Mary Gunny passenger Red Rover 1832

[justme]

Hello all,
Don't know where to start looking. My ggggreat grandmother MARY GUNNY came to Australia onboard the Red Rover in 1832. Her death certificate says she was born in Dublin but parents are not known so I'm assuming that she was an orphan. Are there any files that I can check to see if she was in an orphanage and then somehow made it onto the Red Rover to be a wife or servant in Australia. Any help would be greatly appreciated

[Celtic Damsel]

Hi There, I'm assuming that you only have a death cert for her and no other information like a birth or baptism cert ? if she did'nt know who her parents were its likely she didnt have a record of her birth cert as even orphans usually have their parents named on their records at that point in time, on that assumption if you dont know which parish she was born in in Dublin it may be very difficult to find her as official BDM records had not begun then ,I thought you might be interested in this  http://www.cyndislist.com/austnz.htm and this http://www.cyndislist.com/orphans.htm if you havnt seen them already, it names the Red Rover and gives an email address for someone who gave the link, they may have more information about this ship an her passengens also, regards Damsel

[justme]

Hi Celtic Damsel,

A big thankyou for the "cyndislist" websites. Will keep me occupied for quite some time I think!
I have Mary Gunny's death cert. ....She died as Mary Lynch, 1867, in Ultimo Sydney, aged 47 with "not known parents" and born in Dublin. Passenger list says she was 17years, single female and occupation was housekeeper. To find ancestors beyond Mary doesn't look too promising. I will try to find more background on the Red Rover as its passengers on that voyage were girls, mostly from Cork.
I have no idea of a parish in Dublin where she was born and can only summise that she was born around 1820.
Thankyou again for your help and also thankyou for the tip on shaving foam (re reading grave stones) from a fellow "Grave Rubber".
                                            Del

[Parramattan]

Hi

  Just wondering if you are sure that the Mary Lynch who died in 1867 is the Mary Gunny who came on the Red Rover?  Various sources combined say she had five children by different fathers - Daniel Fowler later called Denis Lynch, John Lynch, Catherine Lynch, and by John Fletcher Elizabeth Lynch + Mary Jane by an as yet unknown father, possibly also John Fletcher (will be checking on Tuesday).  Are they all on your death certificate? Thanks

 Annette

[justme]

Hi Annette,

My Mary Lynch death cert has her daughter, Mary Jane Lynch of Ultimo, as the Informant. Mary Lynch was recorded as being in the colony (NSW) for 30yrs and married to Dennis Lynch in Sydney at the age of 22yrs. The children (except for Mary Jane) weren't named but the cert said she had 2 sons and 3 daughters living.

My ggreat-grandmother was Elizabeth Lynch who married Charles Cox in 1860. Mary had to give her consent to the marriage as Elizabeth was under 21. Elizabeth kept in contact with Catherine and Mary Jane and descendants are still in contact today. I would be terribly grateful if you would let me know your findings re John Fletcher.

If I can be of anymore help please  ask

         Del

[Parramattan]

Hi Del

          Thank you very much for confirming that death date! I'm doing this for John, and Elizabeth is his great grandmother, Catherine his grandmother.  I believe there is a Cox gathering early this year, and I'm trying to get as much done as I can before then!  I shall certainly let you know when/if I find Mary Jane's birth record. When they transcribed from the 1788-1905 microfiche to CD then Internet, entries were missed - that'd how I found Elizabeth's entry, but there were at least seven listings for John Fletcher about that time, so we may never know which one was Elizabeth's father.

          Thanks again
           Annette   

[justme]

Hi Annette,

This means that you have a birth cert for Elizabeth??

Yes, we are holding a Cox reunion in Kangaroo Valley on 7th March and we would love to see you there if you could come. I can send you particulars if you PM me your address.

I'm very interested to know who Mary Jane's father was so hope you can find something. She had Margaret Nugent and Michael Bulger (who married her sister Catharine) as witness' on her wedding cert.......perhaps there is a clue there. Elizabeth Lynch/Cox had Samuel Spittalhouse and Elizabeth Turnbull as her witnesses....Catherine Lynch/Bulger had John Jones and Joseph Leubelt (??) as witnesses for her marriage to Michael Bulger in 1861.

Much luck with this and many thanks from Del

[Parramattan]

Hi Del

         Went into the State Records at The Rocks today and the microfilm reel (SR 2795) was disappointing - no information except that she was 17, and the person she and 4 others might have been assigned to was W. Martin, Gloucester St. for 6 pounds. She was no. 93 on the list.

          Re Mary Jane - no luck. SR did have the old microfiche, and whereas Elizabeth was listed under both Mary Lynch and John Fletcher, there was no LYNCH, Mary Jane, mother Mary at the end of the LYNCH entries which in the old records are by surname, then alpha by father's first name, then within that alpha by child's first name.  Elizabeth was on the baptism registers vol 28 no. 846 should you wish to look at it yourself. If they did Mary Jane's the same way as Elizabeth, she should have been near her sister after the children of men named William Lynch, and she wasn't. Your info re the witnesses might be helpful, and I'll follow through, but I really don't see how we're going to determine which John Fletcher!  I'll have a look at musters tomorrow, to see if any were in the vicinity of Ultimo.

               Re a Lynch/Gunny marriage - am doubtful - couldn't find on the old records, or on AGCI, and if she didn't marry the father of her first child, why marry the second?  Wasn't he much older than her? Her age on the death certificate is wrong, if she was 17 in 1832. If she married Denis at age 22, that would have been 1837, and she would have been 52 when she died.  Elizabeth was baptized in the Parish of St Lawrence- wonder if any original records survive?

               Apologies re 7th March, and thank you for the invitation, but I have not long booked for lectures at SAG that day - one morning, one afternoon, but I imagine my friends might be there. Will ask next time I'm in contact. I'll post my latest lot of goodies to John tomorrow -do send via Internet but he's very busy and not sure if he always opens them...

               Isn't family history endlessly fascinating?!
               Regards
               Annette
 

[justme]

Hello Annette,

Thankyou so much for letting me know of your findings. They really are a very tricky family to research so I suppose we have to just keep chipping away....lots of oral history.

Re Lynch/Gunny marriage.....Mary didn't marry Daniel Fowler .....he was engaged to someone else at the time and married that girl. Mary was no doubt looking for protection and security, and found it with Denis Lynch who was older than her. It's a mystery of what happened after he died in 1841. We know that she must have been in a desperate state because she applied to have her children (Daniel/Denis, John and Catherine) admitted to an orphanage.....she was pregnant with Elizabeth at this time. Her application (written on her behalf by Rev. James Fullerton) was refused.

Don't know about original records of St Lawrence. Will have to see what is available. Wonder who the Minister/Priest was who performed Elizabeth's baptism?.....Fullerton maybe???

Thankyou again for your help in trying to unravel Mary's life.

                                Del