Life History

Notes

• Barney Mahony - In Ireland
  Religion: Catholic
  Marital status: Single
  Calling/trade: Errand boy
  Born: 1816      Cork
  Tried: 1829      Cavan
  Sentence: 7
  Former convictions:
  Ship: James Pattison (1) [1830]
  Crime: Picking pockets
  
  179
  Barney Mahony
  14 years
  Roman catholic
  Single
  Errand boy
  Cork Ireland
  Convicted of picking pockets
  Tried at Cavan on 5 August 1829
  Sentence 7 years
  4 ft 71/2 inches grey eyes, light brown hair, ruddy freckled pitted complexion, scar on top right foot and over inside right ankle
  Arrived Sydney Cove 20th January 1830 on James Pattison from Ireland with 199 convicts, Commander Grote, Surgeon James Gilchrist
  Assigned to William Lawson at Bathurst
  
  State Records of NSW:
  Name of Ship    Item No.        Remarks
  Reel 2423
  [2/8264]
  James Pattison (1) 1830
  p.159
  Receipts for convicts received on board; Papers re military prisoners; List of convicts and soldiers who died during the voyage; List of convicts embarked at Kingstown, noting the character and conduct of each while on board; Account of money and clothing belonging to convicts; and Nominal list of convicts embarked
  
  C36/949 Certificate of freedom
  C38/917 ?
  
  From Index to Certificates of Freedom
  MAHONY, Barney (James Pattison,1830) 36/0949 Granted 20 Sep 1836 [Item:4/4335, Reel: 997]
  
  
  Notes from David Coggins:
  
  Bernard Barry Mahony was born in Cork, Ireland about 1816. In 1829 he was arrested for picking pockets and tried at Cavan, 150 miles from Cork, on 5 August 1829. He was convicted and sentenced to seven years in NSW. He was transported to New South Wales in the ship "James Pattison" with 199 other convicts, arriving at Sydney Cove on 20th January 1830. On arrival he was 14 years of age, four feet seven and one half inches in height, with a ruddy freckled pitted complexion, grey eyes and light brown hair. He was assigned to William Lawson Jnr., the son of the explorer, possibly at Macquarie Plains near Bathurst.
  
  The nickname Barney was commonly used in Britain as a diminutive of Barnabas, Barnaby or Bernard. It was shown on his convict record, and seems to have stuck with him for a while. On his marriage certificate his name was given as Barnaby; probably a church official decided that it wasn't proper to use a nickname on an official document, and chose the incorrect name without checking first. Barney could not write, and could read only slightly, so he was in no position to correct any errors in his name. Later documents show that he chose to use his second name, Barry - probably to sever all links to his convict past. (see Note at the bottom of this page.)
  
  Barney was granted a Certificate of Freedom on 20 September 1836. He was then reportedly five feet seven and one half inches in height (which seems like an amazing growth spurt - perhaps it was an error?). On 6 April 1842, Barney married Catherine McCarthy (or Jordan), at St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney. Catherine arrived in NSW on 28 January 1842 as a free woman. She travelled with her cousin, Martha Jordan, on the "Carthaginian" from Dublin, Ireland. She was listed as a domestic servant and was 18 years of age. They were brought in by a Miss Aspinall, of Brown & Co, and employed through the Caroline Chisolm organisation, at Sir Thomas Mitchell's house on Darling Point.
  
  Catherine's parents were baker James McCarthy of Dublin and Ann (nee Rogers). Her surname is listed variously as Carty, McCarty, McCarthy or Jordan. It is assumed that her father died, and her mother married a Mr. Jordan, whose name she adopted. Why she reverted later is a mystery.
  
  Barry Mahony and his wife Catherine remained all their lives in the Bathurst district. He is shown as having several trades through his life; these include a tinsmith - he is listed as such on several documents, a bootmaker, and also as a hotel keeper - he seems to have operated "The Good Woman" hotel in George St, Bathurst from 1871 to 1874. He is also said to have operated a hardware store, with an emphasis on crockery. On his death certificate he is shown as a General Dealer.
• Barney and Catherine Mahony
• Barney Mahony

Sources

• 1. Australia Death Index, 1787-1985
  • Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.Original data - Compiled from publicly available sources.Original data: Compiled from publicly available sources.
• 2. New South Wales, Australia Convict Ship Muster Rolls and Related Records, 1790-1849
  • Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008.Original data - New South Wales Government. Musters and other papers relating to convict ships. Series CGS 1155, Reels 2417-2428. State Records Authority of New South Wales. Kingswood,
• 3. Australia Birth Index, 1788-1922
  • Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.Original data - Compiled from publicly available sources.Original data: Compiled from publicly available sources.