Welcome to this weeks Scavenger Hunt........ This one is rather intriguing to say the least.
Good Luck and Good Hunting
Barbara
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When I first started my family research, I already had a copy of my great great grandparents marriage certificate. They were John Murphy (born Sydney, 19 June 1834) & Mary McNerty (born Kilrush, age given at marriage 21 – name probably s/be McInerney). They were married at Tambo, Victoria, Australia on 30 Sept 1859.
John’s parents were listed as James & Catherine Murphy.
We (myself and other descendants) have since tracked Catherine pretty well. She came to Australia with a convict mother, Mary Kelliher/Callaghan/Callagher arriving 1817 on the “Canada”. Mary married Samuel Higgins and Vardy Sheehan.
Catherine married Phillip Smith in 1832 and had one daughter Susan.
She then had 8 children with James Murphy as follows:
John - 1834 Sydney (baptised 10 Sep 1834 St Mary’s Cathedral)
Catherine - 1835 NSW (d1836)
Catherine - 3 Sept 1836 Appin NSW
Bridget – 1841 Greendale NSW
Margaret – 1841
Anastatia – 1847 Petersham NSW
Michael – 23 Jan 1852 Lachlan District, NSW
James – 9 Jan 1853 Cowra NSW (d1859)
I have quite a lot of information on all children.
There does not seem to be a marriage between Catherine & James.
What I do NOT have is anything on James Murphy, the father of these children! James “disappears” around 1853, and Catherine marries again to John Walters in 1853 and had a further 3 children Elizabeth, Joseph & Susannah.
I have ordered a few baptism certificates for the children (John & James – first & last) but no further details are given on parents than names.
There is a Murphy family on the 1841 census that MAY be them – at TOWN: Bringelly Cumberland, DISTRICT: Patrick Plains-Port Phillip.
Phillip Smith remarried in 1834, so I am not sure why Catherine did not marry James (if she didn’t that is).
The Murphy children and Catherine herself all end up in the Omeo area of Victoria, where she dies on 29 July 1877.
Where did James come from? And where did he go? He probably died and was buried without it being reported – maybe in the goldfields.
There are a few James Murphy possibilities for Catherine’s James. There were quite a few convicts of this name. I suspect it may be one of the 2 that were on the “Lonach” in 1825 – only because one was stationed with William Cox in Windsor which was where Catherine married Phillip Smith.
Does anyone have any ideas of how to find which James it was, and where he came from?