Francis Telfer

Born ~1768 at Sorbietrees, Roxburghshire, Scotland. Son of James Telfer and Margaret Armstrong of Sorbietrees. Died 4 June 1836 at Newcastleton aged 68. Name on family headstone in Castleton Cemetery. The name "Francis" appears regularly in succeeding Telfer generations.

Source: From the Borders to the Bush — pages 17–19; Castleton Cemetery headstone

Family Stories

The Name That Continued

Francis Telfer was born around 1768 at Sorbietrees, Roxburghshire, the second son of James Telfer of Sorbietrees and Margaret Armstrong. His life is one of the pieces we can't fully recover — we know he was baptised, we know when he died, and his name is carved on the family headstone in Castleton Cemetery alongside his parents and siblings.

But that name carried weight. "Francis" appears regularly in succeeding generations — his nephew Francis Telfer (1809–1895) made the voyage to South Australia, and his great-grandnephew Francis Charles Telfer (1875–1954) carried it across the ocean. The stone is the record; the descendants are the story.

(From the Borders to the Bush, pp.17-19)