My great great great grandfather was Henry Harrison Peard.  He was the son of John Peard and Bridget nee Woodley.  John was the occupier of Coole Abbey, a property which had been in the family for some generations.  I believe Henry was a younger son and after his marriage to Jane Shelby or Selby, they moved into another almost-as-nice property in the region.  Henry died in Inchinapalace in Ballyhooly, Cork, Ireland in 1847.

I have had no luck tracing Jane Shelby or Selby, I don’t even know her father’s name.

I also don’t know how many children Henry and Jane had.  Generally, the Peards had very large families, but Henry died at the age of 35 so they had probably only been married for ten years.  I know for certain of one son, named John, who is my great great grandfather.  He emigrated to Australia in 1856 at the age of 17, alone, and I have wondered if his mother remarried at about that time.

All I do know is that John had a sister Frances, known to him as Fanny.  I suspect there were other siblings but I have found no record.  John’s uncle Richard was in Australia,having come over as a soldier in the military.  A second cousin surnamed Woodley was also in Australia, so he was not entirely alone.  John and his cousin travelled to the gold fields, but failing to strike it rich, he headed for the new pastoral land at Albury, where he married and raised a very large family.

I would very much like some clues about his sister.  She probably married.