I is for Ireland

Both Moxon and Moxham are English surnames, from Yorkshire and Wiltshire respectively, so it was perhaps unusual to find that one prominent family of Moxhams in Australia had its documented roots in Ireland.

Y DNA tests have shown that the Australian descendants of the Longford Moxhams match a descendant of the Moxhams in Wiltshire.  It is thought that a Moxham was "planted" in Ireland to increase the population of Irish Protestants in the mid-1600s and were given land by the British King.  They cannot have been very popular with the Catholic majority!

In 1835, a  Richard Robert Moxham (1814-1865) from Longford, Ireland immigrated with his wife Frances, nee Mack and established his family at Parramatta.  He became a turnkey at Parramatta Gaol.

Whilst Richard Moxham had only one son and two daughters, that son had many sons.

Later, his much younger brother Henry Charles John Moxham (1832-1898) arrived, however, it is not clear when he immigrated.  He began operating a punt across the river at Wagga Wagga in 1854.  He married Susannah Hannah Ceasar Monkhouse nee Seymour who was a widow with two young daughters.  He acquired land in the district and subsequently engaged in pastoral pursuits, including at one time owning Mimosa station.  He fathered many children with Susannah including several boys. He also lived at Bourke, becoming well known there as well.

Both brothers, sons of William Moxham and Susannah Pope prospered in New South Wales.  However, they had started their adult lives as farm labourers but obviously had plenty of motivation to do well in the colony.  

In 1850, their uncle Henry Moxham (1795-1870, known as Henry Snr) and his wife, his second cousin Mary Ann Moxham (1800-1893) emigrated to Parramatta with his large family on the ship Elizabeth as assisted passengers. He was described as a farm labourer too but may well have had good connections in the colony. However, he may have inherited money from his deceased parents which enabled him to purchase considerable land holdings in the North Parramatta, Northmead and Baulkham Hills areas - the area your author has lived most of her life.  Other Moxhams moved further west to Penrith.

Henry Snr's family established a number of sandstone quarries in the area, evidence of which is still highly visible today.  They owned a still-standing sandstone cottage on the corner of Windsor Road and Churchill Drive at Northmead and another, now demolished house on the corner of Factory Street. It became the Coach Inn but was demolished in the 1970s to make way for a large restaurant.   There are still many sandstone cottages along Windsor Road sourced from the Moxham quarries.  Additionally, these quarries supplied much of the sandstone needed for many Parramatta buildings.

In 2006, a large reunion was organised at Northmead Public School and 130 descendants and family members attended.  It was noted that a Moxham had attended the school every year since it opened.  Certainly these three early Moxhams established considerable dynasties.

Thomas Robert Moxham (1858-1916), a grandson of Henry Moxham Snr was the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) representing Parramatta for continuous terms between 1901 and his death in 1916.  He was a Liberal Party whip from 1913 to 1916.  He was a pastoralist and property owner and one of the two brothers who established the quarry at Northmead.  His father Robert Henry Moxon was the keeper of the Toll Bar at the time of his birth.  

Prior to entering Parliament, he was an alderman and mayor of Parramatta (1897-1901).

The Moxham name is still very prominent around the Parramatta area.  John Moxham, educated at The Kings's School established a well-known Parramatta real estate business in 1960.  He sold it in 2006 and is now semi-retired.

Your author is currently the guardian of this tree.  Much research was undertaken by Sharon Lowry of Adelaide about 15 years ago and sent to the Moxon Society, but Sharon is no longer actively involved.  Since the Australian branch is so large, I should be actively seeking out members of this family who are interested in family research and encourage them to join.