John William (Bottomore) Baker (abt. 1849 - 1918)

John W Bottomore was my great great grandfather. I had always heard about this mysterious figure associated with Ada Bakers lineage and how someone had changed their name. The story went that he was Jewish and instead of dealing with daily prejudice he changed his name to a common English surname - Baker. However, sleuthing with my second cousin Wendy McGregor and research on Papers Past revealed that he abandoned his first marriage and his wife subsequently pursued him through the courts - (see PDFs attached). This was in 1874 and I suspect that Judges could make up their own minds on how things should play out in the colonies. JW Bottomore was even imprisoned for not paying the maintenance order set down by the courts even though they hadn't had any children together. The Judge ordered him to pay two pounds immediately and then fifteen shillings a week indefinitely. This would have been quite a burden as work was scarce at the time. New Zealand being a relatively small country he was even recognised and accused outside the courthouse. The only smart thing he could do was change his name and slip quietly into family life. He had several children with Elizabeth Baker and Ada Baker was one of them. JW (formerly Bottomore) Baker, came from England with his parents and they settled in Thames where John was eventually buried. I wonder if he did another disappearing act later on and left Elizabeth in Auckland, we shall keep looking for more clues.