By 05 July 1919, all of John and Jane's daughters had died within 10 weeks

The worldwide influenza pandemic which occurred in 1918 and 1919 is believed to have claimed 40 million people.  The disease arrived in Australia through Victoria in early 1919 and spread to New South Wales by 27 January.  By the time it ended in September, more than 6000 people had died in the State.  

The three daughters and one grandson of John Killion and Jane Feeney were amongst those who lost their lives.  

On 05 July 1919 - 98 years ago today, Margaret Gersbach (nee Killion) was the last of the daughters of John and Jane to died from influenza.  Margaret was 57 years old.  Frank Gersbach jnr, Margaret's son, had died 11 weeks earlier from influenza.  He died on 18 April 1919, aged 29.  Both died at the family home, "Cronulla" 19 Northumberland Street Stanmore.

So, it seemed timely to visit the homes where my great-grandmother, great uncle and my two 2nd great-aunts had died all those years ago.

Clockwise from top left - Margaret Gersbach (nee Killion), 19 Northumberland Street Stanmore, Frank Gersbach jnr, "Cronulla" nameplate on home, Margaret's 1917 letter informing AIF of the family's move to "Cronulla"
On 29 April 1919, Rose Porter (nee Killion) had died from influenza at 21 Talfourd Street Glebe.  Rose, aged 64, was the oldest of the sisters.  At this time, we've not located a photo of Rose but there's still hope.  We may find one amongst the unidentified images at the Macleay River Historical Society!

21 Talfourd Street Glebe - Home of Rose Porter (nee Killion)
Seven weeks later, on 15 June 1919, Mary Jane Newton (nee Killion) died from influenza at 574 Crown Street Surry Hills.  Mary Jane, aged 59, was the fourth of the Killion children.

Mary Jane Newton (nee Killion)
574 Crown Street Surry Hills on right - some original features in the upper facade remain.
The three Killion sisters died within 10 weeks! Rose, Mary Jane and Margaret were survived by their husbands, 9 children and 6 grandchildren.
Rose and Margaret are buried at Rookwood Catholic Cemetery. Mary Jane is buried at the Church of England Cemetery Waverley.


Most popular posts

Our Family Blog

The central person in this blog is our 2nd great-grandmother, Jane Feeney.  When we commenced in early 2017, we were focussing on Jane, her husbands - John Killion, Thomas Seward and Charles Moran - and their children and descendants.  After a DNA breakthrough later in the year, we reunited Jane with her mother, Jane, and four siblings - Eliza, Ann, Edward and Thomas - and the scope of the blog expanded. Are you a Killion, Seward or Feeney descendant?  If so, why not join our blog to share information and find out more about our families. John Killion arrived in Sydney on 19 January 1834 .  He was transported from County Westmeath, Ireland.  John received his ticket of leave on 10 July 1848.  On 29 September 1851, he married Jane Feeney in what is now the Port Macquarie Historic Museum. John and Jane had five children before John's death on 21 July 1864.   Jane arrived in Sydney on 4 April 1849.  She left the South Dublin Work House for her new life as part of the Earl Grey Famine
Read more

"An Irish Famine Orphan in Australia" - Jane Feeney, "My woman of importance"

Today I again "virtually" joined other members of the Society of Australian Genealogists.  With Mothers' Day on Sunday, the topic was "Women of Importance".  You might the interested in reading about Jane Feeney, our many times great-grandmother and great aunt. Jane Feeney came to Sydney in 1849 on board The Digby.  She was part of Earl Grey’s Famine Orphan Scheme.  So many of us are descendants of these young women that I consider they are truely women of importance. We owe a lot to Trevor McClaughlan and Perry McIntyre for the work they’ve done to bring the stories of these young women to us.  Over 4000 “famine orphans” came to the Australian colonies during 1848, 49 and 50.  Most were teenagers.  They were from workhouses in all 32 counties throughout Ireland. All were destitute and many had lost their parents and families. Others were simply unable to support themselves within the family. In a male-dominated society, these young women
Read more

From Feeny to Feeney - Our DNA discoveries!

You may have noticed that we've changed the spelling of Jane's family name from Feeny to Feeney and welcomed descendants of Edward and Thomas Feeney in a recent post..... Genetic genealogy, commonly referred to as DNA testing, is one of the new tools being used by family historians.  Quite a few of the Killion cousins have tested and we're looking forward to Quinn and Hand cousins testing!  So it's been a busy few months on the DNA front following matches between Killion cousins and descendants of two brothers, Edward and Thomas Feeney.  We've been working hard to piece together the story.  With all the evidence that we've gathered, we're confident that Edward and Thomas were Jane's brothers!!  We also appear to have found Jane's mother, also named Jane, and two sisters, Eliza and Ann.   The search continues and the DNA matches keep coming.  However, it seems a good time to share an overview of the Feeney family.... Jane Feeney snr arr
Read more