Dinah Flavel

Role: Second wife of Francis Telfer (1809–1895) — mother of his daughter Jean
Born: 10 June 1821 — Pytchley, Kettering Borough, Northamptonshire, England
Died: 20 March 1844 (aged 22) — Chain of Ponds, Adelaide Hills, South Australia
Buried: West Terrace Cemetery, Adelaide, South Australia

Family

Relation	Name
Spouse	Francis Telfer (1809–1895) (m. 4 November 1839)
Daughter	Jean Telfer (7 Aug 1840 – 15 Jul 1892) — m. A.F. Telfer

Life Summary

Dinah Flavel was born on 10 June 1821 at Pytchley, Northamptonshire, England — the daughter of Joseph Flavel (1797–1840) and Mary Bayes. Little is known of her childhood in England.

She married Francis Telfer on 4 November 1839 — just months after the death of his first wife Jean Murray. The marriage took place at Holy Trinity Church, Adelaide, South Australia. Dinah was 18 years old; Francis was 30 with three young children from his first marriage.

Dinah gave birth to a daughter, Jean, on 7 August 1840 at Chain of Ponds in the Adelaide Hills. She died just over three years later, on 20 March 1844 at Chain of Ponds, barely 22 years old. She was buried at West Terrace Cemetery, Adelaide.

Her brief life was marked by the frontier conditions of early South Australia — a young English immigrant who married a widowed Scottish farmer with young children, had a daughter, and died before reaching age 23.

Timeline

Date	Event
10 Jun 1821	Born — Pytchley, Northamptonshire, England
~1838	Emigrated to South Australia
4 Nov 1839	Married Francis Telfer (1809–1895) at Holy Trinity Church, Adelaide
7 Aug 1840	Daughter Jean born at Chain of Ponds, SA
20 Mar 1844	Died (aged 22) — Chain of Ponds, SA
Buried — West Terrace Cemetery, Adelaide

Family Stories

The Flavel Family Voyage

Dinah travelled to South Australia aboard the Prince George with her parents Joseph and Mary Flavel and her six siblings, alongside the Telfer family. Her brother William Flavel later wrote about arriving at Port Misery — walking barefoot through the sandhills where the summer heat was so fierce he "had to run from one bush to another till I got clear of the sand." Barely four months after Francis's first wife Jean Murray died, Dinah married him and became stepmother to three young children — James (7), Esther (5), and Elizabeth (4). She was just 18.

(From the Borders to the Bush, pp.23–25)

Sources

• Source: Donald Telfer, From the Borders to the Bush (ISBN 0 7316 6387 X), pp. 21–25 — extract via vision_analyze 19 June 2026
• Source (marriage date 4 Nov 1839): Geneanet — Christopher STEELE family tree, Francis Telfer — "Married November 4, 1839" to Dinah Flavel, Adelaide, SA. Accessed 18 Aug 2026.
• Source (marriage date 4 Nov 1839): RootsWeb moadfamily — TELFER, Francis (PS132_440) — "2FLAVEL, Dinah ... Marriage 4 Nov 1839, Adelaide, SA". Accessed 18 Aug 2026.
• Source (marriage occurred pre-1842 register): Jaunay — SA Births, Deaths & Marriages before civil registration — lists "Francis TELFER Dinah FLAVEL" as a pre-June-1842 church marriage. Accessed 18 Aug 2026.
• FindAGrave: Dinah Flavel Telfer (1821–1844) — memorial 166265805, West Terrace Cemetery. Accessed 18 June 2026.
• WikiTree: Flavel-64 — profile for Dinah Flavel. Accessed 18 June 2026.

Marriage-date correction (18 Aug 2026): The marriage date was corrected from 4 May 1839 to 4 November 1839 under the verifier's hands. Corroborated by 3+ independent source groups — Geneanet compiled tree (read live), RootsWeb moadfamily compiled tree, the family book A Telfer Family Tree (per Swing 1), and the Jaunay SA pre-civil-registration marriage index confirming the marriage occurred pre-1842. The prior "4 May" value had no primary/compiled support and is an apparent May/Nov transcription error. Cross-check: Francis Telfer (1809–1895) also lists Dinah Flavel as wife.