Remembering an ANZAC – Charles Keogan Part 1

Featured ~ Denise Brown ~ Leave a comment

On 17 August 1915 a letter sent to his mother from a West Coast soldier was published in the Greymouth Evening Star. He was a trooper with New Zealand’s main Expeditionary Force serving in the Dardanelles in 1915, the second year of World War One. 

The writer, Private Herbert John Muir, was from Three Mile, located on the outskirts of the town of Hokitika on the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand. The publication of the letter was of local interest as Private Muir was not the only local lad to be based in the Dardanelles. He mentions four others, including Charles Keogan, aged 27 in 1915 and my paternal great-granduncle. It placed Charles in the Gallipoli Campaign, a battle infamous to New Zealanders and Australians.  It also mentioned Charles’ job in that campaign. Herbert wrote that ‘Charlie Keogan is in the bomb-throwing gang. They have a dangerous job’. At the end of the letter he claimed that ‘Charlie is still going strong’. 

The day after the letter was published, Charles was not going strong anymore – due to injury from a bomb – and four days after that, neither was Private Muir. However, they did come home – they were two of the fortunate in that respect.

Charles Keogan

Charles was born in 1888, although on his enlistment his year of birth is recorded as 1889. He was the fourth child of Catholic Irish immigrants. His father, John Keogan was born in Martinstown, Athboy in County Meath. He too had been a soldier, albeit I suspect, having survived the Great Hunger, his reasons for enlisting were not the same as those of his son.  Charles’ mother, Margaret Donohoe, was born near Ballyconnell in County Cavan. 

Charles enlisted in the Canterbury Infantry Battalion (13th North Canterbury and Westland) at Hokitika. His address was Three Mile and his employer was  J. C. Malfroy & Co., timber merchants in Hokitika. He is recorded as a sawmill hand, although the electoral roll records have his occupation as bushman. Enlistment records gave a description of Charles. He was single, aged 25 (two years younger than he was), with a thirty-six inch chest and weighed one hundred and fifty-three pounds. Charles was five foot six inches tall with a dark complexion, brown eyes, dark hair and sound teeth. He was a Roman Catholic. By all accounts, he was strong and healthy. 

The New Zealand contribution to the war effort

The name given to the force Charles joined was the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. In August of 1914, the New Zealand Government offered Britain a division of two brigades – one mounted and one infantry. On acceptance of the offer, the infantry brigade started recruiting on a territorial basis. Two battalions, with four regiments each, were sent from each island, the North and the South. Each brigade included a field ambulance, and engineer and supply companies. The regiments were numbered and, to foster local pride, regional. For Charles, this meant recruitment to the 13th North Canterbury and Westland Regiment, one of four in the Canterbury Battalion. 

New Zealand Battalions

Auckland Battalion

3rd (Auckland), 6th (Hauraki), 15th (North Auckland), and 16th (Waikato) Regiments.

Wellington Battalion

7th (Wellington West Coast), 9th (Hawke’s Bay), 11th (Taranaki), and 17th (Ruahine) Regiments. 

Canterbury Battalion

1st (Canterbury), 2nd (South Canterbury), 12th (Nelson), and 13th (North Canterbury and Westland) Regiments.

Otago Battalion

4th (Otago), 8th (Southland), 10th (North Otago), and 14th (South Otago) Regiments.[1]

Training and Transport

Charles arrived, with other Westland recruits, at Addington Show Grounds in Christchurch on 15 August 1914, one day after Britain accepted New Zealand assistance in the war effort. Once they arrived, each regiment was divided into four platoons commanded by a subaltern.[2]

The Canterbury Battalion remained in and around Christchurch for training until finally embarking at Lyttleton Harbor on 23 September 1914. The 13th Company, including Charles, was on the ship Athenic, along with the 2nd, and 12th companies. Accompanied by the Tahiti, transporting the 1st Company, the machine gun section and sixty horses they finally left Lyttleton on 2 October 1914, joining the Otago transports for Wellington. The plan to join with the North Island transports and leave immediately was subverted due to increasing naval risks in the South Pacific. 

While waiting for a naval escort to arrive the ships berthed in Wellington and the troops were taken ashore daily for training in the hills and rifle practice at Trentham. They eventually left New Zealand on 16 October 1914 after the arrival of an escort and the Auckland transports. A letter published from a diary sent home by another West Coaster, Private Robert Charles Ecclesfield, describes his thoughts on leaving Wellington. 

“All on board were in the best of spirits and with a glorious day and the sea like a mill pond surely fortune was smiling on us in every way. That day will linger long in my memory, and will not every man of us remember that day.”[3]

The next morning he was not so sanguine. He described angry lashing seas and bunks that were rising and falling in a mysterious manner. 

“Led, by habit; I went to the breakfast table. One mouthful of stew and I stopped to think; my thoughts gave way to imagination; the imagination! became real; and I hurried on deck and joined in a putting competition which was going on over the side until the bugle sounded the fall in. During the parade the words: “excuse me sergeant l am wanted at the side,” helped to make the parade bearable, at times even humorous!.”[4]

The first stop for the New Zealand contingent was Hobart on the island of Tasmania in Australia. The troops went ashore for a march that unfortunately resulted in a six-hour pack drill once back on board. Their misdemeanour? ‘participating in the hospitality of the citizens of Hobart’. 

Apples had been scattered among the soldiers who with 

“eager hands groped on the ground and shot in the air in their endeavour to secure these delicacies. For this action we were to pay dearly…and… we partook of those delicious golden apples in fancy only, thereby adding another page to our book of discipline.”[5]

The convoy sailed, finally calling at Albany, approximately 420 kilometres east of Perth, in Western Australia to join the Australian convoy. A combined fleet of thirty-eight Australian and ten New Zealand transports thereby sailed for England. 

The Athenic, carrying Charles, was one of the faster ships, and they called at Colombo in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) on 15 November 1914 to take on board coal and water. Their final stopover was Aden (now in Yemen) for one day. At this time that the convoy was redirected from their original route to Europe to Alexandria in Egypt to complete their training after the Ottoman Empire allied itself to the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. They finally arrived on 3 December 1914. The New Zealand force was ordered to Zeitoun, four miles northeast of Cairo. They were joined by the British three weeks later. 

Zeitoun, Cairo, Egypt

A correspondent with the New Zealand Forces described several aspects of life in the four or so months the battalions spent in Zeitoun and its immediate surrounds. Along with other published letters in New Zealand newspapers, it is possible to get a glimpse of what life was like for Charles in those months. On arrival in Alexandria, the soldiers travelled by train to the camp. No accommodations had been prepared and the first night was without shelter. The cold of a desert at night was unexpected and many stayed up with constant transports of men and equipment arriving. 

The camp itself was within half a mile of the train to Cairo. It ran every thirty minutes and the tram service to Heliopolis was also close.  With soldiers earning fourteen shillings per week and half-price fares provided on all Government lines, regular trips into Cairo were possible. The men were housed in bell tents. Trading licenses granted to Egyptian vendors to supply camp occupants saw men able to purchase goods “without leaving his tent”. The camp became a mini town with the usual facilities springing up, including fruit stalls, barber shops, tailors, picture shows, chemists, and restaurants. In addition, the Y.M.C.A. and Salvation Army provided marquees with weekly concerts, lectures and places to read and play games were provided.[6]

One young soldier from Oamaru who must have been in a mounted regiment wrote of sights in the first few days.

“We rode our horses for the first time to-day, and went a few miles through some native gardens, which are watered from a canal. We passed a party of Egyptian soldiers on white camels. There are lots of camels about and millions of donkeys”. 

The bread baked for the troops came from ovens erected by Napoleon, and he could see the Pyramids from the camp. Officers were taking groups of their regiments to see them. He mentioned they marched eight miles through the “blooming desert” yesterday, to the rifle range.[7]

New Zealanders in Egypt: Whares constructed out of fran bags, straw mats, etc., during the first days of the camp at Zeitoun, near Cairo. New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15849, 20 February 1915, Page 4[8]

Novel fauna was detailed in a Wairarapa newspaper by a North Island trooper from Wellington who did not appreciate any of it. He described small wriggly eel like sand snakes around two feet long in the desert.  Burrowing centipedes in tents made a noise and would jump ten feet in the air when disturbed by sleeping men’s feet who would inadvertently cause them to land on somebody. In addition, he was plagued by ‘a black bug with a sting half an inch long, which raises a lump on you about the size of a duck’s egg’ and a ‘hissing spider which hisses like a motor tire going down, is three inches across the back…stands about one inch high, and can run horribly quickly.’[9]

Training drills and downtime

Training consisted of drills, route marches through sand, activities such as skirmishing, bivouacking, trenching or artillery practice with live shells. The aim was to be capable of covering twenty-seven miles in a day.[10] With unlimited space, mounted regiments, infantry, artillery, machine gun sections, and field ambulances each had allotted grounds. The various units generally left camp at eight in the morning with their lunches after a 5.30 am wakeup call and returned at four in the afternoon.  One correspondent for the New Zealand Herald wrote 

“The parade ground was ‘open desert… stretch[ing] away into the haze”.[11]

Another wrote 

“The result of this training is daily becoming more apparent, and it would be hard for the New Zealander at home to recognise in these hardy, well-trained looking men, the untrained recruits of a few months ago”.

The generals had stated that the progress of the troops would influence the date of their despatch to the front so that was possibly seen as motivation.[12]

Downtime and sport were part of the experience with Saturday afternoons free. Football matches between regiments were popular, as were running and obstacle course races. Donkeys were used for polo matches and mounted wrestling competitions.

New Zealand Forces attained the nickname “Massey’s Tourists’, named for the New Zealand Prime Minister of the time, William Massey. They had the time to explore Cairo’s new sounds, sights, smells, and tastes. Many visited museums, the Sphinx and pyramids, theatrical performances and Zoological Gardens and sent souvenirs home. By the time the force left for Gallipoli, four hundred and forty-five New Zealanders had been treated for venereal disease in a hospital set up for the purpose of treatment by the Australians.[13] The authorities had attempted to quell the desire for entertainments in Cairo by implementing a 10.30 pm curfew and setting up their own recreational facilities and canteens. The New Zealand Herald Correspondent went into some detail about the exploits of the Expeditionary Force in Cairo. He wrote that in the evenings 

“the city is thronged with men in khaki…dash[ing] around in carriages, which are mercifully cheap, and hire[ing] donkeys, on which they scamper through the streets and have races, in spite of the loud protests of the native owners”.[14]

Christmas day was celebrated with a day off. Another Hokitika lad, Sergeant Harry Wild, wrote home about the Christmas Eve dinner provided for those from Hokitika with a portion of the money given by the Hokitika people for their young men. He wrote that it was ‘a very decent dinner, not at all beery like a report I saw sent about it would lead one to believe’.  He mentioned the arrival of a New Zealand Contingent from London who mentioned that stores, sheds and accommodations had been built, and horse-lines prepared in England confirming that as the original plan for the New Zealand troops. He mentioned sleeping arrangements, with no straw, their hard beds had prepared them for future bivouacking.[15] Another writer commented that they slept on native rush mats.[16]

First engagement

On 25 January 1915 the brigade was considered fit enough to support an Indian Division defending the Suez Canal. With the Turkish advancing, the Canterbury Battalion went to Ismailia at Lake Timsah to become general reserves. They garrisoned posts at El Ferdan, Battery Post (both north-east of Ismailia), and Serapeum (south of Lake Timsah). One company was kept in reserve at Ismailia (Ferry Post) with a platoon of another company. The Turkish troops attacked on the third February. 

The enemy attacked at El Ferdan, where the 13th Regiment Company and two platoons of the 1st Regiment Company were stationed. A Turkish Battery of four small guns opened fire on the Signal Station, hitting the buildings several times. The H.M.S. Clio arrived and silenced the batteries. 

The shipping on Lake Timsah was subjected to shell fire during the day, along with the outskirts of Ismailia at various points. Though no regular attack was made, intermittent shelling continued. The New Zealand platoons actually saw no fighting, although they were exposed to shell fire throughout the day. Some of the shells fired at this point fell within half a mile of the ground where the Auckland and Canterbury Battalions were encamped. During the night of the 3rd a half-hearted attack was made, after which the enemy withdrew the bulk of their forces to Kataib El Kheil.

https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/nzef-egypt-1914-16-map

The event, for the British and their allies, was minor compared to what was to come. Although Charles and his colleagues stayed in the area until 26 February, most of the time was spent training. One Canterbury lad had found the ‘little sojourn to the front’ a more interesting event than the drills to date, even though they had missed any action. He wrote that everyone was sorry to be leaving the ‘pretty, little town of Ismailia with rumours regarding their next destination. He wrote that the First (Canterbury) Regiment had given a concert to raise funds for the Red Cross and Serbian refugees, which saw full attendance. He spoke of an epidemic of diarrhoea, some residents of Ismailia leaving for what they considered safer quarters and his amusement at the comments passed by some when reading sporting news from home, especially the cricket results, with some going down the lists and naming those who should be in Egypt, and who should not. That is, those with big scores would be assets. He stated 

“We don’t get much money, but we do see life,” and the life is worth almost, any sacrifice”. 

The author added to his letter on February 28 after returning to Zeitoun. He wrote that censorship was no longer a problem and mentioned Constantinople as a possible destination. With a sighting of H.M.S. Triumph passing through the Canal to bombard the Dardanelles,[17] he was closer in that summation than he probably knew. 

After returning to Zeitoun, the field training increased with trench warfare, night assaults and entrenching practised. Battalions now were marching long distances daily with seventy-pound packs to prepare them for carrying the extra ammunition and rations for three days of self-sufficiency. Training intensity had increased with another writing to a friend in March 1915 saying: 

“We have been having rather a trying time lately with a spell of unseasonable and very hot weather. We will be glad to get out of here. The heat has been accompanied by some awful sand storms, and it just so happened that while these were at their worst, we had some big field manoeuvres to practise – training on a huge scale. We do our training on the desert. This week we have been doing battle against a battalion of Lancashire Territorials, who are in camp near us. The whole of the New Zealand division goes out, and on Friday there were 30,000 men in the field. We don’t mind the walking, but when attack practices are on, and we have to double over the sand with our full packs on, it is a fair devil.”[18]

Mobilisation

An advanced base at Mustafa near Alexandra was established for a pending mobilisation. Infantry battalions of thirty-three officers and nine hundred and seventy-seven other ranks, along with additional reinforcements of one hundred per battalion were confirmed. The reinforcements and men not selected were to remain at Zeitoun, now designated a training depot. 

The 12th and 13th Companies of the Canterbury Regiment left for Alexandria for Palais de Koubbeh Station on 9 April 1915. They embarked on theItonus later that day. The remaining companies in the regiments embarked two days later. 

The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps were one part of the Gallipoli campaign. Lieutenant General Sir W R Birdwood was in command. The Corps was made up of the Australian Division (1st, 2nd, and 3rd Infantry Brigades) and the New Zealand and Australian Division (the New Zealand Infantry Brigade and the 4th Australian Infantry Brigade). Although the latter included the New Zealand Mounted Rifles and 1st Australian Light Horse, these Brigades were left in Egypt as the attack was not suited to mounted troops. 

The troop ships sailed to Mudros on the island of Lemnos where they waited for the plan of attack. Time was spent training onshore and practising landing drills. It was decided to land an Australian Division first to cover the disembarkation of following troops. The Australian transports sailed on 24 April. Fifteen hundred men of the 3rd Australian Division were transferred to smaller boats and towed to around two thousand metres off the landing site. The remaining twenty-five hundred troops were transferred to destroyers and towed to about the same distance. The position was about a mile north of that originally intended. 

References

[1] The History of the Canterbury Regiment, N.Z.E.F. 1914-1919. Page 1-2. This format changed after the Gallipoli Campaign.

 [2] Ibid page 71

[3] To Egypt. West Coast Times, 16 February 1915, Page 4. Accessed 25 October 2023 https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WCT19150216.2.23?items_per_page=10&query=Private+Ecclesfield+diary&snippet=true

[4] Ibid

[5] Ibid

[6] Life in Egypt. Evening Post, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 63, 16 March 1915, Page 4 https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19150316.2.37?end_date=01-05-1915&items_per_page=10&page=4&query=Zeitoun&snippet=true&start_date=01-12-1914

[7] Letter From The Front. Oamaru Mail. Volume XL, Issue 12438, 2 February 1915, Page 3 https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/OAM19150202.2.13?end_date=01-05-1915&items_per_page=10&page=3&query=Zeitoun&snippet=true&start_date=01-12-1914

[8] (Supplement) https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19150220.2.118.38.1?end_date=01-05-1915&items_per_page=10&query=Zeitoun&snippet=true&start_date=01-12-1914

[9] Reptiles in Egypt. Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume LXVIII, Issue 14232, 11 March 1915, Page 7 https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WDT19150311.2.50?end_date=01-05-1915&items_per_page=10&page=6&query=Zeitoun&snippet=true&start_date=01-12-1914

[10] The History of the Canterbury Regiment, N.Z.E.F. 1914-1919. Page 1-2. This format changed after the Gallipoli Campaign. Page 12

[11] Work and Play. Press, Volume L1, Issue 15192, 2 February 1915, Page 8 https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19150202.2.55.51?end_date=01-05-1915&items_per_page=10&page=3&query=Zeitoun&snippet=true&start_date=01-12-1914

[12] Life in Egypt. Evening Post, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 63, 16 March 1915, Page 4 https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19150316.2.37?end_date=01-05-1915&items_per_page=10&page=4&query=Zeitoun&snippet=true&start_date=01-12-1914

[13] ‘Massey’s Tourists’ – New Zealand’s Expeditionary Force in Egypt by Matthew Tonks – Web Advisor in the WW100 Programme Office. Accessed 25 October 2023.  https://ww100.govt.nz/masseys-tourists-new-zealands-expeditionary-force-in-egypt

[14] Work and Play. Press, Volume L1, Issue 15192, 2 February 1915, Page 8https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19150202.2.55.51?end_date=01-05-1915&items_per_page=10&page=3&query=Zeitoun&snippet=true&start_date=01-12-1914

[15] Our Boys in Egypt . West Coast Times, 11 February 1915, Page 3  https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WCT19150211.2.20?end_date=01-05-1915&items_per_page=10&page=2&query=Zeitoun&snippet=true&start_date=01-12-1914&title=CHARG%2cGRA%2cGEST%2cHOG%2cIT%2cKUMAT%2cLTCBG%2cWCT%2cWEST

[16] Letter From The Front. Oamaru Mail. Volume XL, Issue 12438, 2 February 1915, Page 3 https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/OAM19150202.2.13?end_date=01-05-1915&items_per_page=10&page=3&query=Zeitoun&snippet=true&start_date=01-12-1914

[17] Worth Almost Any Sacrifice. Press, Volume L1, Issue 15246, 7 April 1915, Page 7 https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19150407.2.53.1?end_date=01-05-1915&items_per_page=10&page=3&query=Zeitoun&snippet=true&start_date=01-12-1914

[18] Training on the Desert. Press, Volume L1, Issue 15258, 21 April 1915, Page 10 https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19150421.2.71.6?end_date=01-05-1915&items_per_page=10&page=3&query=Zeitoun&snippet=true&start_date=01-12-1914

# 52/6: An historical version of Social Media

Featured ~ Denise Brown ~ Leave a comment

Historical newspapers can be a goldmine for developing a sense of neighbourhood, place and language. For my Anderson ancestors in Sligo on the west coast of Ireland this certainly proved to be so. Reports verified occupations, family relationships, locations and neighbours. This helped where other evidence were missing. William Anderson’s wife Margaret and children, found one way or another, are highlighted above. They were one form of 21st century social media in the 19th century.

Armstrong’s Row c1870, Sligo. The Garavogue River is on the other side of the Abbey at the top of the image. Armstrong’s Row is now the location of the Abbey carpark and the street is now partly Charlotte Street and partly St Joachim’s Terrace.

The first mention of William and Margaret  Anderson’s family in Sligo’s newspapers occurred on 12 January 1849 where William, master chimney sweep, and town officer John Jennings were praised for apprehending John Tiernan “in the process of stealing a carpet bag belonging to Mark Brennan from a car on the way to Collooney”[1]. 

From then most of the family were regularly recorded as they navigated relationships with, in particular, their neighbours. These episodes in their life provide an image of a rambunctious family as is shown in the following extracts as well as showing a little about types of cases and workings of the Petty Sessions. 

In 1856 William summoned Daniel McGoldrick “for beating his child and using threatening language towards himself, in consequence of which he “dreaded a breach of the peace.” McGoldrick claimed “he [had] thrashed [William] before and…would do so again”. Following threats William declared he feared for his life. McGoldrick denied this, stating “that is all lies, your worships. Anderson, when he came to know why I beat his child offered to box me, and that he would pay for a room for the purpose.” The bench asked William if he made “use of this language” to laughter from the court. William replied that “Well, I told him I would give him any satisfaction he wanted, and of course he might take that just as he pleased”. McGoldrick was bound over for five pounds and two sureties of ½ each to keep the peace[2]. 

McGoldrick/Anderson incident 1856
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#52/5 ‘OOPS – The Holey Hat and the Pistol’

Featured ~ Denise Brown ~ Leave a comment

There are several newspaper reports on the incident that saw Thomas Finlan forced to depart from the fair city of Dublin.  They  identify his ‘oops’ moment, that is, caught on the run with both a weapon and stolen property leaving a public house after likely treating himself to a pint. Maybe the close call after being shot at left him feeling a bit shaken up and the hat told a good story.

Fortunately for me, the newspapers of the day were thorough in detail when reporting incidents. Three published articles in particular give great detail on some of Thomas’ associates as well as himself. This adds context and it would be certainly interesting to see what became of his associates as well. Maybe I will follow up one day.

(The parts of the post in italics are verbatim from the articles referenced).

Continue reading “#52/5 ‘OOPS – The Holey Hat and the Pistol’” →

#52/3: Out of Place – The Notorious Thomas Finlan and Dublin’s Newgate

Featured ~ Denise Brown ~ Leave a comment

The end of Thomas life seems to me to portray an everyday hard working family man. On tracing back, however, it seems he was ‘notorious’‘, ‘in the most daring gang to ever infest the neighbourhood’, and engaged in not so mysterious ‘doings’ in Dublin.

The earliest reference I found to Thomas was an article pertaining to his arrest. It stated that 

McDonogh and Scott apprehended [the suspect]…coming out of Duignan’s public house in Mercer Street… found a large horse pistol… his own hat was subsequently found on the road at the scene of action. These fellows were soon recognised as two of a gang who made themselves notorious for their robberies within the last month… the pistolman the notorious Thomas Finla[y]n, who have very lately been spending seven months in Newgate for similar doings. He and his companion were committed till next Commission, which will sit at Kilmainham on the 9th of next month.[1]

Then I found this one…Thomas had been caught picking pockets in September 1832[2].

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#52/2: A photo – Cholera in Dublin 1832

Featured ~ Denise Brown ~ Leave a comment

It takes ten minutes to walk from my home to the Broadstone Luas stop near Grangegorman in North Dublin. Broadstone is opposite Kings Inn Park, Irelands oldest school of law and the home of the ‘Hungry Tree’ on Constitution Hill, a short walk to a previous tenement turned tourist attraction at 14 Henrietta Street, and 750 metres to St Michans Park, the site of the former Newgate Prison in Dublin on the corner of Halston and Little Britain Streets. It is an area full of historical importance that is not so immediately obvious today. But what do these areas have in common, why this photo, and how are they connected to Thomas? 

Image of Bully’s Acre Kilmainham, Dublin, Ireland Personal Photo Denise Brown

The photo is of a place. Thomas Finlan left no photo of himself, it was too early for that. The place, Bully’s Acre, was a burial ground he perhaps knew rather well. It is connected to events and conditions, unimaginable for many of us, that he lived through and which I imagine influenced his decisions. Additionally, his stomping ground then is partly mine today which is somewhat strange to me. I am not from Ireland and never imagined that one day I would live here.

One of the newspaper reports of Thomas’ arrest for highway robbery in 1833 stated that 

“In about 2 hours, after Dunn was taken into custody, Peace officers McDonagh and Scott arrested a well-known resurrectionist, Thomas Finlan, as he was coming out of a public house on Mercer Street…Finlan was immediately identified as the person who had attacked Mr Dunroche…it is only due to the police these arrests have been made…one of the most daring gangs that ever infested the neighbourhood of this city has been at length arrested…

Continue reading “#52/2: A photo – Cholera in Dublin 1832” →

# 52/1: I would like to meet

Featured ~ Denise Brown ~ 8 Comments

Ancestors in 52 Weeks

This is a hard question to answer because in truth I would like to meet them all. I have too many questions and there is a lot of smoke and misdirection surrounding the lives of most, particularly those who ended up in New South Wales in Australia in the early nineteenth century, either compelled to ’emigrate’ or by personal choice. 

I would like to focus on one couple, Thomas Finlan and Bridget Conlon alias Tunney, in particular for the next eight weeks worth of prompts so this will not really be 52 ancestors but hopefully close to 52 weeks of posts. Thomas and Bridget were both from Ireland, one from the east coast and one from the west coast, both convicts, and both transported in the early to mid 1830s. Their crimes were polar opposites, but both seem to have had a rebellious and independent streak, were resilient and I like to think, were at least somewhat happy with the way their lives turned out. 

Thomas Finlan was born in County Carlow in Ireland c1809. There is no definitive evidence of date, townland, names of parents or other identifying facts to help get beyond that rather sparse information found to date. The name Finlan was more common in the South East of Ireland in the nineteenth century, particularly in County’s Carlow and Kilkenny so it is likely that Carlow is correct. Further, it was given on son James’ birth certificate in 1856 and Thomas was the informant in this instance. Convict records record Thomas as from County Dublin, where he was caught and convicted.

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Passenger Arrivals 1906 – Annie Webster

Featured ~ Denise Brown ~ 4 Comments

“I am prepared to go anywhere, provided it be forward” (David Livingston)

Edinburgh Evening News 25 November 1903

A Census of the British Empire in 1906 recorded Great Britain as ruling one fifth of the world. Domestic workers in New Zealand were calling for a 63-hour working week with a half day off and a fortnight off every year.  Mount Vesuvius erupted devastating Naples and the San Francisco earthquake and fire killed close to 4000 residents.

On 29 November 1905, my great grandmother Annie Webster left London for New Zealand on the steamship Turakina, a journey of some 24,000 km. The ship was fairly new, built in Dumbarton by William Denny and Brothers for the New Zealand Shipping Company. It had refrigerated cargo space to cater for the import/export market between Britain and its colonies. It could accommodate around 360 passengers, including accommodation for first- and second-class customers. The Turakina had completed its maiden voyage in late 1902 but had a short life – it was torpedoed and sunk less than fifteen years later on 13 August 1917 whilst carrying troops to New Zealand via New York with the loss of four lives.

Annie was one of 168 third class passengers, and contracted to disembark in Wellington, New Zealand. She was on the same ticket as Miss M Wilson, both of whom are recorded as Scottish and domestics. It is not known all the reasons she chose to leave Scotland but a new start seems to be a likely reason. After 70 days at sea, Annie arrived in Wellington at 3.40 am on 16 January 1906 as one of 219 passengers and 5653 tons of cargo (Otago Daily Times, 17 Jan 1906) including livestock imported for individuals; pedigree sheep, fowls, bantams, pigeons and canaries (Marlborough Express 1906, Wanganui Herald, 1906).

The Turakina

Although the Suez and Panama Canals had opened in 1869 and 1914 respectively, the New Zealand Shipping Company that Annie sailed with continued using the traditional route to Australia and New Zealand until at least later in 1914, with coal stops in Tenerife, Cape Town and Hobart. 

The Turakina reported ‘moderate seas and winds to latitude 22 degrees south’, and ‘strong head winds and high seas’ to Cape Town which the ship reached on 22 December. She sailed again on the afternoon of 23 December, experiencing ‘moderate winds and seas’ in the Southern Ocean, before arriving in Hobart, Australia on 11 January. Twenty-three passengers disembarked in Hobart, along with the unloading of 361 tons of cargo and the ship left that same afternoon for Wellington (Lyttelton Times, 1906).

Route England to New Zealand

There was little time for sightseeing at designated stops.  The Turakina arrived and departed from a fuel stop in Tenerife on 7 December.  Such a stop was described by John Lynn in the diary he wrote in 1911 on his journey to Australia (Notes on Voyage, 1911: High jinks on the high seas. Edited by David Ransom 2021 and available on Amazon.com). Lynn noted that as they were due to arrive at Las Palmas, orders were given that money and valuables be put in the safe of the Chief Steward as locals would be coming on deck to sell their wares/fruit. He described the scenery of ‘gaily painted buildings of red, white, blue, and green at the foot of red sandstone hills’, fishermen, and boats full of locals coming to sell fruit, slippers, shawls, tobacco, wine, spirits, and chocolate. 300 tons of coal were loaded onto the ship in bags. On enquiring what wage per day [the coal loaders] received for ‘that dirty, hard work’ he was appalled to hear it was 1/- per day. In response he said he ‘is not surprised they do not want missionaries if the Englishman pays so little’, as it is a poor example of ‘Christian England’. It is likely that Annie experienced similar sights and sounds.

Shipping record showing Annie embarking in London and contracted to Wellington

It is worth noting further experiences Lynn reported on as they are repeated in many a migrant’s diary of their journey over several decades. Recurring themes were the misery of seasickness on entering the Bay of Biscay. Rough seas resulting in general chaos were mentioned several times with personal items being thrown about in rooms; slipping from one end of the bed to another while trying to sleep; and dining in rough weather with meals ending up on the floor. On Lynn’s particular trip, he, at one point, reported ‘high seas with crests of up to 60 yards rounding the Cape…the vessel was below the level of the sea with waves breaking over them…noise like thunder, and rolling up and down and side to side’.

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A Sligo Master Sweep

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A change in tradition in relation to cleaning occurred in the early eighteenth century as “…householder[s] in England…transform[ed] small children into human brooms for sweeping out their flues”[1]

In April 1880 the Sligo Workhouse master informed his governors that the chimneys needed sweeping. However, the contractor had died recently and he did not feel it prudent to bring in the son in his stead. How was he to progress? The governors ordered the purchase of a chimney-sweeping machine to be operated by resident paupers.[2] The contract had only just been renewed at £10 (around £1263 in 2021) per annum. The master sweep, my three times great grandfather, William Anderson, had held it for at least the past thirty years. He died on 12 March at the age of 62 years of typhus fever, the day before the renewal of the contract was confirmed on 13 March 1880[3]. 

The first mention of William is his marriage to Margaret Hill, witnessed by Mark Smyth and Cecelia McHugh, in the Roman Catholic Chapel on 4 January 1841 in Sligo. How he became a master sweep, his attitude toward the use of children as apprentices and the use of new technology can only be speculated. Some master sweeps were apprenticed as climbing boys, some were never apprenticed to the trade. Some purchased an existing business, inherited their father’s, married a sweep’s widow, or simply needed an income. What is known is that William had apprentices, employed journeymen and owned at least two sweeping machines during his career. His youngest son, named William, also entered the profession for a time at least. 

London Sweep[4]
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Ann Smith (nee Murison): wife, mother, grandmother

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Finding your way: Life in 19th Century Garioch

“Language is built on not only what is spoken but what is unspoken; the richness of the social structure…[and] other aspects form the words we speak and…how they are communicated” (Dame Evelyn Glennie (2019)[1]

In his book Thirty-Two Words for Field: Lost Words of the Irish Landscape Manchán Magan identifies 70 000 place names, over 4,300 words used to describe character and twenty one for holes. Living in Ireland and having Irish speaking friends has introduced me to the way that layers of knowing and understanding are made explicit through language.[2]

Helen Beaton’s (1847-1928) book ‘At The Back o’ Benachie (or Life in the Garioch in the Nineteenth Century)’, published in 1915, is a rich rendering of nineteenth century Garioch rural life and language. It is here, in the north east of Scotland that my 3x great grandparents Ann and her husband Robert lived, farmed and raised a family.  (They are the grandparents of my great grandmother, Annie Webster of the last post). In this rural community social bonds were entwined through every aspect of local life. Shared language developed community cohesiveness  and identity and rituals provided structure and a way to navigate life events by providing a ‘communally wise path’ and a way for emotion to be ‘contained and channelled’[3].  

North East Scots or Doric has the most ‘maximally north-east features’ in the area of Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire up to the west of Inverurie.[4] Ann would have spoken and understood life and death through Doric. It is probable her experiences of courting, marriage, birth and death also mirror Beaton’s memories. 

‘Scots’ is the native Germanic vernacular, descended from Northumbrian dialects brought in between the seventh and twelfth centuries of non-Gaelic Scotland. Broad Scots differs in sounds, structures and words; and also between fishing and farming communities within the same geographical area. Doric is known as such due to its association with the farming community.

Distinctive features of local Doric:

  • Use of ‘fih’ in place of ‘wh’, for example,  ‘fit’ for ‘what’
  • Words local to the area, for example, cappie (ice-cream), stewie-bap (floury roll), and ficher (play with your fingers). 
  • Moon becomes mean, school becomes squeal, stone becomes steen[1].

Mrs Ann Smith wis baptised Ann Murison, it Bartholchapel on twinty July 1822. She wis the dother (daughter) o George Murison, a dominie (teacher) an his dame (wife) Barbara Scorgie. Ann merriet (married) Robert Smith on 27 May 1846 at the Chapel of Garioch  and they hid fower bairnies (four children), three loons (boys) namyt William, Robert and Peter and a quine (girl) namyt Ann. They bed ootbye (lived out by) Bourtie it Old Meldrum. Robert deid in 1864 and wis beeriet (was buried) in Bourtie Kirkyard, along wit loons William who drooned (drowned) in 1871, aged 24 and Peter deid of peritonitis in 1874 aged 19. 

Ann Murison exhibited significant resilience in her roles as wife, mother and grandmother. Care was ‘deep and rooted’[5] in rural areas and it is likely this, along with a strong sense of place in her community, helped Ann in her role as a stabilising influence for her family. From 1864 on until her death 36 years later in 1900 she faced the premature loss of children and husband, maintained then moved off the farm she had shared with her husband and cared for daughter Ann’s four illegitimate children. How much of these cultural influences, beliefs and practices did she pass to her daughter Ann and granddaughters Annie and Lizzie? And how much of them did my great-great grandmother Annie Webster keep close and incorporate into her own life?

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Which Webster? A mystery solved

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The parents and grandparents of James Webster. James is my 2x great grandfather and the father of my great grandmother Annie Sheila Webster who was born in Oldmeldrum in Aberdeenshire. Annie migrated to New Zealand on the Turakina in 1906. She is my mother’s grandmother and married Murdoch McIver at Mohaka Station in Wairoa, New Zealand in 1907.

Annie Webster was born 12 February 1877 at the home of her grandmother Ann Smith at  Market Square, Oldmeldrum, Aberdeenshire. The town is a rural settlement approximately 32 kilometres from the city of Aberdeen. She was the illegitimate daughter of Ann Smith, a dressmaker and James Webster, a railway carter. The identity of her father initially proved elusive. Annie used her father’s surname until her marriage in 1907,  not always the case with illegitimate children, but also not necessarily unusual if a father admitted paternity and is named on the birth registration.  There is no evidence her parents continued their relationship after her birth. It is possible that the Webster and Smith families knew each other and socialised from at least the 1850s with a newspaper article reporting on a ploughing competition in 1856 on the Smith farm, with an Alexander Webster, possibly the father of James, mentioned as having attended. 

Annie Webster Statutory Register of Birth 229/17 in the Parish of Meldrum, County of Aberdeen. Crown Copyright, National Records of Scotland
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Biographies not Novels

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Common Themes: Emigration and Ordinary People

Samuel and Eliza (nee Magilton) Adams, my 2x great grandparents on my mothers side, left Plymouth in England for New Zealand as assisted immigrants on the Stad Haarlam, a steamship under charter to the New Zealand Company, on 15 February 1879. They were from County Down in what is now Northern Ireland and recently married. They left a supportive social network of family and friends behind and were facing impending parenthood.

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#52/4: ‘Fashioning Gray’s Anatomy’Ancestors

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Two men placing the shrouded corpse which they have just disinterred into a sack while Death, as a nightwatchman holding a lantern, grabs one of the grave-robbers from behind. Coloured drawing by T. Rowlandson, 1775.

Gray’s Anatomy, the bible for generations of medical professionals, is referenced in novels and movies as diverse as The Addams Family, Gabaldon’s Voyager, Star Trek: Voyager, Dan Brown’s Inferno and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The 42nd edition is still in use today. 

The original text was written in 1859 by doctors Henry Gray and Henry Vandyke Carter as an anatomical guide for their colleagues. The original text was well before the invention of imaging and is striking for its detail on the inner mysteries of the human body. Acknowledging how the first edition could be so detailed is not something we generally consider. I certainly didn’t think about the practicalities in gaining the necessary understanding of the inner workings of the body until I discovered that my four times great grandfather Thomas Finlan was in a Dublin based gang and a resurrectionist to boot. 

Gangs of resurrectionists followed in the footsteps of the original ‘body snatchers’, that is, the teachers and students of anatomy who, according to Ball in his treatise on the practice, were respectable resurrectionists.[1] Although other parties were actively providing anatomists with exhumed bodies to meet demand, the first grave robbers, from as early as the 1700’s were principally the anatomists, surgeons and students.[2] It was common for leading surgeons revered even today for their discoveries to have been personally engaged with the practice in their student days. As demand for corpses grew, an increasingly incensed public meant students and anatomists were putting their personally safety at risk. The solution was to turn to hiring gangs of resurrectionists for supply to their teaching schools.

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