From Oxfordshire to Australia and New Zealand

I am trying to fill in some of the details of the adult life of John Warwick EARLY. He was born in Witney, Oxfordshire, on 16 February 1836, the eleventh of sixteen children of John Early and Alice (Townsend), and died in New Zealand in 1918.

I have his baptism in Witney, and sightings in 1841 and 1851. His great-uncle Thomas Early, a wholesale clothier in London, gave him a job but he 'found the place too strait' and decided to emigrate to Australia (mid 1850s?). Instead of finding his fortune there as he hoped, he 'found sad reverse' and was 'rather destitute in Geelong'. By 1857 he was in Emu Bay, Tasmania, working for farmer George Rouse 'clearing land rolling logs grubing trees and burning off all the rubbish getting in our potato crops'.

He came back to England for about a year, then in June 1862 sailed on the 'Romulus', bound for Auckland. On board, 'Cupid shot an arrow . . . and poor John was caught' by a Miss Steggall, who would pursue him for at least 13 years though John seems to have taken no notice: his father reported

I have felt very sorrowful many times on her account as young females once forming an ardent affection are not often shaken from their steadfastness - and although matters of the world do so occupy mens thoughts that they oftentimes can and do drive love affairs from the mind, it is not so with the other sects [sic].​

(Quotes are from family letters at Oxfordshire Record Office and Witney & District Museum.)

I have only three sightings of John Warwick Early between 1869 and 1875:

• 1869: 'at Paramatta near Sydney'
• 1871: at Ruatangata, NZ, digging kauri gum
• 1875: address given as c/o Miss Steggall, Brighton Parnell, Auckland

Then comes the big gap: I know nothing else about John between then and 1918, when he died in NZ (I believe on 27 September; I don't have a note of where). Can anyone fill in any of the gaps, please?

 

Oh, thank you Chimp. It's good to have another sighting of John. My main source of news about him was his father's letters - and he died in 1877 which is why the trail goes cold then.

 

Thank you again Now I have a good idea where he was for the last 40 or so years of his life: just need to try to find out what he was doing there!

 

Have you looked at the New Zealand newspapers site Papers Past at http://
paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast ?

Might just find something

Best wishes
Ann

 

Some bits and pieces:

The NZ newspaper archive, Papers Past, has the notice of the arrival of the Romulus.
Daily Southern Cross dated 31 October 1862, Page 10
http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=DSC18621031.2.43&srpos=2&e=01-01-1862-----50-AS,DSC,NZH-1-byDA---0Steggall Early--

Romulus' passenger manifest shows a Robert M STEGGALL and a Mary Ann STEGGALL (and J W EARLY).
freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ourstuff/Romulus1862.htm

There are a couple of STEGGALL marriages of interest in New Zealand — STEGGALL is a rather unusual name. Difficult to know if Robert M and Mary Ann from the Romulus were husband and wife or brother and sister, or not connected to your story at all!

NZ BDMs online:
https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/search/
(Marriages)
Robert Mayhew STEGGALL married Catharine RICE in 1867.
Mary Ann STEGGALL married Thomas Hancock in 1879.


Meanwhile, I can't find a marriage for John Warwick EARLY/EARLEY.

NZ death certificates can carry quite a lot of information, providing the informant knew it. If you do decide to order, choose the "printout" which should be a photocopy rather than the certified, typed and more expensive version.

He was buried at Waikumete Cemetery, Auckland, on 28 September 1918, aged 82 (Warrick with a double-R).
http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/EN/parksfacilities/cemeteries/Pages/westcemeterysearch.aspx

Cheers
Koromo

 

Hey there Koromo, you come bearing gifts too. Nice entrance- welcome in.

 

Thank you Ann!

Papers Past is a wonderful resource, isn't it? I haven't looked at it for a while: must have another go in case there are any new snippets about the Earlys.

 

Koromo, may I echo Wendy's welcome and say thank you ever so much for the information you've found. I think that may well be Miss Steggall's marriage that you've found, so it looks like she gave up her pursuit of J.W. Early in the end.

It is very useful to have that money-saving tip, thank you! (I've never ordered NZ BDM records before.)

And you've found John's burial too! Fantastic news, and much appreciated. I hope I can return the favour for you at some point.

 

Wendy and Huncamunca, thank you for the warm welcome.

 

There were a few John Earlys in NZ Jane, just not doing what you wanted to know at the right time that I could find.

 

Hi, I see there are quiet a few "Early's" in the phone book. Would you like me to ring them for you to see if any of them are into family history?
cheers Rosemary

 

Thank you for that kind offer, Rosemary, but I think most of the NZ Earlys are not related to the family from Witney. I think many of the NZ Earlys have Irish roots.

I have been in touch with descendants in NZ of two other Witney Earlys: Joseph Early (bapt 1831 Witney, emigrated to NZ in 1881, died 1907 and is buried in Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch) and Francis Buckland Early (bapt 1865 Witney, married in Temuka in 1897, died in England in 1927 but widow and son returned to NZ).

They're not even related to me, I've just got rather carried away with researching them.

 

I have that trouble too. I have started doing friends family trees for fun as mine came to a stop. cheers R

 

Right off to bed and read.

 

There is a whole branch of the Steggall family in Canada. I married one of them! We still keep in contact with the Selman branch in Auckland. Cheers, Gary

 

Welcome to Top Dog, Gary