18 June 2009

The Hadfield Family of Nelson

Frederick Brown Hadfield arrived in Nelson in 1858 with his family. Two sons, Harry Roodhouse Hadfield and William Welby Hadfield, farmed at Awaroa Bay from 1863.

So says the book The Story of the Hadfield Family by Carol Dawber & Lynette Wilson. The book mainly centres on William and his wife Martha Adele Ann née Snow, and their descendants.

The children of Frederick Brown Hadfield and his wife, Ann Wyan née Welby, are:-

Frederick George c1842; William Welby c1844; Charles c1845, Harry Roodhouse 1847; Frances Anne c1848; Richard 1850; Elizabeth Houlderness 27 Jun 1852; John Thomas 25 Jul 1857.

All of them were born in Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk except for John who was born in Essex the year before the family left England bound for NZ. They are probably the Mr & Mrs Hadfield & Family who arrived in Wellington on board the vessel 'Robert Small' on 13 Oct 1858.

The first photograph I have gives this information on the back - Fisher Family ?, sister of Harry Roodhouse Hadfield. Older man is Tom Hadfield, young girl standing is Ruby Hadfield & the other man is Claude Hadfield son of John Thomas Hadfield (seems to have been known as Tom).

I presume the older woman sitting in the middle is Frances Anne who married Thomas Richard Fisher in 1869 in NZ. The other two women aren't mentioned but one would presume that one of them is Tom's wife. The young girl is not mentioned either. Tom & his wife, Janet Helene Black née Wright, seem to have had only the one son so she isn't theirs.

Ruby was the daughter of Harry Roodhouse Hadfield, born 1891 in Awaroa and died 1916 in Auckland. She looks to be about 14 or so which puts the date of the photo at about 1905. Claude at the back would then have been about 23, he married 1912 & died 1924 in Auckland, his wife was Alice Maude Gunn née Francis.

fisher-or-hadfield-family

  • Subject: Fisher & Hadfield Families
  • Date: c1905
  • Photographer: Clifford, Christchurch
  • Found: South Island, NZ

The next photograph is of the wedding of Cora Lillian Hadfield to Charles Bamford Morgan in 1908. Cora was the daughter of Harry Roodhouse and was born 1886. The names of the other two aren't mentioned but the bridesmaid is the spitting image of the bride so is possibly her sister Edith Martha Ann Hadfield born 1883.

cora-hadfield-wedding

  • Subject: Morgan - Hadfield Wedding
  • Date: 1908
  • Photographer: A McCusker, Blenheim
  • Found: South Island, NZ

This one is the marriage of Charles Alfred Hadfield to Annie Roberta Logan in 1910. The rest aren't named but I could hazard a guess that the groomsman with the moustache is a brother of the groom, but as he had six brothers I don't know which one. The bridesmaid sitting on the left looks very much like Ruby (sister of the groom) she would have been 19 by this time, again the other bridesmaid is the image of the bride.

charlie-hadfield-wedding

  • Subject: Hadfield - Logan Marriage
  • Date: 1910
  • Photographer: A McCusker, Blenheim
  • Found: South Island, NZ

The last one is the marriage of John Harry Hadfield to Amy Fryer in 1915. John's brother, Harold Bertram, is there also, both sons of Harry Roodhouse.

John-&-Amy-Hadfield-Wedding

  • Subject: Hadfield - Fryer Wedding
  • Date: 5 Apr 1915
  • Photographer: A McCusker, Blenheim
  • Found: South Island, NZ
  • Participants: Elsie Draper, Harold Hadfield, William Fryer (sitting, bride's father), John Hadfield, Amy née Fryer, Arthur Fryer, Nita Gould.

Amy, born 1889, was the daughter of William Fryer & Catherine née Lawton. Their other children were William George 1883, James Lincoln 1886, Arthur 1893 and Charley 1894.

References:
NZ BDM Records
Papers Past
A Kiwi Adams Website

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If anyone is connected to the Hadfield family please do contact me, I would love to hear from you.

Dawn Scotting
pandora[at]kc.net.nz

4 comments:

Pamela Hadfield-Grier said...

I am a member of the Hadfield family. My grandmother was Alice Nelson Hadfield, my grandfather was John G. Hadfield & my father was Lynn Hadfield. If you would like you can reach me at pgrier610@yahoo.com. I would love to read The story of the Hadfield family. Am having difficulty finding it. Look forward to hearing from you. Thx, Pamela Hadfield

Unknown said...

My name is Jodie Lynn Hadfield and I am curious to know if these Hadfields are related to me

Unknown said...

My father was related to browns cliffords, hadfields and Adams, He was named after the Hadfields of Awaroa. His mother was an Adams, his grandmother a Clifford. His name is Clifford Hadfield Rodley, I would love to know where he fits in

Unknown said...
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