Memories ... July 9

 In Remembrance

(For my 'Family Anniversaries' page)

Today is the anniversary of the passing of two of my paternal uncles, my Uncle Tommy who passed away at the age of 61, and his brother Leo, who passed away when only 3 days old.

Both were the sons of George Thomas Connors and Grace Olive Brown (my paternal grandparents).

• Thomas Richard Connors (known as Tommy) was born on the 19th of April 1911 at McGougan's Lane in Mullumbimby, New South Wales.  This is likely the address of the family's home at the time and his was likely a home birth.

• Thomas was the third of eleven children born to George and Grace.

• At the age of 21, Thomas married Dulcie Elizabeth Charlotte Hunt, but this marriage did not last.  Together, Thomas and Dulcie had a son named Noel William, born in 1934.

• At the age of 29, Thomas enlisted with the 2nd AIF for service in World War 11.

• He served in Darwin in 1940, in the Middle East between the end of 1940 and the start of 1943, and then in New Guinea from mid 1943 to the start of 1946.

• During his time in the Middle East, Thomas was one of the famous Rats of Tobruk.

• In 1947, at the age of 36, Thomas re-married.  He and his wife Catherine Millicent Soames remained married until Thomas passed away.  Together they had four children. 

• From around 1950, Thomas's occupation was Forestry Worker and throughout the 1950s and 1960s, he and his family lived at Imbil in Queensland.

• Thomas passed away in Gympie, Queensland in 1972 and is buried at the Gympie Cemetery.

I told Tommy's story last year in much more detailed blog post that included lots of information about his war service.  For those interested in following up on this, please click on this link:  The Story of Thomas Richard Connors  

Tragically, the story of Thomas's younger brother Leo is much shorter.

• Leo Connors was born on the 6th of July 1921 in Lismore, New South Wales.

• He was the seventh of eleven children born to George and Grace.

• Leo was born at the Bonnie Doon Private Hospital in Lismore, but in a tragic turn of events, he passed away on the 9th of July.

• There was an inquest held into the circumstances of his death and the resulting finding listed the cause of death as  "cardiac failure through being accidentally overlain". 

• At the time of Leo's death, his brother Thomas was only 10 years old.  I imagine it would have been very hard for Thomas to fully understand what happened to his baby brother! 

• Leo's parents (my grandparents) George and Grace would have been devastated.  George at the time was working as a butcher in Lismore and Grace was a homemaker, taking care of their six other children.  No doubt it took every ounce of their resilience and fortitude to carry on for the sake of their family.

• Their baby Leo was buried at the East Lismore General Cemetery.  He was buried in the Roman Catholic section in Row 5A, plot 12.  Heartbreakingly, his grave has remained unmarked since his burial. 

I have also previously told Leo's story in a blog post about two of George's and Grace's children who passed away in their infancy.  For those who are interest in reading more, please follow this link:  The Story of the Almost Forgotten Children of George and Grace

The Story of John (Jack) Browning / Memories ... March 8

This post tells the story of my paternal 1st cousin 3x removed, John (Jack) Browning  (1885 - 1917).

Our common ancestors are:  William Henry Browning and Anne (Nancy) Littlejohns.

I'm publishing this post on the anniversary of his passing.

 In Remembrance

(For my 'Family Anniversaries' page)

John (known as Jack) Browning

• John was born on the 4th of November 1885, on the family farm Rosehill, near Blakebrook, in the Northern Rivers region of  New South Wales.

• His first name was recorded as John on his birth certificate.  He was however more commonly known as Jack for most of his life.

• The names John and Jack were used interchangeably on various records throughout his lifetime, which made research quite difficult.  During this post I will combine the names and refer to him as John (Jack).

• According to the information recorded on John's (Jack's) birth certificate, he came into the world as the 11th child born to Joseph Edward Browning and Elizabeth (Eliza) Browning nee Wilson.

• There had apparently been seven children living when John (Jack) was born and three that had passed away.  I have only found records pertaining to nine children born before John (Jack) came into the world.  

• Those nine siblings and the two who were born after John (Jack) were:

         - Henry Joseph born in 1864

         - Mary was born in 1866 and tragically died that same year

         - Susanna born in 1867

         - Joseph born in 1870, but sadly died six years later

         - William born in 1873

         - Amelia born in 1875

         - Sarah Ann born in 1878

         - James born in 1881

         - Samuel Joseph born in 1883

         - Francis born in 1889

         - Robert Albert born in 1892

• Growing up on the family farm near Blakebrook amidst his siblings, John (Jack) not only learned the intricacies of farm life, but also the trade of a teamster, following in the footsteps of his father who plied that trade well into his 60s.  

• As a young adult, John (Jack) and his brothers Henry, Samuel, and William left the family farm and took charge of the family teamster business; work that was vital to the timber industry in the region.

• Teamsters had a team of either horses or bullocks and carried items/goods from one place to another for a living.  At that time, the timber industry was flourishing and was, by far, the most important industry in the district. John (Jack) and his brothers, like many teamsters in the area, obtained felled and sawn timber from the timber cutters, and hauled it to the sawmill in nearby Lismore.

• The 1913 Electoral Record shows that John (Jack), aged 28, was living in Nimbin, north of Lismore, in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales and his occupation was listed as 'teamster'.

• The following year bought news from overseas that was about to change the course of John's (Jack's) life significantly.  Mid-1914 saw the beginning of the global conflict known as The Great War.

• The outbreak of World War 1 prompted John (Jack) to answer the call of duty.  He enlisted on the 16th of November, 1915.

• John (Jack) enlisted under the name of Jack, not John, at the age of 30 (although his attestation papers listed him as 26 years old).

• After enlistment, John (Jack) was sent to training camp at Enoggera in Queensland where training lasted for several months.

• When friends discovered that John (Jack) would be given leave to spend the 1916 New Year with his parents, they organised an enormous farewell celebration.  A rather detailed account of this farewell was published in a Lismore newspaper after the event (and both names - John and Jack - were used in this account!).

• The article mentions that "in three days sufficient donations were received to enable (the) ... purchase (of) ... a handsome wristlet watch.  Invitations were issued, and fully sixty people availed themselves of the opportunity of attending this pleasant function, which was held in the spacious dining room, kindly lent by Mr. and Mrs. Jos. (Joseph) Browning, Sen. for the occasion."   So. the dining room of John's parents' home was decorated and turned into a function room for around sixty people.  It must have been a rather spacious room!

         It's also noted that around "33 members of the Browning family" attended! It sounds 

          to me as if it was a very close family and they took the chance to spend precious time 

          with John before he shipped off to fight overseas.

• The article goes on to state "The chairman spoke of the great respect and esteem in which the guest was held, and then called on Miss May Browning to fasten the watch on Jack's wrist."  I think the degree to which John was respected in the community was made clear in the last part of the article.  After the dancing and merriment ended around midnight, the chairman "called on all present to assemble together as he still had another pleasant duty to perform.  The residents of Blakebrook and districts had subscribed a very nice autograph album to be present by Private Browning to his parents as a keepsake.  Mr. Maher called on all present to sign their names in the book, and in a neat speech asked Jack to hand this book to his aged parents as a memento of the pleasant evening he had spent with parents and friends."

          What a deeply moving gesture!   

• During his training period, John (Jack) appears to have moved through various battalions, according to his active service record. 

• Soon after enlistment John (Jack) joined the 34th Battalion "D" Company.

• On February 2nd 1916 he moved to the 36th Battalion "A" Company.

• John (Jack) then moved to the 42nd Battalion "A" Company on the 16th of February 1916.

• He was taken on strength by the 42nd Battalion "A" Company of the 15th of April 1916.

HMAT A30 Borda  (photo taken 1916)
Description:  Troops on board HMAT Borda prior to departure, with well-wishers on the wharf 
holding paper streamers connecting them to the men on the ship.
Photo sourced from the Australian War Memorial website
Copyright expired - Public Domain

• After the completion of training at Thompson's Paddock Camp, at Enoggera Barracks in Queensland, John's (Jack's) unit embarked from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A30 Borda on the 5th of June 1916.

• John (Jack) disembarked at Southampton, England on the 23rd of July 1916.  There was a further training period in England at the Lark Hill training camp, on the Salisbury Plain, before he proceeded overseas to France on the 25th of November 1916.  By this time, John was 31 years old.

• In the trenches of France, John (Jack) became a member of a Lewis Gun Team, a crucial role in the evolving tactics of semi-open warfare.

A Lewis Gun Team on a duckboard trail 1917
Source:  Australian War Memorial
Copyright expired - Public Domain

From 'The Interplay between Technology, Tactics and Organisation in the First AID', Ross Mallett.  MA (Hons) Thesis, Australian Defence Force Academy 1999.  Chapter 4 'Semi-Open Warfare'

"Important tactical and organisational developments occurred over the winter (1916-1917).  One major tactical and organisational change was the organisation of the infantry.  ... the original allocation of Lewis guns of four per battalion was gradually increased to twelve at the of July 1916.  ... In December, enough Lewis guns became available to give each infantry battalion sixteen guns and BEF GHQ decided to allocate one to each platoon while still allowing for them to be pooled at company level if need be. 

 

A Lewis gun section (of a platoon) consisted of nine fully trained Lewis gunners, although there was only one Lewis gun.  The section leader was a sergeant or corporal.  He allotted fields of fire, arranged reliefs, and recorded ammunition expenditure and breakages.  Each squad had a gunner, the man who carried the gun into action and fired it.  ... An assistant stuck close to the gunner, ready to replace the gunner if he was hit and helping the gunner in any way possible with loading and breakages.  ... In action, the assistant lay beside the gunner ... From this position, he could also provide the gunner with moral support and take over more quickly if the gunner became a casualty. 

 

The rest of the team were riflemen doubling as ammunition carriers, scouts and observers.  Each rifleman carried 50 rounds of rifle ammunition.  One rifleman carried four to eight Lewis gun magazines and maintained close touch with the gunner and assistant, ready to replace the assistant if either the assistant or gunner became a casualty.  Two were lightly loaded scouts, moving ahead of the gun, locating targets and observing for the gun when necessary while the second scout could be used as a messenger when the gun was in position.  The remaining three were ammunition carriers with six magazines each."

•  Each Lewis Gun Team accounted for 1 Lewis gun and 2068 rounds of ammunition.

           No. 1, the man who fired the Lewis gun, carried the gun which weighed over 12                     kilos.

           No. 2, the loader, carried 4 magazines, a tool kit and spare parts.

           No. 3, the main ammo supplier / retriever, carried 4 magazines.

           Nos. 4 & 5 were scouts.

 

           Nos. 6, 7 & 8 were extra ammo suppliers and carried 12 magazines each.

           (Nos. 1 & 2 also had a pistol.  The others carried their full kit and a rifle.)

           This team-based system meant that the Lewis gunners were able to operate almost 

           as independent units, acting both in defensive positions within a trench or in               

           support of a raid on enemy tranches by giving covering fire from no-man's land. 

• John (Jack) was the No. 1 in his team, a position that required skill, courage and precision.

• Despite being wounded in action on the 2nd of February 1917, he remained on duty.  I have not yet found any details about the type of wound he suffered, and the family, who received this news via telegram on the 20th of February, were none the wiser either.

• Whilst John (Jack) had seemingly been fortunate in February, his fate took a tragic turn the following month. On the 8th of March 1917, John was killed in action near Armentieres, France.

• The Browning family, who had bid a heartfelt farewell to John just a few months earlier, received the devastating news of his sacrifice.

• A notice appeared in the local Lismore newspaper a couple of weeks later.  It mentioned Mrs. Roy Hancock, John's sister Sarah Ann, and Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Browning, John's parents.  Interestingly, the paragraph relating to Sarah Ann has John's name recorded as 'Jock', but then the following paragraph relating to John's parents has his name recorded as 'John'.  Perhaps he was also affectionately known to some as Jock!!

• A little gem that appeared in the same local newspaper a few months later was the publication of a letter received from Private Harley on the front line in France.  In this letter, Harley mentions the death of John (Jack):

"The river boys (meaning the Richmond River near Lismore) have been pretty lucky in our battalion so far, only one that I know of being killed, and that was Jack Browning, from Lismore, one of the biggest and best."

          Just another reminder of the esteem in which John was held by those who knew him.

•  The letter of sympathy written by Major A. R. Heron, on behalf of the Commandant of the 42nd Battalion, and sent to John's (Jack's) parents was published in the Lismore newspaper in May of 1917.  That letter presented information about the nature of John's (Jack's) death, which I did not find included in his war service record.

John was "killed instantly by a shell which hit him in the chest during a bombardment."

The words "He was a valuable man and was employed on a special branch of the service, which demanded coolness and courage in the face of great danger, a duty which he always performed very satisfactorily" speaks to the good character of this man.

 

• John (Jack) was buried at the Cite Bonjean Military Cemetery in Armentieres, France.

• His headstone can be found in Plot IV, Row F, Grave No. 7.

• John's (Jack's) name is also commemorated on the Wall of Honour at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

         While visiting the War Memorial recently, I stopped at Panel 135 to pay my respects.

• John's (Jack's) name is commemorated in a couple of other places as well ....

• It appears on the front panel of the Nimbin District War Memorial in Nimbin, New South Wales.

Opening of the Nimbin District War Memorial on the 24th of May 1921
Photo sourced from the Virtual War Memorial website
(https://vwma.org.au/explore/memorials/8305)

• This memorial in Nimbin was unveiled in 1921, and I have no doubt some of his family were there that day and likely in the photo that was taken.

• John's (Jack's) name also appears on the Great War Wall of Honour at St. Mark's Anglican Church in Nimbin, in the Lismore Municipality.  You can see it top left in the photo above.

• John (Jack) was survived by both his parents(although his father passed away just eight months later, in November 1917) and all nine siblings who had survived into adulthood.

Northern Star Sat 8 Mar 1919 p. 8  Family Notices

• John (Jack) was obviously remembered with love and missed dearly as his family were placing notices in local newspapers on the anniversary of his death for a number of years. 

• One of John's (Jack's) siblings also enlisted and served in WW1.  His youngest brother, Robert Albert Browning, enlisted just a month after the death of John (Jack), in April of 1917. He headed overseas in August that year, but by April of 1918, Robert was reported as suffering with neurasthenia and identified for an early return home.  Whilst the war did not claim the life of this sibling, it left its mark on his emotional health, as was often the case. 

The Story of Joseph Edward Browning / Memories ... February 14

This post tells the story of my paternal 2x Great Grand Uncle, Joseph Edward Browning  (1845 - 1919).

Our common ancestors are: William Henry Browning and Anne (Nancy) Littlejohns.

I'm publishing this post on the anniversary of his birth.

 Anniversary of a Birthday 

(For my 'Family Anniversaries' page)

Today is the anniversary of the birth date of the only family tree member I know for certain was born on February 14.  

• Joseph Edward (known as Joe in his adult years) was born on February 14, 1845 to father William Henry Browning and mother Anne (known as Nancy) Littlejohns.  

• Joseph's parents (my 3x great grandparents) were English immigrants who had landed in Australia in 1840 as bounty immigrants.  They already had seven children who had been born in England.  Sadly, one of their daughters had passed away before they emigrated, so they arrived in Port Jackson as a family of eight.

• Five years later, according to the Browning family bible, Joseph Edward was born at 4.00am in the morning, while the family was living in the Richmond River District.  Father William and wife Anne (Nancy) were employed by Ward Stephens as shepherds on his sheep station.  Joseph Edward would be the second of the four children born in Australia.

• The Browning family moved around quite a lot, working as shepherds or labourers on various properties in the northern areas of New South Wales, and so it was that Joseph Edward's baptism didn't occur until three months after his birth.

• Joseph was baptised on May 31st, 1845 according to the Church of England rites.  By this time, the family were in the Clarence River District.

• Most of Joseph's childhood and teenage years were spent living a nomadic life, as his father and mother worked as shepherds throughout that time.  

• By 1861 however, the family were living near Lismore on the north coast of New South Wales and both Joseph Edward and his father William were appearing before the Lismore Court!

As excerpt from the research of Esme Smith in her 2001 publication 'The Browning Story: Tracings From The Past'.

"On February 1861, William appeared before the Lismore Court to answer a summons lodged by Alexander Campbell of Tunstall Station, that he trespassed on the Tunstall run and drove cattle from the property.  The complaint was not proven and therefore dismissed by the magistrate.  On that date Joseph Browning also appeared before the same court and made a plea of guilty to trespassing and and driving a bullock from the Tunstall run.  He was fined twenty shillings and costs were awarded against him, in default of forty-eight hours imprisonment."  

(information sourced from the State Records of NSW, Deposition Book for Lismore for period 11 October 1860 to 12 December 1874)

 

• It sounds like father and son were up to no good, but Joseph Edward (aged 16) took the fall!  Cattle stealing from the large cattle stations (runs) was rife at this time, and was obviously a practice of the poor stealing from the rich for the sake of family survival.  Whilst not to be condoned, it can certainly be understand.

• When Joseph was just 18 years old (not 22 as recorded on the marriage certificate) he married Eliza Wilson who was aged 17.  They married in March of 1863 at Casino, New South Wales.  

• They began their married life at Rosehill, a logging settlement outside Lismore.  

• Rosehill was in the vicinity of Tunstall Station and while Joseph had previously been employed at Tunstall as a stockman, he was working as a sawyer, cutting cedar, at the time of his marriage.

• Joseph Edward and his wife Eliza went on to have 12 children over a period of 28 years.

          - Henry Joseph was born in 1864

          - Mary was born in 1866, but died not long after birth

          - Susanna came along in 1867

          - Joseph was born in 1870, but sadly died in 1876

          - William was born in 1873

          - Amelia came along in 1875

          - Sarah Ann came along in 1878

          - James was born in 1881

          - Samuel was born in 1883

          - Francis was born in 1889

          - Jack came along in 1890

          - then Robert was born in 1892.

• Just two years after his marriage, Joseph Edward was back in court once more, in 1865, when he was 20 years old.

• This time it was a dispute about the ownership of cut timber.  The settlement of Rosehill was near a river and once the cedar trees were cut down and trimmed, they were rolled down a chute into the river and they would then float to the mill.  Unfortunately, many disputes arose about just owned the logs once they were in the river.  Sometimes sawyers would brand their logs, but perhaps helped themselves to quite a few that weren't actually theirs!!!

• Joseph Edward went to court, taking action against a William Holman Berry, for theft.

• During the hearing, Joseph gave the following evidence:

"I am a conditional purchaser residing on Terrania Creek.  On, or about, the 1st of June a black named Jimmy Woolgary and his gin were at Rosehill wharf.  He told me he was putting on cedar for Mr. Berry.  I had the cedar planks on the wharf and I missed them.  I saw the black with the raft of Mr. Berry. 

 

I went to Mr. Berry when I missed the two planks (about a week after) and I said he had got them and had sent them to Mr. Breckenridge's sawmill.  He said he would allow my father for them.  I told him the planks had nothing to do with my father and after went to him and wanted him to settle with me for them but he would not listen to me. 

 

I served a notice on him and he called me back and said he would allow me a pound for them now and would send the stuff to Sydney and what it fetched he would give me back."

          (information sourced from the State Records of NSW, Deposition Books for Lismore, for period             11 October `860 to 12 December 1874). 

• Berry agreed to pay Joseph the cost of the cedar planks.  Joseph however was still out of pocket because of the cost of the court action. 

• At some point (I have yet to discover exactly when) Joseph ceased working as a sawyer.  He went on to work as a teamster and became a land owner. 

• By the time Joseph was 40 years old, he and Eliza were running cattle on 184 acres that they held at Rosehill.  According to the Parliamentary Return of Landholders 1885, they had 5 horses and 45 head of cattle. 

• An interesting newspaper item, written by a woman named Mrs. Mary Graham, appeared in a Lismore newspaper in 1936.  She had lived at Tunstall Station many years before and had known many of the early residents of the Lismore district very well.  The item mentions her visit to the Browning family at Rosehill in the early 1900s and talks about Joseph (who would have been in his 50s at the time):

Pencil & Wash Drawing titled 'Australian Bullock Driver' by William Strutt
Created c. 1851
Out of copyright
Held by the National Library of Australia

So ... he was a brilliant stockman who could make a fine stockwhip and wield it with expertise.

He wore snowy moleskin trousers, a Crimean shirt and finely plaited cabbage tree hats!

He would have looked something like the man depicted in this drawing done by artist William Strutt around 1851.

The distinctive cabbage tree hat was an Australian invention and very popular during the 19th century.

It was named the 'cabbage tree hat' because it was made from the leaves of the Cabbage Tree Palm.

• Joseph lived through the years of WW1 and sadly saw two of his sons march off to war, Jack and Robert.  Thankfully Robert returned, but unfortunately Jack never did.  

• Joseph and wife Eliza had received a telegram stating that their son Jack had been wounded in action in February 1917, but by the time that telegram had arrived, Jack had been killed in action in France, in March of 1917.  Such a cruel blow!

• Then tragically, in early 1919, the last of Joseph's siblings died.  By this time Joseph had experienced the passing of both his parents, all of his six sisters and three of his brothers.  Joseph must have felt the loss of his youngest brother very keenly.

• Joseph himself then passed away just a few months later in November of 1919, aged 74.

• An obituary was published in the Northern Star, the tone of which implies the respect that was held for this "old sterling type of bushman" who "was a man of unassuming nature ... always prepared to help those in distress." 

• Joseph was buried at the East Lismore General Cemetery

• He was survived by his wife Eliza and nine children.

• Joseph and his wife Eliza had been married for 56 years and upon his death, Eliza had a lovely tribute inscribed on his tomb.  I think it's fitting to read her words on the day this post is to be published - Valentine's Day.

"You are always in my thoughts dear husband. 

Tis sweet to breathe your name.  

In life I loved you dearly.  

In death I do the same."

 

          

Memories ... February 7

Anniversary of a Birthday /  In Remembrance

(For my 'Family Anniversaries' page)

Today is the anniversary of my paternal Grand Aunt Lillian Ruth Brown's birthday .....  

.....  and the passing of my maternal Great Grand Uncle Thomas Farrell.

Here's some of Lillian's story:

Our common ancestors are: Richard Joseph Brown and Ellen Cusack.

• Lillian was born in 1887 in Lismore, New South Wales.

• She was the second of four daughters born to Richard Joseph Brown and Ellen Cusack.

• At the time of her birth, her father Richard was 25 years old and her mother Ellen was 24.

• Lillian's older sister Grace (my paternal grandmother) had been born two years before Lillian.  Then when Lillian was 3 years old her sister Elsie came along.  When Lillian was 5, her sister Marcella (Marcy) was born.

• The sisters grew up in Lismore, New South Wales.  They were the descendants of well-known pioneering stock on both their paternal and maternal sides (the Browns and Brownings on her father's side, the Cusacks and the Extons on their mother's side).  As such the girls inherited a well-respected family name.

• After leaving school, Lillian worked as a dressmaker for a number of years.  

• In 1906, when she was 20 years old, Lillian married James Alfred Connors.

• James was in fact the younger brother of George Connors (my grandfather), who had married Lillian's sister Grace (my grandmother) that very same year.

• Lillian and her husband James welcomed their only child into the world in April of 1907, a daughter named Lorna Mary Grace.

• Sadly, Lillian became a widow just six months later, when her husband died as a result of burns inflicted during a tragic accident at his workplace.  (I have told James Alfred Connors' story before.  For anyone interested in knowing more, follow this link:  Fire and its Tragic Consequences!)

• Lillian re-married just over a year later to an Irish immigrant named Jeremiah (Gerry/Jerry) O'Donnell, who hailed from County Cork.  Lillian was 21 years old at the time and Jeremiah was 23.  

• Sadly, Lillian and Jeremiah lost their first born, a son named Roger, on the day he was born in 1909.

• Their daughter Lillian Margaret was born 1911.

• Unfortunately though, Lillian would never see her two daughters grow up.

• Standard practice for women giving birth in hospitals in the early 1900s included the women remaining 'in confinement' at the hospital for a couple of weeks after giving birth.  Tragically, Lillian contracted pneumonia while in confinement, became weaker and weaker until her heart gave out and she passed away.

• Lillian was only 24 years old when she passed away on the evening of August 31st, 1911.  She died at the maternity hospital which was known as Nurse Atkins' Private Hospital, in Lismore.

• She was buried in the Roman Catholic section of the Lismore Cemetery.  I have yet to locate her exact resting place.

• Lillian was survived by her second husband, a daughter aged 4 and a newborn aged just 14 days.  She was also survived by her father Richard, her mother Ellen, and her three sisters, Grace (my grandmother), Elsie and Marcella (known as Marcy). 

• Interestingly, Lillian's second husband did not provide details of Lillian's first husband on the death certificate, nor indeed the name of Lillian's first child.  I think there's a story there that I have yet to uncover!

Here's some of Thomas's story:

Our common ancestors are:  Michael Farrell and Susan Muldowney/Downey.

• Thomas's birth record shows that he was born on the 15th of January 1868 in Holmside, County Durham, England.   His mother registered his birth on the 26th of February and interestingly, this date appears to have become the date that his birthday was celebrated for the remainder of his life!  Weird, right???  Did his mother forget his actual birth date?  Surely not!

• At the time of his birth, his father Michael Farrell was 34 years old and his mother, Susan Downey / Muldowney was 26.

• Thomas was the second of nine children born to Michael and Susan, and he was the oldest boy. 

• Thomas was born at a place named 'East Field House' which was part of a row of small, rather humble, colliery houses, built by the owners of the coal mines and coke works in the Durham Coalfield area of north-eastern England to provide housing for the their workers and families.  It was substandard housing and families often lived in tiny one-room cottages, quite inadequate for housing large families.  The harsh living conditions became a breeding ground for disease and ill-health.   

• Sadly, Thomas's younger brother Michael died as an infant when Thomas was 5 years old.

• The 1881 England Census shows that Thomas was working as a 'screener' at a colliery when he was only 13 years old.  While Thomas was working above ground (a whole lot better than being down the mine), the work was laborious and the days were long.  

Definition of 'screener':  watches that coal passes over screens and dust or small coal is properly sifted through; may also pick dirt from conveying belt as coal passes to screens.

• It was not uncommon at the time for children to start work when they were 7 or 8, sometimes younger!!  I suspect that Thomas had started work a few years before the census date.

Australia Passenger List - Queensland
Ship - Chyebassa

• Thomas emigrated to Australia at the age of 19, along with his father, mother and six of his siblings.  Two of his sisters (my great grandmother Margaret and her sister Helen Ann) had already emigrated and were living in Charters Towers.

• After arriving in Townsville in September of 1887, Thomas and the other members of his family travelled to Charters Towers to meet up with his sisters.

Australian Electoral Roll 1903

• The 1903 Census shows Thomas living on Bridge Street in Charters Towers, with his father, mother and Thomas's occupation was listed as 'miner'.  He was 35 years old at this time.

• Thomas remained living on Bridge Street until he became ill later in life.

• Thomas worked as a miner in Charters Towers until he became quite ill in his late 50s.

• Thomas never married, but was very close to his family throughout his lifetime.

• Thomas's three youngest brothers, Patrick, James and Matthew, all went off to serve in WW1.  Tragically, his brother Patrick was killed in action in 1917.  Brothers James and Matthew did return home.

• Sadly, Thomas also experienced the loss of both parents and another brother before the end of 1919.

• His father Michael died in 1917, the same year as his brother Patrick was killed in action.  Thomas's brother Michael died in 1918.  Thomas's mother Susan died in 1919.

• When the war finally ceased, things had changed quite dramatically for Thomas.  His three sisters and his brother James had all married and moved away from home.  His brother Matthew was the only sibling left in Charters Towers, and was living with Thomas at the family home on Bridge Street.

• Then, quite unexpectedly in mid-1922, Thomas's brother Matthew also passed away.  Thomas was now living on his own in Charters Towers.

• The 1925 Electoral Roll lists Thomas as still living on Bridge Street and his occupation was still 'miner'.  Thomas was 57 years old.

• Thomas became very ill with pulmonary tuberculosis in 1926.  He left Charters Towers to live with his older sister Margaret (my great grandmother) at her home on the family farm at Molongle Creek near Gumlu.

• On the 7th of February 1927 Thomas passed away at the age of 59.  He would have only just celebrated his 59th birthday a month before.  (Note:  his age is recorded incorrectly on his death notice and on his headstone.)

• Death notices for Thomas appeared in the Northern Miner (a Charters Towers newspaper) and the Townsville Daily Bulletin.

• He was returned home to be buried at the Monumental & Lawn Cemetery in Charters Towers, alongside his brother Matthew.  Unfortunately, both burial sites are now quite severely damaged and need repair.

• Thomas was survived by his three sisters and his brother James.

An interesting note:

• The brother still living when Thomas passed away - James - also suffered with pulmonary tuberculosis for a couple of years before he died, and this was listed as one of the causes of his death as well!