When two couples took part in a combined
wedding ceremony nearly 160 years ago, they created an unusual family. In fact
the weddings created two families in which many members were related twice
over.
The odd circumstances of those
Whanganui weddings are related in a soon-to-be-published book, Porters in my Past, by Nelson writer
John Ewan, himself one of the many descendants from one of those marriages.
“One of the husbands was David
Porter, the grandson of one of England’s most famous chimney sweeps. He married
Anna Maria Powell who came from a family littered with minor baronets and professionals
of various types,” Ewan says.
“At the same time in the same church,
David’s sister Ellen Porter married Thomas Powell, a merchant who happened to
be Anna Maria’s father.”
Both marriages stood the test of time
and today several hundred people throughout New Zealand can trace their
ancestry back to those weddings. The weddings took place 160 years ago this
October in Whanganui (16 Oct 1855).
The Porter and Powell families are
now into their fifth and sixth generations. The combined family tree is very
convoluted.
“Most connections between these two
families imply two relationships,” Ewan says.
“For example David Porter became both the son-in-law and brother-in-law
of Thomas Powell on the same day.”
Joshua and Alfred, two of David
Porter’s brothers, also arrived in New Zealand in the 1850’s and stayed in
Canterbury.
Joshua was one of Canterbury’s first
lawyers and later became an early mayor of Kaiapoi. His entire family, himself included, was
wiped out by tuberculosis.
The third brother, Alfred,
established what was to become Castle Hill station. He too had a sizeable family. He is believed
to be the first European to have discovered Porters Pass.
David Porter was an early surveyor in
the Whanganui area before moving to Wellington.
In Whanganui he had been a surveyor and had acted as agent for the
government on land purchases. In Wellington he became a senior public servant.
David Porter’s grandfather, also
named David Porter, started life as a climbing boy for a chimney sweep and went
on to become a major property developer in London. Along the way he successfully
campaigned to improve the conditions for children employed in the dangerous
work of climbing and cleaning chimneys.
It was a second marriage for Thomas
Powell. He had originally settled in
India but a few years after arriving there, his wife died. Instead of returning home, he brought his son
and daughter to Whanganui and operated a family-owned wholesale and
auctioneering business.
Porters in my Past is not a family history, however, but the stories of three brothers and
their sister who made their homes in New Zealand and it relates the challenges
they faced.
Published February 2015 by Chateau Publishing Ltd, P O Box 3523, Richmond, Nelson, 7050,
with trade distribution by Book Reps. RRP - $35
Further Information is available from
johnfewan@gmail.com.
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