Ethel Jean McMurtrie (née Telfer)

Role: Daughter of Francis Charles Telfer and Amy Ellen Telfer (née Provis) — sister of Murray John Telfer
Born: 8 January 1915 — Tumby Bay, South Australia
Died: 7 November 2004 — South Brighton, aged 89; buried Enfield Memorial Park, SA
Parents: Francis Charles Telfer (1875–1954) & Amy Ellen Telfer (1884–1951) (née Provis)
Married Name: McMurtrie
Husband: Eric Blacker McMurtrie (1908–1970)
Brother: Murray John Telfer (1924–2009)
Siblings: Francis Kelson, Clarice May, Emily Amelia, Gladys Merle, Doris Elma, Edwin Roy, Reginald Masters, Murray John, Ruth

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Family

Relation	Name
Mother	Amy Ellen Telfer (1884–1951) (née Provis)
Father	Francis Charles Telfer (1875–1954)
Brother	Murray John Telfer (1924–2009)
Spouse	Mr McMurtrie
Siblings	Francis Kelson Telfer, Clarice May Fatchen (née Telfer), Emily Amelia Barton (née Telfer), Gladys Merle Pedler (née Telfer), Doris Elma Rowe (née Telfer), Edwin Roy Telfer, Reginald Masters Telfer, Murray John Telfer, Ruth Telfer

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Profile enhanced from auto-generated stub. Death verified 22 Sep 2026 from two independent sources — FindAGrave and a Genealogy SA newspaper death notice. See Sources and Notes.

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Family Stories

Jean, as she was known, contributed "Some Childhood Memories" to the family history, a vivid first-hand account of growing up at Ungarra. She described the four-roomed wood-and-iron house with clay floors, the endless round of chores — carrying hay to the chaff cutter after school by lantern light, bagging up chaff for the horses, tending sheep, milking cows, turning the separator, pumping water — and the remarkable fortitude of her mother Amy, who had no conveniences and a baby every couple of years, yet baked all the bread, made butter for the 18-mile sulky trip to Tumby Bay, and washed clothes with a scrubbing board and homemade soap. Jean married Eric Blacker McMurtrie. (From the Borders to the Bush, pp.131–132)

Sources

• Francis Charles Telfer profile: lists all 10 children including Ethel Jean
• FindAGrave memorial 183971263 (Eric Blacker McMurtrie, 1908–1970): "Ethel Jean Telfer (known as Jean) died on 7 November 2004 in South Brighton and was buried alongside Eric at Enfield Memorial Park" — read live 27 Aug 2026
• Genealogy SA — Newspaper Death Notices: `MCMURTRIE Jean, death 7 November 2004, age 89, published in The Advertiser 9 November 2004`, with a separate funeral notice `11 November 2004` — read live 22 Sep 2026
• Genealogy SA — SA Death Index (civil register): `MCMURTRIE Eric Blacker, died 7 October 1970, aged 62, male — relative: Ethel Jean MCMURTRIE [W]` — read live 22 Sep 2026. This ties Ethel Jean to Eric Blacker McMurtrie as his widow, which is what connects the 2004 death notice above to this person rather than to any other Jean McMurtrie.

Verification: two sources of different classes — a genealogy site (FindAGrave) and a newspaper death notice published in The Advertiser — both give the same date of death, 7 November 2004. The age on the notice, 89, matches her birth date of 8 January 1915 exactly (she would have turned 90 on 8 January 2005). VERIFIED 22 September 2026.