the rawlinsons · had three children of his own (thomas, major and elizabeth ashton) after the...

The Rawlinsons

From Lancaster to New Zealand

1878

The barque May Queen. Illustration from Auckland Star, 14 July 1923, 7

The Rawlinsons

John William (Jack) Rawlinson married Ada Ducker in 1891.

His sister Mary Ellen (Nell) married Ernest Ducker in 1892.

When the Rawlinson family emigrated to New Zealand in 1878, their names were

recorded on the passenger list as Robinson, two daughters were missing from the list1,

the father’s age was reduced by seven years and his occupation was given as

“brickmaker” which, as far as we know, he never was.

Not only that, the father, William Rawlinson, and all his family had been known in

England not by the surname Rawlinson, but by the surname Ashton.

With all that, the origins of this Rawlinson family and their emigration to New

Zealand might well have remained a complete mystery and permanently forgotten if

had it not been for Janet Fleming’s skill as a genealogist.

Now that Janet has unravelled the puzzle, the explanation is not so difficult.

(Janet Fleming had an article published in the NEW ZEALAND GENEALOGIST

magazine of May/June 2003 describing how she solved this mystery and it makes

interesting and instructive reading. (See Appendix 3: Rawlinson from Lancaster”))

The explanation is as follows:

William, the son of Mary Rawlinson, spinster, was born in December 1833 and

baptised as William Rawlinson.

Three years later his mother, Mary Rawlinson, married Hugh Ashton, so William,

along with his two subsequent siblings, became known as William Ashton.

(Hugh Ashton was a widower when he married Mary and he also had three Ashton

children of his own.)

When William was married in 1864 the record shows his name as William Ashton.

Their first seven children, born in England, were all listed on the birth register as

Ashton.

Prior to their emigration, this Ashton family reverted to William’s baptismal family

name of Rawlinson - though they were incorrectly recorded on the passenger list of

the May Queen as “Robinson.”

A possible explanation is that a Lancashire accent, or poor hearing on the part of a

shipping clerk, mutated the name “Rawlinson” into “Robinson.”

William could not write his own name.

The reduced age and occupation “brickmaker” may have been a deliberate fabrication

on William’s part to improve his acceptability as a “colonial nominated emigrant”

qualified for assisted or free passage to New Zealand.

The absence of the two daughters on the official shipping list remains a mystery.

Was it a clerical error - or did the little girls travel as “stowaways?”

1 To complicate matters further, the names of the two girls (Annie and Nellie Rawlinson) appeared on

the passenger list of another ship, the Margaret Galbraith, three years later.

Further investigation showed it to be a different Rawlinson family.

Contents

Page

1 William Rawlinson

3 Grace Bateson

4 Marriage of William and Grace

6 William Ashton, Mariner

10 Life in Lancaster

14 Emigration to New Zealand

17 Life in New Zealand

18 Panmure

24 1891 Jack Rawlinson marries Ada Ducker

25 1892 Nell Rawlinson marries Ernest Ducker.

25 1893 Death of William Rawlinson

27 Jack and Ada in New Plymouth

40 Mary Ellen

44 Old Family Photographs

46 Appendix 1: Passage to New Zealand of Nellie and Annie

48 Appendix 2: Further Notes on the Passage of the May Queen

51 Appendix 3: Rawlinson from Lancaster by Janet Fleming

Particular thanks for the help and advice given by Janet Fleming.

Janet is descended from Jack and Ada Rawlinson.

Thanks also to Maurice Williams for sharing items from his collection.

Maurice is descended from Adam Rawlinson.

Thanks also to Karen Erni for sharing from her family history.

Karen is descended from Ernest Ducker and his second wife Lilia Croon.

I would also like to thank Lynn Murray (Secretary Lancaster Family History Group)

for taking the trouble to help find information for this scrapbook.

Please send any comments, corrections or additional information to

[email protected]

1 [email protected] 2/12/2016

William Rawlinson

Birth 12th Dec 1833 in Lancaster.

Bishop’s Transcripts, Lancaster, 1830-1839

1836 Marriage of Mary Rawlinson and Hugh Ashton at St Mary, Lancaster

Parish Registers Lancaster St. Mary

At the time of marriage Mary had a child of her own (William Rawlinson) and Hugh

had three children of his own (Thomas, Major and Elizabeth Ashton)

After the marriage, two children were born to Mary and Hugh.

James Ashton was born on 25th March 1837 ( in Dolphinholme, 10 miles south of Lancaster)

Jane Ashton was born on 25th Sept 1839 (in Lancaster)

William Rawlinson became known as William Ashton.

mailto:[email protected]


The Ashton

family

in 1841

1841 Census. The family of Hugh and Mary Ashton, Dye House Lane, Lancaster.

William Ashton at the age of 7 living in Dye House Lane, Lancaster.

Parents: stepfather Hugh Ashton and mother Mary Ashton (nee Rawlinson)

Thomas, Major and Elizabeth are Hugh Ashton’s children by a previous marriage.

William (Rawlinson) is Mary’s child.

James and Jane were born to Hugh and Mary Ashton.

Dwarfed by high brick buildings,

Dye House Lane is one of many

narrow lanes (“ginnels”) in Lancaster. Photo by Northwestimages. Below from Google

Turning into Dye House Lane from Damside St.

Mary (Rawlinson) Ashton died 1st July 1849 (ref Janet Fleming.)



In 1864 William (Rawlinson) Ashton married Grace Bateson

Grace Bateson was baptised in Poulton in 1842, parents John and Ann Bateson.

John Bateson is recorded here as having the occupation Wheelwright.

The village of Poulton (or Poulton Le Sands as it became known) is no longer on the

map. It was a little to the north east of Morecambe, which has now absorbed it, and it

is just a few miles from Lancaster.

“The old village of Poulton is near the shore to the north-east of the railway station…”

From: 'Townships: Poulton, Bare and Torrisholme', in A History of the County of

Lancaster: Volume 8, ed. William Farrer and J Brownbill (London, 1914

The Bateson family was recorded in the census of 1851 and 1861 as living in the

village of Poulton, in the township of “Poulton, Bare and Torrisholme” (Morecambe.)

In 1871 the Batesons were recorded in Marshall Yard, Upper King Street, Lancaster.

(As we shall see, their daughter Grace, now married to William Ashton, had also been

living in Upper King St. in 1870, their address in 1871 being nearby Damside St.)

In each of these three census records, John Bateson’s occupation is “Joiner.”2

A record of Grace, 8 years of age, can be found with her family in Poulton in the 1851

census.

However by 1861 she had moved far away from home, and can be found in the

village of Thornton, in Yorkshire, employed as a servant by a family called Townend.

(Her age, and birth place (Morecambe) make it likely it is the right Grace Bateson.)

2 It was not uncommon for a wheelwright to become a joiner. The trades had skills in common.

James Ducker also was trained as a wheelwright but for much of his life worked as a joiner and

carpenter.



1864 Marriage of William (Rawlinson) Ashton and Grace Bateson

(Certified copy from GRO from the collection of Janet Fleming.)

Marriage date: 9th May 1864 (St. Johns) Parish Church, Preston.

William Ashton, 29, bachelor, seaman, residence: Albert St.

Grace Elizabeth Bateson, 23, spinster, servant, residence: Albert St.

By Banns. Both signed the register “his/her x mark”

Fathers’ name and occupation: Late Hugh Ashton, wool comber, and

John Bateson, Ship Carpenter.

According to the document the wedding was in the Parish of Preston and at the time

both Grace and William were residing in Albert Street.

(And there is an Albert St in Preston, an Albert Rd in Morecambe – though apparently

no Albert St. in Lancaster.)

Preston is a long way from Poulton (where Grace’s family was living in 1851/61) and

Thornton (where Grace was working in 1861) and

Lancaster (Where the Batesons and the Ashtons were living in 1871.)

It is unknown now, how Grace and William both seem to have been residing in Albert

St., Preston in 1864. The marriage was “by Banns.”

Grace and William’s first child was born in October 1864.

Janet Fleming has the birth certificate which records that at the time they were living

at 2 Rose Street3 and that William was a “Fireman on a Steamboat”.

3 No longer on the map of Lancaster, this was a small street near to today’s Sulyard St. and about 300

metres from the family’s next address at Wood Street.



John William Ashton was born on 12th October 1864.

The family must soon have shifted from 2 Rose Street because three months later,

when John William Ashton was baptised (November 1864) the family was recorded

as living at Wood Street (A narrow lane off Damside Street, close to Dye House Lane.)

Photo taken from Damside St: Wood Street today (Google Maps)

On the baptism certificate of John William Ashton, in 1864 (see above)

William Ashton had recorded his occupation as “Mariner.”

(Information thanks to Lynn Murray, Secretary Lancaster Family History Group).



William Ashton, Mariner.

When William (Ashton) Rawlinson died in 1893 he was given a somewhat

evangelical obituary, a copy of which survived and is given later. The theme of the

obituary, and in fact almost the only information it records about William, is his

late-in-life complete conversion, and acceptance of “God’s free salvation”.

It tells more about the writer, whose name we do not know, than it does about

William. However it does include one sentence which makes a fairly precise

statement about the early years of William’s life, and records some details which

seem not to have been remembered with such precision in family anecdotes:

“For thirty years he led a sea-faring life, eight of which were spent in the Royal Navy,

the remainder in various vessels until he had been in almost every port in the world.”

It was known that at some point in his early life he had been a seaman, but there

appear to have been no memories kept by the family that he had been in the Royal

Navy, nor that he had been a seafarer for the best part of 30 years.

It is not an easy task to reconstruct those 30 years. British Navy records are difficult

to access without the name of the ship or ships on which the seaman served, and in

William’s case this is no longer known.

If we take the “30 years” as being approximately correct, and knowing that his life as

a seafarer might have ended around 1877 (since he came to New Zealand in 1878)

then we might infer that he joined the Royal Navy around 1850, when he was about

17 years of age, and left the Royal Navy around 1860 when he was about 27 years of

age – in fact, not long before he was married (in 1864.)

Further, we might assume that after that, he sailed in Merchant Navy ships for the

next 20 or so years, until he and his family left Lancaster and emigrated to New

Zealand.

In New Zealand there is a record of him being occupied as a fireman (1890 New

Zealand electoral roll.) A “fireman” or “stoker” in those times meant one whose job

was to tend the fire for the running of a steam engine.4 Perhaps William served in

only on early steam driven vessels rather than ships of sail. Indeed, had he served on

sailing ships it would seem likely that some tales of this life would have survived.

The Royal Navy did not engage in any famous battles at sea during this time, though

Navy ships were involved in two land-based wars – in the Baltic Sea and at

Sevastopol in the mid 1950s, and in the second of the Opium Wars in China in the late

1850s. However, again, we might assume that William was not involved in either of

these events, since no such anecdotes have survived within the family.

A search of Merchant Navy crew lists for seamen under the name “William Ashton”

yields four records within the period 1860 to 1878.

4 Being a fireman involved much more than shovelling coal, and maintaining the fires required

more skill than they have been given credit for. For more information read:

http://www.barrymerchantseamen.org.uk/articles/BMSfiretrim.html


http://www.barrymerchantseamen.org.uk/articles/BMSfiretrim.html


(1) 1864 ship John Fraser (voyage commenced 1863)

Extract from Log: Wm Aston age: 24, town or place where from: London

In 1863 our William Ashton would have been 30, place where from: should be Lancaster.

Probably a different William Ashton.

(2) 1870 ship William Wilson (voyage commenced 1868)

Extract from Log: recorded as Wm H. Ashton, 27, place where from: Cornwall

Almost certainly a different William Ashton

(3) 1873 ship British India – rank Ordinary Seaman, no age or place of origin stated.

British India

46111 Liverpool

1265 ton reg

Voyage Commenced:

Feb 6th 1872

Liverpool to Bombay,

Rangoon and back to

Liverpool.

William Ashton Ordinary Seaman VG VG

Extracts from Log suggest this was a sailing ship.

Age and place of birth of this William Ashton not stated.

May be a different William Ashton

(4) 1874 ship City of Chester. Age, place of origin not stated.

City of Chester

69272

Liverpool

2712 ton reg

Voyage

commenced:

13/8/1874

Liverpool to

New York via

Qtown

+ back to

Liverpool

William Ashton engaged as Trimmer

William Ashton deserted 11th June 1874



Wednesday August 12th /74 Place: Liverpool

………………William Ashton

Firemen absent without liberty

forfeit one days pay each

employed substitutes paid 1.1.8

Thursday Sept. 17th 1874

Place: Liverpool

William Ashton

Fireman deserted

(Note: he deserted in Liverpool. The voyage had actually terminated on 9th September 1864.)

Evidently more than one trip is recorded here.

Possibly on this ship from June through September 1874

could be our William Ashton.

A search of crew lists for William Rawlinson in this period yielded one only:

1868 Ship Pacific Extracts from Log:

Pacific # 51.465 Liverpool Reg tonnage 1174 Master: Geo N Conlan

Voyage commenced 11th July 1868 for West Coast of America.

His age is given as 34, place of origin Lancaster –

with the signature over-written with “his mark”

These details all correctly match our William (Rawlinson) Ashton, including his

inability to write his name (his marriage certificate was similarly annotated.)



Log of the Pacific:

William Rawlinson was engaged in the capacity of “fireman”, start date 13th July 1868

wage £5.0.0 per month, one month in advance.

The previous ship he served on was

City of Limerick from which he was

discharged at Liverpool

August 5th “Sick and off duty”

August 28th in Valparaiso, William Rawlinson transferred to the steamship Valparaiso

PACIFIC was built in 1865 by Randolph & Elder at Glasgow with a tonnage of 1631grt, a

length of 267ft 5in, a beam of 40ft 2in and a service speed of 10 knots. Launched on 28th

January 1865 she was delivered in the April and sailed to South America where she operated

on the Pacific coast routes. The first of a class of four ships she was , with her sisters, placed

temporarily on the Trans - South Atlantic in 1868 and became the only compound engined

paddle steamers to be deployed on a transatlantic service. On 13th May 1868 she inaugurated

the South America to UK service from Valparaiso to Liverpool with calls at Sandy Point

(Argentina), Montevideo, Re de Janeiro, St Vincent, Lisbon and St Nazaire. On the first

departure under the command of Captain George Conlan she carried 170 passengers and gold

and bullion valued at £65,000. The passage time was 43 days. She was eventually hulked in

1880.

(http://www.red-duster.co.uk/PSNC8.htm)

My conclusion is that William Rawlinson (or Ashton) probably served in the Royal

Navy from about 1850-1860, then as Rawlinson in the Merchant Navy: fireman or

trimmer on steamers S.S. City of Limerick, S.S. Pacific and S.S. Valparaiso - and

possibly also under the name Ashton on the S.S. City of Chester, deserted 1874.



Life in Lancaster

After the birth of their first son John William in 1864, William and Grace Ashton had

six more children in Lancaster. Two of them died as infants.

A glance at the baptism records of each of the children (next pages) shows that for

most of these years William Ashton recorded his occupation as Mariner.

(At the baptism of Grace in September 1875 his occupation is recorded as labourer,

though by the end of that year he was again at sea, as we shall find later.)

The family’s address in

Lancaster also changed a

number of times:

In 1864 when John William

was born, the Ashtons lived

at Rose Street, then moved

to nearby Wood Street.

After that, recorded in

1868: King St

1870: Upper King St

1871: Damside St

1874: Bulk St

1876: Church St

1977: Brookhouse Yard?

Joseph Thomas Ashton was on born 7th September 1868.

However he died in March 1870. William’s occupation is recorded as “Mariner.”

These documents record that the family had moved from Wood St. to King St by 1868,

and Upper King Street recorded in March 1870. It is not certain if this represents a shift, as Upper King St. appears not to exist today and may just be an extension of King St. Note also that in 1871 Grace’s parents John and Ann Bateson had moved from

Poulton and were also living in Upper King Street.



A couple of months later, an event occurred which, curiously, was recorded in some

detail in the newspaper.

(And records also William’s occupation as sailor, residence in King Street.)

Lancaster Gazette - Saturday 28 May 1870

Lancaster Gazette - Saturday 02 July 1870

In 1871 the family shifted to Damside Street. The 1871 census (fragment below)

records that the family was living at 3 White’s Court, Damside Street.

Grace is recorded as a “Sailor’s wife” and William was presumably away at sea.

The next child, Mary Ellen (“Nell”) was born on 3rd June 1871.

. The address here is given as Damside Street. William’s occupation “Mariner.”

Elizabeth Ann (“Annie”) was born on 23rd August 1873.



By now the family had moved to Bulk Street. William’s occupation “Mariner.”

In 1875 the family was living in Church Street.

Their next child, Grace, was born on 3rd September 1875.

. William is now referred to as a “Labourer.” Sadly, the little girl died the following year

Evidently things were going hard for the family in other ways too.

William’s occupation as seaman, or “mariner” was poorly paid, in fact on one

particular trip in late 1795 he was said to have been receiving only £1 per month

(see over page.) Land-based jobs were scarce and there may have been little choice.

In the circumstances, it would

not be surprising if William and

Grace were considering other

possible opportunities.

The New Zealand Government

was offering free passages for

agricultural labourers and

“Mechanics” (tradesmen)

Lancaster Gazette

9th January 1875

While William was at sea that year (1875) Grace had found it necessary to apply for

charitable aid, and when William had returned from sea that November, the guardians

of the relief fund made it clear that he was not to go to sea again until provision had

been made for his family. Probably having no choice in the matter William did go

back to sea again – “as a fireman on board a steamer” - and on his return in early 1876,

while he was collecting his meagre pay, he was apprehended.

The Lancaster Union had taken out a warrant.

They prosecuted him and he was “sent to the Castle” for a month.



Lancaster Gazette

12th February 1876

There was no question

of his abandoning the

family, as subsequent

events attest.

It must have appeared

as unjust to William

then, as does to us

today, that a man could

be sanctioned in this

way for trying to

provide for his family

in the only way he

could.

We can imagine that

William and Grace

might have realised

then, if they had not already done so, that Lancaster probably held no future hope for

them - and that emigration might possibly provide an opportunity for a new start and a

new life.

Another son, Benjamin, was born in 1877 (baptised on July 14th that year.)

Lancaster Gazette

18th July 1877

New Zealand continued

to beckon.

New Zealand had been recovering from internal wars, with a stagnant economy and

an acute shortage of labour – particularly agricultural labour, though other trades were

also in demand. This “FREE PASSAGE” immigration scheme was part of an

expansionist policy which had been initiated by then-Premier Julius Vogel in response

to the above economic conditions.

Young men “of the right stamp”, and their families, were being actively recruited.



1878 Emigration to New Zealand

William Ashton, mariner, now 45 years old, may have decided that a new identity

might improve his eligibility for free passage.

Already, at times, he seems to have been using his baptismal name of Rawlinson.

(see 12th Feb 1876 article above …. “William Ashton alias Rawlinson”..)

The family now adopted this name.

In 1878, William Rawlinson, age reduced to 38, “brickmaker” as his stated trade,

together with his young family, was granted free passage to New Zealand.

The family in 1878:

The ship May Queen, 732 tons, Captain Tatchell, left East India Docks on Saturday

July 13th and arrived at Plymouth on Tuesday 16th.

She took on board 250 emigrants and left Plymouth on the 20th with a southerly wind,

crossed the equator on August 17th, rounded the Cape of Good Hope on September

12th, and dropped anchor in Auckland Harbour on 19th October 1878.

On board was the Rawlinson family, recorded on the passenger list as “Robinson”.

The name “Robinson” may have been created by William, along with his reduced age

and tradesman occupation – or, more likely it is thought – it was simply a clerical

mistake due to a broad accent, or a clerk’s poor hearing, as William himself could not

write his name. The two girls Elizabeth Ann (Annie, aged 5) and Mary Ellen (Nell,

aged 7) were not on the list. It is not known if this too was a clerical error, or whether

their presence was deliberately not reported.

90 day passage May Queen (Auckland Star)



New Zealand, Archives, Passenger Lists,

1839-1973

Arrived Auckland 19th October 1878

May Queen

(https://familysearch.org)

On the passenger list, the Rawlinson name has been recorded as “Robinson”

The two girls Elizabeth Ann (5) and Mary Ellen (7) are missing from the list.


https://familysearch.org/


ARRIVALS OF THE MAY QUEEN FROM

LONDON WITH 250 IMMIGRANTS. Auckland Star, 19 October 1878

The newspaper list of passengers further compounded flaws in the record of

Rawlinsons’ arrival in New Zealand. The name “Robinson” is transcribed from the

official passenger list, and this time, along with the names of the two girls Mary Ellen

and Elizabeth Ann, Benjamin’s name is also missing.

(Fragment from Auckland Star, 19 October 1878)

Benjamin was on the ship, of course – and in her New Zealand Genealogist article

(see Appendix 3) Janet Fleming gives the reasons why we might assume the girls

were there too – but whether they were left off the original list by mistake – or

“slipped on board” unrecorded – we will probably never know.5

5 Maurice Williams was given an anecdote from June Berry (the daughter of Annie, one of the missing

girls) that they were on board the May Queen. The story goes that four children was the maximum

allowed for “free passage” so an arrangement had been made to assign them to another family.

There is some evidence to support this, but not enough to be conclusive.. See Appendix 1.



Life in New Zealand

Taken from a

newspaper obituary

to James Edward

Rawlinson

published by

Auckland Star

10th October 1933.

This fragment records that after arriving in New Zealand the family first took up

residence in Onehunga, then (possibly) Auckland, before moving to Panmure.

Kauri Point Sawmill, Onehunga – Owner M. H. Roe in the foreground.

(Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 4-852)

1879 Emma Jane Rawlinson was born 1st April 1879 in Onehunga.

1880 The next child, Sarah (Jessie) was born on 24th September 1880 at Cook Street

in the town of Auckland.

1880 Emma Jane died on 1st Dec. 1880 and was buried in Panmure.

1882 In 1882 Adam was born, and his birth place was Panmure.

From the above birth dates, and the obituary of James Edward Rawlinson, we may

infer that the Rawlinsons settled first in Onehunga – then, some time between April

1879 and September 1880 they may have shifted briefly to Auckland town.

By December 1880 the Rawlinsons were settled in Panmure, which was then a village

some distance from Auckland.

In 1880 John William Rawlinson was 16 and his sister Nell was 9.



Panmure

Ireland’s Tannery c 1900 Mt. Wellington Public Library

Not only did James Edward Rawlinson work at Ireland’s Tannery – it is said that his

brothers did too – and possibly also their father William.

The Tannery as viewed from the Panmure side of the Basin. C 1900 Mt Wellington Public Library

The Tannery was located near to good shipping access via the Tamaki River and also

a good supply of water from a spring, known today as Van Damm’s lagoon.



Rawlinson

brothers, at

Ireland’s

Tannery,

Panmure.

Janet Fleming

believes this is

James Edward

Rawlinson

with his two

younger

brothers

Benjamin and

Adam.

Photo collection of Maurice Williams. Source:Janet Rawlinson

Janet Fleming believes the family lived in a “Fencibles’” cottage on Barrack Road.

Later, when the property was sold, it was described as being 5 acres on Otahuhu Road,

opposite the tannery. (There is no “Otahuhu Road” today. Barrack Road today

intersects Penrose Road.) Barrack Road would have been opposite the tannery.

Two decades prior to the arrival of the Rawlinsons, communities of military

pensioners had been established in a number of locations, including Panmure, to

provide a bulwark for Auckland against what was perceived as a potential military

threat. These “pensioners” were known as the “Fencibles” and were housed in

standard cottages. Some of these cottages still exist today.

Fencibles’ double-unit cottage built about 1847 Panmure Public Library



St Mathais Church C 1923 Auckland Institute and Museum

St. Mathias Church – over the next few years the Rawlinson family events took place

and were recorded in this church. (Many of the records have been lost to fire.)

St Mathias Church records.

Jessie Rawlinson (20) dressmaker of Panmure m Walter Edward Linkhorn (27)

confectioner of Auckland. Nov 5th 1902

Jessie’s father: William Rawlinson, engineer; mother: Grace nee Bateson

James Edward Rawlinson (25) tanner of Panmure

M Annie Agnes Chapman (20) of Auckland 15th June 1892



Duke of Edinburgh Hotel (c. 1880) Auckland Public Library

Donald McPherson’s Store (C. 1890) Mt Wellington Public Library

First Panmure Bridge (C. 1900) Auckland Public Library



1890 The first newspaper record I can find of the Rawlinsons in Panmure refers to

James Rawlinson, who was 24 in 1890:

PANMURE Observer, 9 August 1890

James and his father William registered on the electoral roll as residential, Panmure.

James has recorded his occupation as “tanner” and we know that he was working for

the well-known firm of Ireland’s Tannery. William’s recorded occupation is “fireman.”

1890 Manukau electoral roll

In 1890, John William Rawlinson, the eldest brother, was now 26 years of age.

Curiously there seems no record of him in Onehunga or Panmure, and unlike his

father and younger brother, he seems not to have registered on the electoral roll in 1890.

1891 Social events in 1891 provide some record of the Rawlinson family in Panmure.

On the 14th January a dance was held in aid of a school picnic.

PANMURE. Observer, 24 January 1891

One of the Rawlinson

girls caught the eye of the

journalist who reported

the event.

Auckland Star,

7 March 1891

The secretary is probably

James Edward Rawlinson.

We might assume that

John William Rawlinson

was pre-occupied in

Taranaki at this time,

since he was married

there the following month.



How the Rawlinsons of Panmure made contact with the Duckers of Taranaki has been

forgotten today.

Frank Ducker is recorded on the 1896 electoral roll in Panmure electorate, with the

occupation “beamsman.”

Since “beamsman” is an occupation associated with the manufacture of leather, and

Ireland Bros. being the major employer in Panmure in this industry, we might assume

that Frank worked at Ireland’s – from possibly as early as 1891. Being an outgoing

fellow (to say the least), and about the same age as James and John Rawlinson, we

might wonder if he chummed up with them and invited one or both of them back to

Taranaki. Conversely we could just as easily speculate that it might have been John William

Rawlinson who brought Frank to Panmure.

There is no evidence now to support either of these conjectures.

A search of newspaper clippings reporting Rawlinson passengers between New

Plymouth and Auckland yielded the following, all being reports of the s.s. Gairloch

travelling from New Plymouth or Waitara, to Manukau or Onhunga:

Hawera and Normanby Star 19th Sept 1885 Misses .., Rawlinson, ….

Hawera and Nornanby Star 14th April 1888 Messrs ..,Rawlinson, …

Taranaki Herald 5th June 1889 Messrs .., Rawlinson, …

Auckland Star 11th August 1890 Mesdames.., Rawlinson and child, ..

Auckland Star 21st February 1891 Messrs…, Rawlinson, …

Could any of the above be Rawlinsons from our Panmure family? Mostly unlikely.

In 1885 the eldest “Miss Rawlinson” in our family was Nell (14 years of age.)

In 1888 and 1889 the possible Rawlinson males are Jack (24,25) and Jim (22,23).

In 1890 Grace Rawlinson had three “children” (under the age of 13.)

In 1891 Messrs Rawlinson could have been either of Jack (27) or James (25).

It should be noted that there was at least one other Rawlinson family in Auckland, and

at least one Rawlinson family in Taranaki, both families unconnected with our

Rawlinsons of Panmure, which blurs what little we might glean from this analysis.

It is possible that J.W. (Jack) Rawlinson may have been captured in the above

reports, particularly the report in 1891. The rest probably add nothing to our narrative.

A similar search for Ducker traffic, however, produced the following:

PORT OF NEW PLYMOUTH

Taranaki Herald 20th March 1891

Miss Ducker

Auckland to New Plymouth.

This could well be Ada Ducker returning home from a visit to the Rawlinsons.

(There was only one Ducker family living in New Plymouth at the time.

Marian was already married and the only other “Miss Ducker”, Elizabeth, was 12 and

still at school. It seems quite likely that the “Miss Ducker” travelling from Manukau

(Onehunga) to New Plymouth was the 21-year-old Ada.)



A month later Ada Ducker and John William

Rawlinson were married in New Plymouth

Taranaki Herald

3rd April 1891

John William Rawlinson

Married Ada Ducker

in New Plymouth

2nd April 1891

Although the wedding took place in New

Plymouth, John William (Jack)

Rawlinson and his new wife first lived in

Panmure.

ST. MATHIAS' CHURCH. Auckland Star, 23 June 1891

These fragments seem to record some

musical talent in the family.

The singer is probably James Edward.

John William Rawlinson plays the violin.

Auckland Star 11th July 1891

John William Rawlinson’s

Dancing Classes

New Zealand Herald

22nd December 1891

A Mr. Rawlinson sings at a concert.

Advertisement

New Zealand Herald

9 January 1892



Panmure is where the first child of Jack and Ada was born.

Their child did not survive (or was perhaps stillborn) and the birth was not registered.

The information has been handed down through the family. Ada told Janet Fleming’s

cousin that the child was buried at the back of the church, under some trees.

John Rawlinson born and died 30 Dec 1891 Panmure, Auckland

Buried St Mathias Churchyard, Panmure.

1892 Marriage of Mary Ellen (Nell) and Ernest Ducker

The next recorded event is the marriage of Mary Ellen Rawlinson to Ada’s brother

Ernest Ducker. This too took place in New Plymouth.

MARRIAGE

Taranaki Herald

16th January 1892

Mary Ellen Rawlinson

married

Ernest Ducker

in New Plymouth

3rd January 1892.

The following year their daughter Ivy Myrtle was born in Auckland.

1893/10405 Ducker Ivy Myrtle Mary Ellen Ernest

(NZ BDM Online)

Evidently within a couple of years Ernest had abandoned the marriage.

1893

Death of William (Ashton) Rawlinson 10th July 1893.

(Photo from collection of Maurice Williams)

William Rawlinson 1833-1893

Maurice Williams recalls being told many years ago, that

after arriving in New Zealand, William continued in his

occupation as a fireman, possibly on steam driven ships –

and, Maurice thinks, possibly on the Manukau-Taranaki

coastal run. (The 1890 electoral roll confirms William’s occupation as “fireman.”)

Later William is said to have found employment, along with his sons, at Ireland’s

Tannery in Panmure. According to family anecdotes handed down to Maurice,

William had been a “hard case” and a hard drinker for much of his life.



At home he used to drink in the Panmure pub, until eventually was “saved”, gave up

drinking and reformed himself – as recorded in the following evangelical obituary:

A TRIUMPH OF REDEEMING GRACE

There has lately passed from our midst to

the mansions above another witness of

Christ’s Almighty power and long

suffering, in the person of William

Rawlinson. For thirty years he led a sea-

faring life, eight of which were spent in the

Royal Navy, the remainder in various

vessels until he had been in almost every

port in the world. During all this time he

lived in sin, neglecting to seek salvation,

until he was about 58 years of age. Like

Saul of Tarsus he was converted in the

open air. One Sunday morning he was

induced to attend a service in the Panmure

P.G.B. House, and after service Captain

Foster accompanied him part of the way

home. They had a plain talk on the realities

of Eternity and then the Captain left him to

God. When alone, conviction seized him,

his hard heart was broken, he obtained

peace, became a new creature and was

henceforth a happy man. His family soon

saw the change, but refrained from

speaking to him on the subject of religion

until about three weeks after, when they

asked him how it was so different? He

replied by saying he was now in the Lord’s

hands and He had taken away all the desire

for the things he once loved. He earnestly

urged those whom he loved to accept

God’s free salvation without delay, and

while able to go about amongst his fellow

workmen he constantly pleaded with them

to forsake sin and turn unto God, and when

increasing weakness prevented him from

doing this service for his Master he prayed for them without ceasing. Prayer and the Word of

God were his delight, and he was enabled to bear the harassing days and almost sleepless

nights caused by his exhausting disease without murmuring. He was aware that he would

probably die suddenly but it gave him no alarm, for he had his lamp trimmed and burning.

Many of those who were well acquainted with him will read this short account of their old

comrade’s life, and we trust that his prayers on their behalf will be answered and may be the

means of persuading some wanderer to arise and go to his dishonoured and long neglected

Heavenly Father. It seemeth death to those who stay below

When Christians leave the earth

But to the ones that meet them where they go

It is not death, but birth

Mount Wellington E.C.E.M.

(The above obituary, publication unknown, is from the collection of Maurice Williams)



Ada and Jack have now shifted to New Plymouth .

1893 Birth of Ida May Rawlinson, New Plymouth, 15th May 1893.

1895 Birth of Gwendoline Rawlinson, to Jack and Ada, New Plymouth, 21 Sept 1895.

Grace Rawlinson 1842 - 1924 (Photograph from the collection of Maurice Williams)

In October 1895 Grace Rawlinson

put the Panmure home up for sale.

New Zealand Herald,

2 October 1895


1896 Taranaki electoral roll

1896 John and Ada were recorded as farming at Frankley Rd. in 1896. (Electoral roll)

1897 Birth of Eleanor Grace (Gay) Rawlinson, to Jack and Ada, 15th Aug 1897

1899 Birth of Charles Leslie Rawlinson, to Jack and Ada, 10th July 1899.




1900 Taranaki electoral roll

1900 John William Rawlinson, and Ada, are recorded as farming, still on Frankley Rd.

1901 Birth of Alice Rawlinson to Jack and Ada, 2nd Aug 1901, New Plymouth.

1904 Birth of Kenneth Rawlinson, to Jack and Ada, 28th Jan 1904, New Plymouth,

School Committees. Taranaki Herald, 26 April 1904

Election of Carrington Rd.

School Committee.

Ernest Kenyon (son of my

ancestor John Kenyon, and

local dairy factory manager) is

on this committee together with

Jack Rawlinson.

Jack Rawlinson was authorised

to co-sign cheques.

John and Ada Rawlinson had taken up farming in New Plymouth, initially on

Frankley Rd, but by 1901 Jack and Ada Rawlinson and family had moved to a new

farm on nearby Carrington Road.



(The birth record of Alice,

1901, shows the address

Carrington Rd.)

Rawlinson children at

Carrington Rd. about 1904

Left to Right:

Ida, Alice (with basket), Gwen,

Charles and Gay.

(Photo from the collection of

Janet Fleming)

By 1905/6 they were registered on the electoral roll as farmers, Carrington Rd.

1906. Birth of Victor Rawlinson, 20th

April 1906, to Jack and Ada, New

Plymouth.

AN IMPORTANT JUDGMENT.

Taranaki Daily News

8th March 1907

The case involved a tannery at Waitara. John William (Jack) Rawlinson, who had

been a tanner,was a witness for the defence.



SUPREME COURT. Taranaki Herald

19 March 1907

Jack Rawlinson on a jury

1907

SCHOOL COMMITTEE ELECTION.

Taranaki Daily News, 29 April 1907

Jack Rawlinson on school committee

At the end of the 1907 year a tragedy befell Jack and Ada:

1907 Death of Victor Rawlinson 21 Dec 1907. The little boy did not reach 2 years.

Burning off the forest cover was a standard way of breaking in land in those days.

It was not uncommon for bush fires to get out of control – as Jack and Ada

experienced in 1908.



BUSH FIRES. Taranaki Herald, 13 February 1908

1908 Birth of Elsie Rawlinson, New Plymouth, to Jack and Ada, 17th April 1908



TARANAKI LAND BOARD. Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue

103, 22 April 1908, Page 3

Jack Rawlinson purchases

sections 11 and 17, Block 3,

Ngatimaru.

SUBURBAN GOVERNMENT. Taranaki Herald, 23 May 1908

Jack Rawlinson takes part, at

length, in a discussion about

rates, the state of the roads etc.

The state of roads in Taranaki

was a perennial problem in those

days.

In this extract Jack Rawlinson

states also that “he had been a

ratepayer for a considerable

number of years on both the

Carrington and the Frankley

Roads…”



Carrington Road 1910

(Photograph from the

collection of Janet Fleming)

Left to right: Ken, Jack, Ada (holding Elsie), Charles, Ida, Alice, Gwen, Gay.

1911 Birth of Evelyn Rawlinson to Jack and Ada, 19th Feb 1911

1911 electoral roll

SUPREME COURT. Taranaki Daily News

21 June 1913

Jack Rawlinson served on a

jury

PERSONAL. Taranaki Daily News

2nd March 1914

Gwendoline Rawlinson (19)

passed the New Plymouth

Teachers’ Certificates.



1914 Birth of Mona Jean Rawlinson, to Jack and Ada, 20th March 1914

TEMPERANCE ESSAYS. Taranaki Daily News 18th December 1914

Alice Rawlinson wins a prize

Alice was about 13

CARRINGTON SCHOOL

CONCERT. Taranaki Daily News 24th March 1915

Miss I. Rawlinson performs at a

school concert.

Ida was about 22.

The “waxworks” performers

appear to have been adults.

GIRLS' HIGH SCHOOL. Taranaki Daily News

16th December 1915

A. Rawlinson first prize in

science.

Alice was about 14



CARRINGTON ROAD. Taranaki Daily News

6th March 1916

Kenneth Rawlinson

“Good attendance” at

school.

Kenneth was about 12

Taranaki Daily News 7th July 1916

Carrington Rd School

Concert

Grace Rawlinson,

pianoforte. (Grace was 19)

GIRLS' HIGH SCHOOL Taranaki Daily News

14th December 1916

Alice Rawlinson in Form 4

Taranaki Daily News

2nd May 1917

Kenneth Rawlinson

(about 13)

Good attendance certificate.

WINTER SHOW. Taranaki Daily News

14th June 1917

Kenneth Rawlinson

First prize

Kenneth was about 13



Taranaki Daily News 4 July 1917

Fancy Dress Ball

Elsie Rawlinson

“Fairy”

Kenneth Rawlinson

“Captain Kidd”

Miss I Rawlinson

(???)

A. Rawlinson

“Witch”

O. Ducker

“Peasant”

Taranaki Daily News 6 September 1917

Misses Rawlinson

music



MOTOR CYCLE ACCIDENT. Taranaki Daily News 4 October 1917

Charles Leslie Rawlinson was a

witness.

Charles was about 18

GIRLS' HIGH SCHOOL. Taranaki Daily News , 14 December

1917 A. Rawlinson top in maths.

Taranaki Daily News

15 July 1918

Mr. Rawlinson hit by a cyclone

Taranaki Daily News 29 August 1918

Meeting of Taranaki Education

Board.

Miss A. Rawlinson (Fitzroy school)

granted leave of absence for one

month.

(Alice Rawlinson now 17 years old.)



Taranaki Daily News , 8th January 1919

C. Rawlinson in a motorbike accident.

Taranaki Daily News 10th March 1919

(Teachers’ certificates examinations.)

Alice Rawlinson: Drawing III

TARANAKI EDUCATION

BOARD. Taranaki Daily News , 13th March 1919

Miss G Rawlinson appointed as 3rd

assistant teacher.

Grace (24), or Gay (22) ?

Taranaki Daily News

15th April 1919

Miss Rawlinson secured full D

Certificate.



Taranaki Daily News 21st May 1919

Eve Rawlinson, prize.

Elsie Rawlinson “Fairy”

Miss G. Rawlinson “Starlight Fairy”

Miss A. Rawlinson “Witch”

(Evelyn was 8, Elsie was 11,

Gay and Gwendoline were 24 and 22

Alice was 18)

1919 electoral roll

TARANAKI EDUCATION

BOARD. Taranaki Daily News ,

14th October 1920

SCHOOLS BREAK-UP. Taranaki Daily News , 17th December

1920

Elsie Rawlinson “excellent”

By 1921 the family was able to move into New Plymouth township in some style.

Photograph from the

collection of

Janet Fleming.

Written proudly on the

reverse side:

“Straspey” Gover Street.

Our first home in New

Plymouth.

June 1921

Bought for £800 House,

cottage & extra building site

J. W. Rawlinson



1928 electoral roll

Jack and Ada recorded with family now living in New Plymouth township.

1941 50th Wedding anniversary

Ada Rawlinson (nee Ducker) (from the collection of Elaine Winter.)

Ada’s grand daughter Janet Fleming also

has this photograph.

Janet told me it was taken at the time of

the 50th wedding anniversary of

Ada and John William (Jack) Rawlinson.

John William Rawlinson was not in the

photograph because he was in hospital at

the time.

John William Rawlinson died in 1841. Ada died in 1955

1941/27262 Rawlinson John William 76Y

1955/19239 Rawlinson Ada 85Y

In later years Ada Rawlinson

had lived in this big house on

the corner of Watson St.

and Leach St.

New Plymouth

(Photo from the collection of

Janet Fleming)



Mary Ellen

As already recorded, Mary Ellen Rawlinson married Ernest Ducker in 1892, in New

Plymouth. It seems likely that they then moved to Panmure for a time, because their

daughter Ivy Myrtle was born there the following year.

They then shifted back to New Plymouth, and lived “across the road” from Ernest’s

parents Eleanor and James Ducker, and Ernest’s brother Frank, on a block of land

owned by Ernest’s parents.

They were not getting on well together, and there were also tensions with Ernest’s

parents. By 1895 Ernest had left the household and had moved 20 or 30 miles south to

the district of Warea. His two brothers James and Alfred were clearing land there,

with plans for a saw mill. Ernest may have been working for them for a time.

Under the headline “Mrs. E. Ducker in Distress” the Taranaki Herald reported that

Mary Ellen made an application to the Hospital and Charitable Aid Board:

Taranaki Herald 20th August 1895

Publicity such as this, in a local

newspaper, must have caused

embarrassment to both the Duckers

and the Rawlinsons.

That the situation was allowed to

occur confirms there was a rift

within the family.

1896 The 1906 electoral roll confirms that they had been living at Frankley Road,

with Ernest employed as a cooper, though by 1895 Ernest had left.

After working in Warea for a time, Ernest moved on to Australia.

By December 1902 he was back in New Zealand, at Rohatu, close enough to Warea.

Janet Fleming has said that Mary Ellen (Nell) also lived in Panmure with her parents

some of the time, and that school records for Panmure School show that the daughter,

Ivy Myrtle, “came and went several times and it seemed mainly between Panmure and

Sydney so presumably to see her father……Ivy Myrtle’s next of kin for school

records was her grandmother on several occasions.”

1903 In 1903, when Ivy Myrtle was 10 years of age, things came to a head.

Mary Ellen went to Court seeking a divorce.

Supreme Court Sessions. Taranaki Herald, 3 March 1903

Hawera & Normanby Star, 10 March 1903

1905/6 electoral roll. Ernest Ducker, now divorced from Mary Ellen, moved to Opotiki where

he found work as a sawmill hand.


http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=TH19030303.2.52&srpos=77&e=-07-1902-----10--71-byDA---0ducker--


The divorce case was reported at length. Taranaki Herald, 9 March 1903



After her divorce from Ernest Ducker, Mary Ellen married Charles Smith.

Her daughter Ivy Myrtle was given the name Smith.

We do not know very much about the life of Mary Ellen from here on.

From the electoral roll records (below) we know that she and Charles had married by

around 1905, that Charles was a plumber, and that they lived for the rest of their lives

in Auckland, in the Grey Lynn and Kingsland suburbs.

Ivy Myrtle Smith

(daughter of Nellie and Ernest Ducker)

(Photograph from the collection of Maurice Williams.)

In 1912 James Ronald Smith was born.

In 1946 he married Daphne Eileen North.

He died in October 1964 (ref Janet Fleming)

(Photograph from Maurice Williams.)

1905/06 Electoral roll: Nellie and Charles Smith (plumber) Water Street Grey Lynn Auckland

1911,1914,1919 Nellie and Charles Smith (plumber) Second Avenue, Grey Lynn, Auckland.

The 1928 electoral roll also records the presence of “Ivey”.

1935 Electoral roll: Nellie and Charles Smith (plumber) 34 Kingsland Avenue,

and also nearby in 1935: (although by then Ivy Myrtle Smith had recently died)

1938 Electoral Roll: Nellie and Charles recorded at 34 Kingsland Avenue, together with:

In 1946 Nellie Smith was still recorded as living at 34 Kingsland Avenue.



34 Kingsland Avenue

today

Mary Ellen’s daughter Ivy Myrtle died in 1932. She was just 38 years of age. Auckland Star 30 May 1932,

Ivy Myrtle died at her

mother’s home at 34

Kingsland Avenue.

Charles Smith died in 1944 aged 77

Mary Ellen (Rawlinson) Smith died in 1947 aged 76.

The members of Mary Ellen’s little family are buried together in the Panmure cemetery.

The headstone has the date of Ivy Myrtle’s death incorrectly as 1933 (should be 1932.)

(Photograph from Karen Erni)



Old family photographs

(from the collection of Maurice Williams)

Janet Fleming, who has the original

of this photo, had been able to

discuss it with her mother Alice,

and can inform us that James

Edward Rawlinson was missing on

the day this photograph was taken.

The gentleman in the centre is

William Rawlinson and this may

be the only existing photograph of

him.

Those present are:

Back row L to R: Mary Ellen (Nell), John William (Jack) and Elizabeth Ann (Annie)

Middle L to R : Grace Rawlinson, Sarah (Jessie), William Rawlinson, Benjamin

Front: Adam.

Judging by the apparent ages of the children, it was probably taken around 1890.

(The youngest, Adam, was born in 1882. William died in 1893.)

It is a studio photograph, from:

Arnold Studio,

270 Queen Street, Auckland.

Advertisement from: New Zealand Herald, 19 December 1891

On the next page is a family photograph which was taken many years later.

All the children are present, but William Rawlinson, who had died in 1893, is not.



From the collection of Maurice Williams. Source: Janet Fleming.

From left back row: Adam, Benjamin, James Edward (Jim), and Sarah (Jessie, Mrs Linkhorn)

From left front row: John William (Jack) , Elizabeth (Annie, Mrs Powley),

Grace Rawlinson, and Mary Ellen (Nellie, Mrs Smith)



Appendix 1 Passage to New Zealand of Nellie and Annie Rawlinson

The names of Nellie and Annie are missing from the May Queen passenger list.

Was this a clerical error, were they listed with other families – or were they “stowaways?”

Maurice Williams was given an anecdote from June Berry (the daughter of Annie, one of the

missing girls) that they were on board the May Queen but listed with other families.

The story goes that four children was the maximum allowed for “free passage” so an

arrangement had been made to assign them to another family.

An analysis of the passenger list was made, to see if this could be possible.

Interestingly, not one of the families on this list has more than four children.

Although there appears to be a page missing from the surviving list of passengers, I believe

this is a list of all or nearly all girl children between 1 year and 10 years of age.

Kate Duggan 4 Waterford

Bridgit Duggan 2 Waterford

Florence Herbert 8 Derby

Edith Giles 6 Warwick

Lily Hitchin 4 Yorkshire

Sarah A. Lee 1 Cumberland

Susannah Mold 3 Northampton

Ellen Nelson 6 Lancashire

Mary J. Nelson 4 Lancashire

Elizabeth Roomley 4 Lancashire

Elizabeth Stevens 8 Cornwall

Mary Sullivan 3 Kerry

Mary L. Teesdale 1 Durham

Sissy Goodwin 5 Fermanagh

Amy Hurle 7 Wiltshire

Agnes Hurle 1 Wiltshire

Jane Norgrove 7 ?

Edith Norgrove 2 ?

Brenda Nelshen 4 Kent

Two names which could conceivably refer to Mary Ellen (7) and Elizabeth Ann (5) are:

Ellen Joelson (6), Lancashire, and Elizabeth Roomley (4) Lancashire.

Their families’ presence on this list are shown below:

Attempts have been made to find further information on each of these families, both

in UK and New Zealand, in order to rule in or rule out this proposition.



(1) Nelson family, agricultural labourer of Lancashire

John (24) and Elizabeth (24) Nelson of Lancashire, Agricultural labourer.

If the stated ages are correct, John and Elizabeth were born about 1854.

No record of found of marriage between John Nelson and Elizabeth, in Lancaster,

between 1870 and 1877.

Nelson children born in Lancaster, father John, mother Elizabeth:

Only one found: Elizabeth, baptised in December 1877. John’s occupation is Carter.

This could be the 8 month old Elizabeth Nelson who is recorded on the passenger list

of the May Queen on mid 1878.

No record has been found of any other children born to this couple.

Is it possible then that the other two children, Ellen (6) and Mary J. (4) do not belong

to this couple?

Could they be pseudonyms for Mary Ellen and Elizabeth Ann Rawlinson?

The child Ellen (6) would have been born around 1872.

If the ages given are correct, then the parents John and Elizabeth Nelson would have

to have been about18 years of age when Ellen was born.

If this is thought to be not very likely, then we might make the faint presumption that

this Ellen Nelson is actually Mary Ellen Rawlinson.

However, there was a person in New Zealand called Ellen Nelson who married

Frederick Moore in 1898. She died in 1947 age 75, which puts her date of birth

around 1872. There is no record of her being born in New Zealand.

This could be the Ellen Nelson who arrived in New Zealand on the May Queen

passenger list. No clear conclusion can be drawn.

(2) Roomley family, brickmaker of Lancashire

There is no record found of David Roomley, Roomly, Romley or Rumley born in the

1850s in Lancashire (though there is a Rumley family in Lancaster in the 1800s.)

Nor is there any record, in the usual sources, of such a person in New Zealand.

This may be a false name – perhaps the occupation “Brickmaker” is false too.

Considering the child Elizabeth Roomley – no record in New Zealand of the name

Elizabeth Roomley, Roomly, Romley, Romly, Rumley, Rumly can be found except

one, who was born in New Zealand in 1885.

Nor is there found a record of any child of any of these names being born in Lancashire.

It is conceivable that the Elizabeth Roomly (4) from Lancashire whose father is a

“Brickmaker” may be a record of Elizabeth (Annie) Rawlinson (5).

Possible, but weak evidence that the two girls were listed with these or other families.



Appendix 2 Further notes on the passage of the May Queen

For those who may be interested, the following pages from the May Queen document

gives a breakdown showing the trades, occupations and origins of the passengers.

The two “brickmakers” on board were both from Lancashire…..



The vessel May Queen later came to a tragic end. The following narrative was written

many years later by Henry Brett and published in the Auckland Star.



THE MAY QUEEN. Auckland Star, 14 July 1923 By Henry Brett



Appendix 3

Old Envelope holds a clue to the family Robinson

Rawlinson from Lancaster

______________

By Janet Fleming

Our family, like most, had records of

birth dates of parents and other

members of the family. Those of my

mother's father, John William (Jack)

RAWLINSON showed his birth as 13

October, 1864, and documents, such as

his marriage certificate, always

referred to his being born in

Lancaster, England.

A number of things about his family

were unanswered for many years.

I was never able to find his birth

registration in St Catherine's Index

(later GRO index), nor that of any of

his siblings, who were born in England.

The marriage of his parents, William

RAWLINSON and Grace BATESON,

was just as difficult to find.

When did the family arrive in New

Zealand?

Little was known about their

background before they emigrated to

New Zealand. In my search for further

information about this family I found

my cousins knew little as well,

although one of them was sure all the

children were born in Lancaster.

Death registration in New Zealand,

1924, for Grace, records that her father

was John Bateson, boat-builder, and

mother, Ann. However that of

William was less helpful, although

both indicated the date of their

marriage could be 1862-63, Lancaster,

Lancashire England. Grace, who could

not write, shows on the registration of

two of her children born in New

Zealand, that she and William were

married, (a) 1863, Preston, and

(b) May,1862, Lancaster.

There is a Grace Elizabeth Bateson

listed in the CRO Marriage Index, June

quarter, 1864, but her spouse is

William ASHTON, and after all, our

Grace married a Rawlinson, I thought,

so the line was not followed.

This was the only time I had found that

Grace had used the name Elizabeth.

The 1851 census for Poulton,

Lancashire, shows John Bateson,

joiner, Ann and their family, with

Grace aged 8, the oldest child, born at

Poulton. Parish Registers of Holy

Trinity Parish Church, Poulton Le

Sands, Lancashire, had the baptism, on

6 November, 1842, of Grace Bateson,

daughter of John, wheelwright and

Ann, residence Poulton.

I could not find any reference for

William Rawlinson, born 16 December,

1833, in any census return or baptismal

record, and the registrar, Lancaster,

had no record for any registrations for

The family corresponding to any of the

dates that I had.

By chance, I found, in an old envelope,

an invitation to J. W. Rawlinson to

attend a jubilee reunion on 19 October,

1928, to celebrate the arrival of the

ship May Queen at Auckland, on

19 October 1878. Interestingly, the

organiser was J. E. Rawlinson, second

son of William and Grace.

The Auckland Museum Institute

Library holds the film of the passenger

lists of the May Queen, and here the

family was listed under the name

ROBINSON. They came to New

Zealand as “Colonial nominated

emigrants" and were listed as

William, aged 38, brick-maker,

Lancashire, Grace, 36, and sons John

13, James 11 and Benjamin 1.



Neither of their daughters, Mary Ellen

(Nellie), aged 7 nor Elizabeth Ann

(Annie) 5, were listed as passengers.

The-family was listed in The New

Zealand Herald October, 1878, among

the passenger arrivals also under the

name Robinson, but did not include

reference to their daughters. William

had lowered his age by seven years and

it is easy to believe that when they

gave their name at Plymouth in a

strong Lancashire accent, it could have

been mistaken for Robinson. Most of

the passengers were single men

and women with few family groups.

The first names and ages of the

“Robinson” family matched the

“Rawlinson” family, which gives

credence to the Rawlinson identity.

The girls were too young to travel

alone and it seemed perhaps they may

have come to New Zealand in 1881

with one of Grace's brothers, Benjamin.

However, they were not on the

passenger list for his family either.

Nellie's death certificate in 1947

showed she had been in

New Zealand 69 years, making her

arrival 1878.

The account in The New Zealand

Herald, 20 October, 1928, of the

reunion of passengers arriving

on the May Queen, named all those

attending and the Rawlinson children

were present including Mary Ellen

(Mrs. C. SMITH) and Elizabeth Ann

(Mrs W. POWLEY).

I have taken this to establish they were,

in fact, passengers on the same ship as

their parents.

When I asked a family historian in

Lancaster if she could suggest any

indexes that might assist in finding the

baptism of William Rawlinson in

December, 1833, she very generously

searched the Parish Registers for St

Mary's Church, Lancaster, and found

the baptism of William, l 9 January,

1834, born 12 December, 1833, son of

Mary Rawlinson, spinster. A few days’

difference in birth date, but this must

be him. To date, I have not yet

established who Mary's parents where,

or her date of death.

On Rootsweb FreeBMD I found John

Bateson's burial and on his death

certificate of 1873, the informant was

given as Grace Ashton of the same

address. Referring back to the GRO

Index of 1864 for the marriage

certificate of Grace Elizabeth Bateson

and William Ashton, there is no doubt

now that it was the right couple, who

were married on 9 May, 1854, at

Lancaster. Their ages matched ages I

had, William (29) and Grace (23).

The profession of the bride's father,

John Bateson, was ship’s carpenter,

William was shown as a seaman,

Grace a servant, and William's father

was given as Hugh Ashton, wool

comber, deceased.

Listed in the birth indexes of 1864, and

subsequently on a birth certificate, was

John William Ashton, their oldest son

and my grandfather, born 12 October,

Lancaster. The year of birth on his

birth certificate is given as 1862 (later

amended to 1864), but the

superintendent registrar is of the

opinion this was originally a clerical

error. John's siblings were registered

with the family name Ashton and were

all there on the indexes.

Mary Rawlinson was a spinster when

her son was born and subsequently

married Hugh Ashton, widower, on 24

October, 1836, at St Mary's Parish

Church, Lancaster by banns. Her son,

William, then came to be known by the

name Ashton. It appears that Hugh had

several children and he and Mary at

least four between them.

In the 1841 census for Dye House

Lane, Lancaster, we have Hugh Ashton

aged 52, labourer; Mary aged 39;

Thomas 18, Major 17 and Elizabeth



Ashton, 12 (Hugh’s children); William

Ashton, age 7 (Mary’s child); and

James and Jane Ashton. Mary was

older than first thought; no consent of

parents was given on her marriage in

1836, and the 1841 census gives her

age as 39 Years.

The ship May Queen sailed from

Plymouth England, on 20 July, 1878,

arriving at Auckland on 19 October,

1878. Grace and William had three

more children born in New Zealand,

Emma, Sarah (Jessie) and Adam.

In New Zealand the family used, and

still uses, the name Rawlinson. There

is nothing sinister in their being known

by different family names. It was a set

of circumstances and perhaps it was

after Mary died that William reverted

to his birth name. They always lived in

Panmure, Auckland, where a1l four

sons have worked as tanners at

Ireland's Tannery, Panmure. William

has variously been described as a

seaman, brickmaker, labourer, fireman

and engineer.

William Rawlinson died in Panmure in

1893, Grace in 1924.

They are both buried at St. Mathias'

Parish Church, Panmure, Auckland, as

are their children Elizabeth Powley,

Mary Ellen Smith, Jessie LINKHORN

and Benjamin Rawlinson, with their

spouses and some of their

grandchildren.

Unfortunately the Parish Registers for

St Mathias have been destroyed by fire

and no church records are available to

search.

Janet Fleming

30 Montgomery Avenue,

Rothsay Bay, North Shore City.

Email: [email protected]

The New Zealand Genealogist, May/June, 2003


the rawlinsons · had three children of his own (thomas, major and elizabeth ashton) after the...

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