This branch of the James family had much association with the Paynesville/Bairnsdale area of Gippsland in Victoria, Australia although the only known living survivors are the descendants of the youngest child, Edwin Halliburton JAMES, who no longer live in Gippsland.
This Charles JAMES was the "James" in "Millar and James" who, in 1874, were awarded the contract to build the railway line from Sale to Morwell which was opened on 1st June 1877. They were probably also involved in completion of the difficult section through the Haunted Hills from Morwell to Moe due to some problems experienced by the original contractors. They were thought to have also had some association with the 0.9 mile section of line from Sale Station to the wharf although the nature of this association, if any, is unclear.
Any further information or comments about Millar and James and their work on those railways will be most welcome.
Charles JAMES was the second son and fourth child of George JAMES and Elizabeth Maria BEALE (see George James family page).
He was b. 6 May 1846 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, occupation Civil Engineer, d. 8 Nov 1918, bd. Paynesville, Vic., Aust., m. Catherine YOUNG b. 5 Mar 1852, d. 4 Oct 1910 "Ridgeway", Lake Victoria near Paynesville, bd. Paynesville.
If you would like to know a little more about their nine children, please read on.
Note: In this family, and in other families in this district, you will notice that many birth locations are shown as "Lucknow" (a locality close to Bairnsdale) and in some cases "Richmond" (a suburb of Melbourne). These are the locations shown in official Government records and are usually the locations where the initial record books were located rather than where the person was actually born. It is likely that many of the births were at the parents' homes which may have been quite distant from the place where the record book was kept.
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Children from the marriage of Charles and Catherine were :-
Catherine Annie JAMES b. 14 Dec 1875 Richmond, Vic., Aust., d.12 Jul 1936, bd. Paynesville Hnown in the family as Annie, she was a talented artist in oils and watercolour, and had some works hung in the Louvre, lived and painted for many years in England with her sister Dot.
Charlotte Elizabeth JAMES b. 20 Sep 1877 Richmond, d. 6 Oct 1935, bd. Paynesville. Known in the family as Dot, she was competent in oils and watercolour and lived and painted for many years in England with her sister Annie.
Helen Maude JAMES b. 1880 Lucknow, Vic., Aust., d. 1946, bd. 11 Sep 1946 Paynesville. Known in the family as Nellie.
Charles Young JAMES b. 24 Jan 1882 Lucknow, d. 31 Mar 1949, bd. Paynesville. Known locally as Buffalo or Buff, this Chales lived a solitary life on his small farm "Littlewood" near "Ridgeway" and was sometimes referred to as "Dirty Charlie" by certain relatives.
Madeline Isabella Ethel JAMES b. 1884 Bairnsdale, d. 1941, bd. 13 Jan 1941 Paynesville. Known in the family as Mal, she was the last member of the James family to live at "Eaglehurst", the family home established at Eagle Point/Paynesville by her grandmother Elizabeth Maria James (nee Beale).
George DeCourcey JAMES b. 1886, d. c1950 at his home "Fort King",Paynesville, bd. Box Hill, Vic., Aust., m. 14 Apr 1920 to Phyllis Ogilvy SMITH b. c1899, d. c1980.
George DeCourcey JAMES, and his younger brother Edwin Halliburton (Hallie) JAMES, were the only members of this family definitely known to have married.
George DeCourcey and Phyllis had only one child, Charles Henry (Jimmy) JAMES b. 14 Mar 1924 Bairnsdale, d. 1935 Prahran.
At this point it seems worth explaining that George DeCourcey JAMES(1886-c1950) had inherited the property "Ridgeway" overlooking Duck Arm and Picnic Arm of Lady Bay, Lake Victoria, Gippsland from his father Charles JAMES (1846-1918). Charles had named it after the property "Ridgeway" which had been established in earlier times near Southampton UK by his father, the George JAMES (1813-1877) who had been a merchant in Melbourne's very early days before returning to UK.
George DeCourcey JAMES' wife Phyllis was away on a visit to Melbourne when the house, built with walls of solid concrete and a slate tiled roof, was destroyed in minutes in the 1940 bushfires.
George DeCourcey, who made a vain attempt to save the house and had no time to save other than the clothes he wore, managed to run to the lake and escape from the fire in his rowing boat.
George DeCourcey and Phyllis then lived in the old Beaudinet family house across Picnic Arm until they sold both properties to the Stringer family not long before George died in about 1950.
Ian Stringer build a new home after clearing the remains of the "Ridgeway" homestead and changed the name to "Orana". His brother Dennis settled on the old Beaudinet property.
John Stanley JAMES b. 6 Dec 1888, d. 25 Oct 1928, bd. Paynesville. There is some thought that John Stanley (Jack) JAMES may have been married for a period around the time of the 1914-1918 Great War but this has not been substantiated.
Robert Henry JAMES b. 10 Feb 1892, d. 29 Sep 1918 in France, Europe as result of wounds during WW1, bd.Templeux-Le-Guerard British War Cemetery, France.
Edwin Halliburton JAMES b. 16 Jan 1894, d. m. Irene MORTON. Known in the family as Hallie, his WW1 military service consisted of ....(DETAILS SOON TO BE INSERTED)
To read more about Edwin Halliburton JAMES and his descendants, please go to the page named Edwin Halliburton JAMES.
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