Ralph MILLAR

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 This handsome gentleman is Paul's great-grandfather, Ralph MILLAR and I don't really know that much about him.

I suppose what we know is the bare-bones of his life;

Born c1842 in Maitland, New South Wales.
Married 5 August 1879, Gowrie New South Wales.
Died 18 August 1911, Tamworth New South Wales.
Bee Keeper.

Not much is it?

So let me expand this.

Ralph married Amelia Jane Hughes at Gowrie. This is not very far from Singleton. Ralph gave scant details for the marriage certificate, just his conjugal status, Bachelor, usual occupation, Settler, usual place of residence, Corinda.  Amelia did likewise, with Spinster for her conjugal status, Gentlewoman for her occupation and Branxton for her usual place of residence. No ages, no parents, no birthplace. Her brother and sister, William Hughes and Sophia Hughes were the witnesses. And it was by the rites of the Presbyterian Church of New South Wales.

Locating Corinda was interesting, it seems that Corinda was the name of his property, in Singleton. It is also listed as Corinda, Scott's Flat, a distance of 9.9km, from Singleton.

I have to wait until Ralph dies, before I get a hint of who his parents are. His son-in-law, Andrew Magill, gives the details, so there could be mistakes. Father, James Millar, farmer and grazier. Mother, Marion Brown.  It is a starting point, but one that is taking ages to sort out.  His age is given as 70, date of birth around 1841, maybe. Age at marriage, 38, date of birth around 1841. Might be correct.

I have then decided to browse through TROVE and boy have I had fun. 

There is so much more; he was appointed a Magistrate for Singleton in June 1869 and Trove is full of interesting Police Court cases, he presided over.  He was an excellent shot, with the Singleton Volunteers, finishing third in a very close competition.  Ralph was also a steward at the Singleton horse races.

He was also SHOT!  It was in his position, as a steward, in September 1876, that he was behind the paddock at the back of the  grandstand and someone had setup a target gallery. The bullet passed through his right cheek and lodged in his left cheek. If he had not moved a moment before it would have been fatal.

This is just a small amount of what I have found. Next post will be about Amelia. Her ancestors are very interesting.

Bye for now,
Lilian.

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