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The
Story of Jane Power and John George Jess
and family of Nimmitabel and Murwillumbah NSW
The other stories supplied by Bryan Power [bryanp2-at-bigpond.com]
John Power Snr | Thomas Power | Mary Ann Power | Jane Power | Honorah Power | Elizabeth Power | John Power Jnr | Edward Power | James Power | Henry Power | George Power | Ellen and Charles Power | Bridget Power | Patrick Power |
Foreword
This is the ninth story in stage two of a project to record something of the lives of the children of John and Mary Power of Creewah and Wyndham. The stage one story was the recording of John and Mary’s life which can be found on the Monaro Pioneers’ website, www.monaropioneers.com
The other twelve stories in stage two are also on the website and they tell of the lives of Jane’s brothers and sisters: William, Thomas, Honora, Mary Ann, Elizabeth, Edward, John, James, George, Henry, Ellen, Bridget, Charles and Patrick.
Acknowledgement
I wish to gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the late Ken Percival, a great-grandson of Jane, in the researching of this story. There is a photo of Ken on page 5.
Bryan Power
PO Box 610 Gisborne, Vic 3437, (03) 5428 2795 or
bryanp2@bigpond.com
Jane Power, one of the first white children to be born on the Monaro
Jane was the fourth child of John and Mary Power (nee Donovan) and the first of the eleven more Power children to be born on the Monaro.
Her birth date is recorded in the family bible as 9th October 1840 but Fr Michael McGrath has noted the date as 19th October 1840 in his baptismal records. The baptism was performed on 31 May 1841 and is No 166 in Fr McGrath’s register. The parents’ abode was given as Maneroo (sic) but more specifically they were at “Yarra”, the squatting run of Messrs Conlon and Ryan. The sponsors were William Power and Jane Thompson.
This William Power may have been John’s father as John and Mary had named their first-born child, William. It was a common Irish practice at the time, I believe, for the first-born son to be given the name of his father’s father.
Also, there must have been a strong reason for John and Mary to leave the comparative security of the Pennant Hills district to undertake a long journey with two babies to the unpoliced and sparsely populated Monaro. The prospect of reunion with his father and the possible guarantee through him of employment would have probably been sufficient motivation for John and Mary to take on this hazardous venture.
The family settled north of “Yarra” at “Creewah”, another run licensed to Conlon and Ryan. Both of these runs were located north of Cathcart.
On Creewah seven more sons and four more daughters were born with the youngest, Patrick, less than two years old when Jane was the first of the children to marry.
Jane marries John George Jess
The register at the Bombala Court House shows that on 17 September 1857 Jane Power and John George Jess were married at the Dragon Inn at Taylors Flats near Bombala, Maneroo. John’s “rank” was recorded as Post Boy. He signed the register but Jane marked it with a cross as did her younger sister, Mary Ann Power, who was a witness. The other witness was John Wholohan and the priest was Fr Charles Bernard Quinn. Noted in the register is the following: “The consent of John Power, settler, Lochiel, was given to the marriage of Jane Power with John George Jess the said Jane Power being under the age of twenty one years. I say Charles Bernard Quinn.” Jane, in fact, was one month short of her seventeenth birthday.
In its reference to the Power family living at Lochiel this record is the first evidence of their departure from the Monaro. Shortly afterwards John bought land at Wyndham and this small settlement would prove to be the final destination for John and Mary.
However, the newlyweds did not join the family in its migration to warmer lowlands but stayed on the Monaro. I think that John and Jane and their family spent most of those years at Nimmitabel or nearby.
What remained of the Dragon Inn in 1980.
The Children of John and Jane Jess
John and Jane had ten children. The births of the first, second and the tenth child were registered at Bombala but those of the intervening eight children were registered at Cooma. Most were born at Nimmitabel.
All of the children survived well beyond middle age. On Jane’s death certificate in 1930 the eldest child James was recorded as 71 and the youngest, Leonard, as 54.
Jane died at Murwillumbah at the age of 89. She had gone there to live with her son James and daughter-in-law Norrie after, I have been told, she had been deserted by her husband.
2.jpg)
Jane Jess
(left) late in life – the photo was probably taken in about 1921. ‘Black Johnny’
Power is standing between Jane and his daughter, Norrie, who was the wife of
Jane’s eldest son, James Jess. Behind Norrie is her daughter Monnie (Mrs
McCann). The little boy is Monnie’s son, Cecil Mc Cann.
Ken Percival, a descendant of the fourth child above (Mary Ann Catherine Jess) says that on her birth certificate her father John George Jess has given the information that he was born in Hobart in 1833. In a letter dated 5 February 1982 Ken told me: “I have since discovered that John George’s father was a Timothy James Jess and his mother a Mary Ann Lyons. Old John must have been a bit of a villain because he apparently took off and left his wife to care for the brood of 10 children. From what an aged aunt remembers her mother telling her, John Jess went to Victoria and was not heard from again.”
However, I have not found a single Jess entry in the early Tasmanian birth records and no death entry for a John George Jess in the Victorian death records.
On the Monaro Pioneers’ website, John George Jess is recorded as being the son of John and Janet Jess and he was born in Ireland circa 1840. He immigrated to Australia on the William Metcalfe and arrived in Hobart Town on 27 January 1837. There must be a major mistake here: how could he arrive in Tasmania three years before he was born?!
The website reports that he died in Murwillumbah at the age of 98 in 1938. But this is incorrect; it was John George Jess’s second son of the same name who died in Murwillumbah in 1938.
So, John George Jess’s origins and fate are still unresolved.
1. James Jess was born on 29 August 1858 at the Dragon Inn, the location of his parents’ wedding in the previous year.
On 15 September 1891, at the age of 33, he married Norah (“Norrie”) Power at St Peter’s Pambula. Norrie was ten years younger than James. She was the third child of John (“Black Johnny”) Power and Honorah Ryan of Kiah. (Two of Jane’s brothers, John and James, had married two of Black Johnny’s sisters, Anne and Kate.)
James and Norrie had two children:
1. Monica Mary ("Monnie") Jess born on 19 June 1892 . Monnie married Nicholas McCann in Murwillumbah in 1914. Their two children were:
1. Cecil James McCann who married Enid Veronica Dynan in 1938;
2. Vincent McCann
2. John Lambert ("Jack") Jess born 26 February 1894 married Elizabeth M ("Lizzie") Sheils at Murwillumbah in 1933. Lizzie had been born in Cooma in 1904. Jack died on 10 June 1974 aged 80.
Jack Jess who died in 1974 at the age of 80.
James died in Murwillumbah in 1940. Norrie died there in 1938.
Norrie Power’s family story can be found at www.monaropioneers.com under Michael Power.
2. John George Jess was born in 1859. He married Ann ??? in ??. John and Ann’s four children were:
1. John Jess born ??
2. Norman K Jess b 1885 in East Macquarie. Norman married Mary A Torpy in Glebe in 1905. Mary had been born in Braidwood in 1885.Their child was
1. Norman E Jess b 1914.
Norman senior possibly married a second time.
3. Francis G Jess b 1887 in East Macquarie.
4. Agnes M Jess b 1888 in Bathurst. In 1908 she married William H Freeman at Redfern and their two children were:
1. Edna M Freeman b 1910 in Marrickville
2. Dorothy C Freeman b 1911 also in Marrickville.
5. Albert B Jess b 1891 in Bathurst
John George died at Murwillumbah in 1938. I have no record of the death of his wife Annie.
3. William Edward Jess was born in 1862. He did not marry and died at Murwillumbah in 1932.
4. Mary Anne Catherine (“Kate”) Jess was born on 25 June1863 at Jeminbuen near Cooma. On 30 November 1881 she married Morgan Thornton at Bega. Morgan was born at Nimmitabel on 16 September 1861. He was the third child (of nine) of Patrick Joseph Thornton and Mary Bartley and became a blacksmith.
Kate and Morgan went on to have 15 children, the last two of whom were twin boys:
1. William Roland Lonsdale Thornton born 22 January 1883 in Nimmitabel. William died at Woolahra on 5 March 1955. He did not marry.
2. Leslie Harcourt Thornton b 25 August 1884 in Cooma. Leslie married Hannah Lewis in Sydney in 1906 and they had five children:
1. Leslie Louis Thornton
2. George Desmond Thornton
3. Reginald John Thornton
4. Eric Arthur Bernard Thornton
5. Neville Henry Francis Thornton
Leslie senior died on 28 September 1946
3. Percival Harold Thornton b 12 November 1886. Percival married Jane Crowe and they had one child:
1. Morgan Gabriel Thornton
Percival died 9 November 1945.
4. Alfred Patrick Thornton b 8 December 1887. He married Annie Williams Pemberton. They had no children.
Alfred died on 26 May 1962.
5. Mary Athenia Thornton b 13 March 1889 in Nimmitabel. She died there on 25 September 1915. Mary had not married.
6. Herbert Thornton b 30 December 1890 married Ethel May McMahon. Their one child was
1. John Morgan Thornton
Herbert died on 3 April 1964.
7. John Ambrose Thornton b 30 December 1893 married Amy Blake.
Their two children were:
1. William Peter Thornton
2. Marie Catherine Thornton
John died at Goulburn on 25 May 1919.
8. Monica Jane Thornton b 4 October 1894 married Hector Dallas at Woolahra in 1939. They had no children. Monica died on 8 May 1988.
9. Daniel Joseph Thornton b 18 January 1896 in Nimmitabel. Daniel did not marry and he died at Concord on 11 January 1974. See his photograph below with his cousin, Raymond Jess.
10. Greta Sarah Thornton b 30 March 1897 in Nimmitabel. Greta did not marry and she died at Annandale on 20 October 1974.
11. Anastatia Margaret Thornton b 1898 in Nimmitabel. She died there on 13 February 1899.
12. Cecilia Bridget Thornton b 30 September 1901 in Nimmitabel. Cecilia married Eric Sidney Hilton Percival and they had six children:
1. Hilton Bernard Percival
2. Kenneth Francis Percival. Ken married Patricia Boller and their six children are:
Ken & Patricia Percival
1. Marilyn Patricia Percival
2. Paul Francis Percival
3. Bruce James Percival
4. Michael Eric Percival
5. Susan Margaret Percival
6 Anthony Gerard Percival
3. Marie Cecilia Percival
4. Eric William Percival
5. June Patricia Percival
6. John Percival
Cecilia died on 3 February 1989.
13. Frederick Morgan Thornton b 14 February 1903. He married Mary Elizabeth Moore and their four children are:
1. Patricia Josephine Thornton
2. Maureen Catherine Thornton
3. Geraldine Therese Thornton
4. Moya Bernadette Thornton
Frederick died on 19 August 1968.
14. Henry Gabriel Thornton b 19 February 1908 married Constance Mildred Hartley and they also had four children:
1. Barry Raymond Thornton
2. Morgan Thornton
3. Maryrose Thornton
4. Ronald Francis Thornton
15. Raymond Thornton b 19 February 1908 in Nimmitabel. He died there aged only six months on 20 August 1908.
Mary Anne Catherine “Kate” Thornton died on 22 May 1944 at Annandale.
Her husband Morgan Thornton died on 28 September 1938 at Canberra, aged 77.
The genealogy of the Thornton family is available on www.monaropioneers.com
5. Charles Timothy Jess was born in 1864. On 26 October 1885 at Eden he married Ann ("Annie") Power who was a sister of the wife of his older brother, James. Charles and Annie had six children:
1. Raymond J Jess b 1886 in Eden. Raymond married Mary J Lynch at Marrickville in 1919 and their only child was John Jess.
Raymond Jess with his cousin, Dan Thornton
2. Mary ("Sissie") Jess b 4 December 1888
3. Violet M.E. Jess b1889 in Candelo.
4. Eileen V. Jess b 1891 in Eden and died there in the following year.
5. Cyril Desmond E Jess b 21 February 1895 at Eden. He married Emily E Best-Carter in Sydney in 1921 and they had two children:
1. Landa Jess
2. ???? Jess
6. Wilfred C. Jess b 1903 at Eden and died at Waterloo in 1912.
Wilfred Jess who died at the age of nine.
Charles Timothy died in Sydney in 1938; Annie died at Marrickville in 1943.
6. Emma Jess was born in 1866 and married Michael Joseph Breen at Bega in 1890. Their eight children were:
1. Daniel J M Breen b 1890 married Paulina H Kruger in Sydney in 1928.
2. James M Breen b 1891 married Margaret M Davis in Sydney in 1918 (Reg No 10335) and their marriage is also registered at Forbes in the same year (Reg No 11508).
3. Hilda M Breen b 1894 married Arthur E Hughes at St Leonards in 1914. Their two children were:
1. Ella Irene Hughes b 1915 at Forbes. Ella married Alan P Darcy at
Forbes in 1941
2. Reginald John Hughes b 1918 at Forbes. Reg married Nerida Marie Browne at Parkes in 1942.
4. Michael J Breen b 1895 married Elsie Doyle at Glebe in 1924.
5. William Edward Breen b 1897 married Mary T Kelly at Forbes in 1926.
6. Ileen M Breen b 1900
7. Bertrand B Breen b1901
8. Leo Casimer Breen b 1905 at Nimmitabel married Myra Gweendoline Neindorf at Woolahra in 1939. Leo died at Gosford in 1942.
7. Jane Jess was born in 1867 and married Henry B Beileiter at Bega in 1890 (Reg No 2373) Their marriage is also recorded in the same year at Bourke (Reg No 2573).
Their six children were:
1. Ida H Beileiter b 1891 at Bega married James G Tedder at Murwillumbah in 1925. James died at Chatswood in 1931.
2. Clarice V Beileiter b 1893 at Bega.
3. Iris G Beileiter b 1894 at Bega and married John P Dunn at Bombala in 1917.
4. Esmond H Beileiter b 1897at Bega and died in 1976.
5. Marizles C ("Molly") Beileiter b 1899 at Bombala and died in 1976.
6. Glenville Rivers Beileiter b 1903 at Bombala married Sadie Elizabeth McGinley at Annandale in 1940. Glenville died in 1971 at St Leonards.
Henry B Beileiter died at Newtown in 1927; Jane died in Chatswood in 1947 at the age of 80.
The full Beileiter genealogy can be viewed at www.monaropioneers.com
8. Eliza (Elizabeth Adeline?) Jess b in 1871 married Daniel Pendergast at Bombala on 5 November 1889. Their eleven children were:
1. Clarence Armidale ("Clarry") Pendergast b 23 November 1889 married Anastasia Nora Charles at Byron Bay in 1921. Clarry had the cream run from Norco to Byron Bay. Clarry and Nora had three sons and a daughter.
2. Violet May Pendergast b 18 August 1891 married Arthur E (“Harold”) Wallworth at Byron Bay in 1935. They had no children.
3. Johanna Eileen Pendergast b 9 August 1893 at Towamba married Jim Cutler an English musician. They had two boys and a girl.
4. Patrick Harold Pendergast b 22 December 1895 at Eden married Eileen Mary Holland of Byron Bay. Their children were three girls and a boy. (They suffered the loss of a still born boy in 1941.) Harold was a partner with Clarry in the cream run.
5. Daniel Ernest ("Ernie") Pendergast b 18 February 1898 at Nullica near Eden. He married Alice Margaret (“Madge”) Howarth of Byron Bay in Queensland on 7 October 1922. They had three daughters. Ernie was a hairdresser at Tyalgan near Murwillumbah.
6. John Desmond ("Des") Pendergast b 17 May 1900 in Eden married Maud Daniels who was a step sister of Nora Charles, Clarry Pendergast’s wife. Maud was from Byron Bay but in later life lived at Bray Park near Murwillumbah. They had one daughter, Ann Pendergast, who is married to Stanley Webster. They have a girl and a boy.
7. Rosanna ("Rose") Pendergast b 11 April 1902 at East Boyd near Boyd Town. Rose married an Englishman, Herbert Bowden, at Murwillumbah in 1927 and they had two boys and a girl. After the death of her husband she married another Englishman.
8. William Pendergast b 23 March 1904. Bill was a farmer whose wife, Dorothy (“Dolly”) Fitzgerald of Uki, bore him six children, three girls and three boys. Bill and Dolly were married at Murwillumbah in 1930. One of their daughters, Dypna Mary, died at Byron Bay in 1944.
9. James Bernard ("Bernie") Pendergast b 23 July 1906 at Mowarra and became an accountant. He married Eleanor Violet “Nell” Connolly of Uki and they had seven children – four girls and three boys, one of whom, Reginald Barry Pendergast, died in Queensland on 11 March 1938.
Bernie died at Manly, Qld in 1983.
10. Roger Bede Pendergast b 11 June 1908 at Mowarra . He married Jane A Watt of Brisbane at Murwillumbah in 1935 and they had three daughters. Jane died of arthritis at the age of 32. Bede died in 1986.
One of their daughters is M J Pendergast.
11. Herman Francis ("Frank") Pendergast b 1910 at Eden. Frank married Madeline Patricia McGettigan at Byron Bay in 1939 and they had six children, four boys and two girls. Frank was a carpenter and the last of the family to die (about 1985). He lived in Sydney.
Dan and his brother John Pendergast had a bullock team at Mowarra, south of Eden. The stone for the lighthouse built at Green Cape in the early 1880s came from Sydney by boat and was unloaded at Chinaman's Beach from where it was carted by bullock teams to the cape. No doubt John and Dan's team was employed on this work. Sleeper cutting was also a common occupation in the district and they would have found work carting the sleepers to Twofold Bay.
Dan took his family north by 1916 following in the tracks of his brothers Patrick and Jack who had made the move in earlier years. Two of Eliza’s brothers, James and William Jess, had also made the move to Murwillumbah. He enrolled three of his youngest sons – William, Bernard and Bede at Crystal Creek Public School near Murwillumbah in January 1917. The school register records that the boys’ previous school had been ‘Subsidised School’ and that Dan was a tenant farmer living at North Arm. In January 1918 he enrolled his youngest child Frank as a new pupil aged 7. The family was then living at Crystal Creek.
Dan died in the Tweed District Hospital on 24 November 1933 aged 74 and is buried at Murwillumbah.
For a history of all the Pendergast family see The Story of Patrick Power and Ellen Pendergast on the Monaro Pioneers’ website.
9. Margaret ("Mag") Jess was born in 1872 and the birth was registered at Cooma. Mag married John J O'Farrell, a bookmaker, at Bega in 1894. Their seven children were:
1. Eric H O'Farrell b 1894 at Bega and died there in 1908.
2. Adelaide F O'Farrell b 1896 at Bega married Arthur H L Miles at Glebe in 1920.
3. Vivian D O'Farrell b 1898 at Bega. Vivian died at Annandale in 1935.
4. Doris O'Farrell b 1900 at Bega married Harry G Kelly at Glebe in1920.
5. Phyllis J O'Farrell b 1903 at Bega. Phyllis died at Glebe in 1924.
6. Mary M O'Farrell b 1909 at Bega.
7. Raymond John O'Farrell b 1912 at Bega married Kathleen Conheady at Redfern in 1937.
10. Leonard Napoleon Jess was born at Bombala in 1877. He did not marry and died at Coolangatta.
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