Our Common Ancestors are: Edmond O'Donnell and Bridget Burke.
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| Mary Margaret O'Donnell (photo shared by my maternal 3rd cousin Stephenie Maree Buchester nee Moloney) |
To clear up any confusion about the term 'Grand Aunt'. A 'Grand' Aunt is a sister of one of your grandparents. 'Great' should only be added to the generations that came before before 'Grand', but sadly the term 'Great' has now become the commonly used term for our grandparents' siblings. I shall however continue referring to my grandfather James's sister as Grand Aunt Mary Margaret.
Mary Margaret was born 79 years before me, on exactly the same date and month as myself, so I feel a strange connection with this woman whom I have never met.
Born in 1890 to my Great Grandfather Edmond O'Donnell and my Great Grandmother Bridget Burke, Mary Margaret was the fourth of their five children. At the time, her father Edmond was aged 28 and her mother Bridget was 39 (although the birth record states Bridget was 34!)
Mary Margaret's place of birth was recorded by her mother as the 'Show Grounds' in Toowoomba. I've written about the circumstance of the family at this time in a few other posts now, so I won't go into a lot of detail again; but I can say that the family was living 'hand to mouth' at this time and obviously not doing all that well, given that they were likely living in temporary housing/shelter at the show grounds.
When Mary Margaret was born, she already had a sister Catherine aged 6 and a brother named James (my Grandfather) who would have been 3. Another brother had died at the age of 2, just two years before. Mary Margaret's father was working as a carrier / carter for a local brewing business and the family of five were living in what was possibly very bleak, drab conditions at the time.
Another brother, Maurice, was born in September 1892, just a couple of months before Mary Margaret's second birthday. By this time it appears the family were now living in a residence in James Street, so that's likely to mean they were now living in an actual house.
Just a couple of months later, in January of 1893, Mary Margaret's father Edmond died in rather tragic circumstances (which I've also written about a couple of times before, so won't go into again). Mary Margaret was only 2 years old, so perhaps she wouldn't have had many memories of her father. The event of course had an effect on Mary Margaret's life as it set her mother off on a particular path for the rest of her life, and Mary Margaret ended up following in her footsteps.
As a means of providing support for herself and her children once she was widowed, Mary Margaret's mother Bridget applied to become the licensed victualler of a hotel. She was successful and in 1894 began a career as a hotel keeper & licensed victualler, which was to be her profession pretty much for the remainder of her life. Her children, including Mary Margaret of course, lived with their mother at her hotel.
Mary Margaret's childhood years would not have been all that magical, living at the Free Selectors Hotel in Toowoomba. It was an establishment that offered accommodation and meals and served alcohol at the bar. The photo above shows Mary Margaret's mother, Bridget (my Great Grandmother) standing in front of the newly erected sign on B. O'Donnell's Free Selectors Hotel. I think it's likely that the two children standing on either side of Bridget would be her son James (my Grandfather) and her eldest daughter Catherine.
It would have been a hard life for her mother, and Mary Margaret probably didn't receive a lot of her mother's time and attention. Even when her mother re-married in 1895, when Mary Margaret was aged 4, it didn't lead to Bridget taking much of a break from running a hotel. Mary Margaret's stepfather seems to have been a bit of a no-hoper and he ended up transferring the licence for the hotel back to Bridget after only a year.
A step-brother, Morgan Joseph, was born early that same year, in 1896, but apart from that Mary Margaret's stepfather doesn't seem to have played much of a role in her life at all. He doesn't appear in any of the electoral roll records for many, many years which seems to indicate he wasn't living in the area. Perhaps he had moved away in search of work elsewhere!
Tragedy was to strike the family once more just two years later. Mary Margaret's older sister Catherine (known as Kate) died in 1898, at the age of 13. She had apparently been sick for at least six months, suffering from Bright's Disease. Mary Margaret was 7 at the time, and no doubt the tragedy would have left an indelible mark on the young girl.
I guess that it had been Catherine who had acted as 'mother' to all the young children whilst their mother, Bridget, worked in the hotel. With the loss of Catherine, it's likely the remaining children would have had to grow up very quickly and look after themselves to a degree, but Mary Margaret probably had to take on the nurturing role for the youngest child, Morgan Joseph.
What would the years after the death of her only sister have been like? I have a vision of a rather earnest, caring, endlessly patient and subdued young lady spending her time on domestic duties and childcare!
Mary Margaret spent the next eleven years helping her mother run the Southern Hotel, until 1924 when her mother, then aged 73, retired from working in her hotel.
The electoral roll record of 1928 shows that Mary Margaret, aged 38, was running a place named 'O'Brien's' on Hume Street in Toowoomba. Of course 'O'Brien' was her mother's surname after she had re-married back in 1895. No doubt Mary Margaret was not only running the boarding house, with the support of Morgan Joseph, but also caring for her elderly mother by this stage.
Then, in 1936, it seems Mary Margaret chose to return to a working life as a hotel keeper herself.
This notice appeared in the Telegraph newspaper in Brisbane in March of 1936.
Mary Margaret, now aged 46, was applying to become the licensed victualler for the Southern Hotel!!
She was now the hotel keeper in the family.
Electoral records between 1936 and 1968 show that Mary Margaret continued running the Southern Hotel as the 'hotelkeeper' for around 32 years.
Both her mother Bridget and her step brother Morgan Joseph moved into the hotel once more with her in 1936. In January of 1937 though, Bridget passed away. Mary Margaret was aged 46. She continued running the hotel, with the support of her stepbrother Morgan at first; and then by 1943 her brother Maurice was back in Toowoomba and living at the Southern Hotel.
Mary Margaret's stepbrother Morgan appears to have remained unmarried through all those years. Her brother Maurice however did marry in 1946. It appears that Maurice still recorded the Southern Hotel as his place of residence for many years, even though he and his wife Catherine had a house of their own.
Around 1965 it appears that the Southern Hotel caught the eye of a businessman named Tom Foxlee. As reported in an article printed after his death, the story goes:
The 'O'Donnell sisters' mentioned in the article above would have been Mary Margaret and her sister-in-law Catherine.
By the time the Southern Hotel was purchased, Mary Margaret's stepbrother Morgan Joseph had passed away. He had died the year before, in 1965, when Mary Margaret was 75. Morgan Joseph had been the brother who had worked alongside both Mary Margaret and their mother all his life, so I would think Mary Margaret would have mourned his loss quite intensely.
Update:
Special Note to any family members: If you have memories to add, photos or information to share, can I graciously ask that you do so. Please use the comments box below or email me. It may prove to be invaluable to the story and provide future generations with something to truly treasure.
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| Free Selectors' Hotel 1894. (photo shared by my uncle Terry O'Donnell) |
Mary Margaret's childhood years would not have been all that magical, living at the Free Selectors Hotel in Toowoomba. It was an establishment that offered accommodation and meals and served alcohol at the bar. The photo above shows Mary Margaret's mother, Bridget (my Great Grandmother) standing in front of the newly erected sign on B. O'Donnell's Free Selectors Hotel. I think it's likely that the two children standing on either side of Bridget would be her son James (my Grandfather) and her eldest daughter Catherine.
It would have been a hard life for her mother, and Mary Margaret probably didn't receive a lot of her mother's time and attention. Even when her mother re-married in 1895, when Mary Margaret was aged 4, it didn't lead to Bridget taking much of a break from running a hotel. Mary Margaret's stepfather seems to have been a bit of a no-hoper and he ended up transferring the licence for the hotel back to Bridget after only a year.
A step-brother, Morgan Joseph, was born early that same year, in 1896, but apart from that Mary Margaret's stepfather doesn't seem to have played much of a role in her life at all. He doesn't appear in any of the electoral roll records for many, many years which seems to indicate he wasn't living in the area. Perhaps he had moved away in search of work elsewhere!
Tragedy was to strike the family once more just two years later. Mary Margaret's older sister Catherine (known as Kate) died in 1898, at the age of 13. She had apparently been sick for at least six months, suffering from Bright's Disease. Mary Margaret was 7 at the time, and no doubt the tragedy would have left an indelible mark on the young girl.
I guess that it had been Catherine who had acted as 'mother' to all the young children whilst their mother, Bridget, worked in the hotel. With the loss of Catherine, it's likely the remaining children would have had to grow up very quickly and look after themselves to a degree, but Mary Margaret probably had to take on the nurturing role for the youngest child, Morgan Joseph.
What would the years after the death of her only sister have been like? I have a vision of a rather earnest, caring, endlessly patient and subdued young lady spending her time on domestic duties and childcare!
Mary Margaret would then, from possibly the age of 10, have started working alongside her mother, assisting with the many duties associated with running a busy hotel.
When Mary Margaret was 18 years old, in 1909, her mother Bridget (now Bridget O'Brien) built her own hotel on the outskirts of Toowoomba and then become the licensed victualler of the Southern Hotel. Mary Margaret remained living and working alongside her mother at this new hotel. Mary Margaret's brothers James, aged 21, and Maurice, aged 17, as well as her half-brother Morgan Joseph, aged 13, also moved into the Southern Hotel in 1909.
In 1912, at the age of 22, Mary Margaret was the bridesmaid at her cousin's wedding.
Her older cousin, Bridget Mary Burke, had come out from Ireland back in 1900. She had gone straight to work at her aunt's hotel (the Free Selector's Hotel) as a housemaid. That of course was the hotel of Mary Margaret's mother.
Mary Margaret was around 10 years of age at the time and I imagine she and her cousin Bridget Mary grew close, almost as if they were sisters, even though there was a twelve year difference in age. It's likely that Mary Margaret's cousin filled the void left after the death of Mary Margaret's older sister Kate. I also imagine that after her cousin's marriage, Mary Margaret would have been there at the birth of Bridget Mary's children over the following years.
In 1912, at the age of 22, Mary Margaret was the bridesmaid at her cousin's wedding.
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Wedding Party of Bridget Mary Burke & James Bernard Dever - Mary Margaret is the bridesmaid
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Her older cousin, Bridget Mary Burke, had come out from Ireland back in 1900. She had gone straight to work at her aunt's hotel (the Free Selector's Hotel) as a housemaid. That of course was the hotel of Mary Margaret's mother.
Mary Margaret was around 10 years of age at the time and I imagine she and her cousin Bridget Mary grew close, almost as if they were sisters, even though there was a twelve year difference in age. It's likely that Mary Margaret's cousin filled the void left after the death of Mary Margaret's older sister Kate. I also imagine that after her cousin's marriage, Mary Margaret would have been there at the birth of Bridget Mary's children over the following years.
Toowoomba was to be Mary Margaret's home for her entire lifetime. This was not to be the case for two of her brothers however. Around 1915, these brothers, James (my grandfather) and Maurice, left Toowoomba and moved a long way north to establish and work their own farmland. Mary Margaret's half brother Morgan Joseph, who was aged 19, did stay in Toowoomba and continued living at the Southern Hotel.
Mary Margaret spent the next eleven years helping her mother run the Southern Hotel, until 1924 when her mother, then aged 73, retired from working in her hotel.
Not long after this Mary Margaret, her mother Bridget and her half-brother Morgan Joseph all moved into a house on Hume Street. It seems that they then established a boarding house business at this residence.
The electoral roll record of 1928 shows that Mary Margaret, aged 38, was running a place named 'O'Brien's' on Hume Street in Toowoomba. Of course 'O'Brien' was her mother's surname after she had re-married back in 1895. No doubt Mary Margaret was not only running the boarding house, with the support of Morgan Joseph, but also caring for her elderly mother by this stage.
Then, in 1936, it seems Mary Margaret chose to return to a working life as a hotel keeper herself.
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| Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld.), Wednesday 18 March 1936, page 6. |
This notice appeared in the Telegraph newspaper in Brisbane in March of 1936.
Mary Margaret, now aged 46, was applying to become the licensed victualler for the Southern Hotel!!
She was now the hotel keeper in the family.
Electoral records between 1936 and 1968 show that Mary Margaret continued running the Southern Hotel as the 'hotelkeeper' for around 32 years.
Both her mother Bridget and her step brother Morgan Joseph moved into the hotel once more with her in 1936. In January of 1937 though, Bridget passed away. Mary Margaret was aged 46. She continued running the hotel, with the support of her stepbrother Morgan at first; and then by 1943 her brother Maurice was back in Toowoomba and living at the Southern Hotel.
Mary Margaret's stepbrother Morgan appears to have remained unmarried through all those years. Her brother Maurice however did marry in 1946. It appears that Maurice still recorded the Southern Hotel as his place of residence for many years, even though he and his wife Catherine had a house of their own.
This photo, taken sometime around 1960, shows the original Southern Hotel, built by Mary Margaret's mother, run by Mary Margaret's mother for 12 years, and later run by Mary Margaret for 32 years. The yellow shape shows the spot where the young lady is standing in the photo below.
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This fabulous photo was taken sometime in the 1950s and clearly shows Mary Margaret's name displayed as the licensed victualler of the establishment.
The young lady standing in front of the hotel is the daughter of Mary Margaret's cousin Bridget Mary Dever nee Burke. Remember the wedding back in 1912 when Mary Margaret was the bridesmaid for her cousin Bridget! Well the young lady is the only daughter of that cousin.
When these photos were taken - 1950 to 1960 - Mary Margaret was in her 60s and was still running the hotel. She was assisted by her sister-in-law, Catherine, who was in her 50s. Catherine had married Mary Margaret's brother Maurice Patrick O'Donnell, and the two ladies were known affectionately as the "O'Donnell sisters".
"Tom was driving past a run-down, old hotel on the outskirts of Toowoomba with a friend who just happened to be a real estate agent. The hotel was owned by the O'Donnell sisters who ran the hotel as they liked, only serving people they trusted. The hotel was so old and run-down, it even had the horse rail still in position out the front. 'The person who buys that hotel will make a fortune,' Tom suggested. 'How much money do you have?' the agent replied."Apparently Tom put down a 10 pence piece for an option to purchase over a one-month period, then went on to form a syndicate of business friends who purchased the hotel in 1966. The old hotel was demolished and a new one built on the same spot. I haven't been able to find out just exactly what they paid for the hotel, but I have a feeling it wasn't all that much!!!
The 'O'Donnell sisters' mentioned in the article above would have been Mary Margaret and her sister-in-law Catherine.
By the time the Southern Hotel was purchased, Mary Margaret's stepbrother Morgan Joseph had passed away. He had died the year before, in 1965, when Mary Margaret was 75. Morgan Joseph had been the brother who had worked alongside both Mary Margaret and their mother all his life, so I would think Mary Margaret would have mourned his loss quite intensely.
After the sale of the Southern Hotel, Mary Margaret had moved into a house in the middle of the city of Toowoomba.
The Australian Electoral Roll for 1968 shows Mary Margaret living on Ruthven Street, not too far away from her brother Maurice. It's interesting though to note that at this point, Maurice was a widower, living on his own. His wife Catherine, who had also worked for many years alongside Mary Margaret, had passed away, and yet Mary Margaret did not move in with her brother.
She lived in a Ruthven Street home with a couple, a man named Francis Baggett and his wife Honorah, known as Norah. I have absolutely no idea who these people might have been, but obviously they must have been good friends as they had taken in Mary Margaret aged in her late 70s.
Mary Margaret's brother Maurice died just a couple of years later, in 1970, and sadly, Mary Margaret passed away in 1971, aged 80. She was survived by her one remaining brother, James (my grandfather).
Mary Margaret was buried at the Toowoomba Cemetery, alongside her half-brother Morgan Joseph.
Update:
I've just recently received two books in which my maternal great grandmother - Bridget O'Donnell / O'Brien nee Burke - and my grand aunt - Mary Margaret O'Donnell - are mentioned.
It's such a pleasure to see both these strong, resilient, hard-working, independent women acknowledged in this way.
The paragraph above should read: "From 1936 the hotel was run by Bridget O'Brien's daughter Mary Margaret O'Donnell and her sister-in-law ...."
Special Note to any family members: If you have memories to add, photos or information to share, can I graciously ask that you do so. Please use the comments box below or email me. It may prove to be invaluable to the story and provide future generations with something to truly treasure.
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