Family History of the Children of Annie O'Rourke (nee Cregan)

Margaret Ann O'Rourke

Margaret Ann O'Rourke (pictured opposite) was born on 11/08/1887 in Coomera. We have a copy of her birth certificate. Margaret grew up on her parents' "Mount Lake" dairy farm in Ramsay. She attended the local Ramsay State School, beginning there, along with her sister Catherine, in 1895.

Margaret lived at the Mount Lake farm until she married William Augustus Duggan on 24/01/1917 at St Patrick's Church (later a cathedral) in Toowoomba. William was a labourer at the time, living in Bony Mountain, 20 kms west of Warwick.

After marrying, Margaret and William moved to Eton Vale, close to Ramsay, where they worked a farm, according to electoral rolls. They remained at Eton Vale for many years and raised a family there. Presumably to retire, Margaret and William moved, in the mid-1950s, to 12 Spencer Street, Harristown, close to Toowoomba. Here they were living next door to their eldest daughter, Margaret, and her husband Bryan Alexander Wrigley.

Margaret and William Duggan had at least four children (one boy and three girls):

• Margaret Veronica, born 31/12/1918 (Qld birth reg. 1919/C/3858)
• Kathleen Anne, born 18/05/1920 (Qld birth reg. 1920/C/7255)
• Geraldine Mary (Mollie), born c.1925
• Timothy William, born 28/12/1928

William Duggan died on 20/01/1958 at the age of 73 and was buried in the Drayton and Toowoomba Cemetery. Margaret Ann Duggan died just six months later on 05/07/1958 and was buried alongside William. Their tombstone is shown opposite.

Catherine O'Rourke

Catherine O'Rourke (pictured opposite) was born on 27/09/1888 in, we think, Coomera. She began school with her sister Margaret in 1895 at the Ramsay State School. In an event that seems to have drastically changed the course of her life, Catherine gave birth to a boy, Vincent Joseph O'Rourke, on 27/02/1911 in Brisbane as a single mother.

The electoral rolls in years 1909 through 1912 show Catherine living in Ramsay, presumably at Mount Lake. However, Catherine apparently left Ramsay around 1912, though we do not know where she went, nor whether she took Vincent with her.

Many years later, on 07/08/1935, Catherine married James Richard Will. They are seen in the wedding photo opposite. During their life together, Catherine and James lived in a number of settlements in the greater Toowoomba region: Bowenville, near Dalby until about 1937, then in Millmerran until the early 1940s, then in Kincora during the 1940s, at a property called "Willwood".

Catherine and James had no children together: Catherine was aged 46 when she married. Also, by the time of Catherine's marriage, her son Vincent was an adult and was living in Nambour. In fact, he himself had married the previous year, on 06/01/1934, to Isabella Maude Glenn.

The information we have on Catherine's life, in the years before her marriage, is sketchy and comes mainly from electoral rolls. In 1934, she was living with her widowed mother, Annie O'Rourke, at 10 Goggs Street, Toowoomba, and was working as a barmaid. In fact, in July 1933, they were reportedly living there when they were visiting Annie's sister Elizabeth O'Rourke (nee Cregan) in Coolangatta. In the decade prior, Catherine worked as a barmaid in various Queensland towns: Brisbane (1925 - 1926), at the Mining Exchange Hotel in Gympie (1928 - 1929), at the Grand Hotel in Gympie (1930), and at the Commercial Hotel in Bundaberg (1931 - 1933), before moving to Toowoomba (years are approximate).

We also think that Vincent O'Rourke was not living with his mother, Catherine, during his school years, but with his aunty and uncle, Margaret Ann and William Augustus Duggan. There are records of his attending school in Bony Mountain in 1920, then in Eton Vale from 1921 onwards, coinciding with the residences of the Duggans.

Catherine Will (nee O'Rourke) died on 09/05/1947 at age 58. She was buried in Pittsworth Cemetery. James Will died two years later on 26/02/1949 and was buried alongside Catherine. Their tombstone is pictured opposite.

Timothy Joseph O'Rourke

Timothy Joseph O'Rourke was born on 16/08/1891 in the Ramsay area. He attended Ramsay State School, beginning there in 1897.

Timothy married Julia Bridget Gill at St Patrick's Church, Toowoomba, on 23/05/1917. Julia was a local Toowoomba girl, previously from the small town of Warra, where her parents lived, 130 kms northwest of Toowoomba. She was no relation to the other Gills in our family tree. Opposite is a wedding photo of Timothy and Julia.

Timothy and Julia O'Rourke had five children (one boy and four girls):

• Kathleen Mary, born 24/12/1917 (Qld birth reg. 1918/C/3109)
• Norah Anastasia (Noreen), born 23/02/1919 (Qld birth reg. 1919/C/3557)
• Veronica Agnes Denise, born 20/04/1922 (Qld birth reg. 1922/C/6558)
• Timothy Joseph (Jnr), born 01/03/1924
• Patricia, born c.1928

We have a photo from the early 1930s of the five children on horseback, and another, from the early 1940s, of the five children with their parents. Each of the five children attended the local Budgee State School.

Timothy and Julia lived all their lives together on a farm in Budgee, close to Ramsay. We think that this farm, which was called "Kenmore", was owned by Timothy's parents, Timothy Snr and Annie O'Rourke, up until the passing of Timothy Snr in 1928.

Julia Bridget O'Rourke died on 17/04/1949. She was buried in the Drayton and Toowoomba Cemetery. Timothy Joseph O'Rourke continued working the Kenmore farm for many years. He died on 01/12/1968 at the age of 77. He was buried alongside his wife, Julia. Their tombstone is shown opposite.

After his father's passing, Timothy Joseph O'Rourke Jnr took over the running of the Kenmore farm until his own death on 10/09/2002.

Ellen Mary Agnes O'Rourke

Ellen Mary Agnes O'Rourke was born on 14/04/1893 in the Ramsay district. She attended Ramsay State School from 1898 to 1904 then went to Preston State School from 1905 onwards.

Ellen married John Charles Erbacher, a local of nearby Hodgson's Vale, on 23/02/1916. In their wedding photo opposite, Ellen is standing, John is seated, and Ellen's brother Timothy Joseph O'Rourke is to her right.

Ellen and John had eleven children (five boys and six girls):

• Agnes Mary, born 19/04/1917 (Qld birth reg. 1917/C/7423)
• Eileen Anastasia, born 15/04/1920 (Qld birth reg. 1920/C/6649)
• Veronica Kathleen, born 28/10/1921 (Qld birth reg. 1921/C/14118)
• Cecilia Margaret, born 03/11/1923
• Teresa Josephine, born 29/10/1925
• Kevin John, born 20/02/1928
• Timothy Vincent, born 1930
• Francis James, born 21/02/1932
• John Peter, born 27/04/1934
• Patricia Helen, born 1936
• Leo Thomas, born 1939

Throughout their lives together, Ellen and John farmed a property in Hodgson's Vale called "Leafmore", which we think John inherited from his parents.

John Erbacher died on 18/06/1946. He was buried in the Drayton and Toowoomba Cemetery. As a widow, Ellen continued to live on and operate the Hodgson's Vale farm with the help of her children. Ellen died on 02/08/1955. She was buried alongside her husband, John. Their tombstone is shown opposite, and below that is Ellen's obituary. We do not know in which newspaper it was published.

A probate notice after John's death gives some details of the Erbacher property "Leafmore" in Hodgson's Vale. We think it was about 550 acres, bounded by Erbacher Road and Hodgson Creek to the west, Savage Road to the south, and Hodgson Vale Road to the east.

More information on the Erbachers can be found in the book The Erbacher Family in Australia, by Graham Freeman and Sandra Crawford, particularly pages 77 - 113.

Agnes Elizabeth O'Rourke

Agnes Elizabeth O'Rourke was born on 04/11/1894 in the Ramsay district. She attended several schools while living at Ramsay: Ramsay State School (1899 - 1903), Cambooya State School (1904 - 1905), and Preston State School (1906 onwards).

Agnes joined the Sisters of Mercy in the mid-1910s as Sister Mary Denise. It appears that, initially, she worked as a teacher at the All Hallows Catholic School in Ann Street, Brisbane. Opposite is a picture of Sister Mary Denise.

About 1920, Sister Mary Denise became a nurse at the Mater Misericordiae Hospital in South Brisbane. She worked the rest of her career there. A number of her cousins on her mother's side would later be nurses at the same hospital, either as nuns or as lay nurses. Sister Mary Denise also saw the deaths at the Mater of two of her cousins, both at relatively young ages: Henrietta Anderson (nee Gill) in 1935, and Elizabeth Ann (Cissy) Maguire (nee O'Rourke) in 1925. A tribute to Sister Mary Denise for her efforts was published by Cissy O'Rourke's family in the Catholic Advocate. Sister Mary Denise is shown opposite on nursing duty at the Mater Hospital.

Agnes Elizabeth O'Rourke (Sister Mary Denise) died in the Mater Private Hospital on 22/02/1973 at age 78. She was buried in Nudgee Cemetery.

John Michael O'Rourke

John Michael O'Rourke (pictured opposite) was born in the Ramsay district on 10/12/1896. He attended the Ramsay State School from 1902 to 1904, then the Preston State School from 1905 onwards.

John enlisted in the AIF in 1915 to fight in WWI. His enlistment form shows him to be a farmer at that time. John returned to Australia in 1919, but we have no information on his whereabouts until 1930, when he was living in Barnesmore, near Ramsay, as a farmer, according to electoral rolls. In fact, on 01/01/1930, John married Elizabeth Mary Harrigan, at St James and Johns Church in nearby Clifton. Opposite is a wedding photo of John and Elizabeth.

John and Elizabeth farmed in Barnesmore for only about five years: they moved a little way south to Greenmount around 1935, where John worked as a labourer. However, they took on farming again in Hirstglen in the late 1940s. They remained there until about 1961, when they retired to a house in Forde Street, Allora.

John O'Rourke died on 29/03/1966. He was buried in the Drayton and Toowoomba Cemetery. His tombstone is pictured opposite. After John's death, Elizabeth continued to live in Forde Street. Elizabeth died on 18/06/1973. She was buried in the Allora Cemetery.

We know that John and Elizabeth O'Rourke had children, but we have no clear information on names or numbers.

James Peter O'Rourke

James Peter O'Rourke was born on 07/09/1898 in the Ramsay district. He attended Ramsay State School in 1904 and then Preston State School from 1905 onwards.

James married Ethel Maud Hamill on 02/03/1935. Opposite is a wedding photo of James and Ethel. Together, they had, we think, two children, both boys:

• James Robert, born c.1936
• Brian Vincent, born c.1937

Opposite is a photo of James and Ethel with their two boys.

James O'Rourke (Snr) worked as a farmer, both before and after his marriage. He and Ethel lived their lives together on a farm in Hodgson's Vale. James died on 06/09/1959. He was buried in the Drayton and Toowoomba Cemetery.

Ethel remained on the farm at Hodgson's Vale for about twelve more years. She then moved to Bunkers Hill Road, Westbrook, on the southwestern outskirts of Toowoomba. Her son Brian lived with her in the years after James's death.

Ethel O'Rourke died on 18/01/1992. She was buried alongside James in the Drayton and Toowoomba Cemetery. Their tombstone is pictured opposite.

Lucy Bridget O'Rourke

Lucy Bridget O'Rourke was born on 31/07/1900 in the Ramsay district. She attended Preston State School, beginning there in 1906.

Lucy married George Francis Jarrett on 19/11/1924. Opposite is a wedding photo of Lucy and George, and below that are twin photos of George and Lucy. Together, they had twelve children (seven boys and five girls):

• Mary Theresa, born 01/12/1925
• Joan Dorothy, born 19/03/1927
• Raymond Francis, born 21/06/1928
• Vincent Timothy
• Leonard Joseph, born 30/09/1930
• (George) Leo, born 25/08/1932
• Walter Anthony, born 11/01/1934
• Monica Agnes
• Bernard James, born 24/05/1936
• Olive Cecilia, born 20/11/1937
• Patricia Ann, born 24/10/1939
• Kevin John, born c.1940

Opposite are three Jarrett family photos. The name of each child is not strictly known, but some can be determined by their apparent ages. Unfortunately, the fourth child, Vincent Timothy Jarrett, died as an infant, on 02/10/1929. He was buried in Nambour General Cemetery.

After their marriage in 1924, Lucy and George moved to Maroochydore, where they lived for about five years. They then moved to Lamington Terrace, Nambour. Around 1940, they moved to Brisbane: firstly to 130 Butterfield Street, Herston, where George ran a store, but soon after to 184 Brisbane Street, Bulimba.

Lucy Jarrett died on 31/01/1957. She was buried in the Hemmant Cemetery and Crematorium. George subsequently married Alvina Lavel and they continued living in the Brisbane Street house. Several years later, on 12/08/1962, George Jarrett died. He, too, was buried in the Hemmant Cemetery and Crematorium.

In their adult lives, nearly all of the Jarrett children lived in various suburbs of Brisbane. In particular, Joan Dorothy Jarrett became a nun, Sister Mary de Lourdes, with the Sisters of Mercy in Brisbane.

Veronica Alice O'Rourke

Veronica Alice O'Rourke was born on 02/09/1901 in the Ramsay district. She is pictured opposite, standing beside her sister Lucy.

Veronica attended Preston State School, beginning there in 1907. The O'Rourke children walked to and from school each day, a distance of three and a half miles each way. This she explained in a letter to the Catholic Advocate in 1915, when she was still a school pupil.

In 1925, Veronica was still living at her parents' Mount Lake farm, but soon after that moved into the nursing profession, specialising in midwifery. In her father's obituary, in 1928, she was said to be living in Sydney. We think that she did her general nursing training at the Royal South Sydney Hospital in Joynton Avenue, Zetland, during the years 1925 to 1929. Electoral rolls indicate that Veronica lived at the hospital in those years, although her entry in the Register of Nurses shows an address of "c.o. Mrs J. Evans, Cleland St, Mascot" - Mrs P. Evans, born Margaret Pearl O'Rourke, was Veronica's cousin (in fact, double cousin).

We do not know what Veronica did in the early 1930s, but by 1935 she was in Tasmania, working as a sister at the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Hobart. She remained there for about two years.

In 1937, Veronica moved to nearby 131 King Street, Sandy Bay, opening the new Tandara Private Hospital as matron.

Veronica was still single at this time, but she was involved in an affair around 1940 with a married man, Victor Augustus Rubenach. Victor's wife consequently went to court to divorce him that year. There were two children from the marriage, one of which was born at Queen Alexandra Hospital with Veronica as the midwife!

Veronica and the newly-divorced Victor were married by 1943. The following year, Veronica was living in or close by the St Stephens Maternity Hospital at 105a Davey Street, Sandy Bay, so it seems that she had moved from the Tandara Private Hospital then. However, the St Stephens hospital closed operations in late 1944. We are unsure of what nursing Veronica did for the next several years.

Victor Rubenach died on 13/04/1950. Veronica and Victor had no children together, so Veronica was once again alone. She soon moved from Hobart to Melbourne: she worked as the matron at the Carbethon Private Hospital (now known as the Malvern Private Hospital) at 5 Wilton Vale Crescent, Malvern East.

Veronica married Roy Shenton Gordon in 1955 (Vic. marriage reg. 8769/1955). That year, according to an Incoming Passenger Log, Veronica and Roy went to the UK, reportedly to live at the Regent Palace Hotel in Glasshouse Street, London, and to stay for eight months.

Veronica and Roy did return to Melbourne, living at 1765 Malvern Road, Glen Iris, in the 1960s, with Veronica once again working in nursing, at least for the early part of that decade.

Roy Gordon died on 06/06/1964. Veronica continued to live in their Glen Iris home. She and Roy did not have any children together. Veronica died on 12/08/1972 at the age of 70. Despite her many years away from her home town, a strong tie to it evidently remained, for she was buried in the Toowoomba Garden of Remembrance. The second photo opposite shows three of the O'Rourke ladies together: Lucy, apparently in a hospital bed, flanked by her two nurse sisters, Veronica and Agnes.

George Patrick O'Rourke

George Patrick O'Rourke was born on 10/10/1903 in the Ramsay district. He attended Preston State School, beginning there in 1909. George is pictured opposite, beside his sister Lucy.

George married Edna Frances Reis on 27/11/1929 at the Holy Name Church, Toowoomba. Up until his marriage, George had been living and working on his parents' Mount Lake dairy farm.

In fact, George and Edna lived at Mount Lake after their marriage, also. With the death of George's father, Timothy O'Rourke, in the year before (1928), perhaps family circumstances meant that George was best placed among his siblings to take over the running of Mount Lake. However, George's younger brother William Joseph O'Rourke also lived and worked on Mount Lake up until the mid-1940s.

It turns out that George and Edna remained at Mount Lake for another three decades, eventually leaving it around 1960 to live in nearby Cambooya. In about 1970, George and Edna retired from farming and moved to 115 Anzac Avenue, Toowoomba.

George O'Rourke died on 15/01/1978. He was buried in the Toowoomba Garden of Remembrance. Edna O'Rourke lived on for many more years. In 1990, she still lived in Anzac Avenue. Edna died on 05/07/2005. She was buried alongside George.

George and Edna had three children that we know of (two boys and one girl):

• Timothy Richard, born 24/11/1930
• Joan Catherine
• Leonard Martin

We do not know what became of the Mount Lake property when George and Edna O'Rourke left it around 1960. We have no information of any other O'Rourke family members living there after that time.

William Joseph O'Rourke

William Joseph O'Rourke was born on 26/11/1905 in the Ramsay district. He attended Preston State School, beginning there in 1910. He is pictured opposite, firstly as a young man, possibly at Mount Lake, and secondly as an older man.

William married Agnes Irene Sehestedt on 26/09/1934. Before and after his marriage, William, along with his brother George O'Rourke, worked on his parents' Mount Lake dairy farm.

It is unclear exactly when William and Agnes left Mount Lake, but, from electoral rolls, it appears to have been in the late 1940s. They are shown as living in Felton, near Cambooya, in 1949. There, William still was working as a farmer.

Around 1950, William and Agnes moved to 43 Stephen Street, Toowoomba, where William worked as a milk vendor.

In 1954, William and Agnes moved again, to the small town of Wyreema, with William again a farmer. They stayed until about 1964, when they returned to Toowoomba, this time living at 10 Roessler Street. William O'Rourke died on 14/06/1968, aged 62. He was buried in the Toowoomba Garden of Remembrance.

Agnes died on 12/07/1991, having moved in the late 1980s from Roessler Street to the Eventide aged care home in Beaconsfield Terrace, Brighton, in Brisbane's north. She was buried alongside William in the Toowoomba Garden of Remembrance.

We know of only one child that William and Agnes had: William Lawrence O'Rourke, born 23/06/1935.

Denis Vincent O'Rourke

Denis Vincent O'Rourke, the youngest of the O'Rourke children, was born on 08/11/1907 in the Ramsay district. He attended Preston State School, beginning there in 1912.

Denis married Mary Purcell on 17/01/1936 at St Patrick's Cathedral, Toowoomba.

From year 1930 to 1937, Denis worked as a farmer in Barnesmore. In 1937, he and wife Mary moved to another farm nearby in Withcott.

Denis enlisted in the army in December 1941 to fight in WWII. Opposite is Denis's enlistment photo.

Denis was discharged from the army in December 1944. Instead of resuming his farming, he moved with Mary to Cambooya and became a fettler. They lived there for many years.

Mary O'Rourke died on 12/04/1958, aged just 45 years. She was buried in the Drayton and Toowoomba Cemetery. We have a photo of her tombstone.

Denis continued living in Cambooya, and worked as a fettler until about 1968, when he retired and moved to Toowoomba. Firstly, he lived at 33 Brook Street. A year later, he moved to West Street in South Toowoomba, and finally to 241 Campbell Street in about 1970.

Denis O'Rourke died on 12/05/1976 at age 68. He was buried alongside Mary in the Drayton and Toowoomba Cemetery.

We have incomplete information on the children that Denis and Mary had. Sadly, in the late 1930s, they had two children die very young: Maureen O'Rourke died on 26/09/1936, aged just 1 day (Qld death reg. 1936/C/4647); and Terence O'Rourke died on 05/06/1937 at just 3 hours old (Qld death reg. 1937/C/3595). Both babies were buried in the Drayton and Toowoomba Cemetery. We have no information on other children that Denis and Mary had.

O'Rourke Family Photographs

We finish with some family photos of the O'Rourke siblings.

The first two are from the WWII era: Denis is in army uniform in each, though he appears differently in each of them, as does William, so the photos, seemingly, were taken on different days. The setting for each photo looks to be a farm property owned by one of the siblings at the time.

The third photo is one from our main Cregan-Gill Family History page, with Annie and Timothy O'Rourke surrounded by eleven of their children, c.1916.