Thomas Halbert born abt 1812, Newcastleupontyne

[trudym]

Could someone please help with finding my gg grandfather, he supposedly was born in Girvan in 1812, went on whaling ships, Elizabeth was the name of one. He went to Sydney Australia, and apparently a brother Robert went there as well.  He then came to the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand.  He is one of the founding fathers of Poverty Bay and was the second white man to come here , had a store and six wives and has many descendants.  Would appreciate dates of birth, siblings parents names etc.
We only know from one of his sons, Thomas that he was born in 1812, he arrived in Poverty Bay in 1835.  Any assistance will be greatly appreciated as I have tried hours and hours of searching and reading to find his details.

Trudy

[Szac]

In looking in the IGI indexes there are only Halbert girls born in Girvan, but their father is Thomas, so here is the info incase it works for you,
Jannet Halbert chr. Oct 6, 1812 Girvan
Sally Halbert chr. Nov 27, 1810 Girvan
Mary Halbert chr. June 9, 1814 Girvan
parents were Thomas Halbert and Mary Hart   IGI #C115944

marriage for Thomas Halbert and Mary Hart June 3, 1803 St. Quivox and Newton, Ayr Scotland
IGI # M116124.

On the Scotlands People sight there is
Thomas Halbert  April 18, 1816 (most likley chr.) Girvan born to Thomas Halbert and Mary Hart.

Couldn't find a Robert born to that couple, But there was a Robert  Reid Halbert  Nov 17, 1811 Irvine, Ayr born to Robert Halbert and Janet Brown.

Hope these have some relevance to your research??

Szac

Not sure if this has any relevance to your research but

[trudym]

hi, thanks, you were quick.  I only just posted that.  Yes, years ago I had seen that Mary Hart.  I think there is a grave stone of that Halbert somewhere on someones geneaology site.  But I couldnt guarantee it, because they didnt move to New Castleupon tyne.

This Thomas Halbert was unusual in one way for a Scots, he was only five feet tall, hence all we women have inherited the shortness.
Another member of my family says that  Robert was his father, but I havent seen any documentary evidence and with Maoris we could be 10 or 20 years out, considering it is 200 years ago.

Ill be patient , I have posted on Northumberland as well so heres hoping I catch a whale.

Thanks again szac.

[trudym]

Now just to confuse the issue.

Another family member, who I would say is probably more reliable as they come off a younger wife and probably had more paper documents than we did, says this:

Thomas Halbert born 1812 Father is Robert, grandfather is William
His Mother is Mary and s he was a servant, not sure where, there being a brother James, and sister Janet, not sure what ages and in what order, Thomas ended in New Zealand and James went to Australia.  So two of us cousins agree his father is Robert.  Now his first son is called William so that must be his father.

lets see if we get some satisfaction now.
Trudy

[trudym]

Since found that Thomas Halberts full name was Thomas Lindsay Halbert, His father is Robert mother is Mary, Brother is James , His sister Mary is a Mrs Caret when he leaves London by ship for overseas.  He quotes his family home as NewCastle on Tyne
Still cant find a Robert Halbert marrying at the right time for the dates we are given.

Really would appreciate any help
Trudy m

[Matilda1]

Hi Trudy

Just some thoughts which you may have already tried.

I wondered if you or any of your family have Thomas Halbert's NZ death certificate?  If he died after civil registatrion started (and with that number of wives, he must have been around for a while ) he may have lived long enough to get a death cert.  This is likely to have information that will help your search.

There is a free index of historical BDMs available on line & you can then order the certs through the Department of Internal Affairs:

https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz

This has a death for a Thomas Halbert in 1864 - no age given in the index so not sure if it is your man.

Have you also tried the local historical society/ies on the East Coast where Thomas Halbert ended up?  If he was an early European settler, there may have been a bit of work done on him already.

If he had Maori wives, does he appear in the records of the Maori Land Court?  He may have become involved in land transactions.

You mention a Newcastle upon Tyne connection.  I have a number of research interests there but could not find your earlier post on the NBL Board - may I ask how you know he moved there?  I was just wondering what records he might have left of his stay there, if he was not baptised there or married or had any children there. 

I also wondered whether you had tried the Mariners list (if Thomas Halbert was a mariner/whaler) ?  http://www.mariners-l.co.uk/MarinersList.html

They may be able to explain how you could look for Thomas Halbert in crew lists.

George Carter's website sometimes has real treasures relating to sailors, soldiers and others away from their usual places, with an emphasis on Northumberland:
http://sites.google.com/site/soldierssailersandstrangers/

Not sure if this helos, but all the best,

Matilda

[trudym]

Hi. thanks for the suggestions, will try them. 
Trudy

[tamarajean]

Hi All,
I have just joined rootschat to join in your thread.  It’s very exciting to find someone actively searching for Thomas Halbert.

Thomas Halbert is my GG Grandfather. 
His 6th Maori wife Maora Pani gave birth to my G Grandmother, Alice Matewai Halbert, 6 months after his death.

My mother has pulled together dates, information, and a single picture of Thomas.  I'm not sure if it's appropriate to cut and paste her word document here but there may be relevant information to help you on your search.

Here is her blurb on his death...  "On the night of April 12 1865 he was returning from a drinking session on board a schooner berthed in the Tahuheru River, when his boat overturned in the shallow muddy waters.

Halbert sank deep into the mud unable to extricate himself and was drowned by the rising tide.  He was buried at the Makaraka Cemetery."

Let me know if this is the type of information you're looking for, I'm more then happy to share what tidbits I have.

[Matilda1]

Kia ora tamarajean

A number of references to likely descendents of the Thomas Halbert noted above come up if you search Paperspast - http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast

This is a free site run by the National Library (of NZ).

Matilda