Manssen Family in New Zealand

Manssen Family
In New Zealand

St Pauli

Lynly Yates

The Manssen Family

in

New Zealand

Dedicated to our family
past – present – future

Mrs Lynly Yates 79 Gibbons Street, Upper Hutt, New Zealand

The Manssen Family
in
New Zealand

Lynly Yates

The Dunmore Press

Preface

First Generation
Second   Generation
Third   Generation

As my father is growing older I wanted to give him something special. He has always talked about his father’s ancestors, but has told me little about his mother’s ancestors. His mother passed away when he was only seven years old and he remembered very little about her family. This was the start of my research. It is lovely to share the results with my father, but the more I found out, the more I wanted to share my new found knowledge with others. I decided the only way to reach everyone was to write this book. It has been a labour of love. The most precious thing you can give your family is time. I have spent time researching, writing letters, and recording details. Now the results of this time are preserved in a book for my descendants and yours.

Many of you have contributed significantly to this book, with the family details you sent, the stories you told, and the photos you so generously lent. My thanks to you all for your help. We will all learn about our ancestors and the generations that follow will know about us – the Manssen family.

I have found the Manssen family name spelled in various ways. In the early days clerks recorded all the details on documents. The names were recorded as they heard them and how they thought they should be spelled, and our ancestors had strong German accents which would have been difficult to understand. The variation in spelling made research into the family more difficult at times. You can come to your own conclusions as to how the name should be spelled; it is most often “Manssen”, and this is the way it has been handed down from father to son for many generations.

I have researched the Manssen family in New Zealand only and have not included any German records (hence the title of the book).

Every effort has been made to ensure that details in the family trees are correct and complete. Although I have sighted many R.G.O. registrations for the first three generations I have had to rely on senior family members to supply much additional information. I apologise for any errors or omissions.

I gratefully acknowledge the many people who assisted my research at the following repositories: Nelson Provincial Museum, National Library, Alexander Turnbull Library, Upper Hutt Public Library, National Archives, Registrar of Elector’s Office, Registrar General’s Office, Defence Department, The New Zealand Society of Genealogists Inc. I also thank Diana Orr and Deborah Shuker for proofreading my material and making valuable suggestions. Lastly I thank my husband, father, sister and my daughters for their help and encouragement.

There is a saying, “You can be rich in pocket and poor in family and friends”. We are all millionaires in family.

Lynly Yates
April, 1993

Descendants of Charles and Emma Manssen   157

John Harold (Jack) Manssen
and Malvina Louisa Gibson

John Harold Manssen was born on the 11th July 1876 at Stoke. His father, Charles Frederick Manssen, Labourer of Stoke, registered his birth on 15th August. His mother was aged 23 years and his father 29 years at the time of his birth. John was known to his family as Jack. This was most confusing when I began my research until I connected the two names as the same person. I have continued to call him John throughout the book. John first went to Hampden Street School where he passed standard I in 1884. He then attended Stoke School and passed standards II and III between 1886 and 1888.

I have a photocopy of his New Zealand Education Department Standard Certificate, lent to me by his granddaughter, Melva Lyes. John, along with his younger brother Norman, belonged to the Nelson Rifle Club. They were both part of the team that won the Irvine Shield, on 30th January 1915. John’s total of 98 was the highest score for the day. The Wairau Electoral Rolls of 1899 and 1902 had John living at North Bank, Wairau, with occupation as Farmer. Apparently, after the death of his older brother Carl, John went to live in the Blenheim area.

On the 24th December 1902 John Harold Manssen, aged 26 years, occupation Labourer, married Malvina Louisa Gibson, aged 23 years, occupation Domestic Duties. They were married by Arch. Thomas S. Grace, an Anglican minister for Blenheim, at the residence of Mr A.W. Gibson of Kaituna. The Intention to Marry register stated that John had lived in Gibson Town for six years before his marriage and Malvina had lived there all of her life. The witnesses at the marriage were, Lewis Foster, Survey Hand, of Blenheim, Elizabeth Grace Gibson, of Kaituna and Arthur Gibson, Farmer of Kaituna. Malvina’s sister, Elizabeth Grace Gibson. later married Lewis Foster. Arthur Gibson could have been a brother or relative of Malvina. I believe it was in his residence that they were married.

Malvina was born in Blenheim on 21st November 1879. Her parents where [were] Thomas Lennox Gibson and Lizzy Gibson, née Weaver. I know nothing about Lizzy Weaver but the Gibson family were early settlers of the Blenheim area. Thomas Lennox Gibson’s parents arrived in Nelson on the Fifeshire. The 1905 Wairau Electoral Roll had both John and Malvina living at North Bank, Wairau, with John’s occupation

Wedding of John Harold Manssen to Malvina Louisa Gibson.
Bryan descendant

158   The Manssen Family in New Zealand

recorded as Farmer. They moved to Nelson and in 1908, John was a driver and lived at Parere Street, Nelson, while Malvina had her address as Hardy Street, Nelson. Both of their daughters were born in the Nelson area. In 1911 The family lived at 85 Hardy Street, then at 63 Vincent Street, Nelson from 1914 to 1919. John became a Painter/Decorator on the Nelson Electoral Rolls of 1922, 1925, 1928, at which time the family lived at 67 Tasman Street, Nelson.

John decided to pack up his family and move to Hawke’s Bay. The post office directories of 1931 and 1932 had the family living at 75 Carlyle Street, Napier. The Electoral Roll for 1931 had them living at Stanley Street, Hastings. That address was officially changed in 1935 to 500 Grove Street, Hastings. This was the house that John and Malvina would share for the rest of their married lives. Their older daughter, Esma, married and her family also lived with them at 500 Grove Street [Road]. The younger daughter, Rona, married and her family lived in Napier. John ran a painting firm in the Hawke’s Bay, with his partner Jack Munroe.

60th birthday of John Harold Manssen.

Left to right Back row: Rona May (Manssen) Bryan, Nick Sutton, Alexander Edward Bryan, Les Sutton, Arthur James Leslie Sutton, Owen Sutton, Olive (Gibson) Sutton, Rimu Sutton, Esma Emma (Manssen) Sutton.

Middle row: Joyce Estelle (Bryan) Spargo, Les Sutton, John Harold Manssen with twin, Anne Patricia (Bryan) Elliot, Malvina Louisa Manssen with twin Melva Edythe (Bryan) Lyes, Gordon Francis Sutton, Verona Beth Malvina (Bryan) McFaull.

Front row: Deidre (Sutton) Lee, Edna Adell (Bryan) Robertson, Norma Doris (Bryan) Danvers, Lenore Betty Sutton, John Clifton Sutton.

Gordon Sutton

Descendants of Charles and Emma Manssen   159

Malvina Louisa Manssen, aged 70 years,  died on 6th October 1949 in Hastings and was buried on the 8th October at the Hastings Cemetery. Malvina and John had been married for 47 years. John continued living at 500 Grove Street Hastings along with his daughter Esma and her family.

On the 10th July 1959 John Harold Manssen. aged 82 years, died at his home. He was buried on the 13th next to his wife, Malvina, at the Hastings Cemetery. He left two daughters, Esma Emma (Sutton) and Rona May (Bryan) Manssen.

John Manssen’s sporting spirit was passed down to many of his descendants. His grandson, Bill Sutton, played cricket and later in life became a National B Grade umpire. Bill’s sons, Graeme and Dean, are well known on the speedway circuits around New Zealand for driving TQ’s. They design, build, and race their own cars. Graeme Sutton won the inaugural World TQ quarter mile midget championship at Auckland’s Western Springs on 26th January 1991.

John H. (Jack) Manssen

Some notes on his life by grandson Gordon Sutton

One might say my grandfather’s life was one of a series of upheavals, for I can well remember him telling me, when I was in my late teens, how he and his family woke up in Nelson one morning to see the whole sky ablaze in a strange orange/red glow. Grandad was at that time just ten years old. The glow of course was the eruption of Mount Tarawera that was to go down in the history books of New Zealand as the most tragic upheaval since the arrival of the white man. At that time, he related, the family did not know for quite some time what the strange phenomenon was, as we must remember radio and telephone communications were almost non-existent in those days.

Upheaval number two was the sudden move to the Kaituna and Blenheim district on the death of his brother. How long he stayed there I do not know, but he was there at least nine or 10 years, working on threshing mills and farms. History books tell us jobs were scarce, and he worked in that area until he married and shifted in 1908.

Upheaval came again in his early married life when things went somewhat sour with his painting, paperhanging and decoration job with Messrs. Savidge & Sons in Nelson and he left their employment unexpectedly one morning just before lunchtime. The saying is “When one door closes another one opens”. That proved to be correct in this case, for it was when on his way home from that unpleasant episode that he chanced to meet a prominent Nelson businessman. (Regrettably, although he told me who it was, I have never remembered the man’s name.) The gentleman remarked, “You appear to be going home early today Jack, what is wrong?” “We have had a dust-up at Savidges”, Granddad replied. “and so I have packed up my tools and called it a day.” “What do you think you might do Jack?”, the gentleman asked. “I don‘t know”, Grandad said, “but I am very tempted to think about starting out on my own account”. “Good”, the other man said, “You can start on my house tomorrow morning.” From what I can gather he was a self-employed painter, paperhanger and decorator for the rest of his working life.

He apparently progressed very well for a few years in Nelson and then came another unexpected upheaval in the form of the Murchison-Nelson earthquake on 17th June 1929. It was this event, I am told, that convinced my grandmother and her two daughters to leave Nelson promptly. The decision to move was very much against Grandad’s wishes. Nelson had been his home town for the greater part of

160   The Manssen Family in New Zealand

his life; he had a nice home in Tasman Street, a good one-man business and furthermore was a very successful and well respected member of the Nelson and Districts Rifle Club. This sport was only a hobby, one that he told me he never really had as much time or finance to give to as he would have liked, but the records of which nevertheless show us that he could more than hold his own with the best in the country.

How many times he attended the New Zealand Rifle Shooting Championships at Trentham, either as a competitor or supporter-come-spectator, we shall probably never know. I do know he qualified for the “Kings Fifty” top shooters of the country for the final shoot off many times. I do believe it could have been as many as eight occasions. No small effort for an amateur rifleman of very limited resources in those days of hard times in a crippling Depression.

Packing up an entire house lot and shifting from Nelson to Napier in the 1920s must have been difficult and not without a certain amount of expense. However, Grandad seemed to take that in his stride and set up home and worked there for a short time before buying a house and five acres of land in Hastings. The property in Stanley Street (or Grove Street as it became in the mid-1930s) was to be his final home.

At Stanley Street (Grove Road) in February 1931 another gigantic upheaval was the tragic Hawke’s Bay earthquake. Grandad‘s house suffered a little damage in that the brick chimneys came down and the fireplace and some out-buildings were slightly damaged, but the scary nature of the climate at the time was enough to force the family out of the house (Grandfather, Grandmother, my parents and myself) to live in a lean-to garage and under canvas for some weeks after.

The following years may not have been as joyful for him as they could have been with the Great Depression in the 1930s, the big flood on Anzac Day 1938, which led to the whole sewerage system of his home having to be replaced, and the terrible war of 1939-45, during which time the Government commandeered all .303 rifles in the country. I can well remember Grandad being in tears when the authorities came to collect his two treasured competition rifles, with the promise of returning them at the conclusion of the War. Of course they were never returned. To part with the rifles that were his pride and had given him so much joy over many years, rifles with which he had competed with considerable distinction on more shooting ranges than we have fingers on our hands, must have made him swallow very hard, but then he had experienced so many set-backs and upheavals, he must have had the courage and strength to endure it all.

Grandmother was stricken with an illness very early in the war years that left her unable to walk for the last nine years of her life. It was another burden Grandad had to shoulder. but never once did anyone hear him complain.

1946 saw Grandad bereaved by the passing of a granddaughter who had lived with him for all of her 12 years. One would have had to have been there to know his feelings in seeing one of his own family, a generation down, granted, but still a family member, suffer the tragic effects of cancer.

Just over three years later, bereavement struck again with the passing on of his wife, my grandmother, after 57 years of marriage and companionship. About this time another upheaval was taking shape in the form of the Education Board taking Grandad’s land under the Public Works Act for a school. Mayfair School now stands on the major part of what was his property.

Retirement for him probably never brought the comforts that he deserved. He had been a widower for ten years. Through an accident with a horse as a young man he had a severe hearing disability, which meant he could never listen to a radio or gramophone, nor talk to anyone on a telephone. He never had the finances,

Descendants of Charles and Emma Manssen   161

or the company of anyone to travel with, to any great degree, but he tried to enjoy the simple life that was his lot. He enjoyed a football match, a day at the races, a game of cards, particularly crib and 500, and was a keen spectator at the North Island Rifle Shooters Annual Meeting at Roy’s Hill, near Hastings every Easter right up until the time of his passing.

I know we all have regrets in our lives and one of mine is that I did not or was not able to do more for my grandfather than I did during the time I lived with him. My wife and I are comforted however, in the memories we have of some of the trips we took him on, some of the little things we were able to do for him, some of the things he showed and taught us. One everlasting memory was the day when four of us went out into the country to test out a rifle that was for sale, we took Grandad for the ride. We had fired a few shots and offered it to Grandad to “Have a try”. He couldn’t get onto the ground and the rifle to his shoulder quick enough, at nearly 81 years of age!

John H. MANSSEN Family Tree

John Harold MANSSEN: Born 11 July 1876 Stoke – Died 10 July 1959 Hastings
Married 24 December 1902 Kaituna
Malvina Louisa GIBSON – Born 21 November 1879 Blenheim
Died 06 October 1949 Hastings

[1]   Esma Emma MANSSEN: Born 05 October 1906 Nelson
Died 17 May 1987 Hastings
Married 21 April 1930 Napier
Arthur James Leslie SUTTON – Born 14 September 1900 Picton
Died 29 September 1979 Hastings

[1]   Gordon Francis SUTTON: Born 15 December 1930 Hastings
Married 22 June 1957 Hastings
Valerie Edith May BURKE – Born 03 May 1938 Levin

[1]   Carey Elizabeth SUTTON: Born […] Hastings
Married […] Hastings
Dereck Anthony MCCARTHY – Born […] Hastings

[2]   Peter Francis SUTTON: Born 05 May 1961 Hastings
Died 06 May 1961 Hastings

[3]   Lynda Marion SUTTON: Born […] Hastings

[4]   Donald Gordon SUTTON: Born […] Hastings

[5]   Mark Fraser SUTTON: Born […] Hastings

[6]   Wendy Pamela SUTTON: Born […] Hastings
Married […] Hastings
Andrew John BATEMAN

162   The Manssen Family in New Zealand

[2]   Lenore Betty SUTTON: Born 01 August 1934 Hastings
Died 25 August 1946 Hastings

[3]   John Clifton (Bill) SUTTON: Born 20 July 1935 Hastings
Married 05 December 1959 Hastings
Annabelle Joan LINES – Born 23 January 1938 Hastings

[1]   Graeme John Leslie SUTTON: Born […] Hastings

[2]   Dean Hamilton SUTTON: Born […] Hastings

[4]   Janet Patricia SUTTON: (adopted) Born 23 June 1948
Married September 1970
Ivan John RULE

[1]   Helena Patricia RULE: Born October 1967 Hastings
Died 03 November 1967 Hastings

[2]   Brent Matthew Philip RULE: Born […]

[3]   Campbell Neil Stuart RULE: Born […]

[4]   Quentin Blair James RULE: Born […]

[2]   Rona May MANSSEN: Born 29 March 1909 Nelson – Died 02 August 1980 Napier
Married 05 August 1930 Hastings
Alexander Edward BRYAN – Born 24 May 1903 – Died 22 January 1988 Napier

[1]   Joyce Estelle BRYAN: Born 20 June 1931 Napier
Married 04 August 1956 Napier
John William SPARGO – Born 15 December 1934 Waipawa

[1]   Rosemary Anne SPARGO: Born […] Napier

[1]   Nicole Joyce SPARGO: Born […] Napier

[2]   Belinda Rose SPARGO: Born […] Napier

[2]   Anthony John SPARGO Born […] Napier

[3]   Judith Melva SPARGO: Born […] Napier
Married Napier
Bruce MILLER

[1]   Benjiman Alexander William MILLER: Born […] Napier

[2]   Rachel Michelle MILLER: Born […] Napier

[3]   Daniel Shane MILLER: Born […] Napier

[4]   Kane Darien MILLER: Born […] Napier

Descendants of Charles and Emma Manssen   163

[4]   Gail Marie SPARGO: Born 24 April 1962 Napier

[2]   Verona Beth Malvina BRYAN: Born 13 February 1933 Hawke’s Bay
Died 19 July 1974 Hastings
Married 14 February 1953 Napier
Neil William McFAULL – Born 01 March 1931 Hawke’s Bay

[1]   Jennie Lynette McFAULL: Born […] Hastings
Married 18 May 1973 Hastings
Alastar Kenneth CAMPBELL – Born […] Auckland

[1]   Brendan Neil CAMPBELL: Born […] Hastings

[2]   Virginia Margaret CAMPBELL: Born […] Hastings

[2]   Rodney David McFAULL: Born […] Hastings
Married 24 March 1979 Wellington
Alicia Ann WHEELER – Born […] Wellington

[1]   Joseph James McFAULL: Born […] Wellington

[3]   Edna Adell BRYAN: Born 24 June 1934 Hastings
Married 10 October 1953 Napier
Norman Ray ROBERTSON – Born 31 October 1931 Christchurch

[1]   Larry Ray ROBERTSON: Born […]
Napier Married 10 January 1975
Maureen McGregor ROBERTSON (Handwritten – McGregor was her second Christian name, Robertson, her surname)

[1]   Luke Ian ROBERTSON: Born […]

[2]   Alex Ray ROBERTSON: Born […]

[3]   Wendy Julia Edna ROBERTSON: Born […]

[2]   Ian Norman ROBERTSON: Born 14 May 1959 Napier
Died 05 August 1979

[3]   Dianne Edna ROBERTSON: Born […]
Married 30 November 1985
Paul REYNOLDS

[4]   Norma Doris BRYAN: Born 13 February 1936 Hastings
Married 16 April 1955 Napier
Henry DANVERS Born 13 June 1931 Taradale

[1]   Brian Alexander DANVERS: Born […] Napier
Married […] Napier
Donna GODFREY – Born […] Kaitaia

[1]   Emily Rachael DANVERS: Born […] Napier

[2]   Adam Robert DANVERS: Born […] Napier

164   The Manssen Family in New Zealand

[2]   David Henry DANVERS: Born […] Napier
Married […] Wellington
Linda Louise GORELY – Born […] Napier

[1]   Michael Henry DANVERS: Born […] Napier

[2]   James Daniel DANVERS: Born […] Napier

[3]   Jessica Louise DANVERS: Born […] Napier

[3]   Clarke Culworth DANVERS: Born […] Napier
Married […] Napier
Christine Mary PARKER – Born […] Napier

[1]   Zandra Jayne DANVERS: Born […] Napier

[5]   Melva Edythe BRYAN: (Twin) Born 03 April 1937 Napier
Married 23 April 1960 Napier
Percy John LYES
Born 08 August 1922 Hokitika

[1]   Carolyn Patricia LYES: […] Blenheim
Married[…] Taradale
Kevin STEPHENSON – Born […] Napier

[1]   Melissa Rose STEPHENSON: Born […] Napier

[2]   Phillip Kevin STEPHENSON: […] Napier

[2]   David John LYES: Born […] Blenheim
Married […] Taradale
Michelle MARAS – Born […] Hastings

[1]   Carla Irene LYES: Born […] Hastings

[2]   Jeanette Amy LYES: Born […] Hastings

[3]   Gregory Thomas LYES: Born […] Waipawa

[6]   Anne Patricia BRYAN: (twin) Born 03 April 1937 Napier
Married 08 October 1960 Napier
Murray Charles ELLIOT Born 01 November 1929 Auckland

[1]   Douglas Murray ELLIOT: Born […] Napier

[2]   Joanne Patricia ELLIOT: Born […] Napier
Married 01 February 1986 Taradale
M. PRITCHARD – Born Hastings

[1]   Daniel Paul PRITCHARD: Born […] Hastings

[2]   Essie Anne PRITCHARD: Born […] Hastings

[3]   Carl Michael PRITCHARD: Born […] Hastings

Descendants of Charles and Emma Manssen   165

[7]   Rosemary Jennifer BRYAN: Born 20 October 1944 Napier
Died 07 November 1944 Napier

[8]   Alexander Ray BRYAN: Born 22 July 1946 Napier
Married 06 November 1971 Napier
Maree Francis DORAN – Born […] Napier

[1]   Clinton Ray BRYAN: Born […] Napier

[2]   Kylee Maree BRYAN: Born […] Napier

Cover design by:

Mrs Herbert Neal (Elizabeth Voeroes)