Family History 2.47

Bigelow History

 

William and Fanny, my Grandparents

 

William was born in 1876, the eldest son of John Smith Bigelow and Mary Ann (nee Brown).

 

He grew up in an atmosphere of shipbuilding, entertaining visiting ships' crews, and the community associated with the Ponsonby Baptist Church. His family were keen on sports of all kinds, but were best known for their enthusiastic support of the West End Rowing Club.

 

After his education (Ponsonby School), William joined the staff of Sargood, Son and Ewen, an importing firm, as office boy. When I was a child he was still working for them, and Mum and I used to call to see him whenever we went to town.

 

He was by this stage the Chief Accountant, and we would call at the old building in Victoria Street, where in an open-plan office, with a raised platform in the centre, Grandpa would sit with his huge ledgers and other account books, surrounded by rows of clerks, all busy writing in similar large account-books. All accounts were kept by hand, in copper-plate handwriting. Grandpa had won prizes for handwriting when younger.

 

In 1902, he was promoted to the office of the firm in New Plymouth, which was then on the corner of Currie and Courtenay Streets, where the Newspaper office is now. (When I started working in New Plymouth I met a man in his nineties who had worked for Sargoods, and he told me he could well remember Bill Bigelow working in the office.)

 

A year or so before moving to New Plymouth, William had married Felicia Ann Tremain Robinson (see later posts for the Robinson story), who was sometimes known as Fanny.

 

In New Plymouth, they built a house at a new subdivision called Soleville, after the developer, David Sole, in a street called David Street. All the neighbouring houses have been replaced by the Taranaki Hospice buildings, as the Hospital was later developed nearby.

 

When  this house was removed, it was taken to a new site in Mountain Road (State Highway 3A), nearly opposite to Manutahi Road, which connects the village of Lepperton to the main highway. It still sits on that site, looking as good as new!

 

Their first child, John, was born later that year. In 1905, they had a daughter, Felicia Mary, and a few years later a second daughter, Winifred Amy.

 

William was fully involved in the life of the town. His name is still visible on the Honours Board of the West End Bowling Club as one of the original committee. He would have had to walk around ten minutes from his home to the club grounds in Cutfield Road.

 

If you search the newspapers of that era you will find his name occurring as a member of Rugby and Soccer teams, playing in tennis tournaments, and in lists of citizens supporting the election of the mayor.

 

He and his family regularly visited their folks in Auckland: the passenger lists of the steamer for Onehunga details their journeys up and down the coast.

 

In 1912, with Jack and Mary already attending a branch of West End School, at the time the largest school in Taranaki, William was transferred on promotion again, back to the Auckland office.