The Story Of William and Johanna Burke (Bourke)

My post this week will be telling the story of my maternal great granduncle William Burke (Bourke)  (1841 - 1891), and his wife Johanna McNamara (c1830 - 1906).  Theirs is a story of perseverance in the face of seemingly never-ending sorrow and adversity, and my research attempts to uncover the details of their lives has also been an exercise in perseverance.  

My Common Ancestors with William are:  James Burke and Catherine Crotty.

Memorial at the Drayton & Toowoomba Cemetery, Toowoomba, Queensland

I've been attempting to uncover their stories for about seven years now, ever since a distant relative, my maternal 3rd cousin, sent me a photo of this monument erected to their memory.  

My distant cousin and I knew we were related to the William Burke etched on the monument, but didn't know many of the details of his life, and we certainly knew nothing of his wife Johanna.  The only thing we knew for certain was that they had been born in Ireland and had lived all their married life in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia.

So began my research efforts, and over time, a picture of these lives has started to emerge.

I started with the etching on the monument, which stated:

In Loving Memory of

our Dear Father

and Mother

WILLIAM BURKE

died 21st March 1891

aged 51 years

JOHANNA BURKE

died 10th July 1906

aged 76 years

R.I.P.

With that inscription I had some information to work with, dependent of course on the accuracy of the dates and years that had been provided by a family member  (later on I was to find out that it was their only surviving son who had paid to have the monument erected).

So, possibly William had been born in either 1840 or 1841; and Johanna had probably been born in 1830 or 1831.   Hmmm, a ten-year difference between their ages?  Certainly not unheard of, especially if it was the man who was older.  In this case however, it was Johanna who appeared to be older.  Food for thought!

I then went to our Queensland Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages and searched for a marriage record for William and Johanna, hoping that they had been married in Australia after immigration from Ireland.  The family history research collection has records of marriages between 1829 and 1947, and I instantly found and purchased a record that matched both names.

I now knew for certain that their stories had begun in Ireland, as their place of birth was listed as County Tipperary.  

The marriage record also listed the names of both sets of parents, and this confirmed my connection with William, as his parents were indeed my great great grandparents - James Burke and Catherine Crotty. 

William was an older brother of my great grandmother Bridget Burke, who had also emigrated from Ireland and with her husband Edmond O'Donnell had started my particular Aussie branch of the O'Donnell / Burke family.

Transcript of the original Catholic Parish Register of Births.

I went on to find the baptism record for William, on the Roots Ireland website, using the parents' names listed on his marriage certificate, and the date of birth I had surmised from the marriage certificate.  I was able to then say with certainty that William was in fact born in 1841 in the area known as Three Bridges in County Waterford.  He was the second-born son of his father, James Burke and his mother Catherine Crotty (my great grandparents).  

The entry in the original Catholic Parish Register from the Waterford & Lismore Parish.

The name on his baptism record was Gulielmus Burke and he was baptised in Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary on the 22nd of March, 1841.

My next step was to scour a number of genealogy websites to find a record of baptism for Johanna, using her parents' names as listed on her marriage certificate - John McNamara and Catherine Sheehey.  

There was a problem straight away however, as I was uncertain about a possible date of birth.  The age listed on her marriage certificate led to a completely different possible date of birth than the calculation made after seeing the inscription of the cemetery monument.

If she was indeed 22 when she married in 1866, then her date of birth would have been 1843 / 1844, but the inscription on the cemetery monument stated that Johanna was aged 76 in 1906, which meant a date of birth in either 1830 or 1831.  Quite confusing, and quite a difference!

I went and purchased death certificates for both William and Johanna (again from our Queensland Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, which holds death records for the period 1829 and 1992), to confirm the names of both sets of parents, and possible confirmation of dates of birth. 

Both Johanna's marriage and death certificates confirmed that her parents' names were John McNamara and Catherine Sheehey / Shehey, but the death certificate had her age recorded as 74 at her time of death.  That meant a possible birth date of 1832!  I was starting to think that Johanna was a whole lot older that the age recorded on her marriage certificate, and was becoming more confident in relying on the information gleaned from the monument inscription and her death certificate.  

So far though, I have not been successful in uncovering any birth or baptism record for Johanna with those parents' names, or indeed any variants of the parents' and her name, and no success searching within that broad set of possible dates of birth - 1830 to 1844!  

Where to next?  I went in search of records that would indicate when both William and Johanna had arrived in Australia.  Given that they had married in Australia in 1866, then it was absolutely clear that they had emigrated before that.  Our Queensland State Govt. Archives holds immigration records kept by the Immigration Department for the years 1848 to 1912, and this was the place to start.

I begin searching for William's emigration record first, because there were likely to be less variants for his name - the surname could have been recorded as either Burke or Bourke - and I had a definitive date of birth.  I thought this search would be of short duration, and I could not have been more wrong!

Finding a record of William's emigration to Australia proved to be quite laborious and time-consuming.  It has literally taken years!  There have been many, many dead ends, as there were an inordinately large number of men named William Burke or Bourke, who were born around the same time and had emigrated during the period I was interested in - those years between my great grand uncle's birth and the year he married in Australia, 1841 to 1866. 

Each of the records that seemed more promising - ie. they had what I considered to be a more accurate age or place of origin - was not really helpful at all in the end, as they did not contain anything other than a name, nationality, port of departure and port or arrival.  None of that actually provided definitive proof it was my great grand uncle.

Finding a record of Johanna's emigration was even more difficult. There are quite a number of name variants that could have been recorded for her - Johanna, Johannah, Joanna, as well as McNamara, Macnamara, etc.  I once again used many genealogy sites to search for a Johanna McNamara, and all the variants of that name, who may have emigrated during the same time period I had been researching for my great grand uncle - 1841 to 1866.   

There was literally only one Johanna McNamara listed on the emigration records during all that time.  She was born in 1832, had emigrated to Australia in 1849 on her own, at the age of 17.  The problem with this possibility was that this Johanna would have led a single life in Australia for at least 17 years before getting married to my great grand uncle with her maiden name of McNamara.  That seemed extremely unlikely for those times.  The Johanna that had emigrated in 1849 had also came from County Limerick, not County Tipperary, so in the end, I dismissed this particular person as a match for my great grand aunt.

I essentially then gave up using their names to search these immigration records and took a break for a couple of years.  Recently however, a rather serendipitous event occurred.

I often randomly choose lists from the Queensland Registers of Immigrant Ships' Arrivals when I'm researching, without entering any particular names, and read through them just on the off chance I might recognise a name or two. 

Interestingly, I found a William Bourke and a J. McNamara travelling on the same ship and arriving in Australia in 1865.  The page was only part of the original record and there wasn't a great deal of detail on it, but my hopes rose!

You can see that the original book was intended to record the re-location of Pacific Islander labourers, but this title has been crossed out and the word "Melmerby" added.  These couple of pages then became the record of passengers who were aboard the ship Melmerby which left the port of Liverpool, in May of 1865, and arrived in Brisbane in September of 1865.

There were 14 first cabin (saloon) passengers, 8 second cabin passengers and 501 passengers in steerage.  The William Bourke and J. McNamara I found were both in steerage.  That was a good place to start a possible match.  Both William's and Johanna's parents were poor tenant farmers in Ireland, so they would definitely not be travelling in first or second cabin class on any ship.

The name, age and year of emigration appeared to match with William extremely well.  Although the surname was spelt 'Bourke', this was how it was sometimes spelt in Ireland.  The age certainly matches as William would have been 23 years old when the ship set sail in May.

Regarding Johanna, the 'J' in J. McNamara doesn't prove that it was actually Johanna, but I do think that if we accept that she was more likely born in either 1830/1831 or 1832 (as indicated on the cemetery monument / death certificate), then Johanna would have been close to 30 years of age, making it a possibility that this was indeed Johanna travelling with William the year before they got married in Australia.

If I accept that this was indeed my great grand uncle and his wife-to-be, that means they left Ireland and travelled aboard the ship Melmerby, bound for Australia the year before they were to be married, arriving in Brisbane, on September the 9th, 1865.  Of course, I can not say this is definitive evidence, but it has the right vibe!!!  Genealogy research can be a lot of guesswork at times.

If I am correct, then William and Johanna had a rather eventful journey aboard the Melmerby.  Newspaper reports published in September of 1865 give a detailed account of the trip:

Apparently, the first half of the four-month voyage was relatively uneventful, consisting of light winds and beautiful weather.  The ship crossed the equator in June, passed the Cape of Good Hope in July and all appeared to be well.

Then on the morning of July 27 

"suddenly and without any warning the mainmasthead broke, bringing with it the mainyard, main-topmast, topgallant and royal masts, also the mizen top-mast, topgallant mast, and all the gear attached; also the foretopgallant mast, foretopsail yard, and all the gear belonging thereto, leaving the ship for the time being quite a wreck.

The captain, officers and crew displayed the utmost coolness at the time of the disaster, and proceeded with

great despatch to cut away the wreck of masts, sails, yards, etc. hanging over the side of the ship, which happily was effected before dark, without any accidents, and so saving the mainmast, which was tottering with the weight of wreck attached to it at every roll of the ship, and the vessel made as snug as the circumstances would allow of.

It seems difficult to account for the accident, as the wind was steady and not a gale, but the prevailing opinion is, that a whirlwind must have passed over the ship."

Imagine how the passengers would have reacted to all this happening, and the relief they would have felt once the crew had worked their magic!

That was not the end of their troubles however.

Just a few days later, on the morning of August 1st:

"about 8 a.m., during a violent gale, a heavy sea struck the vessel, and having fallen on the main hatch house completely smashed it in.  It was temporarily covered up and secured."

This was followed by another worrying event the very next day:

"Again, on the morning of Wednesday the 2nd, about 2 o'clock, a violent hurricane struck the vessel, lifting one of the quarter boats clean out of the davits, carrying it overboard.  The other one, with the heavy rolling of the ship, broke the poop rail, and split the covering board of the poop about eight feet, and to prevent further damage, the captain ordered it to be cut away."

According to the report, 

"the conduct of the passengers was very exemplary, they remaining calm, and not giving way to excitement, and providentially there was no accident to life or limb."

Interestingly, the report goes on to state that:

"The Melmerby brings a hardy race of emigrants, consisting chiefly of navvies to work on the railways now being constructed in Queensland."

This statement added weight to my supposition that my William and Johanna were indeed on this ship.  Even though William's occupation was listed as "saddler" on his marriage certificate, his death certificate listed his occupation as "railway employee".   I took this as an indication that I might be on the right track with my thoughts that there was a match between the two listed as passengers on the Melmerby and my great grand uncle and aunt.  

Now we get to the point where I can make an absolutely factual statement - William Burke married Johanna McNamara in Toowoomba, Queensland on the 26th of September, 1866.  Their life together had begun, but it was not going to be an easy one.

Making use once more of the Queensland Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, which holds birth records for the period 1829 to 1922, I found evidence of nine children born to William and Johanna, between 1866 and 1878.

In January of 1867 Johanna gave birth to a boy named James.  

Traditionally, the Irish named their first born son after the father's father, and this seemed to be the case with William and Johanna.

Their first born was named James, the name of William's father.

Sadly, the little baby was stillborn.

Johanna was pregnant again within four months and a second son, named John, was born on the 29th of February, 1868.  

Once again, the second born son was named according to the traditional Irish naming pattern - named after the mother's father.  Johanna's father was named John.

Both Johanna and William would have been overjoyed to see their little one survive the birth and start to thrive.  Tragically however, their second born son died on the 20th of January the following year, 1869, aged only 1 year.  

The cause of death listed on his death certificate was "dentition".  This means the little boy died as a result of teething!   Teething!  I know the infant mortality rates were quite high in the late 1860s, but I was completely unaware that an infant could die as a result of a seemingly ordinary part of their growth.  How does something so innocuous result in death?

I remember my two sons' experiences with teething.  There were periodic episodes of crying and irritability, drooling, high temperatures and sleepless nights, for both boys and parents!!  Bonjela and teething rings were essential, (the occasional sip of good quality whisky, for the parents!) as well as long car rides in the middle of the night.  At no time however, did teething present as life-threatening in those days.  

A third son was born on the 12th of January, 1869.  His name was David. 

Whilst traditionally, the third born son was usually named after the father, in this case William and Johanna appeared to have named this son after William's older brother. 

Sadly, baby David passed away on January 30th, aged 18 days. The cause of death on his death certificate was "Marasmus".  This was a form of severe malnutrition.  

Let's just stop for a moment and think about what's happened to Johanna and William within a period of just two years: 

- their first son James was stillborn

- Johanna fell pregnant four months later

- Johanna gave birth to their second son

- She became pregnant the following month

- Johanna gave birth to their third son 

- Johanna and William then lost their second born son, eight days after the birth of their third

- Then tragically, their third son David died just ten days later, aged 18 days

So by the end of January 1869, they had lost three sons.   What misery they endured at the start of their marriage, and sadly their grief would continue. 

Johanna gave birth to their fourth son Robert on the 4th of November 1870.  

Heartbreakingly, he died on December 23rd, before he reached the age of 2 months.  

The cause of his death was listed as "debility from birth".  This generally means he was born as a physically weak baby.

Can you imagine the depths of despair both Johanna and William must have reached with the passing of each child!  Miraculously Johanna was pregnant again within a month.

A daughter was born in October of 1871.  She was named Catherine.  

According to traditional Irish naming patterns, the first born daughter was usually named after the mother's mother.  This was the case with William and Johanna's first born girl, as Catherine was Johanna's mother's name.  Coincidentally, it was also the name of William's mother.

Perhaps this was an omen as daughter Catherine was the first of Johanna's and William's children to survive, thrive and outlive both her parents.

Five months after Catherine's birth, Johanna was pregnant once more.  

Another daughter, named Ellen, was born on December 15th in 1872.  Tragedy struck again, as Ellen died in the 29th of January 1873, aged only 14 days.  

The cause of death was listed as "Aptha / Diarrhoea". 

A son named William Patrick was born on the 21st of March 1874. He seems to have been given his father's name

William was the second child to survive infancy and went on to survive both his parents.

Johanna was pregnant once again a year later, and gave birth to a daughter named Mary Ann on the 1st of December 1875.  

Tragically, Mary Ann died at the age of 5 weeks.  The cause of death was listed as "Debility from birth".

I found one more record of a child born to William and Johanna in September of 1877, but once again the poor little one was stillborn. 

So, after giving birth to nine children within a period of ten years, Johanna would only see two of them make it through their childhood years.  This tells me that William and Johanna were likely living in poverty and deprivation, and nutrition was severely lacking.  I'm making assumptions, but it sounds as if poor Johanna was herself not strong and healthy, and was poorly nourished.

The impression I get is that William and Johanna lived a harsh life for a lengthy period at the start of their marriage, but perhaps things turned around for them by the time their two surviving children reached their teenage years.

Information gleaned from William's death certificate and Johanna's death notice indicates that William spent his working life as a Queensland Railways employee and worked in the railway goods shed at the Toowoomba Railyard.  He, Johanna and their children lived in a house near the railway yard gates.  It would have been a modest home as working for the railways would have only provided a modest living.

William and Johanna were married for 24 years, but then William passed away in 1891 at the age of 50 (according to the information on his death certificate).

The cause of death listed on William's death certificate was heart disease and dropsy.  The length of time in the Australian colonies was listed as 25 years.  Given that William had died in early 1891, this makes 1865 as William's arrival date in Australia, giving more credence to my supposition that he was aboard the ship Melmerby!

With William's death, Johanna was widowed at the age of 59, with two children.  Catherine was 19 years old and William Patrick was 17.  I have not been able to find out much about their lives at this point.  

I found Johanna in both the 1903 and 1905 census records for Toowoomba, in her 70s, living at North Street.  There's also a Catherine and William Patrick living at North Street, her daughter and son.  Neither had married and they were living with their mother in the family home. 

 

In 1903, Johanna would have been aged 72.

In 1905, Johanna was aged 74 and living with her children, who no doubt looked after her with care in her elderly years.

In 1906, Johanna passed away.  Her death certificate states she was 74 years old and the cause of death was mitral valvulas disease of the heart and chronic nephritis.  Secondary causes listed included bronchitis and exhaustion.  It does sound as though poor Johanna was very ill towards the end of her life.

Using the National Library of Australia's online resource Trove Newspapers, I was able to find a death notice for Johanna.  

Her married name was recorded as Bourke, not Burke as recorded on her death certificate; but as I've previously mentioned the spelling was interchangeable on different records. 

The newspaper item does mention that she had been born in County Tipperary and had arrived in Toowoomba in 1865.

This once again lends credence to the possibility that she did come to Australia aboard the ship Melmerby.

Both of William's and Johanna's surviving children lived well into old age.  William Patrick died in 1953, aged 78.  Catherine died in 1959 at the age of 87.  I have not been able to find any record of William Patrick marrying and his death notice (which I found by using the National Library of Australia Trove Newspaper collection) did not mention any spouse or children.  

Information in William Patrick's death notice did indicate that he was living in Southport, Queensland, but died in Brisbane, and it mentions he died at Brisbane Hospital.  I wonder if he had been suffering an illness at this time?  I noticed that he was buried at the Toowong Cemetery in Brisbane, and not with his parents. 

I also noticed that further down the column in this newspaper, there was a 'Return Thanks' item, which appears to have been written by Catherine.  Her address is listed as High Street, Southport, so I'm assuming she was living in the her brother's house by the 1950s.

Using the Trove Newspapers online resource again, I then also found a notice for creditors who may have had a claim to make against the estate of William Patrick:

Catherine, as stated in her mother's death notice, had been unmarried at that time and it appears this was the case for the remainder of her life.  I found a notice of a Transmission of Title dated November 1953 (using the Trove Newspapers collection once again), which stated that Catherine Burke had claimed the title of the Southport property owned by her brother.  

This newspaper item stated that Catherine was a spinster in 1953 at the age of 81, so that provided additional confirmation that she had not married.

What seems so very tragic to me is that whilst the two surviving children of William and Johanna both lived long lives, it appears this particular family branch ended with them.  There were no grandchildren to continue the family name, and that seems such a desolate ending for a couple who appeared to be trying hard to have a large family.  

Catherine, the only daughter of William and Johanna, was buried at the Southport Cemetery, so as it happens, the two surviving children of William and Johanna were buried in separate places to their parents, and to each other.

The final tragic note to this story is that poor Catherine, the last of this family to pass away, was buried in an unmarked grave, as it appears there was no family member to arrange a headstone for her burial plot.