Gilbert Anderson (1845 - 1915)

Born 18 Oct 1845 in Norwick, Unst, Shetland, Scotland, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Husband of Ann (Johnson) Anderson — married 1 Nov 1866 in Unst, Shetland, Scotland, United Kingdom

Descendants

Died 23 Jun 1915 at age 69 in Westport, Buller, West Coast, New Zealand

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Caleb Day [send private message], Deni Anderson [send private message], and Peter Anderson [send private message]

Biography

Native of Unst, Shetland, Scotland

Gilbert Anderson lived in Hyde, Otago, New Zealand.

Gilbert Anderson lived in Charleston, West Coast, New Zealand.

Gilbert Anderson lived in Westport, West Coast, New Zealand.

Gilbert Anderson was born in Norwick, Unst, Shetland, in 1845. He married Ann Johnson, also from Norwick, in Unst in 1866. Gilbert's sister, Ann (Anderson) Johnson, had previously married Ann's brother, John Johnson. This means the children of both families have the same ancestry and the two Anns swapped surnames.

In 1868, he was one of a group of seven men from Norwick who sought their fortunes downunder, initially traveling on the “Young Australian” (London 24th April 1868 to Brisbane 1st August 1868 ) on an assisted immigration scheme to Queensland.^[1][2][3][4] The seven men were Barclay Mouat (1838-1918), Magnus Mouat (bef.1844-1934), John Johnson (1839-abt.1915), Gilbert Harper (1842-1882), Gilbert Anderson (1845-1915), William Parsonson Anderson (1849-1918), and Nicol Priest (relationships known^[4] but profile not yet added).^[2][3][4][5] They were cousins, brothers or friends, and many of them had been fellow fishermen on a sixareen (six-oar fishing boat) captained by James Mouat Harper (1832-aft.1918), a slightly older brother/brother-in-law of the pioneer group group who would himself later also emigrate with family to New Zealand. The group of 1868 pioneers were also brothers-in-law of each other; each member of the group except William Anderson married the sister of another member of the group (some before their Antipodean adventures, leaving wives and children at home, and some after returning to Scotland).

The group were disappointed to find very high unemployment and low wages in Queensland in the state’s first decade of independence from New South Wales and during a time that the government had brought in a number of Pacific Island workers and fixed them on low wages.^[1] They therefore instead decided to attempt gold mining, trying in inland Queensland, then Bathurst and Penrith in New South Wales, and Port Philip in Victoria.

At around this time the group seems to have broken up. All would eventually live in Aotearoa New Zealand, and all but William lived out their days there. Magnus Mouat and Gilbert Harper went straight to New Zealand, traveling to Westport in 1869. They began alluvial mining and then bought a mining claim on Nine Mile Beach, Charleston in January 1870, with Barclay later joining them.^[1] Gilbert and William Anderson were in Ōtago by 1871, as they were on the electoral roll in the Mt Ida electorate (Gilbert in Hyde and William in Sowburn, aka Patearoa).^[4] Gilbert Anderson, John Johnson, and James Mouat (presumably the younger brother of Magnus and Barclay, one of five out of six brothers who emigrated^[1]) were mining in Hyde Gully until a conflict over claims with some Victorians led to them selling to the Victorians.^[6] They obviously made an impression on the area as they were dubbed “The Shetland Boys” and were remembered fondly by the Central Otago Gazette at Gilbert Anderson’s 1915 death as pioneers of the area for “some years,” living in a hut that still stood as “landmark” opposite the school.^[7][6] Notwithstanding this impression, Gilbert Anderson was apparently already back in Unst by 1872 as his second daughter Charlotte was born in July 1873. By 1875 Gilbert Anderson and family had moved to Leith, near Edinburgh, where other relatives from Unst had also moved. Gilbert started a wood cutting and supply business there.^[8][4] Magnus Mouat later moved from New Zealand to Leith and joined Gilbert in this business for eighteen months.^[1] Magnus married Ann's (and John Johnson's) sister Cecilia during this time.^[9]

In 1876, Gilbert, Ann, and their three daughters moved to New Zealand's West Coast, along with Magnus and Cecilia, John and Ann Johnson, and many other members of Ann's Johnson family and Gilbert's Anderson family (as outlined below).

They sailed from London 29 Jul 1876 on the Howrah, arriving in Nelson 9 Nov 1876. Cost of passage was £42 and 9p. There were 286 immigrants on board. 200 left the ship at Nelson and many went to Charleston, Buller, including Gilbert and Ann.^[10]

Gilbert and Ann had one more child, a son, in Charleston.

Gilbert died in 1915. He is buried in Westport, Buller.^[11]

Info from North Isles Family History website:
Name Gilbert ANDERSON
Born 18 Oct 1845 Norwick, Unst, SHI, SCT
Gender Male
Baptism 4 Jan 1846 Norwick, Unst, SHI, SCT^[12][11]
Census 1851 Resident at Trohall, Norwick, Unst.^[13]
Census 1861 Resident at Kitchen, Unst.^[13]
Died 23 Jun 1915 Westport, NZL
Person ID I27984 Shetland
Last Modified 15 May 2020
Family Ann JOHNSON, b. 17 Oct 1841, Norwick, Unst, SHI, SCT, d. 13 Apr 1915, Westport, NZL (Age 73 years)
Married 1 Nov 1866 Unst, SHI, SCT^[14]
[Four children listed.]^[15]

Anderson and Johnson families on the Howrah, London-Nelson, Jul-Nov 1876:^[16]

Gilbert Anderson migrated from Unst, Shetland (via Leith, Midlothian), Scotland to Buller, West Coast, New Zealand.

Members of several interconnected Shetland families moved to New Zealand (especially Buller, West Coast) in the 1860s-70s. At least some had been living in Leith, Midlothian, Scotland before moving to NZ. On board this sailing of the Howrah were several children (and grandchildren) of William Anderson and Charlotte (Russell) Anderson, joining sister Margaret (Anderson) Harper who was already in New Zealand. Also on board were several children (and grandchildren) of Ann Duncan/Johnson and John Johnson, including Ann herself. The Johnson and Anderson siblings were connected by two different marriages, which had involved two Anns swapping surnames: John Johnson had married Ann (Anderson) Johnson, and Gilbert Anderson had married Ann (Johnson) Anderson.

Ann and her Johnson children are marked with asterisks (*) below. Anderson siblings are marked with obelisks (†) below.

† ANDERSON Gilbert, 30, Adult, male, Shetland, Wood Cutter
* Ann, 34, Adult, female
Ann J, 8, Child, female
Charlotte, 3, Child, female
Joan, 9m, Infant, female

* JOHNSON John, 37, Adult, male, Shetland, Wood Cutter
† Ann, 33, Adult, female
Duncan, 11, Child, male
Wm. G, 9, Child, male
Charlotte, 2, Child, female
DUNCAN Ann *, 70, Adult, female, Shetland

MOWAT Magnus, 31, Adult, male, Shetland, Wood Cutter
* Cecilia, 30, Adult, female
Wm., 4m, Infant, male

† ANDERSON John, 18, Adult, male, Shetland, Labourer

Possibly (but name and age are slightly different):
* JOHNSTONE Mary, 32, Adult, female, Shetland, Servant

Other Shetlanders, all Johnstones, stayed on the ship until Wellington.^[17]

Birth, Marriage, and Death Records

Birth/Baptism record (Old Parish Registers):
GILBERT ANDERSON (M). 04/01/1846. Parents/other details: WILLIAM ANDERSON/CHARLOTTE RUSSEL FR 390 (FR390). Parish: Unst. Ref: 011/30 135^[18]

Statutory marriage record:
GILBERT ANDERSON married ANN JOHNSON in 1866. RD: Unst. Ref: 011/ 11^[19]

NZ BDM Online: Death Registration
Reg Number: 1915/3841
Gilbert Anderson
Age: 69Y Est. birth year: 1846^[20]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4} 'Mr. M. Mouat: An Adventurous Life', Evening Post, 19 October 1934, pg. 12. URL (retrieved 18 Aug 2020).
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Register of Immigrants: Young Australia, 1868-1869, Queensland State Archives, Item Representation ID DR39680. URL (retrieved 3 Dec 2022)
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Assisted immigration 1848 to 1912, Queensland Government Open Data Portal. URL (retrieved 4 Dec 2022).
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4} Research by my aunts, further details known by them.Caleb (Anderson) Day
5. ↑ The Magnus Mouat obituary cited above incorrectly names John Anderson instead of Gilbert Anderson as part of the group of seven. John Anderson, Gilbert and William’s younger brother, did eventually emigrate to New Zealand too, but he was only 11 at this time. The obituary does correctly name Gilbert Anderson later on as having returned to Scotland.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} 'Early History of Hyde', Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume XL, Issue XL, 24 February 1911, Page 3. URL (accessed 12 Dec 2022).
7. ↑ Untitled section, Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 985, 30 June 1915, Page 4. URL (accessed 12 Dec 2022).
8. ↑ See daughter Joan’s birth record, uploaded to images.
9. ↑ 'Mr. M. Mouat: An Adventurous Life', Evening Post, 19 October 1934, pg. 12. Retrieved 18 August 2020 from https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19341019.2.111.1?items_per_page=10&page=2&query=mouat+shetland&snippet=true
10. ↑ Unsourced family tree handed down to Caleb (Anderson) Day.
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1} "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : modified 27 April 2020, 22:18), entry for Gilbert Anderson(PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:MS4D-ZYY); contributed by various users.
12. ↑ IGI Births & Baptisms
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1} Census return
14. ↑ IGI Marriages
15. ↑ This info, and its sources, are from North Isles Family History: https://www.bayanne.info/Shetland/getperson.php?personID=I27984
16. ↑ Passenger list: Immigrants arriving in Nelson on the Howrah, 9 Nov 1876. http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~shipstonz/genealogy/PassLists/howrah1876.html
17. ↑ Passenger list: Immigrants arriving in Wellington on the Howrah, 18 Nov 1876. http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~shipstonz/genealogy/PassLists/howrahwgton1876.html
18. ↑ Church of Scotland Old Parish Registers. Accessible at ScotlandsPeople
19. ↑ National Records of Scotland, Statutory registers. Accessible at ScotlandsPeople
20. ↑ Searchable online at https://bdm.psopho.co.nz/ and documents can be ordered from https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/search