Clare Past Forum

Sarah Ann Doherty born in County Clare in 1838. Arrived by ship to Western Australia in 1856 on 'City of Bristol'. Married William Hill of Gingin, Western Australia.

I have no other information apart from this. I am looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack.

Sarahs shipping record states she was from County Clare.

I found something on Ancestry, but you probably know most of the Australian side. A public family tree shows Sarah Ann married a William Hill (1831-1921) and Willam was born in England and died in Claremont. It shows her father as James Doherty (b 1812 - d?). Sarah and William had at least one child, Annie, who married a William Butler. According to the tree, Annie and William had 12 kids. Very few other details.

There's another public family tree but it appears to be unreachable or removed. There is also a private tree that seems to show the correct name and birth infomation, but you have to PM that individual to find out more information.

Kurt

Information from additional documents, beyond shipping papers, is often the way to find clues or an outright location reference that will considerably shorten your research in Clare. I have often seen that Australian family historians find marriage and death records with those references. We here on the Forum can then help you interpret those details. In U.S.-based research, tracking down obituaries and gravestone inscriptions is also on the must-do list, because there might be a listing of the person's Clare place.

Your next posting can also show the names of Sarah's children, listed in birth order (which is preferably confirmed as accurate) with birth dates that allow us to see if there are any gaps that might represent a missing or deceased child. Those children were born in an era when the naming pattern was still in use, to indicate names of Sarah's parents and many times her siblings as well.

Sharon Carberry
USA

Thanks for the help.

I have found the death certificate for Sarah Ann, but unfortunately it does not give me any extra information.
As far as information on the children. they are as follows:

Sarah Emily Hill 1858-1929
Annie Hill 1860 - 1944
Alice Hill 1862-1901
Betsy Hill 1864-1940
Hannah Hill 1866-1943
Harriet Hill 1868-1908
Mary Ann Hill 1870-1953
William Thomas Hill 1872-1956
Fanny Jane Hill 1874- 1945
Frederick George Hill 1877-1960
Sarah May Hill 1879-1880

I have been playing with the name of her 'father' James, after time spent trying to find him in W.A..
I found a family on the irish census, for Derry, with a sibling called James. The mother's name was Mary McCluskey, so one could assume that she had remarried to this man, as Sarah and her brother James were still noted as Docherty on this census.
I found a James Docherty arriving as a convict to Western Australia in 1857, having been convicted in 1855. If I can find more info. maybe this is a track to RULE OUT!.

I have tried variations of dorothey, which I now believe is the correct name!...... understanding that their are many variations of this, the most common being Doherty.

Still trying....

Found the following obit for William:
GINGIN:.--The death occurred on June 3, of Mr. William Hill, a very old and respected resident
of Gingin. The deceased, with his parents and other members of the family, arrived in the State,
in the month of March, 1852, and he had resided in the Gingin district practically ever since
his arrival. He leaves a family of six daughters and two sons. His wife and two married daughters
predeceased him some years ago. The funeral took place on June 4, the remains being laid to rest
beside those of his late wife in the old Anglican Cemetery, Gingin. The funeral service was
conducted by the Rev O'Halloran.
The West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954) Monday 13 June 1921 p 8 Article

If you have the date of Sarah Ann's death, perhaps there was an obit for her?