William Steele / Steel b 1843 S/Uist, Inverness, Scot - Emigrated to Australia

[Rosinish]

Hi Annie,
This couple had the following children. I thought their names might help, if they are family names occurring in your family.

William   born  1886  registered in Maclean
Amy K.               1887                       Grafton               
Annie B.             1890                         Grafton
Archibald           1892                        Grafton
Allester McR      1895                       Maclean

Grafton and Maclean are neighbouring towns.  Also, the fact that there are no more children fits with the family leaving the area.
Regards
Jennaya

Thanks Jennaya,

I did find the list of births on... https://familyhistory.bdm.nsw.gov.au/lifelink/familyhistory/search/result?3

Then info. on FindMyPast & findagrave.com

I've had great help here considering I started out with little info. so parents names on the marriage transcription will hopefully seal it.

I hadn't realised it was 5 yrs since I posted but I've been back looking at some loose ends & have tied up quite a few over the last month or so.

Annie

[Rosinish]

Update!

I have just received a copy of the MC of...

William Steel (Widower)! Quarryman, Yamba &
Ada Gallagher (Spinster), Domestic Servant, Grafton,
28 Jul 1885 at the Manse, Rocky Mouth, NSW.

There are no parents names recorded/updated...

Witnesses are Thomas Lynch & Jane McNabb.

If anyone can find any info. on a possible previous marriage or anything else I'd be very grateful.


Annie

[Neale1961]

Grafton and Yamba in northern NSW, so I had a look in Queensland.
There are a few possibles there.
https://www.familyhistory.bdm.qld.gov.au/

[Rosinish]

Thanks Neale, I'll have a look but I'd also found a possible enlistment to the US Navy which I'll post later as I'd forgot about it.

Edit - This looks possible...

William Stuart Steele
Spouse Ann Agnes Donald
Date15/01/1879
Registration details:1879/C/1028
Queensland

https://www.familyhistory.bdm.qld.gov.au/details/4081b78e316520e1039d0e34d9c92c4b89d71d04ff524afca2a61d1c301165c5

I'll need to look for a death for Ann Agnes later too.

Annie

Add...I've been able to discount the above marriage as that William was born in Melrose, Roxburgh & died 27 Aug 1893 in Georgetown, Queensland, Australia

[majm]

Update!

I have just received a copy of the MC of...

William Steel (Widower)! Quarryman, Yamba &
Ada Gallagher (Spinster), Domestic Servant, Grafton,
28 Jul 1885 at the Manse, Rocky Mouth, NSW.

There are no parents names recorded/updated...

Witnesses are Thomas Lynch & Jane McNabb.

If anyone can find any info. on a possible previous marriage or anything else I'd be very grateful.


Annie

Hi Annie,

Rural NSW marriages in that era often still have NOT been reconciled by NSW BDM with the actual church record.  There was a very lengthy dispute between ... decades long dispute, not resolved until mid 1890s.  So the NSW civil Registrar General for BDMs was receiving ONLY SUMMARY info from the clergy.    I did up a thread on how to overcome those blanks on m.c. in that era.  It is now a very long thread, and it is on the NSW Resources board.   

Can you type up the clergy and denomination please.   I gather as the ceremony was at 'The Manse' that it is NOT a Roman Catholic marriage.

Once i know the clergy's name and the denomination I will try to help further, and of course there's likely to be the actual original parish register held at either the denomination's local archives, or at their state head quarters, or even at family history group's offices, or at independent state based Archives.

Here's the link to that now long thread.     
https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=546609.0

I know you know that sometimes there's social announcements in the local newspapers.  Many local newspapers are digitised and freely available at trove :  https://trove.nla.gov.au/search/advanced/category/newspapers

So the elusive blanks on the m.c. include details about the origins of both the bride and the groom and their parentages.... in other words, the very vital info that the family history buffs need was the same vital info that the clergy declined to provide to the civil registration process for the era 1856-1895 in NSW. 

 In 1912 NSW BDM commenced a reconciliation process to obtain that info.  They concentrated on the metropolitan Sydney records (close at hand to Reg Gen's office, and far more events in the metro area than in rural NSW).   Then WWI came along, and many in the clerical staff  were medically unfit to serve in the AIF front lines in Europe, but their skills were needed locally for the War Effort.  So they became clerical bods in the AIF's Base Records in Sydney.    After the Armistice, those same bods were at the end of the queue for getting their jobs back at Reg. General's BDM office.   

The issues were a) Australia had to repay its huge war debt to Britain, and b) those who had served on the front lines were at the front of the queue for getting their NSW BDM jobs back.     So, the funding for re-commencing the reconciliation of church and state bdm marriage records was abandoned, and basically has not ever adequately recommenced.   

So here it is 2021,  and people like me, born in NSW in the post WWII era, (1947) who learnt to write with ink and quill and then with fountain pen etc.... we can still read the handwriting.  But in the 1960s, NSW state education department changed the style of handwriting taught.  So people born from say 1950 were re-taught handwriting and bascially there's very few people left who can read those historic NSW BDM certificates.        Sorry for ranting.

JM

[majm]

Grevilles Post Office Directory 1875 ROCKYMOUTH

James GALLAGHER, carpenter, South Arm  (South Arm is the 'address').   None under STEELE at that Rockymouth listing. 


1878 NSW Electoral Roll, THE CLARENCE. 
with the surname GALLAGHER and in the Grafton Police district:
christian name, locality, qualification to vote, remarks
Charles, Ulmarra,  residence, -
Thomas, Tyndale, freehold, Tyndale
Peter, Woodford island, residence, -
James, Tyndale, freehold, Tyndale
Charles, Chatsworth, residence, Chatworth island
Thomas, South Grafton, residence -

1878 NSW Electoral Roll, THE CLARENCE. 
with the surname GALLAGHER and in the Lismore Police district:
christian name, locality, qualification to vote, remarks
Owen, Gundurimba, freehold, -
Patrick, Lismore, residence

........

JM
 

[Rosinish]

Thanks JM, maybe 1875/1878 was too early?

Ada Clara Gallagher was born 1861 Tamworth, NSW, parents John & Elizabeth.


I discovered another little snippet which adds a little something to the possibility of William being mine...

Rocky Mouth or MacLean -
"The Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia under the
pastoral charge of the Rev. Duncan M'Innes, who performs Devine Service in both the English & Gaelic languages"

They married in that Church & William would have been a native Gaelic speaker & although baptised a Catholic it's possible Ada wasn't?

I had found US Military/Navy Records but there's absolutely nothing concrete to say it's the same chap (born Scotland) although the dates could tie in but that's hardly real proof.

The connection to the US Military was via the ancestry member (as mentioned earlier) who didn't elaborate on what she 'knew' & she's not been online in over 1 yr.

Without evidence of William' parentage then I guess I need a DNA match to confirm?

Annie

Edit...I'd completely missed your previous post, only saw it after I posted this reply 

[majm]

Yes,  that's a m.c. that has not been reconciled.

The clergyman's register should be extant.  I will make some phone calls.  Could be a week or so before I know where the register is currently held.    Notice it is all in the same handwriting - the clergyman's hand.   Notice there's no details in Birthplace, Age, Father's name, mother's name and maiden surname, Father's occupation and NO margin notes to the right of the witness signatures.     

I can add a point of interest ... there is also NO mention of the bride needing to have someone give permission for her to marry.... so it is fair to conclude that the bride was at least 21 years of age.  Consent for a minor was usually recorded in the white space to the right of the 'Married in the  ..... According to ........       If she was not yet 21 years of age, the NSW Marriage Act would have required the clergyman to follow up with the NSW Guardian of Minors .... via the local Clerk of Petty Sessions and/or the deputy registrar for bdm (often in rural localities the CPS was the deputy registrar). 

ADD  those 1876/1878 details could be family members for the bride.  Brides in that era in rural NSW were often returning 'home' to be married from Mum and Dad's home.   


JM

[Neale1961]

The local historical society may be able to help
http://www.clarencehistory.org.au/html/research.html