Monday, September 23, 2024
Monday, August 21, 2023
Robert Gibb Warren 1876- 1965
Robert Gibb Warren was my great grandfather.
He was born 29 October 1876 in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand, to parents Vallance Gibb Warren and Mary Warren (nee Gibb).
Robert was the seventh child of Mary & William's 14 children. The family lived in Great King street with dad William working at first Joel's brewery, then the Red Lion brewery and later at McGavin's brewery.
DNA: Big Y 700 haplogroup for the Warren men is R-FT28793. This is the terminal branch downstream from subclade U152, which is a branch of R-M269. We currently have no matches at this granular level.
Line of descent: Me, Dad, Val, Robert Gibb Warren.
Tuesday, February 1, 2022
Monday, January 31, 2022
Elijah Caldecoat 1846 - 1888
Elijah Caldecoat was my great, great grandfather.
He was born in Cambridgeshire, the son of Jane nee Hazell and ?
We had thought that his father was John Caldecoat (1803-1837) but not so.
Another John Caldecoat had died in Royston1846 and I assumed him to be Elijah's father, but another Caldecoat researcher obtained this death cert and it's an older man. Some of Elijah's older siblings are the children of Jane and John Caldecoat, but any born after 1937 probably have a different father. The dna points to a possible Romany gypsy connection but that's not definite.
Elijah traveled to Australia with his mother, step-father and siblings in 1854 and they settled in Ballarat, Victoria.
Elijah married Catherine Warren in 1880 and their son (John Elijah) was born, and sadly died an infant in 1881. Their daughter Mary Evelyn was born 1883 and sadly Catherine died soon after.
Elijah then married widow Emma Nicholas (nee Harvey) in 1888, but tragically he died in November that year.
Thursday, January 27, 2022
Mary Evelyn Caldecoat 1883 - 1968
Mary Evelyn Caldecoat was my great-grandmother.
She was born in Ballarat, Australia in 1883 to parents Elijah Caldecoat and Catherine (nee Warren). Sadly her mother died not long after she was born. Her brother John Elijah Caldecoat had died as a baby in 1881.
Mary Evelyn with son Val in their strawberry field, Wakari, Dunedin.
Mary died in 1968 in Fulton Home, Dunedin. I remember visiting her there in her last years.
Line of descent: Me - Dad - Val - Mary Evelyn & Robert
Robert Gibb Warren and Mary Evelyn Caldecoat
My paternal great-grandparents (father of Val) were Robert Gibb Warren and Mary Evelyn Caldecoat.
Robert was born in Dunedin 1876 and died 1965 in Dunedin, NZ.
Mary was born in Ballarat, Australia 1883 and died in Dunedin 1968.
They were actually first cousins! Mary had come from Australia to help look after another cousin's children and met Robert then. They married in 1911 and had 2 children: my grandfather Val, and his sister Olive.
Baby Val born 1912
Robert and Mary (aka Granny and Gar) were good people. Robert worked as a gardener and in retirement enjoyed fishing and his garden which included fruit trees. He was a top billiards and snooker player. They lived in Wakari, Dunedin then later in Waikouaiti, their oldest grandchildren living with them for a time.
Mary kept house and was a good cook, she was a quiet, gentle soul.
Line of descent: me - Dad - Val - Robert & Mary
Monday, January 24, 2022
Vallance Gibb Warren 1912 - 2002
My paternal grandfather was Vallance Gibb Warren, known as Val to friends and family. To his grandchildren, he was our much loved 'Pop'.
He was born 10-11-12 in Dunedin, NZ to parents Robert Gibb Warren and Mary Evelyn Caldecoat. His full birth name was actually Vallance Thorold Gibb Warren, but he dropped the Thorold later on. Also, he wasn't a fan of surnames-as-first-names which is what Vallance and Gibb were, being family names which had come down through the family.
Val grew up in Dunedin, living at Upper Junction then later, Wakari where he attended Wakari school.
As a young chap he enjoyed cycling, with day trips down South to Henley and even further afield.
He worked in a local Hardware store Thompson, Bridger & Co. in Princes st.
He married Freda nee Hargreaves in 1937 and together they had 3 children. Their last child Janet, born 1942, sadly only lived one day.
Val played piano and piano accordion. He even had his own dance band - The New Century Dance Band.
In 1943 Val joined the RAF and spent time in Hobsonville, NZ then Winnipeg, Canada training as a wireless operator, although ultimately he did not see active service in WW2. He enjoyed his time training and the friendly cameraderie of his mates. One good friend was Jack Summers from Oamaru. He was discharged in Sept 1945. Click to enlarge pics.
Training in NZ (snaps from Pop's album)
Val and first wife Freda separated soon after the war, with Freda moving away in 1945. They divorced in 1948. At this time Val and his young son and daughter lived in Waikouaiti with his parents. They later moved back into Dunedin where Val met another Freda (Freda Cairney nee Roberts) a war widow with one daughter. I believe he was a taxi driver at this time, driving a big green Dodge. Val and Freda (2) married and later had a son. A blended family, they then lived above their shop - the Dundas corner dairy.
In the 1950s Nana and Pop moved to Bayview rd, Pop (Val) by this time working for Fletcher's Hardware store where he was a manager. The store moved to Anzac ave at some stage. Val retired in 1972 and he and Nana built a new home in Alexandra and moved there. I remember Christmas dinners with all the family, cousins at Bayview rd, and summer holidays at the new place in Alexandra. Summer fun in the Central Otago sunshine. We would all go to the Oamakau races in the New Year, having a picnic in the shade of the trees. We kids would cadge money from our parents for an iceblock or cool drink while the adults placed bets on the horses.
Val enjoyed playing pool and even built some pool tables. He later played golf and lawn bowls. He was a great gardener. They moved to a pensioner flat, then a rest home in Timaru in the 1990s. Pop died of a stroke in 2002 at age 89. He was a nice, fairly quiet man who loved his family and enjoyed the company of his mates. He had a twinkle in his eye and a hint of mischief about him. I was so sorry to miss his funeral due to a heavy snowfall closing the roads.
Wednesday, April 10, 2019
Alexander Kinloch 1832 - 1908
His parents were James Kinloch (1798 - 1882) and Christina Prentice (1804 - 1838)
Parents of James were Henry Kinloch and Isobel Sommers (Symers)
Parents of Christina were ?? Robert Prentice and Agnes Hamilton (still researching)
Line of descent: Me, Dad, Freda, George (or Henry), Alexander
Tuesday, April 9, 2019
Margaret Ewan 1820 - 1906
Margaret was born in Cluny, Aberdeenshire, Scotland in November 1820.
Her parents were William Ewan and Helen (Nellie) nee Murray. Her siblings were Ann, Jane and William.
William Ewan (father) 1775? - 1840
Helen Murray (mother) 1786 - 1862
Margaret's first child was Helen Morgan born 1848. Margaret was not married to the child's father William Morgan. Margaret later married William Rennie in 1851 and they had six children: Margaret, Ann, Jane, Alexander, William and George. The family emigrated to New Zealand in 1867.
Line of descent: Me - Dad - Freda - Henry or George Kinloch - Helen Morgan - Margaret Ewan