William King was born in Baltimore, USA around 1816. His
parents may have been Vince and Phebe, but this has not been verified.
Most likely he arrived in Australia in the late 1830s. His
marriage to Catherine Kiely (Reilly) in St Peter and Paul’s Church in Goulburn
(Presbyterian) on 5 December 1840 is the first hard evidence of his presence in
Australia. Catherine’s family owned a brick making business in Goulburn and, as
William was a brick layer, they may have met through the business.
As a child I was told that Grandfather King built the
Goulburn gaol, but it seems more likely that he was one of the bricklayers
employed in the endeavour. Some years back I dropped into the Goulburn
Historical Society and was told there have been three gaols in the city.
Likely, the building involved was the one proclaimed
in 1847.
Catherine (in the records there are different spellings of
her surname) was born in Kilkenny, Ireland, in 1824 to John and Bridget. She
appears to be the youngest of three children, the others being John and Bridget.
They are thought to have arrived in Australia around 1838 and immediately
settled in the Goulburn district.
After their marriage William and Catherine remained in and
around the Goulburn area. They had 10 children over a 20 year period. The
eldest, John L. King was probably born in 1841, but there is little information
about him. Austin, the second child became the major branch of the family tree.
They moved to Tuena, an hour West of Goulburn, in the early
1860s and it was here that Catherine died at the age of 39. She is buried in
the Goulburn General Cemetery.
William did not marry after Catherine’s death, which was
unusual for the time. His elder children returned home to help care for their
younger siblings. William died in 1902 at the age of 86.
Their seventh child, Ema, was born on 3 December 1853. In
1879, at the age of 26, she married James Casey, with whom she had two children,
one of whom died young. James died in January 1883.
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| Ema King |
The following year she married Thomas Causley. Following
their marriage, according to my source, they moved to Monaro where Thomas was
engaged in sheep farming. After selling up they moved to Cooma where they
bought a store, and from there to Sydney.
Now there is more to the story than that. My Grandmother,
Eva Skinner, nee Causley, lived for a while in the original Adaminaby which is
now covered by Lake Eucumbene. Nana and her sister, Aunty Maud, used to recall
how it got so cold there in winter the milk would freeze in the jug on the
table overnight. They also lived in Kiama on the NSW South Coast.
According to the oral family history, Thomas Causley bought
and sold hotels. According to the ‘Monaro, Mercury, and Cooma and Bombala
Advertiser’ of Saturday 26 June 1886, the Cooma Licensing Court renewed the
license of the Kiandra Hotel in the name of Thomas Causley. Then, on 24
December 1909, as recorded in the ‘Adelong and Tumut Express and Tumbarumba
Post’ the Special Licensing Court granted Thomas Causley was granted a licence
for the Yarrangobilly Hotel. While one of both of these may not be my Great-Great
Grandfather they fit with the family history.
Thomas and Emma had five daughters; Ada, Emily, Essie, Eva
and Maud; and one son whose name I do not have and may have died young. The
three eldest were born deaf, dumb and blind, or at least with some combination
of these three disabilities. I remember my Grandmother, Eva, and her sister
Maud often communicating with each other using their fingers in the way they
would have communicated with their sisters.
As a young woman Eva moved to Harwood Island to work for her
Uncle Samuel Causley and his wife. It was while working here that she met my
Grandfather, Henry Skinner. They were married in 1916.
Following the death of Thomas, Emma and Aunty Maud – who
remained single – came to visit Nana and Pa Skinner. They never left. Mum tells
the following story.
One day Henry asked Eva ‘Did you invite your Mother and Maud
to stay?’
‘No’ answered Eva. ‘I thought you did.’
So much for family communication.
