Individual Details

Robert (2) ESPIE

(1811 - 4 Apr 1868)

The mother of his first two children is not known, but was possibly a local Maori girl

Events

Birth1811Ulster, County Tyrone, Ireland
Emigration1817Ireland to Tasmania, Australia
OccupationFrom 1817Carpenter
Emigration1837Tasmania, Australia to Poverty Bay, New Zealand
Marriage18 Nov 1841Turanganui, Gisborne, Poverty Bay, New Zealand - Ethel DOWNES
Burial1868Makaraka Cemetery, Gisborne, Poverty Bay, New Zealand
Death4 Apr 1868Turanganui, Gisborne, Poverty Bay, New Zealand
MarriageEllen MCMILLAN
MarriageJane ELLIS
OccupationWhaling Station Manager - Tokomaru Bay, Poverty Bay, New Zealand

Families

SpouseAni KATO (1820 - 1876)
ChildMargaret ESPIE (1839 - 1932)
ChildRobert (3) ESPIE (1831 - 1875)
ChildHannah ESPIE ( - )
SpouseEthel DOWNES (1825 - )
ChildEmma ESPIE (1842 - 1868)
ChildMary Jane ESPIE (1845 - 1878)
ChildJohn Edward ESPIE (1848 - 1933)
SpouseJane ELLIS ( - )
ChildJane Ellis ESPIE ( - 1934)
ChildKate Emily ESPIE (1855 - 1924)
ChildDaniel ESPIE ( - )
SpouseEllen MCMILLAN ( - )
FatherRobert ESPIE ( - )
MotherMargaret GOOD ( - )
SiblingDavid ESPIE ( - )
SiblingEdward ESPIE ( - )
SiblingMargaret (2) ESPIE ( - )
SiblingJohn ESPIE ( - )
SiblingGeorge ESPIE ( - )
SiblingWilliam Campbell ESPIE ( - )
SiblingJames Martin ESPIE ( - )
SiblingSamuel Patrick ESPIE ( - )

Notes

Emigration

Travelled with his parents, although some accounts say with an uncle.

Marriage

In 1841, Espie was married to Ethel [? Downes]. It was common gossip, in later years, that his bride, who was only sixteen or seventeen years old, had been left at Poverty Bay by a vessel which had had to put in for a re-fit. In strict fact, the young woman was among the passengers whom Captain A. Campbell brought in the Minerva in June, 1841, after an uneventful voyage. The marriage ceremony was conducted by the Rev. W. Williams and they were the first European couple to be married by a clergyman in Poverty Bay. Their children were: Emma (Mrs. Walsh, who was slain in the massacre), John Edward (born at Te Arai in 1848 and died in January, 1933) and Mary Jane (who became Mrs. Alexander Robb).