Augusta Pauline Poreshaw

By wendie April 21, 2011 1777 views 28 comments

Augusta Pauline Poreshaw was born in Paris in approx 1859, the daughter of a sea captain & died, most likely in Sydney in 1936. She married Michael Gannon at Bundarra in 1877. Does anyone have anymore information on her parents. Regards, Wendie.

Comments (28)

janilye

How does this one fit into your tree? Jan

janilye

I think her name was PORTSHAW and she died at Cowra.

wendie

She wasw my husband'maternal great grandmother. So this one is for my kids. Wendie.

janilye

Yes! here you go.
DEATH
5596/1936 GANNON AUGUSTA PAULINE 77 YRS COWRA COWRA
MARRIAGE
3191/1877 GANNON MICHAEL PORTSHAW AUGUSTA INVERELL

One of her sons John Joseph Gannon 1881-1952 married into the ARROW family Emma Bridget 1882-1953 the daughter of George ARROW 1838-1921 and Catherine MCNAMARA 1847-1917 I've got all the Arrow Family when you need them. But gee I don't know anything about Augusta, apart from seeing the name before, but I'll have a look.

janilye

it's got to be a bodgie name I can't find a Portshaw anywhere. She's the only one in NSW and nothing in the papers. How do you know it was Paris? probably something obscure that aussie records took a stab at (portshaw, that'll do)

wendie

That fits, as they came from the Cowra area. You don;t have any other information on her parents as Portshaw is hardly a French name. Wendie

janilye

I found PARSHOE and PERSHAW has to be a name like that or something french and we've corrupted it

janilye

Could be PERSHAW I've found plenty of them in Australia. I'll search them. no Parshoe's

janilye

Found this in America
U.S. Social Security Death Index
1. Augusta PERSCHAU - U.S. Social Security Death Index
Birth: 17 Oct 1874 State Where Number was Issued: New York Death: Apr 1968

janilye


The 1871 census spat out one Thomas Portshaw living at the Beach hotel Labourer.

janilye

Peschau, Ludwig Herder a Passenger from Hamburg (1851 Jun 4) to Adelaide (1851 Sep 21)
That's it. Buy a certificate!

wendie

My information came from her Death Certificate. My mother-in-law always said Grandmother Gannon was French & had been a music teacher at the Cowra Convent. However, as her Marriage Ceretificate in 1877 gave her occupation as 'Governess' I doubt that she was ever a music teacher at Cowra Convent.

I'm also trying to track down the forebears of David Augustus Whittaker (my husband's grandfather). On his marriage certificate in 1808 to Annie Myra Davis he lists his parents as Peter Whittaker & Ellen-Caroline Bucknell (although the writing is difficult to read, both deceased. His daughter always said the he never talked about his family & she got the impression there weren't any. However when I tried to trace back there were a lot of Whitaakers listed for Cowra & nearly all had David or Peter in their names so I found it very confusing. Bought a death certificate for what I though would most likely be his father, dying in 1897, but think I got the wrong one as David isn't listed as his son.

Is it a Death Certificate that I should get for Ludwig Herder Peschau?

Wendie

wendie
janilye

What a coincidence!!! I was a boarder at the Cowra Convent. My aunt Sister Marcia Eather was a Brigidine sister there. We did have music teachers. I know. My knuckles still hurt. My aunt is still living she's at the Brigidine convent in Maroubra now. I'll ask her if they had lay teachers. I assume they did.
Don't get a certificate for him He was just a german passenger on a boat I just put it there because of the spelling. You need Augusta's death or marriage certificate.

wendie

Have both Augusta & Michael's maarriage & death certificates, Her maiden name is definitely listed as Poreshaw on both her marriage certificate & Michael's death certificate. A little bit harder to read on her death certificate, possibly Preshaw. Its also her death certificate that lists her birthplace as Paris, France & her father's occupation as sea captain. No Christian name for him & mother's details liste as unknown!
Wendie.

janilye

In 1879 the Josephites were there then in 1894 the Brigidines moved in and made it a co-ed primary and high school and a boarding school for girls and yes they hired lay teachers. Most of the boarders there when I was there and before me were daughters of pastoralists from remote stations. I do remember several lay people one of our maids was deaf and dumb and we all had to learn to sign. We had 4 music rooms piano and violin were the only two instruments taught. I wasn't tolerated for long in either room (no talent)

janilye

Then this NSW Registration is a transcription error
MARRIAGE
3191/1877 GANNON MICHAEL PORTSHAW AUGUSTA INVERELL
Was she married in the catholic church?

wendie

Yes. Roman Catholic Church Bundarra January 8th 1877.

asheppard

Hi

Thought this may be of interest from Ancestry site (France)

Name: Augtine Pauline Allion
Date of Birth: October 29, 1859
Father: Augustine Allion
Mother: Pauline Flatot

its the only Augusta Pauline ??? born around 1859

another possibility for the surname is Porcher,(pronounced Porsh ah, like the car) in unfamiliar Australian ears it probably sounded like Portshaw.

janilye

Name: Augusta P Porcheron
Birth Date: 1857
Father's name: Eugene Porcheron
Mother's name: Maria L B
Birth Place: New South Wales
Registration Year: 1857
Registration Place: Sydney, New South Wales
Volume Number: V18572706 142A

janilye

Got this from the Quebec vital records
Name: Marie Louise Eugene Porcheron
Event Year: 1885
Event: Naissance (Birth)
Religion: Catholique
Place of Worship or Institution: Montréal (St-Jacques) (Montréal (St-Jacques-le-Majeur, cathédrale))
Province: Québec (Quebec)

janilye

Can't believe it. I found her father. I have his naturalisation papers. He was from France. I'll email them to you

janilye

Ignore that Quebec thing

janilye

Sent you the document
Here's the sources:

Name: Eugene Porcheron Date of Naturalization: 29 Aug 1856
Date of Arrival: 1854
Birth Location: France
Birth Year: abt 1817 Age: 39

Source Citation: State Archives NSW: NRS 1040. [4/1200], Roll: 129, Register No. 1, Page: 766
Source Information:

Registers of Certificates of Naturalization. NRS 1040. State Records Authority of New South Wales, Kingswood, New South Wales, Australia.

Lists of Aliens to whom Certificates of Naturalization have been issued. NRS 1041. State Records Authority of New

janilye

Birth and Christening record for Augusta
Born in NSW not France

V18572706 142A/1857 PORCHERON AUGUSTA P EUGENE MARIA L B
2273/1857 PORCHERON AUGUSTA P B EUGENE A MARIE SYDNEY

danhatton

Hi Wendie,
Not sure if you will get this but Augusta's surname was PORCHERON as above and Eugene was her father. He was already married and had another family in Noumea. He came from there via London after a coup in the early 1850s. Not sure why he left and his family seemed to have stayed on. Augusta was the product of an extra-marital relationship with one of his employees. Following his naturalisation he ran a French hotel in York Street, Sydney, but he became insolvent in 1857 after which he returned to Noumea and continued with his own family. Augusta was born in 1857 amidst all the legal proceedings of the insolvency. The mother, recorded as Marie Louise Bourke Pitthorne in the insolvency records, seems to have disappeared shortly after and maybe that's how Augusta ended up in the convent. I'm yet to find when and where all this happened. MLB dropped the name Pitthorne on Augusta's birth cert and details of the parents relationship are fabricated - something done alot so don't trust the accuracy of all information on certificates!
I have more info re Eugene if you want to contact me. For instance he became mayor of Noumea at one stage before he returned to Australia in the last few months of his life. He died in Sydney but his body was taken back to Noumea for burial. One of his sons also became mayor of Noumea at one point and a street in the city is named after them.
Cheers,
Dan (Bridgette's husband) :)

wendie

Thank you Dan. That certainly clears up a lot of unanswered questions for me. I actually sent Christine a message last night by Facebook asking her to give you my email address wendiewhittaker@hotmail.com & to contact me directly as last night I was unable to access your message through Family Circles. Obviously it worked today! I would be very grateful for any information you could pass on as I came up against a brick wall. Melva & Mollie's cousin Madeline/Diane who is
a lot younger than them had very conflicting information. Pauline had lived with her mother until her death & she insists she was born in France, bought out to Cowra Convent by the nuns. Taught music at a convent & spoke 7 languages!
Cheers,
Wendie.

wendie

Hi Dan, Just realised that maybe I didn't explain the above very well. Augusta Pauline was living with her youngest daughter (Madeline?)at the time of her death. This daughter was Diane/Madeline's mother. She uses both names. Melva always called her Diane, but I think she said her husband calls her Madeline & just to add to the confusion I think she called her daughter Madeline. Hope I have got all the names right this time. Diane/Madeline & her husband are in Real Estate on the Central Coast I think, but Auntie Molly could tell you more about them.
Cheers again,
Wendie