The Wells Girls

Mother: Elizabeth Henrietta Umfrey, Florence Mildred, Edith Hepzibah, Elizabeth, Jessie Frances.

Elizabeth Henrietta Umfrey married James Wells in Buckinghamshire in 1865, she was born 1841 in Brill Bucks to Thomas & Elizabeth Umfrey, Thomas was a Linen Draper. Husband James is a mystery so far, no date or place of birth and no death date has been determined (by me).

Within a few months of their marriage they arrived on board the vessel 'Andrew Jackson' in Auckland where they settled.

Ship 'ANDREW JACKSON'
PORT OF AUCKLAND
ARRIVAL
24 August 1865 Capt J McCallum from London
WELLS, James & Elizabeth Henrietta

Their first son, Thomas Umfrey Wells, was born in Auckland in 1867, he later went on to become a headmaster of Richmond Road School in Ponsonby. Tom died on 28 Dec 1949, aged 82, & is buried in the Purewa Cemetery, St Johns, Auckland.  

1949/29480 Wells  Tom Umfrey  82Y

Mr. Thomas Umfrey Wells, M.A., Headmaster of the Richmond Road school, Ponsonby, was born in Auckland in 1867, and educated at Wellesley Street school, and the Auckland Training College. Mr. Wells commenced his professional career by becoming an assistant teacher at the Wellesley Street public school in 1888. He remained there for about four years, and was then appointed first assistant at Ponsonby school. In 1896 he was appointed headmaster of the Ngaruawahia school, and in 1898 was promoted to the headmastership of the Richmond Road school. Notwithstanding his laborious duties as a teacher, Mr. Wells qualified for his B.A. degree in 1893, and in the following year he took his M.A. degree with honours. Under Mr. Wells the Richmond Road school has made great strides in proficiency, and it now ranks as one of the best in the city. The roll number is about 600, and the average attendance about 530.

 

 

Elizabeth doesn't seem to have had her birth registered in NZ but there is an Elizabeth Marian buried in the same plot as her mother in the Purewa Cemetery, no details like age or when buried though. There is a death registered in 1929 for an Elizabeth Marian but she was only aged 36, either the age should be more like 56 or it's not her.

Edith Hepzibah was born in 1872, she married Andrew Alexander Wilson in 1900 & she died in 1956.

Jessie Frances was born c1874 (no birth reg), she married Albert William Day in 1897 & she died in 1951 aged 82.

William Heybourne was born in 1876, nothing more known about William.

Florence Mildred was born in 1882 & died on 5 Nov 1925 aged 42.

There was another Thomas Umfrey Wells born in 1927 but as he was born after the cutoff date for searching the NZ Birth Index I can't say whose son he was.

Thomas Umfrey Wells (1927 – 2001) was a New Zealand-born cricketer who played first-class cricket in England in the early 1950s. All but one of his appearances came for Cambridge University. (2001/16894 Wells  Thomas Umfrey  6 February 1927)

Elizabeth Henrietta Wells was aged 77 when she died on 30 Mar 1918, she is buried in the Purewa Cemetery along with her daughters Elizabeth Marian and Florence Mildred. (I hope to get photos of their headstones in the next few days, will add them here when I do.)

References:
ancestry.com
Cemetery Links to Online Databases
Cyclopedia of NZ
FreeBMD
IGI
NZ BDM Records
New Zealand Electronic Text Centre
Papers Past

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If anyone knows anything about or is connected to the Wells family please do contact me, I would love to pass this photo 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’ve found on this family may also be seen on the next update at WorldConnect here.

Dawn Scotting
pandora@kc.net.nz

Drake Family of Blenheim

• Subject: Drake Family of Blenheim
• Date: c1913
• Photographer: Irvin, Tua Marina, NZ
• Found: South Island, NZ

As to whether I have the right family is a complete guess on my part - the words written on the back 'Drake Family Blenheim' is all I had to go on.

First I searched in Papers Past for any mention of Drake & Blenheim and came up with an F Drake of Blenheim taking part in the Caledonian Sports Day in Wellington on the 1 Jan 1892, that seemed like a good place to start.

In the NZ Births there were a few named Francis and one Frank who would fit so after looking for marriages, children and death dates for them all I narrowed it down to just one family who had enough children for the above photo.

Frank Drake was born in NZ in 1868, there are no parents listed for him in the index. He may be either the son or grandson of this Mrs Drake:-

Colonist, Volume XLVIII, Issue 11504, 4 December 1905, Page 3
Another old settler, Mrs Drake, has died at Picton, aged 79 years. She came out with the late Captain Dalton. She was for many years the trusty servant of Mrs J. E. Chaytor, of "Marshlands," Marlborougb, and was much esteemed by all who knew her. (1905/7762 Drake  Eva Ann  79Y)

Why I think there is a connection is because of these other death notices:-

Marlborough Express, Volume XXIV, Issue 280, 17 December 1888, Page 2
DEATH. Drake.— On December 15, at Marshlands, William Francis Drake, aged 70.

Marlborough Express, Volume XXXIII, Issue 92, 20 April 1898, Page 2
DEATH. Drake—On the 18th, at Marshlands, Nellie Victoria, beloved daughter of Frank and Minnie Drake; aged 11 months.

Here we have a map showing Blenheim, Marshlands and Tuamarina where the photo was taken:-

View Larger Map

If Frank is the son of William Francis & Eva Ann Drake then his mother would have been aged 42 when she had him. I haven't been able to determine if Wm Francis & Eva had any other children - the records in NZ don't start until 1840 and for the first 20 years or so they are in a mess!

1893/2591 Edith Minnie  Talbot  Frank  Drake

Frank Drake married Edith Minnie Talbot in 1893, Edith was variously referred to as Edith Minnie or Minnie Edith on the registrations of their children:-

1894/18014 Drake  Agnes Annie  Minnie Edith Frank
1895/1481 Drake  Edith Myrtle  Minnie Edith Frank
1897/6100 Drake  Nellie Victoria  Edith Minnie Frank
1898/11686 Drake  Francis Talbot  Edith Minnie Frank
1900/18797 Drake  Willis Alvin  Edith Minnie Frank
1903/15242 Drake  Florence Minnie  Edith Minnie Frank
1905/10989 Drake  John Maurice  Edith Minnie Frank
1908/2272 Drake  Isabel Marian  Edith Minnie Frank

and another girl about 1910. This is who I think they are in the photo:-

 

One last note - the father, William Francis Drake, is most likely this one I found on the IGI:-

WILLIAM FRANCIS DRAKE
Birth:  18 NOV 1818
Christening:  18 NOV 1821   Saint Savior, Dartmouth, Devon, England
Parents:
  Father:  WILLIAM DRAKE
  Mother:  AGNES 

References:
NZ BDM Records
Papers Past
IGI

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If anyone has any other ideas I'd be very pleased to hear from you. With such a large family I'm sure there are a few descendants out there who would love to have this photo.

Dawn Scotting
pandora@kc.net.nz

Could this be Myrtle Evelyn Segar of Timaru?

• Subject: Unknown perhaps M Segar
• Date: 1902-1919 ?
• Photographer: Robert Mahan, Timaru & Oamaru
• Found: South Island, NZ

Today's photograph came with just these few details written on the back:-

• M Segar
• 1½ Heavy Mat Green
• 2/6

Not much help there but I was pleasantly surprised to find that SEGAR was an unusual spelling for a fairly common surname. The photograph was taken in either Timaru or Oamaru and there was only one family with that spelling of their surname in the early NZ records.

So presuming it is M Segar and not Mr Segar - there doesn't seem to be an R after the M but one never knows - the only Segar with an M initial is Myrtle Evelyn born 1896 to Arthur Edgar & Isabella (née Harkess) Segar of Timaru. Myrtle married Walter Joseph Whitehead in 1919 so that just fits with the time the photographer was in business.

The bridesmaid looks like she's the bride's sister of which she had six, Arthur & Isabella had fourteen children. Myrtle had a younger sister by two years, Ivy May Vida, perhaps she is the bridesmaid but she had two older married sisters who might have been matron of honour, Eleanor Eliza or Anne Louisa, three other sisters had died by then.

I found this nice little bit of information about Myrtle in Papers Past:-

Myrtle Evelyn Whitehead died in 1969 aged 73.

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Arthur Edgar Segar married Isabella Harkess in NZ in 1877. Arthur was employed with the Timaru Harbour Board from 1882 to 1913 and in 1890 his sister Amelia was looking for him:-

Timaru Herald, Volume L, Issue 4801, 28 March 1890, Page 2
Inquiries are made in Lloyd's Weekly of Feb 9th for the following:-
Arthur Edgar Segar was last heard of 20 years ago in Princess St, Timaru. Sister Amelia asks.

It seems Arthur was born in Tendring Essex in 1848, the son of Arthur Edgar Segar and Elizabeth née Phillips. I wasn't able to find him, his parents or his sister Amelia in any census in England or Wales though.

References:
ancestry.com
Cemetery Links to Online Databases
FreeBMD
IGI
NZ BDM Records
Papers Past

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If anyone knows anything about or is connected to the Segar family please do contact me, I would love to hear from you & it may be to your advantage. All the information on this family may also be seen on WorldConnect here.

Dawn Scotting
pandora@kc.net.nz

Anton & Helen Maria Hansen & Family

 

After much searching & getting mixed up with more than one Anton Hansen I think I've finally pinned down the family in today's photograph. Interestingly, I found part of this exact same photo on this webpage here, it says the father is 'Anton Hansen of Granity, Buller'.

From what was written on the back of the photo I determined that Anton married Helen/Ellen Maria Hart.

Marriage - 1898/1683 Helen Maria  Hart  Antony  Hansen

You are able to include the mother's given name when searching the NZ births and these are the children I found with a mother named Helen/Ellen & a father Anton(y):-

Births
1898/11742 Hansen  William John  Helen Maria Antoney
1900/19132 Hansen  Percy Edward  Ellen Maria Antony
1903/16156 Hansen  Mabel Annie  Ellen Maria Antony
1904/20999 Hansen  Fredrick Ernest  Helen Maria Anton 
1907/564     Hansen  Allan Alfred  Ellen Maria Anton

Helen Maria Hart was born in 1878, daughter of John & Annie Hart, she died in 1954 aged 75.

Birth - 1878/17043 Hart  Helen Maria  Annie John
Death - 1954/22735 Hansen  Helen Maria  75Y

Anton(y) doesn't seem to have been born in NZ, he died in 1960 aged 89.

Death - 1960/22682 Hansen  Anton  89Y

Their eldest son, William John, died in 1914, aged 15, so it's hard to say if he is in the photo or not.

Grey River Argus , 14 March 1914, Page 3
WESTPORT. March 13. A lad named W. Hansen died at Birchfield to-day as the result of injuries caused hy a fall from a trolley used in connection with the flaxmill. Deceased was the son of the manager of the mill. (Birchfield is 13 miles from Westport.)

If he is then his brother, Percy, must be the one sitting on the chair, but to me he doesn't look older than Mabel although girls that age usually start growing earlier than boys so perhaps he is. But if that is the case the youngest boy would have been only 3 or 4 at the most (because I didn't find a birth for him he must have been born after the 1909 cutoff date for births) and he certainly looks older than that.

If the photo was taken after 1914 then Percy is the elder boy at the back with Frederick sitting down & Allan the next oldest with the other two born after 1909 making the photo taken about 1918 or so - but does Mabel look to be 15???

Mabel Annie married Richard Joseph Collins in 1922; Percy Edward marred Hannah Anderson in 1923; Frederick Ernest married Marion McCombie Meredith in 1923.

1922/4813 Mabel Annie  Hansen  Richard Joseph  Collins 
1923/9303 Hannah  Anderson  Percy Edward  Hansen 
1923/7766 Marion McCombie  Meredith  Ernest Frederick  Hansen

These are the various deaths of some of the above people, a few not found:-

Deaths
1914/1632   Hansen  William John  15Y
1967/42939 Collins  Richard Joseph  72Y
1970/48466 Hansen  Percy Edward  69Y
1971/30549 Hansen  Marion McCombie  67Y 
1984/39859 Hansen  Allan Alfred  18 December 1906
1996/48841 Hansen  Frederick Ernest  19 November 1904

So it seems the Hansen family lived at Granity and their father worked a few miles away at Birchfield for the flaxmill. I found this photo in the NZ Cyclopedia.

I did find a marriage for Helen's sister, it was the only Hart/McCallum marriage:-

1897/3387 Emily Rose  Hart  Archibald George  McCallum

There was only the one birth which could be her because the year fits with the age at death of Emily Rose McCallum:-

Birth - 1873/5095 Hart  Rose Emelia
Death - 1959/34994 McCallum  Emily Rose  85Y

Finally, one last note - in 1964 there is a death for an Archie Anton Hansen aged 54. He could be one of the younger boys in the photo named after his father and his mother's sister's husband - purely conjecture on my part!

References:
Cyclopedia of NZ
NZ BDM Records
New Zealand Electronic Text Centre
Papers Past

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This is such a lovely family photo, I would love to find it a good home again, please contact me if you are a descendant or know of this Hansen family.

Dawn Scotting
pandora@kc.net.nz

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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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

Jessie Irene Starnes 1897-1964

Here we have a cute little girl with big blue eyes in a sailor's hat, written on the back is 'Jessie Starnes'. With no photographer's name or any other information I really don't know if it was taken in NZ or not so it remains to be seen if this is her or not.

Jessie Irene Starnes was born on 2 Apr 1897 in Motueka, Nelson, the daughter of Thomas Briggs Stephen Starnes and Sarah Jane née Haines, the eighth of eleven children born in NZ. Jessie died on 11 Jan 1964 in Waimea West, I don't know if she ever married, I can't find her death reg under Starnes so perhaps she did, I found the information on this website. 

References:
NZ BDM Records

If anyone knows anything about Jessie please do contact me, I would love to hear from you. All the information on this family may also be seen on WorldConnect here.

Dawn Scotting
pandora@kc.net.nz

The Baigent Family of Takaka

Today's photo is quite unusual, it has been beautifully hand coloured and on the back is some interesting information.

Eva & Ella were the daughters of Thomas John Baigent and Alice née Best of Nelson in the South Island of New Zealand.

1876/8357 Baigent  Daisy Annie  Alice Thomas John
1878/14825 Baigent  Ella Millicent  Alice Thomas John
1880/10360 Baigent  Eva Alice  Alice Thomas John
1883/11666 Baigent  Thomas Eustace  Alice Thomas John
1886/6742 Baigent  Clarice Monica  Alice Thomas John

I also have a photo which says it 'could be' a photo of Clarice Monica:-

 

This photo was taken at the Bunting Studios in Palmerston North (Bunting, F. W., Photographer, The Square, Palmerston North. Bankers, Union Bank of Australia. The business, which was established in 1889, was originally carried on in the name of Billens and Bunting, but in 1894 Mr. Bunting bought his partner out.) I couldn't determine when Mr Bunting's business finished so it's hard to say if he was still going when this photo was taken, 1910-1920 perhaps?

It seems neither Ella or Eva were ever married & Eva lived to the ripe old age of 105 (my aspiration), dying in 1985 & Ellia in 1969 aged 91.

1952/29461 Baigent  Thomas Eustace  68Y
1969/33909 Baigent  Ella Millicent  91Y
1985/41772 Baigent  Eva Alice  5 June 1880

According to the IGI both Daisy & Clarice married, Clarice when she was 48 so I doubt there will be any descendants for her, perhaps there will be some from Daisy or their brother Thomas Eustace.

Clarice Monica Baigent 
Birth:  23 APR 1886, Nelson, New Zealand 
Death:  10 NOV 1968, Nelson, New Zealand
Marriages:
  Spouse:  John Lewis Dickson 
  Marriage:  21 NOV 1934, Nelson, New Zealand

Daisy Annie Baigent
Birth:  08 AUG 1876, Nelson, New Zealand
Death:  14 MAY 1947, New Zealand
Marriages:
  Spouse:  Herbert Willis Baird Packard 
  Marriage:  25 NOV 1903, New Zealand

Thomas Eustace Baigent
Birth:  21 MAY 1883, Nelson, New Zealand
Death:  09 MAR 1952, Nelson, New Zealand
Marriages:
  Spouse:  Vida Marion Turnbull
  Marriage:  14 FEB 1924 Hukanui, New Zealand

The photo of Ella driving the gig looks to have been taken when she was quite young, in her late 20's early 30's perhaps, probably around the turn of the twentieth century. I have no idea who Mrs Savory was.

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The BAIGENT family all seem to be descended from two brothers, Edward & Isaac, who came to NZ on board the vessel 'Clifford' in 1842. Thomas John was the son of Edward, he was born in Nelson in 1849. Edward & Isaac were born in Windlesham, Surrey and were living just a few houses away from each other in the 1841 census.

Their lives, businesses & families are well documented on the Internet, these are just a few that I found in Papers Past and the photo of Thomas John is from the Cyclopedia of NZ.

The residence at Takaka of Thomas Baigent mentioned above is most probably the 'Fairholme' mentioned on the back of the photograph. I did find 'Fairholme' mentioned in Takaka on the Internet so it still seems to be standing although I couldn't find a photo of it. You can see a lovely old photograph of Baigent's Timber Mill from the Nelson Museum here.

Lastly a little bit about the town of Takaka in Golden Bay, 1897-1908 from the Cyclopedia of NZ:-

Takaka is one of the most flourishing districts in Nelson; it has five sawmills, two butter factories, and a flour mill, and keeps seven or eight small vessels trading constantly to the port of Waitapu, three miles distant. It has also a weekly newspaper, and several hotels, and is connected by coach with Collingwood and Riwaka, and by a steam tram service with East Takaka, which is eight miles and a half further up the valley. Takaka is fifty-three miles north from Nelson, with which it is connected by a good main road. The township is finely situated, and commands a good view of Golden Bay and two or three lakes. It has post, telegraph, money order, and other Government offices, and a savings bank. There are beautiful limestone caves in the neighbourhood, and the the Waikaremumu and Bubu springs are within easy distance. The Episcopalians and Presbyterians have well-built churches, with resident ministers, at Takaka, which has several fraternal lodges, and cricket, football, racing, and tennis clubs.

               © Aerial photo of Takaka. All rights reserved by Black Pete of Virtual Nature Photography

References:
ancestry.com
Cyclopedia of NZ
IGI
Papers Past

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If anyone knows anything about or is connected to the Baigent family please do contact me, I would love to hear from you. All the information on this family may also be seen on WorldConnect here.

Dawn Scotting
pandora@kc.net.nz

George Wells of Eckington 1821-1871

Today's photograph is what looks like his headstone or a plaque on a wall perhaps.

There seem to be 2 or 3 people with the name of George Wells who were born in Eckington about 1821 in various census but only one on the IGI.

GEORGE WELLS
Christening:  02 JUL 1821   Eckington, Derby, England
Parents:
  Father:  GEORGE WELLS
  Mother:  JANE

Unfortunately this entry doesn't give a birthdate so without knowing that it's hard to say if he's the right one because this George may not have been born in Eckington at all, just lived & died there.

Luckily I found a website where the Eckington parish records had been transcribed by David &/or Josephine Bowler, this is what I found:-

Eckington Baptisms
George WELLS George & Jane Eckington Collier 2/7/1821  born 23/2/1821

Eckington Marriages
George WELLS to Jane HASLEHURST. Wit: Mary Shipley, Robert Stevenson 27/2/1812

Bingo! George's parents were George & Jane née Haslehurt, his wife's name was also Jane. He married Jane Barber in 1849 and by 1871 they'd had 12 children so there must be a few descendants out there somewhere. George was the owner of a colliery in two of the census, tragically he died at the end of 1871 and left Jane to bring up all those children by herself. According to this website the Wells family owned most of the collieries in the area by the end of the nineteenth century. There was a large Methodist Chapel built in memory of George Wells in 1876 which was demolished in 1977.

Sorry I don't have a photograph of George himself but someone might like to have this one, if you do please leave me a comment or contact me via email.

References:
ancestry.com
FreeBMD
IGI
Eckington Parish Records

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Dawn Scotting
pandora@kc.net.nz

John (Jack) William Allman 1895-?

I picked this photograph up in Cambridge last Sunday, a very nice lady in Gordon's Antiques & Collectables let me browse even though they weren't strictly open at the time, just there for a delivery.

• Subject: Mr Jack Allman
• Date: 13 Oct 1923
• Photographer: Yvonne, Leeds
• Found: Cambridge, New Zealand

Jack was born in Leeds in 1895, parents William Allman & Catherine (Kate) nee Connor. In the 1911 census his family were already living at 14 Musgrave Fold, Leeds:-

HOLMAN JOHN WILLIAM (RG14PN26935 RG78PN1546 RD500 SD1 ED20 SN238)
Address 14 MUSGRAVE FOLD LEEDS County Yorkshire West Riding
District Leeds Subdistrict South East Leeds
Enumeration District 20 Parish Leeds

HOLMAN, KATHARINE WIFE MARRIED 30(yrs married) F 48 WEAVER LEEDS YORKSHIRE    
HOLMAN, LILY DAUGHTER SINGLE  F 24 WEAVER LEEDS YORKSHIRE    
HOLMAN, MAUD DAUGHTER SINGLE  F 17 WEAVER LEEDS YORKSHIRE    
HOLMAN, JOHN WILLIAM SON SINGLE  M 16 JOINER LEEDS YORKSHIRE

It took me awhile to find them because as you can see they are listed under HOLMAN, the name they are also under in the 1901 census. In 1901 it is actually written as Holman which I suspect is a mistake by the enumerator who thought he was hearing a dropped 'H'. However, the same mistake in 1911 is strange because the pages (we are seeing) are actually the original ones filled in by the home owners. I suppose there are many reasons for this, too many to go into here! (I only looked at the transcription so I don't know if their name was written as Holman or Allman, the original pages are far too expensive!).

Jack's father, William, wasn't at home in 1911 but he was there in 1901 and I also found him in previous census listed/written as Allman.

William Allman was born in Leeds about 1861 the son of John Allman & Jane nee Farrar. John was born c1841 also in Leeds & his parents were William & Catherine, both William & Catherine were born in Ireland a few years before the turn of the nineteenth century.

I found a photo of the Leeds Parish Church Market District Boys Club at the corner of Brussels Street and Brick Street here plus a few other websites with some memories & photographs.

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If anyone knows anything about or is connected to the Allman family please do contact me, I would love to hear from you & it may be to your advantage. All the information on this family may also be seen on WorldConnect here (when it's next updated).

Dawn Scotting
pandora@kc.net.nz

Duggleby Photograph Album - or is it?

 

I found this small photograph album in an antique shop in Cambridge last Sunday, rather the worse for wear but what I found inside was quite intriguing. It held seven small photographs, none of them named except for a couple with a small message written on the back.

 

Also inside was this 'In Memoriam' card, sitting loosely between two pages so I wasn't sure if it had been with the album originally or not, next step to find out.

Duggleby is a name I've never heard of so I thought it might be easy to research, wrong again Dawn! I started off with a hiss & a roar but it soon fizzled out and the album's owner is still a mystery to me!

Here is the story:-

Births Dec 1897
Duggleby  Stanley Zealand    Malton  9d 408   
Deaths Mar 1898
Duggleby  Stanley Zealand  0  Malton  9d 293

Michael & Allys were living in Malton in the 1901 census:

10 Castlegate, Malton, North Riding, Yorkshire
Michael Duggleby head mar 31 butcher born Cottam, York
Ally M wife mar 26 born Queensland Aust
Alfred F son 7 born Qld Aust
Irene L M dau 5 born New Zealand
Archie W son 2 born Malton, York
Bernard W son 4mths born Malton, York

Michael & Allys weren't in the 1911 census so I looked at passenger lists and found them on board the vessel 'Friesland' which left Liverpool on 29 Apr 1903 bound for Philadelphia USA. From then on I found them living in Davenport, Scott Co, Iowa in each census upto 1930. They had 3 more children before Allys died sometime between 1912 and 1920. During the time they were living in America Michael took frequent trips home to the UK and to Canada. He had quite a few siblings and some had also migrated to the US & Canada so I expect he was visiting them and the others back home. On his last voyage in 1936 he was accompanied by a Margaret Duggleby aged 55 housewife so I'm presuming Michael married again sometime between 1930 & 1936, most probably in the USA.

Cottam Church, now derelict

Michael was born on 9 Aug 1869 at Cottam Grange, Langtoft in Yorkshire, son of Alfred Waldby Duggleby and Mary Hannah nee Simpson. The Dugglebys seem to be well documented in various places on the Internet. I started to wonder why he was in Australia where he met & married his wife as his occupation of butcher didn't seem like the job to be taking him out of the country. Obviously they had been to New Zealand on their way back to England so I thought perhaps he was visiting a relative here. Bingo - or so I thought!

NZ Marriages
1882/642 Hannah Duggleby & Jabez William Rowntree

NZ Births
1896/2488 Duggleby  Irene Louisa Mary  Allys Mary & Micheal
1890/15750 Rowntree  Jabez William  Hannah & Jabez William
1883/8164 Rowntree  Alice Mary  Hannah & Jabez William
1886/7306 Rowntree  Ethel  Hannah & Jabez William

NZ Deaths   
1897/1472 Duggleby  Edwin  35Y
1928/10254 Rowntree  Hannah  75Y
1927/3401 Rowntree  Jabez William  75Y

Great, it looks like Michael was visiting another relative, Hannah born about 1853 and died in Eltham in 1928. Hannah & husband Jabez William Rowntree are both buried in the Eltham Methodist Cemetery. Jabez was born in Pocklington Yorkshire so Hannah & Jabez may have already known each other before they emigrated to NZ.

Hannah & Jabez had three children, one of whom, Alice Mary, was a Staff Nurse during WWI and went overseas with the New Zealand Expeditionary Forces in 1818. She must have come home again as she seems to have married a Mr Culling, she died in 1955 aged 72. That's all I know about Hannah & Jabez's children.

That was the easy part - now we come to the frustrating part!

Try as I might I just cannot find any connection between Hannah & Michael - and I still can't! However, I did stumble over a Duggleby family tree on the Internet that gave Hannah's parents as William Duggleby and Ann nee Carr. According to that tree she was born on the 5 Mar 1849 at Bishop Wilton, Yorkshire & baptised there on the 30 Mar 1851. I've emailed the person as they have a copy of Hannah's marriage certificate but no reply as yet.

Bishop Wilton is not too far from Cottam but it may as well be the moon - as far as I can see there is no relationship between William and Michael - if there is it must be back a few generations and Michael & Hannah probably wouldn't have known each other.

Fortunately the NZ marriage certificates give the parents' names (including the mother's maiden name) of both the bride & groom so I really need to look at her marriage certificate to find out for sure who her parents were.

As I said there were very few hints in the album itself but two of them were addressed to Hannah so it seems like the album should have been hers but none of the given names mentioned are in Hannah's family although they are in Michael's, stranger and stranger.

This message was written on the back of the first photo, both photos look like the same woman to me.

 

Nothing written on these, perhaps taken on the same day and maybe husband & wife? Does this woman look like Emily, same person or just related?

Baby Winifred obviously has an older sister named Marjorie. Michael has a sister named Lois born 1876. Both Lois & Emily are names in Michael's family tree.

Nothing on these either. First one might be an older Emily, she looks to have the same eyes & nose. The young girl looks like none of them! There is no photo on the front page of the album but there are names written there as if there had been once, none of these names have turned up in the course of my research:-

Maybe there is no connection between the photos and the memoriam card and I'm barking up the wrong tree? It just seemed like too much of a coincidence that the photos were addressed to a Hannah and that there was a Hannah Duggleby getting married in NZ around the same time frame, more or less, as the photos & the card. I had thought some of the people mentioned might have been from Allys' side of the family but the photos all came from Scarborough and her siblings were in Australia (as far as I know).

I forgot to mention that Hannah (dau of Wm & Ann) had quite a few siblings but none of her sisters were named Emily, Lois, Kitty, Ada, Maud, Ella or Lucy and none of her brothers' wives were either.

References:
ancestry.com
David M. Friscia's Genealogy Notes
Find My Past
FreeBMD
IGI

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If anyone knows anything about or is connected to the Duggleby family please do contact me, I would love to hear from you. All the information on this family may also be seen on WorldConnect here.

Dawn Scotting
pandora[at]kc.net.nz

The Browett Children

Today's photo is of three young very cute children.

• Subject: Florence Jane, Henry Waring & Reginald Browett
• Date: c1891
• Photographer: Ernest Spencer, 7 Station Tce, New Southgate
• Found: UK

Births Sep 1885  
Browett  Florence Jane     Edmonton  3a 258
Births Dec 1887
Browett  Henry Waring     Barnet  3a 243
Births Jun 1889
Browett  Reginald     Barnet  3a 241

In the 1891 census I found them at home with their parents and a new baby brother Archibald.

2 Cambridge Villas, Edmonton, Middlesex
Henry L Browett head 32 civil serv in HM Prisons born Foleshill, Warwickshire
Ann wife 32 born Hornsey Mdx
Florence J dau 5 born Hornsey
Henry W dau 3 born Finchley
Reginald dau 2 born Finchley
Archibald 1mth born New Southgate, Mdx

Father, Henry Leonard & wife Ann Waring:-

Births Jun 1858
Browett  Henry Leonard    Coventry  6d 377

HENRY LEONARD BROWETT
Christening:  03 JUN 1858   Holy Trinity, Coventry, Warwick, England
Parents:
  Father:  HENRY WILLIAM BROWETT 
  Mother:  ELIZABETH JANE

Marriages Mar 1884
BROWETT  Henry Leonard     Islington  1b 269
WARING  Ann    Islington  1b 269

Henry Leonard's parents were Henry William Browett and Elizabeth Crowson:-

HENRY WILLIAM BROWETT
Christening:  22 MAY 1838   Holy Trinity, Coventry, Warwick, England
Parents:
  Father:  HENRY BROWETT
  Mother:  CATHERINE

Marriages Jun 1857
Browett  Henry William    Oakham  7a 435   
Crowson  Elizabeth     Oakham  7a 435

Deaths Sep 1867
Browett  Henry William  32  Islington  1b 175

Henry William's parents were Henry Browett and Catherine Sawbridge:-

Henry Browett
Birth:  15 MAR 1813   Coventry, Warwick, England
Parents:
  Father:  Willm Browett
  Mother:  Sarah Browett

HENRY BROWETT
Marriages:
  Spouse:  CATHERINE SAWBRIDGE
  Marriage:  18 MAR 1834   Holy Trinity, Coventry, Warwick, England

Henry's parents were William Browett & Sarah Bright:-

Husband
William Browett    
Marriage:  13 OCT 1808  Coventry, Warwick, England
Father:   William Browett
Mother:   Mary Browett  
Wife
Sarah Bright
Marriage:  13 OCT 1808  Coventry, Warwick, England
Father:   William Bright
Mother:   Sarah Bright

William's parents were William Browett & Mary Thackall:-

William BROWETT
Birth:  27 JUL 1785   St Michael, Coventry, Warwick, England
Death:  1867   Foleshill, Warwick, England
Parents:
  Father:  William BROWETT
  Mother:  Mary THACKALL

A fairly comprehensive coverage in the IGI covering the Browett line. Florence Jane went on to marry Thomas Ashworth and they had at least two children, Thomas H & Reginald, both registered in Cardiff.

Marriages Dec 1916
Ashworth  Thomas  Browett  Lambeth  1d 705   
Browett  Florence J  Ashworth  Lambeth  1d 705

Births Mar 1917
Ashworth  Thomas H  Browett  Cardiff  11a 661   
Births Mar 1919
Ashworth  Reginald  Browett  Cardiff  11a 591

I found nothing further on brothers Reginald or Archibald and brother Henry Waring may have married in 1927, hard to say when there is only an initial for the second name.

Marriages Dec 1927
Browett  Henry W  Wright  Bromley  2a 1356   
Wright  Lilian R  Browett  Bromley  2a 1356

References:
ancestry.com
FreeBMD
IGI

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If anyone knows anything about or is connected to the Browett family please do contact me, I would love to hear from you & reunite this photograph with a descendant or two. All the information on this family may also be seen on WorldConnect here.

 

Dawn Scotting
pandora@kc.net.nz

John Graham Weall 1877-?

Here we have three photos of a rather debonair young man. In the first one he is with his younger brother Horace Graham Weall.

• Horace Graham Weall 2 yrs 5 mths & John Graham Weall 5 yrs 5mths

• John Graham Weall 10½ years & 13½ years (Sep 1890)

The WEALL surname seems to be not such a common name, a dream to research. This time I'll start at the beginning with John's great-great-great-great-grandfather Benjamin Weall.

PROB 11/754 Will of Benjamin Weall of Harrow on the Hill , Middlesex

I Ben: Weall of Weald in the Parish of Harrow on the Hill in the County of Middlesex do give unto my Wife Esther Weall all I shall dye possessed of, my debts and funeral expenses being paid during her life and after her decease do order it to be equally divided between my sons John and Thomas Weall.
Feb 26 - 1746=7.Witness my hand Benj: Weall. Witnesses Sam: Parr, Mary Tate.

On the twentieth day of May in the year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred and forty seven administration with the will amended of the Goods, Chattels and Credits of Benjamin Weall late of the Hamlet of Weald in the Parish of Harrow on the Hill in the County of Middlesex deceased was granted to Hester otherwise Esther widow the relict of the deceased and universal legatee? for Life named in the said will for that us Executors appointed therein being first sworn duly to administer.

The will of son Thomas Weall was dated 12 Apr 1800 and proved on 1 Sep 1803. I'll spare you the full four pages:-

Thomas Weall of Hatch End in the Hamlet of Pinner in the County of Middlesex, gentleman. Thomas left a lot of houses, land & money to various relatives with no mention of a wife or children, they are:-

John Weall nephew; children of said nephew John - Thomas, John, Benjamin, Ann, Elizabeth & Mary
Nephew Benjamin son of my late brother John
Niece Ann daughter of my late brother John
Ann daughter of my said nephew Benjamin
Joseph Hill of Sudbury in parish of Harrow on the Hill, a friendship token

The will of Thomas' nephew John Weall was dated 21 Mar 1818 and proved on 2 Nov 1822. Six pages this time, he was mainly making sure the husbands or future husbands of his two daughters didn't get their hands on their wives inheritance!

John Weall of Hatch End in the parish of Harrow in the County of Middlesex, sheep dealer. No wife mentioned, again a lot of houses, land & money was left to:-

My eldest son Thomas
Sons John & Benjamin
Daughters Elizabeth & Ann wife of Henry Rice
Brother Benjamin
Sister Ann
Late Uncle Thomas Weall (mentioned)

In the last two wills there were houses and/or land mentioned in various places including Pinner in Middlesex and Watford in Hertfordshire.

John's eldest son Thomas was born about 1781 in Pinner, Middlesex, about 1808 he married Margaret & from 1809 to 1828 they had twelve children all born in Beddington, Surrey. There was Ann, Thomas, Mary, Margaret, John, William, Elizabeth, Sarah, Charlotte, Fanny, Benjamin & Isabella.

Son John, bap 11 Jun 1815, married Susannah White in 1843 in Watford, Hertfordshire. From various sources I found five children for them - Annie Susannah 1844; Mary Ann 1846; Ellen 1847; John 1850 and William 1852. They were all born in Watford but by 1861 the family were back in Pinner where Susannah died in 1868 and John in 1879.

Their son John married Annie Jane Graham in 1876 and from then on all descendants had the middle name of Graham, either that or their surname was now Graham-Weall although all sources like GRO Indices & census listed their surname as only Weall. John died in 1918 and Annie in 1939.

And so we reach John & Annie's chlidren - John Graham 1877; Dora Mary Graham 1878; Horace Graham 1880; Annie Margaret Graham 1881; Dudley Graham 1883-1885; Thomas Graham 1884; Gladys Victoria Graham 1887; Elsie Graham 1890 and Violet Graham 1892.

Marriages Jun 1903
Burnand  Emma Phyllis    Watford  3a 1317   
Weall  John Graham     Watford  3a 1317

John & Emma had six children - Susan Phyllis Clemence Graham 1905; John Lawrence Graham 1906; Lavinia Jane Graham 1910; Dominic H Graham 1914; George O Graham 1920 and Charles V Graham 1922.

In the early part of the 20th century John Weall & his son John Graham Weall (and others) were in a business partnership (of Surveyors, Land Agents, Auctioneers, Valuers and Architects, in Hertfordshire) that advertised in the London Gazette upto as late as 1937. During that time grandson, John Lawrence Graham Weall, also joined the firm. On or about 22 Apr 1938, John Graham Weall of 17 High St, Watford, was appointed a Land Tax Commissioner.

References:
ancestry.com
FreeBMD
The London Gazette
UK National Archives

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If anyone knows anything about or is connected to the Weall family please do contact me, I would love to hear from you & it may be to your advantage. All the information on this family may also be seen on WorldConnect here.

 

Dawn Scotting
pandora@kc.net.nz

Norah Digby French 1878-?

• Subject: Norah Digby Comigham?
• Date: Early 20th Century
• Photographer: Unknown
• Found: UK

I haven't had much luck with Nonie's surname written on the back of her photograph. It looks likes Comigham or perhaps Comighew, neither spelling seems to be a known surname. There is ONE Comigham on FreeBMD, none on the IGI and only ONE on all of ancestry.com! Could it be Cunningham written in a hurry? I've given up, however, I have found Nonie before her marriage and I suspect whatever her married name was it is Irish.

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Norah Digby French was born in 1878 in Warter, Yorkshire where her father was the Vicar. Nonie was the second of eight children born to parents Robert Digby French and Zalda Elizabeth nee Wilson.

Births Sep 1878
French  Norah Digby    Pocklington  9d 73

Other children all registered at Pocklington were - Edward Wilson 1881; Edwin 1883; Eileen born/died 1884; Zalda Elizabeth 1887; Robert Digby 1891 and James Anthony 1894. The eldest son, Arthur Cowan Digby was born in Ireland 1876.

MARKET WEIGHTON - Geographical and Historical information from the year 1892.

The living is a vicarage, in the Peculiar Jurisdiction of the Dean and Chapter of York, valued in the
Liber Regis at £4 13s. 9d., and now returned at £300 per annum, including 71 acres of glebe with
residence, in the gift of the Archbishop of York, and held by the Rev. Robert Digby French, M.A., of
Dublin University.

1881 Census Source Citation: Class: RG11; Piece: 4733; Folio: 68; Page: 24; GSU roll: 1342143.

 

No further sightings of the family in England even though one of their childrens' births was registered in Pocklington after 1891. I did find this that suggests the Rev. perhaps went to India so maybe he took his family too:-

THE LONDON GAZETTE, JULY 23, 1886.
India Office, 23rd July, 1886.
THE Queen has approved of the following
Admissions to the Staff Corps made by the
Governments in India :—

BOMBAY STAFF CORPS.
To be Lieutenants

War Office, 23rd July, 1886.
Volunteer Corps
Rifle
2nd Volunteer Battalion, the East Yorkshire
Regiment, The Reverend Robert Digby French,
M.A., to be Acting Chaplain. Dated 24th
July, 1886.

Reverend Robert Digby French
M, #272824

The Rev Robert's death was registered in Pocklington in 1899, why I cannot find the family in 1891 or even 1901 beats me.

I did find two of Norah's brothers, Arthur Cowan Digby and Robert Digby, living in Ireland in the 1911 census so at least some of them went back to Ireland to live.

There is a small entry in Burke's Peerage on Rev Robert and his son Rev Arthur Cowan here, plus two different transcriptions of the Rev Arthur's headstone in an Irish cemetery.

Kilternan Church of Ireland Cemetery
Kilternan, County Dublin, Ireland
French, Arthur Cowan Digby, b 1876, d 1950, h/o Synolda Gorgina Elizabeth
French, Eleanor (Nell) Digby, b 1906, d 1992
French, Robert Butler Digby, b 1904, d 1981
French, Synolda Georgina Elizabeth, b 1881, d 1971, w/o Arthur Cowan Digby

Top:-  “I shall be satisfied | when I awake | with thy likeness
Second:-  ARTHUR COWAN DIGBY FRENCH | Priest | 1876 – 1950
Third:-  SYNOLDA GEORGINA ELIZABETH | his wife | 1881 – 1871 | ROBERT BUTLER
DIGBY FRENCH | 1904 - 1981
Bottom:-  ELEANOR (NELL) DIGBY FRENCH | 1906 – 1992

References:
ancestry.com
FreeBMD
Genuki
Interment.net
Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives
The London Gazette
thePeerage.com

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If you know anything about or are connected to the French family please do contact me, I would love to hear from you & it may be to your advantage. All the information on this family may also be seen on WorldConnect here.

Dawn Scotting
pandora@kc.net.nz