George Stanbury (1850 - 1916)

Born 1850 in Okehampton, Devon, England, United Kingdom

Husband of Margaret Caroline (Belcher) Stanbury — married 1878 in Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand

Descendants

Died 22 Aug 1916 at about age 66 in Little River, Banks Peninsula District, Canterbury, New Zealand

Biography

George was born in Devon, the son of John Francis Stanbury and Betsy Dearing.

In 1851, aged one, he was living with

• his mother, Betsy Stanbury (bc1817, Stonemason's wife), and (likely) grandparents,
• Edward Dearing Sr (bc1785, Agicultural Labourer) and
• Ann Dearing (bc1779, Labourer's wife)

George emigrated with members of his family to New Zealand in 1862, spending two years in Christchurch before settling at Little River, Banks Peninsula.

He married Margaret Belcher and they had eleven childen. Children:

1. Alice Maud (Stanbury) Crockett, , 1879-1913
2. Mary Jane (Stanbury) Jones, 1880-1944
3. Francis George Stanbury, 1881-1955
4. Leslie Dearing Stanbury, 1883-1961
5. Theophilus Edward Stanbury, 1885-1943
6. Arthur Gordon Stanbury, 1886-1945
7. Bessie May (Stanbury) Shearman, formerly Line, 1888-1949
8. Stanley Earl Stanbury, 1890-1947
9. Oliver Cromwell Stanbury, 1891-1965
10. Walter Colin Belcher Stanbury, 1896-1982
11. Norman Leonard Stanbury, Feb 1899 - Oct1899

George died in August 1916, three yars after Margaret, and is buried at St Andrews, Little River.

OBITUARY: GEORGE STANBURY.

The death took place at Little River on August 22 of Mr George Stanbury, who had been a resident of the district for the past fifty-two years. Mr Stanbury was born in Devonshire, England, in 1850. He was the eldest son of the late Mr John Francis Stanbury and received his education in a private school. At the age of twelve he came to New Zealand on the ship Mermaid with his parents, and landed in Lyttelton on December 25, 1862. He could remember quite distinctly the time when the neighbourhood of Chrislchurch "was a mass of flas and toitoi." Two years later he went to Little River, and was engaged in sawmiliing and road-making, having formed a large portion of the main Little River-Akaroa road. In 1876 he commenced farming in Little River, and has owned the old homestead of his father for a great number of years and has added considerably to it. Mr Stanbury had one of the oldest and finest Shorthorn dairy herds on Banks Peninsula, which in later years has been carried on by his sons. Breeding only from the best strains his results were always satisfactory, and, in spite of all the new breeds introduced in dairying he was strong advocate of the Shorthorn. His calves never failed to top the market at the Little River annual sale. For the past sixteen years Mr Stanbury had been a director of the Canterbury Co-operative Central Dairy Company, and was also at one time a director of the Little River Town Hall Committee. He always took a keen interest in anything pertaining to the district. He was married in 1878 to Miss Margaret Belcher, of Christchurch, who predeceased him three years ago. He leaves a family of eight sons and three daughters, of whom two sons and two daughters are married.

The funeral, which was an exceptionally large one, took place on Thursday, when the remains were interred in the Anglican cemetery. The Rev C.K. Mules officiated at the graveside. The pall beavers were Messrs J. F. Buchanan, J. O. Coop, F. G. Birdling, J. Joblin, F. Greed and T. Radford, all old residents of the district. Wreaths were received from the following:—Mr and Mrs J. P. Buchanan, Mr and -Mrs J. N. Williams, H. Matson and Company, Mr and Mrs A. E. Birdling, Mrs R. Birdling and family, Mr and Mrs Belcher and family, Mr and Mrs W. Gates, Mr and Mrs J. Joblin, Mr and Mrs J. Johnson, Mr and Mrs Gillman, Mr and Mrs H. Smith. Mr. and Mrs Humphreys, Mr and Mrs Kelly, Mrs Lewthwaite and family, Mrs Vanstone and family, Mr and Mrs H. T. Chapman, and flowers from Mis W. Whatman.

On Sunday a memorial service was held when the vicar referred very sympathetically to the splendid, character of the deceased.^[1]

MR. GEORGE STANBURY, Proprietor of Stockley Farm, was born in Devonshire, England, in 1850, and is a son of the late Mr. John F. Stanbury. He received his education at private schools, and, at the age of twelve landed in company with his parents at Lyttelton. Two years later, the family went to Little River, where the late Mr. Stanbury and his two sons were employed for some years at sawmilling and road making. In 1876, they commenced farming, and, fourteen years afterwards, Mr. Stanbury, senior, died. Mr. George Stanbury bought his brother out in 1891, when he became sole owner of Stockley Farm. Mr. Stanbury is a director of the Little River Creamery. He was married, in 1878, to Miss Margaret Belcher, of Christchurch, and has eight sons and three daughters. (From FindaGrave)

Sources

1. ↑ Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17260, 30 August 1916, Page 10

• Birth: "England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:265V-SL6 : 1 October 2014), George Stanbury, 1850; from "England & Wales Births, 1837-2006," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Birth Registration, Okehampton, Devon, England, citing General Register Office, Southport, England.
• Census 1851: "England and Wales Census, 1851," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SGJH-J1P : 9 November 2019), George Stanbury in household of Edward Dearing Sr, Okehampton, Devon, England; citing Okehampton, Devon, England, p. 11, 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.
• Marriage: https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz New Zealand Births, Deaths & Marriages Online (Digital Database), Department of Internal Affairs] Marriage Registration. Accessed 10 February 2023: 1878/74 Margaret Belcher George Stanbury
• Death: https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz New Zealand Births, Deaths & Marriages Online (Digital Database), Department of Internal Affairs] Death Registration. Accessed 10 February 2023: 1916/6405 Stanbury George 68Y
• Burial: Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 08 February 2021), memorial page for George Stanbury (1850–1916), Find a Grave Memorial no. 166564578, citing Little River Cemetery, Little River, Christchurch City, Canterbury, New Zealand ; Maintained by JjH (contributor 48491654) .