The story of my maternal Great Grandmother,
Bridget Burke (1851-1937), is one of extraordinary forbearance and great strength of character in the face of hardship and tribulation.
 |
Thought to be a photo of young Bridget by family members.
(Photo shared by my uncle Terry O'Donnell) |
In the year of Bridget's birth, 1851, Queen Victoria opened the Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace in London; the first publication of the
New York Times went on sale for 2 cents a copy; Herman Melville's novel
Moby Dick was first published in the U.S.; and gold fields were first discovered in Australia.
In the Church baptism register, Bridget's name was recorded in Latin as 'Brigidam'. Her mother's name is recorded as 'Catherina' and her father's name recorded as 'Jacobi'.
Bridget's birthplace was recorded as Three Bridges in the Parish of Carrick-On-Suir in County Waterford. I think it's correct to say that Three Bridges was (is?) situated on the outskirts of Carrick, between Carrick and Piltown, but in County Kilkenny.
When Bridget was born, her father
James Burke was 40, and her mother,
Catherine Crotty, was 37. There had already been five siblings, all boys, born before Bridget. She came into the world destined to be the only daughter of James and Catherine. Her younger brother came along a few years later.
David was born in 1835.
William was born in 1841.
Tobias in 1843.
Maurice in 1846.
John in 1848.
Then James was born in 1854, when Bridget was 3 years old.
All of the children born before James, the youngest, were born at a place named 'Three Bridges' (outside Carrick-on-Suir), but then James was born in Killonerry. That means the family must have moved sometime between 1852 and 1854, just after the period known as The Great Famine, to the farm in Killonerry where descendants still live today.
As the only girl in a family of six boys, I imagine she would have grown up quite the tom-boy, knocking about with her brothers. No doubt, she would have spent a lot of her time helping her mother with the household chores, as well as pulling her weight with the everyday chores around the farm.
In all likelihood there would have been mixed farming practised on the farm, including keeping livestock such as cows, and growing crops like root vegetables and grains.
Life on the farm would not have been easy.
Later on, I mention that Bridget was employed at a dairy in Australia, so I imagine she grew up learning how to milk cows and make butter.
Sadly, Bridget's mother passed away in early 1873, when Bridget was aged 22. Bridget would have then had to shoulder the burden of running the home and taking care of her father who would have been in his 60s.
It seems likely that Bridget's eldest brother David had emigrated from Ireland before this, as family history shows that he did not stay on the farm. It passed on to a younger brother. Bridget's second eldest brother, William, had emigrated from Ireland to Australia around 1866, long before the death of their mother. Bridget would have been 15 when William left the farm and emigrated. The third eldest brother, Tobias, is also likely to have emigrated at some point, as I have not been able to find out much of his life story after his birth! His name has not turned up in any census records for the parish.
At the time of her mother's death, Bridget would have been living on the family farm with her father James, and brothers Maurice, John and James Jnr.
Five years later, towards the end of 1878, her father James died. By that time, Bridget's brother Maurice had fathered a son with a woman named Mary MacNamara, had then married Anne Prendergast in 1876, and had fathered two more children with Anne.
Were they all living on the farm together? I'm assuming so, because Maurice stayed on the farm for the rest of his life, and went on to have seven more children with Anne. The farm is still owned by his descendants to this day.
Youngest brother James had by now immigrated to the U.S., probably sometime around 1878; and Bridget's other brother John seems to have left the farm not long after that and had settled in Piltown, not far away.
Life might have been a little bleak for Bridget at this time. She was still living on the farm, which had now become the family home of her brother, his wife and children. There was at least some prospect for a change in her circumstances though.
It appears she had a sweetheart, Edmond, who lived on a neighbouring farm. Edmond was in a similar position. Many of his brothers and sisters had and were about to emigrate, as their family farm could not provide a living for them all either. Neither Bridget nor Edmond saw a bright future ahead of them if they stayed in Ireland.
So it was that at the end of 1882 Bridget and Edmond were in Plymouth England, boarding a ship bound for Australia. They had made a life-changing decision to leave their homeland and travel to an unfamiliar land.
Bridget, now aged 31, travelled aboard the ship 'Almora' on a three-month trip to a promising, new future. Her surname was recorded as 'Bourke'. Her age was not exactly correct on the register, but it wasn't far wrong.
An interesting aside ... Bridget appears to have had a remittance paid for her journey. She had a brother, William, who had immigrated to Australia many years before this, and perhaps he had paid for her trip out as many relatives in Australia were encouraged to do.
The trip out to Australia aboard 'Almora' appears to have been a fairly good one, according to the entries in a shipboard diary kept by an unknown passenger.
"In the Bay of Biscay encountered
rather rough weather for two days, but otherwise the run to Malta was fair.
Malta was left at 1.30 p.m. on the 2nd December, and had favourable weather to
Port Said. Port Said was left on the 6th, at 10.00 a.m.; had an easy passage
through the Canal.
In the Red Sea weather very warm till Aden was reached. At
Aden detained four days for the mails; left Aden on the 16th, at 8 a.m.;
encountered adverse trade winds in the Indian Ocean; otherwise had a fine run
to Batavia. Left Batavia 2nd January, at 7.30 a.m., and proceeded to Thursday
Island." (author unknown)
The 'Almora' then stopped at Cooktown, Townsville, Bowen, Mackay and Rockhampton on the way to its final destination, Brisbane.
Bridget would have spent the entire journey up on the deck.
Edmond and Bridget disembarked in Brisbane on the 20th of February, 1883. They made their way another 130 kilometres inland to Toowoomba. That's where Bridget's brother William, his wife Johanna, and their two surviving children were living.
It seems that Bridget and Edmond lived apart for a few months upon their arrival in Toowoomba. On the marriage certificate Edmond's place of living was recorded as 'Irish Town', which was a little township a little way away from Toowoomba itself.
 |
| (Photo shared by my uncle Terry O'Donnell) |
Bridget however, appears to have moved in with her brother in Toowoomba itself, and had found employment at a dairy.
Bridget married Edmond O'Donnell in Toowoomba on the 22nd of July, 1883. She was now 32 years old (the age recorded on the marriage certificate was out by a number of years!) She went to live with her husband in Irish Town, as indicated on the birth certificate of their first child, daughter Catherine.
Bridget was aged 33 when she gave birth to Catherine (known as Kate) in 1884, and her husband Edmond was only 21.
Irish Town was an area of small farms, just outside Toowoomba to the north, where it's likely Edmond had work as a labourer on one of the farms.
Bridget was aged 35 when she gave birth to John in 1886. Life was looking a little bleak. Bridget and family had moved into Toowoomba because Edmond had now found a steady job, but they were all living within the Showgrounds. I don't imagine living at the Showgrounds would have been a dream come true. I think it's likely they had moved into some sort of temporary shelter and were living hand to mouth because Edmond's job was certainly not a well-paid position.
My Grandfather James was born the following year, in 1887, and his birthplace was also recorded as 'The Showgrounds'. I wonder what role Bridget's family, her brother and sister-in-law who were living in Toowoomba, played in her life during this time? Did they help with the basics, like food and clothing? Did Bridget's sister-in-law help with the birth of Bridget's children?
Sadly, Bridget and Edmond's first-born son, John, died the following year in mid 1888. John had been suffering from diarrhoea and convulsions for three days before he passed. Bridget would have been trying to take care of her sick two-year old son, her three-and-a-half year old daughter and her six-month old baby, probably by herself, because by this time Edmond appears to have developed a serious drinking problem.
The hard times continued. Bridget gave birth to a daughter, Mary Margaret, in 1890, also born at the Agricultural Showgrounds. Things had not changed much in five years.
Bridget's older brother William, who had emigrated to Australia before her, died the following year in 1891. Her brother Maurice, who had stayed on the farm in Ireland, died in 1892. I know little of what happened to the other brothers who had emigrated. Her brother John, was still alive and well in Ireland at this time.
Bridget gave birth to another son in 1892. He was named Maurice, most likely named for Bridget's brother who had died just six months before. The birth record for Maurice shows his birthplace as James Street in Toowoomba, so perhaps Edmond and Bridget had moved into a home at last; or perhaps she gave birth at her sister-in-law's (Williams's wife's) house, with her family around her.
Just a few months after the birth of Maurice, tragedy struck Bridget and her young family. Edmond, her husband (my Great Grandfather), died. They had been married for only nine years, and had only been in Australia for ten! Bridget was now 42 years old, widowed with four children aged between 8 and 4 months!
I have already related the sad tale of Edmond's death in a previous post - The Story of Edmond O'Donnell - so I won't repeat all the details again, other than to say that Bridget must have been absolutely devastated to have lost her husband in such tragic circumstances. She was now left without the support of her husband or brother. Perhaps her sister-in-law (who had also been recently left widowed) provided her with much needed support.
 |
Darling Downs Gazette, May 1894.
|
Sheer necessity of course then drove Bridget to made a decision about just how she would make a living for herself and her young family.
Just over a year after the death of her husband, a small notice in the Darling Downs Gazette gives a clue about Bridget's decision.
She became the licensed victualler of the Free Selector's Hotel, located on the corner of Ruthven and James Street, after the previous licensee applied for a transfer to the Licensing Authority of Toowoomba.
The small article mentions that Bridget had been a 'dairy-keeper' up until that time.
Had she been working in dairies around Toowoomba since both she and Edmond had arrived from Ireland?
Or perhaps she had taken work in a dairy after Edmond had died in a desperate attempt to support herself and her children.
Whatever the circumstances relating to that previous source of employment, she was now the proud licensee of a hotel. Hotels offered accommodation and meals for lodgers, and there would have been a bar to serve customers as well. It would have been an early morning to late night job, but it would have afforded Bridget and her children not only a source of income, but a home as well.
There was no will when my Great Grandfather Edmond died as there was nothing to leave his wife and family. Bridget was left penniless. Bridget however had to move on for the sake of her children and that old saying "Where there's a will, there's a way" applies perfectly at this point in Bridget's story.
The photo above shows 'B. O'Donnell's Free Selectors Hotel', and that's Bridget, her daughter Catherine and her son James standing at the front of the establishment. Do you notice the ladder lying on the ground? When I spotted that, the first thing that came to my mind was ... I bet Bridget had climbed up herself and painted her name above the name of the hotel. She was making her mark and saying loudly and clearly ... this is mine!
Bridget held the licence from June of 1894 until June of 1895. She had re-married in April 1895, two years after the death of Edmond, her first husband; and shortly after her second marriage, Bridget applied to have the licence
for the Free Selector's Hotel transferred to her second husband, Morgan
O'Brien. Perhaps it had been such sheer hard work for a woman on her own, that she gladly handed over the running of the hotel to her new husband; or perhaps it was just the expected thing to do!
 |
| Darling Downs Gazette, June 1895 |
It turned out though that her new husband Morgan O'Brien was not the most reliable or skilled hotel keeper. Just one month later, in July 1895, Morgan was appearing in court on a charge of supplying a child with liquor!! Things must have gone from bad to worse after that, because in April 1896 Morgan applied to have the licence transferred back to Bridget.
That done, Bridget went on to hold the licence for the Free Selector's Hotel for the next 14 years, until April 1909.
Shortly before the licence was transferred by her husband, Bridget gave birth to her fifth child, Morgan Joseph O'Brien. Morgan Jnr. would have been just 3 months old when all this was happening! So it was that Bridget took on the full-time job of running the hotel while her daughter Catherine was 11 years old, son James (my Grandfather) was 8, daughter Mary Margaret was 5, son Maurice was 3, and son Morgan was a little baby.
At this point in Bridget's story I do need to mention that it appears she had chosen a rather troubled man as her second husband. In 1897 a short article appeared in the local newspaper stating that Morgan O'Brien appeared before the court on charges of attempted suicide. I'm not entirely sure what the outcome of that was, but essentially Morgan seems to have disappeared for many, many years after that. His name did not turn up on electoral records for the district, and he does not appear to have been living with his bride and family at all after that. Another rather sad part of the story.
Once again Bridget got on with her life though, such as it was. Obviously she was one very hard-working, determined woman, who most likely would have had very little time to actually mother her five children. It would seem likely that the burden of looking after the little ones would probably have fallen to the older daughter, Catherine (who was only 11 at the time!)
Of course, Bridget did have some family in Toowoomba. Her sister-in-law Johanna, and her niece and nephew Catherine and William Patrick Burke were living in the town. Did they help out? Johanna would have been 48 (only slightly older than Bridget), Catherine 23 and William 20 years old. Perhaps they helped look after Bridget's children. It's all speculation, but I would hope that family did offer support.
Sadly, the very next year, in early 1898, Bridget's eldest daughter Catherine (known as Kate) died, aged 13. Catherine had been afflicted with Bright's Disease, which is a kidney disease. On the death certificate it states that Catherine had been ill for 6 months, suffered from dropsy (now known as edema), had fallen into a coma and then died.
I simply can not imagine how Bridget would have kept on running the hotel and caring for such a sick child, along with looking after her other very young children.
Just how did she manage to run a hotel, and look after her other children aged between 10 and 2?
In 1900, a nephew and niece arrived in Toowoomba from Ireland. Maurice and Bridget Mary Burke were children of Bridget's brother, Maurice. (I know ... with all these Maurices and Bridgets, even I get confused!!) They were aged 24 and 21 respectively, and they both went to work for Bridget in her hotel, the Free Selector's Hotel.
By now Bridget was aged 49, and it appears she was making a very decent living from the hotel. I'm assuming she was able to pay her niece and nephew a decent wage! Hopefully her own children, James (my Grandfather) aged 13, Mary Margaret aged 10, Maurice Patrick aged 8 and Morgan Joseph aged 4, were also cared for adequately, and Bridget could now afford to spend some quality time with them.
In 1902 Bridget was renewing her licence application for the Free Selector's Hotel. The Licensing Inspector initially objected to the renewal but when plans for a new hotel to be built on the site of the old one were produced, the objection was withdrawn. The licence was granted with certain conditions attached - the windows and the bar were to be enlarged; a landing was to be constructed between the kitchen and the dining room. Not exactly a whole new hotel!
A few years later though, in December of 1907, Bridget gave notice that she was
applying for a licence for a brand new hotel that she wanted to erect
in Middle Ridge on Portion 139 Subs. A & B, which was on the outskirts of Toowoomba.
 |
| Darling Downs Gazette, Thursday 19 December 1907, p.6 |
Darling Downs Gazette (Qld. : 1881 - 1922), Thursday 19 December 1907, page
6
PUBLIC NOTICES.
THE LICENSING ACT OF 1883.'' Section 33 (2).
NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR A PROVISIONAL CERTIFICATE.
To the Licensing Authority of the Licensing District of Toowoomba, acting
under 'The Licensing Act of 1883.'
I BRIDGET O'BRIEN, of Toowoomba, Licensed Victualler, wife of Morgan
O'Brien, hereby give notice that I intend to apply, at the next Quarterly
Meeting of the said Licensing Authority, for a Provisional Certificate under
the said Act for the premises belonging to me and situated at Middle Ridge,
Toowoomba, being Subdivisions A and B of Resubdivision one of Subivision one of
Portion one hundred and thirty-nine, County of Aubigny Parish of Drayton,
within the said District. The said
Premises are now about to be erected, and
will, when finished, be in all respects in accordance with the requirements of
the said Act.
Dated this Tenth Day of December. 1907.
Dated this Tenth Day of December,
BRIDGET O'BRIEN'.
WONDERLEY & HALL, Solicitors for Applicant, Toowoomba.
A bold move on Bridget's part. Had she been planning and preparing for this for some time? She had obviously saved a fair amount of money, bought a plot of land and was able to pay for the building of a new hotel.
 |
| Darling Downs Gazette, Thursday 2 July 1908, p.8 |
Unfortunately the application was opposed by the Inspector; so Bridget simply applied for renewal of the Free Selector's licence in April 1908.
Bridget then re-applied for the new hotel again in September 1908. This time her application was successful!
She transferred the Free Selector's Hotel licence in April 1909, to someone named Mary McNamara.
Bridget's sister-in-law's maiden name had been McNamara. Obviously these two women were related. Perhaps Mary McNamara was a sister of Bridget's sister-in-law, and they were keeping it in the family, so to speak!
My Great Grandmother Bridget then built
and operated the Southern Hotel for 15 years, between 1909 and
April 1924.
 |
Bridget's sons - Brothers James and Maurice O'Donnell
on the day of my grandfather James's wedding day. |
Bridget's oldest son, my
Grandfather James, and younger son Maurice left Toowoomba around 1917
and travelled quite a way north to establish their own farm. James
never returned, but Maurice did a number of years later.
 |
| Bridget's daughter - Mary Margaret O'Donnell |
After the two boys left, it was Bridget's daughter Mary Margaret O'Donnell, and her youngest son Morgan Joseph O'Brien who remained with their mother in Toowoomba. Mary Margaret helped her mother run the Southern Hotel for many years, and then took over when Bridget retired.
Bridget finally retired from working life and settled into domestic life around 1925, when she was aged 74. She lived in a house in Hume Street, with son Morgan Joseph O'Brien and her daughter Mary Margaret O'Donnell, until sometime between 1930 and 1935, because at the time of her death in 1937, all three were back living at the Southern Hotel in Ruthven Street.
Whilst her death certificate records her age as 81 years old, she was in fact 86. The details for her death certificate were given by her daughter Mary Margaret, and it seems that Bridget's actual age was not known by her family.
Looking at the listed causes of death, it seems Bridget died of cancer after a three year battle.
________________________________________________________________________________
Full Circle: I mentioned in my last post that the O'Donnell part of my family story came around full circle when I visited the ancestral family farm in Ireland over a hundred years after Edmond O'Donnell left his home and family. Well, the Burke part of my family story came around full circle at the same time!
On that trip to Ireland in 2014, I met a second cousin who is the great grandson of my great grandmother's brother Maurice Burke. Maurice was the one who stayed on the Burke farm back in Ireland, the very farm that Bridget left when she headed off into the unknown with Edmond back in 1882.
I had the opportunity to visit the family farm with my youngest son, and see the farmhouse that Bridget had lived in all those years ago. It had not been lived in for quite some time, but it was in pretty good condition considering its age. What an unexpected surprise, and an absolute delight to have the opportunity to walk around and see where Bridget had grown up.
Update 2023:
I've just recently received two books in which my maternal great grandmother - Bridget O'Donnell / O'Brien nee Burke - and my grand aunt (Bridget's daughter) - Mary Margaret O'Donnell - are mentioned.
6 years ago, after finding my post about Bridget, the President of the Toowoomba Historical Society contacted me via email to let me know he was including both Bridget and Mary Margaret in two of the historical
society's publications about Toowoomba publicans and pubs.
It's such a pleasure to see both these strong, resilient, hard-working, independent women acknowledged in this way.
 |
| The two publications that include my great grandmother and my grand aunt |
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.
