A Devine Family History

Born in SCOTLAND
According to information on marriage and birth certificates James Devine was born in Scotland about 1840. His father’s name was William but his mother’s name is not mentioned.  In a court deposition in 1865 he claims his mothers name was POOLE. We have been unable to verify this from any marriage records. There is an 1851 Scotland census entry for an eleven year old James Devine living with his father William and grandparents, James and Margaret, at Ecclefechan in the parish of Hoddam. This may or may not be the same James Devine.

His voyage to AUSTRALIA
From a document found in the State Archives we know he arrived in the colony on the clipper ‘Donald McKay’.   As a crew member or as a passenger, it hasn’t been determined. Research on the vessel revealed it sailed from the UK to Melbourne,  Victoria during the 1850/60s, and that is all we have until his marriage in South Australia in 1863.,.

South Australia
1863, James Devine married Ann Gillatly in Port Adelaide on the 3rd of July 1863.  Ann was born in Tasmania to John Gillatly and Charlotte Boyce.  James and Ann lived in Port Adelaide until 1869.  His inclusion on a crew listing for the vessel Bravo in 1868 shows him employed as the cook. Three daughters were born in Port Adelaide.

Northern Territory
1869, James was employed as a cook with the Goyder Expedition to the new settlement of Palmerston (now Darwin) and was later employed with the overland telegraph.  His wife Ann and their three daughters accompanied him on the barque “Kohinoor” from Adelaide to Palmerston in December 1869.  In Palmerston, on the 23rd of August 1870, Ann gave birth to their first son.

Albury district, New South Wales
1873-1881, James and his family had moved to the Brocklesby area near Albury where James had taken up farming.
1882-1885, the family move to Albury where James was the publican of the Exchange and Rose Hotels.
During this period Ann had 10 children.

Sydney, New South Wales
1886, the family were living in Sydney where Ann had two more children.  James and Ann lived in Sydney the remainer of their lives.  They ran two hotels in Sydney during the early 1900s, one being the “Crown and Anchor” in Kent Street near the Rocks area.  Thirteen of their children lived in Sydney while one daughter married an American and lived in California.
They had over forty grandchildren.