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He will definitely have been born in Australia, as Patrick was born at sea while his parents Bernard and Anne were on their emigration voyage to Australia, which is borne out by records.

It's highly unlikely that Patrick and Elizabeth would have travelled back to Ireland (or elsewhere) for Hugh's birth, and Elizabeth/Eliza/Ellen died in Queensland in 1866.
Their other children , Bernard Joseph and William Henry, were born in Australia -

Bernard Mch Mchugh
in the Australia, Birth Index, 1788-1922
Name: Bernard Mch Mchugh
Birth Date: 1862
Birth Place: New South Wales
Registration Year: 1862
Registration Place: Shoalhaven, New South Wales, Australia
Father: Patrick Mchugh
Mother: Elisabeth Mchugh
Registration Number: 13468


William Mchugh
in the Australia, Birth Index, 1788-1922
Name: William Mchugh
Birth Date: 1860
Birth Place: New South Wales
Registration Year: 1860
Registration Place: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Father: Patrick Mchugh
Mother: Elizabeth Mchugh
Volume Number: V4986 VOL 142B

However, I can tell you've already researched all this.
I'm afraid Hugh James is just one of those brick walls which we all find from time to time.

That matches what I have found too. Thanks for your help. Its a bit of a mystery. Can't find him in New South Wales or Ireland or England either.

There are no Beenleigh birth records at all on Ancestry, nor on FamilySearch.

Thanks for your interest and help.
Can't find any record of his birth still - Queensland records are usually pretty good but no record of his birth in Beenleigh or elsewhere that I can find.

Hugh James is in 56 trees on Ancestry, at least one of which has images of his death cert..

The death cert says he was born in Beenleigh..

His father's name is given initially as Hugh James McHugh, but there's a correction in the right-hand margin.

"In column 6, for Hugh James McHugh read Patrick McHugh.
R Power, District Reg, 13 May 1904."


One of his sons, also named Hugh James, was the informant, so probably the registrar asked him "Father's name?", meaning Hugh senior's father, but the son thought he meant his own father.

His age is clearly written as 54 - but maybe his son was mistaken.

Look at…………….

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/160690503/hugh-james-mchugh

If his mother was Ellen Doyle, he must have been born BEFORE his father's second marriage in 1869, so the age on the death cert is wrong, unless the '4' is actually a badly-written '9'

It does. That information is not on a gravestone so I'm not sure where it has come from. I might need to message the original poster for the findagrave.

That is the correct marriage certificate. I only have the death certificate, which says he was 54 years old, and parents Hugh James McHugh and Ellen Doyle (although death record says Patrick McHugh)

The supposed father's grave. The photo of the stone isn't clear enough to let me see what it says, so I don't know if the family details are actually on the gravestone, or if they've been added to the Findagrave site later, perhaps by a family member . It does seem to have a lot on it.

Patrick Joseph McHugh
in the Australia and New Zealand, Find a Grave Index, 1800s-Current
Name: Patrick Joseph McHugh
Gender: Male
Birth Date: 1838
Birth Place: At Sea
Death Date: 21 Jan 1900
Death Place: Brisbane, Brisbane City, Queensland, Australia
Cemetery: Nudgee Cemetery
Burial or Cremation Place: Nudgee, Brisbane City, Queensland, Australia
Has Bio?: Y

Parents

Bernard McHugh 1808–1867
Ann Kilbride McHugh 1817–1900

Spouses

Elizabeth Doyle McHugh 1835–1866 (m. 1860)
Ann Maher McHugh unknown–1926 (m. 1869)

Siblings
Mary Ann McHugh Thornhill 1856–1908


Children

Edward McHugh unknown–1923
William Henry McHugh 1860–1934
Bernard Joseph McHugh 1862–1945
Hugh James McHugh 1865–1924
Patrick Joseph McHugh 1870–1947
John McHugh 1873–1950
James J McHugh 1874–1940
Lucy McHugh 1882–1934
Mary Ellen McHugh Bauman 1885–1951

For our reference - no image of marriage record to view on Ancestry:

Hugh James McHugh
in the Australia, Marriage Index, 1788-1950
Name: Hugh James McHugh
Marriage Date: 15 May 1895
Marriage Place: Queensland
Registration Date: 1895
Registration Place: Queensland, Australia
Spouse: Ellen Elizabeth Maher
Registration Number: 002172
Page number: 17119


Hugh James McHugh
in the Australia and New Zealand, Find a Grave Index, 1800s-Current
Name: Hugh James McHugh
Birth Date: 1865
Birth Place: Beenleigh, Logan City, Queensland, Australia
Death Date: 29 Mar 1924
Death Place: Mount Morgan, Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia
Cemetery: Mount Morgan Cemetery
Burial or Cremation Place: Mount Morgan, Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia
Has Bio?: N
Father:
Patrick Joseph McHugh

Where and when did he marry?

What does the marriage cert say about his parentage?

Sorry my maths was off - born about 1870

Hi, I'm trying to find the parents of Hugh James McHugh. I know he died in Mt Morgan, Queensland, Australia on 29/3/1924 at the age of 54 (ie born in about 1865). According to his death certificate his parents were Hugh James McHugh and Ellen Doyle although the Queensland Death Register says his father was Patrick Joseph McHugh. His spouse was Ellen Elizabeth Maher.
Some sources online say he was born in Beenleigh, Queensland, in 1865 but I can find no sources for this.
Many thanks for your help.