Watson – Waters – MacDonald

The Family of Charles (Watson ?) Waters & Jean – Jane MacDonald (McDonald) – last updated July 7 2021

Our collective Watson- Waters’ family research has so far indicated that Charles Watson – Waters I and wife Jean/Jane MacDonald/ McDonald appeared  to have had the following children : Charles Waters II, Jane Robinson nee Waters and John  Charles Waters I (note – scroll down to their family tree). Another son Samuel MacDonald Waters, appears to have been born to Jean/Jane in 1840, in Parramatta, prior to their marriage in Maitland about 1841. Samuel was raised as the son of Charles Watson – Waters, however it is not known if Samuel was a biological child of Charles Watson –  Waters.

And since the establishment of this web site it has been wonderful how descendants from various branches of the Waters family have emerged. Other connections have surfaced via Ancestry.com, the Collarenebri Facebook Group and Tribal Pages. I would like to thank all of our Waters family relatives, as indicated below, who have shared information and photographs. And of course my husband David Christian (with his trusty Brother’s Keeper database which has grown to over 20,000 names since 1997).

So far we have connected up descendants of Charles Waters II , and John Charles Waters I , sons of Charles (Watson) Waters I. We have also located details on the descendants of their sister, Jane Waters. We have located details on another brother, Samuel MacDonald Waters,  he appears to have died in his mid 20’s without marrying.

We seem to be spread across Queensland, NSW, Western Australia, Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong, Philippines, Netherlands, Thailand and the UK – possibly Tasmania and perhaps even further ??

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We have had contacts with descendants and relatives of Charles Waters II and his wife Mary Robinson,  as follows

• Jane Waters who married John Thomas Brasen
  • John W, Tony C, Pat H, Judith M,
• Alice Waters who married Angus Amos
  • Sharon C, Melissa Y,
• Charles Waters III who married Agnes Sweetman
  • Alicia G, Anne W, Narelle S, Ken W, Belinda W
• Matilda Waters who married Arthur James Adams
  • Kerrie Anne Christian, Steve L, Michelle & Ronald VG, Lenore M, Penny T, Crystal C, Doug A, Judy L,
• Emily Waters who married Stephen Swaysland
  • Steve S, Eve M, Annette K, Barb, Judith C, Jan, Vin L, Dennis S,
• Frederick Waters – partner to Florence Wightman Dennison – I had located a descendant or two of Frederick Waters and his grandson Len Waters, the WW2 fighter pilot, also I had contacted Len’s daughter (who has since passed away sadly) & another relative Marcus W – also Lance W, Joshua W, Kevin W
• Frederick Waters who married Agnes Fuzzard
  • Dorothy Jeffree
• Ethel Waters who married George Henry
  • Michelle M, Teresa M, Sandra H,

As yet direct descendants have yet to be located of  several other of Charles Waters II‘s  children.

•  Elizabeth Waters and John Alfred Waters (aka Joseph A Waters?)

It appears that John died in infancy and Joseph died in his teens. Eldest daughter Elizabeth was listed as 20 years old on her mother Mary’s 1888 death certificate. However Elizabeth is not mentioned as a living child on her father Charles’ 1916 death certificate and where there were two unnamed deceased daughters, presumably Elizabeth and younger sister Emily Swaysland.

Note – Some have suggested that our Elizabeth may have married George Franks in 1891 in Parramatta. However the woman who married George Franks was a widow, Elizabeth Jane Waters, who was the daughter of William Rochester and Mary Jane Cunan (refer  marriage certificate – click on link  7939637m).

And we have contacts with descendents and relatives of the other two children of John Charles Waters I and Jane / Jean Waters nee MacDonald ie as follows

• John Charles Waters I
  • Glenys C, Peter W, Sandra S
• Jane Robinson nee Waters 
  • Wendy R, Raylene S,

Note – there had been some conjecture regarding which Jane Waters had married which George Robinson. However the 1868 death certificates for Jane and George Robinson clarified the situation  – ie that George was the son of Joseph Robinson and Elizabeth Sterns, and that Jane was the daughter of Charles Waters and Jane MacDonald (refer Waters Family Death Certificates  – click on the link 7939637d).

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DNA Testing

So far it has been possible to determine that there has been DNA testing undertaken at Ancestry, MyHeritage and/or FamilyTree DNA by descendants of the following Waters Robinson people:

Charles Waters & Mary Robinson’s children

• Elizabeth Holland nee Waters
• Jane Brasen nee Waters
• Alice Amos nee Waters
• Charles Waters
• Matilda Adams nee Waters
• Emily Swaysland nee Waters
• Frederick Waters – Florence Wightman Dennison but not of Agnes Fuzzard
• Ethel Henry nee Waters

Jane Waters & George Robinson’s children

• George Robinson
• Joseph Robinson

John Charles Waters & Elizabeth Jones’ children

• John Charles Waters Junior
• Edwin Power Waters
• note – there has not been any descendants of Emma Jane Archer nee Waters so far identified as having undertaken DNA testing

DNA matches are also emerging with descendants of other relatives of Joseph Robinson (including Moore & Howleth lines and of Elizabeth Stearns ( Clarke, Johnson & Norfield lines).

There are also many shared DNA matches with Canadian McDonald descendants, possibly from the McDonald’s of Clan Ranald who emigrated to Canada . Could this be a clue that we are descended from that McDonald Clan?

Waters McDonald Robinson Stearns Family History Tripping – in Australia & UK

In 2017 we travelled up to Goondiwindi to attend the scattering of ashes of my Barden uncle, and while there we visited the Goondiwindi and Boggabilla Cemeteries. We found the gravestone of Emily Swaysland nee Waters, daughter of Charles Waters and Mary Robinson. Emily’s gravestone was in part of a fenced enclosure – which had us wondering – could this have been a Waters – Swaysland – Adams family plot?

Could Emily Swaysland lie there with her father Charles Waters, sister Matilda Adams nee Waters, brother in law Arthur James Adams, nephew Frederick “Teddy” Adams (son of Matilda & Arthur) and brother Walter Waters? What do you think?

In 2020, escaping from the Hunter Valley during a brief respite from the Covid 19 pandemic, my sister and her husband visited Collarenebri including sites associated with our Waters Robinson family.

In 2019, the year before our the covid-19 pandemic, my husband David and I were fortunate to travel to the UK – visiting Great Shelford & Cherry Hinton in Cambridgeshire (ancestral places of Joseph Robinson and Elizabeth Stearns), Paisley, Renfrewshire Scotland (birthplace of Jean/Jane Waters nee McDonald as well as the Clan McDonald Heritage Centre at Armadale on the Isle of Skye, Inverness shire, Scotland – the international Clan McDonald Centre.

Great Shelford Cambridgeshire – birthplace of Joseph Robinson and Elizabeth Stearns including their children Mary (Waters), George and James.

Cherry Hinton Cambridgeshire – an ancestral place of our Robinson – Stearns family

Paisley Renfrewshire Scotland – birthplace of Jean/Jane Waters nee McDonald

International spiritual home of Clan McDonald at the Heritage Centre at Armadale Isle of Skye Inverness shire Scotland

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Charles Watson- Waters I born  about 1812 in England  – no birth records located as yet – however his death certificates gives his age as 76 years and his place of birth as England,  death  12-11-1888 in Collarenebri ,and that he had been 51 years in the Colonies. – see Death Certificate : click on the link  050 DT – Waters Charles 1888

Note – the 1916 death certificate of his son, Charles Waters II, cites his father having the name Charles Watson Waters : possibly he was actually Charles Watson ?

Charles Waters death certificate Goondiwindi 1916

Note – Of course even if he entered the country as Charles Waters he could adopt a middle name, as my maternal great great grandmother Mary Hicks nee McKenzie did in taking on Ann as her middle name in her late mother’s honour. Or did he enter the country as Charles Watson, and later change his name to Waters ?

1. Charles Waters – Henry Porcher Theory – now discounted

It is uncertain precisely when Charles Waters I entered Australia, however information from the branch of his son, John Charles Waters I , indicates that it was reported at the time of his 1888 passing that he had been in the Colony for 51 years. This would place his arrival around about 1837.

The question then is of course, how and where did Charles Waters I enter the Colonies ? The period of 1837 is an interesting one, Convict Transportation was still occurring, and Assisted Immigration Programmes had commenced, eg the Bounty Immigration System. There have been no clear candidates for Charles arriving as an assisted emigrant. However it is possible that he arrived as a convict

There were two Charles Waters transported to the Colonies in the 1830’s – on the Eliza in 1833 and the Henry Porcher (3) in late 1836  – both of which went to Tasmania. Both present a couple of difficulties with respect to ages and /or time frames at the time of our Charles Waters‘ death in 1888, not to  mention being in Van Diemans Land Tasmania as opposed to the Hunter Valley in NSW.

The Eliza 1831’s Charles Waters would have been 82 years at the time of  a death in 1888, and that he would have been in the Australian Colonies for 57 years at the time of his death.

Information on the Henry Porcher (3)’s  Charles Waters indicates that he was 18 years old at the time of an 1836 conviction for Sheep Stealing (Founders & Survivors). This would indicate an age of about 70 years with death occurring in 1888, and a time in the Australian Colonies of 51 years. The Henry Porcher’s pardon granted in 1849 is recorded in Tasmanian newspapers. However could be consistent with an 1841 marriage to Jane/Jean MacDonald in Maitland.

Charles Waters I, Jean(Jane) Waters/MacDonald and Samuel MacDonald (later called Samuel Waters) have not been identified on the NSW Census of 1841 so far. However delving deeper indicates that the 1841 Census is not complete for all districts across NSW – and perhaps the area(s) where Charles and Jean were, could have been such areas.

Also further questions on Charles Waters – if he were the convict transported to Tasmania on the Henry Porcher in 1836 – then how did manage to be in the Hunter Valley around 1841 ?

Subsequently Glenys Canning’s research revealed that the Charles Waters of the Henry Porcher who was sent to Van Dieman’s Land did not arrive at the Mainland until 1852 – too late for our Charles Waters. So the Henry Porcher Charles Waters could not be the father of our Charles Waters II. … As Glenys said , “it was a nice theory while it lasted”.

II. An alternative – Charles Watson Hypothesis

I have periodically re-looked at the information and wondered and wondered.

And then a light bulb moment .. thinking laterally – what if he arrived as Charles Watson and then became known as Charles Waters ? It wouldn’t be the first time that a transcription error occurred or an alias alternative name given ? Last year I curated a museum exhibition about another convict of that era – Thomas Childerley aka Chidley aka Chilby – ultimately the family became known as the Chilby’s. And my husband has a convict ancestor who changed his name from Thomas Crump to Thomas Crumpton

So were there any Charles Watson’s that might fit some of what we know – arrived in the Colony around 1837 – 1838 ish – born some where around 1810 – 1820 ? And who had been assigned to the Hunter area during the 1840 – 50’s ?

Well there was one – Charles Watson, born about 1813 – 1815 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, convicted at the Devon Assizes in 1837, originally sentenced to death for Housebreaking  / Burglary, but acquitted of Larceny – Death Sentence commuted to transport for life and sailed on the Lord Lyndoch (4) in 1837 and arriving April 1838. And he was a troublesome fellow too.

Could he be our Charles (Watson) Waters I (1812ish – 1888), in the colonies for 51 years ?

It would certainly explain why we could not find him in the 1837 Muster ? I  was  unable to locate any of the appropriate  Watson’s, Waters or MacDonald’s on the 1841 Census – but genealogy buffs have told me that there are holes in the records from the Hunter Valley – and that some of the records may have been lost in a fire or flood.

And did they marry in Maitland in 1841 ? There was no  record of a convict application to marry between Jane/Jean McDonald in the early 1840’s – nor in the NSW BDM’s. Again the Hunter Valley old records conundrum, plus I have also sometimes found  Church of Scotland records patchy – in the days before civil registration of the 1850’s. Alternatively, they may have never married  – simply become life partners ? Yet 1841 is a possible year for a Waters – MacDonald wedding in Maitland – sourced from daughter Jane’s death and Maitland is given as the place of marriage on  Charles I’s death certificate.

Well – what information exists on Charles Watson from the Lord Lyndoch (4) who arrive in 1838 ?

• 22.7.1837 at Devon Assizes – Charles Watson –  Convicted and sentenced to life transportation – Source Claim a Convict 22.7.1837 at Devon Assizes departed England on the Lord Lyndoch – Convicts Records
• 8.8.1838 – Charles Watson sentenced at Devon Assizes arrived Sydney on the Lord Lyndon – Convict Records
• 8.8.1838 – Charles Watson aged 23 years,  Indoor Servant, convicted for housebreaking and sentenced to life – this would mean a year of birth about 1814 – 1815 ? Though some of the other records place his year of birth as being 1813.
• 1838 – Charles Watson sentenced to life at Devon Assizes on 22.7.1837 included on the NSW  Australian Ship NSW Convict  Muster Rolls 1790 – 1849  for Lord Lyndoch 1838 & Australian Convict Transportation Registers 1837 – 1838
• 17.1.1839 – Charles Watson, Servant, Protestant of Bristol, England who arrived on Lord Lyndoch in 1838, was sent to the Gang at Parramatta on 1.2.1839 – with 2 others – James Wood (Labourer, Lady Harewood – 1832 ) and Patrick Kilcoole (Shoemaker, Blenheim – 1834) – NSW Australia Gaol Description Entrance Books, Sydney Gaol
• 5.2.1840 – in trouble … to be sent from Sydney to the Interior – Sydney Monitor and Commercial Advertiser via Trove which could see him sent out of the Sydney Parramatta area into the interior from early 1841 … if he hadn’t re-offended .. and aligning with a meeting with his future wife/life partner ?
  “CHARLES WATSON, life. assigned to Mr. Thomas Ryan, Chief Clerk of the Superintendant of Convicts’ office was charged by his master with having on Saturday evening, refused to answer the bell when rung for him, and after he had been sent for, came into the room in a state of intoxication, and afterwards attempted to leave the premises. He also struck his master-of which the marks were exhibited in court. His master also accused him of robbing his premises. ‘This the prisoner denied, asserting that he had not robbed him since he had re-
  turned from the ironed gang, in which he had been worked for six months for plundering Mr. Ryan’s cellar. The prosecutor also gave evidence of the prisoner having, after night call. absented himself from the premises ; he broke a lamp insulted all the members of Mr. Ryan’s family, and had given spirits to the female servant. who had, until Saturday been well-hehaved. The prisoner made no defence to these charges, and was sentenced twelve months to an ironed gang, and ordered to be afterwards retained in government service, and to be
  removed to such a distance in the interior as would likely prevent him from having any intercourse in future with his Sydney associates.“
• 1846 – 1849 Convict Ticket of Leave records includes Charles Watson who was sentenced on 22.7.1837 at the Devon Assizes to life and arrived on the Lord Lyndoch in 1838
• 17.10.1846 – From butt of Ticket of Leave Passport – Charles Watson who was sentenced on 22.7.1837 at the Devon Assizes to life and arrived on the Lord Lyndoch in 1838  – granted a Ticket of Leave for Patricks Plains area till 10.1.1849
• 1.2.1847 – From butt of Ticket of Leave Passport – Charles Watson who was sentenced on 22.7.1837 at the Devon Assizes to life and arrived on the Lord Lyndoch in 1838  – granted a Ticket of Leave for 12 months for the Singleton area and allowed to travel between Morpeth and New England in the service of Henry Dangar – more on Henry Dangar Surveyor and Pastoralist of Neotsfield (a 300 acre land grant) near Singleton – granted another 700 acres, Baroona near Morpeth, purchasing many other properties, a Magistrate,  and a Member of the NSW Legislative Council 1845 – 1851, – 1, 2, . He was also associated with aspects of the Myall Creek massacre of 1838 – 3,
• 7.4.1852 – Singleton Bench – Charles Watson, Lord Lyndoch – Ticket of Leave cancelled for being absent from his area – Jen Willetts “Free Settler or Felon” – sourced from the Maitland Mercury via Trove – NSW Government Gazette 2.4.1852 via Trove – note it would have been 14 years since he arrived in the Colony by the time his Ticket of Leave was cancelled. Was he a troublesome convict – the Hunter Valley was also a place of secondary punishment for problem convicts, from what my genealogy buddies have told me.

Perhaps he may have been the father of Charles Waters II ? We may never know  for sure?

There were a number of other Charles Watson/Charles Watters convicts  – possibilities:

1. 1. Charles Waters – arrived on the General Stuart in 1815/1818 & was also mentioned in the 1822/1825 Convict Musters which would also place his time in the Colony as being around 70 years and well over that given in our Charles Waters’ death certificate which stated that he had been in the Colony for 51 years at the time of his death
   2. Charles Watson arrived on the Tottenham in 1818 & is listed in the 1825 Convict Muster which would also place his time in the Colony as being around 70 years and well over that given in our Charles Waters’ death certificate which stated that he had been in the Colony for 51 years at the time of his death
   3. Charles Watson – arrived on the Baring in 1819 & is listed in the 1822/1825 Convict Musters –  Ancestry Records – however this would place his time in the Colony as being around 70 years and well over that given in our Charles Waters’ death certificate which stated that he had been in the Colony for 51 years at the time of his death
   4. Charles Watson – arrived 1837 on the Fairlie – Ancestry records
   5. Charles Watson – arrived 1837 on the Blenheim – Claim a Convict website & sent to Van Diemans Land & was on the Convict Ledger returns for 1849 in Tasmanian records – Ancestry records
   6. Charles Watson – arrived 1838 on the Coromandel – sent to Van Diemans Land – Ancestry Records & Claim a Convict website
   7. Charles Watters – arrived 1840 on the Maitland – Ancestry records
   8. Charles Watson – arrived 1840 on the Hindostan – sent to Van Diemans Land & in 1849 Tasmanian Convict Ledger – Ancestry Records & Claim a Convict website
   9. Charles Watson – arrived 1841 on the Lord Goderich – sent to Van Diemans Land – Ancestry Records & Claim a Convict website
   10. Charles Henry Watson – arrived 1842 on the Moffatt – sent to Van Diemans Land & was in the Convict Ledger Returns – Ancestry Records & Claim a Convict website
   11. Charles Watson – arrived in 1827 on the Asia (2) – sent to Van Diemans Land – Ancestry records

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And then there is the question of Jane /Jean McDonald – did she arrive as an assisted single woman immigrant or did she arrive as a convict ? We know from various certificates that she came from Scotland.  Either explanation is possible and no one seems to have definitely located absolutely irrefutable evidence of her actual arrival. There are are a number of Jane/Jean McDonald’s arriving in the 1830’s – and among some of us Waters descendants there is a a slow consensus emerging that our Jane/ Jean of Paisley, Renfrewshire, may be the convict sentenced  to be Transported for 7 Years  on April 25 1838 at Glasgow and transported on the Planter  of 1839 – 1, 2, . Her crime ? Theft, habit and repute, and previous conviction. Again – any additional information or thoughts on this would be appreciated.

See Convict Records – Free Settler or Felon – Claim a Convict – further on the Claim a Convict Site : “Only two of the five female convict ships arriving in New South Wales in 1839 brought women convicted in Scotland – the Planter and the Mary Ann. Prisoners of the Planter convicted in Scotland included: … Jean McDonald..” note that the Mary Ann listing does not include any Jean/Jane/Jeanette McDonald’s. At some point Jean McDonald of the Planter 1839, was given a Ticket of Leave for Maitland and in 1845 her Certificate of Freedom was issued. 

Scots Convicts – here is an interesting article on Scottish convicts in Australia.

Note – records of Charles and Jean/Jane Waters’  marriage certificate and the birth certificates of their three children, Charles, Jane and  John Charles have not been located. However these were all before the dates of civil registration and also I have found that early Presbyterian Church of Scotland’s records are not always available. And another family member, Glenys has wondered if records were lost in the Singleton floods of 1857 ? Nevertheless information has been sourced from other marriage and death certificates (viz refer 7939637d).

There were also some questions as to possible early origins of Aboriginal Gamillaroi heritage within our Waters family. So far, most information located seems to relate to the partner of Charles Waters II’s son, Frederick Waters, Florence Wightman-Dennison, and his son Donald’s wife. 

Although Steve Sims, descendant of Emily Swaysland nee Waters and several others have not shut the door on Aboriginal heritage elsewhere in the family tree, given the rather dark complexion of Emily and her sister, Matilda Adams nee Waters.

The thematic heritage study on Walgett, which includes Collarenebri is worth a read – download it here. It was carried out by Terry Kass Historian & Heritage Consultant 32 Jellicoe Street Lidcombe NSW 2141 (02) 9749 4128. It mentions the Brasens, part of the Waters family network. The study makes comment on tensions between European settlers and Indigenous peoples – likewise the Board of Studies website.

By 1880, Charles Waters II was recorded as having been granted a Publican’s Licence for The Traveller’s Rest pub in Collarenebri. The 1929 Death Certificate of his daughter Jane Brasen nee Waters lists Charles’ occupation as Hotel Proprietor. This has been documented in a 1985 book on the history of Collarenebri by C Newman.

There’s more information shared by Steve Sims :

The Years of Struggle

Are you aware that Charles (senior) had one of the very first hotels in Collarindabri?  The Traveler’s Rest Hotel – the Commercial Hotel (Tattersall’s?) now stands where his business once was.  I have a small book about Collerenabri that talks of him very highly.  He was also a major activist in getting the town gazetted and in getting Police actually stationed in town and not just patrolling from Bourke.  Little did he know that one of the first Mounted Troopers to be stationed there would marry his 16 year old daughter Emily!   … marrying the publicans daughter, smart man!

“Hi Kerry – Have I got some absolutely great news for you.  Our Great Great Grandfather Charles was THE activist for all public services in ‘Colly – he was the main instigator for the school to be commissioned in the first instance.  Apparently it needed 15 children (I might have the number wrong) and he did his best to rally them together.  It was all political of course because I think having the town gazetted it had to have public services such as resident police, a school etc – made it far easier for land grants / leases and like.   It’s all in the book The Years of Struggle.  I’m sure the book by the Collerenabri School would have reference to him.“

Note also – many family names in the Collarenebri Cemetery  –  and perhaps there others of our family in unnamed graves there. In 1886 Charles Waters was appointed as Trustee for the Collarenebri Common. Then in 1888 Charles Waters was appointed as a Trustee for the Collarendabri Cemetery. See also Cemetery details –

( Collarenebri Cemetery Layout oct 2012 2 –  COLLARENEBRI_CEMETERY_BURIAL_LIST_AND_RESERVATIONS)

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 Our Waters Family Tree

Charles Waters I m. ??-??-1837 or 1841 in Maitland to Jane / Jean McDonald m. b. ??-??-1808 Scotland (??) d. 01-11-1870 Bingara, Warialda

2.  Samuel MacDonaldWaters b. 1840 Parramatta  d. 17-08-1867 Weetalibah, near Walgett

2.  Charles Waters II b. c.1843 Singleton d 1916 Goondiwindi m. Mary Robinson (her extended Family Tree)  m. 20-11-1866 Bucklebone  ( Narrabri – or Wee Waa according to NSW BDM), NSW – Mary’s brother (?) George Robinson was a witness at the wedding.

Charles Waters (from M Moore)

Mary Waters nee Robinson (from M Moore)

English Census of 1851

Mary was born in 1844 Cambridge, Eng d. 26-05-1888 Collarenebri (her death record has her parents given as George & Elizabeth – perhaps it should be Joseph & Elizabeth ?).

Mary Waters nee Robinson sailed with her parents and siblings on the “Ellenborough” as Assisted Emigrants to Newcastle in the NSW Colony in 1854. Many of those sailing were destined to work on the construction of the Newcastle Railway – whilst others were agricultural labourers. For more information on the “Ellenborough” click – here.

“Ellenborough”

“Ellenborough”

Extract from Ellenborough Passenger List

Extract from Ellenborough Passenger List cont’d

After Mary’s death in 1888, Charles then m. Emily Read m. 25-08-1894 Presbyterian, Narrabri. Living at Bucklebone when married.

3. Elizabeth J Waters b. ??-??-1867 Wee Waa – in 1888 she is listed as being 20 years of age on the death certificate of her mother, Mary Waters nee Robinson – but is not listed as a living child on her father’s 1916 death certificate which records there were two deceased daughters, both unnamed, presumably Elizabeth and her sister Emily Swaysland nee Waters ?

Note – Some have suggested that our Elizabeth may have married George Franks in 1891 in Parramatta. However the woman who married George Franks was a widow, Elizabeth Jane Waters, who was the daughter of William Rochester and Mary Jane Cunan (for  marriage certificate click on this link 7939637m).

             3. Jane Waters b. 1869 Terri Hie Hie NSW (refer her Death Certificate details) d. 27.1.1929 in Gunnedah – buried in Gunnedah Cemetery. She married John Thomas Brasen (1867 Collarenebri –  13.6.1956 Inverell – buried at Inverell Cemetery) m. 16.12.1890 in Collarenebri (Walgett). No birth index found for Jane but mentioned on her mother’s death cert. John Thomas Brasen’s father John Joachim Frederick Brasen was born in Luebeck Germany, and appeared to have arrived in Australia from Sweden via London in 1858.

4. Charles Frederick Brasen b. 1891 Collarenebri d. 1944 Inverell – his obituary said he never married and there were no descendants given either.  However other information suggests he may have married Minnie H Ragg 1920.

4. Elizabeth Mary  Brasen b. 1893 Collarenebri m. William Thom m. 12.9.1921 at Gunnedah

4. Alice May Brasen b. 30-03-1895 Collarenebri d. 16-01-1969 m. Albert George Maunder m. 1920 Gunnedah b. 24-06-1886 Paterson near Raymond Terrace d. 27-08-1963. Albert had enlisted in WW1 in 1916 and served on the Western Front, before returning to Australia in 1919.

Alice May Brasen and Albert Maunder – married in 1920 in Gunnedah

Note – Albert: Albert (Ab)Maunder, his  brother Walter and father, Charles, owned a garage in in Quirindi for many years, and also owned hire cars. They then bought a picture theatre in Quirindi and another at Werris Creek.

Note – Charles Maunder’s father was Thomas Maunder &  Charles‘ brother  was William Maunder. William had son Eric Noel Stephen Maunder whose son was Kevin Ross Maunder . Kevin  married Mary Helen “Bid” Barden daughter of Cyril Bernard Barden & wife Ruby (nee McNamara) – click here for Barden tree.

5. Joan Maunder b. 09-06-1921 m. Keith Hammond Knowles m. 1945

5. Thomas George Maunder b. 01-11-1925 m. Marjory Jane Ayre b. 21-06-1928

5. Madge Maunder b. 13-10-1927 m. Donald Whinfield b. 21-12-1916 d. 22-08-1992

4. John Henry J Brasen b. 1897 Collarenebri – his obituary indicated that he was a bachelor at this death in 1969 at Inverell

4. Albert Anthony Brasen b. 1899 Narrabri m. Renee Olive Harwood m. 1925 Gunnedah d. 1936 Gunnedah / m. Nita Marjorie Harwood m. 1937 Narrabri

5 Albert John Brasen (b about 1927 ) married Norma Florence Cooper ( b about 1928) on 31.7.1948 at Inverell

4. Nellie J Brasen b. 1902 Collarenebri m. Harry Matthews m. 1929 Gunnedah

4. Muriel G Brasen b. 1906 Collarenebri / m. George H Bennett m. 1926 Barraba

3. Alice Waters b. ??-??-1870 Walgett d. 1918 m. Angus Amos m. 1889 Narrabri d. 1947 West Maitland (Farmer aged 76 years) – may have lived at Rappville and Yamba in the 1930’s

4. Alfred R Amos b. 1890 d. 1930 m. Elizabeth M Smith m. 1912 Gulgong

5. Kathleen M or Norma Amos b. 1914 d 1994 m. 1938 Blayney to Leslie T Kingham b 1909 Milthorpe d. 2002 Canowindra

6 Private

6 Private

6 Private

6 Private

5. John Carl Amos b. 1916 Molong  d 1997 Lane Cove m. 1939 Blayney Leila Lovda Willis b. 1913 Orange d. 2011 Millthorpe

6 Private

6 Private

4. Angus Charles  Amos b. 1892 Lawrence d. 1965 Maclean – Chatsworth Island – enlisted in WW1 in 1916 at Lismore – his father was given Next of Kin and was living at Harwood – served with 25th Battalion in France – returned invalided to Australia in 1917

4. Euphemia M Amos b. 1905 m. Ronald T Green m. 1927 Lismore

4.  Elsie M Amos b. 1908 m. Henry R Murray m. 1933 Casino (Rappville)

4. Alma Margaret  Amos b. 1911 m. Jeffery W Pascoe m. 1934 Maitland East

5 Private

4. Unknown female Amos – alive in 1918 at time of her mother’s death ?

3. Charles Waters b. ??-??-1871 Walgett d. ??-??-1941 Walgett (buried Collarenebri) m. 1896 in Collarenebri Agnes V Sweetman ( – d 1954  Collarenabri)

Charles Waters and Agnes Sweetman – on their Wedding Day – beautiful !

4 May Waters b. 1896 m. Herbert C Brooks m. 1914 Collarenabri

5 Mary A Brooks b. 1914
5 Bertha H Brooks b. 1915
5 Reginald C Brooks b. 1918

4 Walter C Waters b. 1897 Married either Lila N M Molly 1921 at New Angledool and/or Doreen Laurie 1931 at Boomi.
4 Mary E Waters b. 1900 m. Albert K Anderson m. 1922 Coonabarabran
4 Albert J Waters b. 1902 d. 1909 May have married Elsie A Bellamy 1920 at Parramatta.
4 Joseph W Waters b. 1905 m. Isma I Williams m. 1937 Walgett
4 Teresa J Waters b. 1908 m. Leslie M Hughes m. 1928 Ryde
4 Harry Cecil Waters b. 1911 d 1987 buried Collarenebri –  m. Elsa May Brown m. 1939 Walgett
4 Neville Sydney  Waters b. 1913 – d 1984 – buried in Collarenebri
4 Eric B Waters b. 1916

Neville Waters, Charlie Williams  and Harry Waters (A Gibson)

3. Matilda Waters b. ??-??-1873 Eurie Eurie, Walgett died 1924 Goondiwindi m. Arthur James Adams m. 01-04-1893 Collarenebri b. 1868 Grafton d. Goondiwindi Hospital  1924 Goondiwindi a week after breaking her back in an accident where bolting horse caused her sulky to overturn, and she fell under the wheel  – daughter Letitia (Tess) was injured in the same accident & in hospital for many months – see Matilda’s Death Certificate. Matilda is buried in an unmarked grave at Boggabilla Cemetery, as is her husband Arthur James Adams  and son Frederick John aka Ted Adams – as is her sister Emily Swaysland nee Waters grave markers have been lost.

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4. Mary Ethel May Adams b. 09-02-1894 Collarenerbri d. ??-??-1980 Brisbane after being burned in house fire – never married – recalled from Tweed Heads to Boggabilla by her father in 1924 following death of her mother Matilda to help raise her younger siblings & several of their children

5. Mabel Ray “Topsy” Adams b. ??-08-1918 Boomi d. ??-??-1996 m. Vivien Barry d.

6. Janet Barry
6.  Peter Barry – d.
6.  Michael Barry died in 1955 in early childhood

5. Cyril Ross Adams (son of Cyril Bernard Barden) – b. 2-11-1923 Tweed Heads d. 17-2-1990 Bulli m. Joan Lois Callcott m. 19-12-1953 St Augustines Anglican Bulli b. 16-10-1932 Hornsby – d. 05-11-2012 Wollongong

6. Kerrie Anne Adams – married David John Christian (son of John Godfrey Tiearney known as Christian)

7. Daughter – coincidentally her partner is related to a sister (Martha) of Emily Waters‘ husband, Stephen Swaysland. 

6. Daughter – married

7. Daughter

7. Son

6. Son – married

7. Daughter

Kerrie Anne Christian nee Adams (daughter of Ross Adams )with Ross’s cousin Brenda (daughter of Tess Fleming nee Adams ) – both descendants of Matilda Adams nee Waters

4. Lillian “Lily” Florence Adams b. ??-??-1895 Collarenerbri d  1916 in Queensland childbirth ? m. Francis Samuel Kellett m. 1915 Boomi – note Francis Kellett remarried in 1922 to Ellen Darlington and possibly had at least another two sons, Collin Edward Kellett (1922 – 2000)  and Jack Wilfred Kellett (1936 – 2008) .

5. Emily M M Adams (b 1913 ?) m. Thomas H Townsend m. 1929 Warialda

6. Norma Townsend m. William Reynoldson

7. Son – note descendant includes former NRL Newcastle Knights, St George  and Melbourne Storm player, Kirk Reynoldson.

6. Neville Townsend

6. Michael Townsend

5. Francis Sydney Kellett b. 1916 married – d 1967

6. Keith Kellett (never married ?)

4. Leslie Charles Adams b. ??-??-1897 Collarenabri d. 16-07-1979 Goondiwindi m. Vera Matilda Bell m. ??-??-1928 Barraba b. 28-11-1908 Yetman

5. Valma Adams b. 1929 Goondiwindi m. Bernie O’Brien

5. Clarence “Clarrie”  Adams b. 01-03-1931 Goondiwindi m. Gloria Jane “Billie” McGregor m. 28-06-1952

5. Betty Joy Adams b. 24-04-1933 Goondiwindi m. David Brooks m. 05-05-1951 Stanthorpe b. 25-03-1928 Stanthorpe d. 25-05-1988 Surat

5. Beryl Adams b. 1935 Goondiwindi m. John Nosworthy m. Tamworth / m. Ivan Gunn m. Goondiwindi / m. Darryl Reid m. St George

5.  Marion Adams b. 1937 Goondiwindi d

5. Jocelyn Adams b. 21-03-1941 Goondiwindi

4. Ivy Elizabeth Adams (birth certificate has Elizabeth Ivy) b. 03-03-1901 Sandy Flat/Tenterfield d. 25-07-1996 Wollongong m. Edward H Richardson m. 1925? Casino

5. Laurence Richardson m. Gloria

5. Edward Richardson (died in childhood)

5. Maxwell Richardson m. Eilene James

5. Joyce Richardson

m. Ern Ingram

5. William Richardson m. Thelma

5. Douglas Richardson m. Merle

5. Ronald Richardson m. Denise

4. Arthur James “Dick” Adams b. ??-??-1904 Moree m. Venetta “Vene” M A Choice m. ??-??-1933 Boomi d

5. Athol Adams b. 06-03-1934 Goondiwindi d.

5. Glen Adams b. 23-02-1938 Goondiwindi

5. Barry Adams b. 23-02-1938 Goondiwindi

5. Lenore Adams b. 03-03-1945 Goondiwindi

4. Letitia (Tess) Maud Adams b. ??-??-1906 Moree d m. George H Fleming m. ??-??-1935 Boomi

5. Brenda Fleming

5. Gordon Fleming

5. George Fleming

5. Kevin Fleming

4.  Dorothy Jean Adams b. ??-??-1908 Emmaville d 2002 m. James Green b 1909 d 1982 m. ??-??-1930 Glen Innes- James was the son of  Oliver Charles Green and his wife Georgina Wilson

4.  Mabel Isobel “Mid” Adams b. ??-??-1910 Moree d 1968 m. John Bertram “Bert” Tuckerman m. ??-??-1927 Casino

5. Ilma Tuckerman

5. Alwyn “Wack” Tuckerman

5. Bertram Alan “Bert”  Tuckerman

5. Shirley Tuckerman

5. Norma Tuckerman

4. Frederick J aka “E  (Ted)” Adams b. ??-??-1913 Moree d. 1940’s

4.  William Charles “Gidgee” Adams b. 1915 Goondiwindi (Queensland BDM 1915/C/4950) – . m.Alice Joyce Suhr m. ??-??-1941 Moree d.

5. Alys Rae Adams

5. Douglas Adams

5. Stephen Adams

3 Emily Waters b. ??-??-1875 Walgett m. Stephen Edwin Swaysland m. 1892 Collarenabri

4 Ethel M Swaysland b. 1895 m. James M Cumming m. 1921 Murwillimbah
4 Stephen R Swaysland b. 1896
4 Edward Swaysland b. 1903 – note from Steve Sims :  “old ‘Ted was one of the original orchardists in Stanthorpe along with his father Stephen, Emily’s husband and former Mounted Trooper. “
4 Martha E “Kitty” Swaysland b. 1904 m. Arthur J Sims m. 1924 Murwillimbah – following Emily’s death Kitty was sent from Boggabilla to live with relatives in Wagga Wagga

    5. Douglas Stephen Sims m Fay Avice Haggett 1952 in Brisbane

Notes from Steve Sims on Kitty Swaysland nee Waters – “She was such a stoic grand old lady.  She outlived three husbands!  My paternal grandfather James died in 1943 and she remarried two more times, outliving them all.

I was an NT Policeman for many years and when Id heard that she’d taken a tumble in her back yard at Murwillumbah I went to visit her in Hospital. She was in her mid 80’s at the time and insisted on living alone in her Murwillumbah home.

She’d broken her hip and I think a collarbone in the fall and when I enquired , ie “What happened to you sweetheart?”  She replied with a laugh, “Inside I’m still twenty-five but this silly old body is falling to bits ..”

She told me that her mother Emily was a lovely gentle and kind person and that she missed her terribly after she died.  I think she (Emily) died in childbirth just prior to the the First War and is buried at the Boggabilla Cemetery.  I noticed that Matilda your great Granma is also buried (unmarked brave, flood damage) there a few years later after that terrible cart accident.   It doesn’t surprise me at all to think that the sisters and subsequent families stayed close together.

After Emily died her husband Stephen (after whom I am named) was at a great loss. He sent all his younger children to the family property in Oura near Wagga.  His father, my GG grandfather John Swaysland, was a very successful tobacco farmer on the Murrumbidgee River.  He then resigned from the NSW Constabulary and took  up being an orchardist, and become one of the very first pioneers of apple farmers in Stanthorpe.  His oldest son John “Jack” ( named after his grandfather) was killed in the Somme and his body never recovered.  The old man was heartbroken and he travelled north to Gladstone where he died in a motor vehicle incident in 1931.

So I think that this point of time in our family history is where we lost that connection to the Waters Adams families, all of whom would have been well known to my Great Grandfather Stephen.  He had remarried and moved on, and so the only connection to the Waters family was my Grandma no older than 6 years of age at the time when she lost her Mum and sent to live with her fathers family on the other side of the State.

Gran’ also mentioned that she’d heard that one of our relatives was a well known (part) Aboriginal Bushranger in the 1800’s.

Another coincidence – when my Dad was a young police officer in Roma Street Brisbane he used to have a second job to bring in extra money. £35 per week is not a lot to feed a wife and 6 hungry kids .  He was working for years at the Borthwicks Cannon Hill Abbatoirs in between shifts and on days off.  My Dad was a great bloke and very friendly and knew just about everybody, especially everyday type people.  What’s the bet that Dad knew Len Waters who also worked there but neither knew they were family?!”

4 Charles A Swaysland b. 1907

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3 Frederick Waters b. ??-??-1878 Walgett d. ??-??-1945 Maitland West

It had been thought that Frederick Waters may have been a partner to Florence Wightman-Dennison prior to his marriage. In 2018 an alternative possibility emerged that Florence’s partner was instead an Englishman in Moree named Frederick (Mc)Waters. However in 2019 DNA testing has revealed matches between a granddaughter (and daughter) of Donald Waters’ and descendants of a number of children of Charles Waters and Mary Robinson. This again raised the likelihood that Florence’s partner was our Frederick Waters ?

4 Donald Waters (son of Florence) (1898 Whalan Station – 1972 Toowoomba) – click for photo – married Grace Vera Bennett  (1900 Mungindi – 1962 St George). In the 1943 Electoral Rolls Donald and Grace, with children George Allen and Florence Mavis were all listed as living at Nindigully in St George Queensland. A number of children were born at the Euraba Mission at Boomi. In 1926 the Mission was moved to Toomelah. “Len’s first language was the Gamilaraay language and the Dictionary was launched on the Internet in 1996 based on tapes of Len’s grandfather, Charles Dennison. Grandfather Dennison was believed to be 110 years old when he died in 1956. … Len’s maternal grandfather, George Bennett provided a model for Len in serving in the Defence Force. Grandfather Bennett joined the AIF on the first anniversary of Gallipoli and served in Somme in France. He had been gassed some 18 times with mustard gas and had been sent to London on a number of occasions only to get well and be sent back into the thick of it.” – Len Waters Biography on Blogspot

5 George Allan Waters (1918 Euraba Mission Boomi – 1973 Moree Toowoomba) m. 1940 Ida May Stacey (1925 – 2004)  in Moree

6 Coral Waters

6 Delma Waters

6 Dianne Waters

6 Frederick Waters

6 Kevin Waters

6 Margaret Waters

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6 Ruby Waters

6 Sharon Waters

6 Norma May Waters

6 Graham George Waters

5 Florence Mavis Waters (1920 Euraba Mission Boomi – 2008 Tamworth)

5 Donald Edward Jimmy Waters (1922 – 1973) – joined the Army in 1942 ?

5 Leonard Waters (1924 Euraba Mission Boomi – 1993 Cunnamulla) – Australia’s 1st Indigenous Airforce Fighter Pilot – Cairns Post April 25 2014 – and by Len’s daughter Kim Orchard – married 1946 Gladys May  Saunders (b. St George – ). In 1996, the community of Moree in New South Wales dedicated a memorial park to Leonard Waters at Boggabilla, north of Moree. He is also commemorated in Len Waters Street, Ngunnawal in Canberra.

6 Kim Waters – Orchard ( – 2014)

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5 Frederick Gerald Waters (1926 Euramba Mission Boomi – 1985 Dirranbandi Queensland) m. Mary Daphne Fing (1930 Texas – 2009 Moree)

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6 Rhonda Mary Waters ( 1950 Texas – 1980 Moree )

5 Kevin Charles Waters (1928 Euraba Mission Boomi – )

5 Ranald Alfred Waters (1931 Euraba Mission Boomi – 1995 St George)

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6 Randall Alfred Charles Boyd Waters (1959 – 1974)

5 Mimi Donella/D’Nella  Rose Maria Waters (1933 St  George – 1973 – Winton or after 1980?) married Matthew McEwan (1910 Angledool – 1980 Toowoomba)

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5 Stanley Lyall Waters (1935 Nindigully – 2008 St George)

5 Gregory Neville Waters (1937 St George – 1937 St George)

5 Beatrice Vera Waters (1942 – )

4 Hilton Waters (son of Florence) (1900 Whalan Station – 1900 Whalan Station)

3 Frederick Waters b. ??-??-1878 Walgett d. ??-??-1945 Maitland West married  – m. Agnes Beatrice Fuzzard m. 1905 Collarenabri d. 1940 buried at Maitland

4 Freda Waters  (daughter of Agnes) b. 1906 Sydney m. Archibald E C Donnell m. 1924 Manilla, NSW

5. Norma Grace Donnell (1925 – 2008) m Stanley Hallett Brown (1920 – 1990)

6. Peter John Brown (1951 – 2007)

6. Robert Bruce Brown (1955 – 2014)

6. Robert Bruce Brown (1955 – 2014)

6. Lynnette Brown

6. Terrence  Brown

6. Geofrey Brown

6. Son Brown

 5. Joyce Dorothy Donnell (1931 – 2010 Coffs Harbour) m Stanley Elias McKeon in Marrickville in 1948

 6. Victor Ronald (1949 – 2010)

6.Dorothy Margaret Jeffree nee McKeon(1951 – )

6. Richard Alvin McKeon (1952–2011)

6. Alice May McKeon (1955 – )

6. Judith Anne McKeon (1958 – )6. Beverley June McKeon (1961 – )

4 Dorothy Mary Victoria Waters (daughter of Agnes) b. 1908 Collarenebri – 1977 Kogarah married William S Crawford

5 Private

4 Ivy Ellen Waters (daughter of Agnes) b. 1914 West Maitland – d.1970 Hamilton – married John F Pilgrim in 1935 in West Maitland

3 Ethel Waters b. ??-??-1881 Walgett m. George Henry (b. 1872 Warnambool – d. 19 34Toowoomba ) m. 1900 Narrabri – 0065 – Marriage Cert – Henry G and Waters E – 1-240 and 1-238.  Note – given as Hetty on mothers death cert.

4. Reginald Stanley “Jack” Henry b. 1897 Collarenebri – 1969 Casino m. 1922 at Tenterfield to Jessie Myra Everson b. 1899 Tooloom NSW

5. Reginald Clive Henry – married Teddy

5. Howard Royce Henry – married Biddy

5. Thomas Frederick Henry – married Yvonne

5. Donald George Henry

5. Kenneth Henry – married Mary

5. Noel John Henry – married Jean Brown

5. Eric Henry

4. George A Henry b. 1900 Moree – d. 1992 Toowoomba married 1935 Kathleen Benson b. 1905 Brewarrina d. 1987 Toowoomba

5. Kathleen Henry b. 1933 – married William Beardsworth

6. Private Beardsworth

6. Private Beardsworth

5. Norma Joan Henry b. 1935 Cunnamulla d. 2011 Toowoomba -married Barry Langton

6. Private Langton

5. George Thomas Henry b. 1943

5. Rhonda Fay Henry b. 1946

4 Alexander Stevenson  Henry b. 1902 Warialda d. 1979 – m. Florence Hounslow 1930 in Queensland

4 Alice May  Henry b. 1905 Maclean d. 1916

4 Ethel Mary Henry b. 1907 Chinchilla Qld d. 1990 Toowoomba married 1936 at Lutwyche Qld Herbert Martin Pearson b. 1909 Tingha d. 2002 Toowoomba

5 Valerie Joan Pearson b. 1936 Guyra m. Raymond Neville Saunders

6 Private Saunders

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5. Geoffrey Warren Pearson

6 Private Pearson

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4 Alfred Charles Henry b. 1909 Queensland – d. 1980 Queensland

4 Walter Tracy Henry b. 1912 Queensland – d. 1985 married in 1933 in Queensland to Lilian Kathleen Zeller b. 1912 – d. 1990 Toowoomba

5 June Henry b. 1933

5 Ronald Water Henry b. 1941

4 Florence Henry b. 1914 Queensland married Robert Kennedy Browne Ashmore (b. 1912 – d. 1987)

5 Kay Patricia Ashmore b. 1937

5 Victoria Jill Ashmore b 1948

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4 William Arthur Henry (b. 1917 Chinchilla – d. 1992 Toowoomba married to Emily Parker b. 1917 Morven – d. 1990 Toowoomba

5 Merlene Florence Henry b 1943 – d. 2013

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5 Alice Henry b. 1944 d 1987

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5 John William Henry b. 1946 – d. 1962

5 Ian James Henry

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5 Joan Maree Henry

5 Gary Wayne Henry

4. Marguerite Emily “Rita” Henry b. 1922 Qld – d. 2007 Toowoomba married Jack Fitzpatrick b 1919 Toowoomba – d. 2002 Toowoomba

5 Gail Marguerita Fitzpatrick

5 Delitha May “Del” Fitzpatrick married John Erbacher

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5 Jack (twin) Fitzpatrick

5 Jill (twin) Fitzpatrick

5 Lynette Ann Fitzpatrick

5 Shane Anthony Fitzpatrick

5 Daniel Patrick “Danny” Fitzpatrick

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5 Robyn Margaret Fitzpatrick

5 Helen Therese Fitzpatrick

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5 Peter John Fitzpatrick

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4 Eric Noel Henry b. 1925 – d. 2003 married Elsie Volker 

5 Beverly Henry

5 Delma Henry

5 Denise Henry

5 Brenda Henry

5 James Henry

5 Raymond Henry

5 Mark Henry

5 Shane Henry

5 Michael Henry

4 Donald Frederick Henry b. 1918 – d. 1968

3 John Alfred Waters (b. 1883 26047/1883 Walgett d. 1884 NSW BDM 11828/1884 – his death seems to have been recorded as Joseph A Waters.

3 Walter Waters b. ??-??-1885 Walgett – need to clarify if he was buried in Boggabilla Cemetery

3 Unnamed Female Waters b. 1895 d. 1895  Walgett at- daughter of Charles Waters II and second wife Emily Read

2 Jane Elizabeth Waters b. c1844 d. 1868 Warialda m. 1864 in Wee Waa George Robinson (his extended family tree) d. 1868, the son of Joseph and Elizabeth Robinson. George Robinson sailed with his parents and siblings on the “Ellenborough” as Assisted Emigrants to Newcastle in the NSW Colony in 1854. Many of those sailing were destined to work on the construction of the Newcastle Railway – whilst others were agricultural labourers. For more information on the “Ellenborough” click – here.

 It has been claimed that they died as a result of a sulky accident. However their 1868 death certificates show that Jane died in June 1868 and George died in December 1868. Subsequently their two young children, George and Joseph,  were separated and raised apart – George with the Robinson‘s and Joseph with the Waters. According to their son George‘s lengthy obituary, the two brothers only met up in adulthood years later.

Note – that within the Robinson family  there has been some conjecture regarding which Jane Waters had married which George Robinson.

Amongst the Robinson Family it had long been believed that …

“George and Jane Robinson (Waters), …. We have his parents as Joseph Robinson (a butcher) and Jane Pearson, and their son George was born 10th Sept 1843, when they were living at 19 Gothic St, Cambridge. George was married to Jane Waters 8th June 1864. They had two sons George andJoseph, and Jane died when thrown out of a sulky, and George died later from injuries received when he came off a horse. The boys were split up after their mother died,and didn’t meet until they were adults….. (George and Jane were) married 8th June 1864 at Comelah, by Enoch Plice -minister- witnessesPulsford and Rowling”

ie thus it was long believed in the Robinson family – that the father of Neil Robinson who married Heather Robinson, was a different George Robinson and the son of a different Joseph Robinson and Jane Pearson – compared to what Kerrie Anne Christian had suggested.

Also from Robinson family folklore …

“Jane born 11-12-1839 at Annandale, her father was William Waters, came to Australia on convict ship ‘David Lyon” april 1830 – mother was Maria Gavan, her parents John and Dorothy were from Ireland. William and Maria’s children were Jane, Elizabeth, Anne, Daniel, James, Susan.Maria died 1850, aged 25, three months after Susan was born.

We were told Jane was killed in a sulky accident on the ‘great Cattle Drive’ and after contact with Joseph‘s descendants, they believed George lived several years after Jane‘s death, but that has now been brought down to months.”

However the 1868 death certificates (click on this link to view the certificates  7939637d) for Jane and George Robinson record that …

• George was the son of Joseph Robinson, Carpenter and Elizabeth Sterns, and that he was born in Shelford Cambridgeshire
• Jane was the daughter of Charles Waters and Jane MacDonald, and that she was born in Glendon in the Hunter Valley. 
• they had 2 living sons, however their sons’ names were not recorded 

Also both possibilities have a George Robinson marrying a Jane Waters in 1864 – one at Wee Waa and one at Comelah. However there is only one record in NSW Births Deaths and Marriages for a George Robinson marrying a Jane Waters in the period 1860 – 1865 – viz NSW BDM 3280/1864 – and it was recorded as being at Wee Waa.

Regarding birth of a son George Robinson in the 1860’s – NSW BDM have no birth entries for a George Robinson born in 1860 to 1868 – and considering an alternative spelling, ie Robertson, there is but one NSW BDM entry for a George Robertson born to  George and Jane in the period 1860-1868 viz in 1865 in Wee Waa (NSW BDM 16203/1865).

Regarding birth of a son Joseph Robinson in the 1860’s- NSW BDM has 11 entries for a Joseph Robinson born in 1860 – 1868  but only one entry for a Joseph Robinson son of George or  of George and Jane   in that period  of 1860 – 1868 : viz in 1867 in Wee Waa (NSW BDM 17295/1867). And further, considering the alternative name spelling of Robertson, according to NSW BDM, there is only one entry for a Joseph Robertson born in 1860-1868 – viz in Maitland in 1862 to aJoseph and Jannette Robinson. 

In summation – reviewing the NSW BDM records – there was only one possibility for a son George Robinson/Robertson being born to a George and Jane in NSW in 1860-1868 – AND there was also only one possibility for a son Joseph Robinson/Robertson being born to a George and Jane in NSW in 1860-1868.

Note – Collaboration, comparison, sharing and debate are inherently part of the processes of investigating family history. A more detailed analysis of the two possible origins for George and Jane Robinson can be seen by clicking on this link – Robinson – Waters Excel 1997 – 2003. And in such discussions other parts of the family “jig saw puzzle” emerge which might otherwise have been known by only a few.

In this case, following a comparison of the information we have been able to conclude that it does appear that the George Robinson who died in 1868 was the son of Joseph and Elizabeth Robinson of Great Shelford Cambridge and that his wife Jane Waters who also died in 1868, was the daughter of Charles Waters and Jane/Jean MacDonald. And in the discussion, so many little stories of the Waters-Robinson family have emerged.

3 George Robinson b. 1865 Collarenebri – d. 1922  Anna Bay (Port Stephens) – m. Ann Cromarty ( – d.1922) of a prominent local Anna Bay pioneering family who had grown up at Bob’s Farm. George worked around eastern and central Queensland as well as western NSW, tanksinking, contracting and droving, timber. He ended up at Anna Bay, Port Stephens, under the guardianship of local butcher, Charles Blanch. Later George Robinson taking over the butchery of Charles Blanch (1, Tomaree FHG 2), following his time in farming and dairy activities. Robinson’s Reserve in Anna Bay is named after George. Note – Ann’s grandfather Captain William Cromarty of the Orkney Isles, had been Master of the “Sovereign” and Newcastle Pilot. Ann’s brother Magnus Cromarty became MLA for Wickham, and another was Councillor D Cromarty of Port Stephens Shire Council.

4. Joseph Robinson b. 1893 Raymond Terrace – (S/N 1725) enlisted in WW1 in 1916 and served on the Western Front with the 53rd Battalion, where he was wounded, promoted to Sergeant – returned to Australia 1919 – ADFA listing – had the Anna Bay Store – m. Grace Nellie Rush

5. Eve Robinson m. 1954 Desmond Ross at Bellicourt Anna Bay

4. Magnus Robinson b. 1894 Raymond Terrace – d. 1943  (obituary) Anna Bay – named after St Magnus, patron saint of the Orkney Isles, birthplace of his great grandfather Captain William Cromarty. Magnus was a  farmer who married Nellie May Banks( – d. 1952)  in 1917 in East Maitland.

5. Joyce Robinson

5. Jack Robinson b. 1926 Stockton- d. 2002 Stockton

5. Don Fredrick Robinson b. 1929 Stockton -d. 1966 Raymond Terrace m. Alma Joan Roberts in 1960 at Gloucester

6 Private Robinson

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5. Mavis Robinson

4. George Archie Robinson b.1898 Raymond Terrace – d. 1961 farmer married in 1921  in Stockton to Mabel Amelia Laman (b. 1897 – d. 1972)

5 Kenneth Robinson b. 1922 – d. 1985

5 James Archibald Robinson b. 1927 – d. 1978

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5 Barry Robinson  b. 1930 – d. 1984

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4. Neil Robinson b. 1901 Waratah – d. 1951 – farmer m. 1923 Raymond Terrace  to Heather Robinson b.1901 Hillgrove – d. 1995 Nelsons Bay

5. George Ernest Robinson (b. 1924 – d. 2005) possibly married Elma Lucy Tomlinson in 1944 at Newcastle ?

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5. Geoffrey Neil Robinson (b 1927 – d. 1957) m. Sylvia Livingstone 1948 at Stockton ?

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6 Maxwell Robinson (b 1953 – d 1953)

5. Clive Robinson possibly married Thelma Mary West in 1951 &/or Rhonda Vinetia Bates in 1962 – both at Raymond Terrace

3 Joseph Robinson b. 1867 Wee Waa / Bucklebone – d. 1953 Collarenebri – m. Annie Lane ?? 1909 ??

4 Grace Robinson (1913- 2001 – buried at Collarenebri ) married Alfred Bruce Denyer (1914 – 1991 – buried at Collarenebri ) – note Ancestry.com shows 9 Denyer’s at Herbert St Collarenebri in 1980 Electoral Roll.

5 Terry Bruce Denyer (1940 Collarenebri – 1999 Alpha Station Collarenebri – buried at Collarenebri) – note Henry Charles Denyer of Collarenebri (a cousin ?) was awarded an OAM in 2006 – For service to the community of Collarenebri through a range of health and emergency services organisations from 1954

6 Private Denyer

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5 Brian Alan Denyer (1943 Collarenebri – 1989 Newcastle)

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4 Essie Robinson (b 1915 – 1977) – in 1933 married in Walgett to Peel Nettle  Dorrington (b 1910 – d 1977) buried at Woronora Cemetery. They were divorced around 1951.

5 John Joseph Robinson – Dorrington (b. 1931 – d. 1997) married Lesley Judith Anderson

6 Glenda Dorrington (b 1953  – d. 1953)

6. John Joseph Henri Dorrington

6 Emma M Dorrington

2 John Charles Waters I b. c1850 Glendon Brook, Singleton d. 22-05-1887 Bingara, NSW m. Ellen Elizabeth Jones m. 08-02-1881 Spring Creek, Warialda b. 15-03-1866 Warialda – 048 MT Waters-Jones 1882 – note Ellen: aka Elizabeth Helen Jones on Marriage Index.  John Charles Waters died from a fall from a dray. – 048 DT – Waters John C 1887.  – Photo below courtesy of  Glenys Canning

3 John “Charles “Waters  II . 1882 Bingara  m. Elsie M Butler m. 1914 Bingara – photo courtesy of Glenys Canning

4 Thomas John “Jack” Waters b. 1915 d. 1995 m. Sadie Evelyn Cochrane m. 1940 Waverley aka Jack. Lived at Tamworth and both are buried at Bingara – photo courtesy of Gleny Cannington

5. Raymond John Waters b. 10.3.1941 Bingara – d. 10.10.1977 Gravesend NSW buried at Bingara – m. Glenys

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4 Mervyn V Waters b. 1917

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4 Monica Joyce Waters b. 1919 m. Lawrence John Frazer m. 1943 Warialda

4. Kathleen Waters

4. Patricia Waters

3 Edwin /Edward Power Waters b. 1885 Bingara d. 09-02-1972 Weethalle, NSW m. Elbra Ellen Patterson m. 09-04-1907 Bingara b. 23-09-1888 Warialda d. 01-12-1976 Weethalle Given as Edward on fathers death cert. In 1924, Edwin & Elbra WATERS moved from GRAVESEND to MUD HUT after drawing a property in a ballot – this property was later to be named “WEE WAA”. The journey down would have been long & tiring as Edwin came by wagon pulled by eight horses; his wife Elbra & two daughters Mona & Rita in a sulky; & son Aubrey following on a pony. The two elder.daughters Dorrie & Nita stayed at Narrabri with their uncle Alf COLLINS & followed some time later. When they arrived at “WEE WAA” property, they lived in a tent until Edwin and a handyman built a cottage – the property consisted of approximately twelve hundred acres of virgin land. The two youngest
children, Ted & Vera, were born at the Bush Nursing Association at ERIGOLIA. Edwin farmed until about 1947 when he moved to EURATHA to live & become a tank-sinker. There are many tanks in the area sunk by Edwin & his team of horses. This property is now owned by Greg McCARTEN, the son of Mr. & Mrs R. McCARTEN. From about 1928 to 1939 the property named “PYRMONT” was farmed by the JACOBS family; & then to 1949 by Mr. GEORGE HEATON who leased it from the Lands Department & then from 1949 it was leased by Aubrey & Jean WATERS who renamed it as “THE RANCH”. Consisting of 1214 acres it was converted to a “Homestead Farm” after three years. At this stage the house was not livable as being close to the road it had become a haven for swagmen & itinerant workers. Around 1950 Aub & Jean shifted to “THE RANCH” from “ERCILDOUNE”, a property which Aub share-farmed for his father-in-law CYRIL INGLE. Their son Raymond was born in 1951 & daughter Helen in 1954. In 1957 Aub purchased a second farm known as “SHERBRYES” from Peter Hines at TALEEBAN & farmed both properties until 1967 when declining health forced him to sell & retire to TEMORA. (Note source of these notes to be verified)

4 Doris Waters b. 03-05-1907 m. Alexander Campbell m. 1930 Narrandera – Dorothy I Waters on marriage index.

5 Heather Campbell
5 Fay Campbell
5 Margaret Campbell
5 Duncan Campbell
5 Janet Campbell
5 Nancy Campbell
5 Ian Campbell

4 Nita M Waters b. 1910 m. William M Ambrose m. 1929 West Wyalon

5 Eileen Ambrose
5 William Ambrose

4 Mona Thelma Waters b. 05-12-1914 m. Walter Thomas Judd m. 1936 Lake Cargelligo Walter: aka Jack

5 Gloria Judd

5 Mavis Judd

4 Aubrey Lionel Waters b. 30-04-1916 m. Jean Winifred Ingle m. 1948 Weethalle d. 199

5 Raymond Waters b. 1951
5 Helen Irene Waters b. 05-11-1954 m. Neil Martin m. 198

4 Rita Waters b. 19-09-1918 m. Andrew Joseph Norton m. 1936 Lake Cargelligo No Issue. Andrew: aka Tom.
4 Edwin Waters b. 06-07-1928 m. June C Dale

5 William Waters
5 Christine Waters
5 Jennifer Waters
5 John Waters

4 Vera Waters b. 19-01-1933 m. Stanley C Harpley

5 Colin Harpley
5 Cheryl Harpley
5 Trevor Harple

3 Emma Jane Waters b. 1887 Bingara m. Eugene W Archer m. 1907

4 Mabel Jane Waters be 1905 d 1991 m. 1925  Francis Arthur James Gillan in East Maitland

4 Eugene L Archer b. 1908 Narrabri m. Cathleen M Garton m. 1931 Maitland West

4 Mary I Archer b. 1910 Wagga Wagga
4 William T Archer b. 1912 Junee
4 Charles Edward Archer b. 1917 Paddington m. Patricia Kathleen Pilgrim m. 1941 Maitland East