Hi all, My ggg grand aunt, Ann Kelly nee Cunningham died at Close's Swamp on 25 Jul 1856. Cause of death is shown as "Died by drowning(DT's)" which doesn't herald well for our Ann. This was probably reported in the newspaper of the time, but I note the online Maitland Mercury is only available to 1855. Can anybody help with a newspaper lookup? Can anyone offer anything more positive as to the whereabouts of Close's Swamp? My understanding is that it is in the Maitland/Morpeth area and I assume named after Edward Charles Close, founder of Morpeth (refer http://www.huntervalleygenealogy.com/close.htm ). Ann was Catholic. I suppose there are many Catholic cemeteries in that area that she may have been buried in. Any suggestions? Regards, Russell Orchard

Hi Russell, If you don't have any luck with a newspaper look-up, the State Library (Sydney) has the MM on microfilm, so if you ever get down there ... According to W.A. Wood, Dawn in the Valley - "Major Morisett certified on 28 July, 1822, that Lieut. Close took possession of his land by permission of Gov. Macquarie and commenced building his house at a very heavy expense in the belief that the lagoon would be the boundary at the back and the remainder of the grant would extend along the river. Gov. Brisbane's regulation restricting the river frontage of each grant to one mile not only forced Close to take the lagoon and swamp at the rear but the poor land beyond it .... " Perhaps this part of his grant was known locally as Close's Swamp ? "Brisbane overcame these difficulties by increasing Close's grant to 2,300 acres in two portions, which exceeded the regulated river frontage, and put him in possession of the whole of the land suitable for a town at the head of deep-water river navigation ... " Morpeth ! After realising Brisbane should not have alienated the high ground to a private holder, Gov. Darling tried to resume some of it back ! There was a lot a haggling - Close wanted to be compensated for all the work and money he had spent in clearing the land but Darling wouldn't meet the price Close was asking. I'm not sure whether they did eventually settle on a price, but in the end Close did free that part of his land that forms present-day Morpeth, which at the time was becoming an important river port. The greater part of Close's grants remained in the family for nearly a century, before being auctioned around 1920. (Ref: The Morpeth Story) There were a few cemeteries in the area in operation at the time - Morpeth, Campbell's Hill (formerly West Maitland), St. Peters Old Burial Ground (East Maitland); and Hiland Crescent. I had a quick look in the Maitland City Council Burial Records CD, but no listing. Also, there are two Inquest listings in Death in the Hunter - BUT - the dates are a little out - Anne Kelly, 42, held at East Maitland, 26th August, 1856 and Mary Ann Kelly, 46, held at East Maitland, 2nd September, 1856. They usually held the inquests fairly quickly ? so probably not. Regards, Diane ----- Original Message ----- From: "Russell Orchard" <russorchard@ozemail.com.au> Subject: [H,H,HV] Close's Swamp - Ann Kelly nee Cunningham > Hi all, > My ggg grand aunt, Ann Kelly nee Cunningham died at Close's > Swamp on 25 Jul 1856. Cause of death is shown as "Died by > drowning(DT's)" which doesn't herald well for our Ann. This was > probably reported in the newspaper of the time, but I note the online > Maitland Mercury is only available to 1855. > Can anybody help with a newspaper lookup? > Can anyone offer anything more positive as to the whereabouts of > Close's Swamp? My understanding is that it is in the Maitland/Morpeth > area and I assume named after Edward Charles Close, founder of > Morpeth (refer http://www.huntervalleygenealogy.com/close.htm ). > Ann was Catholic. I suppose there are many Catholic cemeteries in > that area that she may have been buried in. Any suggestions? > Regards, > Russell Orchard

Hi Russell, Did you have any luck with your Ann Kelly. I go to Newcastle library once a fortnight, which wont be until Friday, 16th August. If you dont find anything, I can look up the papers for you them. Regards Jean. From Lake Macquarie NSW. jonnianne@bigpond.com Researching: Eade, Jolley, Jackson and Atkinson. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Russell Orchard" <russorchard@ozemail.com.au> To: <AUS-NSW-HILLS-HAWKESBURY-HUNTER-VALLEY-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, July 30, 2002 11:09 PM Subject: [H,H,HV] Close's Swamp - Ann Kelly nee Cunningham > Hi all, > > My ggg grand aunt, Ann Kelly nee Cunningham died at Close's Swamp on 25 Jul > 1856. Cause of death is shown as "Died by drowning(DT's)" which doesn't > herald well for our Ann. This was probably reported in the newspaper of the > time, but I note the online Maitland Mercury is only available to 1855. Can > anybody help with a newspaper lookup? > > Can anyone offer anything more positive as to the whereabouts of Close's > Swamp? My understanding is that it is in the Maitland/Morpeth area and I > assume named after Edward Charles Close, founder of Morpeth (refer > http://www.huntervalleygenealogy.com/close.htm ). > > Ann was Catholic. I suppose there are many Catholic cemeteries in that area > that she may have been buried in. Any suggestions? > > Regards, > Russell Orchard > > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 >