Elizabeth (Edwards) Holdaway (1867 - 1889)

Born 16 Oct 1867 in Richmond, Nelson, New Zealand

Ancestors

Wife of Albert Arthur Ernest Holdaway — married 30 Jan 1888 (to 2 Mar 1889) in Richmond, Nelson, New Zealand

Descendants

Died 2 Mar 1889 at age 21 in Whangaehu, Whanganui, New Zealand

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Caleb Day [send private message]

Biography

Elizabeth "Lizzie" Edwards was born in 1867 in Richmond, near Nelson, Aotearoa/New Zealand. She was the daughter of Edwin Edwards (1831-1889), born in India to British soldier parents, and Catherine (Millar) Edwards (1830-1892) of Paisley, Scotland.^[1]

In 1984, at the age of 16, Lizzie entered the Salvation Army church when the Salvation Army came to nearby Nelson just a year after it began operations in Aotearoa. Elizabeth was one of the first to commit her life to Christ and swiftly resolved to become a Salvation Army officer. From very early on, Lizzie spoke boldly and often at the Army meetings. By early 1888 she had achieved her goal and become a Lieutenant, and had had some of her first postings in Gore and Balcultha.^[2][3][4][5]

She had also inspired her initially reluctant boyfriend Ernest Holdaway to become a Salvationist and an officer. Lizzie and Ernest married in Jan 1888 in their hometown of Richmond. It was the second Holdaway-Edwards marriage as Lizzie's older sister Jane (Edwards) Holdaway (1859-abt.1949) and Ernest's older brother Henry Oscar Holdaway (1851-1928) had married in 1881.^[6]

Captain Ernest and Lt. Elizabeth Holdaway, 1888. Image used with permission from Heritage Centre & Archives of the Salvation Army NZFTS (click image for source details).

Lizzie's slightly older husband had been serving as an officer for a few more years by this stage, and he had developed a strong calling for mission to Māori, the indigenous nations of Aotearoa.

Newlywed Ernest's plea to be sent for Māori mission, 1888 (click image for source details).

In June 1888 Lizzie, Ernest, and Lieutenant De Blois, a Māori SA officer, were sent as missionaries along the Whanganui River, where they lived in a tent at the Whangaehu pā, travelled up and down the river by waka, and fully immersed themselves in Māori culture and language.^[3][7] They pioneered mission and ministry among Māori, learning and practicing Māori ways of life and language.^[8][9][4] Lizzie was known to Māori by the transliterated name Rihi Horowe, and Ernest as Enata Horowe.^[7]

Images from The War Cry coverage of the Salvation Army mission work on the Whanganui River, 2 and 9 Nov 1889. Images used with permission from Heritage Centre & Archives of the Salvation Army NZFTS (click images for source details).

Lizzie aka Rihi's update on life on the mission field at Whangaehu Pā, August 1888).

Ernest and Elizabeth had one child, Eva Aroha, who was born in December 1888 at their siblings Jane and Henry's home back in Richmond. Aroha means "love" in Māori.

Sadly, Lizzie did not live long after the birth of their child and the beginning of their marriage and their mission. She died of typhoid fever in Whangaehu on the 2nd of March 1889 at the age of just 21.^[3][9][10] After her untimely death, Ernest carried on the work that Lizzie had inspired him to begin, and he became an important leader in the Salvation Army in Australasia. There is much more information about Ernest's ministry and life on his own profile.

Birth, Marriage, and Death Records

NZ BDM Online: Birth Registration
Reg Number: 1867/20462
Elizabeth Edwards
Mother's Name: Catherine
Father's Name: Edwin^[11]
"Elizabeth Edwards was born on 16 October 1867"^[12]

NZ BDM Online: Marriage Registration
Reg Number: 1888/43
Bride Name: Elizabeth Edward
Groom Name: Albert Arthur Ernest Holdaway^[11]
"Elizabeth Edward married Albert Arthur Ernest Holdaway on 30 January 1888"^[12]

NZ BDM Online: Death Registration
Reg Number: 1889/5400
Elizabeth Holdaway
Age: 21Y^[11]
"Elizabeth Holdaway (born 1868) passed away aged 21Y on 2 March 1889"^[12]

Research notes

• As well as the content cited here,^[4] other coverage of Ernest and Lizzie in the early years around Whanganui from the War Cry (probably 2 Nov, 9 Nov, and 16 Nov issues) would be available through the Salvation Army Archives: https://archives.salvationarmy.org.nz/article/bringing-war-cry-digital-age Anderson-53301 10:26, 18 September 2021 (UTC)
• Another source to read and incorporate (have only partly done so): https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Harold_Hill2/publication/327009911_Salvation_Army_-_Te_Ope_Whakaora_Updated_100217_-_proof_1_3/links/5b72383592851ca650583311/Salvation-Army-Te-Ope-Whakaora-Updated-100217-proof-1-3.pdf?origin=publication_detail Anderson-53301 14:58, 11 August 2020 (UTC)

Sources

1. ↑ Unsourced family tree handed down to Caleb (Anderson) Day.
2. ↑ Holdaway, Mary (ed.), The Holdaway Family: Pioneers of Nelson (Blenheim: Mary Holdaway, 1992), pp. 265-270
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Bradwell, Cyril, "Te Ope Whakaora", Being Chapter 9 of Fight the Good Fight’ (1983), in Harold Hill (ed.), op. cit., pp. 35–43
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} The Salvation Army NZFTS Territory Heritage Centre & Archives, 'Off to Jerusalem' (February 4, 2020). See particularly the scan of the full text of Ernest Holdaway, 'Our Maori Pioneer: Incidents in the Life of Adjutant A. E. A. Holdaway, of the Maori Work' from The War Cry (Nov 9, 1889). Retrieved 11 Aug 2020 from https://archives.salvationarmy.org.nz/article/jerusalem
5. ↑ Cresswell, Ivy, ‘Canoe on the River’ (1971), in Harold Hill (ed.), op. cit., p. 49-50
6. ↑ Holdaway, Mary, The Holdaway Family: Pioneers of Nelson (Blenheim: Mary Holdaway, 1992), p. 267
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} Holdaway, Ernest et al. ‘The Documents: 1888-1902: Holdaway & the First Period’ (1888-1902), in Harold Hill (ed.), op. cit., pp. 235–284
8. ↑ The Salvation Army NZFTS Territory Heritage Centre & Archives, 'Ernest Holdaway' (Oct 16, 2008). Retrieved 2 December 2023 from https://web.archive.org/web/20220129172446/https://archives.salvationarmy.org.nz/article/ernest-holdaway
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} The Salvation Army NZFTS Territory Heritage Centre & Archives, 'Holdaway - The Pioneer of Ministry to Māori in New Zealand' (April 14, 2019). Retrieved 10 Aug 2020 from https://archives.salvationarmy.org.nz/article/holdaway-pioneer-ministry-m%C4%81ori-new-zealand
10. ↑ The Salvation Army NZFTS Territory Heritage Centre & Archives, 'Danger and Discomfort' (March 27, 2009). Retrieved 2 December 2023 from https://web.archive.org/web/20220129170608/https://archives.salvationarmy.org.nz/article/danger-and-discomfort
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1 11.2} 'Births, Deaths, and Marriages Online', Te Tari Taiwhenua | Department of Internal Affairs. See details and order document on DIA website or search for various records at NZ Ancestor Search Helper
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1 12.2} 'NZ Births, Deaths and Marriages - exact date', NZ Ancestor Search Helper.