Jane was born in 1825 to Philip Keating and Jane Amelia Sawyer, and was baptised on 2 October 1831 at St Leonard’s Church of England, Shoreditch, London, England.
She emigrated from London with her parents, sisters Louisa and Emma, and brothers John and Frederick on 11 November 1838, settling in Ashfield, New South Wales.
In 1842, at the age of 14, Jane gave birth to a daughter, Emily Jane Griffiths Keating, fathered by Richard Griffiths. Emily was raised by Jane’s older sister Emma.
In 1843, aged 15, Jane was married by banns and with the consent of her father to Joseph Barker. The marriage was recorded in both the parishes of St Andrew’s and St James’ Church of England in Sydney, NSW. By 1846 they were living in Elizabeth Street, Sydney.
It is believed that Jane and Joseph travelled to the Bathurst goldfields around 1850–1851 in search of gold. Robert G. V. Baker’s book The Second Rush: A Study of the Goldrush to Sofala in 1851 records Jane Barker, Fred Keating and Samuel Barker as depositing gold at Sofala in 1851. Samuel Barker is suggested to have been either Joseph Barker’s brother or Joseph himself.
Jane’s father, Philip, died in October 1853. It appears Jane returned to Sydney before his death, most likely in late 1851. At that time, William Joseph Barker would have been an infant, while Sofala was still a primitive settlement consisting largely of tents, with limited food and accommodation and no established church. Joseph Barker remained at Sofala, where he died in 1857 at Nuggetty Gully, north of Sofala.
Sometime after returning to Sydney, Jane met Thomas Allsopp. By mid-1853 they had formed a relationship which resulted in the birth of their first child, Ann Elizabeth Allsopp, on 28 February 1854.
There has been much speculation regarding their marriage, as no official record has been located. References to a marriage appear on the birth certificates of their children, though the reported marriage dates vary:
- Cussiah Jane – December 1841 (coincidentally the date when Thomas married Mary Ridgeley)
- Elijah John (Thomas) – 1846
- Jane Amelia – 1853
- Thomas (John Thomas) – January 1845
Jane’s death certificate records that she was 16 or 17 years old when she married Joseph Barker, although she was actually 15 and a half. It also states she was 21 when she ‘married’ Thomas Allsopp, which would place the marriage around 1849.
The number of children Jane bore is also unclear, as the records vary:
- At the birth of Samuel Allsopp (son), her husband Thomas reported previous issue as: Emily (16), William (12), Philip (10), Robert (7), Elizabeth Ann (3) – all living, with two boys and two girls deceased.
- On the 1860 birth certificate of Jane Amelia (daughter), previous issue was listed as: William (15), Phillip (14), Elizabeth (7), Samuel (3), Henry G. (3, twins), none deceased.
- On the 1862 birth certificate of Cussiah Jane (daughter), previous issue was: Phillip, William, Annie (5), Samuel (3), Jane Amelia (1), none deceased.
- On the 1864 birth certificate of Thomas (son), previous issue was: Phillip (10), William (8), Samuel (4), Jane Amelia (3), Cussiah Jane (1).
- On the 1865 birth certificate of John Thomas (son), previous issue was: Phillip (18), Annie Elizabeth (12), Samuel Henry (8), Jane Amelia (6), Rosanna Mary (4), Elijah (2).
Her death certificate lists her children as follows:
- First marriage: Phillip George (51), William (49) – both living.
- Second relationship: Ann Elizabeth (40), Samuel Henry (38), Jane Amelia (35), Rosina (33), Elijah John (31), Frederick Thomas (29) – all living, with one male deceased.
Jane died of influenza on 16 September 1895 at Lucknow, NSW, after an illness of nine days. She was buried on 17 September 1895 at Orange, NSW.
Image of Jane Keating courtesy of Leah Clark