In memory of our deceased UNWINs who were laid to rest in Kaiapoi.

At Rest in Kaiapoi, Canterbury, NZ 

Clara UNWIN, died 15 November 1876, aged 4 hours

Thomas Zair UNWIN, died 17 August 1880, aged 3 days

Thomas UNWIN, died 7 July 1881, aged 51 years

Martha Fanny UNWIN, died 19 July 1883, aged 12

Kaiapoi was the first home when the Unwins arrived in New Zealand, so in looking back, we can expect that some of the family would have died and been buried there. 

The first deaths were babies,  a baby girl Clara - who died the same day she was born.   The Cemetery records state her age at death as 4 hours, the NZBDM records this as 1 hour.  Four years later, Thomas and Annie lost a baby boy, Thomas Zair, aged 3 days.  

Thomas Unwin, the Father - was the next to pass away; and sadly Martha passed away two years later. 

The dates above were provided by Jean Turvey [email pasted below], from the Kaiapoi Museum;  She advises there are no headstones, the cemetery became overgrown and the Waimakariri District Council assumed maintenance.  All headstones were moved to one side, the area grassed over, and it is now a passive reserve. 

The above cemetery records have been matched with NZBDM records.  Clara and Fanny are recorded under UNWIN, but Thomas UNWIN and Thomas Zair UNWIN are erroneously recorded under URWIN... geez 😞

So I have emailed the Registrar with regards to this error [date : 25 May 2018]

Copy below of Jean Turvey's Email

"Miss Elizabeth - the Pupil-Teacher"

How proud a Father might be, when the Eldest of his brood of eight children told him, that she had been selected as a Pupil-Teacher.  She would be earning a salary at aged 13yrs, and the position would eventually lead her into a respectable profession in the Colony of New Zealand - which was now their new home.

Elizabeth Anne Unwin was born in 1865 in St Johns, Newfoundland, Canada. Her mother, Anne Reid was from Island Cove in Newfoundland.   In 1870, Elizabeth along with her family left Newfoundland and travelled to her Father's native Birmingham, England; he was Thomas Zair Unwin, ex soldier of the Royal Canadian Rifles. In 1874, Four years later, the Unwins arrived on the Castle Carisbrooke at Lyttleton, Christchurch. They travelled 14 miles north, and settled there at Kaiapoi, at the mouth of the Waimakariri River.  Elizabeth was nine, when she first attended the Kaiapoi Borough School as a new pupil.

After four years, at the age of thirteen; Elizabeth became a Pupil Teacher.  This entailed being an apprentice for 4 - 5 years at the Kaiapoi School, doing small teaching tasks and assisting School masters and mistresses generally.  A pupil teachership was "on the job" training and she received extra tuition,  from the Head Master outside of School hours.  Elizabeth's appointment as a Pupil Teacher was not, however, without incident. The Kaiapoi Borough School Committee had failed to notify the Canterbury Board of Education of her position, and received correspondence later to that effect.  The Board of Education expressed concern at the "irregularity of the employment of Miss Unwin" and they further reminded them "that pupil teachers, being apprentices, had to be appointed under agreements with the Board". The secretary returned correspondence to the Board of Education that "No record had been kept by the committee of Miss Unwin's engagement" and that it was "an omission on his part". Subsequently he recommended that her appointment as a Pupil Teacher be made.

In the same correspondence, The Board of Education also advised that Miss Unwin's salary would be withheld till the Board was advised of her appointment. Elizabeth Unwin, performed her duties for at least two months, perhaps longer - without remuneration.   Another pupil teacher, Martin Todd was only on half-pay, conditional on passing his next examination; and the headmaster Mr E.Rayner insisted that he was owed money by the Board for tuition that he had provided for certain pupil teachers thus far.  Confirmation of Elizabeth's formal appointment arrived by correspondence the following month.  Annual salary for a first year pupil teacher was 16-0-0.  In her second year this increased to 24-0-0.

In July 1881, Elizabeth's Father, Thomas Unwin died. Her mother, was now a widow alone, with seven other children to provide for.  Undoubtedly, much of Elizabeth's income would have gone towards the support of her family.

Elizabeth completed her Third Year Examination in 1881.  She achieved a mark of 404 which was a Pass. Martin Todd who sat the same examination and whom was also at Kaiapoi School achieved a mark of 397, this was also a Pass.  This mark was out of a possible total of 750, and respectively 375 was the pass mark.

With the examination pass, came a very welcome increase to her salary.  Her income in 1882 increased to 40-0-0. Her peer, Martin Todd's rate was 50-0-0.  This was probably because he was a Man, and a Man was paid more.  Her examination scores were certainly higher than his, and her career as a pupil teacher seems to have progressed without interuption.  By contrast, Martin Todd had been dismissed after his first year as a pupil teacher, and then reinstated some time later, conditional upon sucessful examination passes.
Martin Todd and Elizabeth Unwin were long time chums.

At the end of her fourth year as a pupil teacher, Elizabeth was only 17, and she wasn't yet eligible to sit the final examination.  To do so, required that a pupil teacher had to have attained the age of 18 years;  so Elizabeth had to wait until the following year to sit the examination.  Accordingly, her annual salary rate of 40-0-0 remained the same in the academic year of 1883.

Pupil Teachers were examined on the following general knowledge subjects; arithmetic, geography, grammar and composition, reading, dictation, history, music and writing.  Further to this, there was a separate section that tested the pupil teacher's knowledge regarding the "art of teaching".  Elizabeth sat her final Pupil Teacher examination on 18 December 1883.  After five years as an apprentice, and four sucessful examinations - She received confirmation of her passing mark of 507 early in 1884.

As a certified School Mistress, Elizabeth took up a position at the Saltwater Creek School, in 1884.  Saltwater Creek was eight miles from Kaiapoi, and was a small settlement that had formerly been a port. The school roll of 24 was significantly smaller than Kaiapoi, and there was only one classroom.  She lived in the attached residence.  In 1885, Elizabeth married William Howie from Greymouth.  They married in neighbouring Sefton, where he worked on the railway construction. Her friend, Martin Todd, was present at the ceremony, and acted as a witness.  Elizabeth continued to teach intermittently, in between having and rearing her seven children.  Elizabeth Unwin Howie was a Teacher for all of her working life, at different schools throughout the country - and it all began when she was a 13 year old Pupil-Teacher in Kaiapoi.

Timeline 
1865     Born in Newfoundland, Eldest child of an eventual family of 9.
1870     Emigrated to Birmingham
1874     Emigrated to New Zealand (aged 9)
              Attended Kaiapoi Borough  School
1879     Elizabeth commenced her Pupil Teacher Apprenticeship at Kaiapoi. (aged 13)  YEAR I (14 yrs at        
             year's end)
1880     YEAR II  (15 yrs at year's end)
1881     YEAR III (newspaper extract showing Pass Mark) (16yrs at year's end)
             Her father, Thomas Unwin died.
1882     YEAR IV (17yrs at year's end)
1883     YEAR V  - passed the Year IV examination (18yrs at year's end)
1884     Took up post as School Mistress at Saltwater Creek School, Canterbury, NZ.
1885     Married William Howie

_________________________________________________________________________________
Primary Sources Consulted

Appendix i : Showing Elizabeth Unwin's 4th Year examination date and pass mark

________________________________________________________________

Appendix ii :  Elizabeth Unwin's pupil teacher pay rate  1883 published in 1884 AJHR

Appendix iii - Elizabeth Unwin's pay rate 1882, published 1883 AJHR

Appendix iv - Elizabeth Unwin's pay rate 1879, published 1880 AJHR

AtoJs Online > 1881 Session I > E-01 EDUCATION, FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT OF MINISTER OF EDUCATION. 
1880 Figures  for Kaiapoi School in the Ashley County

Appendix v - 1883 pay rate, published 1884

Appendix vi - Elizabeth Unwin's Third Year Examination result                 

Appendix vii - Minutes mentioning Elizabeth Unwin's beginning of pupil teacher appointment, pay with-held, and a requirement from Board of Education to the Kaiapoi Borough School Committee.

Appendix viii - Elizabeth Unwin's confirmation of Appointment as a Pupil Teacher

Appendix ix - Picture of Robert J.Alexander - Headmaster of Kaiapoi Borough School.

Appendix x - Subjects in the Pupil Teacher Examination

Appendix xi -  Elizabeth's teaching position at Saltwater Creek, married by this time. 

Thomas Unwin 1830 - 1881

Thomas Zair Unwin was born some time in January, 1830, in the Warwickshire County, Birmingham.  The son of a milkman, Thomas Unwin (1806 - 1886) and his wife Mary Zair (1804 - 1875).  Thomas had an elder sister, Mary Ann (1827 - ) and a younger brother, James (1832 -     ). The 1841 Census of England, listed Thomas, Mary and their three children as residing in Wind Mill St Court, in the parish of St Thomas, Warwickshire, England. 1

Private Thomas Unwin

On the 3 September 1846, Thomas joined the army.  A brass founder by trade, he was recorded as 17 years and 8 months, on the date of attestation.  Thomas stood 5 foot, 8 inches, of fair complexion, brown hair and gray eyes! 

Thomas went on to serve more than 23 years in the Army.  He was first in the 83rd regiment of foot. Whilst in this regiment, Thomas served 10 years in the East Indies.  In 1859, he was promoted to the rank of Corporal.  However, this was somewhat short-lived.  On Christmas Eve the following year,  Corporal Unwin was discovered drunk on duty.  He was court-martialled, imprisoned for one year and demoted back to a Private.

In 1861, he transferred to the 16th regiment of foot, stationed in Canada.   In May 1863, he transferred again, this time to the Royal Canadian Regiment of Rifles, stationed at Newfoundland.2

It was here that he married Annie Reid, a Canadian woman from Island Cove, a small settlement in Newfoundland.  They had 3 daughters; Elizabeth in 1866, Mary J in 1868 and Ceda Maria in 1869.  By 1870, the Royal Canadian Rifles, of which Thomas was a part of - were disbanded; So, he and his young family returned to his native England. Another daughter Fanny in 1871, and son Frederick in 1872, were both born in Birmingham, and by the time the family set out for New Zealand, they were a family of five children.

After returning to England, Thomas Zair Unwin worked as a labourer in a Gun Factory in the industrial  area of Aston - a stark contrast to his former life as a Soldier in Newfoundland.   "Talk" was everywhere about the Colony of New Zealand. There was assisted passage for people that otherwise may not have been able to afford to make the voyage; and the promise of free land was a further incentive. Thomas Zair has previously decided against taking Soldier Grants of Land in Canada - a choice that he may have regretted.  In New Zealand, the opportunity for land once again presented itself. In 1874, He made application to the Agent General in London to become an assisted immigrant.

It was required that he apply for special consideration, on account of his five children. Assisted immigration was for families with no more than three children.  The Canterbury Association described an ideal immigrant as being a good hardworking sober person from the working class, or the agricultural class.  Emigration was not a new concept either, by the time Thomas Unwin made his application, there were already a 1/4 million Immigrants in the Colony.

A Deposit was required, 20 shillings for he and his wife.  This was called a ships outfit, and paid for things such as mattresses,linen,cutlery and mess items.  The deposit had to be paid before the contract ticket was issued. However once issued, it was a binding contract that provided details of the departure date - 27 May 1874 and the ship's name - "Castle Carisbrooke".  Emigrants were required to pay their own way to the Port of embarkation; and if there were delays with departure, they would have to pay for their sleeping quarters.  Accomodation was available at the Plymouth barracks - and many emigrants met this cost by promissary note.  Thomas Unwin is recorded as having been issued with promissary notes to a total of 65 pounds and 5 shillings.

Along with scores of English and Irish People, the Unwins boarded the ship on the afternoon 27 May 1874.  The ship left Plymouth the next day, a Thursday; and made its way to Gravesend.  After the ship inspection, a family was found to have measles and were put ashore at Gravesend.  This was to prove futile, as later there was an outbreak of measles on board.

On 30 May, 1874; the Carisbrooke Castle, pulled anchor and left Gravesend. From Gravesend to Dover was 11 hours. Captain John Freebody reported that the ship left the Lizard on 4 June, and that it was summer time in England.  The Lizard is on the Coast of Cornwall, the most southern point of England.  For assisted immigrants this was the last time they would see their homeland.  For the Unwin's this was a second sea journey, for Thomas Zair Unwin - at least the third journey.

Passengers witnessed the sight of "Porpoise Pigs" before moving into the Bay of Biscay, off the coast of Portugal, on 6 June. They experienced fine weather as they continued into the North Atlantic ocean.  Light winds took the ship to the Equator, which was crossed on 30 June, and soon after obtained the south-east trade winds.

The first case of measles was reported on 11 June, the first death from measles occurred eleven days later. Two days after that, a second child died, and many children had taken ill.  By this time, Michael Cook a passenger on board, records in his diary, the sighting of "cape pigeons" (petrels) off the coast of the Cape of Good Hope". However, he records the death of two of his own children and reports that children were dying frequently. All Parents with children on board, were distressed by illness sweeping the ship - eighty seven children contracted measles. A total of twenty eight children died on the voyage, twenty from measles, four from tabes mesenterica - a type of tuberculosis, and a further four children from pnuemonia, exhaustion, bronchitis and a gastric disorder.

It was good fortune and perhaps being of sturdy stock; that all of the Unwin children reached New Zealand alive and well, and with a new addition in fact. Five Unwin children embarked, and Six Unwin children disembarked.  At the commencement of the journey, Annie was heavily pregnant - at least 6 months along. She was one of five "confined" women on board.  On 20 August 1874, two weeks before reaching New Zealand, Annie gave birth to a healthy baby girl.  A week before the birth, the ship had experienced heavy gales, and a 36 hour storm in a longer period of unsettled weather. However, by the time of her confinement, the weather was warmer; and the actual birth day was recorded as a "fine" day - a Thursday. They named their new daughter, Lucy Magdalene.

A week later, the Castle Carisbrooke passed the longitude of Snares,  and into New Zealand waters.  Thence the ship continued up the east coast of the South Island toward Lyttleton, with a sighting of Banks Peninsula 30 Aug 1874.  The ship had to wait in Rhodes Bay for a few days for Wind to bring it into Lyttleton. But finally, they were in anchor, and their New Zealand Life would soon begin.

Thomas Unwin, his wife Annie and their six children made their home in the mid Canterbury borough of Kaiapoi, north of the Waimakariri River. In New Zealand, there were more additions to the Unwin family, and the children all attended Kaiapoi School.

During the Winter of 1881, Thomas Zair Unwin died. He was laid to rest in the Kaiapoi Cemetery. He had been in New Zealand for a mere seven years. He was fifty one. The Funeral took place on the seventh day of the seventh month, and that day - they say was a Thursday.

References 
1. "England and Wales Census, 1841," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MQBG-48L : 13 December 2017), Thomas Unwin, St Thomas, Warwickshire, England; from "1841 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO HO 107, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.

2.UK, Royal Hospital, Chelsea: Regimental Registers of Pensioners, 1713-1882 for Thomas Unwin, Soldier´s Service Documents Local Units (1873-1882) Rotheram to Ward

The Grandchildren of Thomas and Ann Unwin

THOMAS ZAIR UNWIN and ANN REID 
Note : Unwin Name has continued from the 8. Hubert UNWIN 
👩1. Elizabeth Annie UNWIN
         m. William HOWIE  
          1.1 Francis James HOWIE
          1.2 Frederick Hubert Edward HOWIE (1890 - 1892)
          1.3 Allan HOWIE (1893 - 1893)
          1.4 Evelyn Colyton HOWIE (1894 - 1969)
          1.5 Cyril William HOWIE
          1.6 Olive Dolora HOWIE
          1.7 Dorothy Rawea HOWIE
          1.8 Hubert Zair HOWIE (1905 - 1983)

👩2. Mary Jane UNWIN (1867 - 1940)
         m. Robert ERSKINE 
          2.1 Leonora Lucy ERSKINE b.1891, Timaru
          2.2 Frederick ERSKINE b.1892, Timaru
          2.3 Clarice Evelyn ERSKINE b.1895, Timaru
          2.4 Iris Hilda ERSKINE b.1897, Timaru
                m. Ronald Philip WAKELIN - Mayor of Carterton

👩3. Ceda Marie UNWIN (1869 - 1940)
          m. Walter WILLIAMS
          3.1 Herbert Spencer WILLIAMS b.01 March 1895
          3.2 Walter Hurley WILLIAMS b.17 November 1899
          3.3 Zair WILLIAMS b. 04 January 1903
          3.4 Ceda Kaituna WILLIAMS b. 03 November 1904
          3.5 Glynn Seddon WILLIAMS b. 14 June 1906

Ceda Marie Williams (nee Unwin)

👧4. Martha Fanny UNWIN (1870 - 1883) NI

👨5. Frederick UNWIN (1873 - 1928) 
        m. Gertrude Sharp
        5.1 Phyllis Gertrude Fredericka UNWIN (m.Veale)
        5.2 Eda Zair Wilder UNWIN (m.Haines)
     
👩6. Lucy Magdalene UNWIN (1874 - 1931)
         m. Edwin Manfield BAKER 
         6.1 Edward Arnold Manfield BAKER, b.1895, Hawera, d.1916
         6.2 Frank Manfield BAKER, b.1898, Auckland, d.1960

👧7. Clara UNWIN (1876 - 1876) NI

👦8. Hubert Edward UNWIN (1878     )
         m. Elizabeth BROTHERS
              Mildred Milly UNWIN

👦9. Thomas Zair UNWIN (1880 - 1880) NI

Researchers from the Descendants of Thomas Unwin

I feel fortunate to have come into contact, or met certain descendants of Thomas Unwin, whose sharing of knowledge has contributed to what I have been able to add to the growing collection. 

Thus far;

Dorothy Thomas [a descendant of Elizabeth Anne UNWIN]

Judith Yates  [a descendant of Frederick UNWIN] - pictured below

Judith Yates

Ian Howie [a descendant of Elizabeth Anne UNWIN]

References

NZBDM  
     Hubert Edward UNWIN - NZBDM 1878/8827 BIRTH, Recorded under URWIN

Thomas, Dorothy (Dot), Information re : Children of Mary Jane UNWIN
                                        Information re: Children of Lucy Magdalene UNWIN

Yates, Judith, Information re: Descendants of Frederick UNWIN

The Unwin "Naming Ways" - Placenames and Zairs

Some years ago, when I was still at University, I completed a history paper that focussed on the "ways" in which New Zealanders did things.  One part of this paper was "naming ways" - the brainchild of Dr. Peter Gibbons, History Department, University of Waikato.   History as a discipline seeks to observe "patterns", so in essence "naming ways" is about observing the presence of naming patterns.  Interestingly enough, I've noticed two "naming ways" in the Unwin lineage.  This post is me, looking at what we have thus far and whether this is enough to write a piece for publication.

The first is the naming of children after place names.  The second is the usage of name sakes, particularly the name 'Zair'.   We also have a number of Huberts, which is worth keeping in mind.  I have a suspicion that Hubert comes from Ann Reid's family and since a number of use are attempting to make sense of the DNA matches with the Reids of Newfoundland ... I keep on keeping an eye out for the name Hubert.    In any case, Place names and Zairs ... 

(1) PLACE NAMES

CEDA :  A place in Canada
[Ceda Marie Unwin, Ceda Kaituna Williams]
FREDERICK :  Possibly Fort Frederick in Placentia, Newfoundland
[Frederick Unwin, Frederick Williams]
COLYTON :  A place in New Zealand
[Evelyn Colyton HOWIE]
KAITUNA :  A place in New Zealand
[Ceda Kaituna WILLIAMS]
TIMARU : A place in New Zealand
[Frederick William Timaru ERSKINE]
RAWEA : A place in New Zealand
[Dorothy Rawea HOWIE]

If any relatives know any more examples of these, please ... write it in the comments box below.

Once were Unwins ! - An Introduction to this Blog

Thomas Unwin = Annie Reid
Elizabeth Annie Unwin = William Howie
Francis James Howie = Maud Beatrice Ingpen
Alan Ernest Howie = Ethel Cavanagh
Bruce Trevor Howie = Victoria Hayward
Pare Hayward-Howie (Blog Author) 👩

When I was a child, my Grandfather Alan Ernest Howie helped me to complete a pedigree chart, as far back as my Great Grandparents.  When I got older, I continued my pursuit of my Ancestors and their history.   The first ancestor that I actually "found" myself was my Great Great Grandmother, Elizabeth Annie Unwin.  For this reason, she has always been close to my heart.    Elizabeth came to New Zealand as a child, with her parents and her younger siblings.  She and her generation mark the commencement of life in the Colony.  They are an important milestone.

For a time it was believed, and quite wrongly believed I might add that the Unwin name had died out, in terms of the descendants of Thomas Unwin.
This was based on the belief that Frederick Unwin was the only son to survive to adulthood. Wrong again! Not only did son, Hubert Edward Unwin survive to adulthood he also Fathered 4 sons!  Thank goodness, Dot Thomas provided Ann Unwin's Death entry, which showed that Hubert Edward Unwin was the informant for the information and that Ann had been living with him in Hastings, which explains why she died and was buried there!   Further thanks, of course, must go to Pam Thrupp (nee Howie) who provided me with this photo of Hubert Unwin, his wife Maud, and his four sons and one daughter!

Hubert Unwin and Family

As to the idea that Hubert Edward Carlyon UNWIN was a twin brother of Clara UNWIN and that they both died, I have to say that this theory did not originate with me, and that there is absolutely no proof to verify this claim. 

The Unwin line has prevailed, and spin off families like us the descendants of the daughters, or granddaughters, are their relatives ie: Howies,  Erskines, Williams, Veales, Haines, and so on.   My own personal interest in the Unwin lineage has been renewed since my DNA test results showed shared DNA matches with persons from Newfoundland, the birth place of the 3 eldest Unwin Children, and of course Ann Reid-Unwin.

To Navigate your way through the posts, each of Thomas and Ann Unwins children will be treated as a branch.  I will be constructing a tree of their descendants and will hyperlink each name to specific areas of the blog that are relevant to that branch.   The intention is to give mention to every branch.

If you are a descendant of Thomas and Anne Unwin, please make yourself known, get in touch with me, via the comments box below.