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The Starritt and the
Gregg families were obviously very close friends for a long time back in Ireland
and this is shown by the number of times they each appear on their
respective family trees. It was probably fairly natural therefore that they
would stay close together when they moved to Australia.
Catherine Gregg
was born in 1845 in Co. Donegal, Ireland (probably Moneylagan where her
parents farmed) one of eleven children belonging to
Sarah (Gaileys) and
Findlay Gregg. She landed in Australia in October 1864 to be met by her
brother Richard who had moved to Australia in 1860 and was living in the
Ballarat area at a small place called Ascot.
We can assume that Catherine
moved straight to this area and eventually took up work as a general
servant in the Glendonald Creek area which was her address when she was
married in 1870. The closeness of the families in Ireland would certainly
encourage them to remain friends in a new country and in 1870 on the 2nd of
August Robert and Catherine
were married at the Presbyterian Manse, Creswick. Robert was a
carrier in Ballarat at this time so they probably moved back to there where
it appears his brother John was living at No. 107 Windemere Street.
In 1872 Robert's name appears in the rate books as living in a wood house at No.
127 Windemere Street where he stayed with his new wife until they moved to
Gunbower. As John's name doesn't appear after 1871 in the rate books whereas Robert's
does, I think it is possible that Robert bought the house from John and the
number was changed to 127. (This, however is only guesswork). Ballarat was a
boom gold mining town at this stage and Windemere Street itself ran through
a gold mining lease called the KOH-I-NOOR which was next to the famous
Morning Star lease so the hustle and bustle of Ballarat must have been an
exciting place to live at this time. Robert however, had a longing for the
farming life and his carrying business was a means to achieve this end. The
land act of 1869 gave him the opportunity he needed.
This article in its entirety was reproduced from the book
"A Starritt Family History" by John D. Starritt and placed on this site with
his permission. My thanks go to Mr. Starrit for the time and effort he has
put into researching the STARRITT and GREGG families.
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