I am coming to the conclusion that he must have. I have been looking for records of my GG grandfather arriving in Australia around 1840 for almost 2 years now and still cannot find him. I also cannot find any records of him or his parents (James McMahen and Ann Moore) and siblings in Armagh, Northern Ireland. Can anyone help me?
My GG is William Moore McMahen, born around 1811 in Armagh, Northern Ireland. I do not know what parish or townland which I know is a great pity. William was a Protestant and other documents I have suggest he arrived around 1840 and worked for Captain William Thomas, an Assistant Protector of Aborigines in Victoria, Australia. I have found records of other Williams spelt McMahon (which is the Catholic spelling) rather than McMahen (the Protestant spelling), but none of them are my William as they are either too early, too late, from the wrong place, or when I have traced them into the latter 1840's it is clear they are not the right man. I have also searched using other, similar spellings to McMahen but to no avail.
William married Margaret Keys in Scot's Presbyterian Church in Melbourne in 1846 and went on to have a large family. I know that in the second half of the 1840's he owned a grocery business at the corner of Swanson St and Flinders Lane in Melbourne and lived in St Kilda. Later he and Margaret moved to a farming property at Keysborough, in the Greater Dandenong area. Keysborough is named after the Keys family. William died in 1892.
i have his death certifiate, marriage certificate and several of those of his children. They do not throw any further light on matters other than what I have said above. I have searched all ship records I can find, but cannot find a William who fits. I have also contacted historical societies, placed search requests on boards such as this etc, but have not been able to find any trace of William before he married Margaret Keys in 1846.
Incidentally, the "Moore" middle name is carried on through our branch of the McMahen family, presumably from William's mother Ann Moore. However, I have found several other "Moore McMahens" through Ancestry.com but do not know how they fit with our line as I cannot find evidence of a link. They appear to be contemporaries of William's children which makes me think that one of his brothers may have also come to Australia around the same time as William, but again, I'm only guessing. At least one of these "Moore McMahens" gives their place of birth as Glasgow which is confusing, unless they went from Armagh to Glasgow to Australia? - or perhaps William went from Glasgow to Armagh to Australia??
If anyone can help me crack this mystery I'd be very grateful.
My GG is William Moore McMahen, born around 1811 in Armagh, Northern Ireland. I do not know what parish or townland which I know is a great pity. William was a Protestant and other documents I have suggest he arrived around 1840 and worked for Captain William Thomas, an Assistant Protector of Aborigines in Victoria, Australia. I have found records of other Williams spelt McMahon (which is the Catholic spelling) rather than McMahen (the Protestant spelling), but none of them are my William as they are either too early, too late, from the wrong place, or when I have traced them into the latter 1840's it is clear they are not the right man. I have also searched using other, similar spellings to McMahen but to no avail.
William married Margaret Keys in Scot's Presbyterian Church in Melbourne in 1846 and went on to have a large family. I know that in the second half of the 1840's he owned a grocery business at the corner of Swanson St and Flinders Lane in Melbourne and lived in St Kilda. Later he and Margaret moved to a farming property at Keysborough, in the Greater Dandenong area. Keysborough is named after the Keys family. William died in 1892.
i have his death certifiate, marriage certificate and several of those of his children. They do not throw any further light on matters other than what I have said above. I have searched all ship records I can find, but cannot find a William who fits. I have also contacted historical societies, placed search requests on boards such as this etc, but have not been able to find any trace of William before he married Margaret Keys in 1846.
Incidentally, the "Moore" middle name is carried on through our branch of the McMahen family, presumably from William's mother Ann Moore. However, I have found several other "Moore McMahens" through Ancestry.com but do not know how they fit with our line as I cannot find evidence of a link. They appear to be contemporaries of William's children which makes me think that one of his brothers may have also come to Australia around the same time as William, but again, I'm only guessing. At least one of these "Moore McMahens" gives their place of birth as Glasgow which is confusing, unless they went from Armagh to Glasgow to Australia? - or perhaps William went from Glasgow to Armagh to Australia??
If anyone can help me crack this mystery I'd be very grateful.
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