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Gam, Jacob (1864 - 1939)

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Born
9 October 1864
Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
Died
6 September 1939
Wards River, New South Wales, Australia

Details

Jacob Gam was born in Avondale (now known as Dapto) in the Wollongong area in October 1864. He was the second son of Thomas Gam and Barbara Lechleither's fourteen children.

From the information available, Jacob's father, Thomas Gam, was born in Xiamen (formerly Amoy), China circa 1833. How he came to Australia is still unknown.

His mother, Barbara Lechleiter, was born on 3 April 1849 in Gerrmany and emigrated to Australia in 1852 aged three with her parents, Georg Adam and Anna Barabara Lechleiter (nee Grun) and her older sister, Margaretha, and older brother, Jacob, in 1852.

Jacob together with his parents and other siblings moved to Wyong Creek, New South Wales in approximately 1877-1878. It is understood that Jacob was involved in the timber industry and farming in the area.

Jacob married Elizabeth Gilkison in 1897 at Wyong Creek. Jacob was involved in the Wyong Progress Association and was certainly a member of the association in 1906 as he appears in a photograph of the group which appears in A Pictorial History of Wyong Shire Book 3.

Jacob and Elizabeth had six children whilst living in Wyong Creek. They moved to the Dungog/Stroud area between 1908 and 1910 where their last three children were born.

Jacob was a timber getter in the Dungog/Stroud area and had a bullock team that he used to gather the timber.

He built the family home in Wards River on the corner of Anderson Street and Bucketts Way. The house still stands after more than ninety years.

Jacob died on 6 September 1939 and was buried in the Gloucester Cemetery.

Sources used to compile this entry: New South Wales Births, Deaths and Marriages
Gloucester Cemetery.

Prepared by: Helene Shepherd, independent family researcher

Published Resources

See also

  • Stinson, Edward, A pictorial history of the Wyong Shire, vol. 1-6, Wyong Shire Council, Wyong, New South Wales, 1979. Details

Images

Title
Jacob Gam
Type
Photograph
Place
Australia?
Details
Title
Jacob Gam with the Wyong Progress Association
Type
Photograph
Date
1906
Place
Australia - New South Wales - Wyong Creek
Details

Created: 9 August 2008, Last modified: 19 August 2008