James Byrnes (1857-1932)

TITLE PAGE

 

Introduction

 

PART 1:

 BYRNES FAMILY

 

ANCESTORS’ CHARTS :

(Parents of Peter Byrnes):

Thomas Byrnes

Lily Dance

 

 

INDIVIDUAL SUMMARIES

 (Scroll down for full list):

   

Line of Descent to Peter Byrnes:

 

James Byrnes

(Great Grandfather)

Thomas Byrnes

Peter Byrnes

 

Father

?William SEXTON (b. 1808, Needham, Suffolk, England)

OR

?Francis BURNS (b. 1808, Longford, Ireland)

Mother

 Mary WILSON (b. 1820, Ireland)

Birth

 1857 in Wellington, New Zealand[1]

Occupation

 compositor, Qld Govt. Printing Office[3],[4]

Moved to:

1859 to Queensland, from New Zealand[2]

Lived at:

 NZ-Qld: Toowoomba; Brisbane (between 1884 and 1932)

Death

 Jun 19 1932, of tumour of descending colon, carcinoma, exhaustion syncope[5] at 123 Baines Street, Kangaroo Point, Brisbane, Queensland[6]

Burial

 Jun 20 1932 in Bulimba Cemetery (Brisbane)[7]

Marriage

 Grace POBAR (Dec 27 1882 in Toowoomba, Queensland)

Children 

 Thomas BYRNES (Oct 19 1883-1973), married Amelia ("Lily") Dance, Ipswich, 1913

James Byrnes (1886) 

By all his own accounts, James was born in Wellington, New Zealand in the late 1850s; however, no trace can be found of a birth certificate in the name of James Byrnes.  What does exist, however, is a certificate [see below] for a James Sexton, born in 1857 to  Mary Wilson, in Wellington (Sexton was the surname of his mother’s first husband William).  It’s probable that James was William Sexton’s child, in accord with the registration, with James only later taking his step-father’s surname, after Francis Burns and James’ mother formed a liaison soon after James’ birth, and moved to Queensland, along with Mary’s older children.

It’s not known where the five children lived immediately after their mother’s death on a remote Queensland property near Gayndah in 1864, but by the time he was a young man, James was working as a printer, so presumably at some stage during that time, he at least went to school.

It appears likely he was living in Toowoomba when he met his bride-to-be, Grace Pobar, who came from a family of farmers and butchers on the Downs.  James’ brother and sister, Sarah and Joseph Sexton, lived in Toowoomba in the 1870s, and it’s probable James was living with them.  Sarah’s step-father, Francis Burns, was also a member of the household when she married in Toowoomba.  Coincidentally, Sarah’s husband, a young Englishman William Smith was also a printer, so Smith may well have introduced his young brother-in-law to the trade.

y 1882, James was working in the Government printing office in Brisbane, and soon after his marriage to Grace in Toowoomba that year, the couple were living in Leopard Street, Woolloongabba, later shifting to Kangaroo Point.  James and Grace had only two children, Thomas and James (jnr). 

James has been described by two of his grandchildren as “a quiet, gentle, lovely man”.[8]   Grandson Peter Byrnes remembers him as  "a tall, well-built man, of kindly disposition".  James lived near the Brisbane Cricket Ground (the 'Gabba), and on one occasion, took young Peter and Peter's father, Tom, to see the West Indies play cricket there.  James was a keen gardener, and according to Peter, always kept the yard neat and tidy.

In 1932, James died of cancer at his home at 123 Baines Street, Kangaroo Point, Brisbane and was buried in Bulimba cemetery, South Brisbane.

James’ rather forbidding grave on a hill in Bulimba Cemetery, South Brisbane (above).   The plaques have been smashed by vandals, and decades of weathering have discoloured the concrete.

His granddaughter Eileen Boyle says that originally, the grave of James and his wife Grace was a more delicate affair, but after Grace’s burial, it was remodelled to allow Grace’s niece Gladys and her husband Terrence Ryan, to be buried with them.

The 1857 birth certificate of James Sexton, born in Wellington to Mary Sexton (née Wilson).  James is believed to have grown up as James Byrnes  

[1] Birth certificate of James Sexton.

[2] Queensland Death certificate.  James' death certificate

[3] Queensland Marriage certificate (James and Grace Pobar)

[4] Queensland birth certificate of son Thomas.

[5] as above

[6] Queensland Death certificate (James)

[7] as above

[8] Peter Byrnes and Eileen Boyle (née Byrnes)