Who was Mrs Dunn
When I went to see my Grandmothers grave in Shannon New Zealand I noticed a grave next to hers and her husband Alfred Ernest Hyde
The grave was the same as my grandparents but it was a single grave and theres was a double. The head stone was made of the same material and the grave was constructed the same , both painted white
My grandfather died on the 29 September 1941 and she had died 21 September 1941 a few days earlier, I had heard stories from dad about having to go to 2 funerals in a week but I didnt know who Mrs Dunn was
I went back home that night and asked dad if he knew who Mrs Dunn was and he said , he knew her as Aunty Louie and she was a house keeper and that his father would pick her up each Christmas at her house in College street Palmerston North then drop her back after Christmas dinner. She was related to his mother some how but he didnt know how. He also said that she was not very well off and the Hyde family had either paid for or helped with the cost of her funeral, how was I going to find out who she was
The only information I had was that she died 21 September 1941 and buried in Shannon New Zealand so I purchased a death certificate
There are parts of the original death certificate that are quiet hard to read, I have a printout of the original Death certificate
I brought the original from Birth Death Marriages Historical records web site
http://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/home/
For more information on this and many other helpful web sites go to Helpful Web Sites
http://whowasmrsdunn.weebly.com/helpful-web-sites.html
From the death certificate I got the following information
1 Louisa died at 7 St Johns avenue but had been in College street ,the same street Dad remembers her being picked up from
2 Her father was John Wood and her mothers maiden name was Goode
3 She was born in Hartshorn England and had been in New Zealand for 85 years , she was only 3 years old when she arrived in New Zealand
4 Finally her husband was Clark Dunn and they had no children
From these bits of new information I could then look for a marriage certificate for her and Clark Dunn
The original Marriage certificate from Birth Death Marriages Historical records web site
http://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/home/
I have a printout of the original Marriage certificate
The marriage certificate gave me the following information but after looking at it I was more confused than before.
1 Louisa and Clark got married on 30 October 1882 at Moutoa just out of Foxton New Zealand
2 Louisa Wood was 28 years old and from Barton Hertshire England. Her place of birth was spelt different to her death certificate
3 Her mother was Rebecca Wood nee Newman and her father was Joshua Wood On Louisa`s death certificate her mothers maiden name was Goode not Newman
4 Clark Dunn was aged 44 ,16 years older than Louisa he was from Newbury Scotland. His parents were William Dunn and Ellen Dunn nee McLachlan
At this stage I was thinking , why are these things different and which one is correct.
I then found 2 newspaper articles that linked it all together. Both were related to the death of Rebecca Goode nee Wood the wife of Joshua Wood .Her father was Thomas Newman
The first article also gave her address as Moutoa formerly of Barton Hartshorn Manor House England
To look at the original newspaper report go to the following link at Papers Past
http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=MH18910303.2.8&cl=search&srpos=8&e=-------10--1----0rebecca+wood--&st=1
http://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/home/
I have a printout of the original Marriage certificate
The marriage certificate gave me the following information but after looking at it I was more confused than before.
1 Louisa and Clark got married on 30 October 1882 at Moutoa just out of Foxton New Zealand
2 Louisa Wood was 28 years old and from Barton Hertshire England. Her place of birth was spelt different to her death certificate
3 Her mother was Rebecca Wood nee Newman and her father was Joshua Wood On Louisa`s death certificate her mothers maiden name was Goode not Newman
4 Clark Dunn was aged 44 ,16 years older than Louisa he was from Newbury Scotland. His parents were William Dunn and Ellen Dunn nee McLachlan
At this stage I was thinking , why are these things different and which one is correct.
I then found 2 newspaper articles that linked it all together. Both were related to the death of Rebecca Goode nee Wood the wife of Joshua Wood .Her father was Thomas Newman
The first article also gave her address as Moutoa formerly of Barton Hartshorn Manor House England
To look at the original newspaper report go to the following link at Papers Past
http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=MH18910303.2.8&cl=search&srpos=8&e=-------10--1----0rebecca+wood--&st=1
The second article gave a bit more information on Rebecca Wood which included when her husband Joshua died ( about 18 years ago ) and that he was buried in Foxton Cemetery and she was also going to be buried there. This article also included her children
1 Married daughter in England
2 Mrs George Richardson
3 Mrs Clark Dunn
4 Miss Wood and her grandchild Miss Lena Wood
5 John
6 Thomas
7 George
8 Albert
the last 6 of which resided with her at Shannon
The originals are from the Papers Past web site
www.paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
For more information on this and many other helpful web sites go to Helpful Web Sites
http://whowasmrsdunn.weebly.com/helpful-web-sites.html
To look at the original newspaper report go to the following link at Papers Past
http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=MH18910303.2.12&cl=&srpos=0&e=-------10--1----0rebecca+wood--
I now had all the information I needed on Louisa Maria Dunn she was the daughter of Rebecca and Joshua Wood and the wife of Clark Dunn
But did I have all the information ? Why didnt she have enough money to for her burial plot
What did Clark Dunn do for a occupation and was he of means ??
Henry McNeil and Clark Dunn were independent contractors who worked at many road and bridge construction projects during the first two decades of European settlement in New Zealand Clark Dunn’s biggest contract was the construction of the first road through the Manawatu Gorge. Henry McNeil was the contractor who built the first bridge at the Woodville end of the Manawatu Gorge.
In the Wellington Independant newspaper dated 15 November 1866 was a article on The Manawatu Land Sale and it shows that Clark Dunn had purchased 5 sections in the Town of Foxton and a Suburban section at the same auction so by the look of it Clark was a person of means. There were other Dunns in the area but I dont know if they were related to him but if they were he may have purchased them on there behalf
To look at the original newspaper report go to the following link at Papers Past
http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=WI18661115.2.36&cl=search&srpos=39&e=-------10--31----0%22clark+dunn%22--
But did I have all the information ? Why didnt she have enough money to for her burial plot
What did Clark Dunn do for a occupation and was he of means ??
Henry McNeil and Clark Dunn were independent contractors who worked at many road and bridge construction projects during the first two decades of European settlement in New Zealand Clark Dunn’s biggest contract was the construction of the first road through the Manawatu Gorge. Henry McNeil was the contractor who built the first bridge at the Woodville end of the Manawatu Gorge.
In the Wellington Independant newspaper dated 15 November 1866 was a article on The Manawatu Land Sale and it shows that Clark Dunn had purchased 5 sections in the Town of Foxton and a Suburban section at the same auction so by the look of it Clark was a person of means. There were other Dunns in the area but I dont know if they were related to him but if they were he may have purchased them on there behalf
To look at the original newspaper report go to the following link at Papers Past
http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=WI18661115.2.36&cl=search&srpos=39&e=-------10--31----0%22clark+dunn%22--