Finding Families

This series of posts focuses on an A-Z theme for April in 2025. I have chosen events that occurred On This Day in April of years in the past. These events are recorded in my genealogy database.

F - Finding Families

When first starting out on family history I concentrated on finding my ancestors. As my interest increased my research came to include not just my ancestors siblings but also as many of their descendants that I could verify. My research also expanded to include my husband's ancestors and their descendants in order to leave a record for our children and their descendants. 

On this Day -April 7

Some family names and events in my genealogy database

1891 - Marriage: Timothy Thomas HOGAN and Anne Helena BUCKLEY, Manoora, South Australia

Timothy was my 1st cousin twice removed.  When he married on the 7th April 1891 he was 27 years old. He fathered three children with Anne Helena but one of these died at just a few months old. His wife Anne died in 1897 aged only 28 leaving Timothy with two young sons. He must have been devastated to lose his young wife. Just 18 months later his 5 year old son died. Now he was left with one little boy.

Timothy then married again at age 41 to Elizabeth Mary Kerin in 1906. She was 15 years younger than him and they added three girls to the family, Mary Elizabeth in 1908, Johanna Jean in 1911 and Elizabeth Anne in 1914.

In the photo below:

At the back: Bernie McInerney, Frank McInerney, 

Back row; Kit Jennings, Mrs. Elizabeth Hogan, (Tim's 2nd wife) John McInerney (Nora's husband), Vin McInerney, Mrs. Nora McInerney, and Tim Hogan (the subject of this post) 

Front: Kit McInerney, Jean Hogan (one of his daughters), Mary McInerney, small child in front: Carmel McInerney.

Nora and Tim on the end were first cousins. It is estimated given the size of the children in front of the photo that this was taken about 1930.

Group photo at McInerney's "Olive Farm" Riverton

Timothy died in August of 1931 and was buried at St John's Cemetery. Several obituaries appeared in the newspapers of the day after his death. This one was published in the local Kapunda Herald.

It is with regret we have to chronicle the death of Mr. Timothy Hogan, of Tarlee, which, occurred at the Kapunda Hospital on Sunday last, at the age of 66 years. He was one of the best known identities in the district, where he was born and lived the whole of his life. There was no one held in higher esteem, and a very large circle of friends mourn his decease. 

He was a man of sterling character, upright and honourable in every way, and his genial disposition made him a general favourite. He was quiet and unassuming, but a man who was well versed in the topics of the day, and who took an intelligent interest in the welfare of the country. Many times he has come into our office to discuss public matters, and one could not help being impressed with his sound common sense. He saw the present crisis in Australia coming long ago, and his opinion was often sought by business men in the city and elsewhere. Had he had the inclination he would have made a capable legislator, but be had no ambition in that direction. 

His life had been spent on the land, and he was conversant with the trials of the primary producer. He carried on farming and grazing successfully on his property between Kapunda and Tarlee, and until a few years ago owned a grazing property at Florieton. He carried a very fine breed of sheep, the wool of which always brought top prices. He was a keen judge of sheep, and also of other live stock. His retiring disposition kept him, to an extent, out of public life, but when he undertook to do anything he carried it out thoroughly. 

He was associated with the Wooroora Agricultural Society at Tarlee for many years, and was a past president of the society. During the time he held that office he carried out his duties with energy and enthusiasm. He was a man the district could ill afford to lose. Mr. Hogan was twice married, and his second wife (who was a daughter of the late Mr. Patrick Kerin, of Fords) survives, him. There is a family of one son, Mr. T. Hogan, and three daughters, Misses Mary, Jean, and Annie Hogan, all of Tarlee. The funeral, which took place on Monday, was one the largest ever seen in this district.

1931 'PERSONAL.', Kapunda Herald (SA : 1878 - 1951), 4 September, p. 2    https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/108385075

Timothy Hogan, passed away on August 30, 1931. His last will, registered on October 2, 1931, appointed Thomas Kerin and his daughter Mary Hogan as executors. The estate, valued at £14,893, was to be distributed equally among his four children: Mary, Johanna, Elizabeth, and Timothy Augustine, with specific provisions for Timothy's life estate in the property known as Bonds.

Probate and Administration Books: South Australia. Probate Administrator Records Sep 9, 1931–Oct 12, 1931   https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-3Q5L-RS7G?lang=en&i=215

Tim Hogan’s Family

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1902 - Birth: Albert Victor Ronald BENNETT, Edithburgh, South Australia, Australia

A grand uncle, the youngest brother of my maternal grandmother.

Ron (as he was widely known) was twice recorded in birth records in South Australia. He was recorded as Albert Victor Ronald and also recorded as Cecil Victor born on April 7 1902 to Bridget Ellen Kelly and George Bennett who were living in Edithburgh, South Australia.

 

Bridget and George had married in the far north of South Australia on the goldfields of Teetulpa. By the time Ron was born George and Bridget had lived near Broken Hill in NSW  where two daughters, Mary Olive and Georgina Ellen were born. Their next child James George was registered in 1892 in Adelaide, South Australia followed by John Raymond in 1895. 

Perhaps this last child was unexpected and although there is the common Victor in both names registered obviously there was some confusion at this point. Nevertheless he became known as Ron to my grandmother Georgina and when he visited our farm we knew him as Uncle Ron.

Ron lived with his mother at Goodwood for some years after George had left her. Ron was hospitalised in Adelaide for 19 days when he was only 16. On the hospital register his job is listed as Messenger.

This notice of his marriage was published in 1926.

An extensive description of the wedding was published under the heading of Wedding Bells on May 14th. (1)

Ron and May had two children and my sisters and I have confirmed DNA links with one of their descendants and many other descendants of George and Bridget. 

Ron died in 1983 and is buried in Adelaide.

(1) 1926 'A PAGE FOR CATHOLIC WOMEN', Southern Cross (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1954), 14 May, p. 14. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/167756030 

This post first appeared on earlieryears.blogspot.com by CRGalvin

Closing in on the Bennetts

The O'Dea Album

These photos are from my grandmother's album and provided a puzzle now solved. My DNA results indicate that I am related to a descendant of this Clement Bennett and I have now to worked out how he was related to my maternal grandmother Georgina Ellen Bennett (O'Dea). He was her nephew.

Monnie and Clem as they were labelled in the album, were the children of John Raymond Bennett and his wife Margaret Bridget Healy. This couple had married in Hamley Bridge in January of 1918. when they were both 23 years old. John Raymond's father is listed as a George Bennett. 

This is gt-grandfather George Bennett, father to Mary Olive, Georgina, James and Ronald.

If John Raymond Bennett was 23 when he married in 1918 that suggests the birth year of 1895. 

I have been unable to find a birth record for John Raymond Bennett in NSW, Vic or SA just as I have been unable to find a birth record for grandmother Georgina but indeed her father was George Bennett. Her elder sister Mary Olive was born in Broken Hill, NSW in 1888 where grandmother also claimed to have been born in 1890. 

By 1892 George Bennett and his wife Bridget Kelly were living in South Australia as their son James George David is recorded as born at Goodwood. Could John Raymond have also been born there and his birth unregistered? The Bennetts are next recorded in Edithburgh where another son Albert Ronald Victor (known as Ron) was born in 1902. Another move was made away from Edithburgh possibly before the birth of Mary Olive's son William Rose in 1904.

Mary Olive and Georgina both married Hamley Bridge men in the following years. That John Raymond was also married in Hamley Bridge, suggests a relationship.

Five children were born to John Raymond Bennett (c 1895 - 1962) and Margaret Healy 

Francis James - b. 9 November 1918 - d. 24 Nov 2012 - I have found no evidence of a marriage record for Francis

Joseph - b. 13 Jan 1921 - died just 2 days later

Vincent John - b. 30 Dec 1921 - died in Woomera, S.A. on 24 Apr 1968 as a single man

Monica - b. 11 Jan 1924 - 10 November 2023

Clement Ronald - b. 2 Oct 1925 - d.16 November 1997

Monica and Clem

Monnie and Clem Bennett as titled below the photos

Monica Bennett married Stanley Whittenbury in 1948. 

BENNETT—WHITTENBURY. —The marriage of Monica, only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. R. Bennett, Hamley Bridge, and Stanley H. B, youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. J. L. Whittenbury, Short street, Wayville, will be solemnised at St. Mary's Church, Hamley Bridge, at 10.30 a.m. on January 3, 1948. Reception at Dublin Hotel.

Clement Ronald Bennett married Elizabeth Cant in 1949

CANT—BENNETT. — The marriage of Elizabeth D. (Bette), daughter of the late Mr. G. and Mrs. S. G. Cant, to Clement R., youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. J. R. Bennett, both of Hamley Bridge, will be solemnised at St. Marys Church, Hamley Bridge, on Saturday, August 27, at 7 p.m.

Clement died in 1997 and is buried with his wife in the Bremer Road cemetery in Murray Bridge, South Australia. Their headstone can be viewed here at Find a Grave.

One of my DNA matches at 176 centimorgans on Ancestry is a grandchild of Clement and Elizabeth. Clement and my mother were first cousins that certainly explains the presence of those photos in my grandmother's album. 

If you are a descendant of either Clement or Monica I am happy to send you copies of these photos at a higher resolution. 

Now (2024) with several descendants of both Monica and Clem identified by DNA matches there is no doubt that John Raymond was Georgina's brother and son of George Bennett and Bridget Helen (sometimes Ellen) Kelly. 

Post updated June 2024

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1948 'Family Notices', The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1931 - 1954), 1 January, p. 8. , viewed 29 Nov 2021, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article43750613

1949 'Family Notices', The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1931 - 1954), 20 August, p. 20. , viewed 29 Nov 2021, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article36682306

This post first appeared on earlieryears.blogspot.com by CRGalvin

Finding George and Rosa

The photo reveal

George and Rosa Bennett c.1932

One of the many benefits of writing up family stories is the interest shown by relations near and far. Recently I have received some additional photos from a first cousin. One of these photos shows our great grandfather George Bennett, my mother's maternal grandfather.

I had previously written about George in Restaurant on fire which detailed his marriage in 1877 and the subsequent births of the children. Then I wondered  What happened to George? after several court appearances when he left Bridget Helen in 1915.

This photo is listed as great grandfather George Bennett with his second wife. A clue at last, a remarriage. This sent me back to search the South Australian marriage records which reveal that George in August of 1932 claiming an age of 69, married Rosa Mary Davis aged approx 57. ₁

George had claimed to be 25 years old in June of 1887 at the time of his first marriage.

Less than ten years after this second marriage, his death notice of July 1943 lists his age as 83. ₂

BENNETT.—On July 17, at Adelaide, George, beloved husband of Rosa Bennett, of Frew street, City. Aged 83 years

Did he reveal that he was over 70 after they had married? It appears there was also some age discrepancies in Rosa's claims too. At her first marriage in 1903 ₃ she is listed as being 24 years old. Her first husband Edmund Daye Davis was more than twice her age at 51 and died as a result of a tragic gunshot wound only 7 years after their marriage.₄

Rosa and George are buried in the same plot at West Terrace cemetery in Adelaide. On her death certificate in 1959 she is listed as being 89 years of age which would place her birth around 1870 so in 1932 when they were married he was probably 73 and she may well have been 62.

We'll probably never know but now I wonder if this photo could have been taken in 1932 about the time of their marriage. 

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1. SA marriages District Hindmarsh Book/Page: 333/431

2. 1942 'Family Notices', The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1931 - 1954), 18 July, p. 10. , viewed 04 May 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article48875217

3. SA marriages District Adelaide Book/Page: 217/988

4. 1910 'LIFE'S TRAGIC SIDE', Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954), 29 January, p. 41. , viewed 05 May 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article88393869

This post first appeared on earlieryears.blogspot.com by CRGalvin

Where did they get those names?

This photo of my maternal grandparents in 1907 displays a wedding party of siblings of both the bride and groom. The attendants ranged in age from 41 to 16 years. It also provides some clues to the names that the bridal couple would give to their children in the years that followed.


Left to right: Margaret I. O”Dea 41 years, Michael James O’Dea, 26 years, the groom Patrick Joseph O’Dea 29 years, the bride Georgina Ellen Bennett 17 years, her brother James George Bennett 16 years and Hannah Teresa O’Dea 37 years.

The groom’s family – children of John O’Dea and Maria (Mary) Crowley

The eldest O’Dea sibling, Bridget Elizabeth born in 1864, had married Coleman Kain in 1891¹ and by the time this marriage took place in September of 1907 she was 43 and had given birth to seven children.
Next in line Margaret, was born in 1866 followed by Hannah Teresa in 1869. In 1870 son and heir John Francis Benedict arrived. Michael was born in 1873 followed by Mary Anne in 1875. Patrick Joseph entered the world in October of 1877. Tragedy struck in  May 1878 when both Michael now 5, and Mary Anne 3, died within 12 days of each other². The next son born in 1881 was also given the name Michael James.
John Francis Benedict O’Dea born in 1870, had led a troubled early life and was committed to the Parkside Asylum where he died at the age of 33 in January of 1903³. Margaret and Hannah remained unmarried and cared for their parents. Michael James married James George Bennett’s widow Ethel in 1918⁴.

The bride’s family – children of George Bennett and Bridget Helen Kelly

Georgina’s only sister Mary Olive had married Daniel Casaretto in October of 1906⁵ and their first child, Catherine Mary⁶ was only 2 months old at the time of this wedding. Georgina’s youngest brother Albert Victor Ronald⁷ known as Ronald was only 5 years old. Young brother James⁸ was her supporting sibling in this otherwise older O’Dea wedding party. He had just turned 16.
In the following 11 years Georgina and Patrick O’Dea had a family of six children. They used a variety of family names as seen here.

Margaret Monica 1908 – names from Patrick’s sister and grandmother
Mary Ellen 1910 – his mother’s name and Georgina’s second name
Hannah Olive 1912 – his sister’s and her sister’s names
Patrick John 1914 – his name and his father’s name
Michael James 1916 – his brother’s and her brother’s names
Ronald Patrick 1918 – Her brother’s and his names

Popular family names from the past wax and wane through the years. A new crop of Hannahs appear and two of the younger members of the extended family now bear the name brought down through their great-great-grandfather’s sister – Hannah Teresa.

Anyone for an Olive? My mother Hannah Olive O’Dea really disliked her middle name, (initials HOOD until she became Horgan, HOH) but when we view this historical context of naming patterns, it is clear that the name Olive was important to her mother Georgina.

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1. 1891 'Family Notices', The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931), 21 February, p. 4. , viewed 10 Jan 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article26772482 2. SA Death registrations Michael O’Dea 12 May 1878, Book/Page: 87/489, Mary O’Dea  24 May 1878, Book/Page: 88/187
3. 1903 'Family Notices', The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931), 21 January, p. 4. , viewed 10 Jan 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4917225
4. SA Marriage registration Michael James O’Dea, Ethel Bennett 19 October 1918 Book/Page: 277/538
5. 1906 'Family Notices', The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931), 21 November, p. 6. , viewed 10 Jan 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5114732
6. SA Birth registration Catherine Mary Alice Casaretto Book/Page: 786/47
7. SA Birth registration Albert Victor Ronald Bennett Book/Page: 693/339
8. SA Birth registration James George David Bennett Book/Page: 505/358

What happened to George?

Last week I wrote about great-grandparents George Bennett and Bridget Helen Kelly Following that post, I posed a query on the South Australia Genealogy Facebook group seeking advice on how to uncover death details for George. I was unable to determine, (via my subscription) which one or indeed whether any of the Georges listed in the SA Genealogy database was him. Several people jumped in to help and thanks to John Glistak’s eagle eye, I've now retrieved several articles from Trove that reveal more of this couple's life story.

After several moves, the birth of four, possibly five children and the marriage of the two daughters, George and Bridget's marriage of 28 years must have been under some strain. George was now about 53 and Bridget 52 years old. It appears that in 1915 George had left Bridget and was summonsed to court to pay maintenance.


George Bennett pleaded guilty to the charge of having deserted his wife on July 1 and with wilful neglect to provide maintenance for her and her child. Mr. R. H. Lathlean appeared for the complainant. He said that the defendant was an electrician at the Post Office. A separation order was granted, and he was ordered to pay £1 5/ a week for maintenance of the complainant and her child. She was granted the custody of the child.

From this, I gleaned his occupation as an electrician working for the Post Office and confirmed that the youngest son was still living with his mother, One month later the court is the scene of another ruling.

The second court appearance

George Bennett, electrician, was charged by his wife, Bridget Helen Bennett, with having failed to comply with a maintenance order made against him for the payment of £1 5/ per week for the support of his wife and child. Mr. G. S. Reed, representing Messrs. Holland & Lathlean, appeared for the informant, and Mr. C. M. Muirhead represented the defendant, who applied for a reduction of the order.
The defendant stated that his wife had five boarders in the house, and received £5 15/ per week. She lived in a house rent free. To Mr. Reed-The house in which his wife lived was being purchased on the time payment system, and the deposit of £20 was paid out of his money. The S.M. said the bench had the power to send the defendant to gaol, but seeing that he had been ill that course would not be adopted. No order was made in respect of the information, and the defendant's application for a reduction of the order was dismissed.

Once more in court

Did this settle the matter? It seems not to have been resolved with George still not paying maintenance. The third court appearance in October 1915 had more severe consequences for non-compliance.

George Bennett was charged with having failed to comply with an order for the maintenance of his wife, made under the Married Woman's Protection Act. Mr. E. H. Lathlean appeared for Mrs. Bennett and Mr. C. M. Muirhead for defendant. Mr. Kearney gave evidence that defendant owed £8 15/. The defendant also gave evidence. One month's imprisonment was ordered, the warrant to be held over for 14 days.

Did he serve the time or pay the costs? After reading these accounts, I now have a better understanding of why it has been difficult to trace him. My quest to find his date of death continues, but more importantly, some of the details of their story have been found.