Henry Kingsbury (1812 - 1892)

Born 17 Dec 1812 in Wick St Lawrence, Somerset, England

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth (West) Kingsbury — married 4 Apr 1839 in Worle, Somerset, England

Descendants

Died 8 Aug 1892 at age 79 in Cust, Waimakariri, Canterbury, New Zealand

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Biography

Henry Kingsbury, born 17 December 1812 in Banwell, Somerset, England is considered the patriarch of the New Zealand Kingsbury family.

He was living in 1830 in Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset, England. He was working as a tenant farmer for the Squire of the estate when he fell in love with the Squires daughter. He married Elizabeth West, the daughter of Squire Henry west and Elizabeth (Davis) West on 4 May 1839. Apparently this was unacceptable to the Squire and he disinherited his daughter. After their marriage Henry continued to work as the Head Farmer and lived in a small cottage on the estate. However, as a commoner Henry was not allowed by law to own property and the cottage soon became too small for a family of 13.

On 7 May 1863 they Immigrated to Dampier, Canterbury, New Zealand. Henry and Elizabeth Kingsbury set sail out of Gravesend, London, England aboard the Captain Cook emigrant ship with 10 of their 11 children. The eldest daughter, Ann Kingsbury, had married in 1859. The price for passage was £126.7.0 of which £40.0.0 was paid immediately in cash.

The voyage was extremely hazardous and they ran into snow and icebergs at one point, several storms, and even a hurricane. According to the ship Surgeon's Diary for August 15th, Sarah Kingsbury had a fever and on the following day one of Henry Kingsbury's sons is also noted as having a fever. As was often the case, the ship was overcrowded and, by the time they arrived at Lyttleton Heads on 1 September 1863 after 4 months at sea, eleven passengers had died at sea. There was a fear of Typhoid fever aboard, and the ship was immediately placed under quarantine for three weeks. Everyone had to burn all their clothing and bedding.

Finally the family was able to make their way over the Bridle Path to the port at Salt Water Creek which was then called Northport. The entire family had to make this 15 mile journey on foot carrying their meager belongings with them. Henry apparently carried with him a letter of recommendation from the Vicar of his home parish at Weston-super-Mare where he had been a devout Anglican and a bell ringer (considered a prestigious title) to the Vicar of the Northport Parish. This provided the family with a distinct advantage in becoming established in their new home.

Henry Kingsbury registered title to Rural Section No. 1025 which was a 20 acre plot of farm land alongside the Salt Creek and bordered by the Mount Grey Road and the Main North Road on the far north side of Northport (eventually known as Dampier's Land). Here the family built a sod house, grew crops, milked cows, and generally settled into the life of a farm family.

A short two years later, on 4 February 1868, the Saltwater Creek flooded destroying their sod home and washing many of their possessions out to sea. Henry and Elizabeth decided to move their family to live in Cust, New Zealand.

Henry Kingsbury died 8 August 1891 at the age of 78 in Cust, New Zealand and is buried in the Saint James Anglican Church Cemetery in Cust. Elizabeth died 28 May 1890.

Sources

• England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975:

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NTWW-SBW

• Somerset, England, Marriage Registers, Bonds and Allegations, 1754-1914:

https://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?viewrecord=1&r=5538&db=SomersetParishMarriages&indiv=try&h=2531940

• 1841 UK Census:

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MQ13-K6X

• 1861 UK Census:

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M7FK-7QN

• New Zealand, Archives New Zealand, Passenger Lists, 1839-1973:

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FS1W-ZZX

• New Zealand, Cemetery Transcriptions, 1840-1981:

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGR1-YWHX

• Billion Graves entry

https://billiongraves.com/grave/Henry-Kingsbury/22308004

• PapersPast on the National Library website - Lyttleton Times, 8 August 1863 - List of Government Immigrants per Captain Cook - heading ‘farm labourers’ - Henry Kingsbury, wife and 5 children.

• Kingsbury, Kenneth J, - Kingsbury Hall: The Genealogy of a Family, Gateway Press, 2005

Acknowledgements

• This profile was begun by William Ingram, to whom I am very grateful, especially for ongoing edits.

• With grateful thanks to Kenneth J. Kingsbury for his years of research and granting permission for his work to be included here.