The Story of Anne (Nancy) Littlejohns

This is the story of my paternal Great Great Great Grandmother, Anne (known as Nancy) Littlejohns (1801 - 1875).

My 3x great grandmother was baptised Anne, but was known as Nancy for most of her life.  This is apparently quite a common tradition for those of Irish heritage.

Huh???

The many peculiarities in Christian names in Ireland can apparently be divided into five different classes:
- names that can apply to both sexes
- names that are usually given to one sex, but are applied to the other
- diminutives that differ substantially from the original given name
- names which are different but for varied reasons are used interchangeably
- Irish equivalents for English names and English equivalents for Irish names


In the case of my 3x great grandmother, it seems that a common variation used for the given name of Anne, is 'Nancy'!  I just can't see the logic in it, and it seems that 'Nancy' was often used for the given name of Hannah as well!!!  It's confusing, and it certainly didn't help my research efforts.  For many years, I felt as though I had hit a brick wall, until a distant family member enlightened me about the use of 'Nancy' for those actually christened Anne.

For the purposes of this post, I shall refer to my 3x great grandmother as Anne (Nancy), using both names so it's clear for all who might be reading this story.

Anne (Nancy) was born in November of 1801.  Her father John Littlejohns was aged 29 at the time, and her mother Mary Ayears was aged 31.

St Sidwell's Parish Register - Baptisms and Burials 1772-1804

Anne (Nancy) was baptised at the same church where her father and mother had married in Exeter, Devon, England.

page from St. Sidwell's Parish Register - last entry

She was baptised at St. Sidwell's Church in Exeter on the 29th of November, 1801.

So far my research has only produced records showing six other children born to Anne's parents, John and Mary.

A boy named Henry was born in 1794, but died a month before his first birthday.
Frances (known as Fanny, which makes a whole lot more sense!) was born in 1795.
Mary Anne came along in 1797.
Jane was born in 1800 but died the same year.
John was born in early 1803, when Anne was only 1 year old.  Sadly, he died the following year, in 1804.
John Edwin was born in 1807, when Anne was 5 years old.

With the deaths of three of the Littlejohns children before Anne (Nancy) had turned 6,  Fanny, Mary Anne and John Edwin were to be Anne's (Nancy's) only siblings as she grew from a young child to an adult.  It appears that the family were quite poor and lived in impoverished circumstances for most of Anne's (Nancy's) childhood.  Father John worked as a fuller in the woollen cloth-making industry, which was not a well-paying job.

By the time Anne (Nancy) was born, in 1801, Exeter had a population of around 20,000 and was considered an important town in England.  This however changed very quickly as the industrial revolution more or less passed Exeter by, and other towns grew enormously in terms of size and economic importance.

Exeter decreased in size over the following sixty years and dwindled to becoming just a market town.  This coincided with the decline in its wool manufacture and tanning industries.  As a result, it ceased to be an important manufacturing centre and rates of unemployment grew, along with the numbers of impoverished people.

I imagine Anne (Nancy) and her siblings would have been sent out to work at a very early age.  Most likely my 3x great grandmother would have worked in one of the woollen manufacturing factories or worked as a servant / household staff.

When she was 20 years old, Anne (Nancy) married William Henry Browning in Exeter, Devon on the 28th of July 1822. On this record her name was recorded as Nancy.

You can see that Anne (Nancy) had not learned how to write her own name, as she signed her marriage record with a mark - an X.  My 3x great grandmother had not benefited from an education during her childhood, which would indicate her family was indeed very poor and most likely had no fixed address for any great period of time.  It was probably a tough childhood for Anne (Nancy).

The obligatory banns had been posted three times previous to her date of marriage, on three consecutive Sundays.  Obviously there were no objections made, so their marriage was solemnized in the presence of a James Legitt and John Marwood in 1822.



Anne (Nancy) and William Browning went on to have 11 children over the next 24 years.  The first seven of their children were all born in England, and the records of their births indicate that Anne (Nancy) and William moved quite often between Exeter in Devon, Anne's (Nancy's) home town, and Launceston in Cornwall, William's home town.  It's possible that this was the result of a constant search for work and the means to support their growing family, hence the constant moving between Anne's birthplace and William's.

Daughter Susannah was born in 1823.  She was born in Exeter.
Hannah was born in 1825, but the family had moved by then as she was born in Launceston, Cornwall.
John Thomas was born two years later in 1827, but the family was back in Exeter by then.
Caroline Penelope (my great great grandmother) was born in 1830, when Anne (Nancy) was 28 years old.

The family had fallen on really tough times by then though, as Caroline was born in the Poor House, and the family were once again back in Launceston, Cornwall.  The next three children were all born in Launceston, so it seems the family stopped moving for a while as they were likely dependent on parish relief.

William Henry was born in 1832.
Dinah was born in 1835.
Mary Anne was born in 1837.

Sadly, daughter Dinah was to pass away the following year, in 1838, when she was only aged 3.  Anne (Nancy) at the time was 37, and it appears that the family was once again living in the work house.  The living conditions they had to endure at this time might have contributed to the decline in the health of daughter Dinah, and ultimately caused her death.  I can imagine the heartache that Anne (Nancy) endured during these years as she and her husband tried to find work wherever they could, and when they couldn't, were forced to rely on parish relief and life in the poor house.

The workhouse that was in operation at this time in Launceston housed up to 40 inmates.  It was a building that had originally been a prison and the day-to-day life of the workhouse inmates would have been harsh, to say the least.

A mere 30 years previously the Quaker and prison reformer James Neild visited the workhouse in Launceston and reported that there was:

"a scene of filth, rags and wretchedness ... The large room below stairs has a mud floor; and whole families, men, women and children, pig together.  The upper room had several bedsteads in it, with the most ragged and dirty bedding I ever saw; the windows were small and close, the want of ventilation and decent cleanliness produced a stench almost insupportable.  I was in the room but a few minutes before I was seized with sickness, which obliged me to withdraw."

Nothing would have changed much by the time Anne (Nancy) and her family were living in that same workhouse.  It wasn't until 1838 that a new workhouse was built on acreage just outside Launceston.  The Browning family would not have known this newer, much larger and cleaner workhouse.

By early 1840, Anne (Nancy) and her husband William, had made the decision to take the opportunity to emigrate under what was known as the 'Bounty Scheme', leaving their country of birth to face the challenges of a new life in the far-off colony of Australia.

Anne (Nancy) and her husband were both in their late 30s when they made the decision to leave home and family and travel to the other side of the world.

I've been fortunate enough to have benefited from a lot of family tree research compiled and published by Esme Smith in her book: The Browning Story: Tracings From The Past, published in 2001.


Esme is a descendant of Anne's (Nancy's) daughter Mary Anne, whilst I am a descendant of Anne's (Nancy's) daughter Caroline Penelope.

According to Esme's book, Chapter 1 p.1 "It may have been the prevailing adversity of being poor that drove them to leave England.  Perhaps the conditions in the Poor Houses, where they had spent a number of years, were so difficult for the family that the parents were prepared to forego the known for the unknown.  The harshness of their circumstances may have caused them to believe that there was nothing to be lost in taking this journey."

Bounty Immigrant List showing William and Anne Browning and four of their children. 
 Their eldest daughters were listed separately under 'single females'.

The Browning family were members of a party of 158 assisted immigrants on board the ship 'Premier' which set sail from Plymouth, England on the 2nd of April, arriving at Port Jackson on the 1st of July 1840.  Assisted immigrants were individuals who were paid for or subsidized by another person or through an agency working on behalf of an employer in the colony.

At the time of their journey to Australia, Anne's (Nancy's) six children would have been aged between 16 and 3 years of age.  What strength of resolve and fierce willpower would a mother need to ensure the health and happiness of her children while undertaking such a voyage?

The ship did not touch land at any point on the journey, so the family would have endured a tedious three-month long trip on a crowded ship, with little food to eat and very cramped living conditions, although this would not have been a totally new experience for any member of the family really, given the time they spent living in the workhouse.  Sickness and disease were rife as well.  There was an outbreak of measles one week into the journey and the epidemic lasted for five weeks!

I can imagine the worries Anne (Nancy) must have had about whether or not her children would succumb to the disease.  Four babies did die on the journey, so Anne (Nancy) would no doubt have been particularly concerned about the health of her youngest, Mary Ann, who was aged 3 at the time.  Given that Anne (Nancy) had already lost a daughter when she was three years old, it must have weighted on Anne's (Nancy's) mind a great deal.

View of Sydney Cove - 1838, by Conrad Martens

Thankfully all of the Browning family survived the trip and landed safely in Port Jackson on the 1st of July, 1840.

Although both Anne (Nancy) and her husband William were really close to the cut-off age for eligibility for assisted migration (40 years of age), they had a family which included four daughters, two of whom were close to a marriageable age.  This was considered an asset, as the colony had very large numbers of young men looking for brides!  No surprise then that Anne (Nancy) and her husband were accepted for the assisted immigrant scheme, despite their ages.

Map from Esme Smith's book: 
The Browning Story: Tracings From The Past p.17

Even after three months of sailing, the travelling continued for the family after they had arrived in the colony.  The Browning family were all employed by the Australian Agricultural Company on the company's holding at Carrington, Port Jackson.  

This was a fifteen hour journey on another smaller ship further north.  It was here that William began working as a shepherd.

Map showing some of the sheep stations
the Brownings worked on as shepherds - including Carrington

Anne (Nancy), and the younger children, would have worked alongside William while it's likely the two older daughters were employed as servants in one of the large property houses at either Carrington or Stroud.

While at Carrington, another son was born to Anne (Nancy) and William.

Francis came along in August of 1841, just over a year after Anne (Nancy) and her family had arrived in Australia.  My 3x great grandmother was aged 39.

During the next month, September 1841, Anne (Nancy) saw her eldest daughter Susannah married to Joshua Craven, a convict assigned to the AA Company.

Just four months later, in January of 1842, the second eldest daughter Hannah was also married. She wed Thomas Norton, also a convict who had been assigned to the AA Company.

It seems that Anne (Nancy), her husband and the rest of the family left the AA Company and Carrington sometime after the weddings of the two eldest daughters.  By the end of 1842 her son John Thomas would have been 15 years old; daughter  Caroline Penelope (my 2x great grandmother) would have been 12; son William Henry would have been 9 years old; daughter Mary Anne would have been aged 5; and baby James Francis would have been 1 year old.

Over the next few years, Anne (Nancy), husband William, and the children that were still living with them, moved around a lot.

George Bishop, Surveyor-General's Office, New South Wales 1872 [Public domain]

According to the information in Esme Smith's book, "it's likely that the Brownings moved, initially to Ward Stephen's holdings in the Hunter River District (marked in red), and then to the New England area (marked in green) and finally to the Richmond River District. (marked in yellow)" (p. 22)


By June of 1842 Anne (Nancy) and husband William were employed as part of a family team of shepherds who drove Ward Stephen's flock down from the highlands of New England, to the rich plains of the Richmond Valley on the coast (later to become known as the Lismore area).

Ward Stephen's station 'Runnymede' highlighted on map

It was here that Ward Stephens moved to Runnymede where he built his homestead, and the Brownings went there as employees.  Sadly, whilst Anne (Nancy) was working alongside her husband at Runnymede, her daughter Susannah passed away back up on the highlands of New England, in Stroud.  Susannah was only aged 20 at the time and had been married for just two years.

It appears that Anne (Nancy), William and their younger children remained working for Ward Stephens for at least another five to six years.  During this time in the Richmond River district Anne (Nancy) and William had another three children.

Joseph was born in 1845.
Elizabeth was born the following year, in 1846, but died just a few weeks later.
Matthew came along in early 1848.  Anne (Nancy) was aged 45.

By this time however, Ward Stephens, their employer, had sold his property Runnymede and the Brownings had moved on once more.  They had taken another shepherding job, together with members of their family, at Maryland Station back up on the New England Tablelands.  Maryland, then owned by Matthew Henry Marsh, was in the Darling Downs area, which was still part of New South Wales at that time.

According to Esme Smith's 'The Browning Story: Tracings From The Past:

"The family's employment at Maryland commenced on 4 May 1848." (p. 30)  ...
"When William and Nancy arrived at Maryland Station, they had with them their children, John, William, Mary Ann, Francis, Joseph and Matthew.  There they worked as shepherds and watchmen at a wage of  £70 per annum.  This is a rather large annual wage given the times. ...so it probably meant that it included the work of the other members of the family."  (p. 31)

By 1848, their daughter Caroline Penelope (my 2x great grandmother) had married.  She was aged 15 when she wed Henry Brown in 1846, and was now a mother herself.  It appears Anne (Nancy), her husband William and six of their children, had followed their daughter Caroline and her husband Henry to Maryland Station, as Henry had started work there in March of 1848.

1848 was also the year that the second eldest daughter, Hannah, re-married.  She had been widowed around 1846, when she was aged just 21, and soon after becoming a mother for the first time.  It's likely that Hannah, with her daughter Mary Ann, had also joined the family soon after the death of her first husband and had moved onto Runnymede Station when the family had been working there.  Hannah then followed the family to Maryland Station where she met her second husband.

Anne (Nancy) and her husband William left Maryland Station sometime between 1851 and 1853.  When their daughter Mary Ann married in late 1853, when aged 16, the family were living in the Armidale area.  It's possible Anne (Nancy) and William were working on one of the other properties owned by March, either Salisbury Court or Booralong, which were both in the Armidale district.

By early 1855, Anne (Nancy) and William were living in the Tamworth area, on Goonoo Goonoo Station, a property owned by the A. A. Company.  This is where their son William Henry married.  Their daughter Mary Ann and her husband were also living and working on Goonoo Goonoo, and were witnesses at the wedding.  As Esme Smith stated on p. 38 of her book "It is likely that various members of the family were again working for the A. A. Company at that time."

Sometime between 1858 and 1859, the family appears to have moved back to the Richmond River District / Lismore area.  Then in mid-1864 Anne's (Nancy's) husband William made an application for the purchase of some land, a block of 40 acres, on the western back of Terrania Creek.  This is where Anne (Nancy) and William built their own home and where they finally settled.  Their property was known as 'Rosehill'.

Their son Francis bought a block of 40 acres right next door to his mother's and father's block, and both William and son Francis, along with the other younger sons Joseph and Matthew, began working as timber-getters.

Anne's (Nancy's) husband William died at Rose Hill a mere 3 years later, in 1867.  He was buried at the Rosehill burying grounds.  Anne (Nancy) remained living at Rosehill until her death in 1875, when aged 74.

The years between 1840, when the family arrived in Australia, and 1864, when the family finally had their own home, would have been years of back-breaking hard work with quite austere and challenging living conditions for Anne (Nancy), as the wife of a shepherd.

Information gleamed from an article titled:  Shepherding in Colonial Australia, written by John Pickard in the 2008 edition of 'Rural History' indicates that there was no idyllic life for a shepherd,  "the reality in colonial Australia was brutally different.  ...  They worked in isolation, with poor accommodation and rations, exposed to a range of diseases, and were relatively poorly paid."  (pp. 55-56)

Replica of a bark gunyah

Living conditions would have been quite primitive (by our standards!)  It's likely that the first type of accommodation for Anne (Nancy) and her family would have been a tent or a bark gunyah - a temporary structure made with bark and tree branches - until a proper shepherd's hut was erected.  They may have even lived out in the open for a time.

Shepherding was a nomadic lifestyle and Anne (Nancy) went with William wherever work could be found; living, working and raising their family in temporary homes quite a long way away from towns and settlements.  They would have lived quite an isolated existence, apart from the day-to-day presence of their own family and perhaps the occasional meeting with other shepherds and their families.

"The logistics of shepherding in the Australian colonies varied somewhat, but most often ... shepherds were based at an outstation which consisted of a hut with a set of yards made of moveable hurdles for each shepherd (where the sheep were penned at night).  Some outstations had fixed yards made of brush or logs.  These outstations were five to twenty-four kilometres from the head station." (Shepherding in Colonial Australia p. 56-57)

"A well-established outstation had a pole-frame hut, perhaps eleven feet wide by twelve or fifteen feet long, covered with bark stripped off suitable Eucalyptus trees, or shingles.  The bark roof would be held down with a framework of logs pegged together.  The fireplace would be lined with stones and clay, and smoke dissipated up a bark chimney."

The artist impression shown here was an idealised version of a well-established outstation.  It's highly likely the artist never ever saw one for himself!

A more commonplace hut would have been "slabs with bark roofs about twenty-four by ten feet, with two rooms ... and there would be a slab fireplace for cooking, a three-legged pot and a bucket would be all the household business.  The floor was just the ground."  (Shepherding in Colonial Australia p. 65)  This is likely to have been the home that Anne (Nancy) would have been familiar with.

It was usual that when married couples were employed, the husband shepherded and the wife was the hut-keeper.  Children were expected to look after sheep from an early age as well. It's likely that Anne (Nancy) and the younger children would have slept in the hut at night; whereas her husband William and the older boys most likely slept in a watch-box or even in the open near the yarded flocks of sheep, keeping guard against predators such as the native dogs, the dingoes.


There would have been the constant dangers of snake bites and accidents, and no chance of  prompt medical assistance.  There is likely to have been the constant fear of Aborigines as well, as relationships between the white settlers/squatters and the indigenous people were strained, to say the least.


The diet would have been extremely monotonous, based essentially on meat, damper and tea.  "Shepherd's wages included rations which would most likely have been:  ten a half pounds of meat, ten and a half pounds of flour, seven ounces of sugar, three and a half ounces of soap, two ounces of salt per man per week.  (Shepherding in Colonial Australia p. 66)


Throughout all of this it would have fallen upon Anne's (Nancy's) shoulders to keep the family together and to keep her family fed, housed and healthy.  Given that the entire family remained close-knit and close-by for her entire life (and onwards with the following generations), it seems Anne (Nancy) was the rock on which this family built their lives.

When Anne (Nancy) left her homeland and her own family far, far behind, I have no doubt she would have had some trepidation about the future.  I can't imagine what it would have been like to leave everything behind, including your own mother, father and siblings, to travel so very far away.  Did she keep in contact with her family back in England?  I doubt that very much, given the life she experienced as the wife of a shepherd and the fact that she never learned to write.

It's unlikely she would have known about the deaths of her father and her mother.  It's unlikely she would have known much about the lives of her sisters Fanny and Mary Ann, her brother John Edwin.

Anne (Nancy) passed away in early 1875.  The details on Anne's (Nancy's) death certificate were recorded by son Matthew, but are not all correct - Anne's (Nancy's) father's name was listed as Thomas, whilst her mother's name was listed as Martha Killark.   Neither of these pieces of information are supported by the details provided by Anne (Nancy) herself upon emigration to Australia.

New South Wales Assisted Immigrant Passenger Lists - 1828-1896
- Anne Browning (nee Littlejohns) 1840

The assisted immigration passenger list for those arriving on board the ship Premier in 1840 shows Anne's (Nancy's) parents listed as John and Mary.  Perhaps an explanation of the mismatch between the details on these records can be found in the fact that it's unlikely there was much communication between Anne (Nancy) and her English family, so therefore it's unlikely her son Matthew would have been in possession of the true facts.

At the time of her death, Anne's (Nancy's) family was quite large.  Eight of her children were still alive, and there were around 44 grandchildren living at that time ... with many more to come!

Her daughter Hannnah had married twice and still had 8 surviving children.
Her son John Thomas had married and had 8 children by then.
Her daughter Caroline Penelope (my 2x great grandmother) had married twice by this time, and still had 10 surviving children.
Her son William Henry (known as Bill) had married and had 5 surviving children.
Her daughter Mary Ann had married and had 10 children.
Her son James Francis had married, but had no children at that time.
Her son Joseph Edward had married and had 3 children by then.
Her son Matthew had married just the year before.

The Browning (Littlejohns) dynasty had been well and truly established in the land downunder!


Some of Anne's (Nancy's) children or grandchildren:

Top row:  granddaughter Caroline Maris Kean nee Browning with her children
Middle row L to R:  granddaughter Harriett Thomas nee Wright, granddaughter Sarah Ann Smith nee Bustard, and grandson John Thomas Brown.
Bottom row L to R:  grandson James Irving Stevenson Brown, granddaughter Eliza Stevenson Duncan Brown and grandson William Edward Wright.

Top row L to R:  grandson Thomas Charles Bustard and wife, grandson Arthur John Browning and wife
Middle row L to R:  grandson Richard Joseph Brown ( my great grandfather), his brother Richard Brown, and grandson William Henry Browning Jnr. with his mother Sarah.
Bottom row L to R: daughter Mary Ann Bustard nee Browning with her husband, granddaughter Martha Ann Reeves nee Bustard, grandson William Francis Browning.

Top row L to R:  grandson Joseph W Browning and family, and son Matthew Browning.
Bottom row L to R:  granddaughter Margaret Alice White nee Browning, and grandson Alexander Johnson Brown.


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.

The Story of James Hickey

This is the story of my paternal Great Great Great Grandfather, James Hickey (1798 - 1879).

The details of my 3x great grandfather's birth and early life are rather scant, but it's been a fascinating research journey trying to find clues.  From the few records I have ended up with, which really only includes the immigrant passenger list, the baptism records for two of his children, and his death certificate, there appears to be a difference in his supposed place of origin.  It appeared that James hailed from both County Limerick and County Clare.  So, which was correct?

From what I've been able to glean so far, it seems that both are most likely correct.  Why?  Well, that needs an explanation.

James was probably born and definitely lived in the Coonagh area (not to be confused with the Coonagh Barony!).

Coonagh was comprised of two townlands, Coonagh East and Coongah West.


The area was part of the Civil Parish of Killeely.

The Civil Parish of Killeely was part of the Roman Catholic Parish of Parteen-Meelick-Coonagh in the Diocese of Limerick.


Both the Civil Parish of Killeely and the Diocese of Limerick straddled two counties, County Limerick and County Clare. Indeed, the majority of the Limerick Diocese was in fact within the borders of County Clare, as was most of the Parish of Parteen-Meelick-Coonagh. 

The area of Coonagh (which included Coonagh East and Coonagh West) sat on the banks of the Shannon River, and was at different points in time considered to be part of both counties, although when James was growing up it was most definitely considered part of County Limerick.

Sunset on the Shannon, taken from Coonagh
By ThadysLamp - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44392588

I have not yet uncovered a definitive date of birth, but the year 1798 is an educated guess, based on the age recorded on James's immigration passenger list.  His death certificate contradicts this date though, and indicates that he was born a lot earlier, in 1793.  I do think that 1793 was in fact the date of birth for one of James's brothers.

James was the son of Patrick Hickey and Mary Price.  He had at least two older brothers.  I think that it was Patrick who was born in 1793, and then Denis came along in 1795.  James was the youngest of the boys.  It's likely other siblings were born to his parents, but it seems they did not survive into adulthood.

My 3x great grandfather James married Margaret McNamara sometime around 1820, when he would have been aged 22.  On James's death certificate it is recorded that he married in County Clare, and that would be correct if they married in the Catholic Church in the Parish of Parteen, which was part of the Diocese of Limerick!

After their marriage, James and Margaret went on to have at least 8 children whilst living in Ireland.
Their eldest son Dennis was born in 1822.
Patrick came along in 1824.
Twins, John and Thomas were born in 1827.
Bridget was born in 1829.
Ellen (my Great Great Grandmother) came along in 1832.  At that time James was 34 years old.
James (Jnr.) was born in 1835.
William was born in 1837, but it seems he died as a very young infant.

Sadly, back in 1833, James's father Patrick had died.

Tithe Applotment Book 1833 Townland of Coonagh

At that time, in a valuation undertaken on May 30th 1833, recorded in the Tithe Applotment Books, the inhabitants of Coonagh were listed under three main family groupings - Coonagh Hickey, Coonagh Sexton and Coonagh Calcutt.  The townland of Coonagh itself was owned by the Earl of Thomand and leased to these families, who would have in turn probably subleased portions to others.

Tithe Applotment Book 1833 - Coonagh Hickey

The 1833 record showed that the Hickey brothers Patrick, Denis and James, along with a Widow Hickey (likely to be their mother Mary) were all working farmland in Coonagh, totaling 18 acres.

Patrick, being the eldest brother would have been left the lease of the large 15 acre farm after the death of his father that year.  That was in accordance with the inheritance traditions at the time.  The younger brothers, including my 3x great grandfather James, would have worked the land together as well as their own small 1 acre plots.  Apparently it was fairly common for each fully fit man to work 5 acres with a spade at this time.  Hard, back-breaking work!

Both James and Denis, the younger brothers, would have been deprived of property rights, and that would have been the reality for their own sons as well. My 3x great grandfather James already had 5 sons by this time (1833) and his brother Denis had 4.  Whilst James and Denis remained working the farmland as tenants for several more years after 1833, they were to make a life-changing decision in the hope of changing their futures.

Upon the death of their mother Mary, which happened sometime between 1833 and 1839, the two younger brothers decided to emigrate, in the belief they could build a better life for their families elsewhere and perhaps end up as landowners themselves.

In November of 1839, James Hickey and his family of 8, as well as his brother Denis and his family of 6, boarded the ship Adam Lodge, along with what is highly likely to be a number of other Hickey relatives.  In all, there were 28 people with the surname of Hickey from either County Limerick or County Clare who departed Cove Cork in Ireland on the 11th of November 1839.

The Adam Lodge was a 576-ton ship carrying 273 government immigrants.  According to the journal kept by the Surgeon Superintendent Alex Stewart:

"The immigrants included 54 Protestants and 219 Catholics.  A crew member and two children died on the voyage, one child was born.  A school was established and 37 regularly attended.  The schoolmaster was very attentive and many of the scholars improved considerably. The chief amusements were dancing and leap frog and were always encourage in the evenings until 9 o'clock.  Divine Service was performed five times during the voyage, the unfavourable state of the weather, the rolling of the ship and their indisposition prevented its being done oftener."

 The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser Sat 15 Feb 1840 p2

The Adam Lodge arrived in Sydney on February 14th, 1840, after a voyage that lasted for 95 days.  The ship had taken a course from the Cape of Good Hope, across the Southern Ocean, and then up the Eastern seaboard of Australia.  The ship had 'spoken' with the Mary Ridgway whilst passing through Bass Strait, on the 10th of February 1840.

Upon arrival in Sydney all the immigrants would have resided in the government barracks on Bent Street, where an immigration muster was completed detailing information about James and his family.

It was noted that James had been 41 years old upon embarkation, but was 42 years old by the time he had arrived in the Colonies.

His previous occupation had been 'farmer'.

He was Roman Catholic and could both read and write.

James's wife Margaret was recorded as being 38 years of age and her occupation was listed as 'farm servant'.  She could neither read nor write.

Children Patrick, Thomas, John, James, Bridget and Ellen were all listed with Margaret.  Son Dennis was listed separately as a Single Male.

Dispersal List for assisted immigrants on Adam Lodge 1840 p.3 - James Hickey and family

James and his family had been bought out as part of the Assisted Immigration Scheme, which means their passage had been paid for by either the government of the colonies or a wealthy private individual.  In James's case, his passage was paid for by the government as the Dispersal List (shown above) lists his prospective employer as "unknown".

Dispersal List for assisted immigrants on Adam Lodge 1840 p.2 - Denis Hickey and family

His brother Denis and his son Dennis, on the other hand, had been sponsored by a Mr. Hunt of Sydney for 1 year at wages of 90 pounds plus rations.  It's likely that James stayed in Sydney for a while, close to his brother and son, anxiously awaiting employment prospects.

I'm not entirely sure just how long after landing in Sydney, James and his family moved north to the Hunter River District, and in particular the Maitland; but within two years of disembarkation, as another son was born in the Maitland area in 1842.

Son Michael was born in October of 1842, when James was 44 years old.

James was to reside in the Hunter River District, around Maitland, for the remainder of his life, as did his brother Denis and most of the extended Hickey family.  It seems that they were a close-knit clan.

Article in the Empire Newspaper Wed 5 Aug 1857 p2

There is mention of a "Hickey's Farm" in an article published in the Empire newspaper dated 5th of August 1857.


The article told of the effects of significant flooding in the Narrowgut / Morpeth / Phoenix Park area of the Hunter River District in New South Wales that year.


In the last paragraph there is mention that:

"Below Hinton the river broke over at several places, and poured a deluge of water into the adjacent hollows.  This was the case at Berry Park, Duckenfield, Hickey's Farm, Nelson's Plains, and Miller's Forest - all the low lands in these localities were covered with water."

Was this my 3x great grandfather's farm?

Map of Hunter River District around Maitland -
shows location of Wallalong, Phoenix Park and Narrowgut.

Oral family stories mention that James originally tenanted a farm at Wallalong sometime in the 1850s, moved across the river to Phoenix Park, and at some time tenanted farmland in Cooley Camp (later known as Bolwarra).

Given that James's brother Denis had died in 1852, then perhaps the "Hickey's Farm" mentioned in that 1857 newspaper was indeed the farm of James Hickey.  The death of his brother Denis would have been a terrible blow to James, considering they had made the journey out to Australia together and spent their lives in the colony living in the same places.

I have little knowledge of the life of James during his years spent farming in the Hunter River District.  Did he end up owning his own land, or did he spend his life as a tenant farmer?

Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser Sat 21 Jun 1879 p16

James Hickey died on the 14th of June, 1879 and the death notice published on Saturday the 21st of June states:

"Mr. James Hickey, senior, died on Saturday night, the 14th inst., at his late residence, Narrowgut."

The article also mentions that he was an "old and respected resident of the district" who had been a "native of Ireland, but has spent thirty-nine years in this colony, always located in the Hunter River  district."  It was wonderful to see that he was described as "of a remarkably active temperament, and possessed a warm-hearted, genial disposition, which served to endear him to a large circle of friends."  The death notice also mentions that James died "with his children all around him", which seems to indicate the closeness of the family unit.

James's death certificate stated that he died of "senile debility" and that he was survived by 7 of his children - Patrick was 46, the twins John and Thomas were 44, Bridget was 40, Ellen (my great great grandmother) was 38 and Michael was 35.  That means his eldest son Dennis was deceased by that time.

The death certificate also lists 1 other male as deceased, and 1 female.  I know that James and Margaret had lost a son named William before they left Ireland, but I have not yet found any record of a third daughter born to them, either in Ireland or Australia.  These details were given by son Michael, so I'm assuming he would have known the true facts and I now have some more researching to do!

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.

The Story of Ellen Hickey

This is the story of my paternal Great Great Grandmother, Ellen Hickey (1832-1912).

 

Ellen Hickey
date of photo unknown

The year of Ellen's birth, 1832, was also the birth year of authors Louisa May Alcott and Lewis Carroll, and the engineer Gustave Eiffel.  The place of Ellen's birth is still open to conjecture, although I will make an educated guess based on the records and information I've been able to collate.

Quite a lengthy period of time passed before my research finally led me to the baptism register for the Parish of Parteen and Meelick.





Reading the baptism register for the Parish in 1832 was very, very difficult, as you can tell from the record shown here; but I persisted and after many, many attempts, I finally found the entry on the first page next to the number 11 under the February section.

If you look very carefully, you can see 'Ellen Hickey', along with the names of her parents.  Her father was James Hickey, aged 34 at the time, and her mother was Margaret McNamara, aged 30. So I finally had confirmation of a year of birth and a baptism date.

Ellen was baptised on the 11th of February in 1832, in the townland of Parteen, County Clare.



Now, Parteen was (still is) in the Catholic Parish of 'Parteen-Meelick' in the Diocese of Limerick, but the Diocese of Limerick covered parts of both County Limerick and County Clare back then.

If the family actually lived on that side of the River Shannon, then they were natives of County Clare.







That information however didn't marry up with the place the family had recorded as their 'native place' on their immigration record a few years later.  That was listed as Limerick, so I got a little confused.  Did that mean the family identified themselves as being from Limerick city, the County of Limerick or the Diocese of Limerick?

At that time most of the Parish of Parteen/Meelick was indeed situated in County Clare, but ... the Coonagh part of the Parish was in the County of Limerick.  Did that mean the Hickey family were actually living in Coonagh and that's where Ellen was born?  Was the church in Parteen just the closest church?  I will need to look into this further.

At the time of her birth, it appears that there were already four children in the family.

Patrick had been born in 1824.
Twins, Thomas and John, came along in 1827.
Bridget was born in 1830.
The year after Ellen was born, James came along in 1833.

A mere six years later it appears that Ellen's mother and father decided to leave Ireland and emigrate, as many Irish did in the 19th century. 

Assisted Immigrant Record - 'Adam Lodge' - 1840

The record above shows that in late 1839 Ellen's parents decided to move to Australia. It's not an easy record to read, but the details indicate that Ellen's father James, mother Margaret, and siblings boarded the ship 'Adam Lodge' in Cork; along with her uncle Denis, aunt Winifred, and cousins Denis, Matthew and Michael.

The extended family was taking advantage of the 'bounty' immigration scheme that operated between 1834-1841.  'Bounties' were paid to individuals or companies who recruited immigrants with particular skills and bought them to the colonies for employers.  There were a couple of other Hickey families aboard the ship, but I'm unsure about their relationship to Ellen's family.  One of those families is recorded directly above the entry for Ellen's family.

The other form of the immigrant record shows that Ellen's father James was aged 41, her mother was 38, her brother Patrick was 16, the twins Thomas and John were aged 13, Bridget was 10, James was 7 and Ellen herself was aged 8  (despite being listed as 9 years of age).

Trying to comprehend exactly what Ellen's experience would have been during this trip at such a young age is difficult.

I imagine it could have been scary ordeal and a thrilling adventure all in one!





The family left from Cork on October 9th 1839 on the 'Adam Lodge' on a course to the Cape of Good Hope, then across the Southern Ocean, along the southern coast of Australia, through Bass Strait and up the eastern seaboard of Australia to Sydney.


The voyage took four months, arriving in Sydney on February 10th, 1840.

Once the family had disembarked in Sydney, they would have moved into the government barracks on Bent Street, along with all of the other immigrants.

This list of immigrants shown here, was published on the day of their arrival so that prospective employers were notified of the various skilled workers that were available for hire.


Ellen's father James and uncle Denis would have been included in the number of married farmers on board the ship.


I haven't yet found evidence of exactly whom might have employed Ellen's father, James Hickey.

I do know however (from research done by Mark Connors, another descendant of James Hickey and Margaret McNamara) that the family moved north to the Hunter River district, not long after their arrival in Australia, where James tenanted a farm at Wallalong, outside Maitland.



The obituary for Ellen's father published many years later, mentioned that he had spent 39 years in the colony "always being located in the Hunter River district".

Australasian Chronicle (Sydney, NSW), 18 February 1840, p.3

I have been unable to find any evidence of what occurred in Ellen's life during her teenage years, between the age of 10 and 16, but I suppose she would have worked alongside her father and mother on whatever farm or farms her father had been employed at in the Hunter River district.  No doubt she would have acquired many skills either as a farm servant or a house servant perhaps.

Then in 1849, at the age of just 17, Ellen married William Connor (whose name was often recorded as Connors later on, and that became the surname of the family). He was aged 29 and had been in the colony for eight years.

It's a bit of a mystery as to why her Christian name was recorded as 'Eleanor'.  Her baptism record shows her name as simply 'Ellen', but as the name 'Eleanor' pops up in various grandchildren names later on, perhaps her actual name was exactly that.

It's also interesting to note that there were no Hickey family members as witnesses to the marriage.  Given that Ellen had many close family members living nearby, and her husband had only one, a sister who had emigrated with him, it seems odd that a Hickey did not act as a witness.

Ellen's family had settled in the East Maitland Parish, not West Maitland where Ellen and William were married.  This suggests there may have been some discord, as the marriage did not take place in the bride's family's parish.  Was her choice of husband not agreeable to her parents? 

At the time of their marriage, William was living in an area known at the time as 'Cooley Camp' (later known as Bolwarra Flat) where there were many small farms.  It was reputedly a very productive area, but as the whole area was no more than five square miles in size, there was not much chance for expansion for any farmer who had a small landholding in the area.

Ellen and William had their first child, my Great Grandfather Thomas, in 1850, when Ellen was 18 years of age.  He was born at Butterwick, which was within the Cooley Camp area, but the new family did not stay long in the area after that.

They moved south to the Kiama and Gerringong region on the New South Wales south coast, quite a distance away from the rest of the Hickey family.  It seems they travelled with a number of other Irish families, including the Mary McIntyre who had been one of the witnesses at their wedding.  The Gerringong region was opening up at the time for farmers, after the cedar cutting industry had come to a halt.

Ellen and William appear to have begun working their own dairy farm, and went on to have 12 more children over the next 25 years.  Their growing family included:

Margaret born in 1852.
Patrick came along the following year, 1853.
Mary Ann was born in 1855, and Ellen was now aged 23.
Bridget Ellen was born in 1857.
James in 1859.
Ellen Sabina was born in 1861.  Ellen was now 29 years old.
William was born in 1864.
Benjamin came along in 1866.
In 1868 son John was born.
Elizabeth (known as Lizzie) was born in 1870.
Michael John was born in 1873.

It was not long after the birth of Michael, that William and Ellen packed up their belongings, left the dairy farm and the Kiama district. It appeared that William was not happy with his lot, and had decided to relocate to Wagga Wagga in the west, in the hope that he would be able to acquire a larger plot of land.

At the time Ellen would have been 41 years old.  The eldest son, my Great Grandfather Thomas, would have been 23, had a wife and a small baby;  daughter Margaret was 21; son Patrick was almost 20; Mary Ann was 18; Bridget was 16; James was 14; Ellen Sabina was 12; William was 9; Benjamin was 7; John was 5; Elizabeth was 3; and Michael was just a new born baby.

The entire family all headed off to the west by ox and dray on a trip of around 300 miles.  

I imagine it would have been a slow, arduous trip!

Wagga Wagga, late 1870s

The family had definitely arrived by 1876 because sadly, that year Ellen lost three of her children in Wagga Wagga. 

Typhoid, known then as 'colonial fever', had broken out in several places in both New South Wales and Victoria in 1875 / 1876.

Unfortunately it was rampant in Wagga Wagga in 1876 and Patrick (aged 23), Ellen Sabina (aged 15) and John (aged 8), all died as a result of contracting that disease.

No doubt others in the family would have fallen ill as well, but no other family members were lost.

Ellen herself might have succumbed and the family would have been very concerned as she was quite heavily pregnant at the time.

Thankfully she went on to give birth to her last son, Edward George, in August of 1876 when she was aged 44.

I can not imagine the grief that she would have felt at the loss of three of her children in such a short period of time.  I doubt that she was able to recover from that very quickly (if indeed she ever did!), despite the joy that a tiny new baby would bring.




Not long after this heart-breaking period of time, William and Ellen moved once more.  This time, their eldest son Thomas (my great grandfather) did not join them, but headed back to Kiama with his own family.  Their eldest daughter Margaret remained in Wagga and married, and it seems that their third eldest daughter, Bridget, also remained in Wagga.

So it was that Ellen and her husband moved to the Snowy Mountains district sometime towards the end of 1879, and eventually settled in the town of Gilmore, just outside Tumut, with six out of nine of their surviving children.

1879 was also the year that Ellen's father, James Hickey passed away.  Ellen's parents had stayed in the Hunter District, and James died near Morpeth.

Ellen was to experience more grief just a couple of years later.  In 1882, her husband William died, when Ellen was 50 years old. He passed away at Gilmore rather unexpectedly it seems, after suffering from inflammation of the lungs for two weeks prior to his death.  Given that the wheat crop grown the previous year at their farm had failed, times would have been quite hard for Ellen at that time.

Ellen would have taken over the farm, and indeed her death record lists her occupation at the time of her death (some 30 years later) as 'farmer'.  There is no doubt in my mind that Ellen had worked alongside her husband since the beginning of her marriage, and had played just as an essential role in the day-to-day workings of the farm as her husband.

It seems that Ellen's mother Margaret moved to Gilmore after the death of Ellen's husband William.  She was likely living with Ellen at the farm, but given she was now in her mid-80s she may not have been able to help out all that much.  Ellen's mother died in 1890 and is buried at the Tumut cemetary, and not beside her husband's plot in Morpeth.  

In 1893 son James married and moved off the farm into Tumut.
In 1896 Ellen's brother Patrick died.
Then in 1898, Ellen lost another of her children, her youngest son Edward George.

At this point in Ellen's story, I'm going to mention the prompt for this week's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge:  'Storms'.  Whilst others may think immediately of thunderstorms, I'm going to diverge a little and mention 'firestorm'.

In many parts of Australia, people are very familiar with firestorms. Bushfires are one of our most frequent natural hazards, and there have been some extreme bushfires throughout our history. When a bushfire starts exhibiting deep, widespread flaming with a smoke plume that can extend up to 10-15 kilometres into the atmosphere, sometimes these plumes actually develop into thunderstorms.  That's when the bushfire becomes known as a 'firestorm'.

In the last days of 1904 and first days of 1905, several massive bushfires covered a vast section of New South Wales, from Wagga Wagga in the west, to Yass in the East and down to Tumut in the south.  Despite there being several fires to begin with, after the traumatic event was over, it was spoken about as if there had been just one massive force of destruction that left a huge area of the state in ruins.  Though 'firestorm' would not have been a familiar term at the time, that was indeed what had occurred.

Ellen and her family were caught up in this tragedy, although thankfully none of the family lost their lives.










Newspaper reports at the time tell the story far better than I ever could.

" THE BUSH FIRES. 

(Braidwood Dispatch and Mining Journal (NSW), Saturday 7 January 1905, page 2)

So melancholy a catastrophe as the great fires which have swept over the State is, in many respects, unparalleled in the records of the country.

The concise telegrams coming from eye-witnesses in the various districts but briefly recount the fearful havoc, and cannot convey an adequate idea of the utter and complete devastation of the country as it now appears.

The picture is a grim one, with stumps still burning and blackened trunks alone standing where a little while since there was green grass and verdant bush growth. Charred trees and bare ground now plainly indicate the course of the fires as they sped their way relentlessly forward, increasing in fury as homesteads and station buildings were engulfed and reduced to ashes.

The amount of damage wrought is assuming immense proportions. Thousands of acres in different parts of the State have been devastated, homesteads, farms, and everything about them have been destroyed, and even larger holdings and stations have not escaped, hundreds of sheep and cattle having been roasted alive. There appears to have been no lack of assistance to try to save stock, which is at all times valuable, but no human effort could apparently rescue the doomed animals, which, in mortal panic, rushing from the great glare, were entirely unmanageable and soon overcome.………….(the report continued for a page)."

From the Tenterfield Intercolonial Courier and Fairfield and Wallangarra Advocate (NSW), Tuesday 10 January 1905, page 4
 
The headline:  'FEARFUL BUSH FIRES.'

Part of the beginning paragraph states:
"The details given in the Sydney Press, however, show that the fires, which were directly or indirectly caused by the heat wave, were appalling in their extent and fierceness, and the damage to property was exceedingly serious."

The lengthy article goes on to give particulars of the damage and loss in areas including - Moss Vale, Mittagong, Maitland, Gundagai, Candelo, Yass, Wagga, the Riverina and quite a few other districts.

There is mention of Tumut and the area around it, where Ellen and her family lived.

"DEVASTATION AT TUMUT
The bush fires in the Tumut district were unprecedented. Homesteads were burned, the occupants being compelled to leave with only the clothes in which they stood. Haystacks and sheds were levelled to the ground, and thousands of bushels of corn, wool-packed bales, fields of wheat crops, and hundreds of crops ready for the harvest, to say nothing of the tracts of grass were destroyed. Thousands of sheep, horses, cattle and poultry were roasted alive. After fighting the flames for two days and nights, men were lying around exhausted."

Tenterfield Intercolonial Courier and Fairfield and Wallangarra Advocate (NSW), Tuesday 10 January 1905, p.4

Escaping the Tumut fire in 1905

The photo above shows Ellen and her family (son William, his wife Elizabeth and children; as well as daughter Elizabeth and her two children) after they had evacuated the farm at Gilmore in an effort to escape the fire.  They had made it to the river near Blowering.  The whole thing must have been quite a harrowing experience.

Photo taken 1905, Ellen was aged 73.

Ellen is standing third from the right in front of the wagon.  She would have been 73 years old.  I think she can be forgiven for that lack of a smile and the rather sombre look on her face!

Front row L-R:  daughter-in-law Elizabeth (nee Duffy), granddaughter Ruby holding another of Ellen's grandchildren, Frederick, daughter Mary Anne, Ellen (the mother/mother-in-law/grandmother) granddaughter Phyllis, daughter Elizabeth (known as Lizzie).

In the buggy:  grandchildren Ivy Eleanor, Cecil, Frank and Harry.
Ellen's son William is driving the buggy.  Ellen's son-in-law Fred (Lizzie's husband) took the photo.

It does look as though they all escaped the fire relatively unscathed, but I don't know about the family property.  I have yet to discover what the family found when they returned to the farm; but return they did.  I have little detail to share about the years that followed.

In 1910 Ellen's eldest son Thomas Edgar, my great grandfather, passed away at his dairy farm 'Far Meadow' near Berry.  Ellen was 78 years old by then.

This photo was actually taken around the same time ... 1910 ... when Ellen was aged 78.  She is sitting with her  grandchildren Harry and Frank, children of her son William Connor.  The two boys in this photo are the same boys who were standing in the buggy being driven asway from the 1905 bushfires by their father.

The thing that grabs my attention and pulls at my heartstrings are Ellen's hands.  It looks like she suffered from quite sever arthritis of the hands, which must have been very painful!

Just two years after the photo was taken, a little over a month after her 80th birthday, Ellen died in 1912.

From her obituary you get a sense of the person she was, obviously a kind self-sacrificing person whose priority in life was her family.  The writer had most definitely made an error giving her age as "three score and ten"!

Some of the details on her death record are also a little out ... she definitely spent longer than 60 years of her life in New South Wales, given that she arrived when she had only just turned 8; and she had married before she turned 18.

Ellen was survived by her sons William, Benjamin, Michael and James; as well as her daughters Margaret, Mary Ann, Bridget and Elizabeth (known as Lizzie).



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.