Barram Family

William and Mary Ann Barram/Barham
William was born on 22 April 1832 at Winwick, Northampton, England. He married Mary Ann Laxton at the Parish Church in Winwick on 6 April 1852. Their son William was baptised on the 8th September of that year. William and Mary and their four year old son board the 'Hastings' on 24 February 1857 and arrived in Moreton Bay on 30 May. The shipping manifest showed that Mary Ann was not well when they arrived in Brisbane. The young family settled in Long Pocket, Ipswich where Mary Ann died on 14 April 1859 from Disease of the Heart.

William married his second wife Maria Woodcock (a widow with two children) on 20 February 1861 at Town Marie. William was a carpenter, farmer and shop keeper and he took up land in the Redbank and Ipswich area and later he grew cotton and crops on his property at Redbank Plains. He died on 13 May 1889 at the age of fifty-seven.

William Barram Junior
William Barram Junior was the son of William and Mary Ann Barram. He married Charlotte Lucy Reed (daughter of William J and Mary Reed) on 25 December 1875 at Goodna. They lived on their farm at Redbank Plains and had a family of seven sons: 

• William Lewis was born in 1876
• John Edwin was born in 1878
• Thomas Herbert was born in 1879
• Frederick Charles was born in 1881
• Frank James was born in 1885
• William George was born in 1886
• Cecil was born in 1888. 

William Barram Junior died on 12 October 1890 and Charlotte died on 5 August 1894.

William Lewis (Lew) Barram
Lew was the son of William Barram Junior and Mary Ann and he was born in 1876. In 1897, three years after his mother's death, Lew became the legal guardian of his six younger brothers then aged from nineteen down to eight. Lew married Emma Jackson, the third daughter of Thomas and Jane Jackson on 13 February 1901. They began their married life in a small rented cottage in Stuart Street, Goodna where they remained for the next couple of years. Lew and his brother Jack camped out at Ripley and at the beginning of June 1902 they began cutting timber from the property to build Jack’s house. Lew and Emma had three children:

• Lucy was born in 1902
• William was born in 1905
• Jane was born in 1907

Lew and Emma lived at Ripley until February 1943 when the property was requisitioned by the American Army for use as a live firing range.  He and Emma moved to a small rented two-room cottage on Kerwin’s farm at Redbank Plains where they remained until Lew became ill with Parkinsons disease and Emma was no longer able to care for him on her own. Late in 1944 they moved to their youngest daughter Jane’s home in Greenwood Village, Redbank Plains.  Lew passed away on 8 March 1945 at the age of 68. Emma passed away in November 1957.

John Edwin (Jack) Barram
On 25 April 1906 Jack married Mary Ann Jackson, Emma’s younger sister and the two families lived in close proximity on the property at Ripley.  Jack and Mary had 8 children:

• Ida
• Jackson
• Frederick
• Colin
• Alma
• William
• Alan
• Reta

In 1912, Jack purchased seven allotments totalling 40 acres in the new Aberdare Township Estate at Raceview/Swanbank and around 1916 he and his family moved from the Ripley property into a home on this land at Raceview. He operated his carpentry and butchering business in Raceview.  Jack passed away in June 1961 aged 83, his wife Mary pre-deceased him in August 1953.

Lew and Jack
Brothers William Lewis (Lew) and John Edwin (Jack) Barram purchased Lot numbers 181(394 acres), 199 (498 acres) and 230 (112 acres) in the Parish of Bundamba on 1 October 1900. Jack and Lew worked in the Ipswich area, Lew doing labouring work and Jack plying his trade as a carpenter.