George was born somewhere in Sligo, the last child of Henry and Margaret (nee Cuffe) Whiteside. He had at least two sisters, Ann and Eliza.
When he was young the family moved to Glasgow presumably for work, there they lived in Finneston and his father worked as a shipwright. At some point of what we do not know both his parents died separately. The children then aged 6, 8 and 2 were sent to the Sligo Workhouse under the Poor Laws.
Their father's sister and her husband, Thomas Stewart had previously emigrated to NSW in Australia from Eskey, Sligo and when they heard of Henry and Margaret's deaths they paid some money to the authorities to have the children sent out to them. They never arrived so Thomas repeatedly sent word to Ireland to find them. Eventually his letter fetched up before the Commissioners of the Sligo Workhouse and one man, Captain Fawcett reported that he knew of them.
The three children were put on a ferry to Liverpool and then on The John Bunyan to Sydney. They arrived on 27 October 1857 and were sent to the Hyde Park Barracks to wait until their uncle and aunt could fetch them.
George later married Irene Plumb and they had a difficult life farming and mining. They had three children.
George eventually died aged 90 in 1941 in Melbourne, Victoria.
| Additional Information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 1st Jan 1850 (circa) | |
| Date of Death | 11th Feb 1941 | |
| Associated Building (s) | Sligo Workhouse | |
