Adeline Elizabeth Bird 1877- 1952

Adeline, second daughter of  John Bird and Johanna Hunt, was born on 23 February 1877 at Wallingford, Central Hawkes Bay. Her mother registered her as Addie Elizabeth two months later on 22 April at Porangahau.

She had already been baptised at Wallingford by Father Reignier on 3 April; as "Adlaide". her sponsor was a Denis Ryan.

Addie's Marriage Certificate records her as being "Adeline Elizabeth", the newspaper report of her marriage records her as being "Ada" , the Waipukurau Burial Records name her as "Ada Elizabeth" and her final word is on her headstone "Ada"

It is interesting that Johanna signed the "informant" section of the Birth Registration and recorded John's age as 39, which was correct. She was literate; by the standard that literacy rates have been measured , ie recording those who could sign their marriage lines with their name and not "their mark- X" 

John recorded his age on his Marriage certificate as 30 (he was 33) when he married 18 year old Johanna in 1871, and 35 (he was 43) when he married Mary 10 years later. I have his Birth Certificate!

Johanna was better at Maths.

When Addie was born, her brothers William and Richard , were 4 and  less than 2 years old . (Catherine had not survived infancy, being born between the two boys). William would have been his mother's little helper with the two younger children.

Addie and Johanna "Your dear mother"

Addie was only three and a half when her mother Johanna died, and less than a year later her father  married Mary Nelson. So Mary became the mother of the ready made family and if it was her that wrote "Your dear Mother" on the back of the photo of Johanna and Addie, she was more the fairy godmother then the wicked step mother.

Addie's obituary says that she was educated at the Greenmeadows Convent School in Taradale, but I have not been able to find any records.
Wallingford's official Education Board School was not built until 1881, but before that it is reputed that Hannah Ormond had a school at Wallingford Station from 1866.
Maybe Addie was  a foundation pupil?

Addie married James Alexander Browne 12 May 1897 at Wallingford.

She was attended by her sister Ethel Bird of Wallingford, and James by William Francis Brown of Waipawa.

The Marriage Notice in the Hawkes Bay papers described the couple as "James Alexander, eldest son of Mr W Brown, Waipawa" and "Ada Elizabeth, eldest daughter of John Bird Esquire of Wallingford"

At the time James had been living for 4 years at Wallingford working as a shepherd. The Minister was the Rev. Father Power.

"Adeline Elizabeth" from her niece Pat Atkins

By the time of WW1 , James was listed on the Second Division Rolls of the NZ Expeditionary Force Reserves in 1917 as living at Kopua, Hawkes Bay, occupation :Farm Hand, category F (married with more than 4 children)

         Addie and James had eight children:

• Adeline Pretoria  6 June 1900-25 May 1973
• Marion Maude 1905 -11 October 1991
• James Francis  20 March 1908 - 22 January 1960
• John Leslie 22 November 1911 - 4 June 1971
• Sydney Huntly  13 June 1914- 12 January 2000
• Harold Thorburn 1916- 15 June 1991
• Richard Allan  25 November 1917- 10 April 2000
• Dorothy Josephine 28 September 1920-1 July 1998

The Brown children's ages stretched over twenty years with the two eldest being the girls, Adeline and Marion and the youngest, Dorothy.

Addie's girls: Marion, Judy and Dorothy

Adeline was known as "Judy" and her daughter Pat told me the Pretoria was for the end of the Boer War.

I met Pat in Hastings and visited her occasionally before she passed away at 87 .

I wrote some notes after one visit on 19 March 2006 when she wanted to show me photos of  her family especially of Janet Barry (nee Paterson) who was her grandmother Addie's cousin. There was an air of intrigue about Janet whom Pat said was very theatrical and told fortunes in a tent at Fairs.

Pat was living in a sunny unit in Charles Street that looked out onto a native five finger and a cabbage tree that reminded her of her home in Patutahi, Gisborne where she grew up on the family farm with her sister Ann and brother Tom. Her parents were James and Judy (nee Brown)Atkins. She didnt know when her mother started to be called "Judy" having been baptised Adeline Pretoria.

Pat went to school at St Mary's in Auckland  and in Gisborne. It was at school that she learnt to play the piano, though she loved the Latin she had to give up for the piano lessons.

Pat trained as a Teacher in Wellington, and  she held a number of teaching positions. She  played golf down to a four handicap including being a Wellington rep.She had travelled extensively in Europe and had a drivers                                                                                                        licence.

Pat was left with life- long disabling injuries from a car accident caused by a teenaged drunk driver 50 years before. She was still able to create a garden, which she loved, in Green meadows; moved to Parkvale; didnt like it and moved to where she was when I met her.

When I called she was making gallons of plum sauce and had been busy unpacking....and she was 80 years old.

Pat had a handwritten family tree of John Bird's brothers and sisters that her aunt Dorothy had given her before one of her trips to Europe, so the Brown's had kept in touch with the extended family.

Memories were triggered and Pat recalled how musical Annie and Ethel were, both playing the piano beautifully. Annie played for Operatic Productions and Ethel had a wonderful singing voice. Ethel and Annie were Addie's sisters.

Pat boarded with Fred and Ethel (Cassin) in Wellington .They both had a love of music and would  take Pat to the Botanical Gardens on a Sunday to hear the band playing in the Rotunda. In the evening Ethel would play the piano for their entertainment.

Pat could remember Grandad Brown (James Brown) telling her about the bushfires in the early days when the family lived at Kopua and how the house was only saved by a miraculous change of wind direction. That would have been some time  after James and Addie were married in 1897.

I can remember being told of those bushfires that could be seen from Te Awaputahi (the Skippers Road farm); the glow of which lit the skies for three days and three nights.

James and Addie  had a large family and times weren't always easy. Dorothy went to Ennisclare to help Aunty Lena (Nana Bird) , whom it sounds  rather liked the thought of having a maid! She was insistent on having piping hot cups of tea delivered to her.  Brian (her grandson) remembered this too; the kettle had to be boiling hard before the tea was made.

In latter years Pat would visit her Aunt Marion who had retired to River Terrace in Waipukurau after a long and distinguished career as a nurse, including being matron at Taihape Hospital.Pat would bring her her favourite dessert  that was Sahara Pudding. I havent been able to find a recipe but it sounded like an egg custard topped with a layer of dates and then meringue on top of them.

Pat had happy memories of her early years and kept in touch with her brother Tom's daughter Tracey whose children's kindergarten pictures adorned her fridge.

It was a privilege to hear Pat's memories. Another time she told me about staying at "Nana Brown's" at Lindsay. Nana Brown (Addie) taught her how to knit and Pat still had the bone knitting needles she had been given all those years before.There was a blackcurrant bush beside the front veranda, and they were allowed jam on their bread on Sundays. How she enjoyed that!

Lots of the stories I have been told about Addie aren't my stories to tell, but they are all about a loved mother and Nana , hard working and respected by her descendants.

Thomas Paterson 1845-

One of the lessons I have been taught is to read and re read documents; and here is the result!

The memorial plaque pictured in the previous post with the initials "M.T." at the top has confused me for some time with a pencilled note that a Margaret Hunt is buried in the Hunt plot.
I believe someone had assumed that the Daniel Hunt buried there is Daniel Hunt , policeman and nephew of Richard Hunt , and husband of Margaret Bray.But it isn't. The burial is of Daniel John Hunt , Richard's bachelor son.

I had another "reread" of Janet Barry nee Paterson's death certificate. She died 10 September 1957 in Sydney where she had lived for 48 years, which has her arriving about 1910.
Janet was Richard Hunt's grand daughter and daughter of his daughter Catherine Hunt who had died when Janet was only 4 years old.
On her marriage certificate Janet lists her father as Thomas Paterson, schoolmaster. On her death certificate he has gained a "t" and was a schoolteacher.
On Catherine and Thomas's marriage certificate, 5 August 1869,  Thomas is a labourer and had 2 "t"s.
Their "Intention to Marry" certificate also says Thomas had only lived at  Hampden Town (Tikokino) for 12 months prior to the marriage.

Sally Butler and Judy Mathews' book "Tikokino A History 1855-1990" records that a Thomas Paterson was employed as Master between 1866 and 1867. His successor  arrived at the school and reported to the Inspector of Schools saying " I beg to inform you that I find that all the land belonging to this school, except about one sixteenth, is planted with potatoes and barley, which crop has been sold by the late Master Mr Paterson to Dr Todd of Waipawa for the sum of 5 pounds."

Except  Excerpt "snipped" from Janet's death certificate

I believe that the "M.T." is for Mary Catherine  and Thomas Paterson, Richard Hunt's son in law installing the old man's memorial plaque after his death, his having survived all his children except Winifred who was living in Wellington with her husband Henry Collins. 

"M.T.

I cannot lift your hand father dear

Your face I cannot see

But let a friend's token tell

That two still remember thee

Tom"

But where are you Thomas Pat(t)erson? There is a lot of information about a school teacher of the same name in Invercargill and Dunedin but the marriage dates dont allow for "our" Thomas's marriage to Catherine. Did you go to Australia with your daughter Janet and her children Desmond and Denzil ?