KELLY, Winifred
Born 1892; died 7 November 1918; buried 9 November 1918; age 26
Winifred KELLY’s family seems to have had an aversion to allowing their details to be included in the usual public records. Only one sibling’s birth (of seven) was registered and a half-sister was registered in 1937 though born in 1905. The family members are hard to locate on electoral rolls, and it’s mainly because many school records are available that Winifred’s story can be told.
The family also adopted alternative spellings for their names, perhaps as nicknames, or perhaps because using a ‘correct’ name, spelt consistently, was not important to them. For example, Winifred’s name is spelt as ’Winnifried’ on the Notice of Intentions to Marry application held at Archives New Zealand; her marriage record spells her name as ‘Winniefred’; and ‘Winnie’ appears on her school record along with ‘Winifred’.
Thanks to Fiona LAWS, a family descendant, Winifred’s mother has been identified as Seabee Adelaide TOMPKINS born on 12 April 1857 at sea aboard the ship, the Bee off the coast of Adelaide and registered on 17 December 1857 in Richmond, Melbourne by her mother Elizabeth née SAYERS of Hammersmith, London. Her father was Thomas Weatherhead Tompkins, a labourer from Middlesex, England. In Sydney, Elizabeth subsequently remarried Samuel TENNANT whose surname was unofficially adopted by his stepdaughter who also called herself Florence or Flora as well as Seabee. By March 1874, Seabee had come to New Zealand and was living in Hokitika on the West Coast of the South Island.
Born 1892; died 7 November 1918; buried 9 November 1918; age 26
Winifred KELLY’s family seems to have had an aversion to allowing their details to be included in the usual public records. Only one sibling’s birth (of seven) was registered and a half-sister was registered in 1937 though born in 1905. The family members are hard to locate on electoral rolls, and it’s mainly because many school records are available that Winifred’s story can be told.
The family also adopted alternative spellings for their names, perhaps as nicknames, or perhaps because using a ‘correct’ name, spelt consistently, was not important to them. For example, Winifred’s name is spelt as ’Winnifried’ on the Notice of Intentions to Marry application held at Archives New Zealand; her marriage record spells her name as ‘Winniefred’; and ‘Winnie’ appears on her school record along with ‘Winifred’.
Thanks to Fiona LAWS, a family descendant, Winifred’s mother has been identified as Seabee Adelaide TOMPKINS born on 12 April 1857 at sea aboard the ship, the Bee off the coast of Adelaide and registered on 17 December 1857 in Richmond, Melbourne by her mother Elizabeth née SAYERS of Hammersmith, London. Her father was Thomas Weatherhead Tompkins, a labourer from Middlesex, England. In Sydney, Elizabeth subsequently remarried Samuel TENNANT whose surname was unofficially adopted by his stepdaughter who also called herself Florence or Flora as well as Seabee. By March 1874, Seabee had come to New Zealand and was living in Hokitika on the West Coast of the South Island.
Winifred’s mother, Florence King née Tennant
Image courtesy of http://kiwicelts.com/
Image courtesy of http://kiwicelts.com/
Winifred was born in Greymouth around 1892, to Robert Henry KING, an Irishman working as a railway guard on the West Coast of New Zealand, and Florence King née TENNANT. Robert and Florence had married in the Church of England parsonage in Reefton, Westland, on 22 October 1875.The following year their first child, an only son, Robert William, was born. They then had six daughters, of whom Winifred was the sixth, born in 1892. The names of Winifred’s sisters according to the website http://family.kiwicelts.com/12_King/FT_King_03.html were Elizabeth Amelia, Margaret ‘Daisy’, Eva, Violet ‘Lillian’, and Ethel Adelaide ‘Pat’.
Winifred’s father, Robert King in his Greymouth fire brigade uniform, 1884
Image courtesy of http://kiwicelts.com/
Image courtesy of http://kiwicelts.com/
None of the children can be traced in the New Zealand BDM records, other than Violet whose birth to Robert and Florence was registered in 1883.
Winifred’s parents made a life for their family first in Reefton and then by the early 1880s in Greymouth. Robert’s work as a railway guard supported the growing family. He also served as the secretary of the Greymouth Volunteer Fire Brigade for a time (source: Grey River Argus 27 March 1885). Judging by advertisements in West Coast newspapers he was also keen to take on the life of a publican.
When Winifred was less than 12 months old, her father died unexpectedly, on Boxing Day 1892. According to a full report of the accident in the Grey River Argus of 27 December 1892 the cause of death was ‘concussion of the spine’:
Mr Robert King, formerly a guard on the railway, died somewhat suddenly yesterday morning. It appears that while out on Saturday evening he fell on a stone and hurt himself about the small of the back or the region of the kidneys. He attached no importance to the matter, but the next day he felt very ill and took to his bed. A doctor was called in, who prescribed what he thought necessary, but the condition of the patient became steadily worse and he ceased to know people and gradually faded away, dying about 10 o'clock yesterday morning. Deceased leaves a wife and six [seven] children to mourn his loss, and, unfortunately, they are in very poor circumstances. He had been a resident of Greymouth for many years past. It is supposed that he injured himself internally when he fell.
The good citizens of the Greymouth and Brunner area rallied round to contribute £18.12.6 to assist the family in its difficult circumstances without a breadwinner (Grey River Argus 14 January 1893). Robert King was buried in an unmarked grave in the Anglican section of Karoro Cemetery, Greymouth.
In 1902 Winifred’s widowed mother married again, and once again the marriage took place in the Church of England parsonage in Reefton, Westland. The bridegroom this time was Albert STILLMAN with whom she had two further daughters, Ruby (who was born in 1896/97 according to her Reefton school records) and Rewa May (born 1905 but not registered until 1937). The family moved around, first from the West Coast to Nelson and then to Sydenham, Christchurch and later to Timaru, then Diamond Harbour (Lyttelton), and then Auckland by the time the 1911 electoral roll was compiled. After February 1915 Albert Stillman either died (although there is no death record or mention of this on Papers Past), or he left the family, who moved back to Sydenham until December 1917 (according to the last school record of the youngest family member, Rewa Stillman).
Winifred’s parents made a life for their family first in Reefton and then by the early 1880s in Greymouth. Robert’s work as a railway guard supported the growing family. He also served as the secretary of the Greymouth Volunteer Fire Brigade for a time (source: Grey River Argus 27 March 1885). Judging by advertisements in West Coast newspapers he was also keen to take on the life of a publican.
When Winifred was less than 12 months old, her father died unexpectedly, on Boxing Day 1892. According to a full report of the accident in the Grey River Argus of 27 December 1892 the cause of death was ‘concussion of the spine’:
Mr Robert King, formerly a guard on the railway, died somewhat suddenly yesterday morning. It appears that while out on Saturday evening he fell on a stone and hurt himself about the small of the back or the region of the kidneys. He attached no importance to the matter, but the next day he felt very ill and took to his bed. A doctor was called in, who prescribed what he thought necessary, but the condition of the patient became steadily worse and he ceased to know people and gradually faded away, dying about 10 o'clock yesterday morning. Deceased leaves a wife and six [seven] children to mourn his loss, and, unfortunately, they are in very poor circumstances. He had been a resident of Greymouth for many years past. It is supposed that he injured himself internally when he fell.
The good citizens of the Greymouth and Brunner area rallied round to contribute £18.12.6 to assist the family in its difficult circumstances without a breadwinner (Grey River Argus 14 January 1893). Robert King was buried in an unmarked grave in the Anglican section of Karoro Cemetery, Greymouth.
In 1902 Winifred’s widowed mother married again, and once again the marriage took place in the Church of England parsonage in Reefton, Westland. The bridegroom this time was Albert STILLMAN with whom she had two further daughters, Ruby (who was born in 1896/97 according to her Reefton school records) and Rewa May (born 1905 but not registered until 1937). The family moved around, first from the West Coast to Nelson and then to Sydenham, Christchurch and later to Timaru, then Diamond Harbour (Lyttelton), and then Auckland by the time the 1911 electoral roll was compiled. After February 1915 Albert Stillman either died (although there is no death record or mention of this on Papers Past), or he left the family, who moved back to Sydenham until December 1917 (according to the last school record of the youngest family member, Rewa Stillman).
Winifred King aged 17
Image courtesy of http://kiwicelts.com/
Image courtesy of http://kiwicelts.com/
In 1912 Winifred married Ronald John KELLY in Auckland. The Notice of Intention to Marry completed by Winifred and Ronald stated she had lived in Auckland since 1909, while he had been resident for only 2 months. His usual place of residence was Hawera, Taranaki. Ronald said he was a jockey/horse trainer living at the time in the Aurora Hotel in central Auckland. By the time they married on 19 November 1912 they both claimed to be 21 years old. No occupation was entered in Winifred’s details. For some reason, she named her father as James King, a commercial traveller.
Ronald was an Ashburton lad and like Winifred had been born in 1892. He was the youngest of seven siblings, the children of Alexander James Kelly, a Scot, and Sara/h Annie GIBBS (who was English). They had married in New Zealand in 1877 and lived for a time in Ashburton and in the Christchurch area where Alexander was a publican.
Winifred and Ronald’s marriage appears to have been short-lived. When Ronald attested on 7 November 1915 for war service he said his occupation was ‘butcher’ at the East Coast Freezing Works in Whakatane. However, Ronald was discharged as unfit the following month. It seems he had fractured his left collarbone and had shoulder stiffness as well as rheumatism and asthma for 2 years. His character was described as ‘good’ with the qualifier ‘for short service’.
He named his next-of-kin as his sister, Lucy Crawford, of Whangarei. He also answered ’no’ to the ‘Are you married’ question on the attestation papers. Both these pieces of information reinforce the view that the marriage with Winifred had been over for some time.
However, in 1918 Ronald was balloted, and attested again at Trentham. This time he recorded that he had married in 1912. In late January 1918 Ronald failed to parade for a medical examination and gave his change of address as ‘Harp of Erin, Greenlane, Ellerslie’.
Winifred must have had to support herself once the marriage failed, but it is not known what sort of work she did.
At some point in 1918 Florence moved her family to Wellington to 1 Edge Hill, off Kent Terrace, Te Aro in Wellington city. Winifred was living at the same address when she became ill with influenza in the early days of November 1918 – she was taken from 1 Edge Hill to Wellington Public Hospital in Newtown. where she died of pneumonia and internal obstruction on 7 November 1918. She was buried on 9 November in the Church of England 2 section of Karori Cemetery and according to the records of the Wilson funeral home, her mother was able to meet £3 of the £9 funeral and burial costs. Her grave was unmarked, never paid for, and her remains were disinterred and reburied between the headstones when the plot was resold in the late 1960s.
The death certificate information was provided by the undertaker, Robert H Wilson. Presumably Winifred’s mother told him what he needed to complete the formalities. However, although the certificate records that Winifred had been married since 1912, it noted that her husband’s name was ‘Reginald’, which suggests that her mother had only the slightest acquaintance with Ronald Kelly.
The twice-widowed Florence Stillman remained in Wellington for a time, appearing on the electoral roll in 1919 at 194 Vivian Street, in the central city, listed as a widow. She later moved back to Christchurch to live at 99 Salisbury Street before her death in 1940, aged 82. She was joined in her Christchurch grave by her youngest King daughter, Ethel Adelaide TEMPLE known as ‘Pat’ in 1968.
Ronald was an Ashburton lad and like Winifred had been born in 1892. He was the youngest of seven siblings, the children of Alexander James Kelly, a Scot, and Sara/h Annie GIBBS (who was English). They had married in New Zealand in 1877 and lived for a time in Ashburton and in the Christchurch area where Alexander was a publican.
Winifred and Ronald’s marriage appears to have been short-lived. When Ronald attested on 7 November 1915 for war service he said his occupation was ‘butcher’ at the East Coast Freezing Works in Whakatane. However, Ronald was discharged as unfit the following month. It seems he had fractured his left collarbone and had shoulder stiffness as well as rheumatism and asthma for 2 years. His character was described as ‘good’ with the qualifier ‘for short service’.
He named his next-of-kin as his sister, Lucy Crawford, of Whangarei. He also answered ’no’ to the ‘Are you married’ question on the attestation papers. Both these pieces of information reinforce the view that the marriage with Winifred had been over for some time.
However, in 1918 Ronald was balloted, and attested again at Trentham. This time he recorded that he had married in 1912. In late January 1918 Ronald failed to parade for a medical examination and gave his change of address as ‘Harp of Erin, Greenlane, Ellerslie’.
Winifred must have had to support herself once the marriage failed, but it is not known what sort of work she did.
At some point in 1918 Florence moved her family to Wellington to 1 Edge Hill, off Kent Terrace, Te Aro in Wellington city. Winifred was living at the same address when she became ill with influenza in the early days of November 1918 – she was taken from 1 Edge Hill to Wellington Public Hospital in Newtown. where she died of pneumonia and internal obstruction on 7 November 1918. She was buried on 9 November in the Church of England 2 section of Karori Cemetery and according to the records of the Wilson funeral home, her mother was able to meet £3 of the £9 funeral and burial costs. Her grave was unmarked, never paid for, and her remains were disinterred and reburied between the headstones when the plot was resold in the late 1960s.
The death certificate information was provided by the undertaker, Robert H Wilson. Presumably Winifred’s mother told him what he needed to complete the formalities. However, although the certificate records that Winifred had been married since 1912, it noted that her husband’s name was ‘Reginald’, which suggests that her mother had only the slightest acquaintance with Ronald Kelly.
The twice-widowed Florence Stillman remained in Wellington for a time, appearing on the electoral roll in 1919 at 194 Vivian Street, in the central city, listed as a widow. She later moved back to Christchurch to live at 99 Salisbury Street before her death in 1940, aged 82. She was joined in her Christchurch grave by her youngest King daughter, Ethel Adelaide TEMPLE known as ‘Pat’ in 1968.
Gravestone – Seabee Tennant, Bromley Cemetery Block 17 Row 1, Christchurch
Image courtesy of http://kiwicelts.com/
Image courtesy of http://kiwicelts.com/
Ronald Kelly moved to Thames to work in the Queen’s Hotel as a barman and remarried in 1927. His new bride was Georgina WILLIAMS who appeared with him on the electoral roll in 1935 at 237 Thorndon Quay in Wellington; Ronald continued to work in hotels until at least 1938, but by 1946/49 he was working as a watersider and living in Gorge Road, Ngahauranga with Georgina. On the 1949 electoral roll however, his occupation had changed to ‘mechanic’. Ronald Kelly died in 1963 aged 71 and was buried in the Masterton cemetery.
Winifred Kelly was buried in the Church of England 2 section of Karori Cemetery in plot 183E.
Researched and written by Jenny Robertson
Winifred Kelly was buried in the Church of England 2 section of Karori Cemetery in plot 183E.
Researched and written by Jenny Robertson