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Hi Carol, unfortunately Johnson has no headstone or any marker.  I've been a couple of times myself to look for it, and there's just nothing there which is disappointing.  Have you had any luck finding any information about his wife Margaret?  Would love to touch base with you again, regarding this line, as I'm getting frustrated with it myself.  All roads seem to lead to nowhere.

My mistake BegClonrode I'm getting confused between the Mary's and Henry's!  Mary Louisa and Henry Ernest (Henry being the son of Henry Dryden and Mary Ann Eagle) are buried/cremated in Wellington.

From the internet I have found information on what I believe to be the other Dryden family

Henry DRYDEN married Mary Ann EAGLE in NZ in 1865. He was from Scotland and she was from Poplar, West London
- Mary Ann died 28 March 1880 aged 35, leaving 5 children
- Henry remarried 14 August 1880 to Frances Sarah McCREDIE (1847-1921)

The 5 known children of Henry Dryden & Mary Ann Eagle:
1866 - 1958 Henry Ernest Dryden
- married Mary Braithwaite
1867 - 1949 Janet Hannah Dryden
- married Alexander Ramsay
1869 - 1953 Alice Mary Dryden
- married Wakeford Cox
1871 - ? Zoe Dryden
- married Percy Simpson
1875 - 1912 Lena Dryden
- Lena did not marry
- she died in Craigielea, Karori, Wellington after a long illness aged 37

Whereas my family is (for definite)

Henry G. Dryden - b. 1850's - d. 20/12/1937
Louisa Elizabeth Wilson -b. 29/7/1859 - d. 13/6/1935
They married 14/11/1879 in Dunedin

Annie Elizabeth - b. 19/11/1879 - d. 7/3/1945
- never married
Henry George - b. 14/12/1882 - d. 8/10/1947
- married Annie Ola Peters and Margaret Moffat
Alfred Ponsford - b. 3/12/1883 - d. 23/3/1884
- never married
Margaret Eva - b.14/5/1885 - d. 7/2/1960
- married Richard Bernard Fowler
Albert Edward - b. 22/10/1886 - d. 31/3/1945
- married Ellen Margaret Morris (a.k.a Eleanor, Lena)
Eleanor Muriel - b. 13/10/1888 - d. 28/11/1918
- never married
Alfred Ponsford - b. 20/8/1890 - d. 11/12/1958
- married Agnes Orr Stephens

I went to the funeral home today and got a printout of what they had on file unfortunately nothing to add.  They also had Henry's mothers name listed as unknown.  They had he was 86 when he died and had spent 75 years in NZ which for me is a guideline and not something I will accept as absolute.

Please bear with me as I trawl through the responses so far as there have been more than I ever expected (which is awesome).  I'm determined to get to the bottom of this mystery

PS: there seems to be no informant on the death printout of who provided the information so I am also considering that 'whoever' provided it may have got confused and John was not the father instead was the grandfather...

I came across that piece the other day Janette but the really tricky thing is there is another Henry Dryden in NZ and he is roughly the same age.  I can safely eliminate the Henry Dryden that was married to Mary Ann Eagle.  They are definitely not my line as they are buried in Wellington.  It makes the research very awkward when I have to be constantly aware of the names of the other Henry's line.

So I'm unsure whether that newspaper article refers to my Henry or the other Henry.  It would've been helpful if  my Henry had a middle name.  I have come across "G" being his middle initial and he has a child called Henry George so there is that thought that Henry Snr might also be Henry George Dryden.

I will list Henry and Louisa's children (in case that leads to some clues)

Annie Elizabeth - b. 19/11/1879 - d. 7/3/1945
Henry George - b. 14/12/1882 - d. 8/10/1947
Alfred Ponsford (Died young) b. 3/12/1883 - d. 23/3/1884
Margaret Eva - b.14/5/1885 - d. 7/2/1960
Albert Edward - b. 22/10/1886 - d. 31/3/1945
Eleanor Muriel - b. 13/10/1888 - d. 28/11/1918
Alfred Ponsford - b. 20/8/1890 - d. 11/12/1958

I have a copy of the marriage printout which is quite basic really.  It says he married Louisa Elizabeth Wilson on 14 November 1879 at the house of Rev Donald Stuart in Dunedin (so unfortunately no church affiliation there).  There is no mention of any other Dryden's.  Witness for the bride is Ellen Wilson (Cumberland St) and witness of the groom Archibald Miller (George St).

Again it lists him as a butcher.

The reason why I thought George and Margaret (Meikle) Dryden were his parents is I had that info that you found Althea that they arrived on the Jura with six children and tracing the census in Scotland there were 5 children listed: John, Thomas, George, Michael and William.  So there was one missing child.  When they arrived in NZ (according to BDM) they went on to have four more: Adam, Alfred, Baby (died young) and Archibald.  I assumed that between the last census (I think in 1851) when only 5 kids were mentioned, Henry may have come along and he wouldn't be recorded. 

But now with the death printout saying his father is John.  The only other option was I was completely on the wrong track and it's a different family.  Or George may have had John as his middle name, or the death cert may be wrong?

I just don't know and it's so frustrating!