Abraham J Hart (1806 - 1886)

Born 13 Oct 1806 in Seighford, Staffordshire, England

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 30 Aug 1886 at age 79 in Para, Marlborough, Picton, New Zealand

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Biography

Abraham was born in 1806. He was the son of Thomas Hart and Elizabeth Unknown. In 1841, he emigrated to New Zealand with his wife and a daughter Mary Ann, who died during the voyage. A son William was born during the voyage. They travelled with Abraham's brother Richard and his family. They sailed on the ship Lord Auckland, departing on 21 September 1841 and arriving at Nelson on 7 February 1842. He passed away on 30 August 1886 at Para, Malborough (near Koromiko, south of Picton), aged 79. He was buried at Picton Cemetery. =========================================================== Exerts from Book, "Abraham and Lucy Hart: Their Lives," By Joyce E. Neill (Privately Printed in New Zealand, 1981). [At the time of his Marriage] Abraham was thirty-two, having been born at Seighford, a village outside Stafford, on 5 October 1806. Abraham's Forgate Street, which is shown on the Old John Speed Map of Stafford, is now an Import-ant thoroughfare leading from the North, past the old site of the Northgate into the city... [Poverty of his parent's family] Created the need for Abraham to commence working in a Pottery Factory at the age of about seven. His wages helped to feed the numerous members of the large family, who survived babyhood, including himself....After their Marriage, the young couple, settled into a house in Sandon Road [in Stafford], and they remained at that address until they left England for New Zealand, two and a half years later.... [After arriving in Nelson], the Company's Staff was kept busy, laying out the town sections [and] Private Surveyors were employed in the Country, and that is how Abraham Hart, as an employee of Mr. Barnicoat, began work in the Waimea Valley....Abraham and Lucy lived in Nelson [area], from the time they landed there in 1842, until they followed their sons John and Henry, to Wairau in 1867.. If the boys preferred the Wairau, there was nothing to keep any of them in Richmond. Lucy would never accept that they must remain a divided family....There is no way of knowing if the Hart Cottage, on the tail end of a Koromiko Ridge, was built for his family or was already there .... With the house, Abraham purchased something less than a hectare of land around it..... Abraham was over sixty years old now; he had spent many years, doing hard slogging in a Survey Team, and always had enough work to keep him busy.... He still had two hectares of land at Richmond, and for a time the family were to make, infrequent trips back there to keep it cultivated, and gather the harvest.....As soon as they were settled into their Koromiko home, Schooling had to be considered. The children of this family left school at twelve years of age, and they were expected to have passed out of the sixth standed by then... The building and opening of the first public school at Koromiko, resulted from the agitation for something better [than the previous private school available there]... Abraham did not ever learn to read, and until the end of his life Lucy, or his daughter-in-law, read the daily papers to him, and he signed all documents with his mark....It is difficult to fit into the picture, of Abraham his part in the establishment of a Brewery, but this was so, and it was registered in the name of "Hart Bros." It was housed in a shed [on his land]. On Okaramio, there are two reminders of Abraham's activities ... Both of these pieces of equipment, The Jack Plane and The Dock Puller, came out to New Zealand on the Lord Auckland with Abraham......When he went to his final rest on 30 Aug 1886, it had been eighty years since he had been baptized at St. Chad's Church, Seighford. He had found a good life in this country: a healthy life and one that suited his disposition. =============================================== Note: Information was furnished by John Catley to R.S.Hall in letter dated 9 Feb 2008, Providing data from Records of the Civil Registration System : Death : Registration Page #1287, 1886, Picton. ================================================ EMIGRATION OF ABRAHAM AND RICHARD HART Emmigration of Abraham and Richard Hart Families to New Zealand [Based on data in Joyce E. Neill's Book and information from several websites] After the treaty of Waitanga, giving sovereignty over New Zealand to Britain, was signed by most of the Maori Chiefs in 1840, Immigration Schemes began. The New Zealand Company in London planned to bring Settlers to a location named Nelson, and the Company's Agents began seeking, Married, qualified applicants. Abraham and Richard Hart, brothers, born in Seighford, Stafford- shire, were accepted as applicants to emigrate to New Zealand. The two families travelled to New Zealand on the ship Lord Auckland, under Captain Jardine, and the voyage down the Thames River from Gravesend began on 25 Sep 1841. Life for the passengers in crowded steerage, was difficult during the long voyage. This ship sailed into Port Nicholson, New Zealand, on 7 Feb 1842. The company had selected as the site of the New Settlement of Nelson, a location on Tasman Bay at the Northern tip of the South Island, and the Lord Auckland sailed into Nelson Harbor and anchored on 17 Feb 1842. Settlers from other ships chartered by the New Zealand Company had arrived earlier. Abraham and Richard Hart, erected brush huts as temporary housing for their families. The major draw back to the location of the New Settlement, is that it did not have enough arable land. The Company had purchased the site from the Maori People, but the exact area was not clarified in the purchase arrange- ments and this led to disputes with the Maoris. Abraham Hart went with a Surveying Team to an area given the name of Waimea West. Abraham Hart had settled in Waimea East. Later Abraham and Richard were in the same Neighboorhood in Richmond. The representatives of the New Zealand Company claimed that the purchase from the Maori Tribes included farming land in Wairau Valley, but the Maoris did not agree. This led to a confrontation between the Nelson Settlers and the Maoris, resulting in the deaths of some 36 Settlers. Fortunately, Abraham Hart was away at the time, and so was not involved. The claims of the Maoris were subsequently upheld by a Govern- ment Inquiry. The lack of Capital and lack of land for farming led to a depression and hardship for the Settlers during the next few years, and many immigrants moved away.

Sources

• Passenger List via rootsweb, Lord Auckland, sailed West India Docks 21 September 1841, arrived Nelson 7 February 1842; Emigrants include Abraham Hart, 34, Ag Labourer; Lucy Hart, 23; Mary Ann Hart, 1; Son, born at sea; also his brother's family: Richard Hart, 32, Ag Labourer; Sarah Hart, 29; William Hart, 1 month.
• New Zealand Births, Deaths and Marriages search for death reg., 1886/3962, death of Abraham Hart, age 79Y, date of death 30 August 1886 [adjust search dates to verify.]
• Marlborough Express, 31 August 1886, Page 2, Death via Papers Past, death on 30 August at Para, Abraham Hart, aged 80; funeral leaving for the Picton Cemetery on Thursday.
• Colonist, 6 September 1886, Page 3, Deaths via Papers Past, death on 30 August [1886] at Para, Marlborough, Abraham Hart, aged 80; came to Nelson in the ship Lord Auckland over 40 years ago.
• Selwyn Love, firsthand knowledge. Click the Changes tab for the details of edits by Selwyn and others.

Research Notes

• John Hart, who resided at Para and Koromiko, was apparently a son. One of his sons was named Abraham John Hart.