The Killion, Quinn and Hand Families of Port Macquarie and Kempsey and their Feeney Family

On 21 July 1864, John Killion died at the family farm on the North Shore, Port Macquarie. Less than six months later, on 12 January 1865, Jane married Thomas Seward at the Office of the District Registrar in Port Macquarie. Imagine the difficulty that Jane faced in 1864 with a farm to manage and 5 young children between 2 and 10 years. As was often the case, marriage followed fairly quickly after the death of a partner in the 1800s.  Thomas Seward was born on 3 August 1814 at Moats Hole, Sandwich, Kent to Thomas (a mariner) and Ann Seward. He was baptised on 16 October 1814 at St Mary's Church in Sandwich. Prior to his marriage to Jane, the spelling of Thomas's name is either Seaward or Seeward. "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database,  FamilySearch  (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J7GY-8XJ : 11 February 2018, Thomas Seeward, 16 Oct 1814); citing , index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; ...

In our last post, we left John Killion in 1834 when he was assigned to John Dillon of Sydney after his arrival.  From the attached newspaper article, it seems that between 1834 and 1837, John Dillion relocated from Sydney to Port Macquarie. NOTICE TO CORRESPONDENTS. (1837, November 9).  The Sydney Herald (NSW : 1831 - 1842) , p. 2. Retrieved August 2, 2017, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12856337 As there's no record of John Killion's reassignment, we're assuming that he moved with John Dillon to Port Macquarie between 1834 and 1837.  The area was expanding during the 1830s with free settlers permitted to move to the region.  The 1841 New South Wales Census shows John Dillon of Port Macquarie has 3 male bonded males who are "in private assignment".  We're confident that John Killion was one of these men. https://www.records.nsw.gov.au/searchhits_nocopy?id=18&surname=dillon&firstname=john&residence=macquar...

John Killion is the patriarch of the Killion branch of the family - the descendants of Edward John (Jack) Killion, Rose Porter (nee Killion), Thomas Killion, Mary Jane Newton (nee Killion) and Margaret Gersbach (nee Killion). Few details remain about John's life. We're looking for more information to enrich John's story including his birth family and early life in Ireland. What follows is based on the research of Martyn Killion, our family historian.   John was born about 1806 in Athlone, County Westmeath, Ireland. Athlone is in central Ireland on the River Shannon about 120 kms west of Dublin.  Athlone between Dublin and Galway Althone Castle and River Shannon The only things familiar to John when he left Althone in 1883 On 01 March 1833 in the Assize (County Court) at Mullingar, Westmeath, John was found guilty of "assault on the habitation of Jas. (James) Scanlon" and convicted to transportation for life. Mullingar Courthou...