Friends of the Orphans Schools logo
Orphan Number: 522
Orphan: Catherine BROWN
Mother:O'BRIEN, Bridget
Father:BROWN, George
Mother's ship:Midlothian
Father's ship:
Age when admitted:3yrs
Date admitted:1863
Date discharged:
Institution(s):Queens Orphan School
Discharged to:
Remarks: application for Queens Orphan School refused
References: SWD26/6, 27

This orphan has been claimed by: janette thompson

catherine is my gg grandmother.  she had two sisters - charlotte and harriett who are also 'orphans'.  their mother was bridget mary o'brien ( my ggg grandmother ) who came to tas from irlenad on the midlothian 1852 - 7 year for larceny. bridget's sister also came to tas before her on the convict ship martin luther.  
You can use this contact form to send an email message to janette thompson

Your first name*:   Your last name*: 

Your email:*        Telephone number: 

Your message*:


This orphan has been claimed by: Sharon Smith

Catherine is my 2 x great grandmother. Mothers details have already been noted by Jeanette. Her father George Brown was apparently a prisoner at the time of application.

The family moved from Tasmania to Victoria somewhere between 1869 and 1873, changing the family name to Golding and settling in the Goroke area.

You can use this contact form to send an email message to Sharon Smith

Your first name*:   Your last name*: 

Your email:*        Telephone number: 

Your message*:


This orphan has been claimed by: Catherine Gamble

Catherine is my GGG Grandmother.  In 1863 her parents Mary and George Brown submitted an application to have Charlotte (5), Catherine (3) and Harriet (not quite 2) admitted to Queen's Orphan School. Whilst the two older girls were admitted Harriet was not.  

It was discovered that George was not the biological father of Harriet.  Mary (under the alias Bridget Breen) lived with a man Patrick Mulligan during Georges incarceration.  Patrick is the biological father of Harriet.  He is also the father of another child to Mary - Mary Mulligan born in 1863.  

A newspaper article describes a court hearing BREEN vs MULLIGAN.  This article uncovers yet another alias for Mary (Margaret Breen).  This court case identifies that Patrick took custody of Mary Mulligan.

Reference can be found of an application by Mary Brown and Patrick Mulligan to have Harriet admitted to Queen's Orphan School (SWD26/1/7 Image 129 (2 pages)

I have been undertaken extensive research on both Mary (Bridget O'Brien) and George Brown. This has uncovered a very large number of alises used by both.


You can use this contact form to send an email message to Catherine Gamble

Your first name*:   Your last name*: 

Your email:*        Telephone number: 

Your message*:

Claim this Orphan

Use this facility to register your interest so other researchers can contact you. Add up to a 2000 character short story about your orphan and what became of them after they left the Orphan School. You can add links to other web sites and upload a photo.  Note that you can claim more than one orphan and that any orphan can be claimed more than once.
If you need to contact our researchers then email us and quote the orphan name and index number above.

 Site last updated June 2021