Biography contributed by Bernadette Siebert
Ellen Hindle was born in Salford, Lancashire, England in 1847, the eldest of four children born to Thomas Hindle and Sarah nee Coupe. Thomas, Sarah and their three daughters arrived in NZ on the Gertrude in February 1863. They took up a government land grant in Port Albert.
On 23 October 1874 Ellen married 32-year-old James Wright. James was born in 1842 in Barony, Lanarkshire, Scotland to John Wright and Isabella McLarin. John was in the Royal Sappers stationed in Gibraltar, Corfu, and Malta, and came to Auckland as a non-commissioned officer in 1849.
When James and Ellen were married in John Wright’s House, Moreton Street, Freeman’s Bay, Auckland, James was a bricklayer. They had seven children in Freeman’s Bay, with one daughter dying in infancy.
- Isabella Elizabeth (1876–1972)
- Thomas John (1877–1944)
- Sarah Ellen (1879–1925)
- Ethel Maud (1881–1976)
- Emma Ann Hindle (1884–1884)
- William Allan George (1885–1952)
- Norman Alfred (1887–1917)
In 1897 Ellen died suddenly at 49 from heart disease. The newspaper reported, 'she was shopping in Queen Street with her eldest daughter the previous evening, returning home about 10.30 pm, and after a light supper she retired to rest at 11.30, seemingly in the best of health and spirits. About an hour Iater her husband was awakened by her struggles, and leaving her in the care of the daughter, went for the doctor. Or his arrival, however, he pronounced life extinct'. She was buried in the Waikumete Cemetery. Ellen died intestate leaving 25 pounds cash and an allotment at Moreton Street worth 100 pounds.
In 1903 James remarried to widow, Rose Winifred Cawdron. She died in 1923. James and Ellen’s youngest child Norman served in the NZ Rifle Brigade in the First World War and was killed in action in June 1917 at Messines Ridge, Belgium. He left behind a wife and young child.
James died 1 Aug 1930 aged 88, still of Freemans Bay, Auckland. An inquest was held into his death after his son Thomas John Wright identified the body. 'Constable Yeoward, of Freeman's Bay, said that he called at Wright’s house yesterday and found it locked. He gained admittance through a window and found Wright lying dead by his bedside. He was only partly dressed and appeared to have been dead for two or three days.' He was buried in the Waikumete Cemetery with Ellen.
Ellen is the daughter of 24 Sarah Hindle and the sister of 24 Ann Hunt
Sources
Historical BDMs
Archway probate Ellen
PAPERS PAST Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1042, 5 August 1930, Page 10
PAPERS PAST Auckland Star, Volume XXV, Issue 122, 23 May 1894, Page 2
PAPERS PAST Auckland Star, Volume XXVIII, Issue 32, 8 February 1897, Page 3