John Cafe was born in Richmond near Windsor in the Hawkesbury in 1803, although this event was never recorded. It has been established that John was the second child born to convict parents William Calf from the ship �Barwell�, 18-5-1798 & Elizabeth Smith, from the ship �Speedy�, 15-4-1800. Two other children were born from this union, an older brother William, 25-5-1801 & a younger James born 23-1-1805.

Elizabeth Smith married Thomas Taleby (Tailby) on the 16-2-1807 at Parramatta, after the unrecorded disappearance of her partner William Calf in 1806. Elizabeth Tailby had two more sons to Thomas Tailby, George born 17-6-1807 & Thomas Jnr. in 1809.

George Tailby became a successful grazier and had properties near Rylstone and Gulargambone. He also had a two storey building built in 1854 at Emu Plains which he named Tailby's Hall, now known as Huntington Hall. This building was used as Tailby's Sydney holiday residence. The children were known as either Cafe or Tailby. During the early days of the colony, the name Cafe, was spelled in many various ways, mainly due to illiteracy within the convict society.

John Cafe married Mary Timmins on the 5-7-1826 in Richmond, Mary was the eldest daughter of convicts James Timmins, from the ship �Friendship�, 16-2-1800 & Ann Baldwin, from the �Sydney Cove�, 18-1-1807. A large family of ten children resulted from this union and grew up in Francis Street Richmond. Mary Cafe died in Richmond on the 7-9-1854 aged only 43 years and was buried in St. Peters Church of England Cemetery.

John was employed at the time of Mary's death as a fencing contractor in the Richmond district building & repairing many fences on the surrounding farms. After Mary's death, the family appears to have left the Hawkesbury area, John Cafe moved from Richmond and journeyed over the Blue Mountains to where many of his children had settled on the new found land west of the Great Dividing Range.Most of them were employed in the sheep & wool trade.

William,at �Dabee� & �Fernside�near Rylstone, Mary Ann in Mudgee, where her husband Robert Wood was a stock inspector. John Cafe Jnr.at �Curban�,�Booranda� & �Bearbung,�near Gilgandra. It was here where John Cafe Snr. ended his working days with his son JohnCafe Jnr. on a sheep station at Bearbung, John Snr.died at Bearbung on the 5-12-1869, and is buried near the Wallumburrawang creek on the same property, John was aged 66 years. George, was at �Armatree", near Gilgandra & "Carwell�near Quambone & died from Strychnine Poisoning, & Elizabeth Cafe who's husband, George Foster was a carrier in Mudgee & Coonabarabran.

Four exceptions were James Cafe who moved to Merriwa & owned a Green Grocer's business in Bettington Street around 1872, he then moved to Muswellbrook in the Hunter Valley where James was the Manager and mail contractor for Cobb & Co. between Merriwa & Muswellbrook. James was also an Alderman in the Municipal District of Muswellbrook, between 1882-1886. Eliza Jane Cafe, the youngest child of John & Mary also lived in Merriwa, where she possibly worked in her brother James's, green grocer's store until her death at age only 20 years on the 5-9-1868 due to burns received from her clothes catching on fire from a fire place. Caroline Cafe married Joseph Machan & they lived in the inner part of Sydney at Enmore near Newtown until her death in 1916.

Thomas Cafe, my Great-Grandfather was a Dairy farmer in the Dural Valley where he was accidently shot on the 13-6-1885 aged only 39 years and is buried in Jerry's Plains old cemetery.

Many Cafe & Tailby descendants from these early pioneer families are still living around the state of N.S.W. Today.

Compiled by Des Cafe.