Keady – Page 2 – Keady Family in Victoria

The Young Ones, Molly and George

When Frances Lillian “Francie” Keady was 13 years old a younger sister finally arrived. Mary Margaret Keady, or “Mollie” was born at Wonthaggi on 30 June 1922.

The photo below was sent by Francie to her Aunt Annie, on the occasion of her 15th birthday, a couple of years latter.

Francie Keady, 15th Birthday, 13 July 1925. Postcard to Auntie Anne in Albury.

The last child of Thomas and Lillian to arrive was George Keady, who was born in Wonthaggi on 10 December, 1924.

The age spread across the family is pretty obvious in the photo below. The occasion or location is unknown, but everyone certainly seems dressed up, even the youngsters, Molly and George standing on the deck of the yacht behind their older brothers Fred and Jack. (The older gentleman on the left has been identified as Mr Vesteine, by someone !!! Help with clarifying his relationship to the family would be great.)

Molly, George on the boat. Front Mr Vesteine, then Fred, Jack, Lillian, Thomas (L-R). About 1930

The photo below must have been taken about the same time or a little earlier; perhaps around 1930. George Keady is standing in front of his older brother Fred, with the background being the side of the family home in Cameron Street, Wonthaggi.

It’s worth noting Fred’s grubby hands. If indeed the photo was taken about 1930, then Fred was in his late teens and had been working at the State Coal Mine since he was 14. Perhaps he has just returned from a shift underground.

Or perhaps Fred and George were doing some work in their father’s famous vegetable garden because it looks like George has been crawling around on the ground given the dirt on his knees.

This is one of the few informal photos of family members. In most family shots everyone is meticulously groomed.

Fred and younger brother, George Keady at Wonthaggi.

Points of Clarification

The stories accompanying each photo are pure guesswork. There are very few, if any photos with any written explanation. We are just lucky that names are noted on a few.

The last photo of Fred and George was distributed a few years back with a caption of John Dennis “Jack” Keady and George. Some recent photos from the collection of Veronica Keady, Fred’s daughter clearly identify the older boy in this photo as “Fred”. So apologies for that mistake.

Family grows and home life a real handful (1915-1928)

The following photo of a very young Roy Keady was taken about 1918. Roy was the sixth in the family of Thomas and Lillian Keady.

Roy Keady about 1918, source: son Michael

About the time the above photo of Roy was taken, James Kevin “Kevin” Keady was arriving in June, 1918. In quick succession, James “Jim” was born in November, 1919. (I’m sure there must be a story about how two boys in succession ended up with the same name, “James” ? Any suggestions would be appreciated.)

Following a long run of boys, a second daughter, Mary Margaret “Molly” Keady was born on 30 June, 1922.

The photo below of Kevin and Molly (about 1928) was taken and then developed by their older brother Fred who would have been 14-15 years. Unfortunately no photos have surfaced of young Fred.

Kevin Keady with younger sister Molly Keady. c. 1928.

Hectic Home Life for Lillian

Life at home must have been pretty hectic. About the time of the above photo, Molly and Kevin’s eldest brothers Jack and Thomas were 20 and 18 years old respectively, and had been working in the State Coal Mine for a few years. Their father Thomas Patric Keady had started at the State Coal Mine in 1912.

The older boys, Jack and Thomas had both started working at the State Coal Mine in 1923, Jack was 15 and Thomas 14 years old. A couple of years later in 1927, Fred started in June as a 14 year old and Robert shortly after in October, 1927 as a 16 year old.

This period in the early to mid 1920s must have been a crazy time for poor Lillian. Lillian was pregnant a lot of the time, there were todlers underfoot and the older boys and her husband were possibly coming and going at all hours according to the shifts they worked at the Coal Mine. Well done Lillian !

Catherine Angela Keady (1846-1925)

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.

Extract from Freeman’s Journal, Trove, 1895

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

Catherine died at Ganmain on 22 November 1925.

Early married life for Thomas and Lillian Keady – doing it tough in a tent.

Our Grandparents, Thomas Patrick KEADY (1874-1946) and Lillian Catherine CRAWFORD (1881-1962) were married in Wodonga and moved to the new Coalfields at the Powlett River Coalfields in 1909.

Tent City at Powlett River Coalfields (Wonthaggi)

Thomas and Lillian married on the 10 June 1907 at St Augustine’s Catholic Church, Wodonga. It is not exactly clear where they were living at the time, but we do know from Electoral rolls that Thomas had been living at Koetong with his family in 1903 and Lillian had been been living at Corryong, just down the road with her family. It was probably a fair bet that they met at one of the pubs or staging posts at Koetong because the only road from Corryong back to civilisation at Albury/Wodonga was the road through Koetong and Tallangatta heading west.

In the period after their marriage, Thomas and Lillian must have stayed in the local district because their first child, John Dennis Keady was born in Albury on 30 December, 1907. Their second and third children, Thomas Patrick KEADY and Frances Keady were both born at Powlett River. Thomas on 2 June, 1909 and Frances on 13 July 1910.

In the early years of the 1900s Victoria relied heavily on coal from the Hunter Valley in NSW to supply its railways. After a strike at the NSW coalfields, the Victorian Government was determined to secure its own supply, which led to the development of the State Coal Mine and establishment of the town of Wonthaggi on 1 August 1910. The area known as the Powlett River Coalfields had already been operating in a limited way for a number of years, but the coal had to be carted by bullock wagons to Inverloch and then shipped to Melbourne.

A tent city sprung up in no time to accomodate the workers who flocked from around Australia and overseas.

The following extract from an article published in “The Age” in January, 1910 provides a fantastic description of the tent city that Thomas and Lillian initially called home.

The following pictures come from original postcards sent by my wife’s relatives, who were also attracted to the prospect of good steady work.

Trooper Keady serving in Boer War, South Africa

One of the Keady brothers in Boer War, South Africa, 1900-1902.

Two of the Keady Family joined the 3rd NSW Mounted Rifles and served in South Africa from May 1900 to May 1902. See earlier blog for a little more history. Click here.

The two adventurers were Michael Thomas Keady (1869-1940) and Patrick John Keady (1876-1951), sons of Patrick Keady (1837-1923).

Michael and Patrick were cousins of our grandfather, Thomas Patrick Keady (1874-1946). They would no doubt have shared many experiences as they grew up in Koetong through their teenage years and early 20s. The Koetong community about this time was quite small. On the 1903 electoral roll there were only 61 adults enrolled to vote, of whom 13 were from the Keady families.

The above photo has been discovered by Brian amongst the documents and photos collected by our grandmother, Lillian Keady (nee Crawford).

As is so often the case, there is no writing of any kind to help identify the person in the photo, however I think it is a fair bet to say it is either Patrick or Michael. You can see that the soldier on the horse is not an officer otherwise he’d be decked out in all his regalia. The photo is clearly a posed shot taken in the open by a professional photographer however this wasn’t enough to stop the blurred intruder who walks into the scene on the right hand side as the photo is being taken.

Unfortunately the only photos of Patrick and Michael are taken much latter in life when they are living in New Zealand and it is impossible to make any kind of comparison with the trooper in this photo.

In the absence of any other information coming to light I am quite happy to claim this trooper as one of the Keady family. Anyone seen any photos of similar vintage which might shed light on his identity ?

Ownership of Family Bible Confirmed

Excellent Photos come to Light confirming owner of Keady Family Bible.

The following two photos confirm the identity of the couple, who’s photos appear in the Keady Family Bible.

While the only known Keady Family Bible almost certainly belonged to John Francis Keady (1840-1902), the two small photos(with many mould marks) tucked away in the back cover have no names or markings to help identify them.

It has been assumed that they were John Francis Keady and his wife Margaret O’Leary (1835-1923).

Two photos have recently come to light through relatives of the Crawford Family which confirm the identify of the photos in the Bible.

What’s the connection you say ….

The 4th son of John and Margaret Keady, Thomas Patrick Keady (1874-1946) married Lilian Catherine Crawford.

The detail in the photos is certainly much better than the mould stained photos which are in the Bible.

If you look carefully at the photos you will notice the slightest sign of colour for various features in both Margaret and John’s Photos. This is typical of photos of the time, with the photographer enhancing the black and white using colour paints.

Margaret has a tinge of red on her cheeks, a turquoise necklace and the gold on her broach and wedding ring have been painted. Likewise the cheeks on John have been given a bit of colour, his eyes painted blue and the gold chain and broach on his vest have been enhanced with some colour. (Not sure what the little vertical broach thing is, perhaps its just the end of his watch chain.)

Mysterious Family Relationship

While this keadyfamily.blog is focused on the family of John and Honora Keady who arrived in Melbourne in November, 1841, there were three other “Keadys” in Melbourne by the mid 1850s. Thomas and Patrick Keady who were brothers and Daniel Keady.

Thomas arrived in June 1854 and Patrick arrived in 1857. While Thomas’s arrival is documented in the shipping records, no record can be found of Patrick, however records show his wife Bridget arrived in January 1857 with their infant daughter, Mary. The shipping records say, “gone to husband, P Keady at Pentridge”. Perhaps its no coincidence that Pentridge was where John and Honora were living at the time with their family.

Unfortunately no records can be found of Daniel Keady’s arrival. (See a picture of Daniel Keady and Family – click this link)

There is certainly circumstantial evidence that the families were related, but to date no hard evidence has been found.

Perhaps one of the strongest hints is the way the families moved around to different regions of Victoria at similar times and eventually all ended up in the Nagambie/Murchison area. No better evidence perhaps than where they were all eventually buried. Other than Daniel who is buried at Murchison just 27km or 17 miles north, all these first Keady arrivals in Victoria are buried in a line at Nagambie Cemetery.

The Grave sites in order are:

1 John (1812-1884) and Honorah Keady (nee Kenny)(1811-1892).

2. First son of John and Honorah, Thomas Keady (1833-1892), wife Catherine Keady (nee O’Connell), their son John Patrick Keady (1863-1900), and grand daughter Johanna Teresa Brennan (1895, aged 9 months), first child of Thomas and Catherine’s daughter Catherine Agnes “Kate” Keady.

3. Patrick Nolan Keady (1830-1913), wife Bridget Keady (nee Cusack) (1834-1892), their daughters Catherine Teresa Keady (1864-1934) and Elizabeth Keady (1873-1947), neither of whom married. (Elizabeth’s name appears below the headstone.)

4. Thomas Keady (1829-1907), wife Margaret Keady (nee Kenny) (1836-1924), their son, Patrick James Keady (1870-1937) and his wife Annie Marie Keady (nee O’Dea) (1870 -1950). (Details of Patrick and Annie are enscribed on the side of the column.)

Perhaps in the near future some sleuths in the family will come up with some evidence to confirm if indeed there is a family link back in Ireland.

5 July 2019

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.