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Hi Elli

Thanks so much for your help. This will keep me busy

I can't believe all the fantastic help people on this site give, especially to the new researchers.

Best wishes

Neroli

Hi Lu
Thanks for your replies.

I have some information relating to their daughter (my great grandmother) who was Elizabeth. See an earlier post titled Elizabeth Taylor. However I have no idea where either Donald or Mary Jane were born, parents names etc and my trail stops with their birth, death and now (thank you) their marriage date. I would like to know if they were NZ born, if not where they came from.
Also the horse gene seems to have been very strong, as my grandfather Charles Reginald was also a trainer/ jockey/trotting driver and my daughters and I have always been keen horsewomen. I would love to know about his life training horses, especially as they were very different times to today.
I am not sure where to begin researching the racing history?
Thank you again for your help

Neroli

Hello Dianne

Thank you so much for replying to my post. We are definitely talking about my grandpa Reg. He married my Nana at Tuakau and he worked as a farm labourer for a period and the family latter settled in Hamilton. There were 5 children (3boys, 2 girls) all of whom are still alive, all but one lives in Hamilton. He was a racehorse trainer/driver/jockey and was also a farrier. All my life he was also the caretaker of Claudelands Showgrounds and trotting track.
My Mum doesn't know much about his childhood and until I began researching his family history we wrongly believed he was brought up in Napier. In fact Napier is listed as his birthplace on his death cert.(I know that this is incorrect.) I do not know how this came about and we also believed he was part Maori??? Again this seems to be wrong as I can't find any evidence of Maori family.
Do you know how his mother died? and also I would love to know more about Elizabeth's father Donald Taylor.
 I have seen some Past Papers which referred to him taking racehorses to Australia to race and that he was based around Ellerslie. I have a copy of Elizabeth and Walters Marriage Cert which has a Thomas Taylor as a witness and lists him as a jockey from Ellerslie. I was bought up riding horses and so have both my daughters, so it is very interesting to find this family history.
Coincidentally, my daughter has been living at a house in One Tree Hill, which is in Campbell Rd, where the family farm 'Sherwood' was. It is a small world!
My parents are still living just out of Hamilton and so do I. Mum has always wondered about the circumstances surrounding his leaving the family and we always thought he left at about 6 yrs old, but from your info this also seems incorrect. This is a mystery we may not solve.
I was very close to Pop as a child and we saw lots of him and Nana. I am so pleased to have found out a little more of the puzzle and thank you again.

Best wishes
Neroli

Those dates for Mary Jane and Donald definetly fit with info I have re DOB etc, so I think this is them. How exciting

Not sure about Walter and Elizabeth?

Excitedly

Neroli

You ladies are amazing! I have never seen such quick work

Am very grateful!

Best wishes

Neroli