GraemeJorgy on Family Tree Circles

Some things become a lifelong interest, and genealogy is certainly one of them. Here I am, at the 'ripe' age of 70 (no, I didn't say 'old'), and my interest has become both wider and deeper. For me it all started with my dear Grandmother, Olive Francis Adams (nee Hadfield), who would often read books about our family history to her two grandson's, and often relate anecdotes about her early life. This also inspired questions about our Grandfather's history, John Alexander Adams, but it was my late uncle Ian Lenard Adams who tried his best to satisfy an enquiring mind about my maternal Grandfather. My late Mother, Shirley Adele Jorgensen (nee Adams), added her own anecdotes, and also took her two sons to explore the former Hadfield homelands at Awaroa Inlet in the beautiful Golden Bay region at the northern tip of New Zealand's South Island.

Growing up, I knew only that my father, Noel Henry Jorgensen, was of Danish heritage. With respect to family 'history', it was so common to often find blank walls between the present and the past, for some people, and these walls were often an enduring hurdle. In my father's case, and later in my adult life, I was very lucky to discover an unknown cousin', Laurence 'Laurie' Jorgensen, who is truly and blessedly obsessed with the exploration of our shared family history. With Laurie's guidance, I soon learned a great deal more about my other living 'Jorgy' cousins, and about our paternal Grandfather Hans Peter Jorgensen, and Great Grandfather Sievert Jorgensen, who was the first to immigrate from Denmark to New Zealand. Later, my wife Carole and I journeyed to Denmark for a very memorable exploration of my Jorgensen ancestry.

My late and dearly missed first cousin, Graeme Adams (aka 'A Kiwi Adams'), perhaps closely shared this pressing urge to know where we came from - who our near and extended families really were. For both of us, this was especially about the people whose own backgrounds were hidden from view, our fathers and grandfathers. My own family, wife Carole and our children Leigh Nicole and Nathaniel, were especially close to my late uncle Neville Alexander Adams, the father who cousin Graeme sadly had never known. Needless to say, we had a wealth of anecdotes to share with our 'new' cousin. There was great joy, and also some sadness, for all of us. Graeme's own genealogical website was simply amazing, and a rich tribute to his efforts over many years of research.

Which brings me to a more recent adventure, trying to uncover and piece together the story of my wife's genealogy. Carole Eunice Wooldridge was born to a wonderful Maori lady, Peti 'Betty' Amohanga Wooldridge (nee Joseph), and her husband Rex Albert Wooldridge. As usual, Carole had a detailed history of her English family, but knew very little about her Maori whakapapa. Uncovering and telling this story became my own 'obsession', starting in 2008, and it rates as one of my greater life challenges. Maori whakapapa is primarily oral history, so my quest was to find documented Maori histories that contained details which would help me to identify and describe Carole's ancestors. So far, I've managed to establish key names and links from the present, back to the Maori waka which brought her ancestors to Aotearoa, and also links further back to the tangata whenua iwi (the ancient peoples who preceded the arrival of Maori).

As might be expected, no story is ever fully told, and I am still pursuing new information relating to the following key names:

1. The Hadfields' of Awaroa Inlet, Nelson region (especially details relating to their ancestors who remained in the UK);
2. The Adams' of Dalefield, Carterton region (also extending to their English ancestors);
3. The lives of Sievert and Caroline Mathilde Jorgensen, and of their sons Andreas Christian and Hans Peter in New Zealand;
4. The Joseph/Hohepa whakapapa, especially including Ada Eunice Te Atawhai and Tare 'Charlie' Joseph, Parehuitao and Thomas Te Amohanga Cribb/Karepe, Parekahurangi and Te Raha Ngarupiki Poihipi, Parehuitao Te Atawhai and Te Hika Hounga Poihipi, and the ancestors of each of those people.

I am sure that there are people 'out there' who will know something (if not a lot), about these people, and my family will be very grateful for any new knowledge.

Thank you, in anticipation.