Author Topic: J McKee gone abroad ! [NZ]  (Read 3240 times)

Offline Fresh Fields

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J McKee gone abroad ! [NZ]
« on: Sunday 10 May 15 01:41 BST (UK) »
Hello.

Greetings from the underside of the world. The udder half - Waikato country.

MARRIAGES  - Gisborne NZ.

GARRETT – McKEE – On April 28th, 1892, at the residence of J McKee, Gisborne, by the Rev, R. M. Ryburn, M. A., George fourth son of Thomas Garrett, Auckland, to Sarah, third daughter of the late J. McKee, Garvagh, County Derry, Ireland

(A son George Victor GARRETT was born to this couple in 1893 [9712] and I did not spot any others up until about 1908.)

Re the above, is any one researching this family of McKee’s who came out to New Zealand.

I am researching this family, starting with their early 1880’s days at Gisborne on the Poverty Bay, North Island coast, of New Zealand, as part of an ADOPT AN ANZAC project that I work on each year. Three McKee siblings posted a 1959 death notice for our subject, who served in both WWI and WWII.

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=717768.0

Having spent several days reading through the old newspapers, I have info, [and 20 odd newspaper cuttings,] placed about their storekeeping businesses, etc, that I’m, happy to share. Plus following generations pre WWII. Plus search references for historic NZ records.

I also have contact with one descending McKee branch now living in Canada. He is of the opinion that his ancestor possibly came from County Cork, and if that were the case I believe that both lines were known to each other, and were closely associated at Gisborne. Upheavals through the course of time, has left my contact, with little knowledge of these generations of McKee’s.

Feel free to PM ‘private message’ me if your interest involves the living McKee’s. If just signed on to Rootschat you need to have made a number of open forum posts [3 ?] before you gain assess to the PM service.

- Alan.

OOP's must be getting old and forgetful. Did not check the Gisborne Cemetery records before posting. There, in what I was hoping might have been a son/brother, not in our historic BD&M's, I found in burial records. Mr & Mrs J McKee in one cemetery, but my principal subject on his own some distance away in another.

 Tramscript : _ To the memory of EMMA ELSIE McKEE, born Dorking, England, 1873, died 1941; JAMES McKEE, born County Derry, Ireland, 1854, died 1943

- Alan.
Early Settlers & Heritage. Family History.

Offline aghadowey

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Re: J McKee gone abroad ! [NZ]
« Reply #1 on: Sunday 10 May 15 07:07 BST (UK) »
I can tell you quite a bit about this McKee family but there is no connection to County Cork and at the moment I can't recall any descendants in Canada- so perhaps the Canadian is from a different McKee family?

Anyway, Sarah McKee (June 1858 Carballintober townland near Garvagh, Co. Londonderry) was the daughter of James McKee (1809-1889) & Sarah Gray (1817-1903). She went to keep house for her unmarried brother James McKee in Gisborne and shortly after married his friend, George Garrett (1857 Frankfort, Kings Co., Ireland-1895). They only had the one child before George Garrett died- George Victor James Garrett (17 July 1893-5 July 1959) who married and had a son shortly before he died. Sarah (McKee) Garrett died in March 1943.

James McKee (born 5 July 1854 Carballintober, died 8 Jan.1943) married (c1914) Elsie Emma Cooke (1873-1941) & had 1 son.

Many of their siblings also settled in New Zealand but over the years some of the family have visiting Ireland and I keep in touch with some of them.
Away sorting out DNA matches... I may be gone for some time many years!

Offline aghadowey

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Re: J McKee gone abroad ! [NZ]
« Reply #2 on: Sunday 10 May 15 07:58 BST (UK) »
Think this is connected to the McKees you are actually interested In?
http://members4.boardhost.com/mckeeboard/msg/1355348769.html

No connection to the McKees of Carballintober, Co. Londonderry, Ireland.
Away sorting out DNA matches... I may be gone for some time many years!

Offline Fresh Fields

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Re: J McKee gone abroad ! [NZ]
« Reply #3 on: Sunday 10 May 15 10:56 BST (UK) »
Hello and thanks.

If you want a quick answer ask the IRISH.

Re the link you provided, it was the board I stumbled upon, that gave us a surname that linked into the christian names on the 1959 death notice we were researching, and it tied into other facts that had been gleaned this past month. The three named therein, are all now dead.

Today I have started exchanging emails with a NZ born, now living in Canada who is descendant from Samuel McKee.  He and another of his relatives, whom I believe is still NZ resident, have expressed interest in learning more about their heritage. In their cases not much has been handed down. From information I have found, but yet to confirm, would indicate that one father died at a relatively young age.

The first evidence I've found for Sam McKee is that he was living in Gisborne, where we have the evidence of the James McKee and his family running a business as a general storekeeper from the early 1880's. Operating handy to his business was one being operated by a Miss BEATTIE 1907. 

In 1917 Sam McKee married his first wife Mabel Jefferson BEATTIE and by 1920 Samuel was advertising, that he had set up as a Taylor in the building formerly used by Mr BEATTIE, on the outskirts of Gisborne.

Sam went on to taking over the Tokomaru Bay store, and combining it with tailoring. In winter roading was nearly impassable up the coast. One carrier advising that no goods over 28 lbs would be carted over the winter months, aside from passengers, so most travelled and 'shipped' by sea. Therefore local stores supplied every thing.

Sam's first marriage failed and he then married a local girl, Fanny MULLIGAN, and I believe had the three named children. He died alone, and is buried locally.  Fanny MULLIGAN, we believe will turn out to be P. TEWAI'S sister. Or raised as such. Long memories in the community tend to confirm this assumption, but we have yet to make contact with more immediately associated families.

Civil registrations for Europeans in NZ, stated in the mid 1850's like the UK, but the Maori community were not compelled to register, by civil legislation until after 1900 [1905 ??]
In isolated, mainly Maori communities, registration formalities were the least of their worries. In this period Maori Land Court claims are the best for finding written accounts of ['Native'] family genealogy.

Because newspaper searches of that period only find the James McKee and Sam McKee at Gisborne, I assumed they would have some knowledge of each other from their homeland, if not immediately related. McKee was not a commom name in NZ, in that period.

Thanks for your input.

- Alan.
Early Settlers & Heritage. Family History.


Offline Fresh Fields

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Re: J McKee gone abroad ! [NZ]
« Reply #4 on: Tuesday 12 May 15 01:03 BST (UK) »
Hello.

Yesterday, after a months research within the Gisborne area, I discovered that the H. B. Williams Memorial Library have published, on line, the Gisborne and the Nelson editions of PHOTO NEWS. Photo news started in Gisborne in 1954 and was published monthly until 1975. Progressively editions for other areas, were also started and published, until newspapers started publishing more social photos, and TV became more popular and affordable. Then Photo News ceased being produced.

Therein are a large number of photos of people at work and play, with full indexing for all who were named. There are many photos of McKee and other family names, we have been researching. The problem now being, sorting out the ones who had Christian/given names in common.

Please respect the PHOTO NEWS . ORG, home page terms of use, and copywright, as some subjects will still be alive. As researchers, we must respect the privilege of being able to view the content from our own homes around the world, saving us the alternative, of having to personally visit the archive that holds the source material.

www.photonews.org.nz

Happy hunting.

- Alan.
Early Settlers & Heritage. Family History.

Offline Sarah_Hackett

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Re: J McKee gone abroad ! [NZ]
« Reply #5 on: Sunday 31 October 21 01:45 BST (UK) »
I am the descendant of William John McKee, 1847-1914. My nana (Margaret Rosalie McKee) is my last living Grandparent, so I am trying to trace back as long as possible with her help while I can. Unfortunately, I haven't made it any further than James McKee (1809-1889) and cannot find his parents. Has anyone found further info on this?

Offline aghadowey

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Re: J McKee gone abroad ! [NZ]
« Reply #6 on: Friday 05 November 21 19:35 GMT (UK) »
I am the descendant of William John McKee, 1847-1914. My nana (Margaret Rosalie McKee) is my last living Grandparent, so I am trying to trace back as long as possible with her help while I can. Unfortunately, I haven't made it any further than James McKee (1809-1889) and cannot find his parents. Has anyone found further info on this?

Do you mean James McKee of Carbalintober?
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/deaths_returns/deaths_1889/06144/4755182.pdf
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/deaths_returns/deaths_1889/06144/4755182a.pdf

His father was Thomas McKee (1774-Aug.1858) and mother's Christian name was Nancy (1774-July 1859). There is a headstone in the family plot at the Old First Garvagh Burying Ground.
Away sorting out DNA matches... I may be gone for some time many years!

Offline Moffitt77

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Re: J McKee gone abroad ! [NZ]
« Reply #7 on: Sunday 10 September 23 05:47 BST (UK) »
Hello, I hope that it is not too late to add three McKee (New Zealand) settlers to the discussion. They are the families of Rev David McKee, John McKee, and Thomas McKee. Rev David brought his large family here but survived only a very short time afterwards. He had come to NZ aboard the ship Pleiades in 1880 with 7 children for a better climate. This family is well-documented in our free site for Papers Past.I do not think that this family has close connections to mine, yet, but the other two men are related. Mary McKee, daughter of Irish Thomas McKee married into our Allen family here. He was very old when he came here to join the family, I believe. I need to check notes for his details, but I have a fair bit about Mary’s family.  John McKee’s son, Thomas Taylor Evelyn McKee became a trustee for my grandfather Alexander Allen’s estate over a century ago. John and his wife also had a daughter Jane on board the ship as they travelled to this country. I have only just discovered this family but the two children seem to be well-documented. Once again, I can check my notes for this family.

Godwin luck with your search.
Mary

Offline aghadowey

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Re: J McKee gone abroad ! [NZ]
« Reply #8 on: Sunday 10 September 23 12:09 BST (UK) »
None of those 3 McKee families connect to the McKee family of Carbalintober at the start of this thread (which turned out NOT to be the family the OP was researching).
Away sorting out DNA matches... I may be gone for some time many years!