James Youngman (1815-1891)
Mary Jane Reeve (1816 - 1873)
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Henry James (1840 - 1846)
Mary Jane (1842 - 1850)
Edward Benjamin (1844 - 1921)
Harry (1847 - 1924)
Elizabeth (1849 - 1872)
William (1852 - 1922)
Hepzibah (1854 - 1856)
James Reeve (1857 - 1952)
George Alfred (1859 - 1895)
John Reeve (1862 - 1951) |
James Youngman emigrated to New Zealand on board the Zealandia with his wife Mary Jane (née Reeve) and children Edward Benjamin (Ned), Harry, Elizabeth (Lizey, or Eliza), William (Bill), and James Reeve ("Baby"). The passenger list for the Zealandia (Departed Gravesend 11 June 1858, Arrived Lyttleton 21 September 1858) includes Edward Benjamin Youngman (age 14), Elizabeth Youngman (9), Harry Youngman (11), James Youngman (43) – Sawyer, James Youngman (infant), Mary Jane Youngman (40), William Youngman (6) and Edward B. Youngman (14). It looks as though young Ned was counted twice. (Source: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~donegal/family/zealandia58.htm consulted 10 April 2008)
James was a sawyer by trade. While the introduction of steam driven machines had been rending his craft unnecessary in England, such machines had not yet arrived in the colony. In his memoirs, privately published in 1965 as "Perhaps-ies: Early Days in Canterbury and Taranaki", James's grandson, Reeve Youngman, wrote:
"The new arrivals quickly made themselves huts (or whares) usually from slab timber; sometimes from earth and thatch. The timber was obtained by the very arduous method of pit-sawing. A tree was felled in the bush and by various means, jacking, man handling and with the help of bullocks was placed lengthwise over a large pit dug in the ground in readiness. When the log was in position it was cut into timber by means of a long cross-cut saw. One man would descend into the pit below the log and by the "push and pull" method the log was cut up into boards. This was very hard toil. The man on top of the log received the higher rate of pay as he was responsible for the straightness of the cut. Work often commenced before daylight and continued until after dark. In such cases the man in the pit would affix a lighted candle to the toe of one boot as a guide to the man above."
While a letter that James wrote to his family in England soon after his arrival in New Zealand suggests that times had become difficult for him in London, we must see the truth in Reeve's conclusion that:
"To travel 12,000 miles [over 19,000 km] to a strange country then officially only 18 years old, to unknown conditions required plenty of nerve and courage. They knew that after two or three weeks in government barracks they would have nowhere to live unless by that time they had built their own shelter. In addition grandad had to find his own employment and earn sufficient to keep his family alive. He must have been a man of strong will, great courage and a firm belief in a Higher Power to help him over what must have seemed insuperable obstacles."
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