John MAKIM, ,of "Springfield",Gum Flat,New South Wales,Australia

Male 1840 - 1927  (86 years)


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  • Name John MAKIM 
    Suffix ,of "Springfield",Gum Flat,New South Wales,Australia 
    Born 11 Aug 1840  Lurgan, Parish of Cloone, County Leitrim, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Christened 11 Oct 1840  Lurgan, Parish of Cloone, County Leitrim, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Died 12 Apr 1927  Springfield , Gum Flat .NSW, Australia Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • Ref: The Inverell Times (NSW : 1899 - 1954) Thu 14 Apr 1927 Page 2
    Buried 13 Apr 1927  Gum Flat, New South Wales, Australia Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • Ref: The Inverell Times (NSW : 1899 - 1954) Thu 14 Apr 1927 Page 2

      Deceased was born in county Longford, Ireland, in the year 1840. Twenty-four years later he arrived in Sydney and his first employment in this country was as a dairy farming hand at Kiama. In those days there were no awards governing hours and pay and he worked 18 hours a day for the princely sum of 15/ per week. After twelve months at Kiama he sought a change of employment and applied for admission and was accepted in the mounted police,he gave about ten years service and during that period was stationed at Pilliga, Deniliquin, Wilcannia, Barradean and Menindie,respectively. He would relate many interesting and exciting experience's encountered in the force and he has to his credit the distinction of having captured, with the aid of a black tracker, three armed bush rangers near Milparinka. On his retirement from the force he had attained the rank of sergeant. It was now that he heard the call of the land, and in 1876 he selected "Springfield," at Gum Flat, where he remained until the time of his death.

      In carving a home in what then was primeval bush, Mr. and Mrs. Makim had all the early pioneering difficulties to contend with. The railway extended only us far as Singleton and transport in the days before motor cars, was an arduous proposition. The fact, however, that they were able to carry on and remain on the property for over half a century, speaks much for their perseverance and the faith they held in the district.

      Whilst successfully working his selection, the late Mr. Makim found time to take his share of the responsibilities of public matters. He was one of the provisional councillors of Bannockburn Shire and subsequently served on the council for two terms.

      The family traditions in this respect have since and are still being upheld. One son, Cr. G. S. Makim, is at present a member of the same shire,and other son, Mr. R. W. Mnkin, is a member of Warialda P.P. Board, and yet another, recently deceased at Manly, was for many years interested in local government. Deceased was also a committeeman of the P and A. Association for several years, and in the early days was a large exhibitor of cattle at the annual show. As a Justice of the Peace, too, he for many years gave service to the community. The late Mr. Makim . is survived bv a family of four sons and two daughters, all of whom are well-known in the north-west. The sons are Messrs. John Makiin, of "Hibernia" Warialda; Cr. George S. Makim, "Currawarra," Gum Flat; R. W. Makim,Pallamallawa, and Fred W. Makim, of "Springfield," Gum Flat. The daughters are Mrs D Wilson, Garah, and Mrs. R.D. Woods, Parramatta.

      The interment took place yesterday at the Gum Flat cemetery.

      (The black tracker who alway accompanied John was known as Spider,and his motto was " One eye open all the time boss " )
    Person ID I73  Kirkpatrick Family
    Last Modified 25 Apr 2021 

    Father John MAKIM, ,of Cloone, County Leitrim, Ireland,   b. 1811, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 5 Jan 1881, Lurgan, Parish of Cloone, County Leitrim, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 70 years) 
    Mother Ellen Jane SCANLON,   b. 1815, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 17 Jul 1879, Lurgan, Parish of Cloone, County Leitrim, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 64 years) 
    Married
    • A young 24 year old by the name of William John Makim(surname spelt as Macken in the Dublin Gazette of the time) was murdered on the 2nd of April 1878 ,when the carriage carrying William Sydney Clements ,the hated 3rd Lord of Leitrim,was attacked by several of his tenants,about three miles from Milford,Donegal. Whether this lad is a nephew of John and Jane is not certain, although his age would suggest he could be.His widowed mother, Sarah Makim,of Lough Rynn ,was granted seven hundred pounds compensation for his death by the Donegal Grand Jury.

      Killing of the Earl of Leitrim

      In the decades before land reform in Ireland the Leitrim Estate was one of the largest in County Donegal, and included large swathes of land in the West of Ireland as well as Donegal, where the family ran their affairs from their seat at Manor Vaughan outside Carrigart.

      The Estate leased 12,176 acres in Fanad, around half the area of the parish, from Trinity College, Dublin, along with a further 42,669 acres around Milford. This was the greater part of their Estate, as their land in Galway, Leitrim and Kildare came to 40,655 acres in total. William Sydney Clements, who held the title of 3rd Earl of Leitrim from 1854 to 1878, was a quick-tempered man who was forever falling out with his tenants. Constant criticism from liberal newspapers had little effect on Leitrim's behaviour, but the way in which he met his end still caused shock and outrage.

      Early on the Tuesday morning of the 2nd April 1878, he was on his way to Letterkenny from Manor Vaughan when he, his driver Charles Buchanan and John Makim his clerk were set upon at Woodquarter, on the western shore of Mulroy Bay. All three lost their lives. Although no-one was ever convicted of his murder, there is little doubt that he was killed by three of his tenants from Fanad, Neil Shiels of Doaghmore, Michael McElwee of Ballywhoriskey, and Michael Heraghty of Tullyconnell. Shiels and Heraghty were Fenians and McIlwee was a member of the secret society known as the Ribbonmen.
      Heraghty was the only one of the three arrested and charged with the murder, but 6 other men were charged with him: his brother Patrick, the three brothers Anthony, Bernard and Thomas McGrenaghan of Gortnatraw North, and their first cousins Anthony and Michael McGrenaghan from the same townland. Circumstantial evidence - a gun butt and a piece of paper used to wrap lead - linking Michael Heraghty and the McGrenaghans respectively to the murder was found at the crime scene.
      It is quite possible that the evidence was strong enough to convict Heraghty but he died of typhus while in custody in Lifford Jail. His funeral cortege was met by a crowd of 3,000 when it approached the Fanad peninsula. The others were never brought to trial and released in February 1879.

      Shiels lived the remainder of his life in Fanad until his death in 1924, living long enough not only to see the end of landlordism but an Irish Free State.

    Family ID F25  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Margaret WOODS,   b. 28 Aug 1848, Templemore, Tipperary , Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 10 Apr 1927, Springfield , Gum Flat .NSW, Australia Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 78 years) 
    Married 17 Oct 1872  Hay, New South Wales, Australia Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • John and Margaret began the Makim family in Northern NSW.Their first three chldren were born at Barradine,NSW ,where John was serving with the NSW Police as Officer -in-Charge.

      Johns surname is spelt MAKEN in the NSW BDM record for the marriage
    Children 
     1. John"Jack" MAKIM,   b. 3 Nov 1873, Barradine, NSW.Australia Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 4 Oct 1953, his home at "Hibernia" Warialda NSW Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 79 years)
     2. William Alexander MAKIM, ,of Strathmore, Warialda,New South Wales,Australia,   b. 13 Jun 1875, Barradine, NSW.Australia Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 26 Oct 1926, the Scottish Hospital, Paddington, New South Wales, Australia Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 51 years)
     3. Margaret Jane"Aunty Madge" MAKIM,   b. 23 Nov 1876, Barradine, NSW.Australia Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 16 Jun 1949, Warialda, New South Wales, Australia Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 72 years)
     4. Morgan Middleton MAKIM,   b. 11 Jan 1879, Springfield , Gum Flat .NSW, Australia Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 9 Jun 1885, Gum Flat, New South Wales, Australia Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 6 years)
     5. George Scanlon MAKIM, B.E.M,   b. 23 Jul 1880, Springfield , Gum Flat .NSW, Australia Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 10 Oct 1974  (Age 94 years)
     6. Sarah Ellen MAKIM,   b. 9 Aug 1882, Springfield , Gum Flat .NSW, Australia Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 24 Dec 1968, Warialda, New South Wales, Australia Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 86 years)
     7. Thomas Albert MAKIM,   b. 22 May 1884, Springfield , Gum Flat .NSW, Australia Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 29 Dec 1902, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 18 years)
     8. Richard Woods"The Boss" MAKIM, ,of Alma,Crooble ,New South Wales,   b. 16 Oct 1886, Springfield , Gum Flat .NSW, Australia Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 28 Feb 1970, Moree District Hospital , New South Wales, Australia Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 83 years)
     9. Frederick Winslow MAKIM,   b. 9 Jan 1889, Springfield , Gum Flat .NSW, Australia Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 2 Apr 1970, Inverell, New South Wales, Australia Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 81 years)
    Last Modified 25 Apr 2021 
    Family ID F23  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • Came to Australia in 1866 aboard the "Peerless" as an assisted passenger(Transcribed as John Makin),departing Liverpool,England, and arriving on 6th June 1866,being sponsored by his future brother in law George Woods.Description of his employment on arrival was Colonial Police Service,Wellington,NSW.

      Served in the Irish Police Force 13-9-1861 to 30-11-1865. New South Wales Police Force 31-1-1867 to 12-5-1876. Relocated in 1876 from Barradine to "Springfield",Gum Flat,NSW,after retiring from the NSW Police Force to take up farming.

      NSW Police Number -1743 Date of appointment-31 Jan 1867 Ref:NSW State Archives.


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