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From: Courtney Pedersen <>
Subject: Pilliga mysteries - BLAYNEY, BERRY
Date: Thu, 09 Sep 2004 10:11:34 +1000


Hello everyone, how good to see this list buzzing!

I am hoping that people might be able to offer some advice to an interstate
lister with 2 burning Pilliga mysteries... Any suggestions about how to
proceed MUCH appreciated!

1. Abducted boy - Old Gunnedah Road, Narrabri

In 1868 my GGG Aunt Sarah BLAYNEY gave birth to a boy, Robert, out of
wedlock. A gentleman at the Narrabri Family History group passed on a local
story that Sarah had been abandoned by her English fiancé after she fell
pregnant. Some time around 1871 the Englishman's family reputedly sent an
agent who abducted the boy from his grandparent's front yard...

Question: Would an event like this have been reported in the local paper?
Or have been dealt with by the local police?
Or would it have been seen as a 'private family matter'?

2. Missing Henry BERRY

In 1857 my other GGG Aunt Catherine BLAYNEY married a Henry Joseph BERRY
from London, of various occupations. In the following years they had 3
children (in Gunnedah, Tipperena and Narrabri), 2 of which died (in Terry
Hie Hie and 'Conara'). In 1871 Catherine reappears in Roma QLD as a
housekeeper, calling herself a widow, with her one remaining child. HOWEVER,
I have not been able to find any death details for Henry BERRY, between the
conception of their last child and 1871 in either NSW or QLD. I have found
various marriage listings in NSW for a Henry Berry (in Mudgee for
instance)...

Is it likely that Catherine and Henry just went their separate ways?
If Henry abandoned Catherine, was possible remarriage her only chance?
Could Henry's death be hiding in some way?

The happy ending is that Catherine married a well-off Anglo-Irishman William
St John HARDING (later a MLA in Qld Parliament), and became a substantial
property owner in her own right.

Thanks for your patience with this lengthy posting. I'm looking forward to
hearing your theories and or suggestions...

Cheers,
Courtney
--
Courtney Pedersen
Brisbane, Australia
Researching: BLAYNEY, FAY, JENSEN, KELLY, MOORE, PEDERSEN, RIEMER, TENNANT


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