Walter Spring (1838 - 1911)

Born 1838 in London, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Husband of Annie (Griffiths) Spring — married 20 Sep 1866 (to 16 May 1875) in Canterbury, New Zealand

Husband of Mary (Cryer) Spring — married 5 Dec 1877 in Southbridge, Canterbury, New Zealand

Descendants

Died 18 Dec 1911 at about age 73 in Canterbury, New Zealand.

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Biography

Walter Spring was born in 1838 in Shoreditch, London, England, the son of Rebecca Squire Spring and Henry Spring.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

He was christened on 15 May 1840 at St Leonards, Shoreditch.^[2]

He married Annie Griffiths in 1866 in New Zealand.^[7] Their children were:

• Blanche Spring (1867–?)^[8]
• Violet Spring (1869–?)^[9]
• Constance Spring (1870–?)^[10]
• Gertrude Spring (1872–?)^[11]

He married Mary Cryer in 1877 in New Zealand.^[12] Their children were:

• May Spring (1879–1899)^[13]
• Russell Walter Spring (1880–1970)^[14]
• Henry Spring (1881–?)^[15]
• Charles Spring (1884–?)^[16]

Walter was a hotelkeeper.^[17] He kept one or two horses.^[17] He also owned a store in Leeston (which he leased to Mr W. Moorehead, a grocer). The store was adjacent to the Leeston hotel, and burnt down in December 1895.^[18]

Walter died on 18 December 1911 at Sumner in New Zealand, aged 74 years.^[6][19][20]

OBITUARY^[6]

MR. WALTER SPRING. By the death of Mr Walter Spring, which took place recently, another of the early pioneers has joined the great majority. Mr Spring was associated with the settlement of Christchurch, and played his part in its opening up seeing many stages of the development of the city and its environs.
Born in London in 1838, he arrived in Lyttelton by the ship Glentanner, in 1857; His first position in Canterbury was that of surveyor's assistant, and as such he helped to lay out the roads in and around Christchurch. In the few years subsequent to his arrival he, like many others, caught the "gold fever”, and went to the Bendigo and other big gold rushes in Australia. He also had a turn at the Gabriel's Gully gold rush in Otago. In 1867 he went to Leeston to manage the Leeston Hotel for the late Mr J. J. Low, subsequently becoming the owner of the property, which he developed into one of the finest country hotels in New Zealand.

Retiring from business in 1892, he came to Christchurch, and lived here quietly until his death. Mr Spring was essentially a sportsman, and was well-known on the New Zealand turf, having raced a number of good horses, under the turf name of W. Russell. Among the many horses he owned at various times, Irish King, The ldler, Silver Queen, Bay King, Carronade, and Magpie carried his colours with conspicuous success. After giving up horse-racing Mr Spring took a keen interest in the sport of cycle racing when it was in its "boom" days, about 10 to 15 years ago, and built the famous track at Leeston which, at that time, was conceded to be one of the best in the world.
Mr Spring was twice married, and leaves grown-up sons and daughters by each marriage. He was, in an unostentatious way, a benevolent man, and respected by those who knew his sterling qualities. Press, 13 January 1912,

Research notes

• Walter's second wife's surname is given as 'Ayers' in her marriage record.^[12]
• In the Press obituary, it states Walter was married twice, and this answers a previous confusion. So there are the two marriages, with first wife Annie dying before he married Mary. 4 children from each marriage.

1841 Census: Hoxton Square, St Leonard Shoreditch, Middlesex, England^[3]

1851 Census: Wapping Wall, Saint Paul Shadwell, Middlesex, England^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ "England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2NHR-L64 : 1 October 2014), Walter Spring, 1838; from "England & Wales Births, 1837-2006," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Birth Registration, Shoreditch, London, England, citing General Register Office, Southport, England.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NLVT-389 : 11 February 2018, Walter Spring, 15 May 1840); citing SAINT LEONARDS,SHOREDITCH,LONDON,ENGLAND, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 396,240, 396,241, 396,242.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} "England and Wales Census, 1841," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MQJP-93Q : 13 December 2017), Walter Spring in household of Henry Spring, St Leonard Shoreditch, Middlesex, 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.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} "England and Wales Census, 1851," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SG51-97P : 24 October 2017), Walter Spring in household of Rebecca Spring, Saint Paul Shadwell, Middlesex, England; citing Saint Paul Shadwell, Middlesex, England, p. 18, from "1851 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO HO 107, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.
5. ↑ "Death record: Walter Spring (73Y). Registration number: 1911/8646." BDM Historical Records NZ. Retrieved 5 May 2018 by Clare Spring from https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/Search.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2} "Obituary." 13 January 1912. Press (New Zealand), p. 10. Retrieved 5 May 2018 by Clare Spring from https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19120113.2.72.
7. ↑ "Marriage record: Registration number: 1866/7264." BDM Historical Records NZ. Retrieved 5 May 2018 by Clare Spring from https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/Search.
8. ↑ "Birth record: Blanche Spring. Registration number: 1867/23667." BDM Historical Records NZ. Retrieved 2 March 2018 by Clare Spring from https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/Search.
9. ↑ "Birth record: Violet Spring. Registration number: 1869/26336." BDM Historical Records NZ. Retrieved 2 March 2018 by Clare Spring from https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/Search.
10. ↑ "Birth record: Constance Spring. Registration number: 1870/28618." BDM Historical Records NZ. Retrieved 18 May 2019 by Clare Spring from https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/Search.
11. ↑ "Birth record: Gertrude Spring. Registration number: 1872/464." BDM Historical Records NZ. Retrieved 2 March 2018 by Clare Spring from https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/Search.
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1} "Marriage record: Registration number: 1877/2686." BDM Historical Records NZ. Retrieved 5 May 2018 by Clare Spring from https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/Search.
13. ↑ "Birth record: May Spring. Registration number: 1879/542." BDM Historical Records NZ. Retrieved 2 March 2018 by Clare Spring from https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/Search.
14. ↑ "Birth record: Russell Walter Spring. Registration number: 1880/11210." BDM Historical Records NZ. Retrieved 2 March 2018 by Clare Spring from https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/Search.
15. ↑ "Birth record: Henry Spring. Registration number: 1881/13092." BDM Historical Records NZ. Retrieved 2 March 2018 by Clare Spring from https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/Search.
16. ↑ "Birth record: Charles Spring. Registration number: 1884/9121." BDM Historical Records NZ. Retrieved 2 March 2018 by Clare Spring from https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/Search.
17. ↑ ^{17.0 17.1} "Rising Fast was "washout" as two-year-old." 20 October 1954. Weekly Times (Melbourne), p. 97. Retrieved 5 May 2018 by Clare Spring from https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/224556246.
18. ↑ "Fire." 5 December 1895. Colonist (Nelson), p. 3. Retrieved 18 May 2019 by Clare Spring from https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TC18951205.2.12.12.
19. ↑ "Death record: Walter Spring. Registration number: 1911/8646." BDM Historical Records NZ. Retrieved 5 May 2018 by Clare Spring from https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/Search.
20. ↑ "Deaths." 19 December 1911. Lyttelton Times, p. 1. Retrieved 5 October 2018 by Clare Spring from https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/LT19111219.2.2.3.