Many of this family emigrated to NZ including the mother Rose [ Roseanna ]
Robert Meaclem who married Sarah Irwin emigrated to New Zealand (both of them).
Robert Died in Auckland in 1917 and Sarah in Hamilton in 1922. They had seven children in New Zealand. They arrived into Lyttelton, Canterbury NZ 20 Sep with his mother Rose, Sarah and Matilda. See below.
Roberts siblings or close relations in NZ:
1)Brother William 1854 -1923. Died in Ashburton Canterbury, NZ. Arrived on the Dover Castle with sisters Margaret and Eliza. See below for more detail. There are a lot of Meaclems in the Ashburton cemetery so presumably descendents of William.
2) Mother Rose Meachem aged 44yrs from County Cavan arrived in 2nd Jun 1873 aboard the 'Punjaub' into Lyttelton, Canterbury NZ. With her were daughters Sarah 10 (1862-1937)and Matilda aged 8. (1865-1913) Rose is listed as single and a dressmaker. So she would be a widow. She died in Christchurch Canterbury NZ in 1903.
Matilda married Donald Fry and died in Christchurch NZ aged 48yrs.
Sarah is listed on some family trees as marrying James Rennie in 1890 in San Franscisco. I believe this incorrect and this is another Sarah Meaclem from County Cavan having seen some time back very similar family lines There is no online record of Sarah leaving NZ once here but no marriage or death records so could be wrong.
4) Sisters: Margaret J aged 21 (b.1851) and Eliza [Elizabeth] (b.1859) aged 13yrs arrived on the ship 'Dover Castle' on 7 May 1872 to Lyttelton, Canterbury, NZ.. Both described as general servants from County Cavan.
Margaret married William Richards Shattock in 1905. She died in Hamilton in 1932 aged 48/49rs.
According to NZ marriage records Eliza married John William Rogers twice - in 1884 and again in 1892.
I am not a relation however I have considerable information on one of Robert and Sarah's children Robert Irwin who became a habitual criminal beginning at a young age. He used many aliases so researching him has been rather a challenge including the newspapers of the times spelling the name Meaclem about 10 different ways with Meachem and Maclean being the most common. His aliases were all a combination of his sisters husbands names in one form or another. I can probably help with more information about this family should anyone need it.
