Joseph Fanning was the brother of Senator Michael Fanning and the son of William Fanning and Catherine Fogarty of Clondoty Co Tipperary. He was a very successful publican in Dublin. He retired to Greystones Co Wicklow.
Joseph Fanning was the brother of Senator Michael Fanning and the son of William Fanning and Catherine Fogarty of Clondoty Co Tipperary. He was born at Clondoty in 1871. He and his brothers Michael and Patrick were very successful publicans in Dublin City.
This is Joseph Fanning’s premises in Margaret Place (now 555 North Circular Rd) Joseph took this over when his brother Michael moved to Lincoln Place. The premises included the private house on the left which is in Russell St Dublin.
Joseph married Mary Josephine Fogarty in Dublin in 1904. Mary Josephine was born at Bellewood in Templemore Co Tipperary.
In the foreground is Kate Teresa Crowe, Mary Josephine’s mother. Mary Josephine is in the trap. Joseph Fanning eventually lived at “Carnalea” Greystones, Co Wicklow. Greystones is a coastal town about 18 miles south of Dublin. Joseph Fanning died there in 1942.
Death Notice for Joseph Fanning Aug 23 1942
Auction of “Carnalea” Greystones 1942
Auction Notice for “Carnalea”, Whitshed Rd Greystones
Advertisement for the auction of Joseph Fanning’s home “Carnalea” Greystones
“Carnalea” Greystones 2013Evening Herald 14 Jan 1938
Irish Independent 25 Aug 1942
Index of the will of Joseph Fanning 31 May 1943
Joseph Fanning’s children with nanny c1920 Raymond, Alyce & Stephen de Vere left to right
John Hedigan & Alyce Fanning c1944
Alice (Alyce) Constance Hedigan nee Fanning was born in Dublin North in 1918 and she married to John Hedigan in 1942 in Dublin South. She was a daughter of Joseph Fanning and Mary Josephine Fogarty. One of their sons is the Irish High Court Judge John Hedigan. Alyce died in 1993 and her husband in 1973. They lived at Geraldstown in Santry Dublin from 1947 to 1980 with their family of twelve children.
“Geraldstown” Santry Dublin in 1947 Home of the Hedigan Family 1947-1980
Below are photos of William Gerald Fanning 1907-1979, a son of Joseph Fanning. William was a solicitor and married Mary (Maureen) Kelly in Dublin in 1937.
William Fanning with two of his sisters and their nanny.
The younger girl on the nannie’s lap would have been Mary Josephine(Ena) who died about 13 or 14 at boarding school. The other sister is most likely Myra who later became Mrs Murray-Hayden.
William Gerald Fanning with friends in Dublin. One of the girls may be his sister Myra.
The following reports detail the ancestry of Joseph Fanning as well as his descendants.
John Henry Fanning was born in Victoria Australia in 1842, son of William Patrick Fanning and Catherine Hayes, and died in Melbourne in 1894. He married Ellen Gormley and had sixteen children with her. He was a farmer and lived at Emu Flat in Bulla Victoria. he is buried in Bulla Cemetery.
John Henry Fanning was the eldest son of “Big Bill” Fanning and Catherine Hayes. He was born in 1842 in Werribee, Victoria, Australia.
One story about him is that he took off and went up north to Queensland and was breaking in horses there. He was supposed to have been cut off by his father for doing this. He is also supposed to have eloped with the station manager or owner’s daughter.
He married Ellen Gormley in Sydney, in Nov 1870, at St Patrick’s Church. Ellen was the third third daughter and youngest child of Cornelius and Anne Gormley.
Marriage certificate of John Henry Fanning and Ellen Gormley 1870 Sydney
He married the daughter of Connor Gormley, a farmer in NSW. This may well have been where he was breaking horses. It looks that they may have eloped as they were married in Sydney which is a long way from either of their family homes. Although Ellen did get the permission of her father to marry as she was under the age of 18, although the above record has her age as 21? It also has her place of residence as Sydney.
Ellen’s parents were Cornelias (Connor) Gormley and Ann McDermid and Ellen was born in Ogulary (Townland or Parish of Ogulla) Co Roscommon, Ireland about 1851. Cornelius was the son of Thomas Gormley. She and her family came out to Australia on the “Ellenborough” arriving on 12th October, 1853. On board were her father, listed as Connor Gormley, a shepherd, aged 43, her mother, Ann aged 35, her sister Sarah, aged 11, her sister, Eliza aged 6 and Ellen aged 2. Her brothers, Thomas aged 13 and Peter aged 9, were also on board.
Her family lived near Kempsey in New South Wales at Belmore River, where they farmed. Her parents and brother and sister are buried in Frederickton Cemetery, just north of Kempsey.
John Henry Fanning was also not left the Family property which is customary as he was the eldest son. Was this because of his wild ways? or did he get the best deal anyway? “Emu Flat”, 342 acres purchased by his father on July 7 1855, was larger and supposedly a better property. John Henry’s branch of the family became known as the “Flat Fannings” as opposed to the “Hill Fannings” up on a hill at Bulla.
John Henry Fanning from Bulla is listed as signing the Petition for Clemency for Ned Kelly in 1880.
In 1888 he put up for sale land at Emu Creek:
Sale of Land at Emu Creek by John Fanning 1888
John Henry Fanning and failure to control rabbits
John Henry Fanning died aged 52, in 1894 in St Kilda, Melbourne of a liver ulcer which he was sick with for six months. He was supposed to have died after being trodden on by a cow.
When he died in 1894 at age 52, his youngest was one year old. Ellen Fanning leased Emu Flat and moved to Essendon. The property was sold about thirty years later and had become very run down.
John Fanning died without a will and his probate papers are online at PROV. His land of 346 acres was mortgaged and the remaining balance of his estate was 793 pounds.
On his land was a four roomed stone house. It is hard to imagine 18 people living in a four roomed house. Ellen came to live at 35 Keilor Rd Essendon with her children.
John Henry Fanning is buried in Bulla Cemetery with his wife Ellen Gormley and many of his seventeen children.
John Thomas Fanning, son of Ellen and John Henry Fanning and grandson of Cornelius and Ann Gormley, also lived at Belmore River before he enlisted in 1916. He is listed in the Sands Directory 1858-1933 at Gladstone in the years 1910-1914. In 1914 he had 14 horses and 65 cattle on 149 acres. Gladstone is a village in the Belmore River area. He farmed land owned by his uncle Peter Gormley. After Peter Gormley’s death in 1916 Ellen Fanning was left this land . She sold it in 1924.
Ellen Fanning nee Gormley Bulla Cemetery
Ellen Fanning died 21 May 1928, aged 76 years. In this grave is buried a John Fanning who was buried on 26 Nov 1925.There is no death record for him or details on the cemetery records other than his name and burial date.
Grave of John Henry Fanning died 1894
John Henry Fanning died on the 28th October 1894, aged 52 years.
These graves are in the Bulla Cemetry, Victoria, Australia. A number of their children are also buried in the cemetery at Bulla:
Grave of Teresa and Francis Fanning Bulla CemeteryGrave of Laura and Thomas Fanning Bulla CemeteryGraves of Georgina and Johanna Fanning Bulla CemeteryEdward Fanning 1948 & Margaret Fanning nee Mallon 1951 Bulla CemeteryEileen Mary Fanning & Frederick Joseph Fanning Bulla CemeteryJohn Thomas Fanning 1957 Bulla Cemetery
The following reports trace the ancestry of John Henry Fanning back to Co Tipperary Ireland and also describe his descendants in Victoria Australia.
Ancestry of John Henry Fanning 1842-1894 Victoria Australia 2015Descendants of John Henry Fanning 1842-1894 Victoria Australia updated 2015
Michael Fanning, son of William and Catherine Fanning of Clondoty Thurles Co Tipperary Ireland, was born there in 1866 and died in Co Kildare in 1950. He was a successful vintner in Dublin and was elected to the Senate in 1925.
Michael Fanning was born in Clondoty near Thurles to William (Billy) Fanning and Catherine Fogarty on 15 Jan 1866.
He and his brothers Ned, Patrick and Joe went to Dublin and started businesses there as wine merchants. Joe and Michael stayed and Ned came back to Co Tipperary and bought Shanbally House near Moycarky.
Being a merchant Michael appears in various directories, as do his brothers.
Michael Fanning 1894 Dublin Thom’s DirectoryMichael, Patrick, Edward & John Fanning Dublin Slater’s Directory 1894Michael, Richard, John & Patrick Fanning 1894 Dublin Thom’s DirectoryMichael, John & Patrick Fanning Dublin Grocers Slaters 1894
Another of Michael’s brothers, James Joseph Fanning, born 1869, went to Liverpool where he was a victualler. He married Ellen Wills from Newry Co Down and they had four children only one of whom survived infancy. Ellen was a newsagent. He is buried in Liverpool Ford Cemetery. His death is also inscribed in Loughmore Cemetery one of the Fanning gravestones. He died in 1912 aged 43. In his will he left his widow 472 pounds the equivalent in today’s money of 45,000 pounds.
Michael Fanning 1910 Lincoln Lane Dublin Dublin Street Directory
In 1901 and 1925 Michael lived at 19 Lincoln Place Dublin. Joe, a publican, was listed as residing at 1 Russell St Mountjoy Dublin.
1901 Census Dublin Ireland Michael Fanning
He carried on a business as grocer and vintner at 19 Lincoln Place Dublin for many years. He was for a period chairman of the Licensed Vintners’ Association and was for many years a member of the South Dublin Union Board.
Michael married his cousin Margaret Ryan on 10 June 1901.
Household of Michael Fanning 1911 Census Dublin Ireland
He was elected to the Senate in 1925 and served until 1936.
Michael Fanning Senate Election Poster 1925Michael Fanning The Irish Vintners Magazine June 1934
Below is an old picture of the premises in Lincoln Place. Not sure when it was taken or who is out the front, Michael most likely.
19 Lincoln Place Dublin
In 1921 19 Lincoln Place was put up for sale.
19 Lincoln Place 11 Jan 1921
The premises is up for sale in 2009 and below is part of the advertising material.
19 Lincoln Place Dublin 201019 Lincoln Place Dublin 2012 Opposite Trinity CollegeInside Lincoln’s Inn 2015
An O’Connor descendant was told by a great aunt that Lincoln’s Inn was often filled with poets like Yeats and playwrights and politicians and that the members of the new Dial would often adjourn to Fannings for drinks and lively discussions. She also said Michael was know as “God Almighty Fanning” due to his penchant for beginning sentences with “God Almighty”.
Lincoln’s Inn Dublin and Oliver St John Gogarty from Mould’s Medical Anecdotes: Omnibus Edition by R.F.MouldMichael Fanning Retiring 1929 19 Lincoln Place up for sale The Irish Independent 30 August 1929
He died in 1950 in Co Kildare at his daughter’s at Mylerstown House, Naas, and is buried in Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin. Michael Fanning died in June 1950.
Irish Times Death Notice Michael J Fanning 24 June 1950Irish Press 27 Jun 1950Irish Independent 26 Jun 1950Irish Times 28 June 1950 Funeral Notice Michael fanningObituary Irish Press 28 Jun 1950Irish Independent 29 Jun 1950Grave of Michael Fanning and Margaret Ryan Glasnevin Cemetery Dublin
Honor Fanning, Michael’s daughter, married Andrew O’Connor.
Honor Fanning’s marriage to Andrew O’Connor, Irish Press 20 Sept 1933Honor O’Connor nee Fanning, daughter of Michael Fanning GlasnevinObituary of Andrew O’Connor husband of Honor Patricia Fanning. Irish Independent 17 Jan 1953Irish Independent 25 Oct 1948Irish Independent 25 Oct 1948Anastasia daughter of Michael Fanning Tipperary Star 6 April 1929
The following reports details the ancestry of Michael Fanning back to William and Sarah Fannin of Lissaroon Co Tipperary Ireland and also his descendants.
Edward Fanning the son of William Faning and Catherine Fogarty of Clondoty lived at Shanbally House. He married Johanna Hogan.
Edward Fanning the son of Catherine Fogarty and William Fanning of Clondoty lived at Shanbally House. Below are photos of members of his family and Shanbally House as it is today. These wonderful old photos were kindly sent by Kate O’Sullivan, a descendant of Edward Fanning and Johannah Hogan.
Edward Fanning of Shanbally House 1868-1948Johanna (Josie)Fanning nee Hogan 1876-1948William (Billy) Fanning of Clondoty Co Tipperary c1821-1908
William Fanning of Clondoty was Edward’s father and the son of William Fanning and Hanera Cormick of Lissaroon.
William Fanning and his wife Catherine Fogarty c1831-1875
Edward Fanning’s parents were William Fanning and Catherine Fogarty of Clondoty.
Joan, Maureen and Kitty Fanning from Shanbally House
Edward and Johannah Fanning’s three daughters. Joan (Johannah) Maureen (Mary) and Kitty (Catherine) Fanning.
Joan Fanning with her father and brothers c1921
From left to right: Joan and Patrick in front and in the back William, Edward (her father) and John Fanning.
Wedding of Johanna (Joan) Fanning of Shanbally House Moycarky and Denis O’Sullivan of Ballinure 1938 Back row: Patrick Fanning, May Kennedy nee O’Sullivan, John Kennedy, Pat Sullivan, John Fanning, Maura Fanning, priest, Con Dowling. Front row Canon McGrath, Bridget O’Sullivan nee Lee, Fr Paul Welch, Dinny O’Sullivan, Joan Fanning, Josie Hogan and Ned Fanning.Michael Fanning’s Wine Shop in Dublin 19 Lincoln Place
Edward had a share in this business with Michael Fanning his brother but he sold it and bought Shanbally House around 1900 from the Kavanaghs.
Edward Fanning bought the house c1900 from the Kavanaghs. They had brought it from a Protestant leaseholder named Manning. Apparently Manning had a servant, a Ms Dwyer, who he got pregnant and she was shipped off to Queensland Australia. But the story has a happy ending. Manning sold Shanbally House to the Kavanaghs and went out to Australia where he married Ms Dwyer. The pieces of this story were put together when descendants of Manning and Ms Dwyer, from Australia, came to Shanbally House researching their ancestry.
I came across this death notice searching in Trove newspapers for something else:
Manning Shanballa drowning death notice Clarence and Richmond Examiner NSW 31 May 1898Grave of Shanbally House Fannings Loughmore Cemetery Co Tipperary IrelandO’Sullivan Family Grave Dualla Cemetery Co Tipperary Ireland
The following genealogy reports trace the ancestors and descendants of Edward Fanning 1868-1948 Co Tipperary Ireland.
Edward Francis Fanning was born in 1850 to William Patrick Fanning and Catherine Hayes from Thurles, Co Tipperary, Ireland. He inherited “Sunnyside” and was a farmer. He married Bridget Anna Collins in 1884 and had children by her before she died in childbirth. His second wife was her sister, Sarah Collins, who also died young. She had five children. Edward’s surviving children were William Patrick, Edward Francis, John Hugh, Francis Collins and Thomas Fanning. Edward, called Ned, died in 1927 at Bulla and is buried in Melbourne Cemetery.
Edward ( known as Ned) was the youngest son of William and Catherine Fanning who emigrated to Victoria in 1841. He was born on the 15th of Feb, 1850, at Bulla.
Ned attended the denominational school at Bulla and took over the farm after his father’s death and remained there until his death in 1927 at the age of 79.
He was a member of the Royal Agricultural Society, a founding member of the Victorian National Party, and accompanied the Burke and Wills expedition when they passed through Bulla. He is my great grandfather. My great grandmother was his second wife, Sarah Collins.
He married his first wife Bridget Anna Collins on Jan 2, 1884, at Bridget’s parents’ home in Northcote.
Bridget Anna Collins and Edward Fanning Marriage 1884
Bridget Anna Collins (pictured left) was the eldest daughter of Patrick Collins and Mary Gribben. She was born in Footscray, Melbourne in 1860. Her family home was in Waterloo St Northcote, Melbourne.
Her father, born in Co Limerick Ireland, was a Police Constable. His wife Mary came from Co Down in Northern Ireland. Pat Collins came out to the colonies sometime between 1853 and 1856 and worked on the gold fields before becoming a police constable in Melbourne. His wife, Mary, arrived from Ireland in 1857. Bridget Collins was born at Footscray in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1860. She had four older brothers and seven sisters.
Bridget married Edward Francis Fanning, the youngest child of William Patrick Fanning, “Big Bill” and Catherine Hayes, in 1884, at her parents’ home in Northcote, Melbourne, Victoria. She was twenty four and Edward was thirty four years old when they married.
Bridget had three children: William Patrick born in 1885 at Bulla, Edward Francis born in 1887 at Northcote and Thomas Augustus who died, at Deep Creek, after three days, in 1888. Bridget died in childbirth on July 2 1888, after giving birth to Thomas. She was twenty seven old and had been married less than four years. Edward was left with two young sons, one three years old and the other two years old, to look after. Bridget and her infant son, Thomas, are buried in the Melbourne Cemetery.
Gravestone of Bridget Fanning nee Collins Melbourne Cemetery
Two years later, on the 18th of February, 1890, Edward married Bridget’s younger sister, Sarah Ann Collins, at St John’s Church, Clifton Hill, Melbourne. Sarah was born in Fitzroy, Melbourne in 1870.
Family stories have it that after Bridget died Edward needed help with his young children and Sarah Collins came to live there and help out. Apparently she fell pregnant to Edward and a huge rift came between the two families over this out of wedlock pregnancy. This explains the Collins family looking after the eldest two boys but not the children of Sarah and Edward. One of the boys complained that Edward kept the half brothers separated from each other.
Ned and Sarah Fanning had five children but only three survived to adulthood: My grandfather, Francis Collins Fanning born 1892, John Hugh Fanning born 1893 and Thomas Augustus Fanning born 1894. John Augustus Fanning died aged 2 mths, and Joseph Leo Fanning also died as a baby.
Sarah was only 27 when she died of tuberculosis (called phthisis in those days), in 1897. She had been sick for two years. Below is the memorial card for Sarah Fanning.
Sarah Fanning nee Collins Memorial Card
Their son, Thomas, also died of the same disease in 1915, at age 20. He died in a sanitarium in Surrey Hills, Melbourne, after being ill for four years with tuberculosis (sometimes referred to as consumption).
Apparently there was talk of Edward marrying another Collins sister, Tottie (Mary Josephine Collins) but this did not eventuate.
Edward was a farmer and lived his whole life at “Sunnyside” in Bulla.Edward was elected to the Board of Advice for the Bulla District in 1878 and re-elected in July 1881.This was reported in the Argus on June 18, 1878:
Edward Fanning Elected School Member, 1878, The Argus
The above photo of Bulla residents was taken in 1921. Edward Fanning is the sixth person from the right standing, directly behind the seated woman in black.
Ned Fanning died in 1927 and is buried in the Melbourne General Cemetery in Carlton with his parents, William and Catherine and Sarah and Bridget, his two wives and his infant son Thomas Augustus. His death was mentioned in The Argus:
Edward Fanning Obituary Kilmore Free Press 13 Jan 1927Sarah Fanning nee Collins and Edward Francis Fanning Melbourne Cemetery
The following genealogy reports trace the ancestors and descendants of Edward Francis Fanning 1850-1927 Bulla Victoria Australia.
Edward Francis Fanning 1850-1927 Ancestor Report 2015Edward Francis Fanning 1850-1927 Descendant Report 2015
Catherine Fanning daughter of William Fanning and Catherine Hayes was born in 1846 at Bulla in Victoria Australia. She married John Ryan and settled in Kilmore Victoria. She died there in 1899 and she and her family are buried in Kilmore Cemetery.
Catherine was the second daughter of William and Catherine Fanning and was born at Bulla, Victoria in 1846. Below is the record of her baptism in 1847 at Mount Macedon.
Baptism of Catherine Fanning 1847 at Mount Macedon Victoria
She married John Ryan, a farmer, on 21 May 1867 at Bulla. They lived in Kilmore at Moranding in Victoria.
Her husband, John Ryan, was born about 1838 in Thurles, Co. Tipperary. His father was Patrick Ryan and his mother was Margaret Hogan. He came out about 1856 aged about 18.
Signature of John Ryan
He died a tragic death on Dec 11 1876, drowning himself in the river at Moranding. He was 38 years old and left six children under the age of nine at the time of his death. They had been married eight years.
14 Dec 1876 Death of John Ryan Kilmore Free Press23 Dec The Herald report of the death of John RyanReport of John Ryan’s Death in The Argus 1876Death Nptice for John Ryan The Argus 18 Dec 1876
Their children were all born at Kilmore and were Patrick Ambrose, William John, John William, Edward Francis, Catherine, Michael and Thomas.
Catherine died at Kilmore on 15 March 1899.
John Ryan’s Will and Probate and that of Catherine Ryan are online at PROV (Public Records Office Victoria).
Grave of Catherine Ryan nee Fanning, her husband John Ryan and son Patrick Ambrose Ryan in Kilmore Cemetery Victoria.
Below are obituaries for some of Catherine and John Ryan’s children:
Obituary for Edward Francis Ryan Kilmore Free Press 6 Feb 1936William John Ryan Obit Kilmore Free Press 3 Mar, 1928Obituary for John William Ryan Kilmore Free Press 1 May, 1941Thomas James Ryan Obituary Kilmore Free Press 1 April, 1943Obituary for Catherine Ryan Kilmore Free Press 2 Sept, 1948Obit for Michael Joseph Ryan Kilmore Free Press 20 April, 1950
Only one of the children of Catherine Fanning and John Ryan married.
Edward Francis Ryan married Catherine Anastasia Nicholls and they had two children, Mary Anastasia and Frances Eileen. Mary married Ralph Edward Beveridge in Victoria in 1934. I have not found any children for this couple or any marriage or death records for Francis Eileen Ryan.
Mary Elizabeth Fanning was the eldest daughter of William Fanning and Catherine Hayes of Bulla Victoria Australia. She was born in 1845 and married Jeremiah Skehan and lived at Romsey in Victoria all her life. He worked as a farmer and they also owned and ran The Junction Hotel in Monegeetta where they lived. She died in 1900 and is buried in Lancefield Cemetery.
Mary Elizabeth Fanning was born at Werribee in Victoria in 1845. Her parents, William and Catherine Fanning, had come out from Thurles, Co. Tipperary Ireland in 1841. They lived and worked at Werribee for the first few years before moving to Bulla.
In 1862 Mary Fanning aged 18 was a witness at an inquest into the death of an infant girl in Emu Creek. Johanna Doyle who lived and worked on the Fanning property was suspected of the child’s death.
Mary Fanning’s Signature at the 1862 inquest.
Mary Fanning married Jeremiah Skehan in 1865, at her family’s home at Deep Creek, Bulla, Victoria.
Mary Elizabeth Fanning Marriage to Jeremiah Skehan 1865
Recently I contacted a DNA match who has Skehan ancestors from Dualla in Co Tipperary. How we are a match is a still a mystery.
I started looking for the birth of Jeremiah and discovered he was baptised on 18 Nov 1833 in Boherlahan Parish in South Tipperary. His parents’ address given as Kill Hill or Killhill. I also came across the Baptism record of his brother William Skehan, 10 Mar 1835, in the same location. So far I have not been able to find any more children of John and Mary Skehan nee O’Keeffe.
Boherlahan Catholic Parish Co Tipperary
Skehan is sometimes spelled as Skeahan, Skehane and Skehin and no doubt there are other variations.
I decided to look for the marriage of John Skehan and Mary O’Keeffe. They were married in the Catholic Church on 18 Nov 1833 after a three month scandal!
Marriage of John Skehan and Mary O’Keeffe, Boherlahan Parish South Tipperary. 22 June 1833.
“John Skeahan of Dualla and Mary Keeffe of Featherd having eloped, from great? scandal for three months and their first married in Church by the Rev W Bagnall Church of Magorban, then again married by the Rev William Kirwain in presence of John Keeffe, Thomas? Ryan and Alicia? Commons?”
They had been originally married in the Protestant Church of Magorban. I am assuming that Mary O’Keefe was a Protestant.
Jeremiah’s family came from Co Tipperary, as did the Fanning family. He came out to Australia when he was about 21 years old, around 1859. His father John, was also a farmer from Dualla Co Tipperary. His mother was Mary O’Keefe from Fethard in the same county. The Skehan family lived at Kill Hill Kilballyherberry in Co Tipperary. There is now a wind farm at Kill Hill.
In Australia Jeremiah and Mary lived at Monegeeta, in Romsey, Victoria, where they were the licensees of The Junction Hotel. The hotel was at Lancefield Junction, on the corner of Gisbourne and Lancefield Rds, at the Railway Station. It was next to Mintaro Homestead, the smaller replica of Melbourne’s Government House built in 1882. Mary and Jeremiah also farmed as well as ran the pub.The hotel was on their land. Below is a map of the area from 1880-1890:
Map of Skehan’s land at Monegeeta
Victoria. Dept. of Crown Lands and Survey. Parish of Kerrie 1880 – 1890.
This land was originally owned by Mary’s father William Patrick Fanning (listed as W.Fannan) and gazetted in 1858:
Land at Monegeetta owned by Mary’s father William Fanning of Bulla
Jeremiah and Mary had thirteen children between 1866 and 1883: John, William, Mary, Thomas, Jeremiah, Catherine, Jeremiah, Jeremiah Patrick, Margaret, Edward, James, Sally and Michael.
Jeremiah died at Monegeeta in Sept of 1896, age 58, of a heart condition, and is buried in the Lancefield Cemetery. Mary died at Romsey in 1923 at the age of seventy eight.
The Junction Hotel was in the Skehan family for over 50 years. It burned down in April 1975. It had passed out of the Skehan family when it was put up for sale in 1909.
Skehan Family Grave Lancefield Cemetery Victoria Australia
Jeremiah’s son, also named Jeremiah, was a blacksmith. I think the photo below of Jerry Skehan is him although it could also be of his son Gerald Skehan who was also a blacksmith. The young boy is Bruce Laing. If anyone knows which Skehan this is please let me know. I don’t know when it was taken.
Jeremiah Skehan Blacksmith Romsey Victoria AustraliaGrave of Doreen, Jeremiah P and Marie Monica Skehan, Lancefield Cemetery Victoria Australia
The following pages about the Skehan family are taken from:
“Celebration of the Catholic parish of Lancefield and Romsey centenary 1906-2006 [John Lynch]”
Francis Collins Fanning was the son of Edward Fanning and Sarah Collins. He was born in Bulla Victoria in1892 and became a builder. he lived in Essendon Melbourne. He married Ida Mackey in 1915 and they had four children. In 1932 he died aged 40.
Frank Fanning on the left and Pat Kelleher in the middle at Kilmore
Frank Fanning and a priest at Camperdown Presbytery 1930Francis Collins Fanning center Victoria Australia
My grandfather Frank Fanning is in the center. I don’t know when this was taken but he is obviously in his work clothes.
He was a talented builder. He is said to have built the original St Theresa’s Primary School and quite a few of the local picture theaters around Essendon.
His son Jack, also a builder, built the Presbytery at St Theresa’s. One thing I remember my father telling me about him was that he played the violin I also have been told he liked to bet on the horses.
One story I heard was that one time he won a thousand pounds on the horses and wanted to buy his daughter Eileen a piano with it, but Ida my grandmother was opposed to spending the money in this way and wanted to buy property. Frank prevailed and Eileen got a piano.Given how strong willed my grandmother was, this was no mean feat!
Advertisement for Frank Fanning Essendon Builder
Francis Collins Fanning, “Frank” Fanning, my grandfather was a builder in the Essendon area. This advertisement was in the local Church paper and may have been around 1923.
House built by Frank Fanning 1924
I
Ida Theresa Mackey married Francis Collins Fanning on the 25th September 1915, in St Monica’s Church, Essendon, MelbourneWedding of Ida Mackey & Francis Collins Fanning 1915
Eileen Glass nee Mackey, Edward Francis Fanning, Francis Collins Fanning, Ida Mackey, Mary Breen nee Mackey, 1915
The wedding was at St Monica’s Catholic Church in Essendon, Melbourne, on Sept 25, 1915.
Hanging Rock John Edward Fanning, the boy in the middle, Nance Fanning nee Kelleher on the right, Jack Fanningher husband on the left, Frank Fanning on Nance’s right about 1928
Ida Fanning was an avid card player and president of the card committee at St Columba’s College in Essendon, where she organized the card afternoons until the early 1960’s. She also held card afternoons at her flat “Collida” in Stanley St Essendon. The name being a combination of her first name Ida and Collins, my grandfather’s second name. On her flat at Stanley St Essendon there was a brass plate with Collida on it. She taught me to play euchre in her front room. She loved the British monarchy and had numerous royal memorabilia.
Frank died at the age of forty after a three year illness.
Francis Collins Fanning Death Certificate 1932Obituary for Francis Collins Fanning in the Kilmore Free Press 3 March 1932
Ida Fanning died age 84 and they are both buried in Fawkner Cemetery Melbourne.
Grave of Ida and Frank Fanning Fawkner Cemetery Victoria
William Patrick Fanning was born in Thurles Co Tipperary Ireland in 1812 and died in Bulla Victoria Australia in 1876. He married Catherine Hayes in Cork before they emigrated on the “Enmore” in 1841. He lived at Bulla and was a farmer. He had five children. His descendants still live at “Sunnyside” in Bulla.
I am not sure when this photo was taken, outside “Sunnyside” Bulla, but I suspect it may have been when “Big Bill” was sick, as he is sitting down. He died of cancer of the jaw in 1876. In 1863 a tender was advertised by the architect Mr J F Mathews in The Argus for construction of the verandah so it is after this time.
William Patrick Fanning, known as “Big Bill” because he was a very tall man, was born in Thurles, Co Tipperary, Ireland in 1812. His parents were Edmond Fanning and Johanna (Judith) Darmody.
He was the third son of a family of 10 children. The Fannings were quite numerous and well known in Northern Tipperary and many were farmers while some went into business, quite a few were publicans, spirit sellers and shopkeepers. This pattern continued in Victoria with two of his daughters, Mary and Johanna, being hotelkeepers. By Irish standards they were well off and this is reflected in Big Bill’s business initiative and land acquisitions here in Victoria.
His surname is inconsistent being spelt as Fannin in 1841, Fanning in 1862, Fannan in 1869 (in an advertisement in the Argus, for a neighbour’s property, he is referred to as Mr Fannan). In 1862 he signed as Fannan but his two children, Mary and John, signed their surname as Fanning. This may be to do with the fact that he could not write and would have been using phonetic spelling. In those days people may not have been as particular about how they spelt their names.
Unfortunately, not much is known about Catherine Hayes. From her death certificate we can establish that she was born c1818 in Co Tipperary Ireland and that her father was a farmer. I remember being told that she smoked a pipe when she lived in Victoria.
She married William Patrick Fanning in 1841 in Cork presumably just before they sailed on the “Enmore” on the 22nd of June. They left from Cobh, in Co Cork on june 22 1841 and arrived three months later at Port Phillip Victoria on Oct 4 1841. Catherine is listed as Mary Fannin, age 24, farm servant, who can neither read or write. Both were Roman Catholics and came as assisted passengers, their fares being 19 pounds each.
Below is the “Enmore” passenger list page where Catherine and William Fanning are listed as William and Mary Fannin. The full passenger list for the Enmore and more on immigration at this time are in the post Australia The “Enmore” Cork Ireland to Port Phillip Victoria 1841. Descriptions of Melbourne as William and Catherine would have found it in 1841 are in the post Life in Melbourne Victoria 1841-1852.
Passengers on the “Enmore” arriving 1841 Melbourne Victoria Australia
The post “Ireland in 1841” gives the political and social background in Ireland and the preceding years and makes it easier to understand why they decided to leave their home and families and come to Australia.
I have wondered why they chose to come all the way to Australia and not go to America or Canada. I have read that immigration to Australia became more attractive as it was aid provided through the bounty system. Fares were paid.
The colonial bounty system came into being in 1837 but was revised in 1840. It granted money to people bringing into NSW from the UK (including Ireland) agricultural laborers, shepherds, tradesman, female domestics and farm servants. There was plenty of work as there was a shortages in these areas.
Kikenny, Tipperary, East Limerick, East Clare and North Cork accounted for over half of all Irish assisted emigrants to Australia. It also seems that life was better for immigrants in NSW and that they did not end up in urban ghettoes like so many did in America.
One of Big Bills relations, Martin Eviston had been transported to NSW in 1830 for manslaughter. He came back to Ireland sometime after 1839 and married Johanna Fanning Big Bill’s cousin. While he came back all his children ended up emigrating as well as quite a few of their cousins (children of Thomas Eviston and Mary Fanning) and settling in Australia. The Evistons lived at Clonomocogue close to the Fanning families and Big Bill would no doubt have talked to Martin Eviston. While Martin Evaston came back to Ireland he must have painted a very positive picture of life and opportunities in the colonies for most of his children and their cousins to have emigrated.
When Catherine and William first arrived they spent some time working at the wharves before they moved to Wyndham in Werribee.
They had five children: John Henry, Mary Elizabeth, Catherine, Johanna Louisa and Edward Francis. The two eldest John and Mary were born in Werribee in 1842 and 1844 while the others were born at Bulla.
In 1844 William Fanning purchased 150 acres of land in what was called “Tullarmarine Island” the area south of the Sunbury Road enclosed by Jackson’s Creek and Deep Creek on Loemans Road near Bulla Bulla where he raised his family. It would have been purchased from the Colony of NSW as Victoria did not exist as a separate colony until 1853.
“The current project study area is located on land that was theTullamarine pastoral run (Spreadborough and Anderson, Settled District map). Some of the early landholders of pastoral runs located between Jacksons Creek and Deep Creek included W.J.T. Clark, W. Fanning and M. Loeman (Symonds 1985, 213). In 1844 William Fanning purchased 150 acres of land on what was known as “Tullamarine Island”, which is the area south of Sunbury Road, enclosed by Jacksons Creek and Deep Creek on Loemans Road (Symonds 1985, 41). Here he set up his farm, which his wife looked after while Fanning undertook contract carting to the goldfields during the 1850s. The Fanning’s built their Sunnyside homestead during the 1850s at the village of Bulla Bulla (Symonds 1985, 41-42). Bulla Bulla was surveyed in 1847, and by 1853, Bulla Bulla consisted of 12 wooden houses, the Deep Creek Inn and Tulip Wright’s hotel, with the first post office opening within this hotel in 1850, then moving to another building (Symonds 1985, 49). During the 1850s, traffic to and from the goldfields passed through the Bulla region, causing some problems with the steep sloping roads. During this time several businesses commenced at Bulla Bulla, including a kaolin clay works used to manufacture porcelain, as well as a large flour mill and brickworks (Symonds 1985, 50). In 1854, Bulla Bulla became known as Bulla. By 1870, the population of Bulla was approximately 200 people, with 2630 in the Bulla district, and 263 dwellings in an area of 73,500 acres (Symonds 1985, 51). By the 1880s, Bulla contained four hotels, a hunt club, several churches and a grocery store and wine saloon. In the 1860s, the State Government introduced the New Industry Act that gave special assistance to enterprising people to develop virgin land (Symonds 1985, 117). Early settlers to the Bulla area, such as W. J.T Clark took advantage of this assistance and started to grow grapes.” From theOuter Metropolitan Link to Melbourne Airport and Bulla BypassAssessment Report 8/8/2011
According to “Victoria and Riverina 1931-32” Aboriginal people were numerous at this time but “owing to his tactful handling the family never had the slightest trouble with them.”
On the discovery of gold at Sandhurst (Bendigo) in 1851 Bill started contract carting to the goldfields. It is thought they would have used bullock teams as the tracks were extremely rough. Broken axles were common. The first day took them to Monegeeta. While William “Big Bill” took supplies across to the gold fields in the 1850’s, Catherine looked after the 100 acre dairy farm. It took three months to do the round trip by waggon. Bill did five trips a year at 100 pounds a ton. The first day got them to Monegeeta.
After the village of Bulla Bulla was surveyed in 1847, he was the first to purchase land in Quartz Street just behind Tulip Wright’s Deep Creek Inn.
On 16 August, 1852, lot 119a at Bulla Bulla was gazetted to William Fannan.
This is where he had “Sunnyside” built. The original homestead on Loemans Rd was a slab hut built under the shade of a large gum tree some 60 meters from the present home, and this was followed by a separate kitchen, later used as a storeroom. “Sunnyside” a single storey bluestone slate roofed farmhouse with outbuildings was built in 1859 using only local stone and gum trees, with the chimney built of hand made bricks. The outbuildings include a simple bluestone kitchen, bluestone woolshed (originally used as stable and coach house), a piggery and a shed with roughly split timber side walls and weatherboard gables. The piggery dates from 1853, the cow shed from 1855 and the shearing shed from 1860. Originally Loemans Rd used to run directly in front of the “Sunnyside” picket fence but this was later resurveyed to the present line. ” The house was registered as a historic building in 1992. It has stayed in the Fanning family.
On the 7th of July 1855 William purchased 342 acres along Wildwood Rd, called “Emu Flat”. This was left to his son John Henry. He also owned land at Kilmore and in Melbourne where the present day Windsor Hotel is situated in Spring St.
Some time after he and Catherine emigrated a group of 17 relatives came out to Victoria. We are not sure of their names or the dates or their exact relationship to Big Bill. I have been told it was about ten years after Bill came out. He apparently wasn’t all that happy to have them staying at Bulla and let them stay in the cattle sheds before letting them stay on his land at Spring St for three months. Some are then said to have gone up to Queensland and some to NSW. All attempts to discover who they were and what happened to them have been unsuccessful.
The Argus of August 2, 1856 published a list of names of those petitioning W.J.T.Clarke esq., to nominate to run to become a member of the Legislative Council. W. Fanning is listed on this as are other Bulla residents including Martin Batey, David Patullo and Richard Brodie. Clarke also called “Big Bill” owned huge amounts of land in the Sunbury area and was elected to the Legislative Council in 1856. His son built the mansion “Rupertswood” in Sunbury.
In 1858 William Fannan had land in the Parish of Kerrie gazetted. It was 107 acres 2 rods and 38 perches in size. This land was at Monegeetta and was either given to his daughter Mary or sold to her and her husband Jeremiah Skehan.
Land owned by William Fanning at Monegeetta 1858William Patrick Fanning 1856 Census Victoria
William Patrick Fanning is listed as William Fannin, farmer, in this 1856 Census for West Bourke in the colony of Victoria. He has a farm on 100 acres freehold at Bulla.
In 1862 the body of an infant girl was found in a sack in Emu Creek. William found the sack which was close to the living quarters of a Johanna Doyle. She was arrested but later acquited. At the inquest William, his wife Catherine and son John and daughter Catherine were all questioned. William signed his name as Fannan.
When William arrivd in 1841 he could read but not write according to the passenger log. His signature may well have been the only thing he could write. Being a farmer he would have had little time to learn to write. His son and daughter both signed as Fanning in 1862 at the same inquest. Fannan is the phonetic way of spelling Fanning.
William Fanning’s signature 1862
In 1871 the following farmers, mainly from the area across Jacksons Creek towards Bulla and Sunbury, successfully objected to a proposed land sale: Martin Batey, Dugald Stewart, John Skuse, John Dickens, William Fanning, Martin Dillon, Patrick Leyden, Alexander Guthrie, William Prendergast, Isaac Batey, ? Batey, John Daly, Peter Murphy, John Murphy, Michael Bourke, Thomas Condon, John Scully, Charles Bradley(?), Anne Gregor (“Dairy Woman”), Thomas Emerson, (“Dairy Man”), George Randall, Thomas Faithful, Harriet Sharpe, John Heaghney, and Michael O’Brien. (Hume City Council site)
William Patrick Fanning died in 1876, age 65, after a long and painful illness, cancer of the jaw.
Death certificate of William Patrick Fanning 1876 Bulla Victoria Australia
William Patrick Fanning, “Big Bill”, is buried in the Catholic section of the Melbourne General Cemetery in Carlton, with his wife, Catherine, daughter-in-law, Bridget Fanning nee Collins, and his grandson, Thomas. In the Argus he was described as a much respected old colonist of 35 years whose passing was much regretted.
Grave of William and Catherine Fanning nee Hayes Melbourne Cemetery Victoria AustraliaFanning Graves in the Melbourne Cemetery Victoria Australia
Catherine died on the 20th May 1895 aged 77 and is buried in the Melbourne Cemetery.
Death Notice Catherine Fanning 1895 Bulla Victoria Australia
Below are detailed genealogy reports on the ancestors and descendants of William Patrick Fanning 1812-1876.
Ancestors of William Patrick Fanning 1812 Thurles Co Tipperary Ireland – 1876 Bulla Victoria AustraliaWilliam Patrick Fanning Descendant Report 2015
William Patrick Fanning was the eldest son of Edward Fanning and Bridget Collins. He was educated at Xavier College in Melbourne and took over “Sunnyside” and farmed there. He was born in 1885 and died in 1935. He married Mary Josephine “Daisy” Dillon and they had three children. William and Daisy Fanning are buried in Bulla Cemetery.
William Patrick Fanning 1915 at brother Frank’s wedding to Ida mackeyDaisy Fanning nee Dillon, Ida Fanning nee Mackey and Nance Fanning nee Kelleher at my parents’ wedding. 1943
William Patrick Fanning was the oldest son of Edward Fanning and Bridget Fanning nee Collins. He was born 16 July 1885 at Bulla and died on 12 April 1935 in Fitzroy Melbourne. He was educated at Xavier College in Melbourne and matriculated in . He inherited “Sunnyside” and was a farmer.
Sunnyside June 2011
He married Mary Josephine Dillon from Willow Bank Bulla.
Willow Bank Bulla Victoria Dillon Home
This is what was written about William Patrick “Bill” Fanning in “Victoria and Riverina 1931-32” :
William Patrick Fanning Biography 1931William and Mary Fanning nee Dillon Bulla Cemetery VictoriaMary Josephine Dillon Ancestor Report 2015