John (Benjamin) GORDON Otaki

[spades]

Hi Signal,

Extract from Stowers' New Zealand Medal to Colonials, p.91:

Royal Cavalry Volunteers (also known as) Auckland Cavalry Volunteers, Howick Cavalry Volunteers,
No, 1 and No. 2 Troops, Otahuhu Cavalry Volunteers, Otahuhu Volunteers.

Spades

[SignalHill]

Thanks Spades

Nothing sounding particularly Scottish there

Signal

just minding my Ps & Qs

[LPCarew]

Hello everyone, I first came across this thread about 2 years ago now while in search for my 3rd great grand parents John Gordon & Rina Te Akau (known only as Lena to us at the time) through my 2nd great grandparents Thomas Gordon & Annie Elizabeth Lee. I hope reviving this thread doesn’t bother anyone.

The past 2 years have been quite a journey and it is still continuing but I feel I have collected enough information to contribute in part.

To start, here is my connection without living relatives named.

John Gordon - Rina Te Akau
Thomas Gordon - Annie Elizabeth Lee
Victor Thomas Gordon - Laura G Johnston
Laura Ruth Gordon (Fay) - Clyde Larnach Foster

I want to try and address a couple of things that have been mentioned here, the record of Benjamin Gordon working in Ōtaki is one of John’s sons, I think this was clarified earlier, Thomas, George and Benjamin were John and Rina’s sons. Another is referring to Te Kipihana as brother to Rina Te Akau, I have seen the court record where this is mentioned, but a couple of key things are missing here, they are related but not brother and sister as they share common grandparents or great grandparents (sitting in an airport I can’t quite remember my paperwork for heart), not parents. Key thing to remember is the court documentation of testimony they were speaking te reo Māori and it was being translated, there is a lot of Māori words describing specific relationships based off the gender the speaker and person of subject is which changes the relationship, while the word used does mean brother, it also means cousin which is a term used often for any relation of the same age. I was fortunate enough to be given a copy of the whakapapa showing this.

 Now obviously I followed the information of Thomas having his funeral in Ōtaki and George being in the urupā there so I have been working towards meeting with Ngati Raukawa in Ōtaki as I am relatively confident Thomas is in that same urupā, will see how that goes.

I have just come from the Turnbull archives in Wellington where I looked at the microfiche from the Rangiatea church in Ōtaki, not looking for anything specific, I found a record of Rina Gordon, burried Nov 24th 1891 aged 50. This matches with court records my aunty found listing death for Rina as Nov 20th 1891. I am thinking this gives a high probability of being in the Rangiatea church cemetery or the urupā up the road with George.

John however is a lot harder to pin down, I am hoping my meeting with Ngati Raukawa may provide more info on Rina and also lead to John.

I have collected quite a bit of info over the past couple of years, this is just a rough brief outline while at the airport waiting.

[mikeh55]

John Benjamin Gordon and Rene ("Princess Rene" in the family lore) are my adopted daughter's 3xgreat-grandparents, through their son Thomas Gordon. This is clear from a tree drawn up by my daughter's birth grandmother almost 30 years ago. I am trying to push the tree back beyond Rene Te Akau to help clarify my daughter's iwi affiliations.

My 25 years' family history experience is with UK and German records, so Maori whakapapa is new to me. I have followed this Rootschat thread, have researched Rangiatea church records in the National Library with no luck, and am intending to have a look at Land Court records. I have approached Ngati Raukawa runanga but unfortunately with no response.

However, I do have a very long and detailed whakapapa provided to me by another Te Akau descendant in NZ. She is descended through the Thomas Uppadine Cook/Meretini Te Akau line, and is familiar with Maori tikanga and te reo. However, I can't find names in this whakapapa that would match Rene/Rena Te Akau/Gordon. I seem to be missing a generation that would link Rene/Rena Te Akau and the Te Akau who was married to Hape Ki Tuarangi and then to Te Rauparaha.

I think the missing link is likely descended from Te Akau's relationship to Hape Ki Tuarangi, as the Te Rauparaha line is seemingly very limited. My acquaintance's whakapapa does include Te Kipihana Te Keho (showing as a sibling of Te Akau), whose land went to George Gordon (Te Oti Kotene) and Thomas Gordon (referred to in this thread, and also in the family tree from my daughter's birth grandmother). So it looks tantalisingly like I'm on the right track.

I'd be very grateful if any of you could share material that could help fill the gap. LPCarew looks to have got close last year?

Thanks in advance.

[MaJiCS]

Hi Mike55,

That's interesting to hear your family oral history indicates Rena / Rene was known as "Princess Rene".  We too understand she may have a lineage with mana.

Rena / Rene and the Gordon family are affiliated with Ngāti Kearoa Ngāti Tuara in Horohoro, Rotorua.  We understood she may have been buried in an urupa there however I see from an earlier chat it looks like someone's discovered a death date and possible burial in Ōtaki which is an exciting find I'll look in to further.

My connection to the Gordon Te Akau whānau as follows (not including living relatives as I think this is against the Roots Chat recommendations)

> John & Rena / Rene / Rina / Lena Gordon (Ōtaki)
> George & Georgina Gordon (Ōtaki)
> Emma nee Gordon & Sydney Hill (Taranaki)
> Vincent AKA Snow & Meryl Hill (Auckland) - these are my grandparents

My parents visited Emma Gordon's brother Fred Gordon who lived at Ohinemutu, Rotorua around 1980 who spoke of whānau connection to Horohoro.  Around 2015 my parents and I visited local sites around Rotorua with the kaumatua Eru George who has since passed.  Eru confirmed our Gordon family connection with Ngāti Kearoa, Ngāti Tuara however the links from Rena back are unclear.  George Gordon which I have been told was known as Te Oti Kotene (transliteration of Gordon) is listed with interest to land in Horohoro through Maori land online.

We understand the whānau originally shifted from the Rotorua region to Ōtaki as part of Te Rauparaha migration south which we have been told was due to work and economic scarcity in the Rotorua region early - mid 1800's.

At the time we visited Horohoro there was part of the Gordon family that had returned from Ōtaki to Rotorua and were farming minutes down the road from Kearoa, one of the whānau Marae.  Several years later we visited again with Eru Gorge and more of our whānau and were warmly welcomed on a sunny afternoon and had a picnic lunch on the lawn at Kearoa on Tarewa Road, Horohoro.

My understanding having read numerous Ōtaki Māori land court records is that Rena / Rene describes herself as being Ngāti Tuara in decent.  This side of the whānau connects back generations to a man named Ika (fish) who travelled from Raiatea to Aotearoa on the Arawa waka.

More recently I have met a young woman who's is connected to Ngāti Kearoa Ngāti Tuara and has a father fairly involved with iwi.  I haven't followed this up further at this stage, however are keen to continue pursuing the research to understand the links / connection from Rena / Rina in Otaki back to Horohoro.

Hope this has provided you some useful info in your wero (challenge) to understand some of the whānau whakapapa.

[mattwilson76]

Hi Mike55, I made a big mistake earlier on in this chat and got the wrong TeAkau. Didnt know how to advise moderator to delete the mistake.

My Te Akau, "Riria" TeAkau Whuia was cousin to The "Te Akau" -Te Rauparahas wife who Meretini descends from. I initially got it wrong.
Her brother was Kipihana TeKeho/Whiua , my "Riria" TeAkau Whuia- descends from Kokohu , Te Akau Descends from Kamotu -look at Ngati Kea Ngati Tuara website at children of founding parents . I have proof of this (Riria descending from Kokohu) from document (family tree) found in Otaki Land Court minutes. Riria had a child Rina who had a child Rena (Ellen) documented below.
John Benjamin Gordon 1830-1897 married Rena(Ellen) TeAkau born circa 1835- 1890
children-
Thomas 1869-1920 married  Annie Elizabeth Lee
George 1872-1956 married Georgina Dunn (Done)
Benjamin 1874-1945  married Miria Kahira Rotohiko b1879
I know that George (my descendant) is buried in the Catholic Pukekaraka Cemetery and attended  Pukekaraka Church . I have seen firsthand his grave in that Cemetery, im asuming all the family was Catholic-but could be wrong. Hope this helps.

[spades]

Hi mattwilson76,

If you care to send me a Personal Message (a 'PM') and provide the corrected text/message I'll can edit the post for you.

Regards,

Spades
Moderator

[SignalHill]

Hi Mike
You seem to be kith & Kin with some of my family/whanau/clan
My understanding is that Ngati Raukawa are the iwi which claims Otaki as part of their rohe but Te Rauparaha was definitely not Ngati Raukawa.   He was leader of the Maori who established a multi-tribal marae at Otaki in the early 1800s they travelled south from Kawhia and included various outliers including our Rena (on George's marriage Cert)also/Rina/Lena.   Maori has no "L" so that variant is obviously influenced by English.
Our Rena is accepted as Arawa Ngati Kea-Ngati Ngati Kuara as mentioned above by local Maori who have a more recently established (1930s ?) Marae at the foot of the Horohoro escarpment that is a bit south of Rotorua where Arawa are centred.
We have been told that Te Rauparaha collected various remnants from outlying areas and went south to escape Tainui rampages.
According to my family
For the record Thomas is buried at Pukekaraka (Native-Catholic Cemetery)  Some records of burials are in the small Catholic Church on the town side of the Pukekaraka hill.
Papers Past record
 Evening Post      21 December 1920 Page 8
 OTAKI    (BY TELEGRAPH - SPECIAL TO THE POST.) OTAKI,  This Day.
The funeral of the late Mr. Thomas Gordon took place on Saturday afternoon, when the remains were buried in the Native cemetery. Services were conducted in the church and at the graveside by the Rev. G. F. Petrie, M.A. and the Rev. Temuera Tokoiatua.      [Sat 18 Dec 1920]