Author Topic: James EGAN b1827 Dublin..missing since 1865 in Australia.  (Read 4674 times)

Offline Rap

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James EGAN b1827 Dublin..missing since 1865 in Australia.
« on: Friday 20 March 09 02:07 GMT (UK) »
Hello,
I'm hoping that someone out there may know of what happened to my gggrandfather, James Egan, who came to Aust some time prior to 1854, when he married an Irish girl from Armagh, Sarah McVeigh. The couple seems to have moved around a lot, with some of their children being born in Deniliquin 1855 (Mary Ann), Stathboggie 1859 (Catherine), Violet Town (Edward Arthur and Francis 1861 and 1864), and Longwood (Peter, 1863, at Molka Station)  James and Sarah met at 'Strathkillan' near St Arnaud in 1854, and James is listed as working at Geelong (occ: Labourer, shearer, and perhaps miner) on his marriage certif. After Sarah's death in 1865, the children were farmed out to kind families (one, a Thompson family), James seems to vanish...there are numerous James Egans listed around the Woodend/Euroa areas...and then some mention of him living around the Bourke area in NSW...we just can't confirm James' whereabouts in his old age, and hence his final resting place. We know that his parents were James Egan, bootmaker, and Mary Harma(n)
Any help out there would be greatly appreciated!
Many thanks
Rap

Offline Siouxsie

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Re: James EGAN b1827 Dublin..missing since 1865 in Australia.
« Reply #1 on: Saturday 21 March 09 23:45 GMT (UK) »
Dear Rap.
Don't know if this is your James, but I found a James Egan on the NSW Birth, Deaths and Marriages website
http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/Index/IndexingOrder.cgi/search?event=births


Registration Number: 8122
Year of death: 1886     
Name :EGAN      JAMES E
Father:  JAMES     
Mother: MARY A     
Place: CENTRAL CUMBERLAND     (a district that historically covered most of what is now Sydney)

Cheers
Susie    
Census information is Crown Copyright from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
Hutton : Edinburgh, Scotland
Downey : England
Ingram: St George East, Middlesex and New Zealand
Roberts : Grafton, NSW
Blackadder : Grafton, NSW
Gillett : Grafton, NSW
Brocklebank :Carkettle, Lancashire
Bowes : Ulverston, Lancashire
Rose : Bo'ness, Linlithgowshire, Scotland
Kelleher:County Cork, Ireland
Shepherd : Helpringham, Lincolnshire

Offline Rap

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Re: James EGAN b1827 Dublin..missing since 1865 in Australia.
« Reply #2 on: Sunday 22 March 09 01:35 GMT (UK) »
Hello Susie,
Thankyou for taking the time to do a little snooping for me!..Yes, we had found this James and I bought the death certif.  Unfortunately, this James is not ours, as his birth date and place is not what we know of...the father's and mother's name was right though, which gave us a little excitement for a while!!  Our James seems to have been totally estranged from all of his surviving children right up until what seems to be their '20's.  We think that he may have found the boys, but there is no evidence that he ever made contact with his daughters at all. There are many 'James Egans' from Ireland, and it's just a matter of finding the right one!
Many thanks Susie
Kind regards
Rap

Offline Siouxsie

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Re: James EGAN b1827 Dublin..missing since 1865 in Australia.
« Reply #3 on: Sunday 22 March 09 01:43 GMT (UK) »
Dear Rap,
One James down......many more to go then! I know the feeling.......I have a mysterious James Williams that is defying all attempts to find him! I got excited and purchased a  certificate too, but not the right James!  ;D ;D

 Good luck with your search.

Cheers
Susie.
Census information is Crown Copyright from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
Hutton : Edinburgh, Scotland
Downey : England
Ingram: St George East, Middlesex and New Zealand
Roberts : Grafton, NSW
Blackadder : Grafton, NSW
Gillett : Grafton, NSW
Brocklebank :Carkettle, Lancashire
Bowes : Ulverston, Lancashire
Rose : Bo'ness, Linlithgowshire, Scotland
Kelleher:County Cork, Ireland
Shepherd : Helpringham, Lincolnshire


Offline Rap

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Re: James EGAN b1827 Dublin..missing since 1865 in Australia.
« Reply #4 on: Sunday 22 March 09 01:50 GMT (UK) »
Hi Susie....ah, it's the chase that makes it interesting and exciting....Happy hunting, and thanks for your help!
Best wishes
Rap

Offline regross

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Re: James EGAN b1827 Dublin..missing since 1865 in Australia.
« Reply #5 on: Wednesday 25 March 09 02:32 GMT (UK) »
Hi,

I assume you have ruled out the 1864 death of James Egan aged 40 in Victoria born Cork (not the right place I know but this inforamtion may have come from a stranger) rego 8097. No parents names are given nor place of death.


It is before his wife's death and may explain why his children were farmed out to other families. A common practise at the time. My great grandparents fostered a girl whose mother died when she was born  leaving 7 children under 9.

There is also James Egan who died in Melbourne  aged 68 in 1889 no parents listed rego 3241

The inquest index also had a few James Egans only one seemd to fit but when I looked at the death index he was only aged 30. reg11943 no parents given.

(James EGAN committed Suicide by  Poison 1892 in St Arnaud
Reference: 816)

good luck

Robyn in Wodonga


The following families and their Australian decendents:
Abbott, Barnard, Clarke, Inward, Lanfear, Rutter,Spencer:Middlesex
Greenaway:Cornwall
Edney, Godwin/Goodwin, Gullett:Hampshire;
Gullett:Devon
Emms:39th Regiment of Foot 1810-1832
Gordon:Scotland
Arnold, Morton:Ireland
Davies:Wales
Olcorn:Cumberland
Osborne:Staffordshire
Harrington:Kent
&
Gross: Tullau Wurtmemburg Germany

Offline Rap

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Re: James EGAN b1827 Dublin..missing since 1865 in Australia.
« Reply #6 on: Wednesday 25 March 09 02:53 GMT (UK) »
Hello Robyn,...thankyou for taking the time to look at bdm's for me!

We had found the Cork James and discounted him, as we know that he was still alive in 65 for the birth of his last child, and his grandaughter (who is a very old lady now) remembers that he was still alive after Sarah's death. James seems to have made contact with James Jnr. at some stage in the 80's
I haven't seen the James death in Melb 1889....but your information about Suicide James is very interesting...we had found reference to this death, and it was particularly interesting, as James worked in the St Arnaud area at some time in the 1850's...but we couldn't find any more about this man...so thanks...looks like at the age of 30, he is not our James..another one to cross off the list! We are pretty certain that James was not the only Egan brother to come to Australia...the link is out there somewhere!
Many thanks Robyn...I've been at this search for 2 years now trying to find the family and put it back together...I'm not done yet!
Thanks for your help.
Best wishes
Rosie

Offline regross

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Re: James EGAN b1827 Dublin..missing since 1865 in Australia.
« Reply #7 on: Saturday 11 April 09 05:49 BST (UK) »
Hello again,

I have been taking another look at this and wondered if you had looked at the 1897 death of James Egan aged 70 in Maryborough no 2206. No parents given est dob 1827.?  Certainly n the righ tarea.

regards

Robyn
The following families and their Australian decendents:
Abbott, Barnard, Clarke, Inward, Lanfear, Rutter,Spencer:Middlesex
Greenaway:Cornwall
Edney, Godwin/Goodwin, Gullett:Hampshire;
Gullett:Devon
Emms:39th Regiment of Foot 1810-1832
Gordon:Scotland
Arnold, Morton:Ireland
Davies:Wales
Olcorn:Cumberland
Osborne:Staffordshire
Harrington:Kent
&
Gross: Tullau Wurtmemburg Germany

Offline Rap

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Re: James EGAN b1827 Dublin..missing since 1865 in Australia.
« Reply #8 on: Saturday 11 April 09 11:26 BST (UK) »
Hello Robyn,
    Thankyou for making the time to have a look for our 'illusive James Egan'
I've actually bought this death certificate, and even though it is a real possibility, there's a few things that aren't quite right.    Maryborough James certainly is in the right 'area' as we think that he may have been an itinerant farm worker all of his life after he lost contact with his children.  This James was born in Dubllin..which is great, and the date matches for his birth of 1827...but it lists him as a miner....I guess that most men had a 'go' at mining at this time in history...but every document that we have, James lists himself as a 'labourer'or 'shearer'.  This death certif. also lists him as '42 years in Victoria'...this may be correct, as we think that he spent some time in NSW and  Qlds...but who would be the informant for this information to be correct?...no-one would know of his small ventures outside the state...and there is no record of any of his children knowing of James in Vic before his death. James was a 16 year old convict, who we think came to the mainland in 1851 after his 7 year sentence at Port Arthur.  This death certif also notes James as 'Single'...his wife had died in 1865..and technically he was single...but he had at least 4 living children.. 1 in NSW (we think that he knew of this child) and the other in Queensland, and we think that he knew of this child also...the 2 girls lived in Vic, and we are certain, didn't know of each other in their late teens and into their marriages (one was my ggrandmother)
  This death certif may be him, but we cannot find any listings for James that match in hospital records, voting...or anything to support the identity of this James. In 1894, a James Egan committed suicide at St Arnaud...this wasn't our James either.  There were 7 James Egans who came to Victoria between 1850 and 1867...we just need to find the right one!!  At the moment, I'm waiting for a death certif. from NSW, as one of his sons died in 1894 in Sydney, and named his father (and we think that we have the right James here) as beneficiary of his will...he notes his father in NSW.
   I'm hoping to win tattslotto tonight (ha), so I can buy all of the death certificates for 'James Egan'....I think that this is the only way to discover which James Egan is 'ours'....this has been a tough one Robyn.  It's taken me 2 years of research, and I have found descendants of all of the living children, and we have email contact and letters....after 150 years, we have put the family back together....we just want the resting place of James to make the story complete.  I'm not done yet!!!!
Thankyou so much for your imput.
Have a great Easter
Best wishes
Rosie