Mary (O'Neil) Hynes (1816 - 1881)

Born 1 May 1816 in County Tipperary, Ireland

Wife of Edward Hynes — married 10 May 1840 in St Augustine's Church, Yass, New South Wales, Australia

Descendants

Died 15 Dec 1881 at age 65 in Jerrawa, New South Wales, Australia

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Myles Hannan [send private message]

Biography

In 1872 my great-great-grandparents, Edward Hynes and Mary O'Neil, had been married 32 years, having been married at Yass in 1840. Edward had been born in 1815 in County Galway, Ireland, and Mary had been born in 1816 in the neighbouring county of Tipperary. Edward had arrived in Australia in 1835 as a convict on the Forth as a result of a crime committed in County Tipperary. Mary had arrived in Australia in 1838 on the Calcutta with her parents, brothers and sisters. They had been living since 1840 in the region of Yass, a rural settlement 183 miles (293 kilometres) south west of Sydney. In 1872 their eldest child was 31 and their youngest was 19. Nine children, Hannah, Thomas, Bridget, Hugh (my great-grandfather), Margaret, Sarah, Edward, Mary and John had been born between 1841 and 1853.

When Edward arrived in Australia as a convict in 1835, his surname was spelt "Hinds", the English way, rather than "Hynes", the Irish way. The English spelling is included on both his Ticket of Leave (1839) and his Certificate of Freedom (1843). On his marriage certificate (1840) his name was spelt "Hyndes". On his children's birth certificates (1845-1851) the surname was spelt both "Hynes" and "Hyndes". In later generations the spelling reverted to "Hinds". Most of the descendants of Edward's son Hugh (1845-1882) had their name spelt "Hines". Hugh himself spelt his name "Hynes" on his first marriage certificate (1864) but changed to "Hines" on his second marriage certificate (1873) and his death certificate (1882). An exception was Hugh's daughter, my grandmother, Winifred; on her birth certificate (1868) the spelling was "Hines", whereas on her baptismal record (1868) the spelling was "Hynes" and on her marriage certificate (1893) the spelling was "Hinds".

Occupations in 1872 in Greville's Directory for the Post Town of Yass included:

• accountant, auctioneer, baker, blacksmith, bookseller, bootmaker, brickmaker, builder, butcher, C of E minister, carpenter, carrier, chemist, clerk, constable, dairy, farmer, gardener, innkeeper, labourer, lime burner, manager AJS Bank, manager Commercial Bank, mason, miller, painter, plasterer, postmaster, pound-keeper, Presbyterian minister, produce dealer, road superintendent, saddler, solicitor, squatter, stock-keeper, stockman, storekeeper, sub-inspector Police, surgeon, surveyor, teacher, telegraph master, timber merchant, waterman.

Note that this list is shorter than the list of occupations for Braidwood, but comparable with Burrowa. Most of the entries in Greville's Directory for Yass Post Town are for farmers in the Yass district at localities such as Warroo, Bango Creek, Blakeney Creek, Yass River, Murrumbateman, Bowning, Limestone Creek and Chain of Ponds. Included in the list is P Hartigan, produce dealer, O'Connell Town - this is Patrick Hartigan, father of Father Patrick Joseph Hartigan, better known as John O'Brien, the author of Around the Boree Log and Other Verses. Joseph was born at Yass in 1878. The marriage of Patrick Hartigan was reported in the Yass Courier on 28 July 1871:

• Hartigan - Townsell. Patrick Hartigan, the eldest son of Patrick Hartigan, Clare Ireland married Mary Townsell, third eldest daughter of Mr Michael Townsell of Lissycasey, County Clare Ireland by special license at Sydney on 25.7.1871.

Yass was linked to Goulburn by Cobb and Co.'s Coaches, which changed horses at Mutbilly (see Hannan family above). There was also "Sheekey's Royal Mail Line of Covered Coaches" which provided services three days a week between Yass and Young via Burrowa and Marengo. The Yass Hotel in Cooma St. provided "good stabling for forty-eight horses" (a nineteenth century equivalent of a Motel?) and the Commercial Hotel provided private rooms for families and a booking office for Cobb and Co.'s Coaches.

Edward Hynes was listed in Greville's Directory as "Hines Edward sen., innkeeper, Gap, Yass" and also as "Hinds Edward, innkeeper, Gap Range, Gunning". His sons were listed as Hines Edward jun., Hynes Hugh and Hynes Thomas, all in the Yass Post Town. Mary died in 1881 and is buried at Yass. Edward died in 1895 and is also buried at Yass.

Mary's funeral was recorded in the Yass Courier of 17 December 1881:

• Hines Mrs Edw, funeral at 3 pm tomorrow Sunday, John Colls Undertaker.

Sources

Biography - Myles Hannan, Where were they and what were they doing in 1872? (Wagga Wagga, NSW: Triple D Books, 2007), Pages 93 - 95.