Grant of Probate incorporating a transcript of the last Will & Testament of Jane Williams who died on 27 July 1886 after an illness of 6 days duration.
WILL:
Williams, Jane late of corner of Albion and Elizabeth Streets Sydney. Married woman Sydney New South Wales. The Bellingen property to be sold and realized on the division of the sale to be divided between the six youngest children Martha Beatrice John Charles Joseph & James And desire that the said property be placed in the hands of Mr Peter B. Murphy and Mr. John Keogh That Mr John Keogh is duly empowered to sell the said property to the best advantage for the interests of the said children the proportion to be at the rate of two thirds for the four boys and one third for the two girls That the monies of the sale be placed in such a manner that the executors be not empowered to draw any moneys from the bank or place of deposit unless the signature of one of the children Martha or Beatrice be attached to the same As witness my hand
Jane Williams
Sunday July 25th 1886Witness to the said signature . Henry James Williams . John James Keogh . Miss Martha Williams
27th October 1886 By Act of Court Probate limited to property disposed of in the last Will and Testament of the abovenamed deceased granted to Peter Benedict Murphy of Albion and Elizabeth Streets Commission Agent and John James Keogh of Boat Harbour Farmer the executors in the said Will named.
Testatrix died 27 July 1886
Estate sworn at £800
Grant to administer, in respect of intestate portion comprising such items as jewellery, cash & other personal property, being all the assets other than the real property disposed of in the will.
Williams, Jane (late wife of John Williams of Sydney Licensed Victualler) deceased intestateCompiler's Note:
4 November 1886 By an Act of Court Administration granted to John Williams of Sydney. Licensed Victualler the husband of the said deceased
Surety John Thomas Toohey of Sydney
Brewer
Intestate died 27 July 1886
Goods sworn at £294. 0. 0
It seems likely from the time the family moved to Sydney in the early 1880s that will executor and son-in-law John James Keogh would have rented the 204 acre farm near Fernmount. A telegraphic repeater station was installed at Fernmount in 1877 and at Bellingen in 1883. It is likely his presence in Sydney just two days before Jane's 1886 death, permitting him to witness her will, would have resulted from a rush boat trip from Bellinger River Heads after being informed by telegraph of the critical nature of her illness.
The John Thomas Toohey, who provided the surety for the administration of the intestate portion of Jane's estate, was the founder of Toohey's Standard Brewery which for over a hundred years from 1876 was located in Elizabeth Street a short distance south of the London Tavern where Jane died. The early history of the Toohey family and the brewery is detailed in a book titled: Here's Too'e : the history of Toohey's Brewery. According to the book, prior to first obtaining a brewing licence in 1869 and later founding the brewery, it is believed John Toohey spent some years at an unknown location on the north coast of NSW from which he made regular trips to Sydney. It is thus possible at that time he could have spent time at Bellinger River and met John Williams. Also his initial Sydney business was cordial making at Waterloo for which sugar was an essential ingredient. As John Williams was involved in sugar growing and milling on the Bellinger it is possible he could have had business dealings with Toohey in the years before the early 1880s move by the Williams family to Sydney. Toohey may even have played a role in the radical John Williams occupational change in his late 40s from blacksmithing & sugar cane farming and milling to publican of a hotel situated in close proximity to the Toohey brewery.
Researched and compiled by J. Raymond, Brisbane, Australia 1999
