DONOGHUE, Daniel / MCCARTHY, Ellen; IRL >TAS,AUS; 1849-1853
Christine
Name mystery? Why?
Dear List
I am badly need some advice.
Daniel (aka DONALD ) DONOHUE & variations) was tried and deported
from County Waterford in 1849 for stealing a donkey. Four years
later, in 1853, his pregnant wife (how? who?), Mary Anne and Daniel's
son John, arrived in Tas, Australia as bounty immigrants. Baby Ellen
was born on the ship in 1853 and when it docked Daniel immediately
adopted baby Ellen and registered her name as DONOHUE (var.
spellings) and raised her as his own daughter. On Ellen's birth
registration form Mary Anne's maiden name is not clear but appears to
be VOLLYAN maybe VELLIGAN. ( This name does not sound Irish, has
anyone heard of it ?)
Ellen married at age 16 and gave her maiden name as McCARTHY, yet on
all the birth certificates for her 16 children she gives her name as
DONOGHUE. However elderly cousins tell me that their grandmother
always claimed to be Ellen McCARTHY.
So why the McCARTHY? If McCARTHY was the real father then one would
think that given that they were very conservative Catholics they
would not want to be reminded of this. Also Daniel seemed to be very
accepting of this indiscretion. Could Mary-Ann have been a cousin,
or one of Daniel's sisters rather than his original wife? Could she
have been sent out to Daniel to save the family from shame? Or was
Daniel some counter revolutionary or arch-criminal whose real surname
was McCarthy? We have talked about it a lot here and simply do not
have a clue.
I would greatly appreciate the views of some experienced researches.
regards
Christine
Christine <bat...@ozemail.com.au>