Mary (Brandon) Chiddy (abt. 1834 - 1902)

Born about 1834 in Listowel, County Kerry, Ireland

Wife of Henry Chiddy — married 1852 in Campbelltown, New South Wales, Australia

Died 1902 at about age 68 in Picton, New South Wales, Australia

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Mary (Brandon) Chiddy was born in Ireland.

Mary (Brandon) Chiddy was an Irish famine orphan who emigrated to Australia between 1848-1850.

Biography

Mary was born about 1834 in Ballylongford, County Kerry, Ireland. Her mother was Mary Ann. ^[1]

The Famine Orphan Emigration Scheme operated between 1848-1850. Its mission was to send poor orphaned Irish girls who had been impacted by the famine from the workhouses to Australia. This aimed to give the girls a better life and to help with the gender imbalance of the current population.^[2]

An Orphan Immigration Committee was established in 1848 to organise the conveyance of Irish orphans to the colony in the wake of the Irish famine.^[3] On arrival they would be indentured out to work as apprentices for those whose who applied to the committee.^[4]

Mary came to Australia on the ship the "Thomas Arbuthnot", she was one of 194 orphaned Irish girls lifted from the brutal effects of the famine in 1849 and brought to the Colony of New South Wales, specifically the districts around Yass and Gundagai to work for the established settlers, squatters, shopkeepers and small town officials.New South Wales, Australia, Assisted Immigrant Passenger Lists, 1828-1896 Her mother had passed away. She was 16 years old when she arrived in Australia.^[5]

After the ship arrived in Sydney in 1850, she was involved in a accident on the way to Yass with Mary Conway when the wheel of a cart ran over her legs. Mary recovered with help of Fr Rogers, the local priest in Camden, she was then employed at Camden, NSW.^[6] Mary moved to the care of a Catholic family in the Burragorang Valley; married Henry Chiddy on 26 Sep 1852 RC Campbelltown; they settled on a farm on Tin Kettle Creek and raised a family of 12 children.^[7]Their children included:

• John, born 1852
• Elizabeth, born 1853
• Henry, born 1857
• Andrew, born 1859
• Thomas, born 1861
• Isabella, born 1863
• Annie, born 1868
• James, born 1872
• Owen, born 1875
• Mary
• Stephen
• Clara

‘Burragorang’ is an Aboriginal word which means ‘home or place of the giant Kangaroo’.^[8]The Aboriginal people of the Burragorang are part of the Gundungurra nation who occupied the lands and waterways, extending east to Picton and Mittagong and west to the Kowmung and Abercrombie catchments. The northern part of Burragorang is also home to the Dharug people.^[9]

Mary passed away in 1902 in Picton, NSW.^[10][11]

Sources

1. ↑ Reid, Richard; Morgan, Clarys. 'a decent set of girls: the Irish famine orphans of the "Thomas Arbuthnot" 1849-1850. Yass : Yass Heritage Project, 1996
2. ↑ University of Alberta. The Irish Famine Orphan Emigration Scheme 1848-1850. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjIhcTRrbGDAxVEhq8BHW6HCRgQFnoECAsQAw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fjournals.library.ualberta.ca%2Fconstellations%2Findex.php%2Fconstellations%2Farticle%2Fdownload%2F9574%2F7514%2F23910&usg=AOvVaw1zuveUqg3684QEYFGwpnXc&opi=89978449
3. ↑ State Library of NSW. Dictionary of Sydney. https://dictionaryofsydney.org/organisation/orphan_immigration_committee
4. ↑ South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900), Sat 7 Oct 1848, Page 4, ORPHAN IMMIGRATION.
5. ↑ Irish Famine Memorial. https://irishfaminememorial.org/orphans/database/
6. ↑ Reid, Richard; Morgan, Clarys. 'a decent set of girls: the Irish famine orphans of the "Thomas Arbuthnot" 1849-1850. Yass : Yass Heritage Project, 1996
7. ↑ Irish Famine Memorial. Mary Brandon. https://irishfaminememorial.org/details-page/?pdb=8628
8. ↑ Wild. Adventure. Conservation. Wilderness. https://wild.com.au/people/the-lost-valley/
9. ↑ The Burragorang. https://www.oatleyflorafauna.org.au/index.php/2021/07/22/the-burragorang/
10. ↑ Australia and New Zealand, Find a Grave® Index, 1800s-Current. Mary Brandon Chiddy. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/239881042/mary-chiddy?_gl=1*1xc22cq*_gcl_au*MTgwMTYyNzE3Mi4xNzA2NjYzNjgz
11. ↑ The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Wed 31 Dec 1902, Page 1, Family Notices. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/14495138?searchTerm=mrs%20chiddy

Research notes

There are two Mary Ann Brandons. The book, "Reid, Richard; Morgan, Clarys. 'a decent set of girls: the Irish famine orphans of the "Thomas Arbuthnot" 1849-1850. Yass : Yass Heritage Project, 1996" has Mary Ann Brandon marrying Joseph Bromage. This appears to be the Mary Ann Brandon born at sea in 1832 to Margaret and Thomas.

They are not the same person.