Devane/Ryan family

Hi, my maternal g g grandfather John Devane (1818 - 1880)and his wife Ellen Ryan (1826 -1900) came to Australia in the early to mid 1800’s from Tipperary, most likely Clonoulty. Children to a John and Ellen (all the same names listed on Ellen’s DC) are recorded here. My dilemma is this...a John Devane from Tipperary was convicted and transported with his cousins Michael and Patrick Whelan for attempting to force a person from “their” home. It seems John’s father in law (real father in law’s name Cornelius Ryan) ‘Ryan’ had had an acre of land taken from him in the years previous to this event and John decided to get it back. This John Devane is the same age and from the same place with a ‘Ryan’ as his father in law, to the John Devane that is my g g grandfather. However, John Devane the convict lists himself as single when he gets to Tasmania and he has a conditional pardon upon release which means he can’t go back to Ireland. In 1867 a John and Ellen arrive in Sydney with their youngest three kids, all the right age but the parents are nearly ten years younger. ( Easier to get into a labour intensive country I’m thinking). I am desperate for court transcripts (not just newspaper reports) or information that will give the full name of the Ryan father in law or links to the Whelans so that I can link or unlink John Devane. Any help would be greatly appreciated 😊

Hi Karen,

It can be quite the puzzle with people with similar or the same names, trying to figure out if they're yours or someone else's. :)
There are court and prison records digitised and online that may be of help to you, especially since convicts that were to be sent to the penal colonies would reside in a prison for some time until their ship came, so both of these records may be of help to you.

We have a fairly extensive list of resources that you might like to look into as well, they may give you some extra ideas of where to search.

The Irish prison registers collection, now online, covers the full range of detention facilities available from 1790 to 1924. Of course, they're not complete, but they give you a good opening there.

A quick search shows 63 men by the name of John Devane incarcerated in Tipperary, with many without a known date of birth. There is no John Devane listed as being born in 1818. Of course, this may mean very little, as he may have been incarcerated in a prison nearer a port or elsewhere to await his deportation.

Another good place to look are the Petty Sessions Court Registers. The Petty Court was the lowest court of the land, so if he was convicted there, he may be found in these.

Your John having fibbed a little about his date of birth would not be rare if age was a factor in being allowed to immigrate and find work.

Hopefully some of our experts will chime in and be able to give you some good advice later as well.

Wishing you a wonderful day,
Cornelia

Hi Karen,

The fibbing about age is very common, in my own research I've found it happening even in the first half of the 20th century. In my family's case it was to be able to join the armed forces, but it was done for many reasons, both older and younger depending on the situation.

Your John sounds like a hard working man and it's great that they truly did make Australia their home, but yes, leaving Ireland would have been a sad occasion, as most people leaving their home and relatives knew they would never see them again. They would be looking forward to starting a new life and finding new opportunities, but they knew it would be a completely new start with no-one to fall back on or to support them, especially during those early years of finding their feet.

I'm glad you have some new avenues to explore and I hope you'll find the info you need!

Wishing you a wonderful day,
Cornelia

Hi Karen. We are in New Zealand and are currently researching our family history. My wife has had her DNA results and found 42% Irish DNA.
Her Great Grandmother was Johanna Devane who was born in Clonoulty Co Tipperary in 1846. Johanna’s parents were John and Ellen. Johanna married a Charles Foreman in Sydney 1October 1868. They had a daughter Annie who was my wife’s Grandmother who later married and ended up here in NZ. It appears we have a connection because we also have a Timothy on our tree who died in Forbes NSW.
We have booked to travel to Ireland later this year as a result of learning about our ancestors.I have more information I am happy to share with you.
Barry and Carole Knowles
Bay of Plenty NZ

Hi Barry, Yes we definitely have a connection. My great grandfather was Timothy, brother to Johanna and first born to John and Ellen. He died in Forbes or rather Wowingragong in 1882. His wife Mary was pregnant with my Grandad Harold when he died. My DNA is 70% Irish and I’m very proud of it! I think my profile states I’m from GB but I’m from Australia.

I went to Ireland and more specifically (among other places) to Clonoulty. Our car broke down in the Main Street and we went into a bar called Trish’s Bar to await the repairer. It turns out it’s owned by a lovely girl named Trisha Ryan! Not sure if we’re descended from the same Ryan’s but it is a huge coincidence!

I have tried private messaging you on here but it keeps bringing up an error! Hope you read this and hopefully we can share information privately somehow in the future!

Thank you so much for replying, would you like to make contact via email.
Barry and Carole