Originally transcribed as Lillian Bubb
Biography contributed by Bernadette Siebert
Elizabeth Mary Ann 'Lil' Swains was born in 1871 Fulmer, Buckinghamshire, England. She was the only surviving child of William and Elizabeth Mary Ann. Her father died when she was five and her mother remarried to George Green. George and Elizabeth Green and family including 14-year-old Elizabeth (Swain) arrived in Auckland in 1885 on the Tongariro.
Elizabeth Mary Ann Swains married Thomas Henry Babb in Mahurangi in 1892. Thomas Babb was born in Staffordshire, England and immigrated with his family. Before his marriage he was a gumdigger of Hakarau. The couple continued to live in Hakarau and three children were born:
- Alice Lillian Florence Babb Birth (1894–1908)
- Arthur Percy Thomas (1895–1916)
- Harold Roy Hector (1899–1971) known later as Harry Wilson
Elizabeth’s husband Thomas Babb died in the Auckland Hospital in 1906, two days after admission. He had been working up to the time of his admission, and thought his trouble was only an ordinary cold. It was found that he was in the last stages of consumption. The paper asked for charitable donations for the family, 'a widow, a most respectable woman, but, unfortunately, not robust, and three children —ages 12, 10 and 7. One of the children is at present laid up. These poor creatures were left totally unprovided for. The widow was obliged to apply to the Charitable Aid Board to bury the husband, and the Board has granted three months' rations for the children.'
She had moved the family into Auckland. In 1911 they were living in Hobson Street. But Elizabeth’s troubles weren’t over as her only daughter died in Auckland Hospital 1908, aged 14 years and 5 months. Alice Lilian was buried in Waikumete Cemetery with her father.
In May 1913, in Auckland, Elizabeth Babb married William Govan Wilson, a 34-year-old farmer from Matakana. No children were born of this marriage. Elizabeth’s eldest son Arthur was KIA in France on 5 June 1916 aged 20. Elizabeth died first in Matakana in 1934 aged 62 and was buried in the Matakana Cemetery. Her headstone reads: In fond memory of E.M.A. Lil, beloved wife of W Govan Wilson.
William died in 1938 aged 58y in Matakana. He lived alone and was found dead in his bed of natural causes. He is buried in the Matakana Cemetery also. His probate left his estate of nearly 900 pounds to the children of his brother.
Sources
Auckland Museum Online Cenotaph
Assisted Immigration Passenger List Tongariro
PAPERS PAST Auckland Star, Volume XXXVII, Issue 176, 25 July 1906, Page 8
PAPERS PAST Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 240, 10 October 1935, Page 1
Electoral Rolls (ancestry.com)
Archway probate