Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Florence Carsons was born around 1853 in England. She married George Stokes, a widower with one son, in London in 1872.
The family emigrated to Otago on the Surat which was bound for Port Chalmers when she struck a rock off the Catlins coast on New Years Day 1874. The Captain ran the ship ashore at the mouth of the Catlins river. All passengers were landed safely but their luggage was left on the ship and suffered water damage.
In July 1874 George Stokes took a court case to retrieve his luggage that was left on the ship. The Captain told the passengers that their luggage would be sent up after them but the ship and cargo were authorised to be sold. George received three of their boxes which were water damaged; one month later he noticed one of his boxes in a shed in Jetty St. He applied to have it returned but was told he would have to pay to get it back. The case was non-suited and the report did not say if the luggage was finally returned.
There were seven children born to the Stokes family in Dunedin, and the family lived at first in Macandrew Road, South Dunedin. In 1881 the house the family were renting was totally destroyed by fire when the neighbouring house caught alight.
George died at Macandrew Rd in 1888, aged 44, leaving Florence with seven young children. George was an office holder in the United Ancient Order of Druids, Lodge Enterprise, South Dunedin. After his death they took up a collection among Lodges in New Zealand and Australia, raising £116 pounds, 4 shillings and 8 pence. This was used to purchase a five roomed house andsection for the use and benefit of Mrs Stokes and family.
In 1893, while Florence was living in Alexander St, Caversham, working as a music teacher, her 16 year old daughter Nellie died. Three years later her 14 year old son also died.
Florence died on 23 December 1917 and she is buried in the Southern Cemetery with her family.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
DCC Cemetery Records http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/facilities/cemeteries/cemeteries-search
Family Search https://www.familysearch.org
Free BDM https://www.freebmd.org.uk
GRO England https://www.gro.gov.uk
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
