Lock Down still exists in Auckland. I am running out of genealogy things to do, web sites to explore, books and magazines to read, coffee mates to annoy and my wife is close to divorcing me because of the little idiosyncrasies I have or have acquired recently. My cats are getting more and more annoyed at me for my late hours in the morning that I leave my bed. But I have lost weight. My hair is getting back to university-days length but I’m getting better at beard trimming. Another box of red wine has just been delivered. So I’m coping.

The interesting thing is that I have been getting a few emails of thanks for this newsletter. Some subscribers have been rereading our back issues and have found all sort of inspiration from our writers’ articles. So thank you to our readers for the many articles that have been submitted. Please continue to do so.

There is one thing that I would like to emphasise – please read the News and Views section, particularly the bit on the forthcoming online Family History conference. The opening speech is a must for all NZSG members to “attend”. And have a look at Robert’s article: FamNet is Now Free!

Anyway, back to reality. Once again, we have an interesting newsletter. The articles are varied. The jokes are funny although they are not the main reason for reading the newsletter.

I hope this month’s issue occupies some of your time and you find something valuable.

Peter Nash

Do you want to receive this newsletter every month?

This newsletter is free. There are not many free newsletters of this length in New Zealand. I am biased but it should be an interesting read.

To subscribe is easy too. Go on - don't misspell it as I have, twice already. https://www.famnet.org.nz/

The front page is lovely, but click on [Newsletters]. A page opens showing you a list of all the past newsletters, you can click the link to read one that you’re interested in.

Like the front page, the newsletters page has a place where you can log on or register. It’s in the top right-hand corner. Put your email here and click [Continue]. If you aren’t already on our mailing list, there will be a message “Email not in database” and a button [New User] appears. Click this and follow the dialog to register. It’s free and easy. You should receive a copy every month until you unsubscribe.

Robert has assured me that he will not send begging letters to your email - apparently, he has enough money at the moment. You will not have to put in your credit card number. You will not be charged a subscription.

Tell other genealogists so they can enjoy the newsletters too.

Regards

Peter Nash

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Regular Contributors

From the Developer

FamNet is Now Free!

As you know, we have been discussing the future of FamNet and FamilySearch, and when their new system is available we’ll be copying our data to FamilySearch so that nothing will be lost when the inevitable happens and I am unable to keep supporting FamNet. This won’t happen for a while, but it’s comforting to know that your data is safe.

FamilySearch has been a generous supporter of FamNet for several years, and the access fee that they pay to have FamNet available at the Family History Library has been covering most of our operating budget. Subscription revenue is a relatively small amount, but useful as otherwise FamNet would run at a loss. FamNet is obviously getting closer to FamilySearch, so I discussed an idea with Mike Higgins: “What if you doubled the access fee, and I made FamNet free?” He was enthusiastic and promoted the idea to the relevant people in Salt Lake City, it was agreed, and with the renewal FamNet got more $$ and I changed the web site’s logic. Now you can search for records and open any that are not private: you will no longer see the message “You need a subscription to see that record” requiring you to pay a subscription before you’re able to see the record. Everything else works as before: you won’t see private records (living people) unless they are your own records, or you have been given access by the record owner.

We had a small number of people who paid for a 10-year subscription recently. That struck me as unfair, so I refunded the $90 difference between a one year and 10-year subscription.

Thank you to FamilySearch for making this possible, and especially Mike Higgins for your persistent support of FamNet over the past several years.

Lock Down

From my daughter Emily.

Telling your story: Index

1. Writing your story as notes, or with Word.

2. Embedding pictures in Word documents.

3. Saving Documents for Web Publication.

4. Saving Scrapbook Items

5. Sharing your Story: Managing your Family Group

6. On Line Editing: More Facts, Family, GDB Links

7. Comparing and Synchronising Records

8. Producing and Using Charts

9. Merging Trees. Part 1: Why Bother?

10. Merging Trees. Part 2: Adding Records On-Line

11. Merging Trees. Part3. Combining Existing Trees

12. Finding Your Way Around FamNet (Getting Help)

13. FamNet – a Resource for your Grandchildren

14. FamNet’s General Resource Databases
15. Updating General Resource Databases

16. Privacy

17. Indexes: beyond Excel.

18. Linking trees

19. Uploading a GEDCOM file

20. Uploading Objects to your Database

21. Bulk-uploading Objects. FamNet resource: Useful Databases
22. Publishing Living Family on Family Web Sites

23. Have YOU written your family story yet?

24. Editing and Re-arranging your Family Tree On-line.

25. It’s the Stories that Matter

26. Using QR Codes for your Family History

27. What happens to our Family History when we’re gone?

28. Our Shared Database Grows

Robert Barnes

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The Nash Rambler

Justification for Afternoon siestas

November – another month of Lock Down has passed and more looks like coming. Life is certainly different. I bought petrol last week – the first time for about 9 weeks. I had to remember the process of filling up and paying. Our cars have moved very little during Lock Down. Getting the groceries has become quite an expedition. Gone are the days of parking the car and strolling in – now I have to queue just to get in the supermarket. Have you noticed that the choice has narrowed. All the options appear to be culled and only the expensive options are left. I refuse to pay &15 a kilo for tomatoes. Anyway that is enough of complaining.

I have found a new way of entertaining myself. And I’m getting exercise. Believe it or not, I have lost weight (I had to put that in as a skite).

For about a year I have been trying to convince a few of my genealogy mates (yes, I do have some) to help me update the monumental inscriptions (MIs) for the Waikaraka cemetery. I have finished correcting the database and need this update of MIs to finish the job. All my mates have run for cover. They remember the first cemetery MI project for Waikaraka cemetery in the mid-1980s. They remember what a difficult process it was. And then, there were very few MIs of the Pacific Island community. If you were involved then you will remember the process – scramble over and around the headstone, write down the inscription, go home and type it up, forget some of the abbreviations you used, go back and check, and then somebody different goes through the same process checking that everything was correct. And my mates are not racist but they said that they would have difficulties with all the different languages that are on the stones. So they ignored all my begging, bribes of good coffee etc etc. So, like the little red hen in the fairy tale (hope I have this right), I said loudly “bugger you all, I’ll do it myself”.

So that was how it stood before Lock Down. But I ran out of things to do during the enforced stay at home. So I used the Findagrave website and “acquired” many new MIs. But I had a problem in that the cemetery database has errors in the listed area, lot and plot numbers. When I sorted the database on these parameters I lost a lot of graves which appeared out of order. So I had to go to the cemetery and sort the burials row by row to correct any such errors. Woe is me! Or “Toyota”!

Then, in the middle of the night, I got the brilliant flash of inspiration – why not photograph them like Findagrave. So, next morning, I found and charged the camera which hadn’t been used for 3 years and drove to the cemetery. It was a lovely day. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, people were dumping trailer-loads of their rubbish into the mangrove swamp, oldies were sitting in their chairs and drinking their tea and silly old me was photographing headstones. The oldies were curious and I was continuously interrupted by their questions and conversations. I photographed a row and transcribed three or four that I thought would not photograph well enough for transcription. I did about forty and then wandered back home. That afternoon I had to rest my weary and sunburnt body with an “oldies nap”.

The next day I started the transcription process after finding all the burial records and putting them in their right place in the row. It took me a couple of days but the photographs were brilliant and very readable. I decided that every headstone would be photographed twice – one the front view and the other a view from above so that the words could be read. Boy that process was simple. I had eliminated one possible source of error (the original transcription process). I could check the transcription because I had the photographs. I could correct any errors in the area, lot and plot details. I’m onto a winner.

Further contemplation on the process resulted in a way of thanking the Findagrave website for their assistance in my early attempts at updating. I added onto that websites photographs of the headstones that were missing. Now I’m feeling sanctimonious by doing this and Findagrave is gaining from my work.

So I have entered 250 new monumental inscriptions into my database and have put or will put up about that many on Findagrave. I’m getting exercise and fresh air. Everything is good! And I have a genuine excuse for my “afternoon siestas” or “nana naps” as my extended family call them.

Below is a headstone I have found in the cemetery The sentence at the end can be interpreted in more than one way but, I think, that maybe that should go on my headstone.

A picture containing text, grass, outdoor, plaque

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And here is a death notice that tickled my sense of humour. It shows another way of avoiding the use of the word “died”.

A picture containing text, newspaper, receipt

Description automatically generated

Peter Nash

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DNA Testing for Family History

From the editor: Gail has written quite a series on DNA Testing. You will see them all on the FAMNET website and they are a must-read, particularly if you are considering or have had a test done. They are easy to read and not too technical. Click Index so far to see these articles

Which Foods do you HATE?

Living in rural isolation, my mother would grow all our vegetables which meant all of her children were encouraged to eat raw vegies if we were hungry after school and did not want to wait for the evening meal. This included raw potatoes and you would have seen us frequently munching on a ‘spud’ especially at harvest time – or wheat from the kernel etc.

But there were some things our mother did not grow, so I grew up with only basics such as potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, lettuce, cabbage, turnips, pumpkin, silver beet as examples. No broccoli, no capsicums (bell peppers), no fancy lettuce, artichokes or egg plants as examples. Whether that was because she did not like them or they were too difficult to grow, I have no idea.

Not knowing any different and not having experienced other cuisines, I attempted to bring my own children up similarly. Until their father took a hand! They were exposed to all manner of foods through his European culture. I watched my youngsters devouring things like chilli stuffed lobster (or crayfish), olives, goats cheese and suchlike and could not believe my eyes.

Then I got into DNA. That include taking a Health test firstly with 23andMe. Finally I found reasons why certain foods delighted me or turned my face into a puckered resemblance of a pale prune.

I have a close cousin who was raised very similarly to me, but she absolutely adores raw lemons! I do not mind the juice on fish or as a flavour for puddings or cakes, but I have real problems with the smell when I squeeze them. The same applies to grapefruits and similar. Even oranges of certain varieties.

It seems I carry genes that enhance certain chemicals in foods which determine my sensitivity to certain tastes. This affects my nose and my taste buds. On the other hand, I enjoy brussel sprouts but both my children presented me with the ‘puckered prune’ look if I served them up even disguised in bacon and cream. Similarly, I cannot stand coriander (also called cilantro) but my sister can eat a meal flavoured with it.

Why all these differences when we keep being told that it is our environment which shapes us?

The answer is that it depends on your genes. Or more specifically which nucleotides are pair with which.

You inherit two pairs of each chromosome (1 through 22) from your parents and there are thousands of genes and pairing of nucleotides in those two pairs. It is these combinations which contribute to your culinary tastes and the smells you like or dislike.

People will tell you that you inherit 50% of your chromosomes 1 through 22 from your mother and 50% from your father. This is correct. But perhaps you do not realise that the combination of the nucleotides that form a part of the nucleus of those genes are not identically inherited. If they were, each child would look and act identically to the other. For what it is worth, I am certain you realise that not even identical twins are truly identical – just ask their mother! (Note that I am not considering the X or the Y chromosome in this article).

Our chromosomal inheritances ensure that every human being is different. Those differences incorporate much more than our food likes or dislikes. Every aspect of our bodies is different:-

our skin colour;

our hair colour;

our eye colour;

our finger whirls;

our susceptibility or not, to disease and many other aspects of our physique.

Consequently, in spite of our upbringing (which is basically a set of social and moral rules as taught to us by the family or families who raised us), we really are all family. Heredity plays as strong a part in our growth as does our consumption of the chemicals and vitamins in the foods we eat (or choose to not eat).

This will be my last article for 2021.

Enjoy planning and eating your Christmas fare.

Gail Riddell

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Chinese Corner

"Double Tenth" Is Celebrated By Auckland Chinese - 10 OCTOBER 1945

The anniversary of the foundation of the Chinese Republic, which falls to-day, has a special significance this year, since it is the first time since 1936 that it has been celebrated with China at peace. Not only in the homeland, but also among Chinese communities abroad, plans were laid to make to-day's observances noteworthy. In Auckland, in addition to the usual ritual, a Chinese play, lasting about four hours, was performed. Proceedings opened with the singing of the Chinese National Anthem and the three bows to the portrait of the late Dr. Sun Yat-sen, Father of the Republic

The celebrations were organised by the Auckland branch of the Chinese Association of New Zealand. The play, produced by the Dai Tung Music Society, was the second part of "Human Integrity," part one of which was performed in His Majesty's Theatre some months ago, proceeds being donated to New Zealand patriotic funds

By PHILIP MATTHEWS

AUCKLAND STAR, 10 OCTOBER 1945 https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19451010.2.34?fbclid=IwAR3nlxq_55Ppllhlidf_Vd1WGIrmJhO7Usky0YRy42lVcb2M_Zskdv6cMx0

Gee Hong’s war

How a Chinese play helped the New Zealand war effort in Auckland, 1945.

It’s a timeless story. A young man is torn between filial responsibilities and patriotic duty. Does he stay at home and look after his aged mother and father? Or does he lace up his boots, pin his country’s flag to his breast and march off to war?

It’s 1945 in New Zealand and the story forms the backbone of a Cantonese play, written by a Canton-born immigrant for two Auckland-based Chinese groups hoping to raise money for the New Zealand Patriotic Fund. The play is performed once, in Cantonese, by local Chinese residents, to a capacity crowd at His Majesty’s Theatre, Auckland.

The highly decorated (QSM and ONZM) Chinese New Zealander Dan Chan was there that night. He had to be: he was the play’s official “Programme Editor, Script Translator and Chinese Calligrapher”. He was also a member of the two groups that had combined to stage the performance: the Dai Tung Music Society and the Auckland branch of the NZ Chinese Association (NZCA).

The play, called Qizhuang Shanhe or Human Integrity was written by N Wai Poi.

Act 1: China, July 1937. The Japanese claim that there’s been a violent Chinese-led confrontation at Beijing’s Marco Polo Bridge. They also claim that they’re missing a soldier and they’re holding the Chinese authorities responsible. The Japanese become impatient with the ensuing negotiations and bomb the bridge. The carnage that follows leads China’s Generalissimo Chiang to herald a national call to arms. He also issues a statement to the world: “China has reached her last limits of tolerance with the Japanese and must resist the Japanese aggressors to the end … We are combating Japan not for the negative purpose of putting an end to Japanese aggression, but as a means of contributing to a free world order of the future.”

Act 2: we meet Chan Gee Hong, the young man about to face the “duty to the state or duty to your parents” dilemma. At his parents’ insistence, duty to the state wins: he’s off to war. To start with, however, his father’s boisterous birthday celebrations take centre stage.

Act 3: Gee Hong is wounded and while he’s in hospital he meets Lee E-ha, a friend who has become a Red Cross nurse. Two things happen: they fall in love and Gee Hong’s mother becomes gravely ill. Once again he’s on the horns of a dilemma: to go or to stay?

NZ Listener - by Imogen Neale November 3-9 2007 Vol 211 No 3521

Parts of the Opera was shown on the New Zealand's National Film Unit presents Weekly Review no. 223 (1945) - 3min 20 into clip

AUCKLAND - A CHINESE PLAY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZyaoK5wHvs

Helen Wong

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Anne Sherman

Referencing your Sources

A little time spent now can save hours of work later.

Imagine the scene – you have been researching your family history for years, and you finally share it with a member of your family, who turns around and says, “but John did not marry Jane, he married Elizabeth!” OK so now what do you do? How do you prove that John married Jane? Where did you find that piece of information? Was it from physical evidence (birth/marriage certificate, census return) or did someone tell you, in which case who told you and when? If only you had spent 2 or 3 minutes noting down where you had found that important piece of information you would be able to quickly prove your information, instead you spend days trying to find it again. You might be lucky, if the information was on a certificate you purchased, it is just a case of finding it otherwise you have to start your research again.

You may think that this will never happen to you – but can you be sure? It has happened to me on several occasions, fortunately I had referenced my sources and could quickly prove the details of the marriage whereas my detractors only had it as a family story. One spent weeks trying to prove me wrong, but to no avail.

It is so easy to do.

There are no right or wrong ways to reference your sources. Academics generally use a version of the Harvard Referencing, but there is no overall system for genealogical records, and different organisations will use slightly different systems. The main thing to remember is that it should help you (or someone else) to find that record again.
An easy citation will include:

The type of record – BMD registration index/certificate, Census return, diary, audio/written interview with Uncle Joseph etc.

Place the event took place.

The date or year of the record/interview.

Name of the main person – child, married couple (give both names) etc. For census returns you can either give the Head of the family, but if your ancestor is a lodger then give his/her name.

Any reference number for the record – archive reference, GRO reference for indexes, Census reference and enumeration district & page number.

Location of record – name of the Archive Office, website, of if held privately then by whom.

Date accessed – although most people only use this for websites as the links may can change over time, although it is also useful for interviews.

(eg. Marriage Index. RD: Islington, Middlesex. March Qtr. 1876 WIEDHOFFT, Frederick Augustus & HUNTSMAN, Emma. Vol. 1b. p. 456. Available online: www.freebmd.org.uk Accessed 17 Oct 2012)

If you hold copies of some of your records then you will also need a simple but effective filing system, so you can quickly and easily find the record you are looking for – not just in an old shoe box with piles of other documents. Remembering to reference your sources may be a pain, but it is better than the hurt and tears you may suffer if you don’t.

Anne Sherman

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More Famous New Zealanders You have Probably Never Heard Of

Alice Gertrude GRESHAM (1873-1973) and Alice Bradford ROUT (1875-1969)

Alice Gertrude GRESHAM was born on the 10 February 1873 in Dunedin, the sixth of fourteen children of John Joshua and Anna Maria Gresham nee SHORT. John Gresham was a printer in Dunedin until later retiring to Invercargill. The Gresham family were noted for their longevity and in December 1946 a family reunion of the remaining five brothers and five sisters was held in Dunedin – their average age being 71. Their parents both died when they were 84. The average (arithmetic mean) age at death in New Zealand in 1947 was 59 years for men and 61 years for women.^[1]

Alice Bradford ROUT was born on the 14 October 1875 in Invercargill, the seventh of ten children of Charles and Catherine Rout nee BASTOW. Charles was born in London but came to Tasmania with his family in 1844. His brother, William John Rout’s eldest daughter was Ettie Annie Rout who became known as a safe-sex advocate during World War One. Charles was the Deputy Official Assignee and a government land valuator and a devoted member and leader of the Plymouth Brethren in Invercargill.

In September 1904 ^[2] after years of thoughts of devoting their lives to missionary work, Alice Rout, then a schoolteacher at Tisbury school, and Alice Gresham, then a milliner at McGruer, Taylor and Co. left for Wei-hai-wei, China. In 1898 this port had been leased to Britain to counter the Russian occupancy of Port Arthur. These ports controlled the seaward approach to Beijing. After the Japanese victory over Russia in 1905, they occupied Port Arthur. The capital of Wei-hai-wei was Port Edward, now known as Weihai.

In Wei-hai-wei there were 200 Europeans and an estimated local population of 6000, but in true British form golf, football, tennis, cycling and ice-skating were introduced.^[3] The women managed a boarding school of local girls aged from 7 to 13 years of age. Half the day was spent in reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, sewing, drill, Chinese history and classics. The afternoon was spent lacemaking which helped fund the school.

They later managed a day school with 250 pupils in six schoolrooms. In July 1941, the Japanese puppet government sent them notice forbidding the reopening of the school. The British Government then advised all those who could, should leave for their home countries. The women had to wait weeks for a ship to Shanghai and for a permit from the Japanese to leave. They arrived in Shanghai in early November only to be told there were no available ships until late January/early February and the waiting list numbered in the 100s.

However, they were offered passage on a ship leaving on 05 December 1941 from Hong Kong for Manila and Australia. They reached Manila on December 07 and spent the day there leaving at 4am the next day. They were soon ordered back to port as Pearl Harbor, Hawaii had been bombed by the Japanese. The two women were kept on the ship in the harbour with at least another 40 vessels when on 10 December, Manila suffered a large air raid. The oil stores at the naval docks were set on fire and several ships sunk. Shrapnel fell on their ship but there were no injuries. On 11 December, the captain had permission to leave – he offered to land the passengers at Manila, but they all stayed onboard feeling it was better to risk the sea rather than the constant bombing. They finally reached Sydney, then made their way on to New Zealand.^[4]

The two women retired to 12 Martyn Avenue, Mount Roskill, Auckland and are buried together at the Hillsborough Cemetery. Alice Gresham was 100 years and 10 months old when she died in 1973.

In 1920, Alice’s sister Irene Ellison Gresham married Alice’s brother Ernest David Rout in Elizabethville, Belgian Congo (now Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo) where they were missionaries.

[1] The New Zealand Official Yearbook 1947 - 49

[2] Southern Cross, Volume 12, Issue 22, 27 August 1904, Page 9

[3] Southland Times, Issue 14533, 27 September 1910, Page 3

[4] Press, Volume Lxxviii, Issue 23555, 5 February 1942, Page 6

Christine Clement

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Diane Wilson

Marriage Titbits

One of the benefits of the Wilson Collection is that so many of the marriage records have multiple references. Please do look at each one as SOMETIMES there is just that extra information which helps in solving the picture. Yes, many are just copying what was published in another paper and this happens with mistakes as well, but every so often there is that real gem of a clue.

I do love the ones which say daughter of Joe Bloggs farmer Musselburgh Otago and then Granddaughter of the Lord High Sheriff of Norfolk or wherever and the niece of Lady Blackstone or whatever. Not to mention all those of some rank in the Indian Army. Such great clues to add to the search. The below record in the Daily Southern Cross 1872 would help

Text

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And this from the New Zealand Herald of 18^th August 1880 as another example

Text, letter

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Often the name of the celebrant has been included. This is to assist in identifying the actual place as you can often place a wedding from when a particular celebrant was in an area.

Recently I had a marriage record and the bride’s given names were Sealanderina Aucklandra I am sure these were a trial to her, but would it not be a great name to search? My maiden name was often a burden to me as I seemed to always have to spell same and often folk would say NO not the country where you come from but what is your name.

In some of the records you may see the comment Not found on RGO index. This is because we have a newspaper account and despite searching using as many variations as we can, we have not found a matching official entry. Maybe the record is hiding with an appalling mis-transcription or maybe the entry is frivolous. Or maybe the celebrant is just poor at his paperwork. With the distances to cover and the postal system it is indeed remarkable that any of the records are as good as they are.

I had a great thrill this week where a grateful user of the collection sent his marriage place collection for all his family into the index. Such a generous gesture and one which several others are great at doing. It is satisfying to see such generosity in the genealogy community where, if we all share, we can keep the family links well documented. My belief is that we do not know who we are until we know where we come from. These new records will not appear until March next year when I do the next six-monthly update.

Good searching

And I add another reminder, The Wilson Collection website has been updated. You must have a look.- The editor

Diane Wilson

www.wilsoncollection.co.nz

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Guest Contributors

Ken Morris

The barque “Ann Wilson”

A painting of a sailboat

Description automatically generated with low confidence Recently I became the proud owner of a painting of the Ann Wilson

The Ann Wilson featured in an infamous voyage to NZ in 1857 where there were 18 deaths and the steerage emigrants suffered great privations with lack of food and water on a 120-day nonstop voyage from Liverpool to Wellington.

The voyage is covered in ‘White Wings’ by Sir Henry Brett and in many newspaper reports on the ensuing enquiry of the voyage & the deaths.

I have a particular interest in the voyage in that my great great grandfather, George MORRIS, his wife Mary Ann and 10 children were on and survived the voyage, with the youngest child being born two days from end of voyage.

In my research I came across reference to this painting (in gouache medium, I had to look it up and is more opaque than water colour) at a dealer in UK. After getting a check on it, it was purchased and is now on display in our lounge.

The painting, dated 2 October 1858, is in the Bay of Naples and she still has the same captain as was on the infamous 1857 voyage to NZ. The barque was built in Maine US as the ‘Royal Arch’ and was purchased by R & J Wilson in 1855 and renamed ‘Ann Wilson’. During its time in Naples it was struck by lightning and two of the masts were destroyed. It supposedly came to NZ again in 1864, and I’m still tracking down details. The last reference I have to date that it was sold to Thomas Davies, a Cardigan (Wales) timber merchant in 1870, and I currently have enquires out on both sides of the Atlantic and in Naples for more information.

My plan is to collect the history of the Ann Wilson (a barque of 475 tons, 127.4’ * 27’ *14.8’) - its 1857 voyage in particular and to follow the fortunes of the ~ 222 emigrants in their new land and put it all together in a suitable format for people that have an interest, so now it’s out there I’ll have to do it!

Ken Morris

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George Warcup

The Carruthers Family

On the 6th of June 1857 three men were felling a tree in Wellington’s Ngauranga Gorge. They were Edwin Montague CARRUTHERS, his son my great-grandfather Thomas Johnson CARRUTHERS, and Andrew MANEY a young man who would later marry Ann, one of Edwin’s daughters.

The Ngauranga Gorge is very different today, some one hundred and sixty years later. The thick blanket of bush which once cloaked the steep sided valley has gone and the only available flat land is now an industrial suburb while the massive earthworks for State Highway One have changed the landscape almost beyond recognition

Edwin had completed an apprenticeship as a clerk in the Liverpool shipping industry. He then became a pawn broker and the keeper of the Liverpool Exhibition Rooms, was one time jailed for bankruptcy and was a man of many occupations. Since their arrival in Wellington in December 1852 he struggled to find regular work in his new country. New Zealand was not his first choice for a new beginning as, with his father, he spent much of his time, money and energy pursuing what they believed was a family entitlement in Canada.

Around two thirty that afternoon in Wellington, with the task nearly completed, Edwin asked Andrew, the more experienced bushman, which way the tree would fall? Andrew replied saying that he did not know, and Edwin had best get up beside them. Shortly afterwards the tree fell then crashed on down the hillside, and after it came to rest there was no sign of Edwin. The two young men clambered down, to where they could hear Edwin from beneath the foliage. While Andrew went for help Thomas worked at cutting away branches to expose his father pinned beneath the tree, still conscious but clearly in mortal agony. Help arrived, and with great difficulty Edwin was freed, carried down the bank, placed on a cart, and taken to hospital. Edwin, aged fifty two, lingered for three days before succumbing from his injuries, just five years after his arrival in New Zealand, and was buried in Wellington’s Mount Street Cemetery

Set aside in the 1840s by the city’s founders for Catholics and forgotten for nearly half a century, the cemetery is sited on a hill side below the high red brick walls of Wellington’s Victoria University’s Hunter Building. Its once magnificent view of the harbour is concealed now by the high-rise office buildings of the twentieth century. More recently the city has found the will to recover some of its history contained here and, after suffering a long period of neglect, the cemetery’s paths have been cleared to become a part of the City to Shore Walkway. Sadly many of its gravestones are now fragmented and scattered.

Only fragments of Edwin’s headstone have been found but on a visit to Wellington’s Alexander Turnbull Library I discovered a folder of Carruthers family records including a photograph of headstone which reads.

Sacred to the Memory of

Edwin Montague Carruthers

Son of Colonel Carruthers

Accidently killed by the falling of a tree

7 June 1857

Jane Carruthers

Wife of the above

Died 30 September1877

Jane

Wife of T Carruthers

Died Nov 10 1872 Aged 28

Nina Ethel Veronica Daniel

Died May 4^th 1883 Aged 6 years

Adelaide Eva Cannon Daniel

Died March 21 1890 Aged 11 Years

Also buried here with Edwin, and engraved on the same headstone are his wife Jane, their daughter in law, Jane Carruthers (nee MEMBRAY) the first wife of Thomas (my great- grandfather), as well as two little girls, aged six and eleven years, Edwin’s and Jane’s grand-daughters: the children of their youngest daughter Amelia (called Emily by her family).

Edwin’s wife Jane was aged forty-six when Edwin died. By this time Mary, her eldest daughter, was married to Robert WALSH and Jane’s family would have consisted of daughters Jane, aged sixteen, Ann, aged thirteen, Theresa, aged three, Amelia (Emily), aged two, and her sons Thomas, aged twenty, and John Butler aged eleven.

We can also see that Edwin’s family believed that they were descended from a Colonel CARRUTHERS, thus this piece of information was added to Edwin’s memorial.

My Grandmother, Edwin’s grand-daughter, died in 1946, and when my grandfather died in 1969 it fell to me his next of kin to administer his affairs including two suitcases containing WARCUP and CARRUTHERS memorabilia. I resolved then to do something with these diaries, photographs, and newspaper clippings.

Word went out that we were willing to share this information, and we received visits from relatives, some I barely knew existed. One of our visitors was Helen NANKERVIS, a thorough and experienced genealogist, who, like me, is a descendant of Edwin CARRUTHERS.

Helen kindly gave me copies of her research including family group sheets, some of Helen’s documentary evidence, copies of a parcel of family papers found in the care another distant cousin of ours then living in Australia. These documents appear to have been passed between generations of Edwin’s descendants before coming to rest in Australia. Helen’s group sheets, supported by these and other documents, revealed that Edwin’s farther was an officer in the army, Lieutenant Johnson Butler CARRUTHERS, who for most of his military career languished on half pay after being wounded while on active service during an ill- fated expedition to Holland.

My interest was initially drawn to two of these documents; the first was an indenture, dated the 5th of August 1774. Written in archaic legal English, this document gives the surveyed location of the boundaries, and records the transfer of fifty-three acres of land in the Mohawk Valley, located in the Tryon County of the then British Colony of New York. The parties involved were Colonel John BUTLER and his wife Catlyna, who, in consideration of a sum of five shillings in the currency of New York and at an annual peppercorn rental, gave possession of a part of their property called Butlers Bury to Thomas CROTHERS, a merchant, from Tripe’s Hill.

I searched the internet with my dialup connection and discovered that Thomas CAROTHERS and John BUTLER were members of Kings Royal Regiment of New York, a military unit formed in Canada made up from Loyalists forced out of their homes during the American Revolution and under the command of Colonel Sir John JOHNSON.

The second document was a computer printout that Helen found during a visit to Salt Lake City. This slip of paper was an index to documents held in the Provincial Archives of Ontario Montreal which at that time had not been digitised and seemed to indicate that Edwin CARRUTHERS visited Canada sometime in the nineteenth century.

My research was beginning to stall so I contacted Helen living in Queensland. Fortunately Helen was in contact with Frances HALL, another distant cousin and descendent of Edwin CARRUTHERS living in Canada. Frances was delighted to help and ordered the microfilmed records, held in Montreal, to view at her local library. Frances photographed these records and we found that we possessed a story worth telling.

George Warcup

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Anne Lemon

Kowai Archives Society

Introducing Kowai Archives Society, located in Balcairn, North Canterbury. We were originally formed in 1990 as Sefton-Kowai Archives, when the Sefton-Kowai CWI decided to ‘collect, preserve and exhibit records of the cultural history of the area’. We amalgamated with the Amberley Historical Society in 1997 and became Kowai Archives.

Our base is the old Kowai County Council Chambers in Balcairn, built as a Peace Memorial in 1922.

The district we cover is between the Ashley and Waipara Rivers, and from the foothills to the sea. This includes Amberley, Sefton, Leithfield, Balcairn, Ashley, Saltwater Creek, Balcairn, Mount Grey Downs and the beach settlements.

Our collections are very much family history oriented, and include school rolls, church records, land titles and maps, photographs, family histories, military personnel records, cemetery records and local history books.

The Society is also responsible for the cob cottage in Chamberlain Park, Amberley. The cottage was relocated from Leithfield and is home to a collection of furnishings and clothing donated by descendants of early residents.

Our team of volunteers have many years of local knowledge and are able to help with local and family history research. We are open for visitors on Wednesday afternoons, or by appointment. Contact us on kowai.archives@gmail.com

Anne Lemon,

Researcher

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An Invitation to Contribute:

I have a number of people that contribute occasional articles. These appear irregularly if and when the authors send them to me. I use them to bulk up each month's newsletter. The more we have the more "rests "I can give my much-appreciated regular columnists.

This is a way that a person can get some of their writing published. Of course, we are all writing up our research results, aren't we? I have always said that every genealogist is an expert in some small piece of history, resources or research methods.

We circulate this newsletter to about 7,000 subscribers worldwide but is read by many more as it is passed on to other readers and LDS research centres. Every month I get feedback on my poor attempts at writing and I have now made many "new friends", albeit digital ones. In a few months I hope to meet a few when I waddle along to a few conferences and meetings in England and Scotland. I have even had a few very helpful assistances in my research.

Why don't you contribute an article?

My basic requirements:

1) The column must be in English

2) The column should be no longer than about 1,200 words

3) The article should be emailed to me in a Word document format

4) The subject should be genealogical or historical in nature

Do not be afraid about your "perceived" bad English. The article will be edited, in a friendly manner, by me and then Robert. Then all columnists and a few valuable proof-readers get to read the newsletter before it is emailed out. You’ll be paid $0 for your article, which is on the same scale that Robert and I pay ourselves for editing and publishing the newsletter.

From our Libraries and Museums

We are offering a forum to our libraries and museums to publicise their events, and to contribute articles to this newsletter that may be of interest to our readers. Auckland Libraries makes good use of this free service, let’s see if other libraries and museums take up this offer.

For readers of this newsletter: please bring this to the attention of your local libraries etc, and encourage them to participate.

Auckland Libraries

Breaking news!

Remote access to Ancestry is available to Auckland Libraries customers until the 31 December. We will also be checking with Findmypast

If you aren’t in Auckland, check with your library - if your library subscribes to Ancestry via ProQuest, then you will probably have the same good news too!

People just need to log into their library account and access the library edition via their library website.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nga mihi | Kind regards

SEONAID

Seonaid (Shona) Lewis RLIANZA | Family History Librarian

Central Auckland Research Centre, Central City Library

Heritage and Research

Auckland Libraries - Nga Whare Matauranga o Tamaki Makarau

Ph 09 890 2411| Extn (46) 2411 | Fax 09 307 7741

Auckland Libraries, Level 2, Central City Library, 44 - 46 Lorne Street, Auckland

Visit our website: www.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz

@Kintalk on Twitter / Auckland Research Centre on Facebook

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Group News

Whangarei Family History Computer Group

Contacts:

Wayne: (09) 437 2881 wayne@bydand.co.nz

Pat: (09) 437 0692 whangareifamilyhistorygroup@gmail.com

Venues

Thursday evening venue is 6 Augusta Place, Whau Valley. Call Wayne or Pat or;

email Whangareifamilyhistorygroup@gmail.com, if you need directions.

Saturday meetings are held in the SeniorNet rooms in James Street.

The rooms are upstairs in the Arcade leading to Orr’s Pharmacy and Tiffany’s Café, Start time 9.30 till finished before 1.30pm.

Waikanae Family History Group

Contacts: Email: wfhg2012@gmail.com

Venue: Meets every 4^th Thursday morning at the Waikanae Chartered Club, 8 Elizabeth Street Waikanae, just over the Railway Crossing from 9.30am to 12 -12.30pm, every month from January to November.

Research days: at the Waikanae Public Library, 10am to 12 noon on second Wednesday of each month.

Waitara Districts History & Families Research Group

The contact details of this group are:

Waitara Districts History & Families Research Group

Rose Cottage 33 Memorial Place

WAITARA 4320

Tel: 06 – 754 – 3212

waitarahistory.genealogy@xtra.co.nz

President:- Rona Hooson

Vice President:- Doree Smith

Secretary:- Trish Smart

Treasurer:- Marilyn O’Lander

office:-067543212

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News and Views

From the Editor: Because of space restrictions and copyright issues I cannot put the complete articles in this newsletter so here are some URLs that are worth looking at:

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Tithe applotment books: Our guide to finding your Irish ancestors’ land

https://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/tutorials/overseas/tithe-applotment-books-ireland/

Where can I find workhouse records?

https://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/tutorials/workhouse-ancestors/

FHF Really Useful Family History Show

www.fhf-reallyuseful.com

From the Editor: This is an on-line Family History Show being held 12 & 13 November 2021, UK time (ie very soon). The programme looks very interesting. The particular presentation I was drawn to was one that should be compulsory viewing for all members of the NZ Society of Genealogists – on the Friday night (UK time) “Genealogy: The next generation”. This is about, according to the advertisement in the Family Tree magazine, how family history societies can be relevant to the next generation of family historians. No other comment needs to be said.

Cost of attendance (digitally) is £10. Many of the presentations will be available until 27^th November so you do not have to sit up all night but don’t miss the Friday night (UK time) session.

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Was your Ancestor a Tailor?

https://www.yourfamilyhistorian.co.uk/post/was-your-ancestor-a-tailor

Top three resources for Irish land records

https://www.family-tree.co.uk/useful-genealogy-websites/

Home DNA tests can lead to shock and trauma

https://www.inquirer.com/health/home-dna-tests-trauma-mental-health-resources-20211028.html

In conclusion

Book Reviews

Against All Odds

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Description automatically generated The rescue of the Wild Boar footballers from flooded caves in Thailand - 2018

I was at a function recently and Richard Harris was a speaker via video link from Adelaide and albeit he didn’t speak for long, you could sense the enthusiasm for his chosen career as a specialist anaesthetist and for the adventure of cave diving.

The format of the narrative is in chapters by each of the authors and I’m sure Ellis Henican has been instrumental in making it all hang together.

As youths both Craig & Richard had a freedom to roam, gone in the morning and ‘be home for dinner’ mentality, and their chosen careers Craig as a veterinary surgeon in Perth and Richard as an anaesthetist in Adelaide are covered in sufficient detail to show their ability, training professionalism and commitment made them very suited to the rescue task.

Their introduction to cave diving became a lifetime adventure to go underground where ‘no person has gone before’.

From Craig: But why would anyone want to dive in a cave? “If you need to ask the question, you wouldn’t understand the answer. For me it’s never been entirely logical” and follows up with words: compulsion, curiosity, challenge, accomplishment, gruelling, potentially dangerous, and inherent excitement as to what it means to him.

Initially Craig & Richard were not involved in the developing cave rescue drama, but the book covers the developing media circus, the involvement of government officials (elected and otherwise), the military (Thai and otherwise) and local & international cave divers where there seemed to be no co-ordinated control or ability to develop a plan. The initial most experienced cave divers were the Brits who Craig & Richard were in contact with and were itching to get to site but not getting an invitation. There were many rescue plans put forward, most falling by the wayside. The British cave diving Expert Rick Stanton raised the idea of swimming the anaesthetised boys out with Harry (Richard) as the only likely rescue method and Harry could see every reason it wouldn’t work for one person let alone 13.

Finally they got the nod, and with the help of the government they became part of the AUSMAT team (Australian Medical Assistance Teams) and the ‘blessings’ of their respective families they were on the way.

As with any international grouping of “specialist volunteers”, specialists from foreign government & military groups within a proud & militarily run country such as Thailand there will be ‘issues’ to resolve and for Harry & Craig the way was smoothed, and the rescue plan approved, and being given diplomatic immunity for the proposed medical procedures. Harry still agonised about the plan: to anaesthetise, to bind the boy’s arms and legs and to guide them in an unconscious state, on breathing apparatus out thru the flooded caves over several hours and needing a Ketamine top-up part way.

His plan, but here was no other way.

Once the plan was made & approved and with ever threatening rain, the rescue quickly got under way and continued over four days, and one needs to read the story to get the feel of the difficulties experienced for the rescue in a flooded cave system that was basically dry when the ‘Wild Boars’ went in.

There are many publications on the Thai Cave rescue and some will be more technical than others and some will be beat ups for particular groups. This story is balanced and is a very readable, a people book as well as the story of a dramatic rescue.

If I have a criticism, it is that there is no map of the cave layouts to give a perspective to the distances, depths, and constrictions the rescuers had to negotiate to reach the boys, but you can feel it in the narrative.

The rescue involved many foreign nationalities, basically all volunteers, in a remote area of Thailand, a country run by the military and very much in the glare of the world’s media, if anything serious had gone wrong the authors and others would have been held out to dry. There were issues and mistakes, but corrections made, and techniques improved to the basic rescue technique as envisaged by “Harry Harris”.

Albeit the authors are very much in the spotlight, there is very genuine acknowledgement of the other rescuers and support teams. And special mention by Harry & Craig to those that stayed in the cave with the boys, “Dr Pak” the Thai military doctor, the three Thai navy SEALs and to the twelve boys & the team assistant coach Ekk.

Harry in many of his subsequent talks has emphasised the need for kids to find their inner explorer: ‘But actually kids do need to be kids, and they need to be allowed to find their own boundaries and to test their own limits’

A good present for any teenagers in your family

Ken Morris

Additional note from Robert: I read this book a few years ago, staying up to the early hours to finish the last few chapters because it was so gripping. The authors are brilliant, making you feel that you understand the feelings of everybody involved at every stage of the rescue. Thoroughly recommended for any age.

Help wanted

Letters to the Editor

Lockdown Opportunity

We should be regarding lockdown as a challenge and an opportunity. When else have we had so much time to dedicate to our research? With the internet at our fingertips, we should be rechecking our research to eradicate errors and expand our knowledge.

Years ago, a child seriously asked me "What shape is a family tree?" and I have made that phrase the title for a series of booklets where I try to organise my research into a format which other family members can access and I hope enjoy.

I have not restricted myself just to individual family lines or even collections of interesting biographies. It is possible to collect photos as well as facts and, for instance, identify the ships our ancestors came here on, the houses they lived in, wedding photos over the generations etc. The options are unlimited. Good luck.

Jeanette Grant in Auckland

Advertising with FamNet

Every now and then we get requests to put an advertisement in the newsletter. I have therefore created a new section which will appear from time to time. Advertisements will be included only at the Editor's discretion and will be of a genealogical nature.

If your organisation is not a group subscriber then there will be a charge for advertising events and services, which must be paid for before publication. Charges start at $NZ25 for a basic flier, and increase for more elaborate presentations. Like everyone else we need funds to help keep FamNet going. Fees are very minimal. If your organisation paid a yearly subscription you can have all the advertising you want all year round in the Group News section. Your group could be anywhere in the world, not just in New Zealand. The editor will continue to exercise discretion for free events.

A Bit of Light Relief

Great mental exercise for the older crowd.

Which of the following names are you familiar with?

1. Monica Lewinsky
2. Spiro Agnew
3. Benito Mussolini
4. Adolf Hitler
5. Jorge Bergoglio
6. Alfonse Capone
7. Vladimir Putin
8. Linda Lovelace
9. Saddam Hussein
10. Tiger Woods

You had trouble with #5, didn't you?

You know all the liars, criminals, adulterers, murderers, thieves, sluts, and cheaters, but you don't know... the Pope??

Top Ten Internet Abbreviations for Genealogists

10. AFAICTWDAR — As far as I can tell without doing actual research

9. IYKWIM — If you know what "inbreeding" means

8. AMOUFL — As a matter of unfounded family legend

7. SCNRPYI — Sorry, could not resist proving your illegitimacy

6. IMPGHO — In my paternal grandmother's humble opinion

5. NIFOMR — Naked in front of microfilm reader

4. TIABIDITTYA — Thanks in advance because I don't intend to thank you afterwards

3. KMA — Kiss my ahnentafel

2. ROFTBPR — Rolling on the floor transcribing British parish registers

1. BTWYA — By the way, you're adopted

NAMING THE BABY

They talked of Medora, Aurora and Flora

Of Mabel and Marcia, and Mildred and May

Debated the question of Helen, Honor, Clarissa, Camilla, and Phyllis and Fay

They thought of Marcella, Estella and Bella

Considered Cecillia, Jeannette and Pauline,

Alicia, Adela, Annette, Arabella,

And Ethel and Eunice, Hortense and Irene

One like Theodora, another Leonora,

Some argued for Edith, and some for Elaine

For Madeline, Adeline, Lilly and Lora —

And then after all, they decided on

Jane

Bay Of Plenty Times Friday May 3 1895 P3A

AN IRISH BLONDE IN A CASINO:

An attractive blonde from Cork, Ireland arrived at the casino. She seemed a little intoxicated and bet twenty-thousand Euros on a single roll of the dice.

She said, "I hope you don't mind, but I feel much luckier when I'm completely naked."

With that, she stripped from the neck down, rolled the dice and with an Irish brogue yelled, "Come on, baby, Mama needs new clothes!"

As the dice came to a stop, she jumped up and down and squealed: "YES! YES! I WON, I WON!"

She hugged each of the dealers and then picked up her winnings (and her clothes) and quickly departed.

The dealers stared at each other dumbfounded. Finally, one of them asked, “What did she roll?"

The other answered, "I don't know - I thought you were watching the dice."

MORAL OF THE STORY:

Not all Irish are drunks. Not all blondes are dumb.

But all men.... are men.

Reilly went to trial for armed robbery. The jury foreman came out and announced,

'Not guilty.'

'That's grand!' shouted Reilly. 'Does that mean I can keep the money?'

A tourist asks an Irishman: "Why do Scuba divers always fall backwards off their boats?"

To which the Irishman replies: "Well if they fell forwards, they'd still be in the bloody boat."

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