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

MyHeritage has introduced a new feature for subscribers....colouring your black and white photos in seconds!   Here are a few photos that we've seen before... Likely to be Rose Porter (nee Killion) with Cissy and Dattie Possibly Mary Jane Newton (nee Killion) Margaret Gersbach (nee Killion) Annie Quinn (nee Seward) Annie's husband and sons outside their business in Kempsey

Mary Jane Newton (nee Killion) died at her home, 574 Crown Street Surry Hills, six weeks after the death of her older sister, Rose Porter.  Mary Jane was 59.  Her cause of death is also shown as  "pneumonic influenza" which she had for 6 days... another victim of the Spanish Flu Pandemic.  Mary Jane is buried at the Church of England Cemetery, Waverley. During the week, I caught up with Sue, Mary Jane's great grand-daughter.  We chatted about what a sad time it was for our family.  Sue's family still have Mary Jane's prayer book.   I'd not realised that it was Sue's father, Francis Percival Thomas (Frank) Newton, who was the informant on Mary Jane's death certificate.  After the breakdown of his parents' marriage, Frank lived with his grandparents.  He was 5 weeks short of his fifteenth birthday at the time of his grandmother's death.  Frank never talked with his children about this period of his life.   We're s...

We have very few details of John and Jane's marriage other than the births of their five children. Edward John (Jack) was born about 1854 and Rosanna (Rose) about 1855.  However, we can't find any birth or baptism registrations for Jack or Rose.  Jack's granddaughter had his birth date recorded as 20 October 1854. Thomas was their third child.  His birth registration shows he was born on 10 April 1857 at "North Shore opposite the Town of Port Macquarie", John shows his occupation as "settler" and there were two "previous issue", John and Rosanna "both living". Mary Jane, their fourth child, was born on 25 October 1859. Margaret, was their fifth child.  Her birth registration shows she was born on 10 February 1862 at "North Shore, Port Macquarie".  Again John is shown as a "settler" and the previous issue are John (9), Rosanna (6), Thomas (5) and Mary Jane (2). Edward John is top ...

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 - Mar...

Now that we've covered each of the children from Jane Feeney's marriages to John Killion and Thomas Seward, here are the Killion, Porter, Newton, Gersbach, Quinn and Hand family charts in one place. Family of John Killion and Jane Feeny Family of Thomas Seward and Jane Feeny Family of Jack Killion and Ellen Johnson Family of Rose Killion and Henry Porter Family of Thomas Killion and Mary Jane Wood Family of Mary Jane Killion and Thomas Newton Family of Margaret Killion and Francis Gersbach Family of Annie Seward and Thomas Quinn Family of Matilda Seward and John Hand

Mary Jane Killion is the fourth child and second daughter of John and Jane Killion.  She was born on 25 October 1859 at Port Macquarie, NSW.  On 28 October 1878, Mary Jane married Thomas Newton at the Church of England Parsonage, West Kempsey.  Born on 23 March 1850 in Sydney, Thomas was the son of Thomas Newton and Mary Ryan who had married in Ireland prior to immigrating to New South Wales in 1848.  Mary Jane had just celebrated her nineteenth birthday and Thomas was 28 when they married.  Their marriage registration shows that Thomas was a bootmaker in West Kempsey and Mary Jane had no occupation and lived in Kempsey.  It bears the signatures of Mary Jane and Thomas.   Copy of 1878 marriage certificate Mary Jane Killion and Thomas Newton William and Sarah Hefren were the witnesses to the marriage.  Sarah, the older sister of Thomas Newtown, was born at sea on their parents' voyage to Australia.  In 1871, William Hefren and Sarah Newton...