William Greenwood (1812- 1867) was born in Sydney. His parents James and Ann, and two elder brothers John and James migrated to Australia as from England in 1811 on the Friends. William’s future wife Margaret Shanahan arrived in Australia in 1833 as a convict on the Caroline. William and Margaret were married in 1840 at Bungendore.
Margaret and William had 11 children: Mary, Ann, Margaret, Ellen, Johannah, Catherine, William, James I, John, James II and Bridget.
William spent many years in the Araluen area. He opened the second pub at Bells Creek in 1852, and in 1860 he owned the Currency Lad pub at Crown Flat, Araluen. Like many at the time, he worked several occupations and it was while working as a sawyer in 1867 he had a fatal accident ‘driving a horse and cart, when he came in contact with a stump. He was sitting on the cart, and his leg came in violent contact with the stump, being pulled over it and very much crushed.‘1Goulburn Herald and Chronicle (NSW : 1864 – 1881), Saturday July 6 1867, page 4 2FindaGrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/104908418/william-greenwood Accessed 19 February 2024
William’s daughter Ellen Greenwood married Michael Madigan in 1865 at Braidwood. In 1867 Michael and Ellen were living at Bourketown, where Michael was listed as an innkeeper of the Currency Lass (1867 to 1872), at Bourketown, Upper Araluen.
By December 1872 Ellen had given birth to three children at Araluen: Mary, Morgan and Catherine (known as Kate). Another three, Annie, Margaret and Michael, were born between 1874 and 1881, after they had moved to Majors Creek.
In 1882 Michael Madigan, by then a goldminer, died at Majors Creek from pleuro-pneumonia. In 1887 the family were back in Araluen when 5 year old Michael died of a cancerous growth in the throat and was buried at Braidwood. Ellen died in 1909 and was buried in Waverley Cemetery.
References
Myles Hannan, Where were they and what were they doing in 1872? Triple D Books, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2007, pp 47 – 53, and 61-63