John & Margaret née Givnan MADDEN 

John Madden & Margaret Givnan

John Madden, second son of John (Snr) and Bridget, was born in County Galway, Ireland and arrived in New South Wales, Australia as a free settler aboard the Elphinstone on 29 December 1838. He was accompanied by his elder brother, Patrick, arriving at Port Jackson just a week ahead of their mother who sailed on the Margaret. John soon established himself in the colony by working as a farmer on the Mittagong Range in the vicinity of what is known today as the Old South Road, Mittagong1. His parents and his brother, Patrick, lived at Campbelltown2. No doubt frequent trips to visit his parents and attend Sunday Mass in Campbelltown brought the young John into contact with Margaret Givnan3. She was orphaned, it seems, and arrived in Australia at the age of 21 years on board the Gilbert Henderson on 16 September 1841. Margaret came from Killamanagh, a hamlet in County Galway, 2 miles south-east of Shrule, a town on the trunk road linking Galway City with the northern town of Castlebar. She was one of 208 Bounty Emigrants of whom 90 were single females, many being listed as orphans. Margaret was entrusted to the care and protection of her cousin, William Geogan (age 26) and his wife, Biddy. (William Geogan's mother was Mary Givnan).

John (Jnr) and Margaret were married in St John's Roman Catholic Church4, Campbelltown on 14 April 1844. The celebrant was the Rev. Fr James Alipius Goold5, and witnesses to the marriage according to the parish register, were Patrick Dolan and Bridget Cass. None of the bridal party, (including the witnesses) was able to read or write as they all recorded their "signatures" in the form of "their mark", each one being witnessed by the Priest. The baptismal records of their children indicate that John and Margaret continued farming at Mittagong where each of their ten children was born.

For church administration, the Catholics of Mittagong were included in the parish of Campbelltown until 1843 when the parish of Appin (St Bede's) was formed. In 1846, when the new parish of Berrima6 was severed from Appin, Mass was celebrated in a building formed from two huts that had, at one time, housed a chain gang. All three parishes are featured in baptismal records of the Madden children. Most of the family members however, were baptised in the parish of Berrima7 by the Rev. Fr William McGinty, an Irish Priest, formerly of Kiltenock, Stranorlar, Co. Donegal. Berrima was his first parish appointment and in 1849, Archbishop Polding blessed the foundations of a church dedicated to St Scholastica, now St Francis Xavier which still stands. Whether any of the Madden children were baptised in this church is debatable but it is on record8 that Fr McGinty travelled on horseback, going from home to home through the Mittagong Ranges, performing his pastoral work.

Charged With Possession Of Vinegar Bottles

Some time after Thomas' birth in 1857, the last of John and Margaret's children, the family moved from Mittagong to the Young9 area of New South Wales. Ill fortune beset the family in 1865 when John was arrested and charged with possession of a case of empty vinegar bottles. According to a newspaper article, John, by this time, was a carrier and a Mr J.A. Murphy, a storekeeper of Murrumburrah, alleged that John Madden had robbed his dray on the road between Murrumburrah and The Flat. The incident was heard in the Young Police Court and later adjourned to the Yass Quarter Sessions where, on 16 May 1865, John was sentenced to "three years hard labour on the roads" for larceny. John served some time at Darlinghurst gaol before being transferred in November 1865 to Parramatta10 where his health deteriorated. With the support of many leading citizens of the district, Margaret petitioned His Excellency, the Governor in Chief of the Colony of New South Wales, seeking the remission of her husband's sentence because -

• by some inadvertance the witnesses for the defence who were in attendance ... were not called at the trial.

• [she] sincerely [believed] her husband innocent ... he having picked up the case ... on the roadside.

• [she had] a family of ten [sic] children who were ... depending upon the exertions of ... John Madden for support and [were] ... destitute.

• ... John ... [was] ... lying ill in the Hospital at Parramatta Gaol.

Quite remarkably, the prosecutor stated that he was now convinced that John had been wrongly convicted and was released after serving only 12 months whereupon he returned to live in Grenfell Road between Young and Grenfell11, New South Wales.

John died in July 1892 and was pre-deceased by his wife, Margaret in February. Both were buried in the Roman Catholic section of the Grenfell cemetery12. John Madden's assets, at the time Probate of his Will was obtained in August 1892, were valued at land £150, two horses £10, crops £10, farming implements including a dray and spring cart £15, harness and saddlery £3 and furniture £15.