George Hayes (1846-1984)
married (1871)
Esther Colonial Berry (1854-1931)
Tabilk Farm Family
The information contained in the stories below has been gathered from Mark Hayes finanical records; Jenny Vass (nee Saggers) research and family knowledge; John Freesmith's research; and finally Ancestry.com sources.
First Son and First GrandsonGeorge was born 17 January 1846 in Medbourne in England becoming Mary Ann's first little brother. He was the first of Mark and Maria Hayes eleven sons but the only one born in England. His Uncle Teddy daughter Eliza (Anne) was about 6 or 7 years old, giving him a big sister and a big cousin right there in the small English village with him. Grandparents William and Judith Hayes now had their first grandson, after two granddaughters. We don't know too much about his other Grandparents George and Mary Searcy but we assume that at least Mary came to live in Medbourne at some stage as she died in Medbourne when George was 9 years old. However, George had left for Australia as a four year old in 1950.
George had arrived in January 1846 two months before Mary Ann's first birthday in the March. Thomas was born in June 1849 but this baby brother died somewhere in the next 18 months. George would have been about 3 years old and perhaps perceived all the sad emotions of the rest of the family. George's parents made a huge decision that impacted Mary Ann, himself and all his siblings to come. Mark and Maria, Mary Ann and George said goodbye forever to their Grandparents, friends, relatives and the world they knew in November 1850. As Uncle Teddy and Auntie Amy followed them with Eliza three months later, we assume they knew they would be following, making their farewell less painful. George had his 5th birthday on the voyage to Australia, arriving on the 14th March 1851 in Melbourne. The family traveled inland in search of farming land. George's first brother, Mark, born in Tooborac in 1852 sadly died at about 6 months old. William came along in 1854 when George was 8 years old. His mother then went on give George seven more brothers - Edward, Mark Henry, James, David, Joseph, Alfred and finally Albert. Joseph had arrived when George was 17 years old but drowned in a tragic accident when he was 20 years old. |
George the Grain Grower
George worked his father's Mangalore farm for 15 shillings per week with all expenses paid. George appears to have been a very competent farmer like his father Mark because in 1871 the Mangalore farm produced 188 bags of wheat and 181 bags of oats and in 1872, 820 bushels of wheat and 157 bags of oats.
On 18 January 1870, Mark Hayes bought 1600 acres of land at Mangalore from Mr Graham, the proprietor of the Carlton Stables in Melbourne, for which he paid £708. Much of the land, which had a big frontage to the Goulburn River, was apparently under timber and scrub when Mark acquired it. However, some was obviously cleared and already under cultivation, as Mark reaped and sold a stack of wheaten hay from the Mangalore property to a Mr Dougherty on 16 February 1870.
When Mark bought the property from Mr Graham, he also bought horses, plant and effects from him for which he paid £170. On the same date he borrowed £400 at 6% from Mr Graham. Soon after, on 24 January bought roofing, timber, a harness and rations in Melbourne, and paid a carpenter £16 to erect a home on the property.
On 18 January 1870, Mark Hayes bought 1600 acres of land at Mangalore from Mr Graham, the proprietor of the Carlton Stables in Melbourne, for which he paid £708. Much of the land, which had a big frontage to the Goulburn River, was apparently under timber and scrub when Mark acquired it. However, some was obviously cleared and already under cultivation, as Mark reaped and sold a stack of wheaten hay from the Mangalore property to a Mr Dougherty on 16 February 1870.
When Mark bought the property from Mr Graham, he also bought horses, plant and effects from him for which he paid £170. On the same date he borrowed £400 at 6% from Mr Graham. Soon after, on 24 January bought roofing, timber, a harness and rations in Melbourne, and paid a carpenter £16 to erect a home on the property.
Esther Colonial Berry
Esther's parents were George Berry and Elizabeth, nee Craft. George and Elizabeth had been born in Cambridge in England, had married there and started their family with Ann (1848) and Walter (1852). In April of 1852 the little family of four boarded the Epaminondas landing in Port Adelaide, South Australia on the 2nd August. They came overland from South Australia to Swan Hill where Esther was born 12 April 1854.
The family moved into the Mt Carmel area north of Heathcote where George worked at the Mt Carmel Station. He then selecting land at Tooborac, which he named ‘Major's Creek Farm’. It was here in Tooborac, that Elizabeth went on to have a further six children. Esther eventually had 8 siblings. Caroline (1857), Harriet (1859), Emma (1861), Emily (1865), Henry George (1867), Agnes (1869). |
Wedding Bells
George Hayes (25 years) married Esther Colonial Berry (17 years) on the 12th July 1871 at Esther's parents home "Major's Creek Farm" in Tooborac.
The Mangalore property that George had been farming, may well have been acquired by Mark for his son George in preparation for George’s impending marriage. On 22 February 1872 George took over the Mangalore farm at valuation and bought the horses and implements for one hundred and ninety pounds. On 19 December 1873 this debt was discharged in exchange for George’s Emu Flat paddock, consisting of 159 acres on the confluence of the McIvor and Gap Creeks, which Mark Hayes had selected for George in 1860. George sold the Mangalore farm on 14 January 1875 to a Mr Redfern of Seymour for £950. After the sale of the Mangalore property, George bought a farm at Tabilk consisting of approximately 2800 acres. On 22 April 1875 Mark lent George £1020 at 6% on mortgage for the Tabilk property. In the ensuing years George paid off the mortgage, making the final payment of £50 to his father on 6 January 1883, the total being £1,347 principal and interest in full settlement. George was debt free at this point and enjoyed this status for the mere two further years of his shortened life. The information relating to above land transactions and farming yields come from Mark Hayes Account Book, which provides details of his financial transactions from roughly 1870 up to 1888. |
First Five Children
While living in Mangalore, George and Esther had their first child, Maria Jane 7 September 1872. Their only son, George was born in 12 December 1875 but sadly died two months later on 9 February 1876. Emily Louisa was born 16 April 1877. Esther was next on 27 March 1880 and was always called "Topsy". Caroline was born 7 Dec 1882 and also managed a lifelong nickname, "Pimpy".
Accidential Death
George tragically died 12 December 1884 at the age of 38 years in Nagambie. While George was helping a neighbour, a wool press fell on his died and he died the next day. George and Esther had only been married for 13 years. He left behind a grieving wife to take care of their 4 daughters: Maria (12), Emily (7), Esther/Topsy (4) and Caroline/Pimpy (2).
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A New Marriage
Esther went on to marry Alfred Edward Gadd and in 1890 they had a daughter Ivy Clara Gadd followed by a son Richard Burton Gadd in 1892.
Esther and her new family appear to have kept in close contact with the Hayes family, particularly with Edward and Sarah Hayes, perhaps because Sarah’s brother, Frederick Edward Hendy, was married to Esther’s sister, Emma Berry.
Alfred Gadd owned the General Store in Nagambie. Here he employed dressmakers who included Esther's daughter Maria until she married and Esther's niece Mary Jane "Tottie" Hayes. Tottie was Edward and Sarah Hayes' daughter who went to live with her Aunt Esther while she worked for Mr Gadd. It was there that Mary 'Tottie' Hayes met her future husband, Thomas Davies, after his first wife had died.
Esther's daughter Emily worked for her step-father as a clerk at A E Gadd's there in Nagambie. When Emily married Frederick Damyon in 1899, a new clerk was needed. So Esther 'Topsy' trained as a clerk. Caroline 'Pimpy' appears to have remained a housekeeper for her mother and then for her sister Topsy.
Esther and her new family appear to have kept in close contact with the Hayes family, particularly with Edward and Sarah Hayes, perhaps because Sarah’s brother, Frederick Edward Hendy, was married to Esther’s sister, Emma Berry.
Alfred Gadd owned the General Store in Nagambie. Here he employed dressmakers who included Esther's daughter Maria until she married and Esther's niece Mary Jane "Tottie" Hayes. Tottie was Edward and Sarah Hayes' daughter who went to live with her Aunt Esther while she worked for Mr Gadd. It was there that Mary 'Tottie' Hayes met her future husband, Thomas Davies, after his first wife had died.
Esther's daughter Emily worked for her step-father as a clerk at A E Gadd's there in Nagambie. When Emily married Frederick Damyon in 1899, a new clerk was needed. So Esther 'Topsy' trained as a clerk. Caroline 'Pimpy' appears to have remained a housekeeper for her mother and then for her sister Topsy.
George and Esther’s daughters: Maria Jane married Thomas Saggers of Seymour; Emily married Frederick Damyon, a chemist from Ballarat; the two youngest daughters, Esther ‘Topsy’ and Caroline ‘Pimpy’, remained single and lived in Belgrave in their old age.