Margaret Wright Telfer

Role: Third wife of Francis Telfer (1809–1895) — mother of John Telfer (1847–1929)
Spouse: Francis Telfer (1809–1895) (third marriage)
Born: 1810 — per A Telfer Family Tree - Supplement 2008 (p.203 "Margaret Wright (1810–1892)"); sources differ, see Sources note
Died: 13 Sep 1892 (aged 86–87) — Kersbrook, South Australia
Burial: Kersbrook Cemetery (General, Section B, Row 1, Plot B13)
Great-grandson: Murray John Telfer (1924–2009)
Great-great-nephew-in-law (by marriage through her husband's line): Mark Telfer (1877–1946) — Descends from James Telfer (1796–1863), the brother of Margaret's husband Francis Telfer (1809–1895); he is NOT Margaret's descendant.

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Family

Relation	Name
Spouse	Francis Telfer (1809–1895) (3rd wife)
Children	John Telfer (1847–1929), George Wright Telfer, Margaret Dougal Telfer

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Grave — Kersbrook Cemetery, South Australia

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Life Summary

Margaret Wright was the third wife of Francis Telfer (1809–1895). She married him in South Australia after the deaths of his first wife Jean Murray (d. 1839) and second wife Dinah Flavel.

She was the mother of:

• John Telfer (1847–1929) — Margaret's son (corrected notes: had been labelled the great-great-grandfather of the present line; that is a conflation — the father of the present line is a different John Telfer (1840–1913) of the Tantanoola/James Telfer branch)
• George Wright Telfer — who later farmed at Willaston
• Margaret Dougal Telfer

Margaret Wright died on 13 September 1892 at Kersbrook and is buried at Kersbrook Cemetery (General, Section B, Row 1, Plot B13). Her death came about three years before Francis, which prompted his eventual move from the farm at Kersbrook to live with his son at Gawler.

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About the Three Wives of Francis Telfer

Francis Telfer married three times — an unusual number that sometimes causes confusion in genealogical records:

Jean Murray — married in Scotland, mother of James (1832), Esther Jane (1835), Elizabeth (1836). Jean died 22 Jan 1839, shortly after arrival in SA.

Dinah Flavel — second wife in South Australia

Margaret Wright — third wife and mother of John and the younger children

Some trees simply list "Margaret Telfer" as Francis's wife without specifying which marriage, leading to contradictions between sources.

Family Stories

The Wright Family's Migration and "Greenfoot" — 1839

As told in From the Borders to the Bush (1989), ch. 2, p. 27:

The Wright family of Stirling, Scotland, came to South Australia in 1839. George Wright — described in the book as a "Gentleman" of some means — paid the fares for his whole party: his wife Margaret Dougal, his son James, four of his five daughters (Catherine, Margaret, Elizabeth Ann and Jane), and his sister-in-law Miss Catherine Dougal. The fifth daughter, Mary, married a Mr Drysdale and remained in Scotland.

The family took up land on Marion Road at Black Forest and named the property "Greenfoot". By 1840 it had a 27-foot well. The property is today bounded by Marion Road, Thomas St, Towers Terrace and Wood St, South Plympton.

The five daughters' married surnames are recorded: Catherine m. Robertson · Margaret m. Telfer (Francis Telfer (1809–1895)) · Elizabeth Ann m. Rogers · Jane m. Murray · Mary m. Drysdale (stayed in Scotland).

🖊️ Anecdote — as told in From the Borders to the Bush (1989), ch. 2, p. 27. Single-source (book only); catalogued as family colour, not asserted as verified fact. The ship the family travelled on is deliberately omitted here — see the ship-name note below.

Margaret's Passage Application

Her passage application reads: "Wright, Margaret, Domestic servant, Address Stirling, Age 29" — a small humanising detail implying a birth around 1809–1810, consistent with the 1810 birth year recorded on this profile.

🖊️ Anecdote — as told in From the Borders to the Bush (1989), ch. 2, p. 27.

The Stirling Castle Legend

According to Donald Telfer's family history (1986), Chapter 2, p. 27: Family tradition held that Margaret Wright was "born in Stirling Castle." Which room — the main bedchamber, a guest room, or the servants' quarters — was left for speculation. The last reigning monarch to live at Stirling Castle was James VI (1567–1625), so the story may refer to her family's residence within the castle precincts rather than the royal apartments.

Francis's Last Letter to Her — October 1891

Around eleven months before Margaret's death, her husband wrote her a letter dated 21 October 1891, addressed to "Dear Wife," reflecting on their time together since their marriage in March 1845 and on the family's migration from Langholm, Scotland, to Adelaide. It is among the few surviving documents in Francis's own hand — see the letter on his profile: Francis Telfer (1809–1895).

Sources

• ✅ Genealogy SA — Death Registrations, Book/Page 204/467 (read from the online index as a member, 18 Sep 2026): TELFER, Margaret, d. 13-Sep-1892, aged 87, female, relative "Francis TELFER (H)" (husband), district Talunga. Settles her age at death as 87.

Sources

Ship-name note (provenance corrected 16 Sep 2026): The Wright family's 1839 ship is NOT settled. The family book From the Borders to the Bush (1989) states the Wrights came on the ship ASIA in 1839 (read twice from the physical page, ch.2 p.27). An earlier vault / Leads note recorded the LYSANDER as "the book's claim" — that attribution is a provenance error: "Lysander" appears zero times in the book's OCR. The Lysander claim came from the Reg Butler LocalWiki transcription, which a previous swing mistakenly treated as the book's statement. Two different real 1839 South Australian voyages exist — ASIA (London, arr. Port Adelaide 16 Jul 1839) and LYSANDER (Liverpool, arr. 6 Jul 1839) — so this is not a scanno, it is an unresolved question. No ship name is asserted on this profile pending a contemporary passenger manifest (SRSA GRG 35/48; FamilySearch SA arrivals 1839).

Birth-year note (resolved to 1810 by Mark, 8 Aug 2026): sources disagree. A Telfer Family Tree - Supplement 2008 p.203 gives "Margaret Wright (1810–1892)". The earlier vault index used 1807, and Find a Grave gives ~1805 (died 13 Sep 1892 aged 86–87). The book source A Telfer Family Tree - Supplement 2008 (1810) is the recorded birth year; the gravestone ~1805–06 and earlier 1807 figures are retained here for traceability pending a primary Scottish birth record. A further independent indicator supports 1810: her 1839 passage application states "Age 29" (implying born ~1809–1810), and Francis Telfer's own 1891 letter gives 4 Feb 1809 — both siding with the vault against the headstone's ~1805.

• Source: From the Borders to the Bush (1989), ch. 2, p. 27 — Wright family migration, "Greenfoot", and the ASIA claim — accessed 16 Sep 2026
• Find a Grave: Margaret Telfer (1805–1892) — buried Kersbrook Cemetery (General, Section B, Row 1, Plot B13) — 1 headstone photo
• WikiTree: Francis Telfer (abt.1809–1895) — confirms three wives
• RootsWeb Tarlee Cemetery listing — confirms wives' names
• Geni: John Telfer (1847–1929) — confirms mother Margaret Telfer