Jane Gilles

Rhonda,

To trace someone in the early 1800s you need to rely on church records. You haven’t said what denomination Jane Gilles was but the only denomination with any records for that period in Arboe is the Church of Ireland. They start in 1773 (with gaps). The local Presbyterian records (Ballygoney) start in 1848 and RC in 1827.

Gilles (and it’s variant spellings) is a Scottish name. I looked in the 1901 census of Tyrone. There were 31 people named Gillis/Gilles. Nearly all were Presbyterian or Church of Ireland.

The Arboe Church of Ireland records are not on-line anywhere so far as I am aware. However there is a copy in PRONI (the public record office) in Belfast. A personal visit is required to view them.

If Jane is in those records you might find some siblings there and you might get the family townland (address) though those early records don’t always have townlands.

There aren’t many other records for that period likely to list her.

You also ask about Jane Gilleese born around the same time. That sounds like a spelling variation of Gilles. Without some idea of where and when this other Jane was born there’s little prospect of tracing her, I would say. There are 14 people named Gilleese in the 1901 Irish census. Most were living in Leitrim and Fermanagh. All were RC.

Hello Elwyn

Thank you for your response. I think I can eliminate Jane Gilles baptised 19 Jun 1805 at Arboe Tyrone Ireland from my search. I zeroed in on her because she was the only birth that I could find  between 1801 and 1809 with a similar name to Jane Gilleese.  

Jane Gilleese, my great great grandmother arrived in Australia about 1815. The only record I have of her existence is her death certificate. This indicates she was born in Ireland and that at her death she was RC. Jane had been in the Colony of New South Wales for 68 years at the time of her death at age 82 years in 1883. This would suggest Jane was born around 1801 and came to the colony in 1815. However on her death certificate it also indicates that Jane was married at age 16 years. The marriage took place in 1825. This would suggest Jane was born in 1809. 

I am aware that there are many variations for Gilleese which makes it very hard to research Jane.  Gillies, Gillis,Gilliss,Gilleece, Gilles, Gillie,Gilley.

If the details on Jane's death certificate are correct when she arrived in the Colony of Port Jackson NSW she was as young as 6 and as old as 14. I cannot find any research that suggests she arrived as a convict or as a child of a convict nor can I find her in immigration records. When she married in 1825 she married a soldier of the 3rd Regiment of Foot (Buffs). It has been suggested that she was the daughter of a fellow officer or the daughter of another soldier of another regiment. Other regiments in Port Jackson around the time of her arrival were 73rd, 46th, 34th and 16th. I think it is more likely that Jane Gilleese came from Fermanagh or Leitrim. Thank you once again for responding.

Regards Rhonda Flowers

Rhonda,

If your lady was RC then the Arboe baptism is not going to be her. A general problem that you face is that many RC parishes don’t have any records for 1805.  A lot didn’t start keeping records till the 1820s. Unless someone known about this lady from say a family source, there may well be no record of her in Ireland for you to find. DNA might be your only way forward.

Thank you once again Elwyn. I have tested my DNA but so far I have not been successful  in finding a link.

Regards

Rhonda