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Hi jecgirl,

My relationship is through Charles Warren Molloy, brother of John Molloy who married Eliza Kerans and William Molloy who married Eliza Hankinson.  Their parents being Charles Molloy and Jain Whittaker.  Charles Warren Molloy emigrated to Australia approx 1855. He married Elizabeth Ward at Port Macquarie, NSW and moved to Walcha NSW.

Trappa

Hi Whatz,

What truly amazing information to be provided with.  I did go on the Trove website to see the actual item as printed.  Wouldn't every genealogist be pleased to find information like that!  I have previously used Trove to locate information on the Molloy family but have always limited my search to NSW and unfortunately, I have never found anything of any great consequence. 

I have not yet been able to fully digest the relationships between the families noted, but I will put pen to paper and then I will be fine.  Did your Thomas Whit(t)aker remain in Ireland  - if so, do you have details of his children and their marriages? Do you have any additional details of Thomas and Jain's other siblings?

Best Wishes
Trappa

 

Hello Whatz,

This is my second attempt to send this reply.  The first I managed to lose when doing the spell check.  Hopefully I will be more successful second time around.

If memory serves me correctly the copy of the handwritten letter together with a typed transcription was given to me by a distant cousin who was living in South Australia at the time.  She had attended a Whittaker family reunion where she had been welcomed as a direct descendant of Charles Molloy.

It was only quite recently that I dissected the letter into possible location names and families.  For the locations once I looked at them phonetically and cross referenced to the handwritten letter the possibility of an incorrect transcription became probable.

Of course this then paved the way for me to locate Charles Molloy and Jain Whittakers' children as mentioned in the letter as well as their subsequent families.

Additional information provided on various websites suggests that the parents of Charles Molloy could be Warren Molloy and Elizabeth Dobbins.  I do not have any proof of that, yet I do believe it to be so.  A sibling of Charles Molloy was Sarah Molloy who married John Handibo.  John Handibo was transported to Australia in 1830 for stealing a sheep.  Sarah followed him in 1836 with their surviving children.   John Handibo's parents are listed as James Handebo and Ann Dobbins.  Interesting!!

John Handibo and Sarah Molloy moved to the Armidale area of NSW, Australia and were residents of that area until their deaths in 1865 and 1862 respectively.  Likewise Charles Warren Molloy after he married Elizabeth Ward in 1862.  Note the introduction of Warren as a family name as it continues down through the generations. By the time of the birth of their son, Charles Warren Molloy in 1866, they too, were living in the Armidale area.  Was it merely a coincidence that they moved to the same area or was it possible that Charles Warren Molloy knew prior to his arrival in Australia where his Aunt and Uncle were living?

Thank you for the information re the parentage for Jain Whittaker and your lineage.  Do you have any knowlege of her other siblings and their movements?

Best wishes,
Trappa

Thank you for your response to my queries re Bogtown & The White Forge.  I appreciate the time you must have spent providing such specific directions.  I can now start to pinpoint where my family were resident in County Offaly. 

It seems you are familiar with these areas so perhaps you may be able to help me one more time - can you confirm whether or not Hillclear could be Kilclere and Coolream could be Coleraine.  Both of these towns? were mentioned in the original letter yet the spelling would probably have been phonetic and the lettering could have been misinterpreted.  You may even have a better translation now that you have ascertained where Bogtown and The White Forge are located?

I would certainly be pleased to provide any assistance to you in Oz when or if required.  Do you have any specific interest in Australia?

Sincere thanks again - P

Griffith Valuation shows a John Molloy renting properties from the Countess of Norbury (which may fit in with the info in the letter), Henry Kemmis & John H. Armstrong all in the Parish of Durrow, Union of Tullamore.  I did find a 'White Forge' crossroads on the map.  If that is the area referred to in the letter, could that also help to pinpoint the area?
Thanks again
Pat