Margaret NAUGHTEN c1834-1875

Margaret NAUGHTEN is my gg-grandmother.

She was born about 1834 in Bumlin / Strokestown, Co Roscommon, Ireland.  She arrived in Sydney, New South Wales on 15 January 1840 with her family as assisted immigrants on the ship Crusader which had departed Dublin / Kingston, Ireland 20 September 1839.

Margaret married John MURRAY on 29 October 1852 at the Court House in Grafton.  They were married by banns “with the consent of the governor” as John was still classed as a Probationary Convict on a Ticket of Leave.

There are no photographs of Margaret (nee NAUGHTEN) or John MURRAY, nor Margaret’s parents.  Tragically they were all to die in the short space of 3 years:

• Margaret MURRAY nee NAUGHTEN died 8 September 1875 in Armidale
• Mary NAUGHTEN nee HUNT died 12 May 1876 in Armidale [Margaret’s mother]
• Bernard NAUGHTEN died 17 July 1876 in Armidale [Margaret’s father]
• John MURRAY died 12 September 1877 in Armidale [Margaret’s husband]

At least seven of John & Margaret’s children were still alive when they were orphaned in 1877.

Thankfully I have a precious photo of my g-grandmother Ellen MURRAY who not quite 7 years old when her mother died and not quite 9 years old when her father died.  She was about 16 years old when this beautiful photograph was taken.  I don’t remember Ellen as I was just over 6 months old when she died in 1953 so I am eternally grateful for having this photograph of her.

And to spark up the family history research, Ellen MURRAY married Stephen James MURRAY whose family were also from Ireland!