Author Topic: Captain Thomas Farrell  (Read 1566 times)

Offline Anchor425

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Captain Thomas Farrell
« on: Monday 12 March 18 01:58 GMT (UK) »
I am researching Thomas ("Tom") Farrell (1837-1888) who was the presumed defacto spouse of Emma Forsayth, "Queen of the South Seas".

One or more authors believe Tom had been married before he moved to Samoa about 1876, after gold-mining in NZ, and I would like to hear from anyone who might know anything of Tom in the decade or so before that time, especially if he had married in NZ.

Tom was born &/or baptized in Chatham, Kent, England when his father, Bryan was in the British Army, and the family had migrated to NZ with the Fencibles in 1847.  The family moved to Victoria in 1859 and lived on the land.  By then, at the age of 16, Tom had become an apprentice seaman; he spent a decade at sea until 1864, after which there is a gap of some 12 years in Tom's history before we pick him up again in Samoa & the Marshall Islands, with his own vessel.  It is possible that after his time as a seaman, he had sufficient success at gold mining in NZ in order to obtain a ship of his own, which he sailed to Samoa, where he went into the hotel business and met Emma.
In late 1878, they moved to New Guinea where they prospered but Tom developed TB and had to move to Australia for treatment;he died in Sydney.

The NZ marriage index records a couple of marriages of a Thomas Farrell during that period, so it would be helpful to know if "my" Tom can be excluded from the following marriages in NZ 1850-end 1879:
   1870/8316   Sarah        Hodges   Thomas   Farrell   (Dunedin)
   1863/7256   Elizabeth   Kelly       Thomas   Farrell
 ???

Offline minniehaha

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HAMMOND, Cainham/Caynham, Shropshire, U.K. Otago-NZ.
GALBRAITH, Ireland, Dunedin, Otago-NZ., Kensington-London, U.K.
GRANT, Sct., Dunedin, Otago-NZ., Vancouver, Canada.
GLASS, Aberdeenshire, Otago-NZ.
CAIRNEY/CARNEY/KEARNEY/Ireland, Airdrie, Scotland, Otago-NZ.
O'BRIEN Mary Ann, Limerick, Otago-NZ.
NICOL(L) James, Scotland, Otago-NZ.
SCOTT Thomas, Shetland, Otago-NZ.
MCHARDY/MCHARDIE Euphemia, Scotland, Otago-NZ.

Offline TwiggyTree

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Re: Captain Thomas Farrell
« Reply #2 on: Monday 12 March 18 08:18 GMT (UK) »
...out of, through, and back from New Zealand to the ends of the Earth

FRYER - MITCHELL - DUKE - WHYTE - McDONALD - TAYLOR - CARPENTER - HARRIS - WILLIAMS - CUNNINGHAME - LUCAS - WHITE - BOTHAM - HOLDAWAY - EYLES - OLSEN - CHASE - TRAILL - BAGGS - HASKINS - EDWARDS - CHING - SHIELDS - POLLARD - HOGAN - SMITH - STANLEY - HALL - ROBERTS - LARKHAM

Offline TwiggyTree

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Re: Captain Thomas Farrell
« Reply #3 on: Monday 12 March 18 08:22 GMT (UK) »
A short snippet about his duration in the Marshall Islands http://marshall.csu.edu.au/Marshalls/html/history/Beachcombers.html

See a quarter way down page 'Thomas Farrell'.
...out of, through, and back from New Zealand to the ends of the Earth

FRYER - MITCHELL - DUKE - WHYTE - McDONALD - TAYLOR - CARPENTER - HARRIS - WILLIAMS - CUNNINGHAME - LUCAS - WHITE - BOTHAM - HOLDAWAY - EYLES - OLSEN - CHASE - TRAILL - BAGGS - HASKINS - EDWARDS - CHING - SHIELDS - POLLARD - HOGAN - SMITH - STANLEY - HALL - ROBERTS - LARKHAM


Offline TwiggyTree

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Re: Captain Thomas Farrell
« Reply #4 on: Monday 12 March 18 08:28 GMT (UK) »
A few pages in a book http://www.rootschat.com/links/01lqa/

Perhaps the bibliography may help fill in the gaps?
...out of, through, and back from New Zealand to the ends of the Earth

FRYER - MITCHELL - DUKE - WHYTE - McDONALD - TAYLOR - CARPENTER - HARRIS - WILLIAMS - CUNNINGHAME - LUCAS - WHITE - BOTHAM - HOLDAWAY - EYLES - OLSEN - CHASE - TRAILL - BAGGS - HASKINS - EDWARDS - CHING - SHIELDS - POLLARD - HOGAN - SMITH - STANLEY - HALL - ROBERTS - LARKHAM

Offline Lucy2

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Re: Captain Thomas Farrell
« Reply #5 on: Monday 12 March 18 11:34 GMT (UK) »

The NZ marriage index records a couple of marriages of a Thomas Farrell during that period, so it would be helpful to know if "my" Tom can be excluded from the following marriages in NZ 1850-end 1879:
   1870/8316   Sarah        Hodges   Thomas   Farrell   (Dunedin)

 ???

Hi Anchor425

The Thomas FARRELL married Sarah HODGES 1870, can be ruled out.

This man died as Thomas Peter FARRELL, (Hotelkeeper) on 23 October 1904 at Dunedin.
His wife Sarah FARRELL took over the running of the Ocean Beach Hotel.  Her Will dated 1902, (she died in 1907) names her children as Winifred Elizabeth SPOONER (w/o Henry) and Montague HODGES.
Link to Probate file of Sarah FARRELL >
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9Y8-GW6V?i=107&cc=1865481
           
         ~ Lu

Offline Anchor425

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Re: Captain Thomas Farrell
« Reply #6 on: Monday 12 March 18 11:44 GMT (UK) »
Hi Responders
Many thanks for your contributions, especially Lu who has ruled out Thomas, the husband of Sarah, but I don't understand why a line has been ruled through the Kelly-Farrell marriage.
I was aware of the book referred to by Twiggy & will look at the bibliography tomorrow.
 ;D

Offline Lucy2

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Re: Captain Thomas Farrell
« Reply #7 on: Monday 12 March 18 12:59 GMT (UK) »
Hi Anchor425

NZ Marriage 1863 - Thomas FARRELL - Elizabeth KELLY

Can't positively rule this one out.   
It did though end somewhat tragically with the death in Auckland of Elizabeth FARRELL in February 1864 aged 20 .

Death notice of Elizabeth FARRELL - wife of Thomas FARRELL of Takapuna and eldest d/o James Dennis KELLY of North Shore.
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH18640305.2.25

Anchor ... I imagine you've looked through our PapersPast website for items about your Thomas FARRELL, so you'll know he was apparently working a route between Coromandel and Auckland around this time (1864).     In the following article (Supreme Court) June 1864, he states he is a seaman living at the Coromandel.
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZ18640604.2.33

The 1870-71 Auckland - Waitemata electoral roll, has a Thomas FARRELL of Takapuna - leasehold - Farm at Takapuna on which he resides.   [A James KELLY - freeholder - North Shore, Takapuna is also on same roll ?  Father of late Elizabeth ? ]   

Mmm ... I do suspect these were two different Thomas FARRELLs - one a seaman and the other a man of the land (farmer maybe at Takapuna ? )

  ~  Lu

Offline Anchor425

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Re: Captain Thomas Farrell
« Reply #8 on: Tuesday 13 March 18 02:34 GMT (UK) »
Hi Twiggy
Your "associated thread" was started by me and have learned a lot via RootsChat, in particular from Diane Packer, the only relative I have found of Captain Thomas Farrell.   The bibliography in Chap 6 of Hunting the Collectors is a good reading list but would require a visit to a national library to find many of the references.  I had read Chap 6 as well as one book in the bibliography viz that to Robson (1965) & both are very relevant.  However, neither covers Toms life in any detail outside of his time in Samoa & New Guinea.

Thanks Lu for the info on the Thomas Farrells of Takapuna & Coromandel.   It is a fair assumption that they are different men & that the master of the cutter Wanderer of Coramandel is our man.  Diane & I have found in Australian records that Tom is on crew lists of vessels arriving Sydney as an apprentice on Strathfieldsaye from Madras in 1854 aged 16, as an AB (able seaman), on John Melhuish from London in 1860 aged 22, then at stated ages of 23 and 24 respv., of Native Lass  (schooner) from Fiji in May 1863 and Prince Alfred (steamer) from Auckland  in Sep 1864.  I have used trove a lot & only discovered paperspast recently, but I will now concentrate on the latter.

Kev