1801 Byrne – Co. Wexford, Ireland

My links to James Byrne are not strong but there are many distant connections which lead me to claiming him as one of my “early pioneers”. In 1822 my great great grandfather, together with Thomas Shaughnessy, were assigned to him on the arrival of the “MANGLES”. Later his daughter Anne, married Shaughnessy. Their son Thomas Jr married my great grandmother’s Walsh sister in Cowra. James lies buried at Ryansvale near Goulburn where one of the Ryan family was the son of yet another Cowra Walsh sister. Another family link is my uncle’s marriage into the Byrne related Crowe family. In an unrelated event, nine year old Anne and her eight year old brother Thomas  attended the first Catholic school in Sydney from 1822 with my great great grandmother, Mary Ann Marshall, later Conyngham. Such interconnection was the norm among the Irish 19C settlers in south and western areas of the New South Wales Colony.

 

James Byrne was born in Co. Wexford in 1769, son of a farmer^[1]. He  was a courier between Michael Dwyer and the leaders of the UnitedIrishmen in County Wicklown and a witness to Dwyer’s escape from Derrynamuck^[2]. He was caught and tried “for picquetting for the rebels” in 1800, sentenced to seven years and transported to New South Wales on the “ANNE”, arriving on 21 February 1801. He was granted freedom on 18 October 1810, two years late as his papers were not sent to the Colony at the time. oBviously he had no further problems with the law as he was granted land on achieving freedom.

 

 His wife Sarah (nee FRANKLIN) was born in County Clare in 1787. From there she went to live in Manchester, was sentenced to death  in September 1810, for “stealing a cow valued at five pounds”. Consistent with the practice at the time, the sentence was reduced to seven years and transportation. She arrived on the “MINSTREL” on 25 October 1812 She married James Byrne in December of the same year.

 

In 1822 by then a farmer at Appin, NSW, two “MANGLES” convicts , sent to the Colony for seven years under the UK’s Irish Insurrection Act were assigned to Byrne. These were Thomas Shaughnessy and Edmund Markham. The former, destined to be Byrne’s son-in-law,  remained with Byrne for some years, while Markham moved on in 1823.

 

James died at Collector NSW in 1849 and is buried at “Ryansvale” on the Goulburn Braidwood road^[3].  Sarah died in 1853.

 

James and Sarah had nine children:

• Anne (1813 – 1889) married Thomas Shaughnessy (later O’Shaughnessy) (1799 – 1874). Seven children. After first settling on the Lachlan they moved to South Australia. Their story is here.
• Thomas (1814 – 1894) married Margaret Dwyer (1819 – 1858), daughter (neice?) of Michael Dwyer in   Sydney in 1837. They had seven children and remained on the land at Appin. Later he married Mary Agnes Staunton.
• John (1817 – 1890) married Mary Dowd in Goulburn in 1846. They had twelve children.
• Mary Therese (1818 -1896) married James Worthington in 1841. They had one daughter and farmed in the Lake George area.
• Frances (1820 – 1901) married John Quilter in Appin in 1844. They had eight children.
• Susannah (1823 – 1913) married James Crowe (1820 – 1889) at Lake George (Gundaroo?) in 1841. They had fifteen children.
• Catherine (1824 – 1893) married John Francis Kenny (1829 – 1881) at Lake George (Kenny Point?) in 1855. They had nine children and farmed land in the Kenny’s Point area near Lake George.^[4]
• Patrick (1826 – 1899) married Mary Carey (1828 – 1910) in 1851 at Lake George. They had six children.
• James (1828 – 1852) drowned in Lake George.

 

Thomas Shaughnessy’s son Thomas O’Shaughnessy recalls in his diary visiting several of his Byrne relatives, and their Kenny and Sykes neighbours,  in the Goulburn/Lake George area in the early 1850s:

“I started up to Appin and passed through Liverpool, and through Campbelltown and kept the left hand road for Appin. When I got within a mile of Appin township I turned right through a gate to Uncle Thomas Byrne’s  place. It was the first time I saw him. He had a large family and Mrs Byrne‘s sister, Mary Ann Dwyer, was there on a visit. I stayed at uncles about a week. I made a start for Goulburn. Uncle Tom came 10 miles with me. He took me on a shortcut across the Cowpastures. There are high cliffs along the river and at only a few places you can you get down to get  across the river.

After leaving uncle I passed through Picton – a small township. I travelled on to Grey’s Inn at Myrtle Creek and stayed there all night. Next morning I passed through Bargo Brush and further on I passed the iron mines. From there through some rough country to Berrima. I stayed and had dinner. I passed the Hanging Rock and crossed Paddy’s River. There is a Public house here. I went on to Wingello Public House and there is a fine free stone quarry here opposite the door. There is cut stone taken from here to Goulburn. This is one of the best managed hotels on the road. Next morning I passed through Marulan, a small township and from over the Governor’s Hill down to the Wollondilly or better known as the Goulburn River. The river was flooded when I came to it. No bridge, only a rough crossing place. I chanced it. My horse had to swim. I got a good soaking. About a mile into Goulburn I put up  at Simon’s Hotel.

I made enquiries about where John Byrne lived – an uncle of mine. I was directed to his place and went and called on him. Bootmaking at the time. I asked him if he ever lived on the Lachlan . He said yes. I said I knew him there. He could not make me out. He called in Mrs Byrne but she did not know me either. At last I told them who I was. They were delighted to see me. I had to come and stay with them. I stayed there about a week.

I made a start to go to my uncle, Patrick Byrne. He lived at Kenny Point, Lake George. I called at Aunt Worthington’s on my way out – one of my cousins, a fine looking young woman and I had a ride to Spring Valley, Sykes’ place.^[5] And from there to John Byrne’s place. I stayed at Worthington’s two days and went to Patrick Byrne’s place and stayed there. John Kenny and Aunt Kenny lived about one mile from Pat Byrne’s. John Kenny’s sister, Emily, lived with them. We used to have great sport at Pat’s place. A lot of young fellows living around there would collect of an evening. There would be foot racing, jumping, wrestling and throwing the heavy stone. Emily Kenny and I rode over to Collector one day. She and I visited Clark’s a few times. They were a jolly fine lot of girls. Any of the young women living around here were fine horsewomen – no fences would hold them.

Lake George is the finest lake I ever saw. Fine clear hills around it and a fine view of the lake. I stayed about three weeks at Uncle Patricks.  I bid them all goodbye and started for Goulburn. I stayed all night at Aunt Worthington’s. Next day – Goulburn. I stayed a few days with Uncle John Byrne then made a start for Sydney.  The first night I stayed at Wingello, next day dinner at Berrima. Travelled on to Grey’s Inn, Myrtle Creek. Next evening reached Uncle Tom Byrne’s, Appin. The races were on in a few days.  My uncle insisted on me to stay. My uncle invited some young ladies named (Kanes?), friends of his from MenangIe, to stay at his place during the races.”

 

The Descendant Tree for the first two Australian generations. (I am happy to correct errors or omissions and to provide what I know of later generations)::

1 James BYRNE b: 01 Sep 1769 in Annemoe, Co Wicklow IRE, d: 1849, Arr. Australia: 1800 in Per ship
“Anne” – convict
         + Sarah FRANKLIN b: 1812 in Co Clare, Ireland, m: 28 Dec 1812, d: 17 Apr 1853 in Lake George NSW, Arr. Australia: 26 Oct 1812 in Per ship “Minstrel”- Convict

…2 Anne BYRNE b: 24 Dec 1813 in Sydney NSW, d: 30 Jul 1889 in Culpra NSW
+ Thomas O’SHAUGHNESSY b: 1799 in Co Limerick, IRE, m: 21 May 1829 in St Mary’s, Sydney
NSW, d: 05 Dec 1874 in Crystal Brook SA

…2 Thomas BYRNE b: 1814, d: 1894
      + Margaret DWYER b: Abt. 1819, m: 01 Jun 1837 in Sydney N.S.W, d: 22 Apr 1858 in Appin N.S.W
      + Mary Agnes STAUNTON b: 03 Sep 1835 in Appin N.S.W, m: Aug 1858 in Appin N.S.W, d: 1900 in
Appin N.S.W

…2 John BYRNE b: 20 Jun 1817 in Appin N.S.W, d: 09 Jul 1890 in Goulburn NSW
+ Mary DOWD b: Abt. 1829, m: 1846 in Goulburn NSW, d: 26 Apr 1886 in Goulburn NSW

…2 Mary Therese BYRNE b: 19 Feb 1818, d: 11 Dec 1896 in Sydney N.S.W
+ James WORTHINGTON b: 1805, m: 27 Nov 1833 in St Mary’s Sydney N.S.W,m.1841,  d: 09 Sep 1889 in
Yeo Yeo, Near Cootamundra, N.S.W

…2 Frances Matilda BYRNE b: 20 Aug 1820, d: 15 Aug 1901 in Widgiewa N.S.W
+ John QUILTER m: 1844 in Appin NSW, d: Y

…2 Susannah BYRNE b: 12 Feb 1823 in Appin, NSW, d: 07 Dec 1913
+ James CROWE b: 08 Dec 1820 in Narellan, NSW, m: 23 Feb 1841 in Lake George Nsw, d: 16 Feb
1889 in Gobarralong NSW

…2 Catherine BYRNE b: 20 Jul 1824 in Appin, NSW, d: 30 Apr 1893 in Petersham, NSW
+ John Francis KENNY b: 12 Jun 1829 in Kenny’s Pt, NSW, m: 10 Jan 1855 in Lake George, NSW,
d: 1881 in Greenwich Park, New South Wales, Australia

…2 Patrick BYRNE b: 16 Mar 1826, d: 13 Jul 1899 in Warrawilla N.S.W
+ Mary CAREY b: 1828, m: 16 Sep 1851 in Lake George Nsw, d: 16 May 1910 in Collector N.S.W

…2 James BYRNE b: 1828 in Appin, NSW, d: 1852 in Drowned in Lake George, NSW