COLLINS FAMILY HISTORY
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COLLINS FAMILY HISTORY |
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GENERAL INFORMATION
(IN)FAMOUS PEOPLE
TOM COLLINS (1843 - 1912) - aka: JOSEPH FURPHY
A very well known name in Australia is Tom Collins, which in fact was the nom-de-plume of Joseph Furphy.
Born September 26, 1843 at Yering, near Yarra Glen, Victoria, Australia and
died September 13, 1912 at Claremont, West Australia
Under the name of Tom Collins, Joseph was a well published Australian author, he
was well known under his own name also, so much so that "furphy" became a word
in everyday Australian speech, signifying a rumour without foundation. (Joe
Furphy was not himself a disseminator of rumours, but the water-carts his firm
manufactured, which were in use all over the country and were called furphies,
were frequently the meeting-place of gossips.)
His father was a tenant farmer at Tanderagee, Co. Armagh, who emigrated in
1840. The surname Furphy is very rare. It occurs occasionally in the modern
birth registers for Co. Armagh and also in the Co. Armagh Hearth Money-Rolls of
1664-5. Professor M. A. O'Brien has suggested me that the name is probably O
Foirbhte, derived from the adjective foirbhthe, meaning complete or perfect.
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| © 1999 - 2004 Bradley Collins, All Rights Reserved |
Page last updated : 05 March 2004 |
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