Robert Charles Earle (1842 - 1916)

Born 17 Mar 1842 in Totnes, Devon, England

Ancestors

Husband of Eliza Ellen (Mason) Earle — married 25 Mar 1868 in Taita, Hutt City, Wellington, New Zealand

Descendants

Died 8 Jan 1916 at age 73 in Wanganui, Manawatu-Wanganui, New Zealand

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This profile is part of the Erleigh Name Study.

Biography

Robert Charles Earle was born in Totnes, Devon in 1842 to Richard Coull Earle and Mary Ann Lloyd.

In the Devon 1851 census he is 9yrs old and living at home with his parents: Richard Coull Earle 45y, b.1806 Profession: Farmer of 200 Acres Employing 7 Labourers. Mary Ann Earle (Farmers Wife), 48y b.1803 Bristol, Gloucestershire; Mary Jane Earle (Daughter) 14y, b.1837 Staverton, Devon; Elizabeth Quick (Aunt) Widow 77y, b. 1774 Totnes, Devon; Elizabeth Yabbicom [Yabbacombe] (2nd Cousin) Unmarried 24y, b.1827 Totnes, Devon; Maria Elizabeth Lloyd (Cousin) Unmarried 16y, b.1835 Bristol, Gloucestershire plus one House Servant and one Farm Labourer.^[1]

in 1861 he is living at 17 North Street, St James, Bristol with Dr. James Highett, Surgeon MRCS. His Occupation is Surgeon's Assistant.^[2]

Trained at Guys Hospital, London. Regd in UK 8 Dec 1864, Kingston-on-Thames.

Achieved MRCS (Member of the Royal College of Surgeons) and Licenciate of the Society of Apothecaries 1864, Licenciate in Midwifery of the Royal College of Surgeons 1865. Arrived in New Zealand 3 July 1866 as surgeon on the ship Weymouth. Regd under Wellington Act 3 Aug 1866; under 1867 Act 11 April 1868: Whanganui.

Robert married Eliza Ellen Mason, second daughter of Thomas Mason, of the Hutt, in March 1868 at Christ Church, Taita, Wellington.

He owned a brown terrier named 'Ruff', which he registered in 1868.^[3]

He was appointed provincial surgeon in Wanganui and medical superintendent of Wanganui Hospital 21 Oct 1870, resigned 1886. Port Health Officer for Wanganui, resigned 1909.

Dr Earle filled the positon of surgeon of the Whanganui Hospital at the time of the Maori war, making him one of the earliest medical practitioners on the West Coast of the North Island. When the Whanganui town bridge was opened in 1871, the only man allowed to "cross the bridge faster than a walk was Dr Earle when he was attending a patient".^[4]

Wanganui (town bridge at centre), c1880s

In 1885, he and his wife purchased a property at 238 Wicksteed Street from Freeman Jackson, a prominent businessman in Whanganui. Mrs Earle "personally rode to the Hutt to borrow the required amount from her father...a hazardous journey as even though the Maori troubles were practically over, Chief Titokowaru was still causing trouble."^[5] It is now known as 'Craig House' and is still standing in Whanganui.

He passed away in 1916 and is buried at Heads Road Cemetery, Whanganui.^[6]

Wanganui Chronicle, Vol LX, Iss 50243, 10 January 1916
DR. R. C. EARLE. - It is with sincere regret we have to announce the death of one of Wanganui's oldest, best known and most highly respected settlers, in the person of Dr. R. C. Earle, who passed away on Saturday at the age of 73 years. The deceased, who was a native of Totnes, in Devonshire, came to New Zealand in 1866, and took up his residence in Wanganui, where he practised his profession until three or four years ago. In the early days, during the fighting on this coast, he was appointed surgeon to the Imperial and Colonial forces. Though he did not participate in municipal life, the late Dr. Earle took a keen Interest in all that tended to make for the progress of the district. He was a keen sportsman, and was President of the Wanganui Jockey Club -till a few years ago, when he was elected Patron. He was also President of the Wanganui Club for many years. The deceased married a daughter of the late Mr. Thomas Mason, of Taita, Hutt. He leaves a widow and a grown-up family of three daughters (Mrs. Fairburn, Mrs. Gill-Carey, and Mrs. Good) and two sons (Mr. R. C. Earle—now a member of King Edward's Horse) and Dr. Maurice Earle, of Wanganui. To the Sorrowing relatives we extend our sympathy. ^[7]

Probate issued in 1916 to son Maurice Mason Earle, Medical Practitioner; also, Harry Edward Good, Grazier (son-in-law) and John Fairburn, Accountant (son-in-law). Robert Charles Earle, Farmer (son) and grandson Chappel Gill Carey also named in will but did not apply for probate as both were absent from New Zealand (Robert Charles in The Curragh, Ireland probably on military training; Chappel a medical student in England and also under the age of inheritance stipulated in the Will (21 years).^[8]

Sources

1. ↑ © brightsolid online publishing ltd [Findmypast]. 1851 England, Wales & Scotland Census. Archive reference HO107/1874/600 Page 11 - https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=GBC/1851/0008933519
2. ↑ (c) brightsolid online publishing ltd [Findmypast]. 1861 England, Wales & Scotland Census. Archive reference RG09/1720/123, Page 5 - https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=GBC/1861/0009476953
3. ↑ Wanganui / Rangitikei Dog Collar Registration 1857-1868 Archives NZ Reference ACIA 16203 WP11 3/11 Dog Licenses – Wanganui (R17053870) – An augmented transcript, accessed 28 Sep 2019 - http://www.nzpictures.co.nz/pandoraresearchANZ-WP-11-3-11.pdf
4. ↑ 'Whanganui City Bridge' in Celebrating Whanganui Spr/Sum 2016-17, p.26
5. ↑ Wanganui (N.Z.). Town Planning Dept. "Historic places, Wanganui". Wanganui, N.Z.: Town Planning Dept, Wanganui City Council, 1978, p.5
6. ↑ New Zealand Society of Genealogists Inc; Auckland, New Zealand; New Zealand Cemetery Records 1800-2007 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.
7. ↑ https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WC19160110.2.36.1
8. ↑ "New Zealand, Archives New Zealand, Probate Records, 1843-1998," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KXZH-FGS : 28 May 2019), Robert Charles Earle, 1916; citing , Wanganui probates [third sequence], 1893-1979, record number 1916/3, Archives New Zealand, Auckland Regional Office; FamilySearch digital folder 005664068.

• The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Wellington Provincial District]. Orig: Wellington: The Cyclopedia Company Ltd, 1897: accessed online 27 Sep 2019 - http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-Cyc01Cycl-t1-body-d4-d172-d23.html

• "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : modified 18 February 2018, 23:57), entry for Robert Charles Earle(PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:9VCV-9ZZ); contributed by various users.

• Historia Nunc Vivat: Medical Practitioners in New Zealand 1840–1930. First published in New Zealand by Rex Wright-St Clair in 2003 and p blished in digital form by the Cotter Medical History Trust in 2013. Cotter Medical History Trust, University of Otago, Christchurch. © Elizabeth Wright-St Clair. ISBN 978-0-473-24073-8

• NZ BDM Marriage Registration 1868/7106 - Eliza Ellen Mason and Robert Charles Earle

• NZ BDM Death Registration 1916/1358