J. Buchanan

Originally transcribed as L Buchanan

Biography contributed by Kathy Viney (great-granddaughter)

Jessie was born in 1874 on the Thames Goldfields. Her birth was registered at Shortland, Thames. Jessie is the daughter of Neil Buchanan (born in Argyll, Scotland) and Ann Burk (born in Warrington, Lancashire). She was the tenth of their eleven children.

Jessie came to the Manawatū (to Campbelltown, now Rongotea) as a baby. Her family settled on Hammonds Line, and from the farm there she walked to Campbelltown School, a round trip of five miles (8km) over bush tracks. She met Martin Hunt, whose family farmed on the next road east of Hammonds Line, at 'Ringwood'. Jessie was 19 when they married in May 1893. It was a double wedding, with Jessie’s sister, Grace, marrying Martin’s brother, Warren, on the same day.

Jessie’s first baby arrived within a year of the wedding. She and Martin had four sons in a row before a longed-for daughter, Annie, was born on Jessie's 29th birthday. The following year Jessie’s fourth son, 'Little Eddie', died of blood poisoning aged two.

Jessie and Martin farmed at 'Ringwood' after their marriage and their first child was born there. They moved over to a farm on Hammonds Line about 1896, a property next door to Jessie’s parents, and which Martin and Jessie later purchased. They named their farm 'Willow Creek'. Martin went into dairy farming and was quick to adopt the latest milking machine technology when it became available. Their farm was well known for top quality milk and cream.

The cottage at 'Willow Creek' was replaced by a smart new farm house in 1906. It was 2,500 square feet with all modern conveniences, though no electricity to begin with. Jessie had a wood stove that produced homemade bread and doughnuts, along with wholesome meals for her family. A large garden was developed around the house, with Martin in charge of the orchard and growing vegetables and Jessie more interested in the flower garden.

The Hunts’ rare trips to Palmerston North were made by horse and gig. Martin was among the first in the district to own a car, though he never drove: that task was left to his children, including daughter Annie who continued to drive well into her nineties.

Jessie was musical and passed this talent to her children: she played the organ. Early in their marriage Martin and Jessie joined the Brethren Assembly, taking part in church affairs, and bringing their children up in a Christian home. Faith, family and farm formed the foundation of their life, along with caring for the sick and needy. During wartime, Jessie was a prominent worker in the local guild, preparing supplies to send to soldiers abroad.

Jessie travelled to Wellington Hospital for significant surgery in 1934, but recovered fully. After their son James married, and took over the farm, Martin and Jessie moved to Auckland to retire. They lived with their daughter and son-in-law, Annie and Edward Goulstone at 9 Newhaven Street, Ellerslie. Martin and Jessie paid for an extra two rooms to be added in the house when it was built around 1936. (Grandson, Allan Goulstone, recalls he and his sister were not allowed in those two rooms except when Grandma and Grandpa were in residence.)

In 1943, Jessie and Martin celebrated their Golden Wedding in Rongotea. With Jessie’s health deteriorating, they moved back to the farm where James and his wife Ailsa, a nurse, cared for Jessie until she passed away in August 1944. She was buried at Rongotea Cemetery.

'Willow Creek' farm was still in the family in 2020, being owned by Jessie’s grandson, Robin Hunt with his wife, Vera.

Sources

"The Hunt Family: 150 Years in New Zealand, 1840-1990" by Vera Hunt

Births, Deaths & Marriages New Zealand Birth cert 1874/920

"The Hunt Family: 150 Years in New Zealand 1840-1990" by Vera Hunt. Copy held by Kathy (Goulstone) Viney.

Ancestry.com. New Zealand, Birth Index, 1840-1950 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.

"New Zealand, Obituaries, 1844-1963," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGTV-8QTQ : 13 February 2020), Mr N B Hunt in entry for Mr Martin Wood Hunt, 13 Feb 1953; citing New Zealand, various New Zealand newspapers; FHL microfilm 287,499.

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com: accessed 20 September 2020), memorial page for Jessie Buchanan Hunt (1874–26 Aug 1944), Find a Grave Memorial no. 174290399, citing Rongotea Cemetery, Rongotea, Manawatu District, Manawatu-Wanganui, New Zealand ; Maintained by Daisy✿ (contributor 47104279) .

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXIV, Issue 231, 28 August 1944, Page 1

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIV, Issue 307, 24 November 1934, Page 11