Midford Elson, 17th January 1917

Midford was born in Unley in 1852 and was the first child of William and Frances. Midford was named after William's mother's maiden name, Midford. Mary Midford was born in Lawton, Cheshire on 20th January 1804 and christened  at Christchurch, Alsagerin, Cheshire on 31st January 1804, the daughter of  Michael Walter Blackett Mitford (1771-1841) and Hannah Barnet  (1778-1848). The names Mitford and Midford were interchanged so sometimes Mitford was used instead of Midford and vice versa. Midford, like his father, was a Church of England lay reader and held services at his home and in a mission hall near Melrose's Station.

Midford married Mary Ann Proude on 14th October 1885 in St. Thomas's Church, Port Lincoln. Mary Ann was born in Cleve in 1860, making her the first "white" woman born in the area around Cleve. Mary Ann's father was William Proude who worked for local farmers in the Cleve area an her mother was Mary O'Brien. Her grandmother was Ann Bullfram who was born in 1800 in Ireland and had acted as a chaperone for a group of young women during a voyage from Ireland to South Australia. Midford and Mary had eleven children: Augustus Walter, Christopher Percival who died when he was only 22 from typhoid fever, Clarence George Kennion (Clary), Russell Filsell, Clement Howard, Edith Naomi, Gwendoline, Frances Mary, Joseph Cecil who only lived 3 weeks, Margaret Ellen Alice and William Midford. All the children were born in Port Lincoln except Margaet Ellen Alice, who was born in Wallaroo. The first, William Midford, was born in 1886 and the last child, Margaret Ellen Alice, was born in November 1901 when Midford was 49 years old.

Midford, Joseph and Wilberforce travelled by bullock wagon in June 1878 to Melrose's Station near what is now Cleve. At that time the surveyors were camped in the same area ready to survey the town. The area was still virgin scrub and there weren't any roads. Life in the area was very harsh with most dwellings having clay floors and pine log walls. The nearest doctors were at Port Lincoln and Moonta. Midford and Joseph cleared the land and succeeded in growing wheat despite set backs such as their first crop being burnt by a fire set by a local tribe of Aborigines to thrush out game which got out of control.  Mary Vaughan (nee Elson) together with her baby and Lydia Elson who had joined their brothers had to flee to the top of the Yeldulkie Creek to save themselves. Midford and Joseph also had to cut a track through broom brush to transport by bullock wagon the 4 bushel bags of wheat to Arno Bay where there was a flat bottomed dinghy waiting for them.

Despite the harsh conditions Midford and Joseph and took up selections in the Hundred of Mann in the County Jervois, establishing farms in the Franklin Harbour region which included the area where Cleve is now located. In August Midford gained the tender for the clearing of roads in the Hundred of Hawker which required grubbing out stumps..

Midford moved to Wallaroo with his family in 1901, where he and sons, Augustus, Russell  and Clement established a transport business called Elson Brothers which carried goods from the port of Wallaroo to customers in the Upper Yorke Peninsula area. He and his daughter, Frances Mary, also managed a guest house in Wallaroo. Mary Ann, his wife, died at Wallaroo in 1918 at the age of 58 and he died 9 years years later in 1927 at the age of 75. His grave and that of other family members can be found at the Wallaroo cemetery.
 
 

Tombstone details for Mifdord and Mary Ann on obelisk family tombstone at Wallaroo Cemetery.	Tombstone details for daughters: Frances Mary Elson (Mary) and Margaret Ellen Alice Elson (Alice) on obelisk family tombstone at Wallaroo Cemetery

 

 

Tombstone of Christopher Percival at Wallaroo Cemetery

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