John Cooney

John was a farmer of Cashel in Tipperary, Ireland. When their daughter Bridget was born their townland was listed as Mt. Judkin, but for later children it is listed as Hore Abbey.  Apparently only a road separates these two townlands. It seems that the family didn't all migrate to Australia together, in fact there is no record of John's wife, Honoria, coming and it is believed that she may have died in Ireland.

The baptismal registers for Cashel list a John Cooney and a Catherine Cooney as sponsors at the birth of two of John and Honoria's children.

The Griffiths Valuations for 5 Oct 1850 list a John Cooney Jr  as leasing a house, offices & land of over 20 acres in Hore Abbey.

John also appears to have been amongst the Tithe Defaulters of 1831 as John Cooney, a farmer of Hore Abbey, Hore Abbey, Middlethird, Tipperary is listed amongst these.  Also listed are Dennis and Thomas Cooney, both farmers of Brittas, Hore Abbey, Middlethird, Tipperary. All occupants of land were required to pay an annual tithe (or religious tax) of 10% of the agricultural produce generated by that holding. This money was demanded from all landholders, irrespective of their religion, and was paid directly to the official state church, the Anglican (Episcopalian) Church of Ireland.  Ever since the sixteenth century when Henry VIII transferred the ownership of tithes from Catholic priests and monasteries to the reformed Protestant clergymen and laymen, the Catholics of Ireland—the overwhelming majority of the population—were left in the unusual position of having to finance a church to which they did not belong and which was in fact hostile to them. Irish Presbyterians, who had their own church to support, objected to the payment as well. This basic injustice was heightened by the uneven distribution of tithes upon the land. Grasslands, often kept by wealthy Protestant graziers, were exempt from tithes after the early eighteenth century. Conversely, the fields of the lowly potato, an increasingly important food for the Catholic peasantry, were assessed at a high rate throughout the southern half of the country, ensuring that the grasping hand of tithes would reach all the way down to the humblest laborer's potato patch.

Margaret and Bridget came out separately, prior to John and his sons Thomas and Patrick, and daughter Catherine
who came together.  They arrived aboard the "Caractacus" which had departed in Liverpool on 21st November 1857 and arived in Melbourne on 19th February 1858.  All are listed as Roman Catholic, the men as labourers.  John was illiterate, Patrick and Catherine could read and Thomas could both read and write.

The family settled at Moolap, near Geelong and Point Henry and continued to farm.  John died aged 77 at Moolap and is buried in Geelong's Eastern Cemetery.