The second death registration transcription that I received this week from NSW Family History Transcriptions was one for my great grand Aunt Bridget Donnelly. Bridget was the daughter of James Donnelly and his wife Mary nee Gallagher and the twin sister of Mary Donnelly. According to her death registration transcription (see below) Bridget was born at Cooyal in New South Wales in about March 1870.
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| Source: Death registration transcription for Bridget Donnolly. NSW BDM Death Index No.1872/5011. Received from NSW Family History Transcriptions https://nswtranscriptions.com.au/ |
Bridget's death was registered as Bridget Donnolly in Mudgee on the 2nd February 1872 with the informant being her father James Donnolly who was a farmer from Cooyal, near Mudgee. It is stated that she died on the 31st January 1872, aged one year and ten months at Cooyal from a cold that she had since birth and that her mother was Mary Gallagher. She was unsurprisingly unmarried, had had no medical attendant and it is recorded that her burial had taken place on the 1st of February 1872 at Mudgee with the undertaker listed James Donnolly (her father? did he make her coffin and bury her himself?) with the witnesses being Thomas Gallagher & John Gallagher. Thomas and John were the brothers of Bridget's mother Mary.
Australia, Birth Index, 1788-1922
Name: Bridget Donnelly
Birth Date: 1870
Birth Place: New South Wales
Registration Year: 1870
Registration Place: Mudgee, New South Wales, Australia
Father: James Donnelly
Mother: Mary
Registration Number: 12930
Source: Record for Bridget Donnelly. Australia, Birth Index, 1788-1922. Retrieved from Ancestry.com.au
Australia, Birth Index, 1788-1922
Name: Mary Donnelly
Birth Date: 1870
Birth Place: New South Wales
Registration Year: 1870
Registration Place: Mudgee, New South Wales, Australia
Father: James Donnelly
Mother: Mary
Registration Number: 12929
Source: Record for Mary Donnelly. Australia, Birth Index, 1788-1922. Retrieved from Ancestry.com.au
Australia, Death Index, 1787-1985
Name: Bridget Donnolly
Death Date: 1872
Death Place: New South Wales
Father's Name: James
Mother's Name: Mary
Registration Year: 1872
Registration Place: Mudgee, New South Wales
Registration Number: 5011
Source: Record for Bridget Donnolly. Australia, Death Index, 1787-1985 retrieved from Ancestry.com.au
Now the puzzling thing is that there is a record in the same year for an inquest into the death of a Bridget Donnelly with a recording of accidentally drowning being her cause of death.
New South Wales, Australia, Registers of Coroners' Inquests, 1821-1937
Name: Bridget Donnelly
Death Year: Abt 1872
Inquest Date: 19 Feb 1872
Inquest Place: Muguee
Household Members
Source: Record for Bridget Donnelly. New South Wales, Australia, Registers of Coroners' Inquests, 1821-1937. Retrieved from Ancestry.com.au
The recorded details of which are:
Inquest No. 209.
Date of Inquest or Inquery: 19th Febry
Where Held: Muguee
Name of deceased: Bridget Donnelly
Before Whom: ? Day ?
When received: 11th March 1872
Finding: Accidentally drowned
Source: Record for Bridget Donnelly. New South Wales, Australia, Registers of Coroners' Inquests, 1821-1937. Retrieved from Ancestry.com.au
Unfortunately I have not been able to find any newspaper articles on Trove that reference this Inquest and the only
NSW BDM Death Indexes have the following listed for Bridget Donnelly's or variations thereof for 1870-1872:
DONNELAN BRIDGET
2763/1872
AGE 21 YEARS
DIED ALBURY
ALBURY
DONNOLLY BRIDGET
5011/1872
JAMES
MARY
MUDGEE
I have not been able to find out any further information on Bridget Donnelan from Albury thus far and so at this moment in time I am left wondering if my Great Grand Aunt Bridget actually died from Accidental drowning rather than a cold. If she did why did the family report the cause of death as a cold and if it is her death that this inquest was held for, what prompted it to be initiated? More questions than answers yet again, meaning it is definitely a case of more research required with this one!
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