Mrs Elizabeth Trainor

This is probably the same Mrs E. Trainor who signed sheet 31.

Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley:

Elizabeth was born around 1840. She probably married Duncan McLarty in 1864 in Victoria, Australia. They came to New Zealand shortly after and had three children.

In 1869 they were living in Hamilton when Duncan met with an accident. He was thrown down and run over by his own dray while trying to stop it, and he died a month later. Their third child was born three days after Duncan’s death.

In 1870 Elizabeth married Andrew Trainor, a miner, and they lived at Papakaio near Oamaru. Elizabeth had a further seven children.

While in Papakaio, Elizabeth and Andrew featured in the court news as witnesses in a murder trial in 1882. That same year they moved to Dunedin and lived in Ross’s Buildings in the Octagon.

The Trainors were involved in another court case in 1888. Their son-in-law Frank Lombardi was accused of stabbing a man, he pleaded self-defence and was acquitted.

In 1918 the Trainors again featured in the news, giving evidence in a trial of obscene language they had witnessed. They were then living in Roslyn.

Elizabeth died on 28 July 1909, and she is buried in the Northern Cemetery with two of her children. Andrew died in 1912, he is buried in the Andersons Bay Cemetery with their son.

Sources

BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
BDM Victoria https://online.justice.vic.gov.au
DCC Cemetery Records http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/facilities/cemeteries/cemeteries-search
Family Search https://www.familysearch.org 
Otago Nominal Index  http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past  https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz