Mary Keleher
- Born: Aug 1818, Mallow, Cork, Munster, Ireland
- Marriage (1): William Kelly on 7 Sep 1837 in St James Church of England, Sydney, , New South Wales, Australia
- Marriage (2): Edward Hayward on 26 Jan 1838 in St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Another name for Mary was Mary Kellar.
General Notes:
Mary and her sister Catherine were employed by Chief Justice Dowling after they arrived together in Sydney on the Duchess of Northumberland.
Mary's marriage to William Kelly by license at St James Church of England in 1837 resulted in him being found guilty of perjury and bigamy in the Supreme Court of NSW in November 1837. At the time of his marriage, Kelly, a labourer, claimed to be a bachelor, but it became evident during the trial that his wife, Julia Singleton, had remained in Ireland. The case was taken to court by Mary's parents and by Rev Robert Cartwright as she was still under 21 and considered to be a minor. Kelly had signed an oath that he was a bachelor.
In his evidence, Michael Kellaher stated that he had known William Kelly for 25 years, that he was transported about eight years prior to the 1837 trial, was married in the town of Mallow near Cork and had four children. A few days before Michael left Cork in November 1836, Kelly's wife applied to him to obtain a passage for her to the colony and he stated that he would have done so if it had not been contrary to the regulations of the emigration committee at the time. Source: "Quarantined! The 1837 Lady McNaghten Immigrants" by Perry McIntyre & Elizabeth Rushen, Anchor Books, 2007.
The record of Mary's marriage to Kelly at the NSW BDM website records her name as Mary KELLAR.
It was subsequently reported in The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser on Saturday 3 March 1838 that The A-G decided against trying Kelly for bigamy due to the difficulty of proving his first marriage, but he was convicted of taking a false oath to the Reverend who conducted the wedding to Mary. Kelly apparently was released after four or five months imprisonment as a consequence of a legal flaw in his conviction. According to the newspaper report "During Kelly's confinement, Mistress Kellaher or Kelly, who seems rather inclined to the "melting mood", has been "woo'd and won" by some gallant youth who, it seems, took pity on her misfortunes; and Kelly, on his liberation, found that Mary had a second time submitted to the connubial bonds. As no step of the former proceedings annulled Kelly's marriage with the faithless Mary, he swears that he will turn the tables now in "right down airnest," and put her through a course of the same treatment that he has himself just undergone, and on the same charge, - that of bigamy." !! Mary had indeed remarried to Edward Hayward on 26 January 1838, 2 days after her marriage to William Kelly was annulled. Her Marriage certificate contained a lengthy explanation of the circumstances of the Kelly marriage and confirmation of the annulment. The marriage certificate records her name as Mary KELLAGHAR.
Noted events in her life were:
• She emigrated to Sydney on the Duchess of Northumberland in 1836.
• She worked as a Nursemaid in 1836 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Mary married William Kelly on 7 Sep 1837 in St James Church of England, Sydney, , New South Wales, Australia. (William Kelly was born in possibly, Mallow, Cork, Munster, Ireland.)
Marriage Notes:
Witnesses were William Bickmore of Market Wharf, and Elisha Hayes of Pitt St.
Mary next married Edward Hayward on 26 Jan 1838 in St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Marriage Notes:
Witnesses were Michael, Her father, Catherine, her sister, and Peter Bodicin.
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