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Current time in Australia in the States of Victoria
and NSW:
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HOME PAGE |
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(1) A site to do
mainly with the descendants of Henry John Keenan |
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and Nancy Jane
Gamble
of Glenone and Lislea, Northern Ireland.
Site last updated 13 December 2018 |
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NOTES: For details of recent significant additions
to the site, and assorted information appearing on other websites, go to
NEWS. Please use the
Guest Book
to leave your comments, information or
queries for others to read. Also, take a look at the
correspondence page.
Please
email us
if you have any information or photographs which you think should be included on this site. Many thanks to all who have contributed so far.
To
submit information regarding a member or members of the family a form is available
for download by clicking
HERE.
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CHAPTERS
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 The author of this site (Peter Keenan) has an
account on Facebook. |
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- This website contains information about descendants of Henry
Keenan (1808 - 1881) and Mary Ann Gamble ( 18??-18?? ) of
Glenone and Lislea, County Derry, Northern Ireland.
- However, the majority of the information relates to one of their
sons, Henry John Keenan (1842 - 1889) and his wife Nancy Jane Gamble (1844 -
1926), who married in Northern Ireland in 1863 and emigrated to the
east coast of Australia in 1864. As
Batlow, NSW, was the town in which they settled, this line is often
referred to as the Batlow Keenans. Their first son, Australian-born
James Keenan (1864 - 1942), was the author's grandfather. The
inspiration for this website came, initially, from
George Keenan (son of Aaron Keenan, the
second-son), who wrote an article in 1949 headed
"A Pioneer Family of Batlow - The
Keenans".
- Three other sons of Henry (1808 - 1881) emigrated to the West
coast of Australia. They were Stewart, Robert and Aaron.
Through a contact in Western Australia I have discovered - and
included on this website - a considerable amount about these three,
particularly regarding Stewart, who had 9 children.
- Two of the children of Henry (1808 - 1881) remained in Northen
Ireland. They were James (1847 - 1906) and Elizabeth (18?? -
19??). James married Maria Hastings (1846-1937). Through contacts in Northern Ireland and Scotland I
have discovered - and included on this website - a considerable
amount about the family of this James. His sister, Elizabeth (Lizzy)
Keenan, married ..... Kyle, and I've included what little information
I have about her family. Some of James' children
emigrated to the USA and I have included information about that too.
- One of the sons of Henry (1808 - 1881) was named David. He
emigrated to New Zealand, but had no children.
Confused? To see a diagram/family tree
which depicts this overview,
click
HERE.
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The Keenans of Eastern Australia
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Henry and Nancy (Anne) arrived in Eastern Australia in 1864 and eventually settled in
Batlow,
New South Wales.
Map of Australia
Location of Batlow
This branch of the Keenan's is sometimes referred to as the "Batlow Keenans", because Batlow in New South Wales
is where Henry and Nancy (Anne) settled and raised a family.
Eastern Australia means the States of New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland
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Henry John Keenan and
Nancy Jane Keenan (nee Gamble)
The young couple who left Glenone, County Derry, Northern Ireland, in December 1863 and travelled to Australia to
start a new life, first in Maryborough, Queensland, and later in Batlow,
New South Wales. These pages show details of birth, marriage, children and death; and also information about the parents and siblings of Henry John and Nancy Jane. [NOTE: Nancy Jane Keenan was known in
Australia as Anne (or Ann) Jane Keenan, then, after remarrying, was known as Granny Hopson.] Henry and Nancy had 11 children between 1864 and 1885, but sadly only 6 reached adulthood (see First Generation Australians and/or the first part of their
family tree). 1884 was a terrible year
for them, with 3 of their children dying from typhoid
fever and 1 from accidental burning. By that stage Henry was very sick. He was admitted in a very poor condition to the
Gladesville Mental
Hospital in September 1885, and died there on 22 June 1889.
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The journey to Australia aboard "The Prince Consort"
Information about the trip to Australia in 1864 by Henry John and Nancy Jane Keenan. Includes a sketch of the ship, a copy of the entry in
the book referring to Henry John and Nancy Jane, and the address where a fascinating book about the journey may be obtained.
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1949 Batlow Newspaper Article
Details of the arrival in Australia of Henry John and Nancy Jane Keenan, their adventures and the family as it existed in 1949.
Written by George Aaron Robert Keenan of Batlow (1894 - 1981) and appearing in the Tumut and Adelong Times. Also contains some additional notes by me.
the page also
contains a tale about Nancy /Ann Jane Keenan (Granny Hopson) taken from the 1975 book "Batlow: The Growing Years From Gold to Apples".
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1884 Newspaper Articles
About the Typhoid fever which hit Batlow and the family of Henry John and Nancy Jane. Also the burning death of a child and the poor condition of Henry John at that time.
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About Batlow, New South Wales
It was in Batlow that Henry and Nancy settled and raised a family. Many Keenan descendants still live in Batlow and the surrounding area,
but there are also many in other parts of NSW (such as Bombowlee, near Tumut, Engadine) and in Victoria.
This page includes maps, book titles and internet links concerning Batlow, as well as many photographs, most of which were taken in 2008.
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Tragedy - 5/3/1909 Batlow Newspaper Article
In 1909 two young Keenan boys (Eric and Sidney Catherall) were found shot dead in Batlow. Here is a transcript of the first report
which appeared in the local paper, the Tumut and Adelong Times.
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Tragedy - 12/3/1909 Batlow Newspaper Article
This is a detailed report from the Tumut and Adelong Times of the Coronial Inquest into the deaths of Eric and Sidney. It finds the death was accidental. But
elderly relatives interviewed in the 1990s still had their doubts.
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Song to the Pioneers Words to a song about the Batlow Pioneers, including the
Keenans, Mouats, Hides, Quarmbys, Barberies and others. [This link is to a scanned copy of the song as it appeared in a book. To get the words in text that
can be copied and pasted in to a Word document, go to my page about Batlow.]
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The second generation
Information about the second generation (birth, marriages and deaths) and FAMILY TREES. The last member of the second
generation - Dorothy Mary Lovering - passed away in Sydney on 8 October 2008, aged 98 years. On this page there are links which take users to descendants of the second generation (where such information has been supplied).
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Keenan Names
The names of many of the Keenan descendants of Henry John Keenan and Nancy Jane Gamble. From the first generation to
the fourth. More names will be added from time to time. Of course, the current generations are spread out over the east of Australia, but with major concentrations in Batlow and Tumut (NSW), Engadine and other parts of
Sydney (NSW), Shepparton (Vic), Geelong (Vic) and Melbourne (Vic).
Note: In October 2008 there were approximately 560 Keenan names on the Australian electoral role for
New South Wales. Most of these are not descendants of Henry and Nancy/Ann Keenan. But, of course, there would be
descendants or the role who don't have a Keenan surname.
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Photographs
Photos of Keenans in Australia and (courtesy of Jack Harkins) Keenans in Northern Ireland. Also,
of the
ancestral home in Northern Ireland.
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Photo Gallery - the Brian
Keenan collection Photos of Keenans in Australia supplied in June 2008 by Brian Keenan of
Queanbeyan, NSW. (Brian Keenan has also supplied a lot of the
information that appears on this site concerning the descendants of
George Aaron Robert Keenan and Nora Mary Keenan (nee Naughton)).
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- Mrs Anita Beryl Arnold (nee Lovering)
Mrs Anita Arnold, of Engadine, Sydney, NSW - daughter of
Dorothy Lovering (nee Keenan) (1910 - 2008) and grand-daughter of John Keenan (b.1873) - was the catalyst for this
site. Anita, her cousin Robert Keenan and other Keenans in the Engadine area successfully campaigned for a park to be named in honour of their grandfather, John Keenan. For maps showing the location of this park and the location of Engadine, go to the page of
John Keenan b. 1873.
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- The
Keenans of Balgownie, New South Wales
Henry John Keenan (b.1842) had a brother, James (b.1845). James stayed in Northern Ireland where he married Maria Hastings.
[The descendants of James Keenan and Maria Hastings feature very prominently on this
website.] One of their
children, Stewart, came to Australia, married Nellie Preston and had 8 children. Unfortunately I do not have much information about the children of Stewart and Nellie, apart from their names
and a few details of the life of James Keenan (b. April 1909 - August
2006) - see Stewart's page. (For more information about the Northern Ireland family of James, see
the email from Sheila Johnston on 24/9/2008.
Sheila is a descendant of James.)
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Keenan Family Reunions Members
of the Keenan family of Engadine, New South Wales, stage an afternoon
get-together and barbeque in Sydney in October each year. The person
to contact regarding this event is Mr Robert Keenan of Engadine, who has
set up a Facebook page named "Keenan/gamble australia, UK PORTGLENONE, Ohio USA".
For many years the reunions were organised by Mrs Anita Arnold
of Engadine, but in 2013 she wrote to me as follows: " ... This will
probably be the last one I organise as my eyes are failing me and if I
can't see and can't drive, no reunion for me...." From time to time reunions have been attended by family members
from Victoria, Western Australia, Canada and the USA.
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Documents
Various Keenan family documents old and new, plus bits of information appearing in registers.
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- Videos
These present views of places, people and events of interest in Australia and Northern Ireland. (Section commenced March 2010)
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Barry Crocker,
a legendary Australian singer, television performer and actor, appears to be the only showbiz
celebrity in the Keenan family. Barry (b.1935) is a grandson of Mary Keenan, one of Henry and Nancy Keenan's 11 children. Click
HERE for Barry's account of how Mary Keenan came to marry John (Jock) Houston; to see a couple of photos of Barry, to
see him perform "Stairway To Heaven" on television (YouTube), and to see the official transcript of an extensive interview with him on ABC
television in 2006. October 2012: Barry's latest TV work is as co-star of "The Strange Calls" a comedy series on ABC TV.
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Links to relevant web sites A special page for
links to websites in Australia and overseas concerning ancestry and news, including other selected Keenan family
websites in Australia. Note, however, that there are many more links on other pages of this website.
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Keenan and Gamble relatives in Northern Ireland and Scotland
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About Glenone, Inishrush and Portglenone, Northern Ireland
Henry John Keenan was born and lived until departing for Australia in
Glenone. The main village nearby is Portglenone. The township of
Portglenone is beside the Bann River. The main part of the township is in County Antrim, while the rest is on the other side of the
river in County Derry (or Londonderry). Henry lived on the Derry side, in Glenone,
which is near the villages of Lislea, Tamlaght O'Crilly, Clady and Inishrush. Glenone is understood to mean "meadow of two rivers", the rivers being River Bann and the Clady River. This
page of the website contains information, maps and photographs. Henry's wife, Nancy (Anne) Keenan (nee Gamble), was born and raised in Lislea,
which is near Glenone. This page also contains many
LINKS to other websites containing information about the area.
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- Cousins in Northern Ireland and Scotland
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Mary (May) Keenan, (b.1924) lives in Inishrush, near
Portglenone, Northern Ireland (see Photographs). Her home is close to the Glenone farm where the Keenans lived for many years. It is about 45 minute
by car West from Belfast. May is apparently the last of the "Glenone" Keenan's.
The link, for those, like me, who are descendants of Henry John Keenan (b.1842), is
that May Keenan's
grandfather, James Keenan, was Henry John's brother.
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Sheila Johnson (nee Harkins) is May Keenan's niece. Sheila passed away in November 2013. Her husband, Richard,
lives in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland, which is about a 20 minute drive East of Belfast.
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Sheila's brother, Jack Harkins, lives in Findochty, Morayshire, Scotland (see
Photographs). Jack's wife, Mary,
passed away in November 2015. In 2002 I met with Jack at Fingask
Castle (Rait, Perth, Scotland) where he was staying for a work
function.
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I had the pleasure of meeting May, Sheila, Richard and Jack in 2002, and still keep in touch with May and Jack. See the
correspondence page for an informative letter from Sheila on 24/9/2008. Click
HERE for old photos, supplied by Sheila and Jack, of some of the Irish and Scottish Keenans.
In 2002 Sheila and Richard took my wife and I on a trip from Belfast,
along the Antrim Coast to Cushendall (for lunch), then across to
Kilrea, via Ballymoney, and on to Inishrush to meet May Keenan.
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Karen Topping (nee Karen D Keenan) lives in
Largs, North Ayrshire, Scotland. Largs is a popular sea-side town on Scotland's west coast, not far from
Glasgow. In May 2011 Karen
[see photo] and her daughter Katrina visited Melbourne, Australia, and I had the immense pleasure of meeting them. I communicate regularly with Karen on Facebook and via email. Karen has supplied
details of her family tree, which will be incorporated in mine. Karen and her husband,
Richard, own some
holiday apartments in Largs.
In August 2018 I had the huge pleasure of being in Largs for two days,
staying at one of their apartments and seeing some beautiful sites
with Karen.
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I've also been communicating with Hazel Smith and Lynda Palmer (sisters),
who live in Largs, North Ayrshire, Scotland. They are descendants (great-great-grandchildren) of James Keenan and Maria
Hastings of Northern Ireland. In August 2018, while staying in Largs
with Karen Topping, I met up with Hazel and the three of us spent time
chatting over breakfast and sightseeing.
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John Kerr of Coleraine, County Derry, Northern Ireland, is a relative on the Gamble side. My great grandmother, Nancy Jane Gamble (m. Keenan, then m. Hopson) and his grandmother, Elizabeth Gamble (m. Kerr), were sisters. (Nancy Jane Gamble 1844-1926; Elizabeth Gamble 1858-1935.) After writing to one another for a while, I met John in Melbourne in November 2016. He too is a genealogist and has lots of information about the Gambles of Lislea and Kilrea. I will be publishing some of it soon (written November 2016).
In August
2018, I stayed with John and his wife, Carol, for three days. They
were extremely generous, and John took me to see several towns, people
and sites in the area, including the sites of the Gamble and Keenan
homes in Lislea and Glenone.
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- "Johnstone's
Farewell"
A song written
by Robert Johnstone in the 1800's on leaving Portglenone and going to
Melbourne, Australia. This song is published in a 1928 book by
R. M. Sibbett titled "On the Shining Bann - Records of an Ulster
Manor" (ISBN 1-873401-04-3 & ISBN 1-873345-05-4). As
well as providing a transcript of this song, I hope to include on the
same webpage extracts of several observations made by Mr Sibbett
in his wonderful book. Mr Sibbett's book is now (August 2012) available on CD in .pdf format, from the
North of Ireland Family History Society
(www.nifhs.org/publications.htm).
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Ulster Covenant
In 1912 nearly half a million Irish Protestants from Ulster signed an oath, a call to defend Ulster from Home Rule (from an Irish Parliament with responsibility for domestic affairs over all of Ireland). In Ulster resistance to Home Rule had existed for many years, particularly since the first Home Rule bill was introduced in the British parliament in 1886. Many Keenans and Gambles were among the Unionists who signed the 1912 Ulster Covenant. For more information go to this page.
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Keenans relatives in Western Australia
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Before
Henry John and Nancy (Anne) Jane Keenan settled in Batlow, New South Wales,
Henry's brother, Stewart Keenan and his wife, Isabella Gamble
(possible
a sister or cousin of Nancy Jane) migrated to Australia in 1859 and settled in
the south-west of Western Australia. The first page below includes information about the
children of Stewart and Isabella. Also on this page are a
photograph of Stewart and Isabella, recent photographs and a great deal
of information about "Glenbourne Homestead" -
the (heritage listed) house at Margaret River built by Stewart and
Isabella - and links to more information.
See first
The Keenans
of Western Australia and
then the sections below. →
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The late Edward (Ray) Keenan
(d.2004) of Perenjori, Western Australia, transcribed letters sent by Keenans
between America, South Africa, Western Australia and Northern Ireland from 1873 to
1955 . He published these 23 pages in 2003.
Included
are letters from David Keenan of Providence, USA, Grace Catherall
(nee Keenan) who lived for a while in South Africa, and James and
Maria Keenan of NI, Annie Jane McKay (nee Keenan) of NI, Mary Houston (nee Keenan) and many others.
(Thanks to Anne Waghorn
of WA for supplying this material.)
TASK COMPLETED 25/4/2010.
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Book about the
Keenans of WA From 19/12/2007 I will be
publishing a fascinating book written in 1994 by the late Edward (Ray) Keenan of
Western Australia. The original manuscript is 44 pages. This material contains information about all branches of the
Keenan family, but mostly the WA branch. Don't miss it! (Thanks
to Anne Waghorn of WA for supplying this material.)
MORE WAS ADDED ON 10/7/2010
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Edward Keenan Recalls: published
book by Edward Keenan
[Added 21/12/2010] I
have put on this site extracts (about 4,000 words) from a book by Edward
Keenan, "I Shook the Family Tree: the story of an adopted boy."
Published in 2001 - and held in the National Library in Canberra - the
book is essentially about Edward's life and his search for his natural
mother and father (Ruby Carter and Alwyn Parker). However,
there is a considerable amount of information in the stories he tells
about his adopted parents William Stewart Keenan and Eleanor Jane
Keenan (nee Curtis) of WA. [William Keenan named his farm
"Glenone",
the
same name as the farm of his family in Northern Ireland.]
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Link to Keenan
genealogy website
An excellent and easy-to-use website by Gil Hardwick of
Margaret River,
entitled "Pioneer Families of the Lower
South West of Western Australia",
with lots of information which may also by of interest to their Keenan
cousins in eastern Australia (aka "the Batlow branch"). Look
under K in Gil's index.
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