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

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 le...

Charles was born on 29 June 1890 in Kempsey, NSW.  He was the oldest of the twelve children of Annie Quinn (nee Seward) and her husband, Thomas was the grandson of Jane Feeney and Thomas Seward.  You can read more about Annie and her family HERE .  Charles followed in his father's footsteps and became a tailor.   In 1924, Charles married Elizabeth Bella Sanders.  They had four children.  This photo is from the collection of their daughter, Betty, who still lives in Kempsey.   Their three sons were Charles (1925 to 1994), Bede (1926 to 1991) and Thomas (1934 to 2015). Elizabeth died in 1940 when their youngest child, Thomas, was just 6.  Charles died on 21 October 1960 and is buried with Elizabeth at West Kempsey Cemetery. There must have been a special connection between Charles and my grandmother, Essie, and her brother and sister, Frank and Rene, who lived in Sydney.  Here's his signature from a card sent to Rene a...

Matilda was the eight child of our many times great grandmother Jane Feeney and the third child of Jane's marriage to Thomas Seward.  Matilda was born at Port Macquarie and moved with her mother and 7 siblings to Kempsey when she was about 10.  In 1905, Matilda married John Hand and they had three sons - John, William and Bernard. We haven't found a photo of Matilda to date but here's a photo of her sons. You can read more about Matilda  HERE.

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; ...

On 11 August 1907, our many times great grandmother, Jane Moran (nee Feeny) died in West Kempsey. Jane was survived by Charles Moran, her third husband, and eight of her ten children - Edward John (56), Rosanna (54), Mary Jane (52), Thomas (50), Margaret (48), William (43), Annie (31) and Matilda (30). Her twins, James and Richard, had died in as infants in 1873.  The following day, 12 August 1907, Jane was buried at the Church of England Cemetery, West Kempsey. Jane's headstone in West Kempsey Cemetery  Local and General News. (1907, August 15). The Macleay Chronicle (Kempsey, NSW : 1899 - 1952), p. 4. Retrieved August 10, 2017, from  http://nla.gov.au/ nla.news-article18150976 Family Notices (1908, August 11). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 6. Retrieved August 10, 2017, from  http://nla.gov.au/ nla.news-article15017038

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

As we arrive at the final post on Jane Feeney's children from her marriages to John Killion and Thomas Seward, we're presented with a mystery. How many sons were born to Jane and Thomas in 1873?  Last week, a few "cousins" had a sneak preview of my dilemma in untangling this mystery….. Our current thinking is that two sons, James and Richard, were born to Jane and Thomas around 05 July 1873.  Richard was “weak” from birth and died on 19 July 1873.  James became “weak” around the time of Richard’s death and died on 02 August 1873. Family of Thomas and Jane Seward - Updated 21 June 2017 Please, only read on if you’re interested in hearing about the 26 year long search that’s lead to this view! A search of the NSW Registry of Births, Death and Marriages shows that, in 1873, two males died in Port Macquarie whose parents were Thomas and Jane- James Seaward - Registration number 6475/1873  Richard Seaward - Registration number 6479/1873 ...

Matilda is the third child of Thomas and Jane Seward.   She was born on 27 December 1869 at Port Macquarie. She was baptised at St Thomas' Anglican Church, Port Macquarie on 19 October 1870.  The birth registration records that Thomas is a boatsman, aged about 50, from England and the Jane is aged 36, from Ireland. Between 1873 and 1878, Matilda moved with her mother and siblings to the Kempsey region. Family Notices (1905, April 8).  Macleay Argus (Kempsey, NSW : 1885 - 1907; 1909 - 1910; 1912 - 1913; 1915 - 1916; 1918 - 1954) , p. 8. Retrieved November 8, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article233764269 On 01 March 1905, Matilda married John Hand at All Saints' Catholic Church, West Kempsey.  John was born on 14 July 1871 at Macleay River.  He was the oldest child of John Hand and Ann Kenny. John was 33 and Thomas was 35 when they married. Matilda and John Hand's three sons -  John Thomas, William Bede and Bernard James -...

Annie is the second child of Thomas and Jane Seward.  She was born on 27 October 1867 at North Shore, Port Macquarie. She was baptised at St Thomas' Anglican Church, Port Macquarie on 07 March 1868. Between 1873 and 1878, Annie moved with her mother and siblings to the Kempsey region. Annie Quinn (Seward) from Martyn Killion's collection On 10 Mar 1890, Annie married Thomas Francis Quinn at Kempsey.  The obituaries published at the time of Thomas's death record that he was born in September 1862 in Ireland.  It's thought that his parents were Thomas (Denis) and Bridget Quin who settled in Adelaide after their arrival.  Annie was 22 and Thomas was 27 when they married. Annie and Thomas's six sons and six daughters were born in Kempsey.  Three daughters died as infants - twins, Doris and Ethel, and Neta.  Annie and Thomas were survived by their other nine children.  (Research notes on the birth, marriage and death details of the children ...