Update on Eileen Dudson or Sister Sylvia, cemetery and retirement home

Earlier in 2017, I had written about searching online records for the family member Eileen Mary Brett Dudson who had also been known as Sister Sylvia. I had wondered if I could have time to search for her in the cemetery within Panmure and I thought I should update the progress on what I had found. Sometimes a physical search for things provides more details than what is on paper

I will start with the cemetery in Panmure, which I will include the Youtube link I made of walking through the cemetery. The cemetery was relatively easy to find, but Eileen’s headstone was not as I wasn’t sure what I was expecting to find. I think I was lucky due to the time of day I was there as the cemetery and church was next to a pre school, which had finished for the day. Many of the people buried here seemed to have been prominent clergy for the Catholic church. I had not done any research on this place other than looking at the map to see where I was heading.

I found her after searching the small cemetery and looking at nearly every headstone. I made sure I looked wherever I had seen markings for the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart and there were a few there in various parts of the cemetery. I do not know if there are triple burials as there are three names on some headstones especially the one I was looking for. I walked past the headstone three times before I realised, I had what I was looking for. The sun was shining on it and the glare made it hard to read. I knew I had the right person due to the sate and the Surname, but here is the headstone: Sr M. Sylvia Dudson, 9.6.1984. Her middle name was Mary so that part explains the whole story when I asked some people at university what the M stood for as I had forgotten about her middle name. I found her, but this was not quite what I had expected as it raises some more questions.

The next stop several days later was in Mission Bay next to Bastion Point in Auckland. It was a Mission in the early days of Auckland where the Anglican Mission was constructed to teach Melanesian students who would return to the islands after their completed training. Could be why there is a retirement home for the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart – Mary Mackillop Centre. I was not sure if the centre still existed until I found it. There were people still residing here and I did not want to linger or else I might have gotten into trouble. There were views from the hill of the Mission Bay area and would have been relaxing for the residents. I could see Eileen happily spending her last years in this place.

Links

Last blog about Eileen Dudson

http://tangaroa81.blogspot.com.au/2017/01/the-mysterious-life-of-eileen-dudson.html

St. Patrick’s Catholic Church Cemetery, Panmure

https://youtu.be/WUWVO1OafaY

Harry Rowland Potter and his role in World War One New Zealand

While doing some light research on New Zealand during World War One, I was looking into some information about conscientious Objectors. Something at the time interested me in the famous 14 objectors who had refused to serve in the war, but were forced onto a ship in Wellington and sent to the war. One of them was Archibald Baxter and there seemed to be a bit of information on him. I should point out that New Zealand had conscription during World War One, which meant people were sort of required to serve.

I had no idea that I would be related to someone that had some form of impact on the lives of the 14 who were shipped off to the Western Front. It was interesting reading about the camp commander of Camp Trentham near Wellington. I actually came across the name of an HR Potter that had me wondering if this was a relation. Only because Potter was in my family tree and a family that had lived in the Hokianga area of New Zealand. Looking up the man’s service record and what I had within my own information proved he was actually related and had been born in 1875, parents were Albert and Catherine Potter both are buried in Waikumete Cemetery. According to his file he died in 1965 age 90. 

Archibald Baxter mentions Potter within his book about being an objector, but never names the man. It wasn’t until I had read further material about ‘Objectors and military defaulters’ by Greg Ryan that the name HR Potter was used. Paul Baker also mentions a Colonel Potter at Camp Trentham in regard to the treatment of the 14 objectors who would be sent out to sea without any notice. Both mentions of Potter had my attention alright and I thought I now had a family member who had a real claim to fame that some people might not like at all especially during the war years of World War One. The more I read, the more I wondered if other family members including one Religious Objector had passed through the area. He had been allowed to carry on with his life, but you never know what could have happened through the Military board hearings.

Harry Rowland Potter had an interesting career as he stayed with the New Zealand military from the Boar War and retired in 1936. He had been camp commandant of Trentham from September 1914 to 20 March 1917. The strange thing is that the infamous Fourteen were at Trentham around July 1917, But Harry Potter was still in command during this time. In 1919, he was an officer commanding the Northern Command and in 1921, he was the commander of the Northern Military District. I am guessing that Harry was a tough man when involved within the military, but fair with his family. His military record is online through Archway, which is the New Zealand National Archives.

Sources

Online Cenoteph

http://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph

Baker, Paul King and Country Call: New Zealanders, Conscription and the Great War, Auckland University Press, Auckland, 1988.

Ryan, Greg   'Men Who Defaulted in the Greatest Game of All: Sport, Conscientious Objectors and Military Defaulters in New Zealand 1916-1923', The International Journal of the History of Sport, 2014, pp. 2375-2387.

The hunt for William Stickland a mysterious fellow.

Church in Beaminster

In the past I had thought about searching for the father for my forebearer 3x great grandfather, William Stickland (Strickland) Milverton. I knew the name of William’s father might not be the easiest to research especially since I had little information to go on other than his name through the 1846 birth registers in Beaminster, England. I have written about the court case in 1861 involving his mother, Wilhelmina Milverton who took the man William Stickland to court for breaking the promise that he would marry her, but never did. I have classed the search as being not easy for many years with only just a name to go on and nothing else. Thinking I could look into the man to see what I could find would be interesting.

Finding a detailed article about the case, I learned some valuable clues that would aid in my research and discovery. The two clues I had after searching for newspapers were that the farm William Stickland worked on or leased was called Axnoller Farm near Beaminster. In another article, the farm was called Axe-Noller. The farm surprisingly enough still exists and is used for weddings. The other clue was that his brother was located at the same farm so it helped to find the right Stickland. I began to suspect William was wealthy in some way as it was mentioned the Milverton family sold the Swan Inn within Beaminster to pay back a debt owed to William Stickland. I have found through Electoral registers William Stickland being an Occupier of Axnoller farm so those are helpful in tracking people down. Apparently, there was a lease on the farm, but I know nothing about it. The main thing I have found is that I do know the man exists and isn’t made up in any other way.

Since the court case takes place around 1861, William Stickland seems to fall from the face of the earth. There were several records through the 1861 census that made me question, which Stickland I was meant to follow as he had apparently married. My best guess was that he was living with his brother James in Beaminster as retired farmers. The best clue I had the right person was their servant, Susan. She appeared in the newspaper article. I am satisfied for the time being that there was a William Stickland from Axnoller Farm. This will be a partial mystery that I will solve one day or even find through another newspaper article. The right record might not even be online. Birth locations vary from Shertle in Dorset to Shipton George, Dorset with a birth between 1817 to 1823. There was also a brother on the same farm, but nothing to say if the brother was married.

The time line that I know of is as follows

Within the 1840 Electoral for Bridport, William was listed as being an Occupier of farm within Axnoller.

1841 Census he was listed as being with his father William (60), brothers John and Janes, Sister Frances.

1851 census he was living with John and James in an area called Axnoller. John was apparently on an adjoining farm James was the head of the household employing 4 men and 3 boys

1857 electoral roll he was listed as being on Axnoller, Beaminster

1861 Census was a retired farmer near Beaminster in an area called Whaleley? James was head of the house and someone who appeared in the census was servant Susan Bartlett was also in the court case. Both men were now in their mid 40s if you believe the records. This is the last record that I know of where William appears.

The only real question I do have is had his illegitimate son, William meet up with William Stickland once he was an adult or even when he got married in 1867 in Middlesex. Newspapers are a little bit of a hit and miss through online searching for the UK. With a little bit of information, you can find more info on people than you do realise. I know they are there within the records or someone who is related, but shocked their family member had an illegitimate child in the 1800s.

Sources

Electoral register 1839 – 1922, Dorset Electoral Registers and Poll Books. Dorchester, Dorset, England: Dorset History Centre.

William Stickland, Ancestry.com. 1861 England Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.

Dorset Summer Assizes, Salisbury and Winchester Journal (Salisbury, England), Saturday, July 27, 1861, Vol. CXLI, p.7. From British Library Newspapers