Catherine Angela Keady

Old photos are rather rare, so this was a lucky find. Through a DNA connection a distant 3rd cousin was kind enough to share this great photo of Catherine Angela Keady (1846 -1925).

Catherine also known as “Kate” or “Agnes” was a younger sister of our great grandfather, John Francis Keady (1840-1902) and his older brother, Patrick Keady (1837-1923).

Catherine was one of the first generation of Keadys born in Australia.

Catherine was born on 25th September, 1846, with the birthplace given as “Yarra, Victoria”. Formal Government registration of births did not commence until some years latter. The record below is a Catholic Church record of baptisms performed in the Port Phillip colony at the time of Catherine’s birth.

At the time of Catherine’s birth, the English colonial administrators must have still been having trouble with the Keady’s Irish accent. The Baptism records show Catherine’s name as “Cath Cady, and her father’s name as John Cady. This spelling is the same as that used in the shipping records when John, Honora and their first four children arrived in the Colony in November, 1841.

The meaning of “Yarra” is not all that clear, but her father John Keady was recorded as living at “Half Tree”, Merri Creek in 1847. It is probably a fair assumption that Catherine spent her childhood living on the Keady family farm at Merri Creek. The next record of the family location was in 1856, when John Keady was recorded as living at Pentridge.

The township of Pentridge referred to the location of the first stockade built in Melbourne and was to be developed over the following decades into the infamous, Pentridge Prison. Today, the area is known as Coburg and the old township roughly stretches from Sydney Road to the Merri Creek. (The exact location of the “Half Tree” on Merri Creek, remains a mystery.)

Catherine was the 8th child of John and Honora Keady.

Kate went on to marry Daniel Kenny (1843-1902) on the 13th August 1874 at St Patrick’s Cathedral Melbourne. Daniel’s residence is given as Dargalong, near Nagambie, and Kate’s father’s address is given as “Somerset House”, Carlton. (The exact location of “Somerset House” in Carlton is unknown.). It is worth noting that John Keady also named his house at Nagambie in latter years as “Somerset”. A copy of the original wedding notice is shown below, when Daniel and Elizabeth were celebrating their silver wedding anniversary in 1899.

Daniel and Elizabeth went on to have 7 children, all of whom were born around the same district, including Nagambie, Murchison and Katamatite.

In latter years they moved to the farming district west of Wagga Wagga in NSW. Their residence is recorded as Ganmain and Coolamon.

The following article from 1895 gives a little insight into life on the land for the family and their strong commitment to the Catholic faith.

Catherine’s husband Daniel Kenny died at Narrandera in 1902.

Catherine died at Ganmain on 22 November 1925.