Newsletter

I have updated the Cemeteries page on the MP website with all the cemeteries I have found with on-line information available.

Recently I discovered that Braidwood, Araluen and Majors Creek were available online and proved to be very helpful in updating the information available in the MP Database.

The Snowy Mountains Museum at Adaminaby has been purpose built to show the history of the planning & subsequent building of the Snowy Mountains Scheme. The museum covers the period from 1947 to current times.

However it has been recognised that the period prior to this is in danger of being forgotten with the concentration these days being focussed on the Scheme.

With this in mind a section has been allocated to show the history prior to 1947.

At present the display is quite small, what is required are old photos of the Snowy Mountains districts, i.e. Berridale Adaminaby Jindabyne & surrounding districts. Ideally looking for old buildings, old farming techniques, family records or diary’s anything that that would give an insight into what life was like.

If you have anything of that nature that you think may be of interest please contact Tracey ( asst. Curator)

Ps the museum is also very short on volunteers if you can spare an hour or two occasionally please contact Tracey.

A reunion to mark 130 years of the Weh / Hofmeier family settling in Woolgoolga is to be held on Saturday 31^st August 2013 at Woolgoolga Bowling Club.

For all descendants of – Anna Maria Weh, her youngest daughter Anna Martha married John Adam Hofmeier.

Other siblings were John Weh, Louisa Weh. August Weh married Elizabeth Carlyon and resided in Warialda district.

Part of the Weh family settled on the north coast of NSW. But John and Louisa we know very little about other then they resided in Australia according to their mothers obituary and were still alive at time of their mothers death in 1886 according to her death certificate. We thought it was a possibility there could be somebody who might be checking your web site and have info or know of the family.

From: Beverley Hicks
Sent: 2013-04-26 23:23
Subject: for the news letter

Hello David I am in Canada and will be coming to Australia in June of this year. I am very, very interested in tracking down some of my relatives and ancestors. My Grandfather was Frederick Osmond who went to New Zealand as a young man about 1897 and his youngest daughter was my mother. His parents were James Osmond and Emily Sturt of Tumut. The children of James and Emily include George Osmond who married first Fanny Venables then Tamar Caunt; Frances who married Donald McCrae; John who married Margaret McGrath; Herbert who married Sarah Tebay; Alfred who married Isabelle McGregor; Fred my grandfather who went to NZ; Walter who married Mary Ann Tebay; Eustace who married Elizabeth Reid.

James Osmond (My grandfather’s father) his parents were John Osmond and Fanny Wickenden I had always thought that James Osmond, my great grandfather, was a lone adventurer but I have recently discovered, through your wonderful site, he was in fact part of a family who came to Australia from Kent, England in 1838 aboard the William Metcalfe. Once established another seven children were added to the family; Robert, who married an Oddy: Philadelphia, Eliza, Thomas, William, Albert, and John.

I know very little about these although I have been in touch via email with one or two descendents. But I would love to hear more from anyone of these “cousins”. The common ancestor would be my great, great grandparents John and Fanny Osmond. While I am in Australia in mid June I would love to meet as many as possible of these relatives.

I do give permission to put my name and address in the paper and thank you again for the wonderful opportunity you provide.

Beverley Hicks 7 White Ash Drive, Brandon, Manitoba, R7A 7T1, Canada. Phone 204 726 5978

Thank you and the team for developing and maintaining the Monaro Pioneers website and database. Its an incredible source of information about my forebears.

I am from the line of John Groves (Person ID I16489); his son John Groves (Person ID I9362) married Mary Ann Heywood (Person ID I9363).

Their children listed include Amy, Emma, Alice, Sarah, Harold, Edgar, Ivan, Aden, Anne and another John (Person ID I50900). I believe this person

Walter Groves married Belle Aileen Lomas - in some documents she is known as Bella (the details you have about this marriage are correct and a copy of their marriage certificate can be downloaded below). They had only one son, John William Groves, born 30 July 1927 Bombala NSW, died Canberra ACT 10 August 1988.

Below are links for you to download various documents including marriage certificates and newspaper cuttings:

From: Kevin O'Brien
Sent: Wednesday, 5 June 2013 11:31 PM
Subject: Monaro Pioneers

Have been an avid user of the Monaro Pioneers site over the past month and really appreciate the work that all your members put in.

Could you let me know what genealogy program the Pioneers use and if/where the program can be purchased. It seems one of the most user friendly I have come across.

Thanks for the kind words. I use 2 different software packages to manage the MP database. Legacy Deluxe is used on my computer to manage the master file and where all the data entry is done. I then extract update information in gedcom format and upload into the TNG package on our website. This software provides the SQL database management and formats that you see on our website. I did have to modify this package slightly to conform with our look and feel.

From: Elizabeth
Sent: Wednesday, 5 June 2013 8:28 PM
Subject: Cooma Monaro Pioneers site

Ian, My family is listed on the above site and I wish to make an addition to the listing

I wondered why I couldnt see the decendants report that I had sent without having to log into the site

Yes there has been a change to how we display descendant information now. Previously we showed the reports in print format and every time there was a change I had to reproduce each affected family report and reload onto the site. With all the interconnections between families this became a massive task and almost impossible to keep everything current.

I implemented a better alternative, at least for me a better alternative. The MP database now resides on our website and you can search it online. All descendants reports are now generated dynamically from this database at the instant you request to see it so the information contained therein is always the very latest and with no effort from me.

Plus this new system allows photos and documents to be added to individuals and/or families which become visible when you view each such individual. You can now also view the data in other report formats like Ancestors and charts etc.

Because the entire database information is now on the website and it contains information on living individuals, it was necessary to take precautions to protect that information from all the net nasties lurking in the online world. Thus the login process (still for free), which is quite simple, became necessary. I recommend you register and try the new system, I believe you will quickly see how much better it now is and how many more options you have available.

Do I do the corrections/additions myself to my family tree listed there or do you still have to do them

thanks for replying so quickly - I understand why you had to change it as who needs all that massive amount of work?

Please send everything you want added/corrected to me and I will do the updating.

From: Sandra Berner
Sent: Tuesday, 4 June 2013 5:41 PM
Subject: Mallyon family - Yass

I am writing from Berry on the south coast of NSW. One of our local identities Irene Amy Mallyon was born in Yass in 1897 and she came to live in Berry in 1920/1930’s.

I am researching her history and I understood the Mallyon family were a pioneering family in the Yass area.

I would be grateful if you could point me in the direction of any information regarding the Mallyons.

From: arnold fletcher
Sent: Tuesday, 4 June 2013 1:33 PM
Subject: corrections & additions

Some corrections to and additions for the GEARY Family of Tumut for you. I have no idea who originally submitted the information but there are a few errors contained in it such as the date of death for the eldest child of Patrick & Johanna GEARY – Michael. It states that he died at Tumut on the 18th August 1910. Not so. That is his father’s date of death. They have also neglected to include the second eldest child – Mary.

· Patrick GEARY (I311503): Born circa 1827 in Drumcollogher Co. Limerick Ireland (place of birth obtained from the Golden Wedding Anniversary notice placed in the Sydney Morning Herald in April 1907). Son of Michael GEARY & Mary KELLHER/CAREY (the mother’s surname - KELLHER appears on Patrick’s marriage certificate while the surname - CAREY appears on Patrick’s death certificate). There is no indication of where his parents were born or when. The information you have for his marriage is correct (reg. # 02691). Died on August 18th 1910 at Fitzroy St. Tumut Nsw (reg. # 11392). Interred in the Roman Catholic section of the Pioneer Cemetery Tumut on August 19th 1910. Rev. Fr. Thomas Slattery officiated. Arrived in the Colony in 1855 (Melbourne) per the “Salem” aged 24.

· Johanna MULVIHILL (I311500): Born circa 1835 in Listowell Co. Kerry Ireland (place of birth obtained from the passenger list in 1855 and the above mentioned Golden Wedding Anniversary notice). Daughter of Michael MULVIHILL & Ellen CONNELL. There is no indication of where her parents were born or when. Correct marriage information. Died Monday 15th September 1924 at the Mater Misericordiae Hospital North Sydney Nsw (reg. # 11982). Interred Wednesday 17th September 1924 in the Roman Catholic section of the Pioneer Cemetery Tumut Nsw. Rev. Fr. Luke Murphy S.J. officiated at the service held at the Mater Chapel. The immigration details you have are correct and there was also an occupation included – Dairy Maid!

· Michael GEARY (I311502): Born in 1858 (exact date unknown) at Tumut Nsw (# 12549). Married Jane SHEPHERD (born Binalong Nsw 1866 [reg. # 6201] to parents Francis SHEPHERD & Ann ROURKE) at Yass Nsw in 1901 (# 10517 - exact date unknown). Michael Died 1st November 1939 at 12 Pine Street Manly Nsw (# 28067). Interred 2nd November 1939 in the Roman Catholic section of the Manly Cemetery. Rev. Fr. J. McDonald officiated. Jane died 9th April 1928 at Tumut Nsw(# 6653). Interred 11th April 1928 in the Roman Catholic section of the Tumut Cemetery. Rev. Fr. Sharkey officiated assisted by Rev. Fr. Donnelly. Cause of Death: Complications arising from Typhoid Fever. They had 5 children!

· Mary GEARY: Born in 1860 (exact date unknown) at Tumut Nsw (# 12792). Married Daniel O’Connell KEHOE (born 1st August 1864 at Killucan Co. Westmeath Ireland to parents Edward KEHOE & Eliza BRADY) at St. Mary’s of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church Tumut Nsw in 1892 (# 7288- exact date unknown). Mary died 8th October 1897 at Tumut Nsw (# 13818). Interred 10th October 1897 in the Roman Catholic section of the Pioneer Cemetery Tumut Nsw. Daniel died 28th June 1946 at 1 Hardy Street North Perth WA (# 1362). Interred 1st July 1946 in the Roman Catholic section of the Karrakatta Cemetery WA. There were no children.

· Patrick GEARY jnr. (I311503): Born at Wyangle Nsw in 1863 (exact date unknown). Birth registered at Tumut Nsw (# 14060). Died 9th July 1865 at Wyangle Nsw. Death registered at Tumut Nsw (# 6095). Interred 11th July 1865 in the Roman Catholic section of the Pioneer Cemetery Tumut Nsw.

· Ellen GEARY (I311504): Born in 1865 at Wyangle Nsw (exact date unknown). Birth registered at Tumut Nsw (# 15720). Died 10th August 1870 at Tumut Nsw (# 6084). Interred 11th August 1870 in the Roman Catholic section of the Pioneer Cemetery Tumut Nsw.

· John (Jack) GEARY (I311505): Born in 1867 at Wyangle Nsw (exact date unknown). Birth registered at Tumut Nsw (# 16744). Married Mary O’NEILL (born in 1869 in Queensland to parents Daniel O’NEILL & Anna GRENNAN – exact date unknown) at Gympie Qld in 1899 (exact date unknown reg. # C942). John (Jack) died 12 July 1922 at Gympie Qld. (# C2647). Mary died 15th January 1954 at Gympie Qld. (# B000085). I believe that both are interred in the Gympie Cemetery but the details are unknown. There were no children.

· Thomas GEARY (I311506): Born in 1869 at Wyangle Nsw (exact date unknown). Birth registered at Tumut Nsw (# 18673). Died 20th August 1870 at Tumut Nsw (# 6050). Interred 21st August 1870 in the Roman Catholic section of the Pioneer Cemetery Tumut Nsw.

· Ellen GEARY (I311507): Born in August 1871 at Wyangle Nsw. Birth registered at Tumut Nsw (# 18309). Entered the Sisters of Mercy in January 1891. Known as Sister Mary Paul and was on the teaching staff at Monte Sant’ Angelo North Sydney as well being the Administrator at the Mater Misericordiae Hospital. Died 13th August 1943 at North Sydney Nsw (# 21496). Buried 14th August 1943 in the Gore Hill Cemetery St. Leonards Nsw.

· James GEARY (I311508): Born 8th May 1874 at Wyangle Nsw. Birth registered at Tumut Nsw (# 20131). Married Catherine (Kate) KELLY (born 20th June 1868 at Berrima Nsw [# 6483] to parents Garrett KELLY & Ann TIGHE) on the 21st February 1898 at St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church North Goulburn Nsw (# 1031). Rev. Fr. O’Shea officiated (information obtained from the notice placed in the Goulburn Evening Penny Post on Tuesday 22nd February 1898). James died on the 24th January 1947 at 12 Pine Street Manly Nsw (# 5320). Interred on 25th January 1947 in the Roman Catholic section of the Frenchs Forest Cemetery Davidson Nsw. Catherine (Kate) died on the 15th November 1950 at 12 Pine Street Manly Nsw (# 29467). Interred on 18th November 1950 in the Roman Catholic section of Frenchs Forest Cemetery Davidson Nsw. They had 5 children.

Mrs. J. A. Martin, of Cobargo, died at the Bega Hospital on Sunday afternoon at the age of 32 years. Deceased had been in the hospital for some time, and it was generally supposed that she was making satisfactory progress towards recovery. The deceased was the widow of the late Squire Hibburd, and a daughter of Mr. D. Gillespie. The remains were taken to Cobargo and interred in the Church of England cemetery on Monday.

From: Marrianne Holden
Sent: Friday, 31 May 2013 11:41 PM
Subject: Family Tree

Hi I am contacting you in regards to Eliza M Kernick on the Monaro Pioneers website. I have recently found out she is my great great great grandmother and I am trying to follow the family tree back further on her side but I am unable to find out where or when she was born or who her parents are. I was hoping you may have some information that may be able to assist me.
Kind Regards, Marrianne Holden.

Hi thank you very much, the new information helped a lot. Mum and I were just curious where you got your information from as everywhere we tried we couldn't find anything. Some of our family were saying she was adopted and that's why we couldn't find anything else.
Kind regards Marrianne.

Ancestry.com has a number of trees that feature some of your ancestors with contact information should you wish to follow up.

The NSW BDM Index references should enable you to acquire her marriage and death certificates which should provide proof and more detail.

The Victorian details are more problematical as that State refuses to provide a free on-line index.

From: Narelle McDonald
Sent: Sunday, 2 June 2013 12:56 PM
Subject: Re: Australian Pioneers - Gerhard/Hannon

I replied to the above post a few months ago, however as I haven't received a response, hence I shall now reply to two of your website addresses and trust that this one will be successful.

Please see my Ancestor Tree attached, which follows the Gerhard/Hannon lines etc., and one of the vinedresser's contracts signed by Georg Gerhard in Hattenheim.

Helen writes about John Hannon & Barbara Gerhard they owned a property named 'Malvern' at Junee. I can confirm that Hannon is the correct spelling. I am currently on the last leg of writing a biography about the combined families, which gives life to my Ancestor tree and tells the stories of their lives as Australian pioneers.

In 1838, Georg Gerhard (1800-1873), a professional vinedresser from Hattenheim, Rhine Valley Germany and his wife Franzisca (1798-1873) emigrated on the barque Kinnear under Major Macarthur’s Foreign Bounty Scheme to Sydney Cove, with their children, Anna Maria (1824-1896), Barbara (b.1826), Wilhelm (1827-1905), Georg (1829-1861) and Johann (1832-1905). Georg and Francizca Gerhard were my great, great, great, great, grandparents and my heritage line follows on from their son Wilhelm who is buried in the Roman Catholic Section of the Old Junee cemetery in New South Wales.

Gerhard's also had a sixth child, however as yet I haven't been able to find out those details. Georg & Franzisca were married at St. Vincenz Catholic Church Hattenheim - I have received Gerhard records going back to 1631 from a gentleman in Germany, however as they are in the German language I am in the process of having them deciphered. At the end of Macarthur's 5 year contract Georg and Franzisca were drawn to Gundagai, where Macarthur's had interests in a wheat and sheep property. Gerhard's were a very well educated family and Gundagai in those days must have enticed their longings for the cultural stimulation of their homeland.

“Mount Minerva is the old name for what today is the hill known as 'Minjary'. Oak groves and muses featured in some succeeding cultural depictions of Gundagai no doubt assigned by early settlers who had received the benefits of an education in the classics, such as Charles Tompson, claimed to be Australia's first published native-born poet and whose father had possession of a large tract of land at Gundagai in the 1830s; and James Macarthur son of John Macarthur, Australian wool pioneer, who met up with Johann Wolfgang vonGoethe in Europe^[35] and who with his brother William Macarthur had possession of Nangus Station at Nangus, Gundagai. Goethe was one of the key figures of Classicism in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

"One pastoral holding on the western side of North Gundagai was named 'Jarno'.^[36] Jarno is a character in Goethe's, Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship, a German response to the dramas of William Shakespeare. Gundagai also has a 'Shakespeare Terrace' that runs along the Murrumbidgee floodplain below the town that may or may not refer to the amazing grand theatre corroborees that happened in that area, eagerly shared in the 1830s for the benefit of overlanders and travellers; or in reference to several or all works of Shakespeare.”

John Robert Bartholomew and his wife Eliza Amy Hannon, a school teacher with a love of the classics, named their property at Old Junee (Tooyal), 'Elsinore' - the name taken from Shakespeare's 'Hamlet'. The family were wheat and sheep farmers - Eliza also set up telephone exchange and a school house on the property where her own eight children were educated and she also took in other poor children of the area. The Bartholomew family are also cousins of Donald Bradman, who often visited Elsinore with his aunt and uncle, John (Jack) Thomas Bradman (1861 - 1951) and Mary Ann Bartholomew (1871 - 1943). Jack Bradman & Eliza Bartholomew loved to converse on an array of topics and remained friends, visiting and corresponding until Jack's death.

I was quite shocked to find Barbara (Gerhard) Hannon was made a 'femme covert', which was an extremely harsh and cruel old English custom, which is odd as Hattenheim was a democratic society, however things didn't go very well for Georg Gerhard in Australia, and sadly, I think he became somewhat disgruntled. It also explains why Barbara (Gerhard) Hannon encouraged her daughter, Eliza to become an independent land owner, which also ensured that the Bartholomew family were democratic and open minded for the times.

"A feme covert was not recognized as having legal rights and obligations distinct from those of her husband in most respects. Instead, through marriage a woman's existence was incorporated into that of her husband, so that she had very few recognized individual rights of her own."

My Nan, Marie Kathleen Baker had often mentioned that the Hannon family came from Aberdeen Scotland, however I haven't been able to find their immigration shipping records and have taken Nan's word as her information was usually right.

If there is any more information you would like, please let me know and if possible I will be happy to supply it.

I shall look forward to hearing from you at your convenience and hope this information may be some help to Helen's research. I am also in touch with another Gerhard/Hannon descendant who lives in Sydney.

I am confused, where did you see the "post" from Helen Paternoster? I have no record of any correspondence from that person and the families to whom you refer are not in our records.

Many thanks for getting back to me. To save confusion I have scanned the Monaro Pioneers Project posts and attach them with this e-mail for you.

As far as I can see the first page is unrelated to my tree, however I feel confident that the Hannon/Gerhard line is the same linage. I was advised that John Hannon was initially a carrier in Sydney prior to his marriage to Barbara Gerhard.

Around 1885, Mary Rose Gerhard, 2nd child of Wilhelm Gerhard and Mary Shea - married Robert Hannon (also related) in Wagga - they had 10 children.

There is some question as the whether Eliza Lack should read "Eliza Sack" as the records are somewhat illegible, however it appears Eliza's father's name reads Robert Sack more clearly.

Posted by: helen paternoster ID *****5978 Date: August 16, 2003 859 of 1219, updated 2013-04-11. Contact Monaro Pioneers Project. PT@monaropioneers.com

Ian I would be most grateful Ian if you would kindly let me if you discover the links for Helen Paternoster's posts.

OK now I understand. Genforum is a site unrelated to the Monaro Pioneers project and we have no input nor control over the contents thereof. Any "posts" to that site are unknown to us as is the individuals who contribute such information.

The information we show on Rootsweb is a more limited version of our database and we use that site simply as a magnet for people searching the web for ancestor information to enable them to find us. The full version of our database resides on our web site www.monaropioneers.com.

Thus, unfortunately, I am unable to help as William Hannon is an isolated entry in our database supplied to us as part of some larger family file and we have no more information on him other than what is already displayed. Perhaps if you contacted the Genforum folks they may be able to assist you.

From: Max Slee
Sent: Thursday, 30 May 2013 4:59 PM
Subject: John Hill (c1810-1860)

I am wondering if I can impose upon your time to you assist me. I am a South Australian historian researching a pioneering explorer of SA (no relation of mine - this is not a family history query). I know all about his life and exploits in SA, but am trying to find more about his origins.

He is John Hill (I know - an impossible name for researching), born c.1810 in London, parents unknown but he was obviously well-educated and wealthy. He arrived in NSW c.1834 (no certain details on that - too many 'Hills') and became a pastoralist and stockholder, before moving to SA in Sept 1837, where he remained and where he died, unmarried and childless, in 1860. In the earliest days of SA Hill was a very important citizen and landholder, associating closely with governors and the likes of Col Wm Light and Charles Sturt. I have exhausted all research sources in SA and have amassed quite a lot on him in that regard.

I suspect that during John Hill's brief time in NSW (c.1834 - 1837) he was a pastoralist/landholder in the Eden Monaro district. Why?

1. Hill was acquainted with Dr George Imlay. As you would know, Imlay was much associated Eden Monaro. In 1838, during a visit to SA by Dr George Imlay of Twofold Bay, the pair did an exploration. Imlay says he was "already acquainted with Mr Hill from his time in NSW". During the expedition, Imlay refers to the similarity of some parts of the country to the 'Menaroo' (Monaro).

2. Hill was acquainted with Captain Henry Rous. Rous had a property on the Monaro in the 1830s. Hill brought a thoroughbred Arabian stallion with him from NSW to SA in 1837. In Jan 1838 Hill raced this stallion at the first horseracing event held in SA. That horse, named 'Rainbow', was bred by Captain Henry Rous, of Eden Monaro, from whom Hill purchased it.

3. Hill was acquainted with Edward John Eyre. Eyre had a property on the Monaro in the 1830s. Eyre states several times in his reminiscences that he knew Hill from his time in NSW, and then in SA. Eyre named the Hill River, SA, after Hill.

4. Hill states he had 'travelled widely' throughout NSW before coming to SA. Hill attempted to become the first to overland livestock from NSW to SA in 1838, but of course he was beaten by Hawdon and Bonney, and then by Eyre.

Although I regard myself as somewhat of an expert with SA records, I am a complete dumbcluck with NSW ones, especially those of Eden Monaro. Is there any way you can assist, or point me in the right direction?

I can't find any information in our records that might shed light on your quest unfortunately. The fact he was unmarried does limit the possibilities in our records. Have you tried the NSW State Records site? or the National Archives or National Library?

What we can do is add your email to our next newsletter and perhaps one of our readers may be able to help you.

Many thanks for your very prompt response, and for having already checked your records. I am unsurprised that you found nothing because Hill was/is a very enigmatic person. I have already tried the sources you suggest, but without result. Quite happy for you to add my email to your newsletter, as proposed, and I thank you for that kind offer.

From: Gary and Doreen Smith
Sent: Saturday, 25 May 2013 5:41 PM
Subject: Rachel Margaret Fannie Shingles

Just thought you might like to add a death date To Rachel Shingles daughter of Joseph Frederick Shingles.

Rachel is my Grandmother. She died 23rd September 1947 in Lewisham Hospital & was cremated at Rookwood NSW but her ashes were returned to Qld to be buried with her husband in the Warwick Cemetery.

As I was told Rachel came to Qld with her sister Christina & her husband. She worked as a governess at Talgai Station near Warwick. Here she met he husband Frederick Charles Parker & they were married 4th February 1913 in St Marks Church Warwick Qld. They went on to have 5 children. My Father Arthur Ray Parker was the youngest. Dad is 82 yrs & keeps good health. Rachel became ill with gall problems & went to Sydney for an operation & died as a result of complications in 1947.

I hope this information is of use to your great site. It has been very useful to me in my family tree research. We have the portraits of Joseph & Eliza Shingles on our wall. The same ones you have on your site.

From: Gavin Kearney
Sent: Tuesday, 21 May 2013 8:44 PM
Subject: Kearney family history.

My name is Gavin Kearney and I’m researching my family heritage. My great grandfather was Samuel Charles Kearney.

So far I’ve been able to find that Sam was born in either Maitland or Singleton in 1842, although I can’t locate an official record of his birth. He married Elizabeth Try in Cooma in 1868 and had 4 children with her. Following her death he married Ellen O’Brien in 1874 and had 7 children with her, one of whom was my grandfather, William Bede Kearney who was my grandfather. I know from his marriage certificate to Elizabeth Try (1868) that they lived at Adminaby and he was an innkeeper. Grevilles’s PO directory shows that he was the innkeeper at Adaminaby in 1872.

I’ve also found various records in the Monaro Pioneers records which show both his marriages and the names and years of birth of his 11 children both in Cooma and Grafton.

Does your organisation hold any history of Samuel Kearney being the licencee/innkeeper at an Adaminaby as I have not been able to find out when he came to the district. I know from the location of his children’s births that he probably left Adaminaby circa 1877/8 and relocated to Grafton where he was a store keeper for many years as well as having other business interests in the area.

Any help you might be able to provide and Samuel’s activities and/or history in the Monaro would be much appreciated.

Thanks for your response. I thought you may have had records available other than those on your website.

During my research to date I’ve found an error in the Monaro Pioneers website which I think may have come from Ancestry.com or Rootsweb. I’ve found both these sites somewhat unreliable as many of the data is unsupported and not cited. I though you may be interested in what I’ve found. I have validated the information below by obtaining numerous birth, death and marriage certificates, passenger records of arriving ships and family notices in digitised newspapers via Trove.

Your site records Samuel Kearney as having died in 1928 in Grafton and that he married Elizabeth Try and then Ellen O’Brien and having 11 children with his two wives one of whom is listed as William Bede who was my grandfather. It also records that Samuel’s parents as being Brian and Mary Kearney. I’ve found that this particular Samuel Kearney was born in Bendigo in 1853 and he is the one buried in South Grafton having died in 1928. His parents were Brian and Mary (Bourke) who arrived separately into Port Phillip in 1852 and married in Melbourne in 1853. They are both buried in Dungog, NSW. That Samuel married Mary Quinn and they had no children. At the time of Mary’s death Samuel was living at Kangaroo Creek south west of Grafton. I can’t find when he went to South Grafton.

The Samuel who married Elizabeth Try and Ellen O’Brien in Cooma was Samuel Charles Kearney (my great grandfather) who was born in Singleton in 1842. I can’t find an official record of his birth in NSW Birth Deaths and Marriages but I have an old birthday book handed down which has Samuels birth date handwritten in it. His parents were Daniel and Margaret Kearney (Shannahan) (unconfirmed at this stage) from Tipperary who arrived in Sydney in 1841 on the ship “Glenswilly” (confirmed by passenger records @ Records NSW.com.au). I’m waiting for his Baptism certificate which will hopefully confirm his parents identities. My Samuel moved from Adaminaby to South Grafton in 1877 where was a successful businessman and store owner for many years. He and Ellen left South Grafton in 1895 for Sydney where they both died, Ellen in 1896 and Sam in 1912. Both are buried at Waverly Cemetery in Sydney. NSW Gazette shows Samuel being the Innkeeper at Adaminaby between 1870 and 1875.

Daniel and Brian Kearney were two or four brothers who came to Australia separately between 1842 and 1852, Daniel being the first and Brian the last.

The confusion arose regarding these two Samuels over many years. Given that South Grafton was only a small town in the mid to late 1800s, we have two Samuel Kearney’s living there. My research into district newspapers indicate they were not there at the same time. Kearney is not that common a name and it seems their imagination for naming their sons was short on variety as there at least seven Samuel Kearneys in my family tree covering 4 generations.

From: Geoff Carter
Sent: Wednesday, 22 May 2013 9:31 AM
Subject: ivill family

Comments: re. family of Alexander Weatherhead b 1808 I think AW was born in 1809 or 1810, as he was 77 when he went back to England in July 1887 and was 91 when he died in April 1901. I have 1809, the Ancestry family tree below has 1810.

I have the following dates for his children which I obtained from an Ancestry family tree of a Robert Stewart. I am sure that Jane was the first child, born in 1835, not 1837 and that Mary Ann was not first but came much later. You might like to check out this list with yours. Some details are identical, but where they differ I think they seem more likely than the ones you have.

Mary Ann Weatherhead, b. 29 Apr 1848, District of Maneroo, NSW, d. 07 Dec 1907, Bega, NSW.

My wife and I are currently in Ireland researching the Murphy clan and I can add some data to the list which you may not have.

James Murphy married Catherine Fitzgerald on 2 Nov 1824 in Summerhill, County Meath. Banns were read on 20 October 1824.

They had 7 children, John 2 Sep 1825, William 1828, Bridget 1831, James 17 Feb 1832, Patrick 16 Oct 1834, Rose 9 May 1837 and Andrew1838. The detailed dates come from the Meath Heritage Centre and so are correct.

Their records show John who is not recorded as coming to Australia and so may have died in Ireland but don't show William, Bridget or Andrew.

All the records show that the Murphy children were all born in Ballintoghee which is south west of Summerhill and is a tiny hamlet of no more than 5 or

6 houses and several small farms close to "Old Town" near the County Kildare border. It was never a "hamlet" but just a collection of houses and farms. There have been no Murphy or Fitzgerald family members living in the area for at least 75 years. Murphy is an uncommon name in this area. We tried to find the old houses but they were destroyed many years ago to be replaced by more modern accommodation.

Robert Scott's death is recorded as "Accidentally Killed" at the NSW Coroner's Inquest dated 8 February 1841 at Maneiro.

Unfortunately, the inquest papers have not survived. I am yet to find any details in Trove. Regards, Robyn

From: Louise Ault
Sent: Wednesday, 15 May 2013 1:19 PM
Subject: Lance (Len) Stapleton.

He was my grandfather but left when my mother was little as such I have no information on him and his next family.

Sorry, we have no information on that person. I would need a lot more information from you to even begin to try to help.

Hi there just wondering if you had much or any information about the *Humphries* from Spring Valley, Currawang please?

Thankyou :) JAY
Any information we have would been in our database which you can search via the link on our website www.monaropioneers.com

From: Peter Beaver
Sent: Monday, 13 May 2013 3:55 PM
Subject: THOMAS Family

I have traced the Belcher family (parents of Mary Thomas the 1^st wife of John Thomas) back to America and further to the UK. It is most interesting. I have a map reference for the Belcher sawmill.

When I have finished my research on the Thomas family (ie: James 1, James 2 and James 3) I will make it available. The story of James 1 (James Thomas and Mary Daley) is fascinating in itself and has never been fully told apart from fragments that have not been compiled together including:

· an account regarding tenant farmers on the Macleay estate at Brownlow Hill near Camden in 1992 by Alan Atkinson

· a report in the a Sydney newspaper in 1850 about a court case involving George Macleay about a lease in Camden involving James 1

· the later period of the life of James Thomas (ie: post 1859) based on the eyewitness account provided orally by his son John Thomas (you already have in the letter written by CJM Thomas that is already on your website).

A copy of the original CJM Thomas letter was passed to me years ago by one of the family.

I have recently noted that some of the family information for James 1 in the records of the Camden Historical Society does not appear to be complete and I am consulting with them about that at present.

I have a complete list of the children of James 1 and James 2 (James Thomas and Elizabeth Middleton) and James 3 (James Thomas and Sarah Dunn) which were provided to me by Sarah Thomas (wife of James 3) one memorable family weekend in Tumut many years ago. She had recorded it in the family bible that she had received as a wedding present. As you would be aware your list of children for James 3 is not complete and I will supply when I have finalised some enquiries.

In looking into the history of Thomas families and their children that brought me to look more closely at an abandoned mining village known as Lobbs Hole in Ravine near Kiandra. This is a longer term project for me as there is so much material to examine in addition to the information provided by my grandmother (Sarah Thomas wife of James 3) and my mother who both resided in Lobbs Hole. As a starting point I have been compiling (ie: birth/deaths/marriages/significant events) as a year by year listing of the families who are recorded as having resided (newspapers/electoral rolls etc) in Lobbs Hole between 1855 and 1925. The Thomas and related families are presently well represented of course!. Anyone who would like to contribute in some way to this project is welcome to contact me.

I have also been compiling the family details for Cupitt/Dowsett/Beaver side of my family. These are all early families linked to the Adelong district. In regard to the Cupitt side I have had the benefit of consulting with Eric Cupitt in Qld who has published several detailed books on various aspects of the early Cupitt family in NSW and in England. These publications are available at the NLA in Canberra. Will there be a coverage of the Adelong area on your website when I have finalised my family research involving this area?

If you receive any enquiries in the future about the Thomas/Belcher/Dunn/Cupitt/Beaver/Dowsett families or their children or events relating to Lobbs Hole you may, of course, add my name/email address to your existing list of persons who may be able to provide assistance as there is no point in compiling the family record if others cannot benefit from the knowledge it contains.

Thank you Peter, any further information and assistance you can provide would be most appreciated. Yes, Adelong is included in my scope of interest and you're welcome to nominate pioneer families for our index. Upon such pages is where contributor contact information is recorded. I am also happy to include any historical articles about Lobbs Hole you may care to supply.

From: Linda Maddern
Sent: Monday, 13 May 2013 9:59 AM
Subject: Attempted contact with Lyn Murphy...

I’ve pasted below what I’ve tried to send to Lyn (without success just now).

Could you please try her email address? The hyperlink didn’t work for me and an error message came up when I attempted to send her a message just now.

I loaned it to a Rex and Mary Nightingale who live in Creewah (or at least did when we relocated to Mt Gambier from Bombala back in 2004) and they never passed it back to me.

If you could look their phone number up (I’m assuming you are still in the Bombala area), I’ll give them a call and see if they could send it your way and then you send it on to me???

I’ve been chasing it up myself and whenever at home not been too busy to track them down myself.

I am not sure what link you were trying to use so I cannot try it myself. This email will appear in our next newsletter and that might help you.

From: Denise Heath
Sent: Sunday, 12 May 2013 8:13 PM
Subject: Motbey info

I have a update to your info, on your motbey site for John Charles, you have Emma Motbey 1844 married William Ferguson, their son Archibald married Emmiline Jane Jaggers, they had a daughter Alice Lillian Ferguson b 20 Aug,1924 Bermagui – 16 Jun,2006, her husband Selwyn Alexander (known as Charlie) Murray b 05 Jul,1922 Nabiac – 11 May, 2012, his father was John Allan Murray 28 Aug,1880 Port Stephens, NSW- 03 Jul, 1962 Taree, NSW, his Mother was Emily Rose Payne b1880 Dungog, NSW- 15 Jul,1942 Taree, NSW

From: Kevin O'Brien
Sent: Sunday, 12 May 2013 9:07 AM
Subject: RE: Proposed Change: Lawless, Dorofus Caroline (I208670)

Just wanted to thank you and all the members of the Eden Monaro Pioneers for the fantastic work you have done.

My wife's family started out on this genealogy kick just two weeks ago, after we found an old family photo. As a result of all the research on your site, we have located 8 convicts in her family line, including two first fleeters (one a convict, one a marine), and some associates of the Clarke bushranger gang in the 1860s. Fabulous stuff! It has brought a lot of joy to a lot of people.

> From:
> To:
> Subject: RE: Proposed Change: Lawless, Dorofus Caroline (I208670)
> Date: Sun, 12 May 2013 08:00:44 +1000
>
> Thank you,
>
> Regards,
>
> Ian
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kevin O'Brien
> Sent: Saturday, 11 May 2013 6:16 PM
> To: Projectteam@monaropioneers.com
> Subject: Proposed Change: Lawless, Dorofus Caroline (I208670)
>
> Proposed Change: Lawless, Dorofus Caroline (I208670)
> Tree: Eden Monaro Pioneers
> Link: http://monaropioneers.com/TNG/getperson.php?personID=I208670&tree=MP
>
> Description: Hi, my wife is a relative of Dorofus Ryan (nee Lawless). Her
> birthday was 15 September 1901, not federation day.
>
> Kevin O\'Brien

I envy your energy in keeping up the database but please do keep it up it is appreciated.

Sorry, I don't know where you could acquire a copy of that book but perhaps Roslyn can help.

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