THE QUALTROUGHS went in for good, plain first names, carrying them down the generations like family heirlooms.

No doubt they clarified the situation themselves with references to "William's Edward" or "Edward's William" or "James's James" and "Catherine's Catherine", "Elizabeth Jane", "Elizabeth Anne" and so on and so on, plus the Billys and Willys, the Katys and Kittys.

We shall try to make it equally clear just who we are writing about and trust that within your line of descent it all makes sense.

Two branches of the extensive Qualtrough clan left the Isle of Man in 1859.

They were the WILLIAM AMBROSE QUALTROUGHS who went as far as Liverpool and the JAMES QUALTROUGHS who went on further - to New Zealand

William (Ambrose) QUALTROUGH was christened as William but his son's N.Z. death certificate includes the name Ambrose. (See Death Certificate)

James took all his family save the second daughter, thus being the first in the new land to give Pakeha and Maori something to get their tongues around.

In 1860 there is record of a MARGARET QUALTROUGH disembarking in Lyttelton.

Then in 1882, the above William Ambrose's second son EDWARD QUALTROUGH, aged 23, left Britain for New Zealand and in due course established a family of five - one son and four daughters.

Much later upon the New Zealand scene came yet another branch -THOMAS MOORE QUALTROUGH - who arrived in 1920. His brother RICHARD CECIL QUALTROUGH took the plunge in 1925.

Also in the 1920's there is record of a JAMES EDWARD QUALTROUGH living in Christchurch, having come from Britain though born on the Isle of Man.

Next we have two daughters and a son of one WILLIAM EDWARD QUALTROUGH who left the Isle of Man in 1886 with the popular Liverpool his Mecca.

(Liverpool's attraction for Manxmen appears threefold: within easy distance of the Island and close to the beloved sea; a city large enough to give employment yet with rural outskirts suited to small farming.)

These latter three Qualtrough-comers are relatively shiny-new. They are sisters MONA ANNE McMAHON, who emigrated from Britain in 1953, HELENA FLORENCE ROCKHILL and their brother RONALD CLIVE QUALTROUGH who came out in 1956.

Last up - at the time of writing! - is ANN GRIFFITHS who came to Auckland directly from the Isle of Man in 1967.

For easier following of our Qualtrough saga in sifting who's who, the last shall be first, working backwards in Time.

WEATHERWISE:

ANN GRIFFITHS is the daughter of the late Edward Fleming Qualtrough (died 1952) and Kathleen Mary Qualtrough (nee Weeks) who died in 1956.

Deciding to leave the Isle of Man, Ann considered Australia, Canada and New Zealand as future homelands and chose the latter because of the climate. Australia was too hot, she thought and Canada too cold - sounds like the porridge of the three bears, doesn't it? Now Mrs Donald Griffiths, of Glendowie, Anne has three children. (See genealogical chart 13)

LEFT LIVERPOOL

THE FATHER of Liverpudlians MONA McMAHON, the late HELENA ROCKHILL and RON QUALTROUGH, William Edward Qualtrough, had a proud boast within his family that he had left the Isle of Man "with sixpence (five cents) in my pocket"

He became a baker and who could resist the temptation to make the obvious puns about earning a good crust and making dough for he was first apprenticed to a Mr Costain and ultimately became a master baker. He owned a bakery and a shop in Irlam Road, Bootle, and another shop in Hawthorne Road, Bootle, a suburb of Liverpool.

William Edward sold both businesses in 1924 and bought a bakery in Everton, Liverpool, which he disposed of in 1936 when he retired. He died in 1945 and is interred in the West Derby Cemetery.

He married three times but had children by his third wife only, the former Emily Brownell, a nurse whom he had met when she was working with his sister Catherine. Emily died in 1958 and is buried with her husband.

There were six children of the marriage and the New Zealand connections are the fourth, fifth and sixth in the family, Helena Florence, Mona Anne and Ronald Clive respectively. Helena married Charles J. Rockhill. She had no children and died in Auckland in 1975. Mona married Leonard Joseph McMahon (now deceased) and lives at Howick. She has four children.

Ron, the youngest of the family, married Eileen Stanley in Liverpool and they left there in 1956. They live at Glendowie, Auckland, and have a daughter, Catherine, now living in Cairo with her family which befits the Qualtrough tradition of seeking out the faraway places. 

See Genealogical Chart 11

FORESAW DEPRESSION

CLOSER to home is Te Aroha, in the Waikato, the cradle valley of the next branch of Qualtroughs in New Zealand, the THOMAS MOORE (Tom) QUALTROUGHS and the RICHARD CECIL QUALTROUGHS

Left: Thomas Moore (Tom) Qualtrough

THOMAS MOORE QUALTROUGH, born Colby, Isle of Man. Tom came to Te Aroha, NZ in 1920 where he farmed at Elstow till his retirement to Te Aroha where he lives.

Tom was born at Ballakilpheric, north of Colby, IOM, in 1900, the son of Richard and Emily Anna (Moore) Qualtrough. The family appears to have shifted not long after to Ballacregeen, south of Colby

Both grandparents farmed property adjoining Ballacregeen, the Qualtroughs to the south-east on Strandhall and the Moores to the north-west on Claughvane, so the families saw much of each other.

Tom's memories of farming on Ballacregeen are that it was mainly grain-growing and cropping. In their last year (1913) they took on the town milk supply to Port St. Mary

A visit from a friend of the family's, a New Zealander, gave Tom the impetus to emigrate and his first job, acquired through a newspaper advertisement, was with the Horn family near Te Aroha.

Tom married Evelyn Henderson and they farmed at Elstow until retiring to Te Aroha itself in 1960.

Left: Richard Cecil Qualtrough

RICHARD CECIL QUALTROUGH, born in Colby, Isle of Man. 

Cecil came to Te Aroha, NZ in 1925 where he farmed 

till his death in 1959

In 1914 Richard Qualtrough took a five-year lease of the Friary farm at Ballabeg which he held until his death in 1918. When the lease was about to expire his widow, Emily Anna, was advised to sell up as a financial depression was being forecast to follow World War 1.

Tom's brother RICHARD CECIL, (known as Cecil), finding it difficult to obtain work on the Isle of Man during the Depression years, took Tom's recommendation to try New Zealand in 1925.

For some time he worked on the dairy farm of Mr. Bill Livingstone, Matamata, then after his marriage to Jessie Hight, of Waitoa, in 1935 he became a sharemilker for the Andrews Brothers of Elstow. In 1943 he leased a 52 hectare property at Elstow, next to his brother's, which he farmed until his death in 1959.

Both properties are now farmed by the respective sons and a further interesting point is that Tom's daughter, Mrs Dorothy Anderton of Hamilton, has been a treasurer of the New Zealand Manx Society.

Upon giving up the Friary farm, Emily Anna Qualtrough, mother of émigrés, Tom and Cecil, still back in the Isle of Man, ran a dress shop in Port St. Mary, which was taken over by an unmarried daughter, Emily, who retired from the business only a few years ago.

Another daughter, Anna, who lives at Colby, learnt the bakery business as a young girl and is still an excellent cook, making cakes by the dozens for church bazaars. 

ON HIS OWN - JAMES EDWARD QUALTROUGH

THE N.Z. DEATH certificate of JAMES EDWARD QUALTROUGH who passed away in 1955 at the age of 81, states that he had lived in New Zealand for 35 years, that he was born on the Isle of Man, the son of Thomas and Jane Qualtrough who are described as 'mixed farmers'.

It also gives the information that he had married a Martha Thompson in Liverpool at 35 years of age (1909), but records no widow upon his demise. His occupation is given as gardener.

A death notice in the CHRISTCHURCH PRESS February 1, 1955, identifies him as "loved stepfather of Blanche Wild" with grandchildren named.

James Edward appears to have been a home-owner in several suburbs in Christchurch before his demise. We infer that he migrated to New Zealand from Britain on his own, presumably widowed (or, less likely, separated from his wife) to live near to his next-of-kin although no record of a New Zealand marriage has been found. he would have been 46 years of age on his arrival. He is interred in the Sydenham cemetery

(Recent research has located James Edward QUALTROUGH’s wife, Martha.

Her full name was Martha Ann QUALTROUGH. She died on 10 October 1945 at the age of 63. Her last address was 16 Churchill Street, Christchurch, and she was buried from St Luke’s Church. However the records did not say where she was interred. There is no indication whether she and James were married in New Zealand or in Liverpool).

ADVENTUROUS GROCER - EDWARD QUALTROUGH

THE South Seas obviously held a charm, or a chance in the really practical sense of an improved lifestyle, for the Qualtrough clan.

Picture shows WILLIAM EDWARD QUALTROUGH, son of Edward and Rose (Whiteman) Qualtrough, and his bride, Annie May Tunnicliffe, on their wedding day in 1918.

They were married in Wiltshire, England.

In 1882 EDWARD QUALTROUGH, son of William Ambrose Qualtrough -who had left the Isle of Man in 1859 to farm near to Liverpool -followed the call of the sea for which he apparently had an affinity as there are mentions in family communications of his having voyaged about the world on sailing ships. Whether that is prior to his emigration or as part of it is not quite certain.

Annie May (TUNNICLIFFE) QUALTROUGH, wife of William Edward, pictured left, in later life. With her husband and family, she lived at Glen Eden, Auckland where they grew strawberries for the markets.

Below: QUALTROUGH CORNER, on the corner of Symonds Street and Kyber Pass Road in Auckland. This grocery store was established by EDWARD QUALTROUGH in the 1890s. This valuable site was later owned by Sneddens and Grace Bros.

The father, William Ambrose (1825-1897) of Eairystain, had married Margaret Kinvig in the Parish Church of Arbory in 1851. William Ambrose had purchased land at Ballabeg, Arbory, from a Jane Caveen and this he sold to William Harrison of Ballabeg in 1859 shortly before leaving for Liverpool. At this time the family was living at Cronk Moar, Rushen.

William Ambrose and Margaret produced a family of five sons and three daughters. They were William John (1851-1916) who became a commissioned officer in the British Army and who served mainly in India; Edward, who emigrated to New Zealand; Thomas who grew up in Liverpool and became a baker; Joseph (known later as Ambrose Joseph) who emigrated to the United States of America and became an officer in the Navy; Margaret Ann (Clucas); Jane (Cashin) and Catherine (Watterson). Another son, Ambrose Joseph, died in 1857 aged one year

(NB It has recently been discovered that Joseph, the son who emigrated to the USA never did enter the Navy. Instead it appears he went to Cleveland, Ohio, and is buried there in the Highland Park Cemetery. It is thought he died in the 1890s. His name appears on the Mona’s Relief Society Monument in the Manx section of the Cemetery.) (Go to Cleveland, Ohio article)

Edward, who had learnt the grocery business first in Liverpool then in London (working for a large department store) arrived in New Zealand at 23 years of age and he married in 1887. (On the marriage certificate he is described as a 'settler'. This could have applied either to his electoral role status or his promptness in paying bills for Edward was man of excellent character, practising the Christian faith and later in life to be described by fellow businessmen as "one of Nature's gentlemen".)

His bride was Rose Matilda Whiteman (whose father was also a 'settler') and the pair must have been full of adventure for they sailed off to try their luck in sunny Queensland. (See Marriage Certificate)

Edward went into business for himself in Brisbane and thence to Tonga where he managed the Burns’ Philp Trading Store. During that period he and Rose were the only white-skinned residents in Tonga. Their daughter, Jessie, died there and the Qualtroughs returned to New Zealand.

In the 1890s Edward established a grocery shop - said to be the biggest and best for miles around - at the corner of Symonds Street and Khyber Pass Road in Auckland. It was known as Qualtrough's Corner while Edward was in business but later changed ownership -and merchandise which ranged from women's clothing (Sneddens) to furniture (Grace Bros). He then established a grocery shop in Kingsland which later became known in the district as 'Page's'.

As previously mentioned, Edward was a man of principle, a lay preacher and one often described as 'of the old school', but he was also kindly and with a good sense of humour, according to the memories of one of his daughters, the late Mona Thompson

When he sold his grocery business Edward became an orchardist at Oratia, a fertile fruit-farming area west of Auckland. He was a Mason for more than 20 years holding the offices at Waitakere Lodge of Past Master and Chaplain. He died in 1942. 

(See Death Certificate)

Edward and Rose produced five children - William Edward, Jessie, Florence, Mona and Olive.

William Edward (born 1888) and called Billie within the family, served in World War 1. He was severely wounded - losing a leg -and returned to New Zealand with an English nurse as his bride, Annie May Tunnicliffe.

On his homeward voyage after war service, William Edward met up in Buenos Aires with his Uncle Ambrose Joseph, his father's youngest brother. Ambrose Joseph had called into Auckland with the U.S. fleet early in the 1900's but, rather sadly, the brothers had not seen each other.

(There appears to be a conflict of memory and fact here. Firstly Ambrose Joseph (or Joseph as he was also known) did not enter the US Navy and died in Cleveland, Ohio in the 1890s – see above. The Uncle in the Great White Fleet was in fact a more distant relative, one Edward Francis Qualtrough. He is discussed fully in the article on his life in the US Navy and his part in the epic journey of the Naval Fleet in the early 1900s. 

(Go to Great White Fleet article.)

Digressing a little here, Ambrose Joseph had a daughter named Margaret Olive (now deceased) who had a son Henry Qualtrough Turville. Manx and American kinsfolk have been in correspondence with each other.

William Edward had land at Glen Eden, near Oratia, and grew strawberries for the market - and his children and grandchildren, no doubt. He died in 1958 aged 70 and Annie died in 1981 aged 84.

Of Edward's three daughters (Jessie having died in childhood), Florence married Douglas Farley and had five children. She died in 1981. Mona married Ernest Thompson and had one child. Mona died in 1971. The youngest daughter, Olive, lives in Ponsonby, Auckland, and is unmarried.

Florrie and Mona were most interested in their family's background and for several years before her death Mona corresponded with family connections in the Isle of Man. It is due to her industry and talent for research that so much of the Edward Qualtroughs has come to be known. How she would have enjoyed this book of ours.' (See Genealogical Chart 23).

IN CHARGE:

THE PASSENGER list of the Roman Emperor berthing at Lyttelton in 1860 bore the information that one MARGARET QUALTROUGH landed "in precarious health". But whether from seasickness or the strain of chaperoning forty widowed and single women and children on the voyage out was not stated. Margaret (29) of Middlesex (at the time of leaving England), was matron to the females emigrating under Government sponsorship to balance the sexes in the pioneering land. There appears to be no further news of the ailing Margaret, good or bad, at the time of writing.