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The Driscoll family lineage that exists in Victoria, Australia today owes its history in the main to the Driscolls who emmigrated to the Bendigo Goldfields in the mid 1800's.
Being of good Catholic family stock, John Driscoll emmigrated to Bendigo to search for Gold about 1850, arriving as a single man from the County Cork.
He married in 1856 young Catherine Lenane of County Clare, who sadly passed away in 1859. John re-married in 1860 to Johanna Harrington of County Cork.
John fathered several children and set in place a tradition for large families, which resulted in the Driscolls flourishing quickly. Most children had large families of their own, and for many, concentrated around Bendigo with some venturing onto the big city of Melbourne.
Driscolls were cast in the mould of their ancestors; they are typically hard-working, working class people, with family values and a love for their greater family. I recall in days gone by during the 1970's, there would be collectively 50-70 family members at our November Christmas gathering and these were only descendants of my grandfather.
Slowly, the Driscolls of the very early part of the 1900's have all moved on, and there is little family history, even anecdotal information, recorded.
Many Driscolls will be able to quickly trace their grandparents to inner Melbourne suburbs. And of these, most will connect back to their ancestors in Bendigo. The Cemetery records at Bendigo identify a small number of Driscolls, and these are mostly grandparents and great grandparents of those Victorian Driscolls looking at this site.
There is little research beyond John. As my great great grandfather, I have information only of his parents' names being John and Mary (nee Coughland/Coghland) of County Cork. Country Cork in Ireland contains the highest proportion of Driscoll ancestors, as signified by the web site (check links on this site) which is a research site dedicated to Driscoll family members collecting and transferring what is mainly handwritten and widely distributed records in parishes etc.
The Driscolls offer interesting research and history as they track closely with what is the major history of Victoria - its development due to, and after, the 1850's goldrush up to the present day.
So look up your Driscoll family line and share whatever you have to fill the gaps of the family of the irish Immigrant John Driscoll, his descendants and his ancestors.
Regards to all those who have been touched by a Driscoll.
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