Philip Keady

William James Alipius Keady (1845-1930)

William was the youngest son of John and Honorah Keady. He was born in 1845 in Melbourne.

William would have spent most of his early life around Pentridge (Coburg area), between Sydney Road and Merri Creek.

Marriage

William married Catherine Priscella Julia “Kate” Hennessy on 16th May 1876 at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne. Kate was the daughter of James Hennessy of Nicholson Street, Carlton. Kate’s brother, Sir David Valentine Hennessy was a notable figure in public life at the time spending some time on Brunswick Council and was Lord Mayor of Melbourne from 1912-1917.

William and Kate seem to have had a rocky marriage. In 1887, William is charged with deserting his wife. The notice in the Police Gazette of February 16, 1887 says that William has been working in the Goulburn Valley for the last 10 years. The notice gives a good description of William.

A subsequent notice in the Victorian Police Gazette of the same year notes that William was arrested on 5 August 1887 in Fitzroy for deserting his wife.

In 1894 Kate lodges an application for divorce with the Supreme Court. It is understood that she was successful and they were divorced that year.

William’s marital status was a matter of concern to his father John. In John’s Will which he wrote in June 1884, just 6 months before his death on 21 December it would seem that John had lost contact with his son, William. John specifically writes in his Will that the Executors were not to give William any financial inheritance unless they are satisfied and had reliable proof that William was living with his lawful wife. Furthermore, John does not know where William is living.

To my son William Keady of ———————— in the said Colony —————— the sum of Two Hundred Pounds provided that my executors have satisfactory and reliable proof that he is living with his lawful wife at the time of my death and if not, the same is to be divided between my other four sons and two daughters share and share a like or their heirs and assigns.

(Extract from John Keady Will, 5 June 1884)

In latter years William seems to have had trouble with the “Drink”.

In 1902, at the age of 57, William is charged with breaking into the Mooroopna North Hotel and stealing 16 bottles of Ale and a bottle of Whiskey. At his trial on the 16 November, 1902 William pleads guilty, claiming that he was intoxicated at the time of the break-in. He was sentenced to a months jail on each of two charges. The notice of his discharge from jail indicates his occupation was, gardener.

There is limited information about his latter years, the last record in the electoral rolls shows him living in Windsor in 1925 with his occupation given as gardener.

William died in 1930 at 85 years of age. He was buried in a public grave at Springvale Cemetery on 19 August, 1930.

Keady Family Tree

The Family tree below provides the basic details of the first Keady family in Victoria. Keep in mind that the dates and locations related to John and Honora’s life in Ireland are so far pretty much based on working backwards from information and records available in Australia.

For example, the shipping records show the family originated from King’s County, Ireland, however, Gravestones and death certificates refer to County Roscommon.

The only confirmed record sourced from Ireland relates to the Baptism of Patrick Keady on 27 April, 1837 at Laurencetown, County Galway. (The art of finding Irish records seems to come down to luck more than anything. If you are able to find a rough location, it then becomes an exercise in reading a photocopy of a page in a 180 year old parish register, hand written by a Parish Priest, in latin, more often than not using shorthand. So, put your hand up if you’re an expert in deciphering shorthand latin !)

Future blogs will provide details for each of the children including their spouse and children.

First Generation of Keady Family in Victoria (2019)

Keady watering hole

Keady and Gerecke families share an ale at the Welcome Hotel, Koetong

Welcome Hotel, Koetong cc 1895. Source: State Library of Victoria

This beautiful photo of the Welcome Hotel at Koetong is believed to have been taken about 1895. The proprietor was Hermann Gerecke, a German immigrant who arrived in Australia in 1857.

The Keady families of John Francis Keady (1840-1902) and Patrick Keady (1837-1923) moved to the Koetong area about the mid to late 1890s when land became available for selection. Tin mining was also a major attraction to the area. John and Patrick’s brother James Henry Keady (1843-1936) also moved to this area and was involved in tin mining.

The licencing records of the times suggest there were only two pubs in town, the Koetong Hotel and the Welcome Hotel. Perhaps the Koetong Hotel is the other building in the distance on the right.

There weren’t many people in the town and surrounding district so no doubt the Keady families enjoyed a few ales at these pubs. In 1903 there were only 100 people listed on the Electoral roll for Koetong, including 13 Keady family members. Some of the family may even be one of the three bearded gentlemen standing on the verandah in this photo.

The links between the Gerecke and Keady families were to become stronger as the years progressed.

Patrick Keady’s son, John Henry Keady (1867-1929) married the eldest daughter of Hermann Gerecke, Christina Frances Gerecke (1874 -1941) in 1901. This couple would go on to become publicans of the Everton Hotel.

Just to keep the family ties strong, Patrick’s daughter, Honorah Ann (Nora) Keady (1880-1937) married William Herman Gerecke(1875-1947), Hermann’s eldest son in 1901. Perhaps it was a double wedding. In 1904 William took over as publican from his father.

Both the Welcome and Koetong Hotels were a focus for community sporting and social gatherings. Newspaper reports of Keady family activities will follow in future blogs.

Somerset Estate 1854

John Keady puts his Estate up for sale in 1854 with thoughts of moving back to Ireland.

After arriving in late 1841 with his wife, Honorah and four young children, John Keady certainly seems to be doing well in his new home by the mid 1850s.

In 1854 he places on the market his land known as the “Somerset Estate” which comprises 550 acres, just 6 miles from Melbourne. It is described as having a frontage of 1 mile along Sydney Road and 4 miles along the Merri Creek. The advertisement talks about Mr Keady selling up so he can return to his native land, but clearly this didn’t happen.

John seems to be doing exceptionally well from the description of the property. Well worth the read to see how John and the family were living.

The naming of his land, “Somerset Estate” provides one of the few clues as to his origins in Ireland. While many would immediately think of Somerset in England, Somerset is also the name of a small Townland in County Galway, near the town of Laurencetown. The connection is certainly confirmed with the baptism of his second son, Patrick, in Laurencetown on 8 April, 1837.

Imaging the value of this land these days !

Arrival of Keady Family

Port Philip Bay 1841

The first Keady family arrived in Australia on 29 November 1841 when John, his wife Honora and their four children sailed into Port Philip Bay on the Frances from Liverpool.

At that time Melbourne was still part of the Colony of New South Wales. Victoria was not proclaimed as a separate Colony for another 10 years in 1851.

Page 1 of the shipping log. Keady family is No 5.

John and his family had sailed from Liverpool on 20 August 1841 for a journey which took just over 3 months. The barque, Frances weighed 332 tons. Apart from a handful of paying passengers, there were 92 immigrants on board who were sponsored by a newly established merchant company, “Heape and Grice”.

John and Honora were travelling with four children, Thomas (8), Patrick (5) and twins John and Mary who were 1 ½ years old. There were 14 other family groups, 15 single males and 15 single female passengers. Overall the passengers seem to have been relatively well educated for the times, with 41 of the passengers being able to read and write.

As you can see in the extract from the shipping list, John Keady could read and write, while Honora could do neither. It seems that John did not check the shipping list as the family name has been recorded as “Cadey” not Keady. Possibly the clerk was English and John would have had a strong Irish accent.

“You’ll never get seedy at the Keady”

Keady Hotel, Everton, Victoria. (now Everton Hotel)

Good advice behind the bar at the Everton Hotel, formerly the “Keady Hotel”.

There seems to have been something in the blood which lead Keadys thru the generations to have a go at running pubs.

John Keady (1812-1884) kicked off the tradition when he became the Publican of the Prince Alfred Hotel in High Street, Preston in 1876. He renamed it, “Keady’s Hotel”, remaining the Publican until 1882, when the name reverted to the Prince Alfred Hotel. It closed as a pub in 1922, but the building remains at 133 High Street, Preston, Victoria.

John’s son James Henry Keady (1843-1936) was also running a pub about the same time in Murchison through the late 1870s until he got into financial difficulties.

While John’s son Patrick (1837-1923) did not seem to have a go at running a pub, three of his sons certainly kept up the family tradition.

John Henry Keady (1867-1929), along with his wife Christina Gerecke(1874-1941) operated the Keady Hotel at Everton over the period from 1904-1937. The Keady (now Everton) Hotel hasn’t changed much since that time.

Patrick’s son, Michael Thomas Keady (1869-1940) spent most of his working life as a publican in New Zealand. Michael moved to New Zealand with his brother Patrick John Keady (1876-1951) after returning from service with the Australian 3^rdNSW Mounted Rifles during the Boer War. Michael ran pubs are various locations including the Edinburgh Castle Hotel in Auckland where he was the publican in 1919. Both Michael and Patrick lived out their lives in New Zealand.

The Koetong Hotel on the Murray Valley Highway between Albury and Corryong was also in Keady hands in the early 1900s. The publican is recorded as James Keady, but it is not clear if this was James Henry Keady, noted above or his nephew, James Keady (1890-1941) another son of Patrick Keady. Irrespective of who was the publican, one can imagine that the Koetong Hotel was a regular water hole for the two large Keady families who lived at Koetong at the time. The Koetong Hotel still serves a cold beer.

Does Daniel Keady fit in the Keady family tree ?

The family photo below is Daniel Keady (1838 – 1928), wife Bridget O’Shea (1839 -1914) and seven of their eight children. In addition, the young woman standing directly behind Daniel is Margaret Frances Keady (1886 -1982). The photo was taken sometime before 1914.

Margaret is the 2^ndyoungest daughter of James Henry Keady (1843-1936), the younger brother of Patrick and John Francis Keady whose pictures appear in earlier blogs.

Daniel and Bridget raised Margaret after her mother (Margaret Rose McManus) died in 1890 at which time Margaret would have been only 4 years old. The other four children of James Henry Keady and Margaret McManus seem to have been raised by the McManus family.

It would appear that James Henry felt he could not raise five children under 10 and he leaves the Nagambie/Murchison district and moves to the Koetong area near Corryong where he is identified as a miner in a number of sources.

Back to the mystery !

No one has yet found any shipping record for Daniel, nor any articles or resources which might shed any light on a relationship between Daniel Keady and the family of John and Honora Keady.

The fact that Daniel fostered James Henry’s daughter and they owned adjacent properties in the Murchison area suggests a family tie, but who knows, maybe they just met in a pub and struck up a strong friendship based on a common surname.

John Francis Keady – did he survive a freak accident ?

Off course he did – otherwise we wouldn’t be here !

Various newspaper reports in late February 1872 recount a somewhat weird story that Mr John Keady (John Francis Keady, great grandfather) was severely injured with the contents of a shotgun lodged in his stomach !

Even made the Melbourne daily newspapers of the time.

Sourced from Trove.

Certainly paints a grim picture with both the local Doctor and Priest rushing to the scene. In 1872 John was living just north of Kilmore, at Moranding with his wife Margaret and two young sons, Francis William “Will” Keady (1870-1926) and John Mathew Keady (1871-1889).

Fortunately John recovers as reported in the Kilmore Free Press a week or so latter.

Margaret Keady (nee O’Leary) (1836 – 1923)

Margaret O’Leary (Sourced from Family Bible)

Margaret O’Leary arrived at Port Phillip aboard the “Enmore” on 4 October 1841 with her parents Timothy and Johanna and 8 month old younger sister, Betty. Margaret was 5 years old when she arrived.

Margaret seems to have spent her early life in Melbourne and then moved to the Kilmore area where she married John Francis Keady at Saint Patrick’s Church on 1 November 1869. Both John and Margaret were 28 years old at the time of their wedding.

Margaret had nine children all of whom were born around the Nagambie and Sheparton areas. Sadly two children died in their infancy.

Margaret and John moved with their family of seven in about 1890 to the small township of Koetong which is on the Murray Valley Highway between Tallangatta and Corryong.

Life must have been tough for Margaret as two sons died quite young, John Mathew Keady in 1889 and Denney Keady in 1905. To make matters worse both of her youngest children were committed to the Asylum at Beechworth. Mary, her only daughter was committed in 1906 and died in the Asylum in 1912. Martin her youngest son was committed to Mont Park Hospital in 1918 and subsequently transferred to Beechworth Asylum where he died some 30 years latter in 1952.

In her later years Margaret seems to have lived with her son Daniel who was a farmer at Bullioh not far from Koetong. Margaret was living with Daniel when she died on 16 August 1923 at the age of 88. Margaret is buried at the Albury Pioneer Cemetery.

John Francis Keady (1840-1902)

John Francis Keady (sourced from Family Bible)

Arrival at Port Phillip

John arrived with his twin sister Maria when he was only 18 months old on 28 November 1841. His parents, John Keady and Honorah Kenny left Liverpool on 20 August 1841 and arrived at Port Phillip over 3 months latter with sons Thomas, 8 years, Patrick aged 6 and the twins, John and Maria.

They sailed on the Barque, Frances which carried 97 sponsored immigrants of English and Irish origins.

Early Life as young child

John’s early life was spent near the Merri Creek adjacent to the Pentridge Stockade which was being built at the time and which would eventually become the Pentridge Prison .

Once settled in this area now known as Coburg, the family expanded with John and Honorah having five more children, 3 boys and 2 girls.