Goldthorpe and Simshauser families
History Notes
The holiday season is a great time for everyone to travel around to catch up with family, to explore their state or just to find time to research their family history. Just lately there has been the Simshauser family asking about Slatey Gully and the Goldthorpe family trying to find where their ancestors lived and died.
The Simshausers have been thoroughly researched and published in a book which is now out of print although there were a couple of leftover books for sale years ago.
The Goldthorpe family have also been researched but not, as far as I am aware, published. Many of the original family are buried in unmarked graves not far from the Upper Horton village.
The Goldthorpe name also appears in Warialda records which could be checked by a descendant to see if they are also part of the family of Charles who appears in the Upper Horton area when he married Ann Gaudern in the 1890s.
Turning to the Gaudern family – Charles Gaudern and his wife, Elizabeth, nee Rogers married in the UK before sailing for NSW on the Libertas in 1855. They are listed in shipping records as Charles aged 30 years, Elizabeth aged 28 years and young Charles aged 4 years.
On arrival in NSW the young couple made their way to the Hunter Valley where daughter Mary was born in 1858. From there on a daughter was born every two years as they moved north to Boolooroo and onto Eulourie, Upper Horton, where the youngest daughter, Anne, was born in September 1868.
Anne married Charles Goldthorpe in 1893 and there were eight children of the union including Arthur, who married Elsie Goldthorpe in 1926. They ran the Cobbadah Post Office for many years being very popular with the residents.
Some residents will remember Arthur and his dairy cows – he milked every morning dressed in shorts even in the middle of winter. After milking, the calves were released and the cows fed along the stock routes. Those calling at the office for their mail were often asked if they had seen the cows along the road – they had a choice, along Bingara Road or down the Horton Road!
Returning to Arthur’s family – both his parents, Charles and Ann are buried in a private cemetery, Rosewood Farm, north of the road leading west out of Upper Horton. Some references call the area the Upper Horton Common but it is now said to be private land – as far as I know there are no headstones but there are several graves at Rosewood Farm.