My sister has a pot called "Barnes of Carcoar and Mountain Run"
We have seen looking into origins
We are descendants of the following families:- McKnight, Harris, Cook, Rosebottom, Slater, Barnes, Wilson, White, Pound
I am willing to share my research

Might also add Lasseter lotts and garner as well these families married into each other floats a matter of fact almost all of these names are repeated in my family tree. Glad to help if I can

Might also add Lasseter lotts and garner as well these families married into each other floats a matter of fact almost all of these names are repeated in my family tree. Glad to help if I can

The following story from a Barnes/Slater family decendant has not been proven;
The Slater/Barnes Family Story
Thomas Barnes was born in 1833 in Wiltshire, England. It is not known when he arrived in Australia,
but it is likely to be around the time of the gold mining era as he gives his occupation as miner on
the birth certificates of some of his children. Additionally, the place of birth of the children
alters frequently and is generally in the area where gold was being mined. By 1857 Thomas is living
with Catherine Slater, however very little is known about Catherine before 1852.

Most of the following story is hearsay, although it has been repeated by three separate family sources,
each unknown to the other. Whether this is support for true family history or simply the same fabricated
story repeated through the generations may never be known. The story is that Catherine was the daughter
of Thomas Slater and an aboriginal woman, born about 1835 in the area near the Castelreagh River.
After the birth, her mother returned to her tribe leaving Catherine to be cared for by Thomas, who later
married and had other children. When Catherine was about 12 years old (therefore about 1847), her mother’s
tribe attacked the shepherds’ hut where Thomas and his family were living. All were killed, except for
Catherine who was taken back to live with the tribe.

Sometime later she was found wandering through the area by her Uncle William, who took her to live
with him and his wife Ellen. However, there are some inaccuracies with the above story and another theory
based on the above story is as follows. Firstly, Thomas Slater was supposedly an Irish convict working as a
shepherd in the area. However, a check of all Thomas Slaters coming as convicts reveals that none with that
name were Irish.

Nonetheless, there was a William Slater who arrived in 1830 and an Ellen Shea, an Irish convict who
arrived in 1834, that were married in 1841. Ellen’s brother Thomas Shea arrived in Australia in 1825 as a convict.
The 1825 census has Thomas working as a shepherd for Mr Kelly in Argyle, the area where Catherine is supposed
to have been born. In the early 1830's, there are stories of many killings of lonely stockmen and their families
by aboriginal tribes, as a show of resistance against white man's arrival and establishment.

As opposed to a reprisal attack on Thomas and his family to take back Catherine, the tragedy of the Shea
family may have been the result of aboriginal resistance of the time. As the only survivor, Catherine is taken
in by her father's sister Ellen and her husband William Slater.

Whichever tale is correct, it seems clear that following her father's death, Catherine lives with Ellen
and William Slater. Either already with the name Slater (if the former theory is correct) or taking the name
Slater from her 'adoptive' parents (if the latter theory is to believed).

In 1852 Catherine Slater married James Kirby, where one of the witnesses was Ellen Slater, and in the
same year gave birth to a son called James Kirby. In the following year, she left her husband and went to live
with Thomas Barnes where she had a further 10 children. The eldest of these (Robert) appears on the NSW Births
Register as Robert Barnes, with Thomas Barnes as his father. However, when he married he gave his name as Robert
Barnes Kirby and only the surname of Kirby on his death certificate.

Additionally, Catherine’s death certificate states that Robert is the son of James Kirby, with the
informant being her son in law, James Rosebottom. It seems likely that Robert was conceived when Catherine
was with James Kirby, but was born when she was living with Thomas Barnes.
On the birth certificate for Catherine's other children, the information as to marriage and surname varies.
Sometimes she claims she married Thomas Barnes in Goulburn in 1852, while other times she says she is not married.
Furthermore, her surname alternates between Slater, Kirby and Barnes. Several of the children are registered twice;
once under the name of Slater and another time with Barnes as the surname. However, on marriage and death certificates,
Barnes seems to be the only name used by children fathered by Thomas.

Catherine died on 18th June, 1895 at Native Dog Creek near Oberon. Her death was registered by her
son-in-law, James Rosebottom, on 20th June 1895. The death certificate gives the details of her first marriage to
James Kirby and also states that there was a second marriage to Thomas Barnes. However, on 23rd October, 1895
James advised the Registrar of a change of information on the certificate. He alters Catherine's surname to Kirby,
deletes the details of the second marriage, deletes the seven children of the second union and leaves Robert as
the child of Kirby (as well as two deceased males).


This has been passed on to me by my grandmother. Laurel Bolton whos grandmother was Catherine Slater.

I am a descendant of Robert Kirby and have also heard the above story and would also like to find out more

Hi My name is Naomi Cantale (nee Pagano), daughter of Beverley Anne Pagano (nee Burke).

My grandfather is Thomas Gerald Burke, son of Henry Burke and Clara May Burke (nee Kirby). I am most interested in any information and photos or documents anybody is happy to share as well. I am on My Heritage and Ancestry. Feel free to contact me.

Regards
Naomi Cantale
naomicantale@hotmail.com

Hi my name is Karen Roffe [nee McKnight] grand daughter Of Bernice Harris[nee Rosebottom daughter of Catherine Barnes/Rosebottom]
When I was seven my Aunty told me that Katherine Slater/Kirby/Barnes father was Thomas no last name, a shepherd living with a waradjuri woman name Ann, there was an uprising and Thomas and all the family bar 2 little girls were killed.A minister travelling through the region found the 2 little girls wandering in the bush alone so took them back to the mission. An aunt seen the girls claiming they were her brothers daughters and took them to live with her. One of the girls[Katherine] stayed with the Aunty while her sister went back to live with the Aboriginal tribe.Sometime later Katherine went to visit her sister who was unwell and came home with baby Catherine who took the surname of Barnes. That is all that I know.