Ann McGuirk (1824 - 1845)

Born 24 Nov 1824 in Castlereagh, NSW

Ancestors

Died 7 Feb 1845 at age 20 in Shooters Hill, New South Wales, Australia

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Biography

Ann McGuirk was born in the Colony of New South Wales (1788-1900)

Ann (McQuirk) Hogan was born on 24 Nov 1824 in Castlereagh, New South Wales, Australia^[1], daughter of Daniel J McGuirk (1791 - 1867) and Honorah (Francis) McGuirk (1804 - 1867). She had a twin sister, Catherine.

Ann married Henry Hogan (1814 - 1865) in 1838.

Their children were:

1. Philip Hogan (1839 - )
2. Mary Hogan (1841 - )
3. Catherine Hogan (1843 - ).

She drowned in February 1845 and her husband was found guilty of her murder.

Around mid-day on Friday 7 February 1845, Ann, was murdered (drowned) by her husband Henry Hogan. The scene of the drowning was a creek on their premises somewhere near Campbell’s River, about 35 miles from Bathurst. Henry then left his hut and visited some of Ann’s relatives who grew suspicious of his story that she had thrown herself into the creek. These relatives alerted the police and he was arrested by three police officers sometime between the next day and the following Tuesday as he was lodged into custody at Bathurst around midday on Wednesday 12 February.^[2][3]

The Sydney Morning Herald Sat 22 Feb 1845 BATHURST INQUESTS. Another inquest was held before the same gentleman, on Monday, the 10th instant, on Campbell's River, about thirty-five miles from Bathurst, on the body of Ann, the wife of Henry Hogan, found drowned in a creek, about 110 paces from Hogan's residence. It appears that about mid-day on Friday the 7th, Hogan and his wife were seen leaving their hut in company together, and going in a direction towards the creek; that a short time after, Hogan came back to his hut with his clothes wet up to the neck ; he left his home, and having met some of the deceased's relatives, he had some conversation with them, and endeavoured to impress on them that his wife had thrown herself into the creek ; the deceased not appearing, nor her body being found during the day, and suspicion having been excited that the husband had caused her death, information was forwarded, which reached Bathurst on Saturday last, when a constable and two of the mounted police were despatched in pursuit of Hogan, and succeeded in apprehending him. On Wednesday last he was brought into Bathurst about mid-day, and lodged in custody. On Sunday, the coroner proceeded to the spot, and on the following day held an inquest, when it appeared that the body was not found until Saturday, the day after deceased was missing ; in consequence of no one living in the neighbourhood where the circumstance occurred who could dive, it was found necessary to construct a raft, which was launched into the creek, and after dragging for some time with a grappling iron, the body was brought to the surface. When the body was found the arms were placed across the body, and the hands clasping the wrists, in such a way as to lead to a presumption that the wrists had been fastened or confined, as it is scarcely reasonable to suppose that the arms of a person in the struggles and agonies of death would remain in such a position as those of the deceased's were in at the time the body was found ; and the opinion of the witnesses, in which the Jury joined, was, that the arms had been confined at the wrists, and that the ligature had either been removed by the person perpetrating the deed after life had become extinct, or had come off in the efforts to raise the body to the surface. We cannot, however, learn that there were any marks on the wrists that would show positively that they had been tied or fastened. The verdict returned was, found drowned, and suspipicion that the death of deceased was caused "by her husband." In the course of the examination it came out, that the deceased was an excellent swimmer, and there is no great probability that if she had accidentally fallen in the creek that she would have been drowned : Hogan is a fine young man, a native of the colony, about 27 or 28 years of age, stands nearly 6 feet 3 inches, and stout and powerful. We cannot find that there had been any quarrel or difference between the parties ; but have been informed that Hogan had been several days previous drinking to excess, and was supposed at the time the circumstance occurred to be labouring under delirium tremens.

The Sentinel Wed 26 Feb 1845 BATHURST. An inquest was held at Campbell's River, thirty five miles from Bathurst, on Monday, the 10th instant, on the body of Mrs. Ann Hogan, who had been seen, in company with her husband, Henry Hogan, to leave their hut about noon on the 7th inst., and was found drowned in a creek at a short distance. Hogan returned some time after wards with his clothes wet, and having seen some of his wife's relatives, endeavoured to persuade them that the deceased had thrown herself into the creek. Suspicion however was excited against Hogan, as the body of the deceased was not found during the day, and accordingly a constable and two of the mounted poliee were despatched in search of him, by whom he was apprehended. The search was not abandoned, and as no one in the neighbourhood was able to dive, a raft was constructed, on which a party with grappling irons embarked, and after dragging some time succeeded in bringing up the body. The arms of the corpse were found clasped across the breast, one hand grasping the wrist of the other, and this circumstance naturally strengthened the suspicion against Hogan, as it was scarcely possible to suppose that a person in the agonies of death could voluntarily have retained the arms in that constrained position. The absence of any ligature, however, occasioned some hesitation, nor were any marks visible on the arms. It was supposed that the ligature, if any had been applied, must have been removed as soon as life had become extinct. The verdict was, that the deceased was found drowned, and that suspicion attached to the husband. It was proved that the deceased was an excellent swimmer, and this put an end to the notion that her death could have been caused accidentally. No evidence was adduced to show that Hogan and his wife had had any quarrel, but it appeared that the former had been drinking to excess for some days, and was in a state of delirium tremens.

The Sentinel Wed 12 Mar 1845 Country News, Bathurst.- Police Office, Wednesday, Feb. 26. Henry Hogan, charged with the wilful murder of his his wife, Ann Hogan, was this day fully committed to take his trial.

The Sydney Morning Herald Tue 1 Apr 1845 WILFUL MURDER Henry Hogan, a native, was indicted for the murder of his wife, Ann Hogan, by drowning her on the 6th day of February last. The prisoner was defended by Messrs. Purefoy and Callaghan, assisted by Mr. Bligh. Rosetta M'Quirk, sister of the deceased, was the first witness called, and stated: that her deceased sister had been married to the prisoner between six and seven years ; they had three children ; for some time after they were married they did not live very happily together, having frequent differences and disputes ; but for the last three years they appeared to live very happy and comfortable ; this witness lived with her father and mother, between five and six miles distance from the prisoner's residence ; that in consequence of her sister having very delicate health, witness was very frequently with her to assist in household work ; that on Sunday the 2nd of February last, she, with her father and mother, were at Hogan's ; there were several other persons there, men and women ; there was some liquor drunk ; in the evening, myself, mother, and the prisoner's wife, went to bed in the room where the prisoner and my sister usually slept ; after we were in bed, the brother of the prisoner, Denis Hogan, who was paying his addresses to me, came to the window of the room in which we were sleeping, and began talking to me, and afterwards to my mother ; when she found it was him, she desired him to go away ; shortly after, the prisoner, who was with the other men sleeping in an adjoining room, came into the room we were in, and dragged the three of us out of bed, and began abusing us, calling us whores and vagabonds, and other ill names ; us women screamed out, when the prisoner's brother, Denis Hogan, came in, and there was a scuffle on the floor between the brothers, and I think my father ; myself and mother then went out, and in the morning we both went home, leaving my father behind at Hogan's ; on the following Thursday I went again, with my father, to the prisoner's, to assist at the harvest ; that night I slept with Mrs. White, who lives near the prisoner, and in the morning went to his house ; this day the prisoner did not go to work until after dinner, and came in about three o'clock to have some tea ; he complained of a pain in his shoulder, and laid down on his bed ; his wife was in the room with him, they were discoursing together, but whether in anger or otherwise I could not discover, as I could not distinguish what they said ; the prisoner had some conversation also with me, and enquired if my mother was still angry on account of the disturbance that took place on the previous Sunday, and whether she would come over to his place if he went for her ; shortly after this, my sister came out of the room in a very hurried manner, and went outside and turned to the right, which led in the direction towards the creek ; as she left the room I heard her say, "is it me, Henry ;" shortly after this, in two or three minutes, the prisoner went outside and turned in the same direction my sister had gone; about ten minutes after his leaving, I was called by Mrs. White, the prisoner's mother, who wished me to go to the creek for some water, I went, and on my return, I observed the prisoner come up in a direction from the creek, with his clothes wet up to the neck ; he was running, but not very fast ; he went to the stable, took out his horse, mounted him without, saddle, and with a rope for a bridle, rode off; in passing his mother, I heard him say to her, " Good bye-you will never see me more;" she asked him what he said, when he replied, " Go up there," pointing in a direction towards the creek, " and there you will find Ann;" he then rode off ; from the prisoner's expressions, I expected my sister was drowned, and shouted out to my father, who was reaping in a paddock no great distance off, and he came up, together with Denis Hogan and Patrick Handrigan, who were working in the paddock with him ; we all went down to the creek, and made strict search about it ; about three or four rods from where I first observed the prisoner coming up from the creek, I noticed the track of a man's foot ; shortly after, I went home, and on the Sunday following I saw the body of my sister ; when I was with her on the previous Sunday, she was apparently in good health. By Mr. PUREFOY : On the Thursday, when I came back, my sister was sickly, and said she wished she was dead ; considering this as idle talk, without really meaning what she said, I did not ask her the reason for saying so ; my sister, at the time she was missing, was in the family way ; the time my sister left the house, as near as I can guess, was between three and four o'clock; I consider the row or disturbance on the Sunday to have originated in the prisoner not wishing his brother to come about the place for me ; the paddock where my father and the other men were at work was at no great distance from Hogan's residence ; if there had been a scream or struggle at the creek I could have heard it at the house; but I heard nothing of the kind, nor did I observe on the banks of the creek any appearance of a struggle having taken place ; when my sister left the room she had on, amongst other articles of wearing apparel, a white apron ; when the prisoner rode away he crossed the creek, and where he crossed the banks were not so high but that I could have him in view, until he had crossed it ; I did not see him afterwards until he was in custody I never knew that the prisoner was jealous of his wife with any other man ; and if this had been so, I am well persuaded I should have heard it from my deceased sister. This witness was submitted to a very rigid and long cross-examination, but nothing was elicited that could at all shake her testimony in any material point. Daniel M'Quirk, father of the last witness and of the deceased, was next called : I am a blacksmith, and live at a place called Shooter's Hill, about fifty miles from Bathurst, and about five miles from the residence of the prisoner ; my daughter has been married to him six or seven years ; on the Sunday before she was missing, myself, wife, and daughter Rosetta, went to Hogan's ; there were several others there ; we had some liquor, but none of the parties appeared to me the worse for drinking ; as the house was full the men slept in one room ; and the women, that is my wife, and two daughters, slept in the other ; after we had laid down I heard Denis Hogan speaking, as I concluded, to my wife ; and I heard her say go away Henry, she seeming to think it was him ; the prisoner was lying by my side, and as I thought, was asleep ; but when he heard this, he exclaimed " I'll Henry you," and jumped out of bed and went into the room the women were in, and dragged them out of bed ; they screamed out, and Denis Hogan came in, and the two brothers got struggling together on the ground, when Denis called on his brother-in-law, Handrigan, to his aid ; I went to part them, when Denis pitched into me ; I, however, got him down under me and kept him there, until his sister came in ; the prisoner on this occasion chased the women about, and called them whores and vagabonds ; he then asked where Ann, his wife, was, and having got a light, went into the room she was sleeping in, and found her under the bed ; he said come out my lady ; and I told him not to strike her ; he said he would not, but would settle all to-morrow ; he then laid down on the bed beside me, and I began arguing with him, and said surely to God you would not be jealous of your brother ; he said he had that opinion of her ; this conversation took place so that my deceased daughter must have heard it ; on the following morning my wife and daughter Rosetta went home ; I remained, and thought that during the Monday the prisoner and my daughter were again reconciled ; on the following day I also went home, and returned on the following Thursday with my daughter Rosetta, to assist the prisoner in getting in his harvest ; and I worked until dinner-time ; we, including the prisoner, went to work until about 3 o'clock, when we came in to have some tea ; the prisoner complained of a pain in his shoulder, and I persuaded him not to go out again ; he went and laid on his bed ; I went to work again, and had not been out long when I heard a shout from my daughter Rosetta, and on looking round saw the prisoner on horseback riding away, and saw Rosetta and the prisoner's brother standing outside the house and screaming ; my impression at the time was, that there were bushrangers about the place, and I was fearful of going up; I did however go up, and from the information received from my daughter Rosetta, of what had occurred since I last went out to work, I immediately, in company with her, and some men who were at work about the premises commenced a search up and down, and around the creek; I went in the water, but could not dive, and came out again, and enquired of the other men if any of them could dive, but none of them could. In the search about the bank of the creek, I could find no trace of any one going to it, but in a particular spot I observed the mark of the toes of a man's foot as coming from it ; and it afterwards turned out that this spot was within three rod of where the body was afterwards found. As we were unsuccessful in our search, I, being a blacksmith, went home to make a set of grapling irons, with which I returned in the evening, and found the prisoner had come back; we then went to the water-hole and commenced dragging with the irons, but still without success; we resumed dragging again on the following morning at day light, and continued to do so for a considerable time, but still without success ; as we could not find the body, I proposed going in to Bathurst and giving information, and said to the prisoner " I suppose it is of no use to ask you for a horse,' when he immediately replied, "you shall have one, and the best one I have ;" and went himself and caught the horse for me . I then proceeded in to Bathurst and gave information, and was accompanied out by some mounted police; on our arrival out, on the Sunday morning, I was informed that the body of my daughter had been found a short time before my arrival that morning ; the prisoner was at home, and was taken into custody by the police. On the Monday after the disturbance, my daughter did not say anything to me about the language used towards her by her husband ; my daughter Ann was far advanced in pregnancy. On the Friday evening when I came back, I asked the prisoner what had become of Ann, when he replied he did not know ; I replied he did, and that she was in the water where he had put her, when he exclaimed, " that was the last thing in the world he would think of doing ;" I enquired of him how his clothes became wet, he told me he heard a splash in the water and went in, but could not find deceased ; I then enquired why he rode away, and he told me he went for his sister Bridget, who lived three miles off. On my return on Sunday, I saw the dead body of my daughter Ann in the room; and on Monday, I saw Dr. Busby go into that room where was only the dead body of my daughter Ann. This witness underwent a long cross-examination, both by Mr. PURPFOY and Mr. CALLAGHAN. He stated, that after the disturbance on Sunday, he remained at the prisoner's until Tuesday morning, and that on Monday, the prisoner and his wife appeared to be perfectly reconciled ; when the prisoner made use of the expression, " that settle tomorrow;" I understood him to mean, if anything, " that he would do some harm to himself and not to his wife." Until the disturbance on the Sunday, I never formed the idea that the prisoner was jealous of his wife. Shortly after the disturbance, the prisoner expressed much sorrow for his conduct, and endeavoured to soothe his wife, and carried her and laid her on her bed ; in the scuffle he struck my wife and gave her a black eye, for this he afterwards appeared very sorry, and tried all he could to get her to be again reconciled with him. Norah M'Quirk, mother of the deceased, was also called, and gave a similar account of the disturbance on the Sunday night to that of the last witness, and added that the prisoner said to his wife, " I will give you a swim for this tomorrow." After the disturbance, I and my daughter Rosetta went out, and I was not in when my daughter Ann was found concealed under the bed; I and my daughter Rosetta returned home on Monday morning before the prisoner was up, and I did not go back again until Friday evening ; in the row, the prisoner called us whores and vagabonds ; when he made use of the expression to Ann, that he would give her a swim, I did not think he meant it, as he was much in liquor at the time ; I never heard that the prisoner was jealous of his wife ; he appeared very sorry for his conduct, and much wished me to be reconciled with him ; this witness underwent a cross-examination. Bridget Handrigan, sister of the prisoner, was then called ; She stated, that on Friday, the 7th February, about sundown, her brother (the prisoner) came to her place and stated his wife was missing, and wished much for me to go over to his place and search for her, stating that if she was planted anywhere, and heard me call her she would come out ; he seemed very much excited and in a hurry to get back ; his clothes were wet, and after a good deal of persuasion I got him to put dry things on ; he shifted himself outside and would not go into the house all the time he was there ; he then rode off, I and I shortly after followed ; this witness then described the search made for the deceased, and she said the prisoner was most active and zealous, and expressed much anxiety on account of his wife. Four other witnesses were examined, John White, Denis Hogan, Patrick Handrigan, and Peter Behan ; they gave an account of the search for and ultimate finding of the body, which was on the Sunday morning following ; a raft was made on which Behan went, and after dragging some time the body come up head foremost; he shouted that he had found it, and the prisoner immediately went into the water above his hips to assist in getting the body landed ; I pushed the body towards him, and he caught hold of a whattle on the bank with one hand, and placed his other arm under the body ; and if there had been any ligature about the arms of the deceased, he (the prisoner) could not have taken them off. These witnesses all described the position of the arms when the body was found ; they were placed across the body in a very unlikely way for one who died by drowning. One of the witnesses stated that the left hand was clasped over the back of the right ; another stated his belief from the position of the arms, that they had been fastened, but he could see no marks of any ligature on the wrists. George Busby, Surgeon, attended the inquest on the body on Monday, the 10th February, when he examined the body and found the arms placed in such a position across the body as was very unlikely to be by a person drowned ; on an examination of the body, I found all the usual symptoms that would arise on a person who had died from suffocation in water. To a question from the counsel for the prisoner, he said that supposing an apron to be tightly wrapped round the arms, and a person was thrown in the water or had thrown themselves in, the apron might confine the arms in such a position as those of the deceased were found, and that if an apron had been folded two or three times round the arms and then tied, the marks of the ligature might not appear. This closed the case for the prosecution. Mr. PURPFOY, in a very lengthy and able speech defended the prisoner. His HONOR, in a very clear and distinct manner then gave a summary of the evidence. The Jury retired, and alter an absence of upwards of an hour, returned a verdict of Guilty. Remanded for sentence. The case occupied the Court nearly eight hours, and was not concluded until half-past seven. When the verdict was returned, there was an expression of disappointment, which the Judge strongly reprobated. When we found the prisoner was remanded, we left the Court by a side door to avoid the rush at the principal entrance ; we had scarcely got outside when we heard a tremendous noise and scuffle inside the Court-house ; the doors were closed, and many people escaped out by the windows. We found this arose from the prisoner attempting to escape; he jumped over the dock-knocked down the constable in charge of it-and was making his way to a side door, when he was collared by Mr. Thomas Ewing, and secured. He was then heavily ironed and handcuffed, and conveyed from the Court-house to the Gaol under a strong escort. Court adjourned until to-morrow at ten o'clock.

Research Notes

Due to previous merges of duplicates, it is suggested that to minimise future Last Name at Birth redirects by merging future duplicates into the Last Name at Birth McGuirk.

Sources

1. ↑ Birth Index (NSW Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages : accessed 08 Jul 2022), Index entry for MCQUIRK ANN; Parents: DANIEL & HONORA; District: LD; Registration Number: 568/1824 V1824568 125
2. ↑ The Sentinel (Sydney, NSW : 1845 - 1848), 1845, 'BATHURST.', 26 February, Page: 3, Trove, National Library of Australia (digitised newspaper archives : accessed 8 Jul 2022)
3. ↑ The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), 1845, 'BATHURST.', 22 February, Page: 4, Trove, National Library of Australia (digitised newspaper archives : accessed 8 Jul 2022)

• Birth Index (NSW Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages : accessed 08 Jul 2022), Index entry for MCQUIRK ANN; Parents: DANIEL & HONORA; District: LD; Registration Number: 568/1824 V1824568 125
• The Sentinel (Sydney, NSW : 1845 - 1848), 1845, 'BATHURST.', 26 February, Page: 3, Trove, National Library of Australia (digitised newspaper archives : accessed 8 Jul 2022)
• The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), 1845, 'BATHURST.', 22 February, Page: 4, Trove, National Library of Australia (digitised newspaper archives : accessed 8 Jul 2022)

• Ancestry.com search
• NSW BDM registry V1824568 125
• Trove searches of 1845 publications

• Unsourced family tree handed down to Neil Newton.