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Saturday 24 April 2010

She wears her ring

Margaret Anne Butler was born in 1855 or 1856 in Kilmihil County Clare Ireland, the second of eight children born to John Butler and Mary Fitzpatrick.

Margaret Anne Butler, about 1880

William Joseph Keneally was born in 1860 in Killea County Tipperary Ireland, one of the youngest children of William Keneally and Ellen Maher.

William Keneally, about 1880-1890

Margaret immigrated to Australia in 1880 and William immigrated in the 1880s. I'm not sure how they met but it could have been through Margaret's brother, Michael, who worked at Cockatoo Island. Margaret’s future husband, William Keneally, was also an employee of Cockatoo Island.

Margaret Butler and William Keneally married on 19 November 1890 at St Augustine’s Catholic Church in Balmain in Sydney. Both were living at Balmain at the time of the marriage. They had two children: Ellen Maria born on 5 April 1893 and James Joseph born 20 April 1895.

St Augustine's Catholic Church, Balmain

Margaret wore an 18ct rose gold wedding band from the day of her marriage until her death in 1946. As a tribute to my great grandmother, I began wearing her wedding ring on the day of my wedding in 2005.


Margaret Butler's wedding ring

1 comment:

  1. What a lovely thing. I wore my Grandmother's 22 caret gold fairly fairly bent wedding ring on the day I got married in 1994.

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