Christensen Family of Manawatu, NZ
The First Generation
The New Zealand-born children were all born on the couple's farm at what was then called Stoney Creek. The 40-acre farm fronted Napier Road and is about halfway between Roberts Line and James Line.
From left: Top row - Anders Christensen Christensen, a couple once thought to be Anders and Marie, but now understood to be the Lucinskys, the parents-in-law of Richard Christensen, Marie Nilsdotter-Christensen. Middle row - Lydia, Richard, Niobar, Emmanuel ('Snowy'), Hilda and Prince the cat. Bottom row - The Terrace that runs through the original Stoney Creek farm, 'Annie' (Martha), The former Christensen cottage at Stoney Creek following its conversion to a carshed. The only child whose photo is missing is Calvert, as no images have ever been traced.
Note that the spellings used here were those used on their birth registrations.
1. Martha Anna Christina ('Annie') Christensen (14 September 1868, Norway - 19.., NZ). Married William Bennett of Te Arakura, on 21 December 1891. Eight children.
2. A baby appears to have been lost around the time of the couple's arrival in New Zealand. Their grandson, Leo Burr, recalled his mother speaking of a baby born on the ship, and had always assumed this was Richard. The birth spacing between Annie and Richard makes this feasible, although the absence of documentation in the ship's passenger records suggests that perhaps she miscarried around this time.
3. Richard Nickolay ('Dick') Christensen (11 December 1873, Stoney Creek - 17 November 1940, Palmerston North). Married Anna Lucinsky at Feilding on 21 March 1900. Twelve children.
4. Niobar Antonius ('Snider') Christensen (1874, Stoney Creek - 14 October 1938, Ayr, Queensland, Australia). Married Florence Elizabeth Easton, at Charters Towers, Queensland, on 7 March 1908. Three children.
5. Charlvart Marius ('Collie') Christensen (1876, Stoney Creek - 2 October 1907, Palmerston North). Never Married.
6. Arnt Emmanuel ('Snowy') Christensen (23 June 1878, Stoney Creek - 2 May 1949, Oroua Downs). Married Clara ('Dot') Conlan. Ten children.
7. Lydia Nikolina Christensen (2 June 1880, Stoney Creek - 29 June 1952, Palmerston North). Adopted in 1887, after her mother's death (in 1885) by Ola Persson Dahlstrom and his wife Perine Martine Dahlstrom. Married Sidney Paul Burr at Kelvin Grove. Two children.
8. Hilda Marie Christensen (20 May 1882, Stoney Creek - 19....) Married Mr Davies. One child. Subsequently married Mr Dixon, but there were no further children.
9. Unnamed baby that died during birth along with its mother, on 13 March 1885, at Stoney Creek.
Last updated 9/5/2001
