I’ve started this blog about the McGaveston family to encourage other family members to contribute family photos, stories and other related historical memorabilia to preserve what we have. I have a number of photos of the McGaveston family from the 1860s to 1940s. If you have better copies of any of the photos below or would like to Contact Me please use the form at the bottom of this page. If there are photos you would like to share but do not want them published please Contact Me. Only deceased people will appear on my web pages for obvious privacy issues.
About me:
I am a family history researcher and descendant of Nicholas McGaveston and Rosanna Higgins via their son John McGaveston who married Margaret Page. Their son John Cornwall McGaveston married Mary Ann White. Their son Charles Winnford McGaveston married Ada Materoa Cuff. Their son John Wynn McGaveston married Dorothea O’Donnell. Their daughter Dorothea (Molly) Ada Marie McGaveston married Geoffrey Bernard Harker and they are my grandparents.
How you can help with the family history?
I am looking for photos of the White family of Riwaka (David, Sarah, David Jr, George, Elizabeth and Mary Anne White), Knowles family (Joseph Dale Knowles and his wife Elizabeth and family) of Panagatotara and Lloyd families (Descendants of Reverend Robert John Lloyd and Margaret Page) of Nelson and Palmerston North.
If you can help I’m looking for these records in Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland:
- Nicholas McGaveston birth around 1753 (and any other family)
- Mary McGaveston nee Kelly death (between 1786-1794)
- Rosana/Rose McGaveston death (1803 or later) or remarriage (1823 or later)
- Peter McGaveston baptism (between 1760 and 1790)
- Mary McGaveston baptism around 1798
- Peter McGaveston death (after 1808) or emigration
- Mary McGaveston marriage to Mathew Hilton in 1819 in the Diocese of Ossory. Marys surname is possibly listed as McEvistone.
- Margaret Page baptism (around 1818 in Dublin) was the daughter of Theophilus Page and Margaret Cummings/Cummins
- William Henry Page baptism and death. William was the son of Theophilus Page and Margaret Cummings/Cummins
- William Henry Page marriage to Johanna Quinlan in 1838
- Margaret Cummings/Cummins baptism around 1792
- Georgina Gratham (or Duffield) baptism around 1770 in Ireland, marriage to Lieutenant Cummins/Cummings (we dont have his first name), baptisms of her 4 children then marriage to William Trulock 1772-1832 and death around 1814 in Dublin.
- Mary Quinlan (likely sister to Joanna Quinlan). This is still an unconfirmed connection but she married in 1831 to James Walker Esq in Dublin. Mary Walker died 17 January 1865 and James had predeceased her. She was buried in the Page family vault at Glasnevin Cemetery. She like some of the other Page family lived at 4 Martello Terrace, Kingstown. Mary was the witness at the baptism of William John Page along with John Quinlan. Mary and James Walker were the witnesses at the baptism of Mary Genevieve Page.
Acknowledgements
My grandmother Molly. My uncles Philip Harker and John Harker and my mother who have DNA tested for our family history and given us some incredible insights into where we came from.
Stephen John Rodda and his son Michael John Rodda for their work on tracing the family history in the 1980s and sharing that with our family.
All our McGaveston cousins who have DNA tested and have contributed to the family history.
All those who have contributed photos, family stories and their family history to help build the bigger picture about our McGaveston family. There’s a number of you who like to remain anonymous but without your information there would be some very big gaps in our family history.
The Origin of the McGaveston name
The McGaveston name has a lot of variants in historical records which include McGaviston, MacGaveston, McGaverstone, Gaviston, Gaveston, MccGaveston, Mc Gaveston etc and these variants among others need to be considered when doing research into the family. Also keep in mind that records from the early 1800s and entire 1700s may use the Latin versions of the name ie: Petrus for Peter, Joannes for John, Guilemus for William etc
Family stories which have been passed down for over 200 years are that the McGaveston name was originally Gaveston and that our family have their origins in Gascony in France. You can read more about this region here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gascony
The McGaveston surname may derive from Gaveston which derives from Gabaston – a town in Southern France on the Gabas River. The Mc part of the name was added when the Gavestons migrated to Ireland and denotes that were not Irish or not from Ireland.
A family story also says that the name was originally from the family of Piers De Gaveston. The origin of the McGaveston name remains obscure and needs a lot of research. Piers had no legitimate male heirs.
One family story passed down through the generations is that Piers had an illegitimate male child who survived to adulthood. This child was not officially recognised and there is no mention of him in literature from the period or in more recent times. This child of Piers has held an unbroken male line since the 1300s. The Gaveston coat of arms has three eaglets while Piers had six eaglets.
The Gaveston surname occurs in greater frequency in France and England in modern times. Where the origin of the name has been explored there are enduring links to Piers De Gaveston and his family but a significant body of work needs to be undertaken to explore this further.
Another story is that while we are related to Piers it is through another of his parents family lines.
We have YDNA tested a direct male McGaveston family member through Family Tree DNA and have the family DNA on file in case there is a close genetic match. As of 15 April 2021 there are no close matches but there are genetic matches from 500-1000 years ago but no surname matches.
McGaveston Descendants
Nicholas McGaveston was born around 1753 (place unknown but Ireland or France) and died in November 1823 in Stevens Street, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland. He was buried on 30 November 1823 at St Nicholas Without, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland. Like many of the other headstones from the cemetery Nicholas headstone was most likely removed as part of the cemetery is now under a car park.
All modern day McGaveston family members are descended from him. The only other early record we have of a McGaveston in Ireland in the latter part of the 1790s is of Peter McGaveston who married a Mariannam Reily in St Peters Church, Dublin, Co Dublin Ireland in April 1808 and a John McGaveston which we know nothing about. John could be a sibling to Nicholas or an elderly father. I’ve mentioned him below as he’s the witness to Nicholas McGavestons marriage to Rosana Higgins on 30 December 1794. The witnesses to this marriage were Joanne May and Anna Ward. No parents of either person marrying were recorded.
We have no other record of Peter (recorded as Petrus) anywhere to be able to determine the exact relationship. Peter was also the sponsor at the baptism of Nicholas McGaveston (junior). At this stage I haven’t found a death record for Peter or Mariannum although there is the possibility the could have emigrated to the USA or Canada.
Nicholas McGaveston married Mary Kelly in December 1786 at St Mary’s, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland. The witnesses were: Arthur Southwel and Margaret Byrne.
Source: Catholic Parish Registers, The National Library of Ireland; Dublin, Ireland; Microfilm Number: 09148 / 03.
We dont know what happened to Mary except she most likely died before 1794. Did Nicholas and Mary have Peter as their son? If not then he is another potential brother to Nicholas.
If Nicholas was born around 1853 and didn’t marry until he was 33 I have wondered if he was in the military and the links to Mary Kelly and Rosana Higgins were because of links to their fathers who also served in the military. It was fairly common for a much older man to marry the daughter of someone also in the military.
Nicholas McGaveston married Rosanna Higgins on 30 December 1794 at St Andrews, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland. The witnesses for this marriage were: Michael Phean and John McGaviston.
Source: Catholic Parish Registers, The National Library of Ireland; Dublin, Ireland; Microfilm Number: Microfilm 09491 / 04.
Nicholas and Rose had at least four children. At the time Nicholas became a father he was 42.
The four children of Nicholas and Rose were
- Mary McGaveston married Mathew Hilton
- Jane McGaveston married Laurence Clarke
- John McGaveston married Margaret Page
- Nicholas McGaveston married Henrietta Bournes then married Catherine Ennis.
The first of Nicholas and Rosannas children was:
- Mary McGaveston 1796-1867
Mary married Matthew Hilton 1787-1867 in 1819 in Ireland.
This could well be the reference to their marriage in 1819 but I have not had time to see if the relevant marriage register contains the full record or if the register still survives.
Image courtesy of Findmypast. A letter from Margaret Elizabeth Hilton to her cousin John Cornwall McGaveston stated that the marriage of Mathew and Mary occurred in 1819.
Mary and Mathew had 8 children (4 boys and 4 girls) of which at least 7 survived to adulthood. If you are able to find baptisms of the children please contact me. In a letter from Margaret Elizabeth Hilton to her nephew John Cornwall McGaveston in New Zealand she wrote that in 1884 only two of the Hilton children (her and Mary) were still alive.
- Mary Rosanna Hilton 1820-1900
- John Hilton 1821-1880
- Jane Hilton 1825-1864
- Margaret Elizabeth Hilton 1831-1894
- William Alexander Hilton 1836-1865
- James Hilton
- Unknown female
- Unknown male
James Hilton may have also been part of this family. He was mentioned in newspapers in Callan, Co Kilkenny, Ireland at the same time as Mathew Hilton his possible father. An unknown female Hilton and another unknown male Hilton we have no record of but these people were mentioned in family letters.
The following are possible baptisms for some of the Hilton children. Given Mathew Hiltons occupation as Land Steward meant that he moved around there is a possibility that some or all of these are the Hilton children. Curiously the Mary Hilton baptism (if accurate) could predate Mathew and Marys marriage.
Mary Hilton baptism in 1819
John Hilton baptism in 1821
Jane Hilton baptism in 1825
James Hilton baptism in 1824.
Images courtesy of http://www.rootsireland.com
Margaret Elizabeth Hiltons baptism in 1831. Image courtesy of www.irishgenealogy.ie
- Mary Rosanna Hilton born around 1819 in Ireland and died 30 March 1900, Knoxville, Knox, Tennessee, USA. Mary moved from Ireland to Norwich, Chenango, New York, USA in 1851.
Mary appears in the 1855, 1860, 1875 and 1880 censuses.
Mary was living with her niece Annie R Hilton in Knoxville, Tennessee when she died.
Mary had lived near her brother John Hilton for most of her adult life and she requested to be buried at Mount Hope Cemetery in Norwich, Chenango. In Marys Will she requested that she buried right next to her brother John. She died without marrying.
Source: Chenango Semi Weekly Telegraph Wednesday 4 Apr 1900
Her body arrived back in Norwich, Chenango at 4.30pm on 2 April 1900.
Information courtesy of the Chenango County Historian’s Office – 6 May 2016
Photo courtesy of JTF on findagrave.com.
Source: Probate Records, 1798-1970; Author: New York. Surrogate’s Court (Chenango County); Probate Place: Chenango, New York on ancestry.com
Mary required the following people to attend the reading of her probate:
- William Gaveston Hilton living in Norfolk, Virginia (Her brother Williams son)
- William Hilton living in New Haven, Connecticut (Her brother Johns son)
- Mary Elinor Horton living in Wilmington, North Carolina (Her sister Janes daughter)
- Annie Ruth (Ruth Annie) Hilton (Listed as the niece of Mary Hilton living in Wilmington, North Carolina and Knoxville, Tennessee). She is the person who Mary was staying with when she died. She is most likely to be Johns daughter ‘Nellie’.
- Dr Silas Pratt Wright was also from Knoxville, Tennessee.
Information courtesy of the Chenango County Historian’s Office – 6 May 2016
Source: Chenango Semi Weekly Telegraph 9 June 1900
Source: Chenango Semi Weekly Telegraph 20 May 1903
- John Hilton 1821-1880 moved from Ireland to Norwich, Chenango, New York, USA in 1851 with his sisters Jane and Margaret Hilton.
If the following story is the correct John Hilton (his father was also a land steward at Co Tipperary) followed in his fathers footsteps but quickly fell foul of one of the locals.
Source findmypast. The Pilot 16 August 1848
The following is the passenger list that shows John, Margaret and Jane Hiltons arrival in the New York on 3 March 1851 aboard the Garrick. The ship originally departed from Liverpool, England. All three are listed as Irish Famine Immigrants.
John married an American born woman named Rebecca Rood 1837-1869 and had two girls and a boy. Rebecca was the daughter of Henry Rood and Lovina Chittendon.
John and Rebeccas children were:
- William H Hilton 1863 – ?
- Mary (Nellie) Hilton 1865-? Nannie and Mary may be the same person but their names appear differently in alternating cenuses. Mary last appears in the 1880 census living with her mother sister Julia M Rood. In the census she is listed as crippled.
- Anna Ruth (Nannie) Hilton 1867- 1929. She was also known as Annie Ruth Hilton/Ruth Annie Hilton/Anna Ruth Hilton. She moved to Knoxville, Knox County, Tennessee, USA and worked as a teacher until she died on 7 October 1929.
Source: Chenango Semi Weekly Telegraph – Wednesday 20 Dec 1882
Source: Chenango Semi Weekly Telegraph Sat 8 March 1884
Source: Chenango Semi Weekly Telegraph Sat 22 May 1886
Annie Hilton is still living in Norwich in 1886. P Rood is Perry Rood who was her mothers brother. Source: Chenango Semi Weekly Telegraph Sat 11 Sep 1886
Annie R Hilton now of Wilmington, North Carolina is visiting the Edwin S Clark family of Preston. Source: Chenango Semi Weekly Telegraph 29 Jul 1891
Source: Tennessee State Library and Archives; Nashville, Tennessee; Tennessee Death Records, 1908-1959; Roll #: 10 on ancestry.com
Her death certificate contains no useful information as neither parent is named. Her age at death is listed as 49 years old making her birth around 1881 which doesn’t correspond with the birth age above. While reviewing the census information for Annie she was more ‘generous’ with her age as she got older. In the 1900 census she listed her birth as 1869. By the 1920 census she listed her birth date as 1885!
Annie Hilton is buried at Greenwood Cemetery, Knoxville, Knox County, Tennessee, USA. Image courtesy of Sue Reneau Damewood at Findagrave
John Hiltons wife Rebecca Hilton died on 30 October 1869 in New South Berlin, Chenango County, New York, USA.
Rebecca was buried in 1869 at Riverside Cemetery, South New Berlin, Chenango, New York, USA.
This is a picture of Rebeccas original headstone which appears to say John Hilton…DIED…1869. If so, it may have originally said Rebecca Hilton wife of John Hilton died in 1869.
Photos courtesy of Wendy Bovee Oldham on findagrave.com.
The image below is of an inscribed monument with her father, mother and two sisters who died after her. Rebeccas name was most likely added at a later stage as the original headstone of Rebeccas lies broken in pieces.
John Hilton appears in the 1855, 1860, 1865, 1870, 1875 and 1880 censuses.
John Hilton (an Irishman) producing the largest potatoes even seen in Chenango. Source: Chenango Telegraph 5 Oct 1864
John Hilton selling a prized pig for $2. Source: Chenango Telegraph 21 Oct 1863
John Hilton selling squashes at the Chenango County Fair. Source: Chenango Telegraph 4 October 1865
In 1865 John appears in the U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865
John died on 27 December 1880 in Norwich, Chenango, New York, USA. He is also buried at Mount Hope Cemetery in Norwich, Chenango.
John Hilton death notice. Source: Chenango Union 30 December 1880
John Hilton death notice. Source: The Chenango American 6 January 1881 – page 2
Photo courtesy of JTF on findagrave.com.
- Jane Hilton 1825-1864 moved to the USA with John and Margaret before moving to Wilmington, New Hanover, North Carolina and marrying James Wilson 1825-1891 and had three children of which two survived to adulthood. Their children were:
- Mary Elinor Wilson 1852-1944
- Matilda Jane Wilson 1855-1877
- Robert Wilson 1860-?
- Mary Elinor Wilson 1852-1944 married Rufus Horton 1852-1884 on 23 March 1876 in Wilmington, New Hanover, North Carolina, USA
North Carolina County Registers of Deeds. Microfilm. Record Group 048. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC on ancestry.com.
North Carolina County Registers of Deeds. Microfilm. Record Group 048. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC on ancestry.com.
Mary and Rufus had two children
- John T Horton 1877-
- Sadie Horton 1879-1952 married Samuel Person Cowan 1852-1918 then married George Davis 1880-1937
Sadie married Samuel Person Cowan on 28 Dec 1897 in New Hanover, North Carolina, USA when she was 17 years old even though the certificate says she was 19. Samuel was 45 years old but he stated he was 43. Samuel died on 28 Nov 1918 in Wilmington, New Hanover, North Carolina, USA.
North Carolina County Registers of Deeds. Microfilm. Record Group 048. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC on ancestry.com
Sadie then married George Davis on 5 Oct 1927 in New Hanover, North Carolina, USA. George died on 6 Mar 1937 in Wilmington, New Hanover, North Carolina, USA and Sadie died on 5 Jan 1944 in Wilmington, New Hanover County, North Carolina, USA.
Sadie was buried at Oakdale Cemetery, Wilmington, New Hanover, North Carolina, USA. Image courtesy of ‘River Rat’ from findagrave.
Sadie stated that she wanted to be buried near George and that she wanted a headstone erected for them both. Sadie also specified that she wanted a headstone for her mother Mary Elinor Horton nee Wilson.
Will courtesy of North Carolina, Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998 on ancestry.com. Platt W Davis was George Davis brothers son. Mary Horton and Annie Horton appear to be Rufus Hortons brothers children. Sadie never had children with either husband.
Mary Elinor Horton nee Wilson died at 907 Market Street, Wilmington, New Hanover, North Carolina on 5 Jan 1944.
Image courtesy of ancestry.com
Mary was buried on 6 Jan 1944 at Oakdale Cemetery, Wilmington, New Hanover, North Carolina, USA. Image courtesy of ‘River Rat’ from findagrave.
Source: News and Observer, 24 Jul 1884, Thu, Page 1
I have not been able to find where Rufus is buried in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA.
I have not been able to find the burial location of Jane nor a death certificate or any other reference to her death. If you can help please Contact Me.
James Wilson death notice. Source: The Wilmington Morning Star, 13 Feb 1891, Fri, Page 1
The Wilmington Morning Star, 13 Feb 1891, Fri, Page 1
Janes husband James Wilson died in 12 February 1891 and was like some of his other family members buried in Oakdale Cemetery, Wilmington, New Hanover, North Carolina, USA Plot: Sec H Lot 139-142
Image courtesy of John Evans on findagrave.
2. Matilda Jane Wilson 1855-1877 married Benjamin Murphy 1851-1908 on 18 October 1876 at Wilmington, New Hanover, North Carolina, USA.
Images courtesy of North Carolina County Registers of Deeds. Microfilm. Record Group 048. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC on ancestry.com
Image courtesy of North Carolina County Registers of Deeds. Microfilm. Record Group 048. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC on ancestry.com
Matilda died less than a year later on 1 Oct 1877 in Wilmington, New Hanover, North Carolina, USA. I have not seen a death certificate but she may have died during childbirth. The death of Matilda seems to have had a profound effect on Benjamin who never remarried and died in 1908.
The Wilmington Morning Star, 2 Oct 1877, Tue, Page 1
Matilda was buried at Oakdale Cemetery, Wilmington, New Hanover County, North Carolina, USA. Matilda and Benjamin were both buried in Plot: Sec K Lot 121.
Images courtesy of John Evans on findgrave.
3. Robert Wilson 1860-? – I have not been able to find any record for Robert. If you can find any information please contact me.
- Margaret Elizabeth Hilton 1831-1894 married Samuel Joseph Martin (1840-1887). Margaret moved to the USA with John and Jane in 1851. She stayed in North Carolina near her sister Jane and helped raise Janes children after Jane died. Margaret received a letter that her mother had died and she sailed back to Callan, County Kilkenny, Ireland where her parents lived.
Margaret wrote to her cousin John Cornwall McGaveston in the 1880s that her father Mathew was heartbroken after his wife Mary Hilton nee McGavestons death in 1867. Mathew wrote to Margaret and asked her to return to Ireland. Two months after Margaret arrived her father Mathew Hilton also died in 1867. Margaret appears to have stayed in Ireland and also looked her uncle Nicholas McGaveston Jr for 15 years and her nephew William Gaveston Hilton. Nicholas died in 1883 so Margaret spent a good deal of her life caring for her relatives.
Margaret Hilton married Joseph Samuel Martin 1840-1887 on 20 November 1884 in St Peters, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland a short time after Nicholas death.
Margaret returned to Wilmington, North Carolina after her husband Joseph died on 22 July 1887. Margaret lived in America with her sister Janes children. Margaret died on 11 April 1894.
The Wilmington Messenger, 12 Apr 1894, Thu, Page 4
The Wilmington Messenger, 13 Apr 1894, Fri, Page 4
This is a great obituary, however, most of the detail is incorrect.
- Margarets birth date was 8 Dec 1831.
- She traveled to the USA in 1851 aboard one of the famine relief ships with Jane and John.
- John was in the 1855 Chenango County, New York census.
- Jane had her first child in August 1852 in Wilmington, North Carolina.
- Margaret returned to Dublin in 1867 after she was notified her mother died and in time before her father died in 1867
- Margaret married on 20 November 1884 after caring for Nicholas McGaveston for nearly 15 years as he died in 1883.
The Wilmington Morning Star, 14 Apr 1894, Sat, Page 1
The Wilmington Morning Star, 13 May 1894, Sun, Page 4
The following images are the Administrators Bonds for Margaret Elizabeth Hilton in 1894.
Source ancestry.com
Margaret Elizabeth Hiltons Estate Records. Source ancestry.com
Image source: National Archives of Ireland.
The USA records state she left no Will however the Dublin records office had a Will the family may not have known about. Annie Ruth Hilton administers Margarets estate in the absence of a Will. Annie was also mentioned in Margarets sister Marys Will. Unfortunately Margarets Will has not survived as many were destroyed in the 1922 ‘fire” in Dublin.
- William Alexander Hilton 1836-1865 married Mary Jane Hughes. They had two children with the daughter dying early and the son raised by his aunt Margaret Hilton before he moved to America and had a family. William died at his parents home in Mill Street, Callan, County Kilkenny, Ireland on 24 January 1865. His occupation at his time of death was Draper.
Mary Jane died after 1883 as we have a family letter where Margaret Hilton refers to speaking with Mary at that time but have not been able to find the exact date.
The two children of William and Mary were:
- Caroline Mary Hilton 1863-?
- William Gaveston Hilton 1864-1937 married Louise Hawes Johnson 1867-1901 then Jeanette Olive Knox 1871-?
When Williams father died William Gaveston Hilton was 1 year old. Williams mother Mary asked Margaret Elizabeth Hilton to care for her son William. Margaret supported William including financing his trip to the USA. William Gaveston Hilton arrived in New York, USA on 7 May 1884. Within 6 years he married Louise Hawes Johnson and had two sons. He later married Jeanette Olive Knox.
- Edward Martin Hilton 1894-1977 married Rose Ama Poth and had
- Louise Johnson Hilton 1918-1993 married Jack William Treloar 1919-2011 and had three children.
Edward also had another child with Ida De Haas nee Duncan 1897-1978 named:
- George Duncan De Haas 1927-2009
This is Edward Martin Hiltons headstone in the Woodlawn Memory Gardens,
Saint Petersburg, Pinellas County, Florida, USA. He is buried with Ida.
Thanks to Bill Adams from findagrave.com for the photo.
2. Sidney Johnson Hilton 1901-1984 married Margaret Wade Harlan 1906-1989 and had two children:
- Sidney Johnson Hilton who married Grace Isobel Stephens and had 5 daughters.
- Jennifer Hilton
William Gaveston Hilton died on 15 January 1837 at 605 West 151 Street, Hamilton Heights, Manhattan, New York, USA. He was buried the same day in Hope Cemetery, Hornell, Steuben, New York, USA which is a 4 hour drive away.
James Hilton
I haven’t been able to definitively link James to the Mathew Hilton family but there is circumstantial evidence to support it.
Source findmypast. Kilkenny Journal, and Leinster Commercial and Literary Advertiser 30 July 1853
Mathew Hiltons life
Mathew Hilton was a noted Land Steward and Horticulturalist who worked for the Marquis of Ormonde. The following story appears to be after Mathews appointment as Land Steward in 1835.
Source findmypast. Waterford Mail 25 February 1835
Land steward often brought change and this may have led to resentment by one of the Callan locals:
Source findmypast. Waterford Mail 23 September 1835.
Mathew is mentioned as a Judge at an agricultural fair attended by the Marchioness of Ormonde.
Source findmypast. Dublin Evening Post 27 September 1842.
During the Irish famine he introduced other vegetables to the farmers in Callan, Co Kilkenny, Ireland.
Source findmypast. The Dublin Evening Post 29 June 1849.
Mathew Hilton appears in the 1851 Griffiths Valuation for South Callan, Callan, Co Kilkenny:
Source: ancestry.com
The following newspaper story mentions Mathew Hilton (late of Scotland) and James Hilton both of Callan, Co Kilkenny and directly links them to each other as father and son. I haven’t found any census or media stories about his time in Scotland. If you can find any Contact Me.
Source findmypast. Kilkenny Journal, and Leinster Commercial and Literary Advertiser 11 June 1851
Mathew Hilton and Mary Hilton both died in the same year in 1867.
The daughter referred to below is Margaret Hilton.
Source findmypast. Kings County Chronicle 18 September 1867
The second child of Nicholas McGaveston was:
- John Wynn McGaveston 1798-1846
John was born 10 March 1798 and baptised on 18 March 1798. The baptismal record is in latin.
Johannes MccGaviston, Nicolai and Rose. Sponsors: Thos Fox and Maria Branan
Source: Ancestry.com. Ireland, Catholic Parish Registers, 1655-1915. Provo, UT, USA:
John Wynn McGaveston studied to be a surgeon. The following pages show his recommendation to be an assistant surgeon in the East India Company. Of note is that The Right Honorable Charles Watkin Williams Wynn recommended John.
In 1923 John MacGaveston has his Membership of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland (MRCS).
John McGavestons original graduation certificate from 1823. This has been passed down from generation to generation and is now in the possession of Cameron Day.
By 1824 he is working as an Assistant Surgeon in Burma in 1824-1825. John was a surgeon in 1838 and worked in Afghanistan 1838-1839. Source: Roll of the Indian Medical Service, 1615 -1930 on findmypast.
John Wynn McGaveston was living in Wallingford, Rathgar, County Dublin, Ireland. John rented this building and named it Wallingford.
John McGaveston is mentioned in the following book written by William Barrington Reade who was a Lieutenant in the 1st Regiment of the Bengal Light Cavalry. He retired from public service in 1832. A Cornet was originally the third and lowest grade of commissioned officer in a British cavalry troop, after captain and lieutenant. The following can be found on Page 47 and 48
This is the full book in PDF form from google books. Click on the McGaveston link below:
McGaveston
John Wynn McGavestons appointment as Surgeon and corresponding rank as Captain from 4 March 1838 in the East India Company.
The following photo was taken by Miriam Barasmall in May/July 1908 of Wallingford. Miriam took the photo as a courtesy because John Cornwall McGaveston showed kindness to her daughter and her daughters children who were in New Zealand. Miriam was living in Seapoint House, Bray.
Image courtesy of Dean McGaveston.
John married Margaret Page 1818-1859 on 15 September 1842 in St Peters Church, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland. Johns occupation was listed as Surgeon in the East India Company Service. Margaret was a spinster. Both John and Margaret were living in Rathgar. The witnesses were M.A Page and M.F Shaw. M.A Page is likely to be Margaret sister Mary Anna Page.
Source findmypast. Dublin Evening Packet and Correspondent 17 September 1842
Source findmypast. Dublin Morning Register 17 September 1842
Margaret Page was the daughter of Theophilus Page (Salt Merchant of Ringsend). Theophilus Page was baptised on 6 June 1784 in St Pauls Church, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland. Theophilus parents were William and Eliza Page. Little more is known about the broader Page family from this time period.
There were a few other children baptised to William and Eliza Page. They were all baptised in St Peters Church, Dublin to the same parents over a 10 year period.
- Jeremiah Page b 1782
- Theophilus Page b 1784 married Margaret Cummins/Cummings
- William Page b 1789
- Sarah Page b 1790
Theophilus Page and Margaret Cummins had at least three children
- Margaret Page married John Wynn McGaveston
- Mary Anna Page married Henry Stephenson
- William Henry Page married Johanna Quinlan
While the records for Dublin are reasonably complete and weren’t destroyed in the ‘fire’ of the records office in 1922 piecing together the family history is difficult. As such I have not been able to get copies of some of the original records and the dates of birth, marriage and death are simply not available.
John and Margaret McGaveston had two children of which only one survived to adulthood. We are fortunate to have records of their baptisms in Dublin, Ireland. John was a surgeon in the East India Company.
In 1845 John was listed in the Dublin Almanac – Pettigrew & Oulton, Dublin Almanac & General Register of Ireland (1845). Also listed is Mrs Page of Sarzey, Rathgar – the wife of Theophilus Page.
Source: Find My Past.
In 1846 John is listed in I. Slater, National Commercial Directory of Ireland (1846)
Source: Find My Past.
In the County Dublin directory in 1846 and 1848 Mrs (Margaret) McGaveston is listed as living in Wallingford, Rathgar. In 1847 John is listed as living in Wallingford, Rathgar but this is most likely because he was still listed as the owner/leasor.
Source: Find My Past.
John McGaveston 2 April 1847 Wallingford, Rathgar. Source Ireland Valuation Office Books on findmypast
John died prematurely in Dublin, County Dublin, on 18 June 1846 leaving Margaret and the two boys. John was buried in Mount Jerome Cemetery.
The Will of John Wynn McGaveston
The following is link to the PDF document that shows a copy of Johns original Will. A transcribed version is below.
John McGaveston Will
Last Will and Testament of John Wynn McGaveston
Dated: 23 March 1846
In God’s name Amen This is the last Will and Testament of one John McGaveston, Surgeon, late in the service of the East India Company being at present of sound mind and residing on Rathgar Road, County Dublin.
I am the owner of property in India at present invested in Bengal Government Securities amounting to between sixty and seventy thousand Rupees which is in the charge of the Government Agent at Calcutta the above amount with all interest accruing thereon I will and bequeath to my two sons John Cornwall Gaveston and Charles Wynn Gaveston share and share alike to be possessed by them at whatever time their Mother may think proper not however exceeding their respective ages of twenty one years and I appoint my Wife Margaret McGaveston sole trustee of the above funds.
I have also a registered claim on the effects of the late Messrs Alexander and Co. Calcutta amounting to between seven and eight thousand Rupees and Messrs Cockerell and Co. of Calcutta hold a power of Attorney from me to receive dividends from the same the whole remaining claim I will and bequeath to my Wife Margaret and my children’s use. I also bequeath to my Wife Margaret McGaveston all pay pension on Medical retiring annuity due to me up to the day of my death also my interest in my present dwelling house also all the furniture and other property belonging to me on the premises to be equally divided between my children at
her death or such other time as she may think fit.
Whatever claims I may have on any part of the property of her late Father Mr Theophilus Page I will and bequeath to my Wife Margaret during her life to be equally divided between my children at her death in the event of the death of either of any sons before attaining the age of twenty one years the survivor to become sole heir.
I nominate and appoint my Wife Margaret McGaveston executrix and administratrix of this Will and Testament. I also will and bequeath to my Wife Margaret McGaveston two hundred pounds three and a quarter percent stock lately purchased for her own and the children’s use as well all cash in hand or at my
Bankers at the time of my death.
I am a married subscriber to the Bengal Military Fund in the Rank of Major and my Widow will be entitled to a full annuity from the same from the date of my death. I am also subscriber to the Bengal Military Orphan Society and I hope all justice will be done to my children should it hereafter appear that their case ought to be benefited by that institution.
Wallingford, Rathgar, County Dublin. This twenty third day of March 1846
John McGaveston Testator
Signed published and declared by the Testator John McGaveston as and for his last Will and Testament in the presence of us present at the same time who in his presence and at his request have subscribed our names as Witnessed:
Robert F Murphy Surgeon
Ellen Smythe
Last Will and Testament of John Wynn McGaveston
Codicil the first
I nominate and appoint my Brother Mr Nicholas McGaveston and his wife Mrs Catherine McGaveston Joint Trustees with my wife Margaret McGaveston of the fund at present invested in Bengal Government Securities for the benefit and use of my two sons John Cornwall and Charles Wynn McGaveston.
John McGaveston Testator
The Testator has signed this Codicil in our presence and we have signed it as Witnesses in the presence of each other this 30th day of March 1846.
Robert F Murphy
Ellen Smythe
The last Will and Testament and Codicil of John McGaveston of Wallingford, Rathgar in the County of Dublin Surgeon late of the Honourable East India Company deceased (having granted so forth) were proved in Common form of law and probate thereof granted by the most Rev. John George and so forth unto Margaret McGaveston of same place widow deceased the sole Executrix of said Will and Codicil she being first sworn personally saving and so forth dated the Eighteenth day of June 1846.
Mount Jerome Cemetery, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland
To the Memory | of | JOHN McGAVESTON | Late Surgeon 2nd Bengal Artillery | Died June 3rd 1846 | aged 49 years | And NICHOLAS McGAVESTON Esq | who died 19 March 1883 aged 80 | Also JOSEPH S. MARTIN | Died 2nd July 1887 aged 47
Photo taken by Yvonne Russell in July 2014
On 22 August 1846 a petition was filed for the estate of John (Wynn) McGaveston in Fort William, Bengal, India. The following are those pages:
Images courtesy of Find My Past.
Ireland Diocesan And Prerogative Wills & Administrations Indexes 1595-1858. Images courtesy of Find My Past.
On 8 September 1846 John Wynn McGavestons Will was proved.
Image courtesy of Find My Past.
Ireland Valuation Office Books. Image courtesy of Find My Past.
1849 Ireland Valuation Office Books. Source: Findmypast
John and Margarets children were:
- John Cornwall McGaveston 1844-1925
- Charles Wynn McGaveston 1845-1855.
The birth of John Cornwall McGaveston was recorded in one of the Dublin newspapers in 1844.
Source findmypast. Warder and Dublin Weekly Mail – Dublin, Dublin, Republic of Ireland.
This is a watercolour done of John (on the left) and Charles when they lived in Wallingford, Rathgar, County Dublin, Ireland. When Margaret McGaveston nee Page was leaving Ireland in 1850 she gave the picture to Catherine McGaveston nee Ennis the wife of Nicholas McGaveston Jr. Catherine left the picture with the family of Anna Stephenson who sent it to John Cornwall McGaveston in July 1889. This has been confirmed in a letter written by Anna to John. Sent in the same package was a photo of Anna taken at Christmas in 1888. This image may be in a family members collection.
John Wynn McGaveston named his son Charles Wynn McGaveston. Although John was recommended for his job as Assistant Surgeon by Charles Watkin Williams-Wynn the Wynn connection is more likely a historical connection.
After John Wynn McGaveston died his wife Margaret McGaveston (nee Page) traveled to New Zealand aboard the Mariner in 1850 with her two sons and Reverend Robert John Lloyd.
The Mariner sailed from London on 4 April 1850 with 172 passengers for Wellington, Nelson, New Plymouth and Otago. The ship arrived in Nelson 20 September 1850.
Image courtesy of Papers Past – Wellington Independent, Volume VI, Issue 511, 4 September 1850
One family story is she met Rev Lloyd in Ireland and they decided to move out to New Zealand. Margaret was listed as Mrs Lloyd to afford her some protection from other passengers and crew during the voyage. The ships register has a note which says Margaret McGaverstone married Rev Lloyd before they sailed from England. This may indicate they shared a cabin together.
Once Margaret and Robert got to New Zealand they married on 14 November 1850 in the Wakefield Church, Wakefield, New Zealand. Margaret would have already been nearly 2 months pregnant at this time. On 19 June 1851 Margaret and Roberts Lloyds first son Bartholomew Lloyd was born.
According to Margarets family in Ireland they did not want her to marry Rev Lloyd. Margaret became estranged from her family and did not hear from them again during her short life – something her family was deeply saddened about. Her mother and sister continued to try and contact her while she was alive and when they were unsuccessful they contacted the postmaster who confirmed the letters were being received by Margarets husband Rev Lloyd but were not passed on.
This information was sourced from letters that were written to Margarets son John Cornwall McGaveston in the 1880s which I have seen transcribed copies of in 2015.
This is one of the few mentions of Margaret Page. The article states she died on 18 April 1959 but her death certificate says 19 April 1959. Image courtesy of Papers Past. Colonist, Volume II, Issue 158, 26 April 1859, Page 2.
- John Cornwall McGaveston 1844-1925 married Mary Anne White 1842-1876 and had 9 children! She died giving birth to her 10th child. After Mary Anne died John married Penelope Dean Wallis 1849-1932 who gave birth to another 8 children.
This is the earliest known photo of John Cornwall McGaveston. Sitting with John is the only known picture of his mother Margaret McGaveston nee Page taken about 1855-1858.
Image courtesy of Dean McGaveston.
An old family story was that after Johns mothers death in 1859 he ran away from home. There are remnants of stories that he went to sea for a time but nothing to confirm what he did or the accuracy of the story. In letter to his cousins in Dublin, Ireland 20 years later he spoke about how unhappy he and his mother were so this could have been the impetus for him to leave.
The following story shows that in 1860 at age 16 he was in the No 5 Company of the Motueka militia along with his future wifes brothers David White Jr and George White.
Image courtesy of Papers past. The Colonist Volume III, Issue 26, 4 May 1860
John McGaveston appearing on a list of people who could vote. John is listed as a lease holder in 1865.
Source: Papers Past: Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume XXIV, Issue 44, 13 April 1865
John McGaveston applying for lease of land in 1867
Source: Papers Past: Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume XXVI, Issue 136, 12 November 1867
A Photo of John McGaveston taken in 1870 at age 26.
Image courtesy of the Nelson Provincial Museum.
John McGaveston among many others nominating a candidate for parliament in 1871
Source: Papers Past – Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume XXX, Issue 1, 4 January 1871
John and his brother Bartholomew Lloyd played for the local Ngatimoti Cricket Team in 1873. On this day they were victors.
Image courtesy of Papers Past. Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 5, 6 January 1873, Page 4.
John is listed as being licensed to kill quail, hares and pheasants in 1877.
Image courtesy of Papers Past. Colonist, Volume XIX, Issue 2247, 21 June 1877, Page 2.
Image of John Cornwall McGaveston taken by P.J Feeney.
The above two images I found in the collection of the State Library of Victoria. John was listed as an ‘unidentified man’ in collection of photographs from the Singleton family. After some investigation I, Michael Rodda and Vivienne Trulock worked out that John had been corresponding with his cousin Frances Singleton nee Trulock who was one of Johns mothers (Margaret Page) aunts. The photos are now correctly identified and can be downloaded directly. We know that John emailed his picture plus those of his children to his relatives in Dublin, Ireland. If similar photos are found it may open up new avenues of family history to explore.
Image courtesy of the Nelson Provincial Museum.
Motueka Star, Volume I, Issue 22, 25 October 1901
Motueka Star, Volume II, Issue 45, 17 January 1902
Motueka Star, Volume IV, Issue 194, 30 June 1903
This was taken in the last few years before Johns Cornwall McGavestons death.
This was taken in 1925 in the same year John died. John is sitting on the right. Josie is standing at the top left, Dora McGaveston third from left kneeling, Anna McGaveston to her right, Hugh McGaveston is behind John McGaveston. Margaret is seated in front of John. Penelope Dean McGaveston nee Wallis is seated left with the newspaper.
Image courtesy of Dean McGaveston.
The only known photo of Johns first wife Mary Anne White – do you have a better photo? If so please contact me.
Image courtesy of the Nelson Provincial Museum. This was a copy of a photo done in the 1920s for a McGaveston family member.
John has no contact with his family in Dublin, Ireland and Australia until the late 1870s. After making contact the names of his children reflected his uncle, grandfather and cousins. In a letter to John from his cousin Margaret Hilton in Dublin she conveyed that his uncle Nicholas McGaveston appeared happy to have a child named after him.
Mary Anne Whites children:
- Henry McGaveston 1862– unknown. We have been unable to find what happened to Henry, Can you help?
- Robert McGaveston 1863-1876
- Margaret McGaveston 1865-1939 married Wallace Edward Fairhall 1864-1954
- Amelia (Millie) McGaveston 1866-1956
- Sarah McGaveston 1868-1944
- John Cornwall McGaveston 1870-1895
- Charles Winford McGaveston 1871-1945 married to Ada Materoa Cuff 1872-1919
- Alfred McGaveston 1873-1952 married twice. The first time to Marie Atlantia Christensen 1872-1917 then to Catherine Mary Malpas 1884-1980
- Mary McGaveston 1875-1912 married Christopher Piesse 1874-1968
John Cornwall McGaveston and Penelope Dean Wallis children:
- Dean Wallis McGaveston 1878-1929 married Bertha Miriam Hunt 1879-1935
- Theophilus Page McGaveston 1879-1959 married Mildred Eleanor Hewetson 1877-1970
- Nicholas Arthur (Arthur) McGaveston 1881-1937 married Frances Eleanor Burrell 1885-1968
- Theodora (Dora) McGaveston 1883-1968
- Anna Lake McGaveston 1885-1974
- Clara Evelyn (Evelyn) McGaveston 1887-1978 married Eugene Ronald Cook 1882-1951
- Samuel Ralph (Ralph) McGaveston 1889-1961
- William Hilton (Hilton) McGaveston 1892-1975 married Ivy Getrude Tillson 1892-1983
John Cornwall McGaveston and Mary Anne Whites children:
1.Henry McGaveston/ Henry Gaveston White/ ‘Charles’ McGaveston. Born 23 July 1862 in Riwaka, Tasman, New Zealand. Henry Gaveston was born before John and Mary Anne married. Normally when people found out they were pregnant they married quickly so that the child was not born and labelled “illegitimate”. John married Mary Anne 6 months after Henry was born but John was named as the father on Henrys birth certificate. Family stories are that Henry was kicked out of home as he was a disruption to the other children when he was 14 and never heard of again. There is no proof of this but it does explain why he doesn’t appear in any further records. There are no photos of Henry. Another story passed down about Henry was that he referred to himself as Charles something that John didnt like and they asked him to stop doing that.
John McGaveston refers to his oldest child as Margaret after the death of his son Robert in 1876 when in reality Henry was the first born. Henrys birth certificate was redacted in the last 10 years to change his name from Henry Gaveston to Henry Gaveston White. The redaction was also to remove the word ‘illegitimate’ from the original birth certificate and alter a historical document.
The following is a brief story about Henry winning an award at the Ngatimoti school in 1873. Henry would have been 11 years old. The same story was run in two different newspapers.
Image courtesy of Papers Past. Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume XXXII, Issue 195, 20 December 1873, Page 1.
Image courtesy of Papers Past. Colonist, Volume XVI, Issue 1697, 23 December 1873, Page 4.
2. Robert McGaveston. Born 3 Dec 1863 in Pangatotara, Tasman, New Zealand. Robert may have been named after Robert John Lloyd (Johns stepfather) or the name could be pure coincidence. As John McGaveston had a troubled relationship with Robert John Lloyd it appears odd unless John named him out of family duty or Roberts John Lloyds insistence. Robert died of ‘disease of the brain’ in Riwaka on 30 July 1876 – the same year his mother Mary Anne McGaveston died. There was no medical attendant to confirm the cause of death.
Robert McGaveston and his mother Mary Anne McGaveston were buried in Pangatotara Cemetery. A few months later the Motueka River flooded on the 6th and 7th February 1877. It was called the “Old Man Flood” or the “Great Earth Flood”. This resulted in the cemetery being submerged and some headstones washed away. It is important to note that some coffins were washed out to sea and later recovered and reburied at the Motueka Cemetery. No identification was made nor records kept of where exactly those re-interred people were buried.
There are a few headstones which still exist in the Pangatotara cemetery, some of which do not mark the original grave-sites as they are not unknown.
It is also interesting to note that that the existing cemetery is privately owned and maintained by the family of one of the people buried there. The fenced off area of the cemetery is only one part of the original cemetery which once extended under where the stand of trees currently grows. The trees planted likely cover any other graves once there.
This information was sourced from the current owner of the property in January 2015 by Cameron Day.
3. Margaret McGaveston was born on 24 February 1865 in Ngatimoti, Tasman, New Zealand.
Margaret McGaveston and Wallace Edward Fairhall most likely on their wedding day.
Ref: Fairhall. Nelson Provincial Museum, Tyree Studio Collection: 50055
Margaret McGaveston and Wallace Edward Fairhall most likely on their wedding day with another McGaveston daughter – possibly Sarah or Millie McGaveston.
Ref: Fairhall. Nelson Provincial Museum, Tyree Studio Collection: 50057
This is a photo of the Fairhall family. It was incorrectly listed on the Nelson Provincial Museum website as Fairchild. Edward Fairhall and Ann Bishop seated in the middle, Benjamin Fairhall and Sarah Nevin Wallace standing at back, Wallace Fairhall seated second from right and Margaret McGaveston seated far left. Stuart Fairhall standing at back with his wife to the left of him holding their baby.
Ref: Fairchild. Nelson Provincial Museum, Tyree Studio Collection: 179652
This is a photo of Margaret McGaveston. Photo courtesy of the Jim Fairhall Collection.
Margaret married Wallace Edward Fairhall 1864-1954.
Source: Papers Past. Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXIII, Issue 262, 11 October 1889, Page 2
Margaret and Wallace had 5 children:
- Margaret Edna Grace Fairhall 1890-1982 married Paul Clifford Adams 1879-1920 then Walter John Llewellyn Brown 1891-1972
- Lawrence (Laurie) Edward Fairhall 1891-1972 had a child with Helen Stewart and married Olive Marion Radford and Hilda Anita Pointon
- Florence Helen Fairhall married Archibald William Edwards 1883-1971 then Walter Roland Palmer
- Rita Marion Fairhall 1899-1980 married or was engaged to Edwin Henry James Hunt 1893-1917 and later married his brother Epenetus Fitzgibbon Hunt 1894-1935
- Constance Victoria Fairhall 1901-1976 married Clifford James Hoult 1897-1978
The wedding of Lilian Margaret Fairhall. Lilian was Margarets husbands sister. Margaret Fairhall is the second woman from the left. Wallace Fairhall is standing third male from the left. Photo courtesy of the Jim Fairhall Collection.
Margaret died on 26 Apr 1939 at the Nelson Public Hospital, Nelson, Tasman, New Zealand. She was buried on 28 Apr 1939 in the Richmond Cemetery, Richmond, Tasman, New Zealand.
Lawrence Edward Fairhall in 1912. Photo courtesy of the Jim Fairhall Collection.
Mr Fairhall. Nelson Provincial Museum, Tyree Studio Collection: 88576
Mr Fairhall. Nelson Provincial Museum, Tyree Studio Collection: 88577
10. Mr Fairhall. Nelson Provincial Museum, Tyree Studio Collection: 93873
Lawrence Edward Fairhall – the second seated person from the right. Photo courtesy of the Jim Fairhall Collection.
Lawrence Edward Fairhall. Unknown female – possibly a sister or aunt.
Lawrence Edward Fairhall. Photo courtesy of the Jim Fairhall Collection.
Lawrence Edward Fairhall in 1961. Photo courtesy of the Jim Fairhall Collection.
James (Jim) Edward Fairhall. Jim was the only child of Lawrence Edward Fairhall. Photo courtesy of the Jim Fairhall Collection.
4. Amelia (Millie) McGaveston was born on 28 August 1866 in Ngatimoti, Tasman, New Zealand. She never married and died on 28 Feb 1956 at the Nelson Public Hospital, Nelson, New Zealand. She was buried on 1 Mar 1956 at the Richmond Cemetery, Richmond, Tasman, New Zealand
Millie brought up Frank Piesse, Mary Piesse nee McGavestons youngest child after Mary died.
One of the McGaveston homes in Ngatimoti is now part of the local school on the corner of Greenwoods Rd and the road that runs along side the river. Just opposite the old home on the side road is a house in which Milly lived with Frank.
5. Sarah McGaveston was born 18 March 1868 in Ngatimoti, Nelson, New Zealand. She never married and died on 1 February 1944 at the Ngawhatu Mental Hospital, Nelson, New Zealand. She was buried on 3 Feb 1944 at the Richmond Cemetery, Richmond, Tasman, New Zealand.
This image of Sarah McGaveston was in the Singleton Family album in the State Library of Victoria. Again it was unidentified but we have correspondence from Frances Singleton nee Trulock where she acknowledged receiving the photo of Sarah. It was also sent to Johns cousins in Dublin and Bray, Ireland.
6. John Cornwall McGaveston (Jr) was born 15 January 1870 in Nelson, New Zealand.
John and his brother Alfred McGaveston won awards at the Ngatimoti school in 1879. Also mentioned is their cousin Frances Knowles.
Image courtesy of Papers Past. Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIV, Issue 5, 6 January 1879, Page 2
Johns farm was listed in the Nelson Evening Mail for sale. Source: Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXVII, Issue 5, 7 January 1893, Page 3
John moved to Gisborne, Poverty Bay, New Zealand around 1893 but died of typhoid on 6 Feb 1895 in Gisborne, Poverty Bay, New Zealand. He was buried on 7 Feb 1895 at Makaraka Cemetery, Gisborne, Poverty Bay, New Zealand. His grave is unmarked.
Some family stories state the John was in the militia in Gisborne but I have found no evidence of this. Johns death certificate says he was a labourer. He died of typhoid fever and cerebral meningitis. John most likely moved to Gisborne because there was land being offered to settlers to encourage the development and growth of Gisborne.
Another family story passed down and confirmed in a letter to John Cornwall McGaveston Sr was that John Jr was engaged to Ada Materoa Cuff at the time of his death. Ada was the daughter of Arthur Francis Cuff and Martha Rewanga Halbert. Martha was the daughter of the well known Poverty Bay settler Thomas Halbert.
Ada met Charles Winford McGaveston whom she later married. In the letter to John Sr from Margaratta Stephenson in Ireland she reiterated Johns sentiments about Ada that he greatly liked the girl his son Charles had married.
Shipping records show a small number of McGavestons arriving and departing Gisborne before John died and well after.
Image courtesy of Papers Past. Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXIL, Issue 7200, 6 February 1895, Page 2
Image courtesy of Papers Past. Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXIL, Issue 7200, 6 February 1895, Page 2
Ada Cuff arriving in Nelson on 16 February 1895 10 days after John Cornwall McGaveston Jr death. Most likely Charles and one of his sisters accompanied Ada. Image courtesy of Papers Past. Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXIX, Issue 40, 16 February 1895, Page 2.
Image courtesy of Papers Past. Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXIX, Issue 101, 1 May 1895, Page 3. They reported Johns middle name incorrectly.
The following lists John Cornwall McGavestons assets at the time of his death. Dated: 1 April 1895
In the Poverty Bay newspaper (below) they got Johns middle name correct.
Image courtesy of Papers Past. Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 7273, 6 May 1895, Page 3
The following is Johns Notice of Deceased estate. John died intestate (without a Will).
7. Charles Winford McGaveston was born 23 May 1871 in Ngatimoti, Nelson, New Zealand.
Charles was likely named after Johns Cornwall McGavestons brother Charles. The middle name Winford is most likely the name John remembered his brother had which is a corruption of Wynn. Charles didnt pass Winford onto any of his sons but he did pass on the name Wynn. The Winford name then appears in one of Charles grandchildren Hugh Winnford Rowley.
In 1891 Charles was granted a perpetual lease in Motueka.
Source: Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXV, Issue 233, 1 October 1891, Page 2 Nelson Land Board
- John Wynn (Jack) McGaveston 1898-1955 who married Dorothea O’Donnell 1897-1988
- Charles Arthur (Arthur) McGaveston 1900-1945 married Jeanie (Jean) Harrison 1908-1987
- Winnona Margaret McGaveston 1901-1952 married Hugh Ogilvie Rowley 1904-1973
- Doris Isabella Bertha McGaveston 1904-1956 married David Alen Ivory 1907-1973
- Murray Robert Piers McGaveston 1906-1976 married Loma Royce Gordon 1920-2000
A photo taken in Gisborne of the McGaveston, Judd and Johnstone families camping on the beach in 1910. Photo courtesy of the Jim Fairhall Collection.
Ada Materoa McGaveston with three of her five children: Murray Robert Piers McGaveston at back. Winnona Margaret McGaveston on the left and Doris Isabella Bertha McGaveston on the right. Image taken around 1909. Photo courtesy of Dean McGaveston.
Winnona Margaret McGaveston on the left, Doris Isabella Bertha McGaveston in the middle and Murray Robert Piers McGaveston on the right. Image taken around 1909. Image courtesy of Mea Ivory.
The above images are of the Ivory family. Images courtesy of Mea Ivory.
The marriage of Winnona Margaret McGaveston to Hugh Ogilvy Rowley. Left to Right: Alan Rowley, Dorothea (Molly) Ada Marie McGaveston, Hugh Ogilvy Rowley, Winnona Margaret McGaveston, Charles Winford McGaveston, Maureen Charlotte McGaveston and Doris Isabella Bertha McGaveston. Photo courtesy of Michael Rodda.
Winnona Margaret McGaveston and Charles Winford McGaveston. Photo courtesy of Michael Rodda.
Winnona McGaveston, Alan Rowley, Dorothea Ada Marie McGaveston and Maureen Charlotte McGaveston. Photo courtesy of Michael Rodda.
Photo of John Wynn McGaveston 1898-1955 which has painted highlights. Probably taken around 1918 when they married. Image in the collection of Cameron Day.
Photo of Dorothea McGaveston (nee O’Donnell) 1897-1988 which has painted highlights. Probably taken around 1918 when they married. Image in the collection of Cameron Day.
John Wynn McGaveston. Photo courtesy of Cameron Day
John Wynn McGaveston taken in 1939. Image sourced from Papers Past – Press, Volume LXXV, Issue 22745, 24 June 1939, Page 11
Maureen Charlotte McGaveston and Dorothea (Molly) Ada Marie McGaveston taken around 1940. Maureen and Molly were the daughters of John Wynn McGaveston and Dorothea O’Donnell. Photo courtesy of Michael Rodda.
Dorothea (Molly) Ada Marie McGaveston marrying Geoffrey Bernard Harker on 21 Jun 1947 at the Church of St Michael and St John, Allardice Street, Dannevirke, Manawatu, New Zealand. Photo courtesy of Cameron Day.
Charles Arthur (Arthur) McGaveston and Jeannie Harrison on thier wedding day 21 Feb 1929 at St Davids Church, Kaiti, Gisborne, Poverty Bay, New Zealand. George Emmanuel Roderick and Ella Rogers were the witnesses and most likely the other adults in the photo. Image courtesy of Christine Walker.
Charles Arthur (Arthur) McGaveston and Jeannie (Jean) Harrison on thier wedding day. Image courtesy of Christine Walker.
Charles John Cornwall McGaveston. Photo courtesy of Christine Walker.
Grace Ada Joy McGaveston, thier mother Jeannie McGaveston nee Harrison and Pamela Jill McGaveston. Image courtesy of Christine Walker.
Jeannie McGaveston nee Harrison. Image courtesy of Christine Walker.
Doris Isabella Bertha McGaveston. Image courtesy of Mea Ivory.
Doris Isabella Bertha Ivory nee McGaveston. Image courtesy of Mea Ivory.
Doris Ivory (front seated) her husband David to the right. Image courtesy of Molly McGaveston.
Murray Robert Piers McGaveston headstone in the Hastings cemetery. Photo taken by Cameron Day in 2015
Charles and Ada lived at ‘The Willows’ in Matawhero, Gisborne, Poverty Bay where they had a farm. They later lived in King Road Makauri up to when Ada died on 3 March 1919 and Charles sold everything and moved into Kaiti near Gisborne City.
Image courtesy of Papers Past. Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14852, 4 March 1919, Page 4
Ada died on Kaiti Beach and was later buried at Taruheru Cemetery. Her gravesite was unmarked until recently when I paid for a headstone to be erected in October 2014. The plot is a double plot likely intended for Charles to be buried there as well.
After the death of Ada Charles sold first his cattle and then everything on his farm.
Source: Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14962, 15 July 1919, Page 8
Charles invested in housing after the sale of his farm but the great depression all but wiped him out. Charles had moved to Blenheim, Marlborough, New Zealand and was being cared for by his daughter Doris and family when he died.
Charles died on 23 Apr 1945 at Lister Hospital, Blenheim, Marlborough, New Zealand. Charles was buried on 24 Apr 1945 at Omaka Cemetery, Blenheim, Marlborough, New Zealand.
Charles Winford McGavestons headstone. Images courtesy of Helen Coleman. Taken in 2017.
8. Alfred McGaveston was born on 28 Jan 1873 in Nelson, New Zealand. He first married Marie Atlantia Christensen on 14 Aug 1902 at The Registrars Office, Masterton, Wairarapa, New Zealand.
Marie Atlantia McGaveston. This is the only known photo of Marie. This photo was behind another photo of Alfred McGaveston which his second wife kept.
Image courtesy of the Burns family in February 2021.
Alfred in his later years.
Image courtesy of the Burns family in February 2021.
Mary died on 9 Oct 1912 in Gisborne, Poverty Bay, New Zealand. This was a month after the birth of her son. She was buried in Makaraka Cemetery. Sadly, over the years the headstone she had was destroyed by one of the previous caretakers of the cemetery and never replaced. The position of Marys grave is prone to being driven over so not a fitting end.
Mary Piesse nee McGavestons headstone prior to it being removed from the cemetery.
A year after Mary Anne McGaveston died John Corwall McGaveston married Penelope Dean Wallis 1849-1932 on 3 October 1877. Penelope was the daughter of Richard Wallis 1819-1882 and Mary Ann Lake Dockery 1821-1910.
The following are photos of Penelope Dean McGaveston.
Four generations of the family. Penelope Dean McGaveston nee Wallis, her son Dean Wallis McGaveston, Penelopes mother Mary Ann Lake Wallis nee Dockery with Miriam Penelope McGaveston.
Images courtesy of the Nelson provincial Museum.
A photo of Penelope Dean McGaveston taken in 1929 with Anna McGaveston on the right. The woman on the left is either Dora or Evelyn McGaveston.
John McGaveston, Anna, Penelope, Ralph (seated), Theo, Dora and Arthur McGaveston. The photographer John Edward Salisbury (JES) took multiple images of the McGavestons including the family home. He was a family friend of the McGavestons. If you know where to get other photos or better copies than this one please Contact Me. The Nelson Provincial Museum does not have any from JES.
John Cornwall McGaveston and Penelope Dean Wallis had 8 children:
- Dean Wallis McGaveston
Image courtesy of the Nelson Provincial Museum.
Image courtesy of Dean McGaveston.
Image courtesy of Dean McGaveston.
Dean Wallis McGaveston married Bertha Miriam Hunt 1879-1935 in 1905.
Dean and Bertha had the following children:
- Miriam Penelope McGaveston 1909-1993 married Laurence Mark Chapman 1904-1985
- Naomi Carver McGaveston 1910-1977 married James Edwin White then Henry (Harry) Horner
- Thelma Marjorie McGaveston married John Lloyd Cotton 1917-1996
Miriam Penelope McGaveston. Image courtesy of Dean McGaveston
Naomi Carver McGaveston possibly holding Dean Wallis McGaveston junior.
Image courtesy of the Nelson Provincial Museum.
Naomi Carver McGaveston. Image courtesy of Dean McGaveston
Dean Wallis McGaveston junior. Image courtesy of Dean McGaveston.
Tid Cotton (nee McGaveston), Dean Wallis (Snr), Dean Wallis (Jnr), Laurence Chapman, Miriam Chapman (nee McGaveston).
Children: Michael Cotton, Hugh Chapman, Ann Cotton, friend of Ann’s, Lorrayne Chapman (sitting next to her mother) – we assume John Cotton is the picture taker. ca 1944 by all accounts. Image courtesy of Dean McGaveston.
Bertha Miriam Hunt. Image courtesy of Dean McGaveston.
Bertha Miriam McGaveston taken in later years. Image courtesy of the Nelson Provincial Museum. This image is also in the collection of Dean McGaveston.
Dean Wallis McGaveston taken in later years. Image courtesy of the Nelson Provincial Museum
2. Theophilus Page McGaveston
Image courtesy of the Nelson Provincial Museum.
Theophilus married Mildred Eleanor Hewetson on 3 January 1908.
Theophilus and Mildred had the following children:
- Eleanor Josephine McGaveston
- Hugh Theophilus McGaveston married Rachel Grace Currie
- Margaret Mary McGaveston
Theophilus and Mildred McGaveston. McGaveston, gr 2. Nelson Provincial Museum, Ellis Dudgeon Collection: 195753
Hugh Theophilus McGaveston and Rachel Grace Currie. Mr Hugh McGaveston and woman. Nelson Provincial Museum, Ellis Dudgeon Collection: 195337.
Hugh Theophilus McGaveston and Rachel Grace Currie. Mr Hugh McGaveston and woman. Nelson Provincial Museum, Ellis Dudgeon Collection: 195338.
Hugh Theophilus McGaveston and Rachel Grace Currie. Mr Hugh McGaveston and woman. Nelson Provincial Museum, Ellis Dudgeon Collection: 195339.
3. Nicholas Arthur (Arthur) McGaveston
Image courtesy of the Nelson Provincial Museum.
The following two images show the marriage of Nicholas to Frances Eleanor (Ella) Burrell on 9 February 1909.
Images courtesy of the Nelson Provincial Museum.
Nicholas and Frances had the following children:
- Keith Burrell McGaveston
- Lucy Eleanor McGaveston
- Nellie Ruth McGaveston
- Frances Mary McGaveston
- Edward Arthur McGaveston
Left back to Right back: Arthur, Lucy, Keith McGaveston
Left front to Right front: Edward, Nellie, Ella, Frances Mary McGaveston
Keith Burrell McGaveston and Volda May Brewerton on their wedding day.
Nicholas died on 1 December 1937 and was buried at the Waiwhero Cemetery, Ngatimoti, Tasman, New Zealand.
Keith Burrell McGaveston and Edward Arthur ‘Ted’ McGaveston in the late 1930’s. Image source: anonymous
Lucy Eleanor McGaveston and her husband “Ted” E.W.G. Lewthwaite on their wedding day 19 April 1938. Image source: anonymous
Lucy Eleanor McGaveston aged 19 years. Image source: anonymous
Frances Mary McGaveston. Image source Nelson Provincial Museum.
Lucy Eleanor McGaveston, Nellie ‘Ruth’ McGaveston and Frances Mary McGaveston in the 1960’s possibly in Ruth’s garden in Nelson. Image source: anonymous
Edward (Ted) Arthur McGaveston. Mr E.A. McGaveston. Nelson Provincial Museum, Ellis Dudgeon Collection: 189878
Edward (Ted) Arthur McGaveston. Mr E.A. McGaveston. Nelson Provincial Museum, Ellis Dudgeon Collection: 189879
4. Theodora (Dora) McGaveston
Theodora (Dora), Anna and Evelyn McGaveston.
Dora did not marry or have children.
5. Anna Lake McGaveston
Anna Lake McGaveston married Percy Lloyd Dartnall late in her life. Percy had two children from his previous marriage. Anna had no children of her own.
A postcards from Anna Lake McGaveston to her cousin Laurence Edward Fairhall in 1910. Image courtesy of Mark Moorhouse.
Anna Lake McGaveston her wedding day. Miss McGaveston. Nelson Provincial Museum, Geoffrey C Wood Collection: 201729
Anna Lake McGaveston her wedding day. Miss McGaveston. Nelson Provincial Museum, Geoffrey C Wood Collection: 201727
Anna Lake McGaveston her wedding day. Miss McGaveston. Nelson Provincial Museum, Geoffrey C Wood Collection: 201728
Anna Lake McGaveston marriage to Percy Lloyd Dartnall. McGaveston, gp 2. Nelson Provincial Museum, Geoffrey C Wood Collection: 201846
Anna Lake McGaveston marriage to Percy Lloyd Dartnall. McGaveston, gp 2. Nelson Provincial Museum, Geoffrey C Wood Collection: 201848
Anna Lake McGaveston marriage to Percy Lloyd Dartnall. McGaveston, gp 2. Nelson Provincial Museum, Geoffrey C Wood Collection: 201847
6. Clara Evelyn (Evelyn) McGaveston
Image courtesy of the Nelson Provincial Museum.
Image courtesy of the Nelson Provincial Museum.
Clara Evelyn McGaveston married Eugene Ronald Cook.
7. Samuel Ralph (Ralph) McGaveston
Penelope Dean McGaveston with Ralph McGaveston.
Image courtesy of Dean McGaveston
8. William Hilton (Hilton) McGaveston
William Hilton McGaveston married Ivy Gertrude Tillson and had four children:
- Hilton Roger McGaveston
- Lois Annie McGaveston
- John Plant McGaveston
- Phyllis Gertrude McGaveston
John Plant McGaveston
Possibly Phyllis Gertrude McGaveston
Lois Annie McGaveston aged 18 months
John, Lois, Roger and Phyllis McGaveston.
Hilton and Ivy McGaveston with children John, Lois, Roger and Phyllis. Images courtesy of the Nelson Provincial Museum.
Hilton and Ivy McGaveston with children Hilton and Ivy McGaveston with children Lois, Roger, John and Phyllis. McGaveston, gr 6. Nelson Provincial Museum, Ellis Dudgeon Collection: 189479
Lois Annie McGaveston. Miss L McGaveston. Nelson Provincial Museum, Ellis Dudgeon Collection: 196773.
The following is a brief excerpt about Johns Cornwall McGavestons life from the Cyclopedia of New Zealand.
Farmer, Pokororo. Mr McGaveston was born in Ireland, and landed in Nelson in 1850. He has a sheep farm of 1000 acres, and shears about 1000 sheep. A fair amount of cropping is carried on, and fruit and root crops thrive exceedingly well. The small fruits do best, and raspberries grow in great profusion.
Mr McGaveston gives his attention to dairying, and milks from thirteen to twenty cows, according to the season. He also finds pig rearing a profitable industry; there is a ready market at Motueka, and he rears only Berkshires. With forty years of hard and useful work, Mr. McGaveston was enabled to establish a good home for himself and family of fourteen, sons and daughters. His fine residence of fifteen rooms is beautifully situated, with a frontage to the west bank of the Motueka and Pokororo rivers. Mr. McGaveston’s success shows what can be done with energy, perseverance and thrift.
Source: The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Nelson, Marlborough & Westland Provincial Districts]
Unknown Photos – Can you help ID them?
Is this Dora, Anna or Evelyn McGaveston?
Is this Dora, Anna or Evelyn McGaveston?
Images courtesy of the Nelson Provincial Museum.
The second child of John Wynn McGaveston was:
- Charles Wynn McGaveston was born 14 August 1845 and baptised on 7 September 1845 in St Peters, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland. He was gored to death by a wild bull/steer within a couple of years after having moved to New Zealand. The death was not registered and there is no known gravesite.
Margaret Page/McGaveston/Lloyd moved to New Zealand with the boys and her future husband the Reverend Robert John Lloyd 1800-1875. Margaret first had to sort out her husbands legacy and she travelled to India before returning to Ireland. Margarets relationship with Robert estranged her from her Dublin based family and she died in New Zealand after having 5 more children of which only 3 survived to adulthood.
- Bartholomew (Barty) Lloyd 1851-1923 married Letitia Margaret Bridge 1849-1894
- Anna Lloyd 1852-1933 married Charles Martin 1842-1919
- Margaratta Lloyd 1855-1856
- Matilda (Tillie) Lloyd 1857-1920
- Charles Lloyd 1859-1859
I only have two confirmed images of Barty Lloyd and none of his family nor any of his father. If you are able to provide any photos please contact me.
A photo of Barty Lloyd taken from the book No Roll of Drums by C.B Brereton. The photo was mistakenly labelled as John Cornwall McGaveston. The photo of John was labelled as Barty Lloyd!
Bartholomew Lloyd. Mr Lloyd. Nelson Provincial Museum, Tyree Studio Collection: 85699
Bartholomew Lloyd. Mr Lloyd. Nelson Provincial Museum, Tyree Studio Collection: 85700
Can you identify these two images? Are they Barty Lloyd? If you know please contact me.
Both images are from the Nelson Provincial Museum.
Bartholomew (Barty) Lloyd 1851-1923 and Letitia Margaret Bridge 1849-1894 has the following children:
- Matilda Helen Lloyd 1881-1962 married George John Wade 1875-1948
- Kathleen Clifford Lloyd 1884-1914 married Charles George Scotland O’Brien ?-1960
- John Lloyd 1886-1935
- Nelson Lloyd 1888-1964
- Robert Lloyd 1893-1959 married Frances Caroline Hope ?-1981
The third child of Nicholas McGaveston was:
Jane was born 1799 and baptised 1 September 1799 at St Andrews Church in Dublin, Co Dublin, Ireland
Jane was baptised in the same church as her siblings, however, the record of her fathers name is illegible with only Janes name and her mothers name Rose/Rosy Gaviston being readable. Thankfully DNA evidence in 2021 has proven that Janes descendants are related to us and the illegible name is Nicholas/Nicholai.
Image courtesy of Ancestry.com. National Library of Ireland; Dublin, Ireland; Microfilm Number: Microfilm 09492 / 01
Jane married Laurence Clarke 1800-1876 on 16 Jul 1820 in Booterstown, Dublin, Ireland. The witnesses were Pat Dowling and Elen Reade.
Image courtesy of Ancestry.com. National Library of Ireland; Dublin, Ireland; Microfilm Number: Microfilm 09085 / 03
They had at least two children:
- Mary Jane Clarke 1826-1899 married Augustus Thomas Bryant
- Laurence Clarke Jr 1831-1890 married Jane Bell then Catherine (Kate) McKay after Jane passed away.
Laurence Clarke retired to Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, Canada on 27 September 1842. In 1844 his daughter Mary Jane Clarke was married in Quebec. The record doesn’t tell us if Jane McGaveston was still alive at this point.
Image courtesy of Ancestry.com. UK, Royal Hospital, Chelsea: Regimental Registers of Pensioners, 1713-1882
On 1 November 1853 Laurence was living in Leeds, Lancashire, England
Image courtesy of Ancestry.com. UK, Royal Hospital, Chelsea: Regimental Registers of Pensioners, 1713-1882
If you know more about this family please contact me. We do not know where Jane passed away but it was before her husband who died in 9 July 1876 in Monkton, Ayr, Scotland and before the 1871 census in England. Laurence is listed as a widower of Jane Galveston. Laurence was a Sergeant in the 56th Regiment of foot. His death certificate says the 65th regiment but the military records say 56th regiment. His parents were named as Laurence Clarke and Ann Clark. He is listed as being 79 years old making his birth around 1797 but baptism records indicate he was born in 1800. The death was witnessed by Fanny Chalmers (his granddaughter) in the General Hospital.
Lawrence Clark 1800-1876 death. Image courtesy of Scotland’s People.
Mary Jane Clark was born 15 June 1826 and baptised on 24 September 1826 in the North Street Catholic Chapel, Hull, Yorkshire, England.
Image courtesy of Ancestry.com.
Mary Jane Clark married Augustus Thomas Bryant in 1844 in the Garrison Anglican Church, Montreal, Quebec, Canada and had at least 3 children who were all born in India. This is most likely because Augustus was transferred there as he was also in the military.
- Francis (Fanny) Jane Bryant 1845-? married Douglas Chalmers
- Alice Augusta Bryant 1857-?
- Augustus Thomas Bryant 1860-1860.
Mary Jane Bryant passed away on 24 November 1899 in Monkton, Ayr, Scotland. Her grandson Augustus Chalmers was the informant.
Image courtesy of Scotland’s People
Mary erected a headstone for her father in St. Cuthbert’s Church Cemetery. Interestingly Laurence’s date of death is wrong and the spelling variant of his first name isn’t in any record I’ve found so far. Mary is also buried in the same plot. Photo courtesy of john1acot on Findagrave
1.Francis (Fanny) Jane Bryant 1845-1934 married Douglas Chalmers on 5 September 1860 in Bangalore, Madras, India. Douglas surname is recorded as Chalmers/Chambers and there may have been an official name change by Douglas and Fanny.
They had at least 2 children:
- Augustus Douglas Chalmers 1862-1927
- Janet Alice Chalmers 1864-?
In the 1871 Scottish census Fanny said she was born in England
In the 1881 Scottish census Fanny said she was born in Nova Scotia, Canada
In the 1891 Scottish census Fanny said she was born in Halifax, America
In the 1901 Scottish census Fanny said she was born in England
If you can find where she was born please Contact me. I think she was born in Canada.
Frances Jane Chalmers passed away on 26 Dec 1934 at Pearl Cottage, Monkton, Ayrshire, Scotland. Her daughter in law Elizabeth Graham Chalmers was the informant.
Augustus Douglas Chalmers married Elizabeth Graham Eaglesome on 25 May 1895 in Ayr, Ayrshire, Scotland
They had at least 3 children:
- Elizabeth Francis Chalmers 1898-?
- Thomas Augustus Chalmers 1900-1973
- Frederick Laurence Chalmers 1906-?
2. Alice Augusta Bryant 1857-?
Alice was born in India on 8 November 1857. She was christened on 2 Dec 1857 in Bellary, Madras, India.
In the 1871 English census she is living with her grandfather Laurence Clarke and uncle Laurence Clarke in Hampshire, England.
In the 1881 census she is living with her mother Mary Jane Bryant and cousin Janet Chambers in Monkton, Ayr, Scotland.
Do you know what happened to Alice? If so can you Contact me.
3. Augustus Thomas Bryant 1860-1860.
Augustus was born on 28 May 1860 in Bellary, Madras, India. He was christened 10 Jun 1860 and died on 24 Jul 1860 in Bellary, Madras, India.
Laurence Clarke Jr was baptised 14 August 1831 in Fermoy, County Cork, Ireland. His parents were listed as Laurence Clark and Jane Clark and living in the military barracks.
Image courtesy of Ancestry.com. National Library of Ireland; Dublin, Ireland; Microfilm Number: Microfilm 04993 / 03
We know very little about Laurence Clark Sr, his wife Jane and their children and movements around the world. If you have any information please contact me.
Laurence father retired to Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, Canada. It is very likely that his wife Jane, daughter Mary Jane Clark and son Laurence Jr accompanied him with Laurence Jr finding employment and settling in Canada. Laurence Sr was living in Leeds, Lancashire, England in 1853. According to the biographies of his son Laurence Jr was working for the Hudson’s Bay Company in Montreal in 1851.
He married twice and had multiple children.
He married Jane Bell in 1855 in Fort Rae, Saskatchewan District, Rupert’s Land, British America. They had at least 7 children:
- Jane Bell Clarke 1856-? married Sedley Blanchard
- Aileen Flora Clarke 1857- married Francis D Wilson
- Lawrence John Clarke 1859-1941
- Christiana Clarke 1862-?
- Florence Anne Clarke 1862-1958 married Hugh Bain
- Rupert Henry Clarke 1864-?
- Augustus Peter Warren Clarke 1867-1945 married Liza Lizotte
Jane Clarke nee Bell died in 1870. Some family trees have her dying in Montana, USA but there is no evidence of this.
Laurence Clarke marries Catherine (Kate) McKay 1851-1934 on 25 Apr 1874 at Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada. They had at least 7 children.
- Mary Clarke 1875-1947 married Frederick W Armitage
- Thomas McKay Clarke 1877-1960 married Aurora McKenzie. Married Mary Maria Beads
- Sedley Blanchard Clarke 1879-1944
- George Clarke 1881-?
- Douglas Clarke 1882-1945
- Alexander Sproat Clarke 1887-1887
- Margaret Clarke 1889-1960
Laurence Clarke passes away on 5 Oct 1890 at Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada. He is buried at Saint Mary’s Cemetery, Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Lawrence Clarkes headstone. Image from Findagrave. Courtesy of Malhacro
Laurence/Lawrence Clarkes biography differs a little from the available records of his children. Some of the dates are incorrect.
CLARKE, LAWRENCE, HBC fur-trader and office-holder; b. 26 June 1832 in Fermoy (Republic of Ireland); m. first in 1859 Jane (d. 1870), daughter of John Bell*, and they had five children; m. secondly in 1874 Catherine (Katherine) McKay, and they had nine children; d. 5 Oct. 1890 in Prince Albert (Sask.).
Lawrence Clarke joined the Hudson’s Bay Company in Montreal in 1851, after spending several years in the West Indies. He was immediately sent to Fort McPherson (N. W. T.) on the Peel River, and there was promoted to clerk. In 1863 Clarke was transferred to Fort-à-la-Corne (Sask.), then HBC headquarters on the lower Saskatchewan River. Four years later he went to Fort Carlton as chief trader; he was made factor in 1868 and chief factor in 1875. Three years later, as chief factor of the Saskatchewan District, he moved to Prince Albert where he served until his death. While at Fort Carlton he became an honorary member of the Smithsonian Institution of Washington, D.C., to which he shipped large quantities of Indian artifacts. He is mentioned by such travellers as Sir William Francis Butler*, the Earl of Southesk [Carnegie], Sir Sandford Fleming*, and the Marquess of Lorne [Campbell*] as having been a generous host during their tours of the North-West Territories. In 1875 he provided crucial assistance to the North-West Mounted Police during their first winter on the North Saskatchewan.
Holding a senior HBC position, Clarke regarded himself as the most important man in the Saskatchewan District, with responsibilities extending beyond the fur trade, and was active in cultural and commercial affairs. He worked to gather support for Bishop John McLean’s efforts in 1879 to establish Emmanuel College in Prince Albert, which it was hoped would develop into a university of Saskatchewan. Clarke himself donated money for its construction and for scholarships. He also supported the development of steamboat traffic on the North Saskatchewan River and provided financial assistance with the bringing of telegraph and railway services to Prince Albert. In 1881 his public career reached a climax when he became the first man from the North-West Territories to be elected to a legislative post, taking his place on the Council of the North-West Territories for the new District of Lorne. The council sat only 17 days during Clarke’s two-year term, and although he was an active member his sole contribution of importance was a resolution calling on the federal government to extinguish Métis land claims. The establishment of a land office in Prince Albert shortly afterward is usually seen as a consequence of his work.
Clarke’s interest in the land titles question had been of long standing, and until the outbreak of the rebellion in 1885 [see Louis Riel] he continued his attempts to resolve a problem that caused dissatisfaction among white settlers and Métis alike. Arrogant and peremptory, however, he was considered by some of his contemporaries to be temperamentally unsuited for dealing with the large and restive Indian and Métis population of his district. He was actively disliked by many, and was even suspected of hoping to speculate profitably in the Métis land scrip which would be distributed by the government if his efforts were successful. The suspicion seems unfounded. Yet clearly his sympathy did not extend beyond those Indians and Métis who had abandoned their nomadic habits for farms and the white man’s way of life. Clarke was always intensely suspicious of any attempt by the Métis to organize themselves and over-reacted to efforts such as that of Gabriel Dumont* in 1875 to establish an informal Métis “government.” Because of Clarke’s alarms on this occasion, 50 North-West Mounted Police had been sent to Fort Carlton and Dumont was called before the magistrates there, one of whom was Clarke, to explain his actions. As the relations between whites and Métis deteriorated over the next ten years, so did Clarke’s with Métis activists. Indeed, it was widely held in the territories that his rash behaviour was partly responsible for the outbreak of rebellion in 1885. Two particularly damaging rumours were attached to Clarke’s name. The first, current among the Métis, reported a provocative warning by him that their petitions to the government were to be answered not by redress but by the strengthening of the NWMP detachment. Although Clarke consistently denied this charge, modern historians agree that it was probably well founded. The second rumour suggested that it was largely due to his urgings that Superintendent Lief Newry Fitzroy Crozier* marched on Duck Lake on 26 March without awaiting the arrival of Colonel Acheson Gosford Irvine with NWMP reinforcements. Clarke never commented on this charge. He was present during the first stages of the ensuing confrontation, but fled precipitately when the fighting broke out. His health collapsed immediately thereafter, and though he was appointed a supply officer of the Canadian expedition to suppress the rebellion, he was unable to fulfil his duties.
Clarke had not stood for re-election to the Council of the North-West Territories in 1883. His connection with the HBC had been an issue in 1881, and in 1883 there were strong suspicions that he was using his political influence to persuade the government to locate the new land office and telegraph office on HBC property and not in Prince Albert itself. In November the issue of the location of the telegraph office actually burst into a riot. Although he served as president of the Prince Albert Board of Trade between 1887 and 1889, his health remained poor until he died in 1890 at the age of 58.
The fourth child of Nicholas McGaveston was:
- Nicholas McGaveston 1803-1883
Nicholas McGaveston was baptised 12 June 1803.
Nicholaum McGaviston, Nicolai and Rosanna, Sponsors: Petrus McGaviston and M.A Dowling
Ancestry.com. Ireland, Catholic Parish Registers, 1655-1915. Provo, UT, USA:
Nicholas married twice. The first time to Henrietta Bournes 1807-1842 then to Catherine Ennis 1806-1888. Neither wives had children.
Nicholas married Henrietta Bournes on 9 Apr 1831 at St Peters, Dublin, Ireland, At this stage I do not have the marriage record but it was recorded in the Deputy Keeper of Ireland, Index to the Act or Grant Books, and to Original Wills, of the Diocese of Dublin 1272-1858 (26th, 30th and 31st Reports, 1894, 1899)
Nicholas then married Catherine Ennis on 22 Apr 1843 at St Giles, Bloomsbury, London, England. Catherine was the daughter of Frederick Rhames. Catherine was listed as a spinster.
Image courtesy of London Metropolitan Archives, Saint George, Bloomsbury, Register of marriages, P82/GEO1, Item 026.
In 1854 Nicholas McGaveston was lessor of two buildings in Amiens Street, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland.
Source: Ireland, Griffith’s Valuation, 1848-1864
Nicholas died 19 March 1883 at 5 Brighton Road, Rathgar, County Dublin, Ireland. His niece and carer Margaret Elizabeth Hilton was named as the executor of his estate. Nicholas wasnt immediately buried in the plot of his brother John Wynn McGaveston as Margaret Elizabeth Hilton had to write to John Cornwall McGaveston in New Zealand to get him to complete some forms so that the cemetery authority would allow the burial. In the mean time Nicholas remains were kept in a vault which Margaret paid a monthly fee for. In the same grave was Margaret Elizabeth Hiltons husband – Joseph Samuel Martin.
Catherine also appears in the Griffiths valuation. She rented out two houses in Caroline Row, County Dublin, Ireland.
Catherine McGaveston left Nicholas many years before he died. This was very unusual for the time. Nicholas carer wrote to John Cornwall McGaveston to say that this act led to Nicholas withdrawing himself from society.
Catherine McGaveston died on 25 October 1888.
All McGaveston family members who are alive today originate from Nicholas McGaveston 1767-1823. Any McGaveston family members who are not in New Zealand have moved or their families have moved from New Zealand.
The McGaveston surname is unique. It does not exist in any region of the world without having descent from Nicholas.
The McGaviston Families of New York
During my research I came across the McGaviston families who were living in the USA but were originally from Ireland. Like their Irish counterparts the naming conventions bear a striking resemblance to those employed by our McGaveston family.
In 2015 I found some of the McGaviston descendants who at first were interested in the possible connection but very quickly lost interest and haven’t shown any further interest. Their descendants are Beth Teuber and Nelville Jeffrey Lord.
I am working on another family line which is the McGaviston family line to see if they are also related to the McGavestons. Its going to be difficult to show a relationship as the name in America has now died out. The first McGavistons arrived in New York around 1790.
John McGaviston 1767-1827 married Catherine Worter
John and Catherine had at least two children Peter McGaviston in 1795 who later married Esther Oakeley. They also had Nicholas McGaveston.
The following is part of John McGavestons intestacy proceedings who died in New York in 1827.
The Will references are for Middlesex County:
McGaveston. John. 11367L. Inv. 1829.
McGaviston, John. 11219L. Inv. 1827
Peter and Esther had at least one child who died in infancy Catharine McGaviston.
John and Catherine may have had two more children John (junior). I dont have baptism dates to confirm the ages of John or Nicholas but you can see they maintained the same naming conventions as their Irish based cousins. John (senior), Nicholas and Peter appear reasonably regularly in the New York courts for various offences in the early 1800s.
There was a Nicholas McGaviston born in 1831 and he married Rose Ann (surname unknown). She was also born in 1831.
They had a child Kate McGaviston who was born in 1865. Kate married Daniel F Reeve and had at least two children George S Reeve and Rose K Reeve.
As of 25 August 2014 I am in contact with the descendants of Kate McGaviston but we have not been able to determine if the two families are related. No direct male line exists to undertake YDNA testing (direct pateral relationships). One family story of theirs says they were originally from Scotland but the earliest documentation I can find says that the family was from England and Ireland.
Other bits and pieces about the McGavistons:
- Around 1865 a Catherine McGaviston migrated from Ireland to New York
- In the 1830s and 1840s a John McGaviston was in the American marines. I havent been able to establish who his parents were.
- Descendants of the Kate McGaviston said one of thier uncles John McGaviston fought in the American civil war. If John served as a marine and then in the civil war he would have been quite old by that stage so there may be two different John McGavistons.
Doris Isabella Bertha McGaveston. Image courtesy of Mea Ivory.
Doris Isabella Bertha Ivory nee McGaveston. Image courtesy of Mea Ivory.
Doris Ivory (front seated) her husband David to the right. Image courtesy of Molly McGaveston.
Murray Robert Piers McGaveston headstone in the Hastings cemetery. Photo taken by Cameron Day in 2015
Charles and Ada lived at ‘The Willows’ in Matawhero, Gisborne, Poverty Bay where they had a farm. They later lived in King Road Makauri up to when Ada died on 3 March 1919 and Charles sold everything and moved into Kaiti near Gisborne City.
Image courtesy of Papers Past. Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14852, 4 March 1919, Page 4
Ada died on Kaiti Beach and was later buried at Taruheru Cemetery. Her gravesite was unmarked until recently when I paid for a headstone to be erected in October 2014. The plot is a double plot likely intended for Charles to be buried there as well.
After the death of Ada Charles sold first his cattle and then everything on his farm.
Source: Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14962, 15 July 1919, Page 8
Charles invested in housing after the sale of his farm but the great depression all but wiped him out. Charles had moved to Blenheim, Marlborough, New Zealand and was being cared for by his daughter Doris and family when he died.
Charles died on 23 Apr 1945 at Lister Hospital, Blenheim, Marlborough, New Zealand. Charles was buried on 24 Apr 1945 at Omaka Cemetery, Blenheim, Marlborough, New Zealand.
Charles Winford McGavestons headstone. Images courtesy of Helen Coleman. Taken in 2017.
8. Alfred McGaveston was born on 28 Jan 1873 in Nelson, New Zealand. He first married Marie Atlantia Christensen on 14 Aug 1902 at The Registrars Office, Masterton, Wairarapa, New Zealand.
Marie Atlantia McGaveston. This is the only known photo of Marie. This photo was behind another photo of Alfred McGaveston which his second wife kept.
Image courtesy of the Burns family in February 2021.
Alfred in his later years.
Image courtesy of the Burns family in February 2021.
Mary died on 9 Oct 1912 in Gisborne, Poverty Bay, New Zealand. This was a month after the birth of her son. She was buried in Makaraka Cemetery. Sadly, over the years the headstone she had was destroyed by one of the previous caretakers of the cemetery and never replaced. The position of Marys grave is prone to being driven over so not a fitting end.
Mary Piesse nee McGavestons headstone prior to it being removed from the cemetery.
A year after Mary Anne McGaveston died John Corwall McGaveston married Penelope Dean Wallis 1849-1932 on 3 October 1877. Penelope was the daughter of Richard Wallis 1819-1882 and Mary Ann Lake Dockery 1821-1910.
The following are photos of Penelope Dean McGaveston.
Four generations of the family. Penelope Dean McGaveston nee Wallis, her son Dean Wallis McGaveston, Penelopes mother Mary Ann Lake Wallis nee Dockery with Miriam Penelope McGaveston.
Images courtesy of the Nelson provincial Museum.
A photo of Penelope Dean McGaveston taken in 1929 with Anna McGaveston on the right. The woman on the left is either Dora or Evelyn McGaveston.
John McGaveston, Anna, Penelope, Ralph (seated), Theo, Dora and Arthur McGaveston. The photographer John Edward Salisbury (JES) took multiple images of the McGavestons including the family home. He was a family friend of the McGavestons. If you know where to get other photos or better copies than this one please Contact Me. The Nelson Provincial Museum does not have any from JES.
John Cornwall McGaveston and Penelope Dean Wallis had 8 children:
- Dean Wallis McGaveston
Image courtesy of the Nelson Provincial Museum.
Image courtesy of Dean McGaveston.
Image courtesy of Dean McGaveston.
Dean Wallis McGaveston married Bertha Miriam Hunt 1879-1935 in 1905.
Dean and Bertha had the following children:
- Miriam Penelope McGaveston 1909-1993 married Laurence Mark Chapman 1904-1985
- Naomi Carver McGaveston 1910-1977 married James Edwin White then Henry (Harry) Horner
- Thelma Marjorie McGaveston married John Lloyd Cotton 1917-1996
Miriam Penelope McGaveston. Image courtesy of Dean McGaveston
Naomi Carver McGaveston possibly holding Dean Wallis McGaveston junior.
Image courtesy of the Nelson Provincial Museum.
Naomi Carver McGaveston. Image courtesy of Dean McGaveston
Dean Wallis McGaveston junior. Image courtesy of Dean McGaveston.
Tid Cotton (nee McGaveston), Dean Wallis (Snr), Dean Wallis (Jnr), Laurence Chapman, Miriam Chapman (nee McGaveston).
Children: Michael Cotton, Hugh Chapman, Ann Cotton, friend of Ann’s, Lorrayne Chapman (sitting next to her mother) – we assume John Cotton is the picture taker. ca 1944 by all accounts. Image courtesy of Dean McGaveston.
Bertha Miriam Hunt. Image courtesy of Dean McGaveston.Bertha Miriam McGaveston taken in later years. Image courtesy of the Nelson Provincial Museum. This image is also in the collection of Dean McGaveston.
Dean Wallis McGaveston taken in later years. Image courtesy of the Nelson Provincial Museum
2. Theophilus Page McGaveston
Image courtesy of the Nelson Provincial Museum.
Theophilus married Mildred Eleanor Hewetson on 3 January 1908.
Theophilus and Mildred had the following children:
- Eleanor Josephine McGaveston
- Hugh Theophilus McGaveston married Rachel Grace Currie
- Margaret Mary McGaveston
Theophilus and Mildred McGaveston. McGaveston, gr 2. Nelson Provincial Museum, Ellis Dudgeon Collection: 195753
Hugh Theophilus McGaveston and Rachel Grace Currie. Mr Hugh McGaveston and woman. Nelson Provincial Museum, Ellis Dudgeon Collection: 195337.
Hugh Theophilus McGaveston and Rachel Grace Currie. Mr Hugh McGaveston and woman. Nelson Provincial Museum, Ellis Dudgeon Collection: 195338.
Hugh Theophilus McGaveston and Rachel Grace Currie. Mr Hugh McGaveston and woman. Nelson Provincial Museum, Ellis Dudgeon Collection: 195339.
3. Nicholas Arthur (Arthur) McGaveston
Image courtesy of the Nelson Provincial Museum.
The following two images show the marriage of Nicholas to Frances Eleanor (Ella) Burrell on 9 February 1909.
Images courtesy of the Nelson Provincial Museum.
Nicholas and Frances had the following children:
- Keith Burrell McGaveston
- Lucy Eleanor McGaveston
- Nellie Ruth McGaveston
- Frances Mary McGaveston
- Edward Arthur McGaveston
Left back to Right back: Arthur, Lucy, Keith McGaveston
Left front to Right front: Edward, Nellie, Ella, Frances Mary McGaveston
Keith Burrell McGaveston and Volda May Brewerton on their wedding day.
Nicholas died on 1 December 1937 and was buried at the Waiwhero Cemetery, Ngatimoti, Tasman, New Zealand.
Keith Burrell McGaveston and Edward Arthur ‘Ted’ McGaveston in the late 1930’s. Image source: anonymous
Lucy Eleanor McGaveston and her husband “Ted” E.W.G. Lewthwaite on their wedding day 19 April 1938. Image source: anonymous
Lucy Eleanor McGaveston aged 19 years. Image source: anonymous
Frances Mary McGaveston. Image source Nelson Provincial Museum.
Lucy Eleanor McGaveston, Nellie ‘Ruth’ McGaveston and Frances Mary McGaveston in the 1960’s possibly in Ruth’s garden in Nelson. Image source: anonymous
Edward (Ted) Arthur McGaveston. Mr E.A. McGaveston. Nelson Provincial Museum, Ellis Dudgeon Collection: 189878
Edward (Ted) Arthur McGaveston. Mr E.A. McGaveston. Nelson Provincial Museum, Ellis Dudgeon Collection: 189879
4. Theodora (Dora) McGaveston
Theodora (Dora), Anna and Evelyn McGaveston.
Dora did not marry or have children.
5. Anna Lake McGaveston
Anna Lake McGaveston married Percy Lloyd Dartnall late in her life. Percy had two children from his previous marriage. Anna had no children of her own.
A postcards from Anna Lake McGaveston to her cousin Laurence Edward Fairhall in 1910. Image courtesy of Mark Moorhouse.
Anna Lake McGaveston her wedding day. Miss McGaveston. Nelson Provincial Museum, Geoffrey C Wood Collection: 201729
Anna Lake McGaveston her wedding day. Miss McGaveston. Nelson Provincial Museum, Geoffrey C Wood Collection: 201727
Anna Lake McGaveston her wedding day. Miss McGaveston. Nelson Provincial Museum, Geoffrey C Wood Collection: 201728
Anna Lake McGaveston marriage to Percy Lloyd Dartnall. McGaveston, gp 2. Nelson Provincial Museum, Geoffrey C Wood Collection: 201846
Anna Lake McGaveston marriage to Percy Lloyd Dartnall. McGaveston, gp 2. Nelson Provincial Museum, Geoffrey C Wood Collection: 201848
Anna Lake McGaveston marriage to Percy Lloyd Dartnall. McGaveston, gp 2. Nelson Provincial Museum, Geoffrey C Wood Collection: 201847
6. Clara Evelyn (Evelyn) McGaveston
Image courtesy of the Nelson Provincial Museum.
Image courtesy of the Nelson Provincial Museum.
Clara Evelyn McGaveston married Eugene Ronald Cook.
7. Samuel Ralph (Ralph) McGaveston
Penelope Dean McGaveston with Ralph McGaveston.
Image courtesy of Dean McGaveston
8. William Hilton (Hilton) McGaveston
William Hilton McGaveston married Ivy Gertrude Tillson and had four children:
- Hilton Roger McGaveston
- Lois Annie McGaveston
- John Plant McGaveston
- Phyllis Gertrude McGaveston
John Plant McGaveston
Possibly Phyllis Gertrude McGaveston
Lois Annie McGaveston aged 18 months
John, Lois, Roger and Phyllis McGaveston.
Hilton and Ivy McGaveston with children John, Lois, Roger and Phyllis. Images courtesy of the Nelson Provincial Museum.
Hilton and Ivy McGaveston with children Hilton and Ivy McGaveston with children Lois, Roger, John and Phyllis. McGaveston, gr 6. Nelson Provincial Museum, Ellis Dudgeon Collection: 189479
Lois Annie McGaveston. Miss L McGaveston. Nelson Provincial Museum, Ellis Dudgeon Collection: 196773.
The following is a brief excerpt about Johns Cornwall McGavestons life from the Cyclopedia of New Zealand.
Farmer, Pokororo. Mr McGaveston was born in Ireland, and landed in Nelson in 1850. He has a sheep farm of 1000 acres, and shears about 1000 sheep. A fair amount of cropping is carried on, and fruit and root crops thrive exceedingly well. The small fruits do best, and raspberries grow in great profusion.
Mr McGaveston gives his attention to dairying, and milks from thirteen to twenty cows, according to the season. He also finds pig rearing a profitable industry; there is a ready market at Motueka, and he rears only Berkshires. With forty years of hard and useful work, Mr. McGaveston was enabled to establish a good home for himself and family of fourteen, sons and daughters. His fine residence of fifteen rooms is beautifully situated, with a frontage to the west bank of the Motueka and Pokororo rivers. Mr. McGaveston’s success shows what can be done with energy, perseverance and thrift.
Source: The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Nelson, Marlborough & Westland Provincial Districts]
Unknown Photos – Can you help ID them?
Is this Dora, Anna or Evelyn McGaveston?
Is this Dora, Anna or Evelyn McGaveston?
Images courtesy of the Nelson Provincial Museum.
The second child of John Wynn McGaveston was:
- Charles Wynn McGaveston was born 14 August 1845 and baptised on 7 September 1845 in St Peters, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland. He was gored to death by a wild bull/steer within a couple of years after having moved to New Zealand. The death was not registered and there is no known gravesite.
Margaret Page/McGaveston/Lloyd moved to New Zealand with the boys and her future husband the Reverend Robert John Lloyd 1800-1875. Margaret first had to sort out her husbands legacy and she travelled to India before returning to Ireland. Margarets relationship with Robert estranged her from her Dublin based family and she died in New Zealand after having 5 more children of which only 3 survived to adulthood.
- Bartholomew (Barty) Lloyd 1851-1923 married Letitia Margaret Bridge 1849-1894
- Anna Lloyd 1852-1933 married Charles Martin 1842-1919
- Margaratta Lloyd 1855-1856
- Matilda (Tillie) Lloyd 1857-1920
- Charles Lloyd 1859-1859
I only have two confirmed images of Barty Lloyd and none of his family nor any of his father. If you are able to provide any photos please contact me.
A photo of Barty Lloyd taken from the book No Roll of Drums by C.B Brereton. The photo was mistakenly labelled as John Cornwall McGaveston. The photo of John was labelled as Barty Lloyd!
Bartholomew Lloyd. Mr Lloyd. Nelson Provincial Museum, Tyree Studio Collection: 85699
Bartholomew Lloyd. Mr Lloyd. Nelson Provincial Museum, Tyree Studio Collection: 85700
Can you identify these two images? Are they Barty Lloyd? If you know please contact me.
Both images are from the Nelson Provincial Museum.
Bartholomew (Barty) Lloyd 1851-1923 and Letitia Margaret Bridge 1849-1894 has the following children:
- Matilda Helen Lloyd 1881-1962 married George John Wade 1875-1948
- Kathleen Clifford Lloyd 1884-1914 married Charles George Scotland O’Brien ?-1960
- John Lloyd 1886-1935
- Nelson Lloyd 1888-1964
- Robert Lloyd 1893-1959 married Frances Caroline Hope ?-1981
The third child of Nicholas McGaveston was:
Jane was born 1799 and baptised 1 September 1799 at St Andrews Church in Dublin, Co Dublin, Ireland
Jane was baptised in the same church as her siblings, however, the record of her fathers name is illegible with only Janes name and her mothers name Rose/Rosy Gaviston being readable. Thankfully DNA evidence in 2021 has proven that Janes descendants are related to us and the illegible name is Nicholas/Nicholai.
Image courtesy of Ancestry.com. National Library of Ireland; Dublin, Ireland; Microfilm Number: Microfilm 09492 / 01
Jane married Laurence Clarke 1800-1876 on 16 Jul 1820 in Booterstown, Dublin, Ireland. The witnesses were Pat Dowling and Elen Reade.
Image courtesy of Ancestry.com. National Library of Ireland; Dublin, Ireland; Microfilm Number: Microfilm 09085 / 03
They had at least two children:
- Mary Jane Clarke 1826-1899 married Augustus Thomas Bryant
- Laurence Clarke Jr 1831-1890 married Jane Bell then Catherine (Kate) McKay after Jane passed away.
Laurence Clarke retired to Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, Canada on 27 September 1842. In 1844 his daughter Mary Jane Clarke was married in Quebec. The record doesn’t tell us if Jane McGaveston was still alive at this point.
Image courtesy of Ancestry.com. UK, Royal Hospital, Chelsea: Regimental Registers of Pensioners, 1713-1882
On 1 November 1853 Laurence was living in Leeds, Lancashire, England
Image courtesy of Ancestry.com. UK, Royal Hospital, Chelsea: Regimental Registers of Pensioners, 1713-1882
If you know more about this family please contact me. We do not know where Jane passed away but it was before her husband who died in 9 July 1876 in Monkton, Ayr, Scotland and before the 1871 census in England. Laurence is listed as a widower of Jane Galveston. Laurence was a Sergeant in the 56th Regiment of foot. His death certificate says the 65th regiment but the military records say 56th regiment. His parents were named as Laurence Clarke and Ann Clark. He is listed as being 79 years old making his birth around 1797 but baptism records indicate he was born in 1800. The death was witnessed by Fanny Chalmers (his granddaughter) in the General Hospital.
Lawrence Clark 1800-1876 death. Image courtesy of Scotland’s People.
Mary Jane Clark was born 15 June 1826 and baptised on 24 September 1826 in the North Street Catholic Chapel, Hull, Yorkshire, England.
Image courtesy of Ancestry.com.
Mary Jane Clark married Augustus Thomas Bryant in 1844 in the Garrison Anglican Church, Montreal, Quebec, Canada and had at least 3 children who were all born in India. This is most likely because Augustus was transferred there as he was also in the military.
- Francis (Fanny) Jane Bryant 1845-? married Douglas Chalmers
- Alice Augusta Bryant 1857-?
- Augustus Thomas Bryant 1860-1860.
Mary Jane Bryant passed away on 24 November 1899 in Monkton, Ayr, Scotland. Her grandson Augustus Chalmers was the informant.
Image courtesy of Scotland’s People
Mary erected a headstone for her father in St. Cuthbert’s Church Cemetery. Interestingly Laurence’s date of death is wrong and the spelling variant of his first name isn’t in any record I’ve found so far. Mary is also buried in the same plot. Photo courtesy of john1acot on Findagrave
1.Francis (Fanny) Jane Bryant 1845-1934 married Douglas Chalmers on 5 September 1860 in Bangalore, Madras, India. Douglas surname is recorded as Chalmers/Chambers and there may have been an official name change by Douglas and Fanny.
They had at least 2 children:
- Augustus Douglas Chalmers 1862-1927
- Janet Alice Chalmers 1864-?
In the 1871 Scottish census Fanny said she was born in England
In the 1881 Scottish census Fanny said she was born in Nova Scotia, Canada
In the 1891 Scottish census Fanny said she was born in Halifax, America
In the 1901 Scottish census Fanny said she was born in England
If you can find where she was born please Contact me. I think she was born in Canada.
Frances Jane Chalmers passed away on 26 Dec 1934 at Pearl Cottage, Monkton, Ayrshire, Scotland. Her daughter in law Elizabeth Graham Chalmers was the informant.
Augustus Douglas Chalmers married Elizabeth Graham Eaglesome on 25 May 1895 in Ayr, Ayrshire, Scotland
They had at least 3 children:
- Elizabeth Francis Chalmers 1898-?
- Thomas Augustus Chalmers 1900-1973
- Frederick Laurence Chalmers 1906-?
2. Alice Augusta Bryant 1857-?
Alice was born in India on 8 November 1857. She was christened on 2 Dec 1857 in Bellary, Madras, India.
In the 1871 English census she is living with her grandfather Laurence Clarke and uncle Laurence Clarke in Hampshire, England.
In the 1881 census she is living with her mother Mary Jane Bryant and cousin Janet Chambers in Monkton, Ayr, Scotland.
Do you know what happened to Alice? If so can you Contact me.
3. Augustus Thomas Bryant 1860-1860.
Augustus was born on 28 May 1860 in Bellary, Madras, India. He was christened 10 Jun 1860 and died on 24 Jul 1860 in Bellary, Madras, India.
Laurence Clarke Jr was baptised 14 August 1831 in Fermoy, County Cork, Ireland. His parents were listed as Laurence Clark and Jane Clark and living in the military barracks.
Image courtesy of Ancestry.com. National Library of Ireland; Dublin, Ireland; Microfilm Number: Microfilm 04993 / 03
We know very little about Laurence Clark Sr, his wife Jane and their children and movements around the world. If you have any information please contact me.
Laurence father retired to Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, Canada. It is very likely that his wife Jane, daughter Mary Jane Clark and son Laurence Jr accompanied him with Laurence Jr finding employment and settling in Canada. Laurence Sr was living in Leeds, Lancashire, England in 1853. According to the biographies of his son Laurence Jr was working for the Hudson’s Bay Company in Montreal in 1851.
He married twice and had multiple children.
He married Jane Bell in 1855 in Fort Rae, Saskatchewan District, Rupert’s Land, British America. They had at least 7 children:
- Jane Bell Clarke 1856-? married Sedley Blanchard
- Aileen Flora Clarke 1857- married Francis D Wilson
- Lawrence John Clarke 1859-1941
- Christiana Clarke 1862-?
- Florence Anne Clarke 1862-1958 married Hugh Bain
- Rupert Henry Clarke 1864-?
- Augustus Peter Warren Clarke 1867-1945 married Liza Lizotte
Jane Clarke nee Bell died in 1870. Some family trees have her dying in Montana, USA but there is no evidence of this.
Laurence Clarke marries Catherine (Kate) McKay 1851-1934 on 25 Apr 1874 at Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada. They had at least 7 children.
- Mary Clarke 1875-1947 married Frederick W Armitage
- Thomas McKay Clarke 1877-1960 married Aurora McKenzie. Married Mary Maria Beads
- Sedley Blanchard Clarke 1879-1944
- George Clarke 1881-?
- Douglas Clarke 1882-1945
- Alexander Sproat Clarke 1887-1887
- Margaret Clarke 1889-1960
Laurence Clarke passes away on 5 Oct 1890 at Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada. He is buried at Saint Mary’s Cemetery, Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Lawrence Clarkes headstone. Image from Findagrave. Courtesy of Malhacro
Laurence/Lawrence Clarkes biography differs a little from the available records of his children. Some of the dates are incorrect.
CLARKE, LAWRENCE, HBC fur-trader and office-holder; b. 26 June 1832 in Fermoy (Republic of Ireland); m. first in 1859 Jane (d. 1870), daughter of John Bell*, and they had five children; m. secondly in 1874 Catherine (Katherine) McKay, and they had nine children; d. 5 Oct. 1890 in Prince Albert (Sask.).
Lawrence Clarke joined the Hudson’s Bay Company in Montreal in 1851, after spending several years in the West Indies. He was immediately sent to Fort McPherson (N. W. T.) on the Peel River, and there was promoted to clerk. In 1863 Clarke was transferred to Fort-à-la-Corne (Sask.), then HBC headquarters on the lower Saskatchewan River. Four years later he went to Fort Carlton as chief trader; he was made factor in 1868 and chief factor in 1875. Three years later, as chief factor of the Saskatchewan District, he moved to Prince Albert where he served until his death. While at Fort Carlton he became an honorary member of the Smithsonian Institution of Washington, D.C., to which he shipped large quantities of Indian artifacts. He is mentioned by such travellers as Sir William Francis Butler*, the Earl of Southesk [Carnegie], Sir Sandford Fleming*, and the Marquess of Lorne [Campbell*] as having been a generous host during their tours of the North-West Territories. In 1875 he provided crucial assistance to the North-West Mounted Police during their first winter on the North Saskatchewan.
Holding a senior HBC position, Clarke regarded himself as the most important man in the Saskatchewan District, with responsibilities extending beyond the fur trade, and was active in cultural and commercial affairs. He worked to gather support for Bishop John McLean’s efforts in 1879 to establish Emmanuel College in Prince Albert, which it was hoped would develop into a university of Saskatchewan. Clarke himself donated money for its construction and for scholarships. He also supported the development of steamboat traffic on the North Saskatchewan River and provided financial assistance with the bringing of telegraph and railway services to Prince Albert. In 1881 his public career reached a climax when he became the first man from the North-West Territories to be elected to a legislative post, taking his place on the Council of the North-West Territories for the new District of Lorne. The council sat only 17 days during Clarke’s two-year term, and although he was an active member his sole contribution of importance was a resolution calling on the federal government to extinguish Métis land claims. The establishment of a land office in Prince Albert shortly afterward is usually seen as a consequence of his work.
Clarke’s interest in the land titles question had been of long standing, and until the outbreak of the rebellion in 1885 [see Louis Riel] he continued his attempts to resolve a problem that caused dissatisfaction among white settlers and Métis alike. Arrogant and peremptory, however, he was considered by some of his contemporaries to be temperamentally unsuited for dealing with the large and restive Indian and Métis population of his district. He was actively disliked by many, and was even suspected of hoping to speculate profitably in the Métis land scrip which would be distributed by the government if his efforts were successful. The suspicion seems unfounded. Yet clearly his sympathy did not extend beyond those Indians and Métis who had abandoned their nomadic habits for farms and the white man’s way of life. Clarke was always intensely suspicious of any attempt by the Métis to organize themselves and over-reacted to efforts such as that of Gabriel Dumont* in 1875 to establish an informal Métis “government.” Because of Clarke’s alarms on this occasion, 50 North-West Mounted Police had been sent to Fort Carlton and Dumont was called before the magistrates there, one of whom was Clarke, to explain his actions. As the relations between whites and Métis deteriorated over the next ten years, so did Clarke’s with Métis activists. Indeed, it was widely held in the territories that his rash behaviour was partly responsible for the outbreak of rebellion in 1885. Two particularly damaging rumours were attached to Clarke’s name. The first, current among the Métis, reported a provocative warning by him that their petitions to the government were to be answered not by redress but by the strengthening of the NWMP detachment. Although Clarke consistently denied this charge, modern historians agree that it was probably well founded. The second rumour suggested that it was largely due to his urgings that Superintendent Lief Newry Fitzroy Crozier* marched on Duck Lake on 26 March without awaiting the arrival of Colonel Acheson Gosford Irvine with NWMP reinforcements. Clarke never commented on this charge. He was present during the first stages of the ensuing confrontation, but fled precipitately when the fighting broke out. His health collapsed immediately thereafter, and though he was appointed a supply officer of the Canadian expedition to suppress the rebellion, he was unable to fulfil his duties.
Clarke had not stood for re-election to the Council of the North-West Territories in 1883. His connection with the HBC had been an issue in 1881, and in 1883 there were strong suspicions that he was using his political influence to persuade the government to locate the new land office and telegraph office on HBC property and not in Prince Albert itself. In November the issue of the location of the telegraph office actually burst into a riot. Although he served as president of the Prince Albert Board of Trade between 1887 and 1889, his health remained poor until he died in 1890 at the age of 58.
The fourth child of Nicholas McGaveston was:
- Nicholas McGaveston 1803-1883
Nicholas McGaveston was baptised 12 June 1803.
Nicholaum McGaviston, Nicolai and Rosanna, Sponsors: Petrus McGaviston and M.A Dowling
Ancestry.com. Ireland, Catholic Parish Registers, 1655-1915. Provo, UT, USA:
Nicholas married twice. The first time to Henrietta Bournes 1807-1842 then to Catherine Ennis 1806-1888. Neither wives had children.
Nicholas married Henrietta Bournes on 9 Apr 1831 at St Peters, Dublin, Ireland, At this stage I do not have the marriage record but it was recorded in the Deputy Keeper of Ireland, Index to the Act or Grant Books, and to Original Wills, of the Diocese of Dublin 1272-1858 (26th, 30th and 31st Reports, 1894, 1899)
Nicholas then married Catherine Ennis on 22 Apr 1843 at St Giles, Bloomsbury, London, England. Catherine was the daughter of Frederick Rhames. Catherine was listed as a spinster.
Image courtesy of London Metropolitan Archives, Saint George, Bloomsbury, Register of marriages, P82/GEO1, Item 026.
In 1854 Nicholas McGaveston was lessor of two buildings in Amiens Street, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland.
Source: Ireland, Griffith’s Valuation, 1848-1864
Nicholas died 19 March 1883 at 5 Brighton Road, Rathgar, County Dublin, Ireland. His niece and carer Margaret Elizabeth Hilton was named as the executor of his estate. Nicholas wasnt immediately buried in the plot of his brother John Wynn McGaveston as Margaret Elizabeth Hilton had to write to John Cornwall McGaveston in New Zealand to get him to complete some forms so that the cemetery authority would allow the burial. In the mean time Nicholas remains were kept in a vault which Margaret paid a monthly fee for. In the same grave was Margaret Elizabeth Hiltons husband – Joseph Samuel Martin.
Catherine also appears in the Griffiths valuation. She rented out two houses in Caroline Row, County Dublin, Ireland.
Catherine McGaveston left Nicholas many years before he died. This was very unusual for the time. Nicholas carer wrote to John Cornwall McGaveston to say that this act led to Nicholas withdrawing himself from society.
Catherine McGaveston died on 25 October 1888.
All McGaveston family members who are alive today originate from Nicholas McGaveston 1767-1823. Any McGaveston family members who are not in New Zealand have moved or their families have moved from New Zealand.
The McGaveston surname is unique. It does not exist in any region of the world without having descent from Nicholas.
The McGaviston Families of New York
During my research I came across the McGaviston families who were living in the USA but were originally from Ireland. Like their Irish counterparts the naming conventions bear a striking resemblance to those employed by our McGaveston family.
In 2015 I found some of the McGaviston descendants who at first were interested in the possible connection but very quickly lost interest and haven’t shown any further interest. Their descendants are Beth Teuber and Nelville Jeffrey Lord.
I am working on another family line which is the McGaviston family line to see if they are also related to the McGavestons. Its going to be difficult to show a relationship as the name in America has now died out. The first McGavistons arrived in New York around 1790.
John McGaviston 1767-1827 married Catherine Worter
John and Catherine had at least two children Peter McGaviston in 1795 who later married Esther Oakeley. They also had Nicholas McGaveston.
The following is part of John McGavestons intestacy proceedings who died in New York in 1827.
The Will references are for Middlesex County:
McGaveston. John. 11367L. Inv. 1829.
McGaviston, John. 11219L. Inv. 1827
Peter and Esther had at least one child who died in infancy Catharine McGaviston.
John and Catherine may have had two more children John (junior). I dont have baptism dates to confirm the ages of John or Nicholas but you can see they maintained the same naming conventions as their Irish based cousins. John (senior), Nicholas and Peter appear reasonably regularly in the New York courts for various offences in the early 1800s.
There was a Nicholas McGaviston born in 1831 and he married Rose Ann (surname unknown). She was also born in 1831.
They had a child Kate McGaviston who was born in 1865. Kate married Daniel F Reeve and had at least two children George S Reeve and Rose K Reeve.
As of 25 August 2014 I am in contact with the descendants of Kate McGaviston but we have not been able to determine if the two families are related. No direct male line exists to undertake YDNA testing (direct pateral relationships). One family story of theirs says they were originally from Scotland but the earliest documentation I can find says that the family was from England and Ireland.
Other bits and pieces about the McGavistons:
- Around 1865 a Catherine McGaviston migrated from Ireland to New York
- In the 1830s and 1840s a John McGaviston was in the American marines. I havent been able to establish who his parents were.
- Descendants of the Kate McGaviston said one of thier uncles John McGaviston fought in the American civil war. If John served as a marine and then in the civil war he would have been quite old by that stage so there may be two different John McGavistons.
William Halberts signature taken from his Will.
Family History Research 