Margaret Dougal Telfer

Role: Daughter of Francis and Margaret — the one who married her cousin and raised a dozen kids in the South East

Born: 1849 — Kersbrook, South Australia
Died: 7 November 1936 — Knightsbridge, South Australia
Spouse: Adam Francis Telfer (m. 25 March 1868)
Children: 12

Family

Family Stories

Married at Eighteen

Margaret was just 18 when she married her cousin Adam Francis Telfer on 25th March 1868. The wedding was at her father's home, "Macoota", Kersbrook. Her cousins George and Mary Robertson witnessed, along with Adam's brother John. Adam was described as a "Stockholder" from Koppio, Port Lincoln. The Rev. John Kither performed the ceremony. Margaret was the youngest of the children still at home — the year before, her brother John had married Caroline Masters in the same house. (From the Borders to the Bush, p.268)

Twelve Children

Margaret didn't have an easy life. She had twelve children over twenty-two years, the first born at Koppio in 1869 and the last at Tantanoola in 1891. The first, Margaret Wright Telfer, died of pneumonia just before her twenty-first birthday — she was supposed to get a piano as a present but never lived to see it. That's the kind of loss that never leaves a mother. (From the Borders to the Bush, p.268)

Edgerston at Tantanoola

After years at Koppio, Adam and Margaret moved the family to the South East in the early 1870s. They settled at Tantanoola (then called Lucieton), where Adam opened a store in 1880. They built a home they called "Edgerston," and there Margaret raised the bulk of her enormous family. The town was growing fast — Millicent and Mount Muirhead were described in glowing terms as a "great plain... dotted with substantial homesteads." The Telfers were right in the middle of it all. (From the Borders to the Bush, p.269-272)

The Farewell That Broke Them

In 1908, after nearly thirty years in Tantanoola, Adam and Margaret decided to move to Adelaide. The people of the district presented them with a silver tea service — it's still in the possession of their great-grandson, Bruce Watson of Millicent, as of 1986. When the train pulled into the station to take them away, a crowd gathered on the platform and sang "God be with you till we meet again." It was too much for their daughter Eva, who gathered her son Rex in her arms and boarded the train without looking back. (From the Borders to the Bush, p.272-275)

The Quiet Years at Knightsbridge

They settled in at "Waverley Park," Lower Mitcham, then moved to "Edgerston House" on Rochester Street, Knightsbridge in 1916. The nine-roomed house sat in large grounds with a creek running through the garden and a wooden bridge covered in wisteria. They had an extensive orchard and kept fowls and ducks. Margaret and the girls got involved with the Knightsbridge Baptist Church — the girls taught Sunday School and Hazel sang in the choir. (From the Borders to the Bush, p.275)

Nursing Adam

After Adam's stroke in 1919, Margaret nursed him for years. His left arm and hand were useless, his eyesight was failing. He'd dictate letters and she'd finish them for him — "Father has left this so I will close it for him. Best love from us all. M.D.T." She was his hands and his eyes through those long years. He died in 1925. (From the Borders to the Bush, p.275-276)

The Matriarch in Black

In her later years Margaret developed cataracts and went blind. Her daughter Violet cared for her, guiding her to her special chair by the dining room window. She always wore a long black dress, and that's how her many grandchildren remember her. On fine days she'd sit on the verandah, the matriarch of the Telfer clan, holding court. (From the Borders to the Bush, p.277)

The Telfer Grand Central

The house at Knightsbridge never stopped. Sons, daughters, grandchildren, cousins, friends, neighbours — everyone was welcome. Several grandchildren boarded there while studying at the Adelaide Teachers College. The place was a base for all branches of the Telfer Clan whenever they visited Adelaide. Margaret kept up the traditional Telfer hospitality, and there was always a constant stream of visitors. (From the Borders to the Bush, p.277)

Psalm 46

In October 1936, Margaret slipped beside her chair and broke her hip. The last days of her life were filled with pain. Her daughter Violet wrote three heartbreaking letters to sister Effie in Perth describing it all. Margaret died on 7th November 1936, aged 87. She's buried at Mitcham Cemetery alongside Adam, with the words "God is our Refuge and Strength" from her favourite Psalm 46 on the headstone — a fitting tribute to a woman of quiet strength who raised twelve children and outlived her husband by eleven years. (From the Borders to the Bush, p.277)

Life Story

Margaret Dougal Telfer was the daughter of Francis Telfer and Margaret Wright, born at Kersbrook in 1849. At 18 she married her cousin Adam Francis Telfer. She raised twelve children across Koppio, Tantanoola, and Knightsbridge, nursing her husband through a long illness after his stroke. She died in 1936 at the age of 87, buried at Mitcham Cemetery.

Source: From the Borders to the Bush — pages 268-277