The mysterious Murphy's of Cork: link to Australia in the goldrush era

[annemareeinerko]

I am trying to trace my maternal grandfather's line which is traced back to Cork.

Mary Murphy died in Timor, Victoria in 1888 aged 68 years of age. Whilst in Australia, she married very young (aged 16) to James Walsh around 1836 in Bathurst, NSW. Her death certificate recorded some details, born in Cork, Ireland, and her parents' names were Jeremiah Murphy (unknown profession) and her mother's surname was O'Connor. Since her grandchildren did not know Jeremiah's profession, Mary's mother's first name, I wonder if she came to Australia on her own or if her mother died young.

I searched Irish baptism databases and found Mary Murphy born on the 5th of May 1820, her father's name was Jerh Murphy and her mother's name was Joha Connor. The civil parish was Kilmurry, Co. Cork, and no further information about townlands. These names are the only ones I could find with matching names for Mary's approximate birth year in the whole of Ireland.

Jerh and Joha had two other children, Julia born in 1813 and Cath Murphy born 1815. I cannot find any further information about the family after 1820.

Mary had quite a tragic life in the Victorian goldfields, probably quite standard in those days . It would be great to flesh out her life a bit more and I am sorry I do not have more to go on  .

I have checked https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/en/ quite a bit but I do not subscribe to any databases like Ancestry. Griffith's Valuation records show a few Jeremiah Murphys in the Kilmurry parish between 1848 and 1852.

If anyone has any suggestions about databases or can recommend further searches, that would be great.

Thanks!

[sparrett]

On the Death Certificate, what details are written for how long in the colony?

Sue

[annemareeinerko]

Hi, Sue. Thanks for your reply.

Mary's death certificate states she resided 46 years in Victoria and 2 years in NSW, which means her family estimated that she arrived in Australia around 1840. However, the death certificate also states that she was married at the age of 16 in NSW, which would have been approximately 1836. Her husband's (James Walsh) death certificate states that they were married in Bathurst, NSW but I have found no record of them being married in NSW.

Her husband's death certificate states that they were married in 1841 in Bathurst, NSW. It also states that he lived in Victoria for 26 years and for 20 years in NSW. I suppose it must have been hard for family members to recall all the details back in those days.

 

[Neale1961]

Perhaps this immigration is worth exploring.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FL2C-24L

[annemareeinerko]

Hi, Neale

Thanks for the link and the information. I had tried going through the immigration shipping lists one by one, but the Bounty Index is waaaaay faster .  I was not familiar with this index on Family Search. There are probably a lot of other databases on Family Search I am not familiar with either. The link you gave me makes sense, because of the lack of information about her parents on her death certificate. How sad for her, I wonder what happened to her after her birth being an orphan? 

I always thought my family was Catholic . It is possible she converted because her husband was Catholic. Or maybe had to convert when she lived in Ireland....?

[wivenhoe]

Can you please list all the information on the death certificate, 1888, Victoria.

What is the earliest evidence you have of Mary in Australia...eg...names as mother on a birth certificate?....name on mariage certificate?

Do you have a marriage certificate for Mary?

When did husband James WALSH die...before or after Mary?

[annemareeinerko]

Hi, Wivenhoe

Can you please list all the information on the death certificate, 1888, Victoria.

I will give you the information I can read.
When and where died: 1st July 1888, Timor, County Talbot.
Name and profession: Mary Walsh
Sex and age: F aged 68 years
Cause of death: Found drowned. Verdict at inquest 2nd July 1888 (I have the inquest details)
Name, surname and profession of mother and father: Jeremiah Murphy unknown; unknown O'Connor
Where and when buried: 3rd July 1888, Dunnolly Cemetery
Where born, how long in the Australian colonies: Ireland, 2 years NSW, 46 years Victoria.
Where and when married: NSW 16 James Walsh
Children: James, Alice, Mary Ann, Jeremiah, Ambrose, Robert (dead), William, Thomas, Frances, Edward, Francis, John

What is the earliest evidence you have of Mary in Australia...eg...names as mother on a birth certificate?....name on marriage certificate?

The earliest I have is Robert's birth certificate from 1848 in Ovens River, Victoria. It is very hard to read. I have Mary's name on her oldest son (James) marriage certificate in 1867, stating he was born in Sydney and his parents were James Walsh farmer and Mary Murphy. I have Frances's birth certificate in 1867 stating that Mary was from Co. Cork.

I do not have any evidence of James or Alice being born in NSW or Victoria.

Do you have a marriage certificate for Mary?
No, according to Frances's birth certificate, James and Mary were married in Bathurst but I cannot find records in NSW Births, Deaths, and Marriages.

When did husband James WALSH die...before or after Mary?

His details are:

Died 8th May 1882, Timor West, Bet Bet Shire County Gladstone, Vic.
James Walsh farmer
76 years
Cause of death: cancer, exhaustion; date 5th May 1882
Parents: Robert Walsh storekeeper; Alice Walsh/Clark
Buried 10th May 1882, Dunnolly Cemetery, Vic
Born County Meath, Ireland; 20 years NSW; 26 years, Victoria.
Married Bathurst aged 35 to Mary Murphy
Children: Alice (deceased), James, Robert (deceased), Jeremiah (could say deceased also), Mary Ann (could say deceased), Ambrose (could say deceased), William, Patrick, Thomas, Frances, Edward, Francis.

Thanks for your help. It is night here and I am going to get some shut-eye 

[Dundee]

I do not have any evidence of James or Alice being born in NSW or Victoria.

Baptism for James (civil registration did not start until 1853 in Victoria)

36901 / 1843

WALSH, James
Place of event: OVENS
Mother's name: Mary MURPHY
Father's Name:  James WALSH

https://www.bdm.vic.gov.au/research-and-family-history/search-your-family-history

I have Frances's birth certificate in 1867 stating that Mary was from Co. Cork.

What is stated as the previous issue on this certificate and what is Mary's age?

Debra 

[annemareeinerko]

Hi, Debra

Thanks for your reply and for finding James. He must have been born in Sydney and baptised in Victoria.

Robert Walsh's certificate from BDM Victoria in 1848 has hardly any information on it, just his parents' names: James and Mary Walsh. As you said, registration began in 1853. I suppose certificates after this date would have more information on them.

Sorry, Debra, I did not know what you meant when you asked "What is stated as the previous issue on this certificate?"

The information on Francis's 1867 birth certificate states:

19th February 1867, Bet Bet
Francis, Male
James Walsh farmer, 50 years, b. County Meath, Ireland
Mary Walsh formerly Murphy 43 years, b. County Cork, Ireland (I think the age says 43, but it is a bit blurry)
Married 1840 Bathurst
Children: Alice 24 years deceased, James 23 years, Robert 21, Ambrose 18 deceased, William 12 years, Patrick 10 years, Mary Ann 5 years deceased, Thomas 4 years, Jeremiah deceased (can't read the age), Frances 5 years, Edward 2 years, John 11 months deceased.

Good grief, so many dead children And having one child called Frances and the other called Francis confused me a bit 

I do not have all the birth/death certificates for the children because I have limited funds 

According to this certificate, James Walsh was born in ~1817 and Mary Murphy was born in ~1824 in Cork, Ireland. So many different dates!