John Smith

Role: Husband of Esther Jane Telfer — patriarch of the Smith line
Born: ~1827 — Copenhagen, Denmark
Died: ~1895

John Smith was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, the son of a Scottish Sea Captain and his Danish wife. He married Esther Jane Telfer on 16 November 1863 at the Wesleyan Parsonage in Kapunda, South Australia.

John and Esther had six children: Jane Sophie, Margaret Dougal, Esther Telfer, John James, Francis Telfer, and Elizabeth Anne.

Source: From the Borders to the Bush — Chapter on Esther Jane Telfer

Family Stories

John Smith was born in Copenhagen, Denmark around 1830. His father John was a Scottish sea captain and his mother was Danish. After his father's death, John and his mother stayed on in Denmark for some years before moving to Scotland, and eventually they emigrated to South Australia and took up farming in the Barossa Valley.

On 16th November 1863, John married Esther Jane Telfer at the Wesleyan Parsonage in Kapunda. Charles and Elizabeth Farrow (Esther's sister) were witnesses. John was 34 at the time and Esther was 30. They had six children: Jane Sophie, Margaret Dougal (born at Burra), Esther Telfer Smith, John James (born at Tungkillo), Francis Telfer Smith (born at Mount Gambier), and Elizabeth Anne.

(From the Borders to the Bush, p.35)