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This page is to give information about my branch of the WELLS family. I hope there is something here that is of some help or interest to you.
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My Great Grandmother SARAH ELIZABETH BURTON was born in KENT, England on the 30th of January 1843. She was the eldest daughter of ELIZABETH (nee BULLOCK) and JOSEPH BURTON. They had 4 children.
SARAH was 21 when she immigrated to New Zealand. She sailed from LONDON, England on the 22nd March 1864, arriving in WELLINGTON, New Zealand on the 1st of July 1864. She arrived on the ship "WEST AUSTRALIAN". After arriving in WELLINGTON, the ship then sailed to NAPIER, Hawkes Bay where SARAH disembarked. SARAH was pregnant on arrival (*gasp*! they did that in those days???? should I be writing this here???) from England and gave birth to FANNY EDITH later that year. She later married CaptainTHOMAS SCHON then had 2 more daughters by him WILLEMINA and KAREN MARIA who died as an infant of "dentition".
THOMAS SCHON was one of 3 brothers who sailed ships, one of which was a sailing ship, the cutter "GRAYLING" which traded between Napier and Wairoa. The vessel went down in a heavy gale on June 19th 1869, four miles south of the Wairoa River with the loss of all hands. ANDREW SCHON was the last of three brothers, all of whom had at different times been drowned on the East Cost of the North Island. The "GRAYLING" was loaded with government stores for the Imperial Forces then operating against the Maoris at Waikaremoana.
My Great Grandfather JOSEPH WILLIAM WELLS was born in TURNWORTH, England abt 1836.
He is the son of EMMANUEL WELLS and MARY WHIFFEN who were married on 29 April 1801 in TURNWORTH. ELIZABETH is 'of IBBERTON'. JOHN WELLS was born abt 1762 and died abt 1820 in TURNWORTH at the age of 58. ELIZABETH EUSTONS died abt 1849 at the age of 65 in TURNWORTH.
EMMANUEL's parents are JOHN WELLS and ELIZABETH EUSTONS.
JOE arrived in AUCKLAND, New Zealand on the 29th November 1860, with the 2nd Battalion of the 14th Regiment West Yorkshire (Prince of Wales Own). He was a Blacksmith by trade.
Rank - Private #863
Discharged 15th August 1865
Saw action in the Waikato Campaign, Koheroa Range, Wanganui and Taranaki. In May 1865 the 14th Regiment was taken out of the Waikato and sent to various stations of Napier, Wellington, Waikato and Mokau Heads.
British Regiments which served in the Maori Wars 1860-1866 14th Regiment (later The West Yorkshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales Own), now The Prince of Wales Own Regiment of Yorkshire).
Historical Records of the 14th Regiment, Captain H. O’Donnell (A.H. Swiss, Devonport, 1892).
JOSEPH had 2 brothers. HENRY born about 1833, JAMES 1834, all born in TURNWORTH, and living in Blandford on the 1851 census.
On the 1861 census JAMES is married and living in Blandford, HENRY is living at Thorncombe.
On the 1871 census HENRY is still living at Thorncombe and married to ELIZABETH and has two children A female. Name? and MARY.
On the 1881 census HENRY is aged 45 and living in Thorncombe, Charlton Marshall, DORSET, England. Married to ELIZABETH age 38.
Daughter Mary age 9
Son William age 5
Daughter Matilda age 3
All children born in Charlton Marshall, DORSET, England.
JOSEPH WILLIAM WELLS nominated his brothers and their children, all on the 10th of July 1876. At this time their details were as follows:
HENRY WELLS was a farm labourer aged 44 from Thorncombe Farm nr Blandford, DORSET, England.
JAMES WELLS aged 40, farm labourer, his wife and 3 children, address Thorncombe Farm, Blandford, DORSET, England.
(Not quite sure where FANNY fits in now. I thought she was the daughter of Henry but i'm not certain any more. Will do some more digging on her when i get a chance, so don't place any bets on her.)
Niece FANNY(daughter of ?) aged 18, single, a domestic servant, address Thorncombe Farm nr Blandford, DORSET, England.
(According to the census's in England after this date it appears that none of them ever emigrated to New Zealand.)
JOE set up a Blacksmith's shop in Napier but it was destroyed by fire on 18 December 1886. The family then moved to Hastings where he set up business again. They lived in Evenden Road where he had land for grazing horses for overnight travellers.
SARAH ELISABETH SCHON (nee BURTON) met and married JOSEPH WILLIAM WELLS. They had ten children. The family were all born in nz and lived most of their lives in HAWKES BAY, New Zealand.
WILLEMINA and FANNY SCHON from the first marriage of SARAH ELISABETH BURTON took the name of WELLS when SARAH married JOSEPH WILLIAM WELLS.
1. FLORENCE MARY(Flo), married Thomas Nesbitt
They had one daughter MAUD, and three sons STEWART, WILLIAM, ROBERT
2. WILLIAM JOSEPH (Bill), married Susannah Merritt
They had three sons, MAURICE, WALTER, ERNEST WILLIAM (Joe)
3. ELISABETH (Bess), married Frederick Perritt
They had three daughters, ADA, EVA, IRIS
4. EDWIN JAMES (Ted), married Alice Gray
No children
5. HENERY JOHN (Jack), married Polly Cooper
They had one daughter, OLIVE
6. ERNEST GEORGE (Chinks), married ?
Had three sons, CYRIL, FREDERICK, REG
7. LILLIAN GRACE (Lil), married James Green
They had no family
8. THOMAS BURTON (Tom), never married
9. FREDERICK ARTHUR (Tui), married Henrietta Augusta Canham
They had three sons, BILL, COLIN, JIM
10. MAUD (Curley), married Percy Amos Beale
They had two daughters, PHYLLIS IVY, DORIS MYRTLE
Half Sisters
WILLEMINA WELLS (Minni), (previously "SCHON"), married ?
FANNY WELLS (previously "SCHON"), married ?
FAMILY PHOTO
Left to Right
Minni, Ted, Tom, Bill, Bess
Fred, Fanny, Joseph William, Maud, Sarah Elisabeth, Flo
Monk & Scotty (hard to see)
Photo taken approximately 1896
Absent : Jack, George, Lillian
Some Genealogy News Groups Some Useful Genealogy Pages
soc.genealogy.australia+nz www.ancestry.com
soc.genealogy.britain www.rootsweb.com
soc.genealogy.misc www.familyhistory.com
soc.genealogy.surnames.britain www.cyndislist.com
soc.genealogy.surnames.global www.genealogy.com
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