Matching & Hatching ~ Michael Gaffaney & Margaret Brosnahan

¹

My great great grandparents, Michael Gaffaney and Margaret Brosnahan, married on December 26th, 1863 at the Catholic Chapel in Christchurch.   Michael gave his age as 23, and occupation labourer.  Margaret’s age was listed as “full”, and her occupation servant.² According to Margaret’s obituary:

…the young couple having to visit Christchurch to get married. They travelled by coach, and the reason they had to go to Christchurch was that it was only twice a year a clergyman visited South Canterbury.

They lived at their farm “Belper” in Arowhenua, South Canterbury, named after Michael’s birthplace in Derbyshire, England. Michael and Margaret had fifteen children, with one being stillborn. They were:^{3 4}

• Susan GAFFANEY (1865 – 1954)
• Annie GAFFANEY (1866 – 1937)
  • m. 1906 Robert John McCALLUM⁵
• Margaret GAFFANEY (1868 – 1946)
  • m. 1900 William James HALLEY⁵
• Ellen GAFFANEY (1870 – 1889)
• Thomas John GAFFANEY (1872 – 1900)
• Kate GAFFANEY (1874 – 1947)
  • m. 1897 Francis Buckland EARLY⁵
• Michael Francis GAFFANEY (1876 – 1915)
  • m. 1905 Julia Agatha COUGHLAN⁵
• James GAFFANEY (1877 – 1967)
  • m. 1910 Bridget LEARY
• Peter Dominic GAFFANEY (1879 – 1954)
  • m. 1909 Margaret Monica O’ROURKE⁶
• Mary Teresa Frances GAFFANEY (1882 – 1939)
  • m. 1906 Andrew BARRON⁵
• Lucy Josephine GAFFANEY (1884 – 1952)
• Joseph Arowhenua GAFFANEY (1886 – 1946)
• Beatrice GAFFANEY (1888 – 1888)
• Leo GAFFANEY (1890 – 1963)
  • m. 1922 Frances Mary HAILES⁵

1. Gaffaney, Michael & Margaret (Brosnahan) photograph, date unknown; digital image; scan from Gaffaney family papers, 2006, supplied by [NAME AND ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE]; original privately held by [NAME AND ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE], great grandson of couple.
2. New Zealand, marriage certificate for Michael Gaffaney and Margaret Brosnahan; 26 Dec 1863, Christchurch; citing 1863/927, Birth, Deaths & Marriages, New Zealand.
3. [NAME FOR PRIVATE USE], Gaffaney Family Tree, GEDCOM file supplied to [NAME FOR PRIVATE USE], New Zealand, c.2002.
4. NZ Dept of Internal Affairs, “Death Search,” database, Births, Deaths & Marriages Historical Records (https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/search/ : accessed 2010), entries for Susan Gaffaney (1954/26926), Annie McCallum (1937/27027), Margaret Halley (1946/29610), Ellen Gaffney (1889/5177), Thomas Gaffaney (1900/1426), Kate Early (1947/31561), Michael Gaffaney (1915/6780), James Gaffaney (1967/45590), Peter Gaffaney (1954/32898), Mary Barron (1939/15425), Lucy Gaffaney (1952/26370), Joseph Gaffaney 1946/33165), [Beatrice] Theresa Gaffney (1888/4557), Leo Gaffaney (1963/32342).
5. NZ Dept of Internal Affairs, “Marriage Search”, database, Births, Deaths & Marriages Historical Records (https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/search/ : accessed 2010), entries for McCallum-Gaffaney (1906/5299), Halley-Gaffaney (1900/5738), Early-Gaffaney (1892/3565), Gaffaney-Coughlan (1905/6513), Gaffaney-Leary (1910/5144), Barron-Gaffaney (1906/5298), Gaffaney-Hailes (1922/3983).
6. New Zealand, marriage certificate for Peter Gaffaney and Margaret O’Rourke; 09 Nov 1909, Napier; citing 1909/7835, Birth, Deaths & Marriages, New Zealand.