Immigration - Duckworth

[tongariro]

Hello folks.
I wonder if anyone can help with information on the arrival and departure of an Elizabeth Jane Duckworth in New Zealand.
She apparently departed London on November 2nd 1902 (the ship was probably s.s. 'Britannia') - destination was Wellington.  She was accompanied by her 2 children - Robert aged 3 and Eveline aged 9 months, but no husband.
She was back in England (and back with her husband) on the 1911 census.  I wonder if there are any records of her departure from New Zealand.  There seems to be some 'folk memory' of the child Robert going to school in New Zealand, so they must have been there a 5 or 6 years at least.
Any helpwould be appreciated.  Thank you.
Malcolm

[Lucy2]

Hi Malcolm

You haven't given us Elizabeth's age (or year of birth) ?   
[It's just that some of the information on these passenger lists, can be rather sparse - e.g. just listed as "Mrs Duckworth" - children shown as " aged between 1 & 12 years"  ... so every little bit of extra info, can often be of help. ]   

Never mind ... I looked up the 1902 voyage to Wellington per "Britannia" which gave >

Mrs. E. DUCKWORTH - 27 years - bc 1875 and children - Robert (3) and Eveline (1)

-------------------

As for a return to the UK - prior to 1911, nothing immediately jumps out on the lists (- I searched for Elizabeth / Mrs E. DUCKWORTH etc  ... and under the names and y.o.b.'s of her children. )   

>   Any idea why Elizabeth and children might have come to NZ ?

>   What of Elizabeth's husband ?   ( Can we have his name, please ?  )   

>   Was his occupation such that he may have travelled overseas for work?   Perhaps going ahead of his wife and children ?

   ~ Lu

[Lucy2]

Hi again Malcolm

I wonder if this is Elizabeth and her children ... with husband/father.   

Per "Seydlitz"  (from Australia) - 1907

Listed as embarking at Sydney >

Mr R. DUCKWORTH - occupation:  Engineer
Mrs DUCKWORTH
Miss DUCKWORTH and Master DUCKWORTH (children aged between 1 and 12 years )

[Note:  No ages given for adults ]

The "Seydlitz" arrived at Southampton on 23 October 1907.

   ~  Lu

[tongariro]

Hi Lu.
Thanks for your reply.
As you have gathered, Elizabeth was 27 when she left the UK.  She apparently left her husband (Robert) in the UK and took her infant children with her (Eveline aged just 9 months).  Robert was a weaver in the Lancashire cotton mills.  It may be that she ran away, or just told him she was leaving. There is a faint suspicion that she travelled with a 35 year old Thomas Craven!

It is a bit of a mystery because she obviously returned back to UK and was back with husband Robert in 1911 - at a different address to 1901 (before she left).  There were no more children added to the marriage!  I don't hope to find where she was in NZ, but I wondered if there was a record anywhere of her embarkation back to the UK.

Your second submission (R Duckworth from Sydney) looked interesting, but Robert was not an engineer.  Thanks for helping.
Malcolm

We have no information as to where she lived in NZ, or how she earned a living.  She had worked in the mills as a cotton winder at the age of 16 (Her father was a mill manager).

[Lucy2]

Hi Malcolm

Mmm ... an interesting tale. 

Re:  husband Robert ... he was still listed as a "weaver" in 1911, was he ?

Yes, the 1907 DUCKWORTH family from Sydney to UK are probably not yours, though will say that the term "engineer" was often used by those who didn't neccessarily have an actual "engineering" qualification.   (A bit like ag.labs. / farmers etc. who fancied themselves as "veterinary surgeons"). 

I'll see if I can find anything else for you.

   ~  Lu

[tongariro]

Hi again, Lu.

I think I have solved the dilemma and it is not at all what I initially thought!  I now believe that the 1907 Duckworth family from Sydney to the UK were the right ones.  Please don't spend any more time on it - unless it is posible to find a John & Rebecca Eaton in NZ after their arrival in Wellington in mid-1901, both aged about 30 at the time, with a 1 year old called William.  I don't know if they lived in Wellington or elsewhere.

It is now 2 in the morning in the UK so it is long past my bedtime.  If you want the details of what I now belive to be the story, let me know and I will give you a summary.  [I am doing this research for a friend's elderly mother who has always wondered about the NZ story which seemed to be a 'big secret'].

Malcolm

[Lucy2]

 There is a faint suspicion that she travelled with a 35 year old Thomas Craven!

Well there is a "Thos. (Thomas) CRAVEN - Labourer - aged 32" (not 35) - on the "Britannia" 1902 list.   His passenger contract number (01744) is next in sequence to that of the DUCKWORK family group (01743)  ... if that has any meaning ?  [Other passengers on same page have numbers which are quite different. ]

>   Was there a Thomas CRAVEN living nearby to Elizabeth DUCKWORK in 1901 ?

   ~  Lu

[Lucy2]

Hi Malcolm

  ... our posts just crossed.   

If you want the details of what I now belive to be the story, let me know and I will give you a summary. 

Glad you've made some progress with DUCKWORTH. 

Yeah, sure would like to know the story     (but tomorrow's okay ... grab your beauty sleep first.) 

I'll take a look for your EATON family too.

   ~ Lu

[PS - just curious ?? -  with a wonderful name like "Tongariro" -- are you an ex-pat KIWI  ?? ]

[spades]

Hi Tongariro,

I think we'd all like to know what happened! Sounds like you have a fascinating story to tell.

Spades