Eleanor Frances Pickmere – 1867-1959

• Subject: Eleanor Frances Pickmere
• Date: Unknown
• Photographer: Home Studio, Takapuna, NZ
• Found: New Zealand

Eleanor never married so there won’t be any descendants for her but she did have quite a few siblings and I’m sure there must be someone out there who would love to have her photograph.

Eleanor Frances was the daughter of Ralph Pickmere and Serena Hannah née Matthews, born on 29 Sep 1867 in Northland, NZ. Her father, Ralph, had arrived in NZ on board the vessel ‘Mermaid’ in 1859 from England.

Mermaid
Ship: 1233 tons
Captain: J White
Surgeon Superintendent: Dr Thomas Aickin
Sailed Liverpool July 11th 1859 - arrived Auckland October 19th 1859
Steerage Passengers
Pakmere Ralph

Her mother, Serena Hannah, was born in NZ on 16 Apr 1840, the daughter of Richard Matthews who voyaged with Darwin and Fitzroy on the Beagle to finally settle near his brother and fellow missionary, Joseph Matthews, in Kaitaia.

Ralph Pickmere was living at home in Warrington, Lancashire with his father (John Richard) and older brother in the 1841 census, his mother (Eliza née Thornhill) and two other siblings I couldn’t find:-

Source Citation: Class: HO107; Piece 521; Book: 7; Civil Parish: Warrington; County: Lancashire; Enumeration District: 7; Folio: 11; Page: 15; Line: 22; GSU roll: 306907.

1841 Census
Bank St, Warrington, Lancashire
Jno Rd Pickmere 45 Attorney yes
Jno Rd Pickmere 15 yes
Ralph Pickmere 14 yes

I didn’t find Ralph in the 1851 census although his parents and siblings were still living in Lancashire, in later census his parents moved to Wales where John Richard died in 1875 and Eliza in 1887:-

Source Citation: Class: HO107; Piece: 2202; Folio: 159; Page: 25; GSU roll: 87212.
1851 Census
Coalpit Lane, Newton in Makerfield, Lancashire
John R Pickmere head mar 56 proprietor of houses born Warrington
Eliza wife mar 46 born Prescot
Edward S son 13 born Warrington
Fanny C dau 11 ditto
Eliza B dau 9 ditto
Adela M dau 7 ditto

References:
ancestry.com
Donald Ferguson's Family Tree
FreeBMD
IGI
WorldConnect
http://www.wcc.net.nz/history4.html
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ourstuff/Mermaid1859.htm
http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/
http://pearlspad.net.nz/AucklandRussell.htm

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If anyone knows anything about or is connected to the Pickmere family please do contact me, I would love to pass this photograph onto a family member. Contact by email is preferable but if you are going to leave a comment please don’t forget to include your email address.

All the information I have found on this family may also be seen on the next update at WorldConnect here.

Dawn Scotting
pandora@kc.net.nz