William Elliott and Mary Fitzgerald

Work in Progress: More than any other page on this website, this is a work in progress. Although the records are correct, much of this is based on assumptions. Take this with a grain of salt, and if you can contribute please do.

Mary Fitzgerald was born in about 1820, presumably in Ireland. She came to Australia on the Minerva 6, which left Dublin on August 18, 1839 and arrived in Sydney on December 26, 1839.

On May 23, 1844, she was given the governor’s permission to marry twenty-one year old William Elliott who had come to Australia as a free settler, possibly on board the Orient. I’m reasonably sure the marriage indent says he was a crew member, though it’s very hard to read.

The 1841 Census records someone called William Elliott living Bunnaby, County Argyle, District Goulburn, though this needs clarification this is him. It may make sense, though, given their marriage in the same kind of area a few years later.

They married on the Monaro on June 18, 1844 (V1844521 29/1844), in the presence of John Wilkinson (?) and Mary Cunningham (?)

They spent the early part of their marriage at Bombala, where a number of their children were born.

In 1864, they were living in the Cooma District, as that’s where their daughter, Mary Ann married.

In 1873, they were still living in the Cooma District, at Jillamatong (near Braidwood) and William worked as a labourer in 1873, as these details are revealed on the marriage certificate for their daughter, Catherine. At some point, they moved to Bombala, as that’s where they both died.

Mary J Elliott died at Bombala in 1892 (2995/1892) with the parents listed as Patrick F and Mary J. So far I cannot find a birth record or marriage record for her parents.

William Elliott died at Bombala in 1893 (3463/1893) with the parents listed as unknown.

Children

* Mary Ann was born 1845 (V18452341 30A/1845). She married Fergus Delany at Cooma in 1864 (1894/1864).

* John Thomas was born at Bombala on February 20, 1851 (V18511540 68/1851). He married Rebecca Cowell (born at Bombala in 1856) at Bombala in 1872. He died in 1923 (668/1923) at Ashfield.

* Sarah Ann was born at Bombala on May 12, 1853 (V18531045 70/1853). She married Joseph Tozer at Bombala on June 20, 1872. Their first child was born at Jillimatong, near Cooma. She died on June 15, 1915 (5463/1915) at Cooma.

* Patrick was born at Bombala on July 31, 1855 (V18552056 72/1855) and was baptised on September 30, 1855. He married Elizabeth Reedy at Bombala in 1881 (4775/1881). He died in 1939 (8286/1939) at Bombala, aged 84, listing his father as William, but there is no name for the mother.

* Catherine Elliott was born about 1857. Although, there is no birth listing for a Catherine Elliott, I’m reasonably confident these were her parents (see note below). She married John Dunn on May 26, 1873 in the Roman Catholic Church at Cooma. Witnesses to the marriage were her brother and sister, Patrick Elliott and Sarah Ann Towzer or Tozer (wife of Joseph Tozer). Because Catherine was under-age, permission was given by her father, William Elliott who was living at Jillimatong. Catherine died at Bombala on the evening of Tuesday, July 14, 1936 (15579/1936) and was buried the following day. Her death was reported in the “Bombala Times” of Friday, July 17, 1936.

Notes
* Although I cannot find a birth listing for a Catherine Elliott for about the year 1857, Catherine’s death notice refers to her brother Patrick Elliott (also a witness to her marriage), as being the only remaining living sibling. He died a couple of years later at Bombala in 1939 (8286/1939), aged 84. Although the family lists Patrick’s father’s name as William, like Catherine, there is no listing for the mother’s name. Upon searching for the birth of Patrick Elliott in about 1855 with the father’s name William, I can only find one reference (V18552056 72/1855), Thus, it’s very likely Catherine (and Patrick) were the children of William Elliott and Mary J Fitzgerald. Further evidence for this comes when you cross-reference the deaths of Patrick Elliott’s siblings. The deaths for Sarah A Tozer (1915), John T Elliott (1923) list the parents as William and Mary J. Thus, I am reasonably confident that Catherine’s parents were William Elliott and Mary J Fitzgerald.

Sharing Around: Please feel free to copy any of the information on this page which may help you in your own research. My feeling is that family research is hard enough, without the need to constantly re-invent the wheel. It would be great, however, if you’d leave a comment below just to say “hi”.

14 Replies to “William Elliott and Mary Fitzgerald”

  1. Dear James
    I am a great grandaughter of Catherine Elliott & James Dunn. My dad was Charles Robert Jones and these were his grandparents, His mum was Catherine Dunn who married Robert Theodore Jones in Bombala
    Mary Fitzgerald’ father was Patrick Fitzgerald and her mother was Jane,who followed his daughter to Australia ( from Limerick) after she was sentenced for stealing clothes, I have a lot more info on this family but I’m about to go O/S to Bali and will try to send you some more information after the 22/ 3/09
    Cheers Lorraine

    Reply

    1. Hi Lorraine,

      Hope this reaches you.

      I have started collating my family tree and William and Mary’s great, great, great grandparents. If this reaches you i would
      love to obtain any further information you have on William and Mary’s parents and even further if you have it.

      Many thanks
      Tanya

      Reply

  2. Hi Lorraine, great to hear from you. I look forward to chattng further when you return from your holiday. I hope you have a great time. James

    Reply

    1. Hi Cathie, great to hear from you. I’ve used the Monaro Pioneers site quite a few times. I work for a national organisation, and I became aware of someone called Kate Tozer. I wonder if you’re related. Anyway, nice to hear from you. James

      Reply

  4. James
    I have a photocopy of an entry in a chuch record of Catherine & John Dunn’s, marriage states Mary Fitzgerald as Catherine’s mother. My sister has just found some information on ? Mary’s father Patrick55 and brothers Michael 23 & John 18 sent out from Limerick on Pekoe (1840) Crime stealing farming implements, sentence 7 years.

    Hi Tanya Elliott
    Sorry have only just read your email on James’s site, I have been busy doing family research on the Dunn family, would love to hear from you, please contact me on lorraine.robinson@hotmail.com
    all the best
    Lorraine

    Reply

    1. Hi Lorraine, Monaro Pioneers site has death of Patrick (father) at Crankeys Plain,1858, certificate shows sons Michael and John and Mary Jane who married William Elliott, ages of Michael and John match up with your above info, so I’d say the boys were not Patrick’s brothers but his sons.
      The certif says 16 years in NSW, say that’s 1842 so that would match up with 1840 leaving Ireland.
      Regards Helen

      Reply

  5. Dear James ,
    My Great great great Grandfather and Grandmother were William and Mary Jane. Patrick their son was my great great grandfather. Followed by Patrick Edward , then Gwendoline ,Valerie is my Mum. It’s absolutely amazing from their marriage the number of descendants. I am in Bombala for Easter ,and we decided to go to the cemetery to find their graves. We found the 4 generations.I have some photos of their grave sites and I will send them via Facebook. Thanks for your information, it inspired me to search for more information .
    Fiona Hamilton (nee Reid) .

    Reply

  7. Here is some further information on William ELLIOTT that I have gathered.
    He was born circa 1823 in Whatlington, Sussex, England
    His parents were Thomas ELLIOTT and Sarah MAY
    Thomas ELLIOTT was born in 1800. He married Sarah MAY in 1818
    Sarah MAY was born 1799 in Winchelsea, Sussex. Her parents were William and Ann MAY
    Thomas and Sarah had 3 children – Thomas born 1819, William born 1823 and Mary Anne born 1827
    Sarah’s husband Thomas ELLIOTT died in 1827, aged 27
    After Thomas died, Sarah married William SIMS
    Sarah and William had a child, George in 1831
    Sarah and William came to Australia as free settlers on the “Orient” which arrived in Sydney on 4 April 1839
    With Sarah and William were William (Elliott) – aged 16 and Mary Anne (Elliott) – aged 12. I’m not sure whether George was with them as he is not mentioned on the ship’s manifest.

    William and Mary Jane ELLIOTT had a home called “Happee Valle” at a place called crankys Plain near Bombala. Mary Jane’s father, Patrick, may also have lived in that area.

    Robert Malone
    Email – bobandfi@yahoo.com

    Reply

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

%d bloggers like this: