I have been researching Michael Clancy since about 1990* but mainly in connection with Solomon's Ford, and never got around to details of his family except for articles about the drowning of a son (most likely wrongly stated as being at Solomon's ford) and the destruction of a house by fire. Before I get into the genealogy, I will present the information that seems to indicate that Michael Clancy and one of his daughters were liars.

(* The information about Michael and closed roads below comes from his entry in my handwritten DICTIONARY HISTORY OF TULLAMARINE AND MILES AROUND which also shows Michael's Braybrook Township blocks through which his ford was accessed. The source of my information was a typed copy of the closed roads inquiry produced by the defunct Sydenham Historical Society whose material was in the custody of the Keilor Historical Society.The Shire of Keilor later bought part of his land to provide legal access to the ford but I have not yet rediscovered this trove article.)

The Heritage Council has made official Valentine Jones' incorrect conclusion that the rock ford at Melway 27 B8 was Solomon's ford but an examination of the map obtained with a google search for BRAYBROOK TOWNSHIP, REID, 1855 will show that this ford did not exist in 1855 so it couldn't have been Grimes' Rocks of 1803 or the circa 1836 crossing place which was south of 5 Brentwood Drive (as shown by comparison of the 1855 map and Google satellite views.) Google, based on the Heritage Council of Victoria's blind acceptance of numerous heritage consultants' blind acceptance of Valentine Jones' wrong assumptions, has changed the label of the "rock ford" at 27 B8 to SOLOMONS FORD, turning myth into accepted fact. A desired outcome of this journal is that the ford at Melway 27 B8 will be officially named CLANCY'S FORD to honour the man who built it.

Canning Street Ford - VHD - Heritage Council of Victoria
vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/28357
HO109(2) - Solomons Ford, Braybrook. ... The Canning Street Ford is of local historical significance as one of the first crossing places of the Maribyrnong River ...

Michael Clancy’s evidence at an inquiry into closed roads in 1879 reveals that he had about 35 acres joining Mr.Porter and Mr. Fitzgerald’s properties and had arrived there in about 1856. Clancy and Munro, his neighbour in the township, were prevented from watering their cattle at the river by Derham, who also tore down 28 chains of Clancy’s 30 chain rock wall and threw the stones into his victim’s crops. Derham had Clancy’s lease of the river reserve cancelled. Harry Peck says that Derham, of fair complexion, as husky as a lumberjack, kept the pub at Braybrook and hunted others off hundreds of acres of land where he grazed about 200 horses for the Indian horse trade.

The above snippets from Michael's evidence came from a verbatim record obtained by the Sydenham Historical Society. The following article is less detailed but indicates that Michael's boundaries had been changed and a road (probably North Road as shown in Reid's 1855 map) had been closed, probably so Canning St could be extended to the Braybrook ford, as Clancy's ford was originally called. Mr Robinson must have been leasing James Robertson's Upper Keilor.
CLOSED ROADS COMMISSION.
The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) Friday 18 July 1879 p 3 Article

The late Mrs. Whelan was born at Braybrook where her father was a farmer. She had lived at Williamson\'s Road, Maribyrnong, for seventy years. In the early days her mother was afraid of the blacks who were hostile. Mrs. Whelan remembered when the blacks used to hold corroborees at the spot where Moonee Ponds town hall now stands. Her father, the late Mr. Clancy, first built the ford over the Maribyrnong River known as Clancy\'s Ford. The late Mrs Whelan had eleven children, twenty-five grandchildren and thirty-two great grand-children.The funeral took place to Footscray Cemetery on Monday. (P.2, Sunshine Advocate, 24-10-1952.)

(POSTSCRIPT. MRS WHELAN WAS MARGARET. HER HUSBAND WAS PATRICK WHELAN.
My branch of the family descends from Adam and Mary's second son, Patrick Whelan. In 1884 Patrick married Margaret Clancy at St Mary's Catholic Church in West Melbourne; both were in their mid-twenties. Margaret was a daughter of Michael Clancy and Margaret Scanlan, who migrated to Melbourne from Spiddle near the town of Galway, Ireland, in about 1857. Margaret was apparently the first white woman born in the area of Keilor Plains, then very much bushland and now suburban Melbourne's Avondale Heights, on the banks of the Maribyrnong River.)

EMAIL TO VICTORIAN HERITAGE COUNCIL. (COPY SENT TO VICTORIAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY.)
I hope all of your heritage sites do not share the same sort of inaccurate conclusions found in the claims by Melbourne, Brimbank, Moonee Valley and Maribyrnong council heritage studies that Michael Clancy's ford at Melway 27 B8, probably built in the 1870's, was the first crossing place over the Saltwater River circa 1836 and the place where Charles Grimes' progress by boat up the Maribyrnong was halted by rocks in 1803.

The facts about Robin Hood and King Arthur are so distorted by myths that their true stories cannot be determined and the same has already happened to the truth about Solomon's Ford, with Clancy's rock ford at the aforementioned site now labelled as Solomon's ford on google maps.

What's the point of hard earned tax and rate payments being spent on heritage studies if they serve only to obscure fact by the addition of myths perpetuated until they become accepted as fact?

There is an early Braybrook Township map that those who declare Clancy's ford as being not only Solomon's ford but also Grimes' rocks of 1803 have obviously not seen. The meandering track south of the ford has been found (where undisturbed or not concealed) on the google satellite map. Gary Vines, a professional historian since 1989 or earlier, agrees that my conclusions are probably correct.

I'd like you to at least examine my journal. Until I discovered the 1855 map* I'd also taken Valentine Jones' conclusions as gospel!
* THE MAP.
Township of Braybrook [cartographic material] - National Library of ...
nla.gov.au/nla.obj-232495788

MY JOURNAL.
http://www.familytreecircles.com/fords-at-today-s-avondale-heights-victoria-australia-circa-1850-67401.html

CLANCY GENEALOGY
This has proven a difficult undertaking due to there being few family notices and birth records on Victorian BDM.

I had to make sure I had the right Michael Clancy so I started with trove.
CLANCY— DONOVAN.— On the 16th June, at St.Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, West Warburton, by Rev. Father Bakker, John Ambrose, youngest son of the late Michael and Margaret Clancy, of Braybrook, to Mary A. Dorothea (Minnie), youngest daughter of the late Charles and Mary Donovan, of Millgrove. (P.60, Leader, 26-7-1913.)

John's birth record will reveal his mother's maiden name and where his birth was registered.
EventBirth Event registration number3458 Registration year1872
Personal information
Family nameCLANCY Given namesJohn SexUnknown Father's nameMichael Mother's nameMargaret (Scanlan) Place of birthMAID

Maidstone was nearer to Melbourne, and had a larger population so was more likely to have a registrar than the North Braybrook Township, sparsely settled because of Derham's tactics. However locality names were fairly fluid in those days and the locality of Maidstone may have included the old Braybrook Township as well as places like Hampstead and Albion.

OTHER CHILDREN OF MICHAEL AND MARGARET.
EventBirth Event registration number23156 Registration year1869
Personal information
Family nameCLANCY Given namesKate SexUnknown Father's nameMichael Mother's nameMargret (Scanlan) Place of birthMAIDSTONE

I can't find the births of any other children to Michael and Margaret on Victorian BDM or Michael and Margaret's marriage record. It seems certain that John Ambrose Clancy was not only their last son but also the last child because Margaret died in 1872, the year of John's birth. Unfortunately, the place of death is not stated on her death record.
EventDeath Event registration number770 Registration year1872
Personal information
Family nameCLANCY Given namesMargaret SexUnknown Father's nameScanlon James Mother's nameBridget (Curran) Place of birthGALW Place of death Age40 Spouse's family nameCLANCY Spouse's given namesMichael

The CLANCY entry in my DHOTAMA alerted me that Margaret and the first of her sons named John who drowned aged 9 were buried at Keilor Cemetery.
MARGARET'S BIRTH RECORD.
CLANCY Margaret 12/01/1872 Keilor Cemetery Area K KE-K****222 Burial 12/01/1872

I'd run out of family notices that could produce a lead to a BDM record so I tried "CLANCY,SOLOMON'S FORD". Here's the house fire mentioned at the start of the journal.
FIRE AT FOOTSCRAY.
A fire occurred on premises occupied by Peter Clancy, Solomon's Ford, near Braybrook, yesterday morning, at 1 o'clock. Tho Footscray and Braybrook brigades were soon on the spot, but there being no water available the house, which was a four-roomed weatherboard one, was burned to the ground. It is not known whether the house was insured or not. The fire was observed by tho lookout man at the central station.(P.8, The Age, 17-4-1897.)

Dropping the quotation marks from the search, I found a second article about the fire which revealed that PETER CLANCY actually owned the house and the occupant was Pridham who was assessed on property in NORTH BRAYBROOK TOWNSHIP (south of Clarendon St, Avondale Heights) by the shire of Keilor in 1900. (I also found the article ABOUT THE DROWNING which will be inserted after Peter's death record.) If the reporters differed on such details, they would have had no idea which of the three fords was near the house. By that time, Solomon's ford was at the end of North Road. The ford should have been described as the Braybrook ford or Clancy's ford.

FIRE AT BRAYBROOK.
About 2 o'clock a.m. on Friday morning the look-out man at the Melbourne station gave the alarm of a fire at Braybrook. The local and Footscray brigades were soon on the ground, but as no water was available the premises were consumed. The locality was near Solomon's Ford on the Saltwater River, but at some distance up to the hill.
The house was one of four rooms, built of wood, owned by P. Clancy, but let to Mr.Pridham, butcher. It was not known whether any insurance was on the building or contents.(P.9, Argus, 17-4-1897.)

PETER'S DEATH RECORD.
EventDeath Event registration number15310 Registration year1919
Personal information
Family nameCLANCY Given namesPeter SexUnknown Father's nameClancy Michl Mother's nameMargt (Scanlon) Place of birth Place of deathWarburton Age64

Peter had probably moved to the Warburton area to live with or near his younger brother, John Ambrose.

The reporter who wrote this article about the drowning described the location as near Solomon's Ford. Solomon's Ford had been at the end of North Road for a decade or more and the ford at Grimes' Rocks had probably disappeared from memory, at least the fact that it had been called Solomon's Ford by such as Alexander Thompson in January 1837. As in the second article about the fire, this writer might have covered his uncertainty about which ford was Solomon's Ford by stating that they were crossing NEAR Solomon's Ford which could mean Grimes' Rocks which had tracks leading south in the 1855 map, Clancy's Ford which might have been only partly built in 1870 or the second Solomon's Ford, a considerable distance north. As an employee at Derham was also drowned, they were most likely crossing the river to the south at Grimes' Rocks or Clancy's Ford (if it had been started!) The river may have been in flood and far too deep to cross without using a ford. There is no proof that the river was in flood so being in a hurry they might have tried to wade across between the two fords mentioned. However it is certain that the Clancy boy was named John and that his parents decided to try for another son, whom they named John Ambrose and whose birth may have caused Margaret's death two years later.

THE body of the boy Clancy, who was drowned in the Saltwater River on Saturday last whilst crossing near Solomon's Ford, along with a man named Morris, was recovered on Thursday afternoon, and taken to the Braybrook
Hotel. The body of the man, who is believed to have been a sailor, has not yet been recovered. He was a stranger to the district,having only been in the employment of Mr. Derham a short time. (P.7, Advocate, 13-8-1870.)

DEATH RECORD OF THE FIRST JOHN CLANCY.
EventDeath Event registration number7048 Registration year1870
Personal information
Family nameCLANCY Given namesJohn SexUnknown Father's nameMichael Mother's nameMargaret (U) Place of birthBRAY Place of death Age9

JOHN AND HIS MOTHER WERE BOTH BURIED AT KEILOR CEMETERY. MARGARET'S BURIAL RECORD IS UNDER HER DEATH RECORD ABOVE.
CLANCY John 01/01/1870 Keilor Cemetery Area K KE-K****222 Burial 01/01/1870

John's birth record has not been entered on Victorian BDM.

R.W.CLANCY MAY HAVE BEEN A SON OF MICHAEL AND MARGARET BUT PROOF WILL HAVE TO BE FOUND.
Richard William Clancy was apparently not the son of Michael and Margaret but may have been a nephew or related in some way unless it is just a coincidence that he was at Braybrook. See PARENTS OF R.W. CLANCY.

This is what made me think that R.W. might be their son.
The following were granted Slaughtering Licenses : R. W. Clancy, Braybrook; etc.
(BRAYBROOK SHIRE COUNCIL. MONDAY, 7TH JANUARY.
Independent (Footscray, Vic. : 1883 - 1922) Saturday 12 January 1884 p 2 Article)
The above council report also mentions that Michael Clancy had been interfering with the Keilor side of the BRAYBROOK ford. It was not until later that the ford was described as Clancy's ford.

I searched for Richard William Clancy's birth, death and marriage records and found only his marriage record. I believe that Michael and Margaret settled at North Braybrook Township between August 1856 and August 1857 because when Michael was interviewed re pollution of the Saltwater River in August 1892, he stated that he'd been in the locality for 35 years and believed boiling down works were the cause of the problem. Perhaps he was trying to shift the blame from abattoirs, such as the one conducted in 1884 by R.W.Clancy. The lack of a birth record for Richard William Clancy in Victorian BDM could be that he was born before the family arrived in Victoria, say in 1855 or a few years earlier. The lack of a death record in Victorian BDM would be explained by a move to N.S.W.

EventMarriage Event registration number4420 Registration year1877
Personal information
Family nameCLANCY Given namesRichard William SexMale Spouse's family name MULLIGAN Spouse's given namesSarah Ann


FOUND THROUGH A GOOGLE SEARCH FOR RICHARD WILLIAM CLANCY.
LATE MR. R. W. CLANCY.
ESTATE VALUED AT £16,703.
Probate has been granted of the will of the late Mr. Richard William Clancy, station holder and grazier, of "Warrabinga," St.Paul's-street, Randwick, who died on September 14 last. Testator appointed his widow, Sarah Ann Cluney, and Mr. J. P.Canny, bank manager, of Darling Point-road,Darling Point, executrix, executor, and trustees of his estate. He devised his residences in St. Paul's-road, Randwick, and at North Carlton, Victoria, to his widow, and the Melbourne Cup trophy won by his horse,Posinatus, and five racing pictures, to his daughter, Mrs. Callaghan. Among the bequests were £40 for the purchase of two statues for the R.C. Church, Karoola, Tasmania;
£50 to the Rev. Father Treand, of Randwick; £20 to the Little Sisters of the Poor, Randwick; £650 to his brother-in-law(John Mulligan); £200 to his son, Richard William Clancy; and £250 to his sister, Jessie
Clancy. Subject to bequests to certain relations, the residue of the estate was devised to testator's widow and five daughters.The net value of the estate was sworn at £16,793 5s. 5d., of which £11,471 5s. represented shares in public companies. (P.19, Sydney Morning Herald, 27-11-1915.)

HAD MICHAEL AND MARGARET COME TO BRAYBROOK VIA TASMANIA?
(Extract from an obituary found in the Google search.)
Mr. Richard William Clancy, who died last week at Warrabinya, Randwick, was well known in sporting and business circles. He was born at Westbury, Tasmania, in 1854. (P.11, The Sydney Morning Herald, 21-9-1915.)

PARENTS OF R.W.CLANCY.
Richard William Clancy, 1854 - 1915
Richard William Clancy was born on month day 1854, at birth place, to James Clancy and Isabella Clancy (born Boyd).
James was born in 1831, in Ireland.
Isabella was born on December 18 1835, in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia.
Richard had 13 siblings: George Clancy, Isabella (2) Clancy and 11 other siblings.
Richard married Sarah Ann Clancy (born Mulligan) on date.
Sarah was born in 1853, in Liverpool England.
They had 6 children: Sarah Isabella (Sadie) Callaghan (born Clancy), Isabelle (Bella) Rosher (born Clancy) and 4 other children.
Richard passed away of cause of death on month day 1915, at age 61 at death place.
(https://www.myheritage.com/names/richard_clancy)

MICHAEL AND MARGARET'S DAUGHTER, MARGARET.
(Extract from Whelan family - Tony Whelan
tonywhelan.net/whelan.html)

My branch of the family descends from Adam and Mary's second son, Patrick Whelan. In 1884 Patrick married Margaret Clancy at St Mary's Catholic Church in West Melbourne; both were in their mid-twenties. Margaret was a daughter of Michael Clancy and Margaret Scanlan, who migrated to Melbourne from Spiddle near the town of Galway, Ireland, in about 1857. Margaret was apparently the first white woman born in the area of Keilor Plains, then very much bushland and now suburban Melbourne's Avondale Heights, on the banks of the Maribyrnong River.

Patrick and Margaret Whelan had eleven children - four of them girls. Their eighth child, Patrick, died in his early twenties, while the ninth child, Thomas, lived to the age of ninety-three. His mother Margaret had lived till her early nineties, whilst his father Patrick had passed eighty years of age. Patrick and Margaret are buried in Footscray Cemetery. Their sixth child Michael was my grandfather, who died in 1978.

MARGARET WHELAN'S DEATH RECORD.
EventDeath Event registration number12453 Registration year1952
Personal information
Family nameWHELAN Given namesMargaret SexFemale Father's nameCLANCY Michael Mother's nameMargaret (Scanlan) Place of birthKEILOR Place of deathNORTHCOTE Age93

HER DEATH NOTICE.
WHELAN, Margaret. — On October 18, loved mother of Mary (deceased), grandmother of Mary, Margaret, Eileen, Kathleen (deceased)and Alice, great-grandmother of Joyce, Lois, great-grandmother of Ian, Dianne, aged 93 years 7 months. R.I.P.(P.8, The Age, 21-10-1952.)

See Margaret's obituary near the start of the journal.

MICHAEL AND MARGARET'S SON, JAMES.
An obituary for James was found using a link provided by janilye. Hopefully I'll find his marriage record.

OBITUARY .
It is with deep rcgret that we have to
announce the death of Mr James Clancy,
which. took.place on. Sunday.last in the
Melbourne Hospital; of pneumonia;' The:
deceased, who resided at Maribyrnong,
was 39 years of age and leaves a widow
and three children to mourn' their loss.
He made many friends on account of his
genial disposition and will be regretted by
a large circle. He was in the employ of
Mr Thomas Pridham, skin manufacturer,
of Braybrook, and occupied the-position
of foreman for a great many years, and
was also a prominent member of -the,
local H.A C.B.S. The interment' took
place in the Roman Catholic portion of
the Footscray Cemetery on Tuesday last
and was followed by a large number of
sympatbising friends, including his fellow
cmployes and officers and members of the
Hibernian Lodge. The service at the
crave was read by -the Rev Father,
O'Connor. The pall-bearers were Messrs
H Hansen A. Dage, J; Sothomna.fT.
and E d Ogden. rhere was a large number
of beautiful wreaths laid on the coffin. (P.4, Independent, Footscray, 2-3-1907.)

HIS DEATH RECORD.
EventDeath Event registration number2147 Registration year1907
Personal information
Family nameCLANCY Given namesJas Jos SexUnknown Father's nameClancy Michl Mother's nameMargt (Scanlan) Place of birth Place of deathMelb E Age39

HIS DEATH NOTICE. His wife was Clara and her maiden name was Lindholm.
CLANCY.—On the 74th February, at the Mel-
bourne hospital, James Joseph Clancy, foreman of
Mr. Pridham's Factory, Braybrook, the dearly be-
Lloved husband of Clara and the loving father of
Jimmy, Carrie and Tommy, beloved second youngest
son of Michael and the late Margaret Clancy, aged
39 years. May his soul rest in peace. (P.1, The Age, 26-2-1907.)

CLARA'S MARRIAGE RECORD.
EventMarriage Event registration number6057 Registration year1895
Personal information
Family nameLINHOLM Given namesClara SexFemale Spouse's family nameCLANCY Spouse's given namesJas Jos

JIMMY'S BIRTH RECORD.
EventBirth Event registration number11638 Registration year1896
Personal information
Family nameCLANCY Given namesJas SexMale Father's nameJas Mother's nameClara (Linholm) Place of birthFOOTSCRAY

CARRIE'S BIRTH RECORD.
EventBirth Event registration number11236 Registration year1901
Personal information
Family nameCLANCY Given namesCarol Mary Honora SexFemale Father's nameJas Jos Mother's nameClara (Linholm) Place of birthFOOTSCRAY

TOMMY'S BIRTH RECORD.
EventBirth Event registration number11812 Registration year1903
Personal information
Family nameCLANCY Given namesThos SexMale Father's nameJas Jos Mother's nameClara (Linholm) Place of birthMAIDSTONE

MICHAEL AND MARGARET'S DAUGHTER, KATE.
EventBirth Event registration number23156 Registration year1869
Personal information
Family nameCLANCY Given namesKate SexUnknown Father's nameMichael Mother's nameMargret (Scanlan) Place of birthMAIDSTONE

OTHER CLANCY BURIALS AT KEILOR. (* Michael's wife. **The first John Clancy. See details of both above.)
Deceased Search - The Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust
www.gmct.com.au/deceased-search.aspx
CLANCY Arthur 30/03/1918 07/03/1999 Keilor Cemetery Area NL KE-NL****287 Burial 23/04/1999
CLANCY Bartholomew 18/05/1955 Keilor Cemetery Area L KE-L****1070 Burial 18/05/1955
CLANCY Catherine Frances 12/05/1975 Keilor Cemetery Area L KE-L****1093 Burial 12/05/1975
CLANCY Geoffrey Thomas 04/06/1974 Keilor Cemetery Area L KE-L****130 Burial 04/06/1974
CLANCY Helen Therese B.18/03/1920 D.14/09/2010 Keilor Cemetery Area L KE-L****1094 Burial 21/09/2010
CLANCY Irene Carmel b.28/10/1922 D.12/03/2009 Keilor Cemetery Area L KE-L****1092 Burial 27/03/2009
CLANCY James D.25/03/1958 Keilor Cemetery Area L KE-L****1094 Burial 25/03/1958
CLANCY John** 01/01/1870 Keilor Cemetery Area K KE-K****222 Burial 01/01/1870
CLANCY John Joseph 27/08/1982 Keilor Cemetery Area L KE-L****1092 Burial 27/08/1982
CLANCY Joseph Patrick 29/01/1975 Keilor Cemetery Area L KE-L****100 Burial 29/01/1975
CLANCY Joseph Peter 11/12/1952 Keilor Cemetery Area L KE-L****1093 Burial 11/12/1952
CLANCY Margaret* 12/01/1872 Keilor Cemetery Area K KE-K****222 Burial 12/01/1872
CLANCY Michael 11/03/1909 Keilor Cemetery Area K KE-K****222 Burial 11/03/1909
CLANCY Patrick Joseph B.11/08/1926 D.14/02/1998 Keilor Cemetery Area L KE-L****100 Interment of C.R.23/03/1998

DETAILS RE THE ABOVE. Descendants of Michael and Margaret might have background information that will allow them to determine whether those born in New South Wales are related.

ARTHUR- No birth record. Recent deaths not yet on Victorian BDM.

BARTHOLOMEW- EventDeath Event registration number5037 Registration year1955
Personal information
Family nameCLANCY Given namesBartholomew SexMale Father's nameCLANCY Thomas Mother's nameBridget (Hanley) Place of birthCOUNTY GALWAY EIRE Place of deathCAMBERWELL EAST Age91

CATHERINE FRANCES- EventDeath Event registration number10712 Registration year1975
Personal information
Family nameCLANCY Given namesCatherine Frances SexFemale Father's nameSMITHENBECKER John Mother's nameBarbara (Dietrich) Place of birthAlbury New South Wales Place of deathEssendon Age83

GEOFFREY THOMAS- EventDeath Event registration number12878 Registration year1974
Personal information
Family nameCLANCY Given namesGeoffrey Thomas SexMale Father's nameCLANCY Joseph Peter Mother's nameCatherine Frances (Smithenbecker) Place of birthHenty New South Wales Place of deathPreston Age45

HELEN THERESE- Death too recent to be included. Probably a married woman. No birth 1920 in Vic. under that name.

JAMES- EventDeath Event registration number3352 Registration year1958
Personal information
Family nameCLANCY Given namesJames SexMale Father's nameCLANCY Joseph Peter Mother's nameCatherine Frances (Smithemberker) Place of birthALBURY NEW SOUTH WALES Place of deathDEWHURST Age35

JOHN- Michael and Margaret's son. See above.

JOHN JOSEPH- EventDeath Event registration number20850 Registration year1982
Personal information
Family nameCLANCY Given namesJohn Joseph SexMale Father's nameCLANCY Joseph Peter Mother's nameCatherine Frances (Smithenbecker) Place of birthAlbury New South Wales Place of deathEssendon Age61

JOSEPH PATRICK- EventDeath Event registration number3099 Registration year1975
Personal information
Family nameCLANCY Given namesJoseph Patrick SexMale Father's nameCLANCY James Mother's nameHelen Therese (Clear) Place of birthMelbourne Place of deathJacana Age21

JOSEPH PETER- EventDeath Event registration number14543 Registration year1952
Personal information
Family nameCLANCY Given namesJoseph Peter SexMale Father's nameCLANCY Daniel Mother's nameMargaret (Condon) Place of birthPLEASANT HILLS NEW SOUTH WALES Place of deathESSENDON Age61

MARGARET- nee Scanlan, Michael's wife. See above.

MICHAEL- MARGARET'S HUSBAND.
EventDeath Event registration number1517 Registration year1909
Personal information
Family nameCLANCY Given namesMichl SexUnknown Father's nameClancy Peter Mother's nameBridt (Donoghue) Place of birth Place of deathFcray Age80

The Clancy grants at today's Avondale Heights are described in my journal about the three fords at Avondale Heights. I could not zoom the photocopied 1869 map but they seemed to total about 22 acres between Canning and Duke Streets practically from the river to about Langham St. I recall that in one Keilor Shire assessment, Michael had about 38 acres and that in an inquiry he claimed to have about the same acreage.

After his death, his land consisting of about 53 acres, described in detail, was offered for sale. See P.2, Argus, 4-8-1909, last advertisement in column 2. Most of the lots can be found on the 1869 map on page 32 of SOLOMON'S FORD, WHICH FORD, WHICH SOLOMON by Valentine Jones.

PATRICK JOSEPH- No Victorian birth record and death too recent for death record to be entered into index.



IT'S HARD TO DISCUSS THE CLANCY FAMILY WITHOUT MENTIONING THE FORDS, ONE OF WHICH THEY BUILT.
While doing the Google search for Richard William Clancy, I decided to change this to a search for Michael Clancy and struck gold. I had stated that Grimes Rocks had been a natural accumulation of rocks, which the earliest settlers had utilised to construct a fish track, stopped Grimes' progress upriver by boat where the water WAS STILL SALTY, and was later used by Alexander Thompson in January 1837 as he made his way to "Kardinia".The following confirm that Grimes' Rocks were NATURAL. Fleming's journal confirms that the water was still salty at Grimes' Rocks and Reid's 1855 Braybrook Township map confirms that the water becomes fresh downstream of Clancy's ford (Melway 27B8.) Clancy's ford is not shown on Reid's map and did not exist until Michael Clancy built it.

Gary Vines, quoted in the following,was sent an email in which I suggested that Grimes' Rocks became the ford used by Alexander Thompson in 1837 and the ford shown on Reid's map, roughly south of today's Rhonda St, with a meandering track south of the river; the ford at 27B8 was Clancy's ford, perhaps built in the early 1870's; and that the North St ford became the second Solomon's ford (as shown on Reid's 1855 map.)He finished his reply with: "On balance, I think your conclusions are probably right.

All the best

Gary"


solomons ford - Victorian Heritage Database
vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au/places/result_detail/8880?print=true

It is beyond me to explain how anyone could read Fleming's journal which stated that the water was still salty at Grimes' Rocks and conclude that the Canning St ford (27 B8), south of which the water became fresh as shown on Reid's map,was at the same location. Perhaps the author had not seen Reid's map! Otherwise he would have noticed that there was no Canning Street ford and in fact Canning St went no farther west than Raglan St. in 1855.

SOLOMONS FORD

Location

CANNING STREET AVONDALE HEIGHTS and DUKE STREET SUNSHINE NORTH and BRAYBROOK, MOONEE VALLEY CITY, BRIMBANK CITY, MARIBYRNONG CITY

Google Maps and Google Streetview
Heritage Inventory (HI) Number

H7822-0242


Heritage Inventory Description

Solomon's Ford is a natural basalt rock formation across the bed of the Maribyrnong River. It is accompanied by a number of features on its west side including two depressions, a possible wall and a terrace. Artefacts were observed on the latter.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

History

Solomon's Ford, a natural basalt stone ford crossing of the Maribyrnong River (formerly Saltwater River), was first charted by Charles Grimes, surveyor General to the Colony of New South Wales in 1803 during exploration of Port Phillip Bay.

Amongst the pastoral settlers who quickly followed the first exploration of the plains, the Solomons possessed one of the largest flocks in 1835, numbering around 2,700 sheep. Joseph Solomon's station was initially in Kealba- North Sunshine near the natural crossing which became known as Solomon's Ford, although this name has also been used for another ford upstream (Vines 2000). This was the lowest foot or vehicle crossing of the Maribyrnong River for people travelling to Geelong or westward. Michael Clancy occupied land in the township of Braybrook on the north side of the river in the 1870s. He testified to a Royal Commission in 1879 that he had lived near the ford for 23 years, gaining something of a living from the river by loading stones from the river for ballasting boats at Footscray.