Hi Jen Are your Mahers originally from County Carlow? I have an Elizabeth Maher in my tree. It is believed she travelled to Australia with her brother. Judy -----Original Message----- From: aus-nsw-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:aus-nsw-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Dr Jennifer Lambert Tracey via Sent: Friday, 8 August 2014 9:32 AM To: AUS-NSW@rootsweb.com; aus-qld@rootsweb.com Subject: [AUS-NSW] MAHER researchers in NSW /Qld - assistance please. Just hoping there maybe someone on the list who can claim or assist with a Birth entry in the NSW BDMs. I have ordered the certificate however it will take 'up to 8 weeks' for it to be scanned. I am hoping this entry may be that of a sister of my elusive 'John MAHER' - supposedly born at West Maitland c. 1846. The details from the BDM entry are: MAHER, Sarah J; Parents John and Sarah Registration year: 1848; No 'District' noted. Any suggestions or assistance very much appreciated. Jen ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to AUS-NSW-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ----- No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2014.0.4716 / Virus Database: 3986/7996 - Release Date: 08/07/14 ----- No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2014.0.4716 / Virus Database: 3986/7995 - Release Date: 08/06/14
Hello Judy, and to the lists, Many thanks for your response. After more than 40 years of dedicated research we have absolutely no idea who our John Maher is, or where he / his parents came from. However I cannot pass from the possibility that he may have been connected to your sister Elizabeth. I simply don't know. When did your Elizabeth arrive / Ship etc? I would appreciate if you and others would have the time to read through the details below - just with the slightest chance you may recognise a connection as you go about your personal searches. There are several 'trees' on Ancestry that have picked up /copied incorrect information. I trust these details assist. Our 'John Maher' was supposedly born in West Maitland c.1846 no parents names or birth entry for him yet verified. To compound the issue it is possible that at some time he used the alias John Clark. John Maher's only known son was born to Anne Jane Toohey on 29th May 1881, at Thornborough on the Hodgkinson Goldfield [North Queensland]. The childs name was registered as John Henry MAHER with the father stating that he was a miner on the Tinaroo Mining Field [near Herberton NQ] and that he was born in 'West Maitland, NSW'. The birth was registered at the Courthouse in Herberton, NQ. Anne Jane Toohey died of septicaemia on 16th June 1881 two weeks after John Henry Maher was born. The baby was raised by Patrick and Mary Anne TRACEY of Herberton and later John and Catherine TRACEY SPEIRS (Patrick and Mary Anne's married daughter) and subsequently used the name 'John Henry Tracey'. He died in Brisbane on 29th August 1950. John Mahers two daughters to Anne Jane TOOHEY were Margaret (b.1875 Georgetown, NQ) and Sarah Jane (b.1879 Thornborough, NQ). These girls also bore the surname MAHER although Anne Jane Toohey and John Maher never married. When Anne Jane Toohey died, the two young girls were sent to the infamous St Joseph's Orphanage, at Bucasia, Mackay where the incidence of malaria and was attributed as the cause of death of many of the children. Bucasia's only water supply was from a well and outbreaks of typhoid were frequent due to the contamination of underground water by the proximity of pit toilets. Children removed from Bucasia to a new orphanage at Stanwell near Rockhampton on 22nd December 1885 [also known as Meteor Park and Neerkol] included Margaret Maher and her sister, Sarah Jane Maher, referred to various reports as being in a 'very critical state'. Sarah Jane was eventually removed to the Children's Hospital, Rockhampton where she died at the age of 9 years, on 4th May 1886. Margaret Maher survived and was Sent into Service at the age of 12 years, on 16th July 1888, to work for John William CARROLL, a Watchmaker, of Townsville and his wife Eugenie. No further evidence - death / marriage etc. has been found for her. It is possible that our 'John Maher' was the person who was working as a 'bushman' on Green Hills Station near Cumberland via Georgetown NQ when he died of congestion of the lungs on 17th June 1887. Following detailed investigations, this death is considered most plausibly to be that of John Maher (Clarke) father of John Henry Maher. His death certificate states that this John Maher was aged 41 years, '20 years in Queensland' and that he was born in 'Maitland, NSW. No information is provided regarding his parents or next of kin. The burial is noted as being at Cumberland, via Georgetown. The informant for the death certificate was 'Henry C. Seckington, Storeman of Cumberland'. Green Hills Station was taken up by O'Brien and Wilson in 1876. The owners of the property in the period 1879 - 1887 were O'Brien, Hunt and Steele. The most important point of reference in Seckington's information is "Maitland, NSW". Although there is a three-year discrepancy in Maher's age when related back to the statement provided by Anne Jane Toohey 1875 at the birth of their daughter Margaret, this is not unusual for Death Certificates. When John Maher registered the birth of his son, John Henry in November 1881, he stated that his age was 38 years, which would technically make his age at death 44 years - a perpetuance of the three-year discrepancy. John Henry Maher (the baby) was raised by Patrick and Mary Anne TRACEY of Herberton and later John and Catherine TRACEY SPEIRS (Patrick and Mary Anne's married daughter) and he subsequently used the name 'John Henry Tracey'. He died in Brisbane on 29th August 1950. John Henry MAHER TRACEY is my husband's grandfather. Anne Jane TOOHEY, prior to the commencement of her relationship with John MAHER c.1873, was the de-facto wife of Donald Angus McPHERSON, a publican at Cardwell NQ and later a blacksmith and publican at Georgetown, NQ. (McPherson had been married in Liverpool, England, on 5th June 1862, to a 'Margaret CAMERON' for whom no record including immigration record, has been subsequently located). Apologies for this being a bit involved, however, just letting all know that this massive 'brick wall' of mine remains steadfast, despite all efforts. Your thoughts and comments and advice, as always, much appreciated. Jen Dr. Jennifer Lambert Tracey BA(ANU);M.APP.SC.(UC); PhD (UC); MPHA; Archaeologist ~ Historian PO Box 629 Morayfield, Queensland 4506 AUSTRALIA Email: jtracey@heritagearchaeology.com.au **************************************************************************** ***************************************************** From: Judy [mailto:judejc@bigpond.com] Sent: 08 August 2014 09:53 To: 'Dr Jennifer Lambert Tracey'; aus-nsw@rootsweb.com; aus-qld@rootsweb.com Subject: RE: [AUS-NSW] MAHER researchers in NSW /Qld - assistance please. Hi Jen Are your Mahers originally from County Carlow? I have an Elizabeth Maher in my tree. It is believed she travelled to Australia with her brother. Judy -----Original Message----- From: aus-nsw-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:aus-nsw-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Dr Jennifer Lambert Tracey via Sent: Friday, 8 August 2014 9:32 AM To: AUS-NSW@rootsweb.com; aus-qld@rootsweb.com Subject: [AUS-NSW] MAHER researchers in NSW /Qld - assistance please. Just hoping there maybe someone on the list who can claim or assist with a Birth entry in the NSW BDMs. I have ordered the certificate however it will take 'up to 8 weeks' for it to be scanned. I am hoping this entry may be that of a sister of my elusive 'John MAHER' - supposedly born at West Maitland c. 1846. The details from the BDM entry are: MAHER, Sarah J; Parents John and Sarah Registration year: 1848; No 'District' noted. Any suggestions or assistance very much appreciated. Jen ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to AUS-NSW-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ----- No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2014.0.4716 / Virus Database: 3986/7996 - Release Date: 08/07/14 ----- No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2014.0.4716 / Virus Database: 3986/7995 - Release Date: 08/06/14