Richard McArthur Burke Part 1

Richard McArthur Burke was born in Windsor Place, Edenderry on 6 May 1865, the first son of Rev William John Burke and his wife Emily. He was named after his maternal grandfather Richard McArthur, keeping the McArthur name alive for another generation. A cruel twist of fate, just like the man he was named after, Richard did not have a long life.

A ruin of an old school in Edenderry , that Emily's brothers may have attended

A ruin of an old school in Edenderry , that Emily’s brothers may have attended

As little can be told of the young Burke’s early childhood it can only be guessed at that they may have attended a local primary school before being sent off to complete their education at about ten. Richard and their youngest brother John Jasper would have being sent to an Irish Clergy Son’s School. There was a number of them around the country at the time, chances are they may have attended the one in Lucan, Dublin, as it took in sons of the clergy with limited means, such as their father.

Richard’s old school still stands and is better known as the Lucan Spa Inn. Read more about it’s colourful history:
http://www.lucanspahotel.ie/history.html

 

 

Miriam Sophia Burke 3

Partings

In 1888 Miriam Burke departed for Australia. She travelled unassisted, meaning that she paid her own fare, and was not claimed out by relatives or any organisation. Miriam may have qualified as governess or school teacher and immigrated to Australia to work in those professions.

DSCF0503

Richard Maynard Burke was six months dead when Miriam boarded the S.S. Salier in November 1888. Now only Emily and her youngest brother John Jasper remained. John Jasper would join Miriam in the near future leaving Emily alone in Ireland.

On December 22, a few days before Christmas Miriam disembarked at Adelaide in the State of Victoria. The passenger list contained the following record:

First Name: M S
Last Name: Burke
Age: 25
Est. Birth Year: 1863
Month Of Arrival: Dec
Year: 1888
Ship Name: Salier
State: Victoria

Thankfully it was overall a pleasant voyage for Miss Burke, who appeared to be traveling alone, according to the Captain’s log; Due provision was made   for the comfort and well-being of the passengers, and  as the weather generally was fine, and in the tropical   latitudes endurable, the voyage altogether was of a pleasant character. Captain Thalenhorst and his  officers, and the purser (Mr. H. Ahiers), were considerate in all that concerned the welfare of the people on board.

The Australia of the 1880’s was a far cry from what it is today, a relatively rich land, a tropical climate and good employment opportunities, a far cry from what Miriam would have found on arrival. The cities may have been modern for the time but the outback would have been harsh and tough on an Irish constitution better adapted to cool more temperate weather. Somehow she adapted well and lived out her days there till she died in 1941 at the age of 78.

Sources
Category: Immigration & Travel  Record collection: Passenger lists  Collections from: Australia & New Zealand Ancestry.com. Retrieved 26/04/2014
“THE S.S. SALIER.” The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957) 24 Dec 1888: 7. Web. 29 Oct2013 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article6913912>.retrieved 26/04/2014
findmypast.ie/record?id=anz%2fbmd%2fnsw%2fd%2f0005199089

Miriam Sophia Burke

 

Sisters

Little girls born around the time of Emily and Miriam

Little girls born around the time of Emily and Miriam

Burke- June 14, at 54, Blessington-street, in this city, the wife of Rev. Wm. John Burke, Incumbent of Castlejordan, diocese of Meath, of a daughter.

16 June 1863 – Dublin Evening Mail – Dublin, Dublin, Republic of Ireland. P 1
Miriam Sophia Burke was the first born of Rev and Mrs Burke. Born in 1863 she was Emily’s only sister and four years her senior. Being the only girls the sisters may have been close as children, as it turned out the burke sisters were they only two to survive beyond 25 years.

Both girls attended a Clergy Daughter’s School in Dublin. These schools educated young ladies very well, making it possible for them to earn an independent living, this became necessary as their parents died in 1883 when they were 20 and 16 years old. These schools were homes away from home, giving some security to the Burke sisters who found themselves alone in the world at an early age.

Sources:
http://catnipstudiocollage.blogspot.ie/2010/10/free-vintage-clip-art-victorian-sisters_12.html
16 June 1863 – Dublin Evening Mail – Dublin, Dublin, Republic of Ireland. P 1
Ní Dheirg, Íosold. Emily M. Weddall: Bunaitheoir Scoil Acla. Beann Éadair, Baile Átha Cliath: Coiscéim, 2010.

 

Emily’s Family

All in all Emily Weddall had eleven siblings. Seven step-siblings, and a half brother from her father’s first marriage.  She also had an older sister and two brothers. Her step family as well as her half brother were more than twenty years older than her. It is possible that she did not know her father’s first family very well if at all.

Emily certainly came from a large family, however by the time she was in her early twenties few of them were around in fact only her older sister Miriam was still alive.

Castlejordan

Castlejordan in the time of Rev  W. J. Burke

Bell tower ofCastlejordan Church in 2015

Bell tower ofCastlejordan Church in 2015

Castlejordan Parish, Co Meath is situated on the river Boyne, and surrounded by bogland. The church was built in 1826, at the same time William John Burke was training to become a Catholic priest at Maynooth.

There was no glebe house nearby, so that would explain why Emily’s family lived in Edenderry, about six or seven miles away. Rev Burke would have to commute to his church, which could have taken an hour or more by horse and cart.

Ironically Rev Burke’s new church was built on the site of a former Catholic church. Rev Arthur Cogan’s History of the Diocese of County Meath -Castlejordan tells;

The old church was updated and succeeded by a Protestant one. Kilkeeran Church was closed down and an ash tree stands where the altar stood.

 

view fro bell tower ruin

View fro bell tower ruin

An ash tree stands outside the ruin today.

Sources

Dr Beryle F. E. Moore, Servey on Castlejordan 1976

History of the diocese of Meath-Castlejordan. by Rev Arthur Cogan