Richard Rawson (b 1864) & Mary Ann Barrett (b abt 1867)
Richard married Mary Ann Barrett in November 1886 at Moondarra, which is on the road between Erica and Moe. She was born in Jericho, which was south of Matlock on the Great Dividing Range. I say 'was' because to my knowledge there is nothing there now, although I noted on a web search recently that gold miners may be looking at the prospects within the area once more. Jericho was a thriving little gold town for a while, but it was already in severe decline in 1867, and when I was there for work purposes in the mid 1980's it was nothing more than a small clearing and a patch of blackberries.
Did Richard meet her at Jericho? Was the family there at one stage before moving back south towards Walhalla? Richard and Mary's first child, George, was born in Toombon, so presumably the family resided there for a while before settling in Walhalla. The locations of the births of their remaining children indicate the family came to Melbourne in about 1897/98. This photo of Jericho in 1906 comes from the Museum of Victoria Collection.
The first child, George (b 1887), married Lillian Jenkinson (b 1886) in South Melbourne in February 1915. Lillian was the (a?) daughter of Andrew Jenkinson and Susan Rickards. They had one child, Ronald, born in Bendigo on 15 September 1924.
The second child, Charles (b 1890), joined the AIF in WW1 and a copy of his Service Record shows he enlisted on 7 January 1916, and served in 23 Battalion. At enlistment he was about 5'11" tall and 148 pounds, with brown eyes and dark brown hair. I suspect that when he enlisted he was a carpenter/joiner living at Apsley, but that at some stage while overseas his wife moved to 11 Dudley Street, Fitzroy, Victoria to be with her in-laws, Richard and Mary Ann. He was still in Melbourne at Royal Park in June 1916, but he left for overseas in the Miltiades on 1 August 1916, disembarked at Plymouth on the 25 Sept 1916, and by late Nov 1916 he was in France. He then seemed to be back and forward from England to France and in hospital frequently with illness. He returned home on the Swakopmund on 2 Aug 1919 - which shows how long with shipping and other problems it took to get some troops home. Was he a signaller or engineer?
Richard Rawson (b 1864) & son Henry
About 1910
Charles married Ellen Clemence Gressele (I am not certain the surname spelling is correct) in April 1913, and they had two children, Roy and Mary.
The third child, Richard (b 1891), was my grandfather.
Lillian (b 1894), the fourth child, married Harold Martin and they had two children, Alan and Thelma, while the fifth child, Mary (b 1897), never married.
Robert, the sixth child, was born, and he died, in 1898.
Annie (b 1901) married Albert Huggins and, presumably after he died, she married Harold Martin, the husband of her deceased sister Lillian. I know of no children from these marriages.
The last child, Henry (b 1907), married Jean Sanders and they had a son, Neil. Josiah John Rawson credits Henry with the good sense to support the Carlton Football Club and pass that on to himself.
Mary Ann Barrett (b abt 1867)
About 1913
George Rawson (b 1887) & Lillian Jenkinson (b 1886)
Marriage Day
February 1915
Richard, Mary & Family
Mary, Richard, George & Charles standing. Henry on knee of Richard, Annie & Lillian
About 1910
Henry Rawson (b 1907?)
About 1917
Back Row: Couple on L ?,?, then Harold Martin, Mary Rawson, Ellen Clemence Gressele, Charles Rawson, ?. Children (from L) Thelma Martin, Alan Martin, Mary Valda Rawson?
About 1930
Harold Martin?, Richard Rawson, Henry Rawson?, Neville Peter Rawson, George Rawson, Charles Rawson
About 1950
Back Row: Charles Rawson, George Rawson, Richard Rawson, Neville Peter Rawson, Harold Martin Front Row: Annie Rawson, Lillian Rawson, Ellen Clemence Caessale, Mary Rawson, Jean Sanders. Child unknown
About 1950
Back Row: Jean Sanders, Annie Rawson. Seated: Lillian Rawson, Ellen Clemence Gressele, Mary Rawson, Neil Rawson (child)?
About 1950