James Johnson

MARY DENT AND JAMES JOHNSON.
by Dawn Coleman [storyteller-at-shoal.net.au]

Mary was born 1st July 1835 at Littleport on the Isle of Ely, an elevated area in the Fens of Cambridgeshire, England. Her husband James Johnson came from a farming family in the same village. An untitled poem written by James in 1878 when he was 54, gives us insight into their relationship and preparation for their journey to the Colony of NSW.

Six and twenty years ago
I happy was, and active too
My hopes were then centred in you
My Mary …

At length arrived the Saturday
That you should come by rail to me
And at Lewisham married be
On Monday

They married on 1st July 1852 in Union Chapel, Lewisham, London. It was her 17th birthday and James was 28. We can imagine them working hard for the next five months - living in Dacre Square - before departing England forever. On arrival in the Colony of New South Wales on 19th March 1853, according to the Immigration document Mary’s age has increased by two years while James’ has decreased by six possibly to make them more attractive to prospective employers. With them on board were her parents William and Susan Dent and their four children. They were all Wesleyans.

We soon to Polynesia came
In '52 we saild from home
With Captain Bligh, to Sydney Town
of the Buporah

While the Dents headed for Bombala in Southern Monaro, Mary and James’ destination was Woolway, a sheep property of 7,000 acres in the central Monaro district of N.S.W., near Berridale.

One can only wonder how they felt on arrival and viewed the collection of paddock-stone buildings strung above the flood plain bordering Wullwye creek and whether she, like Henry Dyball five years before, was greeted by the local aboriginal tribe. How long they remained on this vast and isolated property is unknown and one now reaches a place of question and conjecture; a weighing up of the possibilities of their lives.

Their employment at Woolway Station is unknown. In England, James is identified as a farm servant around the watery Fenland of Littleport, a vastly different environment to this dry and treeless plain requiring a large labour force to shepherd and move herds of sheep around. Mary, like some women, may have done some shepherding herself, or been a house servant employed with cooking and laundry.

Perhaps the alien landscape and isolation proved too much of a contrast to the industrialised England they left behind. Maybe it was loneliness that saw them in Bombala two years later for the birth of their first child, my great grandmother Eliza, on 17th June, 1855.

On a personal level, the next thirteen years would be productive ones for her as she gave birth in two and later three-year cycles. The birth of Susanna in 1857 is recorded in the Family Register as again taking place at Bombala, as was Margaret’s in 1859. The birth of John Henry on 9th May 1861, however, places them at Tombong Station near Delegate. Two years later, in 1863 the birth of Rowland John was recorded, followed by Mephibosheth [known as Mephi] in 1865, both at Bombala.

During these years, James’ name appears in the Boyd and Company Account Book 1866, as a sheepwasher - 1858, shearer - 1859, shearer - 1861 and sheepwasher in 1865 at Bibbenluke Station which the Gazetter of the Australian Colonies described as the Station of Ben Boyd in the District of Monaro, fifty miles from Boyd Town. Whether he was permanently attached to the Station cannot be determined but as he was also at Tombong Station in 1861, it’s probable that he did the rounds of the Stations as required during the shearing season.

It was the custom for Stations to employ shearers and sheepwashers for other seasonal work, such as wheat harvesting and shepherding and a poem written by James in 1879, appears to recall time he spent as a shepherd or drover.

But now you’re faittly out of town
Past Burnima and Biblingluke
At Nymitibelle you’ll soon be found
here you will stay and have a look
at faces you have seen before
which, perhaps you’ll see no more.

But to recall my thoughts, I see,
When you come there t’will be the night
And therefore will be lost to thee
Scene in which I took delight
When travelling, {at slowest pace}
With sheep, I’d time to eye the place.

The fact that his name appears at Bibbenluke in the 1866 Boyd Account Book is somewhat confusing as, by 1847, Ben Boyd’s vast empire had already disintegrated due largely to labour difficulties aggravated by a depression in the early forties. His properties were offered for sale in 1855 and Bibbenluke and other Stations were bought in 1857 by William Bradley who appointed Henry Tollemache Edwards as his Supervisor.

On that black-soiled plain, sheep accumulated pounds of dust whipped up by the frequent high winds. Regular rain was a rare occurrence and sheep were washed, not only to rid their fleece of grime but also of grease which was considered an unprofitable by-product, the weight of which added to transport costs. From early times on the Monaro, it was the custom to herd batches of sheep into the river where sheepwashers awaited them in the cold waters from the Snowy Mountains.

in 1866 Mary and James made the move from the Monaro and their extended family and descended 2000 feet down the Tantlawanglo Mountain to the gentler climate of Candelo, where their last three children would be born.

By the time they arrived in Candelo, the nearby whittled-down Kameruka Run had passed to Robert Lucas-Tooth, nephew of Frederick Tooth the Sydney beer baron of KB Lager fame.

Evidence of their lives in Candelo is sparse apart from an item in the Bega Gazette of 11th August 1866, reporting that Mr. C. H. Witton’s store at ”Candalo” had been destroyed by fire and that “the fire was first discovered by the storekeeper, Johnson” and a listing in the National Directory of NSW, Eden District, the following year for J. Johnston at Candelo. In October that year, the Bega Gazette of 26th October, reported James attending a public meeting at the Kameruka Estate “to consider the proposal of a school at Candalo, Manager Henry Wren Esq., occuping the chair … a subscription list being opened James Johnson made a donation of £1.”

The following year a meeting was again held on the Kameruka Estate to constitute a local school board made of up Henry Wren, squattor Charles Stiles, free selector John Keys with Kameruka's property manager Walter White as secretary, representing the Church of England and free selectors John Collins and Patrick Heffernan representing the Roman Catholic religion.

According to the Application to the Council of Education dated 1st May, 1867, the population of Candelo was 250 and James was one of the parents who promised to send their children, pledging two.

The poems he wrote, his way with words and handwriting, indicates a level of schooling in Cambridgeshire that led to aspirations for his own children. Perhaps it was six year old John Henry and four year old Rowland he had in mind, Eliza aged 12, Susannah 10 and Margaret 8, already having benefited from some schooling at Bombala. Mephi was 2 and Mary pregnant again with their fourth son, James; the Family Register recording his birth on 24th June, the following year

In 1879, James took the coach up the Tantlawanglo Mountain to Bombala connecting with the coach and passing through Bunima, Bibbingluke, Nimmitabel (which he spelt Nymbitibelle) Rock Flat Springs, Bunyan, the Michelanglo Plains, Queanbeyan, Lake George and Goulburn, for an over-night stop. When asked by the coach driver -

What is your name Sir? If tis fair, - he answered
Johnson Sir, Pound Keeper,
From Candelo I come.”

Next morning he continued the long journey by train, passing through Bowral to Sydney, and crossing the harbour in a paddlewheeler to Manly to visit his eldest daughter Eliza and son-in-law Constable John Leplaw, the village’s third policeman (1879-1884)

James was 55. In a poem written that year to his wife, it’s almost as if he had a premonition of his death two years later and was giving Mary not only a declaration of his enduring love but the promise of a reunion on another plane of existence.

But now arrived on nature’s hill
Decline of life will shortly chill
The blood that flows along the rill
Of Life

We both seem up the hill together
And death itself cannot long sever
You and I from one another
Not for ever .. No never
Christ’s too clever
Ever to sever, one true lover
From another

Mary was widowed when James died on 3rd August, 1881, leaving her, aged forty-six, with children Margaret and Lydia, Rowland, Mephi, Charles and William still at home. How she managed to support her family is open to conjecture but in 1883 her name appears in Moore’s Australian Almanac as the pound-keeper in Candelo, a position she apparently took over from James.

A letter from John Leplaw in Manly to his brother-in-law Mephi dated 30th March, 1884, passed on a rumour that Mary, (aged 49) was going to marry “old Hammond the blacksmith in Candelo but … I should not care to see her marry an old joker like him for he is in direct opposition to her way of living …“ an opinion with which she apparently concurred, as she remained a widow.

“I believe Henry has left Monaro and has gone down the Mountain again. I think before he
stops travelling, Sydney will be his destination. In fact I am expecting him down any Steamer …”

John Henry did in fact arrive at Manly and was still there a few months later when John, aged 29 years, died on 24th June from typhoid fever. His name appears on the Death Certificate as a witness and he most probably accompanied his sister Eliza - and nieces Harriet (8), Clara (6) and baby Mabel - back to Candelo, where she lived out her long life, dying at 92.

Next year, on 4th March, 1885, John Henry married Ellen O’Keefe at Candelo and took his bride back up over the Tantlwanglo mountain to Bombala. Mary made the trip herself to visit her mother on the 17th hoping that Mephi would come from Delegate, where he was working but, despite his grandmother, Susan Dent’s, suggestion to him - “if you come next week and take your pony back with you might be able to come when your mamma is heare” apparently it didn’t happen. Susan wrote again – “she is quite well but feels quite disappointed because you are not coming down to meat her.”
1886 saw Mary in Bombala nursing her mother through her final illness. In a letter to Mephi she writes “Mother is much the same few minutes beter and then down but I think it will be so to the end.” On March 4 she writes again and we can see that the long nursing is taking its toll. “My dear son … My hand is beter but I am very nervy at times.”

“I knew Grandma Johnson and loved her dearly … She was a notable needlewoman and always inspected Mother’s sewing very closely, paying especial attention to the inside finishing. She died quite suddenly one afternoon, with her thimble still on her finger and needle stuck in her bodice.”

Mary died on 12th December, 1906, and was buried in the Methodist section of Candelo cemetery with James.

Descendants of James Johnson
Compiled from the new Monaro Pioneers database: 15.01.09
with additional information supplied by:
Dawn Coleman [storyteller-at-shoal.net.au] 11.02.09

1. James Johnson, son of Henry Johnson and Margaretta Campbell, was born in 1824 in Ely, Cambridgeshire, England, died on August 3, 1881 in Bega, NSW^¹ at age 57, and was buried in Candelo Cemetery, NSW Methodist section.

Notes: This information was supplied by Dawn Coleman [storyteller@shoal.net.au]

While the Dents headed for Bombala in Southern Monaro, Mary and James' destination was Woolway, a sheep property of 7,000 acres in the central Monaro district of N.S.W., near Berridale.

One can only wonder how they felt on arrival and viewed the collection of paddock-stone buildings strung above the flood plain bordering Wullwye creek and whether she, like Henry Dyball five years before, was greeted by the local aboriginal tribe. How long they remained on this vast and isolated property is unknown and one now reaches a place of question and conjecture; a weighing up of the possibilities of their lives.

Their employment at Woolway Station is unknown. In England, James is identified as a farm servant around the watery Fenland of Littleport, a vastly different environment to this dry and treeless plain requiring a large labour force to shepherd and move herds of sheep around. Mary, like some women, may have done some shepherding herself, or been a house servant employed with cooking and laundry.

Perhaps the alien landscape and isolation proved too much of a contrast to the industrialised England they left behind. Maybe it was loneliness that saw them in Bombala two years later for the birth of their first child, Eliza, on 17th June, 1855.

James' name appears in the Boyd and Company Account Book 1866, as a sheepwasher - 1858, shearer - 1859, shearer - 1861 and sheepwasher in 1865 at Bibbenluke Station which t he Gazetter of the Australian Colonies described as the Station of Ben Boyd in the District of Monaro, fifty miles from Boyd Town. W hether he was permanently attached to the Station cannot be determined but as he was also at Tombong Station in 1861, it's probable that he did the rounds of the Stations as required during the shearing season.

in 1866 Mary and James made the move from the Monaro and their extended family and descended 2000 feetdown the Tantlawanglo Mountain to the gentler climate of Candelo, where their last three children would be born.

By the time they arrived in Candelo, the nearby whittled-down Kameruka Run had passed to Robert Lucas-Tooth, nephew of Frederick Tooth the Sydney beer baron of KB Lager fame.

Evidence of their lives in Candelo is sparse apart from an item in the Bega Gazette of 11th August 1866, reporting that Mr. C. H. Witton's store at "Candalo" had been destroyed by fire and that "the fire was first discovered by the storekeeper, Johnson" and a listing in the National Directory of NSW, Eden District, the following year for J. Johnston at Candelo. In October that year, the Bega Gazette of 26th October, reported James attending a public meeting at the Kameruka Estate "to consider the proposal of a school at Candalo, Manager Henry Wren Esq., occuping the chair … a subscription list being opened James Johnson made a donation of £1."

The following year a meeting was again held on the Kameruka Estate to constitute a local school board made of up Henry Wren, squattor Charles Stiles, free selector John Keys with Kameruka's property manager Walter White as secretary, representing the Church of England and free selectors John Collins and Patrick Heffernan representing the Roman Catholic religion.

According to the Application to the Council of Education dated 1st May, 1867, the population of Candelo was 250 and James was one of the parents who promised to send their children, pledging two.

In 1879, James took the coach up the Tantlawanglo Mountain to Bombala connecting with the coach and passing through Bunima, Bibbingluke, Nimmitabel (which he spelt Nymbitibelle) Rock Flat Springs, Bunyan, the Michelanglo Plains, Queanbeyan, Lake George and Goulburn, for an over-night stop. When asked by the coach driver -

What is your name Sir? If tis fair, - he answered
Johnson Sir, Pound Keeper,
From Candelo I come."

Next morning he continued the long journey by train, passing through Bowral to Sydney, and crossing the harbour in a paddlewheeler to Manly to visit his eldest daughter Eliza and son-in-law Constable John Leplaw, the village's third policeman (1879-1884).

• He immigrated to Australia with wife on the vessel "Bussorah Merchant" arriving March 19, 1853.

James married Mary Dent, daughter of William Dent and Susan Crabb, on July 1, 1852 in Lewisham, London, England. Mary was born on July 1, 1835 in Littleport, Cambridge, England, died on December 12, 1906 in Bega, NSW^² at age 71, and was buried in Candelo Cemetery, NSW Methodist section.

Notes: This information was supplied by Dawn Coleman [storyteller@shoal.net.au]

Mary was widowed when James died on 3rd August, 1881, leaving her, aged forty-six, with children Margaret and Lydia, Rowland, Mephi, Charles and William still at home. How she managed to support her family is open to conjecture but in 1883 her name appears in Moore's Australian Almanac as the pound-keeper in Candelo, a position she apparently took over from James.

A letter from John Leplaw in Manly to his brother-in-law Mephi dated 30th March, 1884, passed on a rumour that Mary, (aged 49) was going to marry "old Hammond the blacksmith in Candelo but … I should not care to see her marry an old joker like him for he is in direct opposition to her way of living …" an opinion with which she apparently concurred, as she remained a widow.

John also wrote Mephi -

"I believe Henry has left Monaro and has gone down the Mountain again. I think before he
stops travelling, Sydney will be his destination. In fact I am expecting him down any Steamer …"

John Henry did in fact arrive at Manly and was still there a few months later when John, aged 29 years, died on 24^th June from typhoid fever. His name appears on the Death Certificate as a witness and he most probably accompanied his sister Eliza - and nieces Harriet (8), Clara (6) and baby Mabel - back to Candelo, where she lived out her long life, dying at 92.

• She immigrated to Australia with husband on the vessel "Bussorah Merchant" in 1853.

2 F i. Eliza Johnson was born on June 17, 1855 in Bombala, NSW, was baptised on July 26, 1855 in Bombala, NSW, died on August 12, 1946 in Bega, NSW^³ at age 91, and was buried in Bega Cemetery, NSW.

F iii. Margaret Johnson was born on April 19, 1859 in Bombala, NSW,^⁶ was baptised on May 29, 1859 in Bombala, NSW, died on April 6, 1910 in Waterloo, NSW at age 50, and was buried on April 9, 1910.

3 M iv. John Henry Johnson was born on May 9, 1861 in Tombong near Delegate, NSW^⁷ and died in 1923 in Bega, NSW^⁸ at age 62.

4 M v. Rowland John Johnson was born on April 22, 1863 in Opossum Flat, Bombala, NSW^⁹ and died in 1916 in Parramatta, NSW^¹⁰ at age 53.

5 M vi. Mephibosheth Johnson was born on August 11, 1865 in Bombala, NSW^¹¹ and died on April 5, 1913 in Bega, NSW^¹² at age 47.

6 M vii. Charles James Johnson was born on June 24, 1867 in Candelo, NSW^¹³ and died on January 2, 1938 in Bega, NSW^¹⁴ at age 70.

2. Eliza Johnson (James¹) was born on June 17, 1855 in Bombala, NSW, was baptised on July 26, 1855 in Bombala, NSW, died on August 12, 1946 in Bega, NSW^³ at age 91, and was buried in Bega Cemetery, NSW.

Eliza married John Leplaw, son of David Leplaw and Ann Maria Bates, on December 29, 1875 in Bombala, NSW.¹⁷ John was born on May 25, 1855 in Greendale, NSW,^¹⁸ died on June 24, 1884 in Manly, NSW^¹⁹ at age 29, and was buried in Manly Cemetery, NSW.

8 F i. Harriett Louisa Leplaw was born in 1876 in Bombala, NSW,^²⁰ died on April 23, 1949 in Rockdale, NSW^²¹ at age 73, and was buried in Woronora Cemetery, Sutherland, NSW Methodist section.

F ii. Clara Ethel Leplaw was born in 1878 in Bombala, NSW^²² and died in 1943 in Bega, NSW^²³ at age 65.

F iii. Mabel Grace Leplaw was born in 1883 in Manly, NSW^²⁴ and died on August 11, 1977 in Milton, NSW at age 94.

Mabel married Albert William Searle in 1924 in Sydney, NSW.²⁵ Albert was born in 1893 and died on April 27, 1967 in Wollongong, NSW^²⁶ at age 74. Another name for Albert was Charl.

3. John Henry Johnson (James¹) was born on May 9, 1861 in Tombong near Delegate, NSW^⁷ and died in 1923 in Bega, NSW^⁸ at age 62.

Notes: John Henry married Ellen O'Keefe at Candelo and took his bride back up over the Tantlwanglo mountain to Bombala.

John married Ellen O'Keeffe, daughter of Michael O'Keeffe, on March 4, 1884 in Candelo, NSW.²⁷ Ellen died on March 9, 1912 in Bega, NSW.^²⁸

M ii. Henry A. Johnson was born in 1890 in Bombala, NSW^³⁰ and died in 1890 in Bombala, NSW.^³¹

M iv. William Leslie Johnson was born in 1893 in Candelo, NSW^³³ and died in 1975 in NSW^³⁴ at age 82.

F v. Gertrude Ellen Johnson was born in 1897 in Candelo, NSW^³⁶ and died in 1967 in Sydney, NSW^³⁷ at age 70.

Gertrude married Edgar James Thomas Holzhauser, son of Leonard Holzhauser and Jane Turner, in 1918 in Bega, NSW.³⁸ Edgar was born in 1890 in Candelo, NSW^³⁹ and died on August 23, 1980 in Campsie, NSW at age 90. Another name for Edgar was Edgar James Thomas Kingston.

Notes: Edgar enlisted in the AIF under the surname of Kingston and was married under that surname as well. He possibly changed his name to avoid the anti German feeling that would have prevailed after the out break of WW1.

• He served in the military as a Private, number 2932, 59th Battalion, 1st AIF from September 20, 1916 to January 26, 1918 in WW1. Unit embarked from Sydney, NSW, on board HMAT A19 Afric on 3 November 1916.
Discharged as Medically unfit.

F vi. Phyllis Sarah Johnson was born in 1898 in Candelo, NSW^⁴⁰ and died on August 31, 1981 in Concord West, NSW at age 83.

Phyllis married Ernest Dawes, son of William J. Dawes and Isabella, in 1919 in Goulburn, NSW.⁴¹ Ernest was born in 1893 in Mt Kembla, NSW and died on January 16, 1979 in Concord West, NSW at age 86.

• He served in the military as a Lieutenant, number 4772, 6th Battalion, 1st AIF from September 24, 1915 to January 30, 1918 in WW1. Unit embarked from Sydney, NSW, on board HMAT A15 Star Of England on 8 March 1916.

• He was awarded the Military Medal. 'During the Battalion's tour in the trenches opposite RIENCOURT from 13/17th May, this N.C.O., who is the Battalion Signalling Sergeant, showed great gallantry and devotion to duty. He worked unceasingly for hours on the lines, also at times visiting Company Headquarters repairing telephones, thus ensuring that communication would be maintained. He was responsible for the duplication of all wires. Sergeant Dawes set a very fine example to all the Battalion Signallers.'
Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 189
Date: 8 November 1917

F vii. Una E. Johnson was born in 1903 in Candelo, NSW^⁴² and died in 1904 in Candelo, NSW^⁴³ at age 1.

John next married Mary Ann Solomon, daughter of John Solomon and Mary Holmes, in 1919 in Bega, NSW.⁴⁷ Mary was born on May 26, 1873 in Candelo, NSW^⁴⁸ and died on February 13, 1960 in Bega, NSW^⁴⁹ at age 86.

4. Rowland John Johnson (James¹) was born on April 22, 1863 in Opossum Flat, Bombala, NSW^⁹ and died in 1916 in Parramatta, NSW^¹⁰ at age 53.

F i. Millicent O. Johnson was born in 1887 in Bega, NSW^⁵¹ and died in 1889 in Bombala, NSW^⁵² at age 2.

M ii. Mervyn Stanley Johnson was born in 1891 in Candelo, NSW^⁵³ and died in 1958 in Burwood, NSW^⁵⁴ at age 67.

5. Mephibosheth Johnson (James¹) was born on August 11, 1865 in Bombala, NSW^¹¹ and died on April 5, 1913 in Bega, NSW^¹² at age 47. Another name for Mephibosheth was Mephi.

Notes: Mephi would marry Ada Hardaker in 1888. Their daughter Bertha recalled -

"I knew Grandma Johnson and loved her dearly … She was a notable needlewoman and always inspected Mother's sewing very closely, paying especial attention to the inside finishing. She died quite suddenly one afternoon, with her thimble still on her finger and needle stuck in her bodice."

Mephibosheth married Ada May Hardaker, daughter of William Hardaker and Anne Myers, in 1888 in Bombala, NSW.⁵⁶ Ada was born in 1869 in Bombala, NSW^⁵⁷ and died on October 10, 1942 in Ashfield, NSW^⁵⁸ at age 73.

F i. Cora May Johnson was born in 1890 in Bega, NSW^⁵⁹ and died in 1968 in Sydney, NSW^⁶⁰ at age 78.

Cora married Silas Bembrick, son of Alfred Bembrick and Mary Ann Southwell, in 1937 in Ashfield, NSW.⁶¹ Silas was born in 1872 in Grenfell, NSW^⁶² and died in 1962 in Ashfield, NSW^⁶³ at age 90.

F iii. Bertha Johnson was born in 1899 in Bega, NSW^⁶⁵ and died in 1971 in Burwood, NSW^⁶⁶ at age 72. She never married and had no children.

6. Charles James Johnson (James¹) was born on June 24, 1867 in Candelo, NSW^¹³ and died on January 2, 1938 in Bega, NSW^¹⁴ at age 70.

Charles married Martha Alice Barber, daughter of Edward Tomlin Barber and Ann Sweetman, on November 19, 1900 in Candelo, NSW.⁶⁹ Martha was born on September 5, 1877 in Nimmitabel, NSW^⁷⁰ and died on December 16, 1954 in Bega, NSW^⁷¹ at age 77.

M i. Eric Charles Johnson was born in 1901 in Candelo, NSW^⁷² and died in 1945 in Randwick, NSW^⁷³ at age 44.

Ina married James N. Wheeler, son of James Wheeler and Amy S. Hopson, in 1923 in Bega, NSW.⁷⁸ James was born in 1903 in Camden, NSW.^⁷⁹

M vi. Edward Allen Johnson was born on February 5, 1910 in Candelo, NSW.^⁸⁰

• He served in the military as a Private, number 2900486 (NX33546), 9 REINFS 2/33 BN, Australian Army from June 13, 1941 to January 24, 1946 in WW2.

Agnes married John Herbert Hollis, son of Francis Hollis and Esther Jaggers, in 1939 in Bombala, NSW.⁸¹ John was born in 1914 in Bega, NSW.

William married Emily Ellen Miles, daughter of William Miles and Ann Garvey Scott, on December 26, 1898 in Bega, NSW.⁸² Emily was born in 1875 in Bombala, NSW^⁸³ and died in 1951 in Five Dock, NSW^⁸⁴ at age 76.

M i. William Keith Johnson was born in 1900 in Candelo, NSW^⁸⁵ and died in 1969 in Bulli, NSW^⁸⁶ at age 69.

F ii. Agnes M. Johnson was born in 1905 in Candelo, NSW^⁸⁷ and died in 1906 in Candelo, NSW^⁸⁸ at age 1.

8. Harriett Louisa Leplaw (Eliza Johnson², James¹) was born in 1876 in Bombala, NSW,^²⁰ died on April 23, 1949 in Rockdale, NSW^²¹ at age 73, and was buried in Woronora Cemetery, Sutherland, NSW Methodist section.

Allan married Jean Carwardine in 1939 in Wollongong, NSW.⁹¹ Jean was born in 1918 and died on July 14, 2008 in East Corrimal, NSW at age 90.

Harriett next married Gustav Wilhelm Robert Thaler in 1909 in Sydney, NSW.⁹² Robert was born in 1877 and died on June 10, 1942 in Canberra, ACT at age 65. He was usually called Robert.

Notes: Wilhelm Robert was an electrician by trade who worked at the Everleigh Railway Workshops in Sydney. The story goes that Harriet got sick of soot falling on her newly washed laundry, so the family moved back down the south coast to Tanja where Robert got the job of running the punt back and forth across the Bega River. I know that the punt at this time had cog-wheels as Billie's brother, nine year old Alan Thaler, got his thumb caught in it and cut off.
Robert Thaler got a contract to go to the Fijian capital Suva (which was known as Latooka?) and put on the electricity.
The Thaler family moved from Tanja to Candelo and took up residence in a little earthen-floored house papered with newspapers, next to Harriet's mother Eliza Leplaw's house.
My mother Billie recalled new recruitments for World War I marching through Candelo so they were there in 1914.

Information supplied by Dawn Coleman [storyteller-at-shoal.net.au]

10 F i. Wilhelemena Dorothea Clara Thaler was born on January 5, 1910 in Sydney, NSW,^⁹³ died on February 4, 1985 in Lugarno, NSW at age 75, and was buried in Woronora Cemetery, Sutherland, NSW Methodist section.

F ii. Madge Thaler was born on April 20, 1911 in Sydney, NSW, died on August 4, 2005 in Lake Conjola, NSW at age 94, and was buried on August 9, 2005 in Sandridge Cemetery, Mollymook, NSW Methodist section.

Madge married Olle Bernhard Berntsson, son of Martin Berntsson and Anna, in 1934 in St Peters, NSW.⁹⁴ Olle was born in 1899, died on April 4, 1975 in Milton, NSW^⁹⁵ at age 76, and was buried on April 5, 1975 in Sandridge Cemetery, Mollymook, NSW Methodist section. Another name for Olle was Ben.

M iv. John Maitland Thaler was born in 1915 in Sydney, NSW and died on August 1, 1977 in Sydney, NSW^⁹⁷ at age 62.

John married Doris May Welch, daughter of Joseph Frederick Welch and May, in 1938 in Kogarah, NSW.⁹⁸ Doris was born in 1914, died on January 25, 1966 in Sussex Inlet, NSW^⁹⁹ at age 52, and was buried in Woronora Crematorium, Sutherland, NSW.

Allan married Jean Carwardine in 1939 in Wollongong, NSW.⁹¹ Jean was born in 1918 and died on July 14, 2008 in East Corrimal, NSW at age 90.

Notes: Reg Johnson was the owner/editor/journalist for the Candelo Record and Advertiser from 1910 to 1938. He then bought the Bombala Times which he ran with his sons Jock and Jerry, who carried on after his death until their retirement.
When it came time to update their equipment, Jock and Jerry donated the old press from the Times to the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney who sent a semi trailer to collect it. To get it out, they had to take the wall of the printing room down. It was eventually moved to the Museum at Castle Hill and Jerry was invited to go down and make the presentation.

• He served in the military as a Private, number 2713c, 1st AIF on February 4, 1918 in WW1. Discharged medicall unfit

M i. Wilbur Jock Johnson was born on December 23, 1920 in Candelo, NSW, died on March 5, 2004 in Bombala, NSW at age 83, and was buried in Canberra Crematorium, ACT.

• He served in the military as a Flight Lieutenant, number 420837, 6 Operational Training Unit, Royal Australian Air Force from December 5, 1941 to January 16, 1946 in WW2. NOK: Johnson, Vera

10. Wilhelemena Dorothea Clara Thaler (Harriett Louisa Leplaw³, Eliza Johnson², James¹) was born on January 5, 1910 in Sydney, NSW,^⁹³ died on February 4, 1985 in Lugarno, NSW at age 75, and was buried in Woronora Cemetery, Sutherland, NSW Methodist section. Another name for Wilhelemena was Billie.

Notes: My mother Wilhelemena Dorothea Clara Thaler would only answer to the name Billie after Candelo kids threw stones and called her "Kaisar Bill" during the 1914-18 war.
Information supplied by Dawn Coleman [storyteller-at-shoal.net.au]

Wilhelemena married Stanley John Bancroft in 1931 in St Peters, NSW.¹⁰¹ Stanley was born on September 9, 1909 in Sydney, NSW, died on May 11, 1982 at age 72, and was buried in Woronora Cemetery, Sutherland, NSW Methodist section.

• He served in the military as a Private, number N377855, 2 LINES OF COMMUNICATION SIGNALS, Australian Army from January 21, 1942 to July 22, 1946 in WW2.

Sources

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Descendants of James Johnson
Compiled from the new Monaro Pioneers database: 15.01.09
with additional information supplied by:
Dawn Coleman [storyteller-at-shoal.net.au] 11.02.09

First Generation

Second Generation

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Fourth Generation

Sources

Descendants of James Johnson Compiled from the new Monaro Pioneers database: 15.01.09 with additional information supplied by: Dawn Coleman [storyteller-at-shoal.net.au] 11.02.09

First Generation

Second Generation

Third Generation

Fourth Generation

Sources

Descendants of James Johnson
Compiled from the new Monaro Pioneers database: 15.01.09
with additional information supplied by:
Dawn Coleman [storyteller-at-shoal.net.au] 11.02.09