The Unsolved and mysterious past of Mary Ann Goodwin, the Gleesons, the Lesters and More

When she arrived  in New Zealand aboard the Brodick Castle in 1876 the past of Mary Ann seemed fairly obvious. She was listed as Mary Ann Gleeson age 17 , Domestic Servant from County Kerry Ireland.
This in itself from a genealogical point of view was a little problematical as Irish family history can be difficult to trace, however the past of Mary Ann was to prove even more difficult and mysterious and full of red herrings.
The first confusion arises in details on her death certificate where Mary Ann is listed as being born in Dublin but despite her maiden name of Gleeson, her parents names in this document are listed as James Lester and Mary Lester.
Certainly Lester is a name that has proved important in the family. Her son Phillip used Lester as his middle name, and he named is eldest son Lester.
A search of the few records available in Dublin bought no joy in finding any trace of James and Mary Lester.
Mary Ann's obituary has no mention  of parents but does say she grew up in Dublin.
The mystery still remains, why would her name be Gleeson if her parents names were Lester? Perhaps she was adopted and it was the Lesters who raised her in Dublin. It seemed that her past would remain unknown.
That was until another document came to light. 
The birth certificate of her eldest daughter Gertrude, reported by Mary Ann's husband James added more confusion into the mix .
James reported that his wife's place of birth was not in fact Ireland, but was Leeds, England. Further research showed that the same place of birth was reported on the certificate for son George Goodwin, a birth also reported by husband James. Just to confuse things more, on the birth certificate of son Phillip the birth place is reported as Dublin, however this birth was reported not by James but by James’ mother.  I would surmise that Jane assumed Mary Ann was born in Dublin as this was where she grew up, when James knew otherwise and perhaps this fact was not widely known among the family.
The good news from a genealogical point of view is that Mary Anns birth date of circa 1859 means if she was born in England, then her birth should have been registered.
A look at all births for Mary Gleesons in the Leeds area of Yorkshire yields  several worth investigation
The only one actual listed as born in Leeds was born in 1856, which is probably a little early as every document that we have with Mary Ann's age consistently places her birth around 1859-60 . In addition this Mary Ann , whose parents were Thomas and Frances Gleeson appears to remain in Leeds throughout her childhood .
A second Mary Gleeson born 1859/60 appears in the 1861 census with parents William and Mary.
This family is also traceable through to 1871 so is not a likely candidate.
There is another Mary Gleeson, born in 1860 in Rotherham Yorkshire to parents Daniel and Bridget Gleeson. Daniel and Bridget are both from Ireland and their children were born in the Leeds area . Bridget and Mary appear on the 1871 census so we can probably discount that family too.        
The 4th and I believe most likely entry in the 1861 census is a Mary Ann Gleeson age 2 and is a         
visitor in a house with an Ann Smith ( aged 30 Widow, Hawker) and a Kelly family.
 I strongly suspect this is our Mary Ann.  Where are her parents and who are they?  In order to  solve this mystery we will need to order the birth certificate of this Mary Ann Gleeson. - and when we do we will know her parents but will the rest of the mystery be solved? Only time will tell.

Francis Henry Goodwin- a genealogical conundrum

Ive been concentrating on my Goodwin branch lately. When looking for another relatives photo on the wonderful Auckland Libraries Heritage Images website , I came across the image above for Francis Henry and recalled the research I had done on him a little while ago.

I first came across Francis Henry when his name appeared in a list of casualties during World War I . He was listed as being from Ngaruawahia where much of my Goodwin family resided, and his next of kin is listed as Sarah Moffit (Aunt). Sarah Moffit was in fact Sarah Ann Goodwin (daughter of my 3x G Grandparents William Henry and Jane Goodwin) who had married Edward Moffit and lived in Ngaruawhahia. So Francis must have been the child of one of her Sarahs siblings--- but which one? His birth did not appear in the New Zealand births deaths and marriages register.  He was certainly old enough to appear there - I estimated he must have been born prior to 1896 to be eligible for service in WWI.
Francis, was serving in the Dardanelles when he went missing on June 6th 1915. The next record in his file is August 11th of the same year when he is admitted to the hospital with Enteritis and on the same date he is transferred to Cairo to the NZ hospital there. From there he is discharged as medically unfit when it is discovered that he is in fact underage. His attestation form gives a date of birth of 10 August 1894. Stating he was born in Newmarket Auckland.
His war record file is thick - it covers both his service in WWI and later in WWII, where surprisingly he still seems confused by his date of birth. He lists it as 10 August but the year is crossed out twice and eventually listed as 1898. This date seems more in line with his looks in the photo above, however was of no use in finding a birth or discovering who his parents were.
In 1919 Francis married Ada Hill. He lists his age as 21 which coincides with a birth date of 1898. At last - I could find out Francis’ parents , from his marriage certificate.

Francis’parents were Samuel Henry Goodwin and Lettie( Letitia) Goodwin nee Meekin. Samuel was in fact the younger brother of Sarah Ann Moffit as I had thought. Samuel was born in 1866 so was 8 years younger than his sister Sarah. Letitia Meekin was much younger than Samuel. Her date of birth is listed as 1882, and in 1898 when Francis was born, Samuel and Letitia were not married.
I suspect the fact that Letitia was under the age of 16 when Francis was born has a lot to do with why his birth was not registered, however it is interesting to note that Samuel and Letitia did in fact marry, 7 years later in 1905. They went on to have at least four more children together before Samuel died in 1926.
The interesting thing is during the period of World War I Samuel and Letitia were in fact living in Ngaruawahia as well. They were all a family at one point if this photo below is as described, a photo of Samuel and Letitia with Frank and his younger brother James Henry. Why did Francis not list his parents as his next of kin? Was he estranged from them? This part of the mystery will probably not ever be solved.

William Boyt 1804-1884: Fencible

The term Fencible comes from the word “defencible” meaning “capable of defence”

The Royal New Zealand Fencible corps were retired soldiers from Britain and Ireland, often referred to as 'Pensioners', who enlisted as a military reserve to act as a 'defence force' for the protection of the early settlers in the fledgling town of Auckland, New Zealand.

In return for signing up to provide defense against local attack and to perform garrison duties, they were given passage for themselves and their children and were provided with a cottage and an acre of land which after a term of service of 7 years, they would own outright .
 There were over 2,500 men, women and children who arrived in New Zealand during the years 1847 - 1852. They settled in the now south and eastern suburbs of Auckland, namely Onehunga, Otahuhu, Panmure and Howick. service they would own.
Generally members of the Fencibles were required to be under 48 and  had attained a minimum of 15 years service and most had significant overseas service
The fencibles settled in speciallyh created villages in the Auckland suburbs of Howick, Onehunga, Otahuhu and Panmure.
In the 1849 census of Auckland nearly 1/3 of all recorded were Fencibles.
They were first called to action in 1851 when a large party of about 350–450 Ngati Paoa from the Thames and Waiheke Island areas arrived at Mechanics Bay Auckland in about 20 waka to attack the city. A British regiment at Albert Park Barracks was called out to the hill overlooking the bay. It was reinforced by fencibles who had come from Onehunga, the closest fencible town. Fencibles at Howick and Panmure were stood to in case of further trouble. The frigate HMS Fly trained its guns on the Maori war party from offshore. The cause of the aggression was the arrest of a Ngati Paoa Chief who had stolen a shift from a shop in Shortland St. The situation was defused when the attackers were given tobacco and blankets.
William Boyt was aged 21 when he enlisted to the Royal Marines in 1824. He was born in Wellington Somerset England to parents Parmenas Boyt and Jean Boyt nee Greedy.
He is described as a Sawyer (a trade he recommenced later in his life) , 5 foot 10 inches , brown hair, blue eyes and fresh complexion and of good industrious character.

William’s regiment was posted to Wales where he met and married his wife Mary Mathias. It was whilst posted in Wales his older  children were born.

He was discharged unfit with a fractured left clavicle after serving 10 years and 11 months .

William and his family were aboard the first Fencible ship to arrive in Auckland. The Ramilles arrived on August 5th 1847 with 67 Fencibles and their families aboard and this group formed the settlement in Onehunga.
The Fencibles and their families off the "Ramilles" were housed for three months at the Albert Barracks in Auckland. They moved to the village of Onehunga on the 17th November 1847, where a large wooden 100ft building housed them and their families. Later in the year detached cottages were built on a ten acre site and the families moved into their new homes in April, 1848, laying out their gardens and planting vegetables. By July the village of Onehunga boasted its first school attended by 31 boys and 23 girls and by 1850 the population of Onehunga had grown to 867 persons.

The Boyt family  made their home in Grey Street Onehunga and later William is known to have lived in Captains Street (later renamed Neilson Street) .
Mary Boyt died on 23 August 1883, followed by William a year later on 27 August 1884.
He was buried in the Church of England Cemetery in Symonds Street.

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