Search for Douglas William Hamilton

[DotBrennan]

the William Douglas at Hawera is aged 49.

There is however a Douglas William at Hastings which fits the age at marriage….
http://www.hdc.govt.nz/cem/cemetery_home.html

Bren

[johnbarr]

Thank you Bren, that's looking very promising.
Now if I could only find his birth

[Sunny_26]

Hi johnbarr

Not sure if you are still chasing this information, but Douglas William was born 24 Apr 1887 in Dannevirke and died 19 Apr 1958 buried in Hastings cemetery.

http://cemeterybase.hdc.govt.nz/Details.aspx?id=508908

Douglas William is my 3rd great uncle. Was your grandmother Abigail Toamia?

[johnbarr]

Hi Greg,
Thanks for your post and information.

Douglas William Hamilton was my mother's step-father. My grandmother Margaret Jane Vowless 1870-1965 married him 4 Jul 1908 and later divorced him - or the marriage was anulled? See Evening Post 22 Nov 1915 for report from the Supreme Court. I did this research some years ago and cannot remember if I ever found final outcome of the unusual Court case.

I had the cemetery details but I never did find his birth, so thanks for that. May I ask what was your source for that information?

 John B

[Sunny_26]

Hi John

Thanks for that info. I did a little research on Douglas and Margaret and found a few newspapers articles, looks like it was annulled due to claims Margaret was already married. Are you descended from Margarets children prior to this ( apparently she had 3 when she married Douglas) or from her later marriage to Herbert Stubbington?
I recently purchased Douglas Williams death certificate from NZ archives hoping to clarify his DOB but unfortunately it was not recorded. The date I got was from family but it is simply word of mouth and I am not convinced enough to record it confidently. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a birth record for him on NZ BDM.
According to Douglas's death certificate he was married 3 times, twice after your grandmother.

Greg

[johnbarr]

PM sent.