After a good many years of research I managed late last year to complete another book in my family history research series:
Ison, R.L. (2011) ‘I have the Honor to be Sir. The
Coleman family and their Irish origins’. Self Published. 597p. (ISBN
978-09551270-1-4).
These works are as much about social history as they are about family history. Copies have been placed in the main, relevant Libraries in NSW, WA, Victoria, Tasmania, Canberra, Galway, Dublin, Missouri and London.
From the Preface:
This document is built around the
family of Joseph Coleman, my Irish great, great grandfather. It begins in Australia
and delves back to Ireland
before moving via the USA
back to Australia. To a lesser extent, this research is also
about the spouses of the Coleman men and women, particularly, for example, Isabella
Mercer, my Scottish great, great grandmother and Annie Darcy, wife of
Joseph’s brother Daniel Coleman. Despite
considerable documentary evidence both of my great, great grandparents, remain
somewhat elusive characters – no family members in any of the many branches
appear to have compiled or recreated the story of our Coleman ancestors, either
in writing or orally. To some extent
each generation was the bearer of secrets they did not wish to be known or
told. Joseph's arrival in Australia
in the 1850s and some aspects of his Irish origins remain a mystery. However, my research has shed considerable
light on Joseph’s father, Edward Coleman, fortuitously wounded at the Battle of
Akbar in Egypt
in 1801. I mean fortuitous in the sense
that it gave rise to records which I was able to find. But more importantly it entitled him to a
pension which may have been the means by which he and his family survived the
famine.
A table of contents follows:
Preface
Part
1
1. Joseph and
Isabella Coleman
1.1.
Introduction
1.2
Early years in Australia
1.2.1
Joseph Coleman - arrival
1.2.2
Joseph Coleman – early records
1.2.3
Isabella
Mercer
1.2.4
In Tasmania - about 1859 to
1863
1.2.5
Policing at Fingal
1.2.6
Death of Joseph’s father in
Ireland
1.2.7
Leaving Tasmania
1.3
Teaching in NSW - a
summary
1.3.1
The organization of schools in
NSW
1.3.2
St James’s training school and the Church of England
schools
1.3.3
Joseph’s first appointment
1.4
Denominational school at North
Kurrajong
1.5
Ryde Church of England Denominational
School
1.5.1
Conflict between members of the school board and
Isabella Colman
1.5.2
Escape to
Tasmania
1.5.3
Applying for
promotion
1.6
Richmond Church of England Denominational
School
1.6.1
The history of the Richmond Denominational
school
1.6.2
At Richmond – the benign early
years
1.6.3
Disturbing times at
Richmond
1.6.4
Reflections on Rev. Dr
Woolls
1.7
Moorilda Public
School
1.7.1
Appointed as local
postmaster
1.7.2
Attending to school
matters
1.7.3
Building and making repairs to the
school
1.7.4
Difficulties with
promotion
1.7.5
Reports relating to Isabella's
illness
1.7.6
Influential
friends
1.8
Mortdale - Joseph's final
school
1.8.1
Joseph and the Mortdale
school
1.8.2
Promotion problems
again
1.9.
Isabella's death and Joseph's
remarriage
1.9.1
Joseph's new
family
1.9.2
Inspections and other
incidents
1.10
Retirement
1.10.1
Joseph's will - and the much talked about
legacy
1.11
Unresolved questions
1.12
Main
references
1.13
Appendices
1.13.1
Joseph Coleman Family
Tree
1.13.2
Glossary of Terms associated with Schools in NSW
Part
2
2. The Coleman
Family in
Ireland
2.1
Edward Coleman,
soldier
2.1.1
North Mayo Militia muster and payroll
records
2.1.2
Edward and the 13th
Foot
2.2
Coleman records in County
Mayo
2.3
Edward Coleman,
farmer
2.4
Edward Coleman, husband and
father
2.4.1
The D’Arcy family and Clifden
Castle
2.4.2
Back to the family
records
2.5
Hyacinth D’Arcy and the ‘evangelical
milieu’ of
Clifden
2.6
The famine in
Clifden
2.7
Summing up
2.8
Appendices
2.8.1
Search of National Archives PROCAT, Sunday 17 October,
2005
2.8.2
Posting by Maria Feerick on
Genforum:
2.8.3
Continental officers killed, captivated, wounded, and
missing, in the
actions of the 16th and 18th of August, 1780 (American War of
Independence)
Part
3
3. Daniel
Coleman
3.1.
Early years in Australia – marriage to
Annie
Darcy
3.2
In Tasmania - about 1863 -
1871
3.3.
Bootmaking and family life in
Ballarat
3.4
Children of Daniel Coleman and Annie
Darcy
3.4.1
Joseph Jeremiah
Coleman
3.4.2
Annie May
Coleman
3.4.3
Margaret
Coleman
3.4.4
Edward Daniel
Coleman
3.4.5
Edith Marian
Coleman
3.4.6
Gilbert John
Coleman
3.5
Daniel’s remarriage – Emily
Wigley
3.6
Coleman and Shiells, ink
manufacturer
3.7
Retirement to
Melbourne
3.8
The children of Daniel’s second
marriage
3.8.1
Alice May
Coleman
3.8.2
Harry Richard
Coleman
3.9
Concluding
thoughts
Part
4
4. Brothers and
Sisters of Joseph and Daniel
Coleman
4.1
Edward
Coleman
4.1.1
The Liberty Non-Sectarian
Mission
4.1.2
Sorting out the available
records
4.1.3
Edward and Catherine’s
children
4.1.4
Other records of
interest
4.2
Ann
Coleman
4.3
The children of Edward and Bridget
Conneely
4.3.1
Patrick
Coleman
4.3.2
Thomas Coleman
4.3.3
Margaret
Coleman
4.3.4
Daughter (?) Coleman (Mary
Anne?)
4.3.5
Stephen Coleman
(?)
4.3.6
Val
Coleman
4.3.7
Mary Ann
Coleman
4.4
Loose ends and unanswered
questions
Part
5
5. Edward
Hyacinth Joseph
Coleman
5.1
Following in his father’s
footsteps
5.1.1
Becoming a pupil
teacher
5.1.2
Pupil teachers in
NSW
5.2
Upper Colo and Wheeny
Creek
5.3
Mount
Macquarie
5.4
Trunkey
Creek
5.4.1
Applying for travelling expenses and a new
stove
5.4.2
Complaint against the teacher
5.4.3
Leave to attend mother’s
funeral
5.4.4
Arbor day
enthusiasm
5.4.5
Dissatisfaction with current
situation
5.4.6
Complaints about cruelty
1893-94
5.4.7
Horace Coleman becomes a pupil
teacher
5.4.8
Ill-health
5.4.9
Running into
debt
5.5
Mulgoa
Forest
5.6
Arcadia
5.6.1
Correspondence from the
files
5.6.2
Insurmountable
debts
5.6.3
The ‘great swindle’
5.6.4
The final unravelling of a 27 year teaching
career
5.7
Retirement and
death
5.8
The family of Edward Coleman and
Lavinia
Gee
5.8.1
Horace
Coleman
5.8.2
Lavinia Josephine
Coleman
5.8.3
Edward Vere
Coleman
5.8.4
[Edward] Hyacinth Rupert
Coleman
5.8.5.
Evelyn
Coleman
Part
6
6. Augustus
Horatius Arthur Coleman
6.1
Gus's birth and early
years
6.2
Gus's teaching career - a
summary
6.3
Teaching - the early
years
6.3.1
The first
school
6.3.2
Blackfriars, St Peters,
Hurstville
6.3.3
The Mila
incident
6.3.4
Transfer to the central coast and Hunter
region
6.3.5
An interest in stories and
poetry
6.3.6
Stories from Black
Hill
6.4
Marriage and
family
6.4.1
Other events at Black
Hill
6.5
Leaving NSW and teaching in Western
Australia
6.5.1
Belltrees - Gus's last NSW
School
6.5.2
Death of Margaret
McKimm
6.5.3
The move to the
West
6.5.4
To
Mogumber
6.5.5
Troubled
times
6.5.6
To
Nannine
6.5.7
To Rottnest
Island
6.6
The return East and the final
illness
6.6.1
Matters concerning the children and other
correspondence
6.6.2
Gus's death and
funeral
6.7
Widowhood and condolences for
Jenny
6.7.1
Working to support the
family
6.8
Concluding
remarks
Part
7
7. Joseph
Coleman’s Second
Family
7.1
Florence Gibbons
Smith
7.2
Eustace Charles St Clair
Coleman
7.2.1
Becoming a
Minister
7.3
Gladys Josephine
Coleman
7.4
Joseph and Florence’s
grandsons
7.4.1
Frank Joseph Charles
Marjason
7.4.2
Leonard Cecil
Marjason
7.4.3
Kenneth William
Marjason
Part
8
8. The family of
Gus Coleman and Jenny McKimm
8.1
Isobella Dorothy Maude
Coleman
8.2
Lilian Margaret May
Coleman
8.3
Arthur Joseph Robert (Bill)
Coleman
8.4
Edward Victor John
Coleman
8.5
Constance Rebecca Mary
Coleman