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Bridget Donnelly

 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.

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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