This is a story I’ve known about all my life without knowing what really happened. After looking through family papers recently, I decided to dig a little further. I discovered a story about five very different people who all had a passion for the glaciers and alpine climbing. The cast Harry Herbert Ayres, 31 July … Continue reading A rescue at Franz Josef
On 16th November 1864, the Daily Southern Cross reported that the barque Alfred anchored in New Zealand, having sailed from Cape Town on the 27th September. Included among the 251 passengers were John and Anne Waddoups with their three daughters, Harriet, Mary and Matilda, and Thomas and Mary Ryan with their two sons, Thomas Aylward … Continue reading Journeys to Waipipi – Capetown to Waipipi
James’s and Emma’s nine children were: Edward (1863-1868), Emma (born 1864), Mary (1866-1917), Agnes (1869), Thomas (1871), Elizabeth (1873), Catherine (1875), James (1877) and William (1880-1917). Mary had been married to William Ambler and they had a son, Noel. Thomas was married to Blanche Sewell and they had two surviving sons, John and Denis. Lily (Elizabeth) married Charles Wall in … Continue reading The Family of James Donelan and Emma Denbow. Part 5 – Later Years
James’s and Emma’s nine children were: Edward (born 1863 and died 1868), Emma (born 1864), Mary (1866), Agnes (1869), Thomas (1871), Elizabeth (1873), Catherine (1875), James (1877) and William (1880). Mary married William Ambler in 1893 and they had a son, William Noel. Thomas married Blanche Sewell in 1904 and they had two surviving sons, John and Denis. Lily (Elizabeth) … Continue reading The Family of James Donelan and Emma Denbow. Part 4 – The Great War
James’s and Emma’s nine children were: Edward (born 1863 and died 1868), Emma (born 1864), Mary (1866), Agnes (1869), Thomas (1871), Elizabeth (1873), Catherine (1875), James (1877) and William (1880). Mary married William Ambler in 1893 and they had a son, William Noel. By 1902, William Ambler had obtained employment on the estate of the … Continue reading The Family of James Donelan and Emma Denbow. Part 3 – Weddings and Families
James’s and Emma’s nine children were: Edward (born 1863 and died 1868), Emma (born 1864), Mary (1866), Agnes (1869), Thomas (1871), Elizabeth (1873), Catherine (1875), James (1877) and William (1880). With over 15 years between oldest and youngest surviving children, by 1891, a national census year, the oldest six were largely in employment, whereas the … Continue reading The Family of James Donelan and Emma Denbow. Part 2 – Into Work
James Donelan and Emma Mary Ann Denbow were married at the Catholic Sardinian Chapel near Lincolns Inn Fields, London, on 13th June 1861. James, born in 1822 in County Longford, Ireland, was 38 and had served in the 44th Regiment of Foot (East Essex) for the previous 18 years, including fighting in the Crimean War … Continue reading The Family of James Donelan and Emma Denbow. Part 1 – Childhood
On that day in September 1864, there was another family waiting to board the Barque Alfred – John and Anne Waddoups with their three daughters, Harriet, Mary and Matilda. John Waddoups (1824-1895) was born in September 1824 in Aston le Walls, Northamptonshire, England, the oldest of five sons born to Samuel Waddoups and Ann Brewer. … Continue reading Journeys to Waipipi – from Aston le Walls to Capetown
On 27th September 1864, 251 passengers waited at Table Bay, Cape Town, in the Western Cape province of South Africa, to board the Barque Alfred bound for Auckland, New Zealand. Among them were Thomas and Mary Ryan, Mary’s young son Thomas Aylward and Thomas and Mary’s infant son, Michael. Michael Aylward (c1830-1860) and Mary Spain … Continue reading Journeys to Waipipi – from Woodford to Cape Town
My great grandfather James Donelan was born in County Longford, Ireland in early 1823. Although no birth record has surfaced to date, James’s military service record from March 1864 lists his age as 41 years and 1 month, so he was likely born in February 1823. The record also states that his place of birth … Continue reading James Donelan – a military life
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