Person:Mary O'Dowd (1)

Watchers
Mary O'Dowd
  1. David O'DowdAbt 1807 - 1887
  2. Mary O'DowdAbt 1820 - 1912
m. 18 Jan 1847
  1. Martin Grady1843 - 1925
  2. Mary Grady1846 - 1860
  3. Frederick Peter Grady1846 -
  4. David GradyAbt 1848 - 1883
  5. Andrew GradyAbt 1850 - 1916
  6. Ellen Grady1852 - 1853
  • HGerry OwenAbt 1811 - 1895
  • WMary O'DowdAbt 1820 - 1912
m. 13 Dec 1878
Facts and Events
Name Mary O'Dowd
Gender Female
Birth? Abt 1820 County Mayo, Ireland
Marriage 18 Jan 1847 Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaSt James Church of England Parish
to Patrick Grady
Marriage 13 Dec 1878 Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaSt James Church of England
to Gerry Owen
Death[1] 6 Jul 1912 Kerrie, Victoria, Australia
Burial? 9 Jul 1912 Lancefield, Victoria, AustraliaLancefield Cemetery

Mary was born in 1820 and was working in London when her mother died. At age 20, in 1842, she came to Australia as a bounty immigrant with her brother on board "Thetis". They were Protestants and neither could read or write. Mary lived in a slab hut for a while and then built a log cottage. She married Patrick in Melbourne in 1847. After having six children she left him and went with Gerry OWEN to Kerrie. Gerry was a convict. She didn't marry him until 1878 after Patrick had died in 1878. Gerry OWEN was an alias of William George HORNE. He died in 1895. Mary was known as "Granny Owen".

In "The History of the Shire of Romsey" (John Reid (ed), Joval Publications, Bacchus Marsh, 1992, p 39), it reads: "The first white woman to live in Kerrie was Mary Owen (1810-1905[sic]), a young irishwoman who was so mortified by the sight of Melbourne's primitive wattle and daub huts, she returned to her ship hoping to return home. But she was coaxed into giving her adopted land a try and eventually arrived in Kerrie in 1857 on a bullock dray driven by her second husband Gerry Owen. There she set up home in a slab hut on the creek in the Eaton's Road area while her husband set up a sawmilling enterprise. Mary was so frightened of being alone she took her family along to the mill every day, returning home at sunset to bring in the cows for milking. On days when overtaken by darkness Mary held onto the tail of the last cow who guided her all the way back to the cow bail. Although she could neither read nor write, Mary became the trusted district midwife safely delivering the next generation of young Australians."

1912 - Mary's death certificate states that she was known as Mary Owen or Mary Horne. It says that she had been in Victoria for 71 years, indicating that she came there about 1841 around the age of 21. It also states that she married Patrick O'Grady [sic] in Melbourne at the age of 23 (probably the age at which she had her first child, rather than when she was actually married). The children are listed as Martin 69, Mary dead, David dead, Andrew 65, Peter dead, and Ellen dead.

References
  1. Vic Death Reg. No. 11991/1912.