Our Origins - the Family Histories of Craig Fullerton and Celine Amoyal
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John William Barnes
(1859-1925)

 

Family Links

Spouses/Children:
1. Hannah Old

John William Barnes

  • Born: 31 May 1859, Karori, Wellington, New Zealand
  • Marriage (1): Hannah Old on 24 Nov 1881 in Wanganui, New Zealand
  • Died: 10 Jun 1925, Fordell, Wanganui, New Zealand at age 66
  • Buried: Matarawa Cemetery, Wanganui, New Zealand

bullet   Another name for John was John Barnes.

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bullet  General Notes:

The first generation born in New Zealand - John Barnes
John Barnes was born in Wellington in 1859. His education was extremely limited. It was before the days of free and compulsory education. One day after a few months at school he was locked in the classroom and forgotten by the teacher. Some hours later he was rescued by his father and he never returned to school. However, his mother had a fair education a nd he probably learned quite a lot from her, also when he became apprenticed to the building trade his boss, Mr Carter, saw that he had opportunities for learning. He became quite proficient in the calculations necessa ry for his trade and also became a keen reader. He made quite a succe ss of his trade of building. As part of his apprenticeship he spend a ye ar in the Sash and Door factory of Weddell, McLeod, and Weir. This experi ence stood him in good stead years later when he was building housed in t he Fordell District. He was able to do all his own joinery and build a ho use from the foundations up. Also during his training he gained experien ce in shingling roofs, and on one occasion was loaned by his boss to anoth er builder to renew the shingles on a church spire.

For some time he worked at his trade in Wellington and on construction wo rk on the Rimutaka Railway, but left that to take up work in Wanganui. Ho wever, the slump of the late 1870's meant that no work was available a nd he went out into the country to do any labouring work offering. This w as usually ditch and bank fencing. While working in the Fordell distri ct he met his future wife, Hannah Old, and also his future partner in t he building trade, Mr Richardson. The firm of Barnes and Richardson was c arried on for many years by both Mr Richardson and his son Marton.

About 1983 John Barnes took up a block of land in the remote Mangamahu dis trict. This land was developed between building jobs by himself and his f amily. In 1907 he sold out to a neighbour and came to live at Fordell whe re his family had a better chance of receiving an education. Here he supp lemented his building by a carrying business.

As a result of an accident in the harvest field, his last ten years were marred by ill health.

bullet  Medical Notes:

John unfortunately fell from the dray in an accident the wheel of the dray went over his head. He lived, but was unable to work.

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bullet  Noted events in his life were:

• He emigrated To New Zealand on the ship 'Gertrude', landing at Wellington.

• He worked as a John Barnes had a cartage business between Fordell and Wanganui, besides being a carpenter.

• He worked as a Farmed 5 acres at Denlair (part of John Old's property) 1861-93, Mangamahu 1893-1907 (farming a pioneer block) Fordel.


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John married Hannah Old, daughter of John Old and Mary Jane Knuckey, on 24 Nov 1881 in Wanganui, New Zealand. (Hannah Old was born on 24 Nov 1860 in Wanganui, New Zealand, died on 3 Sep 1939 in Wanganui, New Zealand and was buried between 6 and 7 Sep 1939 in Matarawa Cemetery, Wanganui, New Zealand.)

bullet  Noted events in their marriage were:

• Marriage Licence: Cert 2573, , , New Zealand.


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