James McKenzie Wilson (1882 - 1940)

Born 18 Feb 1882 in Brunswick, Victoria, Australia

Ancestors

Husband of Christina Harriet (Fraser) Wilson — married 1910 in Lake Rowan, Victoria, Australia

Descendants

Died 4 Apr 1940 at age 58 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Marie Hodgkinson [send private message]

Biography

James was born in 1882; In his early days he worked as a miner and a farmer.

After marrying Christina Harriet Fraser the family lived for some time in St James in the old home of Christina's mother Catherine Fraser who had moved with her family to Queensland following the death of her husband Peter Fraser in 1917.

On the urging of Chris's brothers to help care for her aged mother Catherine, James and his family migrated to Queensland on the promise of land in the Burra Butti ( Jandowae) District. The family arrived in drought conditions. The land was not what was expected and farming conditions were very different to what Jim had experienced in Victoria. Land had to be cleared, a home built from scratch for the family, the land was poor quality filled with " melon holes, content of artesian water was not understood and many crops were burnt and prickly pear was invading the cleared land.. Children were enrolled in the near by Washpool later Burra Burri school. Life was tough.

Jim was one of the farmers who helped build the " Memorial to the Cactus Blastis" Hall in nearby Boonarga outside of Chinchilla. The small cactoblastis caterpillar had been introduced from South America to eat out the prickly pear which was taking over agricultural land.

Jim developed lung cancer possibly from his time as a miner in Victoria and was transferred for treatment in Brisbane.. He died ithere 3 weeks after on the 3 August 1940.

Sources

• Birth Cert ; Victoria, Fitzroy Reg No 2698/1882
• Marriage Cert Victoria, Lake Rowan Reg No 9115
• Death. Queensland , Brisbane Reg No 1940/B/48841
• The Wilson story & a collection of personal Willson letters from siblings from Australia & Scotland from 1850 till about 1890by Marie Hodgkinson
• John Angus & Mary Ann McKay 1802-1973 compiled by Norma Sutherland
• The Fraser story researched & compiled by Leonie Jarvis & Marie Hodgkinson

Notes It has been established through yDNA that John Angus' male descendants are direct descendants in the male line of Freskyn of Moravia, founder of the Sutherland family. ( Sutherland DNA Project through FT DNA)