Person in this family
Sarah Ellen McGreevy
28 September 1888 – 7 May 1897
A child of P. and M. McGreevy buried in Ipswich General Cemetery. Sarah Ellen died at only eight years old and was remembered on an Ipswich Catholic grave as the daughter of P. and M. McGreevy. The stone supports the family but not the exact birthday copied into the tree.
Proved by a record
Sarah Ellen McGreevy (about 1888/89–7 May 1897) was a child of P. and M. McGreevy buried in the Catholic section at Ipswich.
Birth: From our family tree - no record found yet
How is this person related?
Andrew John Leahey’s second cousin twice removed
Gina D. Cacace’s spouse's second cousin twice removed (by marriage)
Abigail Ann Leahey’s second cousin three times removed
Marie C. Fitzgerald’s second cousin once removed
Kevin Leahey’s spouse's second cousin once removed (by marriage)
Worked out from the recorded parents and marriages. No sex is recorded for anyone in this archive, so the wording stays neutral.
How this person is related to Andrew:
Sarah Ellen McGreevy is your second cousin, 2 times removed.
Life
Sarah Ellen McGreevy was a child of P. and M. McGreevy who died on 7 May 1897 at the age of eight. Her Ipswich cemetery transcription reads:
McGREEVY | Sarah Ellen | | 7-May-1897 | 8 | Daughter of P. & M. McGREEVY Buried with Jack HOARE.
The full contemporary newspaper account is transcribed below in “What the records say.” It identifies Sarah Ellen as Peter McGreevy’s eight-year-old daughter at Walloon and reports that she was home with several younger children while her parents were away. Between five and six in the evening she began making a fire to prepare tea. The report says her dress ignited, possibly in connection with a kerosene lamp. Neighbours saw her outside with her clothing in flames and went to help, but her clothing was nearly consumed and she was severely burned about the legs, lower body, back, and arms. She was taken to Ipswich Hospital at about seven, never rallied from the shock, and died early Friday morning. No detail from the account is withheld or softened here.
Her age places her birth in about 1888 or 1889. Our family tree records 28 September 1888 and names Peter McGreevy and Mary Ann Hickey as her parents, but neither the grave nor the newspaper gives her mother’s full name or confirms the exact birthday. The same date is also assigned to Cecilia McGreevy in the tree.
Sarah Ellen was buried in the Roman Catholic section at Ipswich. The transcription says she was buried with Jack Hoare, whose identity and relationship to her are not established in this archive.
How we know this: A cemetery transcription and contemporary newspaper document Sarah Ellen’s age, death, and father Peter McGreevy; her exact birth and mother’s identity remain unverified. [1][2]
Family
Parents
Siblings · birth order
See this family in the family treeWhere they lived
Use the place list first. The map below is optional.
Places listed on this page
- Ipswich, Queensland, Australia
- Ireland
- Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Walloon, Queensland, Australia
- County Tipperary, Ireland
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The pins show approximate places. The line only joins them in time order; it does not prove the route travelled. 2 of the places listed above are recorded only as a county or country, so they are not pinned. Cemetery and burial places have red pins.
Timeline
Died
1897
From our family tree - no record found yet
Died
“McGREEVY | Sarah Ellen | | 7-May-1897 | 8 | Daughter of P. & M. McGREEVY Buried with Jack HOARE.” Died 7 May 1897, age eight; buried in the Roman Catholic section at Ipswich. Her implied birth about 1888–1889 does not establish our family tree's precise 28 September 1888. The transcription says she shares a burial with Jack Hoare. Sarah Ellen died at only eight years old and was remembered on an Ipswich Catholic grave as the daughter of P. and M. McGreevy. The stone supports the family but not the exact birthday copied into the tree. [1]
From our family tree - no record found yet
Fatal burns
A newspaper identified eight-year-old Sarah Ellen as Peter McGreevy’s daughter at Walloon. While preparing tea, she began making a fire and her dress caught alight; she was taken to Ipswich Hospital and died early Friday morning. [2]
Proved by a record
Original records
Tap to open a larger copyFatal burning of Sarah Ellen McGreevy, 10 May 1897
This old record gives information about the person or family named here. It matters on this page because it records information connected with Sarah Ellen McGreevy.
Open the larger document
Read the document as typed text
Original source (trove.nla.gov.au)
What the records say
2 records transcribed.
Record exhibit
Australian Cemeteries, Ipswich Roman Catholic B
This old record gives information about the person or family named here.
Partly proved
Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.
HICKEY | John | … | 25-Sep-1885 | 29 | County Tipperary, Ireland | McGREEVY | Sarah Ellen | | 7-May-1897 | 8 | Daughter of P. & M. McGREEVY Buried with Jack HOARE. | McGREEVY | Sarah Ellen | | 7-May-1897 | 8 | Daughter of P. & M. McGREEVY Buried with Jack HOARE. | Daughter of P. & M. McGREEVY. | McGREEVY | Sarah Ellen | | 7-May-1897 | 8 | Daughter of P. & M. McGREEVY Buried with Jack HOARE.Show the full recordHide the full recordFull record, about 100 words
| McGREEVY | Sarah Ellen | | 7-May-1897 | 8 | Daughter of P. & M. McGREEVY Buried with Jack HOARE. | McGREEVY | Sarah Ellen | | 7-May-1897 | 8 | Daughter of P. & M. McGREEVY Buried with Jack HOARE | HOARE Buried with Sarah Ellen McGREEVY & M. HOARE. | McGREEVY | Sarah Ellen | | 7-May-1897 | 8 | Daughter of P. & M. McGREEVY Buried with Jack HOARE
Record exhibit
Brisbane newspaper report, 10 May 1897
This old record gives information about the person or family named here.
Proved by a record
Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.
BURNING FATALITY AT WALLOON Meagre particulars are to hand of a sad burning fatality which occurred at Walloon last Thursday (writes the Ipswich correspondent of the “Observer.”) It appears that on the day named, Sarah Ellen, the little eight-year-old daughter of Mr Peter McGreevy, of Walloon, was at home with several younger children, her parents being away.Show the full articleHide the full articleFull article, about 200 words
Between 5 and 6 o'clock, from what we can gather, she commenced making a fire with the view of preparing tea. Unfortunately her dress became ignited, it is believed in some way in connection with a kerosene lamp. At any rate, shortly afterwards some neighbours saw her outside the house with her clothing in flames. They immediately went to her assistance, but by this time her wearing apparel was nearly all consumed, and she was very severely burnt about the legs and lower part of the body, back, and arms. No time was lost in conveying the little sufferer to the Ipswich Hospital, where, on her arrival about 7 o'clock, the most careful attention was given to her injuries, but she never rallied from the shock, and died early on Friday morning.
Historical context
These background articles explain the places, work, and events in this entry.
What Sponsors and Witnesses Can Tell Us
Catholic registers often preserve the people standing just outside a family photograph. A baptism normally names the child, parents, date and sponsors or godparents; a marriage normally names the couple and wit…
Reading Irish Civil Registration
The year 1864 is the dividing line in this family’s Irish paper trail. Civil registration began in 1845 for non-Catholic and civil marriages, but from 1 January 1864 the law required registration of all births,…
The Irish Road to Ipswich, Queensland
Most branches on this site point toward New York or New Jersey. The Hickey–McGreevy–McGuire cluster points in the opposite direction, to Ipswich, Queensland. The Australian evidence is uneven: cemetery records …
What we still don't know
- Does her Queensland death registration name both parents and give a birth date?
- Who was Jack Hoare, and why did they share a burial?
- What is the relationship between Sarah Ellen's and Cecilia McGreevy's identical tree dates?
- Obtain her Queensland death registration and inspect the actual monument image; identify Jack Hoare and explain the shared burial.