo. I have checked the cemeteries in the area and could find no record of his burial in any of them. St James' Anglican Church is on Woodhouselee Road, Woodhouselee. It was sold in 2013 and I doubt there was a burial ground attached.
In 1884, there was a William Wilson living at Currabungla and I think this was my William Wilson.
There is more detail about my search for when William died and where he is buried here.
He married Margaret Murphy in 1879 and she died in Goulburn in 1910 so I think William was already dead at the time Margaret died. William is not mentioned in her obituary and I suspect Margaret had moved to Goulburn because William had died.
So it's likely William died between 1879 and 1910. So far I've been unable to find a match in the death records in NSW BDM.
On 25 May 1879, when he married Margaret Withers (nee Murphy) he was living in Tarlo. I have checked the cemeteries in the area and could find no record of his burial in any of them. St James' Anglican Church is on Woodhouselee Road, Woodhouselee. It was sold in 2013 and I doubt there was a burial ground attached.
In 1884, there was a William Wilson living at Currabungla and I think this was my William Wilson.
There is more detail about my search for when William died and where he is buried here.
[1] Email from Melinda Dewberry, Executive Director, Nevada County Depot and Museum;
[2] From another researcher's information on ancestry.com (I no longer have access to ancestry.com);
[3] https://myplace.edu.au/decades_timeline/1860/decade_landing_14.html?tabRank=2
[4] https://landresearchnsw.info/crown.html
https://nswaol.library.usyd.edu.au/data/pdfs/13265
[2] From another researcher's information on ancestry.com (I no longer have access to ancestry.com);
[3] https://myplace.edu.au/decades_timeline/1860/decade_landing_14.html?tabRank=2
[4] https://landresearchnsw.info/crown.html
https://nswaol.library.usyd.edu.au/data/pdfs/13265