Patrick Francis White, Mary (Ellen) Saunders, Eleanor Wynne
Patrick Francis White was born about 1811 in County Cork, Ireland, and is believed to be the first of the two known sons of John and Jane (nee Ward) White.
Patrick worked as a tailor's boy but at the age of 17 he was convicted of stealing a pig at Tipperary and was sentenced to 7 years jail and transportation to the colony of New South Wales. He was one of six convicts who arrived at Sydney aboard the ship Marquis of Huntly on 30 January 1828. He was placed in the employ of a Mr Styles of Argyle, one of the original counties of NSW and which included the area around present-day Goulburn.
Patrick gained his certificate of freedom on 7 June 1834, six years after his arrival in the colony.
As a former convict, he was given government permission to marry, and on 31 March 1837 at Bathurst, Patrick, aged 26, married another former convict, Mary (also known as Ellen) Saunders, 35, who also had been sentenced for seven years and transportation. Her offence was a house robbery in County Cork.
Mary died in Sydney on 19 May 1840 and was buried there after a service at the convict-built St Philip's Anglican Church. The service was led by the Rev William Cowper. No record has been found of any children from this marriage.
It was after the death of Mary White that Patrick moved to Melbourne where he subsequently married for a second time.
His second wife was Eleanor Wynne, 23, a daughter of game keeper William and Margaret (nee Taylor) Wynne. Eleanor was born in County Kilkenny in 1820 and arrived in Australia on 23 July 1841, travelling without any other family aboard the George Fyfe, a newly-built sailing ship of the New Zealand Company.
Patrick and Eleanor had a child in 1842 and then married in Melbourne in 1843 when Patrick was aged 32. They later moved to Western Victoria where the family farmed. They eventually had 12 children.
Patrick is known to have grown grain and potatoes and raised cattle initially in the Mt Clay district, close to Heywood. Probably in the 1860s, the family moved to live near Codrington, farming an area of about 370 acres.
Patrick died in 1883 at the age of 72 and was buried at Yambuk Cemetery after a service by the Rev J. O'Dowd of the Catholic Church. Eleanor, 78, died 15 years later, in 1898, and was buried at Port Fairy Cemetery after a service by Episcopalian clergyman Thomas Bentley.
Key family dates
| Patrick Francis White born 1811 County Cork Ireland - died 17 Jan 1883 Yambuk, Vic |
married 31 March 1837 Bathurst, NSW | Mary (Ellen) Saunders born 1802 County Cork Ireland - died 19 May 1840 Sydney, NSW |
No known children
| Patrick Francis White born 1811 County Cork Ireland - died 17 Jan 1883 Yambuk, Vic |
married 30 Apr 1843 Melbourne, Vic | Eleanor Wynne born 1820 County Kilkenny Ireland - died 21 Jun 1898 Port Fairy, Vic |
Children -
1. Margaret White born 16 Jun 1842 Heidelberg, Vic - died 5 Mar 1925 Portland, Vic. She married on 17 May 1870 James Grant born 27 Dec 1841 Badenoch, Scotland, died 19 Nov 1914 Portland, Vic.
2. Rosenna (Rose Ann) White born 29 Feb 1844 Mt Clay, Vic - died 2 Apri 1887 Hay, NSW. She married on 21 Jun 1867 John William Sutton born 5 Sep 1843 County Wicklow, Ireland, died 4 Apr 1924 Wilcannia, NSW.
3. William White born 28 Jul 1845 Lake Condah, Vic - died 18 Apr 1929 Ballarat, Vic. He married on 14 Aug 1872 Rose Anne Turner born 21 Sep 1853 Port Fairy, Vic, died 18 Aug 1950 Ballarat. William and Rose Anne White are the ancestors of all Australian descendents in this family line.
4. Jane Anne White born 27 Jan 1847 Mt Clay, Vic - died 17 Feb 1852 Heywood, Vic.
5. James White born 8 Apr 1848 Heywood, Vic - died 29 Jun 1910 Glenisla, Vic. He married on 21 Jun 1883 Margaret Butler born 19 Feb 1861 Warrayure, Vic, died 29 Aug 1924 Hamilton, Vic.
6. Mary Ann White born 17 Dec 1850 Mt Clay, Vic - died 27 May 1908 Port Fairy, Vic. She married on 7 Aug 1869 John Brown born 1846 Port Fairy, Vic, died 3 Jun 1918 Yambuk, Vic.
7. Charles White born 16 Oct 1852 Mt Clay, Vic - died 24 Jan 1932 Port Fairy, Vic. He married (1) in 1874 Mary Jane Bingham born 23 May 1853 Rosebrook, Vic, died 4 Dec 1898 Port Fairy, Vic; married (2) on 12 Jun 1901 Mary Ann Ryan born 1875 Orford, Vic, died 29 May 1950 Port Fairy, Vic.
8. Eleanor White born 8 Jul 1854 Mt Clay, Vic - died 6 May 1932 Port Fairy, Vic. She married on 12 Jun 1883 Peter Wylie born 1852, died 1898 Natimuk, Vic.
9. Frances White born 25 Jun 1856 Codrington, Vic - died 2 Jul 1952 Hamilton, Vic. She married in 1887 William Barker born 1846, died 1908 Hamilton, Vic.
10. Francis (Frank) White born 30 Aug 1858 Mt Clay, Vic - died 24 Jun 1907 Narrawong, Vic. He married on 12 Jun 1889 Margaret (Maggie) Pettingill born 1866 Yambuk, Vic, died 20 Sep 1942 Portland, Vic.
11. Maria White born 24 Aug 1860 Codrington, Vic - died ?.
12. George Robert White born 29 Jan 1863 Codrington, Vic - died 5 Aug 1949 Geelong, Vic. He married (1) in 1891 Elizabeth Pettingill born 1853, died 1898 Port Fairy, Vic; married (2) in 1903 Lucy Abrahams born 1884 Broadford, Vic, died 30 Oct 1965 Hamilton, Vic.