Catherine McSherry

Story

Catherine McSherry nee Hickey was born in Limerick, Ireland. Her parents were John and Mary Hickey, who married in Limerick on 22Aug 1816. She had two brothers, James and Michael and a sister, Ellen.

She came to Australia in 1855 as an assisted immigrant, together with her husband Thomas McSherry, aboard the ship Himalaya which was powered by both sail and coal and, at that time, was the largest ship in the world.

Catherine was aged 24 and Thomas, from Belfast, was 21. The reason they migrated is not known but may concern the potato famine aftermath and the persecution of Catholics.

Catherine gave birth to a daughter, Mary, during the voyage but Mary passed away only days after the Himalaya arrived in Sydney on 10th May 1855.

Thomas and Catherine lost three other infants but two daughters, Margaret and Catherine flourished.

Thomas died, apparently as a result of an accident at his work as a stonecutter at Pyrmont NSW, in 1866 leaving Catherine a widow with two girls aged eight and five. Her life would have been very hard.

Catherine, now aged 44, remarried at Balmain in 1874 to Peter Daly, aged 47 and born in Ireland. They had a child, Michael Daly, in 1875. Catherine Daly, formerly McSherry nee Hickey, died in Bathurst in 1912.

Catherine’s and Thomas’ daughter, Catherine Jnr, never married and lived in Sydney until her death in Feb 1943.

Their other daughter, Margaret (pet name Ducky), married William Beard in 1878. It is believed that they travelled to Bathurst for the gold rush as William had some skills in metallurgy. They had nine children, seven of whom grew to adulthood.

William’s grandfather, William Beard, had been transported as a convict to Sydney in 1834 and gained his freedom in 1838.

Margaret and William(1st) Beard’s nine children were all born in Bathurst: Elizabeth, Thomas, William, Catherine, John, Louis, Lilian, Laurence and Bertha. All had children and grandchildren.

Louis Beard landed at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915 and served the entire great war including in Belgium and France.

Bertha Beard married Henry Banks in Bathurst in 1915. They had six children, two of whom died as infants at Thirroul, south of Sydney where Henry worked as a telegraphist on the construction of the railway line.

Their children were Clare, Jean, Henry, Betty, June and Alan. All had children and grandchildren.

Clare married Walter Phillips in 1937 and they had five children, Brian, Anthony, Peter, Jill and Robert.

Tony, Peter and Robert all had children and grandchildren.

I, the writer, am Peter Phillips, the Great Great Grandson of Catherine and Thomas McSherry.

I married Helen Bath in 1973 and our children are Peta, Brad and James.

Brad married Leigh Charlton and Peta has a son, Mitchell Begley.

Thank you, Catherine and Thomas. You are two of the many unsung heroes of Australia.

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