Sivyers in Queensland

If you have a grandparent born in Queensland then you have more than a 90 per cent chance you are descended from either Spencer Sivyer or Frederick James Sivyer. You will then be descended from James Sivyer and Harriet Goodsell who emigrated in 1838 on the "Argyle" and landed in Sydney in April 1839.

Spencer Sivyer b: 1833 son of James and Harriet Sivyer came to Maryborough, Queensland in 1864 as a timber man. Spencer was 31 years of age and a skilled man when it came to timber. His story in New South Wales will be the topic of another post or you can read his story here. 

After the death of his first wife Elizabeth Hogg Bathgate in 1880 at Bundaberg he married Harriet Coram in Bundaberg in 1882.

Spencer then started a second family beginning with Eva Ethel Coram Sivyer born in Bundaberg in 1882. Spencer's two families of descendants spanned the birth period of 1852 to 1895. He had five children from the first marriage and seven children from the second marriage.

Frederick James Sivyer b: 1856 (James the Brickie) the son of Frederick John Sivyer and Catherine Bathgate moved to Queensland it is presumed around 1896 to Ipswich where a daughter Gladys Dorothea was born. He moves then to Stannary Hills west of Cairns in FNQ where daughter Nita Melba is born in 1898. 

To explain the relationship between the two men Spencer is an uncle to Frederick James as Frederick Jame's father Frederick John Sivyer is Spencer's older brother.

Both of these man had many characteristics in common. They had both been influenced by the Goodsell - Sivyer family association in New South Wales that was part of the early building and infrastructure development in that state. Both men moved where work was available regardless of the harshness of the conditions. They became skilled in their trades and professions and recognised for it. Their family situations were similar to all in that time. Hard living conditions on woman and children may have lead to early deaths. 

By the end of the 19th. century we have two Sivyer families in Queensland. One could say three families given the two family lines that Spencer produced from his two wives. The main point in history is that we have two Sivyer families directly related living in opposite ends of the vast state of Queensland. Both Spencer and Frederick James were substantial figures within their communities and professions. The Frederick James in FNQ some could say "legendary" in the brick making trade and Spencer (Inspector of Timbers QLD Rail) a dominant figure in the construction and maintenance of Queensland's early rail infrastucture.