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New Zealand Completed Requests / John Johnston Taieri/Waiwera
« on: Wednesday 10 June 20 00:25 BST (UK) »
I am looking for information about the background of this John Johnston. He died 10 October1875 at Balclutha. This fact comes from an affidavit provided after his death by a John Bell of Taieri which was accessed via Archives NZ. John Johnston left seven children orphaned.
The distribution of his estate was raised in Parliament in 1882 when the financial plight of a lady who "adopted" the youngest child was raised and the Public Trustee requested to look further into the matter of distribution of the estate. In the Parliamentary record it is suggested that several of the children ended up at the Caversham Industrial School and one was still there in 1882.
I have identified the seven children, one of whom is my great grandmother. John Johnston married Elizabeth Bell in 1858 at Taieri. His age is listed as 35. If correct he was born about 1823. There is also a suggestion that he had been in NZ for 9 years at that time. I have a death cert for his wife who died in 1871 shortly after giving birth to her youngest daughter Joan. While the age listed (29) has to be in error this seems certainly the correct person. The wedding cert suggests she was 23 at time of marriage but that date is also in question.
I have now found that Elizabeth Bell was a sister of the above mentioned John Bell. They came from Lanarkshire. John Bell arrived in NZ in 1848 on the Phillip Laing but his sister was not with him. It seems she arrived in NZ later.
So my information about John Johnston is that:
* he may have arrived in NZ around 1849
* he married Elizabeth Bell in 1858
* 3 children were born in the Taieri area (Elizabeth, Martha, Jane)
* some time after 1864 he moved to a farm at Waiwera where he and Elizabeth had 4 more children (William, Catherine, Mary, Joan)
* he died in 1875 leaving seven children orphaned.
Any suggestions on how to obtain more information on John Johnston would be welcomed. Unfortunately it is a very common name. There was another John Johnston farming at Kaihiku which is near Waiwera. A big family but I believe not connected.
The distribution of his estate was raised in Parliament in 1882 when the financial plight of a lady who "adopted" the youngest child was raised and the Public Trustee requested to look further into the matter of distribution of the estate. In the Parliamentary record it is suggested that several of the children ended up at the Caversham Industrial School and one was still there in 1882.
I have identified the seven children, one of whom is my great grandmother. John Johnston married Elizabeth Bell in 1858 at Taieri. His age is listed as 35. If correct he was born about 1823. There is also a suggestion that he had been in NZ for 9 years at that time. I have a death cert for his wife who died in 1871 shortly after giving birth to her youngest daughter Joan. While the age listed (29) has to be in error this seems certainly the correct person. The wedding cert suggests she was 23 at time of marriage but that date is also in question.
I have now found that Elizabeth Bell was a sister of the above mentioned John Bell. They came from Lanarkshire. John Bell arrived in NZ in 1848 on the Phillip Laing but his sister was not with him. It seems she arrived in NZ later.
So my information about John Johnston is that:
* he may have arrived in NZ around 1849
* he married Elizabeth Bell in 1858
* 3 children were born in the Taieri area (Elizabeth, Martha, Jane)
* some time after 1864 he moved to a farm at Waiwera where he and Elizabeth had 4 more children (William, Catherine, Mary, Joan)
* he died in 1875 leaving seven children orphaned.
Any suggestions on how to obtain more information on John Johnston would be welcomed. Unfortunately it is a very common name. There was another John Johnston farming at Kaihiku which is near Waiwera. A big family but I believe not connected.