Janet Welsh

Role: Wife of James Telfer (1829–1913)

Born: ca 1826 — Nisbet, Scotland
Married: James Telfer — 6 November 1855, "the Manse" Wakefield Street, Adelaide (Church of Scotland rite, Rev. Robert Haining; witnesses Robert & Elizabeth Telfer)
Died: 14 January 1885 — Port Lincoln, South Australia (after a long illness)

Janet Welsh married James Telfer (1829–1913), son of James Telfer (1796–1863) and Elizabeth Beattie. She was the daughter of John and Margaret Welsh of Nisbet, Scotland. The couple married on 6 November 1855 at the Wakefield Street Manse in Adelaide. James was then a shepherd under contract to Alexander Borthwick Murray at Tungkillo; after his five years there he took over the management of Koppio Station near Port Lincoln. Janet and James had seven children, who grew up at Koppio Station. Two gum trees at the station entrance were named "James" and "Janet" after the twins. Janet died in 1885 after a long illness; James wrote a letter to his son describing her last hours, preserved in the family records (From the Borders to the Bush, pp. 189–192).

Family Stories

Janet Welsh, wife of James Telfer (1829–1913), died at Koppio Station near Port Lincoln in 1885 after a long illness. Not long afterwards, James wrote a letter to his son, also named James, describing her final hours. The letter survives in the family records and tells the quiet story of her passing — a personal account that has been handed down through the generations.

A second surviving letter from around the same era records the difficulty James had finding a "lying-in" nurse, or midwife, for his daughter-in-law Fannie. It is a small but very human detail — a glimpse into the everyday struggles of life on the station in those years.

Story from the family book, From the Borders to the Bush, pp. 191.

Sources

• Source: Donald Telfer, From the Borders to the Bush (ISBN 0 7316 6387 X), pp. 189–192 — marriage 6 Nov 1855, Wakefield St Manse; death 1885
• Source: WikiTree — James Telfer (abt. 1829–1913) Telfer-150 — spouse Janet Welsh (1826–1885) — accessed 10 Aug 2026
• Source: A Telfer Family Tree / Supplement 2008 (swing-6 digest) — "James TELFER m. Janet WELSH (1826-1885)"; RootsWeb "WELSH, Janet ca 1826 - 14 Jan 1885"