Skip to main content

Posts

Most Recent Post

Moving On to Blog and Build with the Dual Genealogist

To all my Readers ... I have decided to move my blogging efforts elsewhere. There is a link below to a contents page for my new Blog. Some posts are updated versions of my posts here. Some are new posts.  But first ... Why the move? ... Why move? In recent times, I have been busy building an online family history archive using an exciting new platform for family tree archiving provided by We Are.xyz . I wrote about this in an earlier post (November 2022) .  To get myself started in building my archive, I used my blog posts here at BJNL's Genealogy, along with other research, as the basis for developing articles in my online family history archive at  We Are.xyz. I am subsequently added new material as time and research permit.   Since I wrote about  We Are.xyz  in November 2022, the company has introduced 'integrated blogging' to support an interconnection between family history archive building and the sharing of family history information via blog posts. This means that w
Recent posts

W. Lane & Company – Dunedin, Timaru and Oamaru

The stone jar and bottle in the photo below once contained beverages manufactured by W. Lane & Company, manufacturers of aerated water and cordial. W. Lane & Co. was started by William Lane. Lane's stone jar and bottle. Photo: Jane Chapman 2023 William Lane (1836-1922) emigrated to New Zealand in 1863. He was accompanied by his wife, Fanny, née Greek (abt. 1839-1928); their two young sons Josiah (then 2 years 3 months old) and William (then 6 months); and Fanny’s sister, Lucy Ann Greek (abt. 1848-1927). The family travelled from London aboard the ship ‘Crimea’ and arrived at Port Chalmers, Dunedin in September 1863 [1] . They came from Devon in England. An unsourced article, Lane & Co, Dunedin [2] suggests that, in 1865, William took up employment with Reeves & Co.; an aerated water business in Maclaggan Street, Dunedin. The owner, Charles Reeves, had bought the business from Baker & Kilner in 1863. Baker & Kilner had established their partnership in the

First Telephone Connection in New Zealand

Sometime after 1867, when telegraphic services had first become available in Central Otago, a telegraph line had been connected between Teviot station, a sheep station, and the telegraph office at Roxburgh. This was a great success. However, during 1876-77, there was a nationwide demand for qualified men to operate telegraph lines. As it became harder to staff the service, it became impossible to keep the telegraphic line between the Teviot station and the Roxburgh Post Office working [1] . This is when Thomas Coop's thoughts turned to telephony. Image of early telephone (a later model than that installed by Thomas Coop). Photo: ©Al Thomas (parch-mint.com) CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Thomas Coop (1838 - 1924) had been appointed Postmaster at Roxburgh in the September of 1873. You can read more about Thomas' life in Roxburgh  here . Teviot station, then owned by John Cargill [2] and his son-in-law E. R. Anderson, was situated about 6 miles/10km from the Roxburgh Post Office [3][4] . While

How Thomas Coop Swam to New Zealand

Thomas Coop (1838 - 1924) emigrated from England to Australia with his parents and siblings in 1853, arriving there not long before his 15th birthday. Thomas worked in a variety of jobs in Australia including gold puddling and pit-sawing before coming to New Zealand in 1861. In 1861, Thomas was at Gabriel's Gully; the same year as the outbreak of the Gabriel’s Gully goldrush. From Gabriel's Gully, Thomas went to the Cromwell area where he was engaged in timber cutting (pit-sawing); returning to Australia briefly in June 1862. Thomas Coop (1838-1924) You can read more about Thomas' family background here  and more about Thomas' life in Australia and New Zealand here and here . In 1862, Thomas was engaged to travel back to Victoria to bring back a consignment of horses to New Zealand. The means by which he delivered them is what prompted the family story that Thomas swam to New Zealand. It appears that the story about Thomas swimming to New Zealand was started by Thomas

Chris Scarborough's Notebook

Chris Scarborough's notebook came into my possession via my mother, Elsie [Needham] Burton (1921-2011). Based on what she has written in the notebook (see below ), it was given to her by her cousin, Harriet Emily Scarborough (1899- ), Chris Scarborough's daughter. I have subsequently passed the notebook on to Chris' great granddaughter, Pamela Watson, as it is a document that should be with Chris' direct descendants. Pamela has indicated her intention to pass the notebook on to her brother for his grandson. In discussion with her brother, it has been decided that it should eventually go to his grandson who is both a direct descendant of Chris Scarborough and a descendant who bears the Scarborough name. About Christopher Christopher Scarborough (1870-1948) was born on 6 August 1870 [1] at Long Clawson in Leicestershire. His birth was registered in Melton Mowbray [2] . Census records show that Christopher grew up in Long Clawson [3][4] and, by the age of 21, he was living