Ireland XO
Back to Message Board

Thomas Laffin

My Grandfather, Thomas Laffin arrived in Moreton Bay, Brisbane. Qld on board "James Fernie" on the 31st January 1855.
An extract from the list of immigrants from the Qld State Archives, show his age as 22 yrs, his parents are shown as John Laffin (farmer) and Margaret (nee Welch), and that he had a cousin in Sydney.
On the extract his name is spelt "Laffan", but subsequent records show the spelling as "Laffin". He married Eliza McQueeney on the 21st December 1858 in Ipswich, Qld.
Thomas died in 1894 aged 56yrs survived by 5 children and his wife Eliza.
I have been researching my family history in Qld for approx 40 years.
Thomas's first born, John went to New South Wales and I have been in contact with his descendants there.
I did correspond with a Kathleen Laffan from Greenville, Kilkenny in 1992 when I was living in New South Wales, but have since lost contact with her.
Thomas was admitted to the Dunwich Benevolent Asylum in 1878 having lost his sight. He had several operations to restore his sight in Brisbane and Sydney, unsubstantiated reports have him travelling to Dublin and London for treatment.
I would be interested in corresponding with anyone who might be related to this family.
John Laffin

johnell1

4 replies

Jonell,

Thomas' baptismal record found on RootsIreland (subscription).

Name:Thomas LaffanDate of Birth:

  Date of Baptism:21-Feb-1833

Address:BallykeefeParish/District:BALLYCALLAN-KILMANAGH

Gender:MaleCountyCo. Kilkenny

Denomination:Roman Catholic

Father:John LaffanMother:Margaret Walsh

Occupation:

Sponsor 1 /
Informant 1:James Brennan
Sponsor 2 /
Informant 2:Judith Shearman

Notes:

[S][FATHER GIVEN AS JONATHAN]

Regards- Mary

 

mtvrdk@gmail.com

Thank you Mary for this information.

It just shows how inaccurate family history records can be.

The shipping register for "James Fernie" shows Thomas's name as Laffan, but when he was married 3 years later it was spelt Laffin.

I have a copy of his death certificate which shows his fathers name spelt Laffin and his mother as Margaret Welch.

I have heard of immigrants being sponsored, would that mean that their passage was paid by the sponsor.

Thomas's wife Eliza McQueeney was sponsored by the Cash family who were prominent in the Pine River District of Moreton Bay.

This is all information supplied by the District Registrar and once again the accuracy can be questioned, so I would place more faith in the info you supplied.

with thanks

John Laffin

johnell1

Jonell,

These two links on immigration might be useful

Finding an Irish Ancestor Using Australian Records • FamilySearch

Per this link above, although individuals were sponsored, they would have to payback the debt.

Remembering and Commemorating the Great Famine and Emigration to Australia // Articles // breac // University of Notre Dame

It wasn't unusual to have different spellings of names. Depending on who is writing down in a registry (birth, ship, marriage, death) or who has transcribed the information, there might be variations. Not everyone could read and write at the time.

Regards- Mary

 

 

mtvrdk@gmail.com

Reply

Reply
One image file up to 2 MB.