William Axtell

Name	William Axtell
Address	Carngham
Occupation	Cowkeeper, Brickmaker, Miner
Born	St Pancras, London, 1817
Parents	John Axtell and Catherine (Humphries)
Died	Beaufort, Victoria, 13th July 1894
Burial	Beaufort, Victoria, 15th July 1894
Occupation	Brickmaker
Period Active	1862-?
Married	Geelong, Victoria, to Ellenor Purcell 1835-1931
Children	Catherine b 1853 Mary Jane Elizabeth 1855-1941 Maria 1859-1863 Mary Elizabeth 1863? William Thomas 1864-1955 Emily Mary 1867-1955 Robert John 1869 Sarah Ann 1862 Ellen Therese 1873 1944 Jewell Victoria 1874-1953 Johann 1877-1879
Arrived	Melbourne, 1852 as unassisted migrant aboard the “Beulah”

Little is known of their movements for the next ten years, and it may be assumed that, like many others, he was a not too successful gold miner in the nearby fields in or near Ballarat.  They were living in Cargham, near Ballarat when, in 1862, William received permission to commence brick making.  Carngham is 27 kilometres west of Ballarat and about 30 kilometers from Buninyong.  The name Carngham is said to derive from the Wathawurrung people's word for house or hut.  In 1838 James and Thomas Baillie squatted there and adopted the Aboriginal place name for their property. The local clan was the Karrungum baluk or Carringum balug.

According to the census of 29 March 1857 there were 459 people in Carngham, 292 males and 167 females. This figure probably includes the population of Snake Valley. Until that time, the area had been farmland owned by In 1854 there had been 58 people, 15 males and 13 females.  Carngham is 4 km north of Snake Valley and was a mining township, surveyed and proclaimed in 1855.  State School number 146 operated at Carngham from 1856 until 1911.  Today Carngham is little more than a few houses where the Snake Valley-Trawalla road crosses the road from Ballarat to Beaufort.  Snake Valley is still the larger settlement. Overlooking Carngham is the old cemetery but William isn’t there.  William died on the 13^th of July 1894 at the age of 72 in the nearby town of Beaufort and was buried there two days later on the 15^th of July 1894.