Discovering Jane

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Happy Birthday, Kathryn Ann!

For those of you who don’t know about Jane Rowntree Thorley, she was my Great Grandmother and was born in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1868. Here is a genealogy update:
This week I have made three trips into Christchurch, which has been an adventure in driving on the left side of the road. The LDS genealogy library is located on Fendalton Road in the center of town. Not only that, there is only one way to get into the church and it is on a busy road, across a narrow bridge. It is a beautiful location.
Charles Watson Rowntree, from Yorkshire, England, came to New Zealand by way of the gold fields of Australia. Hannah Parks, orphaned at a young age, came to New Zealand from Ireland with her two older sisters who raised her. Charles and Hannah were married in 1863. Elizabeth was born in 1864, Hannah in 1865, Charlotte in 1866, Jane in 1868, Emily in 1869, Mary Ann in 1871, and Esther in 1873. Hannah, Charlotte and Jane immigrated to Utah. Mary Ann immigrated to California. What I have done thus far is to verify information through the registration districts; I have gone through birthdates, marriage dates, and deaths of Charles, Hannah, Elizabeth, Emily, and Esther. They all lived, married, and died in Christchurch. This next week I will go to the Canterbury Library in downtown Christchurch and look for property records and verify what information I have from our family genealogy. My goal is to find where these five are buried, if the family home is still standing and what family is still here.
Jack and I took a “check out the area” excursion Thursday. We have located some possible cemeteries and farm location. But what we did find is the Harewood School, where she started school, is still there. Well, the original school was torn down, but another one was built in its place and the tree-lined lane is still there. I will go back when there is more time to snoop around in their records. It would seem that all the girls would have gone there. Jane write in her journal that she went to the Harewood School for a few years and then to Papanui School. A teacher at the school said the children would begin at the Harewood School and transfer to Papanui School for the older grades…possibly ages 10-13. Jane mentions that she only went to school until she was 13 years old. That was pretty common. If you are following this on Google map, Papanui is a section of Christchurch that is north and west of the city center. Harewood school is almost at the intersection of Harewood Road and Russley Road (hwy 1), close to the airport. This was a fun day!
Later tonight I was looking to see where the girls were christened. We have records of only about three of them, but they were christened in St. Paul’s Anglican church. I think it is still standing. I will go by there next week as well. I’ll keep you posted. Fun! Fun!