Jacobus HEANEY aka James Francis SMITH

[jillyinnes]

Hello all - I am the 3rd gr granddaughter of Richard and Mary Ann Heaney and have just come across your article on Jacobus Heaney aka James Francis Smith. Were all your questions answered? Is there anything else you need to know?  Richard and his daughter Mary Ann died 11 days apart in 1841 and James Francis Heaney and Louisa Mary Heaney were sent to the care of Richard's eldest daughter, Charlotte, and her husband William Long who became their guardians. Unfortunately Charlotte died in childbirth in 1863.
There is an interesting article on Richard and Mary Ann Heaney at http://www.ozhistorymine.com/html/mary__1821.html

cheers Jill

[davem76]

Hi Jill,

By any chance do you know why he changed his name as this is the only thing I can't work out as wondering if if was in some kind of trouble or did he just want to have a fresh start. As he changed it before he got married so wasn't sure why he did this.

Any help would be great.

Thanks
Emily

[lynfour]

Hi Jill,

Thanks for your reply.
I have passed on your post to my friends that I was doing the research for & hopefully they will want to get in touch with you !

Cheers,
Lyyne

[jillyinnes]

Hi Emily,

I have no doubt Jacobus Heaney and James Francis Smith and James Heaney are the same people. I have early notes from the 2nd gr granddaughter of James Francis Heaney who says he operated under the aka of Smith. The name Heaney Smith followed as a surname right down to her grandmother's generation.

James was only 12 when his sister, Mary Ann, died aged 14 followed only 8 days later by his father. It must have been horrific. James was charged with his first assault when he was 12, he was in trouble again at the age of 15, at 20.

Not long after their father's death James and his youngest sister, Louisa Mary Heaney (my 3rd gr grandmother) who was about 5 years younger than him, were sent to live with their sister Charlotte who had married William Long.

I've no doubt he felt it prudent to change name to avoid embarrassment to his family, who were quite prominent in society.

Hope this answers some of your questions.

cheers
Jill

[davem76]

Thanks Jill,

I was 100% it was him but just couldn't work out why he changed his name, but showing he was in trouble and I thought that that maybe the case that he needed to change it for some reason. And you are properly right he didn't want to embarrass the family so moved and changed his name.

I have followed the tree of his mother Mary Ann Cooper and went and saw Juniper Hall and is a very big grand house for the time.

James Smith is my 2nd great grandfather his daughter Charlotte Smith was my great grandmother.

Thanks for this information at least now I have a better picture do you know if there are any articles or where I can find information on the trouble he was in.

Thanks
Emily

[jillyinnes]

Hi Emily, sorry for the delay in replying but I find Rootschat rather confusing. It has taken me ages to realise I had to log in so I could reply.  My info on the Heaneys has been gathered from many sources and I don't have exact articles. Perhaps you could try Trove and see what they come up with. One source was from Lizmacca on Ancestry who was James Francis Heaney's 2x gr granddaughter. Perhaps you know her and can contact her? cheers Jill

[jillyinnes]

Hi Emily, I have been going through my records and came across the following on the Heaney children:
"Launceston Advertiser 2 September 1841. Quarter Sessions. James Heaney, a youth of about 12 years of age, was charged with the misdemeanour of assaulting John Radley on 27 May last. Mr Atkinson, who appeared for the defendant, objected to the information, on the grounds that it was signed by ex Attorney General Edward McDowell Esq instead of Mr Horne. There was no such person in existence as Edward McDowell Attorney General of Van Dieman's Land. Mr Kennedy contended that the objection was not valid, since the information was upon the files of the court prior to Mr McDowell's suspension. The court decided that the objection was valid, and the defendant was subsequently discharged. Occupation Splitter and labourer."

Also attached to this information was the following:
"Sometime between 1842 and 1857, James Heaney changed his name to Smith. A family story says that he got into some trouble in Sydney and had to change his name. The Victorian Police records show a James Smith, born 1830 in Van Dieman's Land, arrived per the David around 1847 and he has brothers in the colony. It could refer to the above mentioned James Smith. Death - died at Picnic Point, Bairnsdale. Picnic point is the north-western corner of Bairnsdale, totally within the town, and going down to the Mitchell River. In 1897 the main industry was C.J. Goodman's Picnic Point nursery, a large wholesale nursery mainly dedicated to rising fruit trees. The cause of death was bronchitis and cardiac disease (7 days). Adoption 1841 Queens Orphanage, Hobardtown. James Heaney 14 years, parents dead, admitted 7 September 1841, discharged 24 January 1842. Louisa Heaney, 7 years, admitted 8 September 1841, discharged 24 January 1842. James baptism 15 Feb 1829 at Roman Catholic Church, Hobart. Baptitus est Jacobus. Parentibus: Ricardo Heaney et Maria Anna Cooper. Sponsoribus: Jacobo Brennan et Margarita McMahon. Cemetery/Burial 03/10/1897. Buried at Bairnsdale cemetery. Godparents: James Brennan and Margaret McMahon."

How interesting that James and Louisa were put in an orphanage for 4 months. I suppose her sister, Charlotte needed the time to get to Tasmania and there was no where else for them to go. How very sad.

I hope this gives a little more substance for you.

cheers
Jill

[Leanne Taylor]

Hi everyone! I've just stumbled across this message board and wanted to say hello & to share my 5 cents worth I guess...

Charlotte Montague Heaney & William Long were my 3 x great grandparents. I have been going through of the research my mum had done & we've found that Charlotte & Wiiliam were married on 24 January 1842 - the same day that James & Louisa were removed from the orphange. So I'm guessing that Charlotte had to prove she could take care of & provide her siblings with a stable life?? Charlotte & William were married in Hobart & moved to NSW around 1852.

But there seems to be another sibling unaccounted for. Catherine Heaney would have been 8 or 9 when her parents died, but I couldn't find her name in the list of children admitted to the orphanage. I wonder what happened to her?

[jillyinnes]

Thanks for this info Leanne. I too have Catherine on my tree and from information gathered over the years it appears she died in Sydney in 1865 from natural causes. It appears she wasn't married and I wonder what her life must have been like . . . . guess we'll never know. I have searched Ancestry but couldn't find anything and maybe Catherine might just have to be a mystery.
cheers
Jill