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Mary Currie, Kean, Manins, Blackman, Naughton - Kilrush to Rockhampton Qld Aust 1870

Clare

Mary was my great great grandmother, using 2 surnames (Currie and Kean as maiden names).  Her mother was Mary Corey and father Robert Kean so perhaps the Currie was an intrepretation of Corey.  I found Mary Corey on Griffith's Valuation in Kilrush, but Robert Kean was either a road contractor or contractor so I am assuming he built roads or carried goods.  I haven't found young Mary's birth details.  I suspect she was protestant as marriages in Queensland were Church of England (Manins), Registry Office (Blackman) and Presbyterian (Naughton).  I have not been able to track down when Mary arrived, though her first marriage (Manins) was in Rockhampton, Queensland December 1870 so I suspect it would have been just before then and perhaps they met on the ship.  I haven't conclusively found Manins arriving in Australia either.  He was English and I've found his birth and family information.

She gave her birthplace as Kilrush or Kilrap, Ennis, Co. Cork.  I can only estimate her birth year as 1850-1853, most likely 1851, from information she gave on her marriages (17 years old, Manins, 29 Blackman, 74 Naughton).  On her death certificate (1931 her age was stated as 81).  She was buried according to the rights of the Roman Catholic Church in Rockhampton, Queensland.  This would make her birth year 1851.

I have seen public trees on Ancestry and My Heritage which are incorrect as there were 2 Blackman families (unrelated with similar names for descendants) and they have become intertwined on some trees.  None has Mary's birth and arrival information so I assume they have been copied from incorrect sources by people who only took short or free subscriptions.

Ruth

3 replies

Hi Ruth,

The surnames - Carey, Carry, Corey, Corry, Curry were in the area of West Clare in Griffith's valuations - 1850's. Surname "Keane" was fairly common.

There is a marriage record in St. Senan's, Kilrush of a Mary Corry to Thomas Keane on February 24th 1846. No address given for either party.

There was a Mary Carey in Kilrush workhouse in the 1850's. One report stated that she had absconded from there with clothing and leaving behind her 3 children. 

The Robert Kean you have mentioned appears to a a supplier to the Workouse.

Please see attached re Workhouse.

Credits: www.findmypast.ie and www.askaboutireland.ie

Regards,

 

 

McCoy

ruthThank you so much for this information. It could be that Mary Corey and Robert Keane were my Mary's parents and not married as Mary used the surnames of Carey, Corey, Curry and Currie on documents I have. Perhaps she was one of the children left in the workhouse. I'll have to add all this information to Mary's spreadsheet. When she married 1-Manins she used Currie, 2-Blackman she used Manins formerly Kean and 3-Naughton she used Blackman with no previous surname mentioned. One of her daughters, my great grandmother Emily Ann was born in Blackall Qld and her birth was registered twice, once as Curry and then as Smith when father, Henry Smith must have objected to his name not being used. Mary didn't marry him even though there was more than one child. I found a newspaper record of a domestic violence charge against Henry Smith when Mary was pregnant. Smith was between Manins (who absconded to New Zealand and married again there) and Blackman. Unfortunately George Blackman died after a few years and more children. She did attach Keane to a daughter born too long after Blackman's death to be fathered by him. I like to think that in the end she found happiness with Thomas Naughton at age 74 after being his "housekeeper" before their marriage. My late mother did remember her as Granny Naughton but couldn't quite figure out where she belonged on her mother's side. 
 

Thank you so much for this information; it gives me more to work with in my quest to understand and honour Mary.  
Ruth
 

 

 

 

Ruth

Hi Ruth,
Your exploration of Mary's family history brings to light not only the intricacies of lineage but also the potential challenges she faced, such as the domestic violence charge against Henry Smith during her pregnancy. I used to work on this topic for college paper with the help of https://edubirdie.com/examples/domestic-violence/ and the complexities surrounding Mary's marriages underscore the need for sensitivity when we investigate the family histories. It is really interesting to read!

alicewonderson12

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