Telford Family of Ellinbank
Gilbert Family in Australia
Alfred arrived at Hobsons Bay on 20 September 1858 as one of about 70 passengers on the Blackwall, an 838 ton frigate which departed London 9 June, calling at Plymouth for the voyage to Melbourne. Albert was 24 years old.
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Alfred Gilbert married Mary Ann Ellis at Ballarat, Victoria on 29th May 1862.
This marriage record is one of those gifts to a family historian - full of facts, giving the place of birth of both parties ( Enderby Leicestershire and Pimlico London), occupation (Storekeeper for Alfred), residence ( Ondit / Colac and Ballarat), names and occupations of all 4 parents of the couple ( Wool Stapler and Queens Messenger).
Witnesses at the wedding in Christ Church C of E were Mary Ann's sister Ann Harriet and her husband Harvey Wood. Mary Ann Ellis arrived in 1858, the same year as Alfred, her half-brother William having come out some time earlier. Ann (Ellis) and Harvey Wood arrived in 1859 on the "Chile", as a married couple.
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Ballarat was a thriving and rapidly developing town as a result of the gold discovery there in 1851 and no doubt all these young people were looking for excitement and economic opportunities when they arrived in Melbourne and so promptly headed for Ballarat. Maybe Alfred spent some time there before settling at Ondit but it is apparent from the above that he had already settled at Ondit by the time of the marriage. He opened a store firstly at Warrion and subsequently a second store at Beeac - both were in the registration district of Ondit, north of Colac.
These photographs were found inside a sewing box pictured below which was apparently given to Mary Ann Ellis in March 1849 by a Madame Ori, according to a note found inside. The box is now in the possession of Judy Harrigan ( nee White ) , granddaughter of Grace Telford nee Gilbert.
When opened up in 2009 it was found to contain a number of photos which may be assumed to be relatives—Gilbert, Ellis or Wood families. The names of the photographers on the back of 2 of the larger ones identifies them as having been taken around the period 1866—1870.
The identity of the subjects was not recorded but there is little doubt that the three boys in the miniatures reproduced and magnified below are Ellis, Basil and Lionel Gilbert taken somewhere around 1875 and the larger photo of the bowler hatted gentleman is assumed to be Alfred Gilbert.
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The two ladies are most probably Mary Ann and her sister Ann Harvey nee Ellis.
The photo below left is known to be of Rev. John G. Wood ( a noted naturalist) taken from Wikipedia, and the one next to it is from the sewing box - it looks sufficiently similar to Rev. John to most likely be is brother Harvey Wood, brother-in-law of Mary Ann Ellis.
The township of Beeac developed to service the rich surrounding agricultural area comprising small dairy farms supplying milk and cream to the Colac Dairying Company. Subsequently other agricultural activities developed including cattle, sheep, onions and peas. Beeac was within the parish of Ondit and next to one of several salt lakes in the area which have been harvested for their salt content. The railway from Colac came to Beeac in 1884. The population is now about 200.
In the Colac Herald of 1st March 1881 it was reported that "To all appearances business people in Ondit must be doing a roaring trade. ..... at Christmas time Mr. Gilbert's store was thoroughly renovated .... ". Alfred initially worked in partnership with his brother Lemuel who ran a store at Birregurra, southeast of Colac until 1869 when the partnership was dissolved. Lemuel purchased the land for his store at auction in April 1863 for 10 guineas. In the same year Alfred was appointed to a committee for a school at Ondit (“Common School 482”) located in Beeac.
In the recent book "Beeac: Winds of Change" by Dawn Missen, it is reported that the first town blocks were sold in October 1864 at an upset price of 8 pounds per acre. Previously the area was taken up with pastoral runs. Initially "Alfred Gilbert opened a store in a tent on Thomas Judd's selection" but later built more substantial premises in the Beeac township.
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In August 1888 a further sale of town allotments occurred and Alfred Gilbert purchased 3 of them ( Lots 8, 9 and 10) for approximately 100 pounds the lot - this was probably about 1 acre in all, a huge increase in price from 1864. These are on the opposite side of the street from the main shopping precinct. For a brief period in 1888 the Gilbert store also acted as the Beeac Post Office.
Lemuel was appointed Clerk of Petty Sessions and Land Officer and Agent for the Victorian government at Colac. However in 1870 he relinquished this position in favour of a third Gilbert brother Edward Ralph. Lemuel Gilbert married Mary Hannah Needham in 1860 at the Albert St. Melbourne Baptist Church. Mary was from Liverpool, Lemuel died in 1903 at his residence, High St, Armadale aged 70, apparently without issue. When Mary died in 1899 aged 64, her death notice gave the Armadale Post Office as her place of death - and presumably her home.
Alfred and Mary Ann had 5 children, births registered as follows:
John . . . . . at Ondit . . . . 1863 (died in infancy)
Ellis . . . . . . . . . at Ondit . . . . 1864
Abbott . . . . . . . at Ondit . . . . 1866 ( died in infancy)
Basil . . . . . . . . . at Colac . . . . 1867
Lionel . . . . . . . . at Beeac . . . . 1869
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Mary Ann died at Ondit in 1870 aged 41 from hepatitis and uterine haemorrhage when the boys were aged 6, 3 and 1. She is buried in the Irrewarra cemetery ( also known as Warncoort) near Colac - apparently without a memorial headstone.
Note the “12 years in Victoria” i.e arrived 1858, and that Alfred Gilbert has signed as Assistant Registrar of the Ondit district - presumably the writing is in his hand.
Likewise the 2 infants, John and Abbott who died aged 16 days and 13 days respectively as evidenced by this record from the Victorian Records office.
Alfred’s sister Maria also migrated from England to live at Ondit. Maria was ten years older than Alfred. She died in 1890, unmarried, at the age of 66 while living at Victoria Parade, East Melbourne. Her will included a cottage at Ondit worth 50 pounds, so clearly she was living close to Alfred in the Ondit district and probably played a major role in looking after Alfred’s boys after their mother died in 1870.
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Alfred married again in June 1884 (aged 49) to widow Margaret Belshaw (nee Webster) whose daughter Sarah Anne was known to the Gilbert and Telford families of Ellinbank as “Auntie Nance”. Margaret had come to Australia on the "Orient" in 1881 from Salford, Lancashire where daughter Sarah Anne had been born in 1865. Sarah emigrated together with siblings Harry and Emma on the "Iberia" in January 1887 to join her mother and step-father.
Some time later the family left Beeac and moved to Were St, Brighton. Alfred named his house in Brighton, “Enderby” after the village of his birth.
Alfred was at this address in 1891 when he wrote his will naming his step-daughter Sarah along with his sons as beneficiaries - as well as a life interest in a portion of the estate to his wife Margaret; in the event Margaret died 3 months before Alfred in April 1901. Alfred died in July 1901 aged 66 from chronic nephritis and acute pneumonia.
In a codicil to the will ( dated 1899) Alfred directs that his brother Lemuel and/ or Lemuel’s widow Mary, should continue to have the use of the property in High St, Armadale where they were living.
Alfred, Margaret and Sarah are buried in the Brighton cemetery.
At his death Alfred’s assets were valued at 2679 pounds in real estate and 6816 pounds in movable assets. The total of approximately 9500 pounds is worth around AUD $1.5 million in today’s money. 1500 pounds was to be invested to provide an income for Sarah and the remainder divided between the 3 sons - equivalent to AUD $400,000 each - sufficient to set them up in their new chosen home in the fertile farming country of Ellinbank in West Gippsland.
Alfred’s descendents
Lionel Gilbert married Clara Elizabeth Johnson in 1897 at High Sunderland, Dromedary in Tasmania where Clara had lived for 10 years. Clara was the daughter of Henry Johnson and Matilda Smith and was born in 1870 at Cundare - a few miles west of Beeac. Lionel and Clara had 2 children - Alfred Henry b. 6 July 1898 (known as “Hal”) and Grace Matilda b. 5 September 1900 at Barkly St, Brighton Victoria.
In 1901 Lionel is listed on his father’s death certificate as informant and living at “Cunoare” Barkly St, Brighton ( it should be “Cundare” named after the district where he was born).
On the 1903 electoral roll, the following are listed as living at 86 Maribyrnong Rd, Moonee Ponds -
Lionel Gilbert, civil servant
(believed to have worked for the Post Office/ PMGs department)
Clara Gilbert, home duties.
The family moved to Warragul South, later known as Ellinbank in 1905 ( date from the Ellinbank 1874 - 1974 history ). The property was known as “Thornhill” and is at the corner of the roads to Korumburra and to Yarragon (Hazeldeane Rd) - a portion later being made available for the building of the Ellinbank Church of England.
Ellis Gilbert and Basil Gilbert also moved to Ellinbank sometime before 1903.
In 1904 Ellis married Henrietta Johnson (Clara’s sister) - they had no children. In 1889 Basil Gilbert, hairdresser and tobacconist, married Eva Fisher at Geelong - one daughter, Freda Elizabeth b. 1897, m. William Stant in 1926 at Murrumbeena ( no children). Lionel and Ellis carried on dairy farming at Ellinbank for many years but Basil moved away to Drysdale.
Later in life Lionel and Ellis ran the Ellinbank post office - this seems to run in the family.
For more on the Gilbert Family in Ellinbank, click here:
Edward Ralph Gilbert
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Edward arrived in Australia aboard the "Monarch" in October 1861 with his two small children, Lucy 4 and Jessie 3. Ralph followed on the "Stonehouse" arriving Melbourne in December 1871, aged 11.
Edward settled in the Colac area where brothers Alfred and Lemuel were already established. He had a relatively short time to enjoy his new environment before he died at age 47 in 1878. However he seems to have made the most of his time and contributed substantially to the betterment of the Colac community.
The obituary below appeared in the Colac Herald of October 8, 1878.
In the probate documents he is described as a commission agent but he at times filled various roles such as Shire Secretary and Clerk of Petty Sessions. His possessions at his death amounted to 1 acre of unimproved land at Colac ( partly mortgaged).
Edward’s daughter Lucy (pictured) married James Ford Strachan Kerr, a grazier with land east of Colac, and they had 9 children. Ralph married Jane Cecilia Hynam and was a draper at Allandale with (at least) 5 children. Jessie died in the same year as her father Edward, aged 20.
Charles Oxtoby Gilbert
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At the 1871 census Charles was living at Elms Rd., Dulwich ( south side of London), age 41, occupation “wholesale hosier”, with the following family -
Fanny ( wife) . . . 38 ( nee Astill)
Arthur, . . . 10 (b. 1860 )
Mary . . . . . 7 ( b. 1863 )
Percy . . . . 3 (b. 1867)
Charles . . . 1 (b. 1869 )
Gerald B. . . 4 mth (b. 1870)
Charles Oxtoby Gilbert had 4 other children not on 1871 census - four of them died in infancy, all buried at Nunhead, south of the Thames, close to Dulwich where they were living at the time.
Phillip b. Feb 1862, bapt. July 1862 at Rothley Leicestershire, died April 1863; Frederick bapt. June 1865 at Hackney, London, died July 1865; Stanley born July 1872, died March 1873 and John William born 1876 at Dulwich, died March 1876. Also Charles Oxtoby (listed above as Charles) died Dec. 1871 and buried at Nunhead.
Their youngest, Harold was born 17 August 1873 at Camberwell, London.
Also buried at Nunhead is Charles Oxtoby's mother Mary Ann ( wife of William Ralph), died Sept. 1855.
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Charles, Fanny and their 5 surviving children came to Australia on the "Somersetshire" which departed London 1st January 1878, Plymouth 3rd Jan and arrived Hobson's Bay ( Melbourne) on 26th February which is 54 days from Plymouth with 229 passengers on board. The Gilberts are not listed with the 'Saloon' passengers in the newspaper report of the arrival so they presumably travelled steerage.
This picture and the description below are taken with thanks from the website www.marchesifamily.co.uk .
The Somersetshire was built at Blackwell on the Thames as the company's second auxiliary steamer for the Australian trade and launched in 1867. She was a barque, with a service speed of 9 knots, and 2342 registerd tonnage. A 'barque' has at least 3 masts, all of which have square sails except the mizzen ( aft) mast. She could carry a maximum 363 passengers.
The Somersetshire was the first steamer in the Australian trade to be fitted with more efficient compound steam engines, and one of the first steamers to establish a direct service from London to Melbourne via Cape of Good Hope, averaging under 60 days on the run from Plymouth to Melbourne.
Charles brought his family including 5 children ( details above) to Australia in 1878 and established the first general store in Commercial Road Morwell (on the site now occupied by Spotlight) in 1878. The Morwell Post Office was an annex of this store from 1880 to 1886. The first Church of England service in Morwell Township was held in Gilbert's store on November 2, 1878.
Charles died 1888, Fanny died 1915, both buried at Hazelwood cemetery. ( family bible info.)
Percy Astill Gilbert married Irene Brockelbank of Yinnar in 1907 and had 3 children - Jack ( ch. Roger, Kathy) , Joyce m. Jack Flegg ( ch. Rodney) and Helen m. Robert Hammond ( ch. Brian, Hilary)
On the 6th August 1976, the Latrobe Valley Express ( Morwell) published an article with photos (above) of Percy Gilbert, his mother Fanny ( nee Astill) and wife Irene nee Brocklebank.
Arthur Gilbert married and had 3 sons Ralph, Barry and Graham and a daughter Anne. Both Arthur and Percy farmed at Yinnar in Gippsland which must have been good for their health as they both lived to a good age - Percy died 1951 aged 84 and Arthur died 1950 aged 90.
Gerald Buckley Gilbert married Helen Lormer Burness ( “Auntie Nellie”) in 1897. Gerald was a school teacher having started as an assistant teacher at Morwell State School. In consequence he moved around Victoria having children as follows:
Charles Andrew b. 1898 at Benalla
Bessie Astil b. 1901 at Warnambool
Helene Buckley ( Nellie) b. 1905 at Eaglehawk ( near Bendigo ) - married Walter Burgess 1939; Janet Lormer ( Netta ) b. 1910; Mary Burness (Molly ) b. 1907 m. Alfred Sawyer 1936; ch. Betty ( m. .. Hughes), and Anne ( m .. Higginbotham)
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Bessie was a school teacher and lived at her parents’ home in Union St., Armadale, Victoria until she married Ray Telford ( widower of Grace Gilbert) in 1963 and then lived at Ellinbank until her death in June 1982. Bessie was the godmother of the writer ( Alan Telford ) and bridesmaid to Grace Telford.
Harold Gilbert
Harold, youngest son of Charles Oxtoby Gilbert settled in Euroa and established the Euroa Gazette in 1897 and was a highly respected member of the community. He tragically died in 1914 at the age of 40 after contracting pneumonia at a swimming carnival.
His son Roy ( Harold Royle Astill Gilbert ) carried on the business for some years.
Harold and Harriet also had a daughter Beryl who married Norman Gall.
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Thanks to Helen Gilbert of Nagambie for this information and these photos of her grandparents Harold Gilbert and his wife Harriet Farr.
Harry de Vallenger Gilbert was the second son of Henry Gilbert and Isabella Stuttard, born in 1859 at Stonehouse Gloucestershire, baptised July 1860. In 1897 this article appeared in the Cyclopediea of New Zealand (Wellington Provincial District:
Mr. Harry de Vallenger Gilbert, Passenger Clerk of the Wellington Branch of the Union Steamship Company, was born at Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, England, and after completing an educational course at Croydon, Surrey, entered the counting house of Messrs. Ward, Sturt and Sharp, warehousemen, Wood Street, London, where he served four years is apprenticeship to mercantile life. Coming to the colonies in the Blackwall liner “Superb,” Mr. Gilbert landed in Melbourne in 1877, and after a few months stay in Victoria, came on to Wellington per s.s. “Claud Hamilton.” Entering the employ of Messrs. Wilson and Richardson, importers, of Lambton Quay, as accountant, Mr. Gilbert continued with the firm for ten years, being admitted to a partnership. In 1889 Mr. Gilbert entered the service of the Union Steamship Company as passenger clerk, which position he now holds.
Harry died in 1905 at Mossman Bay Sydney as reported in the notice below from the Wellington Evening Post and at left in the Sydney Evening News. The Sunday Times (Sydney) of 27 August carried a similar notice but incorrectly named him as Harry de Vere Gilbert, or perhaps he did sometimes shorten his middle name ?
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The photo at right of Harry is taken from a posting on geni.com managed by Margaret Jane Gilbert (Taylor). In this post he is identified ( correctly ) as working for the Wellington branch of the Union Steamship Company. His death however is wrongly given as 1934 - it was in fact 1905.
In the 13 February 1885 edition of the New Zealand Mail of Wellington, the above notice appeared; the extract from the New Zealand bdm online records shows the 4 children Harry and Ada had in New Zealand (Wellington).
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In addition a daughter. Edna de Vallenger was born in December 1904 while they were living at Mosman NSW shortly before Harry’s death.
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It appears that after Harry’s death his widow Ada and 4 of the children ( all 16 years or younger) returned to New Zealand but the eldest, Maurice William ( aged 19) stayed in Australia and settled in Tasmania.
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Edna de Vallenger Gilbert married married Vivian Albert Hopkirk in 1927 and Doris Isabel Gilbert married Hylton St George Strauchon in 1921, both in New Zealand. Edna died in 1980 and her husband Vivian in 1985 (Born 1901) - apparently without issue.
Doris died in 1970 aged 79 and Hylton in 1971 aged 76.
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Lionel Wallis Gilbert was married at Wellington to Castilian Amelia Fitzmaurice in August 1915. He appears on the Wellington electoral rolls from 1911 through to 1963 - together with Castillia until 1957. His son Lionel de Vallenger Gilbert is at Petone, Wellington in 1949 and 1957 but by 1963 is at Dunedin from 1963 to 1972 but back in Wellington (Pencarrow) in 1978 and 1981.
In 1978 and 1981 David de Vallenger Gilbert is listed at Dunedin - presumably Lionel’s son. ( available electoral rolls finish at 1981). Occupation - clerk.
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The Auckland museum “online cenotaph” gives details of Lionel de Vallenger Gilbert’s military career and family connections:
Born Nov 1917, died Jan 2010 aged 92 at Dunedin. Enlisted for service in the NZ army during the second world war while living at Kelburn, Wellington, father Lionel Wallace Gilbert ( note change of spelling), achieved the rank of major and received the Military Crossing 1943.
His children are listed as Peter, David and Sue, wife Peg ( or Margaret ? ), grandchildren Campbell, Sophie, Amelia, Simon, Sarah and great-grandchildren Sammy, Ben, Priya, Anya, Honor.
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Harry de Vallenger Gilbert ( son of Harry and Ada) died 1961 ( aged 68) in NZ. He married Martha Adelaide Buchanan in 1924. On the NZ electoral roll for 1949, Harry de V Gilbert, warehouseman, is listed with Martha Adelaide and John de V Gilbert, traveller, living at St Albans, Christchurch. It is probable that John is their (as yet unmarried) son. Harry is listed as a sergeant in the artillery branch of the New Zealand army during world war one.There is a gravestone in “Belfast Cemetery”, Christchurch which shows John born Jan 1927 and died Sept 1999, husband of Joan (Ballantyne) and father of Paul and Sara.
Paul married Margaret Jane Taylor and was the father of Christopher de Vallenger Gilbert, Lauren Michaela Gilbert and Andrew Balfour Gilbert (and one other).
Paul de Vallenger Gilbert appeared on the 1978 electoral roll as a labourer at Yaldhrst, Christchurch.
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There is a company based in Christchurch, (with a branch in the UK) owned by Caroline Williams called de Vallenger Design, the name she claims was suggested by her grandfather as of family significance - it is likely Caroline is related to the de Vallenger Gilbert family but this has not been verified.
The abstract below is from website wearethefrontier.com
Maurice William Gilbert ( eldest child of the first Harry de Vallenger G. and Ada Catherine ) stayed in Australia after his father died in 1905. He was aged 19. He settled in Tasmania, specifically at Best St, Devonport. There he married Olive Grace Neal on May 4, 1921 in the West Devonport Methodist Church. The report in The Advocate (Burnie) says that the best man was his brother, Mr Gilbert of Hobart - this would have to be Harry de V who had recently returned from the war and 3 years before his own marriage in Christchurch. Maurice had been exempted from military service in 1916 because he had 2 brothers (Harry and Lionel) already at the front.
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Maurice ran a “motor garage” in a partnership known as Bennett and Gilbert. These memorial plaques are in the Derwent Gardens lawn cemetery at Cornelian Bay, Hobart.
Daughter Fanny is on the Tasmanian electoral roll as a teacher, together with Maurice and Olive, at Devonport in 1949, full name Fanny Nola Gilbert. She married George Harding and the death notice in May 2016 lists 2 daughters - Carolyn and Jill.
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The birth of a son to Maurice and Olive, another Harry de Vallenger Gilbert was announced in The Advocate in October 1926, and Harry’s marriage in February 1949 was reported in The Mercury together with the photo above.
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He married Roslyn Elizabeth McCallum at Davey St Methodist Church, Hobart - his sister Fanny being one of the bridesmaids.
Harry and Roslyn went to live at Waddamana where Harry worked at the Waddamana Power Station - an important part of the Tasmanian Hydro Power System. They appeared there on the 1949 and 1954 electoral rolls; in 1998 Harry de Vallenger Gilbert gave a paper at the 9th National Conference on Engineering Heritage in Melbourne, entitled The Great Lake (Waddamana 'A') Power Development in Tasmania 1910-1965: Origins and Working History.
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They subsequently settled with their family in Sandy Bay, Tasmania where Harry was still living in 2019.
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Roslyn Elizabeth Gilbert (Harry’s wife) death is recorded on a plaque in the Derwent Gardens section of Cornelian Bay cemetery - died 9 Jan 2007, plaque placed there 25 May 2016, last residence Sandy Bay. The notice in the Mercury names her 2 daughters, Lynette Goldberg and Kathryn Freeman.