The Mary Ryan Line

Rosanna Mooney

Research Report

Born 1 December 1853 / 3 January 1854, Tarraville, Victoria
Died 11 October 1907, Launceston General Hospital, Tasmania
Parents Thomas Mooney & Mary Ryan, Tarraville, Victoria
Research conducted March–April 2026
Narrative Research Report ← Mary Ryan ← All Emigrants

Introduction

My ancestors all emigrated to Australia in a 35-year period between 1848 and 1883. My goal for my family history work is to confirm my ancestors genetically back to the family that they were born into prior to emigrating.

This proof is one of a number trying to identify matches associated with my Irish great-great-grandmother, Mary Ryan. By identifying the matches associated with her family, I hope to be able to find the smaller matches that may find her DNA connections in Ireland.

An earlier family historian, Ron Jones, had researched the family of Mary Ryan and documented it as part of the First Families 2001 initiative.1 Much of his work had been validated with newspaper reports, birth, death and marriage certificates where they had been lodged. Additional evidence in Church baptisms was obtained that also validated Ron’s work. The children of Mary Ryan as suggested by Ron have been able to be validated with documents and also genetically which is documented in this report.

A match was found that was initially thought to be linked to Mary Ryan’s son, Thomas Mooney. Applying a DNA laddering approach2 identified several close matches to this person with trees with a common ancestral couple, Rose Ann Mooney and George Edwards living in Tasmania.

Ron Jones’ earlier research had implied that Rosanna Mooney born 1853 and baptised 1854, had most likely died as she could not be found in the records.3 The DNA matches and their trees suggested that Rosanna had a family in Tasmania. This report documents the evidence and proves that Rosanna Mooney did go to Tasmania from Tarraville Victoria and had a family.

Research Question

Is Rose Ann Mooney who married George Edwards in Tasmania in 1875 the same person as Rosanna Mooney baptised at Tarraville in 1853, daughter of Thomas Mooney and Mary Ryan?4

Conclusion

Rosanna Mooney (1853) was the daughter of Thomas Mooney and Mary Ryan as per a baptism record stating that Rosanna Mooney was born 3rd January 1854 to Thomas Mooney and Mary Ryan in Tarraville, Victoria.5 This record aligns with a birth certificate for the unnamed daughter of Thomas Mooney and Mary Ryan born 1 December 1853 and registered 12 Jan 1854 (957/1854).6 Rosanna is listed as Rose in her mother, Mary Ryan’s, death certificate in 1895.7 Rosanna married 60-year-old widower, George Edwards as Rose Ann Mooney in Mathina in the District of Fingal, Tasmania in 1875.8

The names used for Rose Ann Mooney on her children’s birth records strongly suggests that she was known as Rosanna, although her marriage record states her name as Rose Ann Mooney. The age of Rose Ann Mooney of 22 in 1875 implies a year of birth of 1853 which is the close to the 1853/1854 cusp of years that the Rosanna Mooney was born.

Roseanna Edwards was widowed and married Henry Harrisson on the 21 June 1902.9 Roseanna states her birthplace is Gippsland, Victoria, that she is 49 years old (inferred birth year 1853) and that her parents are Thomas Moony and Mary Ann Ryan.

The presence of 15 DNA matches between the descendants of Rose Ann Mooney and the descendants of Rosanna Mooney’s mother’s children – Thomas Mooney, Henry Macauley and Emily Macauley. That those 15 matches are all under one standard deviation of expected match size for the relationship as per the tree structure strongly supports that Rose Anne Mooney who married George Edwards and subsequently married Henry Harrisson was Rosanna Mooney born in Tarraville.

Evidence

  1. Birth and Baptism Records

    Thomas Mooney and Mary Ryan were the parents of an unnamed daughter, born 1 December 1853 and registered 12 January 1854 as per birth certificate 957/1854.6 Ron Jones’s research published in 200110 has been replicated by contacting the Sale Catholic Diocese to locate baptism records for the children of Mary Ryan. The baptism record for Rosanna Mooney,5 shows that she is the daughter of Thomas Mooney and Mary Ryan, born 3rd January 1854 and baptised 5th February 1854 in Tarraville. The civil registration date of birth (1 December 1853) is earlier than the baptism record birth date (3 January 1854), which is the reverse of what you’d expect if someone was recalling a date from memory at a later baptism. The most plausible explanation is that the birth of a female was registered prior to baptism and had not yet been named, and the certificate not updated with Rosanna’s name after she was baptised. The birth certificate annotation, “child not baptised at time of registration”, supports this explanation.

    Birth CertificateBaptism Record
    Date Born1 December 18533 January 1854
    Date Recorded / Baptised12 January 18545 February 1854
  2. Mary Ryan’s Death Certificate

    Mary Ryan, the mother of Rosanna Mooney, died in 1895.7 Her death certificate includes seven children including Rose as the eldest child aged 38 (implied birth year 1857) and does not indicate that any of her children have died. The informant for Mary Ryan’s death certificate was James Taylor the undertaker, and therefore the information is secondary, as it was not known first-hand by the undertaker. The names listed are consistent with other evidence for Mary Ryan’s children, although birth years are generally inconsistent with records, as expected from a secondary informant.

  3. Negative Evidence – Rosanna Mooney

    Rosanna Mooney cannot be found in any Victorian records, apart from her mother’s death certificate and baptism record. Ron Jones’ research implies that Rosanna died – “Some time later land was purchased at Stratford further east in Gippsland, in the names of Mary’s two eldest surviving children, Mary Ann Mooney and Thomas Mooney.”3 A Thomas Mooney is registered as leasing allotment 27A at Sale of 4 acres, 1 rood and 29 perches 1 May 1895 which he appears to hold until doing a land swap with 5 December 1901 with JMH McMaster. Given his later location at Bruthen near Bairnsdale for the births of his children this land lease does not seem likely.11 There are two Victoria Gazette entries for land at Sarsfield for Mary Ann Mooney. A lease of 5 acres in 1877 and a land grant of 3 acres, 3 perches and 4 roods in 1880. Sarsfield is very close to Lucknow where Lily was born in 1881.12 These files have not been reviewed to confirm if the land was for Thomas Mooney and Mary Anne Mooney, the children of Mary Ryan.

    Most family historians have followed Ron Jones’ research and assumed that Rosanna had died and been buried without records.

    If Rosanna Mooney had remained in Victoria, it would be expected to find either a marriage record or a death record for her prior to 1940. No Victorian death or marriage record for Rosanna Mooney was found.13

    The lack of marriage or death records that match Rosanna Mooney suggest that Rosanna could have moved interstate. It is worth noting the family behaviour for not recording life events through the State authorities, because of this the lack of evidence of records is not conclusive that Rosanna moved interstate.

  4. Family Context until 1872

    Thomas Mooney, who is believed to be Rosanna Mooney’s father, died 7 May 1856 as documented in The Argus on 13 May 1856 (Fig. 1).14 An inquest15 into Thomas’s death provides additional details about his death, but not his family. No records have been found to link the death of this Thomas Mooney to Mary Ryan as a couple. The evidence linking Thomas Mooney’s death in 1856, being Mary Ryan’s husband currently rests on secondary information from Ron Jones16 and has not been able to be independently verified. This linkage is hoped to be supplied by a search through PROV records that pre-date the Victorian BDM system. It is also worth noting that no death record for Thomas Mooney can be found on Births, Deaths and Marriages, Victoria. The only death for a Thomas Mooney at that time, is a prisoner who died 7 June 1856 aboard the prison hulk, Lysander, in Hobson’s Bay.17

    The Argus, 13 May 1856, reporting the fatal dray accident of Thomas Mooney at Gipps Land on 7 May 1856
    Fig. 1. Thomas Mooney died 7 May 1856 as documented in The Argus on 13 May 1856.

    Mary Mooney was pregnant with her third child when her husband Thomas Mooney died. She named this child Thomas (1856).18 Only the unnamed female Mooney’s birth was registered of the three children that Mary Ryan and Thomas Mooney were the parents of.

    Mary Mooney started a relationship with John McCauley who had three sons with her, Henry (1858), John Albert (1861) and William (1865). Mary Mooney had a fourth child, Emily, whose birth she registered as the daughter of John McCauley in 1863.19 DNA analysis shows that Emily was the daughter of James Bomford or his brother Joseph, with James being 95% likely.20 Both Henry21 and Emily Macauley’s births were registered as children of Mary Ryan and John McCauley. A baptism record was found for Elizabeth Macauley dated 6 May 1860. Elizabeth was not listed on Emily Macauley’s birth certificate and is suspected of dying not long after her baptism, given that John was born 16 months after Elizabeth’s birth. Elizabeth is also not included on her mother’s death certificate.7

    Table 1 – Baptism and Birth Data for the Children of Mary Ryan.23 Note that Mary Ryan has no variation in spelling for any of the children’s records.

    BirthBaptismNameFather’s NameVictoria BDM / Ward of State
    3 Jan 18545 Feb 1854RosannaThomas Mooney1 Dec 1853
    16 Jun 18559 Jul 1855Mary AnneThomas Mooney
    1 Sep 185621 Sep 1856ThomasThomas Mooney
    28 May 185827 Jun 1858HenryJohn McAuly11 May 1858
    20 Mar 18606 May 1860ElizabethJohn Macauly
    3 Jul 18611 Sep 1861JohnJohn McCawley3 Jul 1861
    30 Aug 18642231 Jan 1864EmiliaJohn McCully20 Aug 1863
    WilliamJohn McCauley4 May 1865

    The baptism records for the children of Mary correlate reasonably with birth records where available and match Ron Jones’ research.3

    John and William Macauley, were committed as Wards of the State in 1872 due to neglect. The boys are recorded as illegitimate with William’s date of birth recorded as 4 May 1865 and John born 3 July 1861, both born in Tarraville. The record for the boys said that Mary Ryan had been deserted by John Macauley, who had been imprisoned24 and that she was living with Bill Hamilton on the Nicholson.25

    By 1872, Rosanna Mooney would have been aged 19 and most likely have left home and become a servant.

  5. Autosomal DNA Evidence

    A match was identified that matched to other descendants of Mary Ryan and was found to trace back to George Edwards (1815–1895) and Rose Ann Mooney in Tasmania. The marriage certificate dated 26 Sep 1875 in Mathina, Tasmania for this couple shows that Rose Ann Mooney, aged 22 (implied birth year 1853), a labourer’s daughter, married George Edwards, a tin smith and a widower aged 60, and that they were married in George Edward’s house at Mathina.8 The couple had George a month after the marriage followed by another eight children.26

    The consistency of variations of Rosanna in her children’s birth records suggest that Rose Ann who married George Edwards was also known as Rosanna. George Edwards signed documents with a cross, and was therefore unlikely to be able to read and therefore did not correct any spelling for Rosanna’s first name when informing for the births. The birth year consistency between Rosanna Mooney born in Tarraville between December 1853 and January 1854, and the age for Rose Ann Mooney as 22 in September 1875 is also consistent with them being the same person. Rosanna stating that her father was a labourer is also consistent with Thomas Mooney working as a labourer. Rosanna’s early life does not make it surprising that she married a 60-year-old man who could provide her with financial stability.

    Table 2: Children of Rose Ann Mooney and George Edwards

    Child’s NameDate of BirthMother’s Maiden NameLocationPermalink
    *George21 Oct 1875Rosanna MooneyMathina. George listed as a minerlibraries.tas.gov.au/​Record/​NamesIndex/​946109
    *William26 Mar 1877Rose MooneyGeorge Bay. George listed as a tin smithlibraries.tas.gov.au/​Record/​NamesIndex/​1024848
    Sarah Ann20 Sep 1878Rosannah MooneyCampbell Town. George listed as a tin smithlibraries.tas.gov.au/​Record/​NamesIndex/​1027027
    Rosanna15 Apr 1881Rosana MooneyOatlands. George listed as a tin smith.libraries.tas.gov.au/​Record/​NamesIndex/​1036695
    Thomas Edward and Elizabeth Amelia9 Sep 1883Rosenna MooneyFingal. George listed as a tin smith.libraries.tas.gov.au/​Record/​NamesIndex/​1121421
    Arthur William21 Jun 1886Rosanna MooneyFingal. George listed as a tin smith.libraries.tas.gov.au/​Record/​NamesIndex/​1125049
    *Ernest19 Dec 1888Roseanna MooneyFingal. George listed as a tin smith.libraries.tas.gov.au/​Record/​NamesIndex/​1075560
    *Edgar Henry11 Dec 1890Rosanna MooneyMoliner St Marys. George listed as a tin smith.libraries.tas.gov.au/​Record/​NamesIndex/​940145

    Rosanna most likely travelled to Tasmania via Melbourne rather than directly from Port Albert, as the Port Albert to Van Diemen’s Land cattle trade had redirected to Melbourne by the 1850s and had largely ceased as a passenger route by the time Rosanna would have departed in the late 1860s to early 1870s.27 No records for a female Mooney travelling from Melbourne to Tasmania have been found when searching PROV, but this is not surprising as there are few shipping records for this route.

    Three people with matches were found that could be documented to be descending from three of George and Rose Ann’s children, specifically George, William and Ernest (noted with an * in Table 2). A match to Edgar has been found but excluded due to lack of documentation. Two of the nine Edwards children did not survive to adulthood. Elizabeth died in 1883 as an infant and Arthur died aged 5 in 1886. Thomas married Florence Downes in 1908 before dying in Belgium 19 Feb 1918 in the AIF in WW1. No children appeared to have resulted from this marriage. The fate of Sarah Ann and Rosanna Edwards is unknown.

    Shared matches of Rose Ann’s children were identified.28 The matches that could be placed in a tree are documented in the Appendix.

    The documentary chains for the testers are reasonably robust. All testers have been able to be placed in the tree based on trees in their profile and documents to validate where possible given Australian privacy laws. Where a parent is still alive and marked as private this information is considered to be true. In some cases, the testers have been communicated with and provided confirmation.

    BanyanDNA29 was used to assess whether the DNA evidence supports the hypothesis that Rose Ann Mooney married in Mathina, Tasmania is Rosanna Mooney born in Tarraville.

    BanyanDNA generates expected mean cM, expected cM ranges (mean plus one standard deviation) based on the specific tree structure entered by the researcher, rather than relying on predetermined relationship ranges. This methodology is based on likelihood models for forensic genealogy developed by Press and Hawkins.30 The testers shared DNA in cM is compared to the calculated mean cM and the number of standard deviations between the two values is calculated by BanyanDNA.

    To assess this hypothesis the match data was used to assess each of the trees of the children of Mary Ryan where possible and then to assess the connection between the families of Rose Ann Mooney, Thomas Mooney, Henry Macaulay and Emily Macualey.

    BanyanDNA’s published guidance31 interprets standard deviation values as follows:

    • Less than 1.0 standard deviations indicates that the relationship is probably correct;
    • 1.0–2.0 standard deviations should be reviewed although a few matches in this range are normal;
    • Above 2.0 standard deviations requires a careful review;
    • Above 3 standard deviations suggests the match is likely related differently than proposed in the tree.

    The tree structure, match data, simulation results – mean cM, expected cM range, and standard deviation calculations are stored in a JSON file held by the researcher.32 The standard deviations between the actual match data and the calculated match data for the descendants of each branch as well as the matches between the descendants of each branch (Mary Ryan) and are included in Table 3.

    Table 3. Validation of DNA Matches

    Family Head# Testers# MatchesStd Deviations > 1.0Validated
    Emily Macauley8341.1, 1.1, 1.1, 1.1Validated
    Henry Macauley21Not calculatedNot assessable
    Thomas Mooney33NoneValidated
    Rosanna Mooney331.1, 1.5Limited numbers
    Mary Ryan16381.3, 1.5, 1.5Validated

    Rosanna Mooney’s line has only three matches, two of these with elevated standard deviations although within normal variation. The Mary Ryan combined tree of 38 matches with only three matches above 1.0 standard deviation is a reliable validation. Fifteen of these 38 matches are between Rose Ann Mooney’s children and the other children of Mary Ryan. Based on the Mary Ryan tree the DNA evidence supports the hypothesis that Rose Ann Mooney married in Mathina, Tasmania is Rosanna Mooney born in Tarraville. More testers for the lines Henry, Rosanna and Thomas would improve the assessment.

  6. Evidence – Rose Ann Mooney

    George Edwards died in 1895 aged 80, listed as a tin smith, which is consistent with his children’s birth records.33 His death record, being in Tasmania in 1895, does not list his children or wife, so whether Rose Ann was still alive when George died cannot be determined from his death record.

    A marriage record for Roseanna Edwards to Henry Harrisson at the Baptist Manse, York St, Launceston, Tasmania dated 21 June 190234 was identified by Barry Jacobs. Rose Ann Harrison, died 11 October 1907 at the Launceston General Hospital.35 She is buried at the Kings Meadows Cemetery with a birth year of 1854,36 closely matching Rosanna Mooney’s assumed birth year of 1853/1854. The marriage certificate has been purchased. It states that Roseanna Edwards was born in Gippsland, Victoria to Mary Ann Ryan and Thomas Moony [sic] in the inferred year of 1853.9 All details which match what is known of Rosanna Mooney’s birth in Tarraville. Note that the 1902 marriage certificate has Rose Ann Mooney as primary informant which takes precedence over the undertaker’s secondary information for birth year for Rosanna Mooney on Mary Ryan’s death certificate.

Evidence Evaluation

Hypothesis: Rose Ann Mooney the wife of George Edwards is the same person as the Rosanna Mooney born in Tarraville

Conclusion: Proven Basis of Proof:
  • The names used for Rose Ann Mooney on her children’s birth records strongly suggests that she was known as Rosanna although her marriage record states her name as Rose Ann Mooney. The age of Rose Ann Mooney at 22 in 1875 implies a year of birth of 1853 which is the comparable to 1853/1854 as the year that Rosanna Mooney was born in Tarraville as per her baptism record and birth date of the unnamed female’s birth certificate.
  • Roseanna Edwards, widowed after her husband George Edwards died, married Henry Harrisson in 1902. Roseanna states that she was born in Gippsland, Victoria to Mary Ann Ryan and Thomas Moony in the inferred year of 1853. All details which match what is known of Rosanna Mooney’s birth in Tarraville.
    • The presence of 15 DNA matches between the descendants of Rose Ann Mooney and the descendants of Rosanna Mooney’s mother’s children – Thomas Mooney, Henry Macauley and Emily Macauley. That all 15 matches are within one standard deviation of expected match size for the relationship as per the tree supports that Rose Ann Mooney who married George Edwards and then Henry Harrisson was Rosanna Mooney born in Tarraville.
Limitations and Constraints:
  • Chromosome-level triangulation is unavailable due to the use of AncestryDNA.

Hypothesis: Rose Ann Mooney the wife of George Edwards is a different person to Rosanna Mooney born in Tarraville.

Conclusion: Not proven Basis of Proof:

The DNA match data requires either Rosanna Mooney or George Edwards to be a child of Mary Ryan, so that three of their descendants match to other children of Mary Ryan with the correct DNA match sizes. George Edwards was born in 1815 and is older than Mary Ryan who has an implied year of birth between 1832–1836 based on her children’s birth certificates.37 This leaves only Rose Ann Mooney as the connection for the DNA matches to the descendants of George Edwards and Rose Ann Mooney.

Acknowledgement

The research in this report was conducted in March and April 2026.

AI tools were also used to create initial citations using the Elizabeth Shown Mills Evidence Explained citation standard38 and to review the text for deficiencies against the GPS. All citations were reviewed and updated by the researcher.

All sources have been found and verified by a human researcher. No research or sources were supplied by AI tools. Claude using Steve Little’s Genealogical Research Assistant v8.5.1c, A research assistant designed to follow GPS methodology, for genealogists at every level, was used to critique and help the author improve their GPS arguments.

Barry Jacobs identified the marriage of Rose Ann Edwards to Henry Harrisson in 19029 and her subsequent death as Roseanna Harrison in 1907, which provided the crucial evidence proving that Rose Ann Mooney was Rosanna Mooney born in Tarraville.39

Ron Jones published research conducted as part of the 2001 First Families initiative1 which is archived on Trove and referred to throughout this research.

BanyanDNA and John Motzi have been very supportive by providing information as to how the software analyses tree and match data.

Appendix

Appendix 1: The family tree structure.

Red lines show DNA connections between descendants of Rosanna Mooney and descendants of her full brother Thomas Mooney and descendants of her half-siblings Emily and Henry Macauley. cM values show the size of shared DNA between connected individuals where visible to the researcher. Matches of matches below 20cM are not visible on AncestryDNA to the Researcher.

“Private” denotes an individual whose identity is withheld for privacy reasons. All testers names have been replaced with anonymised Tester #.

Family tree diagram showing DNA connections between descendants of Rosanna Mooney and descendants of her siblings Thomas Mooney, Henry Macauley and Emily Macauley, with cM values for shared DNA between connected individuals
Appendix 1. DNA connection diagram. Red lines show matches between descendants of Rosanna Mooney and descendants of Thomas Mooney, Henry Macauley and Emily Macauley. cM values shown where visible to the researcher. “Private” denotes individuals withheld for privacy.

Endnotes

  1. National Library of Australia, First Families 2001 [electronic resource], https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/catalog/3422591 : accessed 12 Apr 2026.
  2. Rick T. Wilson, My Family Pattern.com, “DNA Laddering: Quickly Identify Unknown Matches”, 2 January 2026, https://myfamilypattern.com/dna-laddering/ : accessed 18 April 2026.
  3. Ron Jones, First Families 2001, Trove, Trove Archive, digital image, (https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20050217021528/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/10421/20041220-0000/www.firstfamilies2001.net.au/firstfamily3701-2.html : accessed 2 Apr 2026).
  4. Rosanna is used to refer to Rosanna Mooney born in Tarraville. Rose Ann Mooney is used to refer to Rose Ann Mooney who married George Edwards in Tasmania.
  5. Baptismal Register for Gipps Land (Nov 1851), known locally as the Tarraville register, Catholic Diocese of Sale, 6 Witton St, Warragul, Victoria, Australia; entry for Rosanna Mooney, baptised 5 February 1854, born 3 January 1854, daughter of Thomas Mooney and Mary Ryan; digital image supplied by archivist, 14 Apr 2026.
  6. Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria, Register of Births, District of Alberton, no 957 (1854), Unnamed Mooney, born 1 December 1853, Tarra Survey, Gippsland; digital image, Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria, https://www.bdm.vic.gov.au : purchased 2026 by Sharon Richards, Australia.
  7. Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria, Register of Deaths, District of Bairnsdale, no 1027 (1895), Mary McCauley, died 28 July 1895, District Hospital Bairnsdale, District of Bairnsdale; digital image, Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria, https://www.bdm.vic.gov.au : purchased 2025 by Sharon Richards, Australia.
  8. Libraries Tasmania, Names Index, Marriages in the District of Fingal, married 26 Sep 1875 in Mathina, Rose Ann Mooney and George Edwards; digital image, Libraries Tasmania, (https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Record/NamesIndex/879868 : accessed 8 Apr 2026).
  9. Tasmania Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Marriage Certificate no. 745/1902, Henry Harrisson and Roseanna Edwards, married 21 June 1902, The Manse, York Street Baptist Church, Launceston; stating Roseanna Edwards born Gippsland, Victoria, age 49, widow, parents Thomas Moony and Mary Ann Ryan; purchased April 2026 by Sharon Richards, Australia.
  10. Ron Jones, Trove Archive, (https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20050217021528/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/10421/20041220-0000/www.firstfamilies2001.net.au/firstfamily3701-2.html : accessed 6 Apr 2026).
  11. Public Records Office of Victoria (PROV VPRS 5357/P0000, 3602/5.10, THOMAS MOONEY; SALE; 27 A; 4–1–29, 1894 and Australia, Victoria, Government Gazettes, 1902, Transfer of Leasehold for 2 acres, 3 perches and 8 and 9/16 roods for Thomas’s 4 acres 1 perch and 29 roods, both at Sale, page number 346; digital image, Ancestry, image 354 of 5171, (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/62730/images/i3196516-00354?pId=4337103 : accessed 20 April 2026).
  12. Australia, Victoria, Government Gazettes, 1877, Application for Licences Approved, Licence Number 575B, Mary Ann Mooney, 5 acres at Sarsfield, Bairnsdale, page number 1344; digital image, Ancestry, image 1379 of 2502, (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/62730/images/i3196471-01378?pId=2030475 : accessed 20 April 2026). Australia, Victoria, Government Gazettes, 1880, Applications for Grants Approved, Number 575, Mary Ann Mooney, 3 acres, 3 roods and 4 perches at Sarsfield, Bairnsdale, page number 3256; digital image, Ancestry, image 3277 of 3385, (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/62730/images/i3196477-03276?pId=2276767 : accessed 20 April 2026). Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria, Register of Births, District of Lucknow, no 160 (1880), Lily May Mooney, born 24 October 1880, Sarsfield, Bairnsdale, mother Mary Ann Mooney aged 26, born at Port Albert, not married; digital image, Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria, https://www.bdm.vic.gov.au : purchased 2026 by Sharon Richards, Australia.
  13. Searches for R* Mooney variants on Victoria Birth Death and Marriage web site for Deaths and Marriages between 1853 and 1940 identified the following deaths: Rose Mooney died 1873 aged 66, the wife of Arthur Mooney (10870/1873). Rosanna Mooney (1853) would have been 20 in 1873. Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria, Index of Deaths, no 10870 (1873), Rose Mooney, died aged 66, TYRO, Spouse at Death: MOONEY, Arthur., https://www.bdm.vic.gov.au. Rose Mooney died 1941 aged 81, the child of John McLaren (10514/1914). Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria, Index of Deaths, no 10514 (1914), Rose Mooney, died aged 78, Maryborough, Father: Mclaren Jno, https://www.bdm.vic.gov.au. Rose Mooney died 1923 aged 78, the child of Andrew Carey (3533/1923). Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria, Index of Deaths, no 3533 (1923), Rose Mooney, died aged 78, St Kilda, Father: CAREY Andrew, https://www.bdm.vic.gov.au. And the following marriages: Roose Ruth Mooney married Arch Nicholls 1911 (2133/1911). Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria, Index of Marriages, no 2133 (1911), Roose Ruth Mooney married Arch Nicholls 1911, https://www.bdm.vic.gov.au. Rose May Mooney married Henry Cullis Goldworthy in 1915 (1644/1915). Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria, Index of Marriages, no 1644 (1915), Rose May Mooney married Henry Cullis Goldworthy in 1915, https://www.bdm.vic.gov.au.
  14. The Argus, Tuesday 13 May 1856, p.6, GIPPS LAND; digital image, Trove, (https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/4837676 : accessed 6 Apr 2026).
  15. Public Records Office of Victoria (PROV), VPRS 24/P0000, 1856/309 Male, 1856/309 Male Thomas Mooney: Inquest, Given name: Thomas; Family name: Mooney; Cause of death: Dray accident; Location of hearing: Alberton; digital Image, PROV (https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/3E7787BE-F1BB-11E9-AE98-9B2C5D002B4E : 2 Apr 2026).
  16. Ron Jones, First Families 2001, Trove, Trove Archive, digital image, (https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20050217021528/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/10421/20041220-0000/www.firstfamilies2001.net.au/firstfamily2e3b.html : accessed 2 April 2026).
  17. Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria, Register of Deaths, District of Williamstown, no 2452 (1856), Thomas Mooney, died 17 June 1856, Hobson’s Bay; digital image, Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria, https://www.bdm.vic.gov.au : purchased 2026 by Sharon Richards, Australia.
  18. Baptismal Register for Gipps Land (Nov 1851), known locally as the Tarraville register, Catholic Diocese of Sale, 6 Witton St, Warragul, Victoria, Australia; entry for Thomas Mooney, baptised 21 September 1856, born 1 September 1856, son of Thomas Mooney and Mary Ryan; digital image supplied by archivist, 14 Apr 2026.
  19. Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria, Register of Births, District of Alberton, no 18241 (1863), Emily McCauley; born 20 August 1863, Tarraville; digital image, Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria, www.bdm.vic.gov.au : purchased 2025 by Sharon Richards, Australia.
  20. Previous research conducted by author. Can be supplied if requested.
  21. Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria, Register of Births, District of Alberton, no 14754 (1858), Henry McCauley; born 11 May 1858, Tarraville; digital image, Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria, www.bdm.vic.gov.au : purchased 2025 by Sharon Richards, Australia.
  22. Date queried with the archivist at the Sale Catholic Diocese who confirmed the birth year is incorrect based on other baptisms around the entry being in January 1864. The year should have been written as 1863.
  23. Baptismal Register for Gipps Land (Nov 1851), known locally as the Tarraville register, Catholic Diocese of Sale, 6 Witton St, Warragul, Victoria, Australia; entries as per Table 1; digital image supplied by archivist, 14 Apr 2026.
  24. Public Records Office of Victoria (PROV), VPRS 515/P0000, Volume 24 (entries 13792–14256, 1876), Central Register for Male Prisoners, p. 323, entry for John Macauley, no. 14105; digital image, Public Record Office Victoria, image 334 (https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/1C7E69FB-F3A9-11E9-AE98-A5039B372CB1?image=334 : accessed 10 March 2026).
  25. Public Records Office of Victoria (PROV), VPRS 4527/P0000, 5867–8913, Boys neglected. Book 8, 20 Jan 1872 – 25 Nov 1878, 6124 – William Macauley and 6125 – John Macauley; digital image, Public Record Office Victoria, image 68 of 736, (https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/A0C05808-F4C7-11E9-AE98-17B2886C03DB?image=68 : 31 Mar 2026).
  26. Libraries Tasmania, Names Index, Births, search for Edwards Mooney; digital image, Libraries Tasmania, (permalink in Table 2 : accessed 7 April 2026).
  27. Jill Barnard, “Jetties and Piers: A Background History of Maritime Infrastructure in Victoria,” Part 2, Chapters 4–5, Living Histories (https://livinghistories.net.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Jetties-ONL-Part-2-Chp-4_5.pdf : accessed 10 Apr 2026), pp. 36–37.
  28. AncestryDNA match list for Sharon Richards managed by the researcher, 3 Dec 2025, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 8 April 2026).
  29. BanyanDNA: Margaret Press, Leah Larkin, Jaren Campbell, Carson Wilde, Mike Charleston, (https://www.banyandna.com : 21 Mar 2026).
  30. Press, William H. and John Hawkins, “Likelihood Models for Forensic Genealogy,” arXiv preprint arXiv:2010.02985 (2020), (accessed 21 Mar 2026). This preprint paper has not been peer reviewed.
  31. BanyanDNA, “Calculations”, BanyanDNA Documentation (https://www.banyandna.com/docs/calculations : accessed 1 Apr 2026).
  32. BanyanDNA JSON file for project “Mary Ryan Descendants”, Mary Ryan Descendants.json, generated 10 Apr 2026, held by Sharon Richards. Contains tree structure, match data, mean cM, expected cM ranges, standard deviation variances and chi-square values. BanyanDNA, “Mary Ryan Descendants”, (https://app.banyandna.com/project/fcd3fcfa-8265-41d9-b1fd-7bc00e6f7568 : 10 Apr 2026), probabilities for tree placement for descendants of Mary Ryan (MRCA: Mary Ryan with partners Thomas Mooney, John Macualey and James Bomford).
  33. Libraries Tasmania, Names Index, Deaths, search for George Edwards and 1895; digital image, Libraries Tasmania, (https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Record/NamesIndex/1172715 : 12 Apr 2026).
  34. Libraries Tasmania, Names Index, Marriages, search for Edwards and 1902; digital image, Libraries Tasmania, (https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Record/NamesIndex/1933622 : 12 Apr 2026).
  35. Libraries Tasmania, Names Index, Deaths, search for Harrison and 1907; digital image, Libraries Tasmania, (https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Record/NamesIndex/1991622 : 12 Apr 2026).
  36. Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/212867378/rose_anna-harrison : accessed 12 April 2026), memorial page for Rose Anna Harrison (1854–14 Oct 1907), Find a Grave Memorial ID 212867378, citing Carr Villa Memorial Park, Kings Meadows, Launceston City Council, Tasmania, Australia. Note: the date on the memorial (14 October) differs from the death registration date (11 October); the official registration is preferred for the date of death.
  37. 1832: 21 in 1853 – Unnamed child birth certificate3 – informant Thomas Mooney. 1835: 23 in 1858 – Henry McCauley birth certificate20 – informant John Macauley. 1836: 27 in 1863 – Emily Macauley birth certificate18 – informant Mary Ryan.
  38. Elizabeth Shown Mills, Stripped Bare Guide: Citing and Using History Sources (Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc., Baltimore Maryland, Kindle edition, 2026) and Elizabeth Shown Mills, Evidence Explained, (https://www.evidenceexplained.com : March 2026), Forums.
  39. Barry Jacobs, email to Sharon Richards, 11 Apr 2026.

Sources & Method

DNA analysis uses BanyanDNA Bayesian statistical methodology based on Press and Hawkins likelihood models for forensic genealogy. All research conducted by Sharon Richards. Australia · 2026