George Gould (1823 - 1889)

Born 23 Apr 1823 in Hambledon, Surrey, England

Husband of Hannah (Lewis) Gould — married 1850 (to 22 Sep 1860) in Hanover Square, London, England

Husband of Elizabeth (Lewis) Gould — married 1861 (to 1867) in Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand

Descendants

Died 28 Mar 1889 at age 65 in Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand

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Biography

George Gould was born in England.

George was born in 1823 in Surrey, England.

As a young man he worked for the Great Western Railway Company and was well liked and successful.

George Gould migrated from England to New Zealand.

George Gould lived in Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand.

He married Hannah Lewis in 1850.

In 1850 he emigrated to New Zealand, where he and his new wife Hannah were amongst the early migrants into Wellington in November of that year. However by February the following year, they had made their way further south and arrived by ship in Lyttelton.

It was in their new country that his wife Hannah died on 22 September 1860.

The New Zealand Cyclopedia entry states:

MR. GEORGE GOULD, whose name is a household word in Canterbury, was born at Hambeldon, two miles from Henley-on-the-Thames, in Oxfordshire, England, on the 23rd of April, 1823. In 1850, just after his first marriage, he left England to seek his fortune in New Zealand. He landed first at Auckland, but, shortly afterwards, proceeded to Canterbury, where he remained till his death.^[1]

George Gould built with his own hands a small wooden store and house in Armagh Street in around 1851. It was the first finished house in Christchurch. He commenced his business as a general store, becoming the first business owner in the area, and was joined by Grosvenor Miles in 1855, with the store then being known as Gould and Miles until 1859 when George Gould moved to Cookham House. He provided a much needed service for owners of sheep stations. At one time he was the largest exporter of wool from Canterbury, and he was the first to ship wheat from New Zealand to London.

In his personal qualities, he was known as hardworking, and certainly as a colonist had many an occasion to toil for himself. In addition the Cyclopedia of New Zealand says that "Mr. Gould was a, man of very orderly habits, with a clear and vigorous understanding. He was a singularly calm man, yet prompt and energetic, though never giving way to worry or excitement. As an employer he was well served, for his employees respected and liked him, as he treated them with unvarying frankness and manly fairness..."

Following the death of his first wife, Hannah Lewis, he married his second wife, Elizabeth Lewis, in 1861 in Christchurch. She too died in 1867. With several young children in the family, and one still an infant, George took a new wife in 1870 - Jane Lucas. Seven years later he visited England, for the benefit of his health and, never a strong man, suffered from serious problems until his death.

In his son George's biography at Teara, the New Zealand Encyclopedia, it says he was "one of the Canterbury pioneers of 1850, was a leading landowner and businessman, and a generous benefactor to the city." ^[2]

The Cyclopedia of New Zealand continues its description of Mr Gould's qualities with:

Mr. Gould was a large landowner, and used his ample wealth in the employment of productive labour. He took a prominent part in the promotion of banking, insurance, building societies, and such institutions as the Christchurch Gas Company and the New Zealand Shipping Company. Mr. Gould was essentially a religious man, but was undemonstrative about this religious beliefs. He never took any part in politics, as his deafness prevented him from entering on a political career, though one was open to him at any time. Mr. Gould took a warm interest in all matters affecting the people, but he relied more on moral elevation than on acts of Parliament to improve their condition.

His patronage, voluntary work and general benevolence is then described:

He was for many years an active member of the old Canterbury Education board, and was a generous benefactor to Christ's College. His valuable gifts to the art gallery and the museum are lasting memorials of his liberality in respect to the purposes of those institutions. Mr. Gould's general benevolence was very great, and request for help for a deserving object never met with a refusal from him. He was a good friend to the Christchurch Working Men's Club, not only helping financially, but also by frequent donations of books. Although believing in the necessity and importance of hard work, he recognised the benefit of healthy amusements, and was a liberal patron of manly sports. In him the Agricultural and Pastoral Association had a staunch friend during the days of its early struggles; he helped to free it from debt, and gave many valuable prizes for competition at its shows.

George Gould (senior) passed away in 1889. He is buried in the Barbadoes Cemetery in Christchurch.

Sources

1. ↑ Biography NZ Cyclopedia New Zealand Electronic Text Collection Biographical entry for Mr George Gould published in the Canterbury Provincial District section of the Cyclopedia of New Zealand by The Cyclopedia Company, Limited, 1903, Christchurch
2. ↑ Geoffrey W. Rice. 'Gould, George', first published in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, vol. 4, 1998. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/4g16/gould-george (accessed 13 August 2017)

• Biography NZ Cyclopedia New Zealand Electronic Text Collection Biographical entry for Mr George Gould published in the Canterbury Provincial District section of the Cyclopedia of New Zealand by The Cyclopedia Company, Limited, 1903, Christchurch
• England & Wales Civil Marriage index -FreeBMD. England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837-1915 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Name: George Gould; Registration Year: 1850; Registration Quarter: Apr-May-Jun; Registration district: St George Hanover Square
• New Zealand Marriage Index - Ancestry.com. New Zealand, Marriage Index, 1840-1937 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Name: George Gould; Marriage Year: 1861; Marriage Place: New Zealand; Spouse: Elizabeth Lewis; Folio Number: 61/747
• Tasmania Index to Marriage Notices - Ancestry.com. Tasmania, Australia, Index to Marriage Notices in The Mercury, 1854-1962 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Original data: J & F O’Shea and K & A Whitton, comp. “Indexes to Birth, Death and Marriage Notices.” Tasmanian Family History Society Inc., Hobart Branch. Name: George Gould; Spouse Name: Jane Lucas; Marriage Date: 17 Nov 1870; Other Details: New Zealand; Gender: Male; Publication Date: 23 Jan 1871
• New Zealand Marriage Index - Ancestry.com. New Zealand, Marriage Index, 1840-1937 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Name: George Gould; Marriage Year: 1870; Marriage Place: New Zealand; Spouse: Jane Lucas; Folio Number: 1123
• New Zealand Cemetery Records - Ancestry.com. New Zealand, Cemetery Records, 1800-2007 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Name: George Gould; Birth Date: abt 1823; Death Age: 66; Death Date: 28 Mar 1889; Burial Place: Canterbury, North, Central, New Zealand; Cemetery: Barbadoes
• Australia & New Zealand Find a Grave Index - Ancestry.com. Australia and New Zealand, Find A Grave Index, 1800s-Current [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Name: George Gould; Death Date: 28 Mar 1889; Cemetery: Barbadoes Street Cemetery; Burial or Cremation Place: Christchurch, Christchurch City, Canterbury, New Zealand Memorial # 130265842.
• Family memory and see obituary on the Kings Candlesticks website:

http://www.thekingscandlesticks.com/webs/pedigrees/30103.html and also: http://sites.rootsweb.com/~nzlscant/PGG.htm