Eden White

Eden White was born in 1830 in Kingston, Oxfordshire to parents Eden White and Maria Britnell. Eden was an agricultural labourer at nearby Kingston Blount. The White family lived in the Aston Rowant area for hundreds of years.

Eden was one of ten children, and aged 18 in 1848 he and his 20 year old brother Richard immigrated to Australia aboard the immigrant passenger ship “Mahomed Shah”. They were both stated as shepherds, and Eden was recorded as being illiterate, coming to work for Mr John Patterson of Gumbargana (north of Corowa). 211 immigrants arrived in Melbourne on 5 July 1848 aboard the “Mahomed Shah”. The ships passage out to Australia took 98 days.

In Melbourne Eden met and married Mary Ann Camm on 27 May 1851 at St Peters church in Eastern Hill. Mary Ann went on to have eleven children with Eden. The first four being born in Melbourne and the latter in the Violet Town area. Their children were – Thomas 1852, Eden 1853, Maria 1855, Sarah 1857, Ellen 1860, Louisa 1862, William 1863, Alice 1866, Emily 1868, Katherine 1870, Mary 1872.

Eden was residing in Violet Town by 1860, his fifth child Ellen being born there. Ellen married another Boho settler by the name of George Ludlow (1854-1931) in 1881.

Sadly Eden’s wife Mary Ann died in childbirth with her twelfth child in March 1874. She is buried in the Violet Town Cemetery.

On 20 February 1879 in Benalla, Eden married the widow of his neighbour Jonathon Perry (1843-1878). Jonathon had accidentally shot himself while climbing through a fence on his own property “Forest Gate” Boho, on 27 March 1878. Jonathon and Lois had five children of their own. Lois 1867, Adriah 1870, Eunice 1872, Rhoda 1874 and Lydia in 1877.

Eden and Lois went on to have another five children together – George 1881, James 1881, Alfred 1884, Walter 1886 and Grace 1888.

In 1881 Eden purchased land at Boho, near his brother Richard’s farm. (CA 66B, 73, 67 Parish of Boho). The property was called “Kingston Grove” after his birthplace.

Eden died in 15 May 1901 at his farm in Boho, and was buried in the Violet Town Cemetery with his wife Lois and her deceased husband Jonathon.  Lois White died in 1928 aged 85.