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Messages - KIWI Susan

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Derry (Londonderry) / Re: Collins family of Longfield, Desertmartin
« on: Saturday 05 March 11 07:31 GMT (UK)  »
Do you have a birth date for John Collins (James Collins/Sarah Ann)
There is little information on death and marriage certs here.   We have had to piece together things from old family stories and guess work.   The German side of the family is very precise.    We didn't even have Christian names  for some.

Our family wins a prize for the slow turnover of generations.....     Thanks again for all your help   Susan

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Derry (Londonderry) / Re: Collins family of Longfield, Desertmartin
« on: Saturday 05 March 11 07:22 GMT (UK)  »
WOw  Thank you Dave.   That is so exciting - We have an extensive family history here that traces the family from the time they arrived in NZ but beyond that no one knows.   I started by looking for my Grandads birth cert and then you find all these snippets of information and you cannot help wondering what happened and why.   This makes us cousins ???  Kai ora Cuz.

James and John came to NZ together
.  Maybe the intention was to bring the rest of the family out later - who knows.   James died in 1913.   He had senile dementia and was buried in Atawhai, Nelson.    I never knew he was there until I recently got his death cert.   I would have visited his grave as many other family members are buried there.

John married my Grandma Ella Annie Pahl (German/English)  their family gave to NZ with the NZ Company in 1842   - They were farming in Tadmor, Nelson NZ.

John and Annie had  Pearl, Iva, Sadie, Nancy, Alexander (who returned to England and RAF during WW!!) and my mother Patricia.   

John Collins is buried in Palmerston North, NZ.


My mother Patricia married Harold Delany (those Irish names keep popping up)
and then there was me   Susan.

I have four children.   3 boys and 1 girl.

If John and James came to NZ to seek gold they would have been a bit late for the goldrush as it was mostly over by the time they arrived.   They survived the great depression here which was a very difficult time.  My mother told me stories of her childhood so maybe they didnt have the option of making it back to Ireland.   John worked very hard on the railways for years.

I have a person - a friend of a friend trying hard to locate Johns birth cert in Ireland.   He was under the impression that Johns birth may not have been registered.   You may be able to help there.

I wondered what happened to Sarah and to the other siblings.  Thank you Thafor your post    Susan

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Derry (Londonderry) / Re: Collins family of Longfield, Desertmartin
« on: Thursday 03 February 11 09:31 GMT (UK)  »
Hi Im back and more confused than ever.  I recieved a copy of Great Grand dads NZ death cert today.  He is buried at Atawhai in Nelson NZ.   However just when I thought I would get some follow up clues there was very little.

He died August 1913 and is listed as being 86 yrs.   Who knows if this was right. This makes his birthdate around 1827.   His occupation is listed as Farmer.   His father was listed as John Collins and his mother christian name is unknown but her maiden name was - and the writing is so terrible its hard to tell Nathenill - does that sound irish ???   It could be Mothenill - the handwriting is that bad.

Then I thought I'd struck gold when I saw the posting   James Collins married Sarah Anne McClorg in Largy Church in 1852.  I got quite excited about this and wrote to the Church who referred me back to the proni website and there are NO Collins's there I can find.  (This could be my bad search skills)

So where was my very elusive grandfather John Collins born beside the obvious and how do I find his birth cert.

It continually puzzles me as to why John and James came to NZ.  This means wife Sarah was either left at home or had died and Johns sister must have stayed at Longfield and possibly married or was deceased.    So somewhere there must be a record of Sarah Anne Collins (Nee  McClorg) dying and being buried and same for Collins sister or being married

John Collins had an one older sister  - she is listed on James death certificate as being 5 years older than John.   Reading the posts I wonder if John was christened John or something else.   The family seen very reticent to give out much information.

What I need to do is find enough information to locate John Collins birth cert.  This seems a very difficult task as I want to travel to the UK for a visit and by  giving my Irish parentage I may be able to stay a bit longer.  My ancestry is very mixed as I have german and polish as well as it would be lovely to have the time to visit some of the places they lived.

Someone told me hire a professional (any one got any recommendations)but I am not sure how you go about this. I did refer this info onto someone in Ireland who said they would find the birth cert but have come up empty handed.

Thanks everyone for all the interesting posts.  I rush in at the end of the day to look at them.    My Uncle visited some Irish relations during the War when he served as a bomber pilot in WW2.   I just remember the stories my mother told.   James and John came seeking gold and NZ did have a gold rush in  1860s.   I would guess they had left Ireland by 1900.
I am not sure were to from here.   

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Derry (Londonderry) / Re: Collins family of Longfield, Desertmartin
« on: Tuesday 01 February 11 10:25 GMT (UK)  »
Thank you.   Now how do I tell which one is which.   Great grandad James Collins died and was buried in NZ.   I have just ordered a copy of his original death certificate.  We hope to find more clues.
  There are anomalies in spelling of the name McClorg between death cert and marriage cert so who knows - possibly it sounded like McClorg.   It could be very different.   We don't even have a year of birth but estimated it from his age at death.   This may not have been correct either.

Is there anyway to find out if these two traveled to NZ.  It is interesting to note John Collins married my grandmother Ella Pahl in NZ.   They had 5 daughters and 1 son.   The second to youngest daughter was named Alexandra.  I thought this was unusual but it may have been a family name.

Thank you again I am still learning to find my way around these websites.   Would John and James Collins have anything to do with Desertmartin.

Is that s farming estate.

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Derry (Londonderry) / Re: Collins family of Longfield, Desertmartin
« on: Tuesday 01 February 11 00:16 GMT (UK)  »
Can you help me I am trying to trace my Grandfather.   His name John Collins.
His father was James Collins His mother Sarah Ann McClorg   We think he was born in Longfield, County Derry around 1867.   We have no birth date.  He came to New Zealand we think as a teenager with his father James.   He married and died in NZ.   
My uncle (now deceased) visited Ireland after the WW2 and said he had siblings that all moved to Canada.    I believe they were Presbyterians.   I would like to obtain his birth certificate if possible but am having a great deal of trouble finding him and the family.   Any info anyone could share or help with would be very much appreciated.

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Derry (Londonderry) / Re: Collins family of Longfield, Desertmartin
« on: Tuesday 01 February 11 00:09 GMT (UK)  »
Quote from: davemaclurg on Saturday 30 January 10 17:56 GMT (UK)
My great grandmother was Mary Collins (1838-1918). She came from Desertmartin. Her Father was John Collins and her mother Mary Witherow. She had brothers James, John and Stuart and a sister Jane.

Does this ring any bells with anyone who can give me further information?

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