William Foster (abt. 1860 - aft. 1886)

Descendants

*Birth date above estimated based on an 1886 record citing William "young". Please use as a guide only.*

Determining that William Foster is the father of William Foster Lawry:

Lawry family lore ^[1] says that both of Jane Lawry’s sons were given the names of their father’s initially, and the name Lawry by deed poll. However, deed poll in New Zealand did not start until the 1900s. See OTHER RECORDS; Deed Poll.

Alfred Alexander Roberts Lawry (1873-1948):

Alfred was Jane's eldest son. Alfred’s son Walter wrote that his father was born Alfred Alexander Roberts. His narrative can be read on Alfred's profile. Some say Alfred's father was a Jonathan Roberts, some say a James Roberts. The story is that a marriage was not permitted between Jane and Jonathan/James as they had a great grandmother who was also a Lawry, and so a common ancestor ^[1]. See Descendants of John Lawry (1703-1799). Living descendants of both Alfred Alexander Roberts Lawry and Jonathan Roberts have been dna tested and a match has been confirmed. There is more about that on Alfred's profile, see section "Alfred's Father". Both the Roberts’ lads as well as Jane were born in Cornwall, all emigrated to New Zealand in 1862 (different ships), and all were living in Canterbury at the time of Alfred’s conception. A Lawry family tree compiled by Cdr. R. E. Lawry (see below) cites a baptism record naming Alfred’s father as James Roberts. The record is in the Wesleyan Methodist Register of Baptisms, No. 951, held at the Methodist Connectional Office, Christchurch, New Zealand.

William Foster Lawry (1881-1913):

William was Jane's only other son. He was born 29 Sep 1881, in Great King Street, Dunedin, New Zealand. ^[2]

Records mentioning William’s father:

(1) Baptismal register for Trinity Wesleyan/Methodist Church (ref: AG-640-064-001/002) ^[3]; No. 582:

Date of baptism: March 17th, 1882,

Date of birth: [blank]

Name of child: William Son of,

Names of parents: William & Jane Foster,

Residence: Dunedin,

By whom baptised: Edward Best.

David Murray, Archivist, searched all of 1881-1883 and did not find any further entries under the names Foster or Lawry.

The Lawry family comes from a long line of holy men, woman, and preachers. Jane’s father Walter was a Wesleyan preacher, as was her brother the Reverend Samuel Lawry. Both were predominant figures in the Wesleyan community. Jane was a godly woman as evidenced from her letters and although her lifestyle was a scandal within the family the boys would have been baptised Wesleyan. Both Alfred and William cite Wesleyan as their religion in various documents.

A search of NZBDM birth registrations between the 01/01/1870 – 01/01/1883 came back with no registration of a William Foster whom was also the son of a William and Jane Foster.

A search of NZBDM marriage registrations between the 01/01/1840 – 01/01/1882 came back with no registration of a marriage between a William Foster and a Jane.

The only record for a William Foster registered with NZ BDM 01/01/1870 – 01/01/1882 is this one.

Emigration/Immigration record searches on family search and ancestry thus far have come back with no results for a couple with these names entering New Zealand prior to 1882. However, other repositories need to be searched to rule out this possibility as the ancestry and family search records are not complete. The possibility that a William and Jane Foster who were Wesleyan, had a son born en-route to New Zealand who they named William, baptised in Dunedin, and did not register with BDM cannot be ruled out as stranger things have happened!

(2) Industrial School Book (Children Committed to the School) - 26 May 1886 - 11 Nov 1892; William Foster Lawry, pg.9. ^[4]

Father is cited as “young named William Foster Lawry now in England”.

William's father being named as William Foster Lawry by Elizabeth Emerson has probably come from Jane herself as she was known as "Mrs Lawry" in Dunedin ^[5][6]. William Foster may not have even been in England in 1886. For peace and dignity perhaps Jane made her husbands whereabouts up. Whatever Jane's reasons, it may have been convenient to say he was as far away from Dunedin as could be believable to the community.

(3) NZBDM Death registration for William Foster Lawry. ^[7]

Father is named "William Foster Lawry", mother is named "Jane Lawry formerly Barnett". Father’s occupation "Labourer".

Jane never married, but the surname Barnett was the married name of Jane’s sisters Mary and Gertrude. In a letter William wrote on the 10th of October 1907 to his brother Alf from Thames he says ...

..."I know it is not right for saying so, but sometimes I get sad and lonely and think I should never have got married, you wonder at me talking like this but when a man does not know his own history and is asked a few questions that he cannot answer to his own satisfaction let alone anyone else, it is pretty crook. Had I been treated fair & square and told everything before I went into the world to battle for myself I would still be roaming, and getting married would never have crossed my mind but I suppose it was to be, and it is no good fretting about the past".

So, it just may be that the information came from William himself and this was then cited as fact to the coroner.

Summary:

The stories that have come down the generations are looking to be true, apart from the deed poll name change. The only consistency in the name of William’s father is the William Foster aspect of it. The history of different names on various documents and the curve ball on William’s death registration whereby Jane is named nee Barnett is in itself a clue that names were cited to suit situations. William probably made up his mother’s history to people in Thames and Karangahake out of the shame he lamented in his letter of 1907. None of his friends or kin there likely ever met any of William’s family as Jane had died in 1897 and Alfred lived in the deep south. Barnett may have come to him on the spur of a moment being that it was Jane’s sister’s married name.

Given that there were no William Foster’s registered in NZ with parents named William and Jane, and that the only person with names William Foster anywhere in their name registered was William Foster Lawry, the baptism record can only be his. Coupled with the fact that the baptism took place just five months after William’s birth, in the Wesleyan Trinity Church in Dunedin where William was born and grew up, and that Jane was Wesleyan, there can be little doubt it is William’s record.

Therefore William’s father was "William Foster", a labourer, who was resident in New Zealand 1880-1881, and in 1886 said to be in England. Whether he was in England or Jane said this to protect someone or hide something in New Zealand is not known.

In Canterbury in 1880/81 there were 11 William Foster’s on the electoral roll, 3 were labourers. In Otago in 1880/81 there were 3 William Foster’s on the electoral roll, none of them were labourers.

It would be very helpful to find out exactly where Jane Lawry was living and working in December of 1880, and also if she spent Christmas with her family as if so this would put her in Canterbury. That knowledge is the key to narrowing down the possibilities of which of these men may be William’s father.

Sources:

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Lawry family lore, stories that have been passed down four generations about Jane Lawry.
2. ↑ NZBDM - historical record printout, Registration of Birth of William Foster Lawry.
3. ↑ Te Uare Taoka o Hākena - The Hocken Collections, Tel: +64 3 479 8875, Te Whare Wānanga o Otāgo - University of Otago, HOCKEN LIBRARY | 90 ANZAC AVENUE, PO BOX 56 | DUNEDIN 9054 | NEW ZEALAND; Hoc 5/1/2;

   Baptismal register for Trinity Wesleyan/Methodist Church (ref: AG-640-064-001/002); No. 582:

   Date of baptism: March 17th, 1882,

   Date of birth: [blank]

   Name of child: William Son of,

   Names of parents: William & Jane Foster,

   Residence: Dunedin,

   By whom baptised: Edward Best.

4. ↑ Archives New Zealand, Industrial School Book (Children Committed to the School) - 26 May 1886 - 11 Nov 1892; William Foster Lawry, pg.9. Father is cited as “young named William Foster Lawry now in England”.
5. ↑ ancestry.com, New Zealand City & Area Directories, 1866–1955. New Zealand City & Area Directories, 1866–1955. Microfilm publication, 921 fiche. Anne Bromell Collection, BAB Microfilming. Auckland, New Zealand. 1890-1891, "Wise's New Zealand Post Office Directory", Dunedin, page 184, Playfair Street; "Laury, Mrs Jane".]
6. ↑ ancestry.com, New Zealand City & Area Directories, 1866–1955. Microfilm publication, 921 fiche. Anne Bromell Collection, BAB Microfilming. Auckland, New Zealand. 1894-1895, "Wise's New Zealand Post Office Directory", Dunedin, page 301, Playfair Street; "Laury, Mrs Jane".]
7. ↑ New Zealand Death Certificate for William Foster Lawry.