A young woman bounty immigrant arrived in Australia aboard the ship Forth on 25 August 1841, having sailed from Plymouth on 23 May. Her age was stated as 18, meaning an approximate birth year of 1823. This may have been a “flexible” piece of data - not unusual!
[The only other Bridget Dowd to arrive in NSW came 15 years earlier aboard the Red Rover, the ship upon which Maria Ring arrived. That Bridget had a daughter named Mary Ann Lee baptised at St Mary’s Cathedral on 13 Oct 1833 , father Patrick Lee from the Isabella, the ship that Laurence Moore came on! I wonder if Lee and Moore knew each other?]
Aboard the Forth Bridget was in the company, and under the protection of her brother Edward, 22. Also aboard was her sister, Catherine, 20. Catherine was under the protection of a Mr and Mrs Currie.
Bridget was listed a native of County Longford, Ireland, her ‘calling or profession’ house maid and nurse maid. She was Roman Catholic, and could neither read nor write. Catherine and Edward were also from Longford, Catherine being an illiterate house maid and Edward an illiterate labourer.
From Edwards’s immigration record we learn that they were imported by Nicholas James & Co, and their parents were Ned (Edward) and Mary Pronty.
Bridget was listed a native of County Longford, Ireland, her ‘calling or profession’ house maid and nurse maid. She was Roman Catholic, and could neither read nor write. Catherine and Edward were also from Longford, Catherine being an illiterate house maid and Edward an illiterate labourer.
From Edwards’s immigration record we learn that they were imported by Nicholas James & Co, and their parents were Ned (Edward) and Mary Pronty.
Marriage of John Briggs and Bridget Dowd (2nd great grandparents)
In 1847, Bridget married John Briggs, a convict who had been granted a ticket of leave in 1845. We will hear more of John Briggs in a subsequent chapter.
On 30 August 1847, permission was granted for John Briggs, age 31 to be married to a 20 year old immigrant, Elizabeth (sic) Dowd by Rev James Gunther of Mudgee. The actual record of marriage states her name as Bridget Dowd.
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| Original St John the Baptist Anglican Church, Mudgee. Completed 1841, replaced 1860. |
The official Permission to Marry John Briggs gave Bridget’s age as 20, which meant she would have been born around 1827, and so was aged 14 rather than 18 when she emigrated, which is entirely probable. Birth dates and years and data collected at immigration was often a bit wrong… and even worse on census returns, where rounding to within 5 years was common. There were also transcription errors, and for people who were illiterate (and possibly innumerate), providing information which was highly accurate was often a challenge. And then there were accents - those informing, and those collecting data.
The wedding was celebrated at St John the Baptist Anglican Church at Mudgee on 15 September 1847. Consent had been acquired from The Governor, and the Guardian of the woman (unspecified, but perhaps her brother?)
Witnesses to the marriage were John Cummings and Honorah Hudson, both of Mudgee. It was conducted by Reverend Gunther. Gunther was licensed by Bishop of Sydney, in 1837. He was sent to an Aboriginal mission in Wellington and from there serviced the Mudgee church. The Parish of Mudgee was founded in 1841, and a church built that year. Rev Gunther became the first resident minister in 1843, and first Archdeacon of Bathurst.
At the time of their marriage both Bridget and John were resident in the Parish of Mudgee.
Residence 1850
The 1850 Ticket of leave Muster Roll lists John Briggs as being in the employ of George Bassett at Dabee. I cannot tell if that is the area which became later known as Rylstone, or the name of the property called Dabee Station. Whichever it was, it shows that Briggs, and presumably Bridget were living there.
Bridget’s children with John
Two children are registered as having been born to Bridget and John Briggs.
Edward (Great grandfather) was born on 5 February 1849 and baptised on 14 March that year in the Catholic Parish of St Mathew at Windsor. The parents’ abode was Mudgee. The ceremony was performed by Rev John Grant, the priest at St Matthew's between 1848 and 1851.
John was an Anglican, but his wife was Catholic, and the child was baptised into the Catholic church.
The wedding was celebrated at St John the Baptist Anglican Church at Mudgee on 15 September 1847. Consent had been acquired from The Governor, and the Guardian of the woman (unspecified, but perhaps her brother?)
Witnesses to the marriage were John Cummings and Honorah Hudson, both of Mudgee. It was conducted by Reverend Gunther. Gunther was licensed by Bishop of Sydney, in 1837. He was sent to an Aboriginal mission in Wellington and from there serviced the Mudgee church. The Parish of Mudgee was founded in 1841, and a church built that year. Rev Gunther became the first resident minister in 1843, and first Archdeacon of Bathurst.
At the time of their marriage both Bridget and John were resident in the Parish of Mudgee.
Residence 1850
The 1850 Ticket of leave Muster Roll lists John Briggs as being in the employ of George Bassett at Dabee. I cannot tell if that is the area which became later known as Rylstone, or the name of the property called Dabee Station. Whichever it was, it shows that Briggs, and presumably Bridget were living there.
Bridget’s children with John
Two children are registered as having been born to Bridget and John Briggs.
Edward (Great grandfather) was born on 5 February 1849 and baptised on 14 March that year in the Catholic Parish of St Mathew at Windsor. The parents’ abode was Mudgee. The ceremony was performed by Rev John Grant, the priest at St Matthew's between 1848 and 1851.
John was an Anglican, but his wife was Catholic, and the child was baptised into the Catholic church.
Although the first Catholic mass had been celebrated in Mudgee in February 1839, the priest was not resident until 1851. The first wedding was recorded in 1852. In 1857 a church, sanctuary and sacristry were built. Did Bridget want her child to be baptised into the Catholic Church and they needed to travel to Windsor for this to take place? It would have been quite a journey.
St Matthew's Catholic in Windsor is the oldest Catholic church in mainland Australia, built in 1840.
Daughter Lydia Anne (2nd great aunt) was born 25 December 1852, ten days after her father's death; her birth was registered in Wellington; that does not necessarily mean she was born in Wellington.
Both Edward and Lydia’s stories will be taken up in a later chapter.
Bridget's husband John's death
John’s death is recorded in Elizabeth Nevell's Book of Dead cited by the Rylstone District Historical Society. See here
It was recorded as 15 Dec 1852, in the Carwell District (Rylstone). He was 35 years old. The manner and cause of his death is unknown. [Source: Rylstone District Historical Society].
Bridget’s second marriage, to William Gore
After John Briggs’ death, Bridget was a widow with two young children, one, Lydia, a baby, and Edward a toddler. Lydia's 1939 obituary in the Nepean Times says that she went to live with her aunt James Byrne, at St Mary’s at age eleven (1863).
Bridget remarried, to William Gore of Cudgegong in July 1855, according to one family historian. There is no NSW record of a marriage of William Gore and Bridget at any time. Bridget and William may never have been formally married.
Bob Scott, family historian (and descendent of William and Bridget’s daughter, Alexandra - Lexina?) says William Gore was born in 1825 in County Clare, Ireland.
Bridget and William had six children. They are listed on Bridget’s death certificate in 1909 as “living, none deceased”. These are Edward and Lydia's half-siblings.
William, age 46. Birth approx 1862/3 (no record in NSW Births Deaths Marriages)
Lexina, age 45. Birth approx 1863/64 (no record)
Jane, age 44. Birth approx 1864/65 (no record)
James, age 43. Birth approx 1865/66 (no record
John, aged 42. Birth 1866 (NSW BDMs 14559/1866)
George, aged 37. Birth 1872 (NSW BDMs, un-named 17221/1872)
William died in in 1901, registered in Mudgee.
Greville’s Official Post Ofice Directory and Gazeteer of NSW 1875-1877, in which one of the residents of Cudgegong is listed as William Gore, farmer, Aaron’s Pass.
Both Edward and Lydia’s stories will be taken up in a later chapter.
Bridget's husband John's death
John’s death is recorded in Elizabeth Nevell's Book of Dead cited by the Rylstone District Historical Society. See here
It was recorded as 15 Dec 1852, in the Carwell District (Rylstone). He was 35 years old. The manner and cause of his death is unknown. [Source: Rylstone District Historical Society].
Bridget’s second marriage, to William Gore
After John Briggs’ death, Bridget was a widow with two young children, one, Lydia, a baby, and Edward a toddler. Lydia's 1939 obituary in the Nepean Times says that she went to live with her aunt James Byrne, at St Mary’s at age eleven (1863).
Bridget remarried, to William Gore of Cudgegong in July 1855, according to one family historian. There is no NSW record of a marriage of William Gore and Bridget at any time. Bridget and William may never have been formally married.
Bob Scott, family historian (and descendent of William and Bridget’s daughter, Alexandra - Lexina?) says William Gore was born in 1825 in County Clare, Ireland.
Bridget and William had six children. They are listed on Bridget’s death certificate in 1909 as “living, none deceased”. These are Edward and Lydia's half-siblings.
William, age 46. Birth approx 1862/3 (no record in NSW Births Deaths Marriages)
Lexina, age 45. Birth approx 1863/64 (no record)
Jane, age 44. Birth approx 1864/65 (no record)
James, age 43. Birth approx 1865/66 (no record
John, aged 42. Birth 1866 (NSW BDMs 14559/1866)
George, aged 37. Birth 1872 (NSW BDMs, un-named 17221/1872)
William died in in 1901, registered in Mudgee.
Greville’s Official Post Ofice Directory and Gazeteer of NSW 1875-1877, in which one of the residents of Cudgegong is listed as William Gore, farmer, Aaron’s Pass.
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| Source |
In 1903, the Commonwealth of Australia electoral roll for Division of Robertson, Cudgegong Polling Place shows Bridget Gore, profession domestic duties; George Gore, butcher and Lily Gore, domestic duties at Cudgegong. William Gore Jnr, farmer, is at Oakey Creek.
William Gore’s brushes with the law
Bridget's life with William Gore was anything far from smooth. Gore came before the magistrates on numerous occasions, and is mentioned in the Police Gazette several times, mostly involving theft, assault and obtaining money under false pretences. Gore may have arrived in Australia as a convict a convict, like Bridget's first husband, John. There are records of several William Gores arriving in the colony - at least three convicts (one in NSW, two to Van Diemens Land), and a number of free immigrants. But nothing definitive can identify this William Gore at this time.
Gore came before the court at Mudgee in January 1866, charged with uttering a forged order, alongside Edward Briggs, Bridget’s son by John Briggs. I haven’t located a trial outcome.
Before Gore’s troubles, in 1858 an employee absconded from the employ of William Gore.
NSW Police Gazette 20 December 1858:
NSW Police Gazette 28 February 1879 included a list of Convictions - William Gore - sentenced to 4 months hard labour, Dubbo Gaol.
Bridget’s death
Bridget Gore died at age 82 on 25 February 1909 at Cudgegong. Causes of death were given as gastric ulcer and exhaustion, from which she had suffered for 2 years. She was buried in Cudgegong Cemetery on 27 February 1909. She had been married at Mudgee to Edward Briggs at age 27, and at Rylstone to William Gore at age 37, although there is no NSW official record. It would have been approximately 1864, though as seen, all dates are tentative for Bridget within 4 or 5 years.
Gore came before the court at Mudgee in January 1866, charged with uttering a forged order, alongside Edward Briggs, Bridget’s son by John Briggs. I haven’t located a trial outcome.
Before Gore’s troubles, in 1858 an employee absconded from the employ of William Gore.
NSW Police Gazette 20 December 1858:
A warrant has been issued by the Rylstone Bench, for the apprehension of John Brennan, charged with absconding from the hired service of William Gore, on the 26th ultimo, — desrciption he is 4 feet 2 inches high, 15 years old, black hair, cut short behind, dark eyes, round face very red, mark of a burn on the inner part of the right leg; was dressed in a black California hat, lue cloth jacket, fustain trousers, regatta shirt; supposed to have gone either to Windsor or Pitt Town; a reward of £2 is offered for his apprehesion. Information received 20th instant.NSW Police Gazette 15 November 1865:
William Gore, charged with assaulting James Perram with a crowbar, whereby his life was endangered, has been arrested by Constable Moran, Rylstone Police. Committed for trial at the next Quarter Sessions to be holden at Mudgee.NSW Police Gazette 31 January 1866:
William Gore and Edward Briggs, charged with uttering a forged order for £4 to James Christian, have been arrested by Sergeant Maher and Senior Constable Webb, Mudgee Police. Committed for trial.NSW Police Gazette 28 February 1866:
William Gore, charged with stealing a saddle and saddle-cloth (recovered), the property of John Andrews, has been arrested by Senior Constable Wright and Constable Tierney, Keen’s Swamp Police. Committed for trial at the next Quarter Sessions to be holden at Mudgee.NSW Police Gazette of 30 August 1871:
Stolen, about 11 A.M. the 14th instant, from a hut at Cudgegong, Western District, the property of Jeremiah Fitzgerald, — An old bag-leather saddle much worn, stamped “Murphy, maker, Mudgee.” Identifiable. Suspicion attached to William Gore, a resident. No warrant issued.NSW Police Gazette 12 February 1879:
William Gore, charged on warrant for fraudulently obtaining £2 from Frederick Tuck, has been arrested by Constable Purcell, Dubbo Police. Committed for trial at Dubbo Sessions. Bail allowed, —self in £80, and two sureties in £40 each.This is interesting in that he had some means in order to post bail, and also some others’ standing surety for him. However, he was not out for long:
NSW Police Gazette 28 February 1879 included a list of Convictions - William Gore - sentenced to 4 months hard labour, Dubbo Gaol.
Bridget’s death
Bridget Gore died at age 82 on 25 February 1909 at Cudgegong. Causes of death were given as gastric ulcer and exhaustion, from which she had suffered for 2 years. She was buried in Cudgegong Cemetery on 27 February 1909. She had been married at Mudgee to Edward Briggs at age 27, and at Rylstone to William Gore at age 37, although there is no NSW official record. It would have been approximately 1864, though as seen, all dates are tentative for Bridget within 4 or 5 years.
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