Clara Blanche Telfer

Born: 19 November 1883 — Tantanoola, South Australia
Died: 5 June 1974 — South Australia
Father: John Telfer (1840–1913)
Mother: Martha Henstridge (~1854–1921)
Spouse: Francis Edward Lane (m. 6 April 1903, d. 1940)

Life Summary

Clara Blanche Telfer was born on 19 November 1883, the tenth child of John Telfer (1840–1913) and his second wife Martha Clara Henstridge. She married Francis Edward Lane on 6 April 1903 at the Tantanoola Presbyterian Church. The marriage certificate listed Francis's occupation as "Hotel Keeper" — he was the Licensee of the Tantanoola Tiger Hotel from 1902 to 1905, together with his brother William Lane.

Clara and Francis had ten children, though three died in infancy: Edna Elizabeth Lane (lived nine months), Brenda Olive Lane (lived three months), and Francis Lane (lived two days). The seven who survived were Nina Amy, Ethel Jean, Derrice Elma, Edna Mary, Doris Elizabeth, Albin Edward John and June.

Clara had a very close relationship with her brothers and sisters and often visited Tantanoola. In her 90th year she made a special request to be driven to the Presbyterian Church where she had been married, and to other places which held very special memories. She died five months after this visit, on 5 June 1974.

Francis Edward Lane died in 1940 at the age of 74.

Family Stories

Clara Blanche was the tenth child of John Telfer — the last of his daughters — born in 1883 at Tantanoola. At nineteen she married Francis Edward Lane, a hotel keeper who ran the Tantanoola Tiger Hotel with his brother. The wedding took place at the Tantanoola Presbyterian Church on 6 April 1903.

She raised seven surviving children through hard times. Her brother Roland never married and was a great friend of Clara and her family, spending every Good Friday and Christmas Day with them for decades.

In her 90th year, Clara returned to Tantanoola for a visit and asked to be driven to the Presbyterian Church where she had been married all those years before, and to other places that held special memories. She died five months later, on 5 June 1974 — ninety years old, and the last surviving child of John and Martha.

(From the Borders to the Bush, pp.249–251)

Relationship

Sources

Correction note (2026-08-23): Birth date corrected 18 → 19 November 1883 per the OpenRouter Nemotron cross-check. Three independent corroborations support the 19th: (1) SA Births BDM Book 317, Page 217 (father John Telfer, mother Martha Clara Henstridge, Tantanoola) — independently transcribed on two WikiTree profiles (Telfer-554, Telfer-549); (2) sister Isabella Lucieton Telfer's vault timeline ("19 Nov 1883 — Birth of sister Clara Blanche"); (3) sister Maria Clara Telfer's vault timeline (same). The book (From the Borders to the Bush, the previously-cited source) is the sole origin of the 18th. Per the two-source golden rule, the 19th was applied. Marriage date 6 Apr 1903 unchanged (BDM 215/P47 confirms). Certificate image (BDM 317/P217) not yet eyeballed — flagged verifiable.

Correction note (2026-09-04): Cross-generation sibling contamination removed from the Siblings block. The three names previously listed — Maifie Beryl Telfer (1913–1948), Jean Maryann Martha Telfer (1910–1984), Lindsay Roland Telfer (1920–1976) — are CHILDREN of Clara's brother Mark Telfer (1877–1946) & Julia Matilda Seebohm, i.e. Clara's nieces and nephew, not her siblings (born 27–37 years after Clara, impossible as Martha Henstridge's children since she died 1921). Removed from both YAML `relationships` and the Relationship table; the Siblings set re-corrected to mirror the canonical children of John Telfer (1840–1913) (full siblings by Martha Henstridge + half-siblings by Martha Allen). Book-digester ch.12 flagged the error; verified against Mark Telfer (1877–1946) profile (his children) and John Telfer (1840–1913) canonical children list.