FatherJohn Campbell b. 1808, d. 5 Oct 1852
MotherCatherine MacCallum b. 1811, d. 3 Jan 1885
Pedigree

Birth, Death, Marriage

Lucy Turner Campbell was born on 26 July 1845 in Kinchrackine, Argyll, Scotland.1,2 
She married Archibald McDonald, son of John McDonald and Margaret Campbell, on 22 November 1861 in St Kilda, Victoria.3,4 
She died on 22 November 1929 in Swan Hill, Victoria, at age 84.5,6 

Family

Archibald McDonald b. c Jun 1833, d. 26 Dec 1890
Children
ChartsCampbell, John, descendant chart
McDonald, Archibald, descendant chart
McDonald, Irene, pedigree chart

Story

Lucy was seven when she traveled from Scotland to Victoria. Her father and two young sisters died during the voyage. She arrived at Queen's Wharf on Christmas Eve 1852 with her mother and at least seven brothers and sisters. Lucy married Archie McDonald in St Kilda at the age of 16 and moved to Swan Hill where the couple had fourteen children. Lucy outlived six of her children, dying in Swan Hill in 1929.
 
Lucy was born and spent her first seven years in Upper Kinchrackine, Glenorchy, Argyll, Scotland. For a map of places relevant to the family, see this Glenorchy map.
 
Middle names were not very common in Scotland at the time. Lucy is the only child in her family with a middle name and it is her mother's family name. In keeping with that tradition, Lucy would later name her first daughter Lucy Campbell McDonald.7
 
Changing Fortunes on the Crofts
When John and Catherine Campbell married, they lived and raised their large family on the croft belonging to John's father, Archibald. In the early years the croft provided plenty of food through the planting of potato crops. In the 1841 UK census, we see John, Catherine and their young family living with John's parents, Archibald and Ann Campbell in Upper Kinchrackine, Glenorchy, Argyll.

The family's fortunes changed dramatically in 1846 with the arrival in the Scottish highlands of the devastating potato blight. Within a single season, the family and all those around them, were without their main food source.

Unable to now make a living on the croft, the family members were forced to work elsewhere to survive. By the 1851 UK census, a lot had changed. John's mother had died. John was no longer with the rest of his family, but in Kings House about 30 km to the north. Eldest son Alexander was working as a 'post boy and labourer' in Bunessan on the Isle of Mull about 80 km to the west. Eldest daughter Ann was working as a housemaid in the home of Lilly Campbell, her father's aunt, in Ardchattan about 23 km to the west. Twelve year old Donald was also there. And sixteen year old Janet was working as a domestic servant for the Marquis family just across the river in Stronmilchan, where Marquis senior was a crofter and Marquis junior was a shoemaker.

Catherine and the now seven younger children remained on the croft with John's 77 year old father.

In 1852, the government, through the newly established Highland Emigration Society, offered them a way out of their desperate plight. The offer was for plentiful food and work in booming Victoria. In return they would have to sell up and say goodbye forever to any family left behind. See From the Scottish Highlands to Booming Victoria.8,9,10
 
Ill-Fated Ticonderoga Voyage
John Campbell and two of his young children were three of 100 passengers who perished on the voyage to Australia aboard the ship Ticonderoga. His wife Catherine and eight of their children survived the infamous 1852 voyage. Eldest daughter Ann travelled to Victoria later. It is unlikely the 19 year old Alexander Campbell on board the Ticonderoga is our Alexander.

On 4 August 1852 in Liverpool, 795 migrants, predominantly Highland Scots, boarded the vessel for the voyage to Victoria. They were to help with the huge labour shortage in the colony following the discovery of gold. The Ticonderoga was a three-masted American 'double-decker' ship, but unforseen factors including the ship's design, the route chosen and the number of very young passengers, led to an unprecedented loss of life. Ship's doctor Dr Sanger reported disease about two weeks into the voyage with the first death due to fever on 23 August.11,12
There are no known paintings of the Ticonderoga; this is the Marco Polo, a similar double-decked clipper
By October, with storms, icebergs and fogs in freezing Southern Ocean regions, raging epidemics of typhus and scarlatina (scarlet fever) resulted in several deaths every day. John Campbell died on 5 October. His two year old daughter Jean died the same day. Having lost her husband and a daughter, Catherine was left on her own to look after the remaining nine children, some of whom were also sick. On 29 October, just three days before land was sighted, infant Peggy (Margaret) died.13,12
 
On 1 November, the ship arrived at Port Phillip heads, and two days later moved to what is now called Ticonderoga Bay, the site of a proposed quarantine station, where evacuation to the beach began. Catherine and the remaining eight children remained on the beach for seven weeks. It wasn't until 19 December, and following a further 68 deaths, that quarantine was lifted. Survivers arrived at Queen's Wharf, then the Immigration Barracks on Christmas Eve 1852 to start their new life in the 'Lucky Country'.

For a more complete account of the Ticonderoga and its ill-fated voyage, see Ticonderoga: The Ship and the Journey.11,12
 
Settled in St Kilda
The now-widowed Catherine Campbell, took her family to settle in St Kilda. The two older girls, Janet and Lilly, probably lived where they found work. The younger children spent their childhood in St Kilda, receiving an education at the Church of England Grammar School.14,15
 
Marriage and Move to Swan Hill
Archibald McDonald and Lucy Turner Campbell married in St Kilda in 1861. Lucy was just 16 years old. Archie was a Cobb & Co coach driver, and the couple decided to settle in Swan Hill. They began their journey from Melbourne in a coach drawn by six horses and stopped along their way at a roadside inn in the Black Forest, near Woodend. When they prepared to leave, they discovered that all the horses were missing - they were never recovered.15
 
Family of Fourteen
Lucy and Archie had fourteen children over a period of 25 years, the first when Lucy was 18 and the last when she was 43. There were ten boys and four girls, and all were born in Swan Hill.15
 
On the 1863 birth registration for Lucy's son, John, the 'nurse by whom certified' is given as 'Catherine Campbelle'. While it could be Lucy's 19 year old sister or someone unrelated, perhaps Lucy's mother was there to help with the birth of her daughter's first child.16
 
White Swan Hotel
Archie McDonald bought the White Swan Hotel in the 1870s when it was a double-fronted single-storey building. A lane ran down the south side giving access to the large rear yard which, of course, included stabling accommodation.

As Lucy McDonald considered a hotel an unsuitable environment in which to raise children, a log cabin was built in the hotel yard for herself and children.17
McDonald family home, rear White Swan Hotel, Swan Hill
Image: Swan Hill Genealogical & Historical Society
Over her sixty-eight years in Swan Hill, despite raising a family of fourteen children, Lucy still found time to be involved in several community activities. Her principal involvement was as a Sunday School teacher.15
 
Land Selection
After selling the White Swan Hotel, Archie took up farming:
He then went in for taking up land, and selected about 1000 acres between himself and family, and settled down to farming persuits. Unfortunately he did not have good luck in his new sphere with bad seasons and one misfortune or another operating against him.18

 
The extent of his land holdings can be seen from his will.

Wills and Bequests
Archibald McDonald, of Swan Hill, farmer, by his will dated December 18, 1890, and presented for probate by Mr GHR Osborne, of Melbourne, solicitor, agent for Mr GW Watson, of Sandhurst, solicitor, appointed Hugh McDonald, of Swan Hill, farmer, and Percy Anderson Fenton, of Swan Hill, mail contractor executors. He bequeathed to his wife, Lucy Turner McDonald, his life assurance for £250 with all bonuses accruing thereon. He bequeathed the remainder of his estate, consisting of a farm near Five-mile Point, two blocks of land in Campbell-street, one block in Pritchard-street, and the block which contains the Skating Rink in Macrae-street, Swan Hill. Also all his interest in the blocks taken up by John and Lucy McDonald (now Lucy Fenton), on Tyntyndyr station, his interest in his brother's (Hugh McDonald) station, of 75 acres on Burridge Island [sic: Beveridge Island], Lower Murray; also 66 acres of leasehold land adjoining Hugh McDonald's station on Burridge Island [sic: Beveridge Island], and all his personal property, consisting of horses, cattle, farm implements and household furniture to his wife and family. Testator desired that his wife and family should not sell the estate, or separate from each other for six years, but that they should agree to work and employ the farm and estate for their mutual welfare. Testator died December 26,1890, and his will was sworn at £515 real and £4349 personal. Total, £4864.19

 
In the Swan Hill township, one block on Campbell St runs part way to Beveridge St and is between Rutherford and Wood streets; this block was empty. The second Campbell St block is near the corner of Burke and Wills streets and is almost six acres next to the Little Murray river. The empty Pritchard St block is on the south-east corner with Splatt St. The final township block is on the corner of McCrae and Beveridge streets and had a weatherboard building with iron roof let as a store at £1 per week. It was part of a mortgage to the Northern Trustees Executors and Agency Company.

Tyntynder station, where Archie had property with son John and daughter Lucy, was the earliest European settlement in the area, and was about 16 km north of Swan Hill. Five Mile Point was about half way to Tyntynder station, roughly where Tyntynder South is today.

His probate also mentions two properties on the western edge of the township, allotments 15 and 16. They take up most of the triangle bounded by Sea Lake-Swan Hill Rd, Woorinen Rd and Memorial Dr and had been recently sold to Ellis Hook, to whom he had earlier sold the White Swan Hotel.20,21,19
 
Archie, Lucy and their children lived, and had several properties in the area around Swan Hill.
 
; This is our only known photo of Lucy Turner McDonald (Campbell)
Lucy Turner McDonald (Campbell, front right), possibly Percy Fenton (back row, third from left), most likely a McDonald wedding, Swan Hill
Image: Nene Courtie
When Lucy died in 1929, six of her children had predeceased her; Archibald, Catherine (age 2), Hugh (age 2), Margaret (age 18), Campbell (age 42) and Ryton.6
 

Citations

  1. [S309] International Genealogical Index (IGI), film no. 453893, page 211, ref 1740, viewed 10 June 1999.
  2. [S410] Margaret Campbell or McDonald, family history, 2016.
  3. [S3] Victorian Pioneer Index 1836-1888, CD-ROM, Macbeth Genealogical Services, 1998, 'Archibald McDonald' and 'Lucy Turner Campbell' entry, marriage registration no. 4338, 1861.
  4. [S373] Archibald McDonald and Lucy Turner Campbell, marriage registration no. 4338, 22 November 1861.
  5. [S35] Lucy Turner McDonald, death registration no. 16502, 22 November 1929.
  6. [S39] 'Death, McDonald', Swan Hill Guardian and Lake Boga Advocate, 1892-1937, newspaper, A Knox Chapman, 25 November 1929, viewed 15 March 1996.
  7. [S2] 'Frequently Asked Questions: Can you explain "Scottish Naming Patterns"?', What's in a Name, online, viewed 14 October 2014 http://www.whatsinaname.net/faq.html#12
  8. [S197] UK Census 1841, transcript, Archibald Campbell household, Glenorchy, Argyll, Scotland, viewed 20 November 2014, Ancestry.
  9. [S127] UK Census 1851, transcript, Duncan Marguis household, Janet Campbell entry, Glenorchy and Inishail, Argyll, Scotland, viewed 20 November 2014, Ancestry.
  10. [S127] UK Census 1851, transcript, 'Lilly Campbell' household, Ann Campbell entry, Ardchattan, Argyll, Scotland, viewed 20 November 2014, Ancestry.
  11. [S252] Fever Beach: The story of the migrant clipper 'Ticonderoga', its ill-fated voyage and its historic impact, QI Publishing, 2002.
  12. [S253] Ticonderoga, website, Julie Ruzsicska, 2011, <http://www.mylore.net/Ticonhome.html>.
  13. [S252] Fever Beach: The story of the migrant clipper 'Ticonderoga', its ill-fated voyage and its historic impact, QI Publishing, 2002, p. 147.
  14. [S1] The Swan Hill pioneer register only says that Lucy was educated at the Church of England Grammar school; I have assumed the other younger children did the same.
  15. [S101] Swan Hill Pioneer Register, fiche, 1988, 'McDonald, Lucy Turner.'
  16. [S371] John McDonald, birth registration no. 4984, 3 January 1863.
  17. [S137] Swan Hill Streets: Paved in history, Swan Hill Regional Library, 1988, 'McDonald Court.'
  18. [S285] 'Obituary', Swan Hill Guardian, January 1891.
  19. [S437] 'Wills and bequests', Table Talk, 1885-1939, newspaper, Maurice Brodzky, 20 March 1891, p. 5, viewed 26 December 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article147284400
  20. [S525] Swan Hill Township Plan, Imperial measure 5747, VPRS 16171 Regional Land Office Parish and Township Plans Digitised Reference Set, plan no. 5747, map, 1960.
  21. [S110] 'Archibald McDonald', VPRS 28 Probate and Administration Files, no. 44/962, probate, 4 May 1891.