William Frederick Hughes and Mary Stodart

William Frederick Hughes was born on 19/1/1828, baptized at Boston Spa, Yorkshire, on 2/8/1829, and married Mary Stodart at St Matthew's, Kensington, South Australia, on 26/6/1850. He had come to Australia in 1840 with his parents, George Robert Hughes and Charlotte Isabella Prentice, sailing on the Diadem. He died on 30/8/1821 and is buried in the Inverbrackie cemetery (near Woodside).

Mary Stodart was baptized on 22/4/1833 in South Leith, Midlothian, Scotland. Her parents were Laurence Stodart and Mary Ann Middleton. She died on 28/1/1919 and is buried alongside her husband at Inverbrackie.

William was a stonemason and builder, at least before his marriage. After his marriage (on 26/6/1850) he bought land near Woodside, and named it "Bleakside Farm". William and Mary lived there for nearly 70 years. William was a Justice of the Peace and held various public offices in the Woodside district, including Chairman of the Onkaparinga District Council. He was the foreman for the construction of the Cape Willoughby Lighthouse on Kangaroo Island (1852).

A "four generations" photo was taken at Bleakside Farm in about 1915, showing William Frederick Hughes, his son George Laurence Hughes, grandson Frederick Thomas Hughes and great-grandson Frederick Campbell Hughes. On the same day a photo was taken of Mary Hughes, then confined to a wheelchair, holding her great-granddaughter, another Mary Hughes. These photos are shown on the Fred and Nell Hughes page.

In partnership with his double brother-in-law Thomas Stodart (brother of Mary and husband of William Frederick's sister Charlotte) and Thomas Reed, a successful farmer and former miner of Kanmantoo, William Frederick built the Albert Mill at Nairne in 1857/58. They sold the mill in 1859; it seems likely that the venture was not successful. (This information can be found in A Miller's Tale: The memoirs of John Dunn of Mt Barker, Ed. Anthony Stuart. See the Laurence and Mary Stodart page for more details.)

Most of my information about the descendants of William Frederick and Mary Hughes, other than my own ancestors, derives from the websites Ancestry World Tree: Hughes Family Tree and RootsWeb's WorldConnect Project: Schipp Family Tree.

William and Mary had the following children:

• George Laurence (b. 6/4/1851)
• William Stodart (b. 10/10/1853)
• Mary Ann Middleton (b. 7/5/1855)
  
• John Benham (b. 17/3/1857)
• Laurence Stodart (b. 8/4/1861)
• Ralph Wilson (b. 3/7/1863)
• Andrew Smillie (b. 14/10/1865)
• Margaret Disher (b. 18/5/1868)
• Jane Isabella (b. 20/4/1870)
• Arthur Thomas (b. 12/12/1872)
• Cecilia Gordon (b. 15/10/1873)
• Christina Aitchison (b. 24/5/1875)

George Laurence Hughes married Sarah Ann Hutchens; see their page for more information.

William Stodart Hughes married Elizabeth McKenzie, née Bartholomew, widow of Alexander McKenzie, on 17/12/1877, at Georgetown. She was born in about 1841, daughter of one Thomas Bartholomew. Note that a Thomas Bartholomew was the father of John Bartholomew who was the husband of one of the daughters of Richard and Sarah James. It seems a reasonable guess that this is the same man, and is the Thomas Bartholomew who married Susan Putland in Newhaven, Sussex, in the December quarter of 1838, and came to South Australia in 1839 on the Buckinghamshire. William Stodart Hughes died on 2/3/1911.

Mary Ann Middleton Hughes married Charles William Fowler, son of John Roger Gresley Fowler and Elizabeth Brackenridge, on 11/10/1884. He was born at Mount Torrens on 31/1/1846 and died on 18/3/1936; she died on 22/2/1916. They are buried at Inverbrackie. From the gravestone we see that Mary Ann was known as "Annie". The Martha Fowler whose gravestone is also shown was Charles' sister.

John Benham Hughes married Anna Maria Macbean in 1905. She was the daughter of John Macbean and Elizabeth Hilder, born in 1862 and died in November 1941. He died in July 1940. It is tempting to guess that this John Macbean is the Reverend John Macbean M.A. whose 1872 letter to the University of Adelaide applying for membership of the University Association is preserved in the University archives.

Laurence Stodart Hughes married Amy Paltridge on 25/10/1902 at Kensington. She was the daughter of John Paltridge and Elizabeth Clapman, born on 17/5/1864 and died on 19/2/1921. He died on 30/5/1945.

Andrew Smillie Hughes married Ruby Violet Dunn on 27/10/1921 in the Methodist Church at Charleston (near Woodside). She was the daughter of George Dunn and Eliza Jane Disher, born 21/7/1886, died 16/9/1983. He died on 5/4/1951. They are both buried at Inverbrackie, along with a son named John Philip Hughes, who died on 16/8/1935, aged 9. There is a photograph of Andrew Smillie Hughes in the Mortlock Library.

Margaret Disher Hughes remained unmarried, and died on 30/7/1957. For at least the last half dozen years of her life she resided in Mount Barker.

Jane Isabella Hughes remained unmarried, and died on 6/7/1940.

Arthur Hughes died in 1879, aged 7, and is buried at Nairne.

A Cecilia Gordon Hughes married a John Manning Maud (born about 1873) in Western Australia in 1898.

Christina Aitchison Hughes died on 1/12/1929 and is buried with her parents at Inverbrackie.