The Gormley Family Co Roscommon Ireland and NSW Australia

Cornelius and Ann Gormley and their children arrived from Co Roscommon in 1853. They settled and farmed in NSW at Belmore River. Ellen Gormley married Joihn Henry Fanning and lived at Bulla in Victoria. Their three other daughters married into the Hanly, McClymont and McGuire families.

Gormley Family Arrive on the Ellenborough 1853
The Passenger list of the “Ellenborough” 1853

In the Sydney Shipping Gazette http://www.nla.gov.au/ferg/
Volume 10, Number 497 (17 October, 1853) page 310:

October 12 :- ELLENBOROUGH, ship, 1038 tons, Captain Thornhill, from
Southampton July 10th, with 405 Government emigrants. Mr. Burke
surgeon-superintendent. Young & Co. agents.

On board were Connor Gormley, his wife Ann, sons Thomas and Peter, daughters Sarah, Eliza, and Ellen.

Cornelius’s father was Thomas Gormley. In Griffith’s Valuation for Co Roscommon, Ireland, 1851, there are two listings for a Thomas Gormley in the Parish of Kilcorkey. One is in the townland of Bellanagare for 3 acres of  land and the other is in the townland of Bellanagare Village for a house and yard. There are no other listings for a Thomas Gormley in Co Roscommon. The obit for Cornelius Gormley in The Sydney Freeman’s Journal below states he was from the Parish of Elphin. This parish is next to the Parish of Kilcorkey.

The Gormleys lived at Belmore River, which is in the Macleay Valley, on the Mid North Coast of NSW.

In Greville’s Post Office Directory 1872  for the town of Gladstone, there are three Gormleys listed at Belmore River: Cornelius Gormley, James Gormley and John Gormley. They are all farmers and may be brothers of Cornelius or cousins from Co Roscommon.

Most of the Gormleys are buried in Fredrickton Cemetery which is just north of Kempsey in NSW.

Gormley Family Graves Fredrickton NSW
Gormley Family Graves Fredrickton Cemetery NSW
Cornelius and Ann Gormley
Cornelius and Ann Gormley nee MacDermid Fredrickton Cemetery NSW

Obituary for Cornelius Gormley in The Sydney Freeman’s Journal 2 Nov 1895

DEATH OF MR. CORNELIUS GORMLEY.
At Gladstone, Macleay River, after receiving all
the consolations of religion, a sterling old Irish
Catholic has passed away in the person of Mr.
Cornelius Gormley. He had reached the good old
age of four score and four. He was born in the
parish of Elphin, County Roscommon, Ireland, and
was a brother of the Rev. F. Gormley, of the same
parish, and the Rev. John Gormley, of Dublin. In
1853, owing to the depression prevailing m his
native land, he, with his wife and family, came to
New South Wales, and although he exiled himself
he was ever true to the land he loved so well,
aiding pecuniarily and otherwise every movement
for its advancement and welfare. Even in his
advanced age, a few years back, when Sir Thomas
Esmonde paid a visit to the district, he was con
spicuous for his energetic endeavours to help ‘ the
cause.’ Being a devoted Catholic, he always took
a great interest in Church matters. He did much to
advance the interests of religion in the early days
on the Macleay by the hospitality he extended’ to
the pioneer priests and his endeavours to facili
tate their modes of travelling through the district.
It was in Mr. Gormley’s house that the first Mass
was celebrated on the Lower Macleay many years
ago by the late Rev. Father Coghlan. He was
always active in the political field from the year
1835, when in his native county he recorded his first
vote for O’ Conor Don, to the 24th of July last, when
he rose from a bed of sickness to give what he well
knew would be his last vote to the present member
for the Macleay, Mr. Frank Clarke. When New
South Wales received responsible government, he
played a prominent part in the elections, being at
that time in Sydney. He worked hard endeavour
ing to secure for the country the services in Parlia
ment of such men as Messrs. Plunkett, Deniehy,
and W. Forstor, and afterwards, in 1864, was one of
a party in inducing Mr. Forster to stand for
the old electorate of the Macleay, which seat
Mr. Forster subsequently won. Being a man of in
dependent means, he latterly rested from work, and
until about a year ago, when old age began to weigh
him down, he enjoyed the best of health. The de
ceased was attended in the closing scenes of his life
by the Very Rev. Father Doyle, who administered
the last rites of the Church. The coffin, which was
adorned with many lovely wreaths and crosses,
was placed in the family vault in the Catholic por
tion of the Frederickton cemetery, where his wife,
eldest son, and one daughter had been previously
laid to rest. The funeral was one of the largest ever
seen on the Macleay. The deceased leaves one son
and three daughters, and several grandchildren.

Grave of Thomas Gormley 1875
Grave of Thomas Gormley 1875 Fredrickton Cemetery NSW

Glory In Excelsis Deo

Erected By

Cornelias & Ann Gormley

In Memory Of

Their Beloved Son

Thomas

A Native of Cy Rosscommon

Ireland

Who departed This Life

August the 29th 1875

Aged 33 Years

All young men as you pass by

As you are now so once was I

As I am now so you must be

So be prepared to follow me.

Ann Gormley nee McDermott Obit Freemans Journal 14 Mar 1891cr
Obituary for Ann Gormley nee McDermott Freeman’s Journal 14 Mar 1891
Gravestone of Eliza Hanley nee Gormley
Gravestone of Eliza Hanley nee Gormley
Mary Ann McGuire and Peter Gormley
Mary Ann McGuire nee Gormley 1916 and Peter Gormley 1916
Mary Ann McGuire nee Gormley 1916 obit
Mary McGuire nee Gormley The Northern Star 1916
Mary McGuire nee Gormley Obit Catholic Press 1916 cr
Obituary for Mary McGuire in The Catholic Press 16 March 1916

 

Ellen Fanning nee Gormley Bulla
Ellen Fanning nee Gormley Bulla Cemetery Victoria Australia

The following is a descendant report on the Gormley family from Co Roscommon Ireland who settled at Belmore River NSW Australia:

Descendant Report for Thomas Gormley Co Roscommon Ireland Nov 2016
Descendant Report for Thomas Gormley Co Roscommon Ireland Nov 2016

Author: Kathleen

I have done an Ancestry DNA test and also have uploaded my test results to GedMatch. My GedMatch kit numbers are A029138 and T470174. Please contact me if we are a match. kathleenmfanningAThotmailDOTcom

4 thoughts on “The Gormley Family Co Roscommon Ireland and NSW Australia”

  1. Hi Kathleen

    Congrats on your wonderful website. My gg grandfather was James Gormley (1800-1882) who may be a brother of Cornelius Gormley. However, I am confused by the discrepancy between Cornelius’ death date on his tombstone (4 Oct 1896) and his obituary in the Syndey Freeman’s Journal on 2 Nov 1895? I have some info on the Roscommon family which I can share when I get back home to Dublin in late March. I am currently ” “wintering” in Dubai with our son.

    Kind regards

    Mike Lennon

    DEATH OF MR. CORNELIUS GORMLEY.
    At Gladstone, Macleay River, after receiving all
    the consolations of religion, a sterling old Irish
    Catholic has passed away in the person of Mr.
    Cornelius Gorrnley. He had reached the good old
    age of four score and four. He was born in the
    parish of Elphin, County Roscommon, Ireland, and
    was a brother of the Rev. F. Gormley, of the same
    parish, and the Rev. John Gormley, of Dublin. In
    1853, owing to the depression prevailing m his
    native land, he, with his wife and family, came to
    New South Wales, and although he exiled himself
    he was ever true to the land he loved so well,
    aiding pecuniarily and otherwise every movement
    for its advancement and Avelfare. Even in his
    advanced age, a few years back, when Sir Thomas
    Esmonde paid a visit to the district, he was con
    spicuous for his energetic endeavours to help ‘ the
    cause.’ Being a devoted Catholic, he always took
    a great interest in Church matters. He did much to
    advance the interests of religion in the early days
    on the Macleay by the hospitality he extended’ to
    the pioneer priests and his endeavours to facili
    tate their modes of travelling through the district.
    It was in Mr. Gormley’s house that the first Mass
    was celebrated on the Lower Macleay many years
    ago by the late Rev. Father Coghlan. He was
    always active in the political field from the year
    1835, when in his native county he recorded his first
    vote for O’ Conor Don, to the 24th of July last, when
    he rose from a bed of sickness to give what he well
    knew would be his last vote to the present member
    for the Macleay, Mr. Frank Clarke. When New
    South Wales received responsible government, he
    played a prominent part in the elections, being at
    that time in Sydney. He worked hard endeavour
    ing to secure for the country the services in Parlia
    ment of such men as Messrs. Plunkett, Deniehy,
    and W. Forstor, and afterwards, in 1864, was one of
    a party in inducing Mr. Forster to stand for
    the old electorate of the Macleay, which seat
    Mr. Forster subsequently won. Being a man of in
    dependent means, he latterly rested from work, and
    until about a year ago, when old age began to weigh
    him down, he enjoyed the best of health. The de
    ceased was attended in the closing scenes of his life
    by the Very Rev. Father Doyle, who administered
    the last rites of the Church. The coffin, which was
    adorned with many lovely wreaths and crosses,
    was placed in the family vault in the Catholic por
    tion of the Frederickton cemetery, where his wife,
    eldest son, and one daughter had been previously
    laid to rest. The funeral was one of the largest ever
    seen on the Macleay. The deceased leaves one son
    and three daughters, and several grandchildren.

    1. Hi Mike,
      Thank you for the wonderful obit for Cornelius “Connor” Gormley. I had not seen it. I checked his death date on the NSW BDM records and it is 1895, so the stonemason must have made a mistake!! When I was looking at the gravestone of Cornelius I noticed that at the bottom another name had been chiseled off. I was intrigued. I could just make it out and there were other graves nearby with that name. The mason had carved the name on the wrong gravestone and then chiseled it off! so mistakes happen. But thank you. I didn’t know he came from Elphin Parish either. In my post above you probably saw that in the 1873 Post Office Directory there is a James and a John Gormley. Could they be related to you? I have tried to find other info on them but couldn’t. But that obit is so full of information the best I have seen. I am interested in any other material you have on the Gormleys. regards Kathleen

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