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Old 29-06-13, 11:13
tenterfieldjulie
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Default What a Small World - Tenterfield

What a small world!!!.. .. As you know, Australia is a very large continent … with a relatively small population, (in relation to most countries), but it still amazes me when I find connections to my small home town of Tenterfield …with a population of a little over 3,000.. and this figure has altered little for over a century.

I had been really thrilled recently, with the help of Kate and Shona, to finally track my late husband’s maternal grandmother, Ellen McDonagh nee O’Connor. We proved conclusively that Patrick and Bridget O’Connor/Connors, nee Kennelly/Kenneally and variants, were of Glenaster townland, near Ardagh in Limerick Country, Ireland and they had a family of eleven children, eight of whom migrated to New South Wales, Australia. This really shocked me, as while I had previously found that Ellen and two her sisters migrated, but eight of the family!!

What shocked me even further was, that while six of the family settled in inner Sydney (Surry Hills, Chippendale, Waterloo, Alexandria, Mascot, Carlton, Bexley to name a few places), the older sister who Ellen came to Australia with, Annie, married Jeremiah Patrick O’Sullivan,( originally from I believe Adrigole on the Beara Peninsula of Cork) but where did the O’Sullivans settle .. in Ben Lomond, Northern NSW, a tiny rural village, now hardly in existence, where the McDonagh family lived and where my husband grew up.

The RC cemetery is located around the little church and I have walked around that cemetery looking at all the Irish names many times and we never knew that Ellen’s sister and brother-in-law have a headstone there too.

I have a Ben Lomond Centenary School book and there are school photos which include my mother in law,(born 1900) with O’Sullivan children, who are her first cousins. I suppose by the time I knew Nell in the 1970s her memories were of her father’s family, as her mother had died in 1932.

I have been finding more and more about the family in Australia through using Trove (the National Library database), which includes Newspapers and the Sydney Morning Herald up to 1954. Another great resource is the Ryerson Index, which is a death and funeral index up to the current date. There are some restrictions on our free NSW BDM index and we cannot access births past 1912, unless it is in the newspaper database. There is one problem with Trove, in that it has been electronically transcribed and there are many errors, as old print bleeds, but you can a view the newspaper and correct the transcription. (You need to make lots of time!!)

John O’Connor and Annie Ryan, his wife, have been the hardest and final brick wall to demolish. I was happy with the other seven siblings and I should have been satisfied, but John kept niggling away and I now believe I have the right couple. Living the longest, I haven’t been able to access their funeral notices. I have now sent off for a number(!!) of marriage and death transcriptions to put the icing on the cake, so to speak. There are transcription agents in NSW who are much cheaper than using the BDM Registrar. You need to obtain the reg. No. from the BDM Registry first.

Now my amazing find (drum roll please !!) .. John and Annie O’Connor’s oldest daughter was Florence May and I found reference to her marrying Eric Bailey. Hmmh I thought that name is familiar?.. Tonight I went looking .. married Eric George Bailey .. hmmh .. why is that name familiar?! … I thought I would look on Ryerson .. death at Blayney in 1945 of Constable Eric George Bailey .. hullo hullo .. trying to get the brain cells to work .. Why is that so familiar? .. so I went and Googled him .. Constable Eric George Bailey .. born Tenterfield …. Arrested his own murderer !!! … and was awarded the George Cross .. Read all about it folks!! …. But isn’t that amazing?… I think we were talking awhile ago about how it was possible to arrest your own murderer .. and he was born in Tenterfield and married my mother in law’s first cousin!! Don’t you love family history. Julie

Last edited by tenterfieldjulie; 29-06-13 at 22:38.
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Old 29-06-13, 11:44
Val in Oz Val in Oz is offline
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Goodness Julie, some great finds there, well done you, and how wonderful that you already knew that cemetery in Ben Lomond. We often whizz by that area on our travels, now I shall know a little something more about the people who originally lived there....
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Old 29-06-13, 12:11
tenterfieldjulie
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Vurrrrry cold there at the moment Val.
The Ben Lomond headstones are online .. I can't think for the moment what the site is called, but you can view them.
I will be 100% satisfied with my conclusions when I get the certificates .. John there is a slight doubt, so I have asked for verification of parents names on the cert before I buy it. Julie
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Old 29-06-13, 18:40
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I think it must be this one, Julie?
Ben Lomond Cemetery NSW

Great story, and good sleuthing! You must be doing a happy-dance.
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Old 29-06-13, 20:05
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Julie...brilliant find.

When we moved to Tenterfield, I did a bit more FH and found my husband's great grandmother was born there...lol

Also found he is related to a couple of other people there through other sides of the family.

It is a very small world.....lol
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Old 30-06-13, 00:30
geniebug
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How exciting Julie, looking forward to the update when you get the certificates.

Shona has helped me too, she is very good.

I'm sure there is heaps more information to be found on Trove with my own family, but as you say, correcting the errors takes a lot of time. Found my own engagement there, and even that Mum and Dad & I had sailed to Derby when I was 3 years old.

It pays to go over and over - you know - My grandfathers brother died on a certain date and the informant was a supposed cousin. I wondered why the parents werent around, and Shona picked up that the mother gave birth to another child the day after and the father was away at sea. I've had those certificates for years, and never noticed!!!!!

Good luck and happy sleuthing Julie.
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Old 30-06-13, 01:00
tenterfieldjulie
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Thanks Janet, Libby and Jood.
Yes .. the confirmation of Ellen's townland in Limerick was on the marriage notice on Trove. For years I had the marriage certificate which just said Limerick. When Kate started to unravel the O'Connors for me again, using the name Connors, it started me thinking and I went into Trove and here was the information .. 3rd daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Patrick O'Connor of Glenastas,(Glenaster) Limerick. I have since looked right through years on Trove at Family Notices, to see if any other sister put any extra information, but none of them put their marriage in the paper. I am now eagerly waiting to see what the certificates may reveal!! Julie
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Old 30-06-13, 06:13
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Congratulations Julie magnificent finds for you ... so happy someone can topple a brickwall
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Old 30-06-13, 06:17
tenterfieldjulie
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Panda it took me 40 years .. so never give up. Julie
Errh Panda I put Roy Campbell into Ryerson and it brought up 67 hits..

Last edited by tenterfieldjulie; 30-06-13 at 06:21.
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Old 30-06-13, 07:06
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Yes I have had a lot of hits ... no Gilbert Roy Campbell born Sept 1893 Gympie though....there is a GR Campbell who worked for the railways in NSW I found in Ryerson but he didn't pan out either he was born in NSW after tracing him back.
I haven't looked for a long time though so who knows

Julie at 68 today I don't think I've got 40 years to spare...roflmao
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