Research by: Richard Cowan, descendant from the Isabella Irvine/Andrew John Thomas marriage, with information (especially for the James/Jane line) from Eileen James and from Sandra Stanley's book "The Emery Family" (available at the Kiama Family History Centre). Please email corrections and additions to Richard at rcowan@mail.usyd.edu.au . Most recent update: December, 2007.

Guide to use:

• Birth year and place of registration are shown in red. The residential place at the time of birth may be used instead and, if so, this is shown in green.
• Marriage year and place of registration are shown in purple, with green used for actual places.
• Death information is listed at the bottom of this page.
• Clicking on a spouse's name (if a link is available) takes one to a tree containing that person, where ancestors and siblings are listed.
• Clicking on a "more" link, takes one to descendants of that marriage or person. Absence of "more" indicates lack of research, not extinction of the line (which, if known, is marked).
• Footnotes can be seen by clicking on the numbers within brackets.

Footnotes:

0. When migrating to Australia in 1853 on the ship "Telegraph" with son Charles (jnr) and daughter Mary Jane, Charles stated that his parents were Charles and Catherine Irvine (née Wilson), both deceased. The papers also noted that a son, James, was already in NSW. James had arrived on board the "Wilson" on 7/1/1842. Charles' wife, Mary, died between mid-1841 and 1853 in County Fermanagh (as she was listed as "alive" in James' shipping data). The list of children born to Charles and Mary is incomplete: the 1868 death certificate of Charles says that he was survived by 3 males and 2 female children (with 3 male and 2 female children being dead). Only 3 of these 10 children migrated to Australia, as far as we know.

1. Charles Irvine (jnr) arrived in 1853 with his father. Soon after, he married the widowed Isabella Armstrong (née Emery), thought to have been his cousin (though not confirmed). An 1888 book "The History of New South Wales" mentions Charles and his family travelling to the gold-fields at Araluen (inland from Batemans Bay and just south of Braidwood) in 1858.

The family resettled in Sydney in1868. The first "Sands Directory" citation, in 1871, shows that Charles was a bootmaker at Wyndham Street, Alexandria. Later the family moved to Burren Street, Macdonaldtown.

2. James Emery was the brother of Isabella Armstrong (née Emery). So Charles Irvine, already his brother-in-law, became a double brother-in-law when James married Mary Jane. Similarly, Isabella and Mary Jane were double sisters-in-law. This was James' second marriage. James Emery died in1880, Mary Jane in 1890. The beneficiaries of Mary Jane's will were James' four daughters (his sons not mentioned formally) and one "Mary Cowan", wife of Robert Cowan. The name "Cowan" appears later amongst Isabella's descendants, but no relationship has yet been identified.

3. Little is known of this Charles. He does appear, however, as the informant in 1903 on his mother's death certificate, giving his address as Darlington Road, Darlington. His sister, Isabella, was living at number 2 at this time and mother Isabella died there. Charles may have only been staying with his sister at the time of his mother's death. Incidentally, the certificate lists the 3 living children of Isabella's second marriage -- Robert, Isabella and Charles.

4. Jane was born c1812 to Edward and Margaret Walmsley (née Elliott) at Parish Magherculmoney, Ireland.

5. I have an original letter dated 22/11/1881 from George Arnett to Mr C. Irvine asking for the hand of Mary Jane Irvine. George describes himself in the letter as "Mr. Armstrong's brother-in-law". This is a reference to Christopher H. Armstrong (see note 6) who married Elizabeth I. Arnett. The George/Mary Jane marriage took place in 1882; in the same year, their only child, Emily, was born. Mary Jane died in 1882, presumably in child birth.  Arnett records shows that Emily survived; she was known as Dolly. She married William J. Jeffrey at Moruya in 1904  (this event is not to be confused with the 1899 Moruya marriage of another Emily Arnett, that of Dolly's 28-year-old aunt, Emily Louisa).  Dolly's  father, George Simon Arnett, married Elizabeth Miller in 1885 at Braidwood and they had 17 children.

6. Isabella Irvine's death certificate of 1903 lists her parents as William Emery and Isabella Henry and gives her age as 85 years. Sandra Stanley's book on "The Emery Family" has Isabella's mother as a "Nethery" and places the birth in August, 1819 at Ardess, County Fermanagh. In later research, she has noted "William Emery married Isabella Nethery in St. Mary's Church of Ireland, Ardess, in the parish of Magheraculmoney Co. Fermanagh, on the 4th of January 1810 -- no Town or Townland address or other information was recorded."

Isabella was the fourth oldest of William's children to migrate to Australia -- in all 8 of his children migrated -- so William started his family earlier (about 1812) and finished it later (about 1832). I have some doubt as to how many wives William had -- perhaps two, both called Isabella (a very common name at the time).

To add to the confusion, my grandmother's scratchy handwritten notes say that William married an Isabella Knox. One can perhaps discount this, unless one of William's wives had a prior marriage.

William's daughter, Isabella, married Thomas Armstrong on Nov. 10, 1842 at Parkhill, County Fermanagh, according to Sandra Stanley's book, although a later search Sandra made uncovered the date Feb 17, 1841 -- with Isabella being from Edenclaw and Thomas from Parkhill. After the births of 4 children (the 3rd being the Christopher of note 5), they migrated to Australia in 1852 aboard the "Argyle", disembarking at Moreton Bay but settling in Kiama. Thomas was killed in a farming accident 6 months later on 30/1/1853. A 5th child was born in 1853. In 1855, the widowed Isabella married Charles Irvine.

7. Robert Fenton Irvine was killed in France in 1918. His second son, Eric, was drowned in the Kiama blowhole on 30/9/1928.

8. Robert George Irvine started adult life as a bootmaker. An article in "The History of NSW, 1888" says of Robert that: "Soon after being married he commenced buying property and erected his residence in Lambert Street where he still follows his trade. Mr Irvine is the proprietor of considerable real estate, and is a member of the Macdonaldtown Municipal Council."

9. Elizabeth Ruby Irvine married twice, the second time to a Mr. Johnston.

Charles Irvine (snr): 1868 in Kiama at age 82.
Mary Irvine (née Emery): in the period 1842-1853 in County Fermanagh.

/ James Alexander Irvine: 14/5/1903 at Coolangatta (near Nowra) whither he moved after Jane's death.
\ Jane Irvine (née Walmsley): 25/7/1895, Burrawang
/ Charles Irvine (jnr): 1/9/1885 at Macdonaldtown, buried in Plot 103858, Older Anglican Section, Rookwood Cemetery.
\ Isabella Irvine (née Emery): 18/9/1903 at 2 Darlington Rd, Darlington (home of her daughter, Isabella Thomas). Buried with husband.
/ James Emery: 1880, Kiama
\ Mary Jane Emery (née Irvine): 30/12/1890, Kiama

James Irvine (Rebecca's husband):10/9/1935 at Alstonville, NSW (near Lismore)
Robert George Irvine: 25/5/1929, Macdonaldtown