#52Ancestorsin52Weeks 17/52 John McLoughlin - Document

John McLoughlin 1867-1953

 

John McLOUGHLIN – 1867-1953

Ahnentafel Number 12

Context for discovery:

This biography was written as part of the 52 ancestors in 52 weeks exercise devised by Amy Johnson Crow.  You can join in too here. The theme for this month is Check It Out and this week is Document.

Amy says:

"Document" can be a noun or a verb and, as genealogists, we should be using it as both! Perhaps this week you share a neat document you've found or write about your efforts to document an ancestor..”

John was my great-grandfather or my mother’s grandfather.  He died when my mother was eighteen but sadly I have no memories of her telling me about him or what he was like.

McLOUGHLIN as a surname has its own challenges as you can imagine in terms of spelling.  I have found it spelt the following way in various documents: McLAUGHLIN, MacLAUGHLIN, McLOGHLIN, McLOUGHLAN or McLACHLAN. I'm sure there are more variations yet to discover!

Dates written in Red are collated from the following sites: Project Gutenberge Australia, Wikipedia and National Museum of Australia, Studocu, Australian Constitution Centre

Childhood

1868 end of convict transportation

1869 children of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent are removed from their families for the next 100 years

Birth Date/Place:

John was born 19^th July 1867 at Brown’s River, Bowenfels, New South Wales.[i] His father was Patrick and his mother Margaret (nee FLANAGAN).  John was the fourth of seven children.

1.     Annie born 1862 Birkenhead, Cheshire[ii]

2.     Patrick born 1865

3.     Mary born 1866

4.     John born 1867 Brown’s River, Bowenfels, New South Wales

5.     Margaret born 1869 Sodwalls and died 21^st August 1882 Bathurst, aged 13[iii]

6.     Thomas born 1871 Tambaroora, New South Wales[iv]

7.     Elena born 1873 Bathurst, New South Wales [v]

 

John’s parents were from Ireland originally (Patrick from County Sligo and Margaret from County Cork).  They married in Liverpool England. 

Baptism Date/Place:

I have not located a baptism for John. ***FOLLOW THIS UP!***

1870 British troops withdrawn from Australia and each Colony responsible for its own defence

1879 first congress of trade unions held

 

Apprenticeship

 

James Rutherford from obiturary in Australian Town and Country Journal 20 September 1911, page 15, courtesy of Trove, National Library of Australia

 

6th December 1880Australian Town and Country Journal page 10

 

 

 

 

19 October 1882  Newcastle Morning Herald and Minders Advocate Page 3

 

On 23^rd June 1883 John was indentured at the age of 15 years and eleven months with the consent of his father Patrick McLaughlan as an apprentice to James Rutherford on behalf of Cobb & Company to learn the trade of Blacksmith for five years. 

Amongst other things, he was instructed not to frequent taverns, inns or ale houses or play cards, dice tables or other unlawful games.  For the first year of his apprenticeship, he was to be paid seven shillings per week. In the second year he was to be paid twelve shillings and sixpence.  In the third year fifteen shillings and in the fourth year seventeen shillings and sixpence.  In the fifth year and sixth year he was to be paid twenty shillings.  James Rutherford was not required to supply board or clothing or medical attendance.  If John gave satisfactory service, at the end of the apprenticeship, John was entitled to a bonus of twenty pounds sterling.

 

 

 

Cobb and Co Bourke Post Office from SLSA https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/PRG+1258/2/2149

 

This from the Cobb & Co Heritage Trail site:

The Bathurst factory was the company's flagship. The original works employed between 40 and 50 men and contained four forges, a carriage maker's shop, a painter's room and trimming work area, as well as stabling for 58 horses. By the time the new premises opened in William Street, the Cobb & Co factory employed 25 tradespeople and provided exceptional conditions for its workers including staff picnics and, from 1882, the introduction of an eight-hour day which placed the company at the forefront of workplace reform. Other factories were also important employers for local areas – when it closed in 1899, the Bourke factory alone had 85 men on its payroll.

and
 

At its peak, Cobb & Co operated along a network of tracks that extended further than those of any other coach system in the world – its coaches travelled 28,000 miles (44,800km) per week and 6000 (out of their 30,000) horses were harnessed every day. Cobb & Co created a web of tracks from Normanton on the Gulf of Carpentaria and Port Douglas on the Coral Sea down to the furthest reaches of Victoria and South Australia – in all, a continuous line of 2000 miles (3200km) of track over eastern Australia from south to north, with a total of 7000 miles (11,200km) of regular routes.

My cousin Marilyn has a document on her Ancestry account dated 25th August 1888 which certifies that John served his time as a Coach Smith in Cobb & Co’s Coach Factory. The certificate was signed by David Brown Foreman for Cobb & Co.  He said he could recommend John as a sober and trustworthy man and that anyone giving him work would find he would give satisfaction to them. 

 

 New Ventures

 

It must have been exciting working as an apprentice for such a big enterprise.  John would have learned so much but could probably see the writing on the wall for the future of horse-drawn carriages given the advent of steam and would have been looking to set himself up and invest in new opportunities.

In the July-September 1889 NSW Govt Gazette John McLaughlin is listed as being granted 80 acres and 1 rood of land in Parish Bourke.  The amount of the Assurance fee was 4 shillings and 4 pence and the stamp duty was £1.
 

A John McLaughlin is listed as having a publican’s licence for the Jolly Waggoner Hotel in Mitchell-st., Bourke in 1888-1893.[vii]

 

23rd April 1890 Sydney Morning Herald Page 7, courtesy of Trove, National Library of Australia

 

On 24^th February 1891 the Dept. of Lands advises in the NSW Govt Gazette that the Governor approved the appointment of a John McLoughlin, Rev John Dunne and Rev Michael Treacy and Patrick Murray as Trustees of the land in Bourke, being allotments 1 and 2 of section 44, dedicated as site for Roman Catholic Church and Presbytery.[viii]

 

 

3rd June 1891, Western Herald Page 2, Trove, courtesy of National Library of Australia

 

John is listed in the NSW Government Gazette in 1891 as a Cleaner in the Locomotive Engineer’s Branch employed Bathurst to Dubbo at the rate of six shillings and sixpence per day.[ix]

 

 

4th November 1893, Western Herald, courtesy of Trove, National Library of Australia

In 1894 John McLoughlin of Mitchell-street Bourke registers a horse and cattle brand(JM4)[x]. He is also appointed along with Rev John Dunne and Rev Thomas Joseph Cahill as trustees for the portion of the General Cemetery at Bourke (Old Cemetery, dedicated 7^th January 1879) set apart for Roman Catholic Burial Ground.

In 1895 a John McLoughlin is recorded as having a license for the Harp of Erin Hotel in Bourke.  The Jolly Waggoner Hotel license has gone to Donald Mathison.[xi] On 28^th June of the same year John petitioned for bankruptcy in the Supreme Court of NSW. The first meeting of creditors was held at the Court-house Bourke on 24^th July at 11am. A first account and plan of distribution showing payment in full of two proved preferential debts for rent and wages (£70 15s) and a dividend of seven shillings and seven pence half-penny in the £ on all proved concurrent debts, and a balance of £3 3s carried forward.

In January of 1897 a second account and plan of distribution showing payment of a dividend of four pence and thirteen-sixteenths in the £ on all proved concurrent debts was recorded.[xii] In December of the same year a third account and plan of distribution showing payment of a dividend of five pence and fifteen-sixteenths in the £ on all proved concurrent debts was recorded.

John is listed in the New South Wales Government Gazette for 1897 in the Chief Mechanical Engineer’s Branch as a Cleaner in Bourke paid 7 shillings per day.[xiii]

On the 15^th April 1897 John’s father Patrick died of exhaustion from septic broncho pneumonia when John is 30 years old.[xiv]  He was buried on 16^th April at the Roman Catholic Cemetery Bathurst.  John, his son, was the informant on the certificate.

 

Married Life

Marriage Dates/Places:

John married Margaret TAYLOR on 18 April 1898 at St Ignatius, Bourke NSW by William Henry Connelly.[xv] John was a bachelor, Engine Cleaner from Bourke and Margaret was a spinster, housemaid from Bourke.   

John’s birthplace was recorded as Bowenfells, aged 31 years and his father Patrick McLoughlin (deceased), Contractor and mother Margaret Flanagan.  Margaret’s birthplace was recorded as Gunderoo, aged 20 ¾ years and her mother as Emma Case.   

Joseph Pickle and Catherine Clancy were the witnesses.  Margaret’s father John was described as a Carrier of Bourke. 

Children’s Birth Dates/Places:

John and Margaret had nine children.  There is a male recorded as being deceased on Vincent’s certificate in 1911.

1.     Thomas Joseph Benedict McLaughlin born 7^th July 1898[xvi] in Bathurst – John is described as an Engine Cleaner living in William Street

2.     Margaret Philomena McLoughlin born 1899 in Bathurst[xvii]

3.     Mary Josephine born 1902 in Bathurst[xviii]

4.     John Patrick born 1904 in Bathurst[xix]

5.     Joseph Benizet born 1908 in Penrith[xx]

6.     Vincent born 7^th April 1911[xxi] Hill Street, Orange, NSW

7.     Helena Mary born 1913 in Orange[xxii]

8.     Patrick born 17 March 1916 Kite Street Orange – John described as Engine Driver[xxiii]

9.     Francis Noel McLOGHLIN born 13^th December 1918 in Orange[xxiv]

 

Margaret McLoughlin and son Vince 1911

 

1889 completion of railway network between Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney

1891 Draft bill for a federal constitution

1895 women’s enfranchisement in South Australia and the beginning of the worst drought in Australia’s history, the Federation Drought 1895-1903

1899 Second Boer War – NSW and Qld troops participate

1900 Bubonic plague arrives in Australia

1901 Australia becomes a federation and Edmund Barton first Australian Prime Minister.  The White Australia Policy is enshrined in law.

There is a John McLoughlin listed in the 1901 Census in Bridge Street Bathurst. There are 2 males and 4 females recorded in the household.  I am guessing this is John and Margaret and their son and daughter Thomas and Margaret.  I am not sure who the two other females would be – maybe John and/or Margaret’s sisters or servants or boarders.

Many thanks to Joy Richens of Bathurst Family History Group who pointed out that the particular Census reference I was looking at was in Cowra not Bathurst.  Why didn't I see that ???  Just goes to show that when you spend all day on research until the wee hours you go a bit blind. So - Joy found a John McLaughlan listed in Howick Street Bathurst.  2 males and 2 females are recorded as being in the household which makes more sense: John and Margaret and their son and daughter Thomas and Margaret (Peg).  Joy says that Howick Street was not too far from the Cobb and Co factory in William Street. 

1902 Franchise Act guarantees women the right to vote in federal elections but excludes most non-European ethnic groups including Aboriginal people.

On 30^th September 1902 John earned a Certificate of Efficiency in the use and care of the Westinghouse Automatic Brake.  He was described as a Fireman and then became qualified as a Driver of a Passenger or Goods Train with this brake.[xxv]

1906 Australia takes control of south-eastern New Guinea

1907 Harvester Judgement set first Australian minimum wage standard

On 30^th May 1907 John gained a Certificate of Competency as a Locomotive Engineman[xxvi]

 

3 February 1908 Sydney Morning Herald page 12, courtesy of Trove, National Library of Australia

 

1908 John’s mother Margaret McLoughlin died[xxvii]  Her residence was 103 Mansfield Street Balmain.

1908 legislation introducing national age and invalid pensions

1909 Compulsory military service instituted in Australia

1912 maternity allowance introduced

The Hard Years

1914 – 1918 WW1

Eldest son Tom passes the Commonwealth Public Service exam and gains a position in the Customs Department and leaves for Sydney.

1917 Great Strike

 

In August 1917 5,780 railway and tramway workers went on strike to protest against a new system of monitoring workers. The strike spread across industries and towns and lasted for about six weeks.  Laila Ellmoos says the following about the strike and its impact:

 

The strike had long reaching impacts on conditions for working people, and the formation of political consciousness. Many railway and tramway employees never got their jobs back. Those who were rehired found their jobs had been downgraded. The strike highlighted the split in the labour movement between ‘rank and file’ trade union members and officials. More than 20 unions were deregistered, some never reinstated. In the years that followed, many strikers felt they had been victimised, which in turn created working lives riven with conflict.[23]  (Dictionary of Sydney - https://dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/great_strike_of_1917)

 

 

7th September 1917 The Leader courtesy of Trove, National Library of Australia

 

John would have been fifty years old by now and being an Irish Catholic was undoubtedly the victim of discrimination.  In this climate,  the McLoughlin family made the move to Sydney, probably seeking better opportunities for their children.

1919 influenza pandemic reaches Australia

1924 compulsory voting in federal elections introduced

 

Miss Mary McLoughlin. (1926, March 4). The Catholic Press (Sydney, NSW : 1895 - 1942), p. 34. Retrieved May 2, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article106261106

18^th February 1926 John’s sister Mary McLoughlin dies at the Sacred Heart Hospice and is buried at Rookwood.  Chief mourners were her brothers Thomas and John, nephew John and nieces Kathleen and Philomena. 

1927 Opening of Federal Parliament by the Duke of York in Canberra.

1928 Bert Hinkler flies from England to Australia

 

 

1924 at The Grange, Irene Street, Five Dock

 Electoral Roll 1930 -Living at 11 Irene Street, Five Dock

Mary Josephine McLoughlan, telephoniste

Thomas McLoughlan, labourer – no idea who this is.  I suspect a clerical error apologies for being a bit slow.  I reckon this is John's brother.  What do you think?

John McLoughlin, horse-driver – could be John or his son

Margaret McLoughlin, home-duties - wife

Margaret Philomena McLoughlin, home duties – daughter  

Thomas Joseph Benedict, salesman – my grandfather, John’s eldest son

 

Electoral Roll 1932 -Living at 11 Irene Street, Five Dock

Mary Josephine McLoughlan, telephoniste

Thomas McLoughlan, labourer – no idea who this is.  I suspect a clerical error John's brother yes? Keep in mind this is the Depression so everyone is supporting all their nearest and dearest.

John McLoughlin, horse-driver – now more confident that this is John

John Patrick McLoughlin, photographer – son

Joseph Benzel, block stripper - son

Margaret McLoughlin, home-duties - wife

Margaret Philomena McLoughlin, waitress – daughter  

Thomas Joseph Benedict, salesman – my grandfather, John’s eldest son

 1932 Opening of Sydney Harbour Bridge and height of the Great Depression – 32% unemployment. ABC founded.

1934 son John marries Christine Jacobs

1935 son Thomas marries Kit Forfar

 

1935 Jubilee of King George V

1936 Death of King George V followed by Edward VIII then abdication and King George VI

1938 son Joe marries Marjorie Fear 

1939 son Vincent marries Mary McCabe

1939 Introduction of compulsory military service and WW2 begins

23^rd July 1940 Son Frank enlisted in the Airforce Reserve and by December was in the Permanent Forces

1942 Singapore falls and 15,000 Australians becomes POWs

1942 Daylight saving introduced

1943 Introduction of conscription in WW2

Electoral Roll 1943 -Living at 11 Irene Street, Five Dock[xxviii]

Francis Noel McLoughlin, telephone mechanic

John McLoughlin, horse-driver

Margaret McLoughlin, home duties

Margaret Philomena, waitress

Mary Josephine, telephoniste

Patrick McLoughlin, nurseryman

 

10^th June 1944 son Frank marries Dorothy Titley

 

1945 WW2 ends in May and first Sydney to Hobart Yacht race held

 

 

Advertising (1953, November 16). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 14. Retrieved May 2, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article27520501

 

Date and place of Death

John died 14 November 1953 in Sacred Heart Hospice, Darlinghurst, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

John's death certificate records that he died of chronic myocarditis.  His residence was described as "Ravola" 11 Irene Street Abbotsford.  He was born at Browns River, Bowenfels in NS.W.  He married at the age of 30 to Margaret Taylor.  His father was Patrick McLoughlin and his mother was Margaret Flanagan.

He left nine living children and 1 male deceased.

Thomas, my grandfather was the eldest and certified the death at the age of 55.  He was then living at Flat 1, 5 Nowranie Street Summer Hill.  My mother would have been nearly 18 years old.  Thomas' other siblings were Margaret P. aged 54, Mary J. aged 51, John P. aged 49. Joseph B aged 45, Vincent aged 42, Helena aged 46, Patrick aged 37 and Francis H. aged 35.  

He was buried on 16th November at the Roman Catholic Cemetery Field of Mars.

 

Buried

John is buried at Roman Catholic Cemetery, Field of Mars, New South Wales, Australia. New South Wales, Australia.

The grave marker says:

In memory of our dear father and mother

John MCLOUGHLIN died 14th November 1953 aged 86 years

Margaret ... 12th June 1957 aged 79 years.

R.I.P.

Conclusion

John’s son Patrick married Kath Hardiman 2 October 1954 

John’s wife Margaret died 4 years later in 1957 at the age of 79.

She is also buried at Roman Catholic Cemetery, Field of Mars, New South Wales, Australia. 

I have learned so much from writing this biography - reading documents as thoroughly as I can and documenting what I have found.  John lived during a period of enormous growth and change in Australia.  He witnessed the transition from horse power to steam and engines.  He survived floods and strikes.  His many generous descendants are testament to his enduring spirit and love for his family.

My heartfelt thanks to my cousins and fellow researchers for sharing their certificates, photos and information they had about the family, particularly Marilyn Sanderson and Veronica O’Brien.

---

[i] NSW Birth Certificate, 19^th July 1867, Brown’s River, NSW, unnamed male, father Patrick McLoughlin, mother Margaret formerly Flanagan – the name of John was added after registration of birth - certificate issued at Sydney 5^th December 1988

[ii] Ancestry.com, 1861 Census, Class: RG9; Piece: 2642; Folio:35; Page: 64; GSU roll: 543004, accessed 30 April 2022

[iii] NSW Death Certificate Registration Number 1882/005770, Margaret McLaughlin of Patrick McLaughlin and Margaret Flanagan

[iv] Ancestry.com. Australia, Birth Index, 1788-1922, The New South Wales Pioneers Index: Pioneers Series 1788-1888, accessed 30 April 2022

[v] Ancestry.com. Australia, Birth Index, 1788-1922, The New South Wales Pioneers Index: Pioneers Series 1788-1888, accessed 30 April 2022

[vi] Ancestry.com. New South Wales, Australia, Government Gazettes, 1853-1899 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. State Records Authority of New South Wales; Kingswood, New South Wales; New South Wales Government Gazettes

[vii] Ancestry.com. New South Wales, Australia, Government Gazettes, 1853-1899 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. State Records Authority of New South Wales; Kingswood, New South Wales; New South Wales Government Gazettes

[viii] Ancestry.com. New South Wales, Australia, Government Gazettes, 1853-1899 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. State Records Authority of New South Wales; Kingswood, New South Wales; New South Wales Government Gazettes

[ix] Ancestry.com. New South Wales, Australia, Government Gazettes, 1853-1899 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. State Records Authority of New South Wales; Kingswood, New South Wales; New South Wales Government Gazettes

[x] Ancestry.com. New South Wales, Australia, Government Gazettes, 1853-1899 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. State Records Authority of New South Wales; Kingswood, New South Wales; New South Wales Government Gazettes

[xi] Ancestry.com. New South Wales, Australia, Government Gazettes, 1853-1899 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. State Records Authority of New South Wales; Kingswood, New South Wales; New South Wales Government Gazettes

[xii] Ancestry.com. New South Wales, Australia, Government Gazettes, 1853-1899 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. State Records Authority of New South Wales; Kingswood, New South Wales; New South Wales Government Gazettes

[xiii] Ancestry.com. New South Wales, Australia, Government Gazettes, 1853-1899 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. State Records Authority of New South Wales; Kingswood, New South Wales; New South Wales Government Gazettes accessed 2 May 2022

[xiv] NSW Death Certificate Registration Number 3992/1897 Patrick McLoughlin aged 59 years son of Owen McLoughin and Bridget Sweeney

[xv] Ancestry.com, Australia Marriage Index 1788-1950 and Marriage Certificate including declaration of consent from Margaret’s father.

[xvi] Birth Certificate

[xvii] NSW BDM Index

[xviii] NSW BDM Index

[xix] NSB BDM Index

[xx] NSW BDM Index

[xxi] NSW Birth Certificate Number 19232, Vincent McLoughlin, father John, Engine Driver, Mother Margaret Taylor

[xxii] NSW BDM Index

[xxiii] NSW Birth Certificate, Registration number 12595/1916 Patrick McLoughlin

[xxiv] NSW BDM Index and National Archives Series A9300 Item 5254202 Service Record MCLOUGHLIN FRANCIS NOEL : Service Number - 403202 : Date of birth - 13 Dec 1918 : Place of birth - ORANGE NSW : Place of enlistment - SYDNEY : Next of Kin - MCLOUGHLIN F

[xxv] New South Wales Government Railways Certificate Number 873 John McLaughlin Fireman dated 30 Sept 1902 at Bathurst Station

[xxvi] New South Wales Government Railways Certificate Number 700 Certificate of Competency as Locomotive Engineman John McLoughlin 30^th May 1907

[xxvii] Family Notices (1908, February 3). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 12. Retrieved May 2, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article14947643

[xxviii] Ancestry.com, Austraian Electoral Rolls, 1901-1936 accessed 2 May 2022