Getting organised with Genealogy

Okay I start things too quickly sometimes but this blog will continue -I shall be taking a little rest as I reset myself. I have started a genealogy course today for 6 weeks

JUST FOR FUN

How many generations does it take before your ancestral tree reaches one million?

THE ANSWER IS

2 Parents
4 Grandparents
8 Great Grandparents
16 Great Great Grandparents
32 Great Great Great Grandparents
64 Great Great Great Great Grandparents
128 Great Great Great Great Great Grandparents
256 Great Great Great Great Great Great Grandparents
512 Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Grandparents
1024 Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Grandparents
and after just ten generations you then have
2,048
4,096
8,192
16,384
32,768
65,536
131,072
262,144
524,288
1,048,576
One million in only twenty generations! 

We have at present between 8 to 32 so it is time to get organised. Shall post on this blog page when I come up with usefully information for helping me or your research 😊

Meanwhile if you have any good ideas please let me know by contacting me

Thomas & Jane Hewitt and their children

Thomas & Jane Hewitt had five children – Charles James Hewitt, Thomas Snowden Hewitt (the 3rd Tom), Jane Susan Gertrude Hewitt (Gertie), Edith Mary Hewitt and Dora Margaret Hewitt.

Thomas & Jane Hewitt and their children

The notes in FTM are from my mum, she was the great granddaughter of Thomas & Jane through their son Thomas Snowden Hewitt 3rd. It states that the 2nd Thomas was a brilliant horseman and stock rider but never found gold. 

In a Book called “Tapanui Turns One Hundred” by GJ Smith on page 37 it states - 27 Nov 1869 - "The Corner section (Forest Service Office) owned by Mr Thomas Hewitt and this site was soon to contain 3rd Hotel. Thomas is mentioned 3 times in this book, below is a survey map of Tapanui 1867 

Survey of Tapanui dated 1867

An advertisement for Tapanui Hotel dated 30 Nov 1871 states Thos Hewitt as proprietor in paper pasts

The oral history we have for Thomas are compliments of mum - she said that Thomas became primary caregiver of his grandson Charles (Bluey) from 1906 to his death in 1910 and Charles was then sent to an orphanage, this is a story I am researching more. Why did the 3^rd Thomas not bring up his son, it is a mystery.  Jane died in 1903 and by 1906  2nd Thomas was running a hotel in Dargaville as per his Will we have. A lot of questions have now risen but Thomas was obviously a caring grandfather.

I shall not dwell on Thomas & Jane too  much longer as an in-depth book “The Hewitt Family History”  is being written by Rex Storey Bennett - I will let you know when this is available. Rex is related to Thomas & Jane Hewitt through their daughter, Jane Susan Gertrude Hewitt (Gertie).

The more you research, the more you find and it is fascinating. 

Jane Josephine HEWITT nee BROSNAN - 1851-1903

Jane Josephine BROSNAN was born in 1851 in the Waikato (though I am still having problems verifying actual place of birth), she was the second child of Patrick BROSNAN (Irish) and Jane Mary BARR (Scottish). Jane had six siblings

Jane Hewitt 1870s
- photos were compliments of Spear Family  

Reports created from my FTM and Ancestry

When Jane was 19, she married Thomas Snowden HEWITT on the 01 Jul 1870 at her father's house in Lawrence and they moved to Tapanui where Thomas owned property. (A hint for my family, Thomas & Jane are my Great Great grandparents)

Report created from my FTM and Ancestry

Jane and baby Charles Hewitt 1872
- sadly Charles died by the time he was 3 and was buried in Tapanui

Jane died while visiting her daughter Gertie in Wairoa, Hawkes Bay of a heart attack and was bought back to Tapanui to be buried, as was Thomas later. I feel they wanted to be with Charles even though by the 1900s they had shifted away from the South Island, NZ. Death notice for Jane  https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/MS19031111.2.11?query=Jane%20Josephine%20Hewitt

One of the joys of doing this research is making our ancestors real, they were living life very much as we are, with family dramas along the way. If you have time check out papers past 

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers

About Me

My name is Vicki BEVERIDGE nee WALKER and I am married to Peter and we have one daughter Clara. We live in Waitakere, New Zealand.   

Clara, Vicki & Peter Beveridge at opening of Beveridge Track, Arataki, Auckland, NZ

I am the go to person in our family when anyone wants to know something about our family history, thanks to inheriting all this data from mum. The object of creating this blog is to encourage my younger generation to find out more about our family and to gather more information along the way.

I was introduced to Genealogy when my mum Pat WALKER nee HEWITT started her research back in the 1970's - she had me doing a lot of her research in the UK through the 1980's on my OE. Unfortunately like many young people, I only did the research she wanted and never asked questions. How I regret this now. Since mums, death in 2005 I have been reading and re-reading her data and what an amazing amount of research she has done - it must be shared. 

Patricia Catherine Hewitt view report - 4 Generations in NZ

I hope you enjoy this blog and contact me if you have any information that can help  :-)

Thomas Snowden Hewitt - 2nd (1845-1910)

Our first Hewitt to arrive in NZ was Thomas Snowden Hewitt (I will call him 2nd), he was born in Hobart 21 June 1845.

Thomas was born to convict parents Thomas Hewitt (1st) & Susan Hewitt nee Benson in Hobart

Thomas left Melbourne, Australia and arrived Otago, NZ on 20 November 1863 and by 1868 is in Tapanui owning property.  Tom became upstanding person and I am thoroughly enjoying finding out more about him  - we have a long lost cousin who is writing a book on the Hewitt family history. 

Thomas married Jane Josephine Brosnan on 1 July 1870 in her fathers house in Lawrence. Thomas and Jane had 5 children and are buried down in Tapanui with their first son Charles.

I have a tree is on Ancestry and shall try figuring out how to link it to this blog.  I want to gather more information and correct any that maybe wrong so if you spot any please let me know. 

Welcome

Thank you for visiting my first genealogy blog. My aim is to share research gathered about our HEWITT family in New Zealand and hopefully gather more information along the way.
I hope you will visit my blog often as I learn to share this for future generations.
The data original gathered was by my mum, Patricia Catherine WALKER nee HEWITT - she died on the 14 May 2005 and I have been verifying information ever since.
Thomas Snowden Hewitt was born 1845 in Hobart, Australia and came to New Zealand in the 1860's and Thomas was our first Hewitt to arrive here, his father and son were also named Thomas Snowden Hewitt but that is another story and can get confusing.

Patricia Catherine Hewitt - paternal lineage