Lawrence Dryden had a relationship with Isabella Strachan and fathered a son . However he disappeared from the law.
MATAURA ENSIGN, 22 June 1894 "A. Strachan v L. Dryden - Information for refusing to support his illegitimate child. Mr Poppelwell, for complaint, said that defendant had written stating that he intended taking the name J. Thompson and giving an address.......the summons served on a person named J. Thompsom, believed to be Dryden...... James Copeland did not know Lawrence Dryden. A daughter of A. Strachan had consulted him on 30th January last and 8th May last he attended her in confinement at Mrs Dryden's at German Town. as far as he remembered it was a male child."
MATAURA ENSIGN, 7 Sept 1894; "Isabella Strachan, for whom Mr Poppelwell appeared, asked that her child, of which Lawrence Dryden was adjudged to be the father , should be committed to the Industrial School until it reached the age of 15 years. Sergeant Fleming deposed that the mother had no adequate means to support the child whose father had not obeyed an order of the Court calling upon him to contribute towards its maintenance. He was last heard of in the North Island. Since then he had left the colony. Order made for the committal; the child to be brought up in the faith of the Congregational Church."
Special thanks to Sharron Nelley for sharing her Dryden family tree and photos
See also:
Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.
Unnamed Infant is 25 degrees from Emeril Lagasse, 23 degrees from Nigella Lawson, 18 degrees from Maggie Beer, 38 degrees from Mary Hunnings, 26 degrees from Joop Braakhekke, 36 degrees from Michael Chow, 25 degrees from Ree Drummond, 21 degrees from Paul Hollywood, 23 degrees from Matty Matheson, 29 degrees from Martha Stewart, 37 degrees from Danny Trejo and 32 degrees from Molly Yeh on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.