Looking for Michael MULLINS in QLD

[Ruskie]

Molie,
When they arrive, will you please let us know what the certificates reveal? 

[molie]

Sure will Ruskie.... i won't be able to contain myself if it solves part of the puzzle.

Molie

[molie]

Hi All

From Michael Mullins death certificate - he was born in Milton Malley, County Clare, Ireland 1864.  His father Michael was a carpenter as he was.  He had been in Queensland for 68 years at the time of his death in 1951.  Therefore he would have arrived abt 1883.

I have not been able to find "Milton Malley", Clare.  However there is a Milltown Malbay which is about 6kms from Mountscott where we think Kate was born.  Is it a reasonable assumption that Milton Malley is Milltown Malbay?

We can now narrow down the search of passenger lists to abt 1883.  I have difficulty on ancestry.com looking for them.  Sometimes they give the complete list and others you can't see the original list.  What am I doing wrong or is there a better way to look up passenger lists arriving Qld?

Unfortunately Kate's death certificate did not arrive today, just Michael's.  I will be away for 10 days so hopefully it will have arrived by the time I get home.   

Your opinions about his place of birth gladly received.

Molie

[Ruskie]

The Irish place name you found sounds quite likely. I've found place names can be slightly out.

The Qld State Archvies webiste has some immigration indexes online. The nearest I could find is a 17 year old Michael Mullins arriving in 1885 on the Quetta. He appears to be travelling alone. Dates and ages are a bit out. If Michael travelled alone and maybe under another name as Bev suspects, I don't know how you'd ever be certain you have the right person - he may evenhave  lied about his age ... 

[molie]

I have received Catherine (Mullins) Kerrisk death certificate.  She was born in Mount Scott, Clare, Ireland and had been in Qld for 66 years.  She died 4 Feb 1950. Brother Michael's death cert says he was born in Milton Malley, Clare.  He died 26 April 1951.  He had been in Qld for 68 years.  I believe they arrived together 1883/84.   We just need to find out how they got here??  I tend to believe the original story I was told that they arrived with their parents Michael and Mary. 

Could they have arrived by ship into another state other than Qld?  My information is that when they arrived in Townsville, they staid at the hotel opposite the railway station.  They could have possibly arrived in Townsville by rail.

My other problem is that I cannot find any trace of the parents on electoral rolls or BDM. 

Where to from here? 

[Ruskie]

The d/cs do point towards them being siblings - you don't mention if the d/cs confirm their parent's names?

I don't think voting was compulsory in the late 1880's. Certainly women didn't even get the right to vote in Qld until 1905.

It is possible that the family arrived together in a different state. Have you checked NSW and Victoria yet? Or they may have disembarked in a different Queensland town which may explain the possible rail travel.  Their d/cs both give time spent in Queenland with no mention of another State. Keep in mind that it was quite common for family members to come out to Australia seperately, so the parents may have arrived at a later date. And if they all paid their own fare, there may be no record of their arrival.

[molie]

Hi Ruskie

Parents names on death certificates are:

Michael Mullins    father Michael Mullins
                          mother Mary Calinan

Catherine Mullins  father Michael Mullins
                           mother Mary Carolan

I have checked arrivals in other states without any luck.  Interesting that you say if they paid their own fare, there may not be any record of them arriving.  I thought they would have appeared on the unassisted passenger lists.  Would the state libraries have more information on arrivals than is available on ancestry.com?

As I said I cannot find any information about the parents in Australia, electoral rolls, death notices etc. It does make you wonder if they came by themselves.  However the information from one descendant is that they came as a family. 

Think I should move on and leave this puzzle unanswered for the time being, unless you have any other thoughts.
Molie 

[Ruskie]

Ah yes I recall the mention of Calinan/Carolan earlier in the thread. I've seen nemerous instances where the mother's maiden name is either a bit wrong or completely incorrect (informants can get it wrong).

Regarding the immigration. Unless the person has a really unusual surname, if they travelled alone, it can be just down to an educated guess that you have found the right person on the immigration index. If they travelled as a family group it is easier. There are a few Michael Mullins and Catherine Mullins on the Qld Immigration Indexes, but I doubt that you would ever be certain which, if any, is yours. Although you suspect that Michael and Kate travelled together as their time in Qld estimates that they arrived in a fairly narrow timeframe, they may still have come out seperately - one may have followed the other a year or two later, and perhaps parents came at another time. I've seen something similar in my own family where it looks like one son travelled alone first maybe to 'test the waters' or get settled, then other family came later in dribs and drabs.

This may help (if you haven't already seen it):
http://www.archives.qld.gov.au/research/index/immigration.asp

There are card indexes of immigration at the State Archives which may have more names than have been put online. But the problem still remains about how to identify which are your Mullins.  I do go to the Archives occassionally and can check the cards in case there is a family of Mullins, though I'm not sure I'd put much faith in stories that they arrived as a family. Please remind me to do this though, as I will forget. 

[85jbk]

Looking to connect with rootschat member Mollie. Have tried your email but bounced back. Thanks rootschat member 85jbk