The Kavanagh Travels from Ireland to Cape Town
From ‘The Adventures of The McGaffin’s As We Remember Them’ — a family memoir begun July 17, 2003.
1800s The Kavanagh Travels from Ireland to Cape Town 1865 Patrick and Margaret Gorman were living in Mount Shannon, which was in County Clare, Ireland. They had four children:
- John – 18 (Born in 1847)
- Mary – 17 (born in 1848)
- James – 15 (born in 1850)
- Ellen – 12 (born in 1853)
They lived on a small farm with potatoes as the main crop. The Irish Potato Famine was causing great hardships. It was very difficult to make a living. One day Margaret went to the market and she heard about some land in southern Australia that would be free if it were farmed. It would amount to 50 acres, along Murray River near a place called Adelaide. Margaret was concerned about the future because at that time they could not get any more land and the current farm would decrease in size as the male children would each inherit a portion of the land. She knew that this was going to be a problem in the future because the farm was already too small. She talked about this with Patrick and he was concerned because they did not have the money to pay for the fare and the expenses needed to begin a new farm. Margaret told him that her father, Ned Bourchier, had some money set aside and was willing to advance them the needed funds. Patrick was very concerned, but he also realized that there was very little hope for the family if they did not leave Ireland. On the 3rd of March 1865 they boarded a ship on a trip that was to take about 100 days. The ship was called the Wanata. The first stop on the voyage was planned for Oporto in Portugal. After 4 days they ran into a major storm and as they attempted to enter the Oporto harbor, the ship became stranded on a sandbar and had to be abandoned. Patrick was hit and killed by a falling spar and the family had to struggle to stay together and get to safety.
They were given shelter and settled in Oporto. The shipping company made arrangements for the surviving passengers to continue on another vessel or return to Ireland. 1866 Returning was a problem because the farm had been turned over to a nephew and there was no place to live. Margaret had very little choice; they decided to continue when transportation would be available. Margaret found a job working for a family that was in the vineyard and wine making business. However, after about a year it was decided to continue on the journey. The ship that they were to take was crowded, but John and Jim were given jobs as part of the crew so they had something to do and better quarters. There was a gentleman who was an official in New Zealand on the ship and needed a governess to help with his children. Mary was asked if she wanted the job. She readily accepted. After another brief stop, they continued on toward Cape Town. They encountered another storm that lasted for 5 days. By the time they had reached Cape Town, Margaret decided that she was not going any further. After considerable discussion it was decided that Mary would continue on the journey as a governess to the children going to New Zealand and John would continue to Australia where he would farm the claim that had been awarded his father Patrick. Patrick and Mary were successful in the new land. Margaret, Jim and Ellen would stay in Cape Town. While staying in Cape Town they found that the three sons of the Power family, who were friends in Ireland, were on their way to settle in an Irish community about 100 miles from Cape Town. Margaret was able to lease a small farm and the remaining family settled there. Jim decided that he would use skills he learned in Portugal to start a vineyard. The land was good and he was successful. Later the Powers boys arrived and they were able to be together. After success in the wine business, Jim Gorman and William Power got involved in activity that was taking place in the diamond mines that were in the northern part of South Africa. William Power fell in love with Ellen Gorman and they were soon married. Ellen became my Great Grandmother. My grandfather, Michael Kavanagh, married Mary Agnes Power, their only daughter. That was the beginning of the Kavanagh clan. There was never any communication with my Kavanagh grandparents in the USA. I do remember that an Aunt Nonney came over for a visit in the 1930s and I exchanged some letters
and several phone calls to Aunt Eily who had become a Nun. Her church name was Sister Mary Patrick. In the early 80s a cousin Chris Kavanagh came to the USA and did visit us for an overnight stay. Chris wrote a book called "The Yellow Diamond" which provided me with most of the information that was described in the prior paragraphs. However, while I think that most of the general information described was fairly accurate, most of the book was fictional.
