Julie Ann Willoughby 1827 - 1866

Julia Ann Willoughby (1827 - 1866)

Julia Ann Willoughby was born abt 1827 in Kilmuckridge, Wexford, Ireland. We have been unable to find birth or chrstenting records, however his immigration records indicate that his parents were Charles Willoughby 1799 - 1877 and Ann Maria Butler. Subsequent research has identified this family and we now know that she was their second child and second daughter. 

We know that Charles her father was a leaseholder in Kilmuckridge at the time of her birth, later relocating to Gorey where the family was raised. We know that a large part of her family emigrated to America in ???. We are unsure why Julia did not go with her family. What ever the reasons, she emigrated to Australia aboard the Bolton in 1853. On her immigration records she is noted as being, and that her parent are living in America.

She married David Jones (who emigrated from Wales in 1850) in 1854 at St Peters Church of England, Cooks River Petersham.

This marriage is recorded at the Church of England at Cooks River, Petersham. The Petersham estate (owned by Lieutenant-Governor, Major Francis Grose) along with other nearby farms alongside the Cooks River was the first land outside of the Sydney colony cultivated for food, and over time because the primary food production area for the inner city. By 1854 this area was had been sold off as large residential allotments that were purchased by the wealthy merchants of Sydney looking to escape the industrial city centre. In 1855 the railway line was extended through the area. In 1854 the area was semi rural with a number of large blocks and a number of industries like mills.

David and Julia had six children (two sons and three daughters and one unknown) between 1858 and 1864.

• David Charles Jones Born 1858 Tambaroora, NSW. Married Mary J Miller in 1884, Nymagee, NSW. Died 12 Jun 1912, Murwillumbah. 
• John Jones Born 1860. Campbelltown
• Clara Jones Born 4 Jan 1863 Menangle, NSW. Died 10 Jan 1959 Lismore, NSW. Married John Darrough in 1882. 
• Esther L Jones Born 1864 Berrima.
• Mary Jones Born 1864 Died 1866 Berrima
• Stillborn Jones Born 1866. Died 1866

After their marriage the family disappears from records for 4 years until they turn up in Tambaroora in 1858 where the birth of their son David is registered. It seems unlikely that this was their eldest son - given the naming patterns of the era and the fact that they had been married for four years - but he appears to be the first recorded child of the marriage in NSW. It could be that the family moved to Victoria or Queensland in the between 1854 and 1858. There are other potentials -

• Edward, but have yet to confirm this - he died in 1930 in Liverpool)

Tambaroora was a major service town for the alluvial gold activities that were underway at Hill End. Australias first stamper battery was set up in Tambaroora in 1856 by the "Old Company" which employed Cornish equipment and miners. around this time the town had a population of about 2000 . In 1858 Tambaroora was in the middle of a drought and in the January had experienced significant bush fires. Its not known when the family arrived there, but they didn't stay for long. 

By 1860 they were living near Campbelltown in Menangle - a town was built for estate workers and serviced the operations of the McArthurs Camden Park Estate. It appears that they stayed there until at least 1863 as their next two children - John and Clara - were both born there. By 1864 the family were living in Sutton Forest (a small village 5km south of Moss Vale in the Southern Highlands), where their youngest two children - Esther L and Mary - were born. James MacArthur had personal holdings at Sutton Forest, so it is possible that despites David's relocation here he continued his existing employment arrangements.

We know that Julia Ann died in child birth in May 1866 (along with her newly born child). Her death certificate is recorded under both Julia and Clara

What follows is quite tragic, it appears that Julia's death may have caused a very significant depressive episode in David, who appears to have drank himself to death within a 6 month period. David died on 14 December 1866 - the Coroners inquest noted cause of death as "serious apoplexy bought on by intemperence". Interestingly there is no reference to the children on David's death certificate indicating that he may have already placed the children in the states care by this point

So with the death of both of their parents within an eight month period, the surviving four young children (aged between 8 and 4) - that we know of - were left orphans with no relatives in the colony to care for them. 

It has not been possible to find any information about what happened to the children, however it was highly likely they ended up at either the Protestant Orphan School or Catholic Orphan school, both of which were the state sanctioned homes for orphaned and destitute children between 1850 and 1886. If they did end up here, then it was most likely they were apprenticed to "respectable regional families" when they reached the appropriate age - 13 for girls and 15 for boys. If this was the case they were required to fulfil the terms of these arrangements until they reached their majority - 18 for girls and 21 for boys.

What we do not is that at least three of the children - David, Clara and Esther - were all living in the Dubbo from 1880, so they may have ended up placed with the same family.

Associated Documents

• Baptismal Record
• Immigration Record
• Marriage Certificate
• Death Certificate