O'Sullivans in Mallow.

• Hi Jo-Ann
•  
• Ellen Besa Catherine O'Sullivan
•  
• Birth:  14 Jun 1835 - Cork, Ireland
• Marriage:  1857 - Tanunda, South Australia, Australia
• Death:  23 Sep 1896 - Greenock, South Australia, Australia
• Parents:  Patrick OSullivan, Catherine White
• Spouse:  Gustav Robert Julius Nenke

Brendan

www.researchireland.com

Hello Brendan, Thank you so much for your reply confirming Ellen's details. I have not been able as yet to identify which ship she came out to Australia on, and I have long wondered if there might be any traces of the family living around Boherbue prior to emmigration, or extended family connections who remained there. Might her name Besa be a common Cork first name or surname in use at that time or traditional in another part of Ireland perhaps?  With the pattern of family names, might it be traditionally from Ellen's father or mother?

Cheers, Jo-ann.

Hello Ann,

Besa is short for Elizabeth

Brendan

Hi Jo-ann,

Ellen is my great great grand mother. Your details agree with the information I have from the South Australia BDM index and her marriage certificate. She died in Greenock, South Australia. Ellen and Julius had 11 children, 5 of whom survived infancy.

I would be interested in a copy of the photo.

Regards

Peter

Hi
Have you seen the attached articles from Trove?

Bunyip (Gawler, SA : 1863 - 1954), Friday 20 May 1938, page 4
NationalA .Romance Out of the Past
'The Leader,' Angaston, has a
pretty jstory concerning a Greenock
couple, told by the son, Mr. P. J.
Nenke. He, was caught making a new
tank to replace the old galvanised one
made over 68 ago, and which
has just gone out of commission. 'He
told this story- of his father:-  
Father often spoke about the tank,
how he had driven to Gawler with his
horse and cart, to get the iron, only
to find that it was oval instead of
circular. Back it went to be re-rolled.
Iron in those days carried about three
times the coating of that in use today.
Pointing to the house roof, he said the
iron had been in position for about 
80 years, and did not yet leak any
where. Known as Scotch iron, it had
a thick rough coat of spelter.
His father started as a tinsmith at
Tanunda, then decided to go to Greenock. 
During the day he was a mason's laborer for the erection of his
new home at Greenock. At night he
walked to Tanunda, worked as a tin
smith till the early hours, and then,
after a brief spell, walked back to
Greenock for another day's work. He
was a walking champion. Often, with
measured stride, he would walk to
Gawler and return with about 1 cwt.
of tinsmith's requisiteson
hisshould er. ('The Bunyip' had reminiscences
recently of Pastor Dost of Rosedale
doing a similar performance). Mr.
Nenke senr. came from Germany but
was not long in the new country be
fore he met a charming Irish girl.
Miss Ellen O'Sullivan, who knew
nothing of German, whilst he was lost
in the English tongue. Deep affection
easily overcame the obstacle, and be
fore long they were married. In the
new home they made themselves understand 
by signs while the little lady
taught her husband her language, and
with equal avidity learnt his. She was
for she said it
very happy over
it,
too, for she said it
opened up for her a new world of
literature. Till her declining years
she subscribed to a journal with a
German 'Beilage' (supplement).

Thu 12 May 1938 
Page 4 
Pioneer Romance Found No Bar in Languages

Kerstin