52Ancestors #8 - Joseph Antoney - a 2nd great-grandfather revisited

This post is for Week 8 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge - 2015 - by Amy Johnson Crow from No Story Too Small. Prompt for Week 8, Good Deeds - I thought about this quite a bit and decided I would revisit Joseph Antoney. You can read my blog post about Joseph here.

Joseph arrived as a seaman on the Fiery Star in November 1864 and next appears in Bowen, Queensland in 1867 when he marries. He was still in Bowen in 1869 when his first child was born and in the Mackay district in 1877 when his next child was born. I have always wondered why he ended up in Bowen (Port Denison) and why he went on to Mackay.

Early Bowen - Sourced from Picture Qld, State Library of Qld

So, I thought I would do a bit more sleuthing and try and trace Joseph through land records - deeds.

Joseph first appears as Joseph Anthony in the Crown Land Sales in Queensland in 1868 purchasing 5 acres of land in the Country Land Purchase A Register in the Parish of Howard, Southern District, County of Carlisle. As this was shortly after his marriage I imagine this was where he intended to settle. Following on from this purchase, in 1874 Joseph took up a Conditional Lease of 100 acres agricultural and 162 acres of 2nd Class Pastoral land in the Bowen District. This lease of 262 acres was forfeited in 1879.


Also in 1874 Joseph took up a Conditional Lease on 320 acres in the County Of Burnett, Parish of Combadello, Warialda - this is in the north-west slopes of NSW in the Gwydir Region. Why did Joseph do this? He forfeited this lease in 1879 as the lease had lapsed.

Joseph then moves to the Mackay District and in 1880 takes up a Conditional Lease of 856 acres at Greenmount and in 1882 adds 424 acres to the lease under the Crown Lands Alienation Act of 1876.

In 1884 Joseph purchased 1 rood 12 perches in Eton under the Town Lot B Register I believe that he built a house on this lot as my grandmother was born in this house.

In 1888 under the Country Land Purchase A Register Joseph purchased 856 acres at Abingdon.

By 1891 Joseph had moved from Greenmount to Eton in the Mackay District and took up 160 acres of Conditional Agricultural land in the Parish of Abingdon under the Crown Lands Act 1881-1895. By 1893, he had added a further 100 acres. In 1894, under the Country Land Purchase A Register, Joseph purchased 423 acres 1 rood 35 perches in Abingdon - there was a comment that this was top agricultural land.

After moving to Eton Joseph obtained a Licence to sell Tobacco which he held until 1905. My grandmother had told me that Joseph grew tobacco at Eton.

In 1904 Joseph forfeited his 160 acre lease in Abingdon for non-payment of fees. In 1906 under the Country Land Purchase A Register Joseph purchased 1 acre 2 Roods in Abingdon County of Carlisle. Was this the land that had been resumed from his selection in 1884 for a road and then closed in 1888? (Road one chain wide, resumed from Selection No. 534, Mackay District -Joseph Antoney - 1884).  It certainly was the exact amount of land resumed.

So, I need to do much more research about Joseph and his land - this is just the start - out to the State Archives to look at maps next ...

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