Hello everyone, In 1903, a Sydney betting shop owner offering attractive odds collected a large sum in wagers on the Melbourne Cup. After the race, the winning punters gathered merrily outside his shop. Life was good. Then they were told there would be no payout that day and joy turned to rage, for they correctly suspected the owner had fled with their treasure. The shop was wrecked, an employee in it was lucky to escape alive and the police had to restore order. Sydney's newspapers spread the story and the state premier promised the law would do its job. Arrest warrants were issued, but the two culprits named were never found. Until now. I have inherited a collection of family papers that is helping me uncover the details of this incident, and am researching and writing a book about the lives of the people involved in it. The betting shop riot is just one element in a family saga of fame and wealth, sexual dalliances with huge consequences and lucrative illegal gambling. I will gladly share more of this story with genealogists whose research coincides with mine and who can help me with details. There was a circle of people in Sydney who knew all about the great Melbourne Cup heist and enjoyed inside jokes about it for years. I'm hoping more of their letters and postcards to each other will have survived. Below are details of people with connections to the story. I am not suggesting that all are implicated in a crime; most are friends, relatives or associates of the guilty parties, or their descendants. I have also given some details of their lives to help with identification. Almost all lived in the Sydney area, although some also spent time elsewhere. Here is an alphabetical list of the surnames: ALLARD, BRADLEY, BRANDTMAN, CAMPBELL, CHOISY, COUSINS, CURTIN, DAVIES, FARMER, HICKEY, MOONEY, HYLAND, JAEDE, JOHNSON, SHORTEL, SUSSMILCH, WANGENHEIM, WISEMAN, WOLSCH. Below are further details about these people. I would be very pleased to be in touch with any descendants of these families or genealogists with a research interest in them. Brothers Thomas SHORTEL and Sydney Walter SHORTEL (also spelled Shortell, Shortal, Shortall and even Shortle or Shortill), born in Sydney 1869 and 1875. Parents Thomas SHORTELL (c. 1845-1886), a tailor, and Teresa CAMPBELL (c. 1849-1880), both born in the British Isles, lived in Sydney most of their lives and died there. A third brother, William SHORTAL, a shearer, died in Blackall, Qld., in 1893, aged 25. I have a small photo that could be of Thomas (Senior) and Teresa and a matching photo of Drumcree Church in Portadown, Northern Ireland, which I suspect meant something to Teresa's family. Does anyone know of a way to look up births/baptisms in County Armagh without having to book an air ticket to Belfast? Margaret CAMPBELL (c. 1842-1911; sister of Teresa above). First husband was Felix CHOISY, tailor, died Sydney 1875; they had a daughter, Mary BRANDTMAN. Second husband was Richard MOONEY (1823-1915), also a tailor. They had three children, Beatrice MOONEY (born c. 1880), Margaret DAVIES (born c. 1882) and Edward MOONEY (born c. 1884). Gustavus (Gus) WANGENHEIM (c. 1869-1910), a business associate of Thomas Shortel's. An inventor. His father of the same name was a well-known hotelier and businessman in Sydney. His mother, Elizabeth WANGENHEIM, was herself a presence in business and city affairs. Florence Josephine HYLAND (c. 1874-1901), daughter of Matthew HYLAND (c. 1844-1878) and Anna HICKEY. Florence died of tuberculosis at Springwood in the Blue Mountains at the age of 27. She never married but, in 1893 at the age of 22, gave birth to a baby that died after three weeks. She had a sister, Julia Constance HYLAND, who married William Walter FARMER in 1899. Jane Victoria BRADLEY (born Melbourne 1870, died Sydney 1894), daughter of Charles Francis BRADLEY (c. 1828-1911) and Louisa WISEMAN, who divorced in 1875, after which Louisa married Arthur NICHOLLS in Sydney. Jane Victoria Bradley died in childbirth in Sydney in 1894, but the child, Victoria Louisa BRADLEY, survived and later became known as Victoria JOHNSON after her adoption by an aunt, Annie JOHNSON, wife of William Henry JOHNSON. Jane Victoria Bradley had a brother, Charles Francis BRADLEY (same name as his father; born Melbourne 1868) who also moved to the Sydney area and had several children. Christian Bernhard SUSSMILCH, music professor (1829-1905), who married Anna Emilie MERKLE in Sydney in 1869. They had six children who survived to adulthood and this very musical family is well documented in public trees on Ancestry.com. One daughter, Pauline Maryann SUSSMILCH (1871-1950), married Thomas SHORTEL in 1896, and was his wife at the time of the Melbourne Cup incident. Another daughter, Emma Emilie SUSSMILCH, married Horace Bateley ALLARD, and they had two daughters. Dora Anna WOLSCH (1869-1951), who married Johannes Heinrich JAEDE, was a good friend of Pauline's. She moved from Sydney to the Melbourne suburb of Ivanhoe for the last decades of her life. Elizabeth CURTIN (born c. 1865) married William COUSINS (c. 1862-1887), who died after being struck by a train. They had two daughters, Emily COUSINS (born c. 1884) and Agnes COUSINS (born 1887, may have been registered as Mary). When Elizabeth COUSINS remarried, to Thomas SHORTEL in 1888, these daughters disappear from the scene. There is no mention of them when Elizabeth and Thomas divorce in 1892; the court hears only about their own daughter. I would love to find out what happened to them, as well as to Elizabeth herself. If you know more about any of these people and are interested in the story, please get in touch. Thanks John Fuller

Hi John I don't know whether this site may be of any help for you for Co Armagh, but may be worth a try. http://www.rootsireland.ie/ You can join to view but need to buy credits to actually buy the record if you find any you are interested in. I know they have increased their price in the last 12 months but haven't used it during this time. Cheers Joan Hello everyone, In 1903, a Sydney betting shop owner offering attractive odds collected a large sum in wagers on the Melbourne Cup. After the race, the winning punters gathered merrily outside his shop. Life was good. Then they were told there would be no payout that day and joy turned to rage, for they correctly suspected the owner had fled with their treasure. The shop was wrecked, an employee in it was lucky to escape alive and the police had to restore order. Sydney's newspapers spread the story and the state premier promised the law would do its job. Arrest warrants were issued, but the two culprits named were never found. Until now. I have inherited a collection of family papers that is helping me uncover the details of this incident, and am researching and writing a book about the lives of the people involved in it. The betting shop riot is just one element in a family saga of fame and wealth, sexual dalliances with huge consequences and lucrative illegal gambling. I will gladly share more of this story with genealogists whose research coincides with mine and who can help me with details. There was a circle of people in Sydney who knew all about the great Melbourne Cup heist and enjoyed inside jokes about it for years. I'm hoping more of their letters and postcards to each other will have survived. Below are details of people with connections to the story. I am not suggesting that all are implicated in a crime; most are friends, relatives or associates of the guilty parties, or their descendants. I have also given some details of their lives to help with identification. Almost all lived in the Sydney area, although some also spent time elsewhere. Here is an alphabetical list of the surnames: ALLARD, BRADLEY, BRANDTMAN, CAMPBELL, CHOISY, COUSINS, CURTIN, DAVIES, FARMER, HICKEY, MOONEY, HYLAND, JAEDE, JOHNSON, SHORTEL, SUSSMILCH, WANGENHEIM, WISEMAN, WOLSCH. Below are further details about these people. I would be very pleased to be in touch with any descendants of these families or genealogists with a research interest in them. Brothers Thomas SHORTEL and Sydney Walter SHORTEL (also spelled Shortell, Shortal, Shortall and even Shortle or Shortill), born in Sydney 1869 and 1875. Parents Thomas SHORTELL (c. 1845-1886), a tailor, and Teresa CAMPBELL (c. 1849-1880), both born in the British Isles, lived in Sydney most of their lives and died there. A third brother, William SHORTAL, a shearer, died in Blackall, Qld., in 1893, aged 25. I have a small photo that could be of Thomas (Senior) and Teresa and a matching photo of Drumcree Church in Portadown, Northern Ireland, which I suspect meant something to Teresa's family. Does anyone know of a way to look up births/baptisms in County Armagh without having to book an air ticket to Belfast? Margaret CAMPBELL (c. 1842-1911; sister of Teresa above). First husband was Felix CHOISY, tailor, died Sydney 1875; they had a daughter, Mary BRANDTMAN. Second husband was Richard MOONEY (1823-1915), also a tailor. They had three children, Beatrice MOONEY (born c. 1880), Margaret DAVIES (born c. 1882) and Edward MOONEY (born c. 1884). Gustavus (Gus) WANGENHEIM (c. 1869-1910), a business associate of Thomas Shortel's. An inventor. His father of the same name was a well-known hotelier and businessman in Sydney. His mother, Elizabeth WANGENHEIM, was herself a presence in business and city affairs. Florence Josephine HYLAND (c. 1874-1901), daughter of Matthew HYLAND (c. 1844-1878) and Anna HICKEY. Florence died of tuberculosis at Springwood in the Blue Mountains at the age of 27. She never married but, in 1893 at the age of 22, gave birth to a baby that died after three weeks. She had a sister, Julia Constance HYLAND, who married William Walter FARMER in 1899. Jane Victoria BRADLEY (born Melbourne 1870, died Sydney 1894), daughter of Charles Francis BRADLEY (c. 1828-1911) and Louisa WISEMAN, who divorced in 1875, after which Louisa married Arthur NICHOLLS in Sydney. Jane Victoria Bradley died in childbirth in Sydney in 1894, but the child, Victoria Louisa BRADLEY, survived and later became known as Victoria JOHNSON after her adoption by an aunt, Annie JOHNSON, wife of William Henry JOHNSON. Jane Victoria Bradley had a brother, Charles Francis BRADLEY (same name as his father; born Melbourne 1868) who also moved to the Sydney area and had several children. Christian Bernhard SUSSMILCH, music professor (1829-1905), who married Anna Emilie MERKLE in Sydney in 1869. They had six children who survived to adulthood and this very musical family is well documented in public trees on Ancestry.com. One daughter, Pauline Maryann SUSSMILCH (1871-1950), married Thomas SHORTEL in 1896, and was his wife at the time of the Melbourne Cup incident. Another daughter, Emma Emilie SUSSMILCH, married Horace Bateley ALLARD, and they had two daughters. Dora Anna WOLSCH (1869-1951), who married Johannes Heinrich JAEDE, was a good friend of Pauline's. She moved from Sydney to the Melbourne suburb of Ivanhoe for the last decades of her life. Elizabeth CURTIN (born c. 1865) married William COUSINS (c. 1862-1887), who died after being struck by a train. They had two daughters, Emily COUSINS (born c. 1884) and Agnes COUSINS (born 1887, may have been registered as Mary). When Elizabeth COUSINS remarried, to Thomas SHORTEL in 1888, these daughters disappear from the scene. There is no mention of them when Elizabeth and Thomas divorce in 1892; the court hears only about their own daughter. I would love to find out what happened to them, as well as to Elizabeth herself. If you know more about any of these people and are interested in the story, please get in touch. Thanks John Fuller