Margaret Wogan was born about 1833 in Skryne, Co. Meath, to James and Ann Wogan. By 1849 both parents were dead, and Margaret was in the Dunshaughlin Workhouse. She was one of 16 girls approved for travel to Australia under the Earl Grey Scheme, arriving in Sydney on 21 November 1849 on the ship William and Mary. Margaret was listed as a Roman Catholic farm servant aged 16, who could neither read nor write. She was apprenticed in Bathurst by 27 August 1850, along with nine other girls from the William & Mary.
Aged about 18, Margaret Wogan of White Rock married Hugh Henry of Mount Gwin on 17 February 1851 at St Michael’s Church. Phillip Aailley and Anne Mailley witnessed the ceremony, which was officiated by Fr J.I.McClennnan. All parties made their mark in the register.
Hugh Henry was born about 1807 in Co Longford, to Hugh and Ellenor Henry. He arrived as a convict in August 1825 on the Herry Porcher. A Roman Catholic, aged 19, he was convicted in Longford for stealing money and transported for seven years. He was granted a certificate of freedom in 1832.
Margaret and Hugh had four children:
- Christopher James: b. 20 February 1852; m. Martha E. Bartlet 1872, Young; d. 9 January 1926, Burrangong, Young.
- Catherine: b. 15 October 1853, Bathurst, father a labourer; m. John Armstrong 1873, Young; d. 1875, Young.
- Mary Anne: b. 2 February 1855, Bathurst, father a mechanic; m. James Levett 1875, Young; d. 15 January 1939, Young.
- Margaret: b. 20 June 1856, Macquarie Plains; m. Thomas Debnam 22 December 1875, Young; d. 21 November 1921, Young.
Thomas was the son of Mary Jane Wallace, an orphan from the Earl Grey scheme, who married Thomas Bebnam in Brisbane in 1849. Hugh, a shepherd aged about 60, was found drowned on 24 May 1860 at O’Connell Plains and was buried at O’Connell. The informant was Bathurst Coroner George Busby, who recorded neither Margaret nor the children on the death certificate. It appears that the Henrys had separated and Hugh was working as a servant of Major West and living at West’s residence.
At age 27, Margaret lived with William Fox in 1860 in Yass. William was born about 1812 in Dublin and arrived in Australia in 1826. He died in 1873 in Yass Gaol. Margaret and William had two daughters:
- Eliza Fox aka Gill: b 5 April 1860, Hovell’s Creek near Chain of Ponds; m. an unknown spouse 1877, Young; d. 9 September 1895, Carswell St., Peak Hill.
- Bridget Fox or Gill or Henry: b. 1861, Binalong; m. Frederick Prothero 1879, Cootamundra; d. 27 January 1947.
- At age 33, Margaret married Francis or Martin Gill on 2 February 1866 in Goulburn. Irish-born Martin Gill was a convict exile who had served two years of a seven-year sentence, arriving in November 1849 on the Havering.
He had been tried in Roscommon in April 1847 for larceny. Upon arrival, he was immediately granted a ticket to leave the district of Bathurst. The couple had two children:
- Julia: b. 5 Feb 1865, Milkmans Flat; m. John Harris 1886, Temora; d. 12 December 1943, Young.
- Martin George: b. 1870, Young; m. Eliza Anderson 1891, Young; d. 1956 Muswellbrook. Martin Gill died on 24 September 1899 in Milkmans Creek, Young, and was buried in Young.
After a widowhood of 22 years, Margaret Gill died on 15 March 1924, aged 88, in Temora Road, Young, and was buried in the Roman Catholic cemetery there. The informant was her son, Christopher Henry, also of Young. The family headstone reads:
“ In loving memory of Martin Gill, born Co. Roscommon, Ireland, died 24th Sept 1899, aged 72 years.
“Also Margaret, Wife of the above, died 15th March 1924, aged 88 years”.
Margaret’s obituary reads in part:
…one of the grand old pioneers and a lady who was widely known and respected….She was born in County Meath, Ireland and came to Australia with her parents, at the age of 14 years…. The family came to reside in Chance Gully, Young, at the time of the gold rush in the early sixties…There are a great number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, the fifth generation being alive at the time of her death… she had enjoyed rugged good health….
Source:
‘Fair Delinquents’?
Irish Famine Orphans of Colonial Bathurst and Beyond
By Leonie Glynn Blair & Perry McIntyre.
Linda Waters and her husband with members of Threads of Lore in Navan Library on June
10, 2026. Linda is a descendant of Margaret Wogan.