Janet Napier (Symington) Sinton (1839 - 1927)

Born 23 May 1839 in Stow, Midlothian, Scotland

Ancestors

Wife of William Sinton — married 30 Dec 1859 in Fala, Midlothian, Scotland, United Kingdom

Descendants

Died 25 Jun 1927 at age 88 in Brighams Creek, Auckland, New Zealand

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Biography

Janet was born in Stow, Midlothian, in 1839. She was the illegitimate daughter of James Napier (1815-1895) and Betty (Symington) Rankin (1818-1892). (See Research Note)

She married William Sinton on 30 Dec 1859 at Fala and Soutra parish, Midlothian. ^{[1] [2]} (See Research Note)

Janet, with her sons Alex and John, ran the Brigham Creek property and increased the services offered at the store. A slaughterhouse was erected around 1893 and a butchery was added to the Brigham Creek store. Alex and John made regular (twice weekly) packhorse deliveries of supplies to gumdiggers’ camps in the hills beyond Riverhead and the surrounding districts (Hodder 1975). Gum was conveyed to Auckland by steamer each fortnight and goods for the store were brought back on the return journey (Hodder 1975: 5-6; Morris 1995: 22, 34; Hahn 2007; Madden 1966). While the Sinton family continued to run a store at Hobsonville, this was a branch store run in conjunction with the main store at Brigham Creek. For 57 years the business was known as Messers Sinton Bros.

Sinton family 1906. Rear: Alexander, James, John, Jane. Front: Betsy, Mrs Janet Sinton, Margaret

Janet, her son Alex, and his new wife Ellen were all living in a small house at the creek in the early 1890s. Things became somewhat cramped after the arrival of Alex and Ellen’s three eldest children. Alex remedied the housing situation by erecting two houses opposite each other on Great North Road (now Highway 16) in the late 19th century. Janet lived in one of these two bay villas while Alex, Ellen and their children occupied the other (Morris 1995: 23).

Janet diversified her business interests by taking in the drovers making the arduous journey to the saleyards. Janet would charge two shillings per night and cooked many meals for hungry drovers over the years. Holding yards and paddocks at Brighams Creek provided accommodation for the stock. At one time the Sintons’ facilities catered for a herd of 1,250 (Morris 1995: 34). A 12 horse stable was one of the first farm buildings to be erected at the Brigham Creek property. This quickly proved to be inadequate, so an extension was built providing more accommodation for horses as well as a cowshed (Morris 1995: 35).

As business developed, the Sintons gradually increased their landholdings with the purchase of various blocks from Brigham’s Land Claim until they had expanded the original 100 acres acquired from Johnston to 1,000 acres (Hodder 1975). The Brigham Creek property was swampy gumland that bore the scars of gumdigging. John Sinton (Oct 2019 SH16 Improvements – Desktop Archaeological Assessment 10) worked hard on draining, filling, levelling and ploughing the land (Morris 1995: 35). The farmland was initially run as an extension of the Hobsonville farm, but by about 1904 all of the oats required at Brigham Creek and Hobsonville were grown on the Brigham Creek farm (Morris 1995: 36). By 1902 a row of gumdiggers’ huts adorned the head of the Brigham Creek tidal estuary (Figure 10). These huts were built on the Sintons’ land with the blessing of Alex Sinton, who was known for his kindness to the local gumdiggers. (Madden 1966:112; Hodder 1975: 6).

A photograph dated c.1902 shows the location of the first Sinton homestead on the western side of Brigham Creek, north of the Great North Road (now SH16). There was also a shed close to the road and bridge. Hodder records that after John Sinton and his wife Lillian married in 1901 they lived in a small cottage on the western side of the creek, which is presumably this building (Hodder 1975; n.d.), though prior to this John appears to have lived on the southern side of the road. Most of the Sinton family buildings were located on the eastern side of the creek. These included the store, the gum store, Janet Sinton’s house and Alex Sinton’s house. The location of the store and gum store are shown on a later (1930) plan ^[3].

Buried 26 Jun 1927 Hobsonville, Auckland, New Zealand ^[4]

Research Notes

1/ Janet's father was probably James Napier (1815-1895) born in Athelstaneford, 30 miles north-east of Stow. He was living with his parents in 1841 but could have been living in or near Stow in 1839. There is a dna match between the descendants of both the parents.

2/ Janet Symington married William Sinton in 1859 in the parish of Fala and Soutra, Midlothian. The village of Fala lies 8 & 1/2 miles south-east of Dalkeith. ^[5][6] In J. S. Hodder's family history the marriage place is 'Falloch', however this may be an error as there is no such place found on past and present maps. It may have been a mis-hearing of 'Fala'.

Sources

1. ↑ https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/
2. ↑ "Scotland Marriages, 1561-1910", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XY93-MW5 : 11 February 2020), William Linton, 1859.
3. ↑ https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/UnitaryPlanDocuments/nor-6766-appendix-e-archaeological-assessment.pdf
4. ↑ "New Zealand, Cemetery Transcriptions, 1840-1981," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGJR-NSTF : 8 September 2019), Janet, 25 Jun 1927; citing Death, New Zealand, New Zealand Society of Genealogists, Auckland.
5. ↑ https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/record-results?search_type=people&dl_cat=statutory&dl_rec=statutory-marriages&surname=sinton&surname_so=exact&forename=william&forename_so=starts&spsurname=symington&spsurname_so=exact&spforename_so=exact&from_year=1859&to_year=1859&record_type=stat_marriages
6. ↑ https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Fala_and_Soutra,_Midlothian,_Scotland_Genealogy

• LifeSketch of FamilySearch
• "Scotland Marriages, 1561-1910", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XY93-MWP : 11 February 2020), Janet Symington in entry for William Linton, 1859.

NB misindexed as Linton rather than Sinton, which often happens

• "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : modified 01 October 2020, 02:49), entry for Janet Napier Symington(PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:KNS2-P7H); contributed by various users.
• Newspaper article on her death, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/SUNAK19270629.2.70
• The Sintons of Brighams Creek & Hobsonville" by J. S. Hodder (c1965)