Three photos from the Joyce side

These three photos came courtesy of Eileen, who is the daughter of John Milliman James Joyce.

This photo shows Miliman, James, Flora (my grandmother), Arthur and Hester.

(There seems to be some ongoing confusion as to how Milliman is spelt!)





This is James Joyce. I presume it's the James in the photo above, rather than the James Joyce senior, who is virtually the top of the list in the tree at the moment.













These are James Samuel Joyce and Arthur Joyce when young (obviously!)

Three bits of family tree news

Just over a week or so, I received an email from a Tim Hannagan, who'd come across the family tree. He isn't Brian and Suzanne's son, but a member of the family down a different line altogether - but still connected by my great great grandfather. John DeCourcy's list turned out to have his father and grandparents on it, so I was able to include them all on the family tree online.

And then Mark Hannagan (Terry's son) wrote to me today - I hadn't heard from him in a long time, possibly not since he was living in Dunedin with his family. He gave me some details about his children's birthdates and names, because he'd found the family tree online as well.

And then I happened to check the Connections part of the family tree online and found that Anne Rogers' niece has a family tree on Tribalpages as well, and she is doing the Joyce side of things. Furthermore, she's sent me three pictures that we don't have, which I'll upload in due course.

Charles and Flora

These two photos have been joined together at some point. I think the one of Charles is more recent than the one of Flora, as in the football photo below, he appears to be younger altogether. (He's second from the left, front row, in case you miss him!)

Note that this appears to be a football club, rather than a rugby club.  The letters on the ball are CB FC, which I presume means Christian Brothers Football Club - though I could be wrong.

Flora Hannagan and Michael

Taken in the kitchen at Stanley St. A rare photo of Nan (Grandma Hannagan, as I think she was known to some of you) smiling!

Note the clothes hanging on the rack above the coal range - my memory of Nan is of her sitting almost permanently by this range, cooking or drying or working at something. I'm sure she moved sometimes, but this was her 'home.'













Yours truly getting in the photo as always. (Rather like his younger son in later years.)




Click on the photos for larger versions.

Joe

This photo has survived for some 90 years. On the back is written:
With Best Wishes & Kind Remembrances, From Yours Truly, Joe.

Someone else has added: Derry Farm, Ranfurly, 11-4-18

I don't think this is a family member - certainly not the Uncle Joe from the Hannagan side - but someone might still remember who he was and what happened to him.

Two group photos

From left to right:
Ray DeCourcy, Frances Rooney, Jack Hannagan, Monica Stokes, Kevin DeCourcy, Pat Crowl, Tony DeCourcy, Kath Wilson.










The same people with spouses - though they're not necessarily standing with the right people.



Click on the photo for a bigger version.

Thomas and Hester

I found this photo amongst my mother's collection, which we're just having another sort through. It's Milliman Thomas Joyce and his wife, Hester, nee Harwood.

Typically, they're taking the occasion very seriously, particularly Hester, whose voluminous dress hides her figure almost completely.

Wanderers Return

Some of you may have been following the Crowls' exploits overseas on the Travel Diary.
For those who haven't, we're now back in Dunedin, and happy to be home. Our time away was starting to get just a bit too long, so we came home about ten days earlier than planned.
We had a great time away, with a few ups and downs thrown in, but all in all it was worth doing, and certainly gave us a chance to get to know some of the younger members of the Goodson clan (Celia's family), most of whom we hadn't seen since our wedding, when they were all children. And we met their children as well, and can now put names and personalities to the faces.

Martin John Hannagan

I’ve just discovered that I’ve had the following piece of information in one of my folders for some time. It comes courtesy of John deCourcy, who now lives in Australia, and is part of a family tree he was compiling at the time.

This photo, taken from The Border Watch, Mt Gambier, of Thursday 2 June 1983, is from their ‘70 years ago’ history section and shows (in the top hat) Martin John Hannagan, who died in 1913, following a prominent career as a local businessman. His obituary, from page 3 of the Wed June 4, 1913, edition of the same paper, notes:

‘Mr Hannagan was a native of Melbourne, where he was born in 1856. In his boyhood he emigrated to New Zealand with his parents and remained there for some 10 or 12 years, and learned the tailoring trade.
Then he went to Melbourne, where he was for many years manager of the business of Hollands, tailors and outfitters. He was married there to Miss Eliza Beggs.
After coming to Mount Gambier he was for some years in the employ of Messrs Rowan and Gaillard.
“Dad”, as he was familiarly called, was of a genial and liberal disposition, and his dignified figure will be missed in the streets. He was a PCR of the Ancient Order of Foresters, having passed through the chairs in Melbourne. He leaves a widow and a family of nine – four sons and five daughters. Mr Frank Hannagan, of Messrs Cameron and Helpman, of this town, is one of his sons. Messrs James and Walter announce the funeral for this afternoon.’


At present, on the Hannagan Family Tree, you'll note there are no details of Martin's family. I should be able to rectify this soon.

Thomas Milliman Joyce turns up...

Earlier this year, one of the librarians at the Dunedin Public Library wrote to me, in reponse to an enquiry I'd made about Thomas Milliman Joyce. I've mentioned this previously in this blog. I've finally received the piece of paper from NZ and here's what's printed on it. Note that Thomas Milliman Joyce has got his name around the wrong way, which might account for some of the confusion about where he was and so on.

Summary of information on Lee Stream and Traquair P.O.s

Lee Stream, from the beginning of the settlement, lay on one of the routes used by horsemen riding to inland sheep runs, and is said to have had an accommodation house of sorts as early as 1858. its importance increased rapidly when much of the same route was used by the miners going first to the West Otago rushes after mid-1861 and then to the Dunstan the following year.

Robert and Elizabeth Simmers, who had been living in Melbourne, crossed the Tasman in April 1862 with three young children, and built the long stone building which was to serve as the Lee Stream general store, with a ‘bush licence,’ during the following years.

Although mail passed this way at various times in the early years, Lee Stream did not itself become a post office until October 1, 1876; and for many years thereafter the post office operated in conjunction with the store and hotel, and either form the building that Simmers had erected, or, possibly, from a lean-to attached.

These are the early postmasters recorded on John Slattery’s cards, and all are verified as publicans from directories and other sources:

Jane Snow, from October 1, 1876

William Wallace, July 1, 1882, (then the Carrier Arms Hotel)

Henry Phillips, April 1, 1887

D. McDermid, July 1, 1889

P. Ferguson, September 1, 1891

John McEwan, April 1, 1894.

Whether the list is complete is not certain. A William Nicholson, who appears in Stone’s [Directory] as a publican, for instance, does not appear on Slattery’s list of postmasters; and the complete list of ownerships and leases of the pub has not yet been established by those researching it.

On May 24, 1895, the post office temporarily closed for a period of approximately ten weeks. This may have coincided with a fire in the pub which took place about this time. The Post Office reopened on August 2, 1895, and as the next Post Master was the publican, it presumably reopened at the store by the hotel.

Thomas Joyce Milliman, August 2, 1895

Mary Johnston, May 25, 1896

John Wellman, June 1, 1898

James Borthwick, February 14, 1899

Once again it is not certain whether the list is all inclusive.

Pat O'Flaherty, Des Stokes and the Crowls

I know it’s been sometime since I wrote anything on the Hannagan blog. It’s not because I haven’t wanted to but because I’m in England with Celia, and we’re a bit out of contact with our NZ rellies, for the most part.
However today we went to visit Pat O’Flaherty (and Miriam) at their Ketton Christmas Tree place. It’s a ten acre block, not entirely covered with Christmas trees, with a 120-year-old house they’ve been doing up and various large outbuildings. Pat wasn’t home when we arrived, so fortunately we took a bit of time to have a cup of coffee from our onboard supply. By the time we’d finished, she arrived. And furthermore, she told us that Des Stokes was riding back on a bicycle! It was only the hottest day we’ve had so far, so we expected him to arrive in a lather of sweat, but nope: he looked as fresh as a daisy, and not at all hot and bothered. I’d forgotten - or hadn’t realised - he was staying with Pat while he was over here, so it was great timing to have been there when he was. He’s off on the Continent for a week about the same time we go to Luxembourg, but I don’t think we’ll run into him over there.
Pat filled me in a bit on Terry O’Flaherty, about whom I haven’t heard a thing for years. He’s in Perth, and his wife died when she was forty, leaving him to bring up two daughters, who are now in their late teens. He’s been very unwell himself in the last few years, but currently is okay. I haven’t seen him since was a teenager himself - at Jack Hannagan’s wedding. Terry, Jack’s bigger brother, took Terry O’Flaherty and me out for something to eat between the wedding and the reception. And I couldn’t eat whatever was put before me, for some reason.
Pat will probably growl at me for publishing a photo of her - since we nearly didn't get one of her at all - but it was a somewhat historic occasion!

The last episode from Daphne's Trip

I said in my last report I had no idea of what was happening on the last night in Poland apart from the fact that we were going out to dinner together. It was such a surprising evening. We were taken to a very ethnic restaurant - in fact it was like going back in time. We were the only people there and we were entertained with Polish song and dance. It was such a lovely evening and we were all sad when it came to an end. That evening back in the hotel and again the following morning there were many fond farewells from all the people we had been with over those 2 weeks, a number of whom were there for the same reason as us, to go back to their roots. There were actually a few Polish people on the trip and one of them had thoughts of returning to Poland with her husband to live, however, I think, although she really enjoyed being back in her homeland, she had decided that maybe staying in America was the best option as, I think, it is probably not that easy for the elderly in Poland.

The next morning found us at the airport once again, this time Warsaw to Vilnius. We arrived there mid afternoon, offloaded our bags at the hotel and went for a walk. It was very hot so I only got as far as the river and sat there while John investigated the town a bit further. From where I was sitting I didn't get a great impression of Vilnius and wondered what we were letting ourselves in for. My first impression changed however when we met with our tour leader and some of the rest of the group for dinner that evening. Jona said it was just a little walk into town to the restaurant where he wanted to take us. I soon found out that his little walks were never that little for me and I was always tailing along behind. However, we had a very enjoyable dinner and then strolled back, with the Australian member of the group, through the town back to the hotel. Mike, you talked about having a hot chocolate. I had a hot chocolate in Vilnius and that was exactly what it was - hot chocolate. They gave you a little spoon to eat it. Very nice but not quite what I'd expected. After that we we wandering along the street and John, the Australian, pointed out a little church. It was a Catholic church and at 8.45pm on a Sunday there was Mass going on. I went in but sadly the Mass was just about finished. It seemed to be a more modern church nestled in amongst cafes and shops but the last hymn I recognised as one we sing at SFX and I even shook hands with the priest on the way out.

The next day all the group, a very different collection of people, set off on our first walking tour of the Old Town of Vilnius. Jona's walking tours though were more like marathons for me. In the afternoon we visited Trakai and the island castle sete in a gorgeous position in the centre of a lake. We were both really tired that afternoon so did a lot of resting on the island over the afternoon and then met the others for dinner before returning to the hotel.

The next day we left for Grutus Park and on to Druskininkai which is a famed spa town. Jona told us he could book us in for a spa, sauna, mud bath or several other delicious things. John and I opted for having a mud bath to sooth our tired bones. John enjoyed his mud bath but because of my swollen legs I had to resort to a mineral bath instead. It was luxurious!

We then went on to Kaunas and Kretinga. A very interesting visit was made to the Kovno Ghetto and NInth Fort. The Nazis reduced the Jewish population of Kaunas from 37,000 to 2,500 in the course of 3 years. The fort was built by the Russians but fell to the Germans during WWII.

Kretinga was a very interesting place to stay. It was like a glorified farm stay, with 2 restaurants, and was so nice that John and I opted to stay there for a day of rest while the others explored the Curonian Spit National Park. It was really mostly beach and the others said we didn't miss all that much and we benefitted from our day off. Some other interesting places we visited were Witches Hill and the Hill of Crosses at Siauliai. We then proceeded on to Riga, the party town, and Parnu and finally Tallinn the capital of Estonia. I really loved this town and John and I after doing an Off On Bus Tour climbed up a tower and walked along part of the wall of the Old Town. There were also many interesting shops to poke around although I resisted the temptation of buying the lovely handcrafts they had for sale.

We then travelled to Tart and then onto Sigulda. In Sigulda we went on a gondola, after walking up about 800 steps, and crossed the very heavily forested valley which was very beautiful. From there we went on to our final destination being the national park. Jona was keen for us to go canoeing or kayaking on the beautiful lake. My family would have loved it but it wasn't for me and, as it turned out, not for anyone else either when they discovered they had to be out there for 4 hours. Jona was a little disappointed. However, we went for a walk and then missed the bus back to our hotel which turned out to be another 5km walk - that I could have done without! However, I made it but next day I stuck with the bus and had a much more leisurely day visiting the bee museum - very interesting - and a little walk up the hill to view the 4 or 6 lakes which was very picturesque.

That was the final day of the tour and we arrived back in Vilnius mid afternoon. Went out for our final dinner and back to the hotel early to have a little sleep before having to rise at 3.30am to leave for the airport. Actually nobody had much sleep as the Vilniu hotel has a dog over the road which barks all night. I won't be going back there in a hurry.

For me then it was off to Washington to see my family where I had a nice relaxing week with Peter and Ollie and Rachel a little bit as she was working.

The photo is of the old town in Vilnius.

Daphne's Tour Coming to an End

May not get another chance for a at least a few days as we're off to Warsaw again tomorrow with the tour ending on Sunday morning.

We've been here at Gydinia for the longest time of 3 nights. It's just a beautiful place and today when we came back from our tour of Westerplatte and lunch at Gdansk, I walked down to the lovely beach which was absolutely crowded with people, young and old, and paddled for the second time in the Baltic Sea. It was quite warm and the waves very gentle. I left John behind as he's not keen on the sand but it was so interesting just watching all the people - and the children are so cute. As I was sitting drying off my sandy feet some of the other people from our tour came along and we chatted for a while before I came and picked John up to go and get something to eat. I just thought how much my family would have liked being here enjoying the beach, and with so many bars and food stalls along the way you could have something to eat before going home to put the children to bed. Again, there were so many people!

Today was a religious holiday in Poland so the shops and museums were closed for the day. There would have been processions but we didn't see them as that was the time we were having lunch. Gdansk is the home of Amber and there's quite a few pieces of amber jewellery going home on our bus - I can tell you. The American people seem to be able to spend up large! I did purchase a few items but not today.

Westerplatte was very interesting as it is the place where the WWII started. It was also the place where Pope John Paul spoke to thousands of young people and his words "War Never Again" are displayed there as well. There is also a commemorative cemetery where each year they have a memorial service similar to our Anzac Day services in NZ. The tour guide said she hadn't been as it was about 4.30 in the morning but her friend had said it was very moving.

It has been definitely more relaxing the last couple of days but tomorrow we're off again to Warsaw and visiting Marlbrook Castle on the way. We also have lunch there. Not sure what we're up to on Sat but Sat evening we have our final dinner together as well as a folklore show which will be nice. Our tour guide tried to organise one for us today but because of the holiday it wasn't possible.

I haven't mentioned at all the food we've had during our stay in Poland. It has been absolutely amazing, except for the pizza we had this evening, and I am totally sold on Polish food although it probably wouldn't be too good for my waist line as they love their cakes and we've sampled many types of them. Maybe we need a Polish restaurant in Dunedin!

Hope all is well in NZ. It seems a bit strange not knowing what's going on in the rest of the world for such a long time.

Daphne's travels

Another brief note from Daphne:

We've had 2 huge days in Warsaw and Krakow. Yesterday on the way to here we went to Chzechacowa (home of the Black Madonna) and then Auschwitz - very sobering. Today the old town of Krakow, the Cathedral, castle and had lunch - Spinach dumplings in the square. This afternoon 2hrs walking around the salt mines - tiring but hugely interesting. There's a queue for the Internet so won't dally.

More from Daphne

Was all set to do this e-mail last night but my computer came up with a message that I couldn't interpret except for one word 'problem' so I went off to bed to rest and read my book and left John to it on the computer that was working.

We had the most amazing day yesterday visiting the area where our great grandparents and grandmother came from. We even visited the church where our great grandfather was baptised as well as the graves of, probably, our 42nd cousins one of whom only died 2 yrs ago. I don't know if I can adequately describe in an e-mail though the fantastic people we met along the way. We first met Andre, an hour later than we were supposed to as we got lost in the bus station and missed our bus. We are also not good at following directions of people along the way, mainly because of the language and the fact that when they say 5 kilometers its usually about 15. We've actually taken to riding in taxis more as they are so cheap and my legs are saved. It's been really hot everywhere we've been and they don't like that.

Getting back to the people we began with Andre who was a contact person we had. He is the director of the National Museum in Stourgard which wasn't too far from Tczew the town we wanted to visit where our family roots were. He was waiting for us and ushered us into his office to straightaway partake of lots of Polish goodies and a good long talk with him. Any people who speak a little English seem very eager to converse with you. He gave us also a bag of information and lovely postcards then showed us round the museum and the town and went with us to the bus to go to Tczew. He was such a nice man and it is the first time that I have ever had my hand kissed.

We had several other experiences of helpful nice people on the way and in the town where we visited the church just about the whole village was out, talking flat out in Polish and trying to help us. The taxi driver we had here was shouting out the window at various people and when I realised he was looking for August Plewa, our great-grandfather, I quickly put in his hands the information I had so say that he was actually dead. I then managed to get through that it was the church we wanted to go to. We duly went to the church and met a lady who seemed to know about the Plewa family and the next thing we found ourselves going to the graveyard where we saw the graves of Jahn and Francesca Plewa.

That whole experience cost a bit for the taxi but it was worth it and we duly arrived back in Gdansk tired and hungry but very happy with our day. We're off to Warsaw today but not until we've seen a bit more of Gdansk. Fortunately, we purchased our tickets for the train to Warsaw yesterday owing to another helpful Polish guy who was keen to try out his English on us. However, that's another story.

Must be off now. We join our next tour Mon evening. Hopefully there'll be some English speaking people.

27th May, 2007

Pat Crowl would have celebrated her ninetieth birthday today.
Instead, some of the family went out to her grave and stood around and talked and arranged flowers – and froze: it’s been blowing a freezing gale all day. And we prayed and thanked God for her, because even though she was a quiet person, who didn’t like to be in the public eye, she was greatly beloved by our family.
There’s even been a bit of a joke about her ninetieth birthday. Last year, we’d talked with her about having a celebration for it, and she kept saying, “Well, I won’t be there.” She made sure of that!
Happy birthday, Mum. Hope you’re enjoying being in the presence of God and his endlessly delightful gardens, where no weeds grow, and nothing dies.

The Adventures of Daphne..!

Well, have arrived in Gdansk with a bit of a hiccup on the way. We missed our connection from Munich to Gdansk and had to go via Frankfurt. However, not too horrendous except that we arrived in Gdansk to find that our baggage was still in Munich. It will arrive though tomorrow and in the meantime we have been given a little bag of goodies, including the most gorgeous nightshirt, to tide us over. We'll no doubt survive. The hotel where we are staying is run by a family which includes mum, dad and 4 sons. The son we dealt with was just so friendly and helpful we feel right at home. They even have hot chocolate!

We were a little sad to leave Croatia. It was a lovely country, my favourite city being Dubrovonik. Split, the second largest city was also very nice. We also made friends with a couple from Brazil and will be able to show you a photograph on our return. I may have already said Reuben had a Croatian grandfather as well and he also spoke fairly good English. Tuesday night we spent at the Plievitce National Park hotel, very lovely waking up to the birds singing instead of lots of noisy cars, and spent 3 hrs the next morning touring the park by foot, by boat and by train. It was fantastic! We got back to Zagreb about 4.30 and thought we'd look for the History Museum but by the time we got there it was closed. We sat and had a drink in the square and soaked up the atmosphere for a while before we plodded - and plodded we did - back to the hotel for our last dinner together. Unfortunately, we were sitting with those that couldn't communicate with us very well so it was a fairly quiet affair, unlike the other table where stories in Spanish were being told and there was much hilarity. Hopefully there'll be some English speaking people on our Polish tour which begins on Mon evening. Meanwhile we have 3 days here in Gdansk to explore.

An Update on Thomas Milliman Joyce

A while ago I wrote to the Dunedin Public Library and asked if they could help with any info on Thomas Milliman Joyce. There was a bit of confusion at some point, because the librarian, Cheryl, thought his name was just Thomas Milliman. So her first email response was as follows:

I have been searching for information on Thomas Milliman as discussed by email but have not been having very much luck.

As I indicated in my first email, I checked with 2 sources I thought may be able to help.
Firstly, my husband has been writing up the history of the Lee Stream Hindon area for the local committee. He is working from notes made and collected by various people in the area so although he has done a lot of work verifying information he did not collate the original material. I asked him to check for your Mr Milliman and he found one reference to him being in the area in 1895 but the name has been extracted from a list that came from the Chief Post Office. He believes that the list may have gone to the Hocken Library as a lot of material was deposited there.

I also checked with another patron who is doing work on hotels around Dunedin and Otago. He provided me with a list of hotels and licensees at Lee Stream for the years 1878-1895. There appear to have been 2 hotels - Lee Stream Hotel and the Carriers Arms - but there is no Thomas Milliman listed as licensee.

I checked Stone's directories from 1893-1905 but his name does not appear with a hotel or in the alphabetical sequence. I also checked electoral roll 1894 and 1897 for the Taieri electorate but he is not listed there either. I have checked the newspaper index and other genealogical resources with out luck.

I am sorry I cannot be of assistance at this stage, perhaps the Hocken Library will provide a few more clues. Of course , if I come across any information I will contact you and if find any leads I will be happy to do further checking.

After I'd informed her of her mistake, she wrote back:

Thanks, your email gave me a nasty moment!! I double-checked and I did find him, with variations, in some records but still nothing linking him to the Lee Stream Hotel. I did give the correct name to my other informants. The person who is working on hotels gave me a printed list of licensees of the hotels in the area and his name did not appear.

I have found Mr Joyce in the 1893 electoral roll. He is listed as "Milliman Thomas Joyce" bookbinder , living at Hindon. Hestor is listed as a housewife, also at Hindon and Arthur is listed twice, once as a labourer of Hindon and again as a farmer of Hindon.

I checked some of the Stone's directories (I didn't do very many because I am not sure how much checking you may have done already). In Stone's directory 1893 "Thomas Milman Joyce" is listed as a bookbinder, Union Street, Dunedin.

In 1894 Stone's directories, he does not appear at all - under any variation of the name!
In 1895 James Joyce appears as a farmer at Hindon.
In 1896 Stone's there are no Joyce's listed at Hindon.
In 1897 Stone's directories "Thomas Joyce" is listed as a bookbinder, Buchanan Street, M[ornington]

Both Mr Joyce and his wife appear on the cemeteries database. "Milliman Thomas Joyce" this time!

I will leave my searching at that point and wait until I hear from you. My apologies for getting muddled the first time round!

You can see how difficult tracing family history can be...and I haven't even done any of it here. It would appear that the story about him being licensee of the hotel

Daphne in Croatia

We received an email today from Daphne. She and her brother John are touring around Croatia where their forebears come from.

What a relief! After using the e-mail at Singapore with no problems I couldn't get into it at Zagreb for some reason or another. Tonight we're in Split which is way down the coast in Croatia - into Dalmatian territory. Last night we were in Opajtia - a very quaint town on the coast and this morning after leaving there we traveled through Reijk which is where our grandfather lived. It was a very busy port and it was easy to see how our grandfather could have hopped on a boat to come to New Zealand. I would loved to have stopped there even for 5 minutes but didn't get the opportunity. We have actually been talking to a couple from Brazil over dinner tonight, Reuben and Beatrice - very nice people. His grandfather and grandmother also came from Croatia and the area we will go through tomorrow. John invited another Brazilian couple to our room for a glass of not very good wine before dinner. Sonia was a paediatrician and her husband an anaesthetist.

Croatia is a very lovely place and so much of it is so so old. Unfortunately, John and I are the only English speaking people on the tour, apart from the tour guide. At Zagreb she arranged for us to have a guide of our own which was really good and we had a thoroughly enjoyable time. Kristina our guide is very nice but she talks to us a lot on the bus and not so much when we get to places. Consequently by the time we get to where we're going we've forgotten what she said a lot of the time.

Tomorrow we're off to Dubrovonich where we'll spend 2 nights and then I think we make our way back to Zagreb and then to Poland. We've been on the bus most of the day today but are spending the morning here in Split before we more off again.

It's all going well and especially now that I know I can reach you all by e-mail again

Some people never grow up!

John Stokes and Celia Crowl get involved in the (children's) lolly scramble.
Madeleine Stokes thinks it's a great joke.

A few quick notes about the Reunion

We’ve finally had a family reunion. Not on a large scale as yet, because there were plenty of people not there, but we still had around thirty at the dinner last night (Easter Sunday) and some fifty at the informal get-together and lunch today. Jacinta and Daphne did most of the organising, but I think it helped that the blog had been up, and the emails had been going out, since last year. The other thing that triggered it further was that Peter and Jane Ryan were coming over for a trip to the South Island, so that gave us a definite excuse.
We had a meal together last night at The Station Café in Mosgiel – it’s literally the old Mosgiel railway station done up.
On the Ryan side there were Anne and her mother, and her daughter Sophie, and Peter and Jane. I haven’t seen Peter since I was in my mid-teens, back in the late fifties, I guess.
On the Stokes side, there were Des, Mary and Paul Fraher, and Paul – who came in after the meal was finished – and Debbie with her Japanese husband, Hide (pronounced, roughly, Heeday). They’ve only been married about a year.
Daphne was there, along with Jacinta and Dave, Jennifer, Trish and Ross, Teresa and Bob – and Bob’s mother, Peggy – and Denise and Malcolm. The three teenage boys were there too, until they went to Jacinta’s to watch tv: Matthew, Hamish and Finn.
And there were some Crowls: Celia and yours truly, and Stef, Abby and Ben. (Louise and Jacob were in Invercargill.)
We had a buffet meal and there was a good friendly atmosphere, especially considering a number of people didn’t really know each other well.
Today (Easter Monday) we went to the East Taieri Hall from around 11.30 for a bring-a-plate lunch. Being a Hannagan do, of course there was plenty of food…!
I think the only person who wasn’t there today from last night was Peggy. Otherwise the same bunch came, along with John Stokes and Lucy, and their three kids, Madeleine Monica, George Louis and Eloise.
Raymond and Bernadette also came, with Andrew and his wife of a month, Sian (I presume that’s the spelling, although they were pronouncing it Sharne to my ear), and Matthew.
More Crowls came: Dominic, the three little Stewarts: Jenna (who’s birthday it is today as well), Mykala and Luke, and the big Stewart: Doug. Abby also brought Thomas.
Jacinta’s three boys were there: Jack, Charlie and Oscar. And Denise’ daughter, Chloe, came too, and did face-painting on the little kids.
And one last arrival, who makes the number to fifty by my reckoning, was Monica Stokes. Des went and got her after lunch. It was great to have her there, particularly since the home she is in is so close to the proceedings, and having all of us going to her might not have been so convenient.

Guess Who - again

Okay, here's a competition. Who is this chap? His mother has written on the back of the photo where he's standing up in the pram:

The Prime Minister delivers his speech. Place: Shrine of Remembrance. Aged 11 months and one day.

Again, you can click on the photos for a much larger view of them.

A Hannagan Wedding

A photo found amongst Mum's bits and pieces. She's made a note on the back:

Guess Who? He's showing them a photo of themselves which someone took a minute or so earlier.

Bernadette, however, seems more interested in avoiding tripping over her wedding dress!

Bookbinder to the King

This is a photo and article cut from the Otago Daily Times - unfortunately there's no date, but it would have to be the early fifties at the latest, as Pop died in 1954.

The text is as follows, for those whose eyesight can't pick up what's on the screen (!) - though it will come up full size if you click on the picture. It may take several seconds.

Three specially-bound copies of Dr A H McLintock’s official history of Otago will accompany the Mayor, Sir Donald Cameron, when he leaves for Britain in the near future. They are presentation copies which Sir Donald will hand over as gifts from the city of Dunedin to his Majesty the King, the Lord Mayor of London, and the Lord Provost of Edinburgh respectively. The binding of the books has just been completed, and they are to be displayed in the window of a city book store before being handed over to Sir Donald.
The binding of books in the elaborate presentation form is a craftsman’s task, and there are few men in new Zealand who are still able to do the work, which calls for special skills and painstaking workmanship. The binding of the copy to be presented to the King was carried out by Mr C Hannagan, who told the Daily Times yesterday that he had enjoyed the work as a variation from more prosaic bookbinding tasks.
Handsomely finished in scarlet Morocco leather, with the heavy covers bevelled and the page edges gilt, the presentation volume is a fine example of master craftsmanship. It is contained in a lined and similarly bound presentation case, which, like the books, has the city’s coat of arms embossed in gold on the cover.
The copies which are to be presented to the chief officers of London and Edinburgh are similarly bound, although their covers are lighter and only the upper edges of the pages are gilt. These volumes were bound by Messrs R Craik and D McKay under the supervision of Mr Hannagan. As with all the de luxe edition copies of the centennial history, the frontispiece of each volume is an original etching by the versatile author.
With the completion of the presentation volumes, Mr Hannagan and his assistants will now return to the binding of the final batch of copies of the first printing of the history.

Couple of Crowl grandchildren

Lucy Baker on the right - so uninspired by her bath, she appears to be falling asleep.

And to the left, her slightly older cousin, Jacob Crowl.

Lucy Isabella Baker

We talked about the arrival of Lucy recently, but so far we haven't had any decent pictures to show you. As soon as these are organised, we'll post them on here.

More on the family reunion

Jane and Peter Ryan, with Peter's Mum, are coming to Dunedin on Sunday 1 April. Des Stokes and Daphne Hannagan will meet them at the airport to go straight to Cromwell where we will stay in Dave and Jacinta's house until Friday.
They'll all be back in Dunedin for Easter and as a result thought Easter Monday would be a good day for a family reunion. The intention is to hire the use of the Presbyterian Church hall (just along from their place in Gladstone Rd) where there's lots of play equipment and room for the children.
Please note that Mike and Celia Crowl now have three bedrooms free in their house, with two lots of single beds, and a double bed available. Anyone needing accommodation for this reunion, let us know.

Family Reunion

For those who've lost the email that referred to this, here's the info again:

HANNAGAN FAMILY REUNION

Date: Monday 9 April
Start Time: 11.30 am
Venue: East Taieri Presbyterian Church Hall

Please bring something for lunch - preferably finger food

There'll also be a meal the night before - venue unknown at the moment - for anyone interested.

R.S.V.P. Daphne - dhannagan@xtra.co.nz - soon - to advise of your presence at this reunion, and most especially

for the dinner the night before as I will have to book.

Anthony John De Courcy

Michael De Courcy wrote on the 12th February:
On Sunday at 3:07pm Anthony John De Courcy arrived! Wahoo! He is 8lbs, very healthy and (we think...) quite cute. We are absolutely thrilled. Desiree, baby and myself are getting well looked after at Birthcare for a couple more nights.

And sent some photos...

From John Ryan

And another John - John Ryan this time - emailed me and said:

Great Blog. I was curious when Mum told me about my photo on your blog. It's definitely me, and it looks like it was taken in barracks next to my bed. Either Hobsonville or Wigram. I don't remember the photo being taken, but I was in the RNZAF in 1976.

John, who spends a good deal of the year in Switzerland, working, adds:
It's a bit difficult being so remote from Lucy and Wendy, but we do get to see each other for 14 weeks each year, and those times are just wonderful. Our daughter Lucy is learning 3 musical instruments, one of them being the piano. She has already passed 2 piano exams, and will do grade 2 this year. I remember you playing the piano at Stanley St when I was very young. The other 2 instruments Lucy plays are violin and flute. She'll also be doing exams for those this year.

Babies to the left of me, Babies to the right of me...

Lucy Baker has no sooner arrived on the scene than she's ousted from first position by another newcomer...

John DeCourcy emailed me today to say:
Anthony John DeCourcy was born yesterday 11 Feb2007 to my brother Michael DeCourcy and his wife Desiree. Weighed in at 8 pounds, and according to his father is "perfectly formed"! First male DeCourcy for a long time, with a name that goes right back intothe family tree.

No photo available as yet.

From the Cricketers' Arms Hotel...

We found a complimentary card this week amongst Mum's papers. At the top it has:
With the compliments of Cricketers' Arms Hotel (Des O'Flaherty, Prop).
And it goes on to tell this little story:
A Hotelier who commenced business twenty years ago with a capital of £50, recently retired with a comfortable fortune of £50, 000. He states that his good fortune is due to industry, economy, conscientious effort to give full value, indomitable perseverance and the death of an uncle who left him £49,950.
We lack the rich uncle.

Lucy Baker

The main news of the day is that Lucy Baker arrived in the world at around 1 am this morning. She was born in Christchurch, to Libby Crowl and Nathan Baker. She's their second child; Israel was born in Sept 2004.

Libby had the easiest birth in the world with Israel: it was all over in a matter of a few hours. Lucy decided to show Libby what a real birth is like, so the labour pains started back on Thursday, and came and went until late last night, leaving Libby exhausted. Libby had already had a false alarm (though it was very much like before Israel was born) back in January...!

Lucy was 7lb 8oz, and has black, curly hair - according to Libby - and looks very like her brother. Let's hope she gets his smile as well: it's radiant.

Hoarding....

Mum was a great hoarder of 'bits' - cuttings from newspapers, or things she'd been given by the grandchildren, or things that had special value at some point. She also liked keeping note of silly jokes, and so I'll be adding some of these to the blog over the next few days/weeks.

Here's something for starters:

After Glasgow football team Celtic lost 3-1 to unfancied Inverness Caledonian in the Scottish Cup, the Sun headline declared: 'Super Callie Go Ballistic - Celtic are Atrocious.'

And here is a photo we came across amongst the bits and pieces: if I'm not mistaken, it's a very young John Ryan.

The Hannagan Name

I’ve just come across a very exciting page which brings together a heap of links to Hannagan family research. If you have a free day or two to spare, check it out!

The following information comes from a page put out by the Historical Research Centre. I have a photocopied version of this, but haven’t been able to find them on the Net to permission to re-use this material.

HANNAGAN

Ireland was one of the earliest countries to evolve a system of hereditary surnames. They came into being fairly generally in the eleventh century and indeed some were formed before the year 1000. The traditional belief that the system was introduced deliberately by Brian Boru is without foundation; it developed spontaneously in Ireland, as elsewhere, as the population increased the former practice, first of single names and then of ephemeral patronymics or nicknames proved insufficiently definitive.
The Irish surname Hannagan is patronymic in origin, being one of those names derived from the first name of the original bearer. The name is an anglicization of the Irish surname O hAnnagain, and means ‘the grandson of little Annadh’ or ‘the descendant of the little slow old man.’ The name is of uncertain origin, but it is possibly an old County Limerick surname and, in some cases is used as a variant of O’Hannon. It is mainly associated with widely separate areas, Counties Waterford and Tyrone. The earliest known reference to the name occurs in 1556 when John Hanigane of Waterford City obtained ‘English liberty.’ A generation later the name occurs among jurymen and trade guild officials in Dublin and also in Inishowen pardons. Later is was a principal name in the barony of Decies, County Waterford. In Dublin, James Hannagan was warden of the guild of Saint John the Baptist (merchant sailors) in 1752-53. In 1774 David Henegan founded the course for Cork students in the Lombard College, Paris.
Blazon of Arms: Quarterly gules and or, overall on a bend sable, three crosses pattee agent.
Translation: Gules (red) denotes magnaminity. Or (gold) denotes generosity.
Crest: A pennant sable, within a wreath gules, erect.
Motto: Turris fortis mihi deus
Translation: God is a tower of strength to me.
Origin: Ireland.

I must say I'm impressed with the family motto!

Some Hannagan children

This, if I've got my facts right, is the original Raymond Hannagan - that is, not the one who currently lives in Mosgiel, but his uncle. This Raymond died when he was around four. I'm not sure of what.

The other photo is a family group consisting of most of the Hannagan brothers and sisters. From the left, Charlie with the sun in his eyes, Monica, not looking her usual bubbly self, Joyce in school uniform, Terry, I presume, on her knees, Pat and one other sister.

Flora and Thomas Joyce

I've had a bit of a discussion with Des Stokes about his mother-in-law, Flora living at some point in Hindon, and his understanding is as follows.

Flora Joyce, as she was then, lived in the Lee Stream Hotel (I remember hearing this too). Whether her father (Thomas Joyce) ran the hotel at that time or not, we don't as yet know - though's that an avenue someone might be able to investigate. It seems that Flora might have gone on horseback to school at Hindon - again something that rings a bell with me. Des thought she also learned the piano at Lee Stream - or maybe at Hindon School. (Presumably there are school records for Hindon School, if it still exists.)

Des also reminded me of another point about Thomas Joyce - he died of 'softening of the brain.' Not a very complimentary-sounding statement, though Des suspects it probably had something to do with dementia, rather than a physical softening (!)

He also thought that Thomas might have done some goldmining up Hindon/Lee Stream way. Flora's wedding ring was made from gold got from that area, but whether he mined the gold himself, or bought it, isn't clear.

I'm assuming I'm correct in thinking this is Flora as a child, and also with her father, but correct me if I'm wrong!

Question from Margaret

This came via Margaret Irvine, today.

"Does anyone know, or recall being told, where Nan (Flora Hannagan) grew up and where she lived in Dunedin before she married Pop?
Mum knows she was born in Hindon but can't for the life of her fill in any gaps after that. if anyone can help we'd really appreciate it."

If anyone can help, please contact me on mcrowl@gmail.com

The Hannagan Family

(Click on the photo to enlarge it)

The 'original' Hannagan family - is there a remarkable family resemblance? Which continues to this day? LOL
(back 'row') Charlie (with arms folded), Kit, Albert Powell, Rose, Frank, Tess, (front 'row') Molly, Grandma, Anne, Dan.
'Grandma' was Bridget Kennedy, originally. I'm not sure who Albert Powell is, but no doubt someone can tell me. I think he may have been the fiancee of either Tess or Anne.