Elizabeth Bertha Jane Christian (1908 - 1975)

Born 30 Dec 1908 in Rakau, Nelson, New Zealand

Ancestors

Wife of John Joseph McNearney — married 30 Dec 1928 in Tui, Tasman, New Zealand

Died 2 Feb 1975 at age 66 in Hamilton, Waikato, New Zealand

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Biography

Early Years

Elizabeth Bertha Jane Christian was know as Bess or Bessie.
She was born at Rakau, in the Tadmor Valley, Tasman District, on December 30th, 1908. Bess was the third of four children born to John Wade Christian and Hannah Christian nee Fitch. ^[1]

Marriage and Family

Bess married, on her 20th birthday, to John Joseph McNearney who was known as Jack. They were married at Tui, in the Tasman District, on the 30th of December 1928.

Bess became step-mother to Jack's two young children, Kathleen (Kitty) McNearney b. 1924 and John William (Shaun) McNearney b. 1926

Bess and Jack had one daughter.

Daughter of Jack and Bess McNearney:

1. Mary McNEARNEY b. 1929; m P. von BLARAMBERG

Further Details

Further details are supplied by Phil Christian in his book, “As Far as I can Remember.”

Jack McNearney and Bessie ^[2]

“While we lived in Tadmor, we used to visit Uncle Jack and his family fairly regularly on Sundays. One day when I arrived there, I met Jack McNearney, his wife Cathy, and their two children, Kitty and Shaun. Jack was a linesman on the railway, very Irish, hearty and cheerful but with a hot temper, lean and full of energy. I remember his wife as a pale-faced, rather talkative woman with bright red hair. She died not so long after that, when Shaun was only three, and Jack must have been anxious to find someone to look after the children. By good fortune he had come to know Uncle Jack's eldest daughter, Bessie.

Bessie came and stayed with us in Tadmor a few times. She and Mum got on very well together, despite the difference in their ages. They were rather alike in many ways. Both of them liked fun and a good joke, and they used to laugh a lot together. Dad thought Bessie was a very nice person, so he was concerned to know what sort of a man Jack McNeamey was. Bessie seemed to know her own mind, for she married Jack less than a year later.

They lived at the railwayman's hut near the Kaka station, the last on the line before Glenhope.

Then Bessie and Jack McNearney went to Hamilton to live.”

Bess McNearney passed away in 1975, aged 66.
She died in Hamilton, Waikato District, on February 2nd 1975.

Bess' husband Jack passed away in 1977, aged 79.

Both Bess and Jack were buried at Hamilton Park Cemetery. ^[3]

Headstone inscription:

Sources

1. ↑ Birth Registration. "1909/5056; CHRISTIAN, Elizabeth Bertha Jane; Mother: Elizabeth Hannah; Father: John Nade." Refined search field date: [30/12/1908]. New Zealand Births, Deaths & Marriages Online. Accessed 24 Feb 2010 by Michele (Flanagan) Gregg.
2. ↑ CHRISTIAN, Phillip Sydney (1916 – 1999). "As Far as I can Remember." Published 1999. New Zealand. Includes Information of Phil’s life and his relatives, the Christian families of Nelson, New Zealand. Personal copy in the possession of Michele Gregg nee Flanagan
3. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #140323228. Hamilton Park Cemetery, Hamilton, Waikato, New Zealand. Elizabeth Bertha Jane (Bess) McNearney nee Christian (1908-1975).

• Michele Gregg nee Flanagan. "CHRISTIAN – Relative Connections," Compiled from 1996 by Michele Gregg nee Flanagan. Last revised 26 Dec 2020.