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
