Agnes Fox

Biographical information provided by Briar Barry for the He Tohu exhibition:

Agnes was married to Ambrose Fox but they separated around 1895. In 1902 she applied for a maintenance order against her husband as he had contributed nothing towards her support during their separation. However, the Charitable Aid Board refused to help her because Ambrose owned property at Mount Somers, near Ashburton. The court ordered Ambrose to pay Agnes 6 shillings per week (About $20 by today’s standards). It is likely that Agnes lived in considerable poverty. She must have moved to Christchurch as she is listed as the next of kin on her son Ambrose Junior’s military records from when he fought in the First World War. 

Additional biographical information contributed by Clare Cramond

Agnes and Ambrose Fox immigrated to Lyttleton, New Zealand in 1874.  They were a young married couple; Agnes was 20 and Ambrose was 23, a shepherd from Yorkshire.  They were assisted immigrants on the Varuna and their journey lasted three and a half months.

When Agnes signed the Petition in 1893, she was living at Mount Somers near Ashburton.  Ambrose and Agnes had seven children, John (1875), Elizabeth Mary Jane (1877), Ambrose (1880), William David (1883), Agnes Susanna (1885), George (1888) and Jessie (1891).  Mr A Fox was elected to the Mount Somers householders’ committee in 1889 and Mrs Fox was the sewing mistress at Mount Somers School in 1890.

Around 1895 the couple separated.  Ambrose had mental health issues as reported in the local newspaper.  Further court reports from 1896 describe Agnes’ attempts to get Ambrose to pay the maintenance she had been awarded. Then in 1899 the Ashburton Hospital Committee described him as a 'not very desirable patient.' In 1902 Agnes again applied for maintenance as she had received nothing. The Charitable Aid Board refused to help because Ambrose owned property at Mount Somers and the court ordered him to pay Agnes 6 shillings per week. He had shifted to Geraldine and was working as a fishmonger. He died in 1931 and surprisingly his death notice says 'dearly beloved husband of Agnes Fox.'

Agnes had moved to Christchurch and was there when she is listed as next of kin to her sons Ambrose and William David who served in the First World War. Agnes died on 24 May 1934 at the Ashburton home of her son George was buried at the Ashburton Cemetery.

Sources

'New Zealand, Archives New Zealand, Passenger Lists, 1839-1973', FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FSB1-MZZ : Wed Nov 01 04:49:57 UTC 2023), Entry for Ambrose Fox, 27 May 1874.

Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/ Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2117, 24 April 1889 Page 3

Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/ Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2368, 6 March 1890 Page 2

NZ Electoral Rolls 1853-2010, 1893, Canterbury, Rangitata, Page22

Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/ Ashburton Guardian, Volume XVII, Issue 3641, 27 July 1895 Page 2

Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/ Ashburton Guardian, Volume XVII, Issue 3792, 23 January 1896 Page 3

NZ Electoral Rolls 1853-2010, 1896, Ashburton, Page 84

Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/ Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXI, Issue 4866, 8 August 1899 Page 1

Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/ Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXI, Issue 5677, 5 June 1902 Page 3

Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/ Ashburton Guardian, Volume 51, Issue 98, 5 February 1931, Page 1

Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/ Ashburton Guardian, Volume 54, Issue 189, 24 May 1934 Page 1

Births Deaths and Marriages Online   https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/

Cenotaph Record: https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/C43561