HOCKEY FAMILY HISTORY


NOTES ON THE ORIGINS OF THOMAS HOCKEY WHO MARRIED MARY BURT, 1832

Thomas Hockey married Mary Burt in Montacute on 10th June 1832, and by 1841 they had 6 children recorded in the census - Elizabeth, Jane, Charles, George, Thomas and Ann. It may be that the first of these children attach to a different mother, and there is a baptism of an Elizabeth d/o Thomas and Eleanor Hockey in the Montacute Baptist church registers for 1825 - this possibility is being investigated. They went on to have Samuel Burt Hockey and Lucy Hockey by 1851, by which time Thomas senior had died. Charles and George appear to have been baptised at the Baptist church in Montacute, although there are no baptism records for the other children (subject to the above). Thomas's census age in 1841 implies that he was born around 1798-1804, although it may be that discovery of his burial record or death certificate would shed more light on this. Mary was born in 1809 and died in 1876 at Stoke sub Hamdon, aged 66.

There is no obvious candidate for Thomas among the currently known Montacute Hockey families, and it may be that his origins lie in another nearby parish. This is another 'loose end' which would benefit from a broader understanding of the distribution of the Hockeys in the surrounding area.

Thomas and Mary's son George married Martha Chaffey in Montacute and they emigrated to New South Wales, Australia in 1857, where they had at least 6 children. George's brother Samuel married twice and had some family in Shepton Mallet before emigrating in 1883 and settling near his brother in Goulburn, where he had more children. He was appointed deacon of the Baptist church in Goulburn around 1893. His son (from his first marriage) Herbert emigrated with him in 1883 and later became an authority on the Australian Aborigines. The property Hockey Hill near Breadalbane in Parkesbourne, New South Wales takes its name from this branch of the family. George's son George E (known as Edward G) married Samuel's daughter Elizabeth (known as Bessie) and had 5 children.

This is the family of Barbara McKern, Debbie Hockey, Jeff Hockey, Maureen Ramke, Mike Hockey, Sally Storey and Paul Hockey, and some information has also been provided by Gloria Kelley.

 

Any information, comments or suggestions related to this project would be welcomed by the coordinator of this page, Ian Hall.

This page was last updated 12 August 2008