Cousins connect ~ Mary Anne (Hynes) Rodoreda

Genealogy research is mainly a solitary pursuit, yet it is often at its most rewarding when cousins connect and work together to reunite two long-separated branches of a family. And this week, my 'new' 4th cousin Tom, and my unwavering research buddy and 3rd cousin Phyllis, both sent me their research results vis-à-vis Mary Anne (Hynes) Rodoreda, my recently rediscovered second-great-grandaunt.

Tom, who lives in Western Australia, visited the archives in Perth and obtained a certified copy of Mary Anne Hynes and Jerome Rodoreda's marriage certificate, as well as a certified copy of Mary Anne's death certificate. He also found the announcement of Mary Anne's death in a contemporary newspaper, not currently available online.

The certificate of their marriage on 14 January 1856 is especially informative, providing details not found in the church record of the event. It confirms Mary Anne was a milliner prior to the marriage. Presumably, she was an employee somewhere, as there is no sign of her advertising her wares in the newspapers of the day.

Her address was shown as 'Perth'—just Perth—with no street name mentioned. This rules out any further research on where exactly she may have worked. Can you imagine how small Perth must have been then, if a 'full address' was deemed unnecessary.

Excerpt from marriage certificate, Mary Anne Hynes, 1856

Note: the names Hynes and Hines were often used interchangeably, before spellings were standardised.

The best bit concerns Mary Anne's father, John Hynes, described as a carpenter by occupation. This agrees exactly with other records showing my third-great-grandfather's occupation. When his wife Margaret Hynes died in 1884, her death certificate gave her occupation as 'widow of a carpenter', while the register of her burial said she 'had been the wife of a carpenter'. So this is the final piece of the jigsaw confirming without a doubt Mary Anne's parent's, John and Margaret (HAYES) Hynes, were indeed my third-great-grandparents.

According to her death certificate, Mary Anne died of 'cancer' on 5 November 1881. Again, her address was listed as 'Perth'. We know from the Rate Books in 1880, the Rodoreda family lived at 12 Howick Street, Perth, in a four-roomed cottage, shop and bake house.

Mary Anne died young, aged 48 per her death certificate, though she may have been closer to 53 years old. She didn't have an easy death either, poor woman. How did cancer patients in the nineteenth century cope with the pain, without the benefit of modern medicines?

RODOREDA—Of your charity pray for the repose of the soul of Mary Ann, the beloved wife of J. Rodoreda, who departed this life on the 5th November, after a long and painful illness, fortified by the rites of Holy Church—R.I.P.

Then, the facsimile copy of the civil marriage registers, which Phyllis ordered last July, arrived on the 'slow-boat from Australia'. These copies are barely legible in places, but they do eliminate the possibility of transcription errors in the typed-up certified copies. Plus, they are worth it just to see the signatures of Jerome and Mary Anne.

Sources:
1. Certificate of marriage, Rodoreda-Hines, 910J/1856, no. 00047031035, issued 9 September 2020, Registry of births, deaths and marriages, Perth, Western Australia.
2. Certificate of death, Mary Ann Rodoreda, 11236T/1882, no. 00047030907, issued 9 September 2020, Registry of births, deaths and marriages, Perth, Western Australia
3. Jerome Rodoreda, 1880, 'Perth, Western Australia, Australia, Rate Books, 1880-1946', database with images, accessed Ancestry.com.
4. Death notice Mary Ann Rodoreda, The West Australian Catholic Record, 17 November 1881, p. 4.
5. Uncertified copy of original marriage record, Rodoreda-Hines, 1856, Registry of births, deaths and marriages, Perth, Western Australia.
6. Uncertified copy of original death record, Mary Ann Rodoreda, 1882, Registry of births, deaths and marriages, Perth, Western Australia.

Further articles about Mary Anne (Hynes) Rodoreda:-

• The missing piece of the jigsaw - Mary Anne Hynes; 
• Duped by the Emigration Commission;
• Mary Anne Hynes meets Jerome Rodoreda;