Biography contributed by Bernadette Siebet
Jane was born Jane Elizabeth Lock in Dunchurch, Warwickshire, England in 1852, daughter of Thomas Lock, a labourer and his wife Sarah. Four years earlier, in 1848 in the same parish, George Wilson was baptised, son of William and Sarah. These two families probably knew each other well, with the Dunchurch population being around 1300 in 1850.
On 8 April 1874 at Dunchurch, Jane Elizabeth Lock and George Wilson were married. Two months later, they emigrated to Auckland, on board the ship, Oxford, leaving London 6 June and arriving on 8 September 1874. George’s parents, William and Sarah Wilson immigrated to NZ also, on board Brodick Castle, in 1876, with four more children, another daughter having died on the voyage out.
George and Jane lived first in Auckland and later settled in Dome Valley, where they lived for some 10 or 12 years. There, five children were born.
- Ellen (Nellie) (1879–1953)
- Albert William (1883–??)
- Rose Jane Wilson (1884–1965)
- Arthur Frederick George Wilson (1888–1960)
- Alice Ada Elizabeth Wilson (1890–1964)
According to Jane’s obituary, the couple then took over 'Bridge House' boarding house, Warkworth, over which she presided for about 18 years, selling out to Mrs Kaspar about 1928, and retiring to live in Auckland. The late Mr. George Wilson died shortly after moving to Bridge House. It is likely that Jane ran the boarding house. In the Wise´s NZ Post Office Directories, George is listed as a carpenter. He died in 1907, and in the directories after that Mrs Jane E Wilson appears in Warkworth, as boarding hse [keeper].
When Jane died in 1931, she was remembered as being 'of a kindly nature, and many of her former boarders will have pleasant recollections of the motherly way in which she looked after their comfort, and made the house feel homelike.' Her estate worth 900 pounds was to be divided equally between her children, except 250 pounds previously advanced to her son Arthur. She is buried with husband George at Warkworth Cemetery, with a headstone commemorating both.
Sources
PAPERS PAST Rodney and Otamatea Times, Waitemata and Kaipara Gazette, 5 August 1931, Page 1
ARCHWAY – probate
Historical BDM
Wise’s NZ Post Office Directories (ancestry.com)