Hi there,
Re: Catharine Christina's maiden name and Thomas Ransom's Oct 1824 letter to Gov Arthur " . . .I further beg leave to state to your Honour, that the obstacle which has been the occasion of the licences being suspended has existed nearly 11 years and in consequence of it being out of my power to remedy I have employed workmen and am preparing . . ."
1. It was not within Thomas' power to remedy.
2. Thomas died Feb 1829, with Catharine Christina as the beneficiary.
3. Catharine married Von S in Jan 1830, ie less than twelve months after Thomas' death .....
Was it Thomas Ransom who encumbered himself in about 1814 ... (read Wiggy's transcript of his Oct 1824 letter)... Apart from a marriage, what other actions could encumber a person IN THOSE TIMES? I'm not sure, but perhaps the answer could be found if we had copies of the licencing rules/regulations etc for obtaining a licence to operate a public house in VDL in 1824 and comparied with any variations to earlier regulations (ie what regulations operated in VDL in say 1814, 1820, and 1824 and etc).
Perhaps the encumberance was simply that Gov Arthur would NOT approve licences to former convicts, even those holding a full pardons (ie both licences to operate a public house, .... licence to marry, etc) ... Don't overlook that Thomas was not just a former convict, but that in VDL he had been appointed a fairly senior Government Building Supervisor etc. during the time that Gov Macquarie was the "enlightened" Gov of NSW INCLUDING VDL....
Is/are Thomas/Catharine ever mentioned in the Bigges reports?
I think it is entirely possible that MCNALLY was her birth name, and remind you all that HER cattle were branded C N (not C R, not C M, but C N).
Cheers,
JM