Mary Jane (Jenkinson) Speight (1839 - 1896)

Born 21 Feb 1839 in Brotherton, Yorkshire, England

Wife of James Speight — married Jul 1859 in Salem Chapel, York, Yorkshire, England

Descendants

Died 16 Apr 1896 at age 57 in Dunedin, New Zealand

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Biography

Mary was born on the 21st of February in 1839 in Brotherton, Yorkshire, England to parents Robert Jenkinson and Mary Jenkinson (Née Shillito). Mary was then baptised on the 1st of May 1830 in Brotherton at St Edward the Confessor, Yorkshire, England ^[1].

Mary married James Speight in the July-September quarter in York, Yorkshire, England in 1859 ^[2]. An additional report from the 9th of August lists the Speights passengers on the Omeo as "Mr. and Mrs. Speight, daughter, and infant" presumably the daughter is Emma and they had another child while traveling to New Zealand ^[3].

James and Mary had a daughter named Emma Speight who was registered as being born in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England in the October-December quarter of 1861 ^[4], however James, Mary, and a child are all listed as passengers arriving in Lyttelton, New Zealand on the ship Chrysolite on July 27th 1861 ^[5].

The three then traveled south to Otago on the ship Omeo on the 6th of August 1861 ^[6]. Interestingly, another publication lists the passengers on the Omeo as Mr. & Mrs. Speight, daughter, and infant ^[7], suggesting that Mary and James had another child during the voyage as this infant is not registered in either the English or the New Zealand records. This would fit with the report that two children were born during the Chryselite voyage ^[8], however is difficult to confirm. If true, this infant's date of birth would fit the timeline for a John James Speight whose birth is not registered in New Zealand, but died in New Zealand in 1936 at the age of 75 ^[9].

Once they had settled in Dunedin James and Mary went on to have seven more children, unfortunately starting with a baby who was born in 1863 and died the same year, no name is listed for this child. The child is not listed as being stillborn, so it appears the baby survived childbirth, but died during the first few months of life ^[10]. James and Mary went on to have another daughter named Annie Speight, born in 1864 ^[11]; a son named Charles Speight, born in 1865 ^[12]; another daughter named Eliza Mary Speight, born in 1867 ^[13]; another son named Walter Speight, born in 1869 ^[14]; another daughter named Alice Speight, born in 1871 ^[15]; and lastly, another son named John Herbert, born in 1875 ^[16].

Mary passed away on the 16th of April in 1896 in New Zealand at 66 years old ^[17].

Sources

1. ↑ West Yorkshire Archive Service; Wakefield, Yorkshire, England; Yorkshire Parish Records; Old Reference Number: D74/5; New Reference Number: WDP74/1/2/1
2. ↑ "England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2DJF-GN6 : 13 December 2014), James Speight, 1859; from “England & Wales Marriages, 1837-2005,” database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing 1859, quarter 3, vol. 9D, p. 96, York, Yorkshire, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.
3. ↑ https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/OW18610810.2.6?query=Speight
4. ↑ "England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2N89-CN5 : 1 October 2014), Emma Speight, 1861; from "England & Wales Births, 1837-2006," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Birth Registration, Wakefield, Yorkshire, England, citing General Register Office, Southport, England.
5. ↑ https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/LT18610731.2.7.1?query=Speight
6. ↑ https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/LT18610807.2.14?query=Speight
7. ↑ https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/OW18610810.2.6?query=Speight
8. ↑ https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/LT18610731.2.7.1?query=Speight
9. ↑ New Zealand, Births, Deaths and Marriages 1936/24385
10. ↑ New Zealand, Births, Deaths and Marriages 1863/16125
11. ↑ New Zealand, Births, Deaths and Marriages 1864/17613
12. ↑ New Zealand, Births, Deaths and Marriages 1865/18561
13. ↑ New Zealand, Births, Deaths and Marriages 1867/28760
14. ↑ New Zealand, Births, Deaths and Marriages 1869/33797
15. ↑ New Zealand, Births, Deaths and Marriages 1871/36705
16. ↑ New Zealand, Births, Deaths and Marriages 1875/12711
17. ↑ New Zealand, Births, Deaths and Marriages 1896/5242

• Susan M. Tyree