William Isaac Speight (1825 - 1899)

Born 10 Nov 1825 in Dublin, Ireland

Husband of Charlotte (Pulley) Speight — married about 1850 in New Zealand

Descendants

Died 10 May 1899 at age 73 in Parnell, Auckland, New Zealand

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Stephen Smith [send private message] and Craig Smith [send private message]

Biography

"William Isaac Speight was born in Dublin, Ireland, on 10 November 1825. He enlisted locally with the 58th (Rutlandshire) Regiment of Foot on 13 December 1841. He arrived in New Zealand with the regiment in 1845 and took part in the campaign against Hone Heke and Kawiti following the sacking of Kororareka in March, 1845. Wounded twice, once severely, he was recommended by Colonel Wynyard for a retrospective awarding of the Victoria Cross for his individual bravery during the engagement at Ruapekapeka. Unfortunately, the award was disallowed. The Victoria Cross at that time was only awarded for actions prior to the Crimean War. Instead Speight was granted an annuity of ten pounds and awarded the Meritorious Service Medal (MSM). He was the only man of the 58th Regiment to receive the medal and of the Northern War itself. He attained the rank of Staff Sergeant-Major and for many years he was employed as a Staff Sergeant at the Auckland Brigade Office under Brigade Major Greenwood. On retiring from the service he became an officer of the New Zealand Treasury. Speight and his wife Charlotte (nee Pulley) later assisted Bishop Selwyn in the establishment of the Kohimarama Training School. He died on 10 May 1899, at Parnell, Auckland, aged 74."

Research Notes

His daughter, Catherine, married his brothers son.^[1]

Father profile needed to connect them but their children are connected to each other

Children to be added from BDM - no bdm births in 1860's - spelling errors??

https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/search

• • NZBDM BIRTH:1872/15623 Speight Harold Murray Hamilton
  • NZBDM MARRIAGE:1903/5895 Sarah Eliza Pearce m. Harold Murray Hamilton Speight
  • NZBDM DEATH:1954/24189 Speight Harold Murray Hamilton 81Y

https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/search

• • NZBDM BIRTH:1857/3517 Speight John Greenwood (FAG has death notice which shows that name is Colin)
  • NZBDM DEATH:1865/5012 Speight Colin Greenwood 7Y
• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/175579061/colin-greenwood-speight: accessed 06 February 2023), memorial page for Colin Greenwood Speight (24 Sep 1857–1 Mar 1865), Find a Grave Memorial ID 175579061, citing Symonds Street Cemetery, Auckland, Auckland Council, Auckland, New Zealand; Maintained by Patricia Hargreaves (contributor 46861461).

Sources

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Speight

• BMD NZ Online (ref 1850/138)

• Auckland War Memorial Museum - Library Catalogue (online): http://muse.aucklandmuseum.com/databases/librarycatalogue/21022.detail?keywords=Speight,%20William%20Isaac,%201825-1899%20Papers

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Stephen Smith for starting this profile.

Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by Stephen and others.