John Shying’s growing Australian family

While we have no known image of John Shying (yet) and there’s still more work to do to find where he ended up, there’s one thing we do know: he has dozens of descendants in Australia today through his first Australian wife Sarah Jane Thompson. 

Their four children, John, George, Thomas and Henry, were born in Paramatta where John built a home and by 1829 was the licensee for the Golden Lion Hotel, apparently known for its Chinese veranda. His name can be made out just below the '20' on the map below which shows the location of his hotel. By 1830, in addition to the hotel, he owned six houses in the town. 

Site of the Golden Lion. Church Street, between Fennell and Harold Streets.
Detail from Parramatta as surveyed by W. Meadows Brownrigg in 1844.
Courtesy State Library of New South Wales.

Of course, he maintains his special place as Australia’s first documented migrant from China, but the world’s first Mr Shying also has a rich multicultural Australian legacy. His many Australian descendants have various combinations of Irish, English, Scottish, German and Indigenous heritages (and probably more). Their surnames include; Allen, Blomer, Clarke, Doyle, Eyles, Gibbeson, Hayden, Jervis, Loel, Milham, Owen, Proctor, Shying (of course), Slayford, Slatyer, Smith, Stuart and Yarroll. You may know of some more… Amongst these is one patriotically named granddaughter named Alice Australia Shying.

His descendants' careers and lives are also as varied as the wider population and include entertainment, the military and business. Three collaborative efforts to track his many descendants are; 

• FamilySearch
• FindAGrave and 
• Wikitree. 

Any additions, comments or corrections you might have will make a difference. 

This reminds me, January is a great time to do some family history. (It is of course the anniversary of the birth of the new nation - 1 January 1901.) Speak with your oldest relatives about what they remember, ask them to add names and dates to old photos, review your family tree and share what you know. Who knows where the story will take you.

Paramatta in 1824, John Shying's time, by Joseph Lycett. Courtesy State Library of Victoria via Wikipedia.

                                                                                                

Postscript: A recent SBS podcast on Mak Sai-Ying

"Australia prides itself on being a multicultural society - but it wasn't always that way. Each new culture that flourished here had to start with one adventurous individual or family who took the plunge and crossed the oceans to reach Australia. In this series, we're trying to find those first pioneers. Episode four tells us the story of Mak Sai-Ying, our candidate for the first Chinese person to ever call Australia home." Listen here.