Edward Williams

(1843 - 1900)

and his wife Mary Ann Rawson

Grazier of "The Gullies" in the Monaro District NSW

Edward Williams was the son of John Williams and Sarah Nash and was born in 1843 at his parents "(Head of) Curry Flat" cattle near Nimmitabel in the Monaro district.  When he was 4 or 5 years of age, his parents relocated to "Groses Plain" south-east of Jindabyne, where they remained for nearly two decades.  In 1863, Edward and his brothers, George and William, acquired the lease to the "Bald Hills or the Gullies" cattle run near "Groses Plain".  Edward remained at the run until his death in 1900.

In 1864 Edward married Mary Ann Rawson (1844-1927), the daughter of Yorkshire convict Joseph Rawson (Lord Melville 1830) and Irishwoman Bridgetina Noonan.  Mary Ann Rawson was also born and brought up in the Monaro district.  

In the years following Edward's acquisition of the lease of "The Gullies" cattle run, he also acquired - both by freehold purchase and "selection" - a number of blocks of land within the run.  In 1885 paperwork associated with one of his selections describes his homestead as a slab house 42'x16' with a shingle roof, stone chimney and six rooms (four bedrooms) worth £110.  His property also included a store, stable, shed, stockyard, garden and fruit trees.     

Edward died in 1900 at "The Gullies" and his widow Mary Ann in 1927 at Cobbin near Jindabyne.  

This is a brief summary of the chapter relating to Edward Williams and Mary Ann Rawson published in Nash: First Fleeters and Founding Families - A Three Generational Biographical History.  

 Copyright 2004 - Carol Baxter

The family of Edward Williams and Mary Ann Rawson*

1. Elizabeth Jane Williams (1865 - 1896) md her cousin James Thomas Kilpatrick in 1887.  [see Mary Williams and her husbands Thomas Brown and Edward Carrigan].

2. Charles William Williams (1874 - 1962) md Bedelia Eliza(beth) O'Rourke in 1903.

3. Joseph John Williams (1876 - 1971) md Agnes Taylor in 1913.

4. Alma Christine Williams (1881 - 1976) md her cousin Francis Ernest Stewart in 1901. [see Mary Williams and her husbands Thomas Brown and Edward Carrigan]

Also:

Herbert John Williams  (c1893 - ) md Mary Shiels.

* Many of these dates come from registrations of births, deaths and marriages.  In some cases the event itself will have occurred late in the previous year.