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John and Mary MORAN lived in Liverpool, England. They had three children that I know of, one being my great-great-great grandfather James MORAN.
James was born in 1824 and married Ellen MURPHY in 1848. Shortly after their marriage, the emmigrated to Australia, arriving in Melbourne at first. They eventually settled in Ipswich in Queensland around 1865. James was a builder, painter and plasterer - a man of many skills. He died not long after moving to Ipswich, leaving his wife with 5 children to look after. Family Group Sheet of James and Ellen MORAN
I am descended from James and Ellen Moran's son Edward. Edward was a compositor, serving his apprenticeship with the Ispwich Observer and West Moreton Advocate until 1881. In 1884 he formed a partnership with William Peel Mellefont and opened a newspaper and general printers in Gladstone, Queensland, Australia. He married Sarah Jane Josephine Sharkey in 1886. They had seven children, Edward, Alice, Leopold, Martha (my great-grandmother), John, Francis and Kathleen. The family appeared to have some mental illness in their history, with one child, Francis institutionalized and another, my great-grandmother, passing away in a mental hospital. The eldest son became a licensed Victualler (publican) and ran The Beenleigh Hotel from 1914 to 1935. He and his wife, Bessie ran hotels until his death in 1952. The second eldest son, Leo died in Belgium during WW1.
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John Sharkey was born in County Donegal, Ireland in about 1836. I don't know
anything about his life in Ireland, other than he married Martha Elizabeth
Derben there in 1864. Martha was born in 1848 in Hampshire, England. Her
father, George Derben worked for the Coast Guard. Their first child Mary
was also born in Ireland shortly before their marriage. It is not unusual
for the first child to be born out of wedlock, many couples waited until
a child was born before marrying in this era. John and Martha emmigrated to
Australia in about 1865, settling in Calvert, a small railway township near
Ipswich in Queensland. John had 130 acres of property on the edge of town.
He farmed this land until his death in 1922. He also worked for the railways,
probably in building the railway between Ipswich and Toowoomba or to one of
the Coal mines in the area.
John and Martha had a total of 7 children, Mary,
Sarah, Jane, Edward, Elizabeth, Louisa and George. Elizabeth died as a baby
and Louisa and George never married, living with their father until his death
and then with their sister Jane and her family until their death. Go to
Family Group Sheet of John & Martha Sharkey. I am
related to this family through John and Martha's daughter Sarah, who married
Edward Moran (see above).
Calvert is a small town situated 15 miles from Ipswich where the railway
crosses Western Creek. The town was originally known as Western Creek Gate
when the railway line opened in 1863. The bridge, or Western Creek gate
was opened in 1873. The town was also known as Alfred. The name was officially
changed to Calvert on March 24, 1886.
One of John Sharkey's properties near Calvert
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© 1998. This page is maintained by Tiny Tan.
Last updated 16 June 1998.