JOHN MCBRIDE

Our story about John and Anna is based around Gweedore and possibly Dublin. Trying to track the history of either is very difficult, as we have little information about them. Based on death certificate information, Anna was born around 1839, probably in Dublin, with John being born around 1836 in Gweedore. The story is that Anna was the daughter of a wealthy land owner Presbyterian, who was also a solicitor by the name of Thomas Keogh. John was a Catholic, who had been betrothed to a Catholic girl and he worked as a groomsman for the Solicitor. Anna and John fell in love, and decided as all social values were against them, they would elope, so sometime around 1854 they left Ireland and headed for Australia. The interesting part is that we cannot find a record of either of them arriving in the eastern states, or leaving Ireland or arriving in Adelaide.

The Irish were not good at keeping records, there was no central library of records till around 1880, most earlier records were church records, and they did not necessarily reflect the true age, name or status of the people involved. Around 1880 the Irish started maintaining a registry similiar to what we have in Australia, however, much of it was lost in the revolt and riots of 1921. However, countries that received immigrants, such as the US, Britain, New Zealand, Australia and European countries did keep records. There are many shipping lists detailing the ships and names of passengers who arrived in Australia.

In the 19th century, ships used to leave Ireland, head to Southampton, Liverpool or Plymouth, discharge and reload passengers and then head for various destinations, including Port Adelaide, Sydney or Moreton Bay (Brisbane).

Up until 1880 some of the ships lists have been lost, although a good many did survive. Searching for John McBride, Anna Keogh, Anne McKeown, Mary, Maria, Theresa or even just searching for McBride or McKeown, or Keogh, and variations on these names did not turn up anyone who could remotely be our relatives. It is probable they changed their names in order to board a ship, as in those days, particularly if leaving Ireland, a person did not have to provide identification. A common practice for people who had a desire to hide their identity was to wait by the ships while boarding, and if someone didn’t arrive to announce themselves as those people, therefore boarding under someone else’s name. Another less common occurrence was to be assigned a name if the recorder registering people could not understand them. To illustrate difficulties with names on shipping lists, the Donegal Relief Fund ships lists give ample example. County Donegal was considered one of the worst affected by the famine, due in part to actions by the British and the Scottish. As part of the push to send people overseas, those who could pay their own way did so, for others, various programs run by overseas organisations helped them to travel. One such fund set up and managed by the Bishop of Brisbane in Australia, was the Donegal Relief Fund and on one ship, the Lady Emma Bruce, there are 5 young men named John McBride, all from Gweedore with different parents. Some have thought that one of these may be our ancestor, however, the first ship arrived in 1858 and William Thomas was born near Adelaide in 1857.

There is no record of the marriage of John and Anna and interestingly, on both the birth certificate for William and the death certificate for John, no mention is made of his Irish heritage or his relationship status to Anna. This is not entirely uncommon. Due to the actions of the British in Ireland, many of the Irish on arrival in Australia so distrusted the British, they refused to register births, deaths and marriages within the British system, which we still use today. So births, deaths and marriages were, at best, recorded within the church in which the event took place. Often there was no official recognition in the event of a birth or marriage.

ANNA MARIA KEOGH

Anna was William Thomas’s mother, giving birth in Bowden, South Australia. Bowden was established as a village, along with Brompton, in the town of Hindmarsh around 1838, and Bowden and Brompton in particular housed many Irish families. Anna was listed as Maria Keogh on the birth certificate - She used Anna and Maria at different times, by the time she married Thomas Roach, she was Anna Maria. She also converted to Catholicism somewhere between leaving Ireland and having William. We don’t know anything of their life here until the death of John in Kapunda in 1867. Anna also gave birth to James around 1864 and Frances Elizabeth Theresa in 1866. The birth certificates or church notices for neither have been found, and so the dates of birth have been assumed based on their marriage registrations and death certificates.

Anna was left in poor circumstances by John’s death, and wrote to her family asking to come back to Ireland. The elopement of Anna and John was a terrible scandal in the Gweedore district, and the response from her family was No. Anna turned to the nuns at the Kapunda Convent for support, who taught her to sew and assisted her in providing for her children. Eventually she wed Thomas Roach, a miller and also from Fords, on 29 July 1869, 20 months after John’s death, in the St Peter and Paul Church in Gawler. She was listed as a widow, Maria McBride aged 30, her father listed as Thomas Keogh. Thomas Roach was listed as being 29, single and his father was Michael Roach. No evidence has been found of children to Thomas Roach, so we assume the children with John were her only children. Anna and Thomas lived in Eudunda, and she died October 16, 1907. Confirmation of her children is contained in the death notice, listing William and James of Eurelia, and Mrs James Jackett (Frances) of Eudunda. Anna must have arrived in Australia around 1855 based on the information contained in the death notice. She would only have been around 16 years old, her first child being born when she was 18.

Thomas Roach, and the Jackett family stayed in Eudunda, and further connection with the McBride family is contained in the thank you notice inserted by Frances Jackett and Lucy McBride (Sis) after the death of Thomas Roach. Lucy McBride lived with Anna and Thomas for several years as a child, as her family decided she would be better off living with her grandparents.

John and Anna’s Children:

William Thomas McBride 1857-1921 - born 29 November 1857 in Bowden married Elizabeth Brown 17 April 1885 in the Roman Catholic Church in Orroroo. He died of typhoid in Renmark, 27 May 1921 and is buried in the Renmark Cemetery. The cross marking his grave site has the date as 21 May 1921, but most references list the date as 27 May.

James McBride 1864 -1932 - James’ birth year is somewhere between 1860 and 1864. The death notice from Elizabeth and family stated his age as 68 in 1932 which would put his birth year around 1864 and this is more reliable perhaps than other listings of his age. James married Catherine Daly on 13 Jan 1898 in the St Raphael Church Carrieton, the notice stating he was 36 and she was 41. This would have made his birth year 1862. The official death notice stated his age in 1932 as 72, which would have put his birth year at 1860. Discrepancies were common in this time - James birth certificate hasn’t been found so these others forms of identification are all we have. If births weren’t officially listed, then people didn’t necessarily know their own birth date. Depending on circumstance, James or others may have attributed an age to him.

Catherine had been married previously, her husband Patrick Daly died in 1879 leaving her with a son, Michael. Catherine’s maiden name was Monaghan. James died in Orroroo 17 March, 1932.

Frances Elizabeth Theresa 1866 - 1920 - Francis was born in 1866, this deduced from information from her marriage registration. The marriage was conducted 23 Feb 1895 to James Jackett who was born in Cornwall England and emigated with his family in 1881. They settled in the Eudunda area and he married Frances at the Bride’s residence in Eudunda. Frances died 5 November 1920 and her burial site is in Cheltenham cemetery.

The Journal (Adelaide, SA : 1912 - 1923)  Fri 5 Nov 1920  Page 2  Family Notices JACKETT.-On the 4th November at Adelaide.  Frances Elizabeth Teresa, beloved wife of James Jackett.of Kilkenny, aged 54 years'.

 Observer (Adelaide, SA : 1905 - 1931)  Sat 5 Nov 1921  Page 27  Family Notices and in The Register (Adelaide, SA : 1901 - 1929)  Thu 3 Nov 1921  Page 6  Family Notices JACKETT.-In loving memory of my dear wife and mother, Frances Elizabeth Teresa, who died on the 4th November, 1920.-Inserted by her loving husband and children.

At 44 years in 1916, James joined the army, was shipped overseas and was wounded in France. He was eventually discharged back to Australia in 1918. James died 7 November 1951 in Glanville South Australia and was buried in the West Tce Cemetery. Frances and James had 8 children - Gertrude 1895-1971, Francis 1897-1897, Lawrence 1898-1975, Redvers 1900-1973, Hettie 1902-1902, Leo 1902-1984, Kathleen 1904-1986, Mary 1906-1996