Originally transcribed as Mrs W. I. Bassett
Biography contributed by Wendy Napier-Walker
Mrs W J [William John] Bassett was born Ann Jane Leonard in 1856, Ireland to Thomas Leonard and his wife Margaret Mary Ann Bassett.
In 1879 Annie Leonard married her cousin William John Bassett in Auckland. They had five children.
The 1893 and 1896 electoral rolls record William John Bassett as Mill Foreman, Aratapu. This was a saw milling town.
William John Bassett died on 13 December 1914 age 65 years at Dargaville and is buried in the Old Mt Wesley cemetery, Dargaville. A newspaper Obituary records that the last twenty-six years he held positions with the Kauri Timber Company and was a recognised authority in timber milling.
Annie Jane Bassett died on 11 July 1950 age 94 and is buried with her husband in the Old Mt Wesley cemetery, Dargaville.
Sources
Bassett Family Association Database
Ancestry Public Family Trees
New Zealand Herald, 15 December 1914, pg 9 – Personal Items