Tracing Family Branches

Today's snippet involves my first cousins twice removed Sylvester Gervase Donnelly and Frances Eulalie McGuiness nee Donnelly and their partners. Source: MENDOORAN (1946, January 17). Gilgandra Weekly (NSW : 1942 - 1955), p. 4. Retrieved  from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article100317846 Transcript: Police Sergeant McGuinness and Mrs. McGuiness are at present the guests of Mr. S. G. Donnelly (brother of Mrs. McGuiness) and Mrs. Donnelly, and will also spent a short holiday at 'Bone Bone,' the home of Mr. and Miss Buckley.

Margaret Annie Ferguson formerly Donnelly nee Buckley was the wife of my second great uncle Edward Donnelly.  Born in Denby in 1874 to John and Mary Buckley.  She married Edward Donnelly in 1896 and together they had two children Sylvester Gervase Donnelly and Frances Eulalie Donnelly.  In 1908 at the age of thirty four Edward died and she was left a widow with two young children to raise.  In 1929 aged fifty five she married Joseph Samuel Ferguson.  Joseph died in 1949. Margaret died on the 17th of February 1955 and was buried at Coonabarabran.  Her burial details and photograph of her grave site can be found here . Source: OBITUARY (1955, February 2). Gilgandra Weekly (NSW : 1942 - 1955), p. 8. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article100346420 Transcript: OBITUARY. The death occurred at a private hospital in Tamworth of Mrs. Margaret Ann Ferguson 80.  Mrs. Ferguson was born at Denby in the Teridgerie district, and was the...

My great great uncle Edward Donnelly was born in 1868 the son of James Donnelly and his wife Mary nee Gallagher.  He was destined to follow his father into farming until he suffered a life altering bout of rheumatic fever when he was sixteen.  With hard manual labour ruled out for him, a change in career direction was needed so he returned to school and eventually passed the examinations to become a teacher. In 1885 he was appointed as a House To House teacher at Bourbah and Merri Merri. Source: Government Gazette Appointments and Employment (1885, September 4). New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900), p. 5774. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article219876834 In 1886 he was instructed to act as teacher at Bundemar Provisional.  According to his teachers records in 1887 he was severally reprimanded for ill-treatment of a female pupil and was to be removed to another school without delay.  Then on the 23rd February 1887 he w...

Today's post concerns the wife of my Great Great Uncle Edward Donnelly.  Edward died on the 9th February 1908 (see here for his headstone inscription and photograph) leaving his wife of twelve years Margaret (nee Buckley) a widow with two young children, Sylvester about eleven years old and Frances about nine years old, to raise alone.  I had never heard of this practice until I found this article and I am very glad that she was given an option like this to see her through an extremely difficult time.  Margaret married a Joseph S. Ferguson in 1929 and lived until she was 85 years old (see here for her headstone inscription and photograph). Source: A Humane Custom. (1908, November 19). Mudgee Guardian and North-Western Representative (NSW : 1890 - 1954), p. 14. Retrieved October 14, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article157664199 Transcript: A Human Custom. Mrs. E. Donnelly (daughter of Mr. Luckie, of Mundooran, and widow of the late Mr. E...

I have previously blogged about my my first cousins two times removed Sylvester Gervase and Frances Eulalie Donnelly (see here ), when they survived a bad experience at the beach.  Today's post about them unfortunately does not have a happy ending. Over forty years after that day at the beach tragedy was to befall the siblings at a level crossing in wet conditions. Source: Woman Dies In Crash At Crossing. (1950, November 25). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 4. Retrieved August 28, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18188499 Transcript: Woman Dies In Crash At Crossing A woman was killed and a man critically injured yesterday when their car collided with a diesel train at Merrygoen, near Mudgee. The dead woman was Mrs. Frances McInnes 45, of Amplesort Street, Albury. The driver of the car, Silvester Donnelly, 53, of Merrygoen, had his skull fractured. He was taken to the Merrygoen Hospital in a serious condition. CAR WRECKED...

This is a very recent find for me about my first cousins two times removed Sylvester Gervase and Frances Eulalie Donnelly.  A day at the beach quickly turned into a traumatic experience for them all.   Source:  DANGERS OF THE SURF. (1910, March 1). Singleton Argus (NSW : 1880 - 1954) , p. 3. Retrieved May 28, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article76911473 Transcript: DANGERS OF THE SURF. Two Ladies in Difficulties. Shortly after five o'clock on Sunday afternoon a sudden commotion amongst the frequenters of the Newcastle beach drew attention to the fact that two lady bathers were placed in a dangerous position. Miss G. Buckley was bathing with her niece, Miss Frances Donnelly, in the breakers at the ladies' reserve.  The tide was almost to its ebb limit, and the girls were disporting themselves in the line of breakers close to the northern boundary of the reserve.  Suddenly Miss Buckley was startled by cries from her companion, and realis...