[Index]

Margaret MCAULIFFE (1834 - 1918)

innkeper, boarding house proprietor

Children	Self + Spouses	Parents	Grandparents	Greatgrandparents
Maurice LEE (1852 - 1853) Margaret LEE (1853 - 1935) John Maurice LEE (1856 - 1917) Ellen Mary LEE (1858 - ) Catherine LEE (1860 - 1866) Deborah Agnes LEE (1861 - ) Kate LEE (1867 - )	Margaret MCAULIFFE (1834 - 1918) + William LEE (1811 - 1867)	Thomas MCAULIFFE (1802 - 1878)	Jeremiah MCAULIFFE
			Ellen (MCAULIFFE)
		Mary MCAULIFFE (1811 - 1898)	Florence MCAULIFFE
			Margaret (MCAULIFFE)

b. abt 1834 at Newmarket, Co Cork, Ireland

m. 13 Jan 1851 William LEE (1811 - 1867) at New South Wales, Australia

d. 22 Oct 1918 at Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia aged 84

Near Relatives of Margaret MCAULIFFE (1834 - 1918)
Relationship	Person	Born	Birth Place	Died	Death Place	Age
Grandfather	Jeremiah MCAULIFFE
Grandmother	Ellen (MCAULIFFE)
Grandfather	Florence MCAULIFFE
Grandmother	Margaret (MCAULIFFE)
Father in Law	Jeremiah LEE
Father	Thomas MCAULIFFE	abt 1802	Clonfert, Co Cork, Ireland	27 Nov 1878	Jier, New South Wales, Australia	76
Mother	Mary MCAULIFFE	abt 1811	Freemount, Co Cork, Ireland	20 Aug 1898	Jier, New South Wales, Australia	87
Self	Margaret MCAULIFFE	abt 1834	Newmarket, Co Cork, Ireland	22 Oct 1918	Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia	84
Husband	William LEE	abt 1811	Co Limerick, Ireland	07 Feb 1867	Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia	56
Son	Maurice LEE	1852	New South Wales, Australia	abt 1853		1
Daughter	Margaret LEE	1853	New South Wales, Australia	20 Nov 1935	Cooma, Monaro, New South Wales, Australia	82
Son	John Maurice LEE	1856	Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia	03 Jul 1917	North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia	61
Daughter	Ellen Mary LEE	1858	Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia
Daughter	Catherine LEE	abt 1860		1866		6
Daughter	Deborah Agnes LEE	1861	Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia
Daughter	Kate LEE	abt 1867
Sister	Ellen MCAULIFFE	abt 1831	Newmarket, Co Cork, Ireland	07 Nov 1858		27
Sister	Deborah MCAULIFFE	1836	Newmarket, Co Cork, Ireland	02 Jul 1919	Bungendore, New South Wales, Australia	83
Sister	Mary MCAULIFFE	1839	Newmarket, Co Cork, Ireland
Brother	Flourence Joseph MCAULIFFE	abt 1841	Newmarket, Co Cork, Ireland	24 Sep 1886	Cooma, Monaro, New South Wales, Australia	45
Brother	Jeremiah MCAULIFFE	abt 1844	Newmarket, Co Cork, Ireland	31 Mar 1920	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia	76
Brother	Thomas MCAULIFFE	1847	Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia	12 Sep 1925	Jeir, New South Wales, Australia	78
Sister	Bridget Mary MCAULIFFE	1849	Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia
Sister	Honorah MCAULIFFE	1853	Yass, New South Wales, Australia	Oct 1944	Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia	91
Son in Law	Thomas Joseph BYRNE	1849	Gundaroo, New South Wales, Australia	27 Mar 1877	Cooma, Monaro, New South Wales, Australia	28
Son in Law	George ROLFE	1836	Oxborough, Norfolk, England	04 Mar 1922	Cooma, Monaro, New South Wales, Australia	86
Daughter in Law	Mary Jane MCNAMARA	1864	Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia
Granddaughter	Sarah BYRNE	1874	Cooma, Monaro, New South Wales, Australia
Granddaughter	Mary BYRNE	1875	Cooma, Monaro, New South Wales, Australia
Grandson	Thomas Joseph BYRNE	1877	Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia	10 Aug 1932	Camden, New South Wales, Australia	55
Grandson	William Francis ROLFE	1880	Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia
Grandson	John Joseph ROLFE	1883	Cooma, Monaro, New South Wales, Australia
Grandson	Charles A ROLFE	1885	Cooma, Monaro, New South Wales, Australia
Grandson	Phillip R ROLFE	1890	Cooma, Monaro, New South Wales, Australia
Grandson	Henry L ROLFE	1891	Cooma, Monaro, New South Wales, Australia
Grandson	Alfred J (Fred) ROLFE	1894	Cooma, Monaro, New South Wales, Australia
Grandson	Arthur Lawrence ROLFE	1896	Cooma, Monaro, New South Wales, Australia	21 Nov 1937	Beloka, Monaro, New South Wales, Australia	41
Grandson	John J LEE	1898	Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia
Niece	Mary SHEEHAN	1852	Molonglo, New South Wales, Australia
Nephew	Thomas SHEEHAN	abt 1854	Molonglo, New South Wales, Australia
Niece	Catherine (Kate) Mary SHEEHAN	1857	Molonglo, New South Wales, Australia	07 May 1940	Bungendore, New South Wales, Australia	83
Nephew	John SHEEHAN	1858	Molonglo, New South Wales, Australia
Niece	Ellen F D MCAULIFFE	1862	Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia
Niece	Mary MCAULIFFE	1864	Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia
Niece	Deborah MCAULIFFE	1866	Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia
Niece	Margaret MCAULIFFE	1868	Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia
Niece	Kate Agnes MCAULIFFE	1870	Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia
Nephew	Thomas John MCAULIFFE	1872	Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia
Nephew	Michael Jeremiah MCAULIFFE	1874	Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia	1928	Rockdale, New South Wales, Australia	54
Niece	Sarah Jane MCAULIFFE	1877	Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia	1953	North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia	76
Niece	Ada Josephine MCAULIFFE	1879	Cooma, Monaro, New South Wales, Australia	1973	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia	94
Nephew	James P MCAULIFFE	1884	Cooma, Monaro, New South Wales, Australia
Nephew	William J MCAULIFFE	1886	Cooma, Monaro, New South Wales, Australia
Niece	Mary MCAULIFFE	02 Mar 1873	Gundaroo, New South Wales, Australia	1951		78
Niece	Honora Emily MCAULIFFE	1874	Yass, New South Wales, Australia	1954		80
Niece	Ada Ellen MCAULIFFE	1875	Yass, New South Wales, Australia	1951		76
Niece	Annie Elizabeth MCAULIFFE	06 Sep 1876	Yass, New South Wales, Australia	18 Jan 1912	Yass, New South Wales, Australia	35
Niece	Florence Katherine MCAULIFFE	24 Dec 1876	Yass, New South Wales, Australia	1970		94
Niece	Deborah Margaret MCAULIFFE	1879	Yass, New South Wales, Australia	1955		76
Nephew	Thomas MCAULIFFE	1881	Yass, New South Wales, Australia	1952		71
Niece	Mabel MCAULIFFE	1885	Yass, New South Wales, Australia	1970		85
Niece	Veronica MCAULIFFE	1887	Yass, New South Wales, Australia	1969		82
Nephew	Francis Jeremiah MCAULIFFE	1890	Yass, New South Wales, Australia	1947		57
Niece	Kathleen Agnes MCAULIFFE	02 Sep 1894	Yass, New South Wales, Australia	1980		86
Niece	Mary C MCAULIFFE	1887	Yass, New South Wales, Australia
Nephew	John MCAULIFFE	1889	Yass, New South Wales, Australia
Niece	Zeta A MCAULIFFE	1903	Yass, New South Wales, Australia
Nephew	Edward Desmond MCAULIFFE	1906	Yass, New South Wales, Australia
Niece	Mary SPARROW	1880	Bungendore, New South Wales, Australia
Niece	Florence SPARROW	1881	Bungendore, New South Wales, Australia
Niece	Ada SPARROW	1883	Bungendore, New South Wales, Australia
Nephew	Thomas Francis SPARROW	1885	Bungendore, New South Wales, Australia
Niece	Deborah Elizabeth SPARROW	1887	Bungendore, New South Wales, Australia
Nephew	John William SPARROW	1889	Bungendore, New South Wales, Australia
Nephew	Leo George SPARROW	1891	Bungendore, New South Wales, Australia
Niece	Pauline Veronica SPARROW	1894	Bungendore, New South Wales, Australia	10 Sep 1943	Canberra, ACT, Australia	49
Brother in Law	Maurice SHEEHAN	1822	Co Cork, Ireland	05 Sep 1899	Hoskinstown, New South Wales, Australia	77
Brother in Law	Patrick Frederick LEAHY	1825	Ireland	29 Oct 1910	Gundaroo, New South Wales, Australia	85
Sister in Law	Mary Ann FLANAGAN	abt 1843	Marulen, New South Wales, Australia	23 Jan 1887	Cooma, Monaro, New South Wales, Australia	44
Sister in Law	Johannah LEAHY	25 Jan 1849	Gundaroo, New South Wales, Australia	27 Jan 1933	Yass, New South Wales, Australia	84
Sister in Law	Eleanor O'SULLIVAN			03 Mar 1945	Jeir, New South Wales, Australia
Brother in Law	John SPARROW	1847	Michelago, New South Wales, Australia	09 Aug 1903	Bungendore, New South Wales, Australia	56

Events in Margaret MCAULIFFE (1834 - 1918)'s life
Date	Age	Event	Place	Notes	Src
abt 1834		Margaret MCAULIFFE was born	Newmarket, Co Cork, Ireland		6
09 Feb 1845	11	Immigration	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia	per 'Herald'	6
13 Jan 1851	17	Married William LEE (aged 40)	New South Wales, Australia	V1851136 97/1851	6
1852	18	Birth of son Maurice LEE	New South Wales, Australia	V1852798 69/1852	6
1853	19	Birth of daughter Margaret LEE	New South Wales, Australia	V18531058 70/1853	6
abt 1853	19	Death of son Maurice LEE (aged 1)			80
1856	22	Birth of son John Maurice LEE	Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia	7441/1856	6
1858	24	Birth of daughter Ellen Mary LEE	Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia	11603/1858	6
abt 1860	26	Birth of daughter Catherine LEE			80
1861	27	Birth of daughter Deborah Agnes LEE	Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia		6
1866	32	Death of daughter Catherine LEE (aged 6)			80
abt 1867	33	Birth of daughter Kate LEE			80
07 Feb 1867	33	Death of husband William LEE (aged 56)	Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia	7532/1867	6
27 Nov 1878	44	Death of father Thomas MCAULIFFE (aged 76)	Jier, New South Wales, Australia	10611/1878	6
20 Aug 1898	64	Death of mother Mary MCAULIFFE (aged 87)	Jier, New South Wales, Australia	12166/1898	6
03 Jul 1917	83	Death of son John Maurice LEE (aged 61)	North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia		6
22 Oct 1918	84	Margaret MCAULIFFE died	Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia	15592/1918	6

Source References:

6. Type: Book, Abbr: Queanbeyan Register, Title: Biographical register of Canberra and Queanbeyan: from the district to the Australian Capital Territory 1820-1930, Auth: Peter Proctor, Publ: The Heraldry & Genealogical Society of Canberra, Date: 2001

- Reference = 180 (Name, Notes)

- Reference = 180 (Marriage)

- Reference = 195 (Birth)

- Reference = 195 (Death)

80. Type: Web Page, Abbr: Hall Museum, Title: Hall School Museum and Heritage Centre, Locn: https://museum.hall.act.au/

- Reference = https://museum.hall.act.au/display/1939/person/4165/margaret-mcauliffe.html (Name, Notes)

- Notes: Born: 1833; Died: 1918; Married: William Lee Margaret McAuliffe Margaret McAuliffe was born in 1833 in Newmarket, Co. Cork, the second of nine children born to Thomas McAuliffe (Senior) and Mary McAuliffe. Margaret was about 11 years old when the family arrived in Australia aboard the Herald in February 1845. In the family's first few years in Western Sydney she was probably too young to work, though she may have gone into service at 14 as her older sister Ellen did on arrival in the colony. By the time the McAuliffes came to the Jeir area in 1849/1850 she was certainly of working age, and soon after their arrival both she and Ellen were working as maids at Yarralumla station, the property where Australia's Government House stands today. In March 1850 she and Ellen were hired by Yarralumla's then owner, Terence Aubrey Murray, at £25 per annum.(Source, S M Mowle, Retrospective Journal, held by Mitchell Library, cited by Cross and Sheedy, Queanbeyan Pioneers, 1983, p192). Margaret did not work long at Yarralumla before she married, on 13 Januarly 1851, the much older William Lee, a convict from Limerick who had been transported for highway robbery in 1829 and granted a Conditional Pardon in 1843. Despite this, he continued to work for Murray as a stockman and overseer. At about 40 years of age in 1850, he had perhaps decided it was time to settle down. Margaret was 17, or just turning 18 (we do not know her month of birth). Patricia Clarke's A Colonial Woman gives extracts from Mary Braidwood Mowle's diary, including the following (p112): 'Friday 17th' (January, 1851). '... I went over to Yarrowlumla to see Margaret. Just as we got to the white gate Lee who was with us managed to tumble off his horse which frightened me excessively, however he was not much hurt. Went in, saw all Margaret's bridal finery and gave her plenty of good advice....' At some time not long after they married, William became the proprietor of St Patrick's Inn, Crawford St, Queanbeyan. Margaret's first child was born in 1852 though he died the following year. Thereafter there were nine more children, the last, Kate, born a few months after William's death in 1867. One of these, Catherine, died aged 6 in 1866, the start of life unravelling for Margaret, who was widowed the next year. We know little of Margaret's life until William's death in 1867, after which she became quite a local celebrity. On William's death, Margaret was provided for by any proceeds drawn from William's property, but she did not inherit the property itself. For some reason, perhaps in repayment of a loan, William's property (several Queanbeyan blocks of land, and St Patrick's Inn) was left to Augustus Gibbes, by then owner of Yarralumla and his heirs, and he was made Executor of William's will in this respect (Margaret being Executrix and guardian of the 'infant children' provided she did not remarry). Since she was only in her early 30s when William died, this seems grossly unfair by today's standards, but it was a very common provision in those days to ensure that a man's children, not a new husband, got the proceeds of his labours. Gibbes disclaimed this property in 1880, by which time the three oldest surviving children, and most notably eldest surviving son John, had reached majority. At that point Margaret owned the various blocks her husband had owned at his death, as well as St Patrick's Inn. Margaret became the licensee of St Patrick's Inn on 13 August 1867, the license being renewed on 21 August 1869 and 9 September 1870. However, at that point, for reasons unknown, the license was transferred to Thomas McAuliffe in April 1871. It is not clear whether this was her father or her youngest brother, though perhaps the latter is more likely as her father would have been over 70 years old, her brother about 24. But the venture was short-lived, for later that year (November) Robert French, a builder, cabinetmaker and undertaker, took the license and renamed the Inn, French's Family Hotel. That too did not work out, for on 15 August 1872 the Queanbeyan Age reported a new licensee, Michael Sheedy, and a new name, the Australian Hotel. As far as we know, Margaret and the children were still living on the premises, which may have been uncomfortable for the series of external licensees, as there is some evidence that Margaret was a strong personality. On 23 July 1873 Margaret took back the license, keeping the name the Australian Hotel. Margaret had her license renewed on 2 September 1874, just weeks before her conviction for assault (see below). That conviction led the court to opine that she was not fit to hold a license, and thereafter she ran the premises as a boarding house, which judging by numerous newspaper references seems always to have been known simply as 'Mrs Lee's'. The boarding house of course retained the inn's 'long room', which over the decades was a popular venue for public meetings, exhibitions, medical consultations, auctions, presentations by insurance companies and sale of various goods by travellers (there are numerous references in Queanbeyan newspapers from 1869). This no doubt provided Margaret with extra income to supplement that from her boarders. There are also newspaper references to 'Mrs Lee's stables' which would have provided further income, and an article in the Queanbeyan Observer as late as 17 June 1904 describing a ploughing competition in 'Mrs Lee's paddock near the weir' perhaps for a fee. It is clear from various advertisements and articles that she was taking boarders up until at least 1912, though she was surely assisted by unmarried daughters Ellen and Deborah, who lived with her. There is no doubt Margaret was a strong woman, in every sense of the word. Once her older sister Ellen died aged only 29, and then Margaret lost her husband William while still in her early 30s, she may well have seen herself as having a leading role in the family, as the oldest surviving sibling. We know that she took care of her sister-in-law Mary Ann McAuliffe (nee Flanagan, also referenced on this web site) for a while when she needed care, and there are other anecdotes as to Margaret's fortitude. 'Fire. On Sunday the grass in one of the plots of the garden belonging to Mrs Lee, in Crawford Street, caught on fire, presumably from some natural but unknown-cause. Mrs Lee went out to fight the flames, and after a long struggle succeeded in doing so,but in the endeavour she had a narrow escape from serious injury, the flames having burnt away a quantity of the clothes she was wearing. Fortunately there was no serious effect from the exciting incident. [Queanbeyan Age Wed 4 Dec 1901] (Margaret would have been 68 years old) But there is also some evidence of a forceful character and some poor judgement. Particularly unfortunate was her conviction for what seems to have been quite an aggravated assault on an employee at her Australian Hotel, Mary Martin, in late September 1874. We do not know the provocation, assuming there was provocation, but Margaret pleaded guilty, was fined £5 and was deemed by the Judge to be unfit to hold a publican's license. She later had to pay Mary Martin nearly £7 arrears in wages (was the demand for her pay the 'provocation'?). Following this the Australian Hotel became Mrs Lee's boarding house, Margaret announcing her 'retirement' in the Queanbeyan Age on 8 October 1874. During and following this time there was an ongoing problem with the flooding of her premises, as William had unfortunately built the inn on a natural watercourse at the corner of Crawford and Morisset Streets. Extracts from Cross & Sheedy, Queanbeyan Pioneers, 1983, p192, outline the issue: 'To Margaret Lee belongs the honour of being the only ratepayer ever to reduce the Queanbeyan Municipal Council to near Bankruptcy. The problem was caused as much by her husband's lack of foresight in building his hotel in a dry watercourse as it was by the road engineer who, during the drought in 1887, supervised work on Crawford St. The old inn had been flooded in 1861 and 1870 during major inundations but after 1887 Mrs Lee was knee-deep in water after almost every heavy fall of rain. In 1888 she received damages of £150 which the Municipal Council could barely scrape together and until her death in 1918 she continued to wage war; in 1917 the cost of defending legal suits brought by Mrs Lee reduced the Council's contribution to the sinking fund to only £50.' The extract above hardly does justice to the saga, which raged for nearly forty years, and was well reported in the local newspapers. It eventually not only threatened the Council's finances but seems to have bankrupted Margaret, then over 80 years old. Having (probably predictably) lost her ongoing battle, Margaret was declared bankrupt only a few months later, sequestration date 27 June 1916. By whatever means, it appears that Margaret and her two daughters continued to live in their home in or adjoining the original inn, which was finally demolished some years after her death. Margaret died on 22 October 1918, aged 84. She was buried with William, and daughter Catherine, in the Queanbeyan Riverside Cemetery. [Kindly contributed by Meryl Stanton. Meryl is Margaret McAuliffe's great-great granddaughter. She acknowledges the interest and assistance of other McAuliffe descendants Monica Gourley (also Margaret's great-great granddaughter), Mary Davidson, Deborah Freebairn, the late Shirley Heyes, and the late Frank Quinlan].

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