FatherRobert Edwards1
MotherElizabeth Brown1
Pedigree

Birth, Death, Marriage

Sarah Jane Edwards was born in 1858 in Flemington, Victoria.2 
She married John Joseph Williams, son of John Williams and Mary Ann Crapp, on 15 April 1876 in Sandhurst, Victoria.1,3 
She married Francis McDonald, son of Francis McDonald and Helen Watson, on 15 September 1903 in South Melbourne, Victoria.4,5 
She died on 8 March 1912 in Prahran, Victoria.6,7 

Family 1

John Joseph Williams b. 10 Dec 1855, d. 17 Jun 1902
Children

Family 2
Child

Family 3

Francis McDonald b. c 1864
ChartsWilliams, John, descendant chart

Story

Sarah was born in Flemington in 1858. Known as, nickname, different or unsual birth name registered, name with family significance.
 
Marriage and Family
Sarah Edwards and John Joseph Williams were married at St Paul's in Sandhurst (Bendigo) on 15 April 1876. They had eight children between 1876 and 1891, with four early deaths. Their first child was born six months after they married. Sarah was 19 when she married and her father Robert gave written consent for her to marry.1,3
 
Family Life
John Joseph and Sarah Williams spent some of the time in different towns, possibly for health or comfort reasons. Births and children's deaths tell us when Sarah was at different locations, but John Joseph's whereabouts don't always coincide.

Six months after the couple's marriage in Sandhurst (Bendigo), their first child, Alice, was born in October 1876 in Wahring (north of Nagambie) in Victoria. Alice became an auntie four months later with the birth of another brother of John Joseph in Creswick.

Their second child, Robert, was born in Mooroopna in May 1878, and died there, of 'convulsions', 11 months later in April 1879. They lived in Mooroopna for about two years.

Child number three was John Joseph (jnr), who was born at Mallara station on the Darling River near Pooncarie NSW in May 1880. Pooncarie is about 110 km south of Menindee and 190 km south-east of Broken Hill. He died there, of measles, 12 months later in May 1881.

It was in the Menindie district [respelled Menindee in 1918] where the next two children, Anne Louisa and Edward Charles were born in 1882 and 1884.8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17
 
Broken Hill was founded in 1883 by boundary rider Charles Rasp, who patrolled the Mount Gipps fences. In 1883 he discovered what he thought was tin, but the samples proved to be silver and lead. The orebody they came from proved to be the largest and richest of its kind in the world.18
 
In May 1886, Mary Elizabeth was born at Mount Gipps. The Mount Gipps station homestead [where John Joseph was likely working as a blacksmith] was about 19 km from Broken Hill.

Sarah and John Joseph spent the next 18 months around Broken Hill where he was working, initially as a blacksmith, but getting more involved with the mining. He was also involved in civic affairs including Justice of the Peace (JP) and assistant registrar of births, deaths and marriages for the district of Wentworth. Broken Hill was not yet declared a municipal district and living conditions were poor.19,20,21,22,23,24
Broken Hill, c. 1887
Image: Sydney Mail & New South Wales Advertiser
Following a petition submitted by residents to the Colonial Secretary on 2 May 1888, the Municipal District of Broken Hill was first incorporated on 22 September 1888. The incorporation occurred during a typhoid epidemic, which killed 128 people, and the need for public health and water supply provisions was one of the main driving forces behind incorporation, and one of the biggest issues for the new municipality. One contemporary report commented that 'The town is in a terrible state owing to defective sanitary arrangements. People continue to leave by trains daily in hundreds in view of the impending drought'.25
 
Broken Hill
Increase of typhoid fever
The prevalence of typhoid fever is getting serious. Fifty cases are reported this morning. The public are subscribing freely for the Hospital Fund. ... Extra nurses are arriving from Adelaide. Several bankers, brokers, merchants, and Civil servants are down with the fever.

The new members of the Progress Committee are Messrs [John Joseph] Williams, Berry, Sinclair, and Jones. The election was keenly contested.

The report has been completed as to Stephens Creek water supply. The cost is estimated at over £100,000. There is a splendid catchment area. Plans will be submitted to Parliament immediately.

Several persons have been fined for having dirty back yards.

Yesterday the weather was extremely hot with a fearful dust storm. [Apr 1888]26
 
... anxiety ran high in Broken Hill due to the living and working conditions which included the difficulty of mitigating the risk of lead poisoning ...27
 
By October 1887, daughter Mary Elizabeth was ill and Sarah was pregnant. As registrar of births, deaths and marriages, John Joseph would be well aware of the number and cause of death of children in the area. John Joseph and Sarah began living in different locations with Sarah and the children moving to Melbourne.28,29
 
In Richmond, in January 1888, twenty month old Mary Elizabeth died of 'marasmus', a form of severe malnutrition. This may have been due to lead poisoning.

It was these tailings left in huge piles around the town that added to the toxic dust which caused lead poisoning and pneumoconiosis and added to the concerns of both the miners and their families. [Wikipedia]

The classic signs and symptoms [of lead poisoning] in children are loss of appetite, abdominal pain, vomiting, weight loss, constipation, anemia, kidney failure, irritability, lethargy, learning disabilities, and behavioral problems. [Wikipedia]28,30,27,31

 
Three months later, in April 1888, Sarah gave birth to Olivia Hazel in Tallygaroopna at the home of John Joseph's parents, John and Mary Ann. Mary Ann was midwife at the birth, and it was registered by John Joseph's 17 year old sister, Mary Elizabeth.29
 
In Broken Hill, John Joseph became heavily involved in local issues including the Broken Hill Progress Committee, council, school board and cemetery trust.

In January 1890, he moved to the new gold mining area of Peak Hill, north of Parkes in New South Wales.

In September 1891, he went to Broken Hill where he worked for a week or so, including as a magistrate. He then travelled to Western Australia via ship from Adelaide. When he returned in November, he bypassed Melbourne even though he would have known Sarah was about to give birth.

Mr Williams has for the present returned to Sydney.32,33,24,34,35

 
Reginald George Williams was born in Collingwood in December 1891. He died there in February 1892, aged two months.

Sarah remained in Melbourne with the four surviving children: Alice Maud, Anne Louisa, Edward Charles and Olivia Hazel.

John Joseph returned from Sydney to Peak Hill where he continued working for a further two years before moving to Western Australia.36,37,38,39
 
Family Life in Melbourne
In November 1896, Sarah had a daughter Lily in Stawell St, Richmond to an unnamed father.39
 
Death of John Joseph 
John Joseph Williams died of fatty degeneration of the heart and asthma at the Central Hotel in Leonora, WA on 17 June 1902, aged 46. He was buried at Leonora cemetery on 19 June.

From the numerous newspaper reports relating to his death, John Joseph Williams was very well known and respected. His brother, Thomas Henry, wrote newspaper letters of thanks on behalf of 'the relatives' of John Joseph as he had remained in contact with his family in the eastern states.

He died leaving wife Sarah and four children (three girls and a boy) aged 17 to 24.40,41,42
 
Estate of John Joseph Williams
Thomas Henry settled his brother John Joseph's estate on behalf of the newly widowed Sarah.
 
John Joseph had not made a will.

On 13 July 1902, Sarah, now living in Burnley in Victoria, appointed Thomas Henry as Power of Attorney. Thomas Henry prepared a statement of assets and liabilities. Real estate assets included town lot 42 in Leonora (£100) and a half share in the Kurrajong Hotel at Diorite King near Leonora (£300). Personal estate assets included goodwill, stock and furniture in the Central Hotel in Leonora (£780); interest in the Kurrajong Hotel (£300); money in the bank or in hand (£114/0/9); personal effects (£50); horse, sulky, saddlery, etc. (£45); and tools (£20). Total assets were £1709/0/9. Liabilities included money lent to Mrs Macdonald of the Kurrajong Hotel (£657/2/6); balance owing on the Central Hotel (£100); and 'other liabilities' (£100). This left a balance of £851/18/3.

On 12 August 1902, Thomas Henry presented these and other Letters of Administration documents to the Supreme Court, and was duly granted Letters of Administration of John Joseph's estate.43
Image: State Records Offica WA
One document, the administration bond of £1703/16/3, was later rejected. It was made by 'Thomas Henry Williams of Leonora hotel manager, Henry Corné of Leonora jeweller and Daniel Joseph Meade of Leonora aerated water manufacturer' and was rejected on the grounds that 'sureties could or would not justify'. A second administration bond of £2000 was made by 'Thomas Henry Williams of Leonora Hotel Manager, Alfred Tucker of Leonora Butcher, William Albert Snell of Leonora Solicitor'. This bond was prepared on 28 August and accepted by the Supreme Court two days later.43
 
By early 1903, Sarah's 26 year old daughter Alice was living with her at Stawell St, Richmond. In September 1903, Sarah remarried.44,5
 
Second Marriage 
Sarah Williams and Francis McDonald were married at 180 Napier St in South Melbourne on 15 September 1903. Sarah was aged 40 and Francis was 39. Francis is shown as a widower with no children, and Sarah as a widow with four children living and four dead.5
 
Sarah McDonald died of 'phthisis pulmonalis' (tuberculosis) at home at 9 Macquarie St in Prahran on 8 March 1912, aged 49. She was buried at Kew cemetery on 9 March.

Sarah had tuberculosis for six months and was seen by a doctor on the day she died.6
 
McDONALD. On the 8th March, at 9 Macquarie-street, Prahran, Sarah, the loved wife of Frank McDonald, and loved mother of Alice, Charlie, and Lily Williams; also Olive Hall, late of Stawell-street, Burnley.45
 

Citations

  1. [S187] John Williams and Sarah Edwards, marriage registration no. 1399, 1876.
  2. [S270] Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, registry and index, Sarah Edwards entry, birth registration no. 9795, 1858.
  3. [S270] Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, registry and index, John Joseph Williams and Sarah Edwards entry, marriage registration no. 1399, 1876.
  4. [S270] Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, registry and index, Francis McDonald and Sarah Williams entry, marriage registration no. 4612, 1903.
  5. [S612] Francis McDonald and Sarah Williams, marriage registration no. 4612, 15 September 1903.
  6. [S611] Sarah McDonald, death registration no. 3236, 8 March 1912.
  7. [S270] Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, registry and index, Sarah McDonald entry, death registration no. 3236, 1912.
  8. [S299] Alice Maud Williams, birth registration no. 22337, 27 October 1876.
  9. [S95] William Charles Williams, birth registration no. 1919, 9 January 1877.
  10. [S329] Robert John Williams, birth registration no. 10530, 20 May 1878.
  11. [S593] Robert John Williams, death registration no. 5715, 9 April 1879.
  12. [S107] History of Mooroopna, Ardmona & District: An interesting story of development 1841-1936, Back to Mooroopna Committee, 1936, p. 38.
  13. [S616] John Joseph Williams, death registration no. 11136, 26 May 1881.
  14. [S176] New South Wales Birth, Death and Marriage Indexes, 1856-, registry and index, 'Anne L' Williams entry, birth registration no. 28925, 1882.
  15. [S607] Annie Louisa Williams, death registration no. 15532, 15 December 1902.
  16. [S176] New South Wales Birth, Death and Marriage Indexes, 1856-, registry and index, Edward Charles Williams entry, birth registration no. 33094, 1884.
  17. [S2] 'Menindee History', Central Darling Shire Council, online, Central Darling Shire Council, Wilcannia, 2020, viewed 22 September 2020, https://www.centraldarling.nsw.gov.au/about-the-shire/…
  18. [S246] 'Broken Hill', Wikipedia, online, Wikimedia Foundation, viewed 15 July 2020, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broken_Hill
  19. [S598] Mary Elizabeth Williams, birth registration no. 35113, 3 May 1886.
  20. [S301] 'Broken Hill Municipal District Council (1888-1897) / Municipality of Broken Hill (1897-1907) / City of Broken Hill (1907-1993 ) / Broken Hill City Council (1993- )', online, 22 September 1888, viewed 2 October 2013, http://investigator.records.nsw.gov.au/Entity.aspx
  21. [S173] Broken Hill 1883-1893: Discovery and development, Broken Hill Historical Society, 1973.
  22. [S625] 'The Broken Hill mine, Barrier ranges', Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 1871-1912, newspaper, John Fairfax and Sons, 3 September 1887, p. 495, viewed 21 September 2020, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/165223979
  23. [S304] 'New magistrates: John Joseph Williams', Sydney Morning Herald, 1842-, newspaper, Kemp and Fairfax, 10 September 1887, p. 8, viewed 16 August 2017, http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/13646841
  24. [S304] 'Government Gazette: registrations', Sydney Morning Herald, 1842-, newspaper, Kemp and Fairfax, 4 August 1887, p. 3, viewed 4 October 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13653513
  25. [S246] 'City of Broken Hill', Wikipedia, online, Wikimedia Foundation, viewed 11 September 2020, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Broken_Hill
  26. [S622] 'Broken Hill: Increase of typhoid fever', South Australian Register, 1839-1900, newspaper, Robert Thomas & Co, 9 April 1888, p. 5, viewed 11 September 2020, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/47273408
  27. [S246] '1892 Broken Hill miners' strike', Wikipedia, online, Wikimedia Foundation, viewed 12 April 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/…
  28. [S597] Mary Elizabeth Williams, death registration no. 3419, 20 January 1888.
  29. [S303] Olivia Hazelel Williams, birth registration no. 16099, 3 April 1888.
  30. [S246] 'Marasmus', Wikipedia, online, Wikimedia Foundation, viewed 14 September 2020, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marasmus
  31. [S246] 'Lead poisoning', Wikipedia, online, Wikimedia Foundation, viewed 12 April 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_poisoning
  32. [S595] 'Government Gazette Appointments and Employment: Department of Lands', New South Wales Government Gazette, 1832-1900, New South Wales government, 6 December 1889, p. 8873, viewed 21 July 2020, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/224335953
  33. [S304] 'Government Gazette', Sydney Morning Herald, 1842-, newspaper, Kemp and Fairfax, 21 January 1889, p. 5, viewed 4 October 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13711043
  34. [S302] 'Extraordinary vacancy', Barrier Miner, 1888-1954, newspaper, Fenton, Knight and Mills, 11 January 1890, p. 2, viewed 4 October 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article44045647
  35. [S302] 'Mining notes', Barrier Miner, 1888-1954, newspaper, Fenton, Knight and Mills, 9 November 1891, p. 2, viewed 27 September 2020, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/44090418
  36. [S300] Reginald George Williams, birth registration no. 12894, 21 December1891.
  37. [S621] Reginald George Williams, death registration no. 1401, 14 February 1892.
  38. [S625] 'Peak Hill', Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 1871-1912, newspaper, John Fairfax and Sons, 10 March 1894, p. 513, viewed 16 September 2020, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/163328098
  39. [S610] Lily Williams, birth registration no. 30679, 3 November 1896.
  40. [S77] John Joseph Williams, death registration no. 1535, 17 June 1902.
  41. [S180] 'Thanks', Mt Leonora Miner, 1899-1910, newspaper, 5 July 1902, p. 3, viewed 30 December 2017, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/233201645
  42. [S180] 'Death of Mr JJ Williams', Mt Leonora Miner, 1899-1910, newspaper, 21 June 1902, p. 3, viewed 30 December 2017, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/233201584
  43. [S654] 'John Joseph Williams', series S59 - Applications for grants of letters of administration 1832-1947, item 1902/105, letters of administration, 12 August 1902.
  44. [S392] Australia, Electoral Rolls 1903-1980, online, division of Yarra, subdivision of Richmond Central, 1903.
  45. [S613] 'Deaths: McDonald', Prahran Telegraph, 1889-, newspaper, Crabb and Yelland, 23 March 1912, p. 1, viewed 22 August 2020, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/165112138