O'DONNELL and BRYANT - research from Australia

[Coriolana]

Hi,

I am researching my O'Donnell and Bryant lines from Sydney.  Details are:

Mary O'Donnell b. abt 1842 London.  Immigrated to Australia (date unknown) and married Duncan McPherson in Sydney on 18 Nov 1873.

Mary's parents were John O'Donnell and Mary Bryant.  No further details are known.  Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.  

regards
Carol

[Bryant]

Carol
A long shot
Lets hope that John was actually James (not unusual). Are you feeling lucky?

Check out James William O'Donnell married Mary Bryant, Dec qtr of 1839, volume 4, page 437 at St Georges, Southwark

Get the marriage up on freebmd and then if you click on the page number!you then have a choice of who she/or he married.
In this case when you click on page 437, O'Donnell married Mary Bryant or Caroline Mathews. Southwark, Surrey was a hotbed of Irish Bryant's that generally moved across from Ireland in the 1820's/1830's.
You can confirm the marriage by cross referencing it by going on 1837online (checking both names) and if happy order the cert!
If O'Donnell was shipped out to Aus for misdemeanors it might be in the TIMES newspaper (a few weeks ago I noted a Bryant was shipped there in 1834). You can access the Times via our useful links page (GALE GROUP TRIAL)
If this isn't the O'Donnell you are looking for, go through all the Mary Bryant's that married in Surrey and then try Middlesex, making sure to check the page numbers!
Hope it is of some assistance
Bryant

[Coriolana]

Thank you, I will look at the information you have given me.  I don't have any indication that O'Donnell was a convict, but I will look into that possibility too.

regards

Carol

[Bryant]

Carol 
If all else fails, kick the table
or try the Emigration pages of rootschat where you will find all sorts of info to assist, including the first one I looked at which is shipping records, unassisted passage to Victoria.

http://proarchives.imagineering.com.au/index_search.asp?searchid=23

Input as Odonnell and not O'Donnell

9 James Odonnell's went to Aus from 1857 to 1906
39 John Odonnel's went to Aus from 1852 to 1913
25 Mary Odonnel's went to Aus from 1853 to 1912

You should be able to match Mary with James or John ? I haven't tried as I thought that would be the best bit, especially if you get a result

Happy hunting
Bryant