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

While we're all staying at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, members of the Society of Australian Genealogists have a webinar each Friday afternoon.  Today's theme was Anzacs.  I'm sharing a short presentation I made on our family to recognise a very different Anzac Day 2020. I t was only four years ago that I became immersed in the stories of my family but I’d always known the story of my great uncle Francis Joseph Macleay Gersbach.  I didn’t know the story of Frank’s cousin, Henry Joseph Porter. So four years ago I asked my cousin to give me access to the family bible.  To my amazement, the bible contained photos of Frank and his parents, my great-grandparents, Francis Gersbach and Margaret Killion, along with Frank’s birth certificate.  Frank was born in Glen Innes just over 130 years ago.  The family moved to the inner west of Sydney when Frank was a young child.   As I’ve come to know more, I wonder if these were the photos that Fra...

Listening to the ABC News last night and I was back with the Killion's.  The 1919 Anzac Day March was called off in Sydney because of the Spanish Flu Pandemic!  The first commemoration of Anzac Day in Sydney was in 1916.  Four thousand returned service men took part.  It was followed by lunch and entertainment at the Sydney Town Hall. You can read more here.   NRS 12060 [9/4857] B20/2475, State Archives and Records NSW Today, I'm wondering if Great Uncle Frank (Francis Joseph Macleay Gersbach) and his cousin, Harry (Henry Joseph Porter) were part of an Anzac Day March in Sydney.  Their only opportunity would have been 1918.......and I think not! Frank saw very little active service but was injured three times - the first in the second landing at Gallipoli and twice in France.  He returned to Australia on 7 March 1918.  He was found medically unfit and discharged from the AIF on 10 July 1918.  Frank died a week before An...

Francis Joseph Macleay Gersbach (1890 to 1919) Home from another successful "field trip" to Port Macquarie and Kempsey! Thanks to  John  and  Ann  for their hospitality - including our visit to the Killion land  on the North Shore. Wonderful to meet Quinn and Hand cousins in Kempsey and receive some priceless photos - all over 100 years old. Here's one that my great uncle, Frank Gersbach, sent to his cousin, Charlie Quinn. Frank departed from Sydney on 12 May 1915 on HMAT Themistocles A32 (pictured) bound for Gallipoli. Part of the second landing, Frank was wounded at Lone Pine and evacuated to Malta. He rejoined his battalion in France and was wounded twice more.   Frank was invalided back to Australia in 1918 and died on 18 April 1919 - 4 months after discharge - aged 29.     ❤️

Traditional "sleuthing" has come up trumps again!  Margaret, a grandchild of Margaret Mary (Cissie) and Charles Wright, and her daughter, Megan, are the latest "Killion cousins" to join our Facebook group . Cissie is the oldest child of Henry Porter and Rose Killion. Margaret and Megan were able to give us the first photo that we've seen of Cissie (second from the left). The photo was taken at the 1950 marriage of her son Walter (left) to Ethel Hook at St Aidens Church of England, Annandale, NSW.  Ethel's second from the right with her mother, Ellen Hook.   From left - Walter Wright, Cissie Wright (nee Porter), Ethel Wright (nee Hook), Ellen Hook Kindly provided by Margaret and Megan We're delighted to have this photos as we've located a photo of three women simply named "Porter women" at the Kempsey Museum. We're working to establish if the photo shows Rose Porter (nee Killion) and her two daughters, Cissie and Dattie (Mary Ja...

The story of Private Thomas Arthur Feeney was published on Anzac Day 2018.  You can read it  here.   After reading this, his great niece, Christine, told me about the First World War experience of Thomas's younger brother, William Leslie Feeney. Thomas Arthur and William Leslie are the two oldest sons of William Feeney (our Jane's nephew and son of her brother, Thomas) and Elizabeth Marion Faulds who had 12 children.   William was born on 14 June 1897 at Marrickville.  He enlisted on 6 March 1916, eight months after his older brother Thomas, and joined the 13th Infantry Battalion, 19th to 23rd Reinforcement of the Australian Imperial Force.  The unit left Sydney on 22 August 1916 on the HMAT Wiltshire A18 bound for England and further training.  William arrived in France in mid February 1917 and was reported missing on 11 April 1917.  Less than a month later, on 5 May 1917, Thomas was killed in France. William was taken pris...

With the opening of the Sir John Monash Centre at Villers-Bretonneaux today, I'll be remembering Thomas Arthur Feeney whose story seems to be barely recorded from my research in our Feeney family.   He was the grandson of Thomas Feeney ("our Jane's" brother) and Julia Cooke.  So "our Jane" was Thomas's great-aunt. Thomas was born on 7 May 1895 at Marrickville, NSW.  He was the oldest son and third of the twelve children of William Feeney (1868 to 1935) and Elizabeth Marion Faunds (1869 to 1955).   Thomas enlisted for the First World War on 14 August 1915 when he was 20.  He served in the 2nd Battalion, 12 Reinforcement of the Australian Imperial Force.  His unit embarked from Sydney on board HMAT A7 Medic on 31 December 1915.  They was briefly in Egypt before they sailed for France, arriving in Marseilles on 28 March 1916.   On 9 July 1916, Thomas received a gun shot wound to his left foot and was hospitalised for a period.  He ...

We're back with more information about the Killion, Quinn and Hand families.  We're also welcoming members of the families of Edward and Thomas Feeney but more on that in the next post..... Henry Joseph (Harry) Porter died 98 years ago today.  He was the victim of "an unprovoked one punch attack" in George Street Sydney a few days short of his 32nd birthday. Harry Porter was the second son and fourth of the five children of Henry and Rose (nee Killion).  He was born on 30 November 1887 in Kempsey.  The family had moved to Sydney in the early 1900s and lived in Glebe.  Harry enlisted for the First World War on 8 September 1914 but these papers are marked as "deserted" on 23 November 1914.  He re-enlisted on 27 July 1915 and joined the 4th Infantry Division of the 20th Battalion.  He is described as 5 feet 5 3/4 inches, 136 lbs, ruddy complexion, blue eyes and light brown hair with tattoos on both forearms.   Harry served...

Margaret Killion is the fifth and last child of John and Jane Killion. I'm interested in our Killion, Quinn and Hand family history because Margaret is my great-grandmother and, until 18 months ago, I knew very little about her life. Slowly I'm gathering fragments of information.... With only six descendants of Margaret surviving , we're the smallest branch of the family. On 10 February 1862, Margaret was born on "North Shore, Port Macquarie" - the site of the Killion land. On Margaret's birth registration, John shows his occupation as "Settler", aged 54 from Athlone, Ireland. While Jane is aged 30 from Wicklow, Ireland.  Margaret Killion - 11 May 1915 On 21 July 1864, John Killion died at their North Shore, Port Macquarie home  leaving Jane with 5 young children-   Edward John (Jack) - 9 years, 9 months, Rosanna (Rose) - about 8 years, Thomas - 7 years, 3 months, Mary Jane - 4 years, 9 months and  Margaret - 2 years, 3 months. Jane was about ...