| [Index] |
| William James LARGE (1806 - 1881) |
| surgeon |
|
|
| b. abt 1806 at Ireland |
| m. Mary Ann (Marianne) Caroline WRIXON (1819 - 1888) at Ireland |
| d. 21 Oct 1881 at Tumut, New South Wales, Australia aged 75 |
| Parents: |
| William LARGE |
| Martha (LARGE) |
| Events in William James LARGE (1806 - 1881)'s life | |||||
| Date | Age | Event | Place | Notes | Src |
| Married Mary Ann (Marianne) Caroline WRIXON | Ireland | ||||
| abt 1806 | William James LARGE was born | Ireland | |||
| abt 1837 | 31 | Birth of daughter Maria Elizabeth LARGE | Ireland | ||
| 1839 | 33 | Birth of son William LARGE | Ireland | ||
| 03 Dec 1841 | 35 | Emigration | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | per Branken Moor | |
| 13 Mar 1842 | 36 | Birth of son John Seward LARGE | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | V1842575 54/1842 | |
| 15 Jun 1842 | 36 | Birth of daughter Marion LARGE | Belfast, Ireland | Cemetery | |
| 1843 | 37 | Birth of son Godfrey Bace LARGE | Tumut, New South Wales, Australia | V1843751 54/1843 | |
| 1844 | 38 | Birth of son Richard William LARGE | Tumut, New South Wales, Australia | V18441983 30A/1844 | |
| 21 Dec 1846 | 40 | Birth of daughter Henrietta Sophia Jane LARGE | Tumut, New South Wales, Australia | V18462999 32A/1846 | |
| 02 Oct 1848 | 42 | Birth of daughter Cecilia LARGE | Tumut, New South Wales, Australia | V18481970 33A/1848 | |
| 1850 | 44 | Birth of son Thomas George LARGE | Tumut, New South Wales, Australia | V18501789 35/1850 | |
| 18 Jun 1852 | 46 | Birth of daughter Maria Leonard LARGE | Tumut, New South Wales, Australia | V18522095 38A/1852 | |
| 1854 | 48 | Birth of daughter Matilda Wrixon LARGE | Tumut, New South Wales, Australia | ||
| 10 Apr 1856 | 50 | Death of son William LARGE (aged 17) | Tumut, New South Wales, Australia | cemetery | |
| 21 Mar 1858 | 52 | Birth of daughter Alice LARGE | Tumut, New South Wales, Australia | V185881 159/1858 | |
| 14 Nov 1862 | 56 | Death of son Godfrey Bace LARGE (aged 19) | |||
| 21 Oct 1881 | 75 | William James LARGE died | Tumut, New South Wales, Australia | 10924/1881 | 2 |
| Personal Notes: |
|
In Tumut lived surgeon William LARGE born c 1807 and described as a humourous Irishman who had been a surgeon in the Spanish Legion in Spain during the 1834 Portugese War of Succession.
As Medical Superintendent on the 'Branken Moor' he sailed from Cork, arriving in Melbourne on 03 Dec 1841. This was the year Queen Victoria's eldest son Edward was born, New Zealand became a British colony, the humourous magazine Punch made its debut and Dickens Old Curiosity Shop became a best-seller. Confirmation of Dr William Large's arrival is contained in a "List of Immigrants .. introduced into the Colony of New South Wales ... by Mr Jonathon B Were of Melboume ... arrived at Port Philip in the ship "Branken Moor", Captain David Smith, from Cork on 03 Dec 1841 under the medical superintendance of Dr Large." As his fee Dr Large received 10/6 a head for tending the 152 souls aboard! The Larges were quite a distinguished family in Ireland, of Norman and French Huguenot descent. Copies of letters penned by another William Large in 1838 say they had extensive land-holdings at Ballystonelly, Bollybrack and Glashone in King's County, Ballycapple in Tipperary and Knockbrack in County Cork. Back in Ireland, when Richard Large married Elizabeth Mellifont Townsend SOMERVILLE, daughter of Philip Somerville of Union Hall House, County Cork in 1848, their surnames were amalgamated and used by descendants as Somerville-Large. Parts of pages 424 and 425 of Burke's "Landed Gentry of Ireland" are devoted to the pedigree of Philip Somerville-Large of Vallombrosa, Co. Wicklow and although our William's parents (as shown on his death certificate) are in this pedigree - William Large b 1782 and Martha Collis Carey of Careysville, Fermoy, Co Cork, there is no reference to our William! It is unlikely Burke's Landed Gentry would make an error but there has to be a close link. William's children were given the Christian names of his aunts and uncles - and in some cases their surnames were utilised as second names for Australian-born offspring. A undated letter from Peter Somerville-Large gives some family anecdotes and quotes from a diary written by his grandfather, born 1846, died 1938 aged 92. He said his side of the Large family came from around Cork. His great-great-gandfather was born in 1730 and was believed to be descended from one of King William's Huguenot soldiers. The William Large born 1780 in Cork owned sugar plantations in the West Indies and seemed to have had a colourful career sending ships out from Cork to Barbados. He had two daughters and two sons - one became a lawyer, the other was a Colonel in the Rifle Brigade, seemingly its only Irish officer! They used to wave his sword - stolen years ago, but still have various cannon balls picked up in the Crimea. It would be nice to know something definite about "our William" but it's difficult and very costly doing any research in Ireland, so the few confirmed facts will have to suffice. William's wife was Mary Ann Caroline,(shown on her death certificate as the daughter of Arthur Beecher WRIXON reputedly a Captain in the Fifth Dragoon Guards, and Elizabeth (either nee BENSON or BENTLEY) from Belfast. First baronet Sir William Wrixon, MP for Mallow, took his mother's maiden name of Becher in 1831 and hyphenated it to Wrixon-Becher. An ancestor, Fane Becher, was granted lands in County Cork in 1588. The family motto is Bis Vivit Qui Bene - He lives twice who lives well! Though Mary Ann and children aren't shown on the list of Branken moor passengers, maybe they had a complimentary passage. In any case she must have come soon afterwards and brought the children - Maria Elizabeth 1838, William 1839 and Marion 1840. The voyage would have been an anxious one for six months pregnant Mary Ann whose next child, John Seward Large was born on 13 Mar 1842 in Melbourne. According to his certificate he was baptised at 'a dwelling house in Russell Street in connection with the Methodist Society Melbourne Circuit.' Later the family sailed to Sydney on the Cecilia and most likely went directly to Tumut, which at that time was almost a frontier town. An excerpt from the Tumut Centenary booklet 1824 to 1924 says an 1842 map of squatting runs in Buccleuch County shows Dr Large's hut at Cockatoo. This was towards Brungle, six miles or so downstream from the present town of Tumut. Two more sons were born; Godfrey Bace in 1843 and Richard in 1844. By the time Henrietta Sophia Jane was born on 21 Dec 1846, the Large family was quite settled in Tumut. Cecelia 1848 was named for the coastal ship they travelled on from Melbourne, followed by Thomas George Large 1850, Maria Leonard Large 1852, Matilda Wrixon Large 1854 and finally Alice 1858. Seward, Bace, Leonard and Wrixon were all family surnames. In those days Tumut was not the beautiful town of today - far from it, judging by a report in the Tumut paper of 13 June 1857 when Dr Large arrested a murderer, the second such drunken crime in 12 months. One irate citizen wrote to the Editor ... "We have here no less than five public houses; on the first of July a sixth has got a license to open and a seventh house is in a state of frowardness.* With the exception of these seven houses, there is not one dwelling house here better than slabs in the so-called town of Tumut, and a more drunken place there is not in the colony. Well may our Ministers of the Gospel complain of the daily scenes enacted before their eyes ... " (* The word is obsolete but means peroerse in character or behaviour also refractory, disobedient, obstinate.) Surgeon Large had an enormous territory to look after and was often called upon to give evidence in murder trials as far away as Goulburn and 'the settlements on the Hume River'. Sherry Morris whom I met at the Charles Sturt University Archives did considerable research on early doctors for her interesting book"A Delicate Balance - A History of Wagga Wagga Base Hospital" amd kindly gave me permission to use some of the results of her research. Sherry found that William Large qualified as a physician and surgeon in Glasgow, Scotland and registered to practise as a Medical Practitioner in Australia on 03 Jan 1845. A different source says that in 1847 William was the only doctor listed in practice between Yass and the Murray and was also required at coronial and magisterial investigations. At times he had to make the arduous trip to Melbourne on horseback and frequently accompanied Mr Henry Bingham, the Commissioner of Crown Lands and also Gold Commissioner. Prior to William arriving in Tumut, any doctoring needed had been carried out by Penelope Bingham, the Commissioner's wife who had studied medicine - not common for a woman of her time. Mary Ann Large was also well educated and no doubt she and Mrs Bingham had much in common. At this time Adelong was in its heyday and more important than Tumut so Dr Large had practices in both towns. An ad in November 1860 lists the two practices but oddly enough shows his residence as Camp Street, Adelong. Because he advertised regularly he would have had a nodding acquaintance with the paper's proprietor, James Baker Elworthywho later became his son-in-law. The Wynyard Times of 11 Feb 1862 carried an advertisement - "VICTORIA HOTEL. TUMUT. A farewell ball to Mr & Mrs Large on the 28th." It said the proprietors would be happy to see all the friends who have patronised them since they opened "the above place of business". Tickets sold for one pound! Mr & Mrs Large took the opportunity of tendering their most sincere thanks to ladies and gentlemen of the reef for the very polite attention and kindness they had at all times met with from them. This seemed strange - it could not have been the deceased William, unmarried John or Richard who was a minor, and leaves only 19-year-old Godfrey, who died at the end of 1862. He may have been married and leaving to try his luck gold mining - but that seems very doubtful. The only other possibility is that Dr William and Mary Ann had become publicans - but that doesn't sit too well with the image of esteemed surgeon and respected schoolteacher. Certainly Dr William didn't leave Tumut at that time - an ad in the next issue of the Times said he could be consulted at the Dispensary next to the Victoria Hotel, then two weeks later he moved into 'more commodious premises', describing himself as Surgeon and Accoucheur. It was not unusual for country doctors to combine other businesses with their practice. The small populations could not keep them fully engaged and the financial return would have been inadequate. No doubt this was one reason Mary Ann began her private school- if she had to educate her own brood, she might as well take in others and make a bit of money. With such a large family, I guess they needed some jam on their bread and butter! William engaged in other careers too. A list of AMP Agents & Referees in 1859 included William Large, Esq. Normally he was referred to as Surgeon or Dr Large while Esquire usually indicated a landholder. Dr William used to visit Gundagai regularly and showed initiative by tendering for the conveyance of mail to and from that town once a week. The Government Gazette of 20 Dec 1852 accepted his tender of 80 pounds per year. Life was not without its sadder moments. Their eldest son William, was only 17 when he died on 10 April 1856. There were no death certificates in those days and apart from name, age and date, "Occupation gold digger" is the only information on the burial document. On 18 Nov 1862, the Wynyard Times reported: "DIED on the 14th inst at South Lead, Lachlan Goldfields, of fever, Godfrey third son of William and Marianne Large, Tumut, aged 19 years; deeply regretted by all who knew him". The Wynyard Times of 04 June 1867 reported an horrific accident ... "A serious accident happened in the family of our respected townsman Dr Large, yesterday morning. The family were seated in the parlour about half past 10 a.m. when the second youngest member, a little girl about 12 years, accidentally exploded a quantity of gunpowder which exploded in her face, fearfully scarifying it and endangering her sight which it is feared she will never regain. It is to be hoped however, that this fear may be unfounded." There is no evidence that little Matilda lost her sight. Dr William Large had his ups and downs in the Colony and even though his title of 'Surgeon' sounds impressive, life in a small country town, far from civilised society could not have been easy for any of the family. It was common practice to be paid 'in kind' - cash money would have been in short supply at times. In 1848 Dr William was in partnership with Dr Smith at Tumut but by 1856 Mary Ann had started her school - with their large brood, this would have helped considerably to provide for them. By 1862 the doctor was sufficiently affluent to donate two pounds towards the stipend of Rev Samuel Fox, four times as much as James Elworthy gave! William practised at Tumut for nearly a quarter century before Wagga supplanted it as the major centre of the Murrumbidgee region. He established a practice in Wagga in 1868 but stirred up a hornet's nest trying to be helpful in 1869. Letters to the Editor in the local press objected to his appointment as Medical Officer at the Wagga Hospital. A rather snide insinuation that Dr William was "the victim of strong weaknesses" came from a person writing under the pseudonym of 'Medicus'. The Hospital Committee was quite upset at the verbal assault and considered it "a cowardly attack on a gentleman who has done nothing to deserve it." Later, he was referred to as "an inoffensive gentleman". The crux of the matter was that Dr William had not been appointed but had offered his services whenever they may be needed and professional jealousy made mischief from it. In any event by April 1873 he was one of four paid medical officers at the hospital - on a salary of 25 pounds per annum! Apart from nine months' leave of absence due to ill-health, he remained on the staff until 1880 when the Honorary system was introduced. Life was more difficult for the Larges in later years and trying to make ends meet, they took in lodgers. In 1880 William became bankrupt and had the humiliating experience of applying for voluntary sequestration of his estate. His liabilities were 933 pounds, assets 300 pounds with most debts to his children 300 pounds to Cecelia, 100 to John and 150 to Richard. The rest was owed to local storekeepers and chemists. In a statement sworn at Wagga on 24 Aug 1880, he said he was not aware of any people to whom his estate was indebted. Mrs Large had offered to pay creditors 10/- in the pound but then found they could not do it. He expected to have got the money from among his friends and had never looked into the state of his affairs until he had to make out the schedule. The 10/- in the pound offer was made only to those creditors not related to him. He said his wife kept the banking account and she drew on it as required. Cecelia's money had been used to buy furniture for their dwelling house, his practice had been much reduced and income from lodgers was not as much as anticipated. He sounded old and confused and didn't seem to know which son had loaned how much. On 27 Jan 1881, he applied for a Certificate of Estate presumably the equivalent of a discharge. His address was given as Tumut and it was heartening to see the affidavit in support of his application was signed by Tumut's Commissioner for Affidavits - J.B. Elworthy, JP. General debility and senility were the causes given for William's death at Tumut on 21 Oct 1881. For a long time he had been suffering from a bronchial infection which had reduced him to a mere skeleton. I have always had the feeling that William was older than the age given on his death certificate and there are several references to him as 'an elderly gentleman'. By our modem standards he was not old at 74, but perhaps the rigors of the life he had led - his involvement in the war, travelling extensively in his work and his reduced circumstances had aged him beyond his years. Dr William Large is remembered as a kind and generous man who left his mark on the towns of Tumut and Wagga. His grave in the Tumut Pioneers' Cemetery is shared with his sons, William who died in 1856 and Richard died in 1882. |
| Source References: |
| 2. Type: Book, Abbr: Devon to Downunder, Title: Devon to Downunder, Auth: Bettie Elworthy, Publ: Bookbound, Date: 1997 |
| - Reference = 67-81 (Name, Notes) |
| - Reference = 114 (Death) |