· Sex: M
· Birth: 1812 in Berkshire, England.
· Death: 15 DEC 1891 in Queen St, Clarencetown, New South Wales, Australia.
· Burial: Stoney Creek, Clarencetown, New South Wales, Australia.
· Event: Cause of Death (Facts Pg) Bronchial pneumonia.
· Event: Death reg No 5126.
· Burial: C Of E Section Of Stoney Creek Cemetry,NSW
· Note:
Joseph was boarded out to Mr & Mrs Gosling of
Shrivenham, when his parents died.
· BIOGRAPHY:
Indentured to A.A.Co 16-5-1827 for 7 years at a yearly wage of 10 pounds with
rations.
Left England at the age of 15 on the 25-6-1827.
Sailed on the 'Marquis of Angelsea', arriving in Port Stephen's, Sydney,
Australia 5-11-1827 in the care of Mr Thomas Street, saddlemaker of A.A.Co.
· Eliza Georgina Gorton married
James Pardy Flannery
· Sex: F
· Birth: 17 JUL 1846 in Dungog, New South Wales, Australia.
· Death: 17 OCT 1921
· Burial: Clarencetown Cemetry,Stoney Creek,NSW
· Note:
BIRTH: Cert No NSW:V18462238
32A/1846.
MARRIAGE: Cert No NSW:2050/1868 Clarencetown.
DEATH: Cert No NSW:16212/1921 Ashfield.
BIOGRAPHY: Born at the old "Brothers Station" on the 17th of July,
1846, this fifth child of Joseph and Jane Gorton was baptised Eliza Georgiana,
but came to be known as Eliza Georgina. Her baptism was on the 2nd of May,
1847. At the age of 22 years , on the 3rd of December, 1868, Eliza married
James Pardy Flannery at St John's Church, Clarencetown. They were to have a
family of ten children, five boys and five girls. When the couple were newly
married they resided on their farm at Banfield (near "Brothers"), but
in the 1870's they moved to Clarencetown, where James established a timber
business. In about 1880, James Flannery and his brother, William of Girvan,
near Stroud (who was a grazier and sawmiller) began exporting timber to New
Zealand. Their first cargo, on the ship "Palace" was shipped from
Port Stephens, and was claimed to be the first such shipment to take place.
James and Eliza Flannery prospered and eventually moved to Sydney. James died
on the 26th of September, 1920 at 77 years, and Eliza followed on the 17th of
October, 1921, aged 75 years. They were both buried in Clarencetown Cemetry at
Stoney Creek.
· Robert James Gorton married Susan Adeline Flannery
· Sex: M
· Birth: 1853 in 'Brothers Run' Clarencetown, New South Wales, Australia.
· Death: 22 JUL 1935 in Stroud, New South Wales, Australia.
· Event: Death reg No 14066.
· Burial: 24 JUL 1935 C of E, Stroud, New South Wales, Australia.
DEATH: Cert No NSW:14066/1935 Dungog.
MARRIAGE: Cert No NSW:2575/1877
BIOGRAPHY: The third son of the family, Robert James, was born in 1853. Like
his elder brother, Joseph Ambrose, Robert attended Clarencetown school, and
upon his reaching sufficient age to be useful at "Brothers", he
joined his brothers George and Joseph in working there. Among a family of good
riders, Robert was acknowledged the best of them all. He had a splendid seat on
horseback, and was equally in complete command of the situation, whether it was
cutting-out and drafting at mustering times around the stockyards, or when a
wild and spirited beast broke away from the mob on the rough and dangerous side
of a thickly timbered mountain. Robert Gorton was a magnificent horseman in any
circumstances. In 1875 he took up a lease of grazing land on the western side
of the Karuah River and one mile west of Stroud, the A.A.Company still being
the owners of the land at that time. The area was called Briton Court, but
later was to become known as "Gorton's Crossing". Robert was a mere
22 years of age when he first went to the place but in the next twenty years or
so, he had acquired by purchase from the company an area totalling 2,624 acres,
and had a frontage to the Karuah River of one and a half miles. Quoting from an
article in the Stroud and District Historical Society's Journal,
"Pioneer", September, 1972, which was prepared by a grandson of
Robert, Mr Kevin Gorton of Stroud:
"His (Robert's)first homestead was of rough slab construction with a brick
floor and was erected on the high back of the river upstream of the crossing.
Some years later a more permanent structure of sawn slab construction was
erected on the southern bank of the cross road and overlooking the crossing.
The existing residence which stands on the high bank of the river downstream of
the crossing was erected for him by Jack Payne (the local undertaker and
builder) in 1912.
By working long hard hours Robert Gorton cleared and established a fine
property from virtually virgin bush. He was assisted by his fifteen children
(six children were born to his first wife Adeline Flannery and nine children to
his second wife Mary Marsh) who were brought up in an age when schooling was
secondary to work. The property was developed by the pursuit of a variety of
occupations including timber cutting, bullock driving, wheat farming, corn
growing, grazing cattle and sheep, pig raising and dairy farming. In later
years Robert retired to the town where he lived in "Hollydene" (on
the banks of Lamans Creek), a spacious plastered brick building with a central
courtyard which was trellised with a magnificent grape vine. This historic
building was erected in the 1830s and was at one time fitted out as an inn. The
main portion of the dwelling was destroyed by a fire in 1964 and the remainder
was demolished during 1971.
Robert Gorton died in 1935 at te age of 82 years and buried in the Church of
England section of the Stroud cemetry.
Many of the children and grandchildren of Robert Gorton have carried on the
traditional occupations of their ancestors and, as at the present time, all his
original holding is still owned by his descendants who have, of necessity,
acquired additional property within the district. The grazing of cattle, dairy
farming and timber cutting still form the basis of their livelihood and the
eldest local surviving grandson of Joseph Gorton still turns his hand to yoking
up the bullocks at the age of seventy-one".
· Charlotte Sophia Gorton married John Flannery
· Sex: F
· Birth: 15 NOV 1843 in 'Brothers Run' Clarencetown, New South Wales, Australia.
· Death: 30 JUL 1911 of chronic lung infection, pneumonia
· Burial: Glen William Cemetry,NSW
· Note:
BIRTH: Cert No NSW:V18432457 28/1843.
MARRIAGE: Cert No NSW:2149/1874.
DEATH: Cert No NSW:9676/1911.
BIOGRAPHY: When the whole family (excepting two only) went to reside in Clarencetown
in 1860, it was Charlotte who remained to keep house for her brother George, at
the "Brothers Station". She was married to John Flannery on the 13th
of October, 1874 at St John's Church, Clarencetown. She later lived with her
husband and family on a farm at Banfield, which was leased from her father.
John and Charlotte Flannery had five children, including a set of twins. A sad
loss was experienced with the death of one of the twins, Jane Frances, as a
result of diphtheria, on the 20th of June, 1909. Jane had married George Ford
at St Thomas' Church, Glen William, on the 5th of December, 1905. She was aged
30 at the time of her death, and left a two year old daughter, Linda Maud.
Charlotte Sophia flannery dies as a result of a chronic lung infection, with
pneumonia, on the 30th of July, 1911 at her home, and was buried in Glen
William Cemetry, near where her daughter had been buried just two years
previously. She was aged 68 years. Charlotte was a woman who loved gardening
and always kept the garden at her home neat and well kept and bright with
colourful flowers. In Spring it was always a place of delight and beauty.
· George John Gorton married Jane Flannery
· Sex: M
· Birth: 28 MAR 1848
· Death: 7 OCT 1918 in Maitland,NSW
· Burial: 9 OCT 1918 Glen William Cemetry,NSW
· Note:
BIRTH: Cert No NSW:V18482555 33A/1848.
DEATH: Cert No NSW:17174/1918 West Maitland.
MARRIAGE: Cert No NSW:1949/1872 Clarencetown.
BIOGRAPHY: The birth of their first son, after having a family of five girls,
must have pleased both Joseph and Jane Gorton enormously. The happy event took
place on the 28th of March, 1848 and he was baptised with the names of Joseph's
brother, and Jane's father, on the 19th of November, 1848. Possibly the most
memorable event in the life of young George John, prior to his marriage, apart
from the 1857 flood, was to occur when he was 19 years old. The late Mr
J.K.Mackay, Senior, of "Cangon", near Dungog, met Joseph Gorton on
the Williams River steamer one day when returning from Newcastle to
Clarencetown in 1867. Mr Mackay told the elder Gorton of his intention of
driving a small mob of stud bred cattle from Ipswich in Queensland, and he
"wondered if he might borrow young George", whose ability with stock
and amiable disposition were well known to the pioneer pastoralist. Joseph
recognized this as being an excellent opportunity for his capable son, as Mr
Mackay would provide all necessities for the journey, including horses, camping
gear, etc, and pay his young companion as well. So the long trek took place.
George was to maintain for the rest of his life the belief that the horse
provided for him to ride was the best stockhorse he had ever ridden. It was as
"easy as a rocking horse" but its only fault was that if you lingered
as you mounted, the animal nipped your leg. One cannot imagine that this was
any trouble to a young man who, at the age of 19, had already been breaking-in
horses for something like seven years. (It was also in the period when stout
leggings were part of a stockman's standards equipment.) This magnificent
stockhorse, with the stamina, intelligence and courage of an Arab stallion (no
doubt its ancestors included such a horse) must have been a remarkable animal
indeed. George Gorton, who knew horses, and was never without good horses, who
had ridden countless good horses over many years as grazier, rated this
Mackay-bred stallion as his finest mount. Another fine judge of quality
horse-flesh was Fred Ward, better known as the bushranger
"Thunderbolt" who was shot dead near Uralla, New England district in
May, 1870. He had once worked as a groom on "Tocal" near Paterson.
This man, who was gaoled for horse-stealing, also recognised a 'good one' in
George Gorton's onetime mount, and added it to his collection. It is not known
whether the owner,Mr Mackay, ever recovered his property. George John Gorton
and Jane Flannery were married in St Thomas' Church, Glen William on the 2nd of
January, 1872. George was 23 years old and Jane was 21. After their marriage
they took up residence in an old but recently renovated cottage which was
situated about a good mile from the old "Brothers" homestead, erected
in 1857, and in which George had lived with his sister Charlotte for more than
eleven years (after their parents had moved into the "Fitzroy Inn" in
Clarencetown). George leased grazing land for the first ten years of his
married life, during which time four sons and a daughter were born. At a land
sale held on the 14th of June, 1881 at Dungog, George purchased five portions
of adjoining land, previously leased from the A.A.Company. These portions had
been surveyed about two years previously, and ranged in area from 40 to 311
acres, totalling 800 acres. He named this freehold property, "Mount
Gorton". In 1883 he employed the services of John and William Campbell, to
build a new and much larger homestead. In 1884, at another A.A.Company land
sale, George purchased another portion of almost 800 acres, adjoing his
previous acquisitions, and extending east to the boundary of the civil Parish
of Karuah. In addition to this, George also held considerable areas of grazing
land on leasehold. George and Jane Gorton had a family of eleven children
consisting of seven sons and four daughters. He died following a lingering and
painful illness at Maitland, New South Wales, on the 7th of October, 1918 at
the age of 70 years. His body was brought from Maitland to rest overnight in
his "Mount Gorton" homstead, and the funeral proceeded from thence on
the following afternoon to ST Thomas' Church, Glen William for the service. The
burial took place in the little Glen William Cemetry, adjacent to the Church.
In that, four of Joseph and Jane Gorton's family (two sons and two daughters)
married four of William and Jane Flannery's family at Banfield (the opposite
side of the Williams River to Glen William) it may be thought appropriate at
this point to quote from the Obituary published in the "Dungog
Chronicle" concerning the widow of George Gorton, the former Jane
Flannery.
"The death occured at 2a.m on Sunday morning of a grand old pioneer, in
the person of Mrs. Jane Gorton, relict of the late George John Gorton, Esq.,
who passed away thirteen years ago.
For the past eleven years the deceased had lived in Dowling Street, Dungog,
having retired from the old home at Glen William.
The late Mrs Gorton is the last of the original family of Flannerys who arrived
in this country 75 years ago. They came from Banagher, King's County, Ireland
and settled, first at Hinton and then at Glen William, where the descendants
still live. The subject of our notice was five years of age on reaching this
State.
It was on the recommendation of the late Judge Purifier that the original
Flannery paterfamilias came to this country, they being personal friends. Their
children have now all passed to the Great Beyond, the children referred to
being: James (Clarencetown), John (Glen William), William Pardy (Girvan), Mrs
Thos. Daunt (Stroud), Mrs Edward Price (Stroud), Mrs George John Gorton
(Dungog), Fanny (accidently killed as a girl), Samuel (died young), Mrs Robert
Gorton (Stroud), and Mrs Read (Maitland). Old Father Time has gathered a rich
reward of illustrious pioneers, and the last is Mrs Jane Gorton,
abovementioned.
The deceased was a remarkable old lady. She retained all her faculties to the
end and could write her signature as well as a schoolmistress. Her Irish
ancestry manifested itself in her ready wit and she was an entertaining
conversationalist. One of the 'old timers' who reared a large family in days
when all the resources and courage of womanhood was required, she never
faultered and won through to firmly establish the name as an honoured one in
the district. The early training which she and her husband gave the family made
them self-reliant, unafraid of hard work. They have all prospered and lived up
to the family traditions. Deceased was an ardent Churchwoman and instilled in
her family the same spirit. The funeral took place on Monday at 1.30pm. Her
mortal remains were taken to Christ Church (Dungog) where service was held. The
cortege moved off for Glen William cemetry".
The above was written by the late C.E.Bennett, Editor of the "Dungog
Chronicle". The "Chronicle" Office is situated next door to the
home which Jane Gorton had built, so Mr Bennett knew Mrs Gorton very well.
Incidently, the Anglican Church, Christ Church, is directly opposite the Gorton
home, "Halloween" and is owned and occupied by Misses Ella and Elsie
Gorton, daughters of the late Jane Gorton's eldest son, Robert.