My 3rd great grandparents, William Absalom and Mary Ann Rose, have the largest family of all my relatives that I have found so far. They had a total of 16 children. I cannot imagine having that many mouths to feed!

William was born in England in about 1830, a son of Charles Absalom and Eliza Knight. He immigrated to Australia in 1849.

Mary Ann, a daughter of John Fuller Rose and Ann Newman, was born in about 1834 in England and immigrated to Australia with her parents and siblings in 1838.

William married Mary Ann in 1855 in Victoria, Australia. Their children are listed below with their spouses.

1. Eliza born in 1856 and died in 1935. She married William Edwards.
2. Charles born in 1857 and died in 1938. He married Catherine McKenna.
3. Annie born in 1858 and died in 1890. I believe she was unmarried.
4. Charlotte born in 1860 and died in 1870.
5. William was born in 1861 and died in 1916. He married Flora McDonald.
6. Sarah born in 1864 and died in 1936. She married Alfred Jolliffe.
7. Frances born in 1865 and died in 1938. She married William Smith.
8. James born in 1866 and died in 1932. He married Mary Anne Knight.
9. Mary Ann born in 1867 and died in 1938. She married Donald Robinson.
10. John born in 1869 and died in 1945. He married Mary Ann Green.
11. George born in 1871 and died in 1938. I believe he was unmarried.
12. Avy born in 1872 and died in 1920. She married William Greaney.
13. Henry born in 1873 and died in 1946. He married Nellie Keogh.
14. Edward born in 1875 and died in 1926. He married Emily Hill.
15. Letitia born in 1877 and died in 1923. She married John Ritchie.
16. Robert born in 1878 and died in 1880.

William died in 1882, aged 52 and Mary Ann in 1898, aged 64. When he died, she was left with 8 kids aged 16 and under.

These dates are just rough estimates as I haven’t researched into their lives much, and they will probably end up being part of future blog posts. My line is through James.

Feel free to send a message if you are related to anyone in these posts.