Emma was the eldest child of James and Eleanor Gallagher, her birth took place on 6 Apl 1860 at 21 Smith Street, Ardwick - an inner area of Manchester in England.

Emma had seven brothers and sisters all born in Manchester - Amelia, Edward, Harry, Eleanor (Nellie), Annie, Elizabeth and Maude Mary.

At the age of nine little Emma was working in the cotton mills - a sad fact of Mid-England life in the late 1800's. Easy to see why her parents would risk everything for a better life in a new country.

In September 1875 Emma managed to escape from her miserable existence as a cotton mill worker when she came to Australia with her mother, brothers and sisters. The mystery of how and when Emma's father James came to Australia remains just that - a mystery! Emma was 15 when the “GAUNTLET” arrived in Brisbane in 1876.(See picture of ship and passenger list on pages relating to Emma's parents James and Eleanor Gallagher.)

Information from Electoral Rolls shows us that not long after the family arrived they were living in Ann Street, Brisbane, Queensland.

Sweet young Emma Gallagher

Emma and her sister Elizabeth

By the time Emma met Theo Geertz (who she was later to marry), she was working as a seamstress - possibly at the same tailoring establishment as her future husband.

Click here for a look at what we know about the lives of Theo and Emma.

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