Irish Roots of the Australian Clampett Family
Another Joseph Clampett from Co Limerick
Another family of Clampett’s arrived in Melbourne
in 1850, who were from Kilrush Co. Clare and had close family links to Co.
Limerick. Their names were Samuel and Mary Clampett and daughter,
Catherine (Kate Mary). Samuel and his family settled in Geelong, Victoria
where he ran a successful glazing and painting business. In 1863,
Samuel’s nephew, Joseph Clampett (Joseph Francis) arrived in
Melbourne. Another native of Limerick, he was a Franciscan priest - his
story is the subject of Muriel Clampett’s book, which follows his life
upon leaving the Catholic priesthood through marriage, family life, a ministry
in the Anglican Church, and to his deathbed return to Catholicism.
This is the Joseph Francis mentioned above who was born in 1826, he was the son of James and Honora Clampett. He left Ireland on 8 October 1862 on the ship ‘Marco Polo’ and landed in Melbourne in January 1863. Joseph Francis eventually married his cousin, Catherine, left the Catholic priesthood and became an Anglican clergyman. The two Josephs may have been related but there is no documentation to prove this. Joseph Francis worked as an Anglican minister in the NSW areas of Binda, Crookwell, Fullerton, Taralga and Goulburn before taking his ministry to Victoria and ultimately, Tasmania. However, there is no reference to Joseph Henry Clampett of Burrowa in Scattered Light and there is no evidence that the two Josephs met whilst they lived in relatively close proximity to each other.
No record has been found of the arrival in Australia of Joseph Henry Clampett his son gave an approximate time of residence in Australia but it is unreliable as Joseph was very secretive about his past life, indeed he destroyed all written records before his death even down to his bank books.
He may have been drawn to the goldfields in the late 1850s early 1860s, maybe to try his hand at gold mining but eventually to run drapery stores serving the miners and their families.
This is the Joseph Francis mentioned above who was born in 1826, he was the son of James and Honora Clampett. He left Ireland on 8 October 1862 on the ship ‘Marco Polo’ and landed in Melbourne in January 1863. Joseph Francis eventually married his cousin, Catherine, left the Catholic priesthood and became an Anglican clergyman. The two Josephs may have been related but there is no documentation to prove this. Joseph Francis worked as an Anglican minister in the NSW areas of Binda, Crookwell, Fullerton, Taralga and Goulburn before taking his ministry to Victoria and ultimately, Tasmania. However, there is no reference to Joseph Henry Clampett of Burrowa in Scattered Light and there is no evidence that the two Josephs met whilst they lived in relatively close proximity to each other.
No record has been found of the arrival in Australia of Joseph Henry Clampett his son gave an approximate time of residence in Australia but it is unreliable as Joseph was very secretive about his past life, indeed he destroyed all written records before his death even down to his bank books.
He may have been drawn to the goldfields in the late 1850s early 1860s, maybe to try his hand at gold mining but eventually to run drapery stores serving the miners and their families.
