Dear riley,
I wonder if you would be so kind as to check an ITM (absolutely no hurry!) for Ephraim EVANS and Ann TRIPPET/TRIPPIT (nee BROWNELL/BROWNILL/BROWNHILL) in Christchurch.
They married in Christchurch on 15 Jul 1883 - Annie's name is given as Ann TRIPPET; her parents are listed as Robert Simpson BROWNELL, Filecutter, and Ann FREEMAN. Ephraim, from Gloucestershire, is listed as a Widower whose wife died on 28 May 1878 (I think she was Mary Ann PERRY); Ann is listed as a Widow whose husband died on 22 June 1878.
It's a rather sad story.
Annie and husband Samuel TRIPPIT (they married in Sheffield in 1868) arrived at The Bluff in 1875 with four little children (including my Gma Ada who was born in Hindpool, Barrow in Furness and christened in Sheffield). Another daughter was born in Invercargill and a son in Christchurch. But Samuel died in 1878 leaving 29yo Annie a widow in a strange land with yet another son on the way.
In 1883, Annie married Mr EVANS (I don't know whether his children - there were several born in Gloucestershire - were with him). My Gma once said that she and her sister Flo hated him so they climbed out the window and ran away to Australia.
But apparently the rest of the family followed - there is a story that Gma's younger brothers built a raft from scrap timber with the aim of rowing back to NZ. They launched it and started rowing - the only problem was that they'd launched it not at the beach but on the Albert Park Lake in Melbourne!
I've just learned that poor Annie died (of uterine cancer and exhaustion - 3 months) at the age of 42 in Melbourne in 1890 having been in Victoria for 1 1/4 years. Her husband Edwin (sic) EVANS was the informant; her parents were listed as "not known"; only her 1883 marriage to Mr EVANS was recorded; and only two children were mentioned - Charles EVANS 5 and Margaret E EVANS 2 (she was born Christchurch in Jan 1887 - possibly later known as Madge). There was not a word about Samuel TRIPPIT or the 7 children Annie had borne to him (and the youngest would only have been 11 at the time).
My Gma Ada, aged 19, had a pre-nuptial child, Eugene, in 1892 in Melbourne (I think he was my Gpa's - though Gpa's first wife was still alive then). Her sister Flo, having married at age 18 a Mr KERSHAW, had Annie Elizabeth in 1892 but she lived just a few days. Then Flo had Charles, Percy and Hughey. But the Scarlet Fever epidemic struck in 1898 - and in quick succession in the space of 10 days in April 1898 little Charles KERSHAW, Eugene TRIPPIT/SULLIVAN, Percy KERSHAW and Hughey KERSHAW died and were buried in a public grave at St Kilda Cemetery.
When I was a little kid, my old Gma used to walk me down to the St Kilda Cemetery - I enjoyed the outing and had no idea what tragic memories it held for her. I have a beautiful photo of her when she was younger (and she is a very good looking lady) but people often comment how haunted she looks. No wonder.
Well, sorry to rabbit on but it's only today that I learned about Ggma Annie's fate and I guess I thought that RootsChatters would understand my feelings.
JAP
