Looking for Relatives of Richard Napoleon Wyombe Townsend REECE

[margaretatwinmalee]

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

[margaretatwinmalee]

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

[pocketrocket]

Hi Margaret,

Many many thanks for your work on this.  It has helped a great deal.  Now to put on my thinking cap....

Regards,

Caroline

[David Reece]

Hi

My Son is Jacob Lawrence Reece, he was to be called Jacob Steele Reece after the first Reece to moved to Bingara in NSW. (He is named Lawrence after my father)

I am David Reece my father was Lawrence Reece and his father Linton Bruce Reece all resided in Bingara NSW. My mother still lives there and there is a federation Families Book on Bingara that has all the history.

[pocketrocket]

Hi David,

Thanks for that info, it is very helpful.  Is that the exact title of the book. Sounds interesting indeed. 

Regards,

Caroline

[David Reece]

Steely Reece was bought to Bingara aged 5 in 1865 from a small town near scone, his mother was Annie Adeliade Reece(nee Maddrah)

Bingara Federation Families

a Social study of family life in a country town 1890's to 1930's edited by Ron Irlam

You can buy it from the Bingara News Agents.

[pocketrocket]

Hi everyone,

Found the book at the regional archives here in Armidale.  The photographs are nice that accompany the chapter.  Outback Thunder, have you seen this book?

Cheers,

C

[outback_thunda]

Hi ladies I'm back. I have been trawling and I just had this horrible feeling of Blimey what have I done? I also had a feeling of have I wasted the last year researching the wrong man and also what I achieved yesterday did I intact get that all wrong. For some silly reason I decided to read this whole thread and this post stood out. We are all here if your still with me in this journey looking for Annie Adelaide to be born here or to be here miraculously etc etc. None of it makes sense really. I'm going to rummage but we believed that Benjamin maddrah was the father of Annie, below is the details from judb trip to the archives. The statement that gets me is her father is William . There was a William maddrah/madderah transported to Australia as a convict from York...... Is it possible that this man is her father. It would make a lot more sense if he was but that still doesn't answer how Ellen got here and whether she is the 1839 convict or the 1852 convict to Australia. So ladies if you may. I lost again. .

Had a good trawl through various records at the Nat Library earlier in the week.

Firstly, the passenger list  Melbourne-Tasmania 1852 showed Henry ADELAIDE, 40 and Anne ADELAIDE, 26 on the Eucalyptus arriving Hobart 22 Apr 1852.   Looks unlikely.

Secondly, some publications from the Bingara Historical Society which are fascinating and I would strongly suggest you get in contact with them.  One article even had a list of the 7 descendant families still in the district - possibly with a mine of information.  Whoo-hoo - another Christian name for Ellen!!

All of this info is in the publications and I have no idea how reliable it is but here are two pertinent extracts:

Jacob Steel REECE b 1860 at or near Scone NSW; came to Bingara, 1865. Mother became a teacher at the first school in Bingara.

The STEELE family: Isaac STEELE (origins Bourne, near Leeds, England) arrived in Brisbane in 1857 on the Parsee.  18 January 1858, married Maria Green from Hampshire who had also arr Brisbane 1857. Stayed in Brisbane till moving to Inverell district in 1886.  (My comment - this is a bit bizarre as we have Helen/Ellen/Orella calling herself Helen STEEL at Annie's wedding in 1861 in Scone, and dying with the STEELE surname - I think it may be just a co-incidence of surnames, as this Isaac STEELE seems to have no connection with Helen or her husband Jacob)

Then there are these biographical details:

ANNIE ADELAIDE REECE (nee MADDRAH), dau of William and Hosella 'Ellen', stepdaughter of Jacob Steele, b c1845, d1893 Emmaville, m (1) Isaac Reece, 1861 Scone, (2) William Townsend regd 1869 Warialda.  Isaac and Annie left Scone and came to Bingara around 1864-5, where Annie became a teacher in Bingara's first school.

HOSELLA/ORELLA/ELLEN STEELE (formerly MADDRAH, nee BEARCROFT) b c1812, d1883 Bingara, bur Bingara m (1) ? Maddrah, (2) Jacob Steele.  Jacob and Ellen left Scone and came to Bingara around 1864-5 and settled out on the Narrabri Rd. Jacob was an early Bingara builder and cabinet maker.

So - another name for her, and you can see how 'Hosella' could have turned into 'Ursula' on the cert Margaret has.

I found a photo of her granddaughter’s grave in Warialda cemetery with her name shown as Hosella Margaret McCaw.  She seems to be in the NSW BMDs as Margaret Orselle McCaw

http://austcemindex.com/inscription.php?id=3987016

Did we have Annie’s death?
1893 Annie Townsend, father Jacob, mother Ellen, registered at Emmaville, #5706

The Bingara publications have a photo of Annie and also a photo of Hosella/Ellen/Helen/Ursula/Orella

Cheers, Judith

[judb]

Heavens - well found!!!  Sometimes it's very worthwhile to have a slow re-read!   

William MADDERAH
convicted City of York, 19 January 1829, sentenced to 7 years transportation.
Voyage date: 26 December 1829, ship: Nithsdale

There are three entries for William MADDERAH on the English Criminal Registers:
1822 convicted of larceny, York, sentence 3 months imprisonment and whipped
1825, found not guilty of larceny, York
1829, convicted of larceny, York, 19 January 1829, sentenced to 7 years transportation.

Prison Hulk Registers show:
William MADDERAH
Age:   23
Date Received:   22 Oct 1829
Ship:1. Ganymede, moored at Chatham; 2 Retribution, moored at Woolwich
Convicted: 19 Jan 1829 at York, stealing 1 pair of shoes
Character noted: 2 convictions, connections v bad, behaved well in gaol

Ticket of Leave dated 9 August, 1834
Occupation: labourer
Description: height 5ft 4 3/4 ins
hair, brown
eyes, grey
complexion, ruddy.

In 1831 or 1832 he was employed by John GAGGIN at Windsor.

I can't see the exact date but his pardon was granted 1834-1838.

This chap seems a distinct possibility!

Judith