William Welsh/Welch

William was raised by his mother and her husband Thomas Greenhalgh, moving to the Eugowra area in the 1870's. Along with his wife Rebecca they remained in that area, being very involved in the community, the church and their large family of 11 children.

Source: A Rich Inheritance - Volume 2 - The Family Trees

William Welsh was born on May 23rd 1835 at Richmond, the son of Mary ann Welch. He was baptised by the Roman Catholic priest, Rev. McMorcoran on November 22nd 1835. No birth registration has been found for William, however the official Church record of baptism states the father as Edward Roberts, a farmer on Richmond Road.

Source: A Rich Inheritance - Volume 1

William Welsh was born at Windsor on 23rd May 1835 to Mary Welsh. His baptismal records show his father as Edward Roberts but he retained his mother's maiden name. In 1857 william Welsh married Rebecca McClintock at Solitary Creek (Rydal0, according to the rites of the Presbyterian Faith. They were married at "Gowan Hill" the home of the bride's parents, William and Martha (nee Robinson) McClintock. William bought a small farm at Piper's Flat. A severe outbreak of dipheria swept through the area in 1865 claiming the lives of an awesome number of children. Unfortunately two of these were William (five years) and George Thomas (three years) sons of William and Rebecca, which left them with their eldest daughter, Mary. Diptheria is now prevented with vaccination. Because of the lack of medical equipment and isolation of many families during the pioneering days, it was a "killer" disease. eight more children were born to William and Rebecca, the last three at Eugowra. However they again fell victim to the horrific ravages of diptheria when in 1882 they lost a daughter, Sarah, aged 13 years. It is believed William visited Eugowra a number of times prior to 1876 as a companion to his half brother George Greenhalgh. However it was in 1876 that he first purchased land in the district.This was a 200 acre block situated at the junction of the Eulimore and Mandagery Creeks. By 1909, when William made legal disbursement of his property to his family, his holdings had built up to 2160 acres. His original block, portion six in the parish of moura, is now included in the Mallick family property "Island View". William was closely associated with the establishment of the first public school in the Eugowra district, "Nangar" which was opened in 1878. It was situated about ten kilometres east of Eugowra on the Eugowra-Orange Road. William and his family contributed much to the building of the Presbyterian Church in North Street which was opened in 1912. Of their eight surviving children, all have contributed to the community. Rebecca died at Eugowra on 2nd December 1908, William on the 1st January 1913. Both are buried in the Presbyterian section of the Eugowra Cemetery. Source: "Eugowra, Its History and Development" compiled by William G (Bill) Banham 1994 - published by The Eugowra History Group NB 200th Anniversary of the Colony of NSW Wednesday 26th January 1988 is the terminating date of all references in the book.