3rd Great Grandparents; William McMullen and Margaret Miller

William and Margaret McMullen

William was born on 9th May 1827 and was from Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Ireland.  He arrived in Australia, from Ireland, by assisted passage, on 19th May 1852, aboard the ship the David MacIvor   This was post-potato famine.  His circumstances were probably desperate.  He was only 24 and came alone. He could read but not write.  According to descendant Jeff McMullen (famous TV journalist and writer), "William McMullen’s father, George (1785-c.1748) was a Cooper and most likely died during the potato famine. His son, William (1827-1906) travelled to Australia alone, then his mother Annie came with his siblings Sarah Jane, John and Thomas a few years later.  From when William married Margaret Miller there are birth and death records that establish a very clear but expansive story". (quoted from private correspondence). According to immigration records, he was healthy and fit although no occupation was listed.  He had no family in the colony.  (assisted passenger records) .

It is possible that William's mother, Anne, died in 1879, there being a death notice for an Anne McMullen who had sons William, John and Thomas (Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate, Saturday, 20 September, 1879) 

William married Margaret Miller in 1857 in Maitland, New South Wales, Australia. They married in Maitland (registration number 2025/1857) Together they had five children. One was called Elisabeth, after her mother, one George, after his father, and one was called William, after William.  Another daughter, Ellen, died at age 20 in 1881. She is buried at St Andrew's Church of England Burial Ground, Mayfield, Newcastle City, New South Wales, Australia, Memorial number 231038566. At some time, they lived at Vine Cottage in Waratah. He died on February 21, 1906, in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, having lived a long life of 78 years. According to his death certificate (2058/1906 is the registration number with Births, Deaths and Marriages), he died at Merewether, possibly at his son, George's house.

Margaret Miller was born in 1837 in Cornagrally, Armagh, Northern Ireland, however ancestry records claim around 1825. (Ancestry.com. New South Wales, Australia, Assisted Immigrant Passenger Lists, 1828-1896 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007) When Margaret Miller was born, their father, Tobias, was 33 and their mother, Elizabeth, was 41. Margaret arrived at Sydney Cove in 1855, aged 30, aboard the ship Simond, as an assisted migrant. She came with her sister Allas. 

Margaret and Allas had emigrated to the colony before their family came to join them. They were both formerly general servants, natives of Corndavalley [Cornagrally], Co Armagh. They were listed as daughters of Tobias and Elizabeth, who were both living at Corndalavvey (Cornagrally). The family were  Church of England, andcould read. They had no relatives in the colony. Ancestry.com. New South Wales, Australia, Assisted Immigrant Passenger Lists, 1828-1896 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007 The ship, the Simond, was 1202 TONS and sailed from the port of Liverpool to Sydney, on 14TH APRIL, 1855.  Around 45 crew members were aboard, 5 tradespeople, and 254 farm and domestic servants. Many were single women and most were Irish laborers. Most arrived in good health. https://marinersandships.com.au/1855/04/043sim.htm  

Her family later arrived and lived in Maitland NSW.  Tobias became the sexton at St Mary's Anglican Church in Maitland. Her brother Tobias Jr. became proprietor of a pioneering coach and livery service in Maitland. 

Records from the New South Wales Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages reveal William McMullen and Margaret Miller had five children between 1858 and 1870. 

The five children of William and Margaret McMullen

• Elizabeth McMullen: Born in 1858 in Maitland (Ref: 12111/1858).

• Ellen McMullen: Born in 1860 in Maitland (Ref: 12799/1860). Ellen died in 1881 and is buried at St Andrew's Anglican Burial Ground in Mayfield.

• George McMullen: Born in 1862 in Maitland (Ref: 13391/1862). William McMullen likely died at George's house in Merewether in 1906.

• Margaret McMullen: Born in 1866 in Newcastle (Ref: 14757/1866).

• William McMullen: Born in 1870 in Newcastle (Ref: 15456/1870). 

The children's birth records show the family moved from Maitland to Newcastle between 1862 and 1866. Newcastle was a rapidly growing port and industrial town at the time, attracting many new arrivals and their families. This migration aligns with the McMullen family's apparent desire to build a new life in the colony following their emigration from famine-era Ireland. 

Margaret died in 1900 in New South Wales, Australia, at the age of 63.

William's trip aboard the MacIvor was quite bad, with fever affecting many passengers, 17 of whom died. 

The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954)

Saturday 17 April 1852

QUARNTINE.-Several cases of fever having occurred on board the ship David McIvor, His Excellency the Governor General, with the advice of the Executive Council, has deemed it necessary to place the vessel, crew, and passengers under quarantine, according to law of which all persons are hereby required to take notice accordingly. The boundaries of the Quarantine station at Spring Cove, are specified in a proclamation dated, 15th july, 1837 -Yesterday's Government Gazette

Notice of their daughter Elisabeth's marriage in Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate , Sat 6 Sep 1884 .It mentions that the bride's parents lived at Vine Cottage, Waratah, Newcastle. Perhaps he was a miner, as notice was in the Miner's Advocate.

It

Death notice for William McMullen in theNewcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW : 1876 - 1954) Thu 22 Feb 1906, , Page 6 

Funeral notice for their daughter, Ellen.  Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW : 1876 - 1954) ,Sat 2 Jul 1881 

Citations

"Find a Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:68JC-CVT3 : 23 July 2024), Ellen Jane McMullen, ; Burial, Mayfield, Newcastle City, New South Wales, Australia, St Andrew's Church of England Burial Ground; citing record ID 231038566, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.

Further information on their children.

Research suggests the children of William McMullen and Margaret Miller, with the exception of Ellen who died unmarried, married into the families of Brown, Dagg, Collins, and Clift. 

Elizabeth McMullen (1858–?)

• Marriage: Elizabeth McMullen married Cuthbert Brown. 

• Cuthbert Brown: Born in Durham,  England

• Children: The couple had at least three children: Lillian, James and Nellie.

Ellen McMullen (1860–1881)

• Ellen died at the age of 20 and did not marry. 

George McMullen (1862–?)

• Marriage: George McMullen married Ann Jane Collins in 1883 in Newcastle.

• Ann Jane Collins (1865–1947): Ann Jane was born in Newcastle to Irish immigrant parents.

• Children: The couple had five children: George (1884–1955), Thomas (1886–1962), William (1890–1956), Margaret (1893–1980), and Sydney (1896–1917).

• Family Tragedy: The youngest son, Sydney, was killed in action during World War I. 

Margaret McMullen (1866–1933)

• Marriage: Margaret McMullen married George William Collins in 1888 in Newcastle.

• Connection to siblings: George William was the brother of Ann Jane Collins, who married Margaret's brother George.

• George William Collins (1861–1938): He was also born in Newcastle to Irish immigrants and worked as a coal miner and later a storekeeper.

• Children: The couple had eight children: Margaret (1889–1968), George (1890–1975), William (1892–1955), Ellen (1894–1972), Thomas (1896–1981), Samuel (1898–1976), Annie (1900–1982), and Mary (1902–1971). 

William McMullen (1870–1942)

• Marriage: William McMullen married Mary Jane Clift in 1891 in Newcastle.

• Mary Jane Clift (1871–1958): Mary Jane was born in Wallsend, New South Wales, the daughter of a coal miner.

• Children: The couple had at least eight children: William (1892–1972), Leslie (1893–1970), Robert (1895–1981), Alice (1897–1984), George (1900–1980), Ellen (1902–1996), Ruby (1907–1993), and Doris (1910–1994).