Question of the Week: Do you have any New Zealand family?

Question

Do you have any ancestors or family members from New Zealand?

Tell us about it with an answer below! You could also use the question image to share your answer with friends and family on social media.

You may also want to check out our New Zealand Project.

Comments

I was born in New Zealand as were my siblings, my parents and grandparents and two great grandparents.

I moved permanently to live in Australia in 1972.

I haven’t had my DNA done but I appear to have 75% Scottish heritage and 25% English I have mainly focused on the past 4 generations.

Born Calder, paternal Grandparents  are Calder & Moffat. Maternal grandparents are Fergusson and Struthers.

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Yes several generations ago.

Interestingly when doing research in England I met with a very distant cousin. Her family had photos of family from around 1900 that I had never seen while I had photos of family she had never seen. Goes to show how precious portraits with names are.

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One of your grandparents is an NZ Moffat.  Would that be from John (B. 1932) & Ann Moffat of Wilton Rd., Wellington?

If so, you can contact me as indicated below and I may be able to help you with further research.

Cheers - Patrick Bishop.

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Yes our family has grown to several hundred members since 1863 when Henry Reid came to Auckland on the Thomas Fletcher with 84 other ex-British soldiers to boost the number of troops in the Waikato to 25,000. Although these men of the 4th Waikato Regiment didn't see action they were given 50 acres of land. Henry & Ellen (Stout) brought 4 children with them and bore 2 more when settled. Her youngest, Emily later met & married my grandfather John who was the first of our McConnell family to be born in NZ. His father, James and mother Mary (McCutcheon) left Wigtown, Scotland Sept. 1864 on the Helenslee which was one of 13 ships making up the Waikato Settlement Scheme. They received 30 acres for themselves and their 3 children and had 4 more to 1877. Gold had been discovered at Thames 1867 creating a rush and James took the 4 eldest there to find work. James died 1880 and the rest of the family moved there also. Mary remarried in 1884 to Robert Pennell,  a very large family. Three of Mary's children later married Pennells, other brides & grooms were Craig, Hicks, Ross.

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To Patrick Bishop,

In answer to your question:

No my paternal Grandmother was born Adelaide Beatrice Moffat born in Canterbury, New Zealand in 1881. Her father was Joseph Moffat b. 1854 who emigrated from Cumberland, England on the ship, “Merope” in 1854 to Christchurch, NZ. Joseph was 17 years old was accompanied by his Mother Mary Moffat and younger,  sister, Betsy Moffat. Adelaide ( known by her middle name, Beatrice) Moffat died at Christchurch in 1972.

Answer 1

59 answers. 1.6k views. It’s great to see the interest in Aotearoa New Zealand. Now let’s get the New Zealand Project rocking! And if anyone would like help finding New Zealand sources, I’m happy to help.

Comments

Thanks for the star, Valerie. Six months later, we’re still living in hope!

Answer 2

Yes! My great grandmother, Mabel Zealandia (Johns) Powell. Who I knew and who said funny things like: this tea's so weak, it has to lie down and have a nap!

Comments

I had friends who DRANK tea like that!

I'd have drunk along well with your g-gma!  

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Despite being born and raised in NZ, I am NOT a coffee or tea drinker!!  I do not like their tastes.

I prefer fizzy drinks or water.

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I come from the Waikato - born in Te Awamutu - and now live in the UK.  I have traced my ancestors back to Norway, Denmark, the Austro Hungarian Empire, England and Germany.

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I live in NZ, and my tea's so STRONG, I have to lie down and have a nap!  But maybe that's because I like to add Whisky

Answer 3

I don't but my husband has family who emigrated to New Zealand whose descendants I have corresponded with in the past.

Yesterday a new member contacted me as he wanted to connect his grandfather to his gt grandfather who I had added to WikiTree. His gt grandfather was born in New Zealand so I didn't know his descendants.

Answer 4

Heaps.  Turns out my great grandmother (and her mother) were born there, had siblings and/or cousins who stayed there and therefore MANY Kiwi cousins!  Not that I knew that when we lived there for nearly 4 years...   

I've met some by email now.

Answer 5

Um - yes???

Is this a REAL question??  LOL

As everyone who knows me knows, I am FROM New Zealand. I was born and raised in New Zealand

And I am the proud Captain of the Kiwi Crew even if I no longer live in New Zealand!!

Comments

Thanks for the star Beverly!!

Answer 6

Born, raised and still live there now, raising my own family.

Comments

Me too Kirsty, grew up in Thames and brought my own kids up there till their teens. Now live in Warkworth and Kawau Island with a few stopovers in between.

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Live on Kawau Island?

I thought that was off limits and only for the tourists?

I must be WAAAAAY behind the times. LOL

BTW I was born and raised in the Waikato. Just so you'all know.

Answer 7

Actually, though my ancestors are 95 percent Dutch, me, my siblings, and my parents and many other relatives live in New Zealand - my grandparents were all born in the Netherlands. One set came over already married, coming over in 1960, I think; one grandfather came over at 17, in 1962; and his wife-to-be came over at the age of 3, in 1952.

I plan to spend the rest of my life here.

Answer 8

Yes, I am a 5th generation NZer on both sides of my family, my children now have children so I'm guessing they must be 6 and 7 generations :)

Comments

My parents and grandparents were all born in NZ.

Some of my great grandparents came over from the UK, and others were born in NZ.

Answer 9

Yes I definitely do!  I was born and raised there, my children were born there, but we came to Australia when they were little.  Most of my cousins, nieces and nephews and remaining sister and brother are still there.  I am also a proud kiwi ex-pat!

Answer 10

I was born and lived in NZ for 54 years. Tried to join the NZ Project nearly a month ago but no one has responded. I'm keen on adding to Kiwi profiles when I can.

Comments

You don't need to be a member of the Project to add the profiles.

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I understand that. I am adding to profiles as I can. I responded to the initial post You may also want to check out our New Zealand Project.

Cheers, Rich

Answer 11

Yes, but the specific connection still eludes me.  I have several DNA 'Matches' (estimated 3rd-5th cousins) in New Zealand, all on my father's side, and all with ancestors from Devon County, England, as I do.  I think my challenge is the mystery of the paternity of my great-great-grandfather, likely born to an un-wed mother with the surname that became ours.

Comments

Same here. My last name is Horspool and my family moved there for 3 1/2 years in the late 50s. I have since found a number of Horspools in New Zealand and Australia, but haven't found the ancestral connection yet (although they seem to be connected).

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I also have abandoned orphans from Devon in my ancestry whose heritage and surnames are unknown.

Their descendents later emigrated to New Zealand.

These orphans are major brick walls for me!!

Answer 12

Yes - I myself am New Zealand born, as were my parents, grandparents, and many of my great grandparents.

Ancestors arrived in New Zealand between 1860 and 1874. They now have thousands of descendants living there, and probably hundreds living in other places - as I do for example now live in Michigan, USA

Comments

Nice, Roger!

Answer 13

Yes, born in Palmy North (1st gen) with parents from Cornwall and Scotland, but now live with my family on the South Coast of Victoria in Australia.

Comments

Hello to a fellow Reid, well…. kind of. I’m a Reid descendant in three different lines, all in the US.

Answer 14

No, very sadly

Answer 15

Yes, I have 2 first cousins once removed who moved to New Zealand, in the 1950s from Devon, England, they and their husbands lived in the Christchurch area,  their children and grandchildren are all in New Zealand.

I'm not personally in touch with them however my cousins in Australia are in regular contact with them.

Answer 16

Surprisingly, my only Y-DNA111 hit is a ninth cousin in New Zealand. Our ancestors were tinners who immigrated in the 1850's from St Just in Penwith, Cornwall, his to NZ and mine to the US. Our common ancestor was born in Sancreed in 1598! Wish I had known this when we made a port stop in Dunedin 10 years ago.

Answer 17

Does having a brother who moved many years ago to New Zealand from Roanoke, Virginia, USA count? (My ex-sister-in-law (in his opinion, not mine!) was from Dunedin, New Zealand, if I remember correctly).  

Answer 18

Anne (Stone) (Whitehead) Prebble ( Stone-7824 ), my second cousin 5 times removed, and her second husband James Prebble ( Prebble-39 ) (married 1838) together with her children (Mary and James Whitehead) and his children (Richard, Ann Maria, William, Edward, Mary Elizabeth) were passengers on the Aurora in 1839, the first ship bringing civilian settlers to New Zealand.  They had a son, John Aurora Prebble born on the voyage, and another son a few years later..

Members of the family founded the town of Prebbleton, now a suburb of Christchurch.

They have many descendants still living in New Zealand

Comments

Hi Janet

I have a connection on the Whitehead side

Andrina Reid

Answer 19

Not sure if this counts but in theory I'm supposed to have three 4th to 6th cousins in New Zealand.  Did my DNA through Ancestry several years ago and it pretty much confirmed everything I had already researched; all of my people got to North America in the 1600s and early 1700s, last one got here in time for the revolution.  So cousins from ancestors who stayed in England/Scotland would be pretty remote cousins today.

All three of the cousins match from 21 to 29 cms across one segment, which is pretty low I would think.  No common ancestors are shown anywhere, not even a common surname that I've seen.  So maybe not cousins, just coincidence.  But its still fun to believe.

Answer 20

My sister, Jeanne Guthrie and her daughter, Valarie Morse, live in New Zealand currently