HOCKEY FAMILY HISTORY

NOTES ON THE ORIGINS OF THOMAS HOCKEY OF NEW SOUTH WALES WHO MARRIED MARY FLANAGAN

Thomas Hockey married Mary Flanagan at Shoalhaven, New South Wales, Australia in 1852, and their daughter Eliza (1853-1919) went on to marry James Hockey (1841-1886), a member of the main NSW Hockey tree linked back to the Montacute Hockey line.

Previous researchers have linked this Thomas to the 1815 son of Thomas and Mary Hockey of Montacute, but that Thomas appears to have died in infancy, and was buried at Montacute on 10th July 1815.

Another Thomas Hockey (b.1827 Montacute, again part of the main Montacute Hockey line) emigrated to Melbourne with his parents Tiras and Phoebe in May 1853, but apart from the locational difference, this would not place him in Australia in time for an 1852 marriage. This Thomas's namesake cousin (the son of Absalom and Sarah) may also have emigrated with Tiras and Phoebe, but he was born even later (after 1835), and so has the additional problem of unusual youth for an 1852 marriage.

Beyond these individuals, there are no currently known and suitably aged Thomas Hockeys among the Montacute families, so the question of the origins of the Thomas who married Mary Flanagan must remain somewhat unclear.

NEW DEVELOPMENT

In February 2007, Sylvia Reczek (a descendant of this line) was able to provide the following extracts from Thomas's 1840 Australian immigration papers :

Thomas Hockey, UNMARRIED MALE IMMIGRANT, arrived on the ship Portland . Brought out by [blank]. A native of Monacute – Somerset – son of Thomas a labourer and Mary his wife there. Calling: Agricultural Labourer Age: 22 years in 1840. Person certifying Registry of Baptism } None. Character, and person certifying the same } Isaac Hallet a tanner and others. State of bodily health, strength, and probable usefulness } Very good. Religion: Protestant, Remarks: Neither” [meaning he could neither read nor write]. 

This new evidence clearly establishes Thomas as the son of Thomas Hockey (c.1784-aft 1861) and Mary Witherall of Montacute, and so connects this part of the family into the main Montacute Hockey tree. These pages will be reconfigured at some stage, and the tree expanded to capture this family.

Any information, comments or suggestions related to this project would be welcomed by the coordinator of this page, Ian Hall.

This page was last updated 16 May 2007