The tragic life of Sarah Annie Milverton

I had wondered about the second wife of my Great grandfather Percival Milverton of Palmerston North. His life I knew a bit about, but I knew little about the lady who called herself Sarah Anne Dennis. Stories I heard was she was a gold digger amongst other things. I realised, I did not know about the life of this woman and thought the time was right to follow the trail that was her life. Percival Amos Milverton was the superintendent of the Palmerston North Fire Station when they married in 1936, but anything from the past of her life was a mystery.

The 1965 death certificate of Sarah Milverton, I did basically ignore as I at the time had assumed the children listen with ages were those of Percival. Turns out I was actually really wrong in my thoughts and I went looking for the children. What had been listed at the time was age for each living daughter, 59, 56 and 52. Age of each living son, 54 and 44. I soon realised none of them were Percival’s children. The other information, which helped me were the previous marriages and their locations. They were Arthur Ernest Rumsey and Francis Donnes, although I realised the surname was Dennis.

Sarah was born Sarah Anne Patterson in 1880, Tynemouth, Northumberland to Robert Patterson and Ann Winchester. In 1905 she married Arthur Ernest Rumsey in Newport, England. Arthur Ernest was born in St Helier, on the Channel Island of Jersey very close to France. His parents were James Rumsey occupation master mariner and Georgina Grace Blackler. The children to Arthur and Sarah were Vera b 1907, Grace b 1909, Walter b 1912 and Hilda b 1914. I was confused over the name Hilda as I was not sure, I had the correct person even though the death record in New Zealand had her. Once I had the birth certificate, I knew I had the correct person. I soon found the death of Arthur in 17 October 1917. He had been on board the S.S. Manchuria as a 2^nd Engineer drowned as result of the attack from an enemy submarine. Sarah and Arthur were living in Hartlepool in county Durham at that time. According to a wreck website the ship was steam propelled, built in 1905 and an armed merchant ship was carrying Iron ore from La Goulette to West Hartlepool where she was torpedoed by German submarine U-53 (Hans Rose), 60 miles northwest of Ushant off the coast of France. Arthur was one of 26 people lost.

I cannot believe the trauma that Sarah would have endured during the time with the death of her husband in 1917 and with several children as well. She soon found Francis Dennis also known as Frank in 1918, whom she married in Coventry, Warwickshire. I didn’t do any research on Frank as I was more interested in what was happening with Sarah. It was during this time I was pondering how she ended up in New Zealand. Did she take her children after Frank had died to New Zealand? I found a death for him in 1927 within the UK, but that seemed to be a bit late. I couldn’t find Sarah within the shipping records, but a breakthrough as I was searching for the Rumsey children answered my question late at night. I found the record on the Familysearch website for the LDS. They were on board the Athenic arriving in Auckland in 1920 from Southhampton in 3^rd class. The reason I couldn’t find Sarah was she was listed as Mrs Dennis and the children listed by ages as Rumsey. I now had proof where and when they arrived in New Zealand, which made me happy.

Frank and Sarah it seemed would have one child between them by the name of Frank Rumsey Dennis born around 1923. Both seemed to drop off the radar for a little while, but I found Frank in Palmerston North in 1925 getting caught by police twice. The first time in April after being caught asleep at the wheel, fined £10 by the caught for being drunk behind the wheel and warned if he was caught a second time he would lose his car license since the judge was lenient through Frank needing it for his employment as insurance agent. He was caught again around the 31^st of October for failing to stop. Again fined of £10, license taken off him for 3 months and threatened with imprisonment if caught again. In 1927 there was an inquest to his death, which was by suicide. Apparently Frank and Sarah had been separated for some time, when he arrived at her boarding establishment after drinking heavily. She allowed him to stay on a coach in the sitting room. She found him the next morning deceased. The coroner reported that his death was by suicide after Frank had wrapped his head with a sheet and inhaled coal gas from the gas oven. Frank was buried in Terrace End Cemetery in Palmerston North.

Not a lot more is known about Sarah Dennis other than she went before the courts with debts to be paid in 1928. The case was Cooper, Rapley and Rutherford v. Sarah Ann Dennis £1/10/-, Costs 8/-. Cooper, Rapley and Rutherford is a large law firm in the Manawatu area of New Zealand that was established in 1881. I don’t know what the court case was about, but it should be interesting when I do find information about it. The next time she appeared was in 1936 as bride to Percival Amos Milverton in Palmerston North at the quarters of the brigade superintendent within the fire station in Cuba Street Palmerston North. Their marriage according the certificate was dissolved decree absolute on the 11/02/1947 by the Supreme Court in Palmerston North, a year before Percival passed away.

Sarah passed away on the 27^th of November 1965 and was buried in the Kelvin Grove Cemetery at the age of 85 years. According to the cemetery information her daughter Hilda Crofton Patterson Borreson was buried with her in 2001. Hilda married Karl Lancelot Borreson around 1942 who was a carpenter and died 1994, buried in the Kelvin Grove Cemetery. He had served during WWII in the 2^nd NZEF. Karl had remarried after he and Hilda divorced and married Una. Vera Annie Rumsey married in 1927 to Edward Albert Smith (also known as Alfred Edward). Vera passed away in 2002 and is buried in the Taupo cemetery with Alfred, death 1962. Walter James Rumsey died in 1968. He did serve in WWII, but havnt found anything on him. Grace Rumsey I havnt found anything on her yet. Frank Rumsey Dennis son of Frank and Sarah was buried in the Kelvin Grove Cemetery in Palmerston North in 1971. He served in WWII, but according to the Centoteph website he is known as Frank Ramsay Dennis. There is an inquest record through the National Archives website in New Zealand for Frank Dennis, but the accidental find through the newspapers on Papers past provided me with plenty of information. You never know what sort of information you can find on someone and this is only the beginning through several hours of research and by no means complete.

Sources:

Ancestry website, UK, Commonwealth War Graves, 1914 – 1921 for Arthur Ernest Rumsey, Mercantile Marine Memorial Tower Hill, London Part 7 (Quade-Svensson)

SS Manchuria (+1917)

http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?11009

Frank Dennis, Manawatu Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 2655, 13 April 1925

Frank Dennis, second offence Manawatu Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 2286, 3 November 1925

Frank Dennis Inquest, Manawatu Times, Volume LII, Issue 3578, 21 April 1927

Sarah Ann Dennis Debts to be paid, Manawatu Times, Volume LIII, Issue 6658, 11 July 1928

New Zealand Marriage Certificate, 1936009289, Sarah Annie Dennis and Percival Amos Milverton, 1936.

New Zealand death certificate, 1965036023, Sarah Annie Milverton, 1965

Cemetery search Palmerston North council

http://www.pncc.govt.nz/services/onlineservices/cemetery-and-cremation-search/

Vera Rumsey and Frank Dennis shipping record.

"New Zealand, Archives New Zealand, Passenger Lists, 1839-1973," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJDN-3S5Y : 24 May 2014), Vera Rumsey Rumsey, 27 Sep 1920; citing Athenic, Archives New Zealand, Wellington; FHL microfilm 004439935.