Catherine Meany Convict 'Arabian' arr. Hobart 1847
Catherine Meany is possibly a distant relative of my paternal ggmother Mary Meany of Clontra West in Co Clare, who arrived in Sydney, Australia in 1878 aboard the 'La Hogue' with her parents, James & Mary Crough and eight siblings.
Over the last year, I have been involved in the 'Roses from the Heart' Project initiated by Christine Henri in Tasmania. The project aims to honour the 25560 female convicts transported from the UK and Ireland. I 'adopted' Catherine as my research subject and made a bonnet for her. The bonnet is one of thousands which will be displayed in the UK in 2010. If you would like more information about the project, the website ishttp://www.femalefactory.com.au/exhibit.htmhttp://www.femalefactory.com.au/exhibit.htm. Hopefully any closer relatives do not mind my contribution.
The Tasmanian archives show that Catherine Meany was born in Co Galway in 1824. Convicted of larceny in the Tipperary Court for stealing 15 shillings, at 30 years of age, she was transported from Dublin to Hobart on the "Arabian" (page 87 0f the ship's convict passenger list: http://search.archives.tas.gov.au/ImageViewer/image_viewer.htm?CON41-1-12,156,87,L,80http://search.archives.tas.gov.au/ImageViewer/image_viewer.htm?CON41-1-12,156,87,L,80 ) on 25 February 1847.
As convict 721, she was 'detained' for 7.5 years at the Female Factory at Cascades outside Hobart. She was granted a ticket of leave on 19 March 1849 to marry Joseph Goss at Kingston. Further records show that Catherine then applied to marry George Nelmes on 23 October 1849. In this second ticket of leave, she cited her transportation ship as the 'Tasmania'. However, there is no record of her is on that ship, which, incidentally, left Dublin in September 1845 before she had left Tipperary! Cross checking these days has been made easier with databases. However, the secrets which they reveal reflect the hardships of the times and a woman's struggle to survive and lead a 'normal' life. Name changes are a minor detail in the greater scheme of things.
I would be grateful if anyone could give me and info which may help me link all these pieces of the CM puzzle with details of Catherine's birth: parents, place, dates etc. In my scant & possibly 'off-course-completely' research, I have found a possibility that she married a Thomas Donnellon in Clashduff in 1837 and had one son Michael b 31 June 1839. The ages in this scenario seem likely. However, this does not correspond with information from Robyn Nelms who started an earlier CM thread. Her information re birth etc would be the most correct.
I would agreatly appreciate any help.
Pauline
More Replies:
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Re: Catherine Meany Convict 'Arabian' arr. Hobart 1847
Rob Nelms 10/16/11
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Re: Catherine Meany Convict 'Arabian' arr. Hobart 1847
Rob Nelms 10/04/09