Thomas Welsh and Catherine Phoenix
Many thanks to David Ravie, Martin Welsh and the many other contributing descendants of Thomas and Catherine Welsh for the following information and pictures on this page.
More information and a downloadable PDF file is available at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~ravie/
Thomas Welsh was born in EarlsFerry, Kilconquhar, Fife, Scotland on the 15th of August 1832. Thomas left Scotland at the age of 21 and sailed for Australia in search of gold. The ship he sailed on was the "James" from Glasgow, 150 tons, after six months he arrived in Port Phillip Bay in 1854, and landed in a small town which grew to become Melbourne.
Melbourne at that time was but 20 years old and was already growing rapidly with the big influx of gold from the goldfields of Ballarat and Bendigo. Thomas soon caught the gold fever but with little success and his finances being limited he changed his occupation from a miner to a carrier of merchandise to the goldfields. His team consisted of 8 bullocks and with a four wheeled wagon he traveled to Bendigo and the "Ovens" as Beechworth was then known.
The Goulburn River was accessible by punt but the other numerous creeks were not bridged and during floods he had to camp on the banks waiting for the lowering of water levels. Often the merchandise was unloaded, the empty wagon driven into the creek and acted as a bridge over which the he would manhandle the goods across, draw out the wagon and reload the goods. Often when the water was too deep the load was wrapped in tarpaulins, tied and harnessed to a bullock to take across the stream then loaded onto the empty wagon.
During this time before Railways, with Bullock teams as the only means of transport freight, charges ranged from 50 pounds a ton to Euroa, 100 pounds to Bendigo and 140 pounds to Beechworth, and one can well realise the difficulties and hardships of the slow and laborious work involved by the carrier, with no formed roads and lack of fodder for the animals except for the native grasses and herbages along the track. With the construction of railways this transport system ceased to exist except for the lesser centres of industry when horse teams and better roads supplemented the old wagon and its team of bullocks.
During these carrying days Thomas Welsh met Miss Catherine Phoenix who came from Castlefin-County of Donegal Ireland. She had recently arrived on the sailing ship "Parsee" and was employed in service at Donnybrook, Victoria and they were married in 1857 at St. Johns Church in Melbourne, he being 24 years and she 19 years.
Thomas and Catherine lived at Mickleham and Thomas was then still a carrier. Thomas was a staunch Methodist and there is no doubt he and Catherine attended the Mickleham Methodist Church along Mt. Ridley Rd at Mickleham, the church being built in 1855 while the couple were living at Mickleham. There is no documentary evidence of this but there is a chance Thomas may have played a part in establishing the church at Mickleham along with other residents, as later in life Thomas was the founder of the Methodist Church in 1897 at Boho and was a prominent member all his life.
It is believed there were a number of Methodist Wesleyan families who knew each other before they came to Mickleham. With their connections through the church quite a few moved from the Pentridge (Coburg) area to Mickleham at around this same time but if this was actually the case with the Welsh family is not known at present but is not beyond the bounds of possibility.
The Welsh family in the early Mickleham days would have only consisted of Thomas and Catherine. Their first son Thomas was born in the May of 1858 at Mickleham died of dysentery aged only 20 months. Eventually they went on to have another 11 surviving children the first (Thomas) and second (William) being deceased.
Thomas WELSH born - 1858 Mickleham, VIC, AUS - died -1860 Mickleham.
William WELSH born - Benalla, VIC - died at Broken River, Benalla, VIC.
Mary Jane WELSH born - 26th Nov 1863 at Benalla, VIC and died - 17 Oct 1943
John WELSH born - 26 Nov 1863 Benalla, VIC and died - Feb 1944
Robert WELSH born - 9 Aug 1865 Benalla, VIC and died - Aug 1958
Christina Elizabeth WELSH born - 9 Oct 1867 Benalla, VIC died - 7 Oct 1952
Clara Catherine WELSH born - 1870 Boho, VIC, AUS Died - 1952
James Charles WELSH born - 26 Nov 1871 Boho, VIC and died - 28 Sep 1940
George Thomas WELSH born - 26 Jul 1873 Boho, VIC and died - Feb 1957
William Andrew WELSH born - 9 May 1876 Boho, VIC and died - 1 Jun 1972
Selina Constance WELSH born - 26 Oct 1877 Warranbayne, VIC died - Oct 1949
Alexander WELSH born - 17 Mar 1881 Boho, VIC died - 27 Jul 1966 Wangaratta
Henry Fern WELSH born - 28 Dec 1882 Boho, VIC died - 17 Feb 1943 Euroa, VIC.
Above: Thomas and Catherine with their children
Thomas and Catherine moved on from Mickleham and went to the Bolinda Goldfields
for a short while then to the Broken River as Benalla was then named. There were
but three or four houses at the time, land was 20 shillings per acre and the old
brick building opposite the RE College, the "Black Swan" Hotel. There were more
aboriginals than whites and the favorite camping site was where the Fire Brigade
Station was situated.
The Welsh's shifted to Boho some five miles from Violet Town in 1868 where he purchased 400 acres by miners right from the crown and in it's virgin state was thickly covered with gum and wattlesof giant size and was thickly covered with undergrowth. In the days of clearing their land they lived amongst the trees and wattles and their "eight hour" day mostly became 18 hours.
Their tools of trade consisted of the cross cut saw, crowbar, axes, adzes and the single furrow plough. With these tools he built his slab hut with roof of bark and lived off the land with plentiful supplies of possum, kangaroo, wild game and damper. The land became more settled with the passing of time as the disillusioned alluvial miners drifted back into land settlement and with the construction of the Railway from Melbourne to Albury the growth of intermediate stopping places became established.
This Violet Town area grew and notwithstanding the difficulties of land settlement with its droughts, bushfires, floods and deep economic depressions, the valiant pioneers went forward with profess, families multiplied and social amenities with schools, churches, society clubs grew with the increase.
Thomas Welsh was the founder of the Methodist Church in 1897 at Boho and was a prominent member all his life. He also took part in the establishment of the school and all public affairs. In April 1907 they celebrated their Golden Wedding and it was notable affair and occasion for the district. The Welsh family now consisted of the parents and 13 children of this union, the first and second children being deceased, and the eleven surviving children all settled on the land in this district, except one who became a civil Engineer at Kerang.
They were joined by 37 grandchildren and 100 guests. For those people who can remember the gatherings that took place in these earlier days can well imagine the scene of the old house a Boho which had been a happy home for so many years. For days beforehand the "boys" had used the horses to drag up big logs andhad them set in big heaps around the house, marquees were erected, tarpaulins placed around the tables, swings in the trees, large boilers of hot water, food and refreshments aplenty, music from gramophones, violins and piano.
The celebrations commenced midmorning and continued through the night when the log fires were lit illuminating the whole surrounds with flickering lights and shadows. The Chairman conducted the occasion and musical items, toasts and goodwill was expressed by all and the correspondent of the time commented on the fact that a more important or enthusiastic gathering in the social life of this community had never been held before, and it will love long in the memories of all those present.
This couple saw with pleasure and satisfaction their family marry and some move away from the district. They lived on to celebrate their diamond Wedding in 1917 at their home "Happy Valley" in Warrenbayne West when all the children again attended along with many of their old friends. By this time the Welsh family with descendants had now grow to 100, being 74 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
This wonderful couple lived on in peaceful contentment at this "Happy Valley" and on the 8th of February 1923 at the grand age of 90 years Thomas Welsh passed away peacefully. His wife Catherine survived him another three years when she passed away in their old home at the age of 88 years.
They are both interred along with many other pioneers in the Violet Town cemetery. The Welsh descendants have shown their appreciation of their progenitors and the ties that bind them together by holding a family commemoration service at the homeland of Violet Town on Oct. 1 1970 when some 300 members gathered, and a further 900 were unable to come. Many were not aware of their relationship when meeting each other. This family group would probably be the largest of any in Australia and it is important to remember the forbearers from whom it originated: Thomas and Catherine Welsh.
Above: Thomas and Catherine's Grave in the Violet Town cemetery.