GALBRAITH, Samuel
Born 1880; died 16 November 1918; buried 18 November 1918; age 38
After William GALBRAITH married Leah FARRELL in 1876 they had five children in rapid succession - John (1879), Samuel (1880), James (1881), Alexander (1883) and Mary (1884). By the time of the electoral roll in 1905–06, Leah was a widow, living in Poplar Grove, Thorndon, a short street connecting Grant and Tinakori Roads. Samuel, who by then was working as a maltster, was living at the same address, as was his younger brother Alexander (also a maltster) and his sister, Mary. They may have been employed at the major Wellington brewery of Staples & Co. (later part of New Zealand Breweries) in nearby Molesworth Street.
In 1910, when he was thirty, Samuel married Rose Ann Sheehan, originally from Ngaruawahia [i], and the new couple began living in Bank Road, off Garden Road and close to the Botanic Gardens, remaining in the Thorndon area presumably to allow Samuel to walk to and from work. They had three children, William James (1911), Violet Agnes (1913) and Ronald Samuel (1914). By the time the 1914 Electoral Roll was published Samuel was being described as a labourer, and the couple had moved to a residence in Hawkestone Street, in the heart of Thorndon. Samuel’s mother Leah was living with them.
In 8th January 1912 Samuel’s older brother John died, aged 32, and their mother Leah purchased a plot in the Public 2 section of Karori Cemetery where he was buried two days later. Leah died in 1917, aged 69, and was buried with John.
Samuel was amongst those who became ill with influenza in November 1918, and on 16 November he succumbed at the Alexandra Hall Temporary Hospital in Abel Smith Street, Te Aro. By this time the family seem to have been living at Ngauranga, north of Wellington along the Hutt Road, so whether Samuel was working in town when he became ill and was admitted to the nearest health facility, or whether the Alexandra Hall was the only facility which could take him is not known. Whatever, the reason, Samuel was some distance from his family home when he died. His death was notified in the Evening Post the same day:
GALBRAITH.—On the 16th November, 1918, at Wellington, of influenza complications, Samuel Galbraith, dearly loved husband of Rose Ann Galbraith, of Ngahauranga; aged 38 years.
Samuel was buried in the Anglican section of Karori Cemetery on 18 November. Rose paid for the plot in January 1919, and presumably also paid for the grave structure, headstone and plaque with the simple inscription:
In Loving Memory Of
Samuel Galbraith
Died 16th November 1918
Aged 38 Years
Rose Ann continued to live in Ngauranga for some years, but by 1928 she had returned to Thorndon and to live again in Grant Road.
Rose Ann seems never to have remarried. She was still living in Grant Road when she died in 1959, aged 82 years, and was buried with Samuel. In 1982 the ashes of Violet, their only daughter, were interred with them. The inscription on the headstone was updated to include their details.
Researched and written by Max Kerr
Grave Information:
Section: CH ENG2
Plot: 69 E
[i] A town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand.
Born 1880; died 16 November 1918; buried 18 November 1918; age 38
After William GALBRAITH married Leah FARRELL in 1876 they had five children in rapid succession - John (1879), Samuel (1880), James (1881), Alexander (1883) and Mary (1884). By the time of the electoral roll in 1905–06, Leah was a widow, living in Poplar Grove, Thorndon, a short street connecting Grant and Tinakori Roads. Samuel, who by then was working as a maltster, was living at the same address, as was his younger brother Alexander (also a maltster) and his sister, Mary. They may have been employed at the major Wellington brewery of Staples & Co. (later part of New Zealand Breweries) in nearby Molesworth Street.
In 1910, when he was thirty, Samuel married Rose Ann Sheehan, originally from Ngaruawahia [i], and the new couple began living in Bank Road, off Garden Road and close to the Botanic Gardens, remaining in the Thorndon area presumably to allow Samuel to walk to and from work. They had three children, William James (1911), Violet Agnes (1913) and Ronald Samuel (1914). By the time the 1914 Electoral Roll was published Samuel was being described as a labourer, and the couple had moved to a residence in Hawkestone Street, in the heart of Thorndon. Samuel’s mother Leah was living with them.
In 8th January 1912 Samuel’s older brother John died, aged 32, and their mother Leah purchased a plot in the Public 2 section of Karori Cemetery where he was buried two days later. Leah died in 1917, aged 69, and was buried with John.
Samuel was amongst those who became ill with influenza in November 1918, and on 16 November he succumbed at the Alexandra Hall Temporary Hospital in Abel Smith Street, Te Aro. By this time the family seem to have been living at Ngauranga, north of Wellington along the Hutt Road, so whether Samuel was working in town when he became ill and was admitted to the nearest health facility, or whether the Alexandra Hall was the only facility which could take him is not known. Whatever, the reason, Samuel was some distance from his family home when he died. His death was notified in the Evening Post the same day:
GALBRAITH.—On the 16th November, 1918, at Wellington, of influenza complications, Samuel Galbraith, dearly loved husband of Rose Ann Galbraith, of Ngahauranga; aged 38 years.
Samuel was buried in the Anglican section of Karori Cemetery on 18 November. Rose paid for the plot in January 1919, and presumably also paid for the grave structure, headstone and plaque with the simple inscription:
In Loving Memory Of
Samuel Galbraith
Died 16th November 1918
Aged 38 Years
Rose Ann continued to live in Ngauranga for some years, but by 1928 she had returned to Thorndon and to live again in Grant Road.
Rose Ann seems never to have remarried. She was still living in Grant Road when she died in 1959, aged 82 years, and was buried with Samuel. In 1982 the ashes of Violet, their only daughter, were interred with them. The inscription on the headstone was updated to include their details.
Researched and written by Max Kerr
Grave Information:
Section: CH ENG2
Plot: 69 E
[i] A town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand.