William Williams from Wales to New Zealand

From Newport / Cardiff area in Wales, to Hawera / Cardiff Taranaki New Zealand.
A Brief History of the family of William Williams and his wife Mary Griffith.

William Williams, born 12 Jun 1809 in the South East of Wales, probably around Carmarthen, married Mary Griffith, who was born around the same area March1810.
They married in Llanelly, a bit to the West, on 27 June 1827. Mary’s family seems to have been based around Llanelly.

William is recorded on his children’s baptism records as a labourer, and had to move around to find work, however they seem to be mainly based around Marshfield between Cardiff and Newport. Mary’s mother was born in the area (Monmouth)

They had seven children around the area. (a family tree is here on Ancestry) (William, Mary)

• William II Oct 1829 died Feb 1914 in Patea, Taranaki, New Zealand -( William II in tree )
• Thomas – Jul 1831 died in Australia – (Thomas in tree)
• Amy – March 1833 Died July 1914 Melbourne Victoria Australia – (Amy in tree)
• Daniel – Feb 1835 – (Daniel in tree)
• Mary Ann – Sep 1837 – (Mary Ann in tree)
• Edward – 24 Nov 1839 died 22 April 1841 – (Edward in tree)
• Cadivor – May 1841 Died at sea July 1841 – (Cadivor in tree)

Son Edward died at around 1.5 year old around April 1841, his death being recorded in June as being in Llanelly.

On 22 June 1841, at the age of 32 and 31 William and Mary left Wales with the family of 6 children and sailed the four month trip to New Zealand on the clipper ship Oriental. (writeup here)

William was probably employed to cook on the trip, but after several weeks it became obvious that he had TB and it was not safe for him to continue or he was unable to.
He either died on board, or within two weeks after landing in Wellington New Zealand.

Edward’s death in April must have been only weeks before they left, or could have been the catalyst for the move.
If they were in Llanelly, they were probably preparing for the trip that would have had to have been planned months earlier. Perhaps spending last days with parents.
(Mary’s parents Thomas Williams and Mary Evans, William’s parents William Williams and Catherine Phillip who both died in Llanelly.)

Son Cadivor, who was only weeks old when the boarded the ship, died at 10 weeks old on 27 July 1841 on board.

While the rest of the family remained in Wellington, 12 year old William II travelled on the ship, with Mr Brown, to New Plymouth.

William II established himself around New Plymouth, Hawera, Cardiff Taranaki New Zealand. Its not clear what happen in the early years, worked as a blacksmith and later he established a blacksmith shop in Patea.
He married Rebecca Bryan in Wellington in 1853, and had eight children, the second being William Williams III.

He was conscripted into the Wellington Militia in 1860, for the maori wars. It seems he shoed horses for the soldiers until 1867.

His mother Mary, remarried Robert Rose in 1847, who had lost his first wife. They had one son, Robert James Rose, who was born in 1850, but died young at 25 in 1875.
Unfortunately Robert Rose died in 1888, and some time between 1853 and 1888 Mary moved to Australia (Ballarat / Bendigo Victoria), to join her daughter Amy who by then had changed her name to Amy Rose, and later married John Cail.

Daniel Williams, son of William Williams

Thomas Williams

Thomas married Hannah Harris, had a daughter in Wellington in 1855 then moved to Australia where he had another daughter in Ballarat Victoria in 1857.

William II lived with them in Upper Hut, Wellington, until most of the family except William II went to Sydney, or the gold rush in Ballarat Victoria Australia by 1861.

Amy (Rose) Williams

Amy married John Cail in Wellington in 1851, they had a daughter in Wellington, then moved to Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, around 1853, where they had Eleven more children.

Daniel

Daniel Williams

Mary Ann

Mary Ann married James Alfred Baylis in New Zealand in 1863 and had a son James.
She died in Woodville Whanganui, New Zealand in 1909.