Matters of Conviction - Francis and Denis Keefe

Francis and Denis Keefe were brothers and cousins to Philip Keefe. Unlike Philip, both Francis and Denis could read and write, and Francis at least tried to turn this to his advantage on a number of occasions.

They were born in County Kerry, Ireland, Francis in 1794 and Denis in 1799. Francis was a reaper and Denis a shearer and reaper. On 23 March 1823 the brothers were up before the Court in Tralee, Co. Kerry, on a charge of coining (that's counterfeiting in more modern terms). They were found guilty and each sentenced to seven years' transportation to New South Wales. They were held first in  Tralee, but soon were shifted to Cork Goal. This posed a threat to the Keefe brothers, as letters from them to the General Governor of Ireland, the Marquis Wellesley, show. Francis had told a Kerry magistrate of the location of a rebel arms stash, resulting not only in the seizing of the weapons but also in arrests. Tralee and Cork Goals held many rebels, so I don't think the Keefe boys felt it was any exaggeration when they wrote "if something is not done without delay for us the results will be fatal for us".

The only thing that was done was to shift them, along with the other transportees, to the Hulk Surprise. In August they were all loaded onto the Isabella. The ship's surgeon, William Rae, recorded that they all appeared healthy, although they were very poorly clothed, few with shoes or stockings, one man with only a blanket "to cover his nakedness" and another with trousers with only one leg in them. Many were suffering from Catarrh, a thick mucus buildup resulting from colds and flu, but were otherwise well. However, about a month out to sea, a number of men came down with scurvy and it was revealed that while on the hulk several had been confined with a fever. On top of the illness, it was not a good crossing. Morale was unusually low. Rae claimed in his journal that there was a gang among the prisoners systematically terrorising and robbing the convicts. Given the state of the prisoners recorded in Rae's journal, I wonder what was being taken. The trouser perhaps, as an item of novelty wear?

Then Rae, and the captain, John Wallis, were informed of a plot by the gang to mutiny and murder all aboard who would not join up:

Through the courage of one man, we fortunately discovered the horrid plot that was hatching against us, which obliged me to replace the most of them in irons and curtail their liberty upon deck as it was improper again to trust men who had been guilty of such base ingratitude for as much liberty granted to them and kind treatment during a period of distress.

Who was this man? None other than Francis Keefe. When the Isabella arrived in Sydney, Rae and Wallis gave to Governor Stewart a fuller account of Francis' role in thwarting the mutiny:

 We have to inform your Excellency that in the course of our voyage hither we had the good fortune to discover a dangerous mutiny which was on the eve of breaking out amongst the prisoners, and but for timely prevention would certainly have ended in much bloodshed.

For the information we are mainly indebted to a prisoner of the name of Francis Keefe who at the risk of his own life concealed himself whilst he wrote a short note containing the information. This plot from all the credible evidence we have been able to collect concerning it had been matured by a few of the worst of characters and they had even evinced some degree of cunning in poisoning the minds with the idea of money being on board which was to be distributed amongst those who should most distinguish themselves.

Keefe is a man superior to most of the prisoners, has conducted himself with much propriety and some of the ringleaders have even attempted to invalidate his evidence.

Situated as we have all been we should be guilty of an act of injustice if we did not recommend this man in the strongest manner to your Excellency 's notice. We here enclose the names of the principal Ringleaders...

The ringleaders were Charles Devatt, James Kelly, Patrick and Denis Brennan, James Lawler, William Cowen and Patrick Macnamara. Devatt, Kelly, the Brennans and Lawler were sent on to Port Macquarie, where Denis Brennan died just under a year later. Cowen was sent on to Parramatta and Macnamara to Newcastle.

Francis was rewarded with a Ticket of Leave, straight off the boat. Interestingly Denis Keefe claimed no part in this, or was given no opportunity to claim part. The thwarted mutiny and subsequent reward of the informant was reported in the Sydney Gazette, although, wisely, it did not state Francis' name.

Sydney Gazette, 25 December 1823, page 2

Mind you, the following week the Gazette published the name of the one prisoner from the Isabella to receive a Ticket of Leave.

Denis, meanwhile, was assigned to Alexander Berry and Edward Wolstonecraft at Nowra. They had been given a land grant of 10,000 acres in the Shoalhaven area and needed convict labour to clear and farm the land. Denis, as a reaper and sheep shearer, was perfectly qualified, although he probably began work as a sawyer.

Being assigned meant that Denis was fed and clothed, provided for, albeit it in exchange for very hard work. Francis, as a Ticket of Leave man, had more freedom but, it turned out, less certainty.

He wrote to Sir Thomas Brisbane, KC to the Governor, on 17 August 1824. Beginning with his vital role in quelling the Isabella mutiny and subsequent awarding of a Ticket of Leave, Francis went on 

Petitioner having been out of Employment and unable to get one to suit him, most humbly entreats your Excellency to grant him one

I take this to mean that Francis is asking for a job. The Colonial Secretary understood it to mean a Ticket of Leave (which Francis already possessed) and turned him down. Francis' wording in his letter is interesting "unable to get one to suit him". Any job? Or one that he fancies? Either way, he was clearly out of luck. But Francis came up with at least one backup plan that put him and Denis back in Court and back in the papers.

The Sydney Gazette, 1 September 1825, page 3, had the following police report:

The stacks had been burnt on 1 July. The Australian reported that "(Denis) was observed near the stacks, a few minutes before the fire was discovered, where he remained a short time, and returned to his hut". Denis was tried on 14 October and acquitted on an informality in the indictment, but was then "remanded on a fresh information". The "fresh information" turned out to be rather sensational

Sydney Gazette, 27 October 1825, page3

The penal settlement in question was Port Macquarie, where four of the Isabella mutineers were still serving time (the reference to trusty servants is due to the number of cases involving convicts of Berry and Wollstonecraft in September and October of 1825. More than a few were stealing from their masters).

1829 and Francis made the papers again, although this time as the victim. He was sitting in Pashley's drinking house in The Rocks, when Cornelius Ryan picked his pocket. Ryan took a bag containing £17 in notes and some loose coins - dollars and rupees. Ryan was caught and the bag found on him. But the question must be asked of how Francis got hold of such a large sum of money.

Denis seems to have kept his head down after Port Macquarie. On 31 March 1830 he received his Certificate of Freedom and decided he had had enough of New South Wales. He applied for permission to return home and sailed out of Sydney aboard the Dryade on 16 March 1831. A stowaway, James Thomas, was found on board the following day, so the journey was delayed briefly, and the Dryade eventually sailed through the Heads on 18 March, 1831. I have lost Denis' trail here as I am not yet sure if he made it all the way back to Kerry, or if he decided to stay on in London when the Dryade docked.

So, back to Francis. He also received his Certificate of Freedom in 1830, on 22 March, about a week before his brother.

Francis Keefe's Certificate of Freedom, 1830. Note offence is listed as "coining"

Next he applied for land and a bride. The land was in the Burragorang, not far from his cousin, Philip. The wife came courtesy of the convict transport Princess Royal in the shape of Sarah Clarke, spinner, of Gloucestershire. Francis and Sarah were married in Sydney on 3 June 1830. I can find no record of children from this union. The marriage was not to last. In 1836, Sarah's Ticket of Leave made no mention of Francis, and on her Certificate of Freedom in 1842 she was listed as the wife of Richard Turton per transport Henry.

Francis made another court appearance, this time in Berrima, in October, 1840, charged with receiving stolen goods. He was found not guilty and discharged, but was not so lucky two years later when he appeared in the same court with his cousin, Philip, charged with killing one head of cattle with intent to steal the carcasse. Both men were sentenced to 15 years' transportation to Van Diemans Land. They were held on Cockatoo Island for seventeen months and then put aboard the Louisa bound for Hobart.

In the 1844 indent, Francis described himself as single with no children. When asked about his prior offences he replied

I went to Sydney per Isabella in 1820 for 7 years for being an United Irishman"

Remember, this is the man who had informed on United Irishmen, leading to seizing of rebel arms and of rebels themselves. The year is wrong, but that could be a clerical error in the record, it is recorded as 1823 in the Ross records (along with the United Irishman claim). The huge discrepency in crime, however, has got to come directly from Francis. Last time he was transported, he improved his lot by informing on a mutiny plot. Now he sought again to dress his reputation, at least among the prisoners, by painting himself as an Irish rebel.

On 9 January 1849 Francis received another Ticket of Leave, this time his last one. Ever the chancer, he applied for a Conditional Pardon, but this was refused on 29 July of that year. A recommendation for the Pardon was made by the authorities on 12 February, 1850 and the Conditional Pardon itself was granted on 25 May, 1851. It seems Francis had finally learnt to behave himself, and received six years off his sentence as a result.

At the moment, the last I can find of Francis Keefe is his listing as a steerage passenger aboard the City of Melbourne steamer from Hobart to Melbourne. Where he went from here and how he fared is yet to be uncovered.

Matters of Conviction - Philip Keefe and Margaret Daly, Part 2

So Philip Keefe and his cousin Francis were arrested for "killing cattle with intent to steal the carcase". They appeared in Berrima Court House on 16 September 1842, before Justice Sir William Westbrooke Burton. Burton was a man who applied the law equally, even in respect of race, but he took no excuses from anyone. Margaret meanwhile scraped up what funds she could to employ a lawyer to defend Philip. Not only did she risk losing her husband to goal, but, if he were found guilty, then under the law his lands and property would be confiscated, leaving his family homeless and penniless. There was much at stake.

But it was to no avail. Philip and Francis were found guilty, and were both sentenced to 15 years' transportation to Van Dieman's Land (Tasmania), with 18 months' probation. They were transferred to Darlinghurst Goal in Sydney on 4 October 1842, and from there to Cockatoo Island.

Convicts on Cockatoo Island, pencil and watercolour, 1849 by Phillipe de Vigors. State Library of New South Wales . Note the parti-coloured uniforms and the comment "Canary Birds"

The accommodation at Cockatoo Island was said to be appalling, but the food was generous. Philip was now receiving each day one pound of fresh beef or mutton, twenty ounces of bread, and half a pound of vegetables, 'when procurable'.

Meanwhile, Margaret was fighting for the livelihood of herself and her children. On the way back from Philip's trial in Berrima, Margaret stayed with Timothy Lacy, who wrote to Governor Gipps for her. The letter states that there are eight children under ten and "earnestly implores that she may be permitted to retain the land as their only refuge that can save herself from the Workhouse and the children from the Orphan School". Margaret signed with a cross. Gipps wrote on the letter that he could not intervene, but a clerk gave some hope, advising that it would be best to wait for a report on how the matter stood under law.

Neighbours and relatives helped Margaret and the children manage the land, and no eviction order was forthcoming, so they battled on. I cannot yet find the report referred to by the Clerk, but whatever it was, it eventually brought good news. Margaret was granted, by order of the Governor, the right to retain the land, and the Deeds were eventually made in her name. The family was safe.

On 17 February 1844 Philip and Francis were put aboard the transport Louisa and sailed out of Sydney, bound for Van Dieman's Land. They arrived in Hobart on 1 March 1844 and were assigned to a chained Road Gang, constructing a road from Hobart to Launceston. Philip made it as far as Ross, about 117 km north of Hobart. I don't know when he was admitted to the hospital at Ross, but the prison records state that he "Died at the Hospital Ross, 13th Novr 1845". He was buried on 14 November 1845 in the Church of England section of Ross Cemetery, despite being clearly listed as a Roman Catholic in the prison record book.

Map of Tasmania, showing location of Ross. From Man O' Ross Hotel website. www.manoross.com

Now things with Margaret get a little confused. Having secured her land, Margaret kept the family going, but also continued to have children. Owen casts doubt on the parentage of Cornelius as his information said that Cornelius was born in 1843. However, NSW State records clearly show Cornelius as being born in 1842 (we are so lucky with the records that are now available to us), so he could very easily be a child of Margaret and Philip. However, then there is Michael, born 1845 and Margaret, born 1851. Owen concludes that "the two or three youngest were born out of wedlock to female members of the family and were accepted as the tail-enders of their grandparent's family" (Rabbit Hot, p.316). But there is another explanation. Under NSW law at the time, children born out of wedlock were required to take their mother's name, even if the father was around. Also, children were required to take the name of their mother's husband, even if he wasn't the biological father.

Margaret Keefe, ni Daly, married William "Bill" Large on 2 June 1848 in Campbelltown. He could easily have been the father of Michael. Margaret was 45 when little Margaret was born, but I don't see whose else she could be. The only other girls in the family were Catherine and Ellen. In 1851 Catherine already had her own family and indeed gave birth to a boy that year, and Ellen, at 10 years of age, would have been too young. To further complicate this, I am struggling to find records for little Margaret beyond "Rabbit Hot, Rabbit Cold", so I would love to know where Owen found her. It is one of the few areas where he doesn't explain his source (it could be Picton Court House, as those who were registered were registered there). But, if little Margaret was the daughter of William and Margaret, why was she known as Margaret Keefe and not Margaret Large?

I am unclear what happened to William Large. There is a William Large in NSW BDM who died in Tunut in 1881, well after Margaret died, but there are also reports that Bill predeceased Margaret. Clearly, more work needs to be done, and death certificates ordered. So I will go with what I know. Margaret Large, labourer's wife (implying Bill was still alive), died at Cox's River, Burragorange, 13 June 1877, age 74 years. Parents Patrick Daly and (unknown) Higgins. Cause of death was a) Erysipelas (an infectious skin disease), b) old age. There was no physician present. Buried RC Cemetery Burragorang, William Packenham undertaker, no Minister present. Witnesses R. O'Reilly and James Maxwell, born in Ireland, lived in colony 46 years. Informant, Francis Keefe, her son, of Cox's River.

The family farm was sold, reportedly for far less than its real value, and the bulk of the Keefe children left Burragorang. Catherine remained, living with ex-convict George Pearce.

Matters of Conviction - Philip Keefe and Margaret Daly

Can I just say, here and now, I HATE flu season? I HATE flu season. Done.

It was hard to decide where to start, I have quite a few convicts in my family tree, 26 at last count (don't panic, I am not going to write about them all). In the end, my great great great great grandparents, Philip Keefe and Margaret Daly, were the obvious choices as they naturally lead to a number of others. Convict family groups were not uncommon.

Some of Philip and Margaret's stories (and their relatives) will be drawn from Owen Pearce's "Rabbit Hot, Rabbit Cold", an excellent history of Owen's ancestors and relatives from the Burragorang Valley. Owen was an engaging writer, but more importantly he was a careful one. Events are documented and credit is meticulously given, making this a relatively reliable family history book. If you have family from the Burragorang, even if you are not related to the Pearces, Shoobridges, Kerswells, Kings, Maxwells, Hunts or Keefes, try to find a copy of "Rabbit Hot, Rabbit Cold" for a view of Valley life. Owen also mentioned a lot of Valley people who weren't from these families, so you never know...

If anyone can put me in touch with Owen's family, I'd be really pleased.

Enough of the book review.

Philip Keefe/Keeffe and Margaret Daly/Daley
Philip was born in County Kerry, Ireland, in 1797. There is an alternate birth year of 1799, but that comes from only one source. The other sources back 1797. Owen Pearce says Philip came from a large farming family. In 1820 Philip, Darby and John Mulcahy and  one other were arrested for sheep stealing. Tried at Kerry, they were found guilty and sentenced to seven years' transportation to New South Wales. Although Philip's parents petitioned the Irish Government, asking for leniency, none was forthcoming and Philip left Ireland on 16 June 1821, bound for Sydney via Rio de Janiero. The transport was the John Barry 2, captained by Roger Dobson. Daniel McNamara was the ship's surgeon. For someone who could neither read nor write, letters were to play quite a part in Philip's life, although few of them ever did him any good.

The ship's muster listed Philip's age as 22, giving a calculated birth date of 1799. I can't find other documents that agree with this.

During the voyage, on the night of 18 August 1821 the convicts were unusually rowdy, and a drunk guard discharged his musket "point-blank into the prison" (Rabbit Hot, p309). The prisoners increased their noise (no surprise), the other guards panicked and they also fired their muskets into the prison. It is a miracle that only three prisoners were wounded, and none died, despite two of the three being seriously wounded. The guard who started it was arrested. The John Barry docked in Sydney on 7 November 1821.

On disembarkation, Philip was assigned to the Government, to work in the Rooty Hill area. Government convicts were generally the fittest, those deemed best able to build the colony (often literally). In 1823 he was assigned to a Frederick Murphy and then in February 1824 to John Lacy of Parramatta. In January 1825 Lacey requested permission for Philip to be put in charge of cattle being run on land in the Wollondilly at "a spot known by the native name of Brimmillo". This is in the Lower Burragorang Valley. John Lacy, his family and convict servants were the first European setttlers in the Lower Burragorang, and Philip was amongst them, tending to the dairy herd.

Lacy was happy with Philip's work and wrote to the Colonial Secretary in November 1825 requesting that Philip and three other convicts be granted land adjoining his own (or perhaps he was merely seeking to control more land through his convict servants - personally, I would rather think well of him). Request denied.

1827 Certificate of Freedom for Philip Keefe

1827 and a Certificate of Freedom, which was only granted after correspondence between John Lacy and the Colonial Secretary. Note the year of birth, 1797. After he was freed, Philip applied again for land adjoining Lacy's. Again he was unsuccessful. Lacy continued to employ him, and paid him wages in money and in stock. Money was a bit of a rare commodity at times, so payment in goods was not unusual. Mid 1831, having had his land application turned down, Philip went further up the Burragorang, finally securing three blocks of land (to a total of  170 acres) on the Cox's River. According to Owen Pearce, this land later became part of Strathmore, owned by the McMahon family.

Previously owned by Philip Keefe. Strathmore: Thomas McMahon in foreground with impressive whiskers. About 1903. Photo courtesy of Blue Mountains City Library

More letters. Poor Philip couldn't get the deeds to his land as there was a dispute over which Police Division the land fell into. John Lacy handled the correspondence, but nothing much was decided. Bureaucracy has always had a knack for dragging its feet.

Meanwhile, Philip Keefe got on as well as he could, clearing his land, building fences and a house, farming and running his cows and pigs. He also applied for permission to marry. It took 10 months for permission to be granted, and Margaret Daly, aged 25 years, of the transport Palambam, became Mrs Keefe on 22 December 1831. I don't know if she was assigned or requested, if they had met before they were married and if so how.

Margaret was Irish and Catholic, like Philip, but hailed from County Cork. She had worked as a dairy maid, but was found guilty in 14 August 1830 of stealing clothes. She was sentenced to seven years' transportation and arrived in Sydney on 31 July 1831. Two convicts had died on the voyage.

Initially Margaret was assigned to HC Antill, but I don't know what her duties were. Winter in Australia, while it can be cold, is not like winter in Ireland. Margaret may have thought the weather quite pleasant. But then came summer, and a new husband, and a new home, down in the Burragorang. I often wonder what she thought of it all.

Philip and Margaret had between six and nine children together over the next ten years. I can find records for five, but with the family illiterate and the Valley quite isolated, it is not surprising that some were unregistered. Letters written for Philip and Margaret over the years also state different numbers of children, first nine and then eight. Maybe some died or maybe, as Owen Pearce suggests, counting was a problem. Either way, time marched on and still the matter of the Deeds was not resolved. John Lacy continued to write letters for the family, trying to sort things out (see why I want to think well of him?), but to no avail. Letters were returned, each body claiming to not have responsibility or jurisdiction. Margaret's Certificate of Freedom was granted in 1838, but still the family's fortunes did not change. Instead, they were set to become worse.

Margaret Daly's Certificate of Freedom 1838

In 1841 Philip suffered a severe stroke which left him paralysed down one side and unable to work the farm. With no means of producing food or of gaining income, the family faced starvation. John or possibly Timothy Lacy penned a letter for Philip to Sir George Gipps, Governor of New South Wales and Philip signed said letter with a cross. It laid out the predicament, put forward Philip's desire to sell his land in order to feed his children and begged for "merciful consideration" and the Governor's intervention. Again the Keefes were met with, as Owen Pearce puts it, "red tape and buck passing" (Rabbit Hot, p.312).

However, on 21 February of 1842, George Gipps came good and the land was duly recorded as Philip's. There are two records in the Register of Land Grants and Leases. The first is for 120 acres in Cook "at Black's Hollow near Burragoraang situated on the North side of Cox's River...promised to John Farrell on or before the 31st March 1821 and 10th may 1824... and advertiased at his request in favour of the said Philip Keefe as No.204 in the Government notice dated 7th November 1838 and the Deed now prepared in his name in pursuance thereof" and 50 acres "Being the land promised to William Danley or Danaly on or before the 18th November 1825...on or before 18th November 1825...advertised in favor of the said Philip Keefe at the request of the Promisee as No.203 in the Government notice dated 7th November 1838 and the Deed now prepared in his name in pursuance thereof".

So the land was securely his, yet Philip didn't sell any of it. I don't know if he offered it for sale and found no takers, or if he just held onto the land once he had the Deeds.

And now things get murky. The bald facts are as follows:
In the second half of 1842, Philip and his cousin Francis killed a bullock that had strayed from a neighbour, Joseph Story. They shared the meat and buried hide and head in Philip's paddock behind his house. A local, already under suspicion of cattle duffing, turned in the cousins to the police and personally led the police to where the hide and head were buried.

But it can't be that simple. Philip was paralysed down one side, he was unable to work. How on earth did he help kill a bullock? Francis was a trouble-maker and an inciter to crime (I'll get to him when I can work out just how many Tickets of Leave he was awarded and lost), and he liked to avoid trouble for himself wherever possible. He was also not above shopping others to save his own skin. I suspect it was his idea to bury the evidence on Philip's farm, possibly on the grounds that Philip's family had the more desparate need of the meat, even though he took his share. Did Philip even know where the remains were? And if so, did he object or just go along with it? And what could he have done to stop Francis burying the evidence on his land?

Then there is the question of how the informant knew so much. Had he helped with it all and then seen an opportunity to take some of the heat off himself for his other misdemeanours? Had he been initially instrumental in the bullock "straying" in the first place? Had Francis ticked him off so he took a course of petty revenge?

It probably isn't possible to uncover the truth in all this, but regardless of where the truth lay, it meant harder times for Margaret and the children, and death for Philip.

Part 2 coming up.

Believe as you will

Religion has always been important in our family, and my family history, particularly on Dad's side, is an exercise in the difficult relations between Catholic and Protestant in Australian history. Dad's mum was raised Protestant by her father's sisters, but her mother and the rest of her family were Catholic, and it caused no end of friction and ill-feeling. Mum's family is a different mix. There were a number of Catholic-Protestant marriages (although George Pearce, who remained firmly Protestant throughout his life, was baptised and confirmed in the Catholic faith in the last month of his life, when the fight had gone out of him, so it must have bothered his wife, Catherine Keefe. She also got him to marry her the same day, after about 40 years together). The Kerswells were all members of the Latter Day Saints, both in England and then out here (they arrived in South Australia in 1849). William Kerswell disappeared while moving the family to New South Wales and sent them a letter 35 years later, urging them all to join him in the US, where he had been living with his new wife and family. After the struggle to survive in the intervening years, quite a lot of the family were understandably angry and expressed that anger by leaving the Church, although William's first wife, Hannah Maria ni Rhymes, kept her faith and eventually joined her husband in Utah. The marriage struggled, however, and Hannah died alone in a different town to William Kerswell and his American family.

Anne Groves Leonard and her husband Laurence O'Toole, although both brought up Anglican, became Christadelphians when they moved to Sydney, as did her sister Lucy and her husband George Puzey. Anne's and Lucy's headstones are testaments to their faith.

Women in the family active in religion - the obvious choice is my mother. Mum's beliefs have always been important to her, but she has always taught us the importance of thinking for ourselves and of being flexible. She has tried had to not be judgemental or didactic.

Mum was a missionary in Bangladesh with Dad in the late 1960s and when they came home (because of the Independence war) Dad went into the Baptist ministry, so Mum had to be a pastor's wife. In those days churches could pay what they liked and they pretty much insisted on a two-for-one offer - the minister AND his wife. So Mum took Bible studies and taught Sunday School and ran morning teas. I remember her telling us Bible stories and doing drawings while she spoke to illustrate the action. The funniest thing Mum did was arrange a talk with slides for the local Church women about her time as a missionery. She happily showed them slides of a Hindu temple and only realised part way through that the stone carvings were rather earthy and explicit (she hadn't noticed when she had taken the photos).

Mum never liked being an unpaid worker for Dad's church, and eventually said enough was enough (well, she did have six kids to care for, too), but that is different to having a belief system and living according to a creed. Mum has always done that. She has always been ready to help others, has always been kind and compassionate and has always been willing to share her faith with others, but has never done this where it was not sought or in a way that judges or belittles. She keeps an open mind and takes an interest in the beliefs of others and of other religions.