Kelly Baker ancestors

By 1874 almost all the 120 selections had been taken by about 70 families. By 1890 only half of those families remained, and this trend continued in the South Australian countryside until the present day, when only several farmers are left on this part of the land.

James came to his land the way most of the settlers did - on foot. This somewhat fanciful account is believed to be of James and his two nephews, who would almost certainly have been sons of Patrick, and was published in the "Observer" in 1924, somewhat after the event.

"A team of 4 horses, drawing a wagon laden with bags of chaff, proceeded at a snail's pace over the plains from Farrell's Flat past the Camel's Hump, and through Spalding and Jamestown, "The monotony of the long weary drive was broken by an occasional walk or a ride on the saddle horse. At night they bivouacked on the top of the load under the dark canopy of heaven, bejewelled with the twinkling stars, or on a tarpaulin under the wagon, while the hobbled horses were turned off to graze."

There is a similar account of the Erwin familyís move to Jamestown in 1872 after their parents died at Sevenhill.

"On the exciting journey to take up new land the three young men and their four sisters took it in turns to perch on the top of their belongings on a bullock dray, while a reaping machine drawn behind the dray served as a crowded sleeping quarters for the girls by night."
One of those girls, Catherine, became James' wife. James married Catherine Erwin in 1877 in Caltowie. James told his grandson Peter that he had courted her under the gum trees of Sevenhill when he was 20 and she 16. He said of her "She was a big fine girl".

When James was established, his mother Mary, wife of Jeremiah and his sister Anne came to join him. They would have been a great help with the ever increasing family. James and Catherine had 8 children, although one died as a baby.

The household was augmented by the addition of one of the Baker girls. Nora Baker was born in Ireland in 1866 and she emigrated alone in 1880 at the age of 14. She may have been sponsored by her cousin James, or certainly he had undertaken to care for her. She remained with the family until her marriage to Cornelius Meaney, a neighbour, in 1889. She and Catherine became close friends and remained so all their lives. They both died in 1929. Sadly, Cornelius contracted pneumonia after only a few years of marriage and he died, leaving Nora with two small children. She had had a good education in Ireland, and applied to the Education Dept to become a teacher. She took with her Mattie Erwin, (one of Catherineís sisters) to care for the children while she taught in various schools around the district.
Farming was hard work, a constant battle with the weather and the seasons. Wheat was the main crop, and some farmers kept sheep. Harvest was hard work, and carting the crop to market was quite an ordeal. A good set of horses was a necessity.

Page 1 >> Page 2 >> Page 3 >>