Kirker Family

[fred21]

Thanks all so much for your quick replies.

As requested here is what I do know and have tried for William KIRKER


Age on marriage cert (they were married 18 Sept 1884 Invercargill) is 35 meaning he was born in 1849.  He stated his birthplace as Boningong, Victoria, Australia.

Having done some research in Australia a few years ago I found that there was no place called Boningong but there was a place called Buninyong.  Unfortunately the Historical Society there said that it was not possible for him to have been born when he said he was as there were no white settlers living there, though they were kind enough to check through all their records but found nothing for him or for any Kirker's there or in the area.

He death cert (yes the 1914 one is him) is mostly blank - no parents names but age 77 which meant that he was born 1836/1837.  Place of birth is Buninyong, Australia.

I am guessing that Isobel never knew his parents and another guess would be that he immigrated to NZ on his own and had no further contact with his family - perhaps he was running away from something maybe even another wife and family?  Pure speculation of course...

His headstone however states his age as 70 which means he would of been born in 1844.

Hence you can see the confusion and difficultly in trying to find him.  Was he born in 1836/1837 or 1844 or 1849?  And Australia doesn't seem to match at all with these time frames unless he was born somewhere else entirely (at least according to the Historical Society in Victoria) and I have looked through the Victorian BDM and he isn't on there either.

My father in law seemed  to think that his grandfather was born in Ireland.  This may fit as there are Kirker's there and the few other Kirker's who immigrated to NZ between 1840-1880 were all from Ireland and I have been told from a Kirker contact in Ireland that all the Kirker's there are related (it is apparently not a common name).

If there is any other information I can provide to help please let me know and I will do my best.

Thanks so much for all the help so far.

[johnbarr]

Re the marriage in 1884.

Isobel was born 1860, so 24yrs old at marriage.

If William was born 1837, he would have been 47, considerably older than his bride.

Would this be a reason for him to declare his age as 35 in order to make the difference appear less, and be one of those rare instances where the data on death cert is more reliable than on marriage cert 

Just speculating 

John B

[kiwihalfpint]

Could be John ...... from my tree .... Bride was 25, groom 53 (widower) and she put her age up by 7 years


Cheers
KHP

[craigt]

I wouldn't worry too much about the age thing, my great great grandfather took a little bit off his age every time he and his wife had another child; by the time they had their last, he was 10 years younger than her and considering she was 22 when they married... And then there was my 85 year old ancestor who took 25 years off his age come census time. The point is, sometimes even official records aren't accurate as to people's details. I guess the thing is, this is the right couple, and you are most likely to get past your brick wall by obtaining the respective death printouts.
Craig.

[fred21]

thanks once again for the replies

so if I use the death print I'm once again stuck...

because according to that he was born 1836/1837 in Buninyong, Australia which according to the Historical Society there and the Victorian Records Office is not possible as there were no white settlers living in the area at this time - it's just too early.


I would love to be able to find his immigration to NZ as this would be his earliest link and might provide some information even as place as to where the ship he came on would at least give me a start, but the only immigration I found was for 1875 which unfortunately isn't our William Kirker.

Isn't it difficult when some of our ancestors give out misleading information.... I had another one a few years ago but finally traced him down after going through every document I could possibly find on him - turned out he was using his middle name instead of his first name (wanting to appear more English than Irish it seems) and had taken 10 years off his age.

This one is proving just as elusive but I am hopeful that there is something out there about him that will led me back to where he came from and then hopefully to the next generation.  I have tried looking for his parents (as stated on his marriage cert) but they too are proving elusive so perhaps he lied about them also...

[Petmar707]

I came across your site and note;
1. look up James Kirker on the internet - a remarkable fellow
2. On my fathers side I have an Alexander Kirker born 1864 County Antrim NI married Margaret Robinson 18/4/1886 St Anne's Belfast --- I have an Alexander Kirker born 1894 Scotland son of the above
Elizabeth Kirker Born Belfast 1900 daughter of the above County Antrim and a Thomas Kirker b 1830 who I understand was the first named Alexander's father .

Thought you might be interested

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[New Zealander]

My two bob's worth as I live in Invercargill and Southland.

I think the correct spelling should be Mandeville which is near Gore about 40mins from Invercargill.  Wyndham is about halfway (as the crow flies) between Invercargill and Gore.

Now I am able to visit all these locations and local cemeteries and photograph gravesites  if required (for those cemeteries that are not online or have photographs available).   

I see also that CraigT has identified Probates at Archives NZ in Dunedin.  If required I can copy these as I will be in Dunedin on Thursday and Friday of this week (see post eleswhere on NZ Board).

There are also Museums and Archives at both Wyndham and Gore that might be worth inquiring of.

Any thing of use in here let me know. 

Happy to assist.

Alex G

[spades]

Hi Fred21,

I found this in the NZSG Kiwi index.

Name: KIRKER William
Name Aliases:
Address:
Date: before 10 May 1876
Description: Criminal suspect; stealing, horse
Occupation:
Place:
Age:
Sex:
Birthdate:
Title: Otago Police Gazette
Page: 47
Publication: 10 May 1876
Comment: Arrested by Constable Thomas GALLAGHER 699 Cromwell Police; discharged
Further enquiries to: Research Librarian, Hocken Library Otago

And the index also shows school Admission/Progress/Withdrawals (APW) records for many of the children listed in your first post, with William KIRKER listed as parent/guardian. Mandeville and Pyramid Siding schools.

Spades

[New Zealander]

For what it is worth another small contribution

The NZ Police Gazettes are held at Archives NZ in Dunedin. I would be able to explore further on my next visit if required.

Have used this resource previously with good results.

Alex G