Mary (Johnson) Leggett (1835 - 1902)

Born 1835 in Norwick, Unst, Shetland, Scotland, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Wife of Alfred Leggett — married 1887 in Charleston, Buller, West Coast, New Zealand

Died 1902 at about age 67 in Charleston, 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

Mary (Johnson) Leggett lived in Charleston, West Coast, New Zealand.

Mary was born in Norwick, Unst, Shetland in 1835. She moved to New Zealand's West Coast some time between 1871 and 1887, married Alfred Leggett in in 1887 in Charleston, and apparently died in Charleston in 1902.

Mary probably came to New Zealand in 1876 on the Howrah with her mother Ann (Duncan) Johnson, several of her siblings, and their families. (This is not certain, because, as noted below, she is listed on the ship as Mary Johnstone and with a slightly different age. There were many Johnstones from Shetland on the ship as well, but they all continued on to Wellington, while the Johnsons all got off at Nelson.)

Info from North Isles Family History website:
Name Mary JOHNSON
Born 16 Jul 1835 Norwick, Unst, SHI, SCT^[1]
Gender Female
Baptism 23 Aug 1835 Unst, SHI, SCT
Census 1841 Resident at Norwick, Unst.^[2]
Census 1851 Resident at Micklepond, Unst.^[2]
Census 1861 Resident at Hall, Unst.^[2]
Census 1871 Resident at Mucklepund, Unst.^[2]
Died 12 Aug 1902 Charleston, NZL
Person ID I158120 Shetland
Last Modified 22 Aug 2014^[3]

Anderson and Johnson families on the Howrah, London-Nelson, Jul-Nov 1876:^[4]

Mary (Johnson) Leggett migrated from Shetland, 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.^[5]

Research notes

Death record not found on NZ BDM online under any potential name I could think of (Leggett, Legget, Johnson, Johnston, Johnstone). Anderson-53301 09:33, 20 August 2020 (UTC)

Birth, Marriage, and Death Records

Birth/Baptism record (Old Parish Registers):
MARY JOHNSON (F). 23/08/1835. Parents/other details: JOHN JOHNSON/. Parish: Unst. Ref: 011/20 35^[6]

Another Birth/Baptism record (Old Parish Registers) - Registered under two names? Or twins with similar names?:
MARION JOHNSON (F). 23/08/1835. Parents/other details: JOHN JOHNSON/. Parish: Unst. Ref: 011/20 35^[6]

NZ BDM Online: Marriage Registration
Reg Number: 1887/2725
Bride Name: Mary Johnson
Groom Name: Alfred Leggett ^[7]

Census records

Johnsons on page 011/1/17 of the 1871 Scotland Census:
ANN JOHNSON (F), age 28, RD: UNST. Ref: 011/ 1/ 17
URSULA JOHNSON (F), age 25, RD: UNST. Ref: 011/ 1/ 17
WILLIAM G JOHNSON (M), age 4, RD: UNST. Ref: 011/ 1/ 17
MARY JOHNSON (F), age 35, RD: UNST. Ref: 011/ 1/ 17
DUNCAN JOHNSON (M), age 8, RD: UNST. Ref: 011/ 1/ 17
ANN JOHNSON (F), age 68, RD: UNST. Ref: 011/ 1/ 17^[8]

Sources

1. ↑ IGI Births & Baptisms
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Census return
3. ↑ This info, and its sources, are from North Isles Family History: https://www.bayanne.info/Shetland/getperson.php?personID=I158120
4. ↑ Passenger list: Immigrants arriving in Nelson on the Howrah, 9 Nov 1876. http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~shipstonz/genealogy/PassLists/howrah1876.html
5. ↑ Passenger list: Immigrants arriving in Wellington on the Howrah, 18 Nov 1876. http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~shipstonz/genealogy/PassLists/howrahwgton1876.html
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Church of Scotland Old Parish Registers. Accessible at ScotlandsPeople
7. ↑ Searchable online at https://bdm.psopho.co.nz/ and documents can be ordered from https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/search
8. ↑ National Records of Scotland, Census returns. Accessible at ScotlandsPeople