Hannah McMahon
Hannah McMahon was born around 1833 in Kilrush, County Clare. She arrived in Australia by the Pemberton in 1849 as an Irish Famine Orphan.
After being held in quarantine for a number of days, she was employed by a James Delaney who was at that time a widower with a daughter named Bridget, aged 3 years. He is listed in the Squatting Register of 1849 as living on the Bushy Park Pastoral Lease (which he leased and he later purchased the Pre-Emptive Right of that property). The property was located in what is known as Wantirna, a suburb of Melbourne, and originally covered 1920 acres: the pre-emptive right was 620 acres. Hannah would have initially travelled to a very remote and inhospitable place, with few comforts to greet her. She left Melbourne on the 9th June 1849. I am not sure how long the journey would have taken, and she would have been employed to look after his daughter Bridget, James himself and all the things necessary to run a very large property. The land was not considered to be good for farming, although I'm sure they would have had to grow whatever they needed. I assume they also grazed sheep and cattle. On the 16th December Hannah married James Delaney at St Francis's Catholic Church, Melbourne. So Hannah maintained her faith. A witness to her wedding was Bridget Sexton, a shipmate who also came from Kilrush.
Hannah and James proceeded to have eight children, averaging one a year up until 1861, four girls and four boys: Mary born 22 July 1852, died October 1861; Charles born 1853; Ellen born 1854, died 1937; Annie born 1855, died 1932; James Alfred born 1936 (my GGGrandfather); William born 1858, died 1861; Margaret born 1860, died 1861, Michael born 1861, died 1873. This was Hannah's first family. There is very little information on how the family lived during these years, except that all the children were born at Dandenong Creek, which bordered their property
In 1854 James's brother arrived and settled opposite James's holding. It was about this time that Hannah changed her name to Ann.
The family were well known in the area. James is mentioned in various books about the district in the years prior to his death in 1861. James died 20 October 1861 after falling from his horse on the way to church in Oakleigh (the details are in the inquest).
1861 was a very sad year for Hannah. She was either pregnant with or had a young infant in arms, when her husband died. Within ten days she was to lose three more of her children to scarlet fever, Mary Ann aged 10 died 23 October, Margaret, aged 2, died 28 October, and William aged 3 years died 1 November
James died intestate, and Hannah was to receive all his property but I feel that they did not own the property outright and that a debt was owed to Denis Delany, not a relative. I am not sure what occurred during this time. I imagine that she was helped and supported by James's brothers' family. Sometime in 1864 the Bushy Park Pastoral lease was forfeited and Hannah moved on
On 31 October 1864 Hannah was in Oakleigh where she gave birth to a son Benjamin Delany (Little) stating that she had married the father, also named Benjamin, soon after the birth of their son. Hannah and Benjamin Little had five children, four boys and one girl, all born in Oakleigh. Benjamin died 1866; Mary Jane born 1866; Walter Benjamin born 1870, died 1882; William James born 1873, died 1946; and John, born 1878, died 1938.
Hannah had 13 children in all. Six of them died as young children, mostly from scarlet fever. She started having her children when she was 16 or 17 and ceased when she was 45. She outlived both her partners and was living with her daughter Ellen and Husband John Dunn at Clifton Hill at the time of her death on 8 April 1905. She is buried in Oakleigh Cemetery undr tha name of Ann Little. She was aged 75. She died from diabetes which she had had for two years. On her death certificate her father is noted as James McMahon, farmer and her mother as Ann McMahon, formerly McMahon. Hannah's surviving children listed on the certificate aerf from her first marriage, Ellen 53 years, Annie 52 years, Charles 50 years, James 48 years (my Great Grandfather), and from her second marriage, Mary 38 years, William 36 years and John, 35 years.
This is a picture taken in January 2005 of the house in Clifton Hill where Hannah McMahon was living with her daughter Ellen Dunn at the time of her death in 1905.
by
Mary Thomas
email address; christopherisaac[at]bigpond.com
