The History Of Matt

Farrell BLISS birth certificate (1874-1961)

2012-01-20T12:23:00.001-05:00

Farrell BLISS was the youngest son of my ancestors George BLISS and Sarah FURRILL, and continued farming the 'Spring Creek' farm after his father died. Jan Balfour has provided me with copies of his birth certificate. George BLISS and Sarah FURRILL had twelve or thirteen children, but Farrell continued on his father's farm while his other children married and moved to other parts (http://thehistoryofmatt.blogspot.com/2011/07/children-of-george-and-sarah-bliss-yass.html). In the 1903 Electoral Roll (Division of Werriwa, Warroo Polling Place), George and his wife Sarah are shown living at 'Devil's Pass' along with Farrell (farmer) and John (presumably his other

As such, when George Bliss passed away in 1915 aged 96, his farm passed directly to his son (who had probably been running the farm for quite some time already!). Jan also provided an image of his will which is included in this post, which came via another descendant.

NSW Birth Certificate 21741/1874
21741/1874 BLISS FARRELL GEORGE SARAH YASS
1874 Births in the District of Yass
No 5851
CHILD
When and where born: 9 May 1874, Yass River
Name and whether present: Farrell, Not present
PARENTS
FATHER
Name and Surname: George Bliss
Rank or Profession: Farmer
Age: 55 years
Birthplace: England
When and where married: In the year 1851 Yass
Issue living and deceased: 6 males and 4 females living
MOTHER
Name and maiden surname: Sarah formerly Farrell
Age: 39 years
Birthplace: England
INFORMANT
Signature, description and residence of informant: Certified by George Bliss (his mark), Father, Yass River
Witnesses: Nurse: Mrs Bolden
Registrar: Leopold Yates
(Certificate copy issued: 1893)

Transcript of the Will of George Bliss. Will made 11th March 1911
(Original document held by Louise Kelly, descendant of George Bliss)

This is the last will and testament of me George Bliss of Windy Point on the Yass River near Yass Colony of New South Wales Farmer. I devise and bequeath all the real and personal estate to which I shall be entitled at the time of my decease unto my son Farrell Bliss of Windy Point Yass River Farmer absolutely and I appoint the said Farrell Bliss sole executor of this my will hereby revoking all other testamentary writings heretofore made in witness thereof I have hereunder set my hand this eleventh day of March in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and seven.

Signed by the said testator as his last will and testament In the presence of us present at the same time who Request in his presence and in the presence of each other have subscribed our names as witnesses.

George Bliss
His mark X

Witness
John James Dwyer
John Joseph McGrath

I have also at some point been sent a scan of a photo of Farrell Bliss. Unfortunately I did not keep a record of who sent it to me, and it is not dated.

Another branch on the tree

2012-01-10T21:34:00.002-05:00

The conviction of William TEE (1814-1890)

2012-01-01T22:25:00.000-05:00

I am also not directly descended from William TEE (1814-1890), but his daughter married into the Trevithick family (of Hill End, NSW) and so I have a strong interest in them. As I've previously written, I'm also interested because William TEE's wife has an unsolved background (http://thehistoryofmatt.blogspot.com/2010/03/sarah-trevithick-nee-tee-death.html).

I recently found an account of William's conviction in England - quite detailed compared to those of my convict ancestors I must say. I find William's response to the sentence fantastic.

Northampton Mercury
8 Jan 1836

William Tee was charged with breaking open the larder of John Clark, surgeon, and stealing therefrom certain pots of preserves, &c. in July, 1834.

Mr John Clarke, of Great Weldon, stated that his larder was broken open on the 16th of July, 1834, and robbed of several pots of preserves and some rabbits.

Edward Banks stated that about a quarter past eleven, on the night of the robbery, he was passing by Mr. Clark's house, when he saw the prisoner and another man come out of the yard. He had two pots under his arm. Witness called up Mr. Clark, and aided in the apprehension of the other man, who was tried at convicted at Michaelmas Sessions, 1834. Knew Tee well. He had been absent from Weldon ever since the robbery until November last.

Edward Richardson was in company with the last witness on the night in question. He deposed to the same effect, and spoke positively to the prisoner being the person whom he saw coming out of the yard, with the preserves.

The prisoner, who conducted himself with much effrontery, stoutly denied all knowledge of the robbery, and accounted for his absence from Weldon by stating that he had beenhired by a person at Nottingham.

The Jury returned a verdict of guilty, and the court sentenced him to seven years' transportation. The prisoner on hearing the sentence, exclaimed - "Thankee, that's just what I wanted."

The 'other' Sebastian Hodge, of Barnstaple (Devon) and Bathurst (NSW)

2011-12-31T22:43:00.000-05:00

My HODGE family from Barnstaple intrigue me - particularly the prevalence of the name Sebastian. In fact, at the time my ancestor Sebastian Hodge (1833-1889) was living in Sydney, there was another Sebastian Hodge (1829-1895) from Barnstaple, Devon living in Bathurst NSW. When I started my family history research this made for a very confusing state of affairs (http://thehistoryofmatt.blogspot.com/2008/02/follow-up-email-on-sebastian-hodge.html). I have since found that the two Sebastians in NSW were cousins (their fathers were brothers) - my Sebastian in Sydney being the son of William HODGE (1811 Barnstaple - 1863 Gundagai NSW) both of whom were in the 11th Regiment of Foot - and the other Sebastian being the son of Sebastian (1808 Barnstaple - 1886 Goulburn NSW).

In my research I had certainly found Sebastian was a family name - the first was Sebastian Hodge, born 1709 in Burrington, Devon to John HODGE and Susan nee MOYSE. I believe the name Sebastian actually came at that time from the MOYSE family. There are a series of children baptised in Burrington from 1668-1687 baptised to Sebastian and Johan (Joan) MOYSE. Susan does not appear but is probably their child as the Sebastian name runs down the HODGE line from there. At any rate Sebastian Hodge had moved to Barnstaple by 1737 where he married Grace REED (1713-1785).

While my William HODGE and his son Sebastian were in the 11th Regiment of Foot which brought them to NSW, his cousin emigrated in a civil capacity as an assisted immigrant on the 'Rose of Sharon' in 1855. His father, like himself, was a carpenter/joiner, and he ended up in Bathurst (perhaps chasing gold). Conveniently, Sebastian of Bathurst had his biography included in Aldine’s Centennial History of NSW 1888:

Aldine’s Centennial History of NSW 1888
Biographical Volume.
Entry for Bathurst (part 2) (no pagination), Taken from State Library of NSW material – Fiche 12 – 15 Sebastian Hodge Mr Hodge was born in Barnstaple, England in 1829 and educated in the Blue Coat School of that town. He learned the trade of carpenter and joiner and came to the colony in 1854 (sic), settling in Bathurst immediately thereafter. He commenced by engaging himself to be a cabinetmaker and undertaker and 18 months later was enabled to purchase the business to which he added a timberyard. His trade rapidly increased, till the house became the most important of its kind in Bathurst, thus affording an example of what may be achieved in the colony by perseverance and integrity for Mr Hodge arrived in Bathurst with only a sovereign in his pocket. In 1882 Hudson Brothers bought the business from Mr Hodge for a considerable sum. In 1881 Mr Hodge revisited England for the benefit of his health and returned shortly thereafter. In 1857 he married and now has a family of 10 children, his sons being all well established in various trades and occupations.

Amazingly, the National Musem of Australia holds a coach owned by Sebastian Hodge and his son W S Hodge that they used in their business at Bathurst (http://recollections.nma.gov.au/issues/vol_7_no_1/commentary/captivating_and_curious).

With the (costly) access to British newspapers on-line I have been looking into information on my Hodge ancestors. While I've found little on my direct line, my ancestor's cousin got quite a bit of coverage in the North Devon Journal, possibly because his family was still there - his father Sebastian (mentioned above), and his mother Susannah nee AUSTIN (1802 - 1880 Barnstaple).

In searching through ALL the Hodge entries in the New South Wales in the 1800's, I knew when the cousins had died, and the death registrations provided their parents names so I had everything in place. However, there was the death of a "Sebastian, son of Sebastian, in Gouburn NSW" in 1886. It took a while to realise that Sebastian of Bathurst's father must have moved to Australia some time very late in his life!

These articles explain more about the circumstances that came to pass to allow this to happen.

1. Sarah/Susan, wife of Sebastian senior dies in 1880.

North Devon Journal

Wed 29 Dec 1880

DEATH BY SCALDING - On Friday evening Mr. Incledon Bencraft, borough coroner, held an inquest at the Mason's Arms on the body of Sarah Hodge, who died from injuries received by being scalded. Sebastian Hodge, carpenter, stated that the deceased was his wife, and was 75 years of age. She had been afflicted with rheumatic for several years. On the 13th November last he returned from work as usual between five and six o'clock in the evening, and found his wife in a chair in the back kitchen. Some neighbours were undressing her; and on enquiry he learned that she was much scalded about the legs and groins. She afterwards told witness that she was taking the kettle from the fire when the hot water fell over her. Her clothes were dropping wet, and there was a great quantity of water on the floor. Witness went for Dr. Fernie, who sent him to the Dispensary for some scald oil, which witness applied to the deceased's legs. She appeared to be in great pain, and never recovered from the shock. She expired that morning. After hearing the evidence of Dr. Fernie as to the nature of the injuries, the jury returned a verdict of "Accidental death".

2. This article printed in North Devon explains that Sebastian junior is going to visit his homeland again, and possibly bring his father (now aged about 73) back to see out his remaining years in Australia.

North Devon Journal

Wed 22 Jun 1881

A BARNSTAPLE MAN IN NEW SOUTH WALES. A newspaper published at Bathurst, Australia, on April 30th, gives the following: DEPARTURE OF AN OLD BATHURST RESIDENT FOR ENGLAND. One of Bathurst's old residents has determined to make a few months visit to the land of his birth - old England. Mr Sebastian Hodge commenced business in Bathurst some 27 years ago in a very humble manner, and at that time little dreamed that a quarter of a century hence would see him the sole proprietor of one of the most extensive and most complete establishments as a timber merchant and manufacturer in the colony. For many years Mr. S. Hodge was content to creep along in a small way, but he did so with his eyes open and with that strict business integrity which gained for him the confidence and esteem of his fellow-citizens and the commercial firms in the metropolis. With the advancement of the Great Western Railway, and the impetus thus given to settlement on the line of progress, Mr. Hodge prepared himself for greater efforts. Labour-saving machinery of the most approved kinds, worked by steam power supplied the place of manual labour, and giving employment to a large number of skilled and unskilled workmen. Cabinet making and turnery formed an important branch of the establishment, and what was even important, entire dwelling houses were manufactured on the premises ready for erection in places far and near on a few days notice. The the establishment quietly worked its way to its present magnitude. For years past Mr. Hodge has brought his two sons into active work in the management of his business, and now on the eve of his departure leaves them in full control of his works till his return. Mr Hodge has several reasons for visiting his old home in Devonshire. His health now requires some real relaxation from active work, and a long sea voyage and visit to scenes of his childhood's happy hours, it is hoped, will result in this. He is also anxious to not only again see his aged father, but to induce him to return and spend his remaining days with his family in Bathurst. Mr Hodge will leave Sydney by the mail steamer Liguria, and we are sure that he takes with him the best wishes of the entire community, not only for a pleasant trip home, but for his safe and speedy return to our midst. [We are sure our readers, as much as ourselves will be pleased to read the above, and will at once recognise Mr. Hodge as the son of Mr. Sebastian Hodge of Trinity-street in this borough].

3. The family arrive home in Bathurst NSW

North Devon Journal

Wed 14 Dec 1881

ARRIVAL OF MR. S. HODGE AT BATHURST - The New South Wales Independent remarks : Our old friend, Mr. Sebastian Hodge, with his son and also his father, arrived in Sydney during the week by the s.s. Potosi from England. On Friday the party arrived at home in Bathurst, and was accorded a right hearty welcome. Mr. Hodge, sen., is delighted with his Australian home, both as regards the country and also in being reunited with his family. May he long live to enjoy the prosperity of both. The tourists return loaded with pleasing reminiscences of the old country, and the voyage out and home, so that we should not be surprised to find that the "home-sick" fever will shortly prevail here, and the exceptions will be among those who have no desire to take another glance at "the old house at home".

It should be noted, and is not in the newspaper articles, that along with Sebastian (junior) of Bathurst, at least two siblings also had emigrated to Australia:
1. William HODGE (1836 Barnstaple - 1901 Parramatta NSW) who married Sarah CARSLAKE in 1860 at Edmonton All Saints, Middlesex. In 1861 he was living in London, a police constable. I also have a note that he served in the Crimean War in the 90th Regiment of Foot, but I haven't been able to 're-find' and verify that information.
2. Phillip HODGE (abt 1843 Barnstaple - 1920 Wellington NSW) who married Mary DWYER in 1864 in Sydney. He had arrived in NSW as an assisted immigrant on the 'Lady Milton' in 1862. They seem to have spent much of their time in Bathurst, and had a large number of children there.

So Sebastian senior joined quite a large clan (not to mention his nieces and nephews from my line!). I think my last remark on this long entry is that my ancestor and his cousin, Sebastians both, must surely have been in strong contact. One was well known in Bathurst, the other in Sydney, and both gained exposure in the newspapers at the time. I hope they had the chance to see one another, as they both seem to have had a strong sense of family and community.

Richard Mason, died Ilfracombe Devon 1848

2011-12-11T22:40:00.001-05:00

I haven't posted on the MASON family of Ilfracombe before, mainly because I don't know much about them. But as the family tree is filled out, I have been paying attention to this line in the hopes of finding more about them - I've been doing a bit of FH research, but tending to my own branch has meant that I haven't had time to post!

This is the first time I've posted information garnered from the new British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk). The concept is similar to the exceptional effort by the National Library of Australia, except for the extremely disappointing fact that, as with most things of British genealogy, one has to pay.

Richard MASON married Agnes HUXTABLE at a time undetermined - up till now I'd have no luck finding their marriage in Devon or nearby counties. In fact I only knew Agnes' surname because her daughter Sophia's death certificate (Sophia BORDER nee MASON, Cowra NSW, 1898) named her father as Richard Mason, Sea Captain, and her mother as Agnes Huxtable. Agnes appears in the 1841 and 1851 censuses at Ilfracombe Devon, confirming that she was born there.

As for her husband Richard, he appears only in the 1841 census, on High St Ilfracombe, a baker, aged 60 and born in the county (of Devon), with his wife Agnes and an Anna Saxon aged 20. In 1851 Agnes was entered as widowed so we know he died in the intervening ten years.

Richard certainly wasn't baptised in Ilfracombe though, so his provenance is not known (and the subject of another post some day).

Searching the British Newspaper Archive I did indeed find an article on Richard's death. Unfortunately his age at death is vague, which doesn't help pin down his birth!

North Devon Journal, Wed 12 Jul 1848
ILFRACOMBE
Sudden Death.- On Wednesday (yesterday) morning, a case of sudden death happened to Mr. Richard Mason, a baker, of this place, between 70 and 80 years old, who dropped down in his bake-house whilst at work, and died instantly. Mr. Vidal, a surgeon, was called in, but found the vital spark had fled, and gave it his opinion that death had resulted from disease of the heart.

Finally, if Richard was a baker, why was he listed as a Sea Captain on his daughter's death certificate in NSW fifty years later? I have found four children baptised to Richard and Agnes in Ilfracombe, and on one of these Richard's occupation is given as 'mariner'. Ilfracombe was a thriving sea port, and the HUXTABLE family Richard married into were known as a nautical family of note in Ilfracombe.

Children of Richard and Agnes MASON:
1. Joseph Huxtable Mason Chr 20 Aug 1809 Ilfracombe, Devon.
2. Betsy Mason Chr 10 Nov 1811 Ilfracombe, Devon.
3. Mary Ann Mason Chr 26 March 1815 Ilfracombe, Devon, father Richard occupation mariner
4. Sophia Mason, birth 28 Dec 1819, Christening 16 Jan 1820, Independent Church, Ilfracombe, Devon. Father Richard MASON, mother Agness. (Sophia is my ancestor).

Clearly a switch in occupation occurred at some stage later in life!

Obituary of Sebastian Hodge (1833-1889)

2011-10-31T21:14:00.004-04:00

Australian Town and Country Journal

Saturday 27 April 1889

Mr S. HODGE - Everybody in Sydney who wanted to know anything about brass bands or military music had only to apply to Mr. Sebastian Hodge, at the Commercial Hodge, at the Commercial Hotel in King-street. He prided himself upon knowing these subjects perfectly ; and his pride was well founded. We have now to record his death, which occurred last Sunday evening after the operation had been performed for the removal of a carbuncle on his neck. Mr. Hodge came to Australia many years ago as bandsman in the 11th Regiment ; and after his term of service in the army he was appointed drill-sergeant at the Sydney Grammar School. Subsequently, he took over the well-known Commercial Hotel, of which he was the proprietor at the time of his death. Mr. Hodge was the founder of the once popular city band, and as a clarionet and saxophone player had not been excelled in Australia. He was president of the Licensed Victuallers' Association, and a staunch Mason. He was 56 years of age, and left a wife and several children. The remains were buried in the Waverley Cemetery with Masonic honors.

A game of cricket anyone?

2011-10-05T15:09:00.003-04:00

I have amongst my possessions a few things that belonged to my ancestors. Some of these came from my paternal grandparents - they had a small basket with a lid, and in it were kept some old coins (which I now have), such as shillings and threepence and sixpence and a few mysterious old tarnished and worn coins that were barely legible (I'll post on these some time). Among those coins were also some sovereigns and half sovereigns which I do not have. There were also some old children's games and other items.

Among the items were two pieces of six-sided copper pipe that my grandmother gave to me. They were marked on each side with words and numbers, and she told me that it was a game of 'cricket'. They pipes were stamped by my great-grandfather, William James STANILAND (1886-1962), who was a plumber by trade and worked for 'the railways' in Sydney. William was born in Glebe NSW and grew up there, but after marrying Ruby Amelia EWER at Annandale in 1915 he moved to the suburb of Croydon. It is said that he did not serve in World War 1 as he plied an essential trade and as such was not allowed to enlist. I was told by my grandmother that he once received a white feather by an anonymous letter in the mail that upset him greatly - a white feather is a sign of cowardice (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_feather).

The game of cricket in two pipes could be played anywhere when on 'smoko' (having a break from work), and of course fit easily into a pocket, or a tool bag. It did not occur to me as a child rolling the pipes that money probably changed hands over the game. The game of course was manufactured using standard plumbing tools.

A rudimentary knowledge of cricket is required to understand that game, however the numbered pipe was rolled first. The sides are stamped with 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and OWZAT. The numbers are logical achievable scores on any given delivery, and OWZAT is strine for 'how is that?' - a common appeal then and now to an umpire when it is believed the batsman may be 'out'. Scoring would have been recorded. Once OWZAT is rolled on the first pipe, the second pipe is rolled. The second pipe is stamped with five possible ways of being dismissed, however the sixth offers the batsman a reprieve to continue rolling the first, scoring pipe: L.B.W, BOWLED, STUMPED, CAUGHT, RUNOUT and NOTOUT.

Two views of the cricket pipes:

I have searched for similar examples of this game on-line, but not had any luck. I would be pleased to hear from anyone with a similar example.

EDIT: I've found that this was a game that existed in the 1930s (and probably earlier) called 'Owzthat' (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owzthat) - clearly my great grandfather make a knock-off!

Marriage of Cornelius Hurley and Julia Dwyer, London 1851

2011-09-05T21:17:00.000-04:00

Previous to my posts on Julia HURLEY's parents Cornelius HURLEY (1827 Ireland - 1905 Yarrawonga, Vic) and Julia DWYER (1831 Ireland - 1890 Yarrawonga, Vic), I ordered their marriage certificate. It confirmed the previously reported information, along with revealing the name of the father of each party.

Certified copy of an extract of marriage
1851 Marriage solemnized at St George's Catholic Church in the district of St George the Martyr Southwark in the County of Surrey
No. 153
When married: Twenty seventh July 1851

Husband:
Name and surname: Cornelius Hurley
Age: 24
Condition: Bachelor
Rank or profession: Laborer
Residence at the Time of Marriage: 39 Bexley Street
Father's name and Surname: Cornelius Hurley (deceased)
Rank or Profession of Father: Laborer

Wife:
Name and surname: Julia Dwyer
Age: 20
Condition: Spinster
Rank or profession:
Residence at the Time of Marriage: 38 Bexley Street
Father's name and Surname: Edmund Dwyer (deceased)
Rank or Profession of Father: Farmer

Married in the St George's Catholic Church according to the rites and ceremonies of the Roman Catholics, by me Jeremiah Cotter

This Marriage was solemnized between us,
The mark of Cornelius Hurley x
The mark of Julia Dwyer x

in the Presence of us,
The mark of Martin Moulcure x
The mark of Ellen Dwyer x

Frederick Charles Filch, Registrar

Apart from the name of each father, the certificate confirms my previous posts showing that in the 1851 census Cornelius and Julia lived adjacent or near one another.

Patrick CONLON in the 1841 NSW census

2011-08-02T20:49:00.001-04:00

Patrick Conlon (abt 1793 Kinvarra Galway - 1870 Sydney NSW) came to Australia as part of the 50th Regiment of Foot in 1833. The first record of him is the 1841 NSW Census. While the records do not include the names of all householders, it does list the head and details about the home and how many people lived in the house.

Transcript

1841 NSW Census, page 1

Return No. 246

District: Illawarra

Name of householder: Patrick Conlon

Place of residence: Mount Keara

Proprietor of household: The late Col. Leahy

Dwelling house built of: Wood

House is: Completed

Inhabited or uninhabited: Inhabited

Number of persons residing in house: Ten

Number of those free: Ten

cen

The census information was collected at Mount Keara on 6 March 1841.

A table of numbers is difficult to transcribe! Let us simply summarise that in the home described on the first page, there were 10 people living in the home. This included two married couples (one being Patrick Conlon and Catherine nee Lowry), and six children in the home, all under the age of fourteen (and presumably all belong to Patrick and Catherine who had six known children before my ancestor Michael Joseph Conlon was born later in 1841).

One married couple arrived free (Patrick and Catherine), the other were listed as 'other free persons', suggesting they had arrived as convicts.

Of the three daughters, two arrived free (Catherine and one other), and one was born in the colony (probably Jane bapt. 1838). All three boys were born in the colony (William, Patrick and John).

Children of George and Sarah BLISS, Yass and surrounds NSW

2011-07-20T22:04:00.000-04:00

I've decided to start an entry string on the children of George BLISS and Sarah nee FURRILL (and spelling variations). Here is a list of the children with the fundamentals. Like my HALL list of siblings, I hope to find photos and headstones for each.

1. Eliza Jane BLISS (1852-1925). Baptised at Murrimbidgee 1852, married William HALL (1843 Cambridge England - 1912 Koorawatha NSW) at Yass River (probably their farm) in 1868. Had 15 children in Yass NSW where they farmed on a property. The HALL and BLISS properties were adjacent to one another. Family moved to Koorawatha around 1900-3, perhaps due to drought. There she ran a store, and died 10 Jan 1925 aged 72. Eliza is buried 'back-to-back' with her husband William in Koorawatha cemetery. Have picture of her.

Grave of Eliza Jane HALL nee BLISS
Koorawatha Cemetery, NSW
In loving memory of
ELIZA HALL
Died 10 Jan 1924
Aged 78 years

2. William BLISS (1854 - ?). Born and baptised in 1854 at Boambolo, Murrumbidgee. Probably died as an infant as a second William was registered in 1857.

3. John BLISS (1856-1909). Born Blackrange (near modern day Canberra) in 1856. Died 1909, aged 52, at Euralie (Bliss farm), a 'farmer and intestate' according to probate announcement of 9 Sep 1911 in the Sydney Morning Herald. No marriage record is found, however death of a Hannah BLISS (NSW BDM 7379/1905) is registered in 1905, father John and mother Margaret. Buried at Yass Cemetery with his parents.

Grave of Henry BLISS

Yass Cemetery, NSW

In loving remembrance of

JOHN BLISS

Who Departed This Life 31st Oct 1909

Aged 52 Years

At Rest

Also

GEORGE BLISS

Died 3rd Nov 1915 Aged 96 Years

SARAH ANN

Wife of Above

Died 14th July 1919, Aged 87 Years

4. William BLISS (1857-1903). Birth registered in Yass in 1857. Only other information I have is that in 1878 Electoral Roll for NSW he was living at Devil's Pass, Yass (where the BLISS properties were situated). Death registered in 1903 in Queensland. Family (if any) not determined.

5. Joseph BLISS (1858-1927). Born Blackrange (near modern day Canberra) in 1858. Married Anne JACKSON (1872 Yass - 1946 Yass) in 1889 registered at Yass. They had at least 10 children from 1889 to 1915, all registered in Yass. One son (Claude Harwood Stanley BLISS) served in WW1. The youngest two sons of Joseph and Anne apparently changed their name ever-so-slightly to BLYSS after a family dispute. Joseph died in 1927, and Anne in 1946 (registered as BLYSS). Not determined where they are buried.

6. Susannah BLISS (1860-1934). Born Yass River (Bliss farm) in 1860. Married Edward George COBLE (1843 Camden NSW - 1923 Burrowa NSW) in 1884, registered at Goulburn. Susannah and Edward George share great grand-parents Michael FURRILL and Judea nee WATSON from Woodchurch, Kent. Susan(nah) and Edward had at least 11 children from 1879-1900 all born in the surrounding districts. Susan died in 1934 aged 74. Place of burial not known. Have picture of her.

7. Henry BLISS (1862-1897). Born Yass River (Bliss farm) in 1862. Died 189 aged 35. Bliss Yass Courier 24 Sep 1897: Mr Henry, son of George Bliss of Yass River, died Tuesday in Yass Hospital aged 35 years. Buried in Yass Cemetery, close to his parents.

Grave of Henry BLISS
Yass Cemetery, NSW
In loving memory of
HENRY
Beloved SonOf
George & Sarah Bliss
Died Sep 21st 1897
Aged 25 Years

8. Charles George BLISS (1864-1901). Born 1864 at Yass River, baptised Charles but registered as George (perhaps a NSW BDM transcription error?). Died 1901, registered as Charles in Granville (western Sydney) NSW. Buried in Anglican section MMM, Grave 143 at Rookwood Cemetery.

9. Judith or Julia Ann BLISS (1866-1951). Born 1866 at Yass River. Married Arthur Albert Hall (1851 Cambridge England - 1921 Narrandera NSW) in 1885 in Yass. They had 7 children from 1886-1897 registered mainly in Narrandera. She died died 3 May 1951 aged 81 years. Buried at Narrandera cemtery.

10. James Stephen BLISS (1870-1948). Born 1870 at Yass River. He married first Harriet Ellen Margaret OWEN (1878 Yass - 1905 Yass) in 1898, and had four children with her. After her death he married secondly Mary Ann GOWING (? - 1955 Junee NSW) in 1908 at Junee NSW. They also had four children. He died in 1948 at Junee.

11. Elizabeth Louisa BLISS (1872-1943). Born 1872 at Yass River. She married George Crew (1861 Bristol England - 1933 Canterbury NSW) at St Clements Church, Yass in 1891. They apparently met on Valentine's Day 1891, and hence their first son was named Valentine (1892-1969). They had 7 children, mainly in the Yass area, and later lived in Picton then Sydney. Elizabeth died in 1943, and is buried with her husband at Rookwood cemetery, Anglican section 12, Grave 498.

12. Farrell BLISS (1874-1961). Born 1874 at Yass River, and named after his mother's maiden name (though misspelt from Furrill). He apparently inherited and ran the family farm 'Spring Valley' from his father. Married Rebecca PRIVETT (1880 Yass - 1967 Yass) in 1904. The couple had 10 children in Yass, including one son (Stanley) who enlisted in WW1 and one son (George Leonard Farrell) who was killed in PNG in WW2. Farrell died in 1961, and the couple are buried together at Yass cemetery. I have a photo of Farrell.

Grave of Farrell and Rebecca BLISS
Yass Cemetery, NSW
Sacred to the memory of
FARRELL BLISS
Passed Away
22nd Nov 1961
Aged 87 Years
REBECCA BLISS
Passed Away
18th Jan 1967
Aged 86 Years
At Rest

13. Mary Jane BLISS (1880-1916). Born 1880 at Yass River. Married WIlliam ARMOUR (1874 Burrowa NSW - 1958 Bowning NSW) in 1899 at Yass. They had 6 children in Yass and Bowning. Mary Jane died in 1916, registered at Bowning, and buried at Bowning cemetery with her son.

Grave of Mary Jane ARMOUR nee BLISS
Bowning Cemetery, NSW
In loving memory of
MARY JANE ARMOUR
Died 17th October 1916
Aged 36 years
Also LINN EDWARD ARMOUR
Died 13th February 1915
Aged 3 years

I am in interested in hearing from descendants of these BLISS children, including details, photos and headstones to add to this post. I count 68 grandchildren of George and Sarah BLISS so there should be plenty of descendants!!

The grave of Richard Thomas and Catherine RUNDLE

2011-07-16T23:25:00.004-04:00

I have written before about Catherine Ellen Ackers LINDSAY who married William MOLONEY (1872-1916) (http://thehistoryofmatt.blogspot.com/2010/01/william-moloney-1872-1916.html). It took some tracking to find her origins (http://thehistoryofmatt.blogspot.com/2011/02/lafiura-grave-at-rookwood.html) though after her divorce from William she married Richard Thomas RUNDLE (1869-1936), also a divorcee and member of the well known Newcastle-based clothiers. In making the above posts, I managed to elicit contact with a RUNDLE family who recently visited the Sandgate Cemetery in Newcastle where Richard Thomas and Catherine Ellan Ackers RUNDLE are buried. I was kindly forwarded the below photo.

Grave of Richard Thomas and Catherine RUNDLE
Sandgate Cemetery, Newcastle, NSW

In Loving Memory Of
RICHARD THOMAS
Beloved Husband of
CATHERINE RUNDLE
Died 20th April 1936
Aged 67 Years
CATHERINE ELLEN ACKERS RUNDLE
Beloved Wife of the Above
Died 18th August 1948 Aged 71 Years

The children of William and Eliza HALL - Yass, NSW - Version 3

2011-07-15T22:36:00.000-04:00

This is the third version of this post (the previous was in Dec 2010), updated with new information. My HALL cousin Kate Roloff spent some time at Yass Cemetery last year, and took pictures of every HALL and BLISS headstone she could find. In doing so, we've added another headstone below - while at least one other HALL sibling is buried there under her married name RYAN and is yet to be added to this list. I have also been in contact with descendants of James Samuel, and have added a couple of details there. I think the next step is to obtain and track down photos of all these

Occasionally I find my posts act as fishing expeditions to find common descendants. Google brings those looking for an ancestor to my blog, and thankfully in contact with me. If posts are fishing exercises, then this post is a big hook. It lists all I know about the offspring of William HALL and Eliza BLISS of Yass, NSW. William came to Australia from England with his parents Samuel HALL and Mary Anne nee WELLS - as outlined elsewhere (http://thehistoryofmatt.blogspot.com/2009/04/samuel-hall-headstone-yass-nsw.html).

William and Eliza had 15 children together from 1868-1896, all registered in Yass, NSW. William's death certificate in 1912 (reported by one of his children) lists only 13 children (11 living, 2 dead) but there were another 2 living children that were missed (http://thehistoryofmatt.blogspot.com/2010/03/death-certificate-of-william-hall-1843.html).

In initially putting together this list I benefited greatly from the work of my grandfather's brother, Francis 'Frank' Michael HALL (1923-2005). He did a lot of work on his family tree, the BANFIELD, MOLONEY, BLISS and HALL families, including meeting a lot of fellow descendants. While the HALL children were born from 1868-1896, the birth of most of their offspring occured after the 1909 cut-off for publicly available birth records in NSW, so in some cases all I know comes from Frank's notes - information passed to him by the living children and grandchildren of William HALL that Frank drove all over NSW meeting.

It can be assumed where not cited that the information came from Frank, though I have added to this using NDW BDM records, Australian newspaper announcements (newspapers.nla.gov.au) and the Ryerson index (www.ryersonindex.org) for more recent deaths. It would be great to make contact with descendants and exchange information.

While all William and Eliza's children were born in Yass, they moved with their younger children to Koorwatha about 1900-1903 and so the elder children married in Yass, the younger ones in the Koorawatha area (90 miles away). It has been suggested that this was precipitated by the droughts that ravaged Yass around this time, that possibly financially crippled the family.

It is clear from the below that there is a great deal yet to be learnt. It appears that the family were not all in close contact. When my great grandfather Norman HALL (son of Afred E HALL, 2 below) wrote up a family tree, he 'thought' his grandfather's name might be William (true), but more than this he did not know. He sketched out the names of six of his aunts/uncles but the remainder he was not aware of. This may just be a refletion of the fact my ggrandfather Alfred E HALL left home when he was about 15 - he only met his youngest sister for the first time when she was 16, and he over 40!

1. Mary Ann HALL (1868-1909). Born Yass, NSW 1868. Married Frederick COSTELLO in the nearby Goulburn district in 1895. They had six children around Goulburn and Yass, and a seventh child in the Narromine district in 1907. One daughter, Amelia Alice 'Millie' COSTELLO was burnt to death in 1908 (registered in the Warren district of NSW). The Registers of Coroners' Inquests shows that at the inquest on 6 Jul 1908 held at the Court House in Warren NSW shows that she 4 years 10 month old and was born at Bowning NSW (outside Yass) and died at 'Egelabra, Warren' as a result of 'Effect of burns accidentally received' - apparently still a large wool property.

Mary Ann drowned there a year later (1909) aged 40. Whether the drowning was accidental or suicide is not know but she apparently blamed herself for not smothering the flames engulfing Millie. Her own inquest, also held at Warren, concluded that she died of 'Suffocation by drowning her own act while temporarily insane'. I have not yet ascertained where she and her daughter were buried.

Frederick COSTELLO re-married to Jessie M BROWN in Granville (western Sydney) in 1911 and they lived in Lidcombe for a time - it appears that Frederick died in Queensland in 1956, his second wife Jessie pre-deceasing him in Queensland in 1942.

2. Alfred Ernest HALL (1870-1954). Born Yass, NSW 1870. Died Croydon, NSW 1954.The second eldest son, Alfred Ernest Hall, was my great-great-grandfather. I have posted a number of times on him: http://thehistoryofmatt.blogspot.com/2009/11/alfred-ernest-hall-1870-1954.html . Buried at Rookwood cemetery, Catholic section with his wife Bridget nee MOLONEY. No headstone at grave.

3. James Samuel HALL (1872-1955). Born Yass, NSW 1872. Married Lavina Jane HEATH (1878 Yass - 1969 Sydney) at Goulburn district in 1895. James (called 'Jim') was a surveyor's assistant and miner and lived mainly at 50 Cross St Corrimal. Jim, Lena and eldest son John ran a catering business in the Wollongong district and in 1987 son John was a partner in Bills Sports Bar Corrimal. James like his older brother Alfred was fairly short and stocky and Lena was tall and thin. They had four children: Ave Maria (1907-1984 married Robert Michael POSITTI), William Vincent (1909-2000), Mary Ann Jane (abt 1913-1966) and John James (1918-2001). James died on 17 Mar 1955 registered in Wollongong ('late of Corrimal'), and Lavina died in 1969 (registered in Sydney).

James died on 17 Mar 1955, and Lovina Jane on 4 Feb 1969. They are buried together at Bulli General Cemetery.

Headstone of James Samuel HALL

Bulli General cemetery

In Loving Memory of

My Dear Husband and Our Father

JAMES SAMUEL HALL

Died 17 March 1955 Aged 84 Years

Also Our Dear Mother

LOVINA JANE HALL

Died 4th Feb 1969 Aged 92 Years

4. Edward HALL (1874-1952). Born Yass, NSW 1874. Informant on his father's death certificate living at Koorawatha, NSW in 1912. He was a surveyor and travelled through western NSW as a young man. Around 1908 he moved to Koorawatha (where his parents lived) and operated a general store in Boorowa St Koorawatha. He never married and died in 1952 in Cowra (or perhaps Koorawatha).

5. John HALL (1875-1950). Born Yass, NSW 1875. He married Eliza Jane Clarke (1889 Yass - 1954 Yass) in 1907 at Yass and they lived in the Yass district for the remainder of their lives. In the 1936 NSW Electoral Roll John is described as a grazier, and the family is living on O'Brien St, North Yass. Their only child Arthur James HALL (1909 Yass - 1979 Yass) married Stella BALLARD in 1932 - nothing known of their family. John died on 02 Feb 1950, and Stella exactly four years later on 02 Feb 1954. Buried side-by-side in the Church of England section of Yass cemetery. The photos below taken in 2010 by Kate Roloff show flowers at the grave.

Headstones of John HALL and Eliza Jane nee CLARKE

Yass Cemetery

In Loving Memory of

JOHN HALL

Died 2nd Feb 1950

Aged 75 Years

and

In Memory of

ELIZA JANE HALL

Passed Away

2nd Feb 1954

Aged 63 Years

6. Arthur HALL (1877-1899). He accidentally shot himself while 'rabbiting' near Devils Pass (adjacent to the family property at Yass River).

Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday 18 Feb 1899
SAD SHOOTING ACCIDENT
YASS, Friday. A sad accident happened this afternoon on the
Yass River about seven miles from Yass. A young
man named Arthur Hall, a son of Mr. William Hall,
farmer, started out about 2 o'clock in order to indulge
in wallaby shooting. Before he got out of
sight of his house he had to crawl through a fence.
After he had done so he was dragging the rifle
through after him, when it went off. The bullet
entered behind one ear and passed out at the top of
his head. His brother saw him fall, and on running
to him found him dead.

He was not married. He is buried next to his grandfather Samuel HALL in Yass Church of England cemetery.

Headstone of Arthur HALL
Yass C of E cemetery

In Loving Remembrance
Arthur Hall
Who Accidentally Shot Himself
Feb17th 1899
Aged 21 Years
I little thought my time so short,
In this world to remain
I {thought?} when I left my home
I should return again

7. Thomas HALL (1879-1961). Born Yass, NSW 1879. Perhaps named after his uncle Thomas HALL (1846 Cambridge, England - 1928 Manly, NSW). Married Margaret Ann RICHARDS (1883 Yass - 1905 Orange) at Yass in 1905. He was a railway gauger and lived in various towns in NSW including Orange, Ilabo (near Junee) and Bowning. Apparently had about nine children, but only two are identified: Annie R HALL (1906 Yass - ?) and Lyle J T HALL (1909 Yass - 1982 late of Dee Why), also a railway worker. A side note is that the name 'Annie R' appears in a number of related families back in England - the significance has not been identified. Thomas died at Orange in 1961, and his wife Margaret Ann in 1968 also at Orange district.

8. Sarah Jane HALL (1881-1946). Born Yass, NSW 1881. Married Richard Thomas WATKINS (1872 Young - 1943 Cowra/Koorawatha), a farmer, in 1908, probably at Koorawatha (registered at Cowra). They had one daughter Margaret WATKINS (1908 - 1963 Cowra) who married Thomas Garner BOYD at Young in 1936, and they had two children Brian and Peggy - both were living in the Koorawatha area in the 1980's. Sarah was a fine dressmaker. Richard died in 1943, and Sarah died in Koorawatha in 1946, and is apparently in an unmarked grave at Koorawatha cemetery. Her daughter Margaret apparently had a simple wooden cross in the same cemetery.

9. Catherine HALL (1883-1951). Born Yass, NSW 1883. Married Edward Michael RYAN (1869 Yass - 1915 Yass) at Yass in 1902. Lived at Grace's Flat near Bowning just out of Yass. They had numerous children including Leslie V (1902-?), Arthur W (1909-?), Margaret, John, George and Claude. She was widowed early when her husband 'Edwin' RYAN died 29 March 1915 aged 46 years and was buried at Yass C of E cemetery. Catherine died 29 April 1951 aged 68 years. After she died, her son Arthur ran the property - but it had been sold by 1987. In 1987 Claude was at Lightning Ridge (previously he worked at Burrunjuck Dam) and John with wife Millie ran a home, Warmington Lodge, Rossi St, Yass. Catherine is buried at Yass.

10. Martha Emily HALL (1885-1930). Born Yass, NSW 1885. She married James FAHEY (no details known) at Yass in 1905. Apparently they had children, and by 1930 had moved to Sydney (Summer Hill). Martha was killed by a car on 10 April 1920.

The Sydney Morning Herald
Friday 11 April 1930
WOMAN KILLED BY MOTOR CAR
A middle-aged woman, believed to be Martha Fahey, of Summer Hill, was knocked down and killed by a motor car while crossing Parramatta-road late last night.

Martha was buried at Rookwood cemetery in the Catholic section (Mortuary Mortuary 2, Area 10, Grave 2049), suggesting she had converted to Catholicism (her brother Alfred did also).

Headstone of Martha Emily FAHEY (nee HALL)

Rookwood Necropolis

In Loving Memory of
MARTHA EMILY FAHEY
Who Died 10th April 1930,
Aged 45 Years
R.I.P.

11. Norman William HALL (1887-1967). Born Yass, NSW 1887. Married Edith Maud LACK (1883 Campbelltown - 1946 Lismore) in 1908 at Yass. They had at least five children, including William Edward HALL (1909-1973), Thelma V HALL (?-1913), Keith N HALL (?-1922), George S HALL (?-1926) and Cecil Henry HALL (?-1964). While William was born in Boorowa (west of Yass), Thelma's death was registered in Byron Bay and Keith and George's in Ballina, so they'd made their way to the far north coast of NSW. Cecil is buried Alstonville Cemetery (CEM-A2-243) and William at Goonellabah Lawn Cemetery (por G sec 11 num 29), both in Riverina district of NSW. Edith died in 1946 and Norman died in 1967 - buried in the same plot as their son Cecil at Alstoneville cemetery.

12. Florence Eva HALL (1889-1952). Born Yass, NSW 1889. Married Allan Low MCPHAIL (1885 East Macquarie - 1944 Lithgow) at Cowra (probably Koorawatha) in 1908 and they lived at Vale of Clwydd, Lithgow. They had seveal children, one being, Cecil MCPHAIL , born 1908 in Wallerawang district and married Doris COWARD at Lithgow in 1932, and again in 1941 to Bedelia Marjorie DOYLE at Condolbin. Allan died in 1944 at Lithgow and Florence Eva in 1952 also at Lithgow, and the are buried at Lithgow General cemetery (austcemindex.com).

Headstone of Florence Eva PMCPHAIL (nee HALL)
Lithgow General Cemetery
In loving memory of
My dear Husband and our Dear Father
Allan Low McPhail
Died 10th April 1944, aged 59 years
and our dear mother
Florence Eva McPhail
Passed away ??? 63 years

13. Cyril HALL (1891-1948). Born Yass, NSW 1891. Married Margaret WATKINS (1892 Cowra - 1951 Auburn) in 1913 at Koorawatha - he apparently also converted to Catholicism to marry. They had at least six children: John, Kathleen, Mary, Nita, Olive and Sidney. Mary, an ex-nun, married Robert MCQUILLAN in 1944 and lived at Taree (no children). Kathleen became Sister Cyril HALL of the St Joseph's order, living at Temora in 1987. Lillian married Reginald George GRAYSON at Wollongong in 1938. Olive married Arthur HILL of Koorawatha at Murrumburrah in 1946 and in 1987 was living on Rossi St, Yass. John (Jack) married and lived at Unanderra. Sidney (Sid) also lived in Wollongong.

In the 1943 NSW Electoal Roll Cyril and Margaret are living in Koorawatha, Cyril a labourer. Cyril died of Parkinson's disease in 1948, and Margaret died in 1951, both buried in the R.C. section of Koorawatha cemetery.

Headstone of Cyril HALL

Koorawatha Cemetery

In Loving Memory of
Our Dear Mother & Father
MARGARET HALL
Died 19th June 1851
Aged 59 years
CYRIL HALL
Died 16th July 1948
Aged 58 years
R.I.P

14.Walter Henry HALL (1893-1950). Born Yass, NSW 1891. Enlisted in Australian Infantry Forces in early 1916, he served in the 45th Battalion AIF. His enlistment records show he'd previously failed the entry test for the Australian Light Horse, and he gave his mother as his next of kin (Mrs Eliza Hall, Koorawatha). Enlistment also reveals he was 5' 8" tall, dark complexion, grey eyes and dark brown hair. He was assigned to B Company of the 45th Battalion AIF. He was wounded in France, shot in the leg that resulted in a fractured femur, and returned to Australia in 1918. This injury resulted in a limp for the rest of his life. Walter lived most of his life in Koorawatha, at one time he was a postman. He married Marjorie A DONGES (1902 Young - 1930 Young) in 1928 - she died in child-birth leaving a daughter Maureen. Walter died at Concord Repatriation Hospital in 1951 after finally losing his leg, and is buried at Rookwood Cemetery, Anglican Section (Section 16, Grave No. 0003673). Andrew Hall noted that his headstone appeared to be relatively new, and was probably installed by the War Graves Commission.

Headstone of Walter Henry HALL

Rookwood Anglican Cemetery

1937 Private
W.H. HALL
45 Battalion
12th February 1950 Age 55
His Duty Fearlessly
And Nobly Done
Ever Remembered

15. Ethel May HALL (1896-1967). Born Yass, NSW 1896. Married Joseph W HODGES (1897 Dubbo - 1983) at Lithgow in 1918. Joseph William 'Bill' was a pastry cook who ran bakeries in several towns including Harden and Moss Vale. Ethel was petite, and Bill a fine violinist who played at local dances in Koorawatha and surrounds. They had five children: Joyce married John Thomas SCHUBERTH in 1943 at Murrumburrah, Gloria married Maurice MCNALLY in 1954 in Sydney, Betty married ? KIPPER, Paul, and Jill married ? BRYANT. Joyce owned a photo of Eliza HALL nee BLISS. Ethel died in 1967 and is buried at Rookwood cemetery, Anglican section (Section 15, Grave 0001124). Bill died in 1983, late of Belmore.

Headstone of Ethel May HODGES (nee HALL)

Rookwood Anglican Cemetery

In Loving Memory Of
A Devoted Wife & Mother
ETHEL MAY HODGES
Died 5th Sept 1967
Aged 71 Years
Devoted Husband & Father
JOSEPH WILLIAM HODGES
Died 13th July 1983
Aged 86 Years

Attached is a plaque:

Ashes of PAUL ALBERT HODGES

Son of Joseph & Ethel Hodges

Loved Companion of Sylvia

Beloved Father of Gregory, Trevor, Lesa, Robert

2.11.26 - 15.1.2000 Rest in Peace

John Moloney's arrival in New South Wales on the Sirocco in 1864

2011-07-12T08:07:00.001-04:00

When John MOLONEY of Dromalty in Limerick, Ireland arrived in Sydney in 1864 on the Sirocco, he was met be the woman he was to marry in a few days (Ellen MEYRICK). As John wrote "I left Ireland for Australia in June 1864, and landed in Sydney on the 8th October 1864. On this (8th Oct 64) afternoon Ellen Meyrick and an acquaintance came on board and I went with them. I was married to Ellen Meyrick on the Tuesday following (11 October 1864) at St. Mary's (old) cathedral Father Curley officitating. Ellen Meyrick born 14th Feb 1842." (see http://thehistoryofmatt.blogspot.com/2007/11/maloney-family-or-moloney-or-malony-or.html).

Usually when I'm making a post, I place items into the post as they unfolded in my searching, however this time I'll post them in the chronological order.

John arrived under the assisted immigration program to New South Wales. The NSW State Archives information sheet on immigration (http://www.records.nsw.gov.au/state-archives/resources-for/historians/immigration/immigration) outlines that assisted immigrants were "passengers who had all or part of their passage paid for them by an agent, a private individual (often a relative), the government, or a combination of all three". This could include local parishes that raised funds to assist the poor out of their parish to the other side of the world, as was the case with my ancestors from Woodchurch, Kent (http://thehistoryofmatt.blogspot.com/2008/11/furrill-families-of-woodchurch-kent.html).

Thankfully the 'Immigration deposit journals' largely survive in NSW. "These are records of money deposited in the Colony by people wanting to sponsor the immigration of someone, usually a family member or someone for specific employment".

In the immigration deposit journals appears the entry for John Ryan MOLONEY

Transcript

NSW Immigration Deposit Journals

1864

Certificate No. 2014

Deposit No. 1374

Name of Depositor: Mary Callaghan

Date of deposit: February 8 (1864)

Description of person

Name: John Ryan Moloney

Age: 22 (born abt 1842)

Trade: Laborer

Where living: Dromaltay, Cappamore, Co Limerick, Ireland

Reference: P.P. Cappamore (Parish Priest)

Proportion of be applied to the passage: 7 pounds (currency)

Remarks: With 65/2505 - 5/7/64 "Sirocco" 2

This is the only record where I have found John's name written as 'John Ryan MOLONEY' (i.e. with the middle name), Ryan being his mother's maiden name.

ASIDE: Quite remarkably, it should be noted that a second John Moloney from Dromalty, Limerick was sponsored and immigrated in 1864. This John Moloney arrived on the 'Sir Robert Sale', son of John and Mary Anne Moloney of Dromalty, and remarkably his passage was sponsored four days after 'our John' by Patrick Merrick, who was soon to be 'our John's brother-in-law! I haven't posted the documents here for relative brevity, but can if anyone wants to see them. I do not know the fate of this 'John of Sir Robert Sale', though given how tiny Dromalty is, it is assumed that the two are cousins.

The journal entries reliably point to the assisted immigration index for John Moloney's arrival on the 'Sirocco', which arrived in Sydney Harbour around 3 Oct 1864 with 309 'Government immigrants'.

The immigration sheets also list the information given by John on arrival.

NSW Immigration index

Sirocco, October 1864

List of immigrants per ship 'Sirocco'

Name: Molony John

Age: 22

Calling: Farm labourer

Native place: Dromalty, Co Limerick, Ireland

Parents, and if alive their residence: William and Mary, Dromalty, Ireland

Religion: RC (Roman Catholic)

Read and Write: Both

Relations in the colony: Cousin Mary Callaghan, Lang Creek, Yass

The final statement here leads to the question of the sponsor: who was John's sponsor, Mary CALLAGHAN? She states she is a cousin (from the RYAN or MOLONEY side?). Lang Creek seems elusive, but is outside Yass proper.

In searching for information on Mary Callaghan, it became clear from a single advert that John, who had married days after arriving in Sydney, had not been so prompt in contacting his sponsor:

Sydney Morning Herald

Wednesday 25 January 1865

IF THIS should meet the eye of JOHN MALONEY who arrived per ship Sirocco, about September last, his cousin, MARY CALLAGHAN, requests him to write, and would be thankful to any one giving information of where he is.

MARY CALLAGHAN, Lang's Creek, Yass

This advert confirms where Mary lives and the relationship between herself and John. Looking for possible marriages of a Moloney/Maloney to a Callaghan, the following was found in the NSW BDM archives (the Roman Catholic marriage also fits):

V18421322 92/1842 CALLAGHAN, TIMOTHY to MOLONEY, MARY

LE = Roman Catholic, Campbelltown, St John's

Some simple searches (newspapers, etc.) haven't revealed anything obvious, including that I could find no births for the above marriage. A Mary Callaghan arrived in the colony in 1841on the 'Runnymede', a native of Limerick, from Limerick (the city), daughter of James Maloney.

Transcript
1841 Assisted Immigration
Mary Maloney
UNMARRIED FEMALE
Arrived by the Ship Runnymede
Under the protection of William Reaves
A native of Limerick County Limerick daughter of James Maloney farmer ?????
Calling Childrens maid
Age 28 (so born abt 1813)
Person certifying registration of baptism John Ryan PP
Religion R. Catholic
Read or write: Both

There may be other possibilities for Mary Callaghan, but none I could find among convict lists and assisted immigrants.

Reinforcing the link between this Mary Moloney/Timothy Callaghan of Lang's Creek and my John Moloney of Dromalty, Limerick, is that in 1860 Timothy Callaghan sponsored the immigration of Michael Ryan, from Dromalty, Limerick!

Transcript

NSW Immigration Deposit Journals

1861

Certificate No. 3873

Deposit No. 4772

Name of Depositor: Timothy Callaghan

Date of deposit: July 2 (1860)

Description of person

Name: Michael Ryan

Age: 18 (born abt 1842)

Trade: Laborer

Where living: Dromalty, Cappamore, Co Limerick, Ireland

Reference: The Parish Priest of Doon

Proportion of be applied to the passage: 4 pounds (currency)

Proportion to be applied towards outfit: 4 pounds (currency)
Remarks: "Queen Bee"

And sure enough in March of 1861 a Michael Ryan arrived on the 'Queen Bee' a native of Towerhill,Limerick (a townland adjacent to Dromalty, and where John Moloney's wife Ellen MEYRICK was from).

What was the fate of Timothy and Mary? The appear to have stayed in the Lang's Creek district near Yass. I did find a headstone transcript for Booroowa Cemetery:
Callaghan Timothy, County Cork, Ireland, died Lang's Creek near Burrowa 5.1.1873 aged 60 years.

The corresponding death certificate registration was found:

3604/1873 CALLAGHAN, TIMOTHY, f: TIMOTHY, M: BRIDGET, BURROWA

This would make Timothy born about 1813. There was also a death announcement for a Mary Callaghan in the Yass Courier:

DEATHS YASS COURIER NSW FROM 1857-1905

Yass Courier 5.11.1895. Callaghan Mary died in goal on Saturday morning aged 70-80 years, death was hastened by the want of nourishment, goaled for medical treatment, been in the Colony since 1843 came to Yass aged 27 years.

The corresponding NSW death registration had no family information, but if Mary and Timothy had no children there may have been no-one knowing the answer those questions.

NSW BDM

14917/1895 CALLAGHAN MARY, f: UNKNOWN, m:UNKNOWN, YASS

Whether or not John ever managed to meet up with a cousin is not known of course. Based on the evidence I above I feel that John's cousin was born abt 1813 as Mary Moloney, daughter of James Moloney.

Biograph of Michael J Conlon published in the Glebe Society Bulletin (NSW)

2011-07-05T22:16:00.000-04:00

I recently wrote a biography of my ancestor Michael J. Conlon (1841-1913), based on a lot of the material I've gathered and posted at my blog. It has now been published in the Glebe Society Bulletin (2011, Issue 5, p6-7). The biography is posted below, however the full biography (including all the footnotes) is available for download at the Glebe Society site (http://glebesociety.org.au/?cat=51) Volume 2011, Issue 5.

The photo of the ginger beer bottle is posted elsewhere on the site, however the photo of Michael Conlon was provided by Glebe historian Lyn Collingwood.

Source: Cyclopedia of New South Wales, 1907, p477-478.

Reprinted in Freeman's Journal, 4 Dec 1913, p19.

A lease from Sebastian HODGE

2011-06-25T21:10:00.002-04:00

I was contacted by Rosie ADAMS (nee TURNER), who had found me by searching for 'Sebastian Hodge' on google. During the 1870s and 1880s Sebastian HODGE (1833-1889) owned and ran The Commercial Hotel on the corner of Kimg and Castlereagh Streets in Sydney, and owned a number of properties adjacent to that hotel.

Rosie wrote:

"I have been going through a suitcase of old family papers and came across a lease between Sebastian Hodge, Victualler and my grandfather Alfred Turner for a property at 140 King St Sydney. This property is in that part of King St between Elizabeth and Castlereagh Streets Sydney. The lease is dated 1/8/1888."

The lease:

Transcript

Page 1

Dated 1st August 1888, Mr Sebastian Hodge to Mr Alfred Turner, Lease of Shop No 140 King Street, Sydney

Page 2

This indenture made the first day of August in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty eight in pursuance of an act to facilitate the granting of Leases Between Sebastian Hodge of Sydney in the colony of New South Wales Licensed Victualler of the one part and Alfred Turner of Sydney in the colony of New South Wales Fruiterer of the other part Witnesseth that the said Sebastian Hodge Doth demise and lease unto the said Alfred Turner his executors administrators and assigns All That the shop and premises known as Number One Hundred and Forty King Street in the City of Sydney in the Colony aforesaid and now in the occupation of the said Alfred Turner From the day of the date hereof for the term of Five Years from thence and ensuing Yielding and Paying therefore during the said term the weekly rent or sum of Five Pounds payable weekly the first of such payments to commence and be made on the seventh day of August instant And the said Alfred Turner convenant with the said Sebastian Hodge To pay rent And to pay taxes And to repair That the said Sebastian Hodge may enter and view the state of repair and That the said Alfred Turner will repair according to notice And that he will leave premises in good repair Proviso for reentry by the said Sebastian Hodge on nonpayment of rent or non performance of Convenants The said Sebastian Hodge Covenants

Page 3

With the said Alfred Turner for quiet enjoyment. In witness whereof the said parties these presents have hereunto set their hands and seals the day and year first before written.-

Signed Sealed and Delivered by the said Sebastian Hodge (signed) in the presence of Robert W Lenehan (signed).

Signed Sealed and Delivered by the said Alfred Turner (signed) in the presence of George C. Dwyer (signed).

City of Sydney rate books
1882 Bourke Ward

Control: CSA027154
Record Item: 17/1/14
Ward: Bourke
Year: 1882
Page: 10
Number of Assessment Book: 184
No. of House: 136
Situation: King Street
Name of Person Rated: Sebastian Hodge
Name of Owner or Landlord of property: Mr Francis
House, Warehouse or Shop: Hotel
Brick, Stone, Wood or Iron: Brick
Slated, Shingled or otherwise: Slated
No. of Floors: 4
No. of Rooms: 27
Gross Annual Value in Pounds: £800

Control: CSA027154
Record Item: 17/1/14
Ward: Bourke
Year: 1882
Page: 10
Number of Assessment Book: 185
No. of House: 136A
Situation: King Street
Name of Person Rated: Henry Simcoe
Name of Owner or Landlord of property: Sebastian Hodge
House, Warehouse or Shop: Shop
Brick, Stone, Wood or Iron: Brick
Slated, Shingled or otherwise: Slated
No. of Floors: 1
No. of Rooms: 2
Gross Annual Value in Pounds: £78
NOTE: Sands Directory for 1883, 1885 shows Henry Simcoe to be a
watchmaker and jeweller at 136 King St

Control: CSA027154
Record Item: 17/1/14
Ward: Bourke
Year: 188
Page: 10
Number of Assessment Book: 185
No. of House: 138
Situation: King Street
Name of Person Rated: W J Weeden
Name of Owner or Landlord of property: Sebastian Hodge
House, Warehouse or Shop: Shop
Brick, Stone, Wood or Iron: Brick
Slated, Shingled or otherwise: Slated
No. of Floors: 2
No. of Rooms: 2
Gross AnnualValue in Pounds: £78
NOTE: Sands Directory for 1879, 1883 shows W.J. Weeden to be an
engraver at 138 King St

Control: CSA027154
Record Item: 17/1/14
Ward: Bourke
Year: 1882
Page: 10
Number of Assessment Book: 185
No. of House: 140
Situation: King Street
Name of Person Rated: A Turner
Name of Owner or Landlord of property: Sebastian Hodge
House, Warehouse or Shop: Shop
Brick, Stone, Wood or Iron: Brick
Slated, Shingled or otherwise: Slated
No. of Floors: 3
No. of Rooms: 3
Gross AnnualValue in Pounds: £104
NOTE: Sands Directory for 1883 shows Alfred Turner to be a fuiterer
at 140 King St

-----------

The witness to Seb's signature, LENEHAN, was is son-in-law, husband to his daughter Harriet HODGE. Sebastian lost his wife earlier in 1888, and died in 1889 (the year after this lease was signed, cause of death was "Nephritis, carbuncle" (NSW BDM 677/1889).

The name TURNER rang a bell for me, and I checked the rate books for what is now called the 'City of Sydney'. Sebastian HODGE owned four properties in a row on King St and I had transcribed these. It's nice to get a sense of what business the hotel and each store conducted. A little cluster of merchant neighbours in Sydney. Quite nice detail about the premises.

Given that Alfred Turner occupied the premises in 1882, and was signing another lease in 1888, he must have spent a considerable amount of time there.

Rosie provided the following information about Alfred TURNER and his family:

My grandfather Alfred TURNER was a book maker – a legitimate one, not an SP bookie. He was a member of the Australian Jockey Club and a billiard hall owner at one stage. I think he was quite successful in his businesses as the family lived in the City in Elizabeth St and had servants, etc. However, I know they did not fare well at some stage and moved to their country house in Canley Vale (near Liverpool, NSW). This is where my father spent most of his life before he was married. Alfred TURNER had 6 children between 1890 and 1913. Since he was born in 1850 that makes him 63 when the youngest child was born. I am the only offspring of those 6 children.

My father, George Houston TURNER was Alfred’s 4th child born in 1904 (NSW BDM 28870/1904 ) and died in 1960 (NSW BDM 17107/1960) when I was young. I really know nothing about my father’s family as I was young when he died and neither of my grandparents were alive when I was born. George Houston was named after George Houston Reid, Premier of New South Wales from 1894 to 1899 and Prime Minister in 1904 and 1905.

Anyone with more information on Alfred TURNER and family can comment through this blog to make contact.

For me, the most curious part of the lease is the last line of the lease agreement: "The said Sebastian Hodge Covenants With the said Alfred Turner for quiet enjoyment". Is this a sign of friendship between two men who have known each other for a number of years? Or a stipulation relating to noise?!

Samuel BORDER accident 1915 (2)

2011-06-20T22:37:00.003-04:00

I've previously written about the accident in which my ancestor Samuel BORDER (1892-1963) lost his legs (http://thehistoryofmatt.blogspot.com/2008/02/samuel-litson-border.html). I've now updated another entry as I've found a second small article complementing that from the Sydney Morning Herald describing the accident, with more details.

The Sydney Morning Herald

Monday 20 September 1915

ACCIDENT TO A SOLDIER.

Late on Friday night Samuel Border, a soldier, attached to the 10th Reinforcements of the 3rd Battalion, met wlth a severe accident, whilst waiting on the Granville railway Station for a train going to Liverpool.

It Is stated that, in a meleoe which took place amongst a number at soldiers, Border was knocked down, and fell on to the permanent way, when a passing goods train ran over him. His own version is that there was a "bit of an argument," when somebody accidentally bumped against him, and he over-balanced and fell. The train passed over both legs, and it was found necessary to amputate both feet. His condition on Sunday was considered to be fairly favourable. He attaches no blame to anybody.

The second article I recently found:

Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW)

Monday 20 September 1915

SYDNEY SOLDIER'S ACCIDENT
RUN OVER BY A TRAIN
ALLEGED FIGHT AT RAILWAY STATION
Sydney, Sunday

A fight is alleged to have taken place among a number of soldiers on the Granville railway station late on Friday night, and in the mix-up one soldier, Samuel Border (23), fell off the platform on to the lines, and half the length of a goods train, which was then dashing through, passed over him.
According to the information collected from railway sources, the disturbance broke out on an island platform at the station at about 11.45 o'clock. The train was travelling on the down line, and as Border disappeared over the edge of the platform it struck him before he had any chance of regaining his footing.
When picked up it was found that Border had his left leg below the knee nearly severed, and his right foot cut off just above the boot. There were also lacerations about the body. He was taken to Parramatta Hospital.
Border is attached to the 10th Reinforcements, 3rd Battalion, and is a single man. His people live at Canowindra.

The WILD family

2011-06-05T22:10:00.001-04:00

The information below was provided to me by Michael Bird, a fellow Conlon descendant, who has done a significant amount of work on Thomas Joseph CONLON and his wife Harriet WILD. This post relates to Michael's work on the WILD family - Harriet's parents and siblings.

Unfortunately we still do not know the origins of parents James WILD (WILDE/WYLD/WYLDE) and Margaret CROWLEY/CONNOLLY, though it appears James was a convict (and Margaret possibly so). We'd very much like to hear from anyone descended from the WILD family.

ALL ROOKWOOD CEMETERY GRAVE NUMBERS FROM CATHOLIC CEMETERY WEBSITE AND CHECKED AGAINST SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIAN GENEALOGISTS SURVEY OF GRAVES DONE BETWEEN 1984 - 1988.

JAMES AND MARGARET WILD - Parents

Alternate spellings include WYLDE WYLD WILD

BDM NSW V1841629 123/1841 WYLD JAMES CROWLEY MARGARET

PN PRESBYTERIAN WHITTINGHAM (SOUTH SINGLETON - NEW ENGLAND HIGHWAY) NSW

Transcript:

PRESBYTERIAN MARRIAGES SOLEMNIZED IN THE PARISH OF WHITTINGHAM IN THE COUNTY OF NORTHUMBERLAND, NEW SOUTH WALES IN THE YEAR 1841

#629 JAMES WYLD I, JAMES WYLD DO HEREBY DECLARE THAT I AM A MEMBER OF, OR HOLD COMMUNION WITH THE, PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF SCOTLAND.

I, IRVING HETHERINGTON OF SINGLETON MINISTER OF SAINT ANDREW’S CHURCH DO HEREBY CERTIFY, THAT JAMES WYLD, BACHELOR OF JERRY’S PLAINS AND MARGARET CROWLEY, SPINSTER OF JERRY’S PLAINS WERE JOINED IN WEDLOCK BY ME, ON THE TWENTY FOURTH DAY OF OCTOBER 1841, AT SINGLETON IN THE PRESENCE OF

WITNESSES. MARGARET HETHERINGTON WILLIAM FARISH

PARTIES. JAMES WYLD MARGARET CROWLEY

MINISTER. IRVING HETHERINGTON

A number of newspaper articles were found by Michael on James and Margaret WILD:

THE MAITLAND MERCURY

WEDNESDAY 6 MAY 1846 PAGE 2

STEALING A HIDE.- On Saturday last a man named James Wylde was charged before the police bench with stealing a hide, the property of James Mitchell, of East Maitland. It appeared that the owner of the hide had salted it, and hung it on a fence near his house on the Tuesday previous. He had not seen the prisoner about the place, but after missing the hide he received information that it was in the possession of the prisoner. He therefore gave information to the police, and on Saturday, proceeded with Constable Walker, and a search warrant, to the prisoner's house, where he saw the hide, of which he had previously given a description to the constable, who found it to correspond. The part of the hip where the brand had been was cut away. There was another hide, and portions of two or three more in the same place. The prisoner could give no account of how he became possessed of this one. He said he had been cutting them into strips to make whips. The only defence the prisoner could make was, that he had bought the hide from a man whom he did not know. He was committed for trial.

THE MAITLAND MERCURY

SATURDAY 4 JULY 1846 PAGE 2

COURT OF QUARTER SESSIONS.

The following persons have been warned for trial at the ensuing Court of Quarter Sessions, in Maitland, to commence on Monday next, the 6th instant : James Wylde, free by servitude, larceny.

THE MAITLAND MERCURY

WEDNESDAY 8 JULY 1846 PAGE 2

MAITLAND QUARTER SESSIONS.

This Court was opened on Monday last, the 6th instant. The Chairman, Samuel Raymond, Esq., took his seat on the bench at ten o'clock ; and in the course of the day the following magistrates were also on the bench : -Helenus Scott, Esq., G. Blaxland, Esq., A. Lang, Esq., Dr. West, and J. Pike, Esq. Mr. Callaghan acted as Crown Prosecutor; and Messrs. Holroyd and Dowling, barristers, were also in the court.

LARCENY.

James Wylde, freed, was indicted for having, at East Maitland, on the 28th April last, stolen one hide, of the value 01 5s., the property of James Mitchell.

James Mitchell, a farmer at East Maitland, deposed that he remembered losing a hide from his fence on the evening of the 27th of April ; he missed it the following morning ; he obtained a search warrant and searched the prisoner's house, in company with con- stable Walker ; they searched the premises, and found part of a hide, which he knew to be a portion of the one stolen from his fence by the way in which it had been cured ; there was a brand on the hide when taken from his fence, but the brand had been cut from the part of the hide found at the prisoner's. The hide was produced in court and identified by the witness.

Cross-examined by the prisoner : Swore to the hide from its having been cured with ashes ; never heard of any one else curing with ashes ; had heard, before obtaining the search warrant, that prisoner had a hide similar to the one he had lost in his possession ; prisoner told them they were welcome to search his place ; witness never saw prisoner near his house.

Constable George Walker .remembered searching prisoner's house between two and three o'clock on a Saturday; prisoner said he was quite welcome to search ; he found the hide produced, and called Mitchell in, who said it was part of the hide which he had lost ; Mitchell had given a description of the stolen hide to witness, which corresponded with that of the hide found ; he asked the prisoner what had become of the brand, when he said he never kept any.

The prisoner put in a written defence, in which he stated that he was in the habit of buying hides, and curing them, and that he bought the hide in question ; if he had stolen it, he would not have been likely to leave it in so conspicuous a place.

The jury found the prisoner guilty, and he was sentenced to three months in irons.

THE MAITLAND MERCURY

WEDNESDAY 8 MAY 1850 PAGE 2

CONJUGAL QUARRELS.-Yesterday a woman named Margaret Wylde appeared before the bench, charged by her husband, James Wylde, with threatening him and putting his life in danger. It appeared from Wylde's evidence that he and his wife have been living apart at different periods, during which he allowed her a separate maintenance, but that they had again lived together by mutual consent ; he said that it was her violent conduct that parted them on former occasions, and that now she had on one evening thrown hammers and soldering irons at him, and swore she would have his life ; he was in dread of personal injury from her. Mrs. Wylde accused her husband of bad conduct with women, and with other offences. The bench said as Mrs. Wylde had several young children they were very unwilling to send her to gaol it they could help it, and yet she could, it appeared, find no person who would give bail for her peaceable conduct; but at length they bound her in her own recognizance to keep the peace for twelve months, cautioning her as to the consequences of assaulting her husband.

THE MAITLAND MERCURY

WEDNESDAY 5 JUNE 1850 PAGE 2

INDECENT LANGUAGE.-Yesterday two charges of using obscene language in the streets were brought before the bench, the defendants being Jane Ashton and Margaret Wylde; one case was postponed for evidence in defence, and the other was dismissed, the evidence failing to prove that the language was used in the streets.

THE MAITLAND MERCURY

SATURDAY 8 JUNE 1850 PAGE 2

ASSAULT.-Yesterday Margaret Wylde appeared before the bench, charged by Thomas Arnell with assaulting' him. It appeared from Arnell's evidence that he had taken out a summons against Mrs. Wylde for using indecent language, and that Mrs. Wylde, provoked at this, came to him on the 30th May, as he was at work in his yard, and gave him a flowing specimen of her oratory, at the same time spitting in his face several times, till he was forced to run. A neighbour, Mrs. Eames, corroborated this, except that she was positive it occurred on the 31st. The bench convicted Mrs. Wylde of the assault, fining her 20s. and costs, or one month's imprisonment if the fine was not sooner paid.

THE MAITLAND MERCURY

SATURDAY 1 FEBRUARY 1851 PAGE 2

MAINTENANCE.-James Wylde yesterday was brought before the bench, charged with deserting his wife, Margaret Wylde ; he was ordered to allow her 10s a week, and her rent.

At some point following this article James and family moved to Sydney prior to his death:

NSW BDM

JAMES WILD (WYLD)(WYLDE) 1813 – 21/01/1853 AGED 40 YEARS (wife Margaret Crowley)

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

SATURDAY 22 JANUARY 1853 PAGE 5

FAMILY NOTICES. DEATHS.

On the 21st instant, Mr. James Wyld, leaving a wife and four children to deplore their loss.

BDM NSW V1853250 119/1853 WYLDE JAMES AGE 40 BURIED ???

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

SATURDAY 27 SEPTEMBER 1905 PAGE 16

FAMILY NOTICES. FUNERALS.

WILD - The Friends of Mr. and Mrs. THOMAS CONLON and FAMILY are respectfully invited to attend the Funeral of their late dearly loved MOTHER and GRANDMOTHER, Mrs Margaret Wild: to leave their residence, 100 Glebe-street, Glebe, THIS AFTERNOON, at 1.30, for the Necropolis, COFFILL and COMPANY. Central Office- Rawson place.

WILD - The Relatives and Friends of Mr. M. J. CONLON and Family, of Broughton-street, Glebe, are respectfully requested to attend the Funeral of Mrs. MARGARET (Granny) WILD (an acquaintance of the family for 50 years): to leave the residence of her son-in-law, Mr. T. J. Conlon, Glebe-street, Glebe, THIS AFTERNOON at 1.30 p.m. J. T. COFFILL and CO.

BDM NSW 8768/1905 WILD MARGARET M A (CROWLEY) GLEBE

BURIED ROOKWOOD OLD CATHOLIC MORTUARY 1. SECTION 3 MONUMENTAL BLOCK 11 WITH DAUGHTER HARRIET CONLON

SMH

THURSDAY 26 SEPTEMBER 1907 PAGE 6

FAMILY NOITCES. IN MEMORIAM.

WILD. - In loving memory of our dear mother and grandmother, Margaret Wild, who departed this life September 29, 1905. Inserted by her loving son and daughter, Thomas and Harriett Conlon, and grand-children, Emily, Herbert, Eveline, Ethel, and Fred.

Looking at the above data, we wondered whether we could determine where James and Margaret originated from. Looking at James, it is mentioned in the articles above that he was 'free by servitude' - in other words, he had likely been transported as a convict and served his term. There were a number of James WILD/WILDE/WYLDE possibilities in transport registers, but ancestry.com includes an index of tickets of leave and we checked this. Luckily a match was found for the James WILD above, thanks to an annotation referring to his sentence for larceny in 1846 (articles above):

Transcript
TICKET OF LEAVE
No. 39/2102 - 11th November 1839
Prisoner's No 35/1617
Name: James WILD
Ship: Westmoreland
Master: Brigstock
Year: 1835
Place of trial: Derbyshire QS
Date of trial: 1 July 1834
Sentence: Seven years
Allowed to remain in the district of: Maitland
On recommendation of the Patrick's Plains Bench
Dated July 1839
Written in margin:
Altered to Patrick Plains 13th April 1840 per P M Maitland letter 14 Mar 1840 Reg No 40/2083
6 July 46 - 3 months - Larceny Maitland ??

This link allows us to learn the origins of James Wild, and Michael found his arrival indent from the ship 'Westmoreland':

Standing No. of Convict 35-1617 Indent No. 38 Name. James Wild. Age. 21 Education. Reads. Writes. Religion. Protestant.
Single. Native Place: Derbyshire. Trade or Calling: Cotton-spinner. Offence: Stealing tools. Tried. Where. Derbyshire quarter-session. Tried when: 1 July, 1834. Indent No. 38. Sentence. 7 Years.
Former Conviction: None. Height: 5 Feet. ¾ In. Complexion: Ruddy and slightly pockpitted. Hair: Light sandy. Eyes: Hazel. Marks or Scars: Nose thick.

A Derbyshire site (http://www.derbycourt.com/index/data/1834.html) also gives a summary that includes his crime and the hulk he spent time on:

James Wild/stealing a square & sundries/
1834/Jul/hulk "Ganymede"/Woolwich/healthy/good behaviour/
New South Wales/ship "Westmoreland"/sailed 3 Mar 1835/sick on ship/10 Jun-13 Jun/erythmia ?/

If James Wild was 21 in 1835, then he was born abt 1814 (in Derbyshire), and there's probably lots to be done there now. We have not yet traced his wife's origins.

------------------

Their children:

All four children were baptized Roman Catholic in the parish of East Maitland in the County of Northumberland, New South Wales. Abode listed for all as East Maitland.

1. Mary Anne Kennedy (1864) nee WILD 7/10/1842 - 1919

Birth
BDM NSW V18421097 121A/1842 MARY ANNE BORN 7 OCTOBER 1842 BAPTIZED 9 JUNE 1844 PARENTS JAMES WILD MARGARET CONNOLLY SPONSOR MR GRANT

Marriage
BDM NSW 1635/1864 YOUNG MARRIED JOSEPH KENNEDY

Death

BURIED WITH HUSBAND AT SOUTH HEAD CEMETERY SYDNEY (NO HEADSTONE OR INFORMATION TO CONFIRM) BDM # BELOW

15647/1919

KENNEDY

MARY A

JAMES

MARGARET

WOOLLAHRA

2. Harriet CONLON (1869) nee WILD 7/04/1844 - 25/05/1936

Birth

BDM NSW V18441098 121A/1844 HARRIET BORN 7 APRIL 1844 BAPTIZED 9 JUNE 1844 PARENTS JAMES WILD MARGARET CONNOLLY SPONSOR MARY ANN LETT

Marriage
BDM NSW 1520/1869 ST GEORGE MARRIED THOMAS J CONLON

ROOKWOOD CATHOLIC 26/05/1936 SEC M1 3 MON BL11 29 CONLON FAMILY GRAVES

Death

BDM 9270/1936 PETERSHAM HARRIETT CONLON PARENTS (WILLIAM MARGARET)

3. James WILD (1864) 27/10/1848 - 1859

Birth
BDM NSW V1848161 66/1848 JAMES BORN 27 OCTOBER 1848 BAPTIZED 27 JANUARY 1849 PARENTS JAMES WILD PROFESSION TINMAN MARGARET CROWLEY

Death

BDM NSW 1118/1859 SYDNEY DEATH JAMES WILD PARENTS JAMES MARGARET

BDM NSW 1591/1859 CHIPPENDALE DEATH JAMES WILD PARENTS JAMES MARGARET

BURIED ???

4. Agnes BIRD (1869) nee WILD 15/01/1850 - 24/05/1902

Birth
BDM NSW V18501740 67/1850 AGNES BORN 15 JANUARY 1850 BAPTIZED 6 DECEMBER 1850 PARENTS JAMES WILD PROFESSION TINMAN MARGARET CROWLEY

Marriage
BDM NSW 327/1869 SYDNEY MARRIED THOMAS JOHN BIRD

Death
7343/1902 BIRD AGNES JAMES MARGARET WATERLOO

BURIED CATHOLIC ROOKWOOD M1 SEC 5 ABOUT 50 METERS WEST OF CONLON FAMILY GRAVES (CONLON PLOT). NO HEADSTONE - FOUND USING SAG SURVEY GRID.

The intersection at St Benedict's

2011-06-03T22:28:00.000-04:00

St Benedict's, Broadway, Sydney (NSW) is a Catholic Church that was established about1835. Sitting between Glebe and Redfern, it was close to a number of my family lines in the 1800's (most of which were Catholic). The only connection I was aware of to the church and school was that Michael Joseph Conlon (1841 - 1913) was schooled at St Benedict's before entering the pottery trade in Glebe.

However, the church still operates (the school is closed) and their site has an extensive timeline of the development of the church and school (http://www.stbenedicts.org.au/index.php/more/our-history/timeline).

Reading through this timeline, my gr gr gr grandfather (on my maternal side) Michael Conlon (1841-1913) is mentioned not as a student, but as a young man and one of several trainee bell-ringers. At this time, Michael lived with his parents on Parramatta street (George Street west, now Broadway) and so St Benedict's was probably his parish:

1858
"Bell-ringing was introduced in St. Benedict’s about the year 1858 by John Henry Playford, an Englishman. He arranged to teach seven youths of the parish the art of bell ringing. The names of the seven aspirants were Thomas Hyndes, M. McNamara, John Cotter and Michael Condon (formerly the well-known potter of Glebe).” “Our Coadjutor-Archbishop: St. Benedict’s Story”, The Freeman’s Journal, 12 October 1922.

I find it remarkable that the bells Michael learnt to peal are still played in that same belfry, having hung there since 1849.

The other prominent Catholic family I am descended from is that of gr gr gr grandfather (on my paternal side) John Moloney (1841-1912 same as Michael Conlon above!), an Irish teacher and prominent Catholic in the Redfern area. While only living a mile or two apart, and while both were prominent Catholics, I've never found a connection (parish church, club, etc.) between them. They must have been aware of each other through newspapers though.

As such, I was delighted to find that in the same history of St Benedict's that John Moloney was a teacher at the St Benedict's School:

1862

St Benedict’s school becomes a training school for Catholic teachers from this time. “Among the teachers at the old school were Brothers Carroll and Larter in the ‘sixties. The next teacher was Jeremiah O’Brien, who had previously been teaching a denominational school in Macquarie street. He taught the boys while Mrs. Rice looked after the girls. “Jerry”, as he was called by the boys, was succeeded by Darby Roche. He was followed by J. Moloney. Then came John Dwyer, who had been educated for the priesthood… Dwyer turned out some smart scholars, among them being the late Tom M. Slattery and J. Murtough.” “Our Coadjutor-Archbishop: St. Benedict’s Story”, The Freeman’s Journal, 12 October 1922.

What really surprised me though was the following entry:

1852
Fr Corish establishes the first brass band at St Benedict’s. Bass Hodge, Dick Seymour and a man named Sykes are the instructors of this band.

My gr gr gr grandfather (maternal side) Sebastian 'Bass' Hodge (1833-1889) was in the 11th Regiment of Foot (North Devonshire) in 1852 and a bachelor. He became a prominent hotelier and musician in Sydney, apparently being one of the first to play the saxophone in the Australian colonies. But most importantly, he was Protestant! His passion for music may have outweighed his religious conviction.

I like this convergence (at least in one building over time if not in reality) of three different men from very different lines of my family. They did not converge for 100 years in my tree.

The mystery of Stephen Lewis (1826-1907)

2011-05-13T22:22:00.001-04:00

In family history research, there are mysteries, and then there are mysteries. Sometimes the mystery is where someone was born, or where they died, or a maiden name is known - these are the dead ends we all face in our research due to lost or incorrect records.

And then there are the mysteries - we have the pieces, we know where they start and where they end, and there's a mystery in the middle. Stephen Lewis is such an example. The information below largely comes from Judy Jones, a descendant. I came across this problem as I'm descended from Stephen's sister Harriet (1836 - ?) who separately came to Australia, and may well have been unaware that her brother was also in the colonies.

Stephen LEWIS was born about 1826 in East Hendred, Berkshire, England, and died 14 Dec 1907 in Koorboora North Queensland. His parents were John LEWIS (1799 East Hendred, Berks, England - 1866 Geelong, Victoria) and Dinah nee TABOR (sometimes TABERN, 1794 East Hendred, Berks, England - 1839 same). He married Jane MCCARTNEY on 15 May 1856 in Buninyong Victoria Australia. She was the daughter of David MCCARTNEY and Mary nee MCALPINE, and born abt 1834 in Belfast, County Antrim, Ireland. She died abt 1860 in Victoria.

So what is the mystery?

Stephen Lewis arrived in Victoria (Australia) about 1853 (about the time of the gold rush in Victoria), and was apparently known as 'the Yank with the boy on his back'. Why 'the Yank'? Because his marriage and subsequent birth certificates state that he was born in Niagara USA, New York USA and Alabama. There is a small town in Genesee County, New York called Alabama, which is close to Niagara.

Then why is he tied to the Stephen LEWIS almost certainly born to exceedingly modest means in East Hendred, Berkshire? Because on his marriage certificate to Mary McCartney in Bunninyong, Victoria in 1856 he stated (along with being born in the USA) that his parents were John LEWIS and Dinah TABOR. While his father's name is very common, his mother's is most certainly not. His marriage certificate is particularly important as Stephen himself gave the information:

Transcript: Marriage in Victoria (now Victoria, Australia)
When and where married: Buninyong, May 15 1856
Husband
Stephen Lewis, bachelor
Birth place: New York United States
Rank or profession: Gold digger
Age: 29 (so born abt 1827)
Residence: Buninyong
Parents: John Lewis (butcher) and Dinah Tabor

Wife
Mary McCartney, spinster
Birth place: Belfast, Ireland
Rank or profession: -
Age: 22 (so born abt 1834)
Residence: Buninyong
Parents: David Macartney (shopkeeper) and Mary McAlpine

How does it happen that Stephen believes, or states, he is American? It is possible he went to America as a young boy. But his family was very poor and his parents and siblings can be traced in East Hendred. Perhaps it was a fanciful past created to generate interest and Stephen was never in America. Or perhaps Stephen went to America later in life and became a US Citizen which led him to change his birthplace.

On his son, John’s birth certificate, his wife indicated he was born in Alabama. His death certificate also says Alabama. They apparently moved to Maryborough, Victoria, a gold mining town which was founded in the winter of 1853 following the discoveries of gold at Dalesford, Creswick, Smythesdale, Beaufort and Avoca in that order. At Chinaman’s Flat, Maryborough, on 25th March,1857, John Stephen Lewis was born to Stephen and Mary Lewis.

The family must have returned to Buninyong as Victorian birth and death records show that in 1859, Walter Lewis was born on the 18th March in Buninyong.to Stephen and Mary Lewis. He died 24th June, 1859 in Buninyong at 14 weeks of age from a wasting disease (tuberculosis). Cemetery records indicate that he was not buried in Buninyong Cemetery.

Stephen Lewis’ death certificate also indicates that a female daughter was also deceased. According to family stories, Mary supposedly died in childbirth or soon after. To this date, Mary Lewis’ and her daughter’s death records have not been found.

On Maryborough Hospital (Victoria) records, there is a Stephen Lewis who indicates that he was 40 years old and single on 9th March, 1867. He was Church of England. He was also a mariner (probably a mistake- meaning miner) of Mosquito, an alluvial gold lead south east of Maryborough. He had been in the colony for 13 years (arrived about 1854) after arriving on the ship, “Charlotte”. His port of embarkation was Liverpool. According to the “Argus” newspaper, the “Charlotte” arrived in Melbourne from Liverpool on 30th November, 1853. It was a cargo vessel carrying 10,000 bricks, 5 tons of hay,12 bales of cotton etc. No passengers were mentioned.

Also, "Assisted Passengers from Foreign Ports in Victoria 1852 - 1879" states that an S. LEWIS, male, a miner, 24 yrs with USA citizenship arrived on the ship, "JANE" in June 1853. C.F. LEWIS, male, 26yrs of USA citizenship and a miner also arrived on the ship, JANE. The Barque, JANE 328 tons, master Alexander Grange departed San Francisco via Auckland arrived Melbourne 19 th June 1853.

Stephen is then reputed to have rolled a swag, and taking the child, John with him commenced to walk to the mining fields of Queensland. It is probable that he worked on mining fields in N.S.W. on the way. In fact, his death certificate records that he had spent 24 years in New South Wales and Victoria and 30 years in Queensland. This means that Stephen and his son, John arrived in Queensland about 1877 when John was 20 years old.

It appears that Stephen and his son (now known as John Walter Lewis), may have been on the gold field at Ravenswood and were known to have been at Charters Towers. They arrived at Herberton in the early 1880s and then went on to Mungana (then known as Girofla) in the mid 1890s. They arrived in Koorboora in about
1904 where Stephen Lewis died on 14th December, 1907, aged 81 yrs and was interred in the Koorboora cemetery on the same day (http://austcemindex.com/cemetery.php?id=634).

Judy also prepared a time-line showing the records identified for Stephen. Perhaps someone reading this will have another piece of the puzzle!

TIMELINE - Stephen Lewis

1826 BAPTISM East Hendred Berkshire England 2 Apr 1826 son of John Lewis & Dinah (father labourer)

1850 census Mariposa County, California – possible Stephen Lewis
FROM a MARIPOSA site
December 1850:-
87 A 41 671 671 Lewis, Stephen 24 M Miner, born Louisiana

1853 IMMIGRATION Stephen Lewis arrived in Australia about 1853.

1856 MARRIAGE 15 May 1856 at the age of 29, bachelor in the Presbyterian log kirk, in Buninyong, Victoria Australia, Stephen Lewis, giving his profession as gold digger, married Mary McCartney, aged 22, born Belfast, Ireland.
Parents stated on marriage certificate: John Lewis, butcher and Dinah Tabor
Birthplace: New York, United States

1857 BIRTH Son, John Stephen Lewis born 25 March 1857 Chinaman’s Flat, Maryborough, Victoria. He was known later as John Walter Lewis. His mother, Mary Lewis was the informant and stated Stephen’s birthplace as Alabama, United States

1859 BIRTH Son, Walter Lewis born 18 Mach 1859 Buninyong, Victoria. His father, Stephen Lewis was the informant and stated his birthplace as Niagara, State of New York, North America. Walter died at 14 weeks of age in Buninyong.

1860 DEATH Probable death of Mary Lewis (nee McCartney) – no proof, family story

1860s Stephen Lewis was known as “The Yank with the boy on his back”. This line is supposed to be from an Australian History book. Family story – not proven.

1867 HOSPITAL RECORD On Maryborough Hospital Admission records (Victoria), there is a Stephen Lewis who indicates that he was 40 years old and single on 9th March, 1867. He was Church of England. He was also a mariner (probably a mistake- meaning miner) of Mosquito, an alluvial gold lead south east of Maryborough. He had been in the colony for 13 years (arrived about 1854) after arriving on the ship “Charlotte”. His port of embarkation was Liverpool. According to the “Argus” newspaper, the “Charlotte” arrived in Melbourne from Liverpool on 30th November, 1853. It was a cargo vessel carrying 10,000 bricks, 5 tons of hay,12 bales of cotton etc. No passengers were mentioned.

1874 Empire Newspaper Empire (Sydney, NSW : 1850-1875) Saturday 11 July 1874, page 3 Reference to Stephen Lewis and son at the Palmer River Goldfields, North Queensland

1875 Passenger Lists 9 January 1875 Cooktown (New Zealand) to Sydney – Stephen Lewis and John Lewis
21 January 1875 – Port of Embarkation Sydney – Stephen Lewis 44 years, miner and John Lewis 20 years, miner going to Melbourne

1885 MARRIAGE John Walter Lewis to Agatha Ann Stewart at Cairns (Agatha died 1891)

1892 MARRIAGE John Walter Lewis to Grace Thompson 22 May 1892 at Herberton North Queensland

1907 DEATH Stephen Lewis 14 December 1907 Koorboora, North Queensland, aged 81yrs. His son, John Walter Lewis was the informant and stated that Stephen was born in Alabama, America and had spent 30 years in Queensland and 24 years in New South Wales and Victoria. There are no known photos of Stephen.

Claude HALL - death and headstones

2011-05-13T19:42:00.000-04:00

Thanks to David Guillaume I can post the death notices and headstones for Claude HALL (1899-1984), brother to my great grandfather Norman HALL. His memorial is located in Wollongong Memorial Gardens, Tree Memorial, Memorial Tree Section 1, No. 16.

Illawarra Mercury
4 Dec 1984, page 30
HALL, Claude, C.P.S. - December 2, 1984, at hospital, of 18 Exeter Avenue, North Wollongong: loved husband of Eve, step-father of Graham and Marjorie, Colin and Robyn Challenger and loved Pop of Stepher, David, Lynda, Sarah and mark. Aged 85 years. Requiescat in pace.

Illawarra Mercury
4 Dec 1984, page 30
FUNERALS
HALL - The relatives and friends of Eve Hall and family of 18 Exeter Avenue, North Wollongong, are invited to attend the funeral service of her beloved husband and their step-father, Claude Hall, to be held in the Chapel, Wollongong Crematorium, tomorrow, Wednesday, at 3:15 pm. By request no flowers.

Wollongong Memorial Gardens, Tree Memorial, Memorial Tree Section 1, No. 16.

Wollongong Memorial Gardens, Tree Memorial, Memorial Tree Section 1, No. 16.
Left: In loving memory of Robert J. Hall. Died 24th Dec 1971 aged 50 years.
Right: In loving memory of a dear husband & father, Claude Hall (C.P.S.) Died 2nd Dec 1984, aged 85 years.

Robert was Claude's only child - I've posted on him previously.

EDIT: C.P.S stands for Clerk of Petty Sessions

The marriage of Ellen ALLEYN to Michael Joseph CONLON, and the burning of a cathedral

2011-05-10T23:17:00.000-04:00

I have not posted the marriage certificate of Ellen ALLEYN to Michael Joseph CONLON previously, and was prompted to do so by an anniversary announcement I found in the Sydney Morning Herald. Michael and Ellen married at St Mary's Cathedral on the 29th June 1865:

NSW Marriage Certificate
Registration number 1865/000563
Date and place of marriage: 29th June 1865, St. Mary's Cathedral Sydney
According to the rites of the Roman Catholic Church
Stamped: The consent of Mary O'Loughlin, mother of the bride, was given to this marriage
Groom
Name and surname: Michael Conlon
Conjugal status: Bachelor
Birthplace: Colony
Usual occupation: Tobacconist
Age: 23
Usual place of residence: Parramatta Street, Sydney
Fathers name and mother's name and surname: Patrick Conlon and Catherine Lowry
Father's occupation: Farmer
Bride
Name and surname: Ellen Allen
Conjugal status: Spinster
Birthplace: Co. Tipperary
Usual occupation: Milliner
Age: 18
Usual place of residence: Phillip Street, Sydney
Fathers name and mother's name and surname: Samuel Allen and Mary ---
Father's occupation: Butcher
This marriage was solemnized between us:
Michael Conlon
Ellen Allen - her mark
Witnesses:
John J. Wall
Mary Allen

All is in order with this marriage certificate, with a few notable points. Michael states he was a 'tobacconist', clearly a temporary occupation as he had already trained as a potter and would go on to establish his pottery works in Glebe. His home on Parramatta street (now Broadway) in Sydney was that of his parents. Ellen's name is entered ALLEN rather than ALLEYN/ALLEYNE, perhaps because it was entered by another based on how the name was pronounced. Ellen's father was deceased, but under 21, so her mother gave permission for her to Mary. She had re-married, and her new married surname was O'LOUGHLIN (she married Michael in 1855, curiously using her maiden rather than married name).

In 1899, the couple had a marriage anniversary notice placed in the Sydney Morning Herald:

Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday 29 June 1899
CONLON-ALLEYN - June 29, 1865, St. Peter and St. Paul's Day, at St. Mary's R.C. Cathedral, Sydney (which was burnt down that night), Michael Joseph, the fourth eldest son of the late Patrick Conlon, of George-street West, and formerly of Kinvara, county Galway, Ireland and late of the 50th Regiment, Sydney, to Ellen Teresa, fourth daughter of the late Samuel Hyde Alleyn, formerly of Golden, Tipperary, Ireland, and late of Phillip-street, Sydney.

This notice is about as rich in information as a genealogist could hope for (with the exception of the patriarchial skew on parentage). But it includes an intriguing point - the couple married in the first St Mary's Cathedral on the day it burnt down. It was replaced by another cathedral of the same name on the same site, which still stands. A cathedral being razed in the middle of the city generates a lot of press, and the following article was selected to convey the general occurence. Thankfully, there was an evening mass that day, so it was not the marriage itself earlier that day which contributed to the cause of the conflagration.

Sydney Morning Herald
Friday 21 July 1865

TOTAL DESTRUCTION BY FIRE OF ST. MARY'S CATHEDRAL.
Bv far the largest and most disastrous conflagration which has ever occurred in Sydney happened on the 20th June, and resulted in the total destruction of St Mary's Cathedral. This noble edifice, which was one of the finest examples of church architecture to be found in the colony, is now a blackened ruin.

The intelligence of this deplorable catastrophe will cause a thrill of sorrow in the hearts of the Roman Catholic population throughout the country, and must excite feelings of the deepest regret in the minds of the community in general. The cost of the building is thought, could not be less than £50,000, but from its hallowed associations and sacred memories, it was of priceless value to thousands of worshippers of the Roman Catholic communion.

The cathedral was not insured. There were several most valuable pictures by the old masters, which were hung about the altar, and in other parts, none of which have been saved. One painting alone - representing the death of St Benedict was valued at £1000. Two chalices in the sacristy were got out, as also were all the more valuable vestments; these latter being estimated at £2000. The Archbishop's papers, and the other important records and deeds which were in the clerk's office were also saved from destruction. The Archbishop s residence and those of the other dignitaries of the cathedral were hastily stripped of their furniture, which was removed into the garden, where it was placed under the protection of the police. It was melancholy to see the wreck of so much valuable property which was unavoidably damaged in removal under the circumstances. There were piles of furniture, books, pianos, pictures, and other costly articles, strewn about in the most confused manner. A great many persons were concerned in the removal of the furniture, and there is too much reason to fear that some dishonest fellows were not deterred by the presence of so fearful a catastrophy, from sacreligious speculation. Two young men were taken into custody by the police. The plate and other valuables were placed in the belfry, where they were properly guarded.

On Thursday 29thi Jne was the celebration of the religious festival of St Peter and St Paul, and there was benediction in the cathedral in the evening. The service began at seven o clock, the congregation separated at about a quarter past eight o clock, and the building was locked up soon afterwards. Most of the priests were engaged in a service which was held about the same time at St Benedict's church, Parramatta street. The lights of the cathedral, excepting only the lamp of the sanctuary which is always left burning and is suspended in front of the altar, were all put out. Various suppositions have been started to account for the conflagration, at present the fire is the subject of investigation. It was at first thought that there was an explosion of gas but it has been subsequently ascertained that that could not have been the case. There is now, as it is understood, some reason to suppose that the fire was the work of some incendiary.

So far as could be learned, it seems that the cathedral was suddenly filled with fire, and the flames burst forth almost simultaneously in different parts of the edifice. The greatest body of fire in the first instance was at the east end of the cathedral, and from this it was thought by many that the combustion began there, but the circumstance of the fire being fiercest in that direction may have been owing to the prevalence of a strong westerly wind. The fire was first seen soon after nine o'clock, and by half past nine the whole of the roof of the building was covered with flame. Most of the roof was composed of shingles, which were quickly burnt through, but the rafters and other timbers burnt for a while longer, and, as the outlines of the stately structure were vividly outlined and skirted with flame, the sight was one of unsurpassed but terrible grandeur. Myriads of sparks ascended high into the air and fell in showers in the direction of Woolloomooloo Bay, whither, for a considerable distance, they were driven bv the wind. From the top of the cathedral clouds of yellow flame and smoke issued, which shed a lurid lustre on all around, and at times so bright was the fire that minute objects in the remotest parts of Hyde Park could be seen almost as distinctly as by day light and the reflection in the sky must have been visible for miles around. Captain Heselton, of the steamer You Yangs, which arrived from Melbourne, on the night of the 29th, saw the reflection of the fire when off Port Hacking, and states his opinion that it would be visible for a distance of twenty miles at sea.

The cold, frosty wind blowing on the rafters caused them to glitter with resplendent brilliancy, and the flames, like innumerable serpents of fire, hissed and crackled along every part of the building, and, as they swept trom one interior fitting to another, assumed most singular shapes. The interior of the cathedral was a vast furnace of fire, which glowed with intense heat, and the wind and flame roaring through the sacred pile, and tile timbers crashing from above, made a noise which somewhat resembled the waves beating along the sea shore as heard from afar.

Of course, it was utterly impossible to arrest the progress of the flames, which, fanned by the breeze, continued to rage with unchecked fierceness until the woodwork of the edifice had all been consumed. The rafters and timbers of the roof were all destroyed by 10 o'clock, but so great was the mass of fuel in the inside that the building was illuminated all through the night by the fire, which for a long time was unapproachable. The engines of the Insurance Company's Brigade and of the two Volunteer Fire Companies, were early taken to the spot but owing to the difficulty of obtaining a copious supply of water they did not get to work for some time afterwards. All efforts to quench the fire in the cathedral would have been perfectly futile, and nothing in that direction was attempted. The clerk's office, the sacristy, and the range of apartments for the clergy leading to the Vicar General's Office, were soon ignited by the sparks, and to this block of buildings the firemen first turned their attention. Portions of the roofs were stripped of the shingles and streams of water were showered on them. The sacristy and the clerk's office were completely destroyed as also was a part of the buildings occupied by the clergy. Had not the woodwork in the upper parts of the cathedral been consumed so rapidly, the Archbishop's residence, St Mary's Seminary, and a number of other buildings must all haye been burnt down, seeing that the ashes fell around so thick. Some citizens and a detachment of sailors from the French sloop of-war now in harbour ably seconded the efforts of the firemen, and there were many persons who laboured with desperate and, it must be said, with injudicious energy. The roofs most exposed were saturated with water and slightly protected with wet blankets.

St Mary's Cathedral had only lately been enlarged to a considerable extent, and within its walls were collected works of art on sacred subjects, by some of the greatest masters. The magnificent organ, erected in the south gallery, cost originally upwards of 2000 pounds, which of course was destroyed in the general wreck. The rapidity with which the fire traversed the interior of the building is attributable to the mass of polished woodwork within it. The pillars by which the roof was supported were of ironbark, cased in polished cedar, and the ceiling which was an imitation of the vaulted groined ceiling of the middle ages, was also of polished cedar. The ceiling, therefore, in many places touched the roof, and, as a consequence, no sooner did the fire reach the former, than it burst through the dry shingled portion of the latter. The roof of that portion of the cathedral lately built was slated, and dense volumes of smoke issued from under it, and for a tlme enveloped the structure.

The relics of St Felician have been saved. The memonal window, on the south side of the man entrance, erected by Mr D. Egan, MLA, in remembrance of his departed wife who was wrecked in the ship Dunbar on the night of 20th August, 1857, is also preserved from the flames.

An interesting incident of the conflagration relates to the fortunate escape from death of an old man naed Anthony Brady. Brady, who is 108 years old, and is stone blind, and usually sleeps under the sacristy was fortunately got out, and but for timely aid would have perished in the flames.

It may well be imagined that so magnificent and awful a spectacle as that afforded by the cathedral At ,i C a"ractc'1 °Ji immense comcourse of persons mulina few minutes after the hre hroke out every "wrougiifnre was thronged with spectators, and there was also a densely packed crow d assembled on Hy de iark, opposite the cathedral So dreadful a sight

cernen to impress the beholders with awe lhere was not only an absence of inything like levity, «« toe countenances of most of the on lookers w ere «ïï?* S Bndne83 and solemnity Manv persons seemed dismayed, and not a few showed their grief _n J°?stcI,eBHon bi bCT ail'ng in te-irs the nun of

veneration ^ t0 tKc'" a chenshed obJcct of tnvlt.!.8ialm0!!t suPel0u°ns to monbon tim the inbpec tor and ofhccis of the Cm Polue were on the ground 11ki l!"80 ib°'!% nf C0,lstal»llí»¡T. v»ho performed their duty with cil.cienry ind nnostent ibon

The fire smouldered for some days The large

engine of the Insurance Brigade plaj-ed on the ruins all night.

The foundation stone of St. Mary's Cathedral was laid on the 29th of October, 1829, hy the late Father Thorry, and we ore informed thot 29th June waa the anniversary of its consecration by his Grace Arch hishop (then Dr.) Polding.

Death notices for Alfred Ernest HALL (1870-1954)

2011-05-09T22:27:00.000-04:00

David Guillaume kindly provided me with death and funeral announcements in the Sydney Morning Herald for my great great grandfather Alfred Ernest HALL.

Sydney Morning Herald
25 August 1954
HALL, Alfred Ernest - September 24, 1954, at his residence, 23 Scott Street, Croydon, relict of late Bridget Anne Hall, and dearly loved father of Norman, Claude, Kathleen (deceased) and Winifred, in his 85th year. Requiescat in pace.

Sydney Morning Herald
27 September 1854
Hall, Alfred Ernest - September 24, 1954, at his residence, 23 Scott Street, Croydon, relict of late Bridget Anne Hall, fond father of Norman, Claude, Kathleen (deceased) and Winifred, in his 85th year. Requiescat in pace.

Death certificate of James Samuel HALL (1872-1955)

2011-05-08T22:18:00.000-04:00

James Samuel HALL was the brother of my great great grandfather Alfred Ernest Hall. James married in the Yass/Goulbourn area in 1905 to Lavina Jane HEATH and they moved almost immediately to the Wollongong/Corrimal area where James was engaged in mining. A family descendant of James, David Guillaume, has kindly provided the death certificate and death notices for James.

NSW Registration of Death 1955/005958
Deaths registered in the District of Illawarra and Woronora at Wollongong in the State of New South Wales by Claude Hall, District Registrar
No in Register: 809
Name: James Samuel Hall
Occupation: Coal Miner
Sex and Age: Male 84 years
When and where died 17th March 1955, 50 Cross Street, Corrimal
Where born: Yass, NSW
Name and surname of father: Samuel Hall
Rank or profession: Farmer
Name and maiden name of mother: Mary Ann Bliss
Where married: Goulburn NSW
At what age: 28 years
To whom: Lovina Jane Heath
Conjugal condition of deceased at time of death: Married
Issue: Ave M. 48, William V. 45, Mary A.J. 41, John J.B. 36 living, none deceased.
Name and description and residence of informant: Certified by J.B. Hall, Son, 151 Princes Highway, Corrimal.
Cause of death: (a) Cerebral arteriosclerosis (b) atheroma
Duration of last illness: (a) 1 year (b) many years
Medical attendennt: D. Pitter
When buried or cremated: 19th March 1955
Where buried or cremated: Roman Catholic Cemetery, Bulli
Undertaker: Henry Parsons
Name and religion of Minister: E. Downey, Roman Catholic
Witnesses: F.A. Keny, L. Ewart
Signed CHall, 18th March 1955 Wollongong

Sydney Morning Herald
18th March 1955
HALL, James Samuel - March 17, 1955, at his residence, Cross Street, Corrimal, beloved husband of Lovina Jane and dear father of Ave (Mrs. B. Possitti, Haberfield), William, Mary (Mrs. G. Francis), and John, aged 84 years. Requiescat in pace. See Saturday's "Herald" for funeral notice.

Sydney Morning Herald
19th March 1955
HALL - The Relatives and Friends of Mrs. James S. Hall and Family, of Cross Street, Corrimal, are invited to attend the Fineral of her beloved Husband and their dear Father ; to leave St. Columbas' Church, Corrimal, This Saturday, after Prayers at 10:30 am, for the Catholic Cemetery, Bulli. A bus for friends will be provided. H. PARSONS. Wollongong.

Edward Ewer (1796-1859) death notice

2011-05-08T20:59:00.001-04:00

As the Bathurst newspapers are being digitized now by the National Library of Australia (http://ndpbeta.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/home) I'm expecting a few items of my EWER family to crop up (and a few other families including AHEARN). Here is the death notice for my convict ancestor Edward Ewer, the day after he passed away.

Bathurst Free Press and Mining Journal
21 Sep 1859, p2
DIED
On Tuesday, the 20th September, at his residence, Howick-street, Mr. Edward Ewer, aged 78 years.

Edwards death certificate stated he was 68, which is much more accurate.

The Royal Arcade Hotel, Sydney - Sebastian Hodge

2011-05-04T21:07:00.000-04:00

My ancestor Sebastian HODGE (1833-1889) had a colourful life, and whie he died relatively young he spent the latter part of life as a hotelier of the Commercial Hotel, corner of King and Castlereagh streets in Sydney. But before to took the Commercial he appears to have had a number of other locations including the announcement below that he was occupying the Royal Arcade Hotel below.

Illustrated Sydney News
15 September 1877
SEBASTIAN HODGE
ROYAL ARCADE HOTEL
Corner of
PITT AND MARKETS STREETS
BEGS to announce to his friends and the general public that he has taken the above Commodious and Centrally situated Hotel, where he shall be glad to see his friends.

Earlier the same year an article about Henri L'Estrange, who walked across Sydney Heads on a tightrope, was in the Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday April 14 1877:
"That Wednesday evening, the group of distinguished gentlemen who had witnessed the private demonstration of L’Estrange’s skill on March 29th gathered at Sebastian Hodge’s hotel on Pitt Street to discuss giving Henri a momento of the occasion. The Herald reported that a large number of subscriptions were gathered for the cause."

This may or may not have been the same hotel, but clearly Sebastian had a name for himself in Sydney.

Elizabeth TREVITHICK nee CANDY coroner's inquest (2)

2011-05-01T21:21:00.000-04:00

I've previously posted an article from the Sydney Morning Herald on the inquest into the death of Elizabeth TREVITHICK nee CANDY (http://thehistoryofmatt.blogspot.com/2010/03/elizabeth-trevithick-nee-candy-coroners.html). This is a report from the 'Empire', another Sydney newspaper of the time. There is some further detail revealed in this article.

Empire
Saturday, 22 July 1871
CORONER'S INQUEST
The city coroner held an inquest yesterday at the Australian Inn, Parramatta-street, touching the death of Elizabeth Trevithick, who was found dead in bed the previous morning.
Elizabeth Trevithick said: I am in the service of Mrs. Abigail, of Goulbourn-street, Sydney. Deceased was my mother, and resided at 27, Linden-lane, off Parramatta-street. She was thirty-nine years of age, a native of Cornwall, England. She has been in the colony about nineteen years. She has been seventeen years maried. Her husband is alive, and is at present at Tambaroora employed at a crushing machine. She has left seven children. I am the eldest. The last time I saw her alive was on last Monday morning, at her residence. She then complained of a pain in her chest. She has been complaining for the past three weeks. I did not observe that he was suffering from cold. My father has not been to Sydney for the last eight months. Deceased was near her confinement. For the last three weeks she has taken a little pale brandy for the pain in her chest. Her children were the only persons living with her. I and my eldest brother live away from home. Previous to the last three weeks she enjoyed good health. She has not been under medical treatment.
Emma Trevithick said: I am twelve years of age. I live with my mother. For the past three weeks she has complained of pain in her stomach and heartburn. She put a mustard plaster on her chest last week. She took three-penny worth of laudanum on Monday. That was the only time I got laudanum for her. A woman in our lane gave her a bottle of medicine on Sunday. She has been confined to her bed since Monday. She took a shilling's worth of brandy daily. I went twice daily for her. My other sister also went for her. She has had nothing to eat since Monday. I and my four sisters were the only ones in the house. I prepared the meals. I got some corn-flour on Monday for my mother, but she would not take it. I have been at home since Monay. I and my sisters slept in same room with the deceased. On last Wednesday night she would not speak. I spoke to her, but she did not answer me. She was groaning. She was in bed by herself. When I got up yesterday morning, I called her, but got no answer. She was not making any noise, and was quite still. My younger sister said she was not breathing, and I called a neighbour. I then found she was dead. I went to bed around 9 o'clock last Wednesday; about 12 o'clock I heard my mother singing. Sometimes she would have a glass of ale as well as the pale brandy.
Adele Fifer said: I reside in Linden-lane. I have known deceased for the last eighteen months. Sometimes she drank very hard. For the last eight months I have not seen her drinking anything, or drunk. On Tuesday last I saw her at the top of the lane. She asked me for some money. Thinking she wanted to purchase drink I would not give her any. I do not think she was sober at the time. On Sunday morning last she sent for me. On my arrival I found her lying by the fire with a mustard poultice on her chest. She said she was very ill and unable to swallow anything, as she had been retching for two or three days before. She complained of pain in her chest. I went over to Dr. Mallon's, chemist, Parramatta-street, and told him what she said was the matter with her. He gave me a draught, with instructions as to the manner she should take it. I gave her the bottle of medicine. I called on her on Monday morning, and found her very ill. She was then complaining of pain in her chest. She said she got no relief from what she had taken.
Dr. Schuette said: I examined the body of the deceased. There were no external marks of injury. I am of opinion that the cause of death was pulmonary apoplexy.
Verdict - death from apoplexy of the lungs, accelerated by intemperance.

Ginger beer bottle by Michael Joseph Conlon

2011-04-28T23:41:00.000-04:00

I finally took some photos of the ginger beer bottle I own, made by Michael Joseph Conlon's pottery on Broughton Street, Glebe NSW. The bottle was probably made in the early 1870's.

The impression reads:

CONLON & Co.
BROUGHTON STREET
GLEBE.

Birth certificate of Alfred Ernest HALL (1870-1954)

2011-04-28T22:57:00.000-04:00

My gr gr grandfather Alfred Ernest HALL (http://thehistoryofmatt.blogspot.com/2009/11/alfred-ernest-hall-1870-1954.html) was one of fifteen children to William and Eliza nee BLISS (http://thehistoryofmatt.blogspot.com/2011/03/hall-family-in-yass-nsw.html). A fellow HALL descendent from a line of the HALL family descended from Alfred's brother (David Guillaume) has provided me with a 1983 copy of Alfred's birth certificate. Why did that family have a copy? This was the time when my grandfather's brother (Frank HALL) was working on family history - he worked at the University of Wollongong, and probably connected with the HALL lines in that area and passed on a copy. At least that's what I think!

Birth Registered in NSW

Child
Surname: Hall
Other names: Alfred Ernest
Sex: Male
Date of birth: 16th May, 1970
Place of birth: Yass

Parents of child
Father - surname: Hall
Other names: William
Occupation: Farmer
Age: 27 years
Place of birth: Cambridge, England

Mother - surname: Hall
Maiden surname: Bliss
Other names: Eliza
Age: 18 years
Place of birth: Yass

Date of marriage: 26th May, 1868
Place of marriage: Yass River
Previous children of marriage: One female living

Informant: William Hall, Father, Yass
Particulars of registration: L. Yates, District Registrar
Date: 20th July 1870
Number: 2714

Marino Petrich

2011-04-23T16:32:00.001-04:00

I recently was contacted by the author of a book on the rich history of Croatian heritage in Australia (Croatians in Australia: pioneers, settlers and their descendants, By Ilija Šutalo), as our family tree contains a Croatian, Marino Petrich, who married into the MOLONEY family. I've decided to put some of the information I sent on here as an entry.

I'm not descended directly from Marino, but from his sister in law (MOLONEY). What I know about Marino is based on the following. There are two components - one is information from primary records, and the other is a few notes from our family history (more likely to be incorrect!).

~~The first reference to him I can find:~~
~~Croatians Naturalized in Victoria Australia from 1855~~
~~Surname: Petrich~~
~~Christian: Marino~~
~~Native Place on Cert.: Gratie, Austria~~
~~Date Natur.: 28/05/1884~~
~~Age: 44~~
~~City: Dargo~~
~~Occ: Miner~~
~~Cert: 2805~~
EDIT 28 Apr 2011: Ilija Šutalo has advised me that the above information is related to a different Marino Petrich.

Based on this I assume he was born about 1840, and in Australia by 1884, though I haven't found an immigration record for him in Victoria.

In 1891 he is registered marrying Isabella DARGIE in Sydney, NSW. She was born in Melbourne in 1866 and so was considerably younger than her husband. They may have eloped given that they were both from Victoria, as the following article in the Sydney Morning Herald relates her suicide shortly after marriage:

The Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday 9 April 1891
INQUEST
DEATH FROM ROUGH ON RATS
The City Deputy Coroner, Mr. W. T. Pinhoy. J.P., held an inquest at his court, Chancery-square, yeaterday, on the body of a young woman named lsabella Petrich, who died in the Sydney Hospital just after admission. Deceased was 24 years of age, a married woman, residing with her husband. Marino Petrich, a carter, at 70 Buckingham-Street. Mr. Petrich went home and found his wife very sick. She said she had taken poison because she could not do the house work. Dr. Gwynne iludies was sent for, and he advised her removal to the Sydney Hospital. The poison was taken at 2 o'clock, and soon after, repeating of the rash act, she took some mustard and water, and later on some salt and water. A letter was found in which deceased expressed her intention of doing away with herself. Husband and wife had been married 10 days, and only arrived from Melbourne two days ago. She seemed low-spirited at leaving her relatives in Victoria. Dr. Townley gave it as his opinion that death was due to arsenical poisoning. A verdict of death from the effects of an irritant poison, self-administered, was returned.

So you can see there is some conflict as the article states they were married in Melbourne, but the records show they were clearly married in Sydney (NSW BDM 517/1891). Her death is also registered in Sydney in 1891 (NSW BDM 558/1891).

Marino obviously stayed in Sydney as he married Mary MOLONEY in 1896 at Redfern (NSW BDM 5949/1896), son of John MOLONEY and Ellen nee MEYRICK, both of Limerick, Ireland. That family was Irish Catholic. Mary was born at Sofala NSW in 1866 (where her father was appointed as a teacher for a time during the goldrush), but as I mentioned the family were in Redfern around the time Mary would have met Marino - the year before they married they were both witnesses at my gr gr grandfather's wedding to Mary's sister in Redfern (confirming in my mind that Marino was Catholic). There are no children registered to Marino with either wife, which may not necessary be surprising given his age at both marriages.

He is entered in the 1905 Sands directory: Petrich, Marino, Dening Rd Drummoyne.

Marino's death is registered in 1914 at Redfern (NSW BDM 829/1914 - he may have died there rather than Drummoyne, given the MOLONEY family connection). His father is entered in the NSW BDM index entry as also being named Marino.

Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday 12 February 1914FUNERALS
PETRICH - The Friends of the late Mr Marino PETRICH are kindly invited to attend his Funeral, which will leave Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church THIS AFTERNOON, at 2:30, for the Waverley Cemetery.

Secondly, my great grandfather Norman HALL (nephew to Marino and Mary) wrote a number of letters on our family history late in his life, which largely focused on the MOLONEY family.

Letter from Norman Hall dated April 10th 1968 (http://thehistoryofmatt.blogspot.com/2009/01/1968-norman-hall-letter.html):

"(A) Mary, narried a chap of Austrian birth named PETRICH. Petrich had been to the Klondike goldfields to seek his fortune. I believe he did only reasonably well. He was a quiet hard working chap. When I stayed with them for a short period about 1910, they lived in Drummoyne. Their parish church was St Mark's, then under the care of the late Father Peter Kline (of happy memory) who later was chief of the Divine Word Father's house at Midson St. Epping. Father Kleine is long since dead.
Mary and her husband had no children.
Petrich died about 1912, Mary later setting up a small confectionary business near a picture show in Waterloo. We saw her every Christmas when we had Xmas dinner with my mother (Bridge {nee MOLONEY}) at 23 Scott St {Croydon}. Petrich was really a good fellow. Mary was a rather reserved, stolid, matter of fact lady. I cannot remember the date of her death - it could be about 1924 or so."

There are some errors in Norman's letters (Mary's date of death above) as it all comes from memory. I do not know how to confirm whether Marino really was ever at Klondike (or perhaps California?) and it may be that he really only was at the gold rushes in Victoria and that the stories became confused. When normal stayed with them at Drummoyne in 1910 he was aged 14.

Marino and Mary were both buried at Waverley Catholic Cemetery in Sydney NSW, 33 years apart. Perhaps they have a headstone there?

HALL family in Yass NSW

2011-03-27T23:48:00.001-04:00

Tom ELEMENT visited Yass NSW recently and dropped in on the family history society there. While he is a Moloney descendant, he kindly checked in on the records on my HALL family line there. He came up with a few very interesting pieces of information.

While the 1868 civil marriage certificate (http://thehistoryofmatt.blogspot.com/2010/07/death-certificate-of-eliza-jane-hall.html) has some information about William HALL and Eliza BLISS' marriage, the parish records (St Clements C of E, Yass) also gave that William was 25 yrs old when he married Eliza, and that Eliza was 16yrs of age when she married William. The register also notes that they were married on 20 May 1868 at Boambola, NSW (i.e., not in the church but celebrated by the priest).

William and Eliza HALL had fifteen children registered in NSW following their marriage. The parish register lists the following (with date of birth rather than date of baptism listed) - I have numbered the below against their order in the family.

Date (of birth), Surname, First name, Parents, Residence, Occupation of father
(2) 16 Jan 1870, HALL, Alfred Ernest, William & Eliza, Yass River, Farmer
(3) 2 Mar 1872, HALL, James Samuel, William & Eliza, The Pass, Yass River, Farmer
(4) 5 Oct 1874, HALL, Edward, William & Eliza, Yass River, Farmer
(5) 3 Nov 1875, HALL, John, William & Elizabeth, The Pass, Yass River, Farmer
(6) 8 Jul 1877, HALL, Arthur, William & Eliza (Bliss), The Pass, Yass River, Farmer
(7) 22 Apr 1879, HALL, Thomas, William & Eliza (Bliss), Yass River, Farmer
(8) 13 Jan 1881, HALL, Sarah Jane, William & Eliza, The Pass, Yass River, Farmer
(9) 21 Feb 1883, HALL, Katherine, William & Eliza, Yass River
(11) 17 Jan 1887, HALL, Norman William, William & Elizabeth, Yass River

The page terminates with Norman William - it is possible that the missing (1) Mary Ann and (10) Martha Emily were transcribed under a similar name.

Also of interest is that the baptism of William HALL's brother Arthur Albert appears between Oct 1884 and Feb 1885.
Date (of birth), Surname, First name, Parents, Residence, Occupation of father
2 May 1851, HALL, Arthur Albert, Samuel & Mary Ann, Yass River

While Arthur Albert was born in the Cambridge area in 1851 (to parents of William and Arthur Albert, Samuel and Mary Ann nee WELLS), he was either not baptised, or not baptised into the Church of England. As the family was Protestant, it seems that the former option is likely. Arthur Albert married Eliza's sister Judith/Julia Ann BLISS on 7 Feb 1885, so it seems he was baptised immediately prior to the wedding.

Tom also found some information on the farm itself - I'd never been able to tell what kind of farming the Hall family did - in 1877 William & Eliza had 270 acres, 25 cattle, and 500 sheep. So it was likely a wool farm.

Sentencing of Jane Fletcher (1786-1832) of Orleton, Herefordshire

2011-02-21T22:14:00.001-05:00

I was provided with a transcript of Jane Fletcher's sentencing by a fellow descendant. I've previously written about her death sentence reprieve, and commution to life transportation:

http://thehistoryofmatt.blogspot.com/2009/01/jane-fletcher-sentencing-in-1803.html

Born at Orleton, Herefordshire, England in 1786, daughter of Richard and Tabitha FLETCHER. Following sentencing and reprive, she was transported to Australia on the 'Experiment' arriving in June 1804. In New South Wales she married Rowland Edwards (1804), then after his death in 1814 she married John Allen. She died in 1832 in the Richmond district.

Her tragic trial was at the Hereford Assizes, the trial being on the 15th March 1803. The transcript of the court records has a note at the bottom 'Transcribed by Carol Bergen from public record office document ref: assi5/123/9 43832'. Transcript (with a summary below):

"HEREFORDSHIRE. The jurors for our Lord the King upon their oath present that Jane Fletcher late of the parish of orleton in the county of Hereford. Single woman on the 26th day of august in the forty second year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord George the 3rd by the grace of God of the United Kingdom of great britain and ireland King defender of the faith. Her being big with a male child the same day and year at the parish, aforesaid in the county, aforesaid, but the providence of God, did bring forth the said male child alive of the body of her. The said Jane Fletcher, alone and in secret, which said male child to being born alive by the laws of this realm was a male bastard and that the said Jane Fletcher, not having the fear of God before her eyes but being moved and seduced by the instigation of the Devil afterwards towit on the said 26th day of august in the year aforesaid, as soon as the said male bastard child was born alive of the body of her the said Jane Fletcher, the said Jane Fletcher with force and arms at the parish aforesaid in the county aforesaid and in and when the said male bastard child in the peace of God and our said Lord the king then and there being feloniously willfully and of her malice aforethought did make an assault and that the said Jane Fletcher with a certain iron spade with a wooden handle of the value of 2 pence which the said Jane Fletcher in both her hands then and there had and held the said male bastard child in and upon the left side of the neck of him the said male bastard child then and there feloniously and willfully out of her malice and aforethought did strike and act giving unto him the said male bastard child then and there with the said iron spade bu the whole act in the manner aforesaid in and upon the left side of the neck of him the said male bastard child one mortal wound of the length of six inches and the depth of one inch of which the said mortal wound to the said male bastard child on the said 26th day of august in the year aforesaid at the parish aforesaid in the county aforesaid then and there instantly died and that Tabetha Fletcher the wife of Robert Flecther late of the said parish of orleton a labourer at the time of committing the felony and murder aforesaid by the said Jane Fletcher in manner and for in aforesaid feloniously willfully and of her malice aforethought was present aiding, helping, abetting, assisting, comforting and maintaining the said Jane Fletcher the felony and murder aforesaid in manner and pain aforesaid to do commit and perpetrate and so the jurors aforesaid upon their oath aforesaid to further say that the said Jane Fletcher and Tabetha Fletcher slain the said male bastard child then and there in a manner and form aforesaid feloniously willfully of their malice aforethought did kill and murder against the peace of our said Lord the king his crown and dignity and the jurors aforesaid upon their oath will further present that the said Jane Fletcher on the 26th day of august in the 42nd year of the reign of our said sovereign lord George the 3rd by the grace of God of the united kingdom of great Britain and Ireland declared king defender of the faith her being big with male child the same day and year at the parish aforesaid in the county aforesaid by the providence of God did bring forth the said male alive of the body of her the said Jane Fletcher alone and in secret which said male child to being born alive by the laws of this realm was a male bastard and that the said Jane Fletcher not having the fear of God before her eyes but being moved and seduced by the instigation of the Devil afterwards towit on the said 26th day of august in the year aforesaid as soon as te said male bastard child was born alive of the body of her the said Jane Fletcher the said Jane Fletcher with force and arms at the paris aforesaid in the county aforesaid and in and when the said male bastard child in the peace of God and our said Lord the king then and there being feloniously willfully and of her malice aforethought did make an assault and that the said Jane Fletcher with a certain iron spade with a wooden handle of the value of 2 pence which the said Jane Fletcher in both her hands then and there had and held the said male bastard child in and upon the left side of the neck of him the said male bastard child then and there feloniously and willfully out of her malice and aforethought did strike and act giving unto him the said male bastard child then and there with with said iron spade by the stroke and cut in the manner aforesaid in and upon the left side of the neck of him the said male bastard child a mortal wound on the length of 6 inches and the depth of 1 inch and the said Jane Fletcher then and there feloniously willfully and of her malice aforethought did put both her hands on and around the neck of him the said child then and there fixed him the said child and did feloniously willfully and of her malice aforethought did choke and strangle of which said mortal wound choking and strangling he the said child there and then instantly died that is said Tabitha Fletcher at the time of committing the felong and murder last aforesaid by the neck Jane Fletcher in manner and form last effort in feloniously willfully and of her malice aforethought to carer present aiding, helping, abetting, assisting, comforting and maintaining the said Jane Fletcher in the felony and murder last aforesaid in manner and form last aforesaid to do commit and perpetrate and so the jurors aforesaid upon their oath aforesaid to further try that the said Jane Fletcher and Tabetha Fletcher trial the said male bastard child then and there in a manner and form last aforesaid feloniously willfully out of their malice aforethought did kill and murder against the peace of our said lord the king, his crown and dignity."

Jane was found guilty and sentenced to death:

From Worcester News, 21 Mar 1803"At Hereford Assizes yesterday, Jane Fletcher, aged only 15, for the murder of her new born bastard child, was capitally convicted and sentenced to death."

Her mother was acquitted:

Hereford Journal, 23 Mar 1803"Assizes. At our Assizes, which ended on Friday evening, Joseph Fowke, alias Coft, for stealing a sheep, the property of Thomas Field, of Whitboum; and Jane Fletcher, aged 15, for the murder of her newborn bastard child, were capitally convicted, and received sentence of death; the former is reprieved, and the latter was to have been exectuted on Monday last, but is respited to the second of May next. John Teague, found guilty of forgery at the last Assizes, received setence of death, but was reprieved before the Judges left the city. William Dally, for stealing three pigs, was ordered to seven years transportation. Phebe Griffiths, for uttering in payment several counterfeir pieces, called Shillings; and Priscilla Clarke, for receiving stolen goods, were ordered to twelve months imprisonment. John hardwick for stealing oak plans; Martha Cooke, for stealing a quantity of wool from off a sheep, the property of William Wathen; and Ann Cooke for stealing a great-coat, the property of Mr. Cobun, Su Tavern, in this city, were sentenced to six months imprisonment. - Tabitha Fletcher, implicated with her daughter Jane Fletcher; Walter ?, charged with the murder of his father; Sarah Pingree, for the murder of her new born bastard child; Thomas Butcher, for sheep stealing; James haynes, for stealing wearing apparel; Harriet Vo?, implicated as an accessary with Priscilla Clare; John Pheasant, for having in his possession two forger notes; and Edward Gwilt, for stealing a pail, were all acquitted."

The enoerous legal language of the charge above can be distilled to the following grizzly and tragic:

"HEREFORDSHIRE. That Jane Fletcher of Orleton, Hereford, Single woman, on the 26th of August, 1802, gave birth to a male bastard child. That as soon as the child was born she assaulted the child with an iron spade with a wooden handle of the value of 2 pence, inflicting upon the left side of the neck of the child a mortal wound of the length of six inches and the depth of one inch, and then strangled the child, instantly killing the child. That Tabetha Fletcher the wife of Robert Fletcher of Orleton, was present aiding and abetting her daughter Jane Fletcher.

One can't imagine the circumstances that drove a 15 year old girl to kill her child.

A Moloney of Dromalty headstone !!!!!!

2011-02-12T21:40:00.000-05:00

I was contacted this week by Maresa McNamara of Co. Clare in Ireland - she has been tracing her RYAN family tree of Knockore, Limerick. In searching for RYANs, she came across a headstone at the Caherelly graveyard in County Limerick, about 10 to 15 miles from Dromalty:

Transcript, Caherelly grave yard in Co. Limerick

Erected by Mary Moloney alias Ryan

Of Drumalty

In memory of her beloved son

Patrick Moloney

Who departed this life oct 18

1858 aged 25 yrs and also of

her father William Ryan of

Knockroe who died

March 27^th 1817

Age 78 yrs.

This one headstone amazingly adds new information to our family tree from a time when I didn't expect more information - prior to the parish records starting in the 1840's.

Before this headstone, we knew of three children of William MOLONEY and his wife Mary nee RYAN, of Dromalty/Drumalty in Limerick.

1. John MOLONEY (1841 - 1912). Lots of evidence including a short autobiographical note, teaching application, assisted immigration record, marriage and death certificates. Came to NSW in 1864, where he married Ellen MEYRICK/MERRICK of Tower Hill/Tuogh, adjacent to Dromalty. Teacher, lived mainly in Redfern, but also taught afield at various points in his career.

2.William MOLONEY (1846 - ?). The only information we have comes from research that Tom Element engaged. The baptism of William appears in the records for the Roman Catholic parish of Cappamore (in which Dromalty lies). William was baptised n 4th May 1846, parents William and Mary MOLONEY, and godparents Patrick MOLONEY and Mary MCKNIGHT. It is not clear if MCKNIGHT is a maiden name and the godparents were married. All other children before 1846 predate parish records.

3. Ellen MOLONEY (abt 1848 - 1911). Identified initially from assisted immigration records when she arrived in Australia in 1868. Married George TALLANT in 1873 in Sydney and had a number of children. Lived in Darlinghurst (next to Redfern) and died in 1911.

Now we can add an older son, Patrick MOLONEY (abt 1833 - 1858), based on the headstone data above. Given the date of birth, it is more than likely that William and Mary MOLONEY of Dromalty had other children also.

The LAFIURA grave at Rookwood

2011-02-12T14:43:00.000-05:00

I've previously written about William MOLONEY (1872 Sydney NSW - 1916 Redfern NSW), son of my ancestor John MOLONEY (1841 Dromalty Limerick - 1912 Redfern NSW): http://thehistoryofmatt.blogspot.com/2010/01/william-moloney-1872-1916.html.

He married Kate LAFIURA (birth name Catherine Ellen Ackers LINDSAY) in 1894, had two sons with herbefore being divorced in 1900. Kate took the youngest son, William Joseph MOLONEY (1898-1959), with her to Newcastle when she married Richard RUNDLE (1869-1936, himself divorced, and already known for their prominent tailoring business). in 1904, and for some reason abandoned the elder son John MOLONEY (1895-?) who was brought up by other Moloney family members including my HALL family.

Catherine was born in Newcastle NSW as Catherine Ellen Ackers Lindsay (NSW BDM 16604/1877 LINDSAY, CATHERINE E A, f: DAVID, m: BRIDGET, reg: NEWCASTLE). She was born after her father, David Watson LINDSAY (abt 1846 - 12 Dec 1876) had died. She was the only child of the marriage of David to Bridget Elizabeth TOBIN (marriage registered in Newcastle in 1874). Bridget was baptised in NSW in 1847 (NSW BDM V18472171 65/1847 TOBIN, BRIDGET, f: JAMES, m: ELLEN).

David was the Captain of the ship 'William Ackers' which sank in December 1876 in New Zealand. As such his death wasn't registered in Australia. There are a number of newspaper articles describing the wreck. According to the reports the ship was wrecked in the Foveux Straits. Catherine's full name, Catherine Ellen Ackers LINDSAY, obviously drew the 'Ackers' from the ship her father died in command of. The return of wrecks for the ship 'William Ackers' (AJHR 1877 Section H29 page 26 Return of Wrecks) notes that the wreck occured at Waipapa Reef, Otago, on 11 Dec 1876, a barque of 299 tons with 10 crew, of whom 8 died. The ship was carrying timber. The Finding of Court of Inquiry notes "Loss of the vessel caused by the master keeping too close to the land; and the loss of the captain and seven men of the crew was mainly, if not entirely, the result of the deck cargo getting adrift and destroying the boats." I have not been able to determine whether his body was recovered/buried.

After David died (Dec 1876), Bridget married Benjamin LAFIURA (Incorrect NSW BDM index: 1137/1879, groom LINDSAY, BRIDGES E to bride LAFURA, BENJM, reg: SYDNEY). Clearly Bridget was nautically inclined as Benjamin was also a sailor.

Mariners and ships in Australian Waters
"WESTERN"
OF SYDNEY, JOHN D. HARLEY, MASTER, BURTHEN 266 TONS
FROM THE PORT OF BRISBANE, MARYBOROUGH, TOWNSVILLE, COOKTOWN TO SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES, 12TH MAY 1875
LAFIURA BEN 2nd STEWARD
Age: 19, Of what nation: ITALY, Status: CREW

Benjamin naturalised in 1883 in NSW. Benjamin and Bridget Elizabeth had at least five children together, apparently living in the Redfern area of NSW along with Catherine from Bridget's first marriage. This explains how Catherine LINDSAY, now known as Catherine LAFIURA, met William MOLONEY - they also lived in the area. According to directories, the LAFIURA family lived in Alexandria, running a hotel. Benjamin died in 1897 (registered Waterloo NSW) and there was an inquest into his death at his own hotel (!), which stated that he died at the Stepney Hotel, Raglan St, Alexandria, on the 26th Oct, aged 39. Shockingly, the finding was that his death was the result of "Poison to wit muriatic acid self administered".

The LAFIURA family grave is at Rookwood Cemetery. I was last in Sydney about 18 months ago and spent time looking at headstones. I was aware of LAFIURA headstone at Rookwood but imagine just bumping into it! That's what happened. It is located immediately adjacent to the St Michael the Archangel Chapel (see http://thehistoryofmatt.blogspot.com/2010/11/conlon-plot-at-rookwood-cemetery.html for map). I have a separate set of photos of this monument that a fellow MOLONEY descendant took (Chris MOLONEY) and the pictures here are the best examples of each face. The monument is quite grand in an obelisk style, and very unlike the others around it. It's in the Catholic (Necropolis) section and it appears Benjamin is buried there depite having committed suicide. There were only inscriptions on three faces of the monument.

Rookwood Necropolis Burial IndexLafuira Benjamin
Location: Mortuary Mortuary 1
Area: A
Grave: 245

Monument transcripts

Face 1
In Fond Loving Memory of
Our Dear Father
Benjamin Lafiura
Died 25th Oct 1897
Aged 48 years
R I P
Also in Loving Memory
Of our beloved mother
Elizabeth Lafiura
Died 22nd July 1919
Aged 73 years
Sweet Jesus have mercy on her soul

Face 2
ROSALINE MARY LAFIURA
Died 4th March 1882
Aged 8 months
Sweet Babe in Heaven
Sacred to the Memory of
ELLEN LAKE
Died 6th October 1892
Aged 74 years
RIP
Beloved mother of Mrs Lafiura

Face 3
In Memory of
ROSE LAFIURA
Who departed this life
14th July 1909
Aged 28 years
RIP

Notes:
Rose LAFIURA died in 1909 aged 23, daughter of Ben Lafiura and Bridget nee Tobin. Grave 248.
Benjamin LAFIURA died in 1897 aged about 48. Gave 245.
Elizabeth LAFIURA is Bridget Elizabeth nee TOBIN formerly LINDSAY, died 1919 aged 73 years. Grave 246.
Rosaline Mary LAFIURA, died 1882 aged 8 months, daughter of Ben Lafiura and Bridget Tobin. Grave247.
Ellen LAKE, died 1893 aged about 70. Grave 247. Ellen Bridget Elizabeth TOBIN's mother. Why the name LAKE? She married James TOBIN in 1846 at St Mary's Cathedral. I haven't found her subsequent marriage to William LAKE, however:
The Sydney Morning Herald, Saturday 7 October 1893
FUNERALS. The friends of Mr William Lake are respectfully informed that the Funeral of his dearly beloved WIFE, Ellen, will move from Mount Carmel Church TO-MORROW (Sunday) AFTERNOON at 1:30 for R.C. Cemetery, Rookwood.

I have found two others buried in the plot without an inscription.
Josephine Elsie LAFIURA. Grave 244. Never married, born 1884 daughter of Benjamin and Bridget, died 1974. Buried in the family plot 55 years after her mother.
William J RUNDLE born MOLONEY !!!! Estranged from his father, and grandson of Bridget LAFIURA. He died in 1959 - father listed unknown, registered in Sydney. He never married. How William came to be buried in the family plot is not known.

I would very much like to hear from descendants of these lines with more information!

The children of William and Eliza HALL - Yass, NSW - updated version

2010-12-11T21:57:00.001-05:00

This is the second version of this post (the previous was on June 9 2010), updated with new information. My dad, Andrew Hall, spent some time at Rookwood in Dec 2010 to take photos of the three HALL siblings buried there.

Occasionally I find my posts act as fishing expeditions to find common descendants. Google brings those looking for an ancestor to my blog, and thankfully in contact with me. If posts are fishing exercises, then this post is a big hook. I'm going to list all I know about the offspring of William HALL and Eliza BLISS of Yass, NSW. William came to Australia from England with his parents Samuel HALL and Mary Anne nee WELLS - as outlined elsewhere (http://thehistoryofmatt.blogspot.com/2009/04/samuel-hall-headstone-yass-nsw.html).

William and Eliza had 15 children together from 1868-1896, all registered in Yass, NSW. William's death certificate in 1912 (reported by one of his children) lists only 13 children (11 living, 2 dead) but there were another 2 living children that were missed (http://thehistoryofmatt.blogspot.com/2010/03/death-certificate-of-william-hall-1843.html).

In putting together this list I have benefited greatly from the work of my grandfather's brother, Francis 'Frank' Michael HALL (1923-2005). He did a lot of work his family tree, the BANFIELD, MOLONEY, BLISS and HALL families, including meeting a lot of fellow descendants. While the HALL children were born from 1868-1896, the birth of most of their offspring occured after the 1909 cut-off for publicly availabe birth records in NSW, so in some cases all I know comes from Frank's notes - information passed to him by the living children and grandchildren of William HALL that Frank drove all over NSW meeting.

I'll list what I know of each child. It can be assumed where not cited that the information came from Frank, though I have added to this using NDW BDM records, Australian newspaper announcements (newspapers.nla.gov.au) and the Ryerson index (www.ryersonindex.org) for more recent deaths. I have not made personal contact with descendants of any of the below families, and it would be great to make contact and exchange information on these people.

While all William and Eliza's children were born in Yass, they moved with their younger children to Koorwatha about 1900 (reason unknown) and so the elder children married in Yass, the younger ones in the Koorawatha area (90 miles away).

It is clear from the below that there is a great deal yet to be learnt. It appears that the family were not all in close contact. When my great grandfather Norman HALL (son of Afred E HALL, 2 below) wrote up a family tree, he 'thought' his grandfather's name might be William (true), but more than this he did not know. He sketched out the names of six of his aunts/uncles but the remainder he was not aware of. This may just be a refletion of the fact my ggrandfather Alfred E HALL left home when he was about 15 - he only met his youngest sister for the first time when she was 16!

1. Mary Ann HALL (1868-1909). Born Yass, NSW 1868. Married Frederick COSTELLO in the nearby Goulburn district in 1895. They had six children around Goulburn and Yass, and a seventh child in the Narromine district in 1907. One daughter, Amelia Alice 'Millie' COSTELLO was burnt to death in 1908 (registered in the Warren district of NSW). The Registers of Coroners' Inquests shows that at the inquest on 6 Jul 1908 held at the Court House in Warren NSW shows that she 4 years 10 month old and was born at Bowning NSW (outside Yass) and died at 'Egelabra, Warren' as a result of 'Effect of burns accidentally received' - apparently still a large wool property.

Mary Ann drowned there a year later (1909) aged 40. Whether the drowning was accidental or suicide is not know but she apparently blamed herself for not smothering the flames engulfing Millie. Her own inquest, also held at Warren, concluded that she died of 'Suffocation by drowning her own act while temporarily insane'. I have not yet ascertained where she and her daughter were buried.

Frederick COSTELLO re-married to Jessie M BROWN in Granville (western Sydney) in 1911 and they lived in Lidcombe for a time - it appears that Frederick died in Queensland in 1956, his second wife Jessie pre-deceasing him in Queensland in 1942.

2. Alfred Ernest HALL (1870-1954). Born Yass, NSW 1870. Died Croydon, NSW 1954.The second eldest son, Alfred Ernest Hall, was my great-great-grandfather. I have posted a number of times on him: http://thehistoryofmatt.blogspot.com/2009/11/alfred-ernest-hall-1870-1954.html . Buried at Rookwood cemetery, Catholic section with his wife Bridget nee MOLONEY. No headstone.

3. James Samuel HALL (1872-1955). Born Yass, NSW 1872. Married Lavina Jane HEATH (1878 Yass - 1969 Sydney) at Goulburn district in 1895. James (called 'Jim') was a surveyor's assistant and miner and lived mainly at 50 Cross St Corrimal. Jim, Lena and eldest son John ran a catering business in the Wollongong district and in 1987 son John was a partner in Bills Sports Bar Corrimal. James like his older brother Alfred was fairly short and stocky and Lena was tall and thin. They had four children: Ave Maria (1907-1984 married Robert Michael POSITTI), William (1909-?), Mary and John. James died on 17 Mar 1955 registered in Wollongong ('late of Corrimal'), and Lavina died in 1969 (registered in Sydney).

James died on 17 Mar 1955, and Lovina Jane on 4 Feb 1969. They are buried together at Bulli General Cemetery.

Headstone of James Samuel HALL

Bulli General cemetery

In Loving Memory of

My Dear Husband and Our Father

JAMES SAMUEL HALL

Died 17 March 1955 Aged 84 Years

Also Our Dear Mother

LOVINA JANE HALL

Died 4th Feb 1969 Aged 92 Years

4. Edward HALL (1874-1952). Born Yass, NSW 1874. Informant on his father's death certificate living at Koorawatha, NSW in 1912. He was a surveyor and travelled through western NSW as a young man. Around 1908 he moved to Koorawatha (where his parents lived) and operated a general store in Boorowa St Koorawatha. He never married and died in 1952 in Cowra (or perhaps Koorawatha).

5. John HALL (1875-1950). Born Yass, NSW 1875. He married Eliza Jane Clarke (1889 Yass - 1954 Yass) in 1907 at Yass and they lived in the Yass district for the remainder of their lives. In the 1936 NSW Electoral Roll John is described as a grazier, and the family is living on O'Brien St, North Yass. Their only child Arthur James HALL (1909 Yass - 1979 Yass) married Stella BALLARD in 1932 - nothing known of their family. John died on 02 Feb 1950, and Stella exactly four years later on 02 Feb 1954. Buried together in the Church of England section of Yass cemetery.

6. Arthur HALL (1877-1899). He accidentally shot himself while 'rabbiting' near Devils Pass (adjacent to the family property at Yass River).

He was not married. He is buried next to his grandfather Samuel HALL in Yass Church of England cemetery.

Martha was buried at Rookwood cemetery in the Catholic section (Mortuary Mortuary 2, Area 10, Grave 2049), suggesting she had converted to Catholicism (her brother Alfred did also).

Headstone of Martha Emily FAHEY (nee HALL)

Rookwood Necropolis

In Loving Memory of
MARTHA EMILY FAHEY
Who Died 10th April 1930,
Aged 45 Years
R.I.P.

Headstone of Cyril HALL

Koorawatha Cemetery

In Loving Memory of
Our Dear Mother & Father
MARGARET HALL
Died 19th June 1851
Aged 59 years
CYRIL HALL
Died 16th July 1948
Aged 58 years
R.I.P

14.Walter Henry HALL (1893-1950). Born Yass, NSW 1891. Enlisted in Australian Infantry Forces in early 1916, he served in the 45th Battalion AIF. His enlistment records show he'd previously failed the entry test for the Australian Light Horse, and he gave his mother as his next of kin (Mrs Eliza Hall, Koorawatha). Enlistment also reveals he was 5' 8" tall, dark complexion, grey eyes and dark brown hair. He was assigned to B Company of the 45th Battalion AIF. He was wounded in France, shot in the leg that resulted in a fractured femur, and returned to Australia in 1918. This injury resulted in a limp for the rest of his life. Walter lived most of his life in Koorawatha, at one time he was a postman. He married Marjorie A DONGES (1902 Young - 1930 Young) in 1928 - she died in child-birth in 1930 leaving a daughter Maureen. Walter died at Concord Repatriation Hospital in 1951 after finally losing his leg, and is buried at Rookwood Cemetery, Anglican Section (Section 16, Grave No. 0003673). Andrew Hall noted that his headstone appeared to be relatively new, and was probably installed by the War Graves Commission.

Headstone of Walter Henry HALL

Rookwood Anglican Cemetery

1937 Private
W.H. HALL
45 Battalion
12th February 1950 Age 55
His Duty Fearlessly
And Nobly Done
Ever Remembered

Headstone of Ethel May HODGES (nee HALL)

Rookwood Anglican Cemetery

In Loving Memory Of
A Devoted Wife & Mother
ETHEL MAY HODGES
Died 5th Sept 1967
Aged 71 Years
Devoted Husband & Father
JOSEPH WILLIAM HODGES
Died 13th July 1983
Aged 86 Years

Attached is a plaque:

Ashes of PAUL ALBERT HODGES

Son of Joseph & Ethel Hodges

Loved Companion of Sylvia

Beloved Father of Gregory, Trevor, Lesa, Robert

2.11.26 - 15.1.2000 Rest in Peace

Death certificate of Catherine CONLON nee LOWRY (abt 1807 - 1877)

2010-11-25T16:31:00.000-05:00

I don't know much about Catherine CONLON prior to her death - at least nothing direct. I can infer a great deal from her death certificate (but not as much as I'd like), and there aren't many other opportunities to learn more.

She was born in Ireland about 1807 (and that's all I know), presumably Catholic (she married one), and married there about 1824, so given the time-frame the chances for records in Ireland on any of those events are very slim. Her death notice in the Sydney Morning Herald states that she was 'formerly of Kinvara, Galway' where her husband was also from, but the language is slightly ambigouous (see below).

She arrived in Australia in 1834 on the convict ship 'Fairlee' as the wife of a soldier in the 50th Regiment - soldiers and their families weren't entered on arrival indents so I don't know anything about this event, and any children they had with them.
What I do know is that Catherine gave birth to children in 1839 (John J) and 1841 (Michael J) in Wollongong, both of whom were baptised Roman Catholic by Michael Rigney, and these records are retained in the NSW BDM indexes. Likewise, they had another baptised in Sydney in 1844 (Thomas J), so some time between 1841 and 1844 the family moved from Wollongong to Sydney. Michael's baptism entry records the mother's maiden name as LOWRY, though no other information about the family (abode, occupation, etc) is entered. Yet I also know they had other children during this time - another son William died in 1879 and his computed year of birth is 1836 - perhaps the family were elsewhere in the colonies given Patrick's regimental duties.

I know nothing else directly of Catherine from records prior to her death, except that we can assume from death announcements in 1861 and 1870 that she was living with her husband in Sydney at 52 Parramatta-street (later George-street West, then Broadway) in the area where Blackwattle creek runs under what is now called Broadway. Patrick died in 1870. Some time after his death she moved to her son Thomas' home in Little Devonshire-street, Surry Hills where she died on 23 May 1877.

NSW Death Certificate 1877/000822
Date and place of death: 23 May 1877 Little Devonshire St
Name and occupation: Catherine Conlon
Sex and age: female 70 years
Cause of death: Old age
Duration of last illness: -
Medical attendant: -
When he last saw deceased: -
Name and occupation: -
Name and occupation of father: David Lowry, Farmer
Informant: Michael J Conlon, Son, Broughton St Glebe
Particulars of registration: E March? 23 May 1877, Sydney
When and where buried: 24 May 1877, Catholic Petersham
Name of undertaker: J.G. Shying + Co.
Names and religion of Minister: -
Names of witnesses: George Shying, William Stanford?
Where born and how long n the Australasian Colonies or states: Ireland, 43 years N.S.W.
Place of marriage, age and to whom: Ireland, 17, Patrick Conlon
Children of marriage:
4 males, 3 females living
1 male, 3 females deceased

Her death notice:

The Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday 24 May 1877

DEATHS
CONLON - May 23, at the residence of her son, Thomas, Little Devonshire-street, Surry Hills. Catherine Conlon, aged 70 years, relict of the late Patrick Conlon, of Parramatta-street, and formerly of Kinvara, county of Galway, Ireland, and mother of William, John, Michael and Thomas Conlon, of this city. She was a resident of New South Wales for forty-three years. Requescent in peace.
The final mystery relates to the children of Patrick and Catherine Conlon. Her husband's death certificate contains no information on their children. Her death certificate states that as of 1877 her children were:
4 males, 3 females living
1 male, 3 females deceased

This is 11 children in total, presumably born in Ireland (perhaps also elsewhere if the family were allowed to travel with Patrick and the regiment as some were) and New South Wales. Prior to 1856, civil registration of births, deaths and marriages in New South Wales did not occur, so the NSW BDM indexes before that time are a collation of remaining church records. Irish records (for children prior to 1833) are sparse.

I am aware of the following six children based on NSW records and newspapers:

Catherine CONLON. Born abt 1833, died 13 Oct 1861 San Francisco, California, USA. The only record for her is her death notice in the SMH, indicating her age at death and that she married James Phillips - no record in NSW of this marriage.
The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842-1954) (about)
Monday 6 January 1862DEATHS. On the 13th October, at San Francisco, Catherine, the beloved wife of James Phillips, aged 28 and fourth daughter of Patrick Conlon of Parramatta-street, Sydney, after a long and painful illness, which she bore with Christian fortitude. Galway papers please copy.

William CONLON. Born abt 1836 NSW, died 13 Apr 1879 Chippendale, NSW. No baptism entry in NSW BDM, however his marriage announcement notes that he is a 'native of the colony'
The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842-1954)
Wednesday 11 May 1859
MARRIAGES. On the 2nd instant, by special license, at St Mary's Cathedral, by the Rev. J.E. Gourbellion, Mr William Conlon, of Parramatta-street, to Miss Margaret Walsh, of George-street South, both natives of the colony.
A wheelwright, he died in 1879 in his home on Wattle-street, Chippendale, NSW aged 44 and his death announcement noted his father as Patrick of Parramatta-street.

Jane CONLON. Born abt 1837. Baptism in NSW BDM indexes, nothing further known at this stage.

John Joseph CONLON. Born 16 Oct 1839 Wollongong NSW, died 7 Sep 1904. Baptised 30 Nov 1839 at Wollongong as John, son of Patrick & Catherine Conlon, by John Rigney, witnesses Henry Boggs and Margaret Bourke. Married Ann ALLEYN in 1870. Died on 7 Sep 1904 at Canley Vale, NSW 'whilst on a visit' and his death announcement lists him as 'third son of Patrick Conlon'.

Michael Joseph CONLON. Born 24 Sep 1841 Wollongong NSW, died 26 Nov 1913 Glebe NSW. Baptised 31 Oct 1841 at Wollongong as Michael, son of Patrick CONNELLAN & Catherine nee LOWRY, by John Rigney, witnesses John Larkin and Eleanor Kenny. Married Ellen Teresa ALLEYN at St. Mary's Cathedral, Sydney 29 Jun 1865, occupation tobacconist, but ran a pottery business in Glebe from that time onwards. Died 26 Nov 1913 at Alexander Rd, Glebe, NSW. Marriage and death certiicates confirm parents.

Thomas Joseph CONLON. born 1843 Sydney NSW, died 12 Apr 1913 Glebe NSW. Born at George-street West in 1843 (then Parramatta-street, according to death notice). Married Harriet WILD at St. Joseph's Church, Newtown, NSW on 22 Aug 1869.
The Sydney Morning Herald
Monday 14 April 1913
CONLON. - April 12, at his residence, 100 Glebe-street, Glebe, Thomas Joseph (Stoney) Conlon, in his 70th year (born at George-street West in 1843), leaving a wife and three sons and three daughters to mourn their loss ; and last beloved brother of Mr. M. J. Conlon, of Glebe, the youngest son of the late Patrick Conlon, who arrived in this colony as a member of the 50th Regiment in the ship Fairlee, in 1834. R.I.P.

Other POSSIBLE children:
Ellen CONLON. Death registered in 1873 in NSW BDM, parents Patrick and Catherine and her death was registered in Sydney.

The Will of Samuel William Hyde Alleyn (abt1803 - 1854)

2010-11-22T22:14:00.000-05:00

My ancestor Samuel William Hyde Alleyn (or Alleyne, and sometimes written Allen) came from Golden, Tipperary in Ireland with his family in 1850 on the 'Thetis', and died in 1854 (http://thehistoryofmatt.blogspot.com/2009/10/ive-previously-written-on-my-ancestor.html). Given the paucity of Irish records and my desire to learn more about the Alleyn family, my mum kindly ordered his probate records (Will and associated documents) which I'v transcribed here.

I've transcribed the Will. Along with it are a series of affadavits related to the Will - rather than transcribe these I've given a summary of each letter. The period between when Samuel died and the probate was settled was quite a long time - 1854 to 1872.

The Will itself, like all most other documents in folded with writing on the other side.

The Will of Samuel William Hyde Alleyn

Outside:
"Dated 3rd day of June 1854. Will of Samuel William Hyde Allen, Jas. Cahil Solicitor"

Inside:
"In the name of God Amen. This is the last Willand Testament of me Samuel William Hyde Allen of the City of Sydneyin the Colony of New South Wales, Butcher. Whereas I am entitled after the decease of the present Proprietor to an Estate five? lives Renewable for ever in a property situated near Fermoy in the County of Cork in that part of Great Britain and Ireland called Ireland known as the ~~"Coringa Estate"~~ Creagh and Templenoe. And whereas I am desirous to make provision for my children after my family decease. I do hereby give devise and bequeath unto Stanley Bourchier of ~~Stanley~~ Cecil Street in the City of Limerick and James Macnish of said City of Sydney, Medical Doctor, executors hereby appointed by me all my right title and interest in the said Property to be holden by them upon the following purposes And upon none other that is to say to permit and suffer my Son William Allen to enter upon same and to receive the rents ??? and profits thereof when and so soon as he shall have given legal charges upon same one fix the sum of Five hundred pounds to my Daughter Elizabeth McGrath wife to Michael McGrath of the said City of Sydney one for the sum of Five hundred pounds to my Daughter Ellen Allen one for a like sum of Five hundred pounds to my Son Samuel Allen one for a like sum of Five hundred pounds to my Daughter Ann Allen and one for a like sum of Five hundred pounds to my Daughter Mary Allen ^together with a like sum of Five hundred pounds to my wife Mary Allen {inserted afterwards}. And I hereby revoke all former Will or Wills by me at any time heretofore made and published In witness whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name this 3rd day of June in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty four.
{signed} Sam Allyn
Signed and published in he presence of us who in the presence of Testator and each other have scubscribed our names as witnesses
James Cahil
Henry J.S. Bowdler
John McGrath"

The Will was dated the same month as Samuel's death, suggested he was unwell and aware that it was time to settle his affairs. His occupation was butcher, and his son William Placid ALLEYN carried on the same occupation in Glebe later on. The claims appear grand - that he was due to inherit considerable property in Ireland. No mention was made of any property in Sydney where the family lived. I will write a future entry on the Alleyn family in Tipperary and the possible connection to the property in Cork.

A good deal of information is contained in the attached affadavits. They are not numbered, but are here only to aid in summarising them.

1. Petition of James Macnish of Paddington
The document is folded, with writing on the outside as follows:
"In the Supreme Court of New South Wales Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction In the Will of Samuel William Hyde Allen or Alleyne deceased.
Petition Filed 25 March 1872 Relodged 13 April 72
18th April 1872. This day the Petition Probate of the last Will and Testament of Samuel William Hyde Allen or Alleyne deceased was granted to James Macnish, one of the executors in the said Will named (leave being reserved to Stanley Bourchier the other executor also in the said Will named to come in and prove) Testator died the - June 1854. Goods sworn at 50 pounds. Probate dated the same day as granted."

The cover note highlights the period of time from the death of Samuel Alleyn (1854) till the Will was 'proved' in 1872 (a period of 18 years). The letter itself, dated 14 Mar 1872, is a petition by James Macnish of Paddington near Sydney stating that 1. Samuel William Hyde Allen or Alleyne died on the 22nd of June 1854, 2. that Macnish was an executor of the Will, 3. the Samuel was 'possessed of personal property in the Colony', and 4. that Macnish has pulished his intention to apply for probate of the last Will and Testament of Samuel. The application was granted.

2. Affadavit by Macnish 'as to value of assets'
The letter states that that estate and effects of Samuel is under the value of 50 pounds.

3. Affadavit by Henry Jenkins Stabeley Bowdler
The letter is from "Henry Jenkins Stabele Bowdler of North Shore near Sydney in the Colony of New South Wales Clerk in the Government Treasury" stated that 1. he confirmed the last Will and Testement of Samuel, 2. the Will was executed and signed in his presence, and the presence of James Cahill then of Sydney but now deceased.

4. A 'Further Affadavit' by Henry Jenkins Stabeley Bowdler
This follow-up affadavit dated 12 April 1872 by Henry Jenkins Stabele Bowdler swore that 1. he was a witness on the Will, 2. that the erasure of the word 'Coringa' on the tenth line of the Will and its replacement by 'Creah and Templenoe' and the substitution of the word 'Cecily' for 'Staine' on the thirteenth line and the insertion of the note granting five hundred pounds to his wife, were made at the time of the preparation of the Will.

5. Affadavit by James Macnish, Executor
Affadavit of James Macnish stating 1. that he was an Executor of Samuel's Will, and that 2. he will pay all debts and legacies of the deceased as far as the deceased's effects will extend, and will settle the accounts of the Will.

6. Affadavit of Death by Mary O'Loughlin (formerly Alleyn), widow
The affadavit by "Mary O'Loughlin, wife of Michael O'Loughlin of Sydney in the Colony of New South Wales labourer" states that 1. Samuel was her former husband and that he departed this life in our about June of 1854. The affadavit is not signed by Mary, but bears her mark, indicating that she could not write. Mary married Michael O'Loughlin in February 1855 (eight months after Samuel's death) at St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney - curiously, the parish transcript in the NSW BDM records shows her name as Mary HAMMOND - her maiden name, rather than her widowed name of Mary ALLEYNE/ALLEYN/ALLEN.

7. Affadavit of publication
Affadavit signed by Wiliam Francis Brennan of Elizabeth Street Sydney Clerk to Deane and Deane (solicitors firm), confirming that 1. a notice had been published in the NSW Government Gazette that probate would shortly be claimed, and 2. that no correspondence had been received related to this notice.

It is not explained in the above affadavits WHY there was a delay of eighteen years between the death of Samuel and the probate being approved. It may be that correspondence back and forth to Ireland establishing the ownership status of the property 'Creagh and Templenoe' in Cork, and the contested family lineage, chewed up time. It is surprising in this context that Samuel did not state his lineage (or parents) in laying claim on this property in Ireland (why would someone expecting to inherit property move to New South Wales?). This aspect will be explored in a future post, particularly given the full name Samuel William Hyde Alleyn.

Practically speaking, it appears that the above claim came to nothing, as the executors attested that the total estate was valued at under 50 pounds. As I noted above, Samuel's son William was a butcher in Glebe so probably didn't inherit land capable of supporting the Will's requests. On another positive note, the Will lists out the children of Samuel and Mary, confirming marriages. I haven't scanned the Will as it was A3 sized, but if anyone would like to see it let me know and I'll scan and post it.

The CONLON plot at Rookwood Cemetery

2010-11-18T22:55:00.000-05:00

When I was visiting Sydney last year I spent some time at Roodwood Cemetery in the 'Necropolis', the Catholic section of the cemetery. Among the headstones on my list were a couple of CONLON headstones, including my ancestor Michael Joseph CONLON (1841-1913) and his wife Ellen Teresa nee ALLEYN (abt 1845-1902) and associated headstone. I actually found a cluster of headstones from the extended family (including two of Michael's brothers). It has taken me some time to decide the best way to lay out the information on the headstones, as I wanted to demonstrate how they were arrange and highlight the fact that the information on the headstones helped reveal family connections.

August 2009. In visiting the grave of Michael J. CONLON, I found that the family plot abuts the plots of his two brothers, John and Thomas. The day was bright and cold, resulting in considerable glare. Thomas Conlon’s headstone had fallen over, and was carefully turned face up (on a second visit) to allow photographing and transcription. Along with photos, several videos of the plots were taken. The headstone layout is shown in the scheme below, and lettering overlaid on photos. Transcriptions are included with each headstone.

The Rookwood Necropolis (Catholic Cemetery) burial index (http://www.catholiccemeteries.org.au/rookwood/rookwood.html) lists Michael Conlon's burial as:

Surname Conlon Type Burial
First Name Michael JInterred Date 27/11/1913
Mortuary Mortuary 1
Area 3 Mon Block 11
Grave 30

On arrival it was immediately clear that a number of other Conlon graves were nearby, and while not all the relationships were immediately obvious, I plotted these in a diagram.

Here I show the approximate location on the Rookwood map, along with the layout of the graves. I've lettered each grave to for reference, and the number at bottom of each box shows the grave numbering from the burial index.

Remarkably, the headstones can be seen using Google maps (maps.google.com.au) thanks to the shadows (sun is setting in west, shadows pointing to the east). The exact site is confirmed by the huge fallen Thomas Conlon headstone (e). Based on the position of the fallen headstone this satellite was taken prior to Aug 2009, as we turned the huge headstone over at that time (it took three people) to reveal the inscriptions.

I also prepared the following three views with labelled headstones as a guide, using photos taken prior to transcription - note that headstone e had fallen face down at some point. Headstones b and e were well over six feet tall.

To show the layout I also filmed a walk-around of the main cluster of headstones.

I then transcribed each headstone (in order of the lettering used above). The headstones reveal a great deal of information regarding family relationships, and the main three headstones are those of three brothers who all lived in and around the Glebe area, sons of Patrick CONLON from Kinvara, Galway of the 50th Regiment of Foot (abt 1793 - 1870) and his wife Catherine nee LOWRY (abt 1807-1877). The brothers were their third, fourth and fifth John Joseph Conlon (1839 Wollongong NSW - 1904 Canley Vale NSW), Michael Joseph Conlon (1841 Wollongong NSW - 1913 Glebe NSW), and Thomas Joseph Conlon (1844 Sydney NSW - 1913 ??? NSW).

In each case I have listed the transcription in italics, with comments where necessary on family connection to the above three brothers.

Transcriptions of headstones, Rookwood (Catholic) Necropolis, Area 3 Block 11

a
In Loving Memory Of
ELLEN TERESA
MACKEY
WHO DIED 1ST APRIL 1907
AGED 1 YEARS & 9 MONTHS
GRAND-DAUGHTER OF M.J. & E.T. CONLON

Notes. Daughter of Anne Jane Conlon and her husband Charles Mackey. Cause of death show she drowned at her grandfather's pottery works, described in Sydney Morning Herald, 3 Apr 1907, p9: "A CHILD DROWNED. A report has been furnished to the City Coroner regarding the death by drowning of a 17-month-old child named Eileen Theresa... lately living with her parents at Broughton St, Glebe. It appears that the child was missed on Monday at about 6 a.m. Upon a search being made, her mother found her lying dead in a pool in a pottery yard. The pool contained a few inches depth of water".

b
In Loving Memory Of
OUR DEAR SON
HAMMOND BENEDICT CONLON
WHO DIED 8ND JANUARY 1893
AGED 11 YEARS 7 MONTHS
Death ?
Also In Fond Memory Of
MAY JULIA
WIFE OF HUBERT JUDD
AND BELOVED DAUGHTER OF
M.J. & E.T. CONLON GLEBE
WHO DIED NOV 11TH 1900
AGED 21 YEARS ? MONTHS
LOWRY MELITUS CONLON
BELOVED INFANT SON OF
M.J. & E.T. CONLON
BORN 22ND MAY 1891
DIED 23RD FEBRUARY 1892
Also
MICHAEL JOSEPH CONLON
BORN AT WOOLLONGONG 27TH SEP 1841
DIED 26TH NOVEMBER 1913 AGED 72 YEARS
R.I.P.

Underneath:
Family Grave Of
M.J. CONLON OF 20 BROUGHTON ST GLEBE

c.
In Loving Memory Of
ELLEN TERESE
DEARLY BELOVED WIFE OF
M.J. CONLON
A NATIVE OF GOLDEN CO. TIPPERARY
IRELAND
DIED 5TH MARCH 1902
AGED 54 YEARS

Also their last Beloved Son
MICHAEL JOSEPH
DIED 17TH SEPT 1902
AGED 27 YEARS AND 9 MONTHS
MAY HIS SOUL REST IN PEACE

Notes. Born Ellen Terese ALLEYN or ALLEYNE (abt 1845 Golden, Tipperary, Ireland - 1902 Glebe NSW), arrived in NSW with her parents on 'Thetis' in 1850. Married M.J. Conlon at St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney, 1865. The Sydney Morning Herald, Sat 8 Mar 1902: "THE LATE MRS. CONLON. The funeral of the late Mrs. Ellen Teresa Conlon, wife of Mr. M.J. Conlon, of Broughton-street, Glebe, which took place yesterday afternoon, was numerously attended. Amongst those who were present were Mr. and Mrs. F.W. Priestly (daughter and son-in-law, Mr. M.J. Conlon, jun., and the Misses Ann, Jane and Violet G. Conlon (children), Mr. John Conlon, Mr. and Mrs. J.W. Dickinson, Mr. and Mrs Thomas J. Conlon, Mr. and Mrs. Margaret Conlon (brothers and sisters) Messrs. J.J. and Albert Conlon, Mr. and Mrs. S.H. Walker, Mr. and Mrs. John Reedy, Mr. and Mrs. W. Walker, and Mr. and Mrs. John McGrath (nephews and nieces), the Hon. R. Fowler, M.L.C., Mr. R. Fowler, jun., and Mr. Michael Chapman. The services at the grave side in Rookwood Cemetery wree conducted by the Rev. Father Coonan. Messrs. Coffill and ? had charge of the arrangements.". According to SMH of 20 Sep 1902, son Michael Joseph Conlon died after an illness of six days.

d. Headstone deteriorated.

In Loving Memory Of
EMELINE
? ? OF JOHN MACKEY
DIED ? ? 1919
AGED 58 YEARS R.I.P.

Notes. Emeline MACKEY nee EUGENE (abt 1861 - 1919 Newtown NSW), mother-in-law of Anne Jane CONLON (daughter of M.J. Conlon) above. Note that her husband John MACKEY (abt 1852 - 1930 Randwick NSW) is buried in same grave (though it does not appear on headstone). Note also that this is plot number "30.5" suggesting it was allowed to be added after the cemetery area had been set.

e. Headstone had fallen down, was overturned to transcribe.
In Loving Memory Of
MY DEAR HUSBAND
THOMAS JOSEPH CONLON
WHO DIED 12TH APRIL 1913 AGED 70 YEARS
ALSO HARRIETT CONLON
WIFE OF THE ABOVE
WHO DIED 25TH MAY 1936 AGED 93 YEARS
ALSO ARTHUR BELOVED SON OF ABOVE
WHO WAS DROWNED AT SAN SOUCI 26TH JAN 1902
AND WHOSE BODY WAS NEVER FOUND
ALSO ROSE FLORENCE
DEARLY BELOVED WIFE OF JOSEPH CONLON
WHO DIED 21ST AUGUST 1911 AGED 31 YEARS
ALSO THEIR INFANT DAUGHTER ALMA
ALSO MARGARET WILD
WHO DIED 20TH SEPTEMBER 1905 AGED 85 YEARS
ALSO EMILY A CONLON
WHO DIED 28TH NOV 1947 AGED 76 YEARS
R.I.P.

Notes. Harriett Conlon nee WILD (1844 Maitland NSW - 1936 Petersham NSW) marred Thomas Joseph Conlon in Newtown in 1869. Death of Arthur described in Sydney Morning Herald, Mon 27 Jan 1902: "A YOUNG MAN DROWNED AT SANS SOUCI. Yesterday evening a young man named Arthur Conlon, a resident of Glebe-street, Glebe, lost his life by drowning at Sans Souci. He was one of a fishing party in a steam launch, and by some means his hat fell overboard. In endeavouring to recover it he fell overboard and fell into the water. He was not able to swim, and sank almost immediately. Two of his companions, J. Denmeade and H. Craig, jumped overboard and attempted to rescue hum, but without avail. In the effort to save Conlon, Denmeade almost lost his own life, and was rescued in an unconscious condition, the launch put to land, and Dr. Lamrock, who was telephoned for, was promptly in attendance, and restored Denmeade to consciousness. Conlon's body had not been recovered up to a late hour last night". Margaret WILD (1820 - 1905) mother of Harriett above.
Monday 27 January 1902
A YOUNG MAN DROWNED AT SANS SOUCI
Yesterday evening a young man named Arthur Conlon, a resident of Glebe-street, Glebe, lost his life by drowning at Sans Souci. He was one of a fishing party in a steam launch, and by some means his hat fell overboard. In endeavouring to recover it he fell overboard and fell into the water. He was not able to swim, and sank almost immediately. Two of his companions, J. Denmeade and H. Craig, jumped overboard and attempted to rescue hum, but without avail. In the effort to save Conlon, Denmeade almost lost his own life, and was rescued in an unconscious condition, The launch put to land, and Dr. Lamrock, who was telephoned foor, was promptly in attendance, and restored Denmeade to consciousness. Conlon's body had not been recovered up to a late hour last night.

f.
IN LOVING MEMORY OF
JOHN JOSEPH CONLON
WHO DIED 7TH SEP 1904
AGED 65 YEARS
R.I.P.
Also JOHN BEDE
ELDEST SON OF THE ABOVE
DIED 6TH JULY 1908 AGED 31 YEARS
Also ANN BELOVED WIFE OF
JOHN JOSEPH CONLON
DIED 18TH MARCH 1910, AGED 71 YEARS
Also JOHN REIDY
BELOVED HUSBAND OF
ANNIE REIDY
DIED 1ST MAY 1930 AGED 63 YEARS
Also ANNIE REIDY
DIED 8TH DEC 1930 AGED 59 YEARS
MY JESUS MERCY
R.I.P. R.JONES

Notes. John Bede Conlon committed suicide (http://thehistoryofmatt.blogspot.com/2010/10/john-bede-conlon-1877-1908.html). Ann Conlon nee ALLEYN or ALLEYNE, sister to Ellen (wife of M.J. Conlon). Anne REIDY was Anne CONLON, daughter of J.J. Conlon - she married John Reidy in Glebe in 1894.

g. Small plaque attached to f above.
IN LOVING MEMORY OF
ELLEN THERESE DAVIS
1903-1986

Notes. Ellen Therese DAVIS nee CONLON (1903 - 1986) was the daughter of John Bede CONLON (grave f) and Catherine BESTON. She married David J DAVIS in 1923 in Glebe. This is the most recent burial in the plot area by over 50 years.

h.
MELITUS JOSEPH
DIED ?9TH FEB 1872 AGED ? MONTHS
JANE EMMA
DIED ? 1877 4 YEARS 7 MONTHS
Beloved Children of
M J & E T CONLON
OF 20 BROUGHTON ST GLEBE SYDNEY
GODS WILL BE DONE

Notes. Sydney Morning Herald of 3 May 1883 notes: " - In loving remembrance of Jane Emma, the dearly beloved child of M J and E T Conlon, of Broughton-street, Glebe, who was accidentally burned on 9th April and died on 3rd May, 1877, aged 4 years and 4 months. "Suffer little children to come unto Me, for of such is the kingdom of Heaven".

i.
In Memory Of
The Beloved Children of
THOMAS & HARRIETT CONLON
THOMAS DANIEL
BORN 17TH MAY 1870 DIED 11TH AUGUST 1871
AND WILLIAM PATRICK
BORN 30TH JULY 1875 DIED 12TH FEBRUARY 1880
THY WILL BE DONE

John Bede CONLON (1877-1908)

2010-10-26T20:57:00.000-04:00

Not a direct ancestor but in the CONLON family, I was perusing the NSW Register of Coroner's Inquests and found an entry for John Bede CONLON:

Sydney City Coroner: Registers of Inquests and Inquiries, 1908
John Bede Conlon
31. N.S.Wales No autopsy
City Coroners Court
I find that the said John Bede Conlon at Prince Alfred Hospital on the 6th day of July 1908 died from hemorrhage from a wound in his throat inflictted by himself on the same day in Mangan Lane Darlington

Sure enough the Sydney Morning Herald ran a description of the sad event.

The Sydney Morning Herald
Tuesday 7 July 1908
SUICIDE IN DARLINGTON.
EX-PUGILIST CUTS HIS THROAT. - BORROWS A BARBER'S RAZOR.
Considerable excitement was occasioned in Darlington yesterday morning at about 9 30, when John Conlon, 32, an ex-pugllist and footballer, recently residing in Catherine-street, Forest Lodge, cut his throat with a razor In Mangan-lane, off Darllngton-road.
At 20 minutes past 9 Conlon entered James W. Smith's barber's shop, Cleveland-street Darlington, and asked for a packet of cigarettes. While Smith was getting the cigarettes Conlon went to a bench and picked up a razor. Smith told him to put it down, but Conlon made an offensive remark and walked out of the shop with the razor in his hand. Sydney W. McIntosh followed him into Darllngton road and saw him turn into Mangan-lane Just as Mr. McIntosh turned into the lane Conlon was in the act of cutting his throat with the razor. Mr McIntosh attempted to take the razor from him, but Conlon shoved him away and then cut his own throat.
The Redfern Police were communicatod with, and Constable Mooney conveyed Conlon to the Prince Alfred Hospital, where he was admitted, but died shortly afterwards.
Deceased who was depressed of late, made an attempt to take his llfe on Sundav night by stabbing himself with a corkscrew. He was admitted to the observatlon ward at Prlnce Alfred Hospital at 5:15 yesterday morning suffering from a slight wound, but escaped from there shortly after belng brought in.
Conlon was well known in sportlng circles, and was at one time champion middle-weight boxer of New South Wales.

John was the son of John Joseph CONLON and Ann nee ALLEYNE, born 1877 in Glebe NSW. Sadly (but not mentioned in the article), John was married, to Catherine BESTON in 1899 in Sydney. They had at least two children, Mary (born 1900 Glebe) and Ellen Therese (1903 Glebe - 1986).

Despite a ruling of suicide, he was buried at Rookwood Necropolis (Catholic cemetery), Section 3 (m1) Monumental Block 11 grave 24. I do not have a photo of the headstone yet.

John Moloney's application to teach

2010-10-25T13:52:00.001-04:00

I thought I'd posted this but looking through my blog it appears I did not. After John MOLONEY disembarked from the 'Sirocco' on 8th October 1864, he married Ellen MEYRICK on the 11th October 1864 at St Mary's Cathedral. On the 3rd of November in the same year John applied to become a teacher. My relative Chris Moloney found John's application letter in his education department file, and I have transcribed it here.

Transcript
348. Statement of Mr. John Moloney, a candidate for a situation under the Board of National Education.
Until I was thirteen years of age I received my education at home by the aid of a private tutor. I was then for two years a pupil in the Nicker National School, and afterwards for two years in a classical school in the village of Hospital. The last year of my school education was at the St. John’s National School at Limerick. I was taught Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, Grammar, Geography, Geometry, Algebra, Trigonometry, Bookkeeping, Latin, Greek and French. When I left school I had a good knowledge of these subjects. In a period of nine months I was a student in the Jesuit College in Limerick. The opportunities I have had for study since have been devoted to general reading. I have therefore to some extent fallen off in technical acquirements.
From the time that I left college to the date of my leaving Ireland, namely on the 1st June last, my only occupation was that of farming. My certificate of character is signed by Mr R Hutchinson, Wine Merchant, Pitt Street, Sydney. I am not related to him. He has known me for about 20 days. I beg however, to refer to a certificate appended to my application, signed by Messrs Egan, R Forster, J Ryan, & A Milford, Members of Parliament.
I am now without occupation. I wish to become a teacher from the fact that I am unable to obtain any other congenial employment. I know from observation that the Teacher's office is one of difficulty and responsibility. I ?? apply to the National Board by the advice of Mr Hutchinson, and my knowledge of the National System in Ireland. I know the principle on which the National System is founded and also the course pursued in reference to training, examination and payment of candidates. I have the means of supporting myself and family during the period of training. I have never been in the position of an insolvent. I am willing to take a situation in the country.
Sydney, 3rd Novr 1964, John Moloney.

There are a number of points to make regarding his letter. It reveals his education in Ireland, and the notion that the family were relatively comfortable (privately tutored till 13) before schooling near to Dromalta where the family lived. It also mentions that following his education he was engaged in farming till he came to Australia aged 24. As a young boy John survived a time when the Irish potato famine resulted in a decline in population of 47% in the rural areas of Cappamore (where Dromalty was located) between 1841 and 1851.

The letter intimates that on arrival in Australia, John's first choice of occupation may not have been teacher as he states that he wishes to become a teacher because 'I am unable to find any other congenial appointment'. He is quite honest in stating that he farmed from the end of his education till he moved to Australia (about four years), probably back in Dromalta where Ellen lived nearby at Towerhill.

His application was supprted by a Hutchinson, wine merchant, though this is a connection John must have quickly made in Sydney as he states they had only known each other 20 days. Ralph Hutcinson, wine merchant, died in 1866 aged 46. The letter also includes a 'certificate' from four members of Parliament (not shown/found), though it is not clear what their connection is, and it may be that John simply walked the halls looking for support for his application, or that Hutchinson's connections led John there:
Egan: Born Windsor NSW, Member for Eden, wine merchant, Catholic
Forster: Born near Corfu (Regimental birth?), Member for New England, lawyer, Catholic
Milford: Born England, Member for Braidwood, Feb-Nov 1864 (only)
Ryan: There were two J Ryan's at the time, one from Tipp Ireland.

Based on John's letter a rough timeline can be constructed (age in brackets):

Born abt 1841, Dromalta, Limerick, Ireland to William and Mary Moloney
abt 1846 (5) brother William born, baptised 4 May 1846 at Cappamore RC Church
abt 1848 (7) sister Ellen born - followed John to Australia
till 1853 (13) privately tutored

abt 1854-1856 (13-14) attended Nicker National School - Nicker, Limerick is 2 kms south of Dromalta
abt 1857-1858 (15-16) attended classical school at Hospital, Limerick, abt 10 kms south of Dromalta
abt 1859 (17) attended St. John’s National School at Limerick (Limerick City)
abt 1860 (18) attended the newly opened (1859) Jesuit College in Limerick (City)
abt 1860 - 1 Jun 1864 (19-24) worked as a farmer
1863 Ellen Merrick (future wife) leaves for Australia
1 Jun 1864 left Ireland.
18 Jun 1864 (24) sailed from Plymouth for Sydney on the 'Sirocco', assisted immigrant, depositor Mary Callaghan

The CONLON family of Glebe

2010-10-20T12:06:00.000-04:00

I've been working quite a lot on my CONLON family line - Michael Joseph CONLON was the patriarch of my family line, but he also had three brothers who married, and so in the Glebe area there were a lot of Conlon's from the mid 1800's through to the early 1900's, not to mention sister who married with names such as ALLEYN, MACKEY, and others. A quick check of the Sydney directory shows there are no longer any in the area - perhaps not surprising given how much the area has gentrified.

As an example of just how many family members lived in the area, one can look at one of the funeral announcements in the Sydney Morning Herald. In the early 1900's, extended family would often place a funeral announcement also, giving an idea of just how strong family connections were. In my tree the CONLON family, Roman Catholics, seemed to have a large number of family members, and as Michael and Ellen CONLON had 10 children die in infancy or relatively young, there were a lot of funeral announcements.

As one example, Michael and Ellen's son Michael Joseph CONLON (1875 - 1902) died 17 Sep 1902 aged 27. His death notice was placed on page 1 of the Sydney Morning Herald, funeral announcements were on the back page.

Sydney Morning Herald, Thursday, 18 September 1902
DEATHS
Conlon - September 17, 1902, Michael Joseph, last and only beloved son of M.J. and the late Mrs E.T. Conlon, of 20 Broughton-street, Glebe, from bronco-pneumonia, aged 27 years, after 6 days illness.

He was buried at Rookwood Cemetery the day after his death, and the Sydney Morning Herald of Thursday, 18 September 1902 carried the funeral announcements. His mother had died earlier in the same year. The 'funeral' started by leaving the residence of his father Michael Joseph CONLON, whose home and pottery works were on Broughton Street in Glebe. I am not aware of practices at the time, but am assuming that the mourners and coffin made their way to the nearby Mortuary Station and took the train to Rookwood Necropolis (the Catholic cemetery at Rookwood) where the funeral was held.

I've transcribed the first in full, then in the others stated the name of each advert and their stated relation to the deceased. After each one I've noted the family connection in italics, showing how useful death/funeral announcements can be when building a family tree.

Sydney Morning Herald, Thursday, 18 September 1902

CONLON - The friends of Mr. M.J. CONLON are respectfully invited to attend the Funeral of his late dearly loved SON, Michael Joseph ; to leave his residence, 20 Broughton-street Glebe, THIS AFTERNOON, at 1:30, for the Necroplis. COFFILL and COMPANY, Funeral Directors. Tel. 424.

Other notices that followed underneath were structured as above but summarized here:

Mr. and Mrs. F.W. PRIESTLY... their late beloved BROTHER: Ellen Teresa Conlon (1868-1937), sister of Michael Conlon, married Frederick William PRIESTLY (1867-1939) in 1887 at Glebe.

Mr. and Mrs. Charles MACKEY.... their late dearly loved BROTHER: Anne Jane Conlon (1877-1939), sister of Michael Conlon, married Charles MACKEY (1879-1961) in 1902 at Sydney.

Mr. and Mrs. John CONLON and FAMILY of 69 Glebe-street, Glebe.... their dearly beloved NEPHEW and COUSIN: John Joseph Conlon (1839-1904), uncle of the deceased and brother of Michael Joseph Conlon sr. Married Ann ALLEYN (abt 1836-1910) who was the sister of M.J. Conlon senior's wife - so two brothers married two sisters. John and Ann had at least four children.

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas J CONLON and FAMILY of 100 Glebe-street, Glebe... their dearly beloved NEPHEW: Thomas Joseph Conlon (1844-1913), uncle of the deceased and brother of Michael Joseph Conlon sr. Married Harriett WILD (1844-1936) at St. Joseph's Church, Newtown. They had at least nine children.

Mrs. Margaret CONLON and family and Mrs. M.J. PETERS and family, of Balfour-street.... their beloved NEPHEW: Balfour-street is in Chippendale, just over Parramatta Road/Broadway from Glebe. Margaret Conlon nee WALSH (1843-1918) was the widow of William CONLON (abt 1836-1879). They married at St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney in 1859 and had at least seven children. One of these was Mary Jane Conlon (1866-1936) who married John James PETERS in 1885.

Mrs. Frank and the late Mr. Frank CONLON and FAMILY of Dangar-place... their deceased beloved cousin: Dangar-place is in Chippendale, just over Parramatta Road/Broadway from Glebe. Frank was Francis Napoleon CONLON (1863-1902), who had died earlier in the same year, and was the son of William and Margaret CONLON (above). Francis married Catherine FLYNN (1865-1927), and they had at least seven children.

Mr. and Mrs. S.H. WALKER and FAMILY of Mitchell-street, Glebe... their deceased cousin: This is a slightly tricky one. Samuel Henry WALKER (1860-1940) was the son of Ann ALLEYNE (married to John Conlon above, her second husband) by her first husband Charles WALKER. She married Charles in 1856 at St Mary's Cathedral Sydney, had a number of children and it is assumed Charles died, as she married John Joseph Conlon in 1870. Samuel Henry WALKER married Maria MOCKLER in 1883 in Glebe.

Mr. and Mrs. Rowland EAGAR, of 91 Glebe-street, Glebe.... their dearly beloved deceased COUSIN: Rowland EAGAR (1872-1942) married Elizabeth A Conlon (1877-1947), the daughter of Wiliam Conlon and Margaret nee Walsh described above. They married in 1898 in Sydney. Rowland and Elizabeth had at least two children.

Mr. and Mrs. John REIDY, of 69 Glebe-street, Glebe.... their dearly beloved COUSIN: John REIDY (abt 1867-1930) married Anne M Conlon (1871-1930), the daughter of John Joseph Conlon and Ann Alleyn (described above). They married in 1894 in Glebe. They had at least two children.

Mr. and Mrs. Albert CONLON, of Mitchell-street, Glebe... their late departed COUSIN: Albert Richard Conlon (1880-1956) was the son of John Joseph Conlon and Ann nee Alleyn (described above). He married Catherine KEANE (?-?) in Sydney in 1901, and they had at least four children all registered in Glebe. Albert played Rugby League for Glebe and possibly also Australia, and his death is registered in Queensland.

Mr. and Mrs. John MCGRATH... their late dearly loved COUSIN: Uncertain. A Mary Conlon married a John McGrath in 1878 in Sydney, however the relationship is unclear. There was also a McGrath marriage on the Alleyn side of the family and this may be the connection.

Mr. and Mrs. T. BRADY and family.... their dearly beloved cousin: Thomas BRADY (abt 1859-1921) married Julia M ALLEYN (1857-1913) in 1882 in Glebe. Julia was the daughter of William Placid Alleyn (1833-1907 , brother of Ellen Teresa Conlon nee Alleyn) and Bridget nee McNamara (1838-1906). Bridget and William probably met on the 'Thetis' while travelling to Australia.

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Conlon, of 67 Glebe-street, Glebe... their late beloved COUSIN: Joseph J CONLON (1877-1963) was the son of Michael Joseph Conlon sr's brother Thomas J Conlon and Harriet nee Wild (described above). Joseph married Rose Florence NOLAN (abt 1880-1911) and they had at least six children.

Mr. and Mrs. W. Walker or Albert-street, Erskineville... their late beloved COUSIN: William WALKER (1862-?), brother to Samuel Henry WALKER described above.

A letter by Edward EWER

2010-10-12T23:11:00.000-04:00

It's not often, unless we are descended from the more educated classes, that we have the chance to read words written by our forebears - the possible exception being their Wills, drafted by solicitors at their side. Apparently Edward Ewer took issue with dogs. Edward was a litigous man, and appeared in Court several times prosecuting people, including a separate dispute with Brown described below.

The Sydney Monitor, Saturday 24 October 1835

"THE DOG ACT

To the Editor of the Sydney Monitor

SIR - I beg to call the attention of the public of New South Wales, to a grievance which I am labouring under, and for which I have, in a Court of Justice, been refused redress by one Magistrate. On the morning of Saturday, about half past five o'clock, on opening my gate, and proceeding to open my yard gate, my yard dog, which was duly registered, and was of considerable value, got into the street ; when Wardsman Brown, attached to the Parramatta Police Establishment, shot him in front of me ; the dog ran into the house, and was followed by Brown, through my shop, through my parlour, and into my bed room, where my wife was lying in a delicate state of health ; and it was certainly sufficient to alarm any woman to see the dog weltering in his blood, and followed by a Constable with a gun in his hand. Brown took off, not only his tail, but his collar, and I charged him before Captain Wright with the three following charges: an infringement of the act, a trespass on my premises, and robbery! he having, I swore, took away the collar with felonious intent. After my making a long affadavit before the Police Magistrate the case was dismissed. Although I am a freed man, is my house to entered by the Police without a warrant, and my bedroom not to be sacred from such an intrusion trusting the same will find a place in your paper,

I am, Sir,

Your humble servant, Edward Ewer

Church Street, Parramatta, October 19th 1935

According to Mr E's statement, which we have no reason to doubt, Brown undoubtedly acted in a very improper manner. If the dog was duly registered, the Constable could have no right to take the collar away. Ed."

What happened to Alexander Stewart?

2010-10-11T23:48:00.003-04:00

I've written previously about Edward EWER (1796-1859) and the residence in his home/store in 1828 (http://thehistoryofmatt.blogspot.com/2008/08/edward-ewer-and-family-1828-census.html). I'm interested in the fate of each person living with the Ewer family in 1828, particularly given that statistically few would have married and had children - who else will trace their story?

One of the residents at Edward's was Alexander Stewart, born about 1885 and with a Conditional Pardon, a convict on the 'Fortune'. According to the transportation register he was sentenced on 27 Jun 1811 to transportation for life - his place of conviction was ‘Court Martial Lavalette’. Convict musters also list his place of conviction as ‘Malta Court Martial’. He departed England and arrived in NSW 11 Jun 1816 per ‘Fortune’.

Alexander received an absolute pardon in 1820, which stated that he was originally from Argyleshire, which is in the west of Scotland ('place of origin'). It also listed his trial location as 'La Valette By A Court Martial' on 27 Jun 1811 indicating that he had been serving in the military. After his pardon it seems Alexander Stewart (free) was appointed an 'Ordinary Constable' (Sydney Gazette, 8 May 1823). In the Sydney Gazette of 15 Jan 1827, Alexander Stuart was listed to be dismissed as a Constable at Parramatta for 'improper conduct'.

In 1828 the Sydney Gazette reported that Alexander Stewart, in the employ of Mr. Dixon at the Sydney Steam Engine, had been woken in the servants quarters by an overseer Mr James Mackie, snatched up a pistol and fired twice at him. The pistol mis-fired (i.e. didn't fire), and Stewart was arrested. It appears he was acquitted, partly based on the argument that there was no evidence that the gun was loaded.

He was an employed servant to Edward Ewer by 1828 when the census was held. It seems that in 1829 Alexander Stewart attempted to shoot his employer (the second such charge).

The Sydney Gazette, Tuesday 17 November 1829

“Supreme Court, Monday November 16. Alexander Smith was indicted for presenting a loaded pistol at Edward Ewer and drawing the trigger, with intent to kill, to main, to disfigure, or to do some grievous bodily harm, at Paramatta, on the 15th of October last. – Guilty. Remanded.”

The Sydney Gazette, Thursday 19 November 1829

"Supreme Court (Before Mr. Justice Stephen). Alexander Smith, for maliciously shooting at Edward Ewer.... convicted on Monday, received a sentence of death this morning.”

NSW Archives Criminal Court Records show two entries for cases against Alexander Stuart:

16 Nov 1829 Alexander Stuart, Shooting with intent on Edward Ewer at Parramatta

16 Nov 1829 Alexander Stuart, Stealing from Edward Ewer at Parramatta. Not proceeded with.

Presumably if he was sentenced to death on the first charge, the second was not pursued.

The Sydney Gazette, Saturday 28 November 1829

“The case of a man named Steward, convicted of maliciously shooting at one Edward Ewer, of Parramatta, has excited considerable interest amongst some of the most influential inhabitants of the neighbourhood in which he resided. A memorial to the GOVERNOR, we understand, has been prepared, and numerously signed praying for a mitigation of sentence, grounded on certain circumstances connected with the former relative situation to each other of the prosecutor and the prisoner.”

I couldn't find whether or not Alexander Stewart received a mitigation of sentence, or was hanged, but this article has just come out on NLA which gives more details.

The Australian, Wednesday 9 December 1829

"to save, if possible, the man named Steward, who was tried lately on a charge of trying to shoot one Edward Ewer, a prisoner of the Crown, at Parramatta, from being hanged for this act, a memorial has been set on foot by a few respectable inhabitants of Parramatta, and signed by a number of Magistrates and one member of the Council. Steward has lived in the Colony for a number of years, and by industry and carefulness scraped together about 80 pounds, which he was saving in hopes of getting a free pardon, and returning to England. It is said that Steward lent the money to Ewer upon interest, some time ago, taking two notes for the amount. The notes were abstracted from his box, and a piece of calico substituted, the box being in Ewer's house, and having neither lock nor key. Upon Steward leaving Ewer's to take fresh lodgings, Ewer examined his box, and charged the man Steward with robbing him of the piece of Calico, upon which which Steward denied the deed most stoutly - a warm altercation ensued, and Steward taking up a pistol, snapped it at the other's breast.

The inhabitants are petitioning for an investigation to take place ; as it is said, we know not with what truth, Ewer still retains the 80 pounds lent to him by Steward. We hope the Council will not forget to look into this matter."

It appears that Alexander did receive a pardon of some sort. As the debate over the issue went back and forth the Sydney Monitor reported that Ewer was not totally at fault:

The Sydney Monitor, Saturday 2 January 1830

"Ewer and Stewart - the former was lately the prosecutor of that latter for pulling the trigger of a loaded pistol. Stewart was found guilty and is gone to Norfolk Island. An article in a late 'Australian' goes to impugn the character of the former. In defence of Ewer, we have received a letter vindicating his character and the justness of the sentence. It is too long for us to insert. Suffice it to say, Stewart not long ago made an attempt on the life of Mr. Mackie, son of Mr. Mackie, an old and respectable colonist, and whom humanity alone prevented from prosecuting Stewart for the attempt."

So he went to Norfolk Island, a miserable place. Records show him revealing a Certificate of Freedom in September 1837 (No. 37/854). It lists his offence as 'attempted murder', and the place of trial as Sydney ? Court on 25th Nov 1829. Sentence is listed as seven years (which his death sentence must have been commuted to). Height 5 feet 4 inches, Complexion: Dark ruddy, Hair: Dark brown mixed with grey. General remarks: Hair thin on crown, two small scars on forefinger of left hand, was originally tried by a court martial at Lavalette 24th June 1811 and sentenced to transportation for life for which he obtained a Conditional Pardon 1260 dated 31st January 1820.

Following his freedom in 1837 it is difficult to determine his fate. Did he make his way home to Scotland?

The Australian' of 17 Jul 1838 lists an Alexender Stewart appointed watch-house-keeper at Wollongong, and resigned in 1841. In 1844, an advert in the Sydney Morning Herald (15 May 1844) advertises the sale of the Carpenter's Arms Inn, Wollongong, "in the very centre of the town, having frontage to Crown-street and William-street, and occupying an area of half an acre", information on the sale to be had "on application to Mr. Alexander Stewart on the premises".

The NSW BDM indexes reveal an Alexander Stewart buried in 1847, aged 63 (V18471471 140/1847). This fits with the birth date of Alexander abt 1885 from the 1828 census. I'll try and get a transcript of this burial to see where it occurred.

Arrival record for Thomas Trevithick and Elizabeth nee CANDY

2010-10-10T23:30:00.000-04:00

A fellow descendant of the Trevithick's sent me a copy of their arrival indent - one of the few records I was missing. I'd always hoped that the record would reveal his parents names and other details (as NSW arrival records do), but the Victorian records are relatively spartan.

The 'Panama' sailed from London on 3 Aug 1854, a ship of 734 ft, carrying 275 migrants, arriving in Portland on the Victorian coast on the 25th October 1854. After they set to sea, Elizabeth gave birth to the first of their ten children, Elizabeth Trevithick.

Their arrival record image:

Their arrival entries in the Victorian PROV site are incorrectly transcribed, and they are listed under 'Assisted British Immigration' arrivals 'Trewithick':
TREWITHICK ----INFANT WITH I OCT 1854 PANAMA
TREWITHICK ELIZH 21 OCT 1854 PANAMA 10
TREWITHICK THOMAS 21 OCT 1854 PANAMA

It's easy to see how the name was mis-stranscribed! Based on articles and even headstones, it appears that that 'th' in TREVITHICK was often heard as a 'hard T' sound, and perhaps the v was softened to the point that it sounded as 'trewitick':

Here it can be seen that Thomas stated his occupation as a blacksmith of Cornwall, listed with his wife Elizabeth and a daughter 'b.o.b.' - born on board (registered in Victoria on arrival, who we know to be Elizabeth).

The arrival record also reveals that family to be 'Church of England' (Wesleyan was an option but they didn't claim it). Both Thomas and Elizabeth claimed that they could read and write, and both were 21.

Four convicts (2): Edward Wedge

2010-10-08T22:40:00.000-04:00

One of my projects has been trying to trace the fate of the three convicts sentenced for transportation with my ancestor Edward Ewer. They were sentenced in Feb 1820 at the Berkshire assizes for a crime they had commited late in 1819:

Transcript of verdict slip:
"Berkshire. Shoplifting. The jurors for our Lord the King upon their oath present that Edward Ewer (^guilty, to be hanged) late of the parish of New Windsor in the County of Berks labourer; John Green (^guilty, to be hanged) late of the same labourer; James Talbot (^guilty, to be hanged) late of the same labourer; and Edward Wedge (^guilty, to be hanged) late of the same labourer, on the twenty third day of November in the sixtieth year of the reign of our late Sovereign Lord George the third of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland their king defender of the faith, with force and arms at the parish aforesaid in the county aforesaid One time piece of the value of One Pound of the goods and chattels of John Sturgis and One other Time Piece of the value of One Pound of the goods and chattels of Robert Butcher Smith in the shop of the said Robert Butcher Smith then and there found privately and feloniously did steal take and carry away against the Peace of our said Lord the King his crown and dignity."

Following their conviction, on 28 Feb 1820, WEDGE, GREEN and TALBOT were tranferred to the hulk 'York'. The hulk register gives Edward Wedge's age as 22, meaning he was born about 1798.

They were held till transfered to the convict ship Hebe (Edward EWER remained on the hulk till the following year), departing on 31 July 1820 under the command of Thackeray WETHERALL, with Charles CARTE as surgeon. After calling at Van Dieman’s Land, she reached Port Jackson on Sunday 31 December 1820. She carried 100 male convicts, stores and a detachment of the 48th Regiment. One death occurred on the voyage. The convicts weren’t landed till the following Thursday. Colonial Secretary CAMPBELL directed the convicts to Parramatta by water, to be divided between Windsor, Liverpool, Airds and Bringelly. As described in my previous post, TALBOT probably died on the voyage to Australia and GREEN settlined in Sydney town.

The early time-line in NSW for Edward WEDGE is based mainly on the Colonial Secretary’s Index and convict musters. As with TALBOT and GREEN, his birth record in England (if he really was born in the Windsor area) has not yet been identified.

1821 Jan 11 On list of convicts disembarked from 'Hebe' & forwarded to Windsor for distribution (Reel 6007; 4/3503 p.37). The 1822 general muster shows Edmind Wedge as employed as a general servant to William Cox, Windsor. On 1 May 1823 Edward was on a list of Government men in the employ of William Cox of Hobart Ville (Fiche 3062; 4/1834B No.73 p.445), west of Sydney. William Cox was responsible for a number of public works at the time. However it was clearly not plain sailing as William also appeared on a list of convict absconders in 1823.

In the 1825 general muster, Edward was listed as employed by P.L.W. Day, Bathurst. Edward was now far beyond the Sydney area, over the Blue Mountains and into pioneering farming country. The 1828 census of NSW lists Edward as aged 37 (born abt 1792), Religion: Protestant, employed as a Shepherd, Residence: Mr. McLeod, ? Bathurst.

In 1834 Edward was awarded a Ticket of Leave which allowed him to seek employment, and he must have sought permission to leave the district as the 1837 General muster gives Edward's age as 34 (so born abt 1803) living at 'Gunderoo' in the Yass/Queanbeyan district. In the same year he applied to marry Elizabeth Strangeways, though the marriage did not occur and she subsequently married someone else.

An 1840 article shows Edward had been employed at the Queanbeyan gaol, and himself waas returned to gaol for allowing a prisoner to escape (possibly a friend):

The Sydney Herald - Wednesday 29 July 1840

"Edward Wedge, lock-up keeper at Queanbeyan, allowing a prisoner to escape, charged with horse-stealing. Guilty - Two years in an ironed gang."

Edward does not appear again in records till he is recerded as receiving a pardon in 1850, number 355 in 1850, and it states he has been a ticket of leave holder: 6 ¾ years, suggesting he'd received another ticket of leave in 1843.

From here it gets confusing - there is a marriage for a Edward Wedge in 1861 to Betsy Hall and some children can be found to this couple in the NSW BDMs, and not death certificate. I will soon extend this biography with information on Edward's family.

Four convicts

2010-10-03T23:52:00.004-04:00

Following their conviction, on 28 Feb 1820, WEDGE, GREEN and TALBOT were tranferred to the hulk 'York' where they were held til transfered to the covict ship Hebe (Edward EWER remained on the hulk till the following year), departing on 31 July 1820 under the command of Thackeray WETHERALL, with Charles CARTE as surgeon. After calling at Van Dieman’s Land, she reached Port Jackson on Sunday 31 December 1820. She carried 100 male convicts, stores and a detachment of the 48th Regiment. One death occurred on the voyage. The convicts weren’t landed till the following Thursday. Colonial Secretary CAMPBELL directed the convicts to Parramatta by water, to be divided between Windsor, Liverpool, Airds and Bringelly.

That one death was probably James TALBOT. While he is recorded as being transferred to the 'Hebe', the arrival indents in Australia do not list his deatils and not musters in the colonies list him. I hope to access the surgeon's journal some day to confirm his death at sea.

Once in Australia the other two convicts, Edward WEDGE and James GREEN were assigned, and this entry is to describe what I know of John GREEN's fate (a relatively common name).

An approximate biography is sketched out here based on a range of records and indexes.

In the Colonial Secretary’s Index John Green is noted as "1821 Sep 8 - Bricklayer. On list of all persons victualled from H.M. Magazines (Reel 6016; 4/5781 p.115)". Not long after (122 Jun 4) John is listed seeking permission to marry at Sydney (Reel 609; 4/3505 p.380). This was clearly approved as the NSW BDM shows in 1822 the marriage of John GREEN to Ann TAYLOR at St Phillip’s Sydney, Church of England.

Ann had in fact arrived in 1810 on the Canada as Mary Ann DRAKE. She had been sentenced at Suffolk Quarter Sessions, sentenced on 12 July 1809 to seven years transportation. She married James TAYLOR in 1811 and they had five children (according to a later news article), though only two appear in NSW BDM indexes. Her husband James Taylor died in 1817 according to a much later court dispute over land (Sydney Gazette, Saturday 2 December 1837, page 4).

There was quite a difference between the ages of John and Mar Ann, as based on their aproximate ages John was 22 and Mary Ann was 36 when they married. Following their marriage, John was assigned to his wife 'Ann Green of Sydney' (Fiche 3290; 4/4570D p.44).

The convict muster of 1822 lists: "Green John, Convict, Hebe, life, By whom or where employed: Gov Bricklayer, Sydney." His wife is listed as Ann Drake and was free by servitude. The 1823, 4, and 5 musters likewise show John assigned to his wife (as a general servant). In 1822 Edward EWER (John's partner in crime) arrived in the colonies and in August 1823 was also assigned to Ann Green of Pitt Street Sydney - so Edward and John at least were reunited in Australia.

The 1828 census of NSW shows that John Green was 28 (setting his birth year as abt 1800) and reveals that he was Protestant, a bricklayer, and living on Kent St Sydney. Mary A Green was 42, free by servitude and also Protestant. A son, John Green born in the colony and aged 13 and also William aged 10 lived there (being the sons by Mary Ann's first marriage). It appears that John and Mary Ann did not have children.

Gaol Description and Entrance Books for Sydney show that John Green, arrived on the 'Hebe', with a Ticket of Leave, originally from Berkshire, occupation bricklayer, was admitted to Sydney Gaol on 6 Feb 1833 for trial (offence not stated) and released on bail.

John and Mary Ann were still living on Kent Street in Sydney in 1837 when Mary Ann died. While no burial exists in the NSW BDM indexes, her death was reported in the Sydney Morning Herald:

Sydney Morning Herald, Thursday 12 January 1837

"INTEMPERANCE – We have every week to animadvert on the fearful effects of intemperance. This week a more than usually painful catastrophe occurred, arising from the excessive indulgence in this loathsome vice. A woman, named Mary Anne Green, residing in Kent Street, an inveterate drunkard, having retired to bed in a state of intoxication, was found by one of her sons laying in her bed a blackened corpse. An inquest has been held, and a verdict of death by suffocation returned."

A second article on the inquest elaborates a little:
The Sydney Gazette, Thursday 12 January 1837
"CORONER'S INQUEST - On Tuesday an inquest was holden at the sign of St. Andrew , Kent-street, before Augustus Hayward, Esq. Mr. Brennan's leave of absence not having expired, upon the body of a female aged 50 years, named Mary Ann Green, who was found dead upon her bed the previous day. The son of the deceased stated, that for the last three years his mother had been given to habits of intoxication; the morning previous his mother rose early, and went out, and about 9 o'clock was brought home in a state of intoxication by a man named Toby, when she was laid upon her bed ; witness went out, and upon his return about 11 o'clock, finding her still lying in the same position, he lifted her up, when observing she was black in the face, he alarmed the naighbours, and it was discovered that she was quite dead. Dr. Hosking was upon the spot in a short time, but medical aid was of no avail. Dr. H. gave a certificate that deceased had come to her death from suffocation occassioned by the use of ardent spirits, and a verdict was returned accordingly."

Also in 1837, John Green, age 30, living in the district of Sydney, received a ticket of leave. Shortly afterwards (1838) followed a conditional pardon, the original revealing the physical details of John Green:

John Green, Arrived on Hebe, Master Wetherall, Year 1820
Native place: Windsor, Berkshire
Trade: Bricklayer
Born: 1799
5 feet 5 inches tall
Complexion fair/ruddy
Hair Sandy brown
Eyes Hazel
Scar on upper lip, another on right jaw, wart on left cheek

While no definitive bural entry has been found, John died between 1838 (when he received a conditional pardon) and 1840 when court disputes over the property on Kent St reported he wasn't alive. The Sydney Gazette of Saturday 2 December 1837 reported the case was already underway, with James Taylor, Mary Ann's eldest son by her first marriage challenging John Green's right to the title of the lands. The defendant was John Green, confirming he was alive at this stage.

A second article in 1840 also confirms John Green was by then deceased (Wednesday 18 March 1840). The article relates to James Taylor (now owner of the property) evicting a tenant, and gives a summary of ownership, which had been in dispute between John Green and his step-son:

The Sydney Monitor and Commercial Advertiser, Wednesday 18 March 1840, page 2

"Certain premises on Kent Street.... a person named John Green, who from 1824 till the time of sale (1837) had received the rents and been generally regarded as the owner of the said premises. From the evidence of the plaintiff (James Taylor, jnr), it appears that his mother Mary Ann Green (second husand's name) had been married to his father James (Taylor) who died in 1837. And that she bore him five children of whom plaintiff was the eldest. That in 1820 a person named John Green arrived in the colony under a sentence of transportation for life, who in 1822 married the plaintiff's mother, and afterwards died."

No direct reference to John Green's death can be found in the Sydney papers, however the following article may relate his death:

The Sydney Monitor and Commercial Advertiser, Monday 6 May 1839

"INQUESTS - An inquest was hold on Thursday, on the body of a man named John Green, at the "Star" in Hunter street. The deceased was a steady drunkard. Verdict accordingly."

The LAW family of Northampton

2010-09-25T22:24:00.002-04:00

In working my ancestor Helen Charlotte Roberts (http://thehistoryofmatt.blogspot.com/2009/09/re-assessing-helen-charlotte-roberts.html) I've faced greatly difficulty in piecing together her parents and siblings in London, however I think I've finally solved it. Her mother, Charlotte Elizabeth LAW married William Richard ROBERTS in 1833 at St Margaret's Westminster. When he died she married George WELLS (1839) and when he died she married William Ritherdon ROBERTS (1847, no relation) !!! So Charlotte Elizabeth died with her first married name. Her last marriage certificate stated her father was William LAW, Banker and IGI quickly pointed to Northampton, and many family names confirmed this.

In searching for info on this LAW family I came across a handwritten document from the Northamptonshire Record Office, Ref: 1404/8. I'm transcribing it here in the hopes that it will prove useful to others - if you have a connection please do contact me! It's difficult to confirm the information at St Sepulchre, Northampton church records do not appear to have been indexed on-line. Obviously birth dates could only come from this family record as few church records entered birth dates.

Northamptonshire Record Office, Ref: 1404/8

Copied by Audrey Law, b.1912, dau. of Walter Evelyn, son of Edmund, son of Edmund Francis below.
From a Bible fly-leaf written by Charlotte Roberts, who is buried with her husband and some children in the churchyard of St Giles, Northampton.
Married 5 July 1803 at St Sepulchre's Northampton.
William Law (1781-1829) = Charlotte Roberts "with whom he lived twenty five years in peace and on 22 March 1829, exchanged time for a Blessed Eternity, aged 48".

William and Charlotte had issue:
William Wilby, born 20 Aug 1804, died 14 May 1880, m. 7 Sep 1830 at St Sepulchre's N'ton
Sophia Sarah, born 6 Nov 1806, m. 18 Apr 1831 at St Mary's Lambeth London
Charlotte Eliz. d. inf. born 8 Sep 1808, died 4 July 1809
Edmund Francis born 26 Apr 1810, died 1882, m. 23 Oct 1832 at St Sepulchre's N'ton
Charlotte Elizabeth, born 8 May 1812, died 26 Oct 1848, m. 15 Dec 1833 at St Margaret's Westminster
Selina, born 13 Feb 1814
Eliza, born 11 Feb 1816, died 4 Jan 1826
Joseph Henry, d. inf. born 27 Dec 1817, died 1 Jan 1818
Christopher James, born 7 Feb 1819
Edward, born 19 July 1820, died 20 Nov 1825
Alfred, born 13 Sep 1821, bapt 12 Mar 1823 "registered 29 Oct 1827 in consequence of parish clerk mistake"
Marianne, born 27 Feb 1823, died 15 Nov 1855, bur. with parents in St Giles N'ton

William Law, father of John Law, father of
1. William Law who married Carlotte Roberts - twelve children as above.
2. Henry

William Law was manager of Northampton Town and County Bank (Smith, Osborne & Howes) 1815-1825 "the most miserable years for England coming to a head".
Oct 1825, 200 county banks stopped payment ; after 4 years William Law as manager wound up the Northampton Town and County's affairs satisfactorily
24 Jan 1829 Northampton Mercury reports "divide 20/- in the pound with interest". William then said to his wife "Now, my dear, I can rest"

22 Mar 1829 William died.

End of section. There is then a separate section on one line of the above family (that of Audrey Law who compiled the notes) which I will also reproduce here. I do not know what the expression 'sp' represents.

LAWS from 1840 - Compiled by Audrey Freeman (nee Law) 1981
EDMUND LAW (1840-1904) = ELIZABETH TANNER (1836-1908)
married 1866 at Cheltenham Parish Church, both buried at Northampton Billing Road Cemetery. Had issue :-
b. (Mai) Elizabeth Mary d. m. Sydney Harris
b. 1869 Edmund Augustus d. 1939 m. Edith Florence Talyor
b. 1872 Herbert Henry d. 1938? m. Ada Williams
b. 1873 Robert Scudamore d. 1930's m. in Canada 3 children
b. 1875 Arthur Somerset d. 195? m.
b. 1877 Walter Evelyn d. 19?? m. Ethel Caroline Horton

------------

Edmund Augustus had Marion 1899, Vera 1900, Leslie Edmund 1903-1980 all s.p.

Herbert Henry had:
Kenneth m. Babs 1 son
Brian sp
Ronald killed car accident sp
Trevor ?-1978 sp
Peter sp.

Arthur Somerset had boy, girl, Eric, Rupert Scudamore (Jean Fletcher, 3 children)

Walter Evelyn had Doreen 19??, Audrey 1912 m. Robert Mark Freem 2 daughters.

------------

Next generation:
Kenneth had 1 son Robin
Barbara has 2 sons
Rupert had ?
Audrey had 1949 Carolyn Rose & 1951 Wendy Jane m. 1977 Michael Charles Coleman dec. 1981

END

EDIT: The burial of William LAW has been confirmed thanks to a Rootschat member

Burial at St Giles C of E
Mar 29 1829
William Law of Wood Steet aged 48

UK Prison Hulk Registers

2010-09-14T23:03:00.000-04:00

I've been a little quiet because I'm working hard on my ALLEYNE line and it's overwhelming (thanks to a lot of help that I'm getting).

Anyway Ancestry just released an index of UK hulks, on which prisoners were held. Hulks were old ships, moored (usually permanently) in harbors and serving as floating jails. Conditions were generally poor.

This is a rare 'mixed' post as I'm putting in information from various convict ancestors.

1. From the hulk 'Fortitude' (1837-1843)
5364, George Bliss, aged 20, crime: stealing meat, sentenced Maidstone (Kent), 3 January 1839, sentence: life, single, cannot read or write, occupation: labourer, Gaoler's report: Character very bad, once convicted + 4 times in prison for poaching, How disposed of: NSW, 'Parkfield', 8 May 1839.

He spent about five months on board the hulk before being transported (several more months on a ship).

2. From the hulk 'York' (1805-1836)
Reading, 2800, Edw Ewer, 23, crime: shop lifting, sentenced 28 Feb 1820, sentence: life, how disposed: 22 Aug 1821 NSW.

He spent more than 18 months on a hulk before transportation! On the same page are listed his three consorts in shoplifting, John Green (age 20), James Talbot (age 22), and Edward Wedge (age 23). It indicates that all three on 12 Jul 1820 (much earlier than Edward) - this is important as James Talbot appears not to have arrived in Australia, and so must have died in transit. If the surgeon's diary for their transport ship still exists ('Hebe') it should record his death.

3. From the hulk 'Hardy' (1805-1836)
There appear to be two separate books. These have been copied:
Priestly Saml, Conv before 1 time
York, Saml Priestly, 20, Stealing money, Sentenced Leeds 15 April 1833, sentence 14 years, How disposed: NSW 26 June 1833

He spent just over two months on the hulk.

My ancestors Jane Fletcher and Rowland Edwards were convicted too early to be captured in these records.

Trevithick musings

2010-08-15T00:39:00.001-04:00

I've written several times on William Trevithick - the father of Thomas who came to Australia (http://thehistoryofmatt.blogspot.com/2010/04/william-trevithick-of-kenwyn-cornwall.html).

I have little information on William:

William TREVITHICK (also written TREVIDICK) was born about 1806 according to his age at death, as a bachelor married the widower Ann Watkins PENGILLY nee ALLEN in Kenwyn in 1834. They had two children, Thomas (1835-1913) and Elizabeth (1837-1842). William died in 1838 in Kenwyn, Cornwall (aged 32). If his age at death is correct he was ten years her junior. He was a labourer according to his sons baptismal transcript.

But who were his parents? And is the age wrong?

There don't seem to have been any other Trevithick's in the Kenwyn/Truro/St Clements area - this wasn't an area the Trevithick family were actually from. However, a 'Maryann Trevethick' was the informant, not living with William, but on Pauls Row at St Clements - unfortunately one of the many flaws in English civil certificates is that the relationship is not stated.

Based on these details I am looking for a William Trevithick born abt 1806, probably in Cornwall. The name Thomas may be important to him, as he named his son Thomas. William probably couldn't name his first son after himself, as his wife Ann PENGILLY nee ALLEN had a son William PENGILLY from her previous marriage.

I have been sent a number of family trees from Trevithick descendants in the past few years, in fact I've been sent copies of the same tree from several people. An examples are posted here. The tree has been sent to me from multiple people including Dennis Trevihick and Lyn Crawford. It is not clear where this tree came from, but clearly many copies exist.

Along with the above tree, many on-line trees state that William Trevithick who married Ann PENGILLY nee ALLEN (a widower) was William Trevithick, christened 2 Apr 1797 at Stithians. Given that William's death certificate predicts that he was born abt 1806, what certainty can be placed on William being the one christened in 1797 at Stithians? One point that has to be made is that IGI shows no other William TREVITHICK (or spelling variation) christened at the time (1796-1810), though this could be due to lost on non-transcribed records (including non-conformists). Stithians (also known at St Stithians or St Stythians) is about 9 miles from Truro/Kenwyn where William died. Perhaps if we could discount another fate for William it would strengthen the case that he married Ann PENGILLY/ALLEN.

Here is the info available from the baptism record on-line:

Baptisms for the Cornish Parish of St Stithians
TREVITHICK     William     son of     Willm. & Mary,     02nd. April,     1797

So his parents were William and Mary. A look at the parish records reveals five children baptised in the parish to William and Mary, and that they lived at nearby Wendron for some of this period:

Baptisms for the Cornish Parish of St Stithians

TREVITHICK    Thomas     son of     William & Mary,     04th. March,     1792 Of Wendron.
TREVITHICK    Charity    dau of    William & Mary,    24th. June,    1793    Of Wendron.
TREVITHICK    Elizth.    dau of    William & Mary,    18th. August,    1799
TREVITHICK    William    son of    Willm. & Mary,    02nd. April,    1797
TREVITHICK    James    son of    Willm. & Mary,    04th. January,    1801

This is interesting, because the eldest son is Thomas... if this is the correct William, his son may have been named after his eldest brother. It appears the mother, Mary was buried in 1802 (10 Dec 1802, Sithians, Betty 'wife of William') and father William died in 1827 (28 Jan 1827, Stithians, William 67, residence 'Gunnos Down Gwennap').

Parish records for Stithians in the period 1810-1830 for the same parish reveals more.

Son Thomas Trevithick had married a Mary as they had a son in 1818:

TREVITHICK     Thomas     son of     Thomas & Mary,     14th. January,     1818     Miner.

Son James Trevithick had marred an Anne as they had twins in 1830:
TREVITHICK     Mary Anne     dau of     James & Anne,     31st. October,     1830     Farmer.
TREVITHICK     William     son of     James & Anne,     31st. October,     1830     Farmer.

Finally, it appears son William had married a Joan as they had children in 1823 and 1825.
TREVITHICK     Jennifer     dau of     William & Joan,     13th. April,     1823     Farmer.
TREVITHICK     John     son of     William & Joan,     11th. December,     1825     Farmer.
(son John died the following year 9 Sep 1826, Trewilhick John, 1, Residence: Menherion in Wendron)

There is a remote possibility that William senior had re-married in prior to his death in 1827, but it seems more likely that William junior (chr. 1797) married a Joan. The marriage did not occur in Stithians, but renders it highly unlikely that William TREVITHICK of Stithians went on to marry Ann PENGILLY/ALLEN in Truro. Remember, William stated he was a bachelor when he married Ann in 1834, and at any rate, Joan Trevithick was buried at Wendron on 21 Apr 1847 aged 61.

More needs to be done!! This includes looking for holes in Cornish parish/non-conformist registers.

William SMITH of Hamburg

2010-08-05T00:52:00.003-04:00

I have an ancestory named WILLIAM SMITH, who I've written about a few times (http://thehistoryofmatt.blogspot.com/2009/12/william-smith-abt.html). He has vexed me so much that it is his street of residence on my 'History of Matt' banner.

William Smith was born abt 1836, though as records show he was born in 'Hamburgh' in Germany it is possible that William Smith is the anglicised spelling of his original name.

The first record I have of him is that he married Helen ROBERTS at the Wesleyan Parsonage, Surry Hills, Sydney on 16 Jan 1869 (herself somewhat tricky to track). I can find no announcement in the Sydney Morning Herald. There are no real personal details recorded on the marriage certificate.

William and Helen had three children:

Grace (1870-1934)

William (1871-1944)

Alfred (1873-1955)

The birth of their daughter Grace provides their address in 1870: Lower Campbell Street Sydney. This is confirmed in the Sydney Sands Directory for 1873 showing 'Smith, William, 23 Campbell St, lower'. Lower Campbell St is located in what is now ostensibly Sydney City, south of Hyde Park. Today Lower Campbell St does not appear to contain residences - when the plague struck Sydney in 1900, many dwellings were demolished, and photos were taken of the residences demonstrating the slum-like nature of the dwellings - those remaining were the terrace-houses typical of the time.

The birth certificates of Grace and Alfred and his death certificate reveals he was a Van Driver (1870), Carter (1873) or Ostel (horse keeper, 1874). All state that he was born in 'Hamburgh, Germany'.

His death is listed in the Sydney Morning Herald in 1874:

Sydney Morning Herald
Monday 6 July 1874
DEATHS
SMITH. July 4, at Liverpool, late of Lower 23, Campbell-street, Surry Hills, Sydney, William Smith, leaving an affectionate wife and 3 children to mourn their loss, aged 38.

This leads to his NSW Death Certificate. He died in 1874 at Liverpool - possibly on the road for work - leaving three children. The Liverpool Asylum and similar institutions in New South Wales were established to treat 'destitute men' though with an occupation and living in Sydney (which was then quite a long way from Liverpool, and Sydney had its own Asylum) it is possible an accident or medical issue befell him while in Liverpool. His death certificate is completed by a doctor at the Asylum, with information on family missing, again suggesting his stay there was sudden.

New South Wales Death Certificate
1874/005536
No. 2592
Date and place of death: July third 1874, Liverpool asylum
Name and occupation: William Smith, Ostler
Sex and age: Male 38 years
Cause of death: Paralysis
Duration of last illness: -
Medical attendant: W.E. Strong, MD
When he last saw deceased: -
Name and occupation of father: Unknown
Name and maiden surname of mother: Unknown
Informant: Certified by W.E. Strong MD, Liverpool Asylum
Particulars of registration: William Long, August 4th 1874, Liverpool
When and where buried: July 6th 1874, Liverpool
Name of undertaker: Pat Coffee, Liverpool
Name and religion of Minister: Chas A.D. Priddle, Ch. of Eng.
Witnesses of the burial: Edw Boon, Stuart Andrew
Where born and how long in the Australasian Colonies: Hamburgh, Ship unknown, 1854
Place of marriage, age, and to whom: Unknown
Children of marriage: Unknown

And that is everything I know about William Smith. There was apparently nothing too remarkable abou this death is there was no story in the Sydney Morning Herald. I am hoping to learn whether asylum records hold more (they are held at the State Archives), and whether he has a headstone at Liverpool Cemetery.

But was he really German (Wilhelm Schmidt) or perhas the son of a British soldier born in Germany? How did he get to Australia? Maybe a clue lies in the fact that his second son was 'Alfred Elpinstone Smith' (born 1873). A William Smith arrived in Australia on the Elphinstone in 1840 - a clue to descendants about his arrival? This William was aged 5 (so perfect age), the family was Baptist, and of 'Aughall' (father, George, 36, a labourer). What are the chances of this not being him? And the religion (baptist) fits with his marriage in a Wesleyan parsonage.

The arrival date of 1854 in his death certificate suggests otherwise - though who gave the information? Clearly not his family as they themselves weren't known when the death certificate was lodged the day after his death. Whoever gave the information at the Liverpool Asylum (William was suffering from 'paralysis' - perhaps a fall from a horse?) could not name his parents, his wife, his children, or the ship he arrived on. Only his city of birth (Hamburgh) and year of arrival - so it's not likely that this detail is correct.

I'm not quite sure what I can do to learn more about him at this stage - except hope that somehow he has a headstone.

EDIT:
Given the possible arrival date of 1854 and the fact his name was probably German (not William Smith) I re-checked arrivals in Australia and found the following:

Ship ‘Marbs’, arrived from Hamburg in March 1855 at Moreton Bay (near what is now Brisbane), Assisted immigrant
Will Schmidt, age 19 (so born in 1836!!), ‘Native place’ (born) Hamburg, Father: Gustav Adolph Smith, mother Anna Sophia, father alive and living in Hamburg, Religion: ‘Evang’ (I think it means Evangelical? All the Germans on the boat have the same religion), Can read and write, When he arrived he already had a brother in Sydney (no name given), State of health good, no complaints about the journey, Testimonials of character provided.

This could be him. Born in Hamburg, year of birth a perfect match.In the whole assisted immigrant indexes I could not find another close match.

Birth of my great grandfather Norman HALL (1896-1972)

2010-07-31T00:05:00.001-04:00

NSW Birth Certificate
1896/030385
331.
Date and place of birth: 1896 23 November, Dubbo
Name and whether or not present: Norman, not present
Sex: Male
Father's name and occupation, age and birthplace: Alfred Ernest Hall, School teacher, 26, Yass NSW
Date and place of marriage - previous issue: 1894 17 April, Redfern NSW, -
Mother's name and maiden surname, age and birthplace: Bridget Moloney, 21, Sydney NSW
Informant: A E Hall, Father, Dubbo
Witness: H Tressider, Mrs Knipe, Mrs Moloney
Particulars of registration: H S Hawkins, 18 December 1896, Dubbo

New Edward Ewer (Jr) article

2010-07-29T19:48:00.000-04:00

The National Library of Australia digital newspaper project (newspapers.nla.gov.au) has started rolling out the Queanbeyan Age (near Yass and Canberra in NSW). I'll start looking and rolling out articles.

The first relates to the brutal assault on my ancestory Edward Ewer (Jr, 1827-1884), born to parents Edward EWER (a convict) and his wife Ann nee EDWARDS (she the daughter of two convicts). This article reveals more details about the attack alluded to in other articles (http://thehistoryofmatt.blogspot.com/2010/01/edward-ewer-1827-1884.html) and it is clear from the article, and the fact that he died the following year, that he suffered from his injuries for some period.

Queanbeyan Age
Friday 28 September 1883
On Saturday evening a murderous assault was committed at Bathurst by an old shepherd named Brown, on a man named Edward Ewer, whose head was smashed and his arms broken, by the blows of an iron bar. Brown accused Ewer of robbing him. The latter is dying in the hospital. Brown has been arrested, and remanded for a week.

Death certificate of Thomas Uriah Banfield (1867-1942)

2010-07-25T23:36:00.002-04:00

Thomas Uriah BANFIELD was baptised in Plaxtol, Kent in 1867, to parents Thomas BANFIELD and Mary Ann nee COMBER. He married Ellen Harrington in 1888 in Kent (http://thehistoryofmatt.blogspot.com/2010/07/ellen-harrington-abt-1858-1907.html), and they moved to Australia shortly afterwards. While Frank HALL doesn't refer to how they got to Australia, his brother Joseph Gerard HALL wrote in his memoirs that Thomas BANFIELD came to Australia worked as ship's crew, and that Ellen followed by paid passage shortly afterwards. At any rate they arrived by December 1889 (the year after they married) as Mary Ellen's birth was registered in Hay in 1890 (she was born on 27 December). A son Edward followed in 1892 (died the same year) and Mary Ellen died in 1907 (http://thehistoryofmatt.blogspot.com/2010/07/ellen-harrington-abt-1858-1907.html).

Thomas Uriah, a widower, ultimately established a farm near Lake Cargellico N.S.W. with his brother John Frederick BANFIELD (1876-1948). He died there in 1948.

NSW Death Certificate
1942/001672
347.
Date and place of death: 1942 18th March, District Hospital, Lake Cargellico, Lachlan Shire. Usual residence, Lachlan Shire.
Name and occupation: Thomas Uriah Banfield, labourer.
Sex and age: Male 75 years.
Cause of Death: I (a) Acute nephritis (b) Retention of urine (c) Enlarged prostate II Diabetes mellitus
Duration of last illness: I (a) 5 days (b) 5 days (c) - II -
Medical attendant: V.R. Lephick (registered)
When he last saw deceased: 18th March 1942
Name and occupation of father: Thomas Uriah Banfield, labourer
Name and maiden surname of mother: Mary Ann Bevan
Informant: John Banfield, brother, Bootoowa
Particulars of registration: 19th March 1942, Cargellico
When and where buried: 19th March 1942, Methodist Cemetery, Lake Cargellico
Name of undertaker: S.J. Monkerad(?)
Name and religion of minister: Wm. Bramford, Methodist
Names of witnesses of burial: M. Monkerud, D. Dunstan
Where born: West Peckham, Kent, England, 54 years in NSW
Place of marriage, age and to whom: West Peckahm, Kent, England, 21 years, Ellen Harrington
Children of marriage:
None living, one male and one female deceased

Marriage of Norman Hall and Mary Ellen Banfield, 1918

2010-07-24T16:45:00.003-04:00

My great-grandfather Norman Hall married Mary Ellen Banfield in 1918. Norman didn't serve in World War 1, though he states in his memoirs that he served domestically. When they married Norman was an electrician, though a short time later he trained as a chemist. Norman also states in his memoirs and letters that he met Mary Ellen as she was a student teacher at his father's school. It is interesting to note that the two witnesses are named GILLOGLEY - when Mary Ellen's mother died in 1907 at Maude NSW, she died at the GILLOGLEY home, so there was clearly a strong connection between the two families. In this case, Greta GILLOGLEY was born at Hay in 1901 to James and Mary.

NSW Marriage Certificate
1918/002316
206.
Date and place of marriage: 1918 14th January Paddington

Groom
Name and surname: Norman Hall
Usual occupation: Electrician
Usual place of residence: Sydney N.S.W.
Conjugal status: Bachelor
Birthplace: Dubbo N.S.W.
Age: 21 years
Fathers name and mother's name and surname: Alfred Ernest Hall, Bridget Moloney
Father's occupation: School teacher

Bride
Name and surname: Mary Ellen Babfield
Usual occupation: School teacher
Usual place of residence: Sydney N.S.W.
Conjugal status: Spinster
Birthplace: Hay, N.S.W.
Age: 28 years
Fathers name and mother's name and surname: Thomas Uriah Banfield and Ellen Harrington (deceased)
Father's occupation: Labourer

Married at St Francis Church according to the rites of the Roman Catholic Church

This marriage was solemnized between us Norman Hall and M.E. Banfield
By me, F.S. McNamara, Officiating Minister
In the presence of us Roy Gillogley, Gerda Gillogley
Received and registered this 16th of January 1918, District Registrar

Birth and death of Bridget Ann Moloney (1875 Redfern - 1942 Croydon)

2010-07-21T23:27:00.004-04:00

More certificates thanks to the SHERLEY family. My great great grandmother was Bridet Ann HALL nee MOLONEY. I've written about her father (John MOLONEY) and husband (Alfred Ernest HALL) before. Norman HALL, her son, wrote on her in the letters I've posted previously.

NSW Birth Certificate
1875/005074
29.
Date and place of birth: 27th April 1875, Pitt Street Redfern
Name and whether or not present: Bridget Ann, not present
Sex: Female
Father's name and occupation, age and birthplace: John Maloney, Teacher, 34 years, Limerick Ireland
Date and place of marriage - previous issue: 11th October 1864, Sydney, 2 males 2 females living
Mother's name and maiden surname, age and birthplace: Ellen Meyrick, 33 years, Limerick Ireland
Informant: J Maloney, Father, Pitt Street, Redfern
Witness: Mrs Pickard
Particulars of registration: 12th June 1875, Redfern

NSW Death Certificate
1942/015516
54.
Date and place of death: 1942 27th August, 23 Scott St Croydon, Municipality of Ashfield
Name and occupation: Bridget Anne Hall
Sex and age: Female 67 years
Cause of Death: (a) acute myocarditis (b) gastroenteritis
Duration of last illness: (b) 4 days
Medical attendant: Adam J Newton (registered)
When he last saw deceased: 27th August 1942
Name and occupation of father: John Moloney, School Teacher
Name and maiden surname of mother: Ellen Meyrick
Informant: A.E. Hall, Widower, 23 Scott St, Croydon
Particulars of registration: ?, 27th August 1942, Ashfield
When and where buried: 28th August 1942, Roman Catholic Cemetery Rookwood
Name of undertaker: H.L. Gorrel, emplyed by W.N. Bull Pty. Ltd.
Name and religion of minister: T. Everard, Roman Catholic
Names of witnesses of burial: K. Pochee, J. Spicer
Where born: Redfern, Sydney, N.S.W.
Place of marriage, age and to whom: Redfern, Sydney, NSW, 20 years, Alfred Ernest Hall
Children of marriage:
Living:
Norman 46 years
Claude 44 years
Winifred 38 years
1 Female deceased