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Messages - margaretatwinmalee

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1
Australia / Re: Looking for Relatives of Richard Napoleon Wyombe Townsend REECE
« on: Sunday 01 January 12 04:16 GMT (UK)  »
Hello everyone

I'm glad you're back on to the Madderah family. I gave up on the research because I didn't think that Bejamin was Annie Adelaide's father. The dates just don't work. I think that it's more likely to be his brother William. I mentioned William in my couple of first postings (nos 92 and 97) in 2009 - on page 10, but as I couldn't find a further reference to him after he received his Certificate of Freedom in 1836, I figured I must have been wrong. I shouldn't have given up on this - sorry.

William's Certificate of Freedom says he was last in the district of Patricks Plains. I think I looked up lists of convicts for that area and couldn't find him but maybe I didn't look thoroughly enough - is it worth another try? Judith mentioned that in 1831 or 1832 he worked for John Gaggin at Windsor. That's a lead at least.

So what do you think girls? Do we try to follow William Madderah or does the evidence still point towards Benjamin?

2
Australia / Re: Looking for Relatives of Richard Napoleon Wyombe Townsend REECE
« on: Saturday 08 May 10 07:31 BST (UK)  »
Hello Caroline

I've been able to access some records for the Parramatta Hospital for the Insane. Have checked the Register of Patients for the years 1848 to 1889 and I couldn't find a Sarah Shepherd  - there was only an Isabella Shepherd who died in 1879.

I was however able to see the entry for John Halligan. There is just a single line entry in the register and the archivist told me there is nothing more. So the details are:

Register number: 3610
Admission date: 3rd January 1900
Date of Death: 10th April 1900 (7pm)
Birth Place: Italy  (then there is 30 years written - this can't be his age, or time in the colony - not sure what it means)
Religion: Roman Catholic
Occupation: "Engine Driver"
Cause of death: General Paralysis of the Insane

Two things come out of this. Firstly 'General Paralysis of the Insane' is a nasty form of tertiary syphilis that leads to dementia and death (sometimes quickly or up to 3 years). It apparently still accounts today for some 15 - 20% of male admissions to mental institutions. He couldn't have had a pleasant ending

My second comment is that I agree with you in questioning the timing of the birth of his last son. Without requoting figures here but keeping in mind the admission date, travel time to the hospital, state of health prior to this and the contagious nature of the disease, something certainly doesn't add up.

Hope this is helpful to you - though it's probably raised another big question. Just part of the course with this family.


Margaret

3
Australia / Re: Looking for Relatives of Richard Napoleon Wyombe Townsend REECE
« on: Saturday 08 May 10 07:04 BST (UK)  »
Hello JM and Caroline

I've been to the State Records at Kingswood and located the Monthly Returns for the Parramatta Female Factory. Unfortunately it's just lists of how many people were provided with meals etc, how many new women arrived or others left, and then lots of 'grocery' lists of supplies provided each day (tea, sugar, meat etc). There are no names sorry.

I also found some 4 years of names of discharged convicts, staff etc right at the end of the life of the factory but there was no-one there with any of the names for Ellen/Helen that we have been looking at.

The archivist told me that there are hardly any records left of that institution - so I'm sorry but I've drawn a blank there. If anyone can think of anything else I can look for there, let me know.

Sorry to disappoint you all,
Margaret

4
Australia / Re: Looking for Relatives of Richard Napoleon Wyombe Townsend REECE
« on: Friday 12 March 10 00:01 GMT (UK)  »
Hello Caroline

Thanks for the information about the Christophers. I suspected that B, D, M may have had the wrong middle initial for Chris senior and that the other Chris was possibly his son. Mother-in-law must have fused the two together in her mind.

Cheers
Margaret

5
Australia / Re: Looking for Relatives of Richard Napoleon Wyombe Townsend REECE
« on: Thursday 11 March 10 04:40 GMT (UK)  »
Hello Dianne

I've had another look at the microfiche for the Women's factory at Parramatta. Went through all the "B"s and "M"s again and double checked for an Ellen Mather, but I still can't find anything - sorry.

Perhaps when I look at the other records at the Kingswood Archives in a few weeks time I might have more luck. If there's anything else you'd like me to check let me know sometime in the next couple of weeks.

Cheers
Margaret

6
Australia / Re: Looking for Relatives of Richard Napoleon Wyombe Townsend REECE
« on: Thursday 11 March 10 04:36 GMT (UK)  »
Hello Caroline

Thanks for the information about George's birth - so Mary Jane was in the early stages of pregnancy when husband John died.

I asked mother-in-law about this again and she says that her mother Nora (Mary Jane's daughter) told her that John went to Sydney with his son Christopher. After John died, Christopher apparently went missing causing Mary Jane considerable distress (as you can imagine particularly after the death of her husband). Christopher managed to eventually find his way back home (we don't know how). She was very surprised that John had died at the insane hospital and now she wonders if he went there for treatment. Perhaps the trip to the Archives (in a few weeks time) will help with this.

Anyway M-I-L then said that Christopher had then died in an accident in the Hunter River. I found the account of this accident (Google Christopher Halligan and Prawning) but it can't be the same Christopher - the drowned one died in 1952 aged 34 and NSW B,D and M indicate that his mother was Isabella. I found the death record of the actual Christopher William Halligan, John and Mary Jane's son in 1967 (he was born in 1887) - so obviously a mistaken identity has occurred here. I don't know if the drowned Christopher is related without getting the actual certificate. I did locate a marriage record for an Isabella to a Christopher Halligan but his middle initial is listed as J, not W. Can you shed any light on this?

Thanks again for your help
Margaret

7
Australia / Re: Looking for Relatives of Richard Napoleon Wyombe Townsend REECE
« on: Sunday 07 March 10 06:28 GMT (UK)  »
Hello Dianne

I went through all the M's on the Female Factory Microfiche but when it wasn't one of the Maddrah spellings I was looking for a child attached to a convict. I can go back later this week and have another look for Mather. Will also see if I can find out anything more about her when I go to the archives in a few weeks time.

Cheers
Margaret

8
Australia / Re: Looking for Relatives of Richard Napoleon Wyombe Townsend REECE
« on: Sunday 07 March 10 06:19 GMT (UK)  »
Hello Caroline

I can check on the death record of John Halligan at the Kingswood archives for you. I hadn't followed up on this earlier as he's not in the direct family line I assembled for mother-in-law. She thought that he'd died in Sydney possibly in a rail accident and that it was shortly after the birth of George, but perhaps it was before. Do you happen to have the exact birth date for George?

We didn't know that he was in the Parramatta Hospital for the Insane. This is a bit of a co-incidence as we're looking for Ellen Maddrah/Mather etc at the Parramatta Women's Factory. This institution became the Insane Hospital when the Women's Factory closed (1847 or thereabouts I think).

Anyway I'll add your request to the things to check up on in the archives in a few weeks time.

Margaret


9
Australia / Re: Looking for Relatives of Richard Napoleon Wyombe Townsend REECE
« on: Saturday 27 February 10 03:44 GMT (UK)  »
Hello Everyone - just some replies to several postings:

1. To Caroline - you're info about Mary Jane Latimer is correct. I detailed a bit more of her history on Friday 1st January Reply 106 - page 8 or 9 I think.

2. For JM - I'm close to the archives at Kingswood and I could investigate the "Monthly Returns of Attendants and Patients" at the Female Factory Parramatta. It will be a few weeks though before I can do this - I don't have a week day off work for a while.

3. For Dianne and others - I've had a look at the microfiche for the Female Factory Parramatta this week. I've looked up every possible spelling I can think of for Bearcroft/Becroft, Madderah/Mudderah and Steel/Steele etc and I couldn't find anything useful. The microfiche reader is however very old and not too clear and I apologise if I have missed anything, but I did search through it twice. Is there another name I should try? I really don't want to start at the A's and work through on the chance Ellen might be there under yet another name but I will if anyone thinks it might be useful.

From what I could see though the microfiche only covers female convicts. I don't think other women who were at the factory to give birth etc are included so its still possible that Annie Adelaide may have been born there. It's possible that the Monthly Returns that JM has located might be useful.

Sorry I haven't more positive news.
Margaret

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