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- In 1888 Alex moved to the district of Lockwood (approx 9 miles north of Canowindra) to develop a property consisting of 320 acres which his father purchased.
When Alex purchased the land in his own right, they named the property Belmont.
Alex and Jean were highly respected not only by the early pioneer community but they were also strong supporters of the wider community. The Canowindra Pioneer Register Pre-1901 states “Alex was on the committee and helped to finance the building of the Lockwood Hall between the Lockwood School and the Lockwood Post Office appox. 12 kilometers north of Canowindra. He also gave evidence to support the proposed railway from Canowindra to Gregra railway to a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works Inquiry held at Barragan hall in 1915. At the time he said he owned 1,200 acres of land at Lockwood and 631 acres at Barragan.”
A well dug by Alex helped to water stock in the district during the drought of 1901-2 and continues to water Belmont to this day. Joyce remembers he used divining rods on several occasions at Bellevue in an endeavoour to find water but was unsuccessful.
Alex and Jean’s original dwelling was a mud house, believed to have been in two sections, on a creek bank a kilometer north of the present brick home which was commenced in 1902 and completed in 1905. All the bricks were made on Belmont and their three boys were involved in helping to make the bricks. Alex and Jean maintained their stron Christian faith throughout their lives and worshiped regularly at St. Paul’s Presbyterian chruch, Canowindra.
In 1947 Alex and Jean were in their late 80s. Both had health problems and became increasingly dependent on their son Hugh and his wife Clara. There were no health care, home care, or meals on wheels service etc. available for those who were disabled or not sick enough to be in a hospital. After Jean passed away, Alex asked Hugh and Clara if they would consider moving in with him.
This meant they would have to sell their convenient three bedroom small home to move to a large two bedroom house. Grandchildren Joyce and Lex were in their early teens then and there was also the other grandchild Jean to consider (who lived with Hugh and Clara too). But there seemed to be no alternative, two additional bedrooms were constructed at either end of the veranda.
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Extended Family Histories
1859 - 1956 (96 years)
