janilye on Family Tree Circles

Thomas Lovelee was born in Campbelltown, New South Wales, the son of convict Richard LOBLEY/LOVELY/LOVELEE 1786-1847 and Elizabeth GREEN 1817-XXXX he lived in the Windsor district until 1864 when he met and married Margaret McNamara. Together, on horseback, they set out for the north west.

Very soon after their arrival, he settled down as an overseer on Mollee, then a cattle station, extending right through the Bohena Creek country in Pilliga.

After leaving Mollee, Thomas Lovelee devoted a number of years to various businesses in Narrabri and district and for some time bought fat cattle for The Riverstone Meatworks.

He selected Dunraven near Mollee which he retained until 1918 when he retired and went to Narrabri to live, handing the property over to his sons.

At the time when the Governor Brothers were operating in the district. Inspector Day, afterwards chief of police, was stationed in Narrabri, and knowing Thomas had a thorough knowlege of the Bohena Creek country, called on him to guide the police in their search for the outlaws. He consented to do so, but insisted on the right to remain unarmed.


Margaret MCNAMARA b:16th.Jan.1842 d: 21st. April 1904 Narrabri NSW. The daughter of Edward MCNAMARA and Margaret MCDONALD

Married in 1864 at Parramatta.

Children:
1. Theresa b:1865,Wee Waa,d:1898, Narrabri m.Alfred McAlpin EATHER

2. Martha Mary b:1867 Wee Waa NSW d:1937, Narrabri, NSW never married.

3. Laura b:1869 Wee Waa, d:12 September 1947, Mosman, Sydney m. Ernest Otto MORATH 1870-1946 in 1898 at Narrabri, NSW

4. Edward Thomas b:1871 Wee Waa, d:8 August 1951 Burwood, Sydney m. Christina Mary MCINTYRE 1873-1960 in 1900, Quirindi, nsw

5. Ernest Arthur b:1873 Wee Waa, d:8 June 1937 Narrabri, NSW

6. Herbert George b:1877 Wee Waa,d:1962 Manley, NSW m. Emma Elizabeth BLACKBURN 1884-1958 at Mosman in 1918

7. Stella Jessie b: 1879 Wee Waa,d:1973 St.Leonards,Sydney m. Philip Ardlaw LAWRENCE 1890-1959 at St.Leonards in 1915

8. Ella b: 1882 Wee Waa d:1957 in Queensland m. Egbert James KIMMORLEY 1889-1952 at Mosman in 1912

9. Clara Fanny b: 1884 Narrabri, d: 13 July 1951, Mosman. Never Married


Pictured below is the Wee Waa Racecourse

Joseph ONUS, who married Ann EATHER, was the son of Thomas HONESS and Sarah FIELD he arrived on the 'Glatton' from Kent on 11th. march 1803. His was a success story, for, starting from a 25acre farm near Richmond, he was able,in about 1820 to build the fine two-story house on the north side of Francis St. Richmond and referred to in tourist brochures as "The Farmhouse". It is situated on a knoll on the outskirts of the town.
In Partnership with his wife's brother-in-law, Robert WILLIAMS, he began to send cattle across the mountains to the Hunter River district where they established a run of 1,000 acres near the junction of Wollombi Brook and Parson's Creek.In the Bulga area.
Before long, they extended their interests far northward to the Liverpool Plains and there established a station known as "Boorambil" on a creek which received the name Onus's Creek.
Separately from his partnership with Robert WILLIAMS, Joseph Onus accumulated much landed property in his own right, principally at Wollombi and Howe's Valley (on route from Richmond to Bulga). Eight months before his death he purchased four allotments at Bulga running back onto the land of his brother-in-law Thomas EATHER.He died on the 22nd.June 1835.His widow continued to interest herself in land on the Wollombi and at Howe's Valley until she remarried, to William SHARP at Windsor in February 1837.

Joseph and Elizabeth's children:
1. Elizabeth, b:1st.January 1811. Married John TOWN.
2. Mary Ann, b:1813.d:1897 married John EATON
3. Susannah,B:1815 d:1882 married William Glas McALPIN in 1833.
4. Joseph, b:1818 d:1895 married (i) Emma POWELL (ii) Clara HUNT.
5. Thomas, b:1820 d: 1855 married Elizabeth EATHER.
6. William, B:1822 D: 1855 married Ann HOUGH.

The eldest son, Joseph, was a prominent resident of Richmond,an alderman of the first municipal council in 1872. In the 1880's he built 'Josieville' a two-story mansion on the corner of Francis and Chapel Sts. linked by an avenue of Plane trees with 'Hobartville' the the residence of his daughter, Emma Mrs. Andrew TOWN
In 1891, on the occasion of the golden jubilee of the consecration of St. Peter's Church, Richmond, he presented the stained glass windows at the eastern end of the church.
The two younger sons Thomas and William, both married into old Hawkesbury families in the same year, 1842, and they died only six weeks apart in 1855, whereupon both widows took to inn-keeping as a means of support. Thomas's widow Elizabeth (who was his first cousin, daughter of Thomas Eather), backed by her father and brother , conducted the 'Queen's Arms'at Richmond until her marriage to Joseph Hirons RUTTER, son of Dr.R.C.RUTTER of Parramatta on 13th May 1857. This was an even shorter lived union for J.H.RUTTER died in July 1861, aged 31. William ONUS's widow (formerly Ann HOUGH) kept the 'Prince of Wales Hotel' at Windsor until she married William REID of Parramatta on 27th. May 1857.
The second daughter, Mary Ann, married John EATON at St.Mathew's Windsor, on 17th. January 1831 and they also moved to the Hunter River district.

John EATON, being such an interesting and successful character, he deserves his own journal. Which is my next project.

*credit for a lot of the above information belongs to The Eather Family Newsletter and the Society of Australian Genealogists.

The Family of Rachel Eather 1807-1875
and
John Norris 1803-1864

Rachel Eather, youngest daughter of the pioneers, Thomas EATHER and Elizabeth nee, LEE
On the 17th December, two months after she turned sixteen, she was married to John Norris, the eldest son of Richard NORRIS 1776-1843 and Mary Norris, nee WILLIAMS 1778-1863 who had a farm at Cornwallis. Witnesses at the wedding were John's brother Richard, Rachels brother Thomas Eather and Sarah McAlpin, who became her sister-in-law the following year.

John Norris was a Catholic and the wedding was conducted at Cornwallis by the rites of the Roman Catholic faith. The wedding was registered at St.Mary's in the register of Roman Catholic Marriages.


John NORRIS met a violent death at Sally's Bottoms, Kurrajong, on the 26th. September 1864 when he was thrown from a loaded cart and crushed beneath the wheel. His widow later went to Spring Creek, near Orange, where Rachel died on 3 August 1875.

One of the NORRIS children Rebecca (who married John COOK) spent nearly 40 years after their marriage at Coonamble where they kept the "Morning Star" hotel.

1. Maria NORRIS b: 1824, married (1) Patrick DUNN 1823-1850, on 30 January 1843. The children of this marriage were:-
Elizabeth Leticia Dunn 1843 ? 1845
Rachel Anne Dunn 1845
(2) Peter PAGE 1816-1878 on the 4 September 1859. The children of this marriage were :-
Maria Amelia Page 1851 - 1924
Peter John Page 1856 - 1922
Thomas Page 1862
Catherine Emma Page 1865 - 1869


2. Harriet NORRIS b:15th. December 1824 d:10 October 1841. buried 11 October 1841 Windsor Catholic Cemetery.

3. Michael John NORRIS b:1832 in Cornwallis, NSW and died 1909, Wellington New South Wales married (i) Jane COLBRAN 1838-1875 at St.Matthews Catholic Church Windsor in 1854 The children of this marriage were:-
John Joseph Norris 1854
Thomas Norris 1856 - 1857
Mary Jane Norris 1858 - 1948
James M Norris 1860 - 1943
Dominick J Norris 1862
Agnes R Norris 1864 - 1865
Francis S Norris 1866
Herbert Norris 1868
Walter Norris 1872
Alice Lavinia Norris 1874 - 1970
Garrett Norris 1875 - 1877
Abraham Norris 1876 - 1971
Unnamed Norris 1877 - 1877
(ii) Barbara Ellen PASCOE, nee GRUBB 1842-1895 married in 1878 in Orange NSW one child Kathleen Ada b:1881

4. Elizabeth NORRIS b:27 October 1834 in Hobart, Tasmania. d: 25 August 1894 at North Richmond. Married in 2 November 1854 Cornelius MCMAHON b:1824-1894 at St.Matthews Catholic Church, Windsor. The children were:-
Thomas McMahon 1855 - 1890 John McMahon 1857 ? 1865
Mary Elizabeth McMahon 1859 - 1919
Rachael Louise McMahon 1862 - 1950
Michael Stephen McMahon 1864 - 1914
Peter Matthew McMahon 1866 - 1922
James Joseph McMahon 1868 - 1940
Catherine Jane McMahon 1871
Abraham Michael McMahon 1873 - 1954
Harriet Cecelia McMahon 1876 - 1932
George Stephen Cornelius McMahon 1878 - 1949

5. Thomas NORRIS b: 17 July 1836 Derwent, Tasmania d: 26 July 1903 married Catherine London 1843-1911 on 30 October 1861 in Richmond New South Wales. The children of this marriage were:-
Percival Norris 1865 - 1926
Henrietta Norris 1868 - 1899
Frederick Joseph Norris 1869 - 1940
Nell Norris 1869 - 1869
Marie Josephine Norris 1873 - 1959
Rachel L Norris 1875 - 1957
Thomas H Norris 1878 - 1903
Ada Alice Norris 1880
John Norris 1882

6. Rachel NORRIS b:3 November 1839 Tasmania d:1 July 1915 in Dubbo, married John Michael COLBRAN 1836-1914 on the 27 June 1855 the children of this marriage were:-
Michael John Colbran 1857 - 1934
Robert Colbran 1859 - 1929
Mary Jane Colbran 1861 - 1911
James Colbran 1863 - 1864
Rebecca Colbran 1866 - 1866
Stephen Colbran 1867 - 1870
Emily Colbran 1868 - 1937
Sarah A Colbran 1871
Caroline Colbran 1873
Angelina Colbran 1876 - 1947
Thomas Henry Colbran 1878 - 1948
Clara L Colbran 1881 - 1883
Frederick William Colbran 1884 - 1962

7. Ann NORRIS b:19 March 1842, Kurrajong, d:25 August 1931. Married Henry F. GREEN 1839-1916 on 27 May 1862 at Richmond. The children of this marriage were:-
John H Green 1863
William T Green 1865 - 1944
Robert Michael Green 1867 - 1949
Mary Ann Green 1869
Margaret R Green 1871 - 1934
Eva Jane Green 1873
Ernest Sydney Green 1875
James Stephen Green 1877 - 1927
Minnie Emma Green 1880 - 1968
Esther Cecelia Green 1883 - 1971

8. Rebecca NORRIS b: 30 June 1844, Kurrajong and died in Oatley,26 January 1936. Married John COOK 1843-1915 on 31 May 1865 at Richmond. Yhe children of this marriage were :_
Michael William Cook 1866 - 1928
Agnes Rachel Cook 1868
Ada Cook 1869 - 1949
Amy Cook 1871 - 1953
Amos John Cook 1872
Emily A (Bette) Cook 1874
Minnie Ann Cook 1877 - 1957
Esther Cecilia Cook 1879 - 1882
Richard Henry Cook 1881 - 1924
Louisa Jane Cook 1883 - 1953

9. Stephen NORRIS b:1846 Kurrajong and d: 18 September 1888 in Dubbo N.S.W. married Ellen MCGUINESS 1855-1962 in Dubbo in 1875. The children of this marriage were:-
Stephen John Norris 1876 - 1959
Caroline Amelia Norris 1879
Ethel M Norris 1882
James Norris 1885
Stephen Norris 1887

10. Susannah Mary NORRIS b:7 March 1852 Kurrajong and died 9 September 1940 married (1) Isaac Cook 1846-1895 on the 13 September 1870 in Orange N.S.W.The children of this marriage were:-
Frederick Cook 1871 - 1947
Libby (Matilda)Ann Cook 1873
Isaac John Cook 1874 - 1953
Esther Cook 1876 - 1877
Albert Stephen Cook 1877 - 1925
Michael Amos Cook 1880 - 1941
Elsie Eva Rubina Cook 1892 - 1969
(2) Susannah Mary next married Alfred T DRUITT 1859-1934 in 1898 at Dubbo, New South Wales.

Lineages of anyone who lived more than eight centuries ago should be considered mythological until proven.
TRUST, BUT VERIFY.


If you are going back to the medieval times, think about this.
If each generation is on average 25 years
-then by the start of the parish registers in 1583
-you will be looking for 1,048,576 ancestors
-or over 274 billion by the time of the conquest. So from that we learn that by 1500, you are looking for more people than are living in Britain.

Going back to the conquests you are looking for many times todays world population. So how can this happen?
The answer of course is intermarriage. Cousins, however remote or close, married other cousins.


A simple fact of medieval life was, the rich survived better than the poor. Their living conditions were better, they ate better and they protected themselves better and aliances were forged by marrying their sons and daughters.
Not just gold, but land and women were the currencies of the day.

So as long as you can keep going back along your tree, it's very likely that you will eventually come across land owners, minor nobility and more.
--It's simple mathematics!
--It's nothing special!
--Most of us are descended from William the Conqueror
-------we just need to establish how.

1538 is the natural cut-off when parish registers first appeared.
Survival of registers is patchy for a century or more after this date, bare information in parish registers needs confirmation from other sources.
Supplementary evidence used in modern genealogy - wills, records of land ownership, monumental inscriptions etc. is also available in the medieval period.
The older the record, the poorer are its chances of survival

Who do we look for?

It's easier to trace the ancestry of the wealthy and prominent than the poor and insignificant.
Manorial records of tenancy contain poorer people too and a lot of research has already been done in this field much of the source material has been transcribed and published, often in English translation.
It is tempting to believe that published genealogical work is accurate, however, genealogy has had more than its fair share of shoddy research

Types of Medieval Records

Manorial Records
Wills
Heralds' Visitations
Inquisitions post mortem
Feet of Fines
Education records
Rolls
Published sources

Surnames

Hereditary surnames came in only gradually in the centuries following the Norman conquest
BEWARE of components of the name which look like surnames, but are not.
Indexes of printed records and historical texts are often arranged by forename

Handwriting and Language

English becomes a foreign language at some point in the 15th century
most documents are in Latin, and a few in French,in legal documents - the Latin is often highly abbreviated.
Handwriting in official medieval records is usually fairly carefully done (Victorian censuses can be harder to read!) dates from about the late 12th century until 1751 the civil, ecclesiastical and legal. The year began on 25 March.
In Anglo-Saxon and Norman times the year was generally started from the 25 December
Earlier still, the year sometimes began in September
In Sept 1752 Julian and Gregorian calendars came in, but this meant that for 170 years there was a week difference due to leap years!
anno domini system of numbering years was introduced in England by Bede in the eighth century.
From the late 12th century it became standard, instead, to date civil documents by the regnal year.
Regnal years can date from the coronation or the accession.
From the thirteenth century, documents often dated relative to a nearby saint's day, feast day or other religious festival.
Regnal Year converter

Manorial Records

The manor was the building block of feudal society
it embodied the government of the local community
administrative control over succession to land tenure within the manor.
Local court of law for routine offences
Genealogical information about ordinary people - rather than the upper classes - is likely to survive from medieval times
There's a very low survival rate of these records estimated at about 4%.
Known records can be found in the National Register of Archives
The language in medieval times is Latin, often heavily abbreviated
the form of the proceedings and the terminology are often very standardised
many manorial court records continue in Latin until the 18th century

Manorial Records - the Court Baron

dealt with the everyday business of the manor and met typically every 3 or 4 weeks business would include the reporting of tenants' deaths
the surrender of the land and the admission of the new tenant would be recorded, and the relationship between the two would normally be noted.
Payments for the marriages of the daughters of customary tenants
and records of the remarriage of widows
Tenants may appear as officials or jurors, they may be noted as absent (with or without leave), or they may be amerced for some minor offence

Manorial Records - the Court Leet

routine local matters (and even with capital offences in earlier times)
jurisdiction declined rapidly during the Tudor Period

Manorial Records - Surveys

Manorial Custumals, common in the 12th and 13th century, which records the tenants, their holdings and their obligations to the lord
the extent, a valuation of the manor, which seems to have been inspired in the 13th century by official surveys connected with inquisitions post mortem
rentals, lists of tenants and the rents payable, beginning in the 14th century, when it became common for the lord to rent out the demesne rather than working it himself

Wills
the will in a recognisably modern form did not evolve until the late 13th century. Wills and testaments merged in 1540
Wills only dealing with land did not require probate
Testaments dealt with personal property.
early wills often primarily concerned with burial and gifts to the church and fell under the jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical courts
likely to survive as transcripts in a register, rather than as original documents
Before 1500, most written in Latin - or occasionally French
members of the family are named
to a greater extent than in modern wills, children may well have been previously provided for
often provided for the spiritual welfare of members of the family who were already dead. Parents may well be named, together with even more remote ancestors if one is very lucky.

Heralds' Visitations

collection of pedigrees of families with the right to bear arms
must be used with great care
dates are given only occasionally
may sound too good to be true and sadly, in many cases, it is not true
often more impressive than accurate
the shorter the pedigree entered at a visitation, the more reliable it is likely to be

Inquisitions post mortem

Also known as escheats Held for anyone holding land directly from the Monarch
Protecting the King's interests
Outlaws or sine prole land reverted to the Crown
Chester, Lancaster and Durham have their own records (Palatines)
Crown takes profits until age 21, then fine paid to assume title (Lords did the same to manorial tenants)
Documents often contain proof of age
Births tended to be relative to memorable events
Records run from 1235 until 1662
The index held at the PRO in Kew and copies were kept by family - often deposited at the CRO
They can be very difficult to read in the original form

Feet of Fines

Records from 1195 to 1834
Transfers of property for deforciant/ the seller to querent/the buyer
3 copies on same sheet - 1 for each party and the bottom copy (hence feet of fine) for the exchequer or palatine authority
These are useful as transfers are often between relatives
Descent of ownership or occupancy is often described
Indexes drawn up by local societies
Records are held at the The National Archives of UK Public Records

Education Records

Most useful are the Cambridge and Oxford lists of graduates
Gives parentage and the dates and ages at graduation and/or matriculation
Aberdeen University available from 1495
St Andrews available from 1413

Charters or Charter Rolls

1199 through 1517
documents recording grants, usually of land, but sometimes of other property or rights the medieval equivalent of what we now call deeds
Family relationships are often mentioned they may record a marriage gift to a daughter, or provision for a younger son.
Spouses and children appear, sometimes as witnesses to express their assent to the grant
many have ended up at the Public Record Office
a large number of charters have survived as transcripts.
more charters, many since lost, were later copied, in the 16th century and later, by heralds and antiquaries

Patent Rolls

Open or unsealed letters issued by Chancery Court
66 volumes covering 1216 to 1587
Chester and Lancaster have their own records
Wide range of subjects : grants, licences, wardships, land usage
Jail delivery and keeping the peace are also found

Curia Regis Rolls

These dealt with just about anything.
Plea rolls from 1273 - 1875 contain several pedigrees
Early rolls published by the Selden Society

Close Rolls

1205 - 1905 held at PRO
Deeds, wills, leases, changes of name
Particularly useful for deeds of sale
Calendarised to 1509 with full texts from 1227 - 1272

Fine Rolls

Including Henry111 1216-1262
Fine is a payment for privilege e.g. to enter land
Run from 1120 to the execution of Charles I
Calendars in 22 volumes up to 1509 which are preserved in the Public Records Office but may be read online Open Library

Pipe Rolls These really only contain sheriff's accounts but I have included them. These rolls were once kept in treasury along with the Domesday Book for the exchequer clerks. Now also housed at the Public Records Office



Published Sources
Making a Pedigree' by John Unett, SoG 1961
Burkes Peerage etc. (Family Tree Maker's 'Notable British Families 1600-1900' available on CD)
For Cheshire 'The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester' by George Ormerod on CD (fully indexed)
The Victoria County History series

The medieval village below is Cosmeston in South Wales.