Susan McClafferty: A Life Cut Short

Irish immigrants on board ship

Susan McClafferty came to Sydney with her brother Michael on board the ship Nile half-way across the world in 1861 to start a new life in Australia. Her sister Mary was already here having come on an earlier ship the Caribou in 1859. Their brother Edward would soon join them. Having buried their parents Charles and Margaret ‘Peggy’, the four young McClaffertys had left poverty stricken Donegal for a better life in a new land. You can read more about the scheme that brought them to Australia here.

On board the Caribou with Mary McClafferty had been the man Susan would soon marry, John Gorman.

Civil marriage certificate of John Gorman and Susan McClafferty

Susan McClafferty and John Gorman were married in Rockhampton on 1 June 1862 by Father Patrick Duhig who had arrived not long before them to commence pastoral duties for the people of Rockhampton and its surrounds. The witnesses were Myles Sweeney and Ann McAllister so it is unlikely that any of Susan’s family was present at the ceremony.

Church marriage certificate of
John Gorman and Susan McClafferty

The first official Catholic mass in Rockhampton was held in May 1862 when Bishop James Quinn of Brisbane sent two young priests on a pastoral visit. Bishop Quinn had arrived in Brisbane as the first Bishop of the city in May 1861. Father James Scully and Father Patrick Duhig arrived in Rockhampton aboard the Clarence and celebrated the first mass in the local Court House with about 50 attendees.

As there was no Catholic church at the time it was customary to marry in someone else’s premises and Susan and John were married in the ‘house of William James’. Of the three couples on the register preceding John and Susan’s entry, two were married in the ‘house of Rev P Duhig’ and one in the home of the groom. In 1859 Mr William James had built the Golden Fleece Hotel on the corner of Quay and William streets where the Heritage Hotel now stands. John gave his occupation as ‘labourer’ on the civil registration but for the Catholic marriage certificate both John and Susan gave their occupations as ‘servant’. Were they living at the Golden Fleece Hotel? Might they have been working for William James?

What attracted this young couple to Rockhampton? What induced them to travel 1,400kms to an unknown place? And how did they get there?

Ships docked at Quay St wharf Rockhampton 1864

The town of Rockhampton was proclaimed in 1858 with the first land sale held on 17 November of that year. The settlement of the Archers had brought a number of graziers to Central Queensland and runs were taken up in all directions. The squatters had a need for supplies and to get their produce to market, and it was quickly recognised that Rockhampton with it easy access to the back country and situated on a large navigable river was a perfect port.

Fitzroy River bridge Rockhampton 1864

In 1859 the colony of Queensland was proclaimed and from the start the people of Rockhampton were convinced that their town should be the capital given that it was centrally located within the state. 1861 saw a surge in development with the discovery of copper and gold on Peak Downs. The population at this stage was 698 of whom 439 were males and 259 females. In 1862 the Queensland Shipping Company, with its steamer Queensland, went into competition with the Australian Steam Navigation Company. The SS Queensland was the first of their ships to arrive in Rockhampton in that year. This led to fares and freight costs being considerably reduced.

There was a need for labour to support the fast growing community. John and his new bride were clearly pioneers ready to take on the challenge of a new frontier, and the steamers their way of getting there.

Susan and John welcomed their first child, a daughter, on 27 March 1863 and in accordance with the traditional Irish naming convention they named her Margaret after Susan’s mother. Margaret was born in Rockhampton and was delivered by Dr Callaghan who had arrived in the town in 1861. Dr Callaghan immediately built a successful practice and was to remain working in Rockhampton for 41 years until his death.

Birth certificate of Margaret Gorman

Margaret was baptised by Fr Charles Murlay, a young French priest, who had arrived in the same year to take care of the newly formed Rockhampton parish to which over 3,000 Irish immigrants came between 1862-1865. The baptism was conducted in the new church dedicated to St Joseph on the spot that would later become St Joseph’s Cathedral. Fr Murlay was a much loved priest who remained in Rockhampton for many years. Susan’s sister Mary was the godmother so it is likely that Mary was already living there.

A drayman

On the birth certificate John gave his occupation as ‘drayman’, a driver of a large flatbed wagon pulled by horses to transport goods and often used for deliveries of ale and beer. From other articles in the newspaper of the time it is likely that he was in the employ of another as a drayman to transport goods to and from the wharf around town or even to and from the goldfields.

By 1865 Susan’s siblings had joined them in Rockhampton and the year brought many joys. Her sister Mary married Frank Chardon in February of that year. Susan’s brother Michael married Catherine Fox in the October with their brother Edward being a witness. How wonderful it must have been to have all of her family around her.

Birth certificate of Mary Gorman

On 23 November 1865 Susan and John were greeted with the birth of their second child, another daughter, whom they named Mary after John’s mother. Mary was delivered in Rockhampton by the same Dr Callaghan. Susan made her mark ‘X’ on the certificate indicating she was still not able to sign her name. John was now a ‘carter’, a general term for a driver of any horse-drawn vehicle for transporting goods, but perhaps indicating that he had his own horse and cart. At any rate he was still making his living transporting goods around town or further afield.

Four days after Mary Gorman was born, Susan’s sister Mary Chardon nee McClafferty gave birth to her first-born Frank. Fr Murlay performed the baptism and Edward McClafferty and Susan were the godparents.

Life seemed to be full of promise in Rockhampton. The next we know of John and Susan is that they are living in Bowral, New South Wales, some 1500 kilometres south of Rockhampton in 1867. John’s sister Mary was now married and living in the neighbouring town of Berrima. On 11 July 1865 Mary had paid a deposit of £8, £4 as the required proportion to be applied towards the passage and £4 as the required proportion to be applied towards the outfit for the voyage, for her sister Margaret to join them in Australia. Margaret should have arrived some time in 1866. So we can only assume that Susan and John travelled south to spend some time with John’s sisters. And in early 1867 Susan and John were expecting their third child.

But then their world was turned upside down as tragedy struck the little family! On 13 December 1867 Susan died in childbirth after a labour of 22 hours leaving a grieving husband with two little girls of 4 and 2. Fortunately John’s sister Mary stepped in to look after the children. Susan is buried along with their baby in the Lower Mittagong Marist Brothers Catholic Cemetery. Church records indicate Susan’s burial although no grave markings are to be found and there is no information available as to the whereabouts of their grave. It is thought that they are buried near the fence with others of that time.

Lower Mittagong Cemetery

Section where it is thought Susan is buried

By the time she was 25 Susan McClafferty had already achieved so much. From poverty in Donegal Ireland she had braved a voyage of many months risking life on the open seas. She travelled half way across the country to start a life in a fledgling town with her new husband-to-be. She had married and together with her husband had created two little girls. With her family around her she had a happy life ahead of her. But that was not to be. Although Susan McClafferty’s life was cut so cruelly short, her name lived on in the next generation with each of her brothers Michael and Edward naming one of their girls after her.

Postscript:

Susan McClafferty is not my ancestor. I am descended from John Gorman and his second wife but that story is for another day.

This story is dedicated to the memory of Sheila Margaret Gorman 1937-2020. Sheila sent me a note circa 1993 ‘I know Susan McClafferty is not our ancestor but I feel I almost know her! S.’ Thank you Sheila for inspiring me to look into this young woman's story. I know what you mean.

I also wish to acknowledge the fine work of Noeleen Margaret Watt 1927-2010, another distant cousin and descendant of Susan McClafferty and John Gorman. Noeleen's excellent book is called ‘Who’s Who? And What’s Watt?’