Shep's Place Family Tree

Daniel and Christina, with son Robert aged 3, emigrated to Victoria by the "Flora" and left Liverpool, England on 21Jul 1852 and reached Point Henry, Geelong, on 2 Oct 1852. In Christina's care was a Mary Stevenson born 1831 at Campbelton, Argyllshire, daughter of William and Christina Stevenson of Paisley. Mary married John McNeil a lawyer from Ayrshire at Ballarat c.1853 and amongst their descendants was Morrison Stevenson McNeil, and even more significantly Rowland Stevenson Williams. Another son, Daniel, was born at Geelong in 1853 to Christina and Daniel, and John in 1854 at Happy Valley where they were to remain.

At the time with the gold rush in full swing Happy Valley was a sizeable town four miles from Linton, but became deserted so that now only a few houses remain. Part of Happy Valley was named Piggoreet and the Morrisons lived on the Golden Lake Road, Piggoreet and three of the children are recorded as having attended the Piggoreet School ‎(long since gone)‎. Walter attended 1863-69 and his two youngest brothers James and John attended between the years 1870 and 1879.

Daniel Morrison senior is shown as both farmer and miner. A "D. Morrison" had 19 acres and E. Morrison ‎(the second wife Eliza apparently)‎ added more land in later years, but Daniel is shown mainly as miner on documents.

At the end of the road called Piggoreet are many cliffs where gold mining was done, and that part was then called Golden Lake after one of the mines but is now called Devil's Kitchen. Here then, Daniel would have fossicked with some farming as a sideline.

Christina was aged 59 when she died of a Cerebral Haemhorrhage on April 27,1879 and a coroner's enquiry had to be held as she had not been in ill-health. Some of the evidence is now given as it opens up the picture of their family life. The inquest was held on the 28th. at Happy Valley by Thomas Hopper, Coroner.

Deponent: Daniel Morrison, miner of Happy Valley.
"The deceased Christina Morrison was my wife and was 59 years of age, born at Paisley, Scotland. We have been married thirty seven years, we have six sons living, we have been twenty six years in this colony. On Sunday morning at about half past seven o'clock I took a cup of tea into the bedroom to my wife, also a piece of bread and butter and a piece of cheese, she did not complain of being unwell, she drank the cup of tea but did not eat the bread and cheese, she got up about half-an-hour afterwards and put on her petticoat. I left her and went to get the boys their breakfast and as she did not come out of her bedroom I went to see what was keeping her, she was lying on the sofa resting herself. I left her. At half past 10 o'clock my son Walter opened the bedroom door and went in, he said "My Mother seems very bad I think she is dying". I then went in and put her upon the bed, her feet were cold. I got two smoothing irons and heated them and put them one to each foot, she never spoke to me but sighed heavily. I sent my son David about half past ten o'clock to Linton for Doctor Nolan. Shortly afterwards I sent for my son John, he set off to Linton also for the doctor. No doctor came. When my sons came back she was quite dead.
Deceased used to take a little drink but for the last five months she has been very temporate, last week she complained of a pain in her head, she thought it was rheumatism but made no other complaint of ill health."
Signed Daniel Morrison X His mark
The next day he added:
"I forgot to mention yesterday when I was giving my evidence at the Inquest that I gave the deceased, Christina Morrison, some rum and water, hot, on Sunday morning last, the day of her death and some on Saturday night. I did not usually keep spirits in the house but on Saturday as I was going to Piggoreet she begged me to bring her some."

Son David gave similar evidence, though briefer, and said that Dr. Nolan whom he had seen said he had first to go to Snake Valley but would be as quick as he could.
Signed David Morrison. ‎(He stated that he was a scholar.)‎

Son John said on oath that he was a miner of Happy Valley.
"The deceased Christina Morrison was my mother. I am married and live about one hundred and fifty yards from my father's house. Yesterday morning about eleven o'clock one of my younger brothers came and said Father wanted to speak to me. I went over. My Father was sitting at the fire along with another brother. My Father told me to come in and look at my Mother, he thought she was dying. I went into the bedroom. I saw my Mother on the bed, I said I thought she was dead, he thought she was not quite dead. He told me he had sent one of my brothers for a doctor but I might go too so that there might be no mistake. I went and on my way to Linton met my brother David returning, he told me the Doctor had to go to Snake Valley first. I went on to Linton. The Doctor was away. I came home and found Mother was dead. I went and reported the death to Constable Barry at Piggoreet. "
Signed John Morrison.

A Doctor Robert Stewart of Smythesdale did a post mortem and submitted a detailed report which EMS will not record here. He said the cause of death was "an effusion of serum on the brain".

The family does not seem to have been in poverty but no doubt conditions were rather rough. A local of uncouth wit composed the following still quoted by an aged resident of the area:
Old Danny Morrison done a mighty sin,
Dan McKeon took his land and Collins fenced it in.

However this could just as well apply to their son Daniel. Three years later Daniel remarried Eliza Wrigley at Ballarat. She had a son George about a year old and who appeared on her death certificate but was absent from Daniel's.

When Daniel died in 1895 of "epilepsy and old age" at 76 years his eldest daughter, Sabra Mary who was aged 12, gave the precise details for the death certificate. The second wife, Eliza, died at Scarsdale in 1917. Her son Joseph ‎(29)‎ was the informant and unable to give much detail, not even the names of his Wrigley grandparents, only that his grandfather was a tinsmith. ‎(The Victorian certificates are very detailed.)‎