Stories of Agnes Cahill

Michael was born on 23 March 1868 at Belford in the Singleton district of NSW.  He was the tenth of the eleventh children of James and Eliza Cahill.  Agnes was the ninth child. Choose this link to read more about James and Eliza Cahill and their children. Michael was our 1st, 2nd or 3rd great-uncle.  He was probably named after Eliza's older brother who was born about 1828 in Johns Well, County Kilkenny, Ireland.  James and Eliza had left there family behind in 1855 to live in Australia.  Michael's older brother, James, married Isabella Hogan, and their first son was called Micheal.  He was born in 1885 also at Belford. There are only fragments of Michael's life that survive after his birth in 1868.   On 9 November 1891, when he was 25, Michael appears in Maitland Goal's Entrance Book.  His conviction was for being drunk.  He was sentenced to 24 hours in goal or a 10 shilling fine.  Michael chose the 24 hours!  So th...

The last weekend of February was my first opportunity to visit Newcastle since I've become interested in my family history.  In planning and executing my "field trips", I'm looking for places that were significant to my family many years ago and getting a sense of the current "vibe" - great accommodation and eateries add a lot to the experience. To recap... Agnes Cahill is my "Woodlands great-grandmother".  She was born in about 1868 in Patricks Plain near Singleton, NSW - thought to be the tenth of the eleven children of James Cahill (abt 1822 to 1877) and Eliza Dunn (abt 1830 to 1890). Here's a photo of Agnes taken  in about 1937 in Sydney with her daughter, Lorna, and grandson, Ron. You can read more about Agnes and her family in these previous blog posts- The Children of Agnes Woodlands (nee Cahill) James Cahill and Eliza Dunn's children including Agnes  and Agnes Cahill - My Woodlands great-grandmother Agnes h...

Too many months have passed since my last post but today is the day to share the story of Agnes Cahill's niece and her family.   Catherine Cahill (1856 to 1913) was the oldest child of James and Eliza Cahill. She was about 12 when her younger sister, Agnes, was born - the 10th of 11 children. Catherine married William Dries in 1873 in Branxton. More about the Dries family in another post. William and Catherine had 10 children. Agnes Dries (1887 to 1929) was the eight born. I was interested in Agnes Dries' life as she was most likely named after Agnes, my great-grandmother, and, at the time, no-one had complete details of her life or death on public trees. I spent many long hours researching to arrive at the point that I could share the details of Agnes Dries and her family. Agnes Teresa Dries was born on 28 October 1887 in Glen Innes, NSW. She died in a private hospital in Charters Towers Road, Townsville, Queensland on 10 November 1929. She was 42. Agnes Teresa ha...

Today I'm writing about James Cahill - someone that we are related to! James was Agnes's father - cousin Gail's great-grandfather and my 2nd great-grandfather. James was born about 1822 at Kilkenny, County Kilkenny, Ireland. His parents were Richard Cahill and Catherine Hogan. On 20 November 1854, James married Elizabeth (Eliza) Dunn at the Catholic Church, Clara Parish, County Kilkenny. Eliza was born about 1830 at Johns Well, County Kilkenny. Her parents were Laurence Dunn and Judith Ryan. We've covered some of the details of Laurence and Judith and James and Eliza's life in an earlier blog. James and Eliza left Ireland aboard the Simonds and arrived in Port Jackson on 12 April 1855 - less than 6 months after their marriage. They settled in Patricks Plain which is close to Singleton. James went to work as a labourer for the railways.   They went on to have 11 children. There are issues with birth registrations which was often the case in those early d...

To set the scene...Margaret Ryan is the mother of James Woodland who married Agnes Cahill in 1901... On 18 August 1887, Margaret Ryan married George Austin Woodland at St Mary's Catholic Church, Newcastle.  So this was the day that the Woodland/s name came into our family but I very much doubt that any of us are descendants from George! It's also seven years today since my dear dad, Frank Woodlands, died.  My interest in our family history stems from Mum and Dad but I'm not sure they could have foreseen the journey I'm on.... So, what better day for a post! By now, we know that the story of Agnes Cahill is a complicated one.  James Oswald Woodlands' father was Cornelius Bray but James Woodland snr was in James Oswald's life from about the age of 8.  James Woodland snr was the father of Lorna Mae Bisgrove (nee Woodlands).   When I went to look for the birth registration of James Woodland snr, the next twist in the story unfolded. ...

It's 98 years since a 27 year old grocer from Stanmore married a 27 year old saleswoman also from Stanmore.  Yes, on 09 August 1919, James Oswald (Jim) Woodlands married Margaret Essie (Essie) Gersback at St Michael's Catholic Church in Stanmore.   On the marriage registration, Jim shows his parents as James Woodlands, a baker, and Agnes Cahill.  Essie shows her parents as Francis Gersbach, a collector, and Margaret Killion, deceased.  The witnesses at the wedding were Ettie Kane and Irene Gersbach, Essie's sister.  "Auntie Ettie" is very familiar to me amongst all the visitors to my "Grandma Woodie's"  home at 14 Yeo Street Neutral Bay.  She was a friend and not relative of Jim and Essie.   Jim has enlisted in the First World War on 29 May 1917 in Newcastle and had been discharged on 23 June 1919 in Sydney.  I've wondered how long Jim and Essie knew each other before the marriage and whether Jim was a bo...

On 18 July 1824, Laurence Dunn married Judith Ryan at St John's Parish, County Kilkenny, Ireland.  That's 187 years ago today!  Laurence was known as Larry and Judith as Judy or Johanna.  The alternative spelling for the family name is Dunne.  Larry and Judy were Agnes Cahill's grandparents. There were 10 children from the marriage born between about 1825 and 1846.  Elizabeth (Eliza) was the third child and oldest daughter of Larry and Judy and she was Agnes's mother.  Eliza was born about 1830 in Kilkenny.  On 20 November 1854, Eliza married James Cahill at the Clara Parish, County Kilkenny.  James was born in about 1822 in Kilkenny.  His parents were Richard Cahill and Catherine Hogan. Ruins of old church and graveyard, Clara, County Kilkenny James and Eliza left Ireland aboard the Simonds and arrived in Port Jackson on 12 April 1855 - less than 6 months after their marriage.  They settled in Patricks Plain which is close...