James Robertson (abt. 1846 - 1937)

Born about 2 May 1846 in Fowlis Wester, Perthshire, Scotland, United Kingdom

Husband of Maria Jane (Polke) Robertson — married 13 Aug 1875 in Auchtergaven, Perthshire, Scotland, United Kingdom

Descendants

Died 10 Aug 1937 at about age 91 in Timaru, Canterbury, New Zealand

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Biography

James was born in 1846 to John and Helen (Paton) Robertson.^[1] He passed away in about 1921.

Very little is known about James and his wife Maria Jane. They seem to have Scottish roots and James was a storekeeper in Pukerau. He may have come to the region as part of the growing mining industry in Otago in the late 1800s. He and Maria Jane were certainly in New Zealand by 1876, as daughter Ellen was born there.

James's brother John's headstone at Pukerau records his place of birth as "Dulitor, Perthshire, Scotland".^[2] An 1861 census records three brothers (and other siblings) in West Duilater, Perthshire, all roughly the correct ages to be James, David and John, the brothers who emigrated to eastern Southland, New Zealand.^[3]

John Robertson, 51, head

Helen Robertson, 42, wife

Robert, 16

James, 14

Ann, 13

George, 11

Daniel, 9

David, 5

John, 3

Peter D. Robertson, 10 months

A James Robertson is recorded in the district as early as 1878, in a correspondence piece from Otaria, the neighbouring settlement to Pukerau.^[4]

By 1882, James Robertson was settled in the small farming township of Pukerau, Otago, New Zealand. The town itself was founded in 1876 by a Captain Boyd. James Robertson was in the process of building his store, according to the Otago Witness of July 1882.^[5] In 1884 he was elected as a member of the Pukerau school committee.^[6]

James passed away in Timaru on August 10, 1937.^[7]

Sources

1. ↑ "Scotland Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X1QC-K6G : 11 February 2020), Helen Paton in entry for James Robertson, 1846.
2. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/166967779/john-robertson : accessed 15 October 2021), memorial page for John Robertson (unknown–8 Aug 1949), Find a Grave Memorial ID 166967779, citing Pukerau Cemetery, Pukerau, Gore District, Southland, New Zealand ; Maintained by Cyndi (contributor 47314338) .
3. ↑ Ancestry.com. 1861 Scotland Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Original data: Scotland. 1861 Scotland Census. Reels 1-150. General Register Office for Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland. Parish: Logie Buchan; ED: 2; Page: 1; Line: 17; Roll: CSSCT1861_50.
4. ↑ Clutha Leader, Volume V, Issue 226, 8 November 1878, Page 6. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CL18781108.2.18, accessed 3 October 2021.
5. ↑ Otago Witness, Otago Witness, Issue 1600, 22 July 1882, Pukerau. From our own correspondent. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/OW18820722.2.27.1, accessed 3 October 2021
6. ↑ Otago Witness, Issue 1683, 23 February 1884, Page 13. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/OW18840223.2.37.8, accessed 3 October 2021.
7. ↑ Otago Daily Times, Issue 23266, 11 August 1937, Page 8. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ODT19370811.2.42, accessed 3 October 2021.