John Scannell (1811 - abt. 1875)

Born Feb 1811 in Fermoy, County Cork, Ireland

Husband of Margaret (Smith) Scannell — married 15 Jul 1848 in Glasgow Scotland

Descendants

Died about 1875 at about age 63 in South Australia Australia [uncertain]

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Runnymede, 1856

Biography

What little we know about John mainly comes from a single page compiled by his son George and his military record that shows his name spelt with one L. He appears to have been illiterate as his enlistment document is signed with an X. It states that he was born in the parish of Newtown near Fermoy in County Cork possibly in February 1811. His Record of Service states that he enlisted with the 27th Inniskilling Regiment on February 18th,1831 at the age of 20 and that his occupation was shown as labourer. He was either 5 feet 9 inches or 5 feet 10 and a quarter inches (both are on his service record) with dark brown hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion. He served 21 years,7 and a half months before being discharged from Regimental Headquarters in Dublin as medically unfit with chronic catarrh, on the 25th May 1852. His record states that he served 12 years 229 days at the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa. He was Court Martialled for being drunk on duty on 6th December 1835 in Cape Town and was sentenced to 3 weeks solitary confinement.

John married Margaret Smith at St Mary’s Chapel Glasgow on 15th July 1848. They were married by the Rev John James Aylward. At the time, he was stationed at the Paisley Barracks and Margaret was living in Williamsburg.

Following his discharge, John became an Enrolled Pensioner Guard and sailed in the Runnymede arriving in the Swan River Colony 7/9/1856. By this time, two sons, John and George had been born but it appears they were left in England or perhaps they just weren't recorded on the passenger list.

In May 1858 there is a record of him donating 6 pence to the Indian Relief Fund and at the time he was part of the Enrolled Guard in the Fremantle District.

A daughter, Elizabeth was born 1859. There is no record of her birth in the online West Australian Birth Death and Marriage records but it is referenced by Friends of Battye Library in their Enrolled Pensioner Guards records. It also appears that he moved to South Australia that same year.

The next we hear of John is when his fourth child Mary is born on the 10th March 1862 in South Australia.

The last we hear of John and Margaret is the recorded death of their last child, William James Scannell at the age of two years and six months at Saltia Creek South Australia in 1867.

There is no official record of his death in South Australia but his pension ceased being paid in 1875.

Sources

• MyHeritage for George Scannell
• Ancestry Scannell family in Fermoy, by dscannell1352.
• Trove - The Inquirer and Commercial News 26/5/1858.
• https://www.friendsofbattyelibrary.org.au/_files/ugd/f5623a_d311bd7b85884268969abaf2477fad67.pdf?S
• https://enrolledpensionerforcewa.org.au/epf-profiles/s/scannell-john-27th-regiment/
• The Veterans by F H Broomhall 1989 Hesperian Press ISBN 0 85905 103 X page B251.