This is an attempt to summarise what is known about my great grand-mother's ancestry. Evelyn Martha Ross, was my direct maternal ancestor, my mother's mother's mother.
Genealogy tends to be a joint effort, and especially in this case I can not lay claim to having added much. The internet seems to abound with section of what are proposed to be parts of this family tree.
Many have therefore contributed to the following, and also to helping me be aware of it, and I have just tried to paste it together and add whatever small pieces I could. I must especially thank Alec Heath, Raelene Fittkau, Kevin of the Kevin's Tree website, Annette Hall, for helping me understand major sections of this at different times. For these reason please don't take the following as final. There may still be errors, and I am certain there are things which can be added.
So if you pass this on, please refer to the source so that others can track it back and get in contact in order to improve it still further. My main homepage is here, and you can mail me by clicking here.
Birth. January 26, 1899, NSW, Waratah, NSW, Australia (7927/1899)
Marriage. 18030/1920. 6 Nov 1920, Newcastle to Horace Percival Bradley Livingstone, whose ancestry is discussed on other webpages referenced to on my main page.
Death.
21 Mar 1958. Newcastle.
For the relatively recent generation of Evelyn's siblings I can perhaps best mention that some family trees online are very helpful...
...http://www.gencircles.com/users/rosss/1/data/116 by Raelene Fittkau and...
... http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~kevinstree/1196.html ..
...and then summarise what can be read there, and pursued further on the NSW births, deaths and marriages server at http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/familyHistory/search.htm.
The names of Evelyn's parents were William Ross and Bertha Jane Thompson: They were both local to the area and had been married 14 Sep 1892, Carrington, NSW, Australia (5543/1892).
Mary S. Ross b. 1893, register 33833/1893 Stockton
Lilly or Lily A. Ross b. 1895, 8518/1895 Waratah
Levina or Lavina K. Ross b. 1896, 8015/1897 Waratah
Evelyn Martha Ross b. 1898, 7927/1899 Waratah
Margaretta H. (Rita) Ross b. 1901, 36231/1900 Waratah
Minnie Agatha Ross b. 29 Jul 1902, 27294/1902 Waratah, d. 8 Jan 1977
William J. Ross b. 1905, 28938/1905 Waratah, d. 9 Aug 1985
George Henry (Rafferty) Ross b. 1907, 41311/1907 Waratah, d. 10 Jan 1967
Arthur J. Ross b. 1909 d. 2 Jun 1985, d. 2 Jun 1985
Cecil J. (Sandy) Ross b. 1911 in Mosquito Island
Harry V. (Johnny) Ross b. 1913, d. 1958
Leo (Pat) Ross b. 1913
Kenneth B. Ross b. 1918
Marjorie Ross
For the births before 1907, I have given the place of birth as the one recorded in the register index, mostly Waratah, which is the name of a municipality which was apparently once quite large and independent of nearby Newcastle. However, I am informed that all or most of the births took place at an area called Mosquito (or Moscheto) Island, which is now merged together with Ash Island, Upper Moscheto Island, Dempsey Island, Walsh Island, Goat Island, Spit Island and Table Island to form a new island called Kooragang island in the 1960s. These are and were islands in the middle of the Hunter River, just over the river from Newcastle. See http://www.geocities.com/dig_ravio/mayfield.html#Maps
William Ross was the son of Irish Catholic immigrants from what is now Northern Ireland, specifically in the northwestern part of Ireland which was once the home of the various branches of the Ui Neill, the dynasties who descended from Niall of the Nine Hostages. William was the first one in the family to be born in Australia. His parents were John and Martha. The family arrived on the Sirocco (1) of 1864 in Sydney.
The children of John and Martha were...
James Ross b. 1855 in Deasart, Derry Ireland.
John Ross b. 1856 in Derry Ireland
William Ross b. 1858, and apparently died young in Ireland.
David Ross b. 1860 in Derry Ireland
Joseph Ross b. 1861 in Derry Ireland
William Ross b. 7 Jun 1864 in Risso Creek, Singleton NSW
Mary Ross b. 1868
George Ross b. 1871
Martha died 10 Aug 1887 in Hannah or Anna Bay, near Newcastle.
After Martha died John Ross re-married in 1891 in Port Stephens to one Jane Lilly. I have found no connection, but it is interesting that Henry Thompson, who we will discuss next, married a Lilley as his second wife.
John Ross then eventually died 5 Nov 1895 on Mosquito Island.
John's Parents. We know from records in Australia that John was born about 1834 in "Garvach" in County Derry, (which must be Garvagh) and was the son of another John, and his wife Jane. Ross is a very common name in northern Ireland. One of his sons records in Australia record him as coming from "Deasart", in Derry. There are several places in Derry with "Desert" in the name, but according to references easily found on the internet, around Garvagh, "Desert" refers to Desertoghill in Errigal. The "Griffiths Valuations" made around this time (1847-1864) show a John Ross within the parish of Desertoghil, in the townland of Carballintober (map ref. 7), occupying land under lease to John McLenaghan.
A map of Derry catholic parishes can be found on the Irish Times website.
Detailed Griffiths survey maps showing the townlands with their reference numbers can be seen on the Ask About Ireland website.
An interesting questions arises because it appears that most Rosses in Derry were protestant, not catholic like our John, and mainly descended from Scots. Did he or his family make a conscious decision to be catholic? There seems to be some question about whether Irish Rosses are all descended from Scottish or English Ross families. The name can have many different explanations, including ones which would have made sense in Irish Gaelic. I have seen older Irish records from this region of people with the surname MacRosse, for example amongst the pardons of Elizabeth I. Another Irish surname which might sometimes have converted to Ross would be Rush. In the Tithe Applotment Books of 1824-1837 there are not many Rosses in this area, at least not in the direction to the south where we will see John's wife seems to have come from. Perhaps John's family came from the west in Dungiven?
Martha's Parents. Martha's maiden name was Duggan. She was born about 1840 in "Greensbough", which I think might be intended to be Greenlough, an area now equivalent to the parish of Tamlaght O'Crilly, which neighbours Desertoghill. See for example http://www.thekeenans.id.au/Portglenone.htm#parish. Her parents were reported as David Duggan and Jane Trollan. There do seem to have been Duggans for a long time around Tamlaght O'Crilly and Maghara (which is no surprise as the name is common in many parts of Ireland). In the Griffiths valuations (1847-1864) in Tamlaght O'Crilly there was a Bernard Dugan in the townland of Glenone, and an Andrew Duggan in Inishrush, plus many more Duggans, Dugans, Dowgans, in the neighbouring parishes. Perhaps even more interestingly, nearer to the Ross family there was a Martha Duggan occupying land in Desertoghil, in the townland of Ballynameen (map ref. 2b), as well as a another female Duggan, a Sabina, in the townland of Craigavole (map ref. 4). Ballynameen and Craigavole are on the same road out of Garvagh which leads roughly towards Greenlough. And Carballintober, where John Ross seems to have lived, is right in between where Martha and Sabina lived. There were also a Patrick Duggan and Peter Duggan in the parish of Errigal which contains the actual lands of Garvagh. So this John Ross and Martha Duggan were both counted as land occupiers, and lived within a few kilometres of each other, roughly along the same main road. In the Tithe Applotment Books of 1824-1837 there are numerous Doogans, Dugans, and Duggans in the area, including:-
Thomas, Edward and Henry Doogan in Maghera (1828)
Daniel, John, Patrick and James Dugan in Maghera (1828)
Henry, John, Michael, Thomas and William Doogan in Killelagh (1833), plus a Widow Doogan. (Michael had land in Fallalea, concerning which see the Trollans below.)
Hugh, Hugh Jr, and Thomas Dugan in Killelagh (1833)
Charles, James, John and Patrick Dugan (with perhaps one other, first name not given) in Tamlaght O'Crilly, the parish where our Martha was apparently born.
No sign of Martha's father David. He might not yet have been in charge of a household?
The Duggan surname (Ó Dubhagáin in Irish) is a Gaelic surname which can also be Scottish. It means "dark-headed" and is common in many areas. The most famous areas for this surname are not in northwestern Ireland, but there was a small pocket in Derry, apparently mainly catholic and Gaelic speaking families, who were in the general area before the settlers from Scotland arrived. It seems that the O'Duggans of Derry can be associated further back with the Ui Neill dynasties who once dominated the whole region of northwestern Ireland. Traditionally the Ui Neill dynasties were split into two main branches descending from two sons of the original Neal, Eoghain (Owen) and Conall:-
The Cineal Eoghain, race of Owen, had their original power base stretching from the peninsula of Inishowen (Inis Eoghain), today in County Donegal, down to County Tyrone (Tír Eoghain). The much later creation of County Derry (also known as Londonderry) therefore divided their old territories in two.
The Cineal Conaill, race of Conaill, had their power base in Donegal, and stretching down southwards, rubbing constantly against their Cineal Eoghain kin to their east, in parts of Sligo, Leitrim, Tyrone, Fermanagh and a southern part of Derry.
In the old records of the Derry area, we find O'Duggans appearing in association with various branches of the Ui Neill:-
The O'Cathans (Kanes) were in the Clan Connor branch of the Cineal Eoghain, and eventually held possession of most of Derry, then referred to as the Tir Cahan, which was especially in the north of modern Derry. They are said to have originally moved earlier from Inishowen. One webpage states that there was an O'Duggan family amongst these original Clan Connor families in Inishowen, and moved across the rover Foyle into Derry with them.
Other O'Duggans clearly stayed in Donegal to the west of the Foyle. For example, in 1609 the records of King James show that the O'Duggans (Dowgans) formed a sept in Raphoe, an area which was under both Cineal Eoghain and Cinneal Conaill infleunce. See http://clanmaclochlainn.com/herenagh.htm and http://www.ulsterancestry.com/ua-free-Inquistion_at_Lifford.html:- "Carrowsiggart belongs to the sept of the Dowgans who were the bishop's carpenters".
Amongst pardons made by Elizabeth I in Ireland, there were several O'Dowgans amongst the men associated with Neil Garve O'Connell, a leader within the Cineal Connaill, who allied himself with the English during a rebellion in those times. The land at stake between him and his competitors O'Connells was largely land that had belonged to the Cineal Eoghain and which at that time stretched well into modern County Derry, including the land where our Duggans come from. Correspondence exists wherein Neil Garve writes to the English "I heard by one of my people that you were informed by Art McEmergegh and by Hew Moerey that John Crow O'Dougan was to go to the enemy. I think that is untrue, for I know he will never leave me. Pray send reinforcements."
The English records for this period also show a Harry O'Dougan, who was reported to be one of the two best men of the leader of the rebellion under Hugh Ó Neill, Earl of Tyrone. The main Ó Neill line was of the Cineal Eoghain.
Also, during the same general period another Henry Dowgan was apparently writing direct reports to the English from this area (he may have been from another part of Ireland).
The Trollan surname might look Scandinavian, but it terms out to have had a small presence in Northern Ireland, apparently with variants Trolan, Trowlan, Trowland and Trolland. It was apparently quite local, although it seems no-one has ever spent time studying it. There are 14 recorded in Ireland in the Griffiths Valuations, of which a small group in Derry, using the spelling Trolan, were all located in Fallylea townland in Killelagh parish (Andrew, Mary and Patrick). Killelagh happens to be right between Garvagh/Desertoghill and Tamlaght/Maghara. The Trolans all occupied land under Lady Louisa Trench, a little to the west of the road connecting Garvagh and Maghara where we find the Duggans and Rosses. The other families in Fallylea were Treanors, Converys, McKennas plus one Hughs and one O'Neill. The 1911 census for the area shows Fallylea having a Trollan family headed by a mother, Elizabeth (49), a farmer. Here children, Patrick (22), Ellen, (20) Maggie (18), and John (16), were old enough to be be siblings of Jane Trollan. The family were all bilingual catholics. There was also a Bridget Trollan in Fallylea, 65 years old and living as an Aunt in a Traynor family. Bridget was an embroiderer, who could not read. She could speak English and Irish, while the Traynors only spoke English. But all were catholics born in Derry. In 1901 there had been one 27 year old Mary Trolan in "Fallowleagh". Going back in time:
In the 1833 tithe applotment records we find "Trowlands" in "Fallalea" - Bernard, Charles, John and Shane. Was our Jane a daughter of one of these?
In the 1766 so-called religious census of Ireland, we find a catholic resident of the area somewhat to the south in Magherafelt, named Gilldoe Trolan.
In the 1663 hearth tax records we find Brian O'Trolan in Tamlaght O'Crilly parish, in the townland of Killygollib.
The earliest record I have found so far is very old. In the 1601 pardon by King James, of those involved in the rebellion of the O'Dogherties in Inishowen, we find one Even O'Trolan. So we also find the Trollans apparently associated with the rebellion against Elizabeth. In their case on the rebel side.
Henry
Thompson does not sound like a Norwegian name, but presumably he
adapted it from something like Henrik Thomason. Thanks to Helen Jones
for the photo, which shows him with his second wife, Mary Ann.Henry had several children in Australia to his first wife Sarah Knight, whom he married 6 May 1869, Church of St Thomas, Port Macquarie. She passed away, and then Henry re-married 21 Jul 1879, District Registrar's Office, Newcastle, to Mary Ann Lilley, and had one last child, Samuel. Mary Ann Lilley was from Kent in England and had previously married to Ernest or Ernst William Charles Diemar, 31 Jul 1872 in Baltimore. They had four children before he passed away. She came to Australia to be with her brother Samuel Lilley in Swan Bay. The photo to the right shows Henry and Mary Ann, courtesy of Helen Jones and Julie Reynolds.
The following information is based upon the Kevin's Tree website mentioned above...
William Thompson. Born: 12 Oct 1870, Mosquito Island, NSW. Married to Bina Anne Patterson.
Mary Elizabeth Thompson. Born: 29 Aug 1872, Mosquito Island, NSW. Married to John West.
Bertha Jane Thompson. Born: 14 May 1874, Mosquito Island, NSW. Married 14 Sep 1892, Carrington, to William Ross. Died: 6 Jul 1951
Thomas Henry Thompson. Born: Jan 1876, Rawdon Island, NSW (Near Port Macquarie). Married to Jessie Ann Jenkins. Died: 18 Jul 1964
Samuel Thompson. This was the one child of Henry Thompson and Mary Ann Lilley. He was born: 3 Apr 1880. He eventually married Bertha Jane Blanch. He died: 16 Mar 1962, and was buried C of E Cemetery, Nelson Bay. Occupation: fisherman.
On the 5th of December 1877, after all his children were born, Henry got a naturalisation document, which is one of the few insights we have into his origins. It says he was a native of Norway aged 34 years old, a sailmaker by profession who had arrived in New South Wales on the Boston in 1861, 16 years earlier. Until now, no one seems able to find any record of this ship, and I have to suspect that Henry had jumped ship and was not giving away too many details. His death certificate implies that he had entered NSW in 1865.
Also see http://users.hunterlink.net.au/~madms/history.html under Nelson Bay, where Henry Thompson is listed as one of the earlier settlers there...
"Bay View Estate, Fly Point, was owned by a Maitland Solicitor, Mr. Brooks who built a large cottage which was used as a guest house, and 3 small cottages. One of the cottages was licensed for a term of 6 months to Mr. Henry Thompson. Mr. Thompson later built a small hotel which he named The Sea Breeze. He also built a shop where Mr. C. Dart conducted a cafe for many years, but is now under a new proprietor. Mr. Thompson abandoned the shop through lack of funds. The fishermen were so poor they could not meet their accounts. This building was then used as the local dance hall. Mr. Thompson's hotel was eventually sold to a Mr. Lund and the dance hall later became a shop owned by Mr. Arch Blanch. During Mr. Blanch's ownership the shop was burnt down"
The Hotel in Nelson Bay (now the Sea Breeze) was the first phone to be connected after the post office and lighthouses. The Thompson/Diemar family established an oyster farming business. A large area of Soldiers Point was owned by the Thompson and Diemar families. The population in Nelson Bay has increased from about 30 in 1886 to 88 in 1891, 300 in 1931 and to 2,500 in 1969. Earliest inhabitants of the Bay in the 1800s were the Aborigines and a group of Chinese fisherman.
Henry died of "CEREBRAL HAEMORRHAGE, COMA" at Zara St, Newcastle, NSW, Australia (6872/1917) and was said to be 78 years old. Henry's naturalisation certificate implies he was born about 1843. His death certificate implies that he was born about 1839.
On Henry and Sarah's marriage certificate it states that Henry's father is Hans Thompson, Master Mariner, and his mother was Alice Thompson. Annette Hall has told me that "an aunt of mine always said that Henry only had one sister and she inherited their fathers shipping business because she stayed put in Norway". As a couple of us have found over the years there is a very interesting looking Norwegian entry on the International Genealogical Index for a Hans Thomasen with an Ales "Gautsdr" ("-dr" being an abbreviation for the Norwegian word for daughter), 6 April 1837 Torvestad, Rogaland, Norway. This is then put together in one of the LDS "Ancestral Files" as follows...
Husband's Name: Hans THOMASSEN (AFN:1P4X-VS6)
Born: 1811 Place: Fey, Torvastad, Karmy, Rogaland, Norway
Christened: 10 May 1811 Place: Karmy, Rogaland, Norway
Died: 20 Aug 1846 Place: Hland, Torvastad, Karmy, Rogaland, Norway
Married: 1837 Place: Rogaland, Norway
Father: Thomas HANSSEN (AFN:1P4X-TS1) Family
Mother: Anna OLSDATTER (AFN:1P4X-W6M)
Wife's Name
Ales GAUTSDATTER (AFN:1P4X-W31) Pedigree
Born: 4 Oct 1809 Place: Rvr, Haugesund, Rogaland, Norway
Married: 1837 Place: Rogaland, Norway
Father: Gaut INGEBRETSEN (AFN:1P4X-W0D) Family
Mother:
Children
1. Sex Name
M Hans Kristian HANSSEN (AFN:1P4X-VX1) Pedigree
Born: 1845 Place: Hland, Torvastad, Karmy, Rogaland, Norway
Died: 1845 Place: Hland, Torvastad, Karmy, Rogaland, Norway
2. Sex Name
M Thomas HANSSEN (AFN:1P4X-VWS) Pedigree
Born: 3 Jan 1842 Place: Hland, Torvastad, Karmy, Rogaland, Norway
3. Sex Name
F Anna Elina HANSDATTER (AFN:1P4X-VZ7) Pedigree
Born: 24 Feb 1846 Place: Hland, Torvastad, Karmy, Rogaland
4. Sex Name
F Anna Karina HANSDATTER (AFN:1P4X-VVL) Pedigree
Born: 1 Mar 1838 Place: Hland, Torvastad, Karmy, Rogaland, Norway
Died: 6 Feb 1842 Place: Hland, Torvastad, Karmy, Rogaland, Norway
No sign of any Henry. It can also be immediately noted that like many or most Norwegian families at this time, the children of anyone called Hans took Hanssen as their surname. The implication of Henry's information in Australia seems to indicate that his family were using the new style of sticking to one surname, perhaps that of Henry's grandfather, although if course emigrants in Henry's position were free to take up new names if they wished, and to report his relatives names inaccurately.
This is one area where further investigation beckons. The 1865 Norwegian census is online and shows the above Ales must have remarried to a Nils Thomasen. He was a "husmand med jord" so no mariner. But I find no other Ales living with anyone with a Thomasen type name. Looking for all people named "Hans Thom-" has also led to no sign of anyone living with and Alice, nor with children using his surname. There are at least a few who are mariners, but then unmarried and too young to be the father of Henry.
This line is as far back as has been traced in my maternal ancestry. Because Bedfordshire records are fairly good, if not detailed for Sarah's ancestors, I have separated Sarah's family on to another webpage.