The Ancestry of Charles Henry Exell Wilkinson

His Parents
Charles Augustus Wilkinson and Mary North

Charles Augustus WILKINSON (RIN: 192), son of Edward John WILKINSON and Ann EXCELL , was born about 1851, probably in Sydney, NSW. He married Mary NORTH .

He died at the home of his son Charles, 24 Roy Street Lithgow, 18 December 1926.

Mary NORTH (RIN: 203), daughter of William NORTH and Julia or Judith A'HERN , was born August 20, 1852 in Sydney, NSW.

Children of Charles Augustus WILKINSON and Mary NORTH are:

1. John William WILKINSON (RIN: 391), b. May 11, 1871 See John William WILKINSON

2. Elijah James WILKINSON (RIN: 402), b. October 01, 1873 See Elijah James WILKINSON & Clara Beatrice Truman CLARKE

3. Charles Henry Excell WILKINSON (RIN: 083), b. March 15, 1876 See Charles Henry Excell WILKINSON & Isabella Jane PEACOCK

4. Arthur Edward Humphries WILKINSON (RIN: 369), b. August 25, 1878 See Arthur Edward Humphries WILKINSON & Annie Matilda STUMBLES

5. Ernest George Joseph WILKINSON (RIN: 380), b. July 24, 1880 See Ernest George Joseph WILKINSON & Louisa Kate BILLS

6. Mary Ann WILKINSON (RIN: 246), b. May 15, 1883 , d. 1883

Charles Augustus Wilkinson

Charles was probably born in Sydney but his birth was not officially registered.

By the 1870s he had moved to the Bathurst area, most likely in search of gold. At the time of his marriage his occupation was given as labourer, and he was living at Green Swamp, near Glanmire. According to his grandson Dave Wilkinson he mined for gold at Glanmire and at Napoleon Reef, but finally struck it rich at Lucknow.

GOLD MINING AT NAPOLEON REEF

The “N.S.W. Gazeteer 1866" states that "goldfields in the neighbourhood (of Bathurst) are Glanmire, distant about 9 miles east; the Napoleon Reef about 11 miles S.E.... the mining population is as follows...Napoleon Reef 150, Glanmire 350."

The "Bathurst Directory 1886-7" provides the following information:- "Glanmire, a mining township situated on St Anthony's Creek about 7 miles N.E. of Bathurst. The diggings were first discovered in June 1865.. from time to time a fair number of miners were employed. The principal reefs were the Napoleon and the Fontana."

Many shafts were dug along about 300 yards of the main reef during these early diggings; the adjacent hills were mined and alluvial mining was conducted along the creeks. Mining continued in the area on a small scale for many years, culminating in a commercial mining venture using more mechanized processes in 1911. The old diggings have often been reworked by individuals, especially during the Great Depression of the 1930's. However, since the last commercial attempt in 1911, the site of the Napoleon Reef has remained a pock-marked hillside, a silent testimonial to the efforts of the miners of the late 19th century and the early 20th century.

Source: http://www.napoleonreef.com/

Little is known of the rest of his life. He continued to live in the Glanmire area near Bathurst until about 1885, when he disappears from the East Macquarie Electoral Rolls. It is uncertain where he moved to from there. In the latter years of his life, when he could no longer look after himself, he lived with his son Charles in Lithgow.

According to his grandson Dave Wilkinson he suffered from senility late in life and died in Lithgow in 1926.


Mary North

Mary North was born in Sydney on 20 August 1852 and at the time her parents, William North and Judith Herring (also often known as Julia Ahern) were living in Campbell Street, Sydney. She was baptised in St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney. Later she moved to Bathurst and met and married Charles Augustus Wilkinson at Holy Trinity Church, Kelso, in 1875. When they married they both listed their address as Green Swamp.

Holy Trinity Church Kelso

Two children, John William and Elijah James were born to Mary before they married, but it seems unlikely that Charles was their father, although they were certainly raised as Wilkinsons and their names were included in the Family Bible. A further 4 were born to the marriage. They were:

Charles Henry Excell, b. 15 March 1876,
Arthur Edward Humphries, b. 25 August 1878
Ernest George Joseph, b. 24 July 1880
Mary Ann, b. 15 May 1883 and d. 1883.

All except Mary Anne, survived to adulthood. The names and dates of birth are recorded in the Family Bible. Mary obviously retained some links with family in Sydney as Mary Anne was born in Sydney (registered in Waterloo) in 1883 but died in Bathurst in the same year.

Peg Reynolds, her grand-daughter recalled that one of her grandmothers used to live near Bathurst and was a Catholic. An exact date for her death has not yet been established.

To find out his parents click on the links for Edward John WILKINSON and Ann EXCELL
and also William NORTH and Julia or Judith A'HERN