Mary Jane (Choice) and Charles Bilsborough had ten children, whose surnames were all spelled Billsborough in birth records: Charles Seymore Billsborough,1881; Harriet, 1883; Emily, 1885; Sarah, 1887; Ebenezer, 1889; Mabel, 1891; Ivy, 1893; William, 1895; Ethel, 1897; and Ruby Billsborough, 1898. Speculation is that the children were born at Bingara. Sarah's birth was entered with only that name, but she was known throughout her life as Sarah Jane.

These births and dates of registration were extracted from the "Index to Births " in the Victoria National Archives, by Eric S. Tetlow, of Bundoora, Victoria, mentioned earlier. It is my understanding that different family members preferred different spellings of their surname with Bilsborough and Billsborough the most common. I have used the spelling Billsborough for consistency when there is no documentation to indicate otherwise.

Charles Billsborough's date of death has not been determined. Mary Jane died 25 August, probably in 1942 at Bingara.

Most of the remaining statistics concerning this family were collected by descendant Jack Mervyn Ward, son of Moral Oliver Ward. Because Jack did not hear about this project until the 11th hour, he did not have time to collect extensive family history. Instead, he concentrated on contacting family members for their family genealogies. His extensive records are presented in the Family Charts for the Ward, Billsborough, and related families, at the end of this chapter, and in the Addenda.

Some of the information Jack collected was compiled by Trixie Aileen (Billsborough) Johnson. Trixie's research had been organized try Muriel Ethel Elizabeth (Luhrs) Johnson who assembled it into booklet form and distributed it some years ago to extended family members. Jack also forwarded statistics from Richard Bilsborough. Some of Richard's information had been extracted from an old family bible, and other statistics had been given to Richard by his mother. Later statistics were added to Richard's material by Ken and Geoff Billsborough, with their final contribution being typed by Owen Billsborough.

Jack also forwarded statistics which were compiled by Glenda (Reese) Hughes for the family of Sarah Jane (Billsborough) Reese King, as well as from Glenda's grandparents, William Weston Reece and William King. Glenda's parents are Florence Eva (Brown) and Lionel "Jim" Esmond Reece. The information is sketchy, but vital, consisting of enough information to give a family genealogist a head start, and a direction to follow. Unfortunately, no place names were included, but Bingara would be a good place to start. Incidentally, at one point in her records, Glenda put the middle name of William Reese, "Weston" in quotation marks.

Jack Mervyn Ward included a number of photographs and documents for the Billsborough and Ward families, some of which were forwarded to him from unidentified family members. In one of his letters, Jack stated that, "...a Choice married a Death, and a Billsborough married a Death, so this tied the families together. " Jack also mentioned that both of his grandmothers, Hannah (Choice) Ward, and Harriet (Choice) Billsborough, were sisters, making him doubly Choice. Jack sent the obituary for Mary Jane (Choice) Billsborough, which he found among his parents'effects. Unfortunately, it was not dated, and the newspaper was not identified. Jack speculates that Mary Jane died in 1942. Because of the interesting biographical information the obituary contains, I shall present it here in its entirety:

The death occurred on 25th August of Mrs. Mary Jane Bilsborough at the age of 79. The late Mrs. Bilsborough was a daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Charles Choice, and was born on the Lachlan. With her parents she came to Bingara over 60 years ago, and helped her father build their first home in Bingara. Her relatives on both sides are two of the oldest and best known families in the Bingara district.

She is survived by two sons and eight daughters and there are 65 grandchildren, 90 great grandchildren, and I great great grandchild. The sons are Charles Seymore Bilsborough (Bingara) and William (Chinchilla, Q.) and the daughters are Mesdames F. Forster (Bingara), A. Gregory (Keera), W. A. King, E. Gaudern, C. Hancock (Bingara), A. Draper (Rockhampton), H. Ridgewell (Bundarra) and H. Turner (Queensland). A brother and sister also survive, viz. Mr. John Choice, Byrnes St., Bingara and Mrs. Harriet Bilsborough, Goondiwindi.

The internment took place in the Church of England portion ofthe local cemetery, Rev. S. C. Wiseman officiating.

The two photographs on the following page, require some explanation. The identification on the back of the top photograph describes it as the "Choice home on the corner of Gwydir Terrace, Bingara. " The people standing in front of the home are identified as:

Mary Ann (Small) Choice, with her daughter, MaryJane (Choice) Bilisborough, with granddaughter Sarah Jane in front offence, and grandson, Joe, in Mary Jane's Arms.

Who was Joe? Possibly the son of the person taking the photograph. There is no son named Joe for Mary Jane, Hannah, or Harriet, unless it was a nickname. Jack Mervyn Ward tells me that this house is still inhabited today.

The lower photograph is described as the home of Mary Jane (Choice) Billsborough at Gwydir Terrace, next door to her mother's home. I am told that the names of the children are written on the back of the original photograph, but the name of the child on the right was not decipherable. The other children, named from the right, are Joe, Emily, Maud, Sarah, Mabel, and Ivy. There are many Billsborough Family Charts for this family, and for related lines, at the end of this chapter.