Individual Details
John CARGILL
(25 Feb 1818 - 8 Jun 1890)
John Cargill was born at Ferryden, Montrose, Scotland on 21st June 1820, the fifth child of Robert Cargill and Catherine nee Bate. John arrived in New Zealand on the same ship as Mary Ann Meredith, who he married at Nelson on 8th May 1842. Mary Ann was born in 1827, the daughter of John Meredith and Mary Ann Nee Powick After their marriage John and Mary Ann Cargill lived in the Nelson area, and during the next nine years following their marriage four children were born to them.
John Cargill was away from home a lot, following his profession as a mariner. According to family legend, John Cargill was presumed lost at sea around 1853, although no documented record of this event can be found. There is a lot of controversy about the supposed death of John Cargill in 1853. There is evidence that a John Cargill jumped ship in Melbourne on 1st February 1852, and went to the goldfields at Bendigo. Was this Mary Ann's husband? It is quite possible.
The New Zealand Registrar of Births, Deaths, and Marriages have the death of a John Cargill registered on 8th June 1890 at Waitati. An inquest was held into this death, and some interesting coincidences show up in the report of this inquest.
The inquest was held at Waitati, before Mr. Carew, Coroner, and a jury of six on 11th June 1890. The following is the evidence given by two witnesses.
Philip McLeod
I am a fisherman and reside at Waitati. I recognise the body shown to the jury as that of the late John Cargill. I have known him for about ten years. He was once a seafaring man, then he was a gold digger and subsequently a fisherman. He has done no fishing lately on account of his weak health I believe. He was born in Scotland, somewhere about Montrose I believe. He told me he came to the colony about 40 years ago and lived and married at Nelson, but since then had been away at Victoria and other places. I have heard him speak of having a son, but I do not know where he is nor do I know anything about his wife. I think from conversations I have had with him he would be about 65 or 66 years old. I have frequently seen the deceased and now and again since he last came out of the hospital, about June 2nd 1890. He lived in a one roomed house in Blueskin Bay by himself lately. A woman once lived with him, but she was sent to the lunatic asylum about 15 months ago. I saw him on Wednesday last at my place, he came to my gate on Saturday and I went to his hut on Sunday last. I got there about 2 o'clock p.m. He told me he was going into the Dunedin Benevolent Institution on the following Wednesday. He wanted a fishing boat hauled up before he left, ready for some person. When I got to his hut, I asked him how he felt today. He replied fine Mac. He seemed as well as usual and was then cooking his dinner. He cooked a chop and filled a basin with tea. I left him and went and looked at the boat he had been speaking about. He followed me out of the door. I told him things he would require to have done to the boat, I spoke from a distance and did not hear any answer. I remained about the boat for 20 minutes or so waiting for him to finish his dinner and come down to the boat as I expected he would do. I got impatient at him not coming and went up to the hut. On going inside I saw him with his feet on the ground and lying on his back across the bed. I shook him by the arm and called to him, I got no reply, I then felt his heart but found no beat from it. He was warm and his arms quite supple then. I came to the conclusion he was quite dead. He is dressed the same as when I saw him before with trousers, shirt and boots on. He was away from where he sat when he was eating his dinner. He seemed to have sat on the nearest part of his bed and then to have fallen backwards and died. He had no want of food in his hut, and kept four dogs there. I never heard him complain of his heart, but he told me he had twice had paralytic strokes and his legs were very weak. I was present when Constable Hastings searched his body. I saw no money or valuables, I saw a knife, a box of matches, a pipe and a couple of pieces of paper, nothing more. This was about 7 o'clock or a little later. I believe it was close to 3 o'clock when I found him dead. I went to the Constable's house and reported the occurrence, but he was not at home at the time. I saw no one about the hut. He was quite sober and I saw no drink there.
Signed Philip McLeod
Michael Hastings on his oath saith: -
I am a Constable at Waitati. From the information I received on the 8th inst. (Sunday last). I proceeded to the hut of the late John Cargill at Blueskin Bay. I arrived there at 7 o'clock p.m. I found the deceased's body quite cold and dead. It was lying on the back across the foot of the bed, with the feet on the floor. The feet were close together and the arms were stretched along the sides. I opened the shirt and inside flannel and examined the head, neck and body. I found no marks of violence or foul play. I found no smell of drink. I then searched the pockets and found an old wooden pipe, an old pocket knife and a box containing a few matches. No money or valuables of any kind. There was nothing of any value in the hut. I saw a little food there, close to his right foot there was a frying pan and a broken basin close to it. I saw nothing whatever suspicious. I have known the deceased for the last 16 months. He was discharged from the Dunedin Hospital on yesterday week, and was admitted there on the 14th May. I have made inquiries and find he left the hospital of his own accord and suffered from chronic cystitis and bladder disturbances.
He seemed to me for some time past to be very frail. Deceased told me he first arrived in the Colony in 1841, when he came to Nelson. I got the paper marked "A" from Dr. Copeland yesterday. The deceased had been getting 25/- a week from the Benevolent Institution for some time past.
Signed M. Hastings
Constable.
From these statements it would seem that this John Cargill is the one that married Mary Ann Meredith at Nelson in 1842, and also the one that jumped ship in Victoria in 1852. If this is so why didn't he contact his family on his return to New Zealand? Did Mary Ann know her husband had jumped ship? Or did she really believe he had been lost at sea?
Supposedly being left widowed with four young children, Mary Ann Cargill married again in 1855. She gave her name as Ann Cargill. Was this because she knew John Cargill was still alive, and she knew she was committing bigamy? The wedding took place on 11th May 1855 at the home of her stepfather, Grove Farm, Stoke, Nelson. She married an English born farm worker, James Mudford, the ceremony being performed by Rev. Thomas D. Nicholson, of the Presbyterian Church.
John Cargill was away from home a lot, following his profession as a mariner. According to family legend, John Cargill was presumed lost at sea around 1853, although no documented record of this event can be found. There is a lot of controversy about the supposed death of John Cargill in 1853. There is evidence that a John Cargill jumped ship in Melbourne on 1st February 1852, and went to the goldfields at Bendigo. Was this Mary Ann's husband? It is quite possible.
The New Zealand Registrar of Births, Deaths, and Marriages have the death of a John Cargill registered on 8th June 1890 at Waitati. An inquest was held into this death, and some interesting coincidences show up in the report of this inquest.
The inquest was held at Waitati, before Mr. Carew, Coroner, and a jury of six on 11th June 1890. The following is the evidence given by two witnesses.
Philip McLeod
I am a fisherman and reside at Waitati. I recognise the body shown to the jury as that of the late John Cargill. I have known him for about ten years. He was once a seafaring man, then he was a gold digger and subsequently a fisherman. He has done no fishing lately on account of his weak health I believe. He was born in Scotland, somewhere about Montrose I believe. He told me he came to the colony about 40 years ago and lived and married at Nelson, but since then had been away at Victoria and other places. I have heard him speak of having a son, but I do not know where he is nor do I know anything about his wife. I think from conversations I have had with him he would be about 65 or 66 years old. I have frequently seen the deceased and now and again since he last came out of the hospital, about June 2nd 1890. He lived in a one roomed house in Blueskin Bay by himself lately. A woman once lived with him, but she was sent to the lunatic asylum about 15 months ago. I saw him on Wednesday last at my place, he came to my gate on Saturday and I went to his hut on Sunday last. I got there about 2 o'clock p.m. He told me he was going into the Dunedin Benevolent Institution on the following Wednesday. He wanted a fishing boat hauled up before he left, ready for some person. When I got to his hut, I asked him how he felt today. He replied fine Mac. He seemed as well as usual and was then cooking his dinner. He cooked a chop and filled a basin with tea. I left him and went and looked at the boat he had been speaking about. He followed me out of the door. I told him things he would require to have done to the boat, I spoke from a distance and did not hear any answer. I remained about the boat for 20 minutes or so waiting for him to finish his dinner and come down to the boat as I expected he would do. I got impatient at him not coming and went up to the hut. On going inside I saw him with his feet on the ground and lying on his back across the bed. I shook him by the arm and called to him, I got no reply, I then felt his heart but found no beat from it. He was warm and his arms quite supple then. I came to the conclusion he was quite dead. He is dressed the same as when I saw him before with trousers, shirt and boots on. He was away from where he sat when he was eating his dinner. He seemed to have sat on the nearest part of his bed and then to have fallen backwards and died. He had no want of food in his hut, and kept four dogs there. I never heard him complain of his heart, but he told me he had twice had paralytic strokes and his legs were very weak. I was present when Constable Hastings searched his body. I saw no money or valuables, I saw a knife, a box of matches, a pipe and a couple of pieces of paper, nothing more. This was about 7 o'clock or a little later. I believe it was close to 3 o'clock when I found him dead. I went to the Constable's house and reported the occurrence, but he was not at home at the time. I saw no one about the hut. He was quite sober and I saw no drink there.
Signed Philip McLeod
Michael Hastings on his oath saith: -
I am a Constable at Waitati. From the information I received on the 8th inst. (Sunday last). I proceeded to the hut of the late John Cargill at Blueskin Bay. I arrived there at 7 o'clock p.m. I found the deceased's body quite cold and dead. It was lying on the back across the foot of the bed, with the feet on the floor. The feet were close together and the arms were stretched along the sides. I opened the shirt and inside flannel and examined the head, neck and body. I found no marks of violence or foul play. I found no smell of drink. I then searched the pockets and found an old wooden pipe, an old pocket knife and a box containing a few matches. No money or valuables of any kind. There was nothing of any value in the hut. I saw a little food there, close to his right foot there was a frying pan and a broken basin close to it. I saw nothing whatever suspicious. I have known the deceased for the last 16 months. He was discharged from the Dunedin Hospital on yesterday week, and was admitted there on the 14th May. I have made inquiries and find he left the hospital of his own accord and suffered from chronic cystitis and bladder disturbances.
He seemed to me for some time past to be very frail. Deceased told me he first arrived in the Colony in 1841, when he came to Nelson. I got the paper marked "A" from Dr. Copeland yesterday. The deceased had been getting 25/- a week from the Benevolent Institution for some time past.
Signed M. Hastings
Constable.
From these statements it would seem that this John Cargill is the one that married Mary Ann Meredith at Nelson in 1842, and also the one that jumped ship in Victoria in 1852. If this is so why didn't he contact his family on his return to New Zealand? Did Mary Ann know her husband had jumped ship? Or did she really believe he had been lost at sea?
Supposedly being left widowed with four young children, Mary Ann Cargill married again in 1855. She gave her name as Ann Cargill. Was this because she knew John Cargill was still alive, and she knew she was committing bigamy? The wedding took place on 11th May 1855 at the home of her stepfather, Grove Farm, Stoke, Nelson. She married an English born farm worker, James Mudford, the ceremony being performed by Rev. Thomas D. Nicholson, of the Presbyterian Church.
Events
| Birth | 25 Feb 1818 | Ferryden, Montrose, Angus, Scotland | |||
| Marriage | 14 May 1842 | Nelson, New Zealand - Mary Ann MEREDITH | |||
| Occupation | 1842 | Mariner | |||
| Death | 8 Jun 1890 | Waitati, New Zealand | |||
| Burial | 10 Jun 1890 | Block 9, Plot 33, Waitati Cemetery, New Zealand |
Families
| Spouse | Mary Ann MEREDITH (1825 - 1909) |
| Child | Ellen CARGILL (1843 - 1919) |
| Child | Robert William CARGILL (1845 - 1924) |
| Child | Annie CARGILL (1847 - 1916) |
| Child | Mary CARGILL (Polly) (1850 - 1931) |
| Child | Meredith MUDFORD (1855 - ) |
| Father | Robert CARGILL (1786 - 1871) |
| Mother | Catherine Bate (1784 - 1838) |
| Sibling | David CARGILL (1811 - ) |
| Sibling | Mary CARGILL (1811 - ) |
| Sibling | Alexander CARGILL (1814 - ) |
| Sibling | Ann CARGILL (1814 - ) |
| Sibling | Robert CARGILL (1816 - ) |
| Sibling | Agnes CARGILL (1822 - ) |
| Sibling | Charlotte CARGILL (1824 - 1904) |
| Sibling | Elizabeth CARGILL (1826 - ) |
| Sibling | Janet "Jesse" CARGILL (1828 - ) |
| Sibling | Maria CARGILL (1830 - ) |
| Sibling | Horatio CARGILL ( - ) |
| Sibling | Maria CARGILL (1830 - ) |
| Sibling | William CARGILL (1833 - ) |
| Sibling | Andrew CARGILL (1835 - ) |
| Sibling | Catherine CARGILL (1838 - ) |