The Gaffey surname has many variants of spelling. Examples from records I have found are Gaffy, Gaffney, Goffy, Coffy.
Thomas Coffy (sic), single, aged 20, had been convicted in Kings County (later known as Offaly) in Ireland, on 25 Mar 1827 for house breaking and was sentenced to 7 years in Australia. He was transported on the ship Morley, which left Dublin on 3 Nov 1827 and arrived in Sydney on 3 Mar 1828. The Commander of the Morley was Henry Williams
On 10 Mar 1828, Thomas, William Keagan and William Taylor were discharged from the ship to Sydney Hospital. When dishcarged from hospital, Thomas was taken to Prospect (a suburb of Sydney), by Willliam Lawson, to whom he had been assigned as a farm servant. On the indent it was noted that Thomas could read and write.
Thomas Gaffy (sic) married Margaret McDonnell on 2 Jun 1827 in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia. They were married in the Roman Catholic Church. Their son, Thomas Gaffey, my great, great grandfather, was born on 10 Dec 1841 in Cumberlland, Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia. The baptism record shows the surname as Coffey.
I would like to find out more about the families of Thomas Gaffy and Margaret McDonnell. They were both born in Ireland, but the only clue I have about what county, is that Thomas was convicted in Offaly.
