Jane and William Alexander
| First name | Jane and William |
|---|---|
| Last name | Alexander |
| Country of Origin | Scotland |
| Date of Birth | 14/08/1836 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 24/09/1858 |
| Submitted by | Cheryl Kerr |
Story
After the Irish potato famine of 1845 – 1847, the catastrophic agricultural conditions hit Scotland. The massive unemployment within the country became a burden upon the government and landlords. It was then decided by government and the landlords that, it was more financially economical to pay for emigration passage to either Canada or Australia. As William was a ploughman, in charge of making the right decisions, on behalf of the landlord, about when to plant crops, the care of crops etc, they were facing great hardship. Jane and her husband William took advantage of this offer and emigrated to Australia.
Jane was born Jean Smith Alexander in Lanarkshire, Scotland and she married William Alexander, also from Lanarkshire, Scotland on 1st November, 1833. They weren’t related before their marriage – despite both being Alexanders.
They set sail upon ‘The Alfred’ from Liverpool docks in England, for a journey that took just over three months. Each passenger was only allowed two boxes – one to be kept with the passenger and one to be kept in the hull. The box they kept had cooking utensils, food and a change of clothes, which they changed into for the second half of the journey.
William and Jane set out as a relatively newly married couple and arrived as a family, having given birth to the first of their ten children, a daughter – also named Jane, during the voyage. It became apparent during the journey that, the ship’s surgeon – Dr Bloomfield, was incapable of performing his duties, so the birth was left in the hands of the women aboard the ship. Jane was one of five children born during the voyage.
Their impression upon landing in Moreton Bay on 24th September, 1858 are unknown, but the family spirit that continues today, and the progress that they made in the years up until their deaths, would indicate that they would have seen it as a great adventure and a challenge. After various moves, they eventually settled in Kogan, Qld in 1879. From that day to this, there has always been an Alexander descendant living in Kogan.
Both William and Jane were industrious people and managed to create a good and comfortable life for themselves and their children. At the time of William’s death in 1881, when his wagon accidentally ran over him, they had an estate worth £100. In the twenty-one years until Jane’s death from senile decay in 1902, she had managed to increase that wealth to £998.