Thynne Family beginnings

THYNNE FAMILY

John Patrick Thynne

Our Tasmanian Thynne story begins with John Patrick Thynne.    John was born to Edward Thynne and Ann (surname unknown).  Edward’s details are unknown but it seems he died before 1837 as he didn't travel out to Tasmania with the rest of his family.  It is difficult to find records for John’s family in County Clare as Thynne is a very common name and records are very scarce.   I haven’t managed to find where in County Clare our Thynne family have come from, much less birth or death records for them.

John travelled to Tasmania with his mother Ann and younger brother Martin aboard The Persian, arriving on 31 October 1857.  This ship is well known for having been in quarantine in Impression Bay near Port Arthur as it was infected with the typhoid fever.  Many Scottish immigrants died on board so John and his family were very lucky to have survived the journey.  They were released from quarantine and travelled by coach to Green Ponds (now Kempton) on the 21st Jan 1858.  The travel documents for the ship indicate that all three travelled through to Green Ponds, however this is the last record found for Martin.  There is no death or burial record for him so it is a bit of a mystery as to what happened to him.  At the time of their immigration John was 21, Martin was eight and Ann was 45.  Shipping records show they were sponsored by a Bridget Conway. 

I found a Bridget Conway aged 23 arriving in Hobart 29th September 1854 on the ship Caroline Middleton, with John Thomas Conway aged 25 from Clare. He is described as an agricultural labourer and she as a housemaid, general servant, and cook/dairy maid.  John and Bridget were sponsored by Mr John Clarke of Elizabeth St. Hobart.  There is a Mr J Clarke listed as the licensee of the Black Prince Hotel at the time of their arrival.  I haven’t as yet looked into whether this is the same Bridget Conway, or if she is related to the Thynne family.  

The latter is a possibility as Ann Thynne’s death notice in the Launceston Examiner on 17^th May 1877 states that she died at her daughters’ residence in St Georges Square, Launceston.

A newspaper obituary for Bridget in 1904, states that Thomas died the year after arriving in Tasmania and she left a son.   I haven’t found any marriage records for her son or death records.  There is two John Thomas Conway’s living in Launceston at the same time.  One is the son of the prominent architect, Harry Conway and the other Bridget’s son.  News articles of a John Thomas fighting and in court I believe are referring to her son as around the same time another notice appears which I find quite amusing:

Rental records confirm this address at the time of her death.  They show the property as being leased by Mr Thomas Conway, suggesting her son was named after his father and also lived with Bridget at the time of her death.

On 30 Jan 1871 at the age of 36 John was married to Sarah Wenn in the Catholic Church.  There are discrepancies with details here as the marriage record states his age as 32. I wonder if he lied about his age as Sarah was only 22 at the time of marriage.  His surname is also spelt Thyne.  This isn’t overly surprising though as there was a well known Thyne family living in Launceston at the time so the writer may have gotten confused.

Residential locations

Little is known of John’s movements up until 1860 when his name starts to appear in assessment and valuation records.  Perhaps he and Ann lived with Bridget until their sponsorship contract ended?   In 1860 he was living in the Patterson Plains region (now known as St Leonards, this region used to take in the areas of St Leonards, Breadalbane, Elphin and White Hills) and renting from a Mr Edward Peat.  Further rental records show for 1865-1867 from Mr Henry O’Rourke, 1870 from Mr James Propsting.  Both still in the Patterson Plains region.  It is highly likely that John was working as a general farm hand at the time, but again there is little to find on his employment at the time.

In 1874 John shows up in rental records as renting property from Allan McKinnon at 1 St Georges Square in Launceston.     On James Patricks birth records in 1875 John is listed as living in Hagley.   From 1884-1886 John rented from Elizabeth Suitor at 2 Union St, East Launceston.  He moves to Frankland St in 1886, renting from a Mr Tyson and lives there until 1888 at least.   None of these properties still stand unfortunately.

John died at the age of 75, 26 March 1910 in Launceston.   There is no newspaper notice for his death or funeral, although there is one for Sarah’s death. 

Ann (Anne) Thynne
Again, due to lack of Irish records little is known about Ann.  I suspect she was widowed shortly before coming out to Australia and I also suspect that the family's sponsors, John Thomas and Bridget Conway were related.  Although there is little to no proof, I think that Bridget may have been Ann's daughter.  Firstly, it is very odd for a woman of 45 years to pick up and move her family across the worl, even with an adult son.  Ann's death notice published in the Examiner, 17 May 1877, states that she died at her daughter's home, St Georges Square.
Unfortunately there was no assessment and valuation registisr done for 1877 to be able to confirm rentals for this year.  However, there was one done in December 1876 but there are no relations recorded as tenants or owners for that address.  I did find a John Thomas Conway recorded for Balfour St in the 1878 register though.  Did they rent for a very short period of time or share a tenancy with an other family who were registered?

John and Sarah had seven children.  I assume all children were born in Launceston, however not all records can be found.  The only births I can find actual records for are Francis, Mary Ann, John Joseph and James Patrick.  The latter is my maternal great grandfather.

(excerpt from Maternal Family History - The Thynne and Ellen families of Launceston)