Family Gatherings: Rod and Mick

Rod Cavanagh and Mick Ronan      2021
An unexpected connection. 

This is my brother Rod, and his workmate, Mick Ronan.

Rod and Mick first met over 10 years ago, while working in the mining industry in Western Australia.

Not long ago, they had a discussion about family backgrounds, after I had shared some of my family history discoveries with Rod. There were some overlaps, as Mick had a surname that was in our family tree, and was from South Australia where our grandfather was born. 

The result - Rod and Mick discovered that they are ...

              4th cousins once removed.


The relationship chart explains the connection.
Patrick Ronan is Mick's great-great grandfather.
Patrick Ronan's sister, Catherine Ronan, is our 3rd great grandmother


                                                                                                                    
St John's Cemetery, Kapunda, South Australia
Photo Credit: C. Dangerfield  2010  

Patrick Ronan was born in about 1809 in County Clare, Ireland.  He died at  Kapunda in South Australia on the 6th May 1865, and is buried in the old St John's Catholic cemetery, near Kapunda.

He arrived at Port Jackson in NSW on the convict ship "Asia" on 2 December 1831.                                                                   
Patrick was convicted of the offence "Robbery of Fire Arms" at a Special Commission held in County Clare on 2 June 1831, and sentenced to Transportation for Life. 
He was 22 years of age.









The Special Commission hearings were widely reported and an account of the session where Patrick Ronan was convicted was included in the Dublin papers. 
Dublin Morning Register, Dublin, Republic of Ireland 13 June 1831 
"CLOSE OF THE CLARE COMMISSION"

The report refers to "the brave but unfortunate Robinson."  Other newspaper reports describe him as a police constable who was overcome by a mob, and who died soon afterwards.


Patrick served almost 18 years of his sentence, before receiving a Conditional Pardon on 15 February 1849.
Source: Ancestry.com, NSW, Australia, Convict Registers of Conditional & Absolute Pardons, 1788-1870

The next record found for Patrick Ronan is his marriage to Mary Collins at St Patrick's Church in Adelaide on 29 July 1854.  Patrick was 45, and Mary was 26.  
The witnesses to the marriage were Patrick Sexton and Catherine Sexton - who were Patrick's sister and brother-in-law, and my 3rd great grandparents.

What a special gathering that must have been, when family were re-united.

Patrick's sister, Catherine Ronan, was born in about 1820 and would have been about 11 when he was transported to Australia.
Catherine Ronan married Patrick Sexton in County Clare in Ireland in about 1840.
Evidence of their marriage hasn't been found, as it pre-dates available parish registers.  However records for the baptism of children were located in the registers of the Catholic church at Kilchrist and Clondegad, in County Clare.  
Clondegad is the same place where Patrick Ronan and others were reported as committing the offence that saw them convicted in 1831.
Children of Patrick and Catherine Sexton baptised at Clondegad were: - Honor (1847), Patrick (1850), Michael (1851), and twins Peter and Matthew (9 May 1853).  The register indicates that the family were residing at Decamade.
Baptism records are only available from 1847, so children born earlier were not found.

Patrick and Catherine Sexton sailed on the "Blenheim" from Plymouth on 22 November 1853, arriving at Melbourne in Victoria on 28 February 1854.  
With them were children Mary (12), Anne (10) and Michael (2).  
Their baby son Peter died 4 December 1853 and was buried at sea. 
Other children - Honor, Patrick and Matthew are presumed to have died in the period between their baptisms and when the family departed for Australia.
Michael Sexton (born c1851) was my 2nd great-grandfather.

Patrick was engaged on 11 March 1854 by a Mr Francis at St Kilda, for a term of 6  months, with his wages to be £65, with rations.  He worked there for less than 4 months, as the family were in Adelaide by 29 July, to witness the marriage of Patrick Ronan and Mary Collins.

Source: Ancestry.com, Victoria, Australia, Assisted and Unassisted Passenger Lists, 1839-1923

Two of Patrick and Catherine Ronan's siblings, Michael and Andrew, also traveled from County Clare to South Australia in 1850 and 1855.

DNA evidence has confirmed the family connections. A further will detail the findings. 











Comments

  1. genemonkeyOctober 13, 2021 at 2:10 PM

    I wonder whether Charles O'Connell is the son of Maurice O'Connell and Margaret Sweeney? https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/O'Connell-1237. If so, he is my 1st Cousin 5 times removed!

    ReplyDelete

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