Who is our relative the aboriginal footballer? ...is a question a cousin of mine who is not into genealogy asked in an email yesterday.
I replied that Arthur Henry "Big Artie" Beetson is a second cousin of our mothers who are sisters. My mother's grandmother Harriet Magick is the sister of Artie's grandmother Bridget Ann Magick .
Over the years quite a few of the descendants of Bridget's parents, my convict ancestor James Magick and his wife Bridget Ann Hayward (who was born in the colony), have written asking me if I knew if we had aboriginal ancestry. Various older family members had been told that they had an aboriginal ancestor but no-one has any proof. Aboriginal ancestry was often swept under the carpet in years gone by.
People have written to me:
My theory is that Bridget Ann Hayward's mother was the aboriginal named Biddy Sargeant. Her father Robert Hayward, a convict, fathered a child Sarah Hayward with Biddy in 1834, Bridget was born 4 years earlier in 1830. It has been reported by various family members that the aboriginal line comes from Bridget so that makes me think that Bridget's natural mother was Biddy Sargeant.
It seems that Robert did not hook up with his future wife, Ann Blake, until around 1840. They had a son Robert who was born in 1841 and a daughter, Lenore. Ann Blake is recorded as Bridget's mother on Ann's death certificate but this could have been because Bridget had been living with her father and Ann Blake.
When I worked on this family line many years ago I wasn't too careful about recording sources so my records on this line are patchy. I think it's time to revisit this line and record the sources for some of the information I have.
I am sure, however, that Big Artie is a relation of mine.
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| Arthur Henry Beetson |
Over the years quite a few of the descendants of Bridget's parents, my convict ancestor James Magick and his wife Bridget Ann Hayward (who was born in the colony), have written asking me if I knew if we had aboriginal ancestry. Various older family members had been told that they had an aboriginal ancestor but no-one has any proof. Aboriginal ancestry was often swept under the carpet in years gone by.
People have written to me:
- " I am curious to know if you know of any Aboriginality in the Magick family?"
- *"I have found a Robert Hayward, who had a daughter Sarah, to Biddy Segeant. According to papers I have, Biddy is listed as a native. I thought that the Aboriginal link may have come in here, through Bridgett Ann Haywood, who married James Magick, but it seems to me that Bridgett Ann Hayward has no direct link to Biddy Sergeant"
- *My great aunt, Maggie Hoy who died at age 104 years old, always said that there was Aboriginal ties through the Magicks."
- Can you please comment on this request? Comment re possible aboriginal ancestry of xxx and xxx
My theory is that Bridget Ann Hayward's mother was the aboriginal named Biddy Sargeant. Her father Robert Hayward, a convict, fathered a child Sarah Hayward with Biddy in 1834, Bridget was born 4 years earlier in 1830. It has been reported by various family members that the aboriginal line comes from Bridget so that makes me think that Bridget's natural mother was Biddy Sargeant.
It seems that Robert did not hook up with his future wife, Ann Blake, until around 1840. They had a son Robert who was born in 1841 and a daughter, Lenore. Ann Blake is recorded as Bridget's mother on Ann's death certificate but this could have been because Bridget had been living with her father and Ann Blake.
When I worked on this family line many years ago I wasn't too careful about recording sources so my records on this line are patchy. I think it's time to revisit this line and record the sources for some of the information I have.
I am sure, however, that Big Artie is a relation of mine.
6 comments:
This has given me an idea for a post. What TV personality are you related to? Think of crows!
I'm thinking of crows ?????
Think of In Melbourne Tonight.
A bit late, but I only just caught up on my regular rounds of the geneasphere. Anyway, from memory, some of the Aboriginal Magick's are aware of their genealogical ties to a European side.
My curiousity was spiked when I met Fleur Magick a few years back and she mentioned being related to Artie. She lived out at Orange or Dubbo I think. I was in the Blue Mountains at the time.
Cheers,
John
"Ann Blake is recorded as the mother on Bridget's birth certificate but this could have been because Bridget had been living with her father and Ann Blake."
You are a bit off the rails there, because Bridget ( born about 1830 ) didn't have a birth certificate. Nobody did, before 1856.
Thanks Mich - that was a typo. It was on Ann Blake's death certificate that she was recorded as Bridget's mother. I will correct blog post.
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