Tuesday 18 June 2013

John Thomas COWIE 1888 - 1967

 John's birth was not registered and his birth date has been estimated as 28 September 1888 at Croydon Bush, 10km west of Gore SLD. Interestingly, Clinton School records list his date of birth as 21 Sep 1889. His father John Robertson COWIE arrived in New Zealand with his family in 1877 at the age of 13 years on the Marlborough from Clyde, SCT. His mother, Mary Ann, nee BATES, was the second daughter of Nathaniel BATES and Ann PAULEY, nee WILLIAMS.
NZSG School Records (APWs)
Name COWIE John T School Clinton Register Number 195 Admission Date 20 Jan 1896 Parent / Guardian John COWIE Birth date 21 Sep 1889 Last School Last Day 18 Dec 1896 Destination Clydevale.
   
John spent his childhood years at Berwick, Goodwood and his youth in South Otago around Kaitangata. He then moved to Central Otago with his family, where he met Ada GAUDIN who had worked at Cadbury’s at Dunedin for a time when she first left school. Ada and John married on the 25 June 1913, folio 3948, at Luggate and began married life in what was known as the ‘haunted house’, nearby at Rocky Point with Ada’s parents, George and Annie Gaudin.
Granddaughter Kate Anderson recalls Alf told us grandad worked on a shove loading roads 6 days a week in the IDA Valley  and would walk home over Thompsons pass on sat night, walk back Sunday night. He left his horse at the Ida Valley to rest one day a week. Grandad told the kids he always had two shovel fulls in the air and one on the ground, he was so fast.(sounds like a grandad story) He later drove a Ellis Chalmer Planer for the Vincent County.

Being the middle child in a family of six, I used to love staying at Grannie and Grandad's as a child in the early 1960's. They used to take me to Cromwell to visit Aunty Bell and they would buy me a length of dress material to take home. I loved to help Grannie with the baking and recall Grandad  telling me the cake we were making would flop because I was left handed and the was using the hand beaters backwards! Grandad loved playing patience and I treasure an old pack of cards he gave me all those years ago. He  always had a supply of cigars that he enjoyed in the evening and would sit and list to Bills’ records, especially Mary Ann Regrets sung by Burl Ives, with tears streaming down his cheeks.

I saved up my money to buy my sweetheart some flowers
For Saturday's date and I restlessly counted the hours.
Then today in the mail I received this short little note
And I broke down inside at the message that her mother wrote.

Mary Ann regrets she's unable to see you again;
We're leaving for Europe next week, she'll be busy till then.
They know that she loves me, but poor boys don't fit in their plan.
Good-bye true love, good-bye my sweet Mary Ann.

The weeks have gone by not a word have I heard since then;
In the papers I read of the faraway places she's been.
I can't eat, I can't sleep for over and over again
My mind reads that letter and I cry for my Mary Ann.

Mary Ann regrets she's unable to see you again;
We're leaving for Europe next week, she'll be busy till then.
They know that she loves me but poor boys don't fit in their plan.
Good-bye true love, good-bye my sweet Mary Ann.

My Mary Ann died, they said she just wasted away;
If I could have seen her I know she'd be living today.
For we loved each other and if they'd have left us alone,
Today she'd be wearing my ring, not a blanket of stone.

Mary Ann regrets she's unable to see you again;
We're leaving for Europe next week, she'll be busy till then.
They know that she loves me but poor boys don't fit in their plan.
Good-bye true love, good-bye my sweet Mary-Ann

John died on 3 Aug 1967 at Dunedin Hospital and was buried with his wife Ada at Cromwell Cemetery.

Except from Our Cowies from Scotland to Otago complied by Marie Heilbrunn 2013

Monday 17 June 2013

Theodore Charles TRAUTWEIN 1869 - 1955
  
Theodore Charles, also known as TC, was born 20 Dec 1869 in Camperdown, Victoria and married Kathleen KANE on 7 Sept 1895 in Sydney. They had two sons who died in infancy, then a daughter, Kathleen Augusta Waverley TRAUTWEIN 1906 - 1996 and a son Theo William Nugent TRAUTWEIN 1912 - 1961, known as Bill.

Theodore was registered in the 1903 Electoral Roll and the Royal Hotel, Auburn Road, Auburn and also in the 1904 NSW Post Office Directory. In the 1903 Electoral Roll his brother William lived at 16 Great Buckingham Street, Redfern, with his mother, Annie. William's occupation was Railway Porter. William, Annie and Sydney are listed at the same address in the 1904 NSW Post Office Directory. The 1913 NSW Telephone Exchanges - list of Subscribers, lists Theodore C at "Trautwein's Hotel" King and Pitt Streets, telephone number 3140 City.

TC owned many hotels in Sydney, including the Coogee Bay Hotel. He was able to buy his first hotel with earnings from racehorses. He became a Member of Parliament but did not pay tax for many years as he was friends with the tax commissioner, but was later charged and jailed, bringing shame on the family. Source Sydney Frappell 1998.

In the early hours of 19 January, 1903, Theodore Trautwein, the licensee of the Royal Hotel at Auburn was awakened by a loud noise. The sound had appeared to come from the bar area of the hotel, and taking a revolver with him, Trautwein went to investigate. In the bar he saw and heard a person lying on the floor, apparently in great pain. As other residents of the hotel appeared, a candle was lit and it was found that the injured person was a local constable, Samuel LONG. A doctor was called and it was found that the constable had suffered a severe gunshot wound to his head. He died a short time later, unable to identify his attacker. A lengthy investigation eventually revealed that the Constable had been shot whilst trying to apprehend two offenders, Grand and Jones, whom he had caught after they had broken into the hotel. After the shooting, the offenders had escaped by horse and sulky. Both offenders were hanged on 7 July, 1903. The Constable was born in 1865 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 6 July, 1894. At the time of his death, he was stationed at Auburn.

Political Party Activity - Independent. Community Activity-Commissioned as a Justice of the Peace in 1915.
Qualifications, occupations and interests: Publican and hotel broker. Managing director of hotel at Katoomba, purchased and sold other hotels; became a shareholder in Victoria Park Racing Club; racehorse owner and punter, involved in lengthy legal proceedings over liability for tax on income from betting; bankrupted and convicted in 1940 of making false representations; and in 1942 of contempt of court. Discharged as a bankrupt in 1950.
Member of the NSW Legislative Council 23 Apr 1934 16 Apr 1940 5yr(s) 11mth(s) 25day(s)  A Member of the indirectly elected Council 1934 - 1978. Date of Election 7 November 1933. Seat declared vacant on 16 April 1940 under Section 19 of of the Constitution Act.
Personal: Son of Theodore Trautwein and Annie McCarthy. Married Katherine Gertrude Elizabeth KANE in 1895 at Sydney. Funeral at Randwick cemetery from St Mary's Roman Catholic Roman Catholic cathedral. Source www.pariliament.nsw.gov.au
Thomas BATES Circa 1770 - 1836

In January of the year 1788 as the First Fleet sailed into Port Jackson, Australia, a young man walked the streets on London looking for work. With a population of almost a million people, London was now the largest city in the world and was home to beggars, traders and royalty. The urban sprawl was made of up of communities along the Thames within reach of the open fields of Middlesex and Essex.

As the weeks went by Thomas’ boots began to wear out, and on 6 April upon seeing some boots on a counter in the lane he was walking through, he snatched a pair and ran off, but was pursued and indicted. A month later on 7 May 1788 Thomas was charged with stealing two (odd) men’s leather boots to the value of 10 shillings, the property of Edward Bell. His defence was that he had seen a boy go in and take the boots, he ran after him and picked them up when the boy dropped them. Thomas BATES, aged 15 years, was tried by a Middlesex Jury at the Old Bailey, the London Central Criminal Court before Mr Recorder, found guilty and sentenced to transportation to Port Jackson for seven years.

Thomas remained a year in Newgate Goal, next to the court until May 1789 when he was sent with a large group of London convicts to the Dunkirk hulk at Plymouth on the Devon Coast, about 310 kms south west of London. The Dunkirk was an old Fourth- rate ship built in Woolwich, London in 1754 and converted to a guard ship and moored at Plymouth in 1782. As the prison population grew during the 18th century the British government started to send convicts from Newgate and the county prisons to overseas penal colonies, firstly North America until the Revolutionary War stopped the British sending their convicts across the Atlantic. In 1786 the colony of New South Wales was proclaimed by King George III. In January 1787 the government decided to transport convicts to New South Wales and on 18 January 1788 the First Fleet arrived to set up a prison colony.

At the end of November 1789 Thomas was embarked on the 809 ton Second Fleet ship Neptune convict transport under Master Donald Triall and departed England on 19 January 1790 with the Surprize and Scarborough. These three ships were contracted from the slave trading firm , Camden, Clavert and King who undertook to transport clothe and feed the convicts for a flat fee of £17 7s.6d per head, whether they landed alive or not. They made only one stop on the way, at the cape of Good Hope, South Africa. The three vessels arrived at Sydney cove in the last week of June 1790, three weeks after Lady Juliana with 222 female convicts on board and one week after the storeship Justinian. The passage was relatively fast in comparison to the First Fleet, but the mortality rate was very high (26%). Of the 1,026 convicts embarked on the  Second Fleet 267 died during the voyage.The convicts on the Neptune were deliberately starved, kept in irons, were often refused access to the deck and had scurvy from poor food and lack of Vitamin C. On arrival the chaplain of the Colony, Reverend Richard Johnson described the terrible scene:

The landing of these people was truly affecting and shocking; great numbers were not able to walk, nor to move hand or foot. Upon their being brought up to the open air some fainted, some died on the deck, and others in the boat before they reached the shore. When come on shore many were not able to walk, to stand, or stir themselves in the least, hence some were led by others. Some creeped upon their hands and knees, and some were carried upon the backs of others.

On arrival half naked convicts were lying without bedding and too ill to move. All were covered in lice and those unable to walk were slung over the sides of the ship. At least 486 Second Fleet convicts, 47%, arrived sick and the remainder were described as lean and emaciated. The ill were treated in the makeshift hospital and the well were put to work in Sydney and Parramatta constructing roads, bridges and public buildings, farming to produce food, milling timber and manufacturing bricks. Thomas could have worked at any of these trades, honing his skills to become a soldier, carter, then a boat builder.

Thomas birthplace was recorded later in 1808 on his transfer from the 102nd Regiment as Harwich Suffolk. Harwich is an old maritime and shipbuilding area 70 miles (112km) north east of London, but is located in Essex, not Suffolk. Thomas was free by servitude in 1795, having completed two years in the hulks in England and then five years penal servitude in Sydney. Thomas obviously had a strong constitution to have survived the horrors of his transportation and long hours serving out the balance of his seven year sentence. The five years between 1785 and 1800 are unaccounted for, but he obviously made his living and had time to socialize and get to know his future bride, a soldier’s daughter named, Ann GRIFFIN.

By 1800 Sydney was becoming established and had 3,000 inhabitants. The first St Philips, a wattle and daub T shaped church that seated 500, was built in 1793 by the Chaplain of the Colony, Reverend Richard Johnson. It burnt down in 1798 and a new church was then built off York Street now Lang Park. The foundation of the sandstone church was laid in 1800 but was not completed until 1810.

Ann GRIFFIN, a soldiers daughter, married Thomas BATES on 12 May 1800 at St Philips Church of England, Sydney in a service conducted by the Reverend Richard Johnson. The witnesses were Harry PARSONS and Phebe WALTON. All parties signed the register with an X (meaning they could not read or write), with the exception of Harry PARSONS, a first fleet marine soldier from the Sirius. Harry transferred to the NSW Corps in 1792 and married seven year convict, Mary SWAIN in 1796.  Phebe was also a seven year convict sentenced in Gloucester in 1794, aged 22 years, and was transported on the Indispensible in 1796.

A few months after his marriage on 23 Aug 1800, encouraged by his friend Harry Parsons and his soldier father in law Michael, Thomas enlisted as a private in the NSW Corps, later renamed as the 102nd Regiment. Rarely more than 500 strong, they formed the garrison of the penal colony of New South Wales for almost twenty years. Their uniform was similar to that of the Marines, but with a yellow facing on the coat and different shoulder belt plate and buttons. A shako was worn on the head. It was a tall cylindrical military hat, made of stiff material, with a short visor and a plume at the front.

Thomas and Ann probably lived in the soldiers’ quarters in Back Row (Kent Street) when they first married. On 5 May 1805 the Sydney Gazette reported that Thomas Bates, a soldier in the NSW Corps received a severe wound to the neck from a falling branch when felling a tree near Cockle Bay, later renamed Darling Harbour. We do not know if this was his future grant he was clearing at the time or when the family home was constructed at Cockle Bay. Thomas and Ann raised their large family of eight children, five girls and three boys at their home in Bates Lane, off Sussex Street, Cockle Bay.

Lydia, their first child was born on 9 May 1806 and baptised at St Philips on 25 Dec 1806. The next year Thomas was transferred to York Town, near Port Dalrymple, Van Diemen’s Land, now known as Tasmania. York Town was first settled in 1804 and was originally chosen for its good water supply, but the hard clay soil proved unsuitable for agriculture. Thomas and Ann’s second daughter Maria (pronounced Mariah) was born there on 14 Dec 1808. After their return to Sydney in 1810 Maria was baptised at St Philips on 1 April.

In his absence on 17 July 1809 Thomas was granted lease number 219 by William Paterson of 13½ rods (1.37 hectares) at Back Row, now Kent Street, on the foreshore of Cockle Bay. The rent was 5 shillings a year for 14 years, securing his right to live there. Edward GOLDSBOROUGH, another soldier in the 102nd Regiment, was also given the next lease of 21½ rods (2.18 hectares) under the same terms.Ryan, R.J Land Grants 1788 – 1809, Sydney 1981

Sussex Street was cut from the rock bordering Cockle Bay and was named by Governor Macquarie in 1810. He also renamed other streets in the area that had military names. Sergeant Majors Row became George Street, Barracks Row became York Street, Soldiers (Middle) Row became Clarence Street and (Soldiers) Back Row became Kent Street. Although old names stick as in 1825 Thomas Bates, boat builder of Back Street was on the list of persons liable to serve as a juror in Sydney.

Thomas and Ann’s third child and first son, William was born on 2 Sep 1812 and was baptised on the 27th day of the same month at St Philips. Two years later on 26 Sep 1814 he was followed by a second son they named James who was not baptised until 26 Feb 1815. Their fifth child Ann, named after her mother, was born on 2 May 1817 and was baptised on the 25th  day of the same month at St Philips. Nathaniel, their third son was born on 24 Nov 1819 and was baptised on 2 Jan 1820 at St Philips.

About this time Thomas was discharged from the army and in the 1822 Muster HO 10/36 he was recorded as being employed as a carter. The former seven year convict now free by servitude living in Sydney with his six children all born in the colony. Lydia aged 16, Maria aged 13, William aged 11, James aged 9, Ann aged 5 and 3 year old Nathaniel. Ann was listed separately under her maiden name of GRIFFIN, came free on the Britannia, wife of T Bates of Sydney.

The Governors of NSW were empowered to grant land to emancipists (ex-convicts), some military and free settlers. Thomas applied for his land grant to Governor Macquarie in a memorial dated 3 July 1820 and was granted 80 acres in Gordon on the North Shore in 1823. He promptly sold the land to the merchant Thomas HYNDES, his son in law George Green’s uncle.

The memorial states:

To His Excellency Governor Macquarie
 Memorial of Thomas Bates, late a Private in the 102nd – 73rd & 46th Regiments ~ Respectfully represents:    That your Memorialist came to this Colony in the Ship Neptune in the year 1790. That your Memorialist has served in the said Regiments upwards of seventeen years; and in consequence of having a wife and six children he obtained his discharge.
That your Memorialist, in order to provide more comfortably for his numerous family, humbly prays Land may be granted to him, with such other
indulgences, as your Excellency may deem him deserving of.
Signed, Thos Bates
I believe the petitioner to be a sober, honest & industrious man. William Cowper   JP
Mr Bates has always been a well connected man. John Piper JP
Sydney 3rd July 1820

Martha, Thomas and Ann’s seventh child and fourth daughter was born on 22 May 1823 and baptised the next month on 15 Jun 1823 at St Philips. She was recorded as Matthew aged two and a half years on the 1825 Muster HO 10/19, but all other details for the rest of the family are correct. This Muster is the first time that Thomas’ occupation was recorded as Boat Builder, but it is unknown if he had his own business or worked for someone else.

Originally ship building was banned in the colony to prevent the escape of convicts and to prevent any infringement on the trading monopoly of the East India Company. New boats were soon required and the existing ones needed constant repairs. The Australian timbers proved difficult to work, but blackbutt, spotted gum and mahogany timbers were soon appreciated in ship construction for their toughness.

Eldest daughter Lydia married shoemaker John STEWART at St Phillips on 1 Mar 1825 and their first child, Thomas and Ann’s first grandchild, Mary Ann arrived on 7 Feb 1826. Sarah, Thomas and Ann’s last child, was born on 9 April 1826 and baptised 30 April at St Philips.

Two years later in the 1828 Census Thomas, aged 53, occupation boat builder, and his wife Ann, aged 42, were still living at Sussex Street with six of their eight children and a lodger born in the colony, Mary Kelly aged 16 years. The Census was taken in Nov 1828 and revealed that the white population of Australia was 37,000. Of these, 21,000 were free and 16,000 were convicts, 23.8% of the population were born in the Colony although Indigenous Australians were not counted.

 BUT Thomas’ status was given as CF, meaning Came Free. I have checked the original records and there is no mistake. One has to remember that the colony of NSW was now almost forty years old and convict origins would have carried a certain stigma.  Thomas had land cleared and cultivated at Sussex Street, with three horses and seven cattle. It is not hard to imagine that their children had an idyllic childhood on the shores of Cockle Bay, with boats to sail, horses to ride and cows to chase!

Thomas must have been fond of his horses. When one was lost or strayed in 1829  he offered a reward of £1 on page one the Sydney Gazette on Thursday 30 Apr. Thomas gave his address as Cockle Bay. . On 1 Aug 1823 Thomas BATES of Kent Street was on a list of persons who received an assigned convict. He was John PODMORE per Malabar 1819, but nothing else is known of him as he was not listed in the 1828 Census of NSW.

Thomas died 17 December 1836 and was buried in the Old Devonshire Street Cemetery. His tombstone read in part:

Sacred to the memory of Mr Thomas Bates,
late of the 102nd Regt. of Foot, aged 64 years.
He was a faithful man and feared God above many.

The cemetery was cleared to make way for the new Central Railway station in 1901 and relatives with family buried there were asked to apply for an exhumation permit to have the remains transferred to a dedicated Pioneer Park at Botany. This was done by Thomas and Ann’s granddaughter, Mrs Lydia WEST of 10 Nickson Street, Surry Hills, Sydney.

Extract from 'The Bates of Sussex Street'
The RIGBY Family from County Durham, England


Thomas RIGBY, a Pitman (Miner) married Eliza Elizabeth CURSON in the Wingate Grange Church Easington Durham on the 7 April 1851, just after the 1851 Census.

The 1861 England Census shows Thomas and Elizabeth RIGBY living at 347 Davisons Row, Wingate, between Durham and Hartlepool. Thomas' occupation is listed as Green Grocer. Three daughters were living there with them, Mary Jane Rigby, aged 10, (Born C.1851), Alice Rigby, aged 5, (Born C.1856) and Elizabeth Rigby, aged 1, (Born C.1860), all born Wingate.

Thomas and Elizabeth Rigby are not listed in the 1871 census, but we find that their elder daughter, Mary Jane, 20, has married Andrew THOMPSON, a coal miner, born 1845 in Alnwick, Northumberland and they are living at 73 Seghiorn St, Wingate Colliery, with Mary Jane's three sisters, Elizabeth Rigby, aged 10, (Born C.1861) Isabell Rigby, aged 8, (Born C.1863) and HANNAH, aged 3, (born C.1868). HANNAH RIGBY is not found on the 1881 Census, but a HANAH THOMPSON is, at Stranton, Durham; she may have taken her older sister Mary Jane's married name.

There is death entry for Thomas RIGBY for 1870, and a burial for his wife, Elizabeth in May 1870 at Wingate. Burials, Easington District - Record Number: 10275.2,Location: Wingate Grange, Church: Holy Trinity,Religion: Anglican, 3 May 1870 Eliza Elizabeth Rigby, age: 41

On Isabella’s birth certificate 16th of August 1862 Thomas’ occupation was given as Green Grocer, but Annie says he was a miner on her marriage certificate to George Gaudin in 1889, then he was an Artist when she died in 1916! The family passed down the story that Annie was an orphan and was adopted by the Rigby circus family. When she decided to come to New Zealand she was outfitted with three sets of new clothes by her adoptive parents.

Our elusive Annie Rigby's birth certificate has now been found by the grand daughter of Mary Jane. Her birth was registered under Hannah RICKABY, born 26 October 1867 at Wingate, Easington, Durham to Thomas RICKABY, Greengrocer and Elizabeth CURSON. The birth was registered by Elizabeth on the 6th of December 1867. The baptism is on durhamrecordsonline:
Baptisms, Easington District - Record Number: 87267.0 Location: Wingate Grange Church: Holy Trinity, Religion: Anglican 1 Dec 1867 Hannah Rickarby, daughter of Thomas Rickarby & Eliza.

Ann RIGBY, a general servant, emigrated to Port Chalmers, New Zealand on the in Bombay in1884 and married George GAUDIN, a widower in 1889 and they lived up the Wilkin River at Makarora,Otago. Six children were born over the next ten years and Annie died at the early age of 48 in Dunedin in 1916 and was buried at Andersons Bay Cemetery.
Ann WILLIAMS 1842 - 1899


Ann WILLIAMS, a half caste Ngai Tahu, appears as No.1094 in the 1848 Kaumatua (Blue book), the official record of Ngai Tahu alive in that year. Her father was possibly a Welshman, a whaler, James WILLIAMS. Her Maori mother was unkown, died young and was possibly Annie KAHU. She lived with her parents for approximately two years, then with the PAULIN/PAULEY family. She was then adopted by Tiki karaweko, the first wife of Chief Paororo.

  She married George PAULEY, a half caste aged 24 years, on 6th of May 1861 in Riverton. In 1862, Ann and George Pauley's first child, Joseph was born, and in September 1863, a daughter, Sarah. In 1864 Ann arrived at Nathaniel BATES house at Flax Point, Riverton and announced she was expecting his child. Ann stayed on at his home and together they had another 12 children which Ann and Harriet raised together. When Nathaniel drowned in the Aparima River in 1887, both Harriet and Ann gave evidence at the inquest into his death that they all lived happily together at Raymonds Gap.

 Ann died 12th of October 1899 of tuberculosis and was buried at Riverton Cemetery beside her daughter, Elizabeth and her husband Morgan HAYES.

Her headstone Inscription at Riverton Cemetery:
In Loving Memory Of Ann Williams
Died at Scots Gap (sic)
On Oct 11th 1899 Aged 55 Years R.I.P.

Source: Nathaniel Bates of Riverton, his Families and Decendants by Linda Scott, Finlay Bayne and photos by Michael O'Connor.
Ethel TRAUTWEIN, nee RAMAGE 1896 - 1950

Ethel Christina RAMAGE was born at Dryfield, Black Mountain near Guyra NSW, on the 27th of October 1896, the eldest of nine children of  of James Thomas RAMAGE and Lillie Maud SPINKS. James grandparents, James Senior and Christina, nee KILPATRICK emigrated from Lanarkshire, Scotland on the St Helena in 1854 and worked ON stations in the New England area of NSW.

Ethel met Sydney TRAUTWEIN, a local school teacher at Conifer, near her home at Green Valley, Tingha, when she was about fifteen years old and they married at Redfern, Sydney in 1914 when Ethel was seventeen.Their son, Theodore Charles Trautwein, known as Theo, was born in Sydney in 1915 and daughter, Hilda Augusta was born at Tingha in 1921. Theo was a merchant seaman and was killed in 1947 at Penrith, in a collision with an Air Force motor vehicle. Hilda met Werner HEILBRUNN at Jillilby where he was farming. They went to the pictures in Wyong by horse and buggy on their first date.
     
Sydney was teacher in charge at Jilliby school from 1933 until he retired in 1949. Ethel taught sewing at the schools that Sydney taught at Kanwal and Jilliby, near Wyong from 1916 to 1949 and died from heart problems at Tingha in 1950. She was buried at Botany Cemetery with her son Theo. Her husband, Sydney, who died in 1963, was buried alongside Ethel and Theo.
Theodore Trautwein 1837 - 1902

Theodore was born in Lauterbach, Hesse, a small historic village in the centre of Germany. His father was William TRAUTWEIN and mother Augusta SARTONES. Theodore arrived on the  ship "Victoria" in Melbourne on 26 November 1854 from Hamburg, his occpation given was "Kaufmann", at the age of eighteen years to join the gold rush in Victoria. Theodore married Annie McCARTER (an Irish girl who was ten years younger) in Colac VIC 31 March 1864, and together they had nine children.

Sophia's was birth was registered in Camperdown VIC in 1865 and William in Colac VIC in 1868. When Theodore Charles Jnr was birth was registrerd in 1869 at Colac Victoria Theodore's occupation was given as Publican. Annie Blanche's was birth was registered in Camperdown and Florence in Colac.

The family left Victoria in approx 1877 and travelled overland by horse and dray to Sydney. Augusta was born in Hay NSW in 1878 and baby John was born and died in Cobar NSW 16 Aug1881. Theodore's occupation at that time was sawyer. Hilda was born in 1883 in St.Leonards and when their last child, Sydney was born at Marsden Street, Parramatta on 26 November 1885, Theodore was 48 years old and Annie was 38. Theodore's occupation was given as Gardener of Eastern Creek, west of Sydney.  His orchard was named “Persimmon Grove“ Grange Farm.

Theodore died, aged 67, in Windsor Hospital on the 8th of May 1902 of Cardiac disease and was buried 9 May 1902, Minister was SG Fielding. He has a large, well kept grave at St Matthews, Windsor, NSW, on the opposite corner of the church where the tomb of Michael Griffin, his daughter Lydia (sister of Ann Bates, nee Griffin) and her two convict husbands, John Benn and John McDonald lies.

Annie remarried on 16 Jun 1904 in Sydney to Thomas Richard MOZZALL, a builder, and died in 1940 at Kingsford NSW. Annie was buried on the 20 April, 1940 in the Church of England Cemetery, Waverley, with her daughters Hilda and Florence.
Sydney TRAUTWEIN 1886 - 1963 

Sydney was born in on 26 Nov 1886 at Marsden Street, Parramatta. His parents were Theodore TRAUTWEIN, an orchardist, born in Germany and Annie McCARTER, born Londonderry, Ireland. Theodore and Annie met and married in 1864 at Camperdown in Victoria. Five children were born there the family left Victoria about 1877 and travelled overland by horse/bullock and dray to Sydney. Augusta was born in Hay NSW in 1878 and baby John was born and died in Cobar NSW 16 Aug 1881. Theodore's occupation at that time was sawyer. Hilda was born in 1883 in St Leonards and when Sydney was born at Marsden Street, Parramatta on 26 November 1885, Theodore was 48 years old and Annie was 38. Sydney was the last of nine children.

  The family lived on an orchard named Persimmon Grove Grange Farm at Riverstone and when Sydney's father died in 1902 and he then moved to Great Buckingham St, Redfern with his mother. On the 1903 Electoral Roll Sydney's brother, William lived at 16 Great Buckingham Street, Redfern, with his mother, Annie. William's occupation was railway porter. Annie, William and Sydney are listed at the same address in the 1904 NSW Post Office Directory. Syd trained as a primary school teacher in Sydney and met 16 year old Ethel Ramage while teaching at a small country school at Conifer, Tingha, near Inverell. They married on 16 Apr 1914 at Redfern, Sydney. Their son Theo was born in 1915 in Sydney and daughter Hilda in 1921 in Tingha. Syd always dressed well and in a photo of Conifer School, taken in 1925 he is wearing a dark jacket, white trousers and shoes and a bow tie.  

His Teacher Record Card from State Records lists Syd’s teaching record:

1908    Watermark                  Salary 138 pounds

1909    Carara and Wandoba  Salary 138 pounds

1911    Conifer                        Salary 192 pounds

1929    Kanwal                         Salary 358 pounds

1933    Jilliby                          Last day of Service 31st Dec 1949

Sydney taught at Kanwal School, Central Coast from 17 Jan 1929 until the end of 1932. During this time he wrote lots of letters to the Department of Education requesting repairs to the toilet block and trees to be planted for shade.  He was teacher in charge at Jilliby School from 1933 until he retired in 1949. Ethel taught the girls sewing and the boys handicrafts. While he was at the school the buildings and grounds were well looked after. Garden beds of petunias, with ivy, bouganvilleas and geraniums covering the walls made a magnificent show. Sydney was presented with a gold watch inscribed "Presented to S. Trautwein as a mark of esteem from the residents of Jilliby 14.12.49." Syd and Ethel’s son Theo was tragically killed in motor vehicle accident at Emu Plains, west of Sydney, on 24 May 1947. Theo’s wife and daughter were also involved but survived.

After his retirement Syd often worked for his brother, TC at Bellfields Hotel in Sydney and tutored local children in maths and English. After Ethel died he lived with his daughter, Hilda and her husband, Werner HEILBRUNN at MacPhersons Road, Mardi, near Wyong. Syd loved chocolate and his grandson Dennis remembers getting very ill from chocolate eggs brought home one Easter. He drove a Morris Minor and Dennis would have to find the car after a night out with his friends at the bottom pub, The Royal.   While visiting family in Sydney Syd fell ill on the 21 Nov 1963 in Awatea Private Hotel in Sydney, the and died from myocardial infarction and coronary artery disease. An inquest was dispensed with and Syd was buried on the 25 Nov 1963 at Botany Cemetery, in Lot 686, Section 5, with his wife, Ethel, and son Theodore Charles Livingstone. The informant was Lee VAUX, his former daughter in law of 5/120 O'Donnell Street, North Bondi. Sydney’s usual residence was McPhersons Road, Wyong.

 Newspaper cutting found in daughter Hilda's diary:

 In Memoriam TRAUTWEIN, Sydney.

Treasured memories of a wonderful person, our father and grandfather, called away 21.11.63.
His memory is a keepsake,
From which we will never part;
God has him in his keeping,
We have him in our hearts.Hilda, Werner, Dennis and Neil







John McDONALD 1791 - 1874

      John McDonald, convict, was transported on the 18 Jan1812, on the Guildford. His trial took place in Ayr, Scotland in 1810 and he was sentenced to  7 years. John became the owner of Mulgrave Park at Pitt Town, near Windsor, after marrying Lydia, the widow of his employer, John Benn.  In 1848-50 John and his son William had a run of 64,000 acres on the Liverpool Plain, known as the Burrandown run, with a frontage on the Barwon River. William later married Susan TYRRELL, of the Tyrrell wine family from Pokolbin.


      In the 1850's George was installed by his father on his 500 acre Glenmore at Black Creek, Pokolbin. George became the founder of the Glenmore branch of the family, and later the heir to the estate of his father, John McDonald of Mulgrave Park, Pitt Town.      Source: Mines, Wine and People, A History of Greater Cessnock, by Parkes, Comerford and Lake.


      John and Lydia's first three children, all born at Pitt Town,  John, William and Margaret were all baptised on the same day, 2 Sep 1822 at St Mathews Windsor by John Cross. John's occupation occupation was given as farmer.  Source St Matthews Windsor Baptisms Page 26

1835 NSW Govt Gazette
List of assignments of male convicts to private service from 31 Jan to 10 Feb 1835
Page 393 McDonald, John, Pitt town, 2 errand boys and 1 carter's boy.

His tomb at St Matthews, Windsor reads:
 John McDonald
 who died
 December 19th 1874
 Aged 83 years
Michael GRIFFIN 1750 - 1833


Michael Griffin was born in Galway, Ireland and was stationed in Gloucester,England in when his daughter Ann was baptised at St Nicholas Church on 4 Aug 1784. No marriage for Michael and Mary has been located in Gloucester. Their second child, Nathaniel was baptised at Dartford, Kent on 17 May 1788 after Michael was transferred there. Michael then enlisted in the NSW Corps at Chatham, Kent, on 28 September 1789 and sailed to Sydney on the Third Fleet ship Britannia in 1791. Thomas was born on the voyage out from England.

Michael's wife, Mary, died 1st of September 1794, six months after the birth of their youngest child, Lydia. Ann was then ten years old, and younger brothers, Nathaniel six, and Thomas three years old. There is no record of who looked after the children after Mary's death, but Nathaniel appears as Drummer on the 1798 pay list of Captain Johnston’s Company, NSW Corps. Thomas also enlisted as a Drummer in 1799 . Ann married emancipist, Thomas Bates, at St.Philip’s Sydney on the 12 May 1800.

Michael was  present on Musters until 1796 for the NSW Corps, then on the 73rd Regiment, Invalid Company 1812 Pay List. He appears on the November 1828 Census as Griffen, M, aged 85, CF (Came Free) Britannia 1791, Protestant, Lodger with John McDonald, Pitt Town, reference G1469.

Michael died on the 20th of February 1833 and is buried at St Mathew's Anglican Church cemetery, Windsor, NSW, with his younger daughter, Lydia and her two husbands, John BENN and John McDONALD, the same cemetery as Dennis' Gt Grandfather, Theodore Trautwein.
Lydia McDonald nee Griffin 1794 - 1864

Lydia was the second daughter and final child for Michael GRIFFIN, soldier and his wife Mary. She was born on Sydney on 4 March 1794 when the early colony of NSW was barely beginning. She was baptised at St Philips at three weeks old on 25 March 1794 as Lydia GRIFFITHS. Lydia’s mother, Mary died on 1 Sep 1794 when she was only 6 months old. Lydia was Ann BATES nee Griffin, younger sister and the only surviving sibling. It’s believed that her brothers Nathaniel and Thomas, also died at a young age, but no burial record for either has been located in the church registers. Thomas married Sophia GRANDUE at St Philips, Sydney on 22 Mar 1810, but there were no children of the marriage.

 Lydia GRIFFIN married John BENN, a seven year convict, by then a landowner of 90 acres in Mulgrave Place and Pitt Town, 16 August 1814 at St Matthews, Windsor under the name Eliza. The witnesses were Thomas ROSE, one of the first free settlers in the colony, Sarah BARTLETT, Charles WALKER and Elizabeth WARD.  Lydia and John were only married for just over a year when John died from a fall  from his horse on 10 Dec 1815 on his way home from Parramatta. John BENN, Alias Venham or Venman, commonly known as Big Ben was sentenced in New Sarum, Wiltshire, England 5 July 1789 to seven years servitude. He was transported on the Gorgon on the 15 March 1791, arriving in Sydney 21 Sep 1791.The HMS Gorgon was a frigate with 44 guns and commanded by Captain Parker RN, she sailed from England on 15 March 1791 with 31 convicts, all male on board. If allowance is made for six weeks she spent in Capetown to embark livestock, Gorgon was by far the fastest ship to leave England for Australia, taking 190 days to arrive in Port Jackson on 21 September 1791, having lost only one convict on the voyage.Ryan, R.J. The Third Fleet Convicts, Sydney, Gordon & Gotch Limited 1983

John’s obituary was published in the Sydney Gazette on 10 Dec 1815: DIED - On Sunday, evening last, at Hawkesbury, owing to a fall from his horse, which is supposed to have been instantly fatal, Mr JOHN BENN, Settler, and a resident of this Colony for the long space of 25 years. The deceased left Parramatta for his own farm, which is two miles from Windsor, between four and five in the evening of Sunday, and passed through the gate at Rouse Hill about an hour after, saying he had rode very quick. It did not appear that he was afterwards seen alive by any person. That same evening  his horse was found in a corn field near his house, and a search was in consequence made for the rider, who was unhappily found dead upon the road leading to the farm: about a mile and half distant. The deceased always bore the character of a very respectable settler, and had accumulated by his industry a very considerable property, a part of which he latterly employed in maritime speculations, in which he was also fortunate. His remains were interred at Windsor on Tuesday: and were followed by a very numerous retinue of friends, many of whom came from Sydney and Parramatta.

On his Tomb at St Matthews Anglican Church, Windsor NSW, the following inscription can still be found:Sacred to the Memory of JOHN BENN Who Departed this lifeDecember 10th 1815Aged 46 Years.

Lydia and John McDonald were married at Castlereagh in August 1817, shortly before their first child was born. Lydia's first three children, John, William and Margaret were all baptised on the same day, 2 Sept 1822 at St Mathews Windsor by Reverend John Cross. In 1840 Margaret later married William CROSS, the son of John CROSS and Ann CROSS nee DAVIS at Port Macquarie. John stated his occupation was farmer. Lydia McDonald nee Griffin died 16th July 1866 aged 68yrs from Congestion of the Lungs and was buried at St Matthews Cemetery at Windsor on 21 July 1864. The inscription on her tomb at St Matthews, Windsor is inscribed with these words: Sacred to the Memory of LYDIA MCDONALD who died July 16th 1864 aged 68 years.  Lydia's death certificate states that her children George and Margaret were living and she had two deceased male children, John Thomas (1830) and William James.

John McDonald 1791 - 1874, Lydia’s second husband, was transported on the Guildford on 18 Jan 1812, His trial took place in Ayr, Scotland in 1810 and he was sentenced to 7 years transportation.  After being released from quarantine in January 1812, John was assigned as a labourer on a farm at Pitt Town NSW owned by John BENN, a former convict. John received the princely sum of £1/10 per week without rations, apparently as a wheelwright, which had been his previous profession. John became the owner of Mulgrave Park at Pitt Town, near Windsor, after marrying Lydia. The farm was later renamed Lynwood. The McDonald family, (also spelt MacDonald) one of the oldest families in the lower Hunter, founded one of the valley’s most famous vineyards and wineries, Ben Ean. But they sold it to Lindeman’s after owning it for only twenty seven years.

Little remains of the family’s identification with Ben Ean, except for McDonald Road which passes the winery.  John explored the areas to the north and in 1822 selected in Black Creek in the Pokolbin area which he called Glenmore. In 1825 Governor Brisbane allowed him to purchase 1,000 acres at five shillings an acre. By the end of the 1820s he was described as ‘an opulent man’ and was deservedly respected for his moral worth. Some say that the MacDonald Valley and MacDonald River in the Hawkesbury area were named after him, but others claim they would never have been named after a convict.

In the 1830s he bought Phoenix Park Farms in the bend of the Hunter River, just below Morpeth, on the Hunter River, some of the richest agricultural land in Australia and cradle of the famous Hunter River lucerne. At this time he ventured into flour milling at Morpeth, as well as Windsor and Pitt Town. In 1840 he also became involved in the formation of a local bank and later sold fine furniture, antiques and farm equipment . John McDonald died 19 Dec 1874 Royal Hotel Sydney cause of death ‘fit during sleep’. The death certificate states that he was buried 21Dec 1874 at Rookwood, but the family tomb at St Matthews Windsor bears this inscription: Sacred to the Memory of John McDonald who died December 19th 1874,aged 83 years.

 The old brick McDonald family home is still stands today, the current address of Lynwood is 41 Pitt Town Road, Pitt Town, NSW. Some of John and Lydia McDonald’s descendants moved to the Hunter Valley of NSW and became well known there. Their daughter Margaret married William CROSS, son of the Reverend John CROSS, at Port Macquarie on 5 Sep1840 and had five children. A notable descendant is the well known painter, Margaret Olley.

Sunday 16 June 2013

Ann BATES, nee GRIFFIN 1784 - 1864

Ann Griffin was an army brat. This unflattering description means that she was born into a military environment, and from her earliest years understood the army culture. She would have been aware of the status and duties of different ranks, and would have been accustomed to moving from one army post to another. No one would know how long the Regiment would be at one post, moves could be sudden, and there could be moves from one country to another. Every army has had its army brats.  Ann’s father Michael was born in Galway, Ireland around 1750, and on 8 August 1762 joined the 42nd Regiment of the British Army, the Royal Highland Regiment. At the tender age of 12 he was already a cordwainer or leather shoe worker but enlisted as a drummer boy, a role that in action was every bit as dangerous as that of a private of the line. He served in all for an incredible sixty years, six of which were before the age of 18.

His service records show the different units he served in and the time he spent in each. Details of his service are shown in the table below: 

Regiment                    Date joined      Date left             Period of service
42nd Regiment          8 Aug 1762      12 Aug 1875     22 years 338 days
2nd Guard &17th       21 Jul 1785      28 Sep 1789     4 years 67 days
NSWCorps&102nd   28 Sep 789      26 Mar 1810     20 years 182 days
NSW Veterans           25 Mar 1810    24 Sep 1823    13 years 184 days

 Unfortunately the records do not tell us of all the places where Michael was stationed, but other information tells us where he was at certain times. The NSW Corps was a unit of the British army raised in England in 1879 for service in the Penal Colony of NSW. It was later known as the ‘Rum Corps’ because many of its officers were involved in the NSW spirit trade and in 1809 it was renamed the 102nd Regiment. There is no record of Michael’s marriage to his wife Mary, whose surname and ancestry are not known, but their first child Ann was baptised on 4 August 1784 at St Nicholas Church, Gloucester. St Nicholas is a 12th Century church located near the river Severn. It is built of limestone and comprises a chancel, north chapel, nave, north aisle and transcript, south aisle with a porch, a west tower and spire, now leaning. The church is no longer in use, but is still consecrated and sometimes hosts special services. Gloucester was built on a Roman Fort and by the Norman conquest in 1066 Gloucester was a royal borough with an important commercial centre and port. Their marriage could have taken place here or in Ireland or elsewhere, but it seems certain that Michael was stationed in England at the time of Ann’s birth.

 The family was still in England when their second child Nathaniel was born five years later. He was baptised in the Holy Trinity Church at Dartford, Kent on 18 May 1788. Dartford was then a market town on the river Darent, 25 kms east of London and close to the Thames River. The Romans built a road from Dover to London which crossed the river at Dartford by ford and the town developed there.  By the time Michael was stationed there, there was a cotton mill and gun powder mill. Dartford had a fire engine and its first public street lamp outside the Parish Church.

Three years later on 27 March 1791 the family departed Portsmouth on the 520 ton Third Fleet ship, the Britannia, arriving in Sydney Cove on 14 October 1791 with 150 male convicts also on board, 21 had died on the journey. The Third Fleet consisted of eleven ships which sailed into Sydney Cove in 1791 with over 2000 convicts and much needed provisions for the settlement. At that time the military barracks were located closer to Sydney Cove and consisted of rough huts and tents, The Wynyard Barracks and Parade Ground were built from 1792 – 1818 and extended from St Philips in the north to Barrack St in the south. It was from here that the NSW Corps marched to Government House to arrest Governor Bligh in 1808, later known as the Rum Rebellion. Ann’s youngest brother, Thomas was born en-route to Australia on 2 April 1791. Ann and Nathaniel were the only soldier children on the 201 day journey on the Britannia, plus an unknown child, ten year old Ann Stoolorn. Two other soldier children were born on board other ships, William Jamieson was born on the Queen and Henry Flemming on the William and Ann. The early dwellings in the colony were made of cabbage tree palm and wattle and daub, boards and twigs plastered with clay.

By the time the Griffin family arrived there were many convicts employed making brick and tiles and more permanent housing was becoming available. Reverend Johnson and his wife Mary had established a school in the first St Philips. Droughts and disease caused many hardships, the lack of fresh vegetables and rampant small pox. Ann’s sister, Lydia was born on the 4 March 1874 but six months later on 1 Sep 1794, her mother Mary died.  Mary’s death was also mentioned in David Collin’s Account of the English Colony in NSW. Michael was out fishing in the lower part of the harbour at the time in order to feed the family. The funeral service was held at St Phillips Church on 2 September 1793 for Mary Griffin, Soldiers wife and she was buried in the Old Sydney Burial Ground. The Old Sydney Burial Ground was Sydney’s first official cemetery. From 1792 to 1820 the principal burial ground for the colony was on the site where the Sydney Town Hall now stands, on the corner of George and Druitt streets. This cemetery is commonly called the Old Sydney Burial Ground, but it was also known as the George Street Burial Ground, the Cathedral Close Cemetery, and (retrospectively) the Town Hall Cemetery.

Ten year old Ann helped her father bring up her two brothers, aged six and three years and baby sister after her mother’s early death, which gave her the skills to manage a household in preparation for her own marriage as a sixteen year old in 1800. Michael was granted 25 acres at Petersham Hill on 14 Mar 1795, but soon sold it. Rent was only 1 shilling a year, commencing after 5 years. Thus keeping the family military connection solid Nathaniel and Thomas also enlisted in the army. Nathaniel appeared as a Drummer on the 1798 pay list of Captain Johnston’s Company in the NSW Corps and Thomas also enlisted in the corps as a Drummer in 1799.   In 1808 they were described as: Nathaniel Griffin, 18 years, height 5ft 4 1/2 ins, long face, dark complexion, grey eyes, light brown hair. Thomas Griffin, 16 years, height 5ft 8in, round face, fair complexion, hazel eyes, light brown hair. Thomas married Sophia GRANDUE at St Philips on 22 Mar 1810, but died the following year. Nathaniel passed away in 1814 and the GRIFFIN family line was not carried on.

Michael was present on Musters until 1796 for NSW Corps, then on the102nd, 73rd Regiment, and Veteran Company pay Lists. On his discharge in 1823 he was described as about seventy three years of age, five feet eight inches in height, with sandy hair, grey eyes, fair complexion, and by trade or occupation a cordwainer. WO 97/1141/115.  Michael appeared on the November 1828 Census as Griffen, M, (sic)  aged 85 CF (Came Free) Britannia 1791, Protestant, Lodger with John McDonald, Pitt Town, reference G1469. On 20 Feb 1833 Michael died at Pitt Town and was buried at St Mathew's Windsor on 11 Sep Michael's age was given as 96 but should have been 83, profession, farmer. The funeral service was performed by the Reverend Joseph Docker. Later a large family tomb was erected and the memorial also lists his younger daughter, Lydia, one of her sons, and her two former convict husband's, John Benn (Gorgon 1791) and John McDonald (Guildford 1812).

From The Bates of Sussex Street © Marie Heilbrunn 2010
Maria GREEN, nee BATES 1808 - 1896

Maria was born in 1808 at Yorktown, Port Dalrymple on the western side of the Tamar River, Van Diemen's Land, now Tasmania, when Thomas was stationed there from 1808-1810. She was baptised at St Philips, Sydney after their return to Sydney, on April 1st, 1810. Maria married George Green at St Phillips on the 19th of April 1830 by William COWPER, in the presence of George's guardians, Thomas and Charlotte HYNDES.
George and Maria set up their home  in Sydney.  Maria gave birth to their first child George Amaziah on 26 Dec of that same year, followed by their first daughter, Mary Ann Maria born on 24 Dec 1832. More followed about two years apart and Maria would have been glad to have her mother Ann and sister Lydia living close by.

 On 19 June 1834 George Green’s parents Amaziah and Mary Ann Green (nee Chapel), together with the rest of George’s siblings, travelled to Australia including his married sister Maria and her husband Thomas Costin and their infant child,  Mary, Charlotte, Thomas and Sarah on the Minerva as steerage passengers. Not long after he arrived in Sydney Australia George’s father Amaziah was granted the first freehold title block of land (5 acres – about 2 hectares) on the peninsula later called Greenwich. A brickworks was constructed on one of the blocks of land owned by the Greens This could have been built by Amaziah to carry on his trade. Two years after buying this land he sold it to his son George. Amaziah only lived for four years after he arrived in Sydney, he died 11 Feb 1838.

 Greenwich House was built in 1836 and still stands at George and St Lawrence Streets. It stood on a 20 acre grant originally owned by George Green, boat-builder active in the area in the 1830s.  He had the property divided in allotments and sold in 1840. A punt service ran from the city to Greenwich in 1840s but lack of customers caused it to be cancelled.  In 1850s, when the demand increased, it was reinstated. The young family moved from Sydney to Greenwich in 1837 and later to Milson’s Point on the acre of ground where the family grew up. George leased this land from Robert Campbell.

 George GREEN, shipwright of Milson's Point and Maria nee Bates had six of their children baptised on the same day at St Thomas' Willoughby  10 June 1851 by Reverend WB Clarke. Robert Nathaniel, born 29 May 1838, James Absalom, born 7 May 1840, Agnes Martha born 22 May 1842, Sarah Harriet Hales, born 23 May 1844, Charlotte Lydia, born 23 Aug 1846, and William Joseph born 1 Jul 1849.

 Maria obviously coped with George’s long absences in New Zealand and was kept busy with her growing family. George died 30 Aug 1872 in Dunedin New Zealand. Maria was a widow for 24 years. She died of senility at 24 Salisbury Road, Willoughby on the 16 Feb 1896 at the home of her daughter Charlotte Lydia and her husband John REID. Maria was buried on the 19th of February 1896 at the Church of England section of Gore Hill Cemetery.
George Howard GAUDIN 1841 - 1930

George Howard GAUDIN, born 1841 Restigouche, Dalhousie, New Brunswick, Canada, was the eighth and last child of Captain David GAUDIN 1783-1860, a Master Mariner, and his second wife Elizabeth de QUETTEVILLE. Both were born in Jersey, Channel Islands and immigrated to Canada in 1835 with their first six children, Elizabeth born 1815, William born 1816, Francis born 1818, John born 1829, Caroline 1832 and Amelia 1834. The family then settled in New Brunswick where Matilda was born in 1836. David was aged 68 years and his occupation in 1851 was farmer. (Source New Brunswick Census Returns 1851)

George immigrated to Port Chalmers, Otago, New Zealand on the Storm Cloud in 1863 and had three wives, Clara VINING 1853-1878 (her two sons, Henry Howard 1876-1903 and Arthur Hedley 1877-1969 were raised by her family in Melbourne, Australia), Annie BROWN nee RIGBY,1867-1916 (6 children, Wilkin, Albert, Ada, Sidney, Maud and Eric, plus two from relationships). They lived up the Wilkin River at Makarora, where George owned and operated a saw mill. Annie died in Dunedin in 25 Jun1916, aged 48, from diabetes. George married again to Elizabeth FREEMAN in 1924 at Gore, who was aged 54. Bessie lived over twenty years longer than George, passing away in 1951 in Dunedin and is buried together with George and Annie, his second wife at Andersons Bay Cemetery.

On 27 November 1876, George advertised an auction at his residence in Eden Street, Oamaru, selling his household furniture, plus fowls and a pair of poodle pups, in consequence of his leaving the district. His freight business had gone bankrupt. His first wife, Clara died in Dunedin in 28 Nov 1878 from phithis, now known as TB. George then moved inland to Central Otago. In Stone's 1890 Otago & Southland Directory he is listed twice: Gaudin, George, Labourer, Pembroke, now known as Wanaka and Gaudin, George H., Miner Mt Criffel.

In 1890, George GAUDIN, Settler is listed as living at Makarora:

GAUDIN, George, settler, Weekly steamer 40 miles (12/6); Vincent County

MAKARORA Otago 218 miles NW from Dunedin: rail to Lawrence, coach (50/-) Pembroke bi-weekly, thence.

In 1904, George Gaudin was granted a license to cut 1000 black pine posts in Cameron’s Bush, 3 miles from Templeton’s Creek, Makarora. In1906 George was granted a license for 8 acres in the Wilkin District for a rent of 5 shillings per annum.

Albert drowned at the age of 14 years on 23 Jul 1906. His father and older brothers were rafting timber from the saw mill down the Wilkin to Makarora and the raft overturned and he drowned. Albert's was the first burial in the Makarora Cemetery, but unfortunately the graves were lost in a later flood.  His death was even reported in the North Island newspapers:

A lad, about 15 years of age, son of George Gaudin, a saw miller at Makarora, Central Otago, was drowned on Monday. He was rafting timber with his father, and when approaching Makarora, the raft upset and the boy drowned.

The family then moved nearby to Hawea and the younger children went to school there. George was retired and registered on the Dunedin West Electoral Roll in 1919 living at 111 Moray Place and then in 1922 he was on the roll for Dunedin Central and living at 1 Alexandra Street, Caversham.

George's death certificate states that he died on the 2 July 1930 at the Talboys Home, Benevolent Institution at Caversham, from Tapanui. His occupation was farmer, aged 90 years, he would have been 88. Cause of death was Cardiac Syncope, Cerebral Thrombosis, myocardial weakness and senility. George was buried on the 3 July 1930 at the Andersons Bay Presbyterian Cemetery and the Minister was D. Heggie. The certificate states that he was born in New Brunswick, Canada and had been in New Zealand for 68 years. Three marriages were listed as first to Clara VINING at Oamaru, second to Annie RIGBY at Makarora, aged 52 and thirdly to Elizabeth FREEMAN at Gore aged 84, her age was 61 years.

George GAUDIN”S obituary appeared in the Otago Daily Times:

            George Gaudin, Dunedin (91), "Storm Cloud" 1863

Mr Richard Norman wrote: I notice with regret the death in Dunedin of Mr George Howard Gaudin at the advanced age of 91 years. Mr Gaudin was a colonial of many years standing. He was in the express business in Oamaru in 1875, and the country years before that.. His father and mother came from the Channel Islands to Dalhousie (New Brunswick), in Canada, when he was a boy. Early in 1875, Mr Gaudin married Miss (Clara) Vining (in Oamaru), who sometime afterwards died (1878), leaving him with two boys (Henry and Arthur), who are now prominent in the bicycle and motor trade. A few years afterwards he came to Wanaka and worked on Mt Criffel and other parts. At Makarora he married (1889) the widow (Annie Rigby, and had another six children) of the late William Brown, and resided on a 50 acre section he bought. The family is now grown up. He took over the Wilkin River sawmill and ran it for a while, but this ended in disaster as one of the boys of much promise, was drowned while rafting timber over the (Wilkin) river. He later sold everything out at Makarora, and went to live down Balclutha way, where Mrs (Annie) Gaudin died (1916). Mr Gaudin married again (1924 to Elizabeth Freeman) and lived in Tapanui for a few years, till his health failed and he went to Dunedin, where he died (2 July 1930)

References:

H. Cameron, The Gaudin Story, Toronto, Canada, n.p.1969
I. Vercoe, The Gaudins of Makarora, Dunedin, n.p. 2008
Department of Internal Affairs, New Zealand, Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates
PapersPast website
Dunedin Cemeteries online


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George GAUDIN'S Letter Home to Canada 1894

Transcript of a letter written by George Howard Gaudin, supplied by descendant
Wendell GAUDIN.

From Makarora October 1 1894 to Canada.

From “The Gaudin Story” by Helena Gaudin Cameron 1969

Dear Brother John

I wrote to the postmaster in Dalhousie for tidings of any of my family, as I have not heard from home in over twenty years, having lost my letters and your addresses by fire. I got one answer, giving me your address, and saying that my dear mother and father were both gone to their eternal rest.

Dear John, you do not know how my heart yearns to see you all once more before I die, but I am afraid we shall not met here below. May we met in that land above where parting is no more. I trust you and your family are well. They must be all grown up and married by now with families of their own. I have been married twice, with two sons by my first wife and three sons and two daughters by my second wife. My eldest boys are grown up to be young men, one is twenty and the other nineteen years. The family at home are all young, the eldest is ten and the youngest one year old.

Dear John, you must write by return mail. Tell me about the past, and about dear old ‘Mountain Brook’. Oh how my memory flies back to the days of my childhood, those happy days at home. It seems like a happy dream of long ago. Oh I do so long to hear from you all. Give me Eva’s address. I would so like to hear from her, we used to write often to one another, until I lost her address (she married his brother Francis). How is brother William and all his family, and Caroline (who married an (John) Armstrong and moved to the States. Their descendants are in California), and Matilda (who married Thomas Hurlburt and whose descendants live in Toronto). Do give me their address, that I may write to them before we depart and are no more.

You will have a lot to tell me and when I have your news, I will then give you more particulars. I wish you could send me your porrtait, I would so like to have it. Give my love to your dear wife. Tell her I can remember her quite well as Mife Pratt. Give my love to William and Family and tell all my nieces and nephews, and my God bless you all.

Your affectionate brother, George.

P.S. Do not forget to write. Are you farming or what? Do you think I could do anything there? This is a poor place, only a bare living from month to month and working hard too.


 
Mary DINEEN 1858 - 1935

Mary's parents, William DINEEN and Bridget MURRAY were married in Kilworth, near Fermoy, County Cork, Ireland on 24 February 1846, witnesses being Daniel Murray and Garrett Burns. Mary lived with her family in Kilworth. "Kiluird". or Kilworth is situated on the main Dublin - Cork road and is three miles north of Fermoy. It is half a mile off the main road and is twenty four miles from Cork City. The village was a military post at one time and is also the site of a very old church. The English translation of "Kiluird" means "church of the order" and was the second church in Ireland to receive permission from the Pope to change the old Irish calendar to the church calendar. The village is largely agricultural and because of its proximity to the River Blackwater, fishing is now a popular pasttime in the area for locals and visitors.

  'The Dinneen family were so poor that they lived by the roadside and had to run and hide when the gentry passed - they were whipped if seen.' Aunty Liz also claimed that the Dinneen family were originally well to do and had come from France - during a time of religious persecution.'

Mary was 23 years of age when she and her sister Bridget, 19 years, sailed from Gravesend on the 2nd of August 1883 on the 'Nelson' and arrived at Port Chalmers, near Dunedin, on the 20th October 1883. The fare was one guinea but Mary also worked on board as a general servant during the journey to New Zealand. The 'Nelson' was one of six clipper ships built in 1874 by 1874 by Robert Duncan for Patrick Henderson. She was specially built to carry passengers, and her accomodation was all that could be desired. The    'Nelson' was a vessel of of 1247 tons, and traded to the colony from 1874 until 1902. As late as 1916 she was in Sydney Harbour and altogether made 23 voyages carrying immigrants.

A few years later Mary met George Patterson, a musterer in the Otago/Canterbury areas. They married in Oamaru on the 25th September 1890 in the house of Rev. John Mackay. At the time of their marriage their usual place of residence was listed as Omarama, so Pattersons have lived around Omarama for well over 100 years.
George and Mary were listed in the NZ 1893 Electoral Roll:

Patterson, George, 2577
Electorate: Waitaki
Residential Address: Omarama
Occupation: Shepherd

Patterson, Mary, 3662
Residential Address: Hakataramea
Occupation: Domestic

They lived on a very small farmlet, about 2 miles into the Hakataramea Valley, near Kurow. The family then moved to dairy farm at Maerawhenua near Duntroon. George died in 1921 and Mary retired to Queenstown. At the time of her death,  she was living in Camp Street, Queenstown and was buried in the Queenstown Cemetery, near the base of the gondola. Sources: Elizabeth Sainsbury interviewed in the Oamaru Mail 15 June 1991.
William BROWN Circa 1842 - 1889

William was born in Port William, Wigtownshire, Scotland about 1843 to Thomas Brown, a labourer and his wife Anne, nee Erskine. He married Annie Rigby on the 16th of July 1887 at the house of Mr Ford at Pembroke, Wanaka. His profession given was Settler and he was a bachelor. Pembroke was his present residence, but usual was Head of Lake Wanaka. He was probably mining for gold there. The officiating Minister was Robert Morrison and witnesses were William Hagan, a miner at Mt Criffel and Janet McDougall, daughter of Mr McDougall of Pembroke.

William had been residing in Makarora for 16 years when he married Annie Rigby in 1887, but died two years later, of a stroke at Cromwell Hospital, New Zealand.

Wigtownshire is the southwest corner of Scotland and the Mull of Galloway is the southernmost point of Scotland.
John BENN 1768 - 1815
 
John BENN, (alias VENHAM Venman) was sentenced in Wiltshire, England in 1789 to seven years and was transported  on the Gorgon on the 15 March 1791, arriving in Sydney 21 September 1791.  He married Lydia GRIFFIN, daughter of Michael GRIFFIN, Soldier, and Mary nee AMOS, on the 16th of August 1814 at Windsor. They had no children.

His Obituarary 10 Dec 1815 in the Sydney Gazette:

DIED - On Sunday, evening last, at Hawkesbury, owing to a fall from his horse, whic is supposed to have been instantly fatal, Mr JOHN BENN, Settler, and a resident of this Colony for the long space of 25 years. The deceased left Parramatta for his own farm, which is two miles from Windsor, between four and five in the evening of Sunday, and passed through the gate at Rouse Hill about an hour after, saying he had rode very quick. It did not appear that he was afterwards seen alive by any person. That same evening  his horse was found in a corn field near his house, and a search was in consequence made for the rider., who was unhappily found dead upon the road leading to the farm: about a mile and half distant. The deceased always bore the character of a very very respectable settler, and had accumulated by his industry a very considerable property, a part of which he latterly employed in maritime speculations, in which he was also fortunate. His remains were interred at Windsor on tuesday: and were followed by a very numerous retinue of friends, many of whom came from Sydney and Parramatta for the occasion.

On his Tomb at St Matthews Anglican Church, Windsor:

 Sacred to the Memory of
 JOHN BENN
 Who Departed this life
 December 10th 1815

  Aged 46 Years