Monday 7 May 2012

Matrilineal Monday - My grandmothers' maternal ancestors

Mary Mulloughny (various spellings on various documents) was my great-great-great grandmother.

The only thing I know about her is that she married Cornelius Kelly in the Parish of Boherlahan, Dualla, Tipperary, Ireland on the 6 Feb 1834. 
Witnesses to this Roman Catholic marriage were Rev. D. Corcoran and Daniel Mahony.  

Mary and Cornelius had 6 children.  Only one was a girl and she was my great-great grandmother, Margaret Alice Kelly who was born in 1834.  
She was baptised at Dualla and the sponsors of her baptism were Lawrence Mockler and Judith Walsh.

Margaret Alice Kelly came to Australia sometime in the mid 1850s.  I haven't found exactly when or on what ship she came.  Her son John Felix Morgan was informant on her death certificate and he stated she had lived in the colony of Victoria for 52 years.  If he had the years correct she would have arrived in Australia in 1852.

In searches of passenger lists there are a few Margaret Kellys and only a couple of Alice Kellys.  I could find no Margaret Alice Kellys.

On the 30th of June 1858 she married John Morgan at St. Francis church Melbourne.  Three of her youngest brothers, aged 16, 13 and 12, arrived in Australia just in time for her wedding.  
Could this have been because their mother, Mary Mulloughny, had died?  
Their father, Cornelius Kelly, had died around 1851.  

The certificate for her wedding was the last record of Margaret Alice Kelly being called Margaret.  From then on any record, document and news article referred to her as Alice.  Read more about Alice here


Margaret "Alice" Morgan nee Kelly


My great grandmother, Mary Agnes Morgan - daughter of Alice and John Morgan, was born on the 17th of October, 1864 at Moonee Ponds in Victoria.


Young Mary Agnes Morgan
Mary Agnes Morgan
Mary Morgan married John Adams in Essendon, Victoria on the 7th of November, 1887.  They had 7 children - 4 boys and 3 girls.  The second youngest child was my grandmother, Brenda Mary Adams, born in Kensington, Victoria on the 12th of February, 1905.  Mary and John's marriage did not continue happily though.  You can read that story here

Mary died of cardiac failure on the 24th of August 1933 at 10 Molesworth Street, North Melbourne, Victoria.


Mary Agnes Morgan about 1930
Some of the life story of Mary's daughter (my grandmother) Brenda Mary Adams  is very sad but later she married my grandfather, had my father and then I came along and I'd like to think they lived happily ever after.
Myself and my grandmother Brenda Forsyth nee Adams


1 comment:

  1. How lovely to have such old photographs of your ancestors.

    ReplyDelete