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General => The Common Room => Topic started by: lyn4_7 on Thursday 23 November 06 06:41 GMT (UK)
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My GG Grandmother was Frances nee ???? possibly Firth. She died in Mudgee NSW Australia in August 1864. She had 2 children my GGrandmother Agnes May Baker nee Firth and Mary Ann Long nee Firth.
Agnes married William James Baker in Mudgee on 24 May 1882 and Mary Ann married John Long in Gulgong on 24 December 1881
Their father was a labourer or boundary rider in Mudgee. It isn't known if his surname was Firth or if Firth was Frances's real name. I am assuming it was her married name though because I can't find any shipping records for a Frances Firth.
After Frances died her 2 daughters were raised by Walter Sherry who was Mayor of Mudgee from 1875-1878 and an alderman prior to 1875. His wife was Amy nee King.
I have googled myself silly and found a little bit of information on the Sherry family but nothing about whether or not the 2 girls actually lived with him and his wife or whether he sponsored them and they were put in an orphanage. I do know that Walter was a tailor in Mudgee, where his partners name was J Nelthorpe.
Can anyone give me some advice please on where to go to find out any information. The Mudgee Historical Society have no records apart from his political career.
Someone somewhere who has or had roots in Mudgee must have some information on this family. I have had some great help from all of you before and I am hoping that someone will be able to help me solve this very frustrating puzzle and fill in some blanks. I have all the information on the Baker side, all I need is a breakthrough on the Firth side.
Lyn ??? :-\
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Hi Lyn,
Have you tried the Mudgee Library?
http://www.mudgee.nsw.gov.au/library/1506/1507.html
Their local studies section might have something useful. Perhaps the papers of the day contain some information?
Prue
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Hi Prue
Thanks, yes I have tried the library but no luck there. I feel like I am hitting my head against a brick wall in every direction. I love this hobby but it can be really frustrating.
Lyn
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Hi Lyn,
There's a Rootsweb mailing list for Australian orphanage research:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~jfuller/gen_mail_country-aus.html#AUS-ORPHANAGES
It might be worth posting a message there, in case someone has some info about orphanages around Mudgee (if indeed the girls were sent to one and it was in the Mudgee region).
If the arrangement between the Mayor and the children was an informal one, there may be very little recorded for you to find.
Prue
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Hi Prue
Thanks for the info and your help.
Lyn
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Hi Lyn, we have come to the same crossroad as you but I can provide you with more information. I'm soon getting a copy of the documents from my mother. The boundary rider you talk of was a man by the name of john (johnny) Taylor also nick named white fellow. John Taylor was raised on a station by a man named mr Davis of ginninderra until the age of 13 when he went to tumut and worked the rest of his life for Edward George brown as a stockman and labourer. In the Sydney morning herald 9th dec 1862 the year Agnes May firth was born, there's an article about an aboriginal man and white lady from that station asking registeres all around Wagga Wagga to marry them but were denied the right. There is another clip in there though that mentions a similar event happening in 1867 where the couple were given the right but Frances died in 1864 I believe and that is when the girls were fostered to Sherry so I don't know how relevant that article is. Mum tells me we have proof of their relationship but what we can't find is his actual tribe or birth records. If he was born in gininderra he would most likely be from the ngunnawal tribe and if in tumut than wiradjuri, he died age 34 1875 so if his age documents are correct he was born 1840 or 1841, 1840-41 was when white people put the ngunnawal tribe to work so it's possible he was raised from a baby by the Davis family of ginninderra. http://www.csu.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/180511/Brad-Montgomery-Final-Report.pdf page 14 and on has info on john Taylor and the mariage article. I also found an aboriginal archive record a man 34 john death 1875 but it says place mudgee. So I wonder if he may have been born around mudgee too. He's a hard man to track I'd but I'm told to search the archives of these towns. I'll keep in touch. Email me if you like. Shane.
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Hi Wertyperty
I am a relative of lyns would there be any chance you could send me evidence that you have on frances and johns relationship. I have a fair bit on frances and also john taylor also went by the name of johnny taylor before he died.
Bron
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Werty Perty
Thank you so much for that information. May I ask how you are related to Frances?
She was my GG Grandmother on my mothers side.
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Welcome to Rootschat, Wertyperty and Bron63.
Hope you will find the site helpful - we are all very friendly here.
If you want to exchange information with lyn4_7 or each other, if you post twice more each - all you need to do is to reply here with "hello" or "thanks" or something - you will be able to use our Personal Messaging system.
You do this by clicking on the scroll in the circle under the name on the left hand side of the person you want to send a message to.
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thank you for your assistance and nice greating
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thank you for your assistance and nice greating
You are most welcome - I have PMd you to confirm that the system is working and hopefully both Lyn_47 and Wertyperty will be back soon so that you can continue your research.
This sounds like a fascinating family, I do hope you manage to find out more :D
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Thank you Igor.
Yes our family is fascinating and very frustrating as a lot are. :-\
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Hi Lyn, we have come to the same crossroad as you but I can provide you with more information. I'm soon getting a copy of the documents from my mother. The boundary rider you talk of was a man by the name of john (johnny) Taylor also nick named white fellow. John Taylor was raised on a station by a man named mr Davis of ginninderra until the age of 13 when he went to tumut and worked the rest of his life for Edward George brown as a stockman and labourer. In the Sydney morning herald 9th dec 1862 the year Agnes May firth was born, there's an article about an aboriginal man and white lady from that station asking registeres all around Wagga Wagga to marry them but were denied the right. There is another clip in there though that mentions a similar event happening in 1867 where the couple were given the right but Frances died in 1864 I believe and that is when the girls were fostered to Sherry so I don't know how relevant that article is. Mum tells me we have proof of their relationship but what we can't find is his actual tribe or birth records. If he was born in gininderra he would most likely be from the ngunnawal tribe and if in tumut than wiradjuri, he died age 34 1875 so if his age documents are correct he was born 1840 or 1841, 1840-41 was when white people put the ngunnawal tribe to work so it's possible he was raised from a baby by the Davis family of ginninderra. http://www.csu.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/180511/Brad-Montgomery-Final-Report.pdf page 14 and on has info on john Taylor and the mariage article. I also found an aboriginal archive record a man 34 john death 1875 but it says place mudgee. So I wonder if he may have been born around mudgee too. He's a hard man to track I'd but I'm told to search the archives of these towns. I'll keep in touch. Email me if you like. Shane.
Hi, thank you so much for that information, the Firth family has been on going for about 4 years or more now.
How are you related? The information seems to be coming very quickly now.
Lyn