Catherine Thompson Squires 1845 – 1933

Catherine Thompson Squires 1845 – 1933

Let's start with your ancester who was born 100 years before me, your grandmother. Longevity runs in this family and this Catherine, the first of three in your female gene pool, lived till she was 88.

Catherine was also the mother of my great-grandmother who I remember very clearly and admired greatly. In the (very faded) photo below the lady on the left is my g-g-mother, and I think that is Catherine on the right.

Australian born on 12 June, 1845 (in Ipswich), Catherine was the first of the three children of William Barber Thompson and Margaret Mortal.  Her sister Mary Anne was born in the June of 1848 and brother William Henry followed in 1849.

English William Barber Thomson (born in 1815 in Kingston upon Hull) married 20 year old Irish Margaret Mortal from Bruree, Limerick on 3 July, 1843 in Ipswich and became your 5th great grandparents.

At the time of his death William was referred to as 'a very first colonist', one of the first white settlers in the Lockyer Valley. He arrived in Sydney and his early colonial life was spent in various parts of New South Wales and Queensland, where, in his early days he pursued the vocation of a boot-maker. We know he and Margaret lived around Ipswich as all three of their children were born there. Mary Ann married Charles Evans, a railway traffic manager and was living in Townsville at the time of his death. William Henry, who had not been heard of for a considerable number of years and 'had been mourned for as dead'. What hard times they must have been!

William had moved to Townson, at the head of the Laidley Creek Valley in the mid to late 1860s to take up land and farm with his daughter Catherine and her husband, John Squires.  He lived with her and her husband's family. 

There are no hints as to when Margaret may have died.

He was said to be of a 'quiet and retiring disposition' and was generally respected by all who knew him.   I find it interesting how respect was measured back then by the length of the funeral procession.  Coffins were placed on a dray and the mourners followed on foot to the cemetery.  Although nearly 10 miles had to be walked behind William's coffin, the cortage was a long one.

At the time of his death he had 15 grand-children and 18 great-grandchildren.

In 1864, when she was 18 Catherine married John Squire in Bigge's Camp which is the original name for Grandchester.  Grandchester is a town in the Lockyer Valley region in South East Queensland, Australia. It is located 76 kilometres west of the Brisbane CBD and is within the boundaries of the City of Ipswich. John, at that time was a 'carrier' between Grandchester and Toowoomba and her first child (Margaret) was born in Grandchester in 1865.  A year later John arrived.  They then moved their small family to the Stanthorpe district wherr tin mining was booming and John worked in the tin mines. Catherine gave birth to their third child, William under a dray in 1868 at Drayton, 138 km (85 miles) from Stanthorpe. Their fourth child, Mary Anne was born in Warwick, 60 km (37 miles) from Stanthorpe in 1871. Charles and my g-g-mother were also born in that area, Charles in Westbrook and the younger Catherine in Toowoomba.

In the year 1878 they arrived in the Laidley district and after a few years they acquired property (in conjunction with her father) at Townson although the account I read from Catherine's obituary notice in 1933 stated that John acquired property. That's how it was, so no point making comment.

When they moved into the valley, by bullock wagon, they were waylaid by the flooded Laidley Creek. They had to stay for six weeks on the banks of a creek and live on fish and ducks they caught.

So they joined the small band of first settlers in the Upper Laidley Creek Valley. And there they stayed for the rest of their lives. One more daughter and one more son were born after they settled.

Catherine's life up till then must have been difficult but arriving in unfamiliar country with six young children, no houses, no facilities of any kind ... I can't begin to imagine. The land had to be cleared, crops grown, a family of 8 children and 3 adults to be fed. Not to mention the plants that could poison and any number of creatures that could kill.

Her youngest son died when he was three years old.  I wonder what caused his death?  Her oldest daughter, Margaret died age 39.   Her six remaining children prove the longevity claim I made earlier.  My g-g-mother lived till 91 and I like to think that her physical toughness and her warmth and kindness was inherited from her mother. 

The house in the picture above is the home she and John and her father created for the family.  I don't know what year it was built.  I'll keep working on that but that's something that is probably lost in the mists of time.

Catherine was remembered for her kindly actions.  She was always willing to assist in nursing the sick, day or night, when the nearest doctor lived at Ipswich, which was then a formidable journey of around 80 kms by dray or spring cart.

Catherine born 12 June, 1845 in Ipswich

Married John Squire 25 February, 1864
Died 1933

Her children were:

Margaret (Maggie) 23 December, 1865 - 1904

John 13 November, 1866 - 1936

William 10 June,1868 - 1949

Mary Anne  13 July, 1871 - 1956

Charles 13 May, 1875 - 1951

Catherine 16 September, 1877 - 1968

Jane 22 July, 1881 - 1944

James 30 November, 1885 - 1888