Henry Lewis (1813 - 1889)

Descendants

Contents 1 Biography 2 Research Notes 3 Sources 4 Acknowledgments

Biography

Henry Lewis was born in 1813.^[1] He was the second son of Jonathan and Amelia Lewis.

In 1845 he married Susannah (Susan) Smith.^[2]

He emigrated from England on 27 Aug 1854, departing London for Melbourne Australia on "Aberfoyle" arriving 12 December. He was accompanied by his wife Susannah and 6 children, Amelia, Eleanor, Henry, Charles Alfred and Kate. Kate died in Melbourne.

He departed Melbourne 31 July 1855 for Nelson, New Zealand on the schooner "Marchioness", accompanied by Susannah and their 5 remaining children, arriving 16 August 1855. ^[3]

Henry Lewis, in his position of Assistant Surveyor of the Province of Nelson, was sent with two companions to explore to the recently discovered hinterlands of the province, Journeying to the sources of the Waiau-ua, Buller, and Grey rivers. In the course of this journey they crossed the pass which was subsequently named after him.^[4]

Henry played an important role in the Surveying of New Zealand and discovered Lewis Pass and the Lewis River in 1860. At the time he was with a fellow Surveyor, Christopher Maling. Another associate of Henry's, john Rochfort also a relative had Mt Rochfort named after him.

1. Lewis Pass^[5] in the South Island, named after Henry Lewis
2. Lewis River^[6] in the Canterbury Region of the South Island, named after Henry Lewis
3. Mt Rochfort^[7] on the West Coast, named after John Rochfort

Haast Pass and Arthurs Pass were also commemorated in honour of John and Henry.

He passed away in 1889.

Research Notes

The article in the Otago Daily Times discusses the following family members:

1. Blomfield, Peter (Queenstown)
2. Blomfield, Cleone (Queenstown)
3. Rochfort, Amelia (née Lewis, 1845-1942, Nelson)
4. Rochfort, John, 1832-1894 (Great Britain, surveyor)
5. Blomfield, Josephine (née Rochfort)
6. Blomfield, Sidney

Part Of a Otago daily times, 26 Jul 2014; p.43 Article (original held)

Focuses on the King James Bible previously owned by the Blomfields, which they donated to the Edward Worth Library, Dublin, Ireland. Speaks to them about the provenance of the Bible, which was printed in Cambridge, England in 1629. Talks about how the Worth family Bible came into their possession and the work they did to research its history. Discusses the significance of the family Bible in helping to flesh out the history of the 17th century Dublin Dean John Worth, his son, the physician Dr Edward Worth, as well as the NZ ancestors of the Blomfield family.

Sources

1. ↑ Baptism Record
2. ↑ Englsih Marriages
3. ↑ Shipping Intelligence
4. ↑ Report to the Provincial Secretary, Nelson Report on the Sources of the Wataua, Buller, And Grey Rivers
5. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Pass
6. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_River_(Canterbury)
7. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Rochfort

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Lewis_(surveyor)

• NZ death registration 1889/5808

• Children born in New Zealand
  • 1855/4610 Lewis NR name not registered
  • 1857/6250 Lewis NR name not registered

• Article copy in family possession. also available from the National Library Identifier SSN: 0114-426X, Illustrations and Portrait of the Otago Daily Times from 26 July 2015 by Peter and Cleone Blomfield. Queenstown, New Zealand).

• Janine Thompson

Acknowledgments

• Thanks to Peter Knowles for starting this profile.

Find A Grave: Memorial #162828467