I am delighted to introduce new project member, Bradley O'Meley. In this guest blog post, Bradley talks about the fascinating research he has done on his own O'Meley line and the circumstances that saw his family transported from Ireland to the far side of the world. Enjoy his engrossing account!
Maurice Gleeson
I have been researching the family for the last 16 years, & before that on & off since circa 1984, when we had our first family reunion for the descendants of James Mealey & Mary Fox, following the publishing of our family history, in the book ‘Links to James Meally & Mary Fox’ by our relative the late Shirley Keegan. Sadly she never had the opportunity to publish her intended works on James’ siblings, the children of John Maille & Nappy Davitt. Since then, I have expanded on her research, a little & solved some riddles that she was unable to do. In any event I would like to share a bit about my family. We have appeared in various times with a variety of spellings with or without the worthy O’ as Maille, Meally, Mealley, Mailley, Meley & Malley to name a few.
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| Memorial plaque in honour of James O’Meley & Mary Fox & their children, placed in Young, circa 1984. |
John Maille was married to Nappy Davitt (she appears as both Penelope & the pet form Nappy in records), she is linked by other researchers to the family of Michael Davitt of the Land League fame. I can’t say whether that is true, however it certainly fits with the rest of the family background.
Patrick O’Meally with his brother Peter were convicted at Castlebar, & sentenced to 7 years labour in NSW, aboard the barque Norfolk, which sailed from Cork on 15 October 1831. One account found online, records the following “Patrick O’Mally was a convict who was transported for life for sheep stealing. He was tried and convicted at crown court, where Nancy Malley gave evidence as his sister. Also charged was his brother Peter. The sheep were the property of William Malley [possibly Sir William O’Malley, K.B. 2nd Baronet]”. On board with Patrick & Peter, who are listed as brothers, was also Austin Malley, convicted in the same year on the same charge of sheep stealing. He is listed as a widower, with 2 children. He is not stated to have been a relative of Patrick & Peter, in the ship’s records, but is shown as such online, such as in the Monaro Pioneers Project, though I do not know on what evidence. I do believe he was likely a cousin, & believe him also to be connected to the Austin O’Malley, who married Mary Davitt, who herself was possibly a relative of Nappy Davitt. This latter Austin’s wife appears to have remarried as she appears in a record “Mary Davitt or Mealley married 1849, Westport, Ireland to...”, the name of the spouse being lost.
James Edward O’Meley & Harriet Apps had six children, including my grandfather Charlie, who like his father before him took to the road, on foot, to find work, though specialising in plumbing, he dabbled in shoe repair, & whatever work he could get. It was during this time that he became fond of Batemans Bay, & would eventually bring his family there. He, with his brothers Jim & Reg formed a travelling band, being accomplished violinists. Charlie married Doris Pugsley, of the family from Devon, Doris’ maternal grandmother was a Kennedy from County Laois. Charlie & Doris had 6 children. My father married the daughter of Sicilian immigrants. My father’s only sister married my mother’s brother. I am one of 7 children, 5 boys, 2 girls.
There are a few of us here in Australia, but not so much in comparison to other families, almost all of the family are centred in West Wyalong. My family is in Batemans Bay. There are also O’Meally’s nearby, in Broulee, though they have no known connection to my family, & another Mealley, a very nice old lady, nearby in Tuross Head, whose family, coming directly from England, she & her brother had assumed themselves to be English. The O’Meleys in Moruya & Nelligen, nearby, are my cousins.
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| Family tree of the descendants of John O’Maille & Nappy Davitt, excerpt from the book ‘Links to James Meally & Mary Fox’, Shirley M. Keegan. |
John & Nappy had sons Patrick & John circa 1798. After that point John disappeared for 10 years & is believed to be the same John who was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in Wexford Gaol, being captured for his part in the Irish Rebellion of 1798, which took place in County Mayo. Upon his release from Wexford Gaol the birth of his children resumed with the usual regularity, resulting in Honor 1810, James & Peter 1814, Nappy 1816, Bridget 1820 & apparently another daughter Nancy O’Mailleagh, said to appear in the trial of her brother Patrick. Six of these siblings were sent to Australia as convicts for stealing sheep from what was, as the story goes, land that had previously belonged to themselves.
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| The Court House, Castlebar |
Patrick O’Meally with his brother Peter were convicted at Castlebar, & sentenced to 7 years labour in NSW, aboard the barque Norfolk, which sailed from Cork on 15 October 1831. One account found online, records the following “Patrick O’Mally was a convict who was transported for life for sheep stealing. He was tried and convicted at crown court, where Nancy Malley gave evidence as his sister. Also charged was his brother Peter. The sheep were the property of William Malley [possibly Sir William O’Malley, K.B. 2nd Baronet]”. On board with Patrick & Peter, who are listed as brothers, was also Austin Malley, convicted in the same year on the same charge of sheep stealing. He is listed as a widower, with 2 children. He is not stated to have been a relative of Patrick & Peter, in the ship’s records, but is shown as such online, such as in the Monaro Pioneers Project, though I do not know on what evidence. I do believe he was likely a cousin, & believe him also to be connected to the Austin O’Malley, who married Mary Davitt, who herself was possibly a relative of Nappy Davitt. This latter Austin’s wife appears to have remarried as she appears in a record “Mary Davitt or Mealley married 1849, Westport, Ireland to...”, the name of the spouse being lost.
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| Norfolk, Isabella, City of Edinburgh, Details regarding the ships in which the O’Meley convicts arrived, excerpted from the book ‘Links to James Meally & Mary Fox’, Shirley M. Keegan |
Patrick with his wife Judith Downey had 10 children of which John O’Meally (Johnny O’Meally) the famous Bushranger, was the eldest. He was a member of the Gardiner/Hall gang in company with John Gilbert, who was the lover of John’s cousin Mary Ann Mailley. John & the gang pulled off the largest gold heist in Australian history, but was shortly thereafter shot to death. He was buried on a nearby riverbank, & his father Patrick, drove for several days, retrieved his body & returned to their hometown to bury him in the Catholic cemetery.
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| Painting by Patrick William Marony (1858-1939) of the death of John O'Meally |
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| The Eugowra Gold Heist |
Peter Mally (Patrick’s younger brother) had 13 children with his wife Mary Sears, but other than their names not much more is known of them.
John Meally, (brother of Patrick & Peter) was convicted on the same charges of sheep stealing & sent to the Colony of New South Wales, for 7 years, with his younger brother James, aboard the City of Edinburgh, which sailed from Cork on 18 March 1832, leaving behind a wife, 1 boy & 2 girls in Ireland. He received his ticket of leave in 1836, & then disappears from Australian records. He is believed to have returned to Ireland, & is, I believe, the same John O’Malley, supposed to have died in 1846, the husband of Nancy Davitt, who emigrated to USA in 1847 & there married secondly an Abraham DeMay. Nancy had 2 brothers, Charles and Hugh. Her parents were M. Davitt and Bridget Scanlius, & were perhaps relatives of Nappy Davitt also.
Honor Malley (sister of Patrick, John, James & Peter), was convicted, with her sister Bridget, on the charge of sheep stealing & sent to the Colony of New South Wales, for 7 years, aboard the Isabella, which sailed from Dublin on 15 March 1840. She married Robin Ready and had 5 children the youngest of which Robert was the lover of Mary Ann Mailley, his 1st cousin, daughter of James Meally & Mary Fox, (the same who was also lover of the bushranger John Gilbert), and their base born daughter Ellen carried the name Mailley. Likewise her elder child Catherine also illegitimate by John Gilbert also bore the name Mailley.
John Meally, (brother of Patrick & Peter) was convicted on the same charges of sheep stealing & sent to the Colony of New South Wales, for 7 years, with his younger brother James, aboard the City of Edinburgh, which sailed from Cork on 18 March 1832, leaving behind a wife, 1 boy & 2 girls in Ireland. He received his ticket of leave in 1836, & then disappears from Australian records. He is believed to have returned to Ireland, & is, I believe, the same John O’Malley, supposed to have died in 1846, the husband of Nancy Davitt, who emigrated to USA in 1847 & there married secondly an Abraham DeMay. Nancy had 2 brothers, Charles and Hugh. Her parents were M. Davitt and Bridget Scanlius, & were perhaps relatives of Nappy Davitt also.
Honor Malley (sister of Patrick, John, James & Peter), was convicted, with her sister Bridget, on the charge of sheep stealing & sent to the Colony of New South Wales, for 7 years, aboard the Isabella, which sailed from Dublin on 15 March 1840. She married Robin Ready and had 5 children the youngest of which Robert was the lover of Mary Ann Mailley, his 1st cousin, daughter of James Meally & Mary Fox, (the same who was also lover of the bushranger John Gilbert), and their base born daughter Ellen carried the name Mailley. Likewise her elder child Catherine also illegitimate by John Gilbert also bore the name Mailley.
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| Johnny Gilbert bushranger |
Bridget Malley, convicted with her sister Honor, of sheep stealing & sent to the Colony of New South Wales, for 7 years. She married John Fox, (brother of my ancestor Mary), son of Patrick Fox, a convict of Mayo, & Catherine O’Brien, a convict from Limerick, who was born in Cork, a widow who was sent to Australia with her young child Patrick Maddigan in tow. John & Bridget had 8 children.
Nappy Malley their sister (who remained in Ireland) is recorded as coming from Louisburgh, & in her marriage records is stated to be daughter of John Malley & Penelope. She married twice, firstly 11 Feb 1856, Aughavaul, Murrisk, Mayo, to Pat Cerigan (Born c 1786), widower, son of John Cerigan. And secondly 1 Nov 1868, Westport, Oughavaul, County Mayo, Ireland to Hugh McGill of Westport (Born c 1808), son of John McGill.
James Meally (my ancestor), was sentenced to 7 years for stealing sheep. Shortly after his arrival he married Mary Fox, daughter of Patrick Fox & Catherine O’Brien. Catherine her mother, was a convict also, & was a widow, having been married previously to a Patrick Maddigan, by whom she had one son. James & Mary had 12 children including my 2nd great grandfather James Mealey, who married Sarah Jenkins, whose father David Jenkins (alias Genkens), was a free settler apparently from Wales, a postman, who died in a tragic boiler explosion in 1864 & her mother Mary Ann Flynn, (who died in a tragic fire several months prior to her husband), a daughter of Matthew Flynn, a convict from Cork, & Elisabeth Wooller, a pick-pocket from London. James & Sarah had 11 children, among which was my great grandfather James Edward O’Meley & a daughter Bridget Meally, who previous to her marriage to William Waters, had a son of unknown paternity whose descendants are O’Meally also.
Nappy Malley their sister (who remained in Ireland) is recorded as coming from Louisburgh, & in her marriage records is stated to be daughter of John Malley & Penelope. She married twice, firstly 11 Feb 1856, Aughavaul, Murrisk, Mayo, to Pat Cerigan (Born c 1786), widower, son of John Cerigan. And secondly 1 Nov 1868, Westport, Oughavaul, County Mayo, Ireland to Hugh McGill of Westport (Born c 1808), son of John McGill.
James Meally (my ancestor), was sentenced to 7 years for stealing sheep. Shortly after his arrival he married Mary Fox, daughter of Patrick Fox & Catherine O’Brien. Catherine her mother, was a convict also, & was a widow, having been married previously to a Patrick Maddigan, by whom she had one son. James & Mary had 12 children including my 2nd great grandfather James Mealey, who married Sarah Jenkins, whose father David Jenkins (alias Genkens), was a free settler apparently from Wales, a postman, who died in a tragic boiler explosion in 1864 & her mother Mary Ann Flynn, (who died in a tragic fire several months prior to her husband), a daughter of Matthew Flynn, a convict from Cork, & Elisabeth Wooller, a pick-pocket from London. James & Sarah had 11 children, among which was my great grandfather James Edward O’Meley & a daughter Bridget Meally, who previous to her marriage to William Waters, had a son of unknown paternity whose descendants are O’Meally also.
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| Family tree of the descendants of James Meally & Mary Fox excerpt from the book ‘Links to James Meally & Mary Fox’ Shirley M. Keegan |
James Edward O’Meley & Harriet Apps had six children, including my grandfather Charlie, who like his father before him took to the road, on foot, to find work, though specialising in plumbing, he dabbled in shoe repair, & whatever work he could get. It was during this time that he became fond of Batemans Bay, & would eventually bring his family there. He, with his brothers Jim & Reg formed a travelling band, being accomplished violinists. Charlie married Doris Pugsley, of the family from Devon, Doris’ maternal grandmother was a Kennedy from County Laois. Charlie & Doris had 6 children. My father married the daughter of Sicilian immigrants. My father’s only sister married my mother’s brother. I am one of 7 children, 5 boys, 2 girls.
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| Front: Ellen O’Meley her parents Doris & Alfred Charles ‘Charlie’ O’Meley. Ellen’s cousin Loretta Pugsley in rear. |
There are a few of us here in Australia, but not so much in comparison to other families, almost all of the family are centred in West Wyalong. My family is in Batemans Bay. There are also O’Meally’s nearby, in Broulee, though they have no known connection to my family, & another Mealley, a very nice old lady, nearby in Tuross Head, whose family, coming directly from England, she & her brother had assumed themselves to be English. The O’Meleys in Moruya & Nelligen, nearby, are my cousins.
We do have a family group on Facebook (180 members), perhaps I will see if any are interested in testing. I am also a member of the O’Meally Facebook group of Jamaica (290 members), & am very curious how they might be connected. Onomastics suggest they may have sprung from my family.
DNA might throw some light on questions that hang over my family history. How do I, my relatives, & our known ancestors fit into the O’Malley clan? I know that is a question that has nagged at many of my family & relatives. Growing up we were told that O’Meley was a corruption of O’Malley, & that the English just didn’t understand the Irish accent & misspelled the name. I know that isn’t true. I know that Melaghlin, son of Owen Dubhdara, appears as “O’Mealie, otherwise called O’Mally,
Chief of his name” circa 1576. It is stated somewhere, though I can’t recall where, that those who bear the spellings Mailley or Mealley, & their derivatives are descendants of Melaghlin. Do we in fact have any connection to him?
Or do we represent an older split in the family?
Are we in fact even related at all?
Bradley O'Meley
April 2022
Hi. My 2nd great-grandmother was Ellen O'Meley from Young, NSW, herself the granddaughter of James O'Meally and Mary Ann Fox. My mother who was born in Young, NSW grew up hearing stories that we were related to the outlaw John O'Meally (who took part in the The Eugowra gold escort robbery, some of that gold was not recovered). She was told by her cousins in Young recently that when they were very young kids in school they found 'gold' buried in 'Granny Sheathers' (she married Percy Sheather) backyard. When they took it to school to show it off the police were notified and apparently it was confiscated. (There are no records of this).
ReplyDeleteWhether this is just a family tall tale or not, I have been trying to work out whether or not we are in fact related to this notorious bushranger at all. Myself, my Mother and my mother's Uncle (Milton Sheather) who are all descended from Ellen Sheather (O'Meley) and from James O'Meally and Mary Ann Fox have all taken DNA test on Ancestry and I have been unable to find any link so far. I have used Ancestry and WikiTree to try to find any connection. If you have any information or documents that would be helpful I would appreciate them.
Thanks!
Steven
Thanks for posting this, Steven. I have shared it with the author (Bradley). Please do join the O'Malley DNA Project - it would be good to have you on board. Just click here, then click the JOIN button (top right), and follow the instructions ... https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/omalley/about
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