Patrick and Elizabeth arrived in Australia aboard the Britannia III. This ship also carried convicts who experienced one of the most brutal and inhumane voyages in the entire history of transportation. But Patrick and his wife would have been spared the trauma and starvation of the Convicts.
They arrived in May 1797 and Patrick was allocated to Major Rowley's Company at Paramatta. In December the following year, Elizabeth gave birth to a daughter who was baptised Mary in January 1799. SMajor Rowley's Company was then ordered to Norfolk Island and Patrick, Elizabeth and Mary were aboard the Reliance when she sailed to Norfolk Island in November 1799.
A second daughter, Catherine, was born on Norfolk Island in March 1800. There is no official records of Catherine's birth, but the date is known from later records. Patrick and Elizabeth returned to Sydney aboard the Porpoise in March 1801. The list of passengers includes Patrick, Elizabeth and Catherine, but Mary is not listed, so we must assume she died and was buried on Norfolk Island.
Elizabeth died in March 1803 and was buried in Sydney. Her name is recorded as ‘Elizabeth Gayre’.
A Military Census carried out in 1808 describes Patrick as 5 ft, 8¾ inches (1.75 m) tall with a dark complexion, grey eyes and dark brown hair. He had a round face and was 44 years of age. He had seen 23 years, 175 days continuous army service at that time.
The New South Wales Corps was becoming a force to be reckoned with in the Colony. Some members were becoming a little too involved in some of the more seedy aspects of the colony. People started calling them 'The Rum Corps' in reference to involvment with rum smuggling and other corrupt activity. The last straw for the High Command back in London came when senior officers of the Corps staged a rebellion and overthrew the Governor, William Bligh. The days of the Rum Corps were numbered!
Immediately after the rebellion in 1808, the Corps was renamed the 102nd Regiment of Foot, and their replacement arrived with th incoming Governor, Macquarie. Roughly 110 of loyal soldiers (including Patrick) who had been in the colony for a long time were allowed to stay and were transferred in the 'Veteran's Company' attached to the incoming 73rd Regiment.
Patrick married for a second time in Sydney in June 1810. He married widow and former convict Ann Hughes. There were four marriages of soldiers from the Veterans Co on the same day and Patrick is listed as Corporal Patrick ‘Guary'. This was an exaggeration as Patrick remained a private soldier throughout his army career. The marriage was short and Ann died in 1813.
Patrick then married Mary Moore at Parramatta in January 1817. Patrick was 51, Mary 34. Mary was probably also known as Mary Lee and she was a friend of Ann Huges, Patrick's second wife. The two women had been convicted together in Lancaster and arrived on the same convict ship.
The Veteran's Company was finally disbanded in 1823 and Governor Brisbane gave each of the soldiers a grant of 100 acres of land. Patrick chose a piece of land on Brisbane Water in what is today known as Saratoga. Patrick and Mary moved to the land where they established a farm in conjunction with Patrick's daughter Catherine, by this time married to Robert Henderson. Patrick worked for a time as a constable at Pittwater, but was dismissed in 1826.
He died at his farm in January 1827, survived by his daughter Catherine and his wife of almost 10 years, Mary. In his will, Patrick provided for his wife Mary, but left his farm to his son-in-law Robert Henderson.
Mary died at Robert Henderson's 'Dove Inn' in Erskine Street Sydney in 1851.
A tip on researching Irish ancestors in Australia, particularly the illiterate ones. The people who made the official records wrote down what they heard and their interpretation of a strong Irish accent could vary. In this case, the name ‘Geary’ was recorded at various times as ‘Gayre’, ‘Garey’, ‘Gary’ and ‘Carey’.
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