William John MacCandless

GEDCOM Note

<p>Very little is known about William (John) McCandless (grandfather of Ken McCandless). There is no birth record, no parents named (except see below), no immigration record, no death record. He only appears in the records between 1876 and Oct 1881. There are some vague records prior to this but unconfirmed they are of him.</p> <p>There is a vague reference to a father named James McCandless, on his brother James' marriage record. My father's story handed down to him was that William (John) McCandless was a wheelwright from Scotland. There is evidence that William (John) and his brother James set up a partnership in farming. James lists his and wife Jane Malcolmson's nationality as Scotch on their immigration record in 1863.</p> <p>In 1877, William (John) suddenly appears on the scene and marries Ernistina Diebert. His age was unknown, but he is estimated to be 40-45 years old. Ernistina was 17 years old.</p> <p>The marriage certificate reads "MARRIAGE OF WILLIAM JOHN MCCANDLESS AND AUGUSTE ERNESTINE DIEBERT MARRIED ON 27 JULY 1877 in Albury NSW. No parents named for either party. No age listed for either party. Both living at Morrbringer, Moorwatha. Witnesses: James McCandless and Emily Crocker.".</p> <p>The Diebert's were German immigrants and the patirarch Johann Gottlieb Julius Diebert and sons held fairly large parcels of land and went on to grow wheat, blacksmithing, hotel, and a winery.  Interestingly, there were no Diebert's at the marriage ceremony, which indicates the Diebert's may not have been in favour of or did not know of the marriage. There was a family rumour that she was pregnant at the time (including with Ned Kelly'schild). There does appear to have been a daughter born shortly after, but the child did not survive.</p> <p>In 1876, the sole surviving child of James and Jane Malcolmson was killed in a cart accident (their first child Margaret Jane died very young and perhaps in childbirth along with wife Jane in 1863).</p> <p>The cart accident report notes James and William (John) McCandless as witnesses. "Witness - John McCandless." My father Ken related the story, that the cart wheel hit a tree stump causing it to jump up and overturn the cart, and falling on top of the 14 year old William John pinned underneath.</p> <p>William (John) and Ernistina had 2 children, Robert Edward born circa 1881 and John William (Bill) born circa 1879 who lived on to become the father of Ken McCandless.</p> <p>In July 1883, when infant Robert Edward McCandless was 2 years old, he was accidently drowned ina house dam: "Transcription of Death Certificate obtained. DEATH OF ROBERT EDWARD MCCANDLESS infant, 7 JULY 1883. Age 2 years. Accidently drowned in a tank at Morebringer. Inquiry held 8 July 1883. Father: William John McCandless, Mother: Anistena Augusta formerly Diebert. When and Where buried. 10 July 1883 Howlong. Witnesses: August Just, Joseph Wall."</p> <p>Beginning prior to 1876, James and William (John) appear to have been in a partnership conditionally purchasing land near Howlong and Morebringer, NSW and improving it and growing crops. In 1878 there appears to have been a falling out betwen the brothers only 1 year into William (John)'s marriage, when the partnership was dissolved.</p> <p>"NOTICE OF DISSOLUTION. NOTICE is hereby given, that the partnership heretofore subsisting between the undersigned, carrying on business as farmers, at Moorwatha, near Howlong, under the firm of " M'Candless Brothers," has this day beendissolved by mutual consent.—Dated this 17th day of May, 1878. JAMES M'CANDLESS. WM. JOHN M'CANDLESS. Witness,—W. Hy. Eastebby."</p> <p>In 1879, there was a large sale of property by the McCandless brothers: "AUCTION SALE OF Highly-Improved Farm Land. THOMAS WHITAKER. Has received instructions from the mortgsgees to sell by public auction at M'KEONE'S (lateBoyle'a) HOTEL, HOWLONG. ON WEDNESDAY, 18TH JUNE, 1879, At IS o'clock (noon) all those 830 ACRES OF FIRST-CLASS AGRICULTURAL LAND, The property of MESSRS. M'CANDLESS BROS., Situate in the PARISH of MOREBRINGER. Tbe improvements includes House, Shed, Stables three Tanks, and about three hundred acres ready for the plough. The whole is enclosed with a split fence, two rails, one rail and wire and live hedge, and is subdivided into seven paddocks. The above offers a splendid opportunity for remunerative investment, as tbe land is undoubtedly first-class,and admirably suited for cultivation. For particulars of title terms. &c., apply to Messrs. Fleming and Bradley, solicitors, Albury,sr to tbe auctioneer,THOMAS WHITAKER,Auctioneer & General Agent, Howlong.".</p> <p>In 1880, James was declared insolvent.</p> <p>In about Oct 1881, shortly after the birth of their 2nd son Robert Edward, William (John) left his wife Ernistina andtheir 1st child John William (Bill) for some reason. Ernistina held the McCandless name until her death despite having another partner (Bryon/Bryant) and several children. There is no record of William (John) since then.</p> <p>Scattered records exist for brother widower James, who seemed to keep struggling with farming until no record can be found after 1901 except for a possible unconfirmed match in 1904 (cencus).</p> <p>William (John)'s son, John William (Bill) stayed with his mother until about 17 when his mother died aged 37, then he and his cousin Adolf Diebert rode pushbikes from near Albury to Wallumbilla where both bought a 320 acre grazing property.</p>

GEDCOM Note

<p>by Eric McCandless</p> <p>Part 1.</p> <p>Very little is known about William (John) McCandless (grandfather of Ken McCandless and my great-grandfather). There is no birth record, no parents named (except see below), no immigration record, no death record. He only appears in the records between 1876 and Oct 1881. There are some vague records prior to this but unconfirmed they are of him.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;There is a vague reference to a father named James McCandless, on his brother James' marriage record. My father's story handed down to him was that William (John) McCandlesswas a wheelwright from Scotland. There is evidence that William (John) and his brother James set up a partnership in farming. James lists his and wife Jane Malcolmson's nationality as Scotch on theirimmigration record in 1863.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;In 1877, William (John) suddenly appears on the scene and marries Ernistina Diebert. His age was unknown, but he is estimated to be 40-45 years old. Ernistina was 17 years old.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The marriage certificate reads "MARRIAGE OF WILLIAM JOHN MCCANDLESS AND AUGUSTE ERNESTINE DIEBERT MARRIED ON 27 JULY 1877 inAlbury NSW. No parents named for either party. No age listed for either party. Both living at Morrbringer, Moorwatha. Witnesses: James McCandless and Emily Crocker.".&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The Diebert's were German immigrants and the patirarch Johann Gottlieb Julius Diebert and sons held fairly large parcels of land and went on to grow wheat, blacksmithing, hotel, and a winery.  Interestingly, there were no Diebert's at the marriage ceremony, which indicates the Diebert's may not have been in favour of or did not know of the marriage. There was a family rumour that she was pregnant at the time (including with Ned Kelly's child). There does appear to have been a daughter born shortly after, but the child did not survive.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;In 1876, the sole surviving child of James and Jane Malcolmson was killed in a cart accident (their first child Margaret Jane died very young and perhaps in childbirth along with wife Jane in 1863).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The cart accident report notes James and William (John) McCandless as witnesses. "Witness - John McCandless." My father Ken related the story, that the cart wheel hit a tree stump causing it to jump up and overturn the cart, and falling on top of the 14 year old William John pinned underneath.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;William (John) and Ernistina had 2 children, Robert Edward born circa 1881 and John William (Bill) born circa 1879 who lived on to become the father of Ken McCandless.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;In July 1883, when infant Robert Edward McCandless was 2 years old, he was accidently drowned in a house dam: "Transcription of Death Certificate obtained. DEATH OF ROBERT EDWARD MCCANDLESS infant, 7 JULY 1883. Age 2 years. Accidently drowned in a tank at Morebringer. Inquiry held 8 July 1883. Father: William John McCandless, Mother: Anistena Augusta formerly Diebert. When and Where buried. 10 July 1883 Howlong. Witnesses: August Just, Joseph Wall."&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Beginning prior to 1876, James and William (John) appear to have been in a partnership conditionally purchasing land near Howlong and Morebringer, NSW and improving it and growing crops. In 1878 there appears to have been a falling out betwen the brothers only 1 year into William (John)'s marriage, when the partnership was dissolved.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;"NOTICE OF DISSOLUTION. NOTICE is hereby given, that the partnership heretofore subsisting between the undersigned, carrying on business as farmers, at Moorwatha, near Howlong, under the firm of " M'Candless Brothers," has this day been dissolved by mutual consent.—Dated this 17th day of May, 1878. JAMES M'CANDLESS. WM. JOHN M'CANDLESS. Witness,—W. Hy. Eastebby."&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;In 1879, there was a large sale of property by the McCandless brothers: "AUCTION SALE OF Highly-Improved Farm Land. THOMAS WHITAKER. Has received instructions from the mortgsgees to sell by public auction at M'KEONE'S (late Boyle'a) HOTEL, HOWLONG. ON WEDNESDAY, 18TH JUNE, 1879, At IS o'clock (noon) all those 830 ACRES OF FIRST-CLASS AGRICULTURAL LAND, The property of MESSRS. M'CANDLESS BROS., Situate in the PARISH of MOREBRINGER. Tbe improvements includes House, Shed, Stables three Tanks, and about three hundred acres ready for the plough. The whole is enclosed with a split fence, two rails, one rail and wire and live hedge, and is subdivided into seven paddocks. The above offers a splendid opportunity for remunerative investment, as tbe land is undoubtedly first-class,and admirably suited for cultivation. For particulars of title terms. &c., apply to Messrs. Fleming and Bradley, solicitors, Albury,sr to tbe auctioneer,THOMAS WHITAKER,Auctioneer & General Agent, Howlong.".&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;In 1880, James was declared insolvent.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;In about Oct 1881, shortly after the birth of their 2nd son Robert Edward, William (John) left his wife Ernistina and their 1st child John William (Bill) for some reason. Ernistina held the McCandless name until her death despite having another partner (Bryon/Bryant) and several children. There is no record of William (John) since then.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Scattered records exist for brother widower James, who seemed to keep struggling with farming until no record can be found after 1901 except for a possible unconfirmed match in 1904 (cencus).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;William (John)'s son, John William (Bill) stayed with his motheruntil about 17 when his mother died aged 37, then he and his cousin Adolf Diebert rode pushbikes from near Albury to Wallumbilla where both bought a 320 acre grazing property.</p> <p>Part 2.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I am descended from my great grandfather William (John) McCandless who is a bit of a mystery which I have not been able to resolve in the past 30 years. Where he came from, who his parents were (although his father may have been named James), and where he ended up is unknown to me. My father Ken also did not know much about his grandfather, although he said that he was a wheelwright, someone who makes buggy and carriage wheels. I also cannot trace the birth or death of great-grandfather William (John) McCandless. It is a little strange that I can find some records of William John’s brother James, but virtually nothing of our ancestor William (John), a mystery man.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">James and Jane McCandless (nee Malcolmson) came to Australia on the Ship “The Hope” likely from Belfast (the ship had a few departure points including Dunedin (now called Edinburgh) Scotland and Liverpool England). James and our ancestor William John were brothers. The relationship between James and William (John) was in a story that Dad told of two tragedies, one the drowning of his father’s brother Robert Edward in a “tank” when he was very young (1883) but I believe the reference to a tank may be a turkey’s nest tank or small house dam, and the other of the death of his father’s cousin William John (Junior) in a buggy accident when he was14 years old (1876). I have found reference to a coroner’s report of 1876 for the upsetting of a cart, but not the actual details. Dad said that they were coming home early one evening and it was dim or dark and the cart was turning a corner and ran over an unseen tree stump and turned over, killing William John (Junior). One thing that is confusing to me is why he was called William John Junior, when his father was James and their father was also James. The elder William John was his uncle. James must also have been the elder brother of William (John), as it would have been more usual to call the eldest son after the father. But then why wasn’t he James (Jnr)?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">It seems that James and William (John) were partners in the business of farming, as I found a court record of them formally dissolving their partnership in 1878. It seems they may have had a falling out over something.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">I do recall when I was young and not much interested in genealogy at that stage that Dad told a story but I am a little unclear whether he told it about whathappened to our great-grandfather William (John). The story basically goes that great grandfather went riding out in the bush on a horse on a property mustering cattle or something like that. When hedidn’t return on dark, a search party was sent out for him. Eventually the search party came across an old native aboriginal sitting in a tree covered in blood and holding a severed arm presumably of our great-grandfather. The aboriginal was tugging on the tendons of the severed arm and watching the fingers move back and forth. So the inference is that our great-grandfather was murdered by an aboriginal. It seems an unlikely story but Dad told this several times when I was young. I have searched in vain for any records of this in the newspaper archives which if true would have been reported somewhere by someone at the time. This may have actually happened, or may have been a cover story for something else, or may have just been a story to frighten little children, I am not sure.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">However in about 1999 I met up with a related family historian who told me an alternate set of two stories on what happened to our great grandfather that had been passed down through the Diebert family. One story was that our great-grandfather was having an affair with another woman and the husband found out and murdered him. I have also searched for accounts of this without luck. The second story is that our great-grandfather ran off to northern Queensland with another woman. This sounds a more likely story, as Ernistina gave an account at an unrelated criminal trial saying that herhusband had left her 18 months previously. There was also a story that shortly after John had left her, Ernistina went “up north” to try and find him, whether she found him or not in unknown. She never remarried although she had another partner and children, and was buried as a McCandless. This indicates they were not divorced and he may have been still living at the time. After his mother died, our grandfather Bill McCandless rode a bicycle to Wallumbilla near Roma Queensland. Perhaps he went in search of this father who may have changed his name at that stage.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">I have tried to find a death certificate for William John McCandless without success. I would also expect to see a coroner’s report on the death if he were murdered but have not been able to find one.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Whatever really happened, by the time our grandfather was about 4 -5 years old, his father was no longer around and our grandfather’s mother Ernistina (nee Diebert) and he were living with the extended Diebert family. Ernistina then partnered with Ambrose Bryon and had another 5 ? children with him.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Some references to similar names to our ancestors are as follows.In ????, there was an auction in the name John McCandless for a set of cottages and land adjacent to the Albury railway station. Both John and James were called upon as jurors in various justice trials in the district. John and James selected several parcels of land in the district under a land grant scheme. In 11 June 1873, William McCandless selected 320 acres at Moorwartha. In Apr 1901, John WMcCandless and Fredrick J, Milthorpe, jointly took up a homestead selection of 923 acres at Hunthawong near Hillston. Whether these last couple are relevant to our family, I am unsure. In Mar 2016, Italked to a Michael Milthorpe from Hillston who is a descendant of Fredrick J, Milthorpe, but he didn’t have any information to help me, but said he would ask around some family members and getback to me if he learned something. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Place names I have heard mentioned in the family history are Morebringer, Moorwartha, Urana, Lockhart, Greens Gunyah, Ganmain, Howlong, Junee, Matong, and Boree Creek. Ernistina McCandless is buried in the Narrrandera cemetery.</p>