In Search of our Cousin Kate Harris

Unbeknownst to all  of us, it seems we have a long-lost, long-deceased distant cousin - a daughter of William and Mary (born Herd - and variants) Harris. 

                                                      

                                              Mary Harris born Herd 

William Harris 

Photos from Harris/Leathart  family photo album. 

I found Kate Harris when I was looking for burial records at Saint Peter's Anglican Church, Onehunga, Auckland (NZ).  There's a particularly thorough and well researched site called Grave Insights Onehunga which has wonderful information on the church and many of those resting there permanently. 

Saint Peter's Anglican Church, Onehunga, 1860s 

Sir George Grey Special Collections,  

Auckland Libraries, 957-192-1.

Saint Peter's Church mid 1860s - as it would have been in the times of the Harris family. 

I was checking out the details for our Harris founding ancestors William and Mary when I found this in the cemetery records:

Kate Harris, no date of death, buried 24 November 1864, aged 6 years 6 months, daughter of William and Mary Harris. 

 From NZ Births, Deaths and Marriages records (NZBDM), she was born on the 19th July, 1858. If you open the cemetery records link, scroll down to page 22 to find this entry. 

This was a complete surprise to me, as I thought we hade a clear and accurate record of all of  William and Mary's children, both through parish records, NZBDM records and a page of family dates in the Harris family Bible. 

I can confirm that this is our William and Mary Harris of Onehunga. The NZBDM does, indeed, confirm the year of birth, name and parents of Kate.  (The church must have got access to the original NZBDM record for confirmation.)  

Snapshot of the entry in NZBDM.

For further confirmation, I sent for a copy of the original, and was delighted and relieved to see that it included Mary's maiden name (formerly Heard), thereby confirming beyond any doubt that this was our William and Mary - with the inclusion of "Auckland" as place of birth for good measure - although where in Auckland is uncertain. 

From this record, we can conclude that Mary would have been pregnant throughout her voyage to New Zealand. We can only imagine what it must have been like for her! 

Photocopy of original registration of Kate's birth. 

I next tried to find confirmation of Kate's death and order a copy her death certificate. 

And this is where I hit a brick wall.  

There is no record at all of her death in NZBDM. I tried spelling her surname  a variety of ways in case there could have been a transcription error - but no joy. I also searched all deaths in Auckland in November 1864 (on ancestry.com) but again, no luck, although their records are likely to have come straight from NZBDM.  I went to the Auckland Central Library to check through 1864 deaths on microfiche, but nothing.  It is a hand-written list, in alphabetical order, of all the deaths by name and a reference number but no other details. 

The next step is to start to search out distant and, as yet, unknown Harris cousins, especially descendants of the older siblings of Kate, to find out if they know anything of her.  And to look for any other evidence of her life.

In the meantime - let's all add Kate to our family trees and the first Mary Jane if not done so already. 

Photo of Saint Peter's today from an interesting story of  Elizabeth Yates of Onehunga - the British Commonwealth's first "Lady Mayor", who is buried in St Peters Church. (Photo/ Stuff) Mayor in the time of our Harris family  living in Onehunga. 

Timeline of Relevant Dates 
Unconfirmed or estimated times are in italics.

Abbreviations:
OPC - Online Parish Clerks  Cornwall records
NZBDM - New Zealand Births, Deaths and Marriages
PP - Papers Past
NZER - NZ Electoral Rolls (Ancestry.com)

1847     
- 2nd May, William Harris and Mary Heard married at Warbstow, Cornwall. William employed as a servant. (OPC) 

- Elizabeth Anne Harris born in 1847 according to her obituary (PP) 

-14th October - Elizabeth Anne Harris probably born (from birthday in family Bible) 

- 26th December - Elizabeth Anne Harris baptised at Warbstow. William's occupation is labourer, living at Penwinham (Warbstow)  

1848     
-14th October - Elizabeth Anne Harris born (according to family Bible entry) 

1850     
- March,  probable birth month of the first Mary Jane Harris (from OPC burial details). 

1851     
- 30th March, daughter the first Mary Jane Harris baptised at St Teath. Family living at Delamere and William's occupation given as quarryman. (OPC)

- 12th August, daughter first Mary Jane Harris buried at St Teath, aged 17 months, of Delamere. (OPC)

1852   
- 25th December, son William Henry Harris baptised at St Teath. Family still at Delamere and William still a quarryman. (OPC)

1853   
- 18th September, son William Henry Harris born (according to family Bible entry) 

1855    
- 9th August, daughter second Mary Jane Harris born (Family Bible) 

- 8th September, daughter second Mary Jane Harris baptised at St Teath. Family still at Delamere and William still a quarryman. (OPC) 

1857    
- 29th November, William and Mary Harris, son William Henry and daughter Mary Jane leave Plymouth, England, on the ship Joseph Fletcher. (PP)

1858     
-19th March, William and Mary Harris and family arrive in Auckland, NZ. (PP)

-19th July, daughter Kate Harris born in Auckland (NZBDM) 

At some stage not long after arriving in New Zealand the family settle in Matakana, North Auckland.

1860     
- 23rd December, son James Harris born (Family Bible) 

1861     
- son James Harris birth registered. (NZBDM) 

1862    
- family is living in Matakana (NZER - Northern Division) (1) 

1863     
- 9th July, daughter Grace born (NZBDM, Family Bible) 

1864     
- 24th November, daughter Kate Harris buried, Onehunga (St Peter's Church records) 

1866     
-14th December, son Richard John Harris born (Family Bible) 

1867     
- son Richard John Harris birth registered (NZBDM) 


Some ideas to consider: 

- The family Bible's publication date is 1872, well after all the children were born. Possibly an acquisition once the family had become comfortable enough to invest on one. 

- I'm not sure who wrote the names in the family Bible - that will be another task to check handwriting - but it looks as if they had all been entered at the same time -  as all children had been born by the time the Bible was purchased. 

- The name of daughter the first Mary Jane,  who was born and died in Cornwall, is not entered. This could be a hint to why Kate's name was not entered - perhaps because the Bible was bought well after Kate died. The omission of both deceased daughters' names, and that neither seems to have been remembered in any of our anecdotal family stories,  could be an indication of how William and Mary dealt with their grief. Maybe they just didn't speak of them. It could also be an indication of their deep faith and acceptance of God's will being done. 

-  I'm not sure why William Henry's year of birth is recorded in the Bible as the year following his baptism in St Teath.  We would need to go back to the original copy of the parish records to check that it wasn't a transcription error.  Could this also be the same reason that there is a year's discrepancy in the date of daughter Elizabeth Anne's baptism date (1847) and her birth date as recorded in the family Bible (1843)?  It could be a simple error of memory. The family must have known of the 1847 birth year as it is included in her obituary.  


(1) Information taken from objections to names entered in the 1862 Electoral Roll, Auckland, Northland Division.  William Harris's details are given as: abode - Matakana; nature of supposed qualification - householder; grounds to objection - has no household qualification.  Verification of this being our William Harris comes from Elizabeth Ann (Gillman's) obituary, which notes that the family settled in Matakana not long after arriving in New Zealand, but returned to Auckland during times of Maori unrest. That time has yet to be discovered. 

Elizabeth Tinney and Elizabeth Cory - the Two Wives of William Harris (1755 - 1807) Part 1: The Side Track

Cornwall (Map from Wikipedia) 

The convenience of having a second wife with the same name as the first must surely outweigh any disadvantage. And so it may have been for (my) four-times great-grandfather William Harris. 

For the record: 

John Harris (1717-?) married Mary Luxon (1720 - ?) 

their son William Harris (1755 - 1807) married 2nd Elizabeth Cory (1750 - 1814) 

their son James Hodge Harris (1789 - 1865) married Grace Adams (1792 - 1862) 

their son William Harris (1823 - 1899) married Mary Herd (1825 - 1888) 

and they are our founding NZ ancestors. 

I decided to do some research on the life and times of William and his two wives, Elizabeth Tinney and Elizabeth Cory as there seems to be errors in some family trees I've researched, and some descendants' branches may have been attached to the wrong wife. So this is an attempt to sort out who is descended from whom.  But I got a bit sidetracked and ended up doing a lot of research on what was happening in the parish of St Gennys at the time of William and his parents' life there. Hopefully, you will find it as fascinating as I did that our ancestors certainly were living in interesting times.  Part 2 will move on to William and his wives. 

〰 〰 〰 〰

William Harris was the son of John Harris and Mary Luxon who married at St. Gennys, Cornwall, on 12th November 1741. His baptism was economically recorded as Wm., son of John Harris on Sunday 30th March, 1755, also at St Gennys, Cornwall. There is no record of his exact date of birth, which would have been near the time of his baptism,  as his age at death was recorded in the St Gennys parish burial records (2nd December, 1807)  as 52 years. This confirms his year of birth as 1755. 

Entry in St Gennys parish register for John Harris and Mary Luxon's marriage, November 12, 1741
 

A snapshot of the entry in the St. Gennys Parish register.  Wm Harris, son of John Harris 

There is a gap in one set of records of  the St Gennys parish baptism register between December 1741 and 1746, which could explain the lack of evidence of any recorded births for John and Mary Harris in the early years of their marriage. However, according to Cornwall OPC records,  there were 23 baptisms in St Gennys between 1742 and 1745 - but still not a single Harris amongst them.

Note: During this time, there were 2 sets of records  - the actual parish records and the Bishop's Transcripts - in Cornwall's case, the Bishop of Exeter's transcripts. From 1597 each parish was required to send to the bishop, within a month after Easter, a copy of all entries made in the parish register during the preceding year. These copies are known as bishops' transcripts. Errors and omissions in copying were inevitable. 

 But still no evidence of any children for John and Mary during this time in St Gennys  - or even any neighbouring parishes. Possible reasons for this could be: difficulty conceiving or maintaining a pregnancy, or John could have gone elsewhere for work, leaving Mary behind, the records may have been lost or yet to be transcribed, or they chose  - by whatever means available - not to have a large number of children. 

The St Gennys Parish Baptism record ending at December 1741 and noting that records were left out to 1746. 

The first entry after the gap between 1741 and 1746 is - coincidentally enough - John son of John and Mary Harris, baptised April 1, 1746. This surely must be our John and Mary's son, and our yet-to-be-born William's older brother? John Harris married Magdalene Honey (1750 - 1822) 

St Gennys Parish Baptism entry for John Harris, son of John and Mary, 1746. 

Location of St Gennys in Cornwall (Google Maps)

 

St Gennys today 

The parish of Saint Gennys was in north Cornwall, bordered by the neighbouring parishes of Poundstock, Jacobstow, Otterham and St Juliot, and covered about 14 square kilometres off the north Cornish coast.  The parish was physically divided by a stream which enters the coast at at Crackington Haven, where a small port was used mainly for importing of coal and limestone  and exportimng slate until it fell into disuse in the 19th century.  Further inland is more rugged, with high hills and deep valleys. In the time of our ancestors, it was a fairly remote area, north of the main route into Cornwall via Launceston and Bodmin.  The less-travelled route via Stratton and Camelford just passed though the south-eastern parish boundary. 

Most income was derived from agriculture, with slate quarrying, mining, and associated trades and craft work also important means of livelihood.  There is no evidence of how John and Mary Harris lived or worked, but it could be safely assumed they were agricultural labourers or miners. The parish had no village centre, rather people lived in small communities or collections of farms. In 1740, there were about 80 families in the parish. The population had peaked by 1831 with 760 persons living in 138 homes, but by 1891 had shrunk to 430 persons in 97 homes. 

The parish church is partly Norman. 

 From 1732 to 1782 - the time of our William and his family - the vicar of St Gennys was George Thomson, whose faith was deepened by a dream he experienced early in his ministry there. Thomson was fervent  in his preaching, and  he extended his ministry to neighbouring parishes until his clerical brethren complained of his "circumforaneous vociferations"  to the bishop of Exeter who duly admonished him. The neighbouring parish vicars noted that they had no dissenters in their communities  "apart from those who go by the name of Methodists, chiefly encouraged and abetted and taught by a neighbouring clergyman, the Vicar of St Gennys"

The history of Methodism in Cornwall begins with this  Reverend George Thomson from our very own ancestral parish of St Gennys. He believed that one’s faith alone could bring them salvation. This was also the view held by both John and Charles Wesley  and became a central message of Methodism. The brothers visited St Gennys around eight times between them and became good friends with George, although eventually  became estranged when George Thomson moved to a Calvinistic view. George wrote many hymns, which were published anonymously during his lifetime.  I'm not sure if any of them are used currently, or if any music exists for them. 

George Thomson  was also well acquainted with the Anglican cleric and evangelist George Whitefield (1714-1770), another of the founders of Methodism and the evangelical movement, who preached at St Gennys at least twice.  This would also have been in the time of John and Mary Harris,  who would no doubt have been in the congregation of this Christian celebrity of his times.  Whitefield's eloquent oratory skills and charismatic personality helped spark the spiritual revival known as "the Great Awakening" throughout Britain, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and  North America where Whitefield visited seven times - including holding the biggest outdoor assembly in America (23,000 people) to that date. 

An extract from The Life of Rev. George Whitefield. Vol.2
On Saturday, November 12 [1743], Whitefield accompanied Mr. [George]Thomson to his rectory at St. Gennys, Cornwall, where he seems to have remained a fortnight. Hence the following:

“St. Gennys, November 25, 1743.

“I am glad that the Lord inclined my heart to come hither. He has been with us of a truth. How did His stately steps appear in the sanctuary last Lord’s-day! Many, many prayers were put up, by the worthy rector and others, for an outpouring of God’s blessed Spirit. They were answered. Arrows of conviction fled so thick and so fast, and such a universal weeping prevailed from one end of the congregation to the other, that good Mr. Thompson could not help going from seat to seat, to encourage and comfort the wounded souls. The Oxonian’s father was almost struck dumb; and the young Oxonian’s crest was so lowered, that I believe he will never venture to preach an unknown Christ, or to deal in the false commerce of unfelt truths.

“I could enlarge, but I must away to Bideford, just to give Satan another stroke, and bid my Christian friends farewell; and then return the way I came, namely, through Exeter, Wellington, and Bristol, to the great metropolis.”

And again in 1750:
"Having preached twelve times, in six days, at Plymouth, Whitefield set out for Cornwall, accompanied by two clergymen, the Rev. G. Thompson, of St. Gennys, and the Rev. Mr. Grigg, who had come to Plymouth purposely to be his escort. On Sunday, the 4th of March, the church at St. Gennys presented a scene such as was not often witnessed. Whitefield writes: “Four of Mr. Wesley’s preachers were present, and also four clergymen in their gowns and cassocks—Mr. Bennet (aged fourscore), Mr. Thompson, Mr. Grigg, and myself. It was a glorious day of the Son of man"  

On 10th March, 1750, he wrote in his diary,"Mr. Thompson is mighty hearty, and is gone to his parish in a gospel flame.” 

On one of John Wesley's visits to St Gennys in 1753, (possibly his last visit for some time) he wrote in his journal (on August 12th, 1753):  

'I never saw so many people in this church; nor did I ever speak so plainly to them. They hear; but when will they feel? Oh, what can man do toward raising either dead bodies or dead souls!' 

It is highly likely that our John and Mary Harris would have been in this congregation. 

In spite of not seeing each other for nearly thirty years, John Wesley was conveniently handy in nearby Camelford  when George Thomson was dying, and it must show the degree of esteem in which the vicar of St Gennys Parish was held, that his old friend should have made haste to visit him on his deathbed to administer the Sacrament. 

John Wesley's Journal:

Tuesday, September 3rd, 1782: 'I preached in the street at Camelford. Being informed here that my old friend Mr. Thompson, rector of St. Gennys, was near death, and had expressed a particular desire to see me, I judged no time was to be lost. So borrowing the best horse I could find, I set out, and rode as fast as I could… I found Mr. Thompson just alive, but quite sensible. It seemed to me as if none in the house but himself was very glad to see me. He had many doubts concerning his final state, and rather feared than desired to die, so that my whole business was to comfort him and to increase and confirm his confidence in God. He desired me to administer the Lord's Supper, which I willingly did; and I left him much happier than I found him, calmly waiting till his change should come.'

John and Mary Harris and family would have been well within the reach and influence of early Methodism in Cornwall. These must have been stirring times for them. It is tempting to speculate the impact that Thomson's, Whitefield's  and the Wesleys' preaching had on the Harrises  and their descendants.

George Whitefield preaching outdoors. John Collet/Getty Images 

And now, back to William and his two wives - in the next instalment. Feel free to contact me if you have any further information I could add to this - or if you find anything that needs correcting. 

(1) From Family Search Film # 004564297, image 26/374

Written how it's Heard / Hurd/ Herd / Yard - In search of the family of Mary Harris, born Yard.

Our NANA GERT maintained a life-long attachment to her Cornish ancestral roots and, although no locations were ever mentioned, she frequently talked of her family being from Cornwall.  One of my most exciting  discoveries was to find details of the ancestry of her grandmother MARY HARRIS (understood to have been born HEARD).

 MARY's maiden and married name are quite common in Cornwall, and with the incredibly helpful clues from the details on MARY and WILLIAM HARRIS's marriage registration details and the dates and names in the single remaining page of MARY's prayer book, I set out to find her background. 

This post is about MARY HEARD's family and her ancestry, and my cyber-journey to find these details. 

To summarise the previous post about MARY, her maiden name is clearly identified as HEARD  in her prayer book, and her location in 1838 is placed in the vicinity of  Meadrose Sunday School (established after cross-referencing the unclear writing with locations in Cornwall). Her birthdate, probably in her own handwriting, is established as July 1st, 1825, giving her age when she received her book as 13.  At a later date, obviously after her marriage,  WILLIAM HARRIS's name is added, and his date of birth is given as October 1st, 1823. 

Page from the prayerbook of MARY HARRIS born HEARD 

Snapshot of entry in the Warbstow parish register of the marriage of WILLIAM HARRIS and MARY HEARD.

From the  most wonderfully comprehensive Cornwall OPC website  which transcribes and publishes the details from parish registers in Cornwall,  I had  found the marriage details of WILLIAM HARRIS and MARY HEARD, which established details of both WILLIAM's and MARY's fathers. 

Details from the Warbstow parish register: 

1847  marriage solemnised at the parish church in the parish of Warbstow, in the county of Cornwall. 

Entry number 43: May 2nd, William HARRIS, of full age, bachelor, servant, at Trevillan, son of JAMES HARRIS, labourer, married MARY HEARD, spinster, no given profession, from Penwillan, daughter of RICHARD HEARD, labourer. 

The marriage took place after banns had been read, although I can find no record of the banns.  The marriage was solemnised by the curate (name currently unreadable) and was witnessed by Richard Hawke (signed) and William (possibly) Burdon.   Note that MARY signed her own name, and WILLIAM was - at that stage - illiterate and could only leave his mark. 

I can find no mention of Penwillan anywhere, and assume it was the name of a small farm. 

So back to the beginning... After spending literally hours unsuccessfully looking for the baptism details of MARY HEARD  born in 1825 - with a father called RICHARD - I tried a different approach, and searched all the births of 1825, and discovered a MARY YARD (with a father called RICHARD), who must be our MARY. Maybe it was the way it was pronounced? 

From that information, I was able to find RICHARD's marriage details. 

According to MARY's personal details in her prayer book, she was born on July 1st, 1825, (Friday). Parish records indicate that she was baptised on Sunday 14th August. 
Baptism records give her parents as Richard  - a labourer - and Jane,  and their residence is Treliggo, St Teath.  Nowadays, it's called Treligga and more information and photos can be found here and here. 

Treligga today. 

All St Teath Baptisms 1813 - 1911

The Harris Connection (Part 2) Mary Harris born Mary Heard

This is an ongoing and cumulative account of all the information I can find about Mary Harris (born Mary Heard). Please feel free to copy, confirm or clarify any details. Check out other blog posts about my Harris family information, and do check out the Descendants of William and Mary Harris Facebook page. 

Mary Heard was born on July 1, 1825. The evidence for this is a small page from her (prayer of Bible?) book, the page below being all that survives of it. The inscription says: 

Mary Heard's book. A reward given by the Meadrose Sunday School, August 12th, 1838.  

She would have been 13 years old at this stage.  At the bottom is added:

 Mary Heard was born July 1st 1825.  

 Later, obviously after her marriage, she has added: 

William Harris, born October 1, 1823. 

From this, we can assume that Mary was literate - possibly through her attendance at Sunday School which locates her in Meadrose, in the parish of St Teath (rhymes with breath) in 1838. (Meadrose is also found spelled Medrose and Meathrose.)

Detail from photo of Mary and William. Mary appears to be holding a small book, conceivably the same size as the page  above.  

 I wonder if this page is from the book she appears to be holding in the photo of William and her together? (See previous blog post). 

In 1847, Mary signed her own name in the Warbstow parish marriage register (where William is only able to make a mark and is obviously illiterate). More on this later. The marriage certificate also identifies Mary's father as Richard Heard. 

William and Mary's entry in the Warbstow marriage register. Click on the photo to enlarge it.

A few things to ponder:
Mary's name in the marriage register does not appear to be the same handwriting as the inscription in the page of the book, and the M in the Mary Heard at the top of the page is a different style to the M in her name at the bottom of the page, with her birth date. 

Interesting links for further information: 
1. Parochial and family history of the parishes of St. Teath and Temple, in the county of Cornwall
by Maclean, John, Sir, 1811-1895.  

2. St Teath Village Website 

3. Medrose St - Delabole (Google Maps)

4. A comprehensive report on the Delabole area (2002) assessing it for its historic value and conservation. Lots of interesting information, including a reference to the Harris family (ours?) commemorated in the church at St. Teath.  Covers the history of Medrose.

5. St.Teath Marriages  1754 - 1837 listed by year (Look for 1817 Richard Yard (sic) marriage to Jane Hoskin - Mary's parents).

"Lest We Forget" Francis Richard Morrow - an almost relative

Francis Richard Morrow (Frank)

Our grandmother, GERTIE NAYSMITH (born HARRIS), as a young woman, had an autograph book filled with names and autograph verses which were popular at the beginning of the twentieth century.  My mother said that GERTIE (my father's mother) used to say that she had no interest in settling down and getting married when she was a young woman, as she was having far too much fun being single - going to dances, playing tennis and all the other activities of the day.  She obviously had suitors, as indicated by the number of young men's autographs in her book. But in 1914, On the other side of the world, the outbreak of the Great War put her carefree and heady youthful days suddenly behind her and cast a life-long shadow ahead of her. 

A while ago, I  started to research the names of some of the  many lads who'd written in this book over a hundred years ago.  It was achingly sad as, one after the other, I found that many of them had died in World War 1. 

Francis Richard Morrow (Frank) wrote this in Gertie Harris's autograph book on the 29th of January, 1913. The location is unknown. 

Some time after our grandmother died in 1974, I found a memorial card for FRANCIS RICHARD MORROW  amongst her personal items.  



The name MORROW was familiar - and  I remembered an elderly spinster "MISS MORROW (ANNIE)"  visiting our grandmother sometime in the 1960s when I was a child. They must have been family friends from "up North" days, as the MORROWs lived in Tapuhi (variously described as being part of Towai, Hukereunui, Ruapekapeka and Bay of Islands), and the HARRISES lived in Maromaku from the mid 1890s to 1902. 

 I vaguely remember an air of restrained sadness about, and towards, Miss  Morrow. Her sweetheart may have been killed in the war - although that was the same story for many of my grandmother's contemporaries.   I remember that MISS MORROW was being forced out of her home in Newmarket to make way for the new viaduct which was being built in the mid-1960s.  So  ANNIE  must have been the sister of  FRANCIS ROBERT MORROW in the memorial card.  

Annie Morrow's autograph - four weeks after her brother Frank's was written in Gertie's autograph book. 

I have been intrigued by the  handsome young FRANCIS RICHARD MORROW ever since and have long wondered if, had it not been for  the randomness of flying bullets, he could well have been my grandfather - and ANNIE would, therefore, have been my grandmother's sister-in-law.  

Over the years, I've researched FRANCIS RICHARD as information became increasingly available through the internet. Now, on the 100th anniversary his death,  it seems the right time to tidy up and publish all my findings. I have decided to remember him in the context of his life  and times and his family - such information as I can find.   Unless otherwise linked to the direct evidence,  much of my information comes from other families'  unreferenced information on Ancestry.com or My Heritage and the online war records available through the NZ archives. 

FRANCIS RICHARD MORROW (known as FRANK) was the sixth  of eight children to ROBERT and ANN (ANNIE - born SPRATT) MORROW. 

ROBERT and ANNIE were both born in Northern Ireland. ROBERT was born about 1848 in County Fermanagh, and ANN was born in 1858 in Lettermoney, also in County Fermanagh. ROBERT came to New Zealand sometime in about 1862, landing in Wellington.  He then  lived for some time in Wanganui and Thames.  ANNIE possibly arrived in Auckland with (sister / mother?) Ellen, and possibly a brother James in 1875 on the ship Forfarshire.  (Based on the only information I could find in shipping lists - I would appreciate any confirmation or dismissal of this.) It's quite possible ROBERT and ANNIE knew each other in Ireland, although they do not appear to have arrived in New Zealand at the same time.  

ROBERT  MORROW and ANNIE SPRATT  married in New Zealand in 1877 (NZBDM ref.1877/128) - location unknown. 

In 1879, ROBERT, ANNIE, toddler SUSAN (born 1878)  and baby ROBERT JUNIOR (born 1879) moved to their farm at Tapuhi, near Hukerenui in Northland. Singlehandedly, ROBERT had cut a track through the bush to reach his land. 

They had six more children in rapid succession: 

WILLIAM JAMES born 1880 
JOSPEH HENRY born 1882  
GEORGE EDWARD born 9th May, 1884
FRANCIS RICHARD (FRANK) born 30th July, 1886 
ANNE JANE (ANNIE) born 1888 
ELIZABETH MARY born 1892 

Life seems to have been fairly standard for this pioneer family.  The children were educated at Ruapekapeka and the boys were, not unexpectedly, occupied clearing bush and farming. The girls were involved in domestic duties and related skills. Whether or not farming provided enough means to support his family, ROBERT senior wrote to the Bay of Islands County Council in 1886 offering himself as a fit person to take charge of the forests in the district. The outcome is unknown. ANNIE  Senior would have been totally absorbed by child-bearing  and domestic duties.  

The family must have been tee-total, as in 1892, the children were members of the Ruapekapeka Band of Hope - a temperance organisation providing regular meetings where wholesome activities were arranged, and members could "take the pledge" to never take alcohol. 

But life changed changed suddenly and tragically for the family on February 2, 1892, when ANNIE died giving birth to ELIZABETH MARY.   Eight children aged 1 day to 14 years were left motherless. 

ANNIE's obituary on 20th February, 1892, is an interesting mix of fact, opinion and political opportunism. She was remembered as "the wife of [an] old and much-respected pioneer" and her funeral was one of the most numerously attended in the district for years. The article stated that thirteen-year-old ROBERT JUNIOR cut a further track through the bush so that his mother's dead body could be taken to a point where it could be met by a conveyance to reach the cemetery.  The writer of the obituary took the opportunity to decry the state of roading in the area and pointedly noted that the appalling state of the roads may have something to do with the absence of local Council members living within the vicinity.  We do not learn much about ANNIE from her obituary, but we do learn about her husband, her son and the local male Councillors.  ANNIE is buried in Kawa Kawa cemetery. 

 Oldest daughter SUSAN, at age 14, helped look after the family and her father after ANNIE's death. Whether there was any other help to raise the new-born baby is unknown.  There do not appear to have been any other relatives in the area; however, MORROW descendants may have more information on this. 

The following year, in March, 1893,  oldest son and second-born child, ROBERT JUNIOR MORROW,  died, aged 13.  Short of ordering the death certificate, I can find no other information on the cause of his death or any death notice for him in online newspaper archives. This would have been another unimaginable blow for the family. 

In 1908,  now the oldest son, WILLIAM  JAMES MORROW (aged 28)  married Ellen Jane Cecily  (CICELY) Nelsen. (NZBDM Ref. 1908/7977 ), daughter of Tapuhi  settlers Joseph and Eliza  Nelson, originally from Ireland. WILLIAM and CICELY farmed at Tapuhi. They had three children: Eric William, born 1910, Annie Eileen, born 1912, and Vera, born 1915. 

FRANK was a bushman and a farmer who had lived all his life in Tapuhi.  He was a member of the Towai Show Society, and  participated in local social  and sporting events. He was athletic (with an 8 yard handicap in hurdles competition, December 1914) and won prizes in  wood-chopping competitions.  He was a respected member of the community and was described as remarkably strong, healthy,  and cool headed. 

1911 Electoral Roll - Northland Bay of Islands - Bay of Island

In 1911, according to the electoral roll,  father ROBERT MORROW was classified as a settler, daughter SUSAN (aged 33) as a spinster - regardless of any of her house-keeping duties, brother WILLIAM JAMES (aged 31) as a married settler and his wife ELLEN JANE CICELY MORROW as married. Brother GEORGE (aged 27), living in Ruapekapeka,  was classified as a climber - maybe in reference to being involved with tree felling, as brothers JOSEPH HENRY (aged 29) and FRANCIS RICHARD (FRANK) (aged 25) were both classified as bushmen.  Sister ANNIE JANE (aged 23) is also described as a spinster. ELIZABETH MARY (aged 19) is obviously too young to be on the electoral roll. 

1914 started out as an eventful year for the MORROW family, and there are several newspaper and other records of their activities. In February, FRANK and ANNIE won prizes at the Hikurangi-Otonga Show - FRANK with his dairy cow, and ANNIE for her currant cake, seed cake, madeira cake, iced birthday cake, shortbread, jellies, peach jam, chutney and bottled plums! 

 According to the 1914  electoral roll, ANNIE (26)  and SUSAN (36) are classified as spinsters  - regardless of their full-time housekeeping duties for family members, FRANK (27) was a farmer, GEORGE(30) was still a climber, WILLIAM (34)  and father ROBERT were still described as settlers, and JOSEPH had obviously moved elsewhere - or not enrolled. 

Youngest sister, ELIZABETH MARY MORROW (age 22) married on September 2nd, 1914, to CHARLES HENRY SHERMAN from Mangonui (NZBDM 1914/1519) Note that Elizabeth's name is recorded as Morron - no doubt a transcript error.  They moved to Tauranga - Te Puke area and had a family of one daughter and two sons. 

1914 Electoral Roll - Northland, Bay of Islands

As early as mid-September 1914, within days of war being declared, The Hukerenui District did its patriotic fundraising duty and raised 45 pounds at a social event, which included an auction of donated goods.  Secretary of the Tapuhi War Fund, FRANK MORROW paid the highest price of the night for an individual item, and went home with a  rooster which cost him 2 pounds. 


Little did anyone know how many of those present would not live to see the end of the war.

Good luck prevented another family tragedy in April 1915, when ANNIE and SUSAN and another female travelling companion were thrown out of their trap when their horse fell, breaking the gig shaft.  ANNIE received knocks and bruises, and the other two women were unharmed. 

But grief was not far away, with father, ROBERT MORROW,  dying at Tapuhi after a short illness, on June 1, 1915.    His death notice was published in the Northern Advocate on 28th June.  

WILLIAM took over the "home farm" after father ROBERT's death. SUSAN had been her father's housekeeper, and she moved to stay with FRANK to house keep for him after ROBERT died. ANNIE also remained in Tapuhi, possibly remaining  at the home farm, or living with one of her other brothers. 

Three of the four MORROW brothers enlisted at varying times after their father ROBERT's death.  WILLIAM, who was already married with a young family and aged 34 at the outbreak of war,did not enlist and remained farming. It  would have been an essential industry, no doubt.  

GEORGE EDWARD MORROW  was the first brother to enlist, and he signed his attestation at Featherston in October 1915. He joined the 9th reinforcements  as a private in the Auckland Infantry Regiment. He gave his occupation as a self-employed bushman with the last address at Tapu, Thames, and gives his brother WILLIAM at Tapuhi as his next of kin.  His serial number was 12/3740. 

FRANK enlisted in 1916,  and by August, aged 30, he was in Featherston,  where he signed his attestation. He joined the 20th  Reinforcements  (J Company) and  was listed as a private, but was changed to a rifleman in the 1st Battalion, 3rd NZ Rifle Brigade. His serial number was 31134. 

JOSEPH HENRY signed his attestation in Whangarei in March 1917. He must have been keen to enlist,  as he had previously failed a medical examination in 1916 because of varicose veins,  which he had operated on before being accepted for enlistment the following year.  His occupation was self-employed farmer, from Tapuhi.  His serial number was 56628. He gives his date of birth as 22 August 1883 - a year later than his birth is registered in NZ Births, Deaths and Marriages. His age on enlistment is given as 33 years 7 months. His next-of-kin is listed as sister ANNIE MORROW of Tapuhi. JOSEPH HENRY was of fair complexion with brown hair and light brown eyes and stood 5'9 ¼"  (1.75m) tall.  In his attestation, he indicates he has two adults partially dependant on him - perhaps his two unmarried sisters? 

From his enlistment records, FRANK gave his occupation as a self-employed farmer of Tapuhi, with his religion as C of E. FRANK also gives his brother WILLIAM (farmer of Tapuhi) as his next-of-kin.  His medical records give details of an absolute clean bill of health and give details of his weight (162 lbs. 74kg) and his height (5' 10¾"). He was described as having a medium complexion with brown hair and blue eyes. Instead of completing a soldier's will, he indicated he already has one lodged with Reid and Millar, solicitors at Kawa Kawa, Bay of Islands. For a man who seemed to keep robust health and strength before he enlisted, FRANK did not seem to maintain the same constitution once he joined the army. On September 18th, he was admitted to Wairarapa Hospital (from Trentham Camp) with influenza, and remained there until 25th September when he was discharged to further sick leave until October 8th. 

FRANK has one discipline issue recorded in his army files while at Featherston: in November 1916, he overstayed leave by 1 day and lost a day's pay in consequence.   On 2nd of January, 1917, FRANK embarked on the Opawa (HMNZTS No.73) for foreign service. There were two stopovers in South Africa (Simons Town and Cape Town) and he disembarked in Devonport, Plymouth, England on 27th March, 1917. They marched into Sling - the main training camp for NZ servicemen - on the Salisbury Plain. In April he was posted to the 15th Company in Codford, but on 22nd May,  FRANK was admitted to the 3rd NZ General Hospital at Codford with mumps. He was discharged on the 12th of June, and  eventually returned to Sling Camp. On 23rd July, 1917, FRANK embarked for France, marching onto Etaples training camp on 27th July.  By the 24th August, FRANK was "in the field", posted to the 15th Company, 3rd Battalion, Auckland Regiment. 

On 13th February, 1918, FRANk was granted leave to Paris, and was posted to the 3rd NZ Rifle Brigade on his return.  On the 10th April, he was posted to B Company, and on the 6th of May he was detached to the 3rd Field Company, NZE (NZ Engineers), still in the field. 

On 15th May, Frank was hospitalised "sick" but rejoined his battalion the following day.  On 1st September, FRANK returned to England on leave, and rejoined his unit on 23rd September, 1918. 

Meanwhile,  life carried on as best it could at home, with patriotic fundraising events  for the war effort, and other modified social events to help keep the home fires burning. At the Towai Show in January, 1916, ANNIE continued to demonstrate her domestic skills  in winning prizes for her seed cake, iced birthday cake, and sample darning. Interestingly a full list of prizes could not be published as the regular reporter had enlisted and a successful replacement strategy had not eventuated.  

And as November 1918  and the prospect of peace loomed tantalisingly closer, the deadly influenza started its snowballing  journey across the world - reaching the remotest parts of New Zealand. 

Back in France, with the end of the war only seven days way, FRANK was involved in the final - and ultimately most successful - NZ engagement of the war,  at the old fortress town of Le Quesnoy, which had been in German hands since 1914.  Several thousand German troops were still inside it, but heavy artillery would cause civilian casualties.   

From FRANK's records, I'm fairly sure he was in the 1st Battalion, 3rd NZ Rifle Brigade, B Company at this time.  In short, three battalions were to advance and capture the railway line parallel to their front. The 4th Battalion would be facing the width of the town, the 2nd Battalion were on the left and the 1st Battalion were to the right.  Combined, they would half encircle the town. The 3rd Battalion  would advance to the east and eventually join with the rest of the brigade to "mop up" the enveloped town of Le Quesnoy. 

On the 4th of November,starting at 5:30am, the New Zealand Division advanced 10 kilometres and captured 2000 Germans and 60 field guns. About 140 New Zealand soldiers died on this day - virtually the last of the 12,483 New Zealanders who fell on the Western Front between 1916 and 1918. Of these 140, about 80 were men of the 3rd New Zealand (Rifle) Brigade who led the assault on Le Quesnoy.
FRANCIS RICHARD MORROW was one of these 80 men.

Frank was buried at the Romeries Communal Cemetery Extension. It's about 10.7 km from Le Quesnoy, and there are many other casualties from that day alongside him. Some had been buried in the field and were re-interred at Romeries after the armistice.

It's  about 10.7 km (about a two-hour walk)  from Le Quesnoy to Romeries, and about 14 minutes by car. Some of the dead were moved after the armistice from graves in the field.  There are 106 NZ casualties buried here, several of them sharing FRANK's day of death. 

In July 2005,  husband Mark, children Laura and Julian, and I visited Le Quesnoy and then Frank's grave at Romeries, nearby.

 I'm pretty sure I'm the first person to seek out his grave, and took  a NZ poppy and a photocopy of his memorial card to place at his headstone. It certainly felt special to be able to do this  on behalf of all those who never could have contemplated the journey. 

Frank's eternal neighbour - WH BUCK who died the same day. 

Rifleman H Crawford, another of Frank's neighbours in eternity. 

D'Arcy Street, another of Frank's Romeries neighbours. 

Frank's view of France. 

I had no idea when I planted these poppies that they would wait until
4th of November for the first one to bloom.
How's that for spooky timing! One hundred years in the planning to get that moment right.
My personal poppy for Francis Richard Morrow. 

And that was it - FRANK was gone! 

I have more to post about what happened next - because FRANK wasn't the only one who didn't have a "next". 

"Lest We Forget"