George Thomas MASON in New Zealand
ngairedith
the following was written as a comment/reply to timmason's query of 22 Sept 2010. HOWEVER, the comment would not attach to the bottom of his journal possibly a glitch in the site system so I have written it here as a separate journal
A George Thomas MASON was born in New Zealand in 1869
- his parents are unknown at this time
- he was a Company Director
- he lived in Kelburn, Wellington at some stage
- he was living at 1 Goring Street, Thorndon, Wellington in at least 1917 & 1918
- he died on the 11th August 1947 aged 78
- he is buried in PLOT 798 O at Karori Cemetery
He married Eva Elizabeth HAND in 1894
- Eva was born in 1869 in New Zealand
- her parents are unknown at this time
- she died on the 9th September 1947 aged 78 (31 days after her husband) - she is also buried in PLOT 798 O at Karori Cemetery
Their 3 known sons were:
1897-1968 - Howard George Mason
- served in WWI as Sapper #36183 in the NZEF, 23rd Reinforcements Headquarters Staff, Divisional Signallers, embarking on 14th March 1917
1899-1977 - Kenneth Randall Mason
- Kenneth was an Insurance Clerk
- he served in WWI as Sapper #71343 in the NZEF, 39th Reinforcements Divisional Signallers, embarking on 13th June 1918
- Kenneth married Betty Stuart REID in 1928
1910-???? - Walter Wynne Mason Captain in the War
- he wrote Prisoners of War in 1954 - see an exert of the book Japanese Prisoners of War in New Zealand (Featherston)
Tim would like to know who the parents of the George Thomas Mason were and if the George Thomas Mason born in NZ was the George who married Eva as it is believed that he was born in England ...
If you can add some light to this could you please leave a message in the comments box below
You could try Search All Resources - there are 182 results there for an Edmund Mason (a number of them in USA though)
Silly quetion perhaps, but have you 'grilled' Wynne's wife Freda ... you say Wynne also started a tree, there should be a wealth of info if you can get that
Check the Census Records for England and Wales from 1841 to 1911
There are 207 Inglis mentioned for Scotland also at Search All Resources
There is little information for Edmund Thomas Mason in New Zealand and less on his wives The only article found at the moment is the selling of his estate in November 1902 ater his death in June 1902 (this gives his birth place as Cornwall and education at Christs College Cambridge, searching those places will produce results) but this is not helpful regards any surviving family members. It does however tell you a little about him if you read what his possessions were:
- walnut trichord Piano by Kirkman
- walnut 9 piece suite upholstered in silk tapestry
- massive 9 piece dining room suite of morocco leather - carpets from Brussels
... not your (normal) settlers furniture
It also gives his address as 51 Tinakori Rd, Thorndon, Wellington
- did you know that ...
JULIUS VOGEL (1835-1899) 8th Prime Minister of New Zealand, lived in Tinakori Rd, it was originally a small cottage in 1865
Julius made substantial additions to it but in 1935 Labour Prime Minister MICHAEL JOSEPH SAVAGE (1872-1940) refused to live in such a grand house and it was converted into a dental clinic.
Julius wrote a science fiction novel
Anno Domini 2000 ? A Woman's Destiny
KATHEINE MANSFIELD (one of the world's best-known short story writers and New Zealand's most famous author) lived at 75 Tinakori Rd in 1898. It was to become the setting of the story The Garden Party.
The link above at 75 Tinakori Rd will give you a fantastic look and 'feel' of what it was like for Edmund back then
Katherine Mansfield was actually born at 11 Tinakori Rd (now number 25) in 1888
- It was later the home of Dr FREDERIC TRUBY KING, the founder of the Plunket Society
A very close neighbour of Edmund's, at 50 Tinakori Rd was:
Thomas Ronayne, the first general manager of New Zealand Railways
- some old photos of Thorndon
Of interest to me (and all the more so for yourself perhaps) is the 78 men from Thorndon who served in the South African War
the MASONs who served in the Boer War 1899-1902 were:
* Charles Henry Mason of Kirikiriroa, Waikato
- Parents George (1843-) & Rose (nee SYNOFF 1857-1933) Mason
- Serial Number 4197
* Colin Mason (1879-1939) - Serial Number 5371
* Ernest Mason - served twice, Serial Numbers 3259 & 8151
* Frank Mason - served twice, Serial Numbers 1660 & 7719
* John Walter Mason - Serial Number 7070
* Michael Bertie Mason - Serial Number 9190
* William John Mason (1872-1910) - Serial Number 1315
* William Leslie Mason - Serial Number 2504
* William Thomas Mason (1872-1950)- Serial Number 9670
* William Walter Mason - Serial Number 6078
* William Mason - served twice, Serial Numbers 1134 & 2687
. . but I digress ..
Edmund worked for the Colonial Treasurer's Department but regretably there is no photo for him there
If you search for Mason on this site there are 198 journals writen re Mason - I have not had time to search them all, maybe you could go through them (never know what bits of info you could find there)
Also Mason Journals
there are 314,085 results for Mason on MyHeritage.com - 113 of them for Edmund Mason
There are 50,000 Genealogy Links on the site Genealogylinks.net with searches for New Zealand and Australia UK etc
There are professional Genealogists ready to help you at NZ Genealogy
A Kiwi Adams Finding His Roots, has 81 MASONs on his very large site
Cousin Connect has 381 Mason queries
At the Genealogy Forum of Mason Family at GenForum there are over 8000 messages posted for Mason. If you type in the country to the left of the opening page it narrows the search
The MASONs buried in Wellington from 1850 - 1995
You should post requests, queries and journals to all the genealogy sites you can find on the web and someone WILL find a connection and help
- go to google and ask the 'world'
Remember, while most people give freely of their family info and will spend a lot of their time doing searches for you, some sites want you to pay for info, it just depends what you need.
It is ALWAYS best to start with your immediate family and 'grill' them about uncles, aunts, grandparents and their own childhood stories. Everyone likes to talk about 'the olden days', when they were growing up so having a pen and paper with you is essential as they will produce surprising results from memory.
You have a number of very well known family members in your tree (just in the New Zealand side alone) so finding information should be a little easier. Try finding living relatives of the 'famous' folk and they can help you further. Some of them may even have started trees of their own. Most everyone is excited to find lost relatives and will gladly share
Good luck in your search and keep in contact, if you can share with me any other info you find it may enable me to help with 'Kiwi Kin' :)
by ngairedith
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ngairedith has been a Family Tree Circles member since Feb 2008.
Comments
timmason on 2010-09-23 04:34:58You are amazing!!! I will definitely work my way through these links and will keep you updated. Please let me know what sort of copy you are looking for regarding "The End of the Golden weather".Thanks again and happy hunting. Regards Tim
timmason on 2010-09-29 02:39:40Need some help here: Found a Thomas Mason married to Elizabeth showing christening of an Edmund on 20/02/1838. Could this be the Edmund Thomas that went on to New Zealand? This is all I have at the moment so a little stuck...Help!!!
timmason on 2010-09-29 02:41:39Left out that the christening was in Butlers, Marston, Warwick, England, Batch no.CO40051 (1813-1877) source call no. 0559253 (not sure what all this means)
timmason on 2010-10-10 11:13:02Found a photo of Edmund Thomas, looks a bit like one of my cousins!!
It's on that site "colonial treasurer's department" that you highlighted. I'm starting to think that maybe he's not the guy. It worries me that he arrived in NZ in 1879 yet George Thomas was born in NZ in 1869. He was about 44 when he landed in NZ. Still not making much progress. Been thru' most of the sites you mentioned. Will keep looking, kind regards Tim
timmason on 2010-10-13 11:13:04Hi have posted some info on the other journal
Some info I have found: A George Mason born 12/3/1810 in London landed at Kapiti Island in 1937, married Hemi Mahaka in 1842 and had 6 sons. In 1854 married for 2nd time to Elizabeth Rix ( b.1834 in London, daughter of Martha Nightingale) and had another 15 children!!(some did'nt live very long) Quite a stud!! Do you think this could be our man. How can I find out more about him?
Kind regards
Tim
timmason on 2010-10-13 11:16:56He landed at Kapiti on 25/12/1937 and eventually settled at Okains Bay , South Island
ngairedith on 2010-10-13 18:33:02ok, that George Mason (as written in NZETC) was one of of the earliest settlers of New Zealand. He had his Christmas dinner on Kapiti Island in 1837. He arrived in Hobart in the ship ?Vansittart,? which traded between Sydney and Melbourne. Subsequently he went whaling at Foul Bay and was at one time taken and kept as a prisoner by the Maori. After many adventures he settled, first, at Pigeon Bay, and then at Okain's, where he was one of the earliest settlers - a sailor, whaler, sawyer and farmer.
This is his list of children (and wives) as found on RootsChat:
George was married in 1842 to Hemi Mahaka
- their children were:
1843 George, possibly died at birth
1844 Richard
1845 Henry
1845 William (twins)
1848 Joseph
1850 Frederick Ignabe
George then married Elizabeth Rix in 1854
- their children were:
1855 unnamed son, died aged 3 hours
1856 George, died aged 3 days
1857 Mary Anne
1859 Emily Elizabeth
1862 Arthur Thomas
1863 Henrietta, died the same day
1865 Henrietta Emma
1867 Alice
1869 Henry John
1869 George Thomas
1870 Elizabeth Annie
1872 Rosa Martha
1874 Adeline Margaret
1876 Amelia Louisa
1880 Reginald Clement
This is about the George Mason born in 1869:
MASON George, Farmer, ?Manuka Grove,? Okain's Bay. Mr. Mason was born at Okain's Bay, where he was educated and brought up to farming. His father was one of of the earliest settlers of New Zealand, and had his Christmas dinner on Kapiti Island, in 1837. He had come out to Hobart in the ship ?Vansittart,? which traded between Sydney and Melbourne. Subsequently he went whaling at Foul Bay, and was at one time taken and kept as a prisoner by the Maoris. After many adventures he settled, first, at Pigeon Bay, and then at Okain's, where he was one of the earliest settlers. Mr. G. Mason farms about 700 acres, partly freehold and partly leasehold. He is one of the largest sheep and cattle dealers in his part of the Colony, and buys and sells stock in all parts of the country from Culverden to Dunedin. Mr. Mason was elected a member of the road board, when he was only twenty-one years of age; he was chairman for fourteen years, and served till quite recently. He was a member and chairman of the school committee for a number of years, and of the Akaroa County Council, and the Peninsula and Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Associations. He takes an active part in racing, cricket, football, etc. Mr. Mason was married, in 1879, to Miss Harris, (Mary Anne) and has six sons and three daughters. (that article was written prior to 1900, they eventually had a total of 11 children)
... as seen at that link (just above his bio), his daughter Rosa Martha married John Robert Thacker in 1900. It says she was the 5th daughter of the late George Mason. According to the above list of children she was the 7th daughter, therefore 2 of her sisters had died previously. The Thackers were also prominent settlers
George Mason (born 1810 in London) died on the 20th April 1889 aged 79. His probate was granted to Elizabeth on 29th May 1889 in Christchurch
There is mention of a book entitled '150 years of the Mason amily in NZ 1837-1987' on the site maori.org.nz
Because he was an early settler, information on this George Mason and his descendants should be relatively easy to find. There will be many living descendants who are also looking and will be interested in sharing their info. If George had 21 children and if each of those living children had even 6 children each !!!
I will get back to this later tonight, work calls, good luck in your search until then
timmason on 2010-10-14 13:26:29Hi again. Something not quite right. If he was born in 1869 he would only have been 10 when he married in 1879. 2 children where shown as born in 1869 and strangely in RootsChat he is listed out of order ( possibly a misprint maybe born in between like 1860. I still looking for confirmation that George Thomas b.1869 according to your original journal was born in NZ. My Aunt seems to think he was born somewhere else. If we can ascertain where he was born that may help our search for his parents
Thanks again for all your trouble
ps i did write some of this and other things on your original journal, might be of some help
Cheers Tim
ngairedith on 2010-10-14 17:34:49all the George Mason born in NZ between 1852 and 1862 (if the RootsChat list was a misprint) were:
1860 George Mason
1860 George Kimball Mason
1860 George Morris Mason
birth registrations back then were usually just the year, so cannot find out day or month, parents names were also not given
therefore the George Thomas of 1869 may not be their child (parents names not given)
He and Hemi had been the parents of twins in 1845 ... but no way to tell if George Thomas & Henry John were twins because of the lack of day/month info
to sum up: George Thomas was DEFINATELY born in NZ as were all the above children but parents are only veriied by descendants info
If you are looking for a George Mason born in England it is a little out of my depth as I specialise in NZ (usually from arrival onwards). I have done it in the past but it is very time consuming so usually leave it to those who specialise in England etc
Have you checked the Census Records for England and Wales from 1841 to 1911 as per the first journal above ??
I believe that the book entitled '150 years of the Mason family in NZ 1837-1987' on the site maori.org.nz (link above) would be a very informative read
You should also contact Tiffaney through the site maori.org. - register as a member and there are quite a few descendants of George Mason (born 1860) on there that may help you if you believe that this George is 'yours'
timmason on 2010-10-16 08:26:17The George Thomas Mason (the father of my Granddad Howard) was a company director and lived in Wellington and was married to Eva Hand so the above is not the George Thomas I am looking for. I am seeking confirmation that the George Thomas from Wellington was born in NZ. You wrote that he born in NZ around 1869, but my aunt seems to think he was born elsewhere. Regards Tim
timmason on 2010-10-21 15:19:04Thanks for all your help...not sure where to go now. Have tried all the links but impossible to commit to each name and spend a fortune..nothing for nothing..except from you (you're a star)!! Until I can find out where my Great Grandfather George Thomas was born I think I'm stuck. No wonder no one in our family knows where we originate from!!!
PaulM on 2010-12-26 16:55:56Hi Tim,
I am Walter Wynne Mason's son, living in London.
I can positively state that he was not born in NZ, but in South London, UK. His father was also called George Mason, and his mother was Elizabeth Mason, who latterly ran a butcher's shop in Bethnal Green. Ultimately when George died, fairly young - at around 40, she married a man called Fred Terry. We believe it was in response to Elizabeth's marrying Fred that George left England forever to start a new life in New Zealand. We know he never spoke to his two brothers, Robert and Ben ever again. We are not certain if indeed he ever contacted his mother again, but when she died, his brothers did not tell him. He was very sad to learn that she had died without them telling him, when he found out by chance, some years later. I have many more details (this is from the top of my head, so apologies for any errors!). I will send more details when I have them.
Best wishes,
Paul Mason
PaulM on 2010-12-26 18:26:43Tim,
Just to say - I have a studio picture of Eva Hand (George Thomas's wife), as a baby, on her mother Rebecca's lap. This was taken at Lambton Quay, Wellington around 1870. Also I have extensive well-researched family tree details of the England/Wales side (Eva's father was George Smyth Hand, from Narberth Wales, a sea captain, and ultimately the lighthouse keeper at Pencarrow, NZ) - I think many of your ancestery questions may be able to be answered.
Best wishes,
Paul
timmason on 2010-12-29 13:22:10Hi Paul
This is so interesting..please let me know what you think is the best way for us to communicate. I have sent my e-mail address to you. Maybe I can fill you in on your South African family (although judging by all the research you have done you probably know more about us than we do!!!). I remember visiting your family in Guildford(sp?) and the name Keene house or road comes to mind. It was a massive home/castle and we had NZ lamb for dinner served with SA red wine. Awesome!!!
Look forward to hearing from you soon
Kind regards
Tim (timmason@mweb.co.za)
ps I am also on facebook
Tiffaney on 2011-04-11 17:11:25Hi Tim,
George Mason b: 1810 London is my ancestor on my mother's side of the family and if you or any others are connected to this line of the Masons
you are more than welcome to join my forum at: http://mymasonkininnz.proboards.com/index.cgi
where I have also added pics of the Masons & some of connected families.
I have very much enjoyed reading above journals.
regards,
Tiffaney NZ