FatherJohn Crapp
MotherMary Ann Carey Cloke d. 1875
Pedigree

Birth, Death, Marriage

Mary Ann Crapp was born circa 1835 in Lanreath, England.1 
She married John Williams, son of Thomas Williams and Catherine (?), on 23 January 1855 in Creswick, Victoria.2 
She died on 6 June 1920 in Shepparton, Victoria.3 

Family

John Williams b. c 1822, d. 6 Mar 1898
Children
ChartsWilliams, John, descendant chart
Williams, Roy, pedigree chart

Story

Mary Ann was born in Cornwall, arrived in Victoria aged 20 and a year later married gold miner John Williams. She had ten children on the goldfields before most of the family moved to Shepparton, Mooroopna and ultimately Tallygaroopna, where John took up farming. She was a midwife and active in her local church.
 
Mary Ann was born in Lanreath in Cornwall, England circa 1834.1
 
In 1851, John and Mary Crapp and their four children were living in Poline (house or street name, near Gerrans) in Cornwall. John is described as an agricultural labourer, as are three of the children, Mary Ann aged 16, and Ann Maria and John, both aged 14. Elizabeth was aged 6.4
 
Arrival in Australia
The Victorian assisted shipping registers have 20 year old Mary Crapp from Cornwall arriving on 17 January 1854 aboard the Omega. The ship sailed from Plymouth on 30 October 1853.

The register indicates that Mary Ann was Church of England, could read and write, and was engaged by Mrs Sutton of Williamstown for a wage of 30 shillings including rations, for three months.5
 
Marriage and Family
Mary Ann Crapp and John Williams were married in Creswick, Ballarat parish on 23 January 1855, as members of the United Church of England & Ireland. They had ten children between 1855 and 1877, with three early deaths.

All ten children were born in the Creswick area. The three early deaths were all boys, leaving four girls and three boys.2
 
Raising Family on the Victorian Goldfields
Life was harsh on the early Victorian goldfields, including around Creswick, and the poor living conditions would take its toll on the health of those living there, especially the children. Three of John and Mary Ann's children, all boys, died in infancy. Peter Crapp Williams died in the winter of 1860 of pneumonia at the age of nine months. George Francis Williams died in October 1873 of chronic bronchitis at the age of four months. And William Charles Williams died in February 1877 of diarrhoea aged just six weeks.6,7,8
 
Women's work consisted of washing, ironing and cooking. They made bread, butter, jams, soap and clothes for the family. The living conditions were cramped, and there were few comforts at the diggings. Because the alluvial mining muddied the once clear creek water, clean drinkable water was hard to find. Often fresh water was carted in to the diggings and sold by the bucketful. Fresh vegetables and fruit were scarce and cost a lot. Usually when a woman gave birth to a baby, she was assisted by other women. There was little in the way of medical assistance in cases of illness or to assist the women in childbirth. Many women died while giving birth. Epidemics of illnesses such as diphtheria, whooping cough, measles, typhoid and scarlet fever swept through the goldfields, and many men, women and children died.9
 
The birth and death registrations for William Charles contain some unusual errors. Mary Ann was apparently the informant for the birth registration, yet the father is listed as John Joseph Williams age 50 of Portugal (it should be just John Williams); her maiden name is Crabb (it should be Crapp); the third child is Peter Crabb Williams (it should be Peter Crapp Williams); and George Francis is shown as four years old (he had died). The death registration shows similar errors (John Joseph instead of John, Crabb instead of Crapp), but this time the informant is 'John Joseph Williams, father'. Or perhaps John was calling himself John Joseph at this time.10,11
 
From Gold Mining Creswick to Rural Shepparton
In 1877, after 22 years in Creswick, the family moved from the bustling gold mining area to a rural setting near Shepparton.

If John and Mary Ann were thinking of moving, their eldest son, John Joseph, may have provided the destination. In October of the previous year, John Joseph, and wife Sarah had their first child in Wahring, about 175 km north-east of Creswick.12,13
 
Most of the family moved from Creswick to Shepparton between February 1877 (when William Charles was buried in Creswick) and August (when John's Crown land application stated he lived in Shepparton). It is possible some of the older children travelled separately, or with John Joseph and his young family. The oldest child Maria was aged twenty and on her March 1878 marriage registration, gives her usual address as Creswick. The youngest child to move was Richard aged six.11,14,15
 
Sometime before May 1878, the entire family's move to the Shepparton area was complete with the arrival of John Joseph and Sarah's second child in Mooroopna.

Records show John and Mary Ann were living in Mooroopna in March and June 1878, and April 1879.16,17,18,15
 
Tallygaroopna Family Home
When the family moved to the Tallygaroopna area, they first lived in Shepparton. In 1877, following John's successful Crown grant application, he built the family home on the property.

In 1881, the land files describe the house as a two-roomed weatherboard dwelling, 22 ft long, 14 ft wide and 8 ft high, with a bark roof. This house is about 29 square metres or 3 squares, and would be quite small for the family of six or seven (John Joseph, Maria Jane and possibly also Thomas Henry had married or moved out).

At the time of John's death in 1898, this house was described as a two-roomed weatherboard house with iron roof. There was also a three-roomed outbuilding, but it is not known whether this was habitable.12,19,20
 
For a few years after Richard married, he and his new family lived in a separate house on the property. This period coincided with John's 1898 death.21,22
 
Mary Ann stayed in the family home until 1908, when she moved to a place in Tallygaroopna township. It was a four-roomed weatherboard house on the corner of Victoria Street and Fowler Street. Now in her seventies, this would have made life much easier for Mary Ann and those who cared for her.23,22,24
Image: Land Registry Services
Midwife
Son John Joseph and his wife Sarah were in the Shepparton area twice, once in 1878 when their son Robert John was born, and also in 1888 when their daughter Olivia was born, and Mary Ann was involved in both the births.

The 'nurse by whom certified' for Robert's was Mrs Williams, senior, John Joseph's mother Mary Ann. The accoucheur (person who delivered the baby) for Olivia's birth and for an unrelated person four days later, was 'Mrs Williams'.

In April 1897, Mary Ann was midwife for grandson Cecil Roy's birth and three others on the five-birth registration record.25,16,26
 
Religion
John and Mary Ann married as members of the United Church of England & Ireland, later known as the Church of England. In John's obituary, it said he 'was an active worker in connection with the local Church of England, and that his death is greatly regretted by members of the congregation.2,27'
 
Mary Ann's work with the church continued well after John's 1898 death. In August 1917 she was honoured at a function in the Tallygaroopna township organised by the ladies of the local Church of England:
The function was to celebrate Mrs Williams's 84th birthday, and to show their appreciation of the good work she had done, not only for the church, but in connection with missions, etc. The guest of the afternoon is well known for miles around, and is highly respected, and the esteem in which she is held was evidenced by the large number of ladies who attended to do her honor.

Despite the advanced age of the lady she has wonderful faculties, and her eyesight is still unimpaired by time, this being evidenced by the artistically arranged patchwork quilts which she had made in aid of mission work. She has completed no less than 53 of these quilts, and when the work of collecting, arranging, putting together and stitching of these patches is taken into consideration some idea of the magnitude of her task can be imagined. Mrs Williams has also done an amount of Red Cross work.28

 
In Memoriam
In June 1904, Mary Ann placed an 'In Memoriam' for her husband and her eldest son.29
Image: Shepparton News
Family Farm as a Source of Income
Shepparton rates and John's probate give conflicting accounts of who owned the 160 acre property around the time of John's 1898 death.

But it is clear that as John requested in his will, for many years Mary Ann owned the property and leased it out, including to son Richard. This would have provided Mary Ann with an income. The February 1919 offer for lease reads as follows:
Also under instructions from Mrs MA and RICHARD WILLIAMS Tenders are invited until above time and date for a term of TWO YEARS from 1st March, 1919, of 160 ACRES, with 4-roomed house, 1 cow yard, stable, permanent supply of water, situate about 1 mile from Tallygaroopna township. The tenant to have the right to cultivate 100 acres each year. Rent payable half-yearly in advance.22,30

 
In her later years, Mary Ann was living in Kent Cottage in Maude St, Shepparton with daughter Charlotte Lavina Dudding. Mary Ann Williams died of senility and heart failure at 104 Maude St, Shepparton on 6 June 1920, aged 86. She was buried at Wunghnu cemetery in Wunghnu on 8 June. She was buried with John.3,31
Headstone of John & Mary Ann Williams, Wunghnu cemetery
Image: Laurie & Lorraine Phillips
Will and Probate 
In her October 1911 will, Mary Ann left her Tallygaroopna township house, land and contents to son, Richard. The Victoria St property was about 0.31 acres (0.13 ha) with a four-roomed weatherboard house and outbuildings, and was valued at £150.

She left £25 to daughter Charlotte Lavina de Morton. She left £20 to grandchildren Clarice Howard, Nellie de Morton, Norma Livingstone and Freda Williams when they each turned 21 or married.

She left the remainder to her children, Richard Cornelius, Annie Victoria and Charlotte Lavina.32
 
Probate was granted to Richard in September 1920. The total value of the estate was £397/3/1. Financial assets consisted of State Savings Bank £133/4/9, Bank of Victoria £103/18/4 and a war loan bond worth £10.24
 

Citations

  1. [S127] UK Census 1851, Mary Ann Crapp entry, John Crapp household, Truro district, Gerrans parish, Cornwall, England.
  2. [S14] John Williams and Mary Ann Crapp, marriage registration no. 9, 23 January 1855.
  3. [S75] Mary Ann Williams, death registration no. 7807, 6 June 1920.
  4. [S127] UK Census 1851, John Crapp household, Truro district, Gerrans parish, Cornwall, England.
  5. [S268] Ancestry.com.au, online, Victoria, Australia, Assisted and Unassisted Passenger Lists, 1839-1923, Mary Crapp entry, Omega, 1854, viewed 6 May 2020.
  6. [S1] The death registration page for George Francis Williams shows a total of five deaths over eleven days. Two deaths were children under one. Causes of death include diphtheria (upper respiratory tract infection), scarlatina (scarlet fever), acute desquamative nephritis (kidney disease commonly from exposure to cold or resulting from scarlet fever), phthisis pulmonalis (pulmonary tuberculosis, lung disease), 'shock to nervous system from a burn', chronic bronchitis (inflamation of airways), congestion of lungs and exhaustion.
  7. [S1] The death registration page for Peter Crapp Williams shows a total of five deaths over fifteen days. Two deaths were children under 13 months. Causes of death include general debility, pleuro-pneumonia, influenza, pneumonia (two mentions) and phthisis (tuberculosis).
  8. [S1] The death registration page for William Charles Williams shows a total of five deaths over thirty days. Two deaths were children under one. Causes of death include debility (two mentions), exhaustion (three mentions by three different doctors), diarrhoea (two mentions), morbus cordis (heart disease), malignant disease of stomach, 'want of mother's milk' and protracted labour.
  9. [S606] 'Gold Rush in Australia', kidcyber, online, 2017, viewed 19 August 2020, https://www.kidcyber.com.au/gold-rush-in-australia
  10. [S95] William Charles Williams, birth registration no. 1919, 9 January 1877.
  11. [S326] William Charles Williams, death registration no. 1025, 24 February 1877.
  12. [S324] '7925 Benalla', VPRS 626 Land selection files by land district, section 19 and 20 Land Act 1869, land selection files, John Williams, 8 February 1888.
  13. [S299] Alice Maud Williams, birth registration no. 22337, 27 October 1876.
  14. [S324] '7925 Benalla', VPRS 626 Land selection files by land district, section 19 and 20 Land Act 1869, land selection files, John Williams, 8 February 1888, 'Certificate of Registration.'
  15. [S584] Alexander Livingston and Maria Jane Williams, marriage registration no. 211, 5 March 1878.
  16. [S329] Robert John Williams, birth registration no. 10530, 20 May 1878.
  17. [S601] Edith Helena Livingstone, birth registration no. 17700, 1 June 1878.
  18. [S593] Robert John Williams, death registration no. 5715, 9 April 1879.
  19. [S112] 'John Williams', VPRS 28 Probate and Administration Files, no. 67/633, probate, 28 April 1898.
  20. [S233] Shepparton Shire & Town Rates Index, 1885-1939/1941, computer file, Shepparton Family History Group.
  21. [S1] Between 1897 and 1889, there were two rateable premises on Tallygaroopna Station. Richard paid both rates in 1897, and Richard and Mary Ann paid one each in 1888 and 1889.
  22. [S233] Shepparton Shire & Town Rates Index, 1885-1939/1941, computer file, Shepparton Family History Group, Williams entries.
  23. [S17] Tallygaroopna and District Times and Tales: Published to mark the occasion of the centenary of Tallygaroopna primary school 3067, 1890-1990, Tallygaroopna school council, 1991, p. 33.
  24. [S114] 'Mary Ann Williams', VPRS 28 Probate and Administration Files, no. 172/991, probate, 22 September 1920.
  25. [S303] Olivia Hazelel Williams, birth registration no. 16099, 3 April 1888.
  26. [S314] Cecil Roy Williams, birth registration no. 14899, 1 April 1897.
  27. [S18] 'Obituary', Shepparton News, 1877-, newspaper, Roy McPherson, 11 March 1898, John Williams.
  28. [S201] 'Tallygaroopna: An old resident honoured: Presentation to Mrs MA Williams', Shepparton Advertiser, 1914-1953, newspaper, Thomas Pettit and William Callender, 27 August 1917, p. 3, viewed 25 January 2019, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/92110103
  29. [S18] 'In Memoriam: Williams', Shepparton News, 1877-, newspaper, Roy McPherson, 17 June 1904, viewed 16 June 2015.
  30. [S260] 'Tenders for lease of farms', Goulburn Valley Stock and Property Journal, 1910-1963, newspaper, Horan & Simpson, 5 February 1919, p. 2, viewed 10 September 2017, http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/215275527
  31. [S220] 'Deaths: Williams', The Argus, 1848-1957, newspaper, Argus Office, 8 June 1920, p. 8, viewed 29 August 2012, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/1709408
  32. [S113] 'Mary Ann Williams', VPRS 7591 Wills 1853-1992, will, 13 October 1911.