Hanson-Allen Family
First Generation - New Zealand
The Children of George Frederic Allen & Caroline Frances Allen, nee Hanson, who were married in Auckland, in October 1863.
1. Frederick Hanson ('Fred') Allen: Fred was born on 7 October 1864 at Wanganui, NZ. He was a farmer, a surveyor, and later a local body politician. He married Ethel Elizabeth Barns in April 1894 and their children were Roy Arnold ('Eric') Allen, Nita Allen (McCallum), Rupert Neville Barns Allen, Keith Allen, Grant Allen, and Nancie Allen (Frizzell).
Fred died on 21 September 1946, at Raetihi. [Reference details are: Birth Reg. 1864/233; Marriage Reg. 1894/1447]
2. Charles Ernest Hanson ('Charlie') Allen: Charlie was born on 25 June 1886, however, his birth registration details are followed by "A. Act 1920" which is not yet explainable (it seems highly unlikely that he was adopted). He was a farmer and surveyor and local body politician, and was twice mayor of Frankton Borough (now part of the city of Hamilton), after it became a borough in 1913. He resigned the mayoralty in 1916 when he left the district.
He wrote the unpublished book Eighty Years in New Zealand, a copy of which is deposited at the Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington. After an engagement that failed even though he had paid for his fiancée to take a trip home to England before the planned marriage (1897), he married Julia Caldwell in 1901, but there were no children.
He died at Wanganui on 18 July 1953. A railway suburb and a street in Frankton are named after him. [Reference details are: Birth Reg. 11866/150; Marriage Reg. 1901/1921; Death Reg. 1953/640]
3. Barnard John Hanson Allen: Barnard's birth appears not to have been registered, however, he was born in late September 1868. He died at Wanganui on 10 November 1868, aged six weeks, from Inflammation of the (lungs?). There appears to have been a whooping cough epidemic passing through the town in early November, judging by other death registrations at that time.
Possibly he was named after Mr J. Barnard, his father's partner in the architectural and surveying firm 'Barnard & Allen.' [Reference details are: Birth Reg. none found; Death Reg. 1868/222 as "Barnard Allen"]
4. Arnold Hanson Allen: Arnold was born at Wanganui on 30 November 1870 (or possibly it should be 1869), but died on 10 March 1875, with his death certificate stating that he was then five. He died of acute laryngitis. A photo exists of him with his mother and older brothers.
Both Fred and Maude gave the name Arnold to their sons, presumably in his memory. [Reference details are: Birth Reg. 1870/395; Death Reg. 1875/100]
5. Francis Dillon Hanson ('Frank') Allen: Frank was born in 1872 or 1873, but his birth registration has not been traced. He was a farmer at Koriniti on the Wanganui River and married Louisa Mary Dykes on 19 March 1913, at Putiki Mission. They had either one or two children, but the child or children died very young, and the name's are not known.
He died in 1942, aged 68, and was buried at Aramoho Cemetery, Wanganui, on 21 April 1941. Louisa died in 1942, aged 69, and was buried on 2 September 1942. Their grave is Block C, Row 10, plot 546. [Reference details are: Birth Reg. None found under Allen or Hanson or spelling variations; Marriage Reg. 1913/1034; Death Reg. not researched]
6. Maude Olive Hanson Allen: Maude's birth was not apparently registered, however she is understood to have been born on 29 June 1875 at Wanganui.
She married Oliver Taylor on 5 April 1899, at Te Pohue, Wanganui, and had ten children, of which the first and last died at birth. The other eight were: Arnold Edward Taylor, Vernon Ellis Taylor, Evadne Moana Taylor (Ball), Edith Olive Taylor (Skinner/Oldfield), Cedric Hanson Allen Taylor, Theodore Ernest Selwyn Taylor, Rowena Gweneth Taylor (Mann/Webber), and Viola Ngarete Taylor (Walsh). Maude's marriage then broke up.
She died at Auckland on 4 November 1968. [Reference details are: Birth Reg. None found under Allen or Hanson or spelling variations; Marriage Reg. 1899/1854; Death Reg. not researched]
7. Ralph Hanson Allen. Ralph's birth was born on 11 September 1879, at Wanganui. He also worked as a surveyor and farmer, but for many years (c1920) he was a Rural Land Valuer for the Government, based at Palmerston North. He married Mary Jones at Fred's home at Mangamahu on 1 January 1904, but they were divorced on 10 May 1917. There were no children.
He then married Ida Constance Holland at 'Tayforth', her sister's Wanganui home, on 29 September 1920. They had four children: Vivian Hayward Allen (Taylor), Neville Hanson Allen, Adrienne Jean Allen (Burr) and Warwick Hanson Allen. Ralph died at Palmerston North on 8 May 1958. [Reference details are: Birth Reg. 1879/227; Marriage Reg. (certificates held); Death Reg. not researched]
Footnote: It is odd that Barnard, Frank and Maude's births do not appear to be registered. There is no obvious explanation for this, as it was illegal not to register births.
