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Hi Alex
I have only recently started looking at geneology. My father did a lot of work on the Welsh family before he died but my older brothers have not been able to lay their hands on the information he collected. I suspect it is at the bottom of a storage box in the attic of one of them! I am researching the Welsh family because it is my name and a relatively unusual name - I hope that means it is easy to trace. I don't know if John Welsh had siblings. I also don't know what year James Welsh (1) migrated to NZ. I do know that he was in NZ in 1883 because he married Charlotte Stevens on 1 August 1883 in Milton, Otago. James (1) and Charlotte had three children: Charlotte (Lottie) followed by James(2) (my grandfather) born 1892 and a third whose name I have forgotten. My father always wondered why my grandfather was reluctant to talk about his parents. He did some research as part of the work I mentioned earlier and found some disturbing facts. It seemed that James (1) abandoned the family after the third child was born. In despair, Charlotte killed herself and the youngest child. My father showed me her death certificate which put it down to 'temporary insanity'. James (2) was raised through his teenage years by his older sister Lottie. James (2) had one child (my father) Rex James Thomas Welsh, born 3 June 1923 in Riverton, Southland. Died 5 December 1999 in Christchurch, Canterbury. Rex and James (2) were both primary school teachers. Rex was in the Royal New Zealand Navy in WW2, serving on the HMNZS Achilles in 1944 and 1945. I believe that James (2) died in 1969 in Invercargill, Southland but I haven't confirmed the date. It is very frustrating to know that my father did so much work and I will put pressure on my brothers to find it all!