William Thomas Burrell

  Research Notes:

Marilyn Terlich notes:
12th child of John Burrell & Mary Horton:
1.1.12 William Thomas BURRELL
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Birth:4 Nov 1844, Agnes Banks NSW^6,3
Baptism:6 Jul 1845, Castlereagh NSW
Death:27 Nov 1921, Gilgandra NSW^4,3
Burial:28 Nov 1921, Gilgandra Meth.Cem.
Burial Memo:Photo
Occupation:Farmer⁶

Extract from "A History Springs to Mind" by Kerrin Cook P98, 99
"John and his wife Mary went to Spring Hill about 1875, after having lived all their lives in the Windsor, Pitt Town Area. John's mother, Martha, was a convict, having been charged with stealing some clothing, and he had been born in prison in 1798 before his mother had left for Australia. They arrived in NSW on the 'Speedy' on 11 April 1800. He was therefore, a free man. In 1820 he married 15 year old Mary Horton, who was the daughter of two convicts, and whose mother had come out on the same convict ship as John and his mother. John was granted land at Richmond and later purchased land at Agnes Banks where their 13 children were born and raised. Two of their sons, Joseph and William Thomas, stayed on the Agnes Banks property after marrying. After being wiped out by severe flooding of the Hawkesbury, the three families decided to move to Spring Hill. John never owned and land in the area, but Joseph took up 50 acres at Huntley and William purchased 50 acres at Spring Terrace.
Mary survived only 12 months in Spring Hill, dying in 1876 aged 70. She is buried in Orange Cemetery. John died in 1884, aged 87, and is buried in the Church of England cemetery at Spring Terrace."

"William was born at Agnes Banks on the Hawkesbury in 1844. William worked on his father's farm at Agnes Banks until a disastrous flood forced the family to move. William and his family, together with his parents and brother Joseph and his family, moved to the Spring Terrace area in 1874. William purchased 50 acres of land there. It is said in the history of Curra Creek by Fred Vernon that William and his family left Spring Terrace in 1876 and squatted on crown land at Curra Creek near Wellington where William built a wood pole and bark dwelling with earth floor. However, the births of all their children born after 1874 were registered in Orange, as was the death of two of their children, Thomas and Amos.
William was a farm labourer and an excellent bush carpenter. At Curra Creek he worked for Arthur Rich of "Rozelayne," helping to build the house and dairy. In 1893 he made representation to the Department of Education for the establishment of a school closer to his home, which was refused. In 1902 the Curra Creek School was closed and William and Catherine rented the old schoolhouse, which was on land owned by Arthur Rich. Two of his children married children of Arthur Rich.
William married Catherine Gavin at Richmond in 1867. Catherine Gavin was the niece of Joseph Burrell's wife, and both had the same name. William and Catherine had 13 children, three of whom died in infancy. Another son, Arthur, was killed in a farming accident aged 24, when a horse bolted, dragging the plough over him, and breaking his back.
Catherine Burrell died at Curra Creek in 1918 and was buried with Arthur in the Curra Creek Cemetery. William moved to Gilgandra and lived with his son, William, and his wife, Alice (nee Rich). He died there on 27 November 1920, aged 77 years."


William Thomas was the son of John Burrell and Mary (Horton) who were married on on 3.4.1820 at St.Matthews Church, Windsor in 1820, the first year the church was open. Mary was the daughter of David and Elizabeth Horton and she was 15 years of age when she and John married. They had 13 children and WIlliam Thomas was the 11th born in 1844 and he grew up at Agnes Banks.
In 1867 William married Catherine Gavin, the niece of his brother Joseph's wife also called Catherine Gavin. William and Catherine had 5 children while living at Agnes Banks/Richmond. Around 1874 William, Catherine and the youngest children along with his parents and brother Joseph and family moved to Spring Hill near Orange. This was decided after they were wiped out in the Hawkesbury floods.
William made a box from some of the furniture retrieved from the flood and this was handed down to WIlliam, William George and William Ian.

William's mother Mary died in 1876 aged 70, not long after the move to Spring Hill. She was buried at Orange.
William and Catherine moved to Curra Creek near Wellington around 1900 after their eldest son WIlliam married Alice Rich. William and Catherine squatted on some crown land, living in a disused schoolhouse which belonged to their daughter-in-law Alice's father, Arthur Rich. The house was rented for one shilling a week and WIlliam did odd jobs around the farms.
William was a broad faced and muscular man, with a big nose, blue eyes, a thick neck, a long beard and a very bald head. He was an active, athletic man, who is believed to have been able to run 100 years in 10 seconds and nearly jump his own height - 5' 10".
Their 5th child Maud was the first of the rest of the family to be born in Orange.
In 4th December 1904 the 8th child, Arthur (born in 1879) was run over by a plough at Curra Creek and killed. He is buried in the Curra Creek Cemetery in part of the Arthur Rich's property donated by him to be used as a cemetery.

In 1915 Catherine caught the flu while visiting her daughter Martha (Burrell) Johnson in Auburn. He contracted pleuresy and died of heart failure.

William Thomas moved in with David and Jessie Rich at 'Roselayne' after his wife died. WIlliam like the bottle and had drinking bouts every 2 to 3 months. He would become argumentative and argue with his son-in-law. He lived with David and Jessie until 1918 when he went to live with William and Alice at 'Thistledown' Gilgandra. Alice wouldn't allow him to drink or smoke in the house and he would go outside to the verandah. His grandson remembers William as an austere man who he thought was very old. When he had a drinking bout he would become very 'religious' and go on about capitalists- a class he had a set against.
On 27 November 1920, William Thomas died at the home of his eldest son WIlliam, dying from a heart attack when outside smoking. The weather was very hot in November and his son knew that many of the family would want William to be buried in the Curra Creek Cemetery 140 km away. Considering the dirt roads and transport by horse William decided to bury his father as quickly as possible in the Methodist Section of the Gilgandra Cemetery."

Spouse:Catherine (Kate) GAVIN
Birth:9 May 1846, (or1845)'Harcher Grove' Nth.Richmond NSW
Death:30 Jun 1915, Curra Creek, Wellington NSW³
Death Memo:Pleuresy & heart failure
Burial:1 Jul 1915, Curra Creek St.Nicholas Cem.
Burial Memo:Photo-Catherine&g-dauCharlotte
Father:Michael GAVIN (1820-1889)
Mother:Susannah (Susan) HOWELL (1821-1885)
Marriage:2 Jul 1867, Richmond NSW^4,6

Children:Albert Ernest (Ab) (1868-1940)
Susan (Susie) (1870-1900)
Martha Ellen (1871-1919)
William (1872-1952)
Mary Ann (Maud) (1874-1940)
John (Jack) (1875-1918)
Unnamed (1877-1877)
Arthur (1879-1904)
Thomas (1881-1883)
Amos (1883-1884)
Jane (Janey) (1885-1959)
Charlotte (1887-1934)
Jessie May (1888-1954)
1.1.12.1 Albert Ernest (Ab) BURRELL
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Birth:1868, Agnes Banks, Penrith NSW⁴
Death:31 May 1940, (Or21) Wellington NSW⁴
Occupation:Farm Labourer

Albert had one stiff leg, the result of having his knee-cap removed following an accident. He later reminded everyone of the fact that it was done without anaesthetic.

1915: Albert was living at Spring Hill at the time of his mother's death.

Spouse:Harriet 'Naomi' HOBSON
Birth:1868, Spring Terrace NSW⁴
Death:3 Mar 1946, Wellington NSW⁴
Father:Thomas HOBSON (1826-1899)
Mother:Naomi MILLER (1838-1921)
Marriage:1887, Orange NSW⁴

Children:Catherine Emily (1887-)
William Thomas (1889-1894)
Eva (1891-1951)
Naomi 'Pearl' (1895-1922)
Albert A. (1896-1921)
Raymond Charles (1897-1904)
Jessie M. (1900-1900)
Charles R. (1904-1904)
Eveline (Elizabeth) (1907-1974)
Neville (1908-)

  Noted events in his life were:

• connection. ⁷⁷² he connection between Jarrod Johnson-Smith & myself are as follows:
Jarrod Johnson-Smith . . .
Is linked in some way to . . .
Emma Ingram (1842) who married William Woodley (1836)
His father was George Woodley (1809) & he also had Isabella Woodley (1843) who married George Mills (1843)
They had Amy Mills (1886) who married Lachlan Johnson (1890)
His father was William Johnson (1867) who married Martha Burrell (1870)
Her father was Thomas Burrell (1844) who married Catherine Garvin (1846)
Her father was Michael Garvin (1820) & he also had George Garvin (1838)
He had Claude Garvin (1874) who married Mabel Brindley (1877)
Her father was Robert Brindley (1848) who married Ada Griffits (1853)
Her father was * Henry Griffits (1816)
He had John Griffits (1854) who married Elizabeth Train (1862)
Her father was George Train (c1807) & he also had Archibald Train (1842) who married Maria McPhillamy (1844)
Her parents were James McPhillamy (1817) & Mary Keegan (1815) & they also had Elizabeth McPhillamy (1854) who married Thomas Garrett (183)
His father was John Garrett (1805) who married Sarah Stafford (1803)
Her father was William Stafford (1777)
He also had William Stafford (1811) who married Elizabeth Goodall (1814) & they also had William Stafford (1842)
He had Eva Stafford (1874) who married Arthur Clinton (1868)
They had James Clinton (1895) who married Martha Walker (1901)
Her father was Thomas Walker (1854)
His father was William Walker (1820) & he also had Martha Walker (1865) who married John Sutherland (1861)
His father was John Sutherland (1829) who married Margaret Elliot (1835)
They had Elizabeth Sutherland (1863) who married John Nicol (1844)
They had Margaret Nicol (1889) who married G. A. Davies (1925)
He had Colin Davies (1925)
He had me - Robyn Bray (nee Davies) (1950)

Another connection to me through my ex-husband Les Collins is as follows:

* Henry Griffits (1816)
His father was John Griffits (1784) & he also had Richard Griffits (c1823)
He had Zenobia Griffits (1866) who married Theodore Gardiner (1863)
They had Jessie Gardiner (1904) who married Robert Watson (1899)
They had Leonard Watson (1931) who married Valma Harrigan (1930)
Her father was George Harrigan (c1890) who married Alice Martin (1891)
Her father was George Martin (1856) who married Hannah Townsend (1855)
Her father was Henry Townsend (1833) who married Margaret Gosper (1839)
Her father was John Gosper (1801) & he also had Agnes Gosper (1825) who married Charles Ivory (1820)
They had Roland Ivery (1861)
He had George Ivery (1907) who married Ivy Brien (1913)
Her father was Leslie Brien (1878)
His father was William Brien (1846)
His father was Timothy Brien (1813)
His father was Daniel Brien (1769) & he also had Sarah Jane Brien (1825) who married Benjamin Warby (1825)
His father was also Benjamin Warby (1805)
His father was John Warby (1767) & he also had Elizabeth Warby (1802)
She had Eleanor Layton (1821) who married James Keighran (1808)
She had John Joseph Keighran (1845)
He had Joseph William Keighran (1879)
He had Leslie William Keighran (1904)
He had Mary Keighran (1927) who married Mervyn Collins (1924)
They had Les Collins (1950) who married me - Robyn Bray (nee Davies) (1950)

William married Catherine Gavin, daughter of Michael Gavin and Susannah Howell, in 1867 in Richmond, NSW Australia. (Catherine Gavin was born on 9 May 1846 in Kurrajong, NSW Australia and died on 30 Jun 1915 in Curra Creek, NSW Australia.)