Two East Clare Families: Reddan & Liddy

I have posted two stories about the Reddans from Gortnaglogh, Parish of Kilseily, and the Liddy family of Ballydonaghan at Kilnoe Parish on my main blog, simply because of DNA connections. However, their story is also relevant to the East Clare Emigrants since each had family members who emigrated.

These are the links:

The Reddan Family of Gortnaglogh: Part 1

The Reddan and Liddy Families: Part 2

I’d be very interested in hearing from any descendants of these families, either in Ireland or in the USA or elsewhere.

I’m also curious how many east Clare descendants have had their DNA tested…feel free to contact me if you wish.

Resources for Irish research in Australia

These are references relating to the talk I’ll be giving in Ennis today, 24th September at the Clare Roots Society’s Family History Conference. They should provide helpful reading for those with an interest in Irish migration to Australia. Of course, there’s many, many more sources that could be mentioned. (My topic is From East Clare to Australia: Assisted Migration and Irish Mobility)

References

State Records of New South Wales	Board Immigration Lists, NSW Archives Kit. Microfilms 2136-37; 2460-2483. (Contain more information than the Agent’s Lists which have been digitised).
Baines, D	European Migration, 1815-1930: Looking at the emigration decision again. The Economic History Review. New Series, Vol 47, No 3 (Aug 1994).
Burke, B.	An East Clare priest: Fr John Burke 1805-1881 in Sliabh Aughty 2005.
Clement, C	Migration to New Zealand: A Guide for Family History Researchers. Unlock the past publications 2016.
Farmer, K	Arrivals in Australia from 1788. Unlock the past publications 2015.
Fitzpatrick, D	Oceans of Consolation. Melbourne University Press, Melbourne 1995.
Haines, R,	Life and Death in the Age of Sail: the passage to Australia.  UNSW Press, Sydney, 2003.
Haines, R	Emigration and the Labouring Poor: Australian Recruitment in Britain and Ireland 1831-1860.  St Martins Press, Basingstoke, 1997.
Kennedy L, et al (eds)	Mapping the Great Irish Famine. Four Courts Press, Dublin, 1999.
Kleinig, M & Richards, E (eds)	On the wing: Mobility before and after emigration to Australia. Visible Immigrants 7, Anchor Books, Sydney 2013.
O’Brien, J (Hartigan, PJ)	Around the Boree Log. Harper Collins, Sydney 1994 (reprint)
O’Brien, P	Broadford. County Clare 1830-1850: A study of a rural community. Unpublished MA (History and Local Studies), University of Limerick, 1999.
O’Mahoney, C.	Emigration from the Limerick Workhouse 1848-1860 in The Old Limerick Journal, Spring 1982.
Richards, E (ed)	Visible Women: Female immigrants in colonial Australia. Division of Historical Studies and Centre for Immigration and Multicultural studies, ANU, Canberra, 1995.
Richards, E (ed)	Poor Australian immigrants in the nineteenth century. Visible Immigrants Series 2. Division of Historical Studies and Centre for Immigration and Multicultural studies, ANU, Canberra, 1991.
Richards, E, Reid R and Fitzpatrick D.	Visible Immigrants: Neglected Sources for the History of Australian Immigration. Division of Historical Studies and Centre for Immigration and Multicultural studies, ANU, Canberra, 1989
Reid, R	Farewell My Children: Irish Assisted Emigration to Australia 1848-1870, Anchor Books, Sydney 2011.
Reid, R	Aspects of Irish assisted emigration to New South Wales, 1848-1870. Unpublished PhD thesis, Australian National University, Canberra, 1992.
Rushen, E	Colonial Duchesses: the migration of Irish women to New South Wales before the Great Famine. Anchor Books, Sydney 2014.
Rushen, E & McIntyre, P	Fair Game: Australia’s first immigrant women. Anchor Books, Sydney, 2014.

Web links

TROVE	http://trove.nla.gov.au Try searching for various combinations including “county Clare” + Obituaries (or death or place). It includes many references to family overseas especially in obituaries (where they exist).
Cora Num’s gateway to Australian records	http://coraweb.com.au/
Australian Cemetery Index	http://austcemindex.com/ Not all cemeteries but a good range. Otherwise find the name of the local council for the place and search for cemetery and burials/graves.
Enhanced British Parliamentary Papers	Website for British Parliamentary Papers relating to Ireland. http://www.dippam.ac.uk/eppi/
Immigration Deposit Journals	Now available online through subscription site http://ancestry.com
Irish Famine Orphan Website & Database	http://irishfaminememorial.org/orphans/
Limerick Board of Guardians’ Minutes	Now online at https://www.limerick.ie/historicalresources/limerickarchives/archivecollections/digitalarchives/limerickcitycouncilandlocalgovernmentcollections/limerickunionboardofguardiansminutebooks1842-1922
Anchor books	http://anchorbooksaustralia.com.au/
Unlock the Past publications	http://www.unlockthepast.com.au/unlock-past-publications Available as ebooks also through the same site.

With thanks to all those who’ve assisted me including my family history friends who sent their emigrants’ photos for the collages, and to Eric Shaw for the news story on the Clare Castle emigrants. (At the end of the talk there will be a slide listing names and ancestors for the photographs used in the collage).

TIPS:

Each Australian state has responsibility for its own official BDM records.

Each colony in the pre-Commonwealth era had its own migration scheme.

As always some records are only available offline including specific migration documents.

You can find each State Archive by google searching for the state + archive. Each archive will have different records available. Most have a guide or similar information for family history researchers. There are also church archives, occupational archives etc. Google is your friend.

New book release: Atlantic Canada’s Irish Immigrants. Lucille H. Campey, Dundurn Press, Toronto, 2016

You can read more about the Clare Roots Society here or follow them on Facebook here.

Edmund and Patrick CAHILL of Glenomera, KILBANE

The previous posts tell the story of Edmund Cahill’s sister, Bridget Reeves, and his mother Julia Cahill as well as some of his own migration story.

When Edmund arrived in Victoria he stated his occupation as “shoemaker”. I found an 1874 article in the Gippsland Times which suggests he maintained that occupation for quite some time. Although Edmund settled initially in Stratford where sister Bridget and her husband were living, he later moved to Briagolong, a town 15kms north of Stratford.

The Gippsland Times. (1868, December 5). Gippsland Times (Vic. : 1861 – 1954), p. 2 Edition: Morning.. Retrieved March 12, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article61342187

This story of Edmund’s brother, Patrick’s, accident offers clues to why Patrick may have died young in July 1872, aged 38 years. Although it is not conclusive that this is the same chap it seems highly likely pending confirmation.

Advertising. (1872, November 7). Gippsland Times (Vic. : 1861 – 1954), p. 1 Edition: Morning.. Retrieved March 12, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article61492140

After Patrick’s death, his brother took on his bootmaker’s business. I found it interesting that both men had followed their trade for quite some time, with success, after arriving in Australia. In the probate notices of the Gippsland Times 8 October 1872, there is “A rule to administer the real estate (£300) of Patrick Cahill, late of Stratford, bootmaker; deceased was granted to his only brother, Edmund Cahill of Stratford; farmer.”

 

Map of the Gippsland area of eastern Victoria, showing Briagolong, Stratford and Sale.

Edmund Cahill died on 24 June 1921 and was buried in Briagolong Cemetery  his gravestone can be seen on the Billion Graves website here.The newspaper obituaries serve as a testament to Edmund’s life as an early pioneer in Gippsland.

MR. EDMUND CAHILL. (1921, July 14). Advocate (Melbourne, Vic. : 1868 – 1954), p. 17. Retrieved March 11, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article171239108

Edmund Cahill had plainly played a significant role in the establishment of the Catholic church in Stratford, Gippsland, donating land for its establishment…it could probably be claimed he was “a pillar of the church”.

Another obituary also ties his arrival in Australia with the immigration records which have been found (see previous post). It is also Edmund’s death registration in the Victorian indexes which gives his parents’ names as John Cahill and Julia Riordan (various spellings)

DEATH OF MR. EDMUND CAHILL. (1921, June 30). Gippsland Times (Vic. : 1861 – 1954), p. 7. Retrieved March 11, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article62593373

Although somewhat convoluted I found this family’s story to be an interesting migration story, quite typical of much of the East Clare migration I’ve researched:

• Bridget Cahill, a single woman in her early 20s led the migration to Australia
• Bridget married John Samuel Reeves two years after arrival.
• She and her husband moved interstate – again demonstrating how immigrants would move around to find a location and work opportunities which suited them.
• Money was sent to Bridget’s family in the form of remittances to fund their migration in turn.
• A two-generational chain-migration ensued with a middle-aged mother, adult sons and daughters followed.
• This family did stay in close proximity to each other over time.

 

 

 

Julia CAHILL nee RIORDAN of KILBANE

The discovery of Bridget Reeves’ gravestone and the notice of her mother’s (Julia Cahill) death notice, pulled the unravelling thread to a genealogical discovery. You can read this story here.

I decided to explore when Bridget’s family arrived in Victoria. Her brother Edmund’s obituary revealed he’d lived in the Gippsland area for some years and had an estimated year of arrival in the late 1850s.

Turning to the PROV immigration indexes online I searched both assisted and unassisted immigrants. My thought was that given his mother’s age, she may have been unassisted. However I could find no Julia Cahill anywhere near her age in either set of indexes, and NSW provided similar results. I knew it wasn’t unusual for emigrants to fudge their ages so they could gain access to the government’s passage assistance. In this the east Clare emigrants of this time frame were often given a helping hand by the parish priest of Broadford, Fr John Bourke.

Temporarily giving up on Julia, my search focused on Edmund Cahill and there were two possibilities: one, Edmand (sic), aged 20 on the Mindoro in October 1857 and another, Edmond aged 17 on the Lady Milton in July 1857. I eliminated the second because of the cluster of people he was travelling with, and his place of birth (Tipperary).

Next step was to search for all Cahills on the Mindoro as that fitted this Edmund’s age best. Bingo! There was Edmund (20), Catherine (17) and Pat (22). But were they the right family? Catherine proved not to be part of this group because she came from Kilkenny not Clare.

SHIPPINGS INTELLIGENCE. (1857, October 24). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), p. 4. Retrieved March 11, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article7140965

I used Ancestry to search for the digitised documents[i] given it was late at night and a trip to the library wasn’t possible. Edmand Cahill, 20, a shoemaker from Clare was listed among the single men as was Pat Cahil (sic), 22 also a shoemaker from Clare and both could read and write. They had signed out of the ship on their own account on 19 November…later than others so I wonder why the delay.

Original data: Victoria. Inward Overseas Passenger Lists (British Ports). Microfiche VPRS 7666, copy of VRPS 947. Public Record Office Victoria, North Melbourne, Victoria. CLICK on the image to see it enlarged.

Bearing in mind the different spelling of Pat’s surname I again searched the indexes for Cahil. Another Eureka moment as it turned up additional passengers: Judith (44), Margaret (18) and Anne (14). Against their names on the Certificate of Final Departure[ii] was an “R” indicating their fare had been paid by family or friends as remittances. Had Julia originally been Judith? That was my question. The Immigration documents clarified it once and for all: they were going to Mr J S Reeves, son-in-law, Stratford, Gippsland. Mystery solved. I wasn’t concerned about Julia’s 23 year drop in age given what I knew from other experiences…but she must have worn well to get away with it!

Advertising. (1857, October 26). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), p. 7. Retrieved March 11, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article7141033

Now we had clear links between Bridget Reeves, her brothers Edmund and Pat, sisters Margaret and Anne and mother Julia…and while there are many mentions they came from Clare, it was only Bridget’s legal separation that referred to her specific place of origin in Kilbane.

I think Julia/Judith was so brave to make the move from Ireland to Australia when she was 67. As she’s listed as a single woman on the ship’s documents it implies her husband, John Cahill, had died before the family emigrated. Unfortunately I can find no reference to them in the Griffiths’ Valuations in Killokennedy from 1852 though there is a Johanna Cahill in Kilbane village…surely it’s too much to think she had three first-name incarnations. As I mentioned previously, I found only indirect potential mentions in the parish registers which indicate a potential link to the Vaughan family.

STRATFORD. (1885, May 29). Gippsland Times (Vic. : 1861 – 1954), p. 3 Edition: Morning.. Retrieved March 11, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article61922989

Julia was able to spend 28 years with her family in Gippsland before her death, which was well recognised in the newspapers. In death as in life, she is surrounded by her family and remembered on the gravestone in the Sale cemetery.

Family Notices. (1885, May 18). Gippsland Times (Vic. : 1861 – 1954), p. 3 Edition: Morning.. Retrieved March 9, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article61922839

Rest in Peace, Julia Cahill, another foundation member of our Colonial women who helped build our country.

As an aside, the man who was lost overboard on the Mindoro was William Bland and his death is recorded on the ship’s registers as 1 October not 1 August. His wife, Elizabeth Bland, only 23, from Middlesex, was left with two small children when she went to friends at Prahran.

————

[i] Ancestry.com. Victoria, Australia, Assisted and Unassisted Passenger Lists, 1839–1923 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2009.
Original data: Victoria. Inward Overseas Passenger Lists (British Ports). Microfiche VPRS 7666, copy of VRPS 947. Public Record Office Victoria, North Melbourne, Victoria.Victoria. Inward Overseas Passenger Lists (Foreign Ports). Microfiche VPRS 7667, copy of VRPS 947.

 

[ii] Ancestry.com. Victoria, Australia, Assisted and Unassisted Passenger Lists, 1839–1923 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2009.
Original data: Victoria. Inward Overseas Passenger Lists (British Ports). Microfiche VPRS 7666, copy of VRPS 947. Public Record Office Victoria, North Melbourne, Victoria.Victoria. Inward Overseas Passenger Lists (Foreign Ports). Microfiche VPRS 7667, copy of VRPS 947.

 

Margaret MOLONEY nee HOGAN and her sister Catherine BOURKE

In my previous post I was documenting the deaths of Patrick Bourke of O’Brien’s Bridge, and his wife Catherine Bourke nee Hogan from Broadford. It’s been so long since I’ve posted on this site it took me a while to twig that I’d already posted about Margaret Moloney from Killokennedy, and mentioned I’d be looking for her sister Catherine Bourke. As there’s additional information available from different Trove articles I thought it best to add a supplementary post.

The Catholic Press (Sydney, NSW : 1895 – 1942), Thursday 16 July 1925, page 20

The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 – 1954), Saturday 11 July 1925, page 11

Referring to my East Clare database and baptisms from the parishes of Kilseily and Killokennedy, I believe that Catherine and Margaret were both children of John Hogan and his wife Mary Smith from Killokennedy. Post-Famine, the priests started adding the townland information to the registers which certainly makes a difference when you’re trying to differentiate one Hogan from another.

Margaret Moloney nee Hogan would have been born circa 1843, right before the registers commence so it’s unsurprising her name is not there. However I did find several other children: Michael baptised 1852, Anne in 1854, James in 1857 and Catherine in 1855. I wonder if the latter is the one I’m looking for. Catherine Bourke’s age at death in 1931 was stated as 65, making her estimated year of birth 1866 or 1865. Did they just make a mistake with Catherine’s age, or did the child born in 1855 die and her name given to the younger child? I haven’t recorded the baptisms beyond 1858 so either is possible.

However, we do know from the immigration records that when Margaret arrived on the Montmorency in 1864, her sisters Honora and Bridget were already in Sydney. It is from Margaret’s obituary that we are able to narrow down her sister Catherine’s arrival. Catherine Hogan emigrated on the Peterborough ex Plymouth, arriving in Sydney on 15 January 1878 (NSW Reels 2140-1, [4/4802] p.1). She is a farm servant from Clare, aged 19. It is through the Immigration Deposit Journals that we can accurately pin her down. Her deposit of £2 was paid by Ann Hogan (sister/cousin?) as was the same amount for Mary Moloney. Both are shown as coming from Killokennedy and their referee was the ubiquitous Rev John Bourke PP (no relation to Catherine’s husband, as far as I know).

Catherine’s relationship to Margaret is clear from the obituary and also the funeral notice, but the Moloney, McAlary and Martin nieces and nephews would take rather more unravelling. It is still unclear whether Margaret and Catherine’s other sisters were still alive as suggested in the original post’s obituary. If not, why are none specifically mentioned in the funeral notices? Perhaps I’ll find them as I continue my searches for East Clare Emigrants.

Montmorency (ship), John Oxley Library, out of copyright. http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/153919419

Sergeant Patrick BOURKE & his wife Catherine HOGAN

The Catholic Press of May 28, 1931, included an obituary for Sergeant Patrick Bourke (page 33). Patrick was an East Clare man, born in 1850 at O’Brien’s Bridge to parents John and Margaret, according to the NSW death indexes. Patrick had been stationed at Redfern Police Station during his working career before moving to Guildford in Sydney’s north-west.

Sergeant Patrick Bourke. (1931, May 28). The Catholic Press (Sydney, NSW : 1895 – 1942), p. 33. Retrieved December 2, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article103847007

Unfortunately Catherine Bourke nee Hogan was not given an obituary but there is a funeral notice which states her date of death as 22 January 1931, aged 65 years. She was the “beloved wife of Patrick Bourke, St Flannans, Robertson Street, Guildford”. (Sydney Morning Herald 23 January 1931). On the NSW death indexes, Catherine’s name is spelled Katherine and her parents are shown as John and Mary (3694/1931). She was buried at Rookwood Catholic Cemetery and her husband was later buried with her.

The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 – 1954), Saturday 2 May 1931, page 11

The only relevant marriage I can find of Patrick Bourke and Catherine Hogan is in 1901 at Redfern (NSW 4771/1901), which fits with his police service. I can find no firm evidence that they had children and there is no mention of any in the funeral notices or obituaries. However both Patrick’s and Catherine’s funeral notices refer to other relatives. Patrick’s funeral notice refers to his cousin, Mr F Hayes, presumably another East Clare man.

The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 – 1954), Friday 23 January 1931, page 9

Catherine Bourke nee Hogan has a funeral notice inserted by her nephews John, Michael and James Moloney and nieces Mrs Mary McAlery of Macleay River and Mrs Agnes Martin of Orange.

My search of the NSW Immigration records suggest that Patrick arrived on the ship Jerusalem on 22 June 1874, aged 25. He gives his occupation and his place of origin as Briensbridge, Co Clare, which indicates this is most likely the correct person. They had been 88 days at sea, having left Plymouth on 26 March 1874. (NSW Reel 2140, [4/4799] p.83).

There are further clues to Catherine’s ancestry and relations – but that’s a story for another day.

See also:

Sydney Morning Herald 2 May 1931, page 12 (funeral notice)

The Biz 8 May 1931, page 7

The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, Parramatta, 7 May 1931, page 12.

xx

Bridget WIDDUP nee O’BRIEN from Ballykelly.

The Lockhart Review and Oaklands Advertiser Wednesday 22 May 1912, page 2

Today I’m going to focus on a family member, Bridget Widdup, from Urana in southern New South Wales. I made brief mention of Bridget in my introductory post, as she was my Mary O’Brien Kunkel’s sister.

I only came to know of Bridget through oral histories from Mary’s granddaughter, Anne Kunkel, and then distant cousins in Sydney. In this I was enormously lucky, as I was with Bridget’s and Mary’s longevity and their unusual married names. I was able to buy Bridget’s death certificate many years ago and it gave their place of origin as Broadford in County Clare. It also told me that Bridget had spent a year in Queensland confirming another point in the family’s oral history. Other research pinned their townland down to Ballykelly in the hills near Broadford, which belongs to Kilseily parish.

Over the years I’d visited the State Library of New South Wales and looked in newspapers for obituaries or death notices for Bridget, always looking for more clues. None provided anything additional to the other documentary information.

The Catholic Press, 20 June 1912, page 22

How fortunate then, that Trove is here to help us and with the on-going digitisation program, more and more newspaper articles are being revealed. It was one such which told me that Bridget had spent her Queensland year in Ipswich. In retrospect that should have been obvious but….You can read the serendipitous migration discovery which arose from that here. I am confident that the advertisement ties the two women together, and that Bridget must somehow have been on the Florentia.

Much of the family’s oral migration story fits together with that discovery. Unfortunately I have been singularly unsuccessful in tying them into the official documents despite trawling the archives. I can only assume that Mary’s advertisement was successful given that she knew her sister’s married name, and they apparently remained in touch.

The Sydney Morning Herald, Saturday 12 February 1859, page 1

We have no idea why Bridget left Queensland heading for New South Wales. Perhaps she had indeed met her future husband on board ship as I believe he was a sailor and have found a merchant seaman whose details fit. Perhaps her Queensland employer also had property in NSW. Perhaps she just didn’t like the hotter weather in Ipswich.

Whatever the reason, Bridget married her husband John Widdup, apparently in Albury, though repeated searching has been unsuccessful. They had nine children: Amelia, Louisa, John, Michael J, Walter Ireland, Alfred England, Martha, Bridget Ellen and Catherine Agnes.

Wagga Wagga Advertiser (NSW : 1875 – 1910), Thursday 22 August 1901, page 2

One question, long in my mind, is why both Mary and Bridget each named a daughter Louisa as it’s not a traditional name in their families. One thought was it might have been the name of the ship they were on, but further research eliminated that possibility too.

The Widdup family lived and worked in Urana. Bridget helped establish the Catholic church there and oral history from Irish relatives recalled that she had Mass said in her house. Husband John was heavily involved with establishing the Urana school. He was also poundkeeper and after his early death (not registered) in 1876, Bridget became poundkeeper – another Trove discovery. In 1901 Bridget was accepted for the Old Age Pension, a little surprising given her land-holdings.

Riverine Herald (Echuca, Vic. : Moama, NSW : 1869 – 1954), Tuesday 21 March 1876, page 3

Photograph of Bridget’s grave in the Urana Cemetery. Pauleen Cass c2002.

Over the years Bridget purchased several plots of land in the Urana area, and seems to have taught herself some basic literacy as her signature is found on her husband’s probate documents.

Bridget and John are buried in separate areas of the Urana cemetery, reflecting their religious differences.

And yes, I’m waiting (im)patiently for an upcoming Trove release from the Wagga Wagga Express which tantalisingly says “Mrs. Bridget Widdup, a colonist of 55 years, who landed in…”. Will Trove pull the cat out of the bag again, and give me another pivotal clue?

I’d also dearly love to make contact with any of Bridget O’Brien Widdup’s descendants. I’s also love to see a photo of Bridget  – I have photos to share of her two closest sisters, Mary and Nora, and lots of the family story in Ireland as well.

Margaret MOLONEY, nee HOGAN of Killokennedy

Today provides one of those opportunities to link families together, though there frustrating gaps in the information, like what is the name of the sister who lived in Ireland.

Margaret Moloney, nee Hogan, is of interest to me because she comes from Broadford, a specific research focus on mine.

Starting with this obituary what can we learn about Margaret?

• Married to Bartholomew Moloney
• No children
• Sister is Mrs Patrick Bourke (christian name Catherine -more on her in coming days)
• A sister in Ireland
• Four sisters (in Australia or Portland?)
• a brother in Portland, Oregon, USA
• Parents John and Mary Hogan
• very young when she emigrated
• Born circa 1843
• Bartholomew died circa 1899 or 1900

OBITUARY. (1925, October 1). Freeman’s Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1850 – 1932), p. 31. Retrieved March 18, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article116762697

Margaret’s birth falls just around the time the Broadford RC parish records commence, but her name does not appear there. It’s possible that she is one of the children of John Hogan and Mary Smith of Killokennedy, but further research would be required, and perhaps a copy of the marriage certificate.

I also searched the State Records of NSW Immigration indexes and then the shipping lists. There were three possibilities across the period 1855 to 1868:

• Margaret (19) in 1863 on the Spitfire, from Ennis (unlikely)
• Margaret (14) in 1867 on the Sir Robert Sale, from Tulla (more possible)
• Margaret (21) on the Montmorency arriving 29 November 1864, from Broadford.

From what we knew the latter was the likeliest so I checked my East Clare database and I have her listed. From the Board Immigrant Lists (microfilm 2482, ref 4/4986) I find that this passenger’s details were as follows:

She was a dairymaid, aged 21, could read and write and was Catholic. Her parents were John and Mary Hogan of Killokennedy, and both were alive (there are several listings for John Hogan in Killokennedy parish on the Griffiths Valuations). Margaret also stated that she had sisters in the colony, Honora and Bridget Hogan, living in Campbell St, Sydney.

Using the NSW BDM online index search I found the following marriage:

851/1868

MOLONEY

BARTHOLOMEW

HOGAN

MARGARET

SYDNEY

Using the same option I also found Bartholomew’s death:

14978/1899

MOLONEY

BARTHOLOMEW

PATRICK

ELLEN

REDFERN

I also looked at the Rookwood Catholic Cemetery search facility and found Margaret’s burial through her husband’s (note the different spelling):

Names: Bartholemew Maloney

Service Date:15 Dec 1899 Date of Death:14 Dec 1899

Age:58 Gender:M Register Number:19108 Burial Type:Burial

Location:Section Grave Mortuary 1; Area : A Grave : 555 .5  Interred in this burial site :

Surname	Given Name	Service Date	Age	Location
Maloney	Bartholemew	15 Dec 1899	58	SEC*M1*A**555.5
Maloney	Margaret	11 Jul 1928	81	SEC*M1*A**555.5

It’s probably not surprising that the details are verifiable from the records, as the information would have come from her sister. I have had a brief look for Margaret’s emigration but haven’t conclusively pinned her down. If she was young when she arrived, it’s likely she arrived as part of the immigration wave of the early 1860s. During this period the local parish priest of Broadford was working quite hard helping the young people to emigrate as Ireland was again in a dire situation, and with America in the throes of a Civil War, it was no longer such an appealing option.

I found it interesting that Margaret’s brother had found his way to the western coast of the USA, but also interesting to reaffirm that emigrants would choose whichever place best suited them, irrespective of whether they had family in another place -or perhaps they chose a favoured sibling to emigrate to/with.

My next step was to try to find out more about sister, Catherine Bourke nee Hogan, and also Margaret’s husband Bartholomew (thank heavens he wasn’t called Michael, Patrick or Thomas!).

 

Daniel MOLONEY of Shark Creek (and Broadford)

Mr Daniel Moloney’s obituary in the Freeman’s Journal of 26 March 1931 is a genealogy in itself – a veritable gold mine, especially as the Moloney surname is not uncommon in Broadford. It even provides us with the ship he arrived on, the John Temperley. I have a lot of emigration data on this ship including disposal lists and surgeons’ reports from State Records NSW but nary a word of Daniel Moloney, which means I can’t cross-check his parents right now. There are some Maloney and Maloughneys but none are Daniel. There were at least 25 identified East Clare emigrants on the John Temperley but for my own research I now need to do further exploration into the Maloneys who seem to have slipped my net.

NSW BDM show Daniel’s parents as Michael and Bridget Moloney. 

2673/1931

MOLONEY

DANIEL

MICHAEL

BRIDGET

MACLEAN

Assuming the aged stated in his obituary is roughly correct he would have been born c1844, making it borderline whether he sneaks in after the Broadford/Kilseily parish records commence in April 1844. I do not have Daniel’s name in my records but I do have the baptisms of siblings Anne and Michael to parents Michael and Bridget Moloney of Fermoyle (in Kilmore townland)- again assuming the information provided to his death certificate was correct. If this was my direct family I would be purchasing the certificate.

I also note there is an entry on the Clare Library Emigration Database for a Delia Moloney who emigrated to Philadelphia and whose father was James Moloney of Fermoyle.

Trove article128789776-3-001

I’m not totally sure what the AHC Guild is, as quoted here, but I suspect it is the Hibernians with their emerald green regalia and gold trimming like my own grandfather wore.

Shark Creek is near the town of Maclean in New South Wales, a very scenic area.

It should be noted this is an overview of this family based on the content of the obituary. There is a great deal more research which could be done especially by family members. I’d welcome contact from anyone who is related to this family, and comments from any readers.

Mary Ann MASSY, later Morton, of Grafton NSW

This obituary initially caught my eye because of the links to Broadford and Doonass. Mary Ann Massy, later Morton, is reported as the eldest daughter of Henry Massy, step-brother to one of Clare’s famous land-owners, Sir Hugh Dillon Massy.

COUNTRY NEWS. (1926, February 4). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 – 1954), p. 12. Retrieved March 18, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16280235

However as I explored further, more information came to light, emphasising the importance of seeking out multiple sources. While there are common threads between most of these obituaries, each adds something new. By the end of the reading we have a more holistic idea of her life. One unusual omission is any reference to children though they are mentioned in the final story, a tale of black-white conflict on the colonial frontier. An interesting connection is her husband’s involvement with the US Army in the Mexican War, another frontier battle.

Mary Ann Massy was 90 when she died. She had been born in Limerick and arrived in 1854 aged 18 according to the reports but the NSW state records reveal she was 19 when she arrived on the Patrician in 1854 (her occupation given as a laundress) with her relative, Mrs Lubling who was in business in Sydney (see her husband’s story here). Mary Ann stated her place of origin as County Clare.

Mary Ann moved to the Clarence in 1856 with Mrs Greaves, the surveyor’s wife, for whom she worked (Brisbane Courier 4 February 1926, page 18).  Mary Ann was married to James Morton in November 1856 by Rev AE Selwyn, later Bishop of Newcastle. The couple lived on the cattle stations of Mr Joseph Sharpe before selecting property at Ramorn(ie) in 1871 before moving to Whiteman Creek and later Grafton. The couple were early settlers in the Clarence area, and Mary Ann lived there for 70 years. James Morton was with the US Army during the Mexican War in 1847. He died two years before Mary Ann, in 1924. His obituaries are particularly interesting so I’ll be including them in a Trove Tuesday post today on my main family history blog.

OBITUARY. (1926, February 13). The Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld. : 1866 – 1939), p. 16. Retrieved March 18, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22751715

PERSONAL NEWS. (1926, February 10). Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton, Qld. : 1878 – 1954), p. 6. Retrieved March 18, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article55255434

MRS. MARY MORTON. (1926, February 12). The Land (Sydney, NSW : 1911 – 1954), p. 18. Retrieved March 18, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article116261642

What’s noticeable is the absence of children mentioned in any of the obituaries, yet the level of detail suggests that information has been obtained from someone close to the family, and they are mentioned in the following list. This list of potential children comes from NSW BDM indexes. Their son, Henry (Frank) McK Morton, listed above appears to be the one who died in 1929 and who also has an interesting obituary. One child has been named for both Mary’s ancestors and also James’s father (William McKeown Morton):

7000/1857	MORTON	MALE	JAMES	MARY A	GRAFTON
8162/1863	MORTON	MALE	JAMES	MARY A	GRAFTON
9261/1865	MORTON	HENRY MCE	JAMES	MARY A	GRAFTON
11401/1874	MORTON	MATILDA ELIZA	JAMES	MARY ANN	GRAFTON
12387/1876	MORTON	LILLY MARGARET	JAMES	MARY ANN	GRAFTON
12285/1871	MORTON	MASSY MCKEOWN	JAMES	MARY ANN	MACLEAY RIVER

And a child’s death, as well as the two males listed above. The gravestones can be seen on the Australian Cemeteries Index site.

3757/1862

MORTON

MARY A

JAMES

MARY A

GRAFTON

As Mary Ann’s husband, James, is buried in the Grafton Cemetery it seems likely that Mary Ann is as well, and either her name is not on the gravestone or it has eroded over time. It appears these are their death entries:

4363/1926

MORTON

MARY A

HENRY

CATHERINE

GRAFTON

2521/1924

MORTON

JAMES

WILLIAM MCK

MARGARET

GRAFTON

Mary Ann’s early colonial life was at the interface of the frontier of black-white relationships. I’ve pondered whether to include this story however I think it’s an important part of our colonial history. A similar story was published in Lismore’s Northern Star on 1 February 1926. While the language, and even more the events, are confronting to us in the 21st century it reveals the battle between the races as the British assumed that they had occupied Terra nullius and the Aborigines were fighting for their land, and survival. Probably few of our earliest Australian ancestors were free from these actions or attitudes so perhaps it’s best for our sensitivities that obituaries rarely make mention of them.

THE BLACK RAIDERS. (1926, February 8). The Richmond River Express and Casino Kyogle Advertiser (NSW : 1904 – 1929), p. 5. Retrieved March 18, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article123061705