Where was George Oxley/Hawksley of Shinrone born and when did he die???

O

Oz Faremeister

Well-Known Member
Hi all,

With the assistance of 2 other researchers, I have been on the hunt for the birth and death of my fourth grandfather George Oxley/Hawksley.

We know that George Oxley/Hawksley lived as an adult in Ireland and married there twice. It appears he was born circa 1795-1796, but we don't know where.

George Oxley/Hawksley seems to have had the following siblings, who from other data appear to have been born in Ireland: William Oxley b. 1803-1806, Mary b 1808-1809, Robert Oxley b 1810-1811 and Frances Oxley b.1818-1822. Most of his siblings immigrated to Canada.

Our research suggests that instead of following his siblings, George Oxley/Hawksley remained in Ireland.

Sometime before 1818 George Oxley/Hawksley married Henrietta (Esther) Wallace and they had children: William Oxley bap 18-10-1818, Martha Oxley (sic) bap 10-06-1820, Richard Oxley bap 13-08-1822, Maria Hoxley (sic) bap 7-02-1826, Robert Hawksley b circa 1831 and Henrietta Hawksley ("Esther") b circa 1833.

George Oxley/Hawksley remarried to Margaret Carroll sometime between 1833 and 1837 and they had the following children in Shinrone, Ireland: Eliza Oxler (sic) bap 19-03-1837, Ann Oxley bap 11-08-1839, George Hawksley b. 1-11-1844, Sarah Hawksley b. 1-03-1846.

Many of the children from the two marriages immigrated to either Australia or Canada. From the interconnections between the lives and movements of the two sets of children, they do appear to have had the same father, George Oxley (later Hawksley). Robert went by the name surname Hawksley, as did his younger sister Henrietta and their stepsiblings Ann, George and Sarah. The older children from George's first marriage appear to have used Oxley as their surnames.

Part of the difficulty, is that George Oxley/Hawksley earlier in his life goes by the surname Oxley, but later in life at times uses the surname Hawksley. Some examples:

a) George Hawksley is not listed in the 1821 Ireland census, but George Oxley is in the 1821 census as age 25, a Farmer and Victular, born 1795-1796, living in Fancroft in Seirkieran Parish, Kings County, Ireland. He is head of household and is living with his wife Easter Oxley 26, son William Oxley 2, daughter Martha Oxley 1 and sister Mary Oxley 12 (Mary is a new development that we've not followed up on yet).

b) George Oxley/Hawksley appears to be mentioned a few times in Irish property records. In the 3-02-1843 Irish Valuation Office Books in Shinrone he is initally written as Oxley but that is crossed out and replaced with Hawksley. In the 30-01-1851 3-02-1843 Irish Valuation Office Books he is listed as George Hawksley. In Griffiths Valuation 1851 he is listed in Shinrone as George Hawksley. In each of the 3 cases he is a tennant of George P. Roe.

George Oxley is stated to be leasing a property to several people in Gortcreen, Shinrone, Kings County in the 1851 Griffith's Valuation. George Oxley is also stated to be leasing (occupying) a property in Gortcreen, Shinrone, Kings County from a Joshua Dancer.

c) George Hawksley of Shinrone is mentioned in the Saturday 21-08-1915 edition of The Argus Melbourne newspaper in Victoria, Australia which contained the golden wedding anniversary notice of his son Robert Hawksley which took place on 15-08-1865.

We also know that George Oxley/Hawksley's daughter, Maria Oxley left Shinrone to immigrate to Australia circa 1848, as a farm property in NSW was named "Shinrone" in memory of her origins.

d) George Hawksley is stated to be a Grocer and married to Henrietta Wallace in the 24-11-1853 wedding certificate of their daughter Henrietta Hawksley and her first husband William McIlroy

e) George Hawksley is stated to be a Butcher and married to Esther Wallace in the 6-11-1860 wedding certificate of their daughter Henrietta Hawksley and her second husband John Long

f) George Hawksley is stated to be a Farmer and married to Esther Hawksley in the 16-08-1865 wedding certificate of their son Robert Hawksley and Mary Wilson

That's all and well, and the detailed family history is quite interesting, but the questions we have really found ourselves stuck on are:

1) When and where did George Oxley/Hawksley of Shinrone die?

2) When and where was George Oxley/Hawksley of Shinrone born, and who were his parents? Was he born in Ireland (like his siblings) or since he was born earlier, did he move from England to Ireland as a young child (sometime in the period 1795 to 1803'ish) with his parents?. Was his birth name Oxley (this seems most likely) or was it Hawksley?

As we seem to have hit a brickwall with this difficult puzzle, any assistance in resolving George's origins would be gratefully appreciated.
 
GrannyBarb said:
Quick question: Is there a particular religious affiliation for George?
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I hadn't really thought about that Barb. We have wondered whether the Oxley/Hawksley name switching over time has something to do with the religious tensions in Ireland at that time, as Hawksley is an English name. Family lore has it that part of the spur for some of the siblings to move to Canada was due to those sectarian tensions.

George's children William Oxley, Martha Oxley, Richard Oxley and probably Maria Oxley were baptised in Church of Ireland, Roscrea Parish. We haven't found a baptism record for Robert Hawksley or Henrietta Hawksley. The other children from the 2nd marriage Eliza, Ann Oxley, and Sarah Hawksley were baptised in Shinrone parish but I'll have to check which church denomination and get back to you on that. We haven't found a baptism for their other brother George Hawksley.
 
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Oz Faremeister said:
I hadn't really thought about that Barb. We have wondered whether the Oxley/Hawksley name switching over time has something to do with the religious tensions in Ireland at that time, as Hawksley is an English name. Family lore has it that part of the spur for some of the siblings to move to Canada was due to those sectarian tensions.

George's children William Oxley, Martha Oxley, Richard Oxley and probably Maria Oxley were baptised in Church of Ireland, Roscrea Parish. We haven't found a baptism record for Robert Hawksley or Henrietta Hawksley. The other children from the 2nd marriage Eliza, Ann Oxley, and Sarah Hawksley were baptised in Shinrone parish but I'll have to check which church denomination and get back to you on that. We haven't found a baptism for their other brother George Hawksley.
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Just checked, unfortunately the denomination is not recorded for the baptisms in Shinrone, just that the parish/district was Shinrone and the address was given as Fancraft Park St K. Fancraft was also where George Oxley and his family were recorded to be in the 1821 Irish Census as George Oxley 25, wife Easter Oxley 26, son William Oxley 2, daughter Martha Oxley 1 and sister Mary Oxley12
 
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Oxley? Hawksley?
Unlike us in Oz, them over there drop their h's or add h's where none really exist, or 'Ox' could sound like 'Awx' or vice versa depending where they live.
So Oxley could sound like 'Awksley', add an 'h' and you have Hawksley or vice versa....that's my take on it. ;)
 
Archie's Mum said:
Oxley? Hawksley?
Unlike us in Oz, them over there drop their h's or add h's where none really exist, or 'Ox' could sound like 'Awx' or vice versa depending where they live.
So Oxley could sound like 'Awksley', add an 'h' and you have Hawksley or vice versa....that's my take on it. ;)
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Similarly, I have COWLING in my family - also recorded as COWLIN, COWLAND, COWLAN etc.... Folk back then wrote what they heard. ;)
 
My Dad bought a new car way back when. It was a Ford Falcon but his mother, much to my mothers annoyance :rolleyes: kept calling it a Ford Faulcan. She was of Cornish parentage.
 
Sue, Jan. I hadn't thought of those alternative spelling's but yes, it does add to the difficulty and is part of the reason it took us quite a while to recognise the Oxley baptisms as belonging to members of the same family. I am descended from George's Oxley/Hawksley's son Robert Hawksley, who migrated to Victoria and the family name down his branch has remained as Hawksley since. However, his siblings and his children who had the baptised name Oxley kept it, even after moving away to either Canada or to Australia.
 
I was looking at the valuation records on FamilySearch. They have the location as Shinrone as stated, but also as Suí an Róin, County Offaly, Ireland. In case that helps anyone doing searches on this location.
 
Non-clicky link:
Code: 
https://archive.org/details/earlyhistoryofto00cookuoft/page/398

1823 listing of Town of Birr "and neighborhood"
Cutlers:
Hawksley, John on Connaught Street.

Probably not helpful.
 
There are quite a few mentions of him on various forums. Each state he was born in Nottingham. There is a birth for a George Hawksley father George mother Ann in 1797 in Southwell Nottingham. Also a brother Richard Robert in 1794. I can’t see any other births for these parents in Nottingham.With your mention of a brother Robert born in Ireland some years later I wonder if this could be the family before moving to Ireland. Also with the troubles in Nottingham could they have moved on to Ireland for work as framework knitters. Not sure if the dates of the Nottingham troubles.
Luddites....that’s the word.:rolleyes:
Found him on Family Search.
 
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University of Durham has a search engine that links to pre-1858 probate images on FamilySearch: (non-clicky)
Code: 
http://familyrecords.dur.ac.uk/nei/data/simple.php
Lots of hits for "Oxley." I have no idea if wading through these will point to your lad.
 
Also, with the repetitions of childrens names, Richard, Robert, Ann, George, these last two his possible parents, maybe there is a link.
 
I know in post #1 you have siblings born in Ireland from 1803 but you also say....appear to be born in Ireland.....but George and Ann have now Ann, born Southwell 1804, Joseph 1801, Southwell,Sarah 1809 Southwell. Of course all this could mean absolutely nothing but hey, I like poking around:rolleyes:
 
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Thanks everyone. This is a difficult one. I've previously looked into the John Hawksley (Cutler) of Connaught St as it had initially looked a very promising lead, but in the end it convincingly seemed to be a false lead. I'll have to review it again just to be doubly sure.

Our conclusion of "they appear to be born in Ireland", regarding George's siblings is because a couple of them (William and Robert Oxley) say in the Canadian census records that they were born in Ireland (also stated to be the case in their Canadian death entries). Most of George's siblings appear to be named in a Canadian will of William Oxley

The 29-05-1849 will of William Oxley, Brickmaker of Toronto, Canada doesn't seem to name his wife (only states Widow) but he does identify his daughters as being as Sophia and Maria. nb: the will was written on the day that he died.

In case that his Widow dies and that his daughters died before having heirs, William Oxley's will also names his 2 brothers as being George and Robert and his 2 sisters as being Elizabeth Ann and Frances and that they should share and share alike in the proceeds of the will.

George Oxley's son Richard Oxley/Hawksley, who moved from Ireland to Canada to Australia to Canada and then back to Australia again, contested the 1849 will of his Uncle William Oxley.

I've just realised that I have forgotten to get around to trying to find this Elizabeth Ann, mentioned as a sister in the will. Elizabeth Ann is not a sister in law, as his brother Robert Oxley married Robert Oxley is known to have married Letitia Orr. Perhaps Elizabeth Ann might shed some light on where her brother George Oxley/Hawksley and their parents are from.
 
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I just love those wills that are written the day of death. We have one of those with everyone but the rightful heir standing around the bed and witnessing everything. She got 100 pound and the adopted son got the lot.....he was there of course.:mad:
 
Archie's Mum said:
I just love those wills that are written the day of death. We have one of those with everyone but the rightful heir standing around the bed and witnessing everything. She got 100 pound and the adopted son got the lot.....he was there of course.:mad:
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Yes, I thought it was odd that William Oxley wrote a new will on the day he passed away (he was a fairly successful businessman). It was also odd that he didn't mention his wife by name, but those being the days perhaps it was more legally clear if he simply said his widow. I can't remember why his nephew Richard challenged the will (unsuccessfully I think). Unless there has been a crystal clear case of treachery involved, it's pretty sad when relatives challenge a person's will.
 
Archie's Mum said:
There are quite a few mentions of him on various forums. Each state he was born in Nottingham. There is a birth for a George Hawksley father George mother Ann in 1797 in Southwell Nottingham. Also a brother Richard Robert in 1794. I can’t see any other births for these parents in Nottingham.With your mention of a brother Robert born in Ireland some years later I wonder if this could be the family before moving to Ireland. Also with the troubles in Nottingham could they have moved on to Ireland for work as framework knitters. Not sure if the dates of the Nottingham troubles.
Luddites....that’s the word.:rolleyes:
Found him on Family Search.
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Hi Archie's Mum. We considered George Hawksley, baptised 7-11-1797 at Southwell quite a while back and felt we had to eliminate him on the basis of the following census data, as his geographic location is implausible and his occupation as a Painter is different.
This incorrect George Hawksley is probably in the 1841 census as George Hawksley, 40-44, a Painter, not born in Middlesex and living at North Place, Upper, St Pancras, London & Middlesex, England with Ann Hawksley, 35-39, not born in Middlesex. George's wife is not listed but several people with surnames Bayley and Ingram are listed living there..

This incorrect George Hawksley is probably in the 1851 census as 53, born Southwell, Nottinghamshire, a Widower, a Master Painter living at Upper North Place, St Pancras, London & Middlesex, England with his unmarried sister Ann Hawksley 48, Housekeeper, born Southwell.

This incorrect George Hawksley does not appear to be in the 1861-1881 census but his brother Richard Robert Hawksley lived throughout his life in Southwell and died there in 1873
 
GrannyBarb said:
Non-clicky link:
Code: 
https://archive.org/details/earlyhistoryofto00cookuoft/page/398

1823 listing of Town of Birr "and neighborhood"
Cutlers:
Hawksley, John on Connaught Street.

Probably not helpful.
Click to expand...
Just as an FYI, I've attached my past research looking into the tree of John Hawksley on Connaught St. His set of children are quite different to the known siblings of our George Oxley/Hawksley. So that appears to eliminate that John Hawksley as a contender for George's father. He also probably married a few years after our George was born. It was a shame, as until we found the 1849 will of George's brother William Oxley, this John Hawksley had looked like a good possibility.
 

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