On admission to Gordon Street, Margaret Alice was asked about the baby's father. She stated the father was Hector McNeil, a seaman from SS Triumph. She attended Gordon Street in September 1887, her son, named Albert Hector was born later the same month. She remained at Gordon Street until early 1888.
Hector McNeil (Snr) was a carpenter who lived in Invercargill however, I don't believe he was the father of this particular baby however, Margaret Alice did work for Hector McNeil from April 1884 and she had her first child, Annie, in May 1885 in Lumsden. Unfortunately, she only survived 49 days. He might have been Annie's father but it's doubtful he was the father of Albert Hector. She left Lumsden in approximately 1885 and I can't locate her until Gordon Street in September 1887.
Hector also had a son, Hector McKenzie McNeil who was about 17 when Margaret Alice arrived in Invercargill. So, there are two males, father and son, who could have been the father of her first child. No name has been recorded on either birth registration.
Hector McKenzie McNeil left NZ and the next time I can locate him is when he's living in Melbourne, Australia. I can't find him on any passenger manifest despite working my way through PROV. Working as a seaman he would have had an opportunity to start over in a place nobody knew him. Hector jar died in Melbourne in 1917, two years after his father and Margaret Alice died in tragic circumstances in 1891 in Christchurch, leaving behind her four year old son.
Many thanks for all assistance.
Glenda
