The theme proposed by Amy Johnson Crowe's Challenge for the second week of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is "King". I have been wracking my brain all week for a connection to this theme to no avail.
However, this morning when discussing the theme with my husband over our Saturday morning "flat white", he suggested using "stri-king". Light bulb moment thank you Steve! As many of my ancestors came to Australia with the hope of "Stri-King" gold, why not tell one of their stories.
Peter McGregor was my great great great grandfather and was born in Redgorton, Perthshire Scotland around 1809, the second son of John McGregor and Isabella McGlashan. He married his first wife Ann on the 20 May in 1830. Peter and Ann has four children John, James (my gg grandfather), Isabella and Peter. Sadly Ann passed away in 1840 leaving Peter with four young children to look after. It must have been difficult for him to look after his family on his own. On the 25 June 1848 Peter remarried Christina Guthrie (nee Miller) in Barony Lanark Scotland.
In the following year Peter, Christina and their children, including Christina's son James from her first marriage, left Scotland on board the Diana bound for Australia. Peter's occupation on the shipping manifest is listed as a Sawyer. Once they had arrived in Australia on the 9 June 1948, the family moved to the gold fields at Araluen, in the Braidwood district of the southern highlands of New South Wales.
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| Shipping List for Diana - showing members of the McGregor family |
Peter McGregor was given a Crown Grant of 100 Acres in the parish of Jinglemoney near Araluen. It is reported that he sold this land to Mr James Laing, however the family continued to live on this land until 1863. A map of this block of land can be found on my blog, Mappy Monday - Jinglemoney Araluen. Peter and his sons along with the McPherson Family worked on the gold mines in the Araluen district and later at Bombay on the Shoalhaven River.
1863 was not a good year for Peter and his family. Late in the evening of 16th October 1863, Christina McGregor lost her way and fell into a mine shaft and drowned. Following, Christina's death the family continued to live in the district. Isabella (married to Andrew Bowman) and Peter (married Annie Honeywell Couch) both stayed in the district. James (married Margaret McPherson) and John (married to Catherine Wallace) both moved with their families to live in Sydney in the late 1870's.
Peter McGregor stayed in the Braidwood district until he passed away on the 10th January 1882. He was buried in the Braidwood Cemetery.
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| Peter McGregor, daughter Isabella and her husband Andrew Bowman |
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