Welcome to the beginning! I have created this blog to share my family history research with family, and anyone else interested in getting a taste of New Zealand's early history.
Taking up the challenge from my genealogist aunt, Margaret, I have managed to trace more records, letters, photographs to debunk a few myths and discover some interesting facts about the people we are, by certain but miraculous chance, descended from.
The families I have looked at are the Templeton, Fahey, Mackay, Geer families on my father's side and the Preston, Kerr, Bougen and Small families on my mother's side.
These branches have roots in Scotland (the isle of Bute in Argyllshire, Ayrshire and the borders of Scotland near Edinburgh), in Galway County, Ireland and all over England, from Yorkshire, Norfolk, Sussex, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire and London.
One line is thought to have Gypsy roots. Another can trace its lineage to a Royal Navy Captain who fought in the Siege of Quebec in 1759 along with a young Captain James Cook. But most of my immigrants were farmers, who made the trip to New Zealand (some via South Africa and Australia) in search of 'a better life'.
The first to arrive were in the earliest settlements of Nelson and Waikouaiti, Otago. The rest trickled in later, following the goldrush of Central Otago or settling into farming the Hawkes Bay.
Some of the hardship and struggle can be understood in reading their letters and recollections. No roads, damp mud huts in the bitter cold southern climate was probably not what they had bargained for. But they persevered with this hard yakka, relying on faith and the support of their neighbours and eventually and made an honest living from "waste land" the government had granted them.
These pioneers lived alongside Maori settlements, (according to several accounts respectfully so), though land confiscation and warring tribes were recent events in those areas. It would be great to know just what they knew, and thought, of the way their land was obtained.
Their children were the first pakeha colonial generation to be born here. The generation to follow built the new roads and bridges, connecting these remote outposts and bringing progress with it.
Their sons and their son's sons were later employed to lay the railway tracks. My forebears, it seems, were keen for punishment.
By the third generation some had made in-roads holding posts as magistrates, and ran for office on committees and councils. Some patented inventions for farming, others went mad, declared bankuptcy, or died young.
The women in these families had a great resilience and pride, much of it drawn from their children and their families. There have been many matriarchs in my line. Many outlived their husbands and took on the family farm or business, or remarried. They took pride in being good wives and mothers. A few of them were bordering on eccentric.
Charlotte Watts claimed to be a cousin of Queen Victoria, (possibly an illegitimate child of the rather randy King George III). Here she is looking rather like Queen Victoria in mourning. It was thought for some time to be a photo taken to commemorate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 1897.
Our earliest pioneeress, Janet Kerr, impressed the Bishop of Selwyn with her girdle scones and cream on a visit to Nelson. Evidently they were something to write home about.
It is humbling to know how very lucky we all are to have even been born, considering the odds. And very fortunate to be able to have discovered all these family connections woven into history in so many places in New Zealand.
Further back in time there are more stories to tell of the 'old country' they had come from. I hope to visit my Scottish, Irish and English 'homelands' one day, (in the northern summer, of course) to see something of what they chose to leave behind.
Thanks for visiting. I look forward to receiving your feedback as I post my findings in the future. There are family photos that are not properly identified, so with luck we may find some answers together. If you think you might be related I'd love to hear from you. And if you have any queries on researching your family, I might just be able to help.
Pam Templeton
Taking up the challenge from my genealogist aunt, Margaret, I have managed to trace more records, letters, photographs to debunk a few myths and discover some interesting facts about the people we are, by certain but miraculous chance, descended from.
The families I have looked at are the Templeton, Fahey, Mackay, Geer families on my father's side and the Preston, Kerr, Bougen and Small families on my mother's side.
 |
| George and Rose Bougen's family of Matawhero, c1880. My great-grandmother Rosina is seated, centre. |
These branches have roots in Scotland (the isle of Bute in Argyllshire, Ayrshire and the borders of Scotland near Edinburgh), in Galway County, Ireland and all over England, from Yorkshire, Norfolk, Sussex, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire and London.
One line is thought to have Gypsy roots. Another can trace its lineage to a Royal Navy Captain who fought in the Siege of Quebec in 1759 along with a young Captain James Cook. But most of my immigrants were farmers, who made the trip to New Zealand (some via South Africa and Australia) in search of 'a better life'.
The first to arrive were in the earliest settlements of Nelson and Waikouaiti, Otago. The rest trickled in later, following the goldrush of Central Otago or settling into farming the Hawkes Bay.
Some of the hardship and struggle can be understood in reading their letters and recollections. No roads, damp mud huts in the bitter cold southern climate was probably not what they had bargained for. But they persevered with this hard yakka, relying on faith and the support of their neighbours and eventually and made an honest living from "waste land" the government had granted them.
These pioneers lived alongside Maori settlements, (according to several accounts respectfully so), though land confiscation and warring tribes were recent events in those areas. It would be great to know just what they knew, and thought, of the way their land was obtained.
Their children were the first pakeha colonial generation to be born here. The generation to follow built the new roads and bridges, connecting these remote outposts and bringing progress with it.
 |
| The Templeton brothers: built roads and bridges along with their father in Central Otago. Seven of nine brothers (and four sisters made 13 siblings). |
By the third generation some had made in-roads holding posts as magistrates, and ran for office on committees and councils. Some patented inventions for farming, others went mad, declared bankuptcy, or died young.
The women in these families had a great resilience and pride, much of it drawn from their children and their families. There have been many matriarchs in my line. Many outlived their husbands and took on the family farm or business, or remarried. They took pride in being good wives and mothers. A few of them were bordering on eccentric.
Charlotte Watts claimed to be a cousin of Queen Victoria, (possibly an illegitimate child of the rather randy King George III). Here she is looking rather like Queen Victoria in mourning. It was thought for some time to be a photo taken to commemorate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 1897.
 |
| Charlotte Small (nee Watts) Nelson, c 1897. |
It is humbling to know how very lucky we all are to have even been born, considering the odds. And very fortunate to be able to have discovered all these family connections woven into history in so many places in New Zealand.
Further back in time there are more stories to tell of the 'old country' they had come from. I hope to visit my Scottish, Irish and English 'homelands' one day, (in the northern summer, of course) to see something of what they chose to leave behind.
Thanks for visiting. I look forward to receiving your feedback as I post my findings in the future. There are family photos that are not properly identified, so with luck we may find some answers together. If you think you might be related I'd love to hear from you. And if you have any queries on researching your family, I might just be able to help.
Pam Templeton
Hey this is my family tree too. Send me an email Ashley.taylor.stead I’m from the Preston,stead side would love to know details you have and I also noticed a family tree you have published and I have some of the dates you have ? For :)
ReplyDelete