Thomas Brown Craig (TBC) was born “near Dumbarton” in Scotland (according to his death certificate).
I have found nothing about him until his marriage to Elizabeth Stokell on 7 October 1857.
The marriage was announced in the Leed’s Times on Saturday, Oct. 10, 1857.
I think they probably travelled to NZ on the Lord Worsley, one of the first steamers to leave the UK for NZ. I wonder if they chose to wait for it, or they were unable to obtain earlier passage. It may be that there were too many restrictions on the amount of luggage people could take on earlier vessels.
Despite assurances in the papers, the ship didn’t leave England until about June 6 1858.
Why New Zealand? There may have been a relative here already; but there were also dreadful reports of happenings in other colonies in the papers at the time and perhaps NZ seemed a better option.
The passenger manifest was not submitted by the master on arrival at Port Chalmers, for which omission the master was fined £10 in court, so I had to rely on newspapers for lists of passengers.
The Craigs were not listed by name in the passengers for Otago, but were possibly amongst “four for Canterbury”. Two births were reported to have occurred during the passage.
The first record I have found of TBC in NZ is the registration of the birth of his and Elizabeth’s first daughter, Emma Kate.
I think, but cannot yet conclusively prove, that Emma Kate was one of the births on the Lord Worsley and that her father therefore registered her birth as soon as he could upon arrival in Port Chalmers, on October 6th.
When the ship went on to Lyttelton, Mr & Mrs Craig were listed as cabin passengers, although an infant was not mentioned.
TBC next appears in the Lyttelton Times in March 1859, as an import/export agent. He had business premises in Christchurch from 1860.
James Robert Brown Craig was born on 17 March 1860, but his birth was not announced in the papers.
Herbert was born in 1861:
Elizabeth Stokell Craig was born on 14 May 1863, without a published notice.
TBC announced that his new rooms were completed on 8 JULY 1863 in the Lyttelton Times.
Business must not have gone as well as he hoped, for on 7 October 1864 two advertisements appeared, one for an office to let in High St and the other to let a show room and yard storage.
On 17 December 1864 he was declared an Insolvent Debtor and a receiver appointed.
In the Press on 26 November 1864 this report appeared:
His premises continued being advertised, this one published in the Lyttelton Times on 20 May 1865.
William was born in 1864 (possibly on 19 June, according to a family tree on the Ancestry website, since there is no official record of his birth in the BDM index and no birth notice in the papers).
TBC continued advertising his services as an auctioneer until 25 May 1865 but is then absent from commercial listings for the next three and a half years.
Twins Edith and Ada were born on 29 December 1865. Ada died at seven weeks on 17 February 1866.
In September 1866 TBC’s name appears in a list of those petitioning the government against taxation.
In December 1866 his name was amongst officers installed at the St Augustine Lodge (T.B. Craig as D.C.”) and the same again in December 1867. In 1868 his title changed to PW. (I know nothing of freemasonry and they do not advertise any information about these office titles.)
On 14 November 1868 he advertised thus for the first time:
On 26 February 1869 Elizabeth Craig gave birth to Anna Buller Craig, who became F.H.M. Renner’s second wife. (I have found no hint of where the name Buller came from, although the Rev. James Buller, a Wesleyan Missionary, could have been the inspiration – TBC was the next year involved in building a replacement Wesleyan Church in Lyttelton.)
In the Press on 10 April 1869 appeared this advertisement.
On the night of 24 October 1870 there was a catastrophic fire in Lyttelton, burning two thirds of the town and leaving many families homeless. TBC donated parcels of clothing so presumably they weren’t living in a house that was burnt or they may have already moved to Christchurch.
On 20 April 1871 Elizabeth gave birth to a daughter, her ninth child and the announcement was published the following day.
On the same page, Elizabeth’s death was announced; she was 41 years old.
The child was named Frances Manchee Craig. Miss Manchee, a teacher in Christchurch, is the only reference I can find for that name. Interestingly I can see nobody else named Frances in either family, although Frances Stringer appears on the Marriage certificate below, indicating a probable close friendship.
Two days later, Elizabeth’s funeral notice was published.
Aldred Street was later renamed Beveridge Street. On a map from 1874 it is beyond the populous central streets of the city, and their house must have been on the Northern side of the street, where sections are marked. In the centre of the map is marked “Cathedral Foundations”.
In the Canterbury Electoral Roll of 1872, his land-holding is stated as Pt. town res. 72, house, Aldred street, off Durham st. N. On other maps there are houses indicated on all those sections.
In June 1871, in the papers of 15th, 16th, 17th, 19th & 20th this advertisement appeared: “WANTED, a strong GIRL. Apply to the Housekeeper. T. B. Craig, Aldred street.”
On Saturday the 23rd December 1871, Thomas Brown Craig and Frances Eliza Padwick (née Dover) were married at St. Michael’s Church. (The building was replaced a couple of years later. It was the main Anglican church before the Cathedral was built.)
The Dean at the time was the Rev. Henry Jacobs, the witnesses Henry Stringer, Storekeeper and F. M. Stringer, also of Christchurch, who was likely his wife, Frances Mary. (Emma Kate attended Miss Manchee’s school with one of the Stringer children. William Stringer is listed as a bootmaker in High street and living in Ferry street in the 1867 directory.)
On 4 January 1872, TBC advertised his house to be let.
On 1 February 1873 Frances gave birth to their first child, Thomas Dover, who died a week later. He is buried in Barbadoes Street Cemetery, in the same plot in which his mother was years later interred. His birth and death were not publicly advertised in the papers.
On 1st August 1873, 11-year-old Herbert died. He was third child, second son, of TBC and Elizabeth.
Herbert was buried in Barbadoes Street Cemetery but has no headstone.
TBC kept advertising his business as usual in the Press.
On 1st September 1873 these notices were published.
The house may not have been for TBC’s family, he might have been acting as an agent for someone else.
29 October 1874.
On 6th March 1875, Frances gave birth to Margaret Ellen Craig, who became F.H.M. Renner’s first wife.
Four weeks later, on 2nd April 1875, TBC’s eldest daughter, 17-year-old Emma Kate, died.
The funeral left from their residence in Cranmer Square.
Emma Kate is also buried in Barbadoes Street Cemetery, but has no headstone.
Their third and final child was born 13th April 1878 and named for Frances’ mother (and/or sister), Mary Louisa.
In 1879 they appear to have lived in Selwyn Street, but I have yet to conclude my research on this later period.
Frances Eliza died at Southampton Street, Sydenham, on 29 March 1896, aged 60.
She is buried in Barbadoes Street Cemetery in Christchurch, with her first child, under a headstone in the shape of an open book, her inscription on the left, awaiting Thomas’ on the right.
After Frances’ death, TBC continued working in Christchurch as an auditor. In 1896 he appeared in the electoral roll in New Brighton with student Margaret Ellen and, in 1900, she was listed as a teacher.
Margaret Ellen married F.H.M. Renner in January 1900 and presumably at that time TBC removed to Sydney to be near son William.
Thomas Brown Craig died on 4 June 1907 and is buried in Gore Hill Cemetery, St Leonard’s, North Sydney, where William was later also buried.
On TBC’s death certificate his mother’s maiden name was “not known”, but he was reported to have been born near Dumbarton in Scotland. His time in NZ was recorded as “about 42 years” and in NSW “about seven”. These times both align with his 1858 arrival in NZ and 1900 removal to Sydney.
Ruth Renner, July 2021 – slightly edited April 2024.
Sources:
Plan of Christchurch and suburbs. 1879- Christchurch City Libraries Digital Maps Collection
Digitised maps from Christchurch City Libraries Digital Maps Collection
Newspaper clippings all from Papers Past.
Certificates from Ancestry (marriage Craig/Stokell) and bought from BDM and NSW BDM.
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