James Choice, following his father's lead, worked as a carrier; a transporter of goods from one place to another. Rugged Australian roads were often no more than a wide footpath in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Carrying was often done under the most violent weather conditions, which subjected the carrier to the extremes of temperatures, and the ravages of the elements.

William "James" Choice was married to Ann Maria Death,probably on 20 June 1887 (the year is obscured), at Orton Park, the Death family home at Goondiwindi, Queensland, which is about 80 miles north of Bingara. Ann Maria Death, the daughter of Mary Ann (Woodcock) and David Death, was born 15 Apr 1862, at Toowoomba, Queensland, about 115 miles north of Goondiwindi.

Ann's mother was from Norfolk, England, and Ann's father, who was described as an agriculturalist, was from Alconbury, north of Huntingdon, England. The Death family was one of the pioneering families of Queensland.

Ann was an only daughter, but she had three brothers, Charles Death, who lived at Munda; Burton Death, who lived at Bungunya, Queensland; and Edward Death, who lived at Orton Park. Ann was only 20 months old when her family moved from Toowoomba to Goondiwindi. Their journey was made on "a bullock dray", over what must have been a tortuous terrain.

Upon the family's arrival in the Goondiwindi area, David Death obtained work on "Umbercolfie ". He later owned his own butchery business in Goondiwindi, "his shop being situated in Marshall Street on the site now occupied by Mr.Stephen Stratford's home. "This quotation is taken from a clipping from an undated Goondiwindi newspaper (probably a 1939 ARGUS) from which most of my information concerning this Death family has been taken. Eventually, David Death "acquired Orton Park Selection and later on Springfield Selection. "

According to the newspaper clipping, Ann Maria (Death) Choice offered the following memories of the Goondiwindi of her youth:

A saw pit occupied the site of the present Victoria Hotel... and also a large punt was used to ferry goods and persons across the Macintyre River, this operating just above the site of the present (1939) bridge; there was no bridge in those days. Back in those times, Goondiwindi was a tiny village ofshingle and roofs and there were no churches.

I obtained this newspaper clipping, along with many others, from Bonnie (Choice) Carcigan,granddaughter of Ann (Death) and James Choice. Bonnie has made some overtures toward learning more about her Death ancestors. In one letter she said:

...Orton Park, her parents' property about 9 or 10 miles west of Goondiwindi... Granny Choice died late 1938 or early 1939. I know Grandfather Choice died of cancer at Goondiwindi, in 1913...

That letter was written before we had learned that James' name was actually William. Bonnie's niece, Jennifer (Choice) Peters, obtained the copy of her grandparent's marriage license, which appears here.

In one of her letters, Bonnie enclosed a newspaper clipping taken from THE CHRONICLE at Toowoomba, dated 25 Jan 1980. It featured an article about Mr. Arthur Ingham Myers, who has made a study of persons included in Australia's"First Fleet", which arrived in Australia on 26 Jan 1788. The article reported that Mr. Myers had constructed a wall chart which included all of the names of the people involved. Bonnie wrote to Mr. Myers to inquire about her Choice and Death ancestors. She sent me a copy of his gracious, but negative response concerning Choice and Choyce, but he did add the following concerning Bonnie's Death family interests:

,. I understand that there is a family in Queensland called *Deeth " that changed their name from "Death " many years ago ...The Dictionary of Family Names, just published by the Genealogical Society of Q'land reference to a "Death " family in England in 1762; Parramatta, NSW, 1832; ClayerCreep NSW, 1839.

This information was provided by a Mrs. K Keenan, Lot 7, Mooralla St., Mudgeeraba, Q., 4213, who is apparently researching the family and should be your best contact.

I am deliberately including this information for you who may be interested in pursuing your Death family genealogy. You should also consider the possibility that the surname Death may originally have been spelled D'Eath.

Ann (Death) and James Choice had eight children: William David, born 1888; Charles Edward, 1890; Mary Alice Ann, 189 1; John Thomas, 1893; Burton Norman, 1895; Arthur Clarence, 1897; Evalene Maud, 1900; and Walter Stanley Choice, 1902.

Ann and James began their married life at "Springfield". This may refer to the "Springfield Selection" owned by Ann's family. However, they lived there for only a short time before purchasing their own home named "Fair View ", which is located about four miles west of Goondiwindi. All of these Choice children were born at Fair View, as well as many grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Indeed, as we shall see, some Choices still live at Fair View today.

According to the newspaper account quoted earlier, James set a weight record of sorts as a carrier...the record load of wool, ll tons and IO cwt., with 12 horses, from Callandoon Station to the Goondiwindi Railway Station. He also, at one time, worked bullock teams.

Both Ann and James Choice placed great emphasis upon the education of their children. They were among those who were instrumental in getting the government to establish a provisional school at West Goondiwindi, "six miles from town, and towards which objective the Hunt and Walter families were also prominent workers. "