The Remarkable Story of the Boams and the Wilsons of Winster and how a girl became her own Sisters Mother!

Firstly I must thank Dawn Scotting for her research and for purchasing the marriage certificate in this layout. Without her I never would have worked out this part of my family tree!!

Here is the journalling from this layout :

This story of huge genealogical confusion, begins in the village of Winster Derbyshire in the early 19th century. Thomas Boam, born c 1804 was a lead miner like many in his village, which was the centre of the lead mining industry in the area. Thomas married Ellen Fryer on 26 January 1826 and together they had 4 children. Martha,born 1827, Thomas, born 1829 ( who we will call Thomas Jr to avoid confusion) John, born 1832 and James born 7th September 1835. Tragically though baby James survived Ellen died during his birth.

Thomas managed alone with his 4 children for many years. In 1841 he was living next door to his brother in law Thomas Fryers family in Woolleys Yard Winster, so he may have relied significantly on family help to bring up his children.
In 1849 Thomas jr, who was the eldest son, married Mary Wilson, who was one of the eight children of William Wilson, a joiner of the same village of Winster. Thomas jr and Mary went on to have 9 children of their own, including my GG Grandmother Mary Jane.
In the mean time, the elder Thomas’s children were almost grown. He shared his house in  1851 with his daughter Martha and her husband and children, and perhaps having babies around pleased him . It was time to find a new wife.  New and young, for in 1859 aged 55 Thomas married none other than the younger sister of his daughter in law Mary Wilson.  Sarah Wilson, aged just 17 was 7 years younger than Thomas’ youngest child James!
It was with this union that Thomas Jr became his fathers brother in law, and Sarah Wilson became her sister Mary’s Mother in Law!!

Unconventional though it was, this marriage was a long lasting and fruitful one. Sarah and Thomas remained married until his death in 1874 and she bore him 7 further children , the youngest of whom was born in the year that Thomas died aged 70. 

A Man of the Railway - Lemuel Wheatcroft

Lemuel Wheatcroft was my Great Great Grandfather, his daughter Susan Wheatcroft married John Lowe, and their daughter Nellie Lowe married my Grandfather Ralph Poole.

The Wheatcroft family will require a lot more research as there were so many of them.
Lemuel was one of 10 children of Thomas and Maria, and Lemuel and Harriet went on to have 10 children of their own. I have only just barely touched the surface of this family.

The information in the layout above was taken from 2 articles I found in Derbyshire papers. One was a report on the Golden Wedding of Lemuel and Harriet and the other was a short obituary of Lemuel published after his death in 1941.

The journalling on the layout is below:

Lemuel Wheatcroft was born in Draycott, Derbyshire to parents Thomas Wheatcroft and Maria (nee Deaville), in the second quarter of 1858. He was one of 10 children. His father Thomas, was one of the earliest workers on the South Midland Railways. Thomas had paced the route to Nottingham before a rail had been put down, and he was on the first train between the two neighbouring towns, an event that required a man to walk in front of the train waving a red flag!
At the age of five Lemuel’s family moved from Draycot to Little Chester Derbyshire- Being one of so many meant a childhood didnt last long and by the age of 8 Lemuel had a job  working in the local greengrocer where he was paid 4 shillings and sixpence a week with a bonus  of 3pence for being a good boy!
Lemuel eventually followed in his fathers footsteps and sought employment with the railways. 



He spent several years in various departments and eventually became Chief Mechanic of Engineering in the Locomotive Department.
Lemuel remained working in the railway until 3 days before the age limit of 70 when he would be forced to retire.
A true Railway family, all Lemuels brothers also worked in the railways .
Lemuel married Harriet Wells on December 26th 1883 at St Werbaughs Church Derby,and together they  had 10 children, one of whom also attained a high position in the railways.
The family lived at 36 Roman Road Derby for at least 30 years, and Lemuel and Harriet had celebrated their golden wedding anniversary there on 26 December 1933, and had been married for 57 and a half years when Lemuel died, FWS 83, on the 26th May 1941 and Boundary House Infirmary.

Edward Sutton - a connection found through DNA

It's a long time since I last posted in this blog.
Truth be told I took a break from genealogy for a while after our very successful Middlebrook Reunion, but I decided I needed a boost to get myself back into the swing of things so I ordered a DNA test from Ancestry.com.

Initially I was a little disappointed. There were 80 pages of DNA matches but it seemed very few were attached to trees who even just had common names with me.  Additionally many of the matches had trees that were private or had no tree attached at all.

I could see at least one match I knew to be a known relative ( on my Goodwin side) and another I very quickly worked out the connection for ( Wheatcroft branch)

So I got busy messaging the first few matches on my list who's tree I couldnt see.
Yesterday I got a reply from one of them which included some very exciting news.

Yes there definitely was a connection - between my 4th Great Grandmother Esther Attwood ( who married Ralph Deakin of Shrophsire) and her 4th Great Grandfather William Attwood who was the brother of Esther.

This branch of the family is proving to be rather exceptional.

It seems that it leads back directly to the very highest nobility of England via the Sutton Family of Dudley .

Esther Attwood's G G Grandfather was Richard Attwood and he married into this prestigious family when he married Eleanor Sutton Dudley . Eleanor's Great Grandfather was Lord  Edward Sutton 5th Baron of Dudley ( 1567-1643)

Here is a layout I just completed
(I smudged out the last couple of generations just for privacy sake)
 


Most of the text here is from Wikipedia and a few other sources combined
Edward was baptised on 17 September 1567, so presumably born shortly before that date. In 1580, aged only 13, he was sent to Lincoln College, Oxford, and in the following year was married to Theodosia Harington of Exton, Rutland. She was the daughter of James Harington of Exton, Rutland, a lawyer and long-serving MP. The Haringtons were the most important landowners in Rutland and Theodosia's eldest brother, John, was created Baron Harington of Exton in 1603. Dudley and Theodosia had a son and four daughters:
+Ferdinando Sutton (1588-1621), who married Honora Seymour, a daughter of Edward Seymour, Viscount Beauchamp, who was considered by some a potential claimant to the throne on the death of Elizabeth I.
+Mary Sutton (1586-1645), who married Alexander Home, 1st Earl of Home.
+Anne Sutton (died 1615), who married Hans Meinhard von Schönberg, the Palatine Ambassador to England: their son was Frederick Schomberg, 1st Duke of Schomberg.
+Margaret Sutton, who married Sir Miles Hobart of Halford, Buckinghamshire: they were without issue.
+Theodosia Sutton.

Lord Dudley also had a longtime mistress Elizabeth Tomlinson,  the daughter of collier William Tomlinson and his wife Agnes Dues of St Thomas in Dudley,
who bore him a large family of illegitimate children
+Robert Dudley (1587-1653) m. Margaret
+ Elizabeth Dudley (1588-1647) m. Jeffrey Dudley
+ Jane Dudley (b.1588) m. Richard Parkhouse
+ Catherine Dudley (1589-1675) m. Thomas Dudley
+ Martha Dudley (b.1590) m. Thomas Wilmer
+ Alice Dudley (b.1592) m. George Guest
+ Susan Dudley (1594-1601)
+ John Dudley (1597-1604)
+ Dud Dudley (1600-1684) m. Eleanor Heaton (1606-75)
+ Dorothy Dudley (b.1606) m. Thomas Brooke
+ Eleanor Dudley (1606-1659)
+ Edward Dudley (1608-14)

Lord Dudley provided for this second family. The eldest Robert Dudley  was given a small estate at Netherton in Dudley. Another son Dud Dudley was given a lease of Chasepool Lodge in Swindon, Staffordshire. A daughter Jane was grandmother to ironmaster Abraham Darby .

At the Star Chamber, Gilbert Lyttelton attempted to discredit Dudley by claiming that he had abandoned his wife in London without support in order to live with Elizabeth Tomlinson, "a lewd and infamous woman, a base collier’s daughter." The Privy Council ordered Dudley to pay his wife an allowance, which he failed to do. In August 1597 he was sent to the Fleet Prison. He was released after a few days, on condition that he pay maintenance of £100 annually for his wife, and £20 for each legitimate child. In less than 18 months he was back before the Privy Council, having got into arrears.
Dudley spent most of his life pressured by the authorities to meet debts that were beyond his ability to pay, partly inherited from his father, and partly the result of his own poor management of his resources.

Lord Dudley, like his immediate ancestors, owned substantial estates around Dudley Castle including the manors of Dudley, Sedgley and Kingswinford. He developed the mineral resources of these estates, building (probably) five blast furnaces on them. He obtained a licence to use the patent of John Robinson (or Rovenson) for making iron with pitcoal that is mineral coal in 1619, and in 1622 renewed this patent in his own name. He brought Dud Dudley home from Balliol College, Oxford to manage his ironworks, but this was not entirely successful. Ultimately he fell out with Dud and expelled Dud from the new coke-fired furnace that he had built at Hasco Bridge on the boundary between Gornal and Himley. Debts continued to grow and by 1593 the estate had been sequestrated.

Dudley's legitimate son, Ferdinando, predeceased him, leaving a daughter Frances. Dudley married this granddaughter to Humble Ward, the son of a wealthy goldsmith, William Ward, who was one of his creditors.

Dudley died on 23 Jun 1643 and was buried in St Edmund's Church, Dudley. Frances Ward inherited the estates, with their debts, and became Baroness Dudley suo jure. Humble Ward paid the debts and redeemed the estates for the benefit of themselves and their descendants.


This isnt the end of the story regarding this DNA match - because this line goes straight back to John of Gaunt and King Edward III who would be my 19th Great Grandfather!!- There are definitely more posts on this connection in my future!!

MIDDLEBROOK REUNION NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 24

Welcome to new subscribers to our family newsletter.
This newsletter now goes out to 70 separate email addresses. Considering we started with just 13 its great to see the word spreading.
The reunion is fast approaching.
Remember to register before the end of November for the current pricing.
Thanks to the many of you who have registered already. We are looking forward to the many of you coming from Australia.

The Death of Henry Cockroft Middlebrook

In a previous newsletter we researched the origin of the middle name of Henry Cockroft Middlebrook. Henry was the youngest child of John and Ellen Middlebrook. He was just a baby  when they arrived in New Zealand,so would have been the child most "at home" here, with no memory of his previous live in Yorkshire.
Sadly though Henry died aged 15.
For interest sake I ordered the death printout pretaining to Henrys death. He died of Phthitis which is another name for Tuberculosis, which coincidentally is the same illness that killed his father John.
While we have no proof to back this up, there is a theory that John's diagnosis of Tuberculosis may have been the reason the family emigrated to New Zealand in the first place as it was often suggested that sufferers move to a better climate.
If this was true then how tragic that the same disease would also kill his youngest child.

WHO IS ALFRED EDWARD  EVERSHED??

While researching the origin of the name of Henry Cockroft Middlebrook I discovered one of our most notable relatives.
Alfred E Evershed of Launceston Tasmania, was nominated twice, in 1935 and 1937 , for a nobel peace prize, based apparently on his writing in support of peace between nations.
His connection to us is complicated but in actuality for most of us he is a second cousin, 2 or 3 times removed which makes the link seem quite close indeed.
To trace the connection we need to go back to John Middlebrook ( the elder) and his siblings one of whom was Elizabeth who lived quite an interesting life it seems.
She married several times ( more on this later) and one of her marriages was to Henry Cockroft who was a cloth trader , and to whom she had 3 children , Ellen Middlebrook Cockroft, William Henry Middlebrook Cockroft, and Sarah Hannah Cockroft.
Unfortunately Henry died when Elizabeth was pregnant with Sarah, and even more tragically her only son William died a few years later aged only 4.
Elizabeth went on to remarry Thomas Sturdy, who bought up her daughters Ellen and Sarah. ( and they also had another daughter together named Elizabeth Sturdy.
Ellen Middlebrook Cockroft married Frederick Evershed and they had 5 children before Frederick also unfortunately died aged only 30.
Sarah married Alfred Evershed who was Frederick's brother. They took Ellen and Frederick's son Bertrand under their care and along with their other 6 children moved from their home in Sussex to Tasmania in the 1880s.
Sarah and Alfreds eldest son was Alfred Edward Evershed .
The following information is from theLaunceston Family Album website

Alfred Edward Evershed

22 April 1870

Launceston Tasmania Australia

Did not marry

No children

Alfred Edward Evershed was born on 22 Apr 1870 in Littlehampton, Sussex, England, the elder son of Alfred Evershed (1839-1912), timber merchant, and his wife Sarah Hannah Cockcroft (c.1839-1928). He came to Tasmania with his family in Jan 1885. Educated by a governess, he later attended the Launceston Technical School which his father helped to establish. Alfred received a special first award for his carved coat of arms at the Tasmanian Exhibition in 1891-92. He was the secretary of the Literary Society in 1892.

By 1904 AE Evershed & Co. of 65 George Street, Launceston, were the agents for Merryweather's fire engines, hoses and equipment, ice and refrigeration machines and other items. Alfred Edward did not marry and died in Launceston on 31 May 1941 aged 71. He was buried at the Carr Villa Cemetery in Section C 224. His father and younger brother Harold are also in the Launceston Family Album. See The Examiner, 30 Dec 2006, page 31.
If anyone has any spare time and can research the Evershed descendants ( of the other children of Alfred and Sarah)  and let them know of our reunion it would be much appreciated. - We would welcome them !

CLOSE OFF DATE FOR INCLUSION OF PHOTOS FOR THE REUNION BOOK

We are still looking for further photographs to include in the Pictorial book which will be available at the reunion - please email Lauren if you have anything at all which may be of interest. This includes not just photographs from the 19th century but also 20th century photographs pertaining to the Middlebrook family.
If you do not have any way of scanning the photographs we may be able to organise someone to visit .
With Christmas between now and the Reunion date, and the busy season encroaching on our lives we have to set a close off date for any photos to be included in the Pictorial History books to be published for the reunion.
The last date for receipt of copies of photos to be included will be November 30.  If Lauren receives photos and stories before this date we will make every effort to have them included. After this date no guarantees can be made, so please dig out those photos and scan them, and more importantly jot down any stories or facts  you think may be of interest for inclusion in the book

Reunion Registration Details.

We are excited at the number of registrations we have already received. It sounds like there will be quite a few coming from Australia and this is great to hear.  Its very rewarding to think that through the reunion we are connecting so many family members together.
Reunion registration details are below.
Saturday 24th January - Cost $40 for adults, $10 for children 8-13, Free for children 7 and Under
11am - 4pm
The day will begin with check in where you will be issued with name tags denoting which branch of the family you belong to . This will make it easy for you to recognise those who descend from the same branch of the family as yourself.
From 12 noon we will have our photographer taking formal group photos of each branch of the family and of the whole group, along with roaming candid photos throughout the day.
These photographs will be available in an inexpensive  book form, after the reunion. Orders to be taken on the day or beforehand  via a form which will be included in a later newsletter.
Leading up to the reunion we will announce the price of  a photographic family history book which will be available for pre-purchase and pick up at the reunion. The book is well into production now. In order to include as many branches of the family as possible we need your input.  Please send any family stories and or photos to Lauren as soon as possible.
Finger food and tea and coffee will be supplied throughout the day and a cash bar will also be available for those who wish to make use of it.
There will be photographic and informational displays and a large family tree available for viewing.
Saturday primarily though is a mix and mingle event where we can all get to know each other.
Feel free to bring along any photos or copies, along with family mementos you wish to share or display.
Saturday Evening
This is at your leisure. We have suggestions for local restaurants for those interested.
Sunday 25th January - Cost $50 per adult, $45 per child 8-13 and $ 35 per child Under 7  ( Im sure we will be able to accommodate a lesser cost for children under 5 but we are still working on this)
12 noon - 3:00pm
Buffet Luncheon
Sit down lunch with presentations and speakers (descendants) and cutting of the Reunion Cake
REGISTRATION CAN BE MADE ONLINE BY CLICKING ON THIS LINK
Middlebrook Reunion Registration Form
If you prefer to print and fill in a paper form you can download it here
Saturday Evening
This is at your leisure. We have suggestions for local restaurants for those interested.
Sunday 25th January
12 noon - 3:00pm
Buffet Luncheon
Sit down lunch with presentations and speakers (descendants) and cutting of the Reunion Cake
REGISTRATION CAN BE MADE ONLINE BY CLICKING ON THIS LINK
Middlebrook Reunion Registration Form
If you prefer to print and fill in a paper form you can download it here

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE JOHNSON GIRLS?

This photo above is apparently of Ruth and Joyce Johnson, daughters of Mary Lucinda Wishart (Maisie) Johnson (nee Middlebrook) .
We have no descendants of Maisie registered for the reunion.
What we know is :
Maisie had 4 children,

• Glenda born 1913 and died 1940 apparently in childbirth though I have no confirmed marriage or spouse for her.
• Ngaire Joyce Johnson, known as Joyce, born 1914- She married Warwick Francis Harvey and had two children that we know of, Warwick Lynton Harvey born 1937, and Jennifer Farrer Harvey born 1945. ( There could have been more children that we are unaware of). We can not find a death date for Joyce.
• Ruth Johnson who married Wilfred Henry Pool - we dont know of her children at this point, but we know from electoral roll records that  she was living in Fearon Avenue Mt Eden in 1981 and she died in 1997.
• Raymond Verdon Johnson who died as a baby in 1930

Can anyone shed any light on the whereabouts of any of Maisies descendants?
From Maisies will  ( in 1975) we know she left property in Auckland to Warwick Lynton Harvey who at the time lived in Tauranga, and left a house in Dillon Street Waihi to her daughter Ruth Pool.
She also left property to another Granddaughter- Glenda Arawa Lindsay .
Joyce and Jennifer are not mentioned in the will and I have yet to ascertain where Glenda Arawa Lindsay fits in.
If anyone has further information regarding Maisies descendants we would really appreciate you contacting any of us on the committee.

The Three Faces of Mary Jane Middlebrook- A Bit of Photographic Deception before Photoshop

Mary Jane Middlebrook nee Rea was the wife of Samuel Middlebrook. We dont have many photos of her, in fact at current count we have 2 definites and one possibly!
However what we do have are 3 versions of the one photograph.  I believe most descendants have a copy of the middle version shown here but we were lucky enough to come across  an untouched up version of the original photograph taken by Harry Whitnall Smith ( who we of course know was family, being married to Jane "Cis" Middlebrook, daughter of John and Mary Ann Middlebrook )
The full colourised version of the photograph shows Mary with hazel or brown eyes, and even the middle version she definitely has dark eyes but if you look at the original version its quite clear she had quite light coloured eyes ( probably blue) and certainly her hair shows the unruly curls which were passed down through several of her daughters and still is dominant in some of the current generations of descendants.
Which version of the photograph do you like best? - She certainly looks more elegant and refined in the touched up versions with the shading in teh cheek, lips and eyes, but knowing her life story and her unconventional relationships, I feel more connected to the untouched version which I think shows a bit more of her true spirit.

Middlebrook Family History Website is now Live

The first stage of the Middlebrook Family History Website is now up and viewable.

The Stories page is regularly updated so feel free to check for new images and stories .
Lauren will be adding to the next generation  pages as time permits

Remember to fill in a Family Group Sheet Form here if you havent already

An Ancestor a Week for 20 weeks–WEEK 20!!- The Sad and Somewhat Mysterious Life of Amelia Fennell

The life of Amelia Fennell,(known as Amy), like that of her sister Ellen is shrouded in more than a little  mystery. Born Amelia McRa, the eldest child of Jane Middlebrook and James John McRa, She was born apparently in Tararu Creek Thames in 1869, however as there is no registered birth for her ( nor for her sister Nellie) we only know this , as it is what is stated on her marriage certificate. Even then,it may not be factual, but it is the truth as she had been told.
We know nothing of Amy’s childhood. She first appears in written family history at around age 19 in 1887, when her uncle Welsh McRa writes to Amy’s mother Jane,  suggesting that her current working position with another Uncle and Aunt is possibly not working out to Amy’s best interest, and he removes her from there and returns her to her mother in Opua. (Though it isnt completely clear, it appears Amy’s sister Ellen (Nellie) may also have been with her at the time.
It sems Amy stays in Opua as she appears there in the 1893, and 1896 electoral rolls as a Domestic Servant, but it isnt until the 2nd October 1902, aged around 35 that she married Patrick Fennell,  in Russell Bay of Islands . It seems a strange match. Patrick, a widower, is aged 73 at the time of their marriage. A huge age gap by any standards.
Amy and Patrick remain living in Opua. They went on to have two children, Nicholas John Charles Fennell (known as Charlie) born 1905 (Amy would have been 39 and Patrick 76) and seven years later George Duncan Fitzroy Fennell ( at this point Amy would have been aged 43 and Patrick a venerable 83 year old!!)   Good things were not to come for the Fennell family.

Northern Advocate 4th February 1916
THE OLD MEN'S HOME.
SHOULD CANCER PATIENTS BE RECEIVED THERE?
CASE OF MR P. FENNELL.
In Wednesday's "Advocate" we published some comments made by Inspector Skynner to the Bay of Islands Hospital Board.-The report dealt with the case of an old man, Mr P. Fennell, of Opua. Fennell was a cancer patient and Inspector Skynner complained that he had been driven from pillar to post. Describing the case the inspector continued:—"First he was taken to the Old Men's Home at Whangarei; thence to the Knox Home for Incurables at East Tamaki, and at the instance of the trustees of that institution back to his home a Opua. I consider it my duty to point out in the strongest language. I possibly can that I consider the whole position a most disgraceful one, and if such institutions,  as the Costley Home, the Knox Home for Incurables, and the Old Men's Home at Whangarei will not provide a resting place for our''aged poor”, whose days are probably numbered through suffering from some incurable disease, I consider it is your Board's duty to suffering humanity to bring the position under the notice of the Hon. Minister for Public Health."
Northern Advocate , 8 May 1917, Page 2
In comment on the lack of an essential provision the "Luminary" has the following:—"There is no institution North of Auckland set apart for the care and treatment of persons suffering from incurable diseases, and the Knox Home for Incurables, in Auckland, refuses to receive patients from this district. These facts were brought out at the meeting of the Hospital Board on Friday, owing to a letter received from the house manager of the Auckland hospital asking the board what it was going to do with Mrs Fennell, a resident of Opus, Bay of'-Islands, now lying in the Auckland institution suffering from an incurable disease. It will be remembered that in 1915 Mr Fennell, of Opua, was found to be suffering from cancer. He was 84 years of age and was in a deplorable condition with the disease. The poor old man was sent to the Old Men's Home, Whangarei, which refused to keep him, so the Board sent him to the Knox Home for incurables, Tamaki, Auckland; but even there he was not allowed to rest and was packed back to Opua. The local Board then placed him in a shanty in the hospital grounds, where he soon after died. Now his wife is afflicted with the same disease, and it looks as if the poor woman is to be driven from pillar to post like her dead husband was.

Amy died on May 4th 1917, and it seems the 2 boys, Charlie aged 12 and George aged just 5 were split up. George was bought up by his maternal uncle, John Roderick McRae who was a bootmaker in Paptoetoe. George went on eventually to take on the same trade.  Charlie though, aged 12 went elsewhere. By 1923 he was in Awakeri, Bay of Plenty. He remained in the Bay of Plenty area for the rest of his life.

An Ancestor a week for 20 weeks–Week 19–Farrer Middlebrook – Religion by Design

 

Narrated by John Farrer Middlebrook , Sydney NSW Australia
November 2014

My father was an Anglican clergyman for all the time I knew him and our family life was in many ways shaped by the needs of each Parish he'd been appointed to. After leaving St. John's College at Remuera, the theological training college, and being ordained, first deacon then priest, he assisted at Taumarunui, Gate Pa, Tauranga, and at St. Matthews, Masterton where he met and married my Mother (Eleanor Hope Dillon).  Dad was sent as Vicar to Ormondville, a small country town and a farming and railway centre, and as WW2  loomed they set up house in a large, draughty Victorian vicarage on a hillside, with a main rail line just across the road, and began a family.
In 1945 we moved to Gisborne, then Ruatoria, on the East Coast, from 1952 until 1957 when we moved to New Plymouth. Dad's last move took him back to Gisborne again where he remained until his passing on 21st Mar. 1968, just a few months before he would have retired.

Dad was born in Opua on 28th Oct. 1903, to a widowed schoolteacher, Julia Sullivan, who already had five children, and her new husband, James Middlebrook, a carpenter, recently divorced and without children, who had lived some seven years in the town.

He left Auckland Grammar school with a passion for drawing and design and perhaps in the early 1920's was articled to Griersons, Architects, or an associated firm, and began study at Auckland University School of Architecture. He described some of his work at the architects, who were designing the Auckland War Memorial Museum, where he prepared both full-scale drawings of the large WWI battle names to be carved into the Portland-stone frieze of the Museum and also the large watercolour drawings of the proposed façade. He had become skilled in classic Roman lettering and was able to produce tracings, for transfer to the stone, with the exact lines needed by the stonemason to cut the complex angles and curves within each letter and for it's spacing from the next. The work stands perfect to this day and in contrast  to the similar WWII battle names on the later section.   Other commissions he worked on included the old Auckland Power Board building near the waterfront, now gone I think, the Elephant House at the Wellington Zoo, the Wintergarden glasshouses in the Domain and others.  It is interesting that his younger brother, Russell Middlebrook, made the models from which the classic oxidised-bronze wreaths and swags that ornament the Museum upper floor were cast. Those fulfilling times were not to last; the Museum had hardly been finished when the Great Depression began to bite.  All public works ceased, businesses failed and work was not to be had.  We think that his mother, Julia, may have had Russell, Eva, Perhaps Bart, as well as Dad, still living at home in Burch St, Mt. Albert. Her husband, James, had died in 1930 and Dad had lost his job when his employer closed the office..
Dad had experience of the Relief Work scheme offered by the Government; he told me of workers, at railway yards, moving great piles of coal or ballast metal with shovels and wheelbarrows and then moving it all back again!  He saw much poverty around;  single mothers with children, and without work and no means to buy food, forced to seek charity; the elderly and the disabled the same.  The effect of his experiences  in the early 1930's convinced him of his calling to the Ministry and his entering St. John's College.


For all the years I remember, he would begin his day at about 5am, or earlier, taking tea and toast into his study. His many books, both theological and architectural, were kept there along with the large table he used for his drawing board and T-square. Sometimes he'd be working on his sermon for the coming Sunday, but mostly drawing and designing.  He designed churches at Waitara, Te Puia,  Makaraka, Ruatoria and a girl's college chapel, among others. Quite often he was called on, by a church somewhere, to supply  a drawing for a fitting or ornament; sometimes a banner or candlesticks or pews. Many of his drawings survive and show the great skills he had.

He was popular with the parishioners and spent much of the week in visiting; no one was missed either at home or in hospital.  It was often mentioned to me how good a listener he was, and by others how he never brought religion into a conversation unless asked about something.
Being a friend was often more help than being a Pastor.

Ancestor of the Week–Week 18–Samuel Middlebrook–A True Pioneer

 

From the Bay of Plenty Times 1945 :

MR SAMUEL MIDDLEBROOK
____________________________________

PLAYED MANY PARTS
___________________________________

PIONEER IN THE DISTRICT
Veteran of the Maori War: one who played a full part in the pioneering settlement in New Zealand in the latter part of the last century,and a well-known and affectionately regarded identity in these parts, Mr Samuel Middlebrook,of Waihi died in the Waihi Hospital last Saturday. He was 91 years of age.

Mr Middlebrook was born in Leeds, Yorkshire in the year 1854 journeying to New Zealand with his family in the ship Shalimar in 1861. At the age of 18 he left Auckland for Tauranga to join the Survey Department , and he resided there for four years. He joined the cavalry in the time of the Maori War and served with that unit until it disbanded. Mr Middlebrook was on the staff of the Survey Department which was under the control of Captain A.C.Turner, and was engaged in surveys inland as far as Taupo. In 1874 he acted as a guide for the late Mr George Vesey Stewart when the latter was selected to inspect the lands for the Katikati settlers. Mr Middlebrook resided at Katikati until six or seven years ago and for about 16 years before that he made his home on his launch Finella

Mr Arthur J Gray, in his book “An Ulster Plantation: relates that when Mr George Vesey Stewart came to Tauranga he inspected all the Government lands in the neighbourhood, the Survey Office putting at his disposal a young man, Mr Samuel Middlebrook.. One Morning they rode out of Tauranga towards the northern end of the harbour and in the late afternoon after twenty miles of hard ringing through trackless swamps and hills, they reached the Elongate River.  This was the southern boundary of the Katikati Block, part of the area confiscated from the Maoris after the Bay of Plenty war. As Vesey Stewart looked across the rolling stretches of fern country watered by six rivers, with the forest mountains on his left and glimpses of the blue see on his right he knew that his search was over.  After careful inspection of three days he and Mr Middlebrook returned. Mr Vesey Stewart then went to Auckland and made an official application for 10,000 acres of the Katikati block. The agreement regarding the acquisition of the land was concluded on June 24 1874

VERSATILE MAN
Mr Middlebrook was a very versatile man, who played many important parts in the early days of Katikati. He was a brilliant Maori linguist, a great sportsman; musical and a great lover of little children. He was one of the foundation members of the Katikati Royal Orange Lodge and to the end was a most keen member.
His wife Mary Jane, pre-deceased him by six years. Mr Middlebrook is survived by one son and four daughters: Mrs R.J. Harris of Waihi; Mrs P. Goodwin of Auckland: Mr Samuel Robert Middlebrook of Hamilton; Mrs Edwards of Waihi and Mrs B Gurk of Waihi. The funeral which left St Johns Anglican Church was attended by a large gathering of Tauranga, Katikati and Waihi mourners. Mr Middlebrook, being an old soldier was buried with military honours in the soldiers portion of the Waihi cemetery . The Rev. E.L.B. Gribble officiated both in the church and at the graveside

This article includes a few inaccuracies mostly based on Samuel’s age. It was commonly thought Samuel was in his 90s, but in actuality he was only 89 when he died. His birth year was 1856 not 1854 and his family arrived in New Zealand in December 1862 not 1861.