The book by Heather Parsons, The Murray's of Waterhole Flat attributes an Annie McGregor as the mother of Sarah and Eliza. The source for this is, no doubt, the death certificate of Eliza Jenkins. Heather makes draws a family connection to Rob Roy and describes how the McGregor clan was banished from the English Mainland, and how family members were forced to change their names or face persecution.
Many have favored the romantic tales that Heather included in her book. She relates how Eliza (nee Tulley) Jenkins worked for a Mrs Carr as a house maid. It is likely that Heather knew of the Elizabeth Kerr records and has manipulated the truth for a story. Note that baptism record for William Tulley 1825 records his mother as Elizabeth Carr.
The baptisms records for John and Sarah list Eliza Tulley, for Eliza she is recorded Eliza Kerr, William Tulley as Elizabeth Carr, and James Tulley as Elizabeth Kerr.
It is interesting to note the parental differences between Sarah's and Eliza's death certificates. Eliza lists William Tulley and Annie McGregor, and Sarah's records John Tulley and her mother as unknown.
Genetic matching and mtDNA matching all verify the relationship of Sarah and Eliza to the Siblings and of William Tulley and Eliza Kerr. (mtDNA J1a1a1a2 based on test of Andrew Sproule for mtDNA)
Heather's story goes that the girls waited till their mother died before they, each independently, acted on their plan to steal so they could be transported to Australia for a better life.
It can be shown that both girls were recidivist offender when they where convicted and sentenced to 7 years transportation. The 1840 burial record for Elizabeth Kerr entails that this was likely more story telling by Heather. The key document relating the genealogies is John Tilley who was born 1816 had a daughter, Martha Tilley 1848-1923, who moved to New South Wales ('Parthia', aged 32, Irish - sponsored by her recently widowed sister Annie (Tilly) Temby) and whose death notice relates the family geneology.
"Sydney Morning Herald, 10 November 1923, p. 16
SCHMARR. - November 8, 1923, at her residence, corner Longview and Bridge streets, Rozelle, Sydney, N.S.W., Martha, the dear wife of P. A. Schmarr, and devoted mother of Martha Tilley, and Phillip Andrew Francis Schmarr, youngest daughter and last surviving child of the late John Tilley, Belfast, Ireland, and granddaughter of the late William and Elizabeth Carr Tilley, of Cavehill, Belfast, Ireland, also of John McCarty, Fermanagh, Inniskillen, Ireland, aged 69 years. Deeply regretted."
