NZ Cemetery Info- Summarised by Family Line

Sometime ago I started summarising NZ cemetery information for each family line. Then I stopped, and only recently discovered that I had finished all the paternal family lines, but hadn't finished any maternal ones!

So I have been quite busy in the last fortnight with summarising two of my NZ maternal lines. I finished my grandparent's family- Lalor-Payn, then got into the Payn-Scettrini maternal line. (Next I have the Scettrini-Heneberry and Lalor-Rowland lines to do.)

There are four different pieces I have done for each family. Firstly, I make a summary table of the particular family line, starting with the grandparents or great-grandparents at the top, then followed by the various children and their spouses. Next I do a table for each person/couple that has names, position of the grave in which cemetery, and a small photo of the headstone if there is one. My third part of the process involves a larger photo of each headstone, together with a transcription. There's a final section where I have put cemetery maps where they are available, and have highlighted where the family grave is.

Here are some 'excerpts' from the Payn-Scettrini tables.

It was a chance to find out the 'gaps' in my knowledge, and in some cases it was a little surprising to find some 'errors'. In FindAGrave for instance, I had managed to assign a great-aunt into the wrong cemetery- but that is fixed now.

Now I need to share the info with cousins, and especially the 'extended' cousins. And next time I am in the South Island, and more especially on the West Coast, I will have the info I need to go and visit of these family graves. I was at Karoro Cemetery in January, and was aware that my knowledge about where certain great-auntys' graves were wasn't good enough to find their last resting places.

Thomas Jean Payn

 It has been interesting to see how many Payn family matches I have in my DNA- and also where they are 'missing' in this family line. I have oodles of second cousins in our New Zealand line, descended from my great-grandfather Francis Davis Payn (1854-1929), and also several from his father Thomas's siblings. But surprisingly, none from his own siblings have shown up. 

However, all has become clear as I have delved more deeply into this family line from the Island of Jersey. Francis Davis had six siblings, but of these, three died as very young children. A fourth appears to have remained single, at least until the 1911 census when he was aged 52. The remaining two became mariners. Of these, John died in 1881 at sea, aged about 28. I am not certain yet whether he had married or had any descendants. The remaining brother, Thomas Jean (John) also died at sea, in 1893, as a ship's captain. It's this Thomas Jean whose life I will tell a little more about here.

Thomas Jean Payn was the first child born to Thomas Payn and Elizabeth Mourant. He was born on 2 February 1848, and was baptised on 3 February 1848 in St Martin's Church, Jersey.

He appears in the 1851 census of Jersey in St Martin's parish, aged 3, living with his parents and a baby sister Eliza J. In the 1861 census he is still living at home, as a 13 year old son who is a sailor. He has three younger brothers living at home:- John, 8, and Francis Davis, 6, who are both scholars, and Helier who is 3. By the time of the 1871 census, Thomas Jean is no longer recorded as living at home, though his two brothers John and Francis D are both described as Mariners, and his father Thomas is listed as a Ship Carpenter.

In January 1876 Thomas is recorded as receiving his certificate of competency as a Master in the Merchant Service.

The following year, on 9 August 1877, he married Mary Elizabeth Payn in St Mary's Parish. She was the daughter of Charles Payn, and it appears Thomas and Mary were first cousins. In his marriage entry, Thomas is described as being "Capitaine au Long Cours".

Hilda Selina, a daughter, was born to Thomas and Mary Elizabeth on 29 February 1884, and was baptised on 9 March 1884 at the house of her parents. Her baptism is recorded in the French Wesleyan rather than the Anglican register. 

On 7 March 1884, Thomas made a will. He was residing at No.1 Brighton Rd in the parish of St Helier's, and he bequeathed his whole personal estate to his wife Mary Elizabeth Payn, who was also named as sole executrix of his will. His signature is appended.

In 1881 we find Thomas J Payn on a crew list for the ship Gryalva, based out of Liverpool. He joined his present ship on 11 January 1881 as a Mate, and it is recorded on the crew list that he succeeded as Master in Benin on 4 April 1881. He then left this ship in Liverpool on 10 July 1881.

Sadly, Thomas Jean lost his life at sea, in 1893, and this is recorded on the family headstone, in St Martin's Parish, Jersey,  as:

'comme aussi de
Capt Thomas Jean Payn
perdu en mer
dans l'année 1893
dans sa 46ème année.'

There are documents in the Jersey Archive dealing with the affairs of Thomas Jean's parents, Thomas Payn and Elizabeth Mourant. It appears that as the eldest son, Thomas Jean inherited Les Ruettes, and that after his death, his daughter Hilda Selina Payn, became the sole inheritor. On 11 July 1908, Hilda entered in a contract to sell Les Ruettes to George Le Masurier for £290.

In 1909 his widow, Mary Elizabeth, is listed as being admitted to the hospital/workhouse on the island for a short period.

His daughter, Hilda Selina Payn, emigrated to New Zealand at some stage, and was known by the cousins as "Cousin Hilda". She is found listed on a passenger list for the ship Rangitata that departed from Southampton in 1931, a single woman aged 47. She arrived in Wellington on 26 November 1931, though I am not certain if this was her only voyage.

Our Payn Family in the Jersey Censuses

Recently I have been tracing my Payn family in the census documents for Jersey in the Channel Islands. My 2X-great-grandparents were Thomas Payn and Elizabeth Mourant, who had seven children. As it turns out, most if not all their living descendants are from our numerous New Zealand branch, descended from their fifth child Francis Davis Payn, who was born in 1854.

Thomas Payn and Elizabeth Mourant

In the 1841 census (found on Ancestry, as are all the census documents quoted below) we find both Elizabeth and Thomas living in St Martin Parish, Jersey, before their marriage. This census has a simpler format than later ones, and no house names or addresses are listed, and no relationships to the head of the household are described.

Elizabeth, 19, is living in a household with another Elizabeth Mourant, who is probably her mother, and she is described as a School Mistress. Her father is not listed at home on census night, and it seems likely he was the Timothée Mourant buried  on May 8th 1838 in St Martin's, (although we can't yet be sure that burial wasn't his father's, as both men had the same name). There are several others present who might be her siblings- Mary, 17, who is a Mantua Maker; John, 15, who is a Carpenter; and Jane who is 13. 

Thomas, 24, is described as a carpenter, and is living at home with his parents Francis and Susan Payn. Several potential siblings are also in the same house- Charles, 28, who is a farmer; Sophia, 26; Susan, 18; and Francis, 16, who is a tailor.

One thing already obvious from these census documents is their very "English" nature. Wives are generally given the same surname as their husband. This differs from the family's church records which are often in French, and where women are generally given their maiden names. For example, this is the 1817 baptism record for Thomas Payn, where his father's name is given as François, and his mother is listed as Susanne De Gruchy.

Thomas Payn and Elizabeth Mourant married in April 1847 in the parish of St Helier. They are found in the 1851 census living in the parish of St Martin. Again, no house name or address is listed, but this time, the relationship with the Head of the house is described. Thomas is 33, and a carpenter, and Elizabeth is 29, is listed as Elizabeth Payn, and at this stage she has no occupation named. There are two children, a son Thomas who is 3, and a daughter Eliza J who is 1. The birthplace for all the Payn family members is given as St Martin, Jersey. There are five other people listed in the household. There is Francis Mourant, an aunt; Eliza J Quethville, a lodger of independent means; Felix Laurens, a widowed farm labourer from France, and two children, Placedie and Marie Laurens, who were both born in St Martin.

By the time of the 1861 census, Thomas and Elizabeth are listed with four sons in their household. The house they are living in is called Les Ruettes, and it is in the village of Faldouet in the parish of St Martin. Indeed the family today have a postcard of this house, organised and sent by "Cousin Hilda". The house is still standing in Jersey, and I was lucky enough to visit it after being given information about it by my cousin Maurice Payn.

Les Ruettes, Village of Faldouet, Parish of St Martin, Jersey

In the 1861 census, Thomas is listed as a sailor, and Elizabeth has her maiden name of Mourant used. The four sons listed are Thomas (John or jnr?) aged 13 and a sailor; John aged 8, and Fr Davis aged 6, both scholars; and Helier aged 3, described as a child. In this census, Thomas's birthplace is listed correctly as St Saviour, and the others are listed as being born in St Martin. There are no lodgers or workers in the house in this census. 

The four sons listed on this 1861 census fails to tell a tale of child mortality. Between the time of the 1851 and 1861 census, three children of Thomas and Elizabeth have died, and they are listed on the family tombstone. Eliza Jane, who was on the 1851 census, died in 1852, aged 1 year and 11 months. Another Francis Davis was born after the census in 1851, and died November 18th 1854, aged 3 years and 3 months. (Just a day after his death, our great-grandfather was born, and was given the same names of Francis Davis.) A second girl also died in May 1857, named Elizabeth Jane, aged only 1 year and 3 months.

By the time of the 1871 census, three sons are at home. Thomas, aged 54, is now listed as a ship's carpenter, and Elizabeth, aged 49, is again given the occupation of School Teacher (and the surname Payn). Both John, 18, and Francis D, 16, are listed as Mariners, and Helier, aged 13, is said to be a Shoe Maker. The family is still living in Les Ruettes, in the village of Faldouet.

 
In the 1881 census, there are only three people in the household, which is listed as being in Faldouet. Elizabeth is listed as a widow and a Schoolmistress. (We know from the memorial stone in St Martin's parish, that Thomas died in 1874 aged 57 years.) Her son Helier is aged 23, unmarried, and a Shoemaker. There is one lodger, Mary Carrel, who is aged 59 and a Dressmaker. We know that Francis Davis left home and voyaged to New Zealand, arriving on the ship Mermaid in 1874.

Elizabeth died in February 1890 aged 69 years, and is buried in St Martin's Parish. Helier did not inherit Les Ruettes, as we have evidence from court records that Cousin Hilda, the only child of Thomas Jean, sailor, who was the oldest child of Thomas and Elizabeth, sold it as owner with her mother, in 1908.

From then on, it appears that we can trace Helier as living in different households. In 1891 he is living in Trinity Parish with the family of Eugène F Laurent, who was an agricultural labourer from France, and Helier is still listed as being single, and a shoe maker. Perhaps this Laurent is related to the widowed Felix Laurens, also from France, who was a lodger with the Payn family in the 1851 census?

In the 1901 census there is a Helier Payn aged 40 living in the household of Joshua Mourant as a servant and as a farm labourer, whose birthplace was St Martin's, Jersey. And in the 1911 census we find a Helier Payn, aged 52, and single, birthplace of St Martin's, Jersey, living with the family of Alfred Gaudin aged 28, as a servant and 'Cowman on Farm', in the parish of St Saviour. (It seems that Elizabeth Mourant might have been a Gaudin descendant though this has yet to be confirmed, so perhaps these were cousins that Helier was living with.) Obviously more work needs to be done to be certain that this Helier, is 'our' Helier, but the details of age and parish of birth make it seem likely.

In my DNA matches I have been surprised to find no matches that look like they come from the siblings of my great-grandfather Francis Davis Payn.  But it appears from the censuses that perhaps our numerous descendants via his marriage to Johanna Scettrini, are the only ones that exist at this level of the family. (By contrast, there are known distant cousin matches from a sibling of Thomas Payn.)

Three siblings died as young children, but Francis Davis had three other brothers who lived to adulthood. It will be interesting to check the 1921 census when it is released to see whether Helier is still alive, and where he might be living. Perhaps he neither married nor had descendants. We know that the eldest sibling, Thomas Jean, had one daughter, our 'cousin Hilda', but he died at sea in 1893. Cousin Hilda also emigrated to New Zealand, but died in Tamahere near Hamilton as a single woman without any children. John who was born in 1852, died at sea in 1881 when he was aged about 29 years old, and at present, I don't know if he married or had children. There is more to learn and follow up...

With so much Irish ancestry, with census data in general limited to the 1901 and 1911 censuses, it has been quite a novelty to be able to follow family members through from the 1941 to the 1911 censuses in Jersey. It has been interesting to see how the format has changed over the years, and what kind of information has been obtained. It is also interesting to wonder about the differences in the 1911 census questions between Jersey and Ireland.

Annie Riordan: Sr M St Majella RNDM

My grandfather Martin Riordan had five siblings, all born on the Riordan-Burke family farm at Charing Cross in Canterbury NZ. So far on this blog I have written briefly about my three Riordan-Burke great-uncles, John (a priest), Patrick Joseph (a farmer) and James (who died in WW1). But I also have two great-aunts in this line of my family, Bridget and Annie Riordan. Today I'll write about Annie, who became Sr M St Majella RNDM.

Annie Riordan was the sixth and last child born to Patrick Riordan and Mary Burke, on 23rd August 1891. Her mother Mary was already suffering from TB at the time of her birth, and she died in March 1892 while Annie was still only a baby.

Annie was baptised just two days after her birth, on 25 August 1891, by Rev James J O’Donnell, her father Patrick’s first cousin. Sponsors were Thomas Burke and Joanna Halpin.

This photo shows Annie Riordan on the left, next to her sister Bridget. (Annie reminds me very much of my sister Katherine in this photograph.) An inscription on the back implies that this photo was originally sent to cousin Jeremiah, who I think was almost certainly their cousin Jeremiah Malone in Ballinadrideen, Co Cork.

Annie excelled in music. She obtained her ATCL in piano in 1909. She passed an intermediate exam in Harp in 1907. She sang as part of a concert for the bishop in 1905. In the biography of her in the archives of the Mission Sisters order it said that she ‘was naturally gifted with a beautiful voice, …which she gave ungrudgingly to the service of God, particularly her voice, when singing in the Chapel — God’s praises.’

She became a boarder at the Sacred Heart convent when quite young, and entered the Novitiate at the early age of 15, on 6 January 1908.

Her biography says she ‘had inherited Consumption’ from her mother, but with the great care bestowed upon her, it appeared she had grown out of it. However, in November 1910 she had an attack of gastric influenza that left her weak. Five weeks before her death she took to her bed and the illness progressed rapidly. On 20 June 1911 she was administered the last Sacrament by the priest.

I was told by Sr Martina Burke that Annie’s brother John came up from the Seminary when she was in her last illness, and was called in the early hours when her end was near. He ran over to the convent without even doing up his shoelaces.

Annie died of TB on 7 July 1911 at the convent of the Mission Sisters in Lower High St, Christchurch. Her funeral was held in the convent chapel on Saturday 8 July, then she was buried in the sisters’ plot at Linwood Cemetery, Lot 99C, Block 40.

Sources:
1: Birth Registration Image- Malvern, quarter ending 31 Dec 1891
2: When Mary Burke, her mother, died in March 1892, the death registration stated that she had been suffering from Phthisis Pulmonalis for 2 years.
3: Chch diocesan transcript from baptismal register for Darfield.
4: Most music results etc were recorded in the Tablet. (Catholic magazine)- Papers Past
5: “Biography” for Sr Majella was sent to me as a relative by the archives for the Mission Sisters.
6: Photos: Aunty Mary Riordan had this photo of Annie and Bridget.
7: I took photos of the sisters’ plot at Linwood cemetery with Sr Majella’s name on it -early 1990s.
8: Obituary: https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/new-zealand-tablet/1911/7/13/32

Payn-Mourant headstone

Switching tack here- going back to tidying up the folders of papers I already have about the Payn line of my family, from Jersey.

Just as a 'taster'- this is the headstone of my maternal great-great-grandparents, Thomas Payn and Elizabeth Mourant, in the graveyard of St Martin's parish on the Island of Jersey in the Channel Islands-  Again I am thankful to Maurice Payn, without whose help I would probably not have found this headstone.

One of the interesting things on this headstone is that their young child, Francis Davis, who died on 18 November 1854, is buried here. My great-grandfather was born the very next day after his death, and was also named Francis Davis Payn.

Payn Headstone- how things can change

Sometime early in my genealogical discoveries, I found out that the grave of my great-grandparents Frank Payn and Johanna Scettrini, was in Hokitika Cemetery, and I went there and found it.
It was a very simple headstone.

I might yet find I have another photo stashed away- though at the time I took fewer as they all had to be developed and paid for!- but it seems that I may have totally 'ignored' the fact that their son John F Payn, who died in France in WW1, had a plaque underneath his parents. This is visible in this online photo on the Westland Cemeteries site.

At the time I visited the cemetery it took me sometime to find the grave, so I drew myself a little 'map' for future visits. This might help some other visitors, but on a return visit my wayward use of left and right still had me muddled for a while even with my 'map'!

In the last couple of years Maurice Payn of Nelson, Frank and Johanna's grandson, and my mother's first cousin, has taken it upon himself to do something about renovating some of our original pioneer headstones. He arranged to have Frank and Johanna's grave redone to include more information about them, and here is what the headstone now looks like.

(And yes, the Arthur Thomas Payn in the next grave, is another grandson.)

Thanks are due to Maurice Payn for his efforts in taking care that these pioneer graves will still be able to tell their story to future Payn-Scettrini generations.

Next up- I must write some sort of summary of Frank Payn's life. 'Papers Past' has lots of bits about him...

James and Catherine Lalor- Karoro Cemetery

Sometimes someone asks me something about one or other line of the family and I go searching for old info I haven't looked at for a while. In this case a fellow Lalor descendant in Greymouth has become interested in genealogy, and found that the grave of our mutual great-grandparents, James Lalor and Catherine Rowland, had been recently restored. So she asked Rhodes Monumental who had organised it, and they contacted me, and I contacted her...

This is what the grave looked like on the last day of December 2016, with arum lilies growing profusely out of the base, and the lettering mostly quite difficult to read.

I decided to get the grave redone, and Rhodes Monumental masons have done a superb job. This next photo shows what it looked like at Easter time this year.

It was nearly finished...
And just a few days later it was finished, and I was e-mailed this final photo from Rhodes Monumental in Greymouth.

Now the lettering on the headstone of these original pioneers of ours has been renewed for more generations to come to read. Rhodes Monumental have done a great job.