Irish Roots of the Australian Clampett Family
Marriage
The first known record of Joseph Henry in Australia is
his marriage certificate when he and Ellen were married Burrowa on 17 June 1864,
the marriage celebrant was Rev Dean J. Hanly. At the time Joseph was a
resident of Young and his occupation was Storekeeper. He was about 36
years old, and Ellen was about 19.
How Joseph and Ellen met is unknown, it seems most likely that they would have met either through Joseph visiting her parents in Burrowa or their using the Manson and Co store in Young which he was probably managing.
In February 1861, Thomas Corcoran commenced a coach service to and from Burrowa and Young via Marengo. It was a two-horse coach that left the Crown Inn, Burrowa every Tuesday & Friday morning, returning around 5.00pm on Thursday and Sunday. In 1862 he had a four horse coach covering the same route. This would have provided an opportunity for relatively safe travel between the towns and it may be that Joseph took the opportunity to meet with other Irish men in Burrowa.[5] It was a long distance to travel by horseback and would probably have been extremely hazardous to travel alone given the amount of bushranger activity in the area.
Joseph and Ellen’s marriage took place in the original St Patrick’s Church, Burrowa. This church was completed in 1858, and was built of rubble stone by Irish stonemasons.[6] As already mentioned there was no resident priest in Burrowa until about 1865 when Father Thomas O’Neill was appointed. Marriages and baptisms were either carried out in other Parishes or couples waited until a priest arrived in the town to solemnise their unions.
The site of the original church is now a heritage protected one and, after years of neglect, there are plans to make the building safe. There are no plans to restore the building.
St Patrick’s Church was a central feature in the lives of the Clampett, Gilhooley, and Hayes and Nowlan families. Indeed the families of Bridget and Mary Ann considered both women to be extremely religious. Here then are some of the milestones of the Burrowa Parish. Fr Brennan of Yass celebrated the first Mass in 1839; in 1853 Dr Polding visited and commissioned a Church and school building.[7]
The foundations of the present St Patrick’s church were laid on 4th June 1874, it was finished in 1877, and the last stained glass windows installed in 1881. The stained glass windows are a notable feature of the Church and are still greatly admired today. They have recently undergone a major restoration. Jeremiah Corcoran donated the Italian marble High Altar early in the 1900s.[8]
The present church is where Joseph, Ellen and their children would have attended Mass. Both Joseph and Ellen, as far as she could, were very active in parish life.
In the 19th century, the formal structures of the church played a critical role in the social and cultural life of the members of its community. For Irish Catholics, displaced and isolated, the church with its familiar rituals, social structure and cultural environment, provided an essential and tangible link to the homeland the majority would never see again but to which they remained emotionally bonded. During the 1870s the Catholic Church in Burrowa provided an example of these phenomena to an extent that was probably unequalled anywhere else in Australia at that time.
How Joseph and Ellen met is unknown, it seems most likely that they would have met either through Joseph visiting her parents in Burrowa or their using the Manson and Co store in Young which he was probably managing.
In February 1861, Thomas Corcoran commenced a coach service to and from Burrowa and Young via Marengo. It was a two-horse coach that left the Crown Inn, Burrowa every Tuesday & Friday morning, returning around 5.00pm on Thursday and Sunday. In 1862 he had a four horse coach covering the same route. This would have provided an opportunity for relatively safe travel between the towns and it may be that Joseph took the opportunity to meet with other Irish men in Burrowa.[5] It was a long distance to travel by horseback and would probably have been extremely hazardous to travel alone given the amount of bushranger activity in the area.
Joseph and Ellen’s marriage took place in the original St Patrick’s Church, Burrowa. This church was completed in 1858, and was built of rubble stone by Irish stonemasons.[6] As already mentioned there was no resident priest in Burrowa until about 1865 when Father Thomas O’Neill was appointed. Marriages and baptisms were either carried out in other Parishes or couples waited until a priest arrived in the town to solemnise their unions.
The site of the original church is now a heritage protected one and, after years of neglect, there are plans to make the building safe. There are no plans to restore the building.
St Patrick’s Church was a central feature in the lives of the Clampett, Gilhooley, and Hayes and Nowlan families. Indeed the families of Bridget and Mary Ann considered both women to be extremely religious. Here then are some of the milestones of the Burrowa Parish. Fr Brennan of Yass celebrated the first Mass in 1839; in 1853 Dr Polding visited and commissioned a Church and school building.[7]
The foundations of the present St Patrick’s church were laid on 4th June 1874, it was finished in 1877, and the last stained glass windows installed in 1881. The stained glass windows are a notable feature of the Church and are still greatly admired today. They have recently undergone a major restoration. Jeremiah Corcoran donated the Italian marble High Altar early in the 1900s.[8]
The present church is where Joseph, Ellen and their children would have attended Mass. Both Joseph and Ellen, as far as she could, were very active in parish life.
In the 19th century, the formal structures of the church played a critical role in the social and cultural life of the members of its community. For Irish Catholics, displaced and isolated, the church with its familiar rituals, social structure and cultural environment, provided an essential and tangible link to the homeland the majority would never see again but to which they remained emotionally bonded. During the 1870s the Catholic Church in Burrowa provided an example of these phenomena to an extent that was probably unequalled anywhere else in Australia at that time.
