Margaret Bain goes to Australia

Margaret Hannah Bain is the matriarch of the Buchan family of Australia. She was 19 when she boarded the Mary Pleasants to travel from Liverpool to Sydney in 1858. She was headed to her older brother Alexander, already in Melbourne.

On 22 June 1860 she married Robert Buchan in an Independent Presbyterian Church. Alexander was there to witness the marriage. They lived in Heidleburg east of Melbourne, a timber getting area, where her first child, James, was born in 1861. Though a strong Scottish name, James was not a Bain name; he was probably named for Robert's uncle James who raised him. See the BuchansofBorthwick blog to learn about Robert's family.

By July 1863 Margaret and Robert were living in Chiltern in northern Victoria. We know this because her second child was born there on 26 July, Robert Alexander George Buchan - my  great grandfather. The rural areas of Victoria were opening up under the Land Settlers Act. More importantly gold was found there, and Robert may have had mining experience in Scotland. Margaret lived there for the rest of her life.

Children followed regularly:

Catherine born on 27 April 1865 who was to marry Thomas Nash in 1885

Alexander (the first) born on 30 June 1867, who died one week later on 6 July 1867

Helen or Nell born in 1868 who was to marry George Power in 18??

Her twin Alexander (the second) who died the same year in 1868

Margaret Jane born on 10 Dec 1870 who was to marry Thomas Trezise Noye in 1890

Ralph Bruce born in 1872 who died in 1876

Andrew Bray born in 1875 who died in 1876, both boys of scarlatina

and finally, Christian Marion born on 22 April 1878 who was to marry George Albert Jones on Christmas Day 1905.

Margaret bore ten children, six boys and four girls. The four youngest boys died in infancy, but the surviving six children all married and had children.

Pictured here with her youngest daughter Christian, so possibly taken about 1882, perhaps a mourning image. She was undoubtedly a tiny fighter. Image courtesy of  KJL.

Tragedy

On 29 June 1882, with young Christian just 4 years old, Margaret was told that her husband had died that day in a collapse at his gold mine. He was working there, the No. 2 Goldmine of Rutherglen, with his second son Robert. A timber strut gave way, and he was buried immediately. It was the first week that Robert worked in the mine with his father, according to his testimony at the inquest, although this is hard to understand as the son was already nearly 19 years old. He had been partially buried, but got himself free and raised the alarm. His father died at the scene.

Survival

It was 14 years since she had left Scotland. She was now raising four girls aged 4 to 17, while her eldest sons were working independently. She was not alone in the colony, as her brother Alexander, and sisters Mary Ann and Caroline were all there by 1869. Alexander is not known to have married and his whereabouts throughout this time are unknown. In 1867 Caroline married John Abel in Albury, New South Wales just north of Margaret's home in Chiltern. Mary Ann, though older than Caroline, married Isaac Mellor in 1869. 

The three sisters all raised their families in the tiny village of Chiltern undoubtedly supporting each other. Robert Buchan had no relatives in the colonies to rely on for support. All told they had 29 children between them. 

Margaret struggled on till her death in Chiltern in 1915. She did not remarry, so she must have worked, along with her children, to support themselves. Local papers report minor disturbances involving payment of school fees and noisy disputes with neighbours. 

A much older Margaret with one of her many grandchildren. Image courtesy of KJL.

My grandmother Elsie Buchan was born in 1905 in Rutherglen. She would have known her Scottish grandmother, and I wish I had asked more questions about her. She was the ninth child of Robert Alexander George Buchan, whose own wife died just four years later. Elsie was raised by her older sisters. Such stories as she told will be found in later posts.