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I am trying to find the Parents of Mary Jane Gillespie who married Henry Gregg in Adelaide Sth Australia in1855 .
She came to Australia with two sisters onboard the "Mohamed Shah" in 1848
nothing more is none about where they came from.,
Regards Adrian Gregg

what are the names of the two sisters who were on the ship with her?

Their names may help identify the family.

Do you have her marriage certificate to Henry Gregg?

I understand that the names of both parents were usually on Australian certificates, as well as on death certificates.

According to several Public Family Trees on ancestry ..........

She was age 16 when she arrived in Australia in 1848, on board the Mohamed Shah


Mary Jane Gillespie was born ca 1832 in Ireland ........ the estimated date of birth being taken from her death certificate

One tree says she married Henry Gregg on 22 October 1855, age 22, in St Patrick's, Adelaide. They were seemingly married by the Bishop of Adelaide, Rev. Murphy.

There is some evidence that her father was called Patrick Gillespie

Henry Gregg was also born in Ireland, ca 1823


One of the trees has these two as her sisters ............

Christina Gillespie
1827 –

Elizabeth Gillespie
1834 – 1900
Married to Alexander Walker
1855 Abt. — Age: 21
Col Light Gdns Sth Aust
Died 19 Aug 1900

I presume you have seen something like this record before .......


http://www.oocities.org/vic1847/ship48.html

Mahomed Shah arrived 5 Jul 1848, 615 ton ship from Plymouth England on 29 Mar 1848 to Port Phillip [assisted emigrant passengers] [Jul 5] 1848 brought 58 single females, Master Hugh Macmeikan, Dr Thomas Lumsdaine and matron Mrs Jane Stoker, 98 day voyage, 1 woman and 4 chn died, including a premature baby.

Total of 211 emigrants arrived, 9 infants survived their births during the voyage.

'Perilous Voyages to the New Land' by Michael Cannon, page 133-4 records the Bounty women were 58 adult women from workhouses all over Britain, and 12 orphan girls aged between 14 and 21 from Cork Foundling Hospital, where they had been recovering from complete destitution and starvation. Despite the best efforts of Surgeon Dr Thomas Lumsdaine and the matron Mrs Jane Stoker, one woman and 4 children died during the 98 day voyage.

"The Somerset Years", by Florence Chuk, page 82 begins a chapter on the Mahomed Shah, including a description of the voyage.

William Gaylard 22 with Susan 22 from Stoke-sub-Hamdon
Catherine Ledge 22
Alfred Morton 23 and George Morton 21 from Stokescroft, Bristol
Sylvester Palmer 30 with 26 Ann
Charles Prigg 27 with Anne 27, Sarah 7, Eliza 4

----------

The Mahomed Shah sailed from Plymouth, England on 29 March 1848, and arri8ved at Port Philip, Melbourne on 5 July 1848

the list of emigrants on the Mahomed Shah can be found here


http://srwww.records.nsw.gov.au/ebook/list.asp?Page=NRS5316/4_4816/Mahomed%20Shah%20[1]_5%20Jul%201848/4_481600045.jpg&No=7


According to this, the Gillespie sisters were aged 21, 22 and 25, Farm Servants from Armagh, Religion Presbyterian, and all could both read and write.

They are listed under Single Females

I suspect from the way in which this Passenger List is organised that they came under the classification of Bounty women from the workhouses.

1855 24/120 GREGG Henry GILLESPIE Mary Jane Adelaide

https://www.genealogysa.org.au/resources/online-databases.html

Chris :)

http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/search?adv=y

(above newspapers can be very useful. also)


http://srwww.records.nsw.gov.au/indexsearch/searchhits.aspx?table=Assisted+Immigrants&ID=9&query=gillespie&frm=0

GILLESPIE Mary Jane - Mahomed Shah 1848 Port Phillip Reel 2144, [4/4816] Page 43

GILLESPIE Elizabeth - Mahomed Shah 1848 Port Phillip

GILLESPIE Christina - Mahomed Shah 1848 Port Phillip

On the link above for the arrival, Christina Gillespie's religion is stated as Episcopalian.

Only Mary Jane was was a farm servant, the other two were house servants.

If they were sisters would it be feasible that one listed a different religion?

This record is a little more specific in that she came from Clare, Armagh:

Victoria, Australia, Assisted and Unassisted Passenger Lists, 1839–192
Name: Mary Jane Gillespie
Estimated birth year: abt 1826
Age: 22
Arrival Date: 5 Jul 1848
Arrival Port: Port Phillip Bay, Australia
Departure Port: Plymouth
Ship: Mahomed Schah
Nationality: Irish

Her employer was to be a Henry Anderson of Buxxxxxx??. Rate of pay £20 per annum, with rations. Term of agreement 2 months.

ADDED:

Further up the page is Elizabeth Gillespie, she was also from Clare, Armagh and was going to Jas. L Willis at Gulong.

I can't find a similar record for Christina to confirm whether or not she gave Clare as her birthplace.

Welcome to the Community Boards Adrian.



(I will let Adrian know how to find his replies) :-)