Catherine Tangee

Life for Catherine was never going to be easy.  She was born in a time where Australia was still considered a new colony.  Convicts were still being brought to Australia to provide labour, country areas were still being explored by white settlers and women were little more than domestic servants and companions for the men, many of whom came to Australia as murderers, thieves and scoundrels.

Catherine’s father Thomas Loughlin had arrived in Australia as a 26 year old from Kilkenny in Ireland in 1833.  The farm servant had been sentenced to life in Australia after attacking a house with his brother Patrick and left behind a young wife and two children. 

Her mother Elizabeth Hall had arrived in Sydney in 1841.  Travelling with her uncle, the 19 year old was a bounty immigrant, selected by a colonist to work as a housemaid. 

In 1842, Thomas would be issued a ticket of leave, issued to convicts who had served part of their sentence and shown they could be trusted with some freedom.  Holding these documents, Thomas would now be able to seek private employment, lease land and move freely around the Liverpool District.

Between 1842 and 1845 Thomas and Elizabeth met.  It is not known if they actually married.  Had they, they would have had to seek permission from the Government and Elizabeth’s employer to do so but regardless, in 1846, Catherine was born followed by Julia in 1849, Sarah in 1850 and Bridget in 1851.

The family lived in Parramatta Street in Sydney and by the time Bridget was born, was attending St James Church, Cumberland in what is now the Sydney CBD.

In 1856, 9 year old Catherine would lose her father with Thomas dying on Christmas day and, within four months, Elizabeth packed up her four daughters, moved to Sale and married James Wilson.

In 1857, Elizabeth gave birth to her first son and named him James Wilson, appearing to be after his father however records show that James would also be known as James Loughlin and become a Ward of the State.  Elizabeth had another two sons with James who would both remain in Sale.

The first town plots in Sale had only been offered 7 years prior to Elizabeth’s arrival and the town was an important base for the Omeo goldfields following the 1851 gold rush.  A building boom hit the town between 1855 and 1865 and Elizabeth may have thought of Sale as being a great opportunity for a fresh start.  But, for Elizabeth and her daughters, life in Sale would become more about survival.

On July 30, 1863, 18 year old Catherine married William Tancee, a 33 year old farmer who had been kidnapped as an 18 year old in Amoy, China and brought to Australia to be sold as an indentured servant.

Perhaps because of William’s race, the couple were married in the Presbyterian Manse on the Sale Plains, possibly unable to be wed in a church but also not uncommon at the time.  The Minister, W.S. Login had built a strong congregation inclusive to the Chinese and may have been known by William.  Elizabeth signed the registration paperwork, giving authority for the marriage to occur and both William and Catherine marked the paperwork with an X indicating limited literacy. 

But Catherine wasn’t the only sister who struggled in this growing town and patriarchal society.

In June 1866, 16 year old Sarah was charged with being a vagrant and having no visible means of support.  The court papers described her as “one of the frail sisterhood and who, between dirt and rags presented a most deplorable appearance”. 

Following statements from the local police and a Chinaman named George (sic), Sarah was “sentenced in charity to three months imprisonment in Melbourne Gaol.” 

Only 2 years before, Sarah had been arrested for stealing clothing from her mother, Elizabeth’s clothes line.  Elizabeth had initiated the arrest and when asked why, stated that she wanted to teach Sarah a lesson.  Sarah had not lived with her mother for two years at that stage and was known by police for “being on the town”.

In 1867 Catherine’s youngest sister,  Bridget is recorded travelling back to Sydney.  She was only 15 years old at the time.

Unlike her sisters, Julia would find love with local farmer, John Morton, marrying him in 1869.  The couple would go on to have 9 children and be part of the farming community between Sale and Stratford.

Between 1863 and 1881, Catherine and William had 9 children, Thomas, William, Annie, Kate, Mary, John, James, Jane and Alice.    Jane had died in infancy and John died from scarlet fever the week before Christmas in 1881 when he was 6 years old.

This may have been a trigger for William who, in 1882 would leave Catherine, and six of their children as he returned to China with son James who was six years old.

It has to be highlighted that at this time there were very few women who worked, particularly if they had children.  The Gippsland Times reports from the Sale Court show women losing their children because the police and magistrates at the time would determine that they were unfit mothers, often sending the mothers to gaol ‘in charity’ and the children to industrial factories or to become wards of the state.  Reasons reported included seeing the mother at the local hotel, the mother being charged with prostitution and the mother being left with no means of support.  To have a job could also infer that you weren’t looking after your children.  

Catherine’s mother had died in 1871 and possibly following Elizabeth’s lead, Catherine looked for another husband, beginning a relationship with Thomas Lo Wing.  A cook, Thomas was also from China but sadly would not provide Catherine with the stability she would have craved.

In 1884, Catherine and Thomas’ daughter, Maggie was born, followed in 1885 by Ada.  Then in 1890, Catherine’s life and health began to visibly decline.

On September 20, aged 43, Catherine gave birth to daughter, Queenie.  Four months later in January 1891, Queenie would die.  Catherine had not registered Queenie’s birth and may not have been capable of registering her death with her 19 year old daughter Kate registering Queenie’s birth and death at the same time.

Thomas, also known as Sue Wing was listed as the father and Catherine was listed as a widow with the maiden name of Wilson.  It is possible that Kate only knew James Wilson as her mothers father and did not know about Thomas.  Queenie was buried at the Sale Cemetery on January 28, officiated by Church of England Minister, E Johnson.

Seven months later, on  August 21,  Catherine would die aged 47 years old. 

Her death certificate detailed ‘softening of the brain’ with the duration of the illness being several months.  In the 1890’s, this term was used for people suffering senility or general paralysis of the insane, a symptom of tertiary syphilis.  It is likely that this also impacted the health of Queenie.

While it appears Catherine’s older children cared for the younger children from her marriage with William, Maggie and Ada were not included and instead, went to live with a Mrs Neander but, by 1894, she no longer wanted the responsibility of two young girls who weren’t hers, especially when their father failed to offer any support.

In July, 1894, the Sale Police began proceedings against Thomas Lo Wing regarding the support of the two girls.  Mrs Neander had advised the police that the children are unable to stay with her unless she received financial support.  But, only four weeks later, 10 year old Maggie and 9 year old Ada were charged with being neglected children after they were found wandering the streets and taken to the police station.  Mrs Neander had left Sale and the children behind. 

Poa Nine, a baker from Rosedale and one of William’s friends would take on the care of Maggie, perhaps feeling the guilt of what his friend had created with his departure, however, Ada would become a ward of the state and the girls would be separated.  The police continued to look for Thomas Lo Wing in an effort to have him pay 12 shillings per week for the support of daughter Ada while she was in state care.

In the search for stability and love, Catherine left behind two little girls who hopefully, grew to know happiness and seven older children who hopefully understood that their mother was simply trying to survive.

 

Catherine Loughlin Tangee

Born:  December 11, 1846 in Parramatta

Died: August 21, 1891 in Sale

Great Grandmother of Edward William Heard