The Story of Catherine Joy

This week's post tells the story of my maternal Great Great Grandmother, Catherine (known as Kate) Joy  (1828 - 1882).

When I discovered the surname of my 2x great grandmother, I was fascinated.   'Joy' seemed a little unusual and whimsical, even for Ireland.  According to the research I've done so far, the origin of the surname 'Joy' is English, but was derived from the old French word "joie".  It is apparently one of the oldest of all surnames, found in English records dated 1166.  There have been a few variations in spelling over time ... Joie, Joye, Joy.  Given that my ancestor was Irish, I've wondered about the first instance of this surname in Irish records.

Now back to my 2x great grandmother ... the baptism register for the Parish of Owning and Templeorum shows that Catherine was baptised on March the 10th in 1828, in the townland of Fodeen (Fiddown), County Kilkenny in Ireland.  I've made the assumption that she was born the same year, and baptised not long afterwards. The surname of her father was recorded as 'Joye' on this record.

Her parents were Richard Joye and Eleanor (Ellen) Knox, and her sponsors were Michael Walsh and Catherine Murray.






My research on Catherine has produced rather sketchy details of her childhood unfortunately, so that's a chunk of her story that will be forever shrouded in mystery.






I know that when Catherine was born, she already had one sibling John, who had been born in 1826.

Sometime around 1830 Catherine's father and mother, along with the two children who had been born by that time, older brother John and Catherine herself; moved to a farm in Tybroughney (spelt Tibberaghny on the Tithe Applotment record at that time), in County Kilkenny.



Unfortunately, there is a large gap in my family research between the birth of my 2x great grandmother Catherine and the next sibling I found in the Register of Births for the Owning and Templeorum Parish.  There are many missing records during this period in the birth registers, so that makes the research difficult.  Anyway ... other siblings that I could find a baptism record for include:

Mary was born in 1835, when Catherine was 7 years old.

William was born in 1839, when Catherine was 11 years old.
Richard was born in 1841, when Catherine was 14.
Ellen was born in 1844, when Catherine was 16.

Alice (known as Ally) was born in 1847, when Catherine was 

I'm sure there must have been more children born between 1828, when my 2x great grandmother was born, and 1835 when her sister Mary was born!  I wonder if I'll ever find out?

The next important event in Catherine's life that I found evidence of was her marriage.  On the 23rd of May 1853, Catherine married John O'Donnell.  His family surname had been anglicized to 'Daniel' many years before.  On her wedding day Catherine was aged 25, while John was 40.  The transcript of the original church record has Catherine's maiden name spelt incorrectly as 'Jay'.

Soon after their marriage, Catherine and John moved into a farmhouse that sat on farmland of around 30 acres in Killonerry, County Kilkenny.  Many, many years later, in the 1901 census, the house was listed as 'first class', as it had substantial stone walls, a slate tile roof, 6 rooms, and seven windows at the front of the house.  It would have been a rather impressive home at the time Catherine moved in with her husband.

Catherine and John went on to have 13 children over the next 18 years.
Patrick was born in 1854, when Catherine was 26.
Richard was born in 1855.
Margaret came along in 1856.
Michael was born in 1857.
William in 1859.  Catherine was now aged 31.
John in 1861.
Edmond (my great grandfather) was born in 1862.
Peter was born in 1864.
Ellen came along in 1865.
James was born in 1867.
Thomas was born in 1870, but sadly died that same year.
Catherine came along in 1871.
Mary came along in 1872, when Catherine was 44 years old.

I would imagine that Catherine's life would have been a very, very busy life.  She was giving birth every year or two, raising more and more children, keeping house and working as a farmer's wife as well, with all that entailed.   I have visions of her rising before the sun came up, working non-stop all day long and putting her exhausted body to bed late at night.

By the time Catherine was in her mid-40s, there were 15 people in the farmhouse.  Her children ranged in age from 19 to 1 year old.  I wonder where she found the energy for her day-to-day life, and where was the joy in her life ... no pun intended!

Catherine's husband was aged 60 when Catherine turned 45.  You would think that it would be likely for John to pass away before Catherine, given the age difference.  But that was not to be!

Sadly, Catherine died in 1882 aged just 54.  She had been suffering from tuberculosis, as had her daughter Ellen who had died just two years earlier at the age of 14.

For much of the late 19th century in Ireland, tuberculosis (TB, or consumption as it was commonly known) was a scourge that ravaged the country.  For many of Ireland's population, including Catherine and her daughter Ellen, it was left untreated and the victims often died a terrible death with their bodies literally being "consumed" by weight loss and breathlessness.

Catherine's husband John was the informant for the civil death record and if Catherine had been born the same year that she was baptised, then the detail of her age would be slightly incorrect.

I will make mention now of Week 27's prompt for the '52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge' at this point.  The prompt is:  Independence.  I immediately thought of Catherine's and John's children when reading this prompt.

At the time of  Catherine's death (February) her son Richard was 26, her daughter Margaret was 25, her son Michael was 24, William was 23, John was aged 20, Edmond (my great grandfather) was 19 years old, Peter was 17, James was 14, Catherine was10 and Mary was 9 years old.

My great great grandmother's death seems to have acted as a catalyst for most of her children to make the decision to leave Ireland and emigrate.  By that time in Irish history, over 3 million Irish had emigrated in the 40-year period between 1841 and 1881.




Most of Catherine's offspring became part of the Irish diaspora, in the ten-year period after her death.  The family farm was unable to support all of Catherine's children in their adult years, so the majority of them were destined to leave home and build independent lives for themselves in far-away countries


Richard left the year his mother died, 1882. Edmond (my great grandfather) left the following year, 1883. Michael left 3 years later in 1885.  William left around the same time.

I'm not entirely sure when Peter left Ireland, but it seems James, Kathleen and Mary all emigrated in the late 1890s.  So, eight years after Catherine's death, eight of her ten surviving children had left the family farm.

Only Margaret and John Jnr. stayed at home with their father.  William, who had emigrated around 1885, came back to the farm around the early 1890s.

Some of Catherine and John's children who emigrated:

Top row:  William was the one who emigrated to the U.S.A. for a while, but returned to the ancestral family farm in Ireland.  Edmond, my great grandfather, emigrated to Australia, but died ten years later.  Mary and Michael both emigrated to the U.S.A., married and had families of their own.


Special Note to any family members:  If you have 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.

The Story of William Conners / Connors

This week's post tells the story of my paternal Great Great Grandfather, William Connors (1820 - 1882).

Firstly, I'd like to mention that it took me ages to research the story of my 2x great grandfather William because of the different versions of his surname written down in the various records over time.  On his immigration record, his surname was listed as 'Conners'. His record of marriage had his surname listed as 'Connor'.  Over his life time however, this morphed into 'Connors', which was the surname listed on various records for many of his children.  Records pertaining to his death and burial have him listed as 'Connors'.   What's in a name?  Endless hours of research when it's not a straight forward one!



I literally have no records about William before he boarded a ship and headed to Australia.  He is the only one of my direct ancestors for whom that is the case!  I've searched and searched birth records in Ireland for the year of his birth, but have not been able to find any evidence of his baptism or birth.  I have not yet found evidence of his parents' marriage and I have not discovered his parents in any census records.

The only background information I have about William before he landed in the colonies, comes from the information that was recorded on the assisted immigrant passenger list of 1840.

So, here's what I've managed to put together for my 2x great grandfather William so far.

William Conners/Connors was born in 1820 in the civil parish of Gallen in  King's County, Ireland.

King's County became known as County Offaly later on.

It is located in the Irish midlands, covers an area of around 771 square miles and in the year of William's birth had a population of around 131,000.





William was apparently the son of Benjamin and Sabina.  I have not yet found out any more detail about William's parents or his siblings ... other than I know that his sister Mary (who migrated with him to Australia) was born two years before William in 1818.

Whatever the circumstances of their childhood and early adult life, William and his older sister made the decision to leave Ireland and emigrate to Australia under the Assisted Immigration, or Bounty, Scheme.  They boarded the ship Berkshire and headed for the colonies.

Details recorded on the Assisted Immigrants Passenger List show that William was single, aged 21, was Roman Catholic and came from Gallen in King's County, Ireland.  His occupation was that of farm labourer and he could read and write.  His father was named Ben, a farmer, and his mother was named Sabina.

The Berkshire left Plymouth on the 20th of November in 1839.  223 emigrants were under the supervision of  Dr. Bernard Kenny, and the ships captain was Captain Norris.  The journey lasted just short of four months.

William, aged 21, and his sister Mary, aged 23, arrived in Sydney on the 13th of March 1841.   Unfortunately I don't have any details about what happened immediately after their arrival in Australia.

By 1848 however, William is living and working at a place named Cooley Camp in the East Maitland area of New South Wales, near Woodville.


This was a very rich and productive farming area, later to become known as Bolwarra Flat.

In 1849 William married Ellen Hickey.  He was 29 years old and she was aged 17.  They went on to have 13 children over a period of 25 years.

Thomas Edgar (my great grandfather) was born in 1850.  His birthplace is recorded as Butterwick, which was in the Cooley Camp area.

Given that Cooley Camp was not a large area, being only five square miles in size, the opportunities for a farmer with a small landholding to expand and provide a better life for his family were extremely limited.  It seems that William and Ellen decided that it would be best to move.

They, and a number of other Irish families, all embarked on a journey to the Kiama and Gerringong region on the New South Wales south coast.



It was only just opening up as a new farming area after the established cedar cutting industry had come to a halt, and it must have seemed like an opportunity not to be missed.




It appears, from oral family history, that William and Ellen leased a small plot of land and established a dairy farm.  Whilst living there, there were another twelve children added to the family.


Margaret came along in 1852.
Patrick was born in 1853, when William was 33.
Mary Ann was born in 1855.
Bridget Ellen was born in 1857.
James was born in 1859.
Ellen Sabina came along in 1861.
William was born in 1864.
Benjamin was born in 1866.
Elizabeth (known as Lizzie) was born in 1870.
Michael John came along in 1873.

The historical electoral roll record of 1855-1856 shows William Conner living at Crawley's Forest, near Kiama. This was a big settlement in the hills above Kiama on the slopes of Saddleback Mountain. The record indicates that he was leasing land and did not own it outright.

After living in the Kiama region for just over twenty years, William decided it was time to move again.

He was keen to find a place where he might be able to have a much larger plot of land, and he decided to relocate his family to Wagga Wagga, to the west.


The entire family headed off on a really long and arduous trip by ox and dray.  The distance to be travelled was around 300 miles.


At that time William was aged 53.  His wife Ellen would have been 41.  Their eldest son (my great grandfather) Thomas was aged 23, was married and had a baby.  Daughter Margaret was 21.  Son Patrick was nearly 20 years old.  Mary Ann was 18.  Bridget was 16.  James was 14.  Ellen Sabina was 12.  William was aged 9.  Benjamin was 7 years old.  John was 5.  Elizabeth was 3.  Michael would have been just a new born baby.



Sadly, it was to be a decision that had dire consequences.  A case of very bad timing indeed.

The family arrived sometime around 1875.  By that time typhoid fever, known then as 'colonial fever' was breaking out in several areas across New South Wales and Victoria.  Unfortunately, it was rampant in Wagga Wagga by 1876 and William, now aged 56, lost three of his children.

First of all, Ellen Sabina aged 15 died in May of 1876.

John, aged only 8, died in June.

Then, Patrick succumbed after battling the disease for a month and died in August, aged 22. 

I simply can't imagine the grief and anguish that must have been experienced by William, Ellen and their surviving children.  They would have been absolutely heart-broken.  Other members of the family must have fallen ill along the way as well, so it would have been very distressing wondering if there were to be any more losses.

In amongst all this heartbreak, another son was born.  Edward George came along in July of 1876.  I'm certain William would have held Edward especially close upon his birth!

What a rotten hand William, Ellen and their family had been dealt!  How does a parent recover from such a thing?  I guess one simply puts one foot in front of the other and goes on, for the sake of the remaining family.

Obviously Wagga Wagga held many sad memories, so just over two years later William and Ellen decide to move on once more.  This time though, some of their family did not join them on the trip.  Their eldest son Thomas (my great grandfather) returned to Kiama with his family.  Their eldest daughter Margaret remained in Wagga Wagga and married.  Another of their daughters, Bridget, also remained in Wagga Wagga.

William, along with his wife Ellen, and six of their surviving children moved to the Snowy Mountains district towards the end of 1879.  They settled in Gilmore, a small town outside Tumut.  William at this time would have been 59 years old.


It does not appear as if everything came up roses for William at Gilmore either.  Mention is made of William and his wheat crop in a newspaper in late 1881.

"During the violent storm to which I have before referred, Mr. William Connor's wheat crop at the Gilmore sustained serious injury; indeed, it is affirmed that it has been almost destroyed. Large patches of wheat were cut down as if by a reaping hook, while in many places the blades were torn up by the roots. I have heard no satisfactory explanation as to how this singular effect was produced."

Gundagi Times and Tumut, Adelong and Murrumbidgee District Advertiser (NSW),  Friday 21 October 1881, page 2.


I wonder how he recovered from the destruction of his wheat crop?

Sad to say, poor William did not live long after this event.  Within a year, he had died.  In September of 1882, another article appeared in a couple of newspapers.

Gundagai Times and Tumut, Adelong and Murrumbidgee District Advertiser (NSW), Friday 1 September 1882, page 3

---

TUMUT NEWS.

 A well-known resident of the Gilmore, Mr. William Connors, departed this life early on Sunday morning last, after a brief illness. On the previous Thursday Mr. Connors, who was suffering from the effects of a cold, came into town for medical advice. He returned home apparently no worse in his health, but during the night his cough became violent, and after this he gradually declined until he passed away, apparently without pain. The deceased, we believe, was a brother of the late Mrs. B. Kelly, and has left a widow and a large family to mourn their loss. The funeral took place on Monday.

William died at the end of August in 1882, aged 62  (the age recorded on his death record was incorrect, as was the length of his time in the colony/state ... William had been in Australia for 41 years, not 4!)

He was survived by his wife and ten of his children.  Probate granted his estate to his wife Ellen.

Special Note to any family members:  If you have 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.

The Story of Henry Johnson Brown

This post tells the story of my paternal Great Great Grandfather, Henry Johnson Brown (1820 - 1868).

Photo from an article in the 'Northern Star' (Lismore), Wednesday 23 October 1929, page 16

When Henry was born in 1820 his father Henry Brown, a shoe maker, was aged 30 and his mother Eleanor Gowan was also 30 years of age.

My great great grandfather Henry was born in a town named Whitehaven situated on the west coast of Cumbria in the north-west of England.

England & Wales, Non-Conformist & Non-Parochial Registers 1567-1970  (1820)

The record shown above indicates that Henry was baptised on July 9th, 1820.  He had been born on the 6th of February that same year.   Henry was baptised according to the rites of the Wesleyan theology.  

Before the birth of Henry, there had been two other children born.

William had been born in 1814.
Alexander had been born in 1816.

When Henry was aged 2, a sibling named Sarah was born in 1822.
Ann was born in 1829, when Henry was 9 years old.

Sadly, when Henry was aged 18 in 1838, his mother Eleanor died.  

By this time Henry was working as a printer in Whitehaven, but it seems he thought his future looked rather bleak if he stayed in the town of his birth.  Indeed, Whitehaven's prosperity, which had been built on tobacco and coal in the 18th and early 19th centuries, was beginning to wane by the middle of the 19th century.

Just a year and a half after the death of their mother, Henry and his sister Sarah made the decision to leave home and head off to a new life in Australia.  What enticed this life-changing decision?  Why did only these two of the Brown children decide to emigrate?  Why did the other siblings decide to stay?  My curiousity knows no bounds!

New South Wales, Australia, Assisted Immigrant Passenger Lists 1828-1896  (1840 Record)

Henry and Sarah boarded the ship Royal Consort under the assisted immigrant scheme (known as the Bounty scheme) in 1840.  The passenger list states that Henry was aged 20, a native of Whitehaven, the son of a shoemaker named Henry and his wife Eleanor.

Henry's occupation was listed as 'printer' and he was being bought out from England by a Mr. John Marshall for the bounty of £19.  His religion was listed as 'Protestant' and it was noted that Henry could both read and write.

Henry's sister Sarah was listed as a 'housemaid'.  She was also being bought out by Mr. John Marshall for the bounty of £19.  Her religion was listed as 'Protestant'.  Her native place was listed as 'Whitehaven', and it was noted that she could read.

The Royal Consort left Plymouth, England on July 15th 1840 with 245 emigrants aboard, arriving in Sydney on November 9th, 1840 - a trip of just less than four months.

I have managed to find references to the 1840 voyage of the Royal Consort in the newspapers of the time.  I just love finding out about the voyages of my immigrant ancestors if it's at all possible.  It adds another dimension to their story.

Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW),
Tuesday 10 November 1840, page 2

Sydney Monitor and Commercial Advertiser (NSW),
Tuesday 10 November 1840, page 3

This particular article gives an interesting picture of the voyage.  It tell of the ships that the Royal Consort "spoke" to along the way.  I'm guessing that meant saw in passing and perhaps sent a signal to!

The crew and passengers saw the Ann Mary on the 29th of August; the Dutch ship Prince Hendrick on the 13th of September; the French ship Le Amelie on the 25th of October.


What is fascinating to me though is the reference to spotting the possible remains of an wrecked ship floating on the surface of the ocean.


Apparently, on October 24th, they passed a "ship's bowspirit ... which seemed to have belonged to some vessel of about 350 to 400 tonnes.  It was painted white with bowspirit shroud and dead eyes."  What a scary sight!


This particular article also makes mention of the immigrants on board.  "The immigrants ... appear to be a respectable and industrious set of people, and being mostly agriculturists, will be a valuable acquisition to the settlers, as the harvest and wool season are just setting in."

Given that my great great grandfather Henry was a printer and not an agriculturist, I wonder what he thought would be his fate when he arrived in the colonies.  It's doubtful that a man with a working background in printing would be considered valuable to the settlers looking for farm labourers.  How was he going to find employment?  This must have been weighing on his mind during the voyage.

Another short article mentions that the crew and passengers also saw quite a number of sperm whales, and two whaling boats attempting to make a catch.  That would have made the long arduous journey a little more enjoyable!

As mentioned, Henry and Sarah arrived in Sydney in November of 1840.  Henry found employment with Clark Irving on Ellengowan Station, in the Richmond River District, in 1841.  (I'm unsure of what happened to Sarah and have found it difficult to follow her story any further.)

By 1845, Henry had found employment as a cook on the station of Ward Stephen, known as Runnymede. I'm unsure about exactly when he had begun to work there.  He must have been an enterprising man to land a job as a cook, as I doubt he'd had much experience with that up until he arrived in Australia!

It was there, at Runnymede, that he would have met the Browning family, father William Browning, the mother Anne Littlejohn, sons John and William, and daughters Mary Anne and Caroline, who had been working as shepherds for Ward Stephens for around five years.

In 1846 Henry aged 25, married Caroline Penelope Browning who was aged 15. They married at what was known as 'The Settlement' on the Clarence River in New South Wales, and would have been married out in the open, as there would not have been a church or chapel built in the area at that time.  Henry and Caroline were married according to the rites of the Church of England.  

It's interesting to note that Caroline, Henry's new wife, could only make her mark on the marriage record.  She was not able to write her name.

In their life together, Henry and Caroline went on to have 12 children born over a period of 20 years.


I've been lucky enough to find out most of Henry's and Caroline's story from a couple of articles printed in newspapers many years later where some of their children recalled the details of their parents' lives.

This great article published in the Northern Star (Lismore) newspaper on Tuesday 10th of September 1929, re-tells the memories of a Mr. James Brown about the history of his father Henry Brown and his mother Caroline Browning.


It has provided a lot of valuable information about the early married life of Henry and Caroline, although some of the details are not entirely correct.  After loads of research, I can say that many of the dates are incorrect.  For example, James stated that his parents married in 1844, but that is clearly incorrect according to the record of their marriage.


I still consider the information shared by Henry and Caroline's son to be quite valuable though.
He recalls how they met at Runnymede Station where both were living and working.


He goes on to say that they both continued to work for Ward Stephens after their marriage.


James mentions the birth of his parent's first child, a boy named Henry.  Again, the date of Henry's birth was incorrect, as his record of birth shows he was born in March of 1847, not 1845.

Sadly, baby Henry did not survive, and passed away in 1848.

Just two years later, in early 1849 (not 1847 as told by James!) they decided to leave Runnymede Station, and the employ of Ward Stephens.  They had made the decision to apply for work with a William Wilson on Lismore Station, which was situated on the northern arm of the Richmond River.  At the time, Caroline was heavily pregnant with their second child.


The next part of the story is truly a tale of brave pioneering stock who faced challenges with determination and grit!


In order to get to Lismore Station, Henry and his new wife Caroline would have to get across the Richmond River.  There was no bridge across the Richmond at that time, so Henry swam across!!


He left pregnant Caroline on one side of the river, swam across to the other bank, walked onto Lismore Station, met with William Wilson ... and secured work!


Henry then walked back to the river and swam across to let Caroline know he had been successful in gaining employment.


In order to get Caroline across the river safely, Henry cut down / collected logs and tied them together with lawyer cane to assemble a makeshift raft.  Unfortunately the trip over the river was delayed slightly as Caroline gave birth to their second born son that night, beside the river.   (Alexander's birth date is recorded as March 1849 on his record of birth, so again James had the incorrect date).


Apparently, the very next day Henry, Caroline and newly born Alexander crossed the Richmond River on the raft and began their life on Lismore Station.  My great great grandfather Henry would have been 29 years of age.


Caroline and Henry remained working for Mr. Wilson for only a very brief time though, and it appears they made the decision to move on once more.  This is borne out by the details on the baptism record for Henry and Caroline's son Alexander.

This record shows that Alexander had been born on March the 9th in 1849, but Henry and Caroline didn't have him baptized until March of 1850.


Alexander was baptised in the Brisbane County of Stanley, which is those days would have been part of New South Wales.  Queensland didn't become a state of its own until much later, and that's when Brisbane became part of Queensland.

Between the end of 1849 and the end of 1850, Henry and Caroline moved to several different areas, including Stanthorpe (which was part of New South Wales then) where Henry worked on the Maryland Station as a watchman.


You can also see from his son's baptism record that Henry was working as a 'hawker' at this time as well.  It sounds like the family were travelling around, most likely in a horse- or bullock-drawn dray, like gypsies.  No doubt the family would have just set up camp beside the dray at night and then moved on in the morning from station to station and township to township, allowing Henry to find jobs on the various stations in the region and to sell whatever goods he had stashed on the dray.


Printer ... cook ... watchman ... hawker!  Henry appears to have been a very resourceful young man who could turn his hand to almost anything in order to make a living!


By the end of1850 however, Henry, now aged 30, had tired of travelling and hawking, and he began work as a cedar cutter at Bald Hill (later known as Bexhill).


At this time Bald Hill was a major cedar camp, and it would have been a hard life for Henry and Caroline and their baby.  Cedar cutters were not permitted to purchase land, so they lived in temporary makeshift tents or slab huts in cedar cutters' camps.


Henry's son John Thomas was born in late 1850, when Henry would have been aged 30. Sometime around the end of 1851 or the start of 1852, it seems that Henry lost interest in the life of a cedar cutter as well, and decided to begin another new job and life. He and his family moved to the small settlement which would later become known as Lismore.


Henry built a small cedar slab house, setting up a permanent home for his family to live in.  He also set up a saw pit on the river bank and began a business, milling and selling cedar.

Red cedar floated, so creeks near the cedar cutters' camps were used to float the timber down to the settlement that would later be known as Lismore. Logs would be stacked on the banks and marked with a branding iron to identify who they belonged to. When the rains came they would be pushed into the deep flowing water and carried downstream.  It was Henry Johnson Brown who sent to Sydney for a very large rope that was placed across the river at Lismore and caught all the logs coming downstream.

He would have sold locally but he also engaged sawyers to flitch the wood and then sent loads down the river to markets in Sydney.  Henry's business must have been successful almost immediately because he bought quite a large parcel of land not long after beginning this new life.

Register of Town and Land Purchases 1843-1854

Record of Returns of the Colony 1852

I have found a couple of records that show Henry bought a parcel of 50 acres of land in 1852.   It appears he then began to extend the family home into quite a much larger building, using slabs of cedar from his sawpit.


In 1853 it's likely that Henry, now aged 33, would have received news that his father Henry had died back in England.  His daughter Anne Caroline Penelope was also born that year.

Records from the year 1854 show that Henry applied for and was granted a Publican's License to operate a hotel (known as a public house in those days).


By this time, Henry had added on 36 rooms to the family home which had become Lismore's first hotel, known as the Cedar Squarers' Arms. 


In 1855 surveyor Frederick Peppercorne had been sent by the Surveyor General Sir Thomas Mitchell to determine a suitable site for a township at the junction of the Wilson and Richmond Rivers. Peppercorne chose the site of Wilson’s homestead paddock and this was proclaimed the Town of Lismore in the Government Gazette on 1 May 1856.  According to Peppercorne's report, Henry Brown's public house, named Cedar Squarers' Arms, was already established and consisted of 36 rooms all made of cedar.

In 1855, another son was born to Henry and Caroline.  They named him Henry Johnson, the same name as their first-born who had tragically died as a baby.

Elias was born in 1856.

Henry went on to purchase several more blocks of land in the area surrounding the home and hotel.   

New South Wales, Australia, Land Records 1811-1870  (1857 Record)

The record above shows he purchased eight parcels of land in 1857.

Brown's Creek Bridge

He established a large garden near a creek that ran nearby (known as Brown's Creek for many, many years), most likely to provide food not only for the family but also for the customers who stayed at his hotel.  

Mention was made in the Northern Star newspaper, dated Wednesday 10 February 1954 p 12, of the school built by Henry.  This is an artist's impression from that article.

Henry also built Lismore's first school and arranged for the employment of the school's first teacher, Mr. Hayes, from Sydney.


More children were born to Henry and Caroline over the next ten years.


William Norman was born in 1858.  Sadly, Henry's son Elias died the same year, aged just 2.
James Irving Clarke was born in 1859.
Richard Joseph (my great grandfather) was born in 1861.
Eliza Duncan came along in 1863.
Francis Summers Hayes came along in 1865.
Robert Frederick Bayley was born in 1867.

Northern Star (Lismore, NSW), Saturday 23 March 1929, page 4

Another article that mentions Henry Brown established a small store during the early days of Lismore's history as well.


Unfortunately, by late 1866, Lady Luck was no longer smiling on Henry and things had begun to turn sour.

New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW ), Tuesday 12 March 1867 (No.44),
page 690

This notice had appeared in a Sydney newspaper in March of 1867.  It seems that Henry had been declared bankrupt by a sequestration order in December of 1866.  Family stories passed down indicate that Henry had taken on too many promissory notes from his debtors, believing that they would pay him back what they owed.  This proved to be untrue.

The notice provided two dates for meetings to discuss the debts that Henry had incurred.

Bankruptcy Notice 1867 -
Clarence and Richmond Examiner and New England Advertiser 12 March 1867 

This tiny little notice appeared in two newspapers in March of 1867 as well.  It seems that Henry's debts were enormous, although the value of his assets appear to have covered the amount of the liabilities at this stage.


Unfortunately things appear to have deteriorated even further when the following notice appeared in a Sydney paper in May of 1867.

New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW ), Friday 10 May 1867 (No.75), page 1180

This notice talks about arranging a third meeting to discuss whether or not Henry could keep "his household furniture, wearing apparel, beds, bedding and tools of trade"!  How degrading it must have been for him.  He must have been feeling quite desperate and depressed with the thought of losing everything and only being allowed to keep some furniture, his clothes, beds and bedding and some of his tools!


There is no mention at all in this article of being allowed to keep the family home!  What would that mean for the family?  I've been unable to find out so far exactly what happened after all this.  I assume that Henry lost just about everything.  I'm certain that most of his land acquisitions were sold off to pay his debtors, but I'm uncertain about the family home and hotel.

Henry sadly passed away the following year, in 1868, aged only 48.  His death certificate states that he had been suffering from something called 'erysipelas' for 10 weeks.

Further research led me to find out that 'erysipelas' is an acute bacterial infection that affects the upper dermis and the superficial lymphatics.  It was also known as "St. Anthony's Fire" because of the intense red rash associated with it.


It apparently predominantly affects the skin of the lower limbs which turn bright red, hard, swollen and sometimes blistered.  Having seen photos of it, I can say that it looks quite ugly and extremely painful!  Apparently onset is also accompanied by fevers, chills and shivering.


Given that Henry suffered with it for a period of ten weeks, I think I can safely say that the last few weeks of my great great grandfather's life would have been quite painful and extremely uncomfortable.  Today of course, an extended period of infection such as that experienced by Henry, would be treated with penicillin.  No such treatment would have been available for him back in 1868.


I can only imagine how scary it might have been for Henry's wife, my great great grandmother Caroline, and all his surviving children - Alexander aged 19, John 17, Anne 15, Henry 13, William 10, James 9, Richard 7 (my great grandfather), Eliza 5, Frances 3, and Robert aged just 1.

Sadly, my 2x great grandfather, Henry Johnson Brown, was buried in an unmarked grave at the North Lismore Cemetery (also known as the Pioneer Cemetery Memorial Park).


Extra note:
Interestingly, the name 'Henry Johnson' was passed down through many generations in the family.

It all began with Henry's father - Henry Johnson Snr, my 3x Great Grandfather, born in 1782.
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He named his third-born child Henry Johnson, my 2x Great Grandfather (the subject of this post), born 1820.  I'll call him Henry the 2nd.
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Henry Johnson named his first-born Henry Johnson, but sadly the infant died not long after in 1847.  He can be Henry 3rd, even though he lived such a short life.
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Henry Johnson then named his fifth-born child Henry Johnson, born in 1855.  I'll call him Henry the 4th.  Unfortunately this particular Henry Johnson never married.


That wasn't the end of the family name however.

Henry the 2nd, my Great Great Grandfather (the subject of this post) had a few grandsons also named Henry Johnson.

His second-born child Alexander, named his second born Henry Johnson.
His third-born child James, named his second born Henry Johnson.
His fourth-born child Anne Caroline, named her second born Henry Johnson.


It seems just a tad strange that all the grandchildren who were named Henry Johnson were second-born!!!   An odd detail ... these are things I love finding out though.

Special Note to any family members:  If you have 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.