Plunketts * Ireland to Australia and New Zealand

Disclaimer.....

There are many trees on Ancestry etc. with impossible parents for our Thomas, the main one is mother Louisa Henry born 1765 and our Thomas was b 1772-75 which is frankly impossible.

They married in 1797, over 30yrs after our Thomas died.



Our earliest confirmed Plunkett, is the marriage of Thomas to Susanna Crawford 2 March 1800

As St Lukes was the only church in Killeevan at that time it is assumed that is where the marriage took place;

the family was not Catholic.                                           

                                                                                                                                                                            

Thomas enlisted in the Army 1803 as  this early research shows.     

Thomas and Susanna had a daughter Mary 1802 in Ireland, and a son Thomas in Woolwich 1804, reference diary of his grandson Thomas Scott Plunkett. 

Thomas applied to be relocated because of the pestilence, and it is assumed both these children perished.

The Plunketts  went to Malta . Thomas was a garrison Fort Sergeant. 

Where further children were born.

Susanna 1806,
 George 1808
John 1811,
Edward 1814
James 1817
and lastly Thomas 1821 who did not come to Australia with them. Despite some trees giving them second names, none of their birth certificates say so. 

 Original discharge, and replacement. A better copy later. Note Thomas was a weaver when he enlisted.

In 1823 Thomas went on to a part pension, and the family went to Australia aboard the Jupiter, reference is given in the Australian Dictionary of Biography, along with other ex Army families and various settlers.

Passenger page to be added when located. With the family came Mary Bishop a relative. It is unconfirmed she may be a daughter of Thomas's sister Mary.

also at bottom of this same page Susanna 16rs

Thomas became a Master of the Asylum also Superintendent located at Parramatta. All that remains is one wall. (photo above for location) 

At this time Thomas was in charge of issuing convicts out for work parties etc. Note he signs them in and out, so he was literate.

There are many documents from Thomas applying for various lands and to be supplied from government stores, more will be added.

The land docs later. In the 1828 census Thomas and family owned 90 acres at Castle Hill. Extracted Farms (below) names from this census.. To date exact location unknown. However in 1828 Thomas Susanna and the three younger children were living at Liverpool. George as a school master at the Castle Hill School was living at Castle Hill.

Plan of the school house. After the NSW Govt took over the education George was not retained.

In 1827 Thomas was relocated over to the Liverpool  Lunatic Asylum where two letters dated 1835 and 1838 were sent to him, by his brother James in Belfast. both letters had been in a house fire, and some words unreadable. One transcript is here.The other dealt mainly with food prices.

Letter to our Thomas.

When the Liverpool Asylum was rebuilt at Tarban, Thomas reapplied for a position in the new facility, but the incoming Minister of health wanted the inmates to be in the care of the health professionals, it is not known whether Thomas was retained under any capacity.Letter 16 Dec 1838. Unreadable here, hope to add a transcription later.

In 1811 the NSW government established what was known as a 'lunatic asylum' in Castle Hill for the care and treatment of the mentally ill. The facility moved to Liverpool in 1825. The first purpose built institution for the mentally ill was opened at Tarban Creek (Gladesville) in 1838.
Ruins today

In 1825 the patients at the Lunatic Asylum, Castle Hill were moved to the Liverpool Court House, which served as an asylum until Tarban Creek Asylum was built. (1)

On 28 September 1825 the Grand Jurors had reported to the Court of Quarter Sessions, Parramatta that the Lunatic Asylum at Castle Hill was "altogether unfit" due to it's lack of a reliable water supply and distance from medical attention. The asylum contained 27 male, and 8 female patients, under the care of one keeper. The report recommended that "these afflicted and unfortunate persons should be secured in a proper Hospital more directly situated in the vicinity of the Town", with a building constructed for the purpose. (2) At this time patients were committed to an asylum by an order from a magistrate.

In 1835 Governor Bourke sent a dispatch to London advising of the necessity for an asylum to be built, and described the present asylum at Liverpool as " a wretched hired building without outlet of any kind". (3) When the new Tarban Creek Lunatic Asylum had been completed patients were transferred from the Lunatic Asylum, Liverpool, and from the Female Factory, Parramatta, the first arriving on 19 November 1838. By 22 November all 28 female patients committed to the Liverpool Asylum had been transferred to Tarban Creek, with the first male patients from Liverpool arriving on 10 January 1839. (4)

Note,patients arrived 19 November 1838 and Thomas's letter above is dated 16 Dec 1838.



Son John died 1837, cause of death on the certificate is not noted.




Unfortunately Both Susanna and Thomas died before compulsory registration, and it was just sheer luck, when I was leaving Victoria Aus. after 10 years to return to NZ and I got a phone call from a relation in Cooma who had seen my long ago posted letter, to her local genealogical Society asking about the family, this was pre computer days, when no records were scanned or available to see. She generously shared with me, and on a later trip to Australia, I met up with her, and we went up to NSW where Thomas and Susanna are buried. I took this photo, which the dude on website has claimed as his. Hmm I have the negative.

Also on may Ancestry sites they have Thomas dying in 1851, as this burial book clearly shows he did not died in 1851, but 1854. Cherrybrook Uniting Church, Baulkham Hills

Back to the Plunkett letter

I have been unable to find "fathers old place" where brother George lives with "one son and one daughter" on fathers old place. Nor his sister Mary living next door.

 A family tree will be posted at the very end of this Blog, much later when all is entered to assist with the generations.


However I have had some success with Uncle James (brother of "father") whose two sons are in Belfast. 

Francis was b 1816, and like other family events he was baptised at St Annes Belfast.

He was involved firstly in importing and weaving linen in Belfast in the St Annes buildings, later becoming an Insurance Agent. Papers to be posted later. He married  Theresa LePan in 1841
he was still involved with yarn/textile during 1841-46, these are some advertisements with the name Plunket, those with two TTs were in the hundreds.After that he was an Insurance Agent as well.

There may have been other children, and I have followed his sons down too.

His brother James (yes another one) who in the letter, was a partner in a Print Field married 1828 Elizabeth Gill in Ballinderry and again at St Annes Belfast.They had at least 6 children, the eldest? James Gill Plunkett was in the Army and also came 'down under". More on him later.

This James became bankrupt, with many many notices in the papers over about 5 years.

James  and Elizabeth went to Lancaster England, about late 1840s to 1851, beware future researcher, there was another James and Elizabeth there too. Those were in Liverpool whereas our James lived in Manchester. census etc.
1851 census  The original was horribly damaged, and the missing name from this transcription is Martha Henry.

James died in 1859, exactly the same year as the "other" James from Manchester. The "other" James left a will. Ours did not.

Back to our Thomas's brother   James, and the letter writer.

It is unknown if James had married before he wrote the letter, but I found this which surely belonged to him, or yet another James

  Only assumed here, as a child of this James  about the time the letter was written.

However he has married in 1843.

On the 20th ult. by the Rev. William Orr M'Gowan, Greyabbey, Mr J. Plunkett, Belfast, to Miss Jane Thompson, Cunningburn. 

10 March 1843 - Belfast News-Letter - Belfast, Antrim, Northern Ireland

They had a daughter Jane around 1840/43.
 James probably died 1847-1849 unfortunately neither deaths or wills for this period are available. His wife  Jane died 1868 42 Union st,Plunkett's Court. which is where James wrote the letters to Thomas from.

then and now.

 James daughter Jane  married a Robert Dunwoody in Belfast    Berry st Presbyterian Church,later St Enochs in   1863 They had four children, with not much happening in the way of desc. Jane Dunwoody died young.She had inherited Plunketts court.(The three small houses)

   The other names are her children, more on them later.