Biography provided by Cecilia Wong-Cornall
Eva Abigail Leighton was born on 15 December 1868 to Charlotte and James Frances Leighton in Auckland, New Zealand [1]. She was the fourth of eight children [2].
Her father, James Frances Leighton, descended from a long-standing family of bookbinders in England [3]. He was born in the parish of Clerkenwell, London in 1830 [4], and immigrated to New Zealand in 1855 [5]. He established a successful bookbinding and stationary business, J. F. Leighton and Sons Ltd on High Street, Auckland, which afforded a comfortable lifestyle for his family [3-5].
Her mother, Charlotte (née Read), was born in 1836 in Titchfield, Hampshire, England [6], and left for Australia with her parents and siblings onboard the Barrackpore in 1853 [7]. Charlotte and James were married on 1 May 1858 at St Paul’s Church in Auckland, New Zealand [8]. Charlotte passed away in 1882, aged 46, when Eva was only 14 years old [9].
According to electoral roll records, Eva lived at the family homestead on Collingwood Street in Ponsonby, Auckland until 1900 [10]. Eva listed ‘home duties’ as her occupation in the electoral rolls between 1893 – 1900 [10]. Two other signatories on the petition (p. 388) – E. P. Leighton and S. A. Leighton – were Sarah’s sisters and they were living together at the Collingwood Street address in 1893 [10].
Eva married James Hanna Hutchison, a builder, at All Saint’s Church in Ponsonby on 4 December 1901 [11]. The couple had two children: Alan James Hanna born 8 January 1905, and Marjorie Emily Leighton born 23 March 1906. The family resided at 302 Jervois Road, Herne Bay, which is now the site of Jervois Residential Care [12]. Eva was widowed when her husband passed away on 3 September 1932 [13]. James left Eva an estate worth £1015.03 (equivalent to about $79,012.95 in 2025) which was a substantial amount for most people at the time [14].
US and Canadian immigration records and passenger list documented Eva’s travel through Hawaii [15], Vancouver [16], Seattle [17], and Los Angelas [19] from May to July 1936. It listed a Mr C. J. McDonald as the “Person in US” on her arrival documents [15].
Eva resided in Remuera and St Heliers later in her life [19-20]. She passed away in Auckland on 2 May 1967, aged 98. She was buried at Purewa Cemetery alongside her husband [21].
Sources:
[2] https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19050831.2.69?
[3] https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Leighton_Family_and_the_Sandemanian_Church
[5] https://ponsonbynews.co.nz/blogs/news/street-names-leighton-street
[6] https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/sources/MLTH-QX2
[7] https://www.findmypast.co.uk/
[8] https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DSC18580504.2.6?
[9] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/205507498/charlotte-leighton
[11] https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19011205.2.56?
[12]https://www.ancestryinstitution.com.au/search/collections/1836/records/29131442?
[13] https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19320912.2.23?
[15]https://www.ancestryinstitution.com.au/search/collections/1502/records/2453542?.
[16]https://www.ancestryinstitution.com.au/search/collections/1075/records/2708615?.
[17]https://www.ancestryinstitution.com.au/search/collections/1075/records/19413793?.
[18]https://www.ancestryinstitution.com.au/search/collections/1502/records/607344?.
[19]https://www.ancestryinstitution.com.au/search/collections/1836/records/24375529?
[20]https://www.ancestryinstitution.com.au/search/collections/1836/records/28632248?.