Margaret Jane LALOR- married William Hewlett

When I first began exploring my family history, a Lalor cousin generously sent me a lot of material, including some exquisite photos.  Included was this four generation photo, with my great-grandmother Catherine Lalor (née Rowland) seated on the right. Standing is her eldest daughter Margaret Hewlett (née Lalor), and her eldest daughter Eileen Hamilton (née Hewlett) is seated on the left. The child is said to be "Popsy" Hamilton, Eileen's daughter. Eileen had two daughters, Eileen (born 1922) and Daphne (born 1928) and at this stage I am assuming Popsy is the eldest daughter, Eileen. (Let me know if you are reading this and know that I am wrong!)

The eldest daughter and firstborn child for my Lalor-Rowland great-grandparents was Margaret Jane LALOR who was born in August 1872 while the family was residing at South Beach. She was baptised in the Greymouth Catholic parish by Fr Henry Belliard SM in early September 1872. 1.

The details on the Intentions to Marry form for her in August 1897 said that she was to marry William Hamilton HEWLETT, a sawmiller, and the marriage was to be performed by Rev D.P. Carew at her parents house at South Beach near Paroa. (1897b- page 280- District of Greymouth) 2.

Thanks to Luke Howison whose work scanning these Intentions to Marry registers has made them available to us all! https://itm.howison.co.nz/

There were six children in the Hewlett family, the first stillborn, then four more natural-born children, before the youngest was adopted. The first child, born stillborn in June 1898, was recorded in the burial register for Karoro Cemetery.  
The second child was Eileen Catherine, who was born just under a year later, in May 1899. She married William Anthony HAMILTON.
The third child, born in 1902, was James William, who became a printer, and who remained living in the area with his parents, and never married.  
The fourth child, William Thomas, was born in 1906, and had only a short life. He died as a baby, aged 5 months old, and is buried in what became his Lalor grandparents' plot. (The date of his death on the headstone has errors). He is buried along with his cousin Evelyn Schroeder who had accidentally drowned a few years earlier, as a toddler. 3.4.

The fourth child born in the family was their second daughter, Margaret Alice, who was born in 1908, and later married Bernard MYER, and they raised their family in Greymouth.

The last child in the family was David John (Jack) Hewlett, who was adopted in 1910. He married in Wellington in 1936 to Marie Eugene Denia, and they lived in Christchurch for many years, having one daughter called Marie. 5.

 

Margaret Hewlett and her husband William lived in the Paroa/ South Beach area for many years, and there is in fact a Hewlett Rd there. I haven't confirmed this is named for them, but it seems likely. 6.

 

Margaret lived to be 68 years old, and died in Grey River Hospital in March 1942. Her husband William died just under a year later, and is buried with her. Their son James died in 1955 and is also named on the same headstone at Karoro Cemetery. Their grave is in Section 3, Row 9 of Karoro Cemetery. 7.

 

If you are reading this, and are a descendant of Margaret Hewlett (Lalor) please feel free to contact me. I am a granddaughter of her younger brother James who settled in Kumara. 

1. Birth details from Historic BDMs, Ancestor Search Helper, and baptism certs from Chch Catholic Archives

2. ITM details courtesy of Luke Howison's scans of ITM registers at Archives NZ 

https://itm.howison.co.nz/

3. NZSG Cemetery Records (Kiwi Collection)

 4. Funeral notice: Greymouth Evening Star, 20 February 1907, page 2. Headstone photo held by author.

5: wedding report- Evening Post, Volume CXXI, Issue 138, 12 June 1936, page 1 

6: Photo of Hewlett Rd & sign taken by author
7. headstone photo taken by author

8. Death notice, Margaret Hewlett- Greymouth Evening Star, 21 March 1942, page 4. 

James LALOR - parentage?

James Lalor, my great-grandfather, died in 1916 at South Beach, near Greymouth, and was said to be 78 at the time. (This puts his birth at around 1838.) His parents were named as John Lalor and Mary Lalor (with her maiden surname not filled in), and he was said to have been born in Kilkenny, Ireland. (Place of birth was not recorded on marriage documents in 1871 when he married Catherine Rowland.)

Many trees on Ancestry have details entered for his parents, sometimes with the father as James Fintan Lalor, sometimes with the mother as Mary Gorman, but nearly always the people mentioned live in Co Laois, not Kilkenny. Most of these trees appear to have copied from each other, and I have never seen a suitable source on any of them linking our James Lalor with these parents.

Our James Lalor was proudly from Kilkenny- it is even mentioned on his headstone in Karoro Cemetery. It was also mentioned in his obituary.

Some people claim that James Fintan Lalor is the father of our James. James Fintan Lalor is from a famous family in Co Laois, and was the father of Peter Fintan Lalor of Eureka Stockade fame in the Victorian goldfields days. Read more about this Lalor family in this Ballarat genealogy document: https://www.ballaratgenealogy.org.au/index.php/research?view=article&id=212:genealogy-of-the-lalor-family&catid=14

In an article in the Free Lance in 1901, James Lalor is interviewed as a parliamentary messenger, and it is mentioned here again that he ‘belonged to Kilkenny’. The article mentions that he “was in Bendigo when the Eureka riots took place in Ballarat”, and that the Peter Lalor who figured there so prominently was a “distant relation of Mr James Lalor”. This ‘distant’ cousin label would rule out James Fintan Lalor, Peter Lalor’s father, being the father of our James.

If you look on Griffiths Valuations for Kilkenny, there are many John Lalors listed, and possibly one of these is the father of our James Lalor. However, I have never seen any more precise location than ‘Kilkenny’ listed for him, so it is not easily possible to find his father.

Despite various parents being named on Ancestry trees for our James Lalor, I haven’t seen any credible Kilkenny sources to support any of them, and for now, I will continue to only write his parents as John and Mary Lalor, with her maiden name unknown.

 

---

1. Obituary. Greymouth Evening Star, 5 October 1916. Papers Past.

2. Entre Nous, The Free Lance, Saturday November 16 1901. Papers Past.

Catherine Rowland- my West Coast great-grandmother

Sometimes when doing your family history, questions come to mind that are 'wonderings' that you are unlikely to find an answer for. One such question for me is: "Why did Catherine travel across the Tasman from Victoria to Greymouth on the West Coast, as a young single woman?"

Catherine Rowland was born on 26 August 1845 to Christopher Rowland and Margaret Arbuckle, in Heidelberg, Victoria, and baptised in St James Church, Melbourne. Two more children were born in East Brighton, Melbourne, including Margaret Jane, the youngest, who also came to New Zealand later. Sadly their mother Margaret died in 1861 of consumption, and was buried in Kyneton, Victoria.  Margaret was only 16 years old at the time (and Margaret Jane only four.)

What happened to Catherine in the intervening years is unclear, but she married James Lalor on 14 September 1871 in the Roman Catholic Chapel, Greymouth. Not much information was collected for marriage documents in NZ at that time and we can only glean a few facts. In her 'intentions to marry' document held at National Archives (NZ) she was said to be a spinster of full age, and although it is not clearly legible, her length of residence appears to be 8 months. This would make it possible that she crossed the Tasman in early 1871, with the caveat that 'length of residence' could have been interpreted as in the district, or in New Zealand.

Grey River Argus, Volume XI, Issue 981. 18 September 1871

 

 

The only other document that we have that gives an indication about when Catherine might have arrived in NZ is her death registration. She lived a good long life in South Beach, Greymouth, until she died aged 83 of sudden myocardial failure on 3 January 1934. She was said to have been in NZ for 62 years, and this would give a time of arrival around 1871-2.

These two dates are consistent, and it seems that she did in fact arrive in New Zealand not many months before her marriage in September 1871. (Shipping records between Melbourne and Greymouth of the time are hard to come by.)

So the questions remain, did she cross alone as such a young woman? Or was she with a friend? Did she know someone in Greymouth, or did she just make the crossing in the hope that a better life existed for her away from Victoria? It is unlikely I will find answers, but it is still a nice thing to wonder about. 

Catherine Rowland (Lalor) with a child (thought to be Eileen Hamilton)

Catherine Rowland, South Beach

Catherine Rowland with child thought to be Eileen Hamilton

Catherine ROWLAND was born on 26 August 1845, in Heidelberg, Melbourne, the first child for Christopher ROWLAND and Margaret ARBUCKLE (‘Barnall’). She was later baptised at St James Church, Melbourne.

Her father Christopher was from Co Cork, and had been transported to Australia as a convict in 1835. Her mother Margaret was from Strabane in Co Tyrone, and she was one of several women of the Arbuckle family who emigrated to Australia.

Catherine had a sister Margaret Jane Rowland, born in 1856 in East Brighton, Melbourne. She also had another younger sister, Isabella, born in 1853. However, Isabella died young in 1860 and is buried in the Kyneton General Cemetery, together with her mother Margaret. Catherine also had a half-brother, Robert Barnhill, who was born in Strabane.

It appears that sometime around early 1871, Catherine crossed the Tasman and ended up in Greymouth. On 14th September 1871, she married James LALOR in the Roman Catholic Chapel. A marriage notice appeared in the Grey River Argus, in which she was described as a native of Victoria.

Catherine and James had six children. Their first daughter, Margaret Jane, was born in 1872, while they were residing at South Beach, and subsequent children were named John, Mary, Robert, James and Thomas.

Catherine’s sister, Margaret Jane, was listed on the Victorian Children’s Register: her father Christopher had deserted and her mother Margaret had died. She was discharged in 1872, to her sister, Mrs J Lalor (Catherine Rowland) in Greymouth on the West Coast, per the Albion S.S.

Whereas for her husband James Lalor there were many references in the local newspapers, for Catherine, as a woman, there were few. There was a euchre and dance evening at South Beach for which she contributed some beautiful handwork as a prize. She donated 2s6d to an X-Ray Fund in 1920. And sadly, she was recorded as the one looking after a grandchild, Evelyn Schroeder, in 1903, when the toddler went missing and was found drowned in Nelson Creek nearby.

Catherine was left a widow in 1916 when her husband James Lalor died.

Catherine herself died on 3rd January 1934 at South Beach. She was said to have been in New Zealand for 62 years. She was buried in the (Karoro) Cemetery at Greymouth in a plot she shares with her husband and two grandchildren.

Her death was reported in the Auckland Weekly News, where she was described as ‘one of the pioneers of the West Coast’.

I have two important acknowledgements to make:
1) Much of the information about the Rowland family in Australia, and the Arbuckle relatives in both Australia and Ireland, has been researched by Mr Len Swindley of Melbourne. He has extensive knowledge of the various Arbuckle siblings and spouses that came to Australia.
2) Lois Guyatt who is a descendant of Catherine's sister, Margaret Jane Rowland, gave me a lot of my initial Rowland family information.

James Lalor- South Beach

LALOR, James - some key facts

James LALOR was born in Co Kilkenny, Ireland, c1837-1838, to John and Mary Lalor.

He was in Bendigo when the Eureka Stockade riots took place in Ballarat (in 1854) and was described as a ‘distant relation’ of Peter Lalor who was prominent in the rebellion.  According to his obituary, he was a butcher in Melbourne, and was a manager in Mr Pettie’s large butchery shop for several years.

In his obituary it also says that he sailed in the ship ‘Lightning’ and followed the early gold rushes at Addison’s Flat on the West Coast, but never met with much success there. (Gold was discovered at Addison’s Flat in May, 1867.)

By 1871 he was living in the Greymouth district, and on 14th September 1871, he married Catherine ROWLAND in the Roman Catholic Chapel, Greymouth. He was described as a bachelor and a miner, with a stated ‘length of residence’ of 2½ years. A marriage notice appeared in the Grey River Argus.

Catherine and James had six children. Their first daughter, Margaret Jane, was born 22 August 1872, while they were residing at South Beach, and subsequent children were named John, Mary, Robert, James and Thomas.

James mined for gold at South Beach. On the Westland electoral roll of 1911, James Lalor, of Paroa, is listed as a miner, and in 1914 on the Westland supplementary roll he is listed as “6182 Lalor James, senr. South Beach, miner.”

In April 1883 James is listed as one of four men applying for a lease of 8 acres of land at South Beach, for a period of 15 years, to be worked by ground sluicing. The company formed was to be called “The Rising Sun Gold-mining Company”. One of the other company members was Robert Delaney, who had been named as a witness at James Lalor’s wedding 12 years earlier.

James Lalor was clearly accustomed to public speaking, and many references can be found to him in ‘Papers Past’, performing varied public roles. A second, more detailed account of his life has many of these references attached.

James Lalor was confident when taking a public stand for the rights of miners. In 1886 when a public meeting was held about leasing of South Beach lands, James Lalor was one of those involved in the discussions, and he proposed a motion “That a petition be presented to the Waste Lands Board, and a copy forwarded to the Honorable the Minister of Mines, showing that by the sale or leasing of any land within the Paroa district that the miners would suffer severely, inasmuch as their very costly dams and water-races would become valueless, which should be viewed as a calamity to be averted.”

In his later years James also became a 'Parliamentary Messenger'. An article in 1901 in New Zealand Free Lance described him in favourable terms, noting that among the messengers in the recent session of the House of Representatives ‘there was one at least who bore a historic name and is a blood relation to two men who have achieved celebrity'. The writer told us that James Lalor was a modest man: 'Yet, Mr James Lalor, who came up from Greymouth to wear the livery of Parliament and who has just got back to the Coast this week to resume his avocation as a gold miner could boast of his family connections if he were not far too modest a man to say anything about himself at all.'  The writer then said that James Lalor was a ‘full cousin’ of the celebrated Irish orator, Richard Lalor Sheil.

In 1992, my aunty, Edith Lemon (nee Lalor), showed me where the old residence of James and Catherine Lalor stood at South Beach. It was rather derelict, but had clearly been a rather grand villa in its time. I am told that it is no longer standing.

James Lalor died at South Beach on 3 October 1916, of malignant disease of the throat. In the Argus he was described as ‘well and favourably known throughout the West Coast’  and a ‘true and devoted father’. On October 5th, Catherine Lalor invited friends to attend the funeral for her late husband James, leaving from her residence at South Beach for the Greymouth Cemetery.

He is buried in Karoro Cemetery in Greymouth, together with his wife Catherine, and two grandchildren who died as infants.

Compiled by Margaret Riordan, great- granddaughter of James Lalor snr, 
27 March 2020

I have various documents and references to the facts listed above, but my footnotes didn't come through on the cut and paste to the blog. Here they are, included as pictures.