Biography contributed by Bernadette Siebert
Eliza Jane Bain married Robert Bailey in County Down, Ireland in 1851. Eliza was 17-years-old and the daughter of labourer William Bain. Robert Bailey was one of four sons of John and Elizabeth, also from County Down, Ireland.
Two children were born in County Down:
- Eliza Jane (1857–1945)
- John (1860–1925)
By the 1861 census Robert and Eliza Jane were living in Liverpool, England, prior to immigrating to Auckland, NZ.
Another child was born and died there;
- Mary Ann (1864–1865)
Robert’s family and his brother Samuel Bailey likely came out to NZ around the same time in the late 1860s and they settled on land at Tryphena, Great Barrier Island in the Hauraki Gulf, where Eliza Jane and Robert’s last children were born.
- Anna (1870–1945)
- Robert William (c1870–1947)
- Agnes (1876–1912)
In 1870 Robert’s brother Samuel Bailey died by his own hand on the Great Barrier. Robert was the executor of his will and received the estate worth 400 pounds. He donated the land for the school in Tryphena, and was the chairman of the school committee and was significantly involved in the establishment of the Tryphena school. Robert and Eliza Jane lived on the Great Barrier Island the rest of their lives.
Robert died 17 November 1909 aged 82. He was buried in a small cemetery on private land with other Bailey and Alcock family members. Their daughter Agnes (married to Henry Penwell Alcock) died in 1912 aged 36. Her gravestone in the family cemetery was erected by her brother Robert William. Eliza Jane followed, dying in 1921 aged 87, and was buried in the family cemetery.
Eliza Jane is the mother of #380 Anna BAILEY, Tryphena, Great Barrier Island, and mother-in-law of #380 Ellen BAILEY, Tryphena, Great Barrier Island
Sources
Aotea Great Barrier Island Historic Survey
Archway probates Samuel Robert
PAPERS PAST Auckland Star, Volume LII, Issue 122, 24 May 1921, Page 12
Historical BDMs
Electoral Rolls (ancestry.com)