Reverend Samuel W. Entrican & Laura Alice England: some research notes
Rev Samuel Walter (Sam) Entrican born 10 November 1871 at “Craigmonaghan House”,
Castlederg, Co. Tyrone,
Northern Ireland reland, the 8th child and 5th son in a family of 11. He
graduated with a Master’s Degree from the Royal University of Ireland,
Belfast, and came to Auckland, New
Zealand in 1889 as a probationary Presbyterian minister.
Father:
Robert Entrican, born 7 February 1833 Stoney Falls, Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland, son
of James & Sarah (nee Bogle)
Entrican. Died 21 March 1916, Avondale,
Auckland, New Zealand
Mother: Jane
nee Jack, born 1834 Magheracoltan, Co
Tyrone, Ireland, daughter of Andrew and
Elizabeth (nee Welsh) Jack. Died 3 August
1925, Auckland, New Zealand.
They
married 7 February 1856 in Strabane, Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland
“ENTRICAN-JACK: In the First Presbyterian
Church, Ardstraw, on the 7th
inst., by the Rev. Andrew Chark, MR ROBERT ENTRICAN, Stoneyfalls, to JANE, youngest daughter of the late MR ANDREW
JACK, Magheracoltan.”
Ex Ardstraw
Parish Marriage Announcements 1850-59, collated from the “Londonderry Sentinel
and “Londonderry Standard”
Griffiths’
valuation of Ireland 1847-1864 lists Robert Entrican as a tenant of the Marquis
of Abercorn, of whom he held a house, offices and farmland at Ardstraw, Lower Strabane, Co.
Tyrone. Robert Entrican offered this property for sale 22 July 1868 – see
Entrican Family Notes below
See:
Entrican Family Notes 1839-1946- various personal announcements – births,
death, marriages etc - relating to the Entrican family in Co Tyrone. http://www.cotyroneireland.com/surnames/entrican.html
In
1876 Robert is recorded as a landowner
in Co. Tyrone holding the following properties; at Craigmonaghan, Castlederg, a
viilage on the River Derg, 104 acres, and at Brocklis, Ardstrawbridge,
Newtownstewart, 85 acres.
Ex.
Landowners in Co. Tyrone 1876
Robert
& Jane Entrican came to New Zealand
in 1890 with their 2 youngest children, all the others in the family (excepting
the Rev John Entrican, who remained in Ireland) having preceded them to this country in dribs and drabs
– the first two to make the move being sons James Cuthbertson Entrican and Andrew Jack Entrican.
See
“Obituary : Mr Robert Entrican, “NZ Herald”,
22 March 1916
Diamond
Wedding: Mr & Mrs Robert Entrican, Avondale, Auckland.
“Auckland
Star”, 7 February 1916
Death of a
Well-Known Citizen: Mr Robert Entrican
“Auckland
Star”, 21 March 1916
Both Robert
and Jane Entrican are buried at the Waikaraka Park Cemetery ,Auckland, along
with their daughter Jennie Jack Entrican.
Robert & Jane Entrican's children
!) Rev. John Entrican B.A. (1858-1944) Presbyterian
minister- remained in Ireland. Married Mary Knox Mitchell at Belfast in 1899. Died at Cookstown, buried at Belfast Cemetery, Co. Antrim , Northern Ireland. Associated
for many years with the Cookstown Presbyterian Church, Co. Tyrone. Ireland.
2) Andrew Jack Entrican (1858-1936) Arrived in Auckland NZ 11
January 1880 per ship “Ben Nevis” Became a notable merchant, importer, manufacturing agent and civic personage. He was later joined by his brother James Cutherbertson Entrican and Robert James Sims, who married his youngest sister, Nannie Entrican. What was first known as the Entrican Building was built for £10,000
in 1903 and 1904 as a trading store and warehouse for Messrs A.J. Entrican and
Co . The company was later known as A.J. Entrican, Sims & Company Ltd. –
photo of company building taken between 1940-49
at Auckland Libraries Heritage images
Mr Entrican chaired the Auckland Harbour
Board and was Deputy Mayor of Auckland for 21 years. He was a member of the
Auckland Fire Board, the drainage board, the Auckland Patriotic Society, the
Chamber of Commerce and Merchants' Association as well as a trustee of the
Auckland Savings Bank.
In 1970 the building was named Australis
House and converted into commercial offices.
In the 1880s Andrew Entrican built a grand
Victorian mansion in Ponsonby (29
Hepburn Street , Freeman’s Bay), currently undergoing restoration. Married
Elizabeth Mary Mackay 1883. Buried Waikaraka Park Cemetery, Auckland, NZ..
See Obituary: Death of a Citizen: Mr A.J.
Entrican
“NZ Herald”, 20 February 1936.
3) Robert John Entrican (1859-1928) Married
Annie Isabella Lamb 1897. Buried at Wairaraka Park Cemetery, Auckland, NZ. Father of engineer and forestry expert Alexander
Robert (Pat) Entrican
Unnamed infant daughter, died 20 Dec 1862
at Stoney Falls of whooping cough, aged one month.
4) James
Cuthbertson Entrican (1864-1951). Note that 'Cuthbertson" was the maiden name of his father Robert's paternal grandmother, Rebecca Isabella Entrican nee Cuthbertson. James came to Auckland, NZ on the ship “Tongariro” in 1885. Initially went into
business with Robert William Gallaugher, an acquaintance from home, their
business being named Gallaugher & Entrican. Like Entrican & Sims they operated as wholesale provision merchants.
J.C. Entrican also served on the Council. When Gallaugher married Ellen Annie
Mackay, daughter of Captain Richard Mackay of Ponsonby in 1889, James Entrican
stood as a witness at their wedding. (Gallaugher’s wife Ellen Annie Mackay was
a sister of Andrew Entrican’s wife Elizabeth Mary Mackay) After a few years James Entrican parted ways with
Gallaugher and in 1892 joined his brother to form A.J.
Entrican & Co., Married 1) Elizabeth
Mary McPherson 1892. She died in 1910 and he remarried, 2) Annie Sofia Meyer in
1914. Buried St Ninian’s Churchyard, Avondale, Auckland, NZ.
See ENTRICAN FAMILY at St Ninian’s of
Avondale
5) Sarah Bogle Entrican (!865-1924)
Married at Castlederg, Co Tyrone, Ireland,
to Robert Alexander Houston 1889 then came to NZ. Sarah and her husband are
both buried at Waikaraka Park Cemetery, Auckland., NZ Death notice, ‘NZ Herald”
15 November 1924
6) Elizabeth (Lissie) Deborah Welsh
Entrican (1866-1961)
Married James Black Ramsay 1897. Buried Purewa
Cemetery, Auckland.
7) Jennie Jack Entrican (1870-1955) aka
Sister Grace (Never married)
Buried with her parents at Wairaraka Park
Cemetery, Auckland, NZ.
8) Samuel
(1871-1955)
9) Isabella Josephine Entrican (1873- 1931)
Married William Henry Paul in 1905. Buried
Hamilton East Cemetery, Waikato, NZ
10) Wilhelmina Grace Entrican (1874-1879) She
lies at the Old Urney Graveyard, Co. Tyrone, along with a large number of
Entrican, Cuthbertson and Wauchop ancestors
See under Cuthbertson/Wauchop:
11) Ann Amelia Nelson aka Nannie Emmeline
Nelson Entrican (1878-1970)
Married Robert James Sims 1908. Buried
Waikumete Cemetery, Auckland, NZ.
Robert Sims was a partner in Entrican &
Sims - wholesale provision merchants
based at Customs Street East. Two Sims’ family homes were built in Mt Albert -one
on the south-west corner of Richardson & New North Roads (later demolished)
and another at 6 Allendale Road, built post-World War II. Son Francis Harding
Sims became a significant medical researcher.
Samuel Walter Entrican arrived in NZ as a
probationary minister in 1898. He was admitted to the Presbytery at the Annual
Meeting of the Auckland Presbytery
“NZ Herald,” 6 April 1898.
and was taking services by December that year
See “Auckland Star”, 17 December 1898
Ecclesiastical notices: Rev. S.M.
Entrican for St Peters Presbyterian
Church
Samuel’s sister Jennie Jack Entrican was
ordained a deaconess with the Presbyterian Church, taking the name Sister
Grace.” NZ Herald” 9 December 1908
Register of New Zealand Presbyterian Church
Ministers, Deaconesses & Missionaries from 1840
ENTRICAN, Jennie Jack (known as Sister
Grace)
b 3.7.1870
Congregational Deaconess St James Auckland AP 1906
Ordained Deaconess 1908 - resigned 31.12.1909
Home Missionary Pukemiro WkP 7.5.1926
Congregational Deaconess, St Lukes Auckland AP 1.8.1929- resigned 30.9.1937
Congregational Deaconess (Honorary Capacity), St Peters Grey Lynn Auckland AP 1938-50
Visited in Hospitals and conducted services in the wards of Green Lane Hospital.
Sister of Rev S.W. Entrican
Died 1.9.1955
b 3.7.1870
Congregational Deaconess St James Auckland AP 1906
Ordained Deaconess 1908 - resigned 31.12.1909
Home Missionary Pukemiro WkP 7.5.1926
Congregational Deaconess, St Lukes Auckland AP 1.8.1929- resigned 30.9.1937
Congregational Deaconess (Honorary Capacity), St Peters Grey Lynn Auckland AP 1938-50
Visited in Hospitals and conducted services in the wards of Green Lane Hospital.
Sister of Rev S.W. Entrican
Died 1.9.1955
ENTRICAN, Rev Samuel Walter M.A.
Licensed by the Strabane Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of Ireland
Arrived in New Zealand as a Probationer 1898
Ordained and inducted into the Church, Waikato West 20.3.1902 - resigned 28.12.1905
Mahurangi (Warkworth NSP) 30.9.1908 - retired 12.4.1910.
Brother of Sister Grace Entrican.
Licensed by the Strabane Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of Ireland
Arrived in New Zealand as a Probationer 1898
Ordained and inducted into the Church, Waikato West 20.3.1902 - resigned 28.12.1905
Mahurangi (Warkworth NSP) 30.9.1908 - retired 12.4.1910.
Brother of Sister Grace Entrican.
“Auckland Star”, 18 February 1899:
Ecclesiastical
Knox Church, Parnell, Evening service Rev S.W.
Entrican
In 1900 Rev. Entrican is listed as an
Assistant Master at the Auckland Grammar School for Boys and Girls. The Head
master at the time was J.W. Tibbs, M.A. Keble College, Oxford.
“Auckland Star” 25 August 1900.
Advertisements: Educational
See also: “Auckland Star” May 7, 1900
Mr S.W. Entrican, M.A., brother of Mr A.J.
Entrican, has been appointed junior master at the Auckland College and Grammar
School”
Rev. Samuel Entrican takes up the call to Mahurangi
.”NZ Herald” 9 December 1908
Rev Entrican took services at the Mount
Albert Presbyterian Church during its first year in operation, before it had a
dedicated resident minister.
“NZ Herald” 27 December, 1913: Sermons,
Lectures, Soirees etc.
On the NZ Expeditionary Force Reserve Roll
1916-1917 but no indication that he served during WWI
Rev.
Samuel Entrican married on 14 April 1920 to Laura Alice England (1879-1969)
The electoral roll of 1919 shows James
Cuthbertson Entrican’s household and that of William Lilly England as
neighbours in Mountain Road (now Kitenui Ave.), Mount Albert, Auckland. J.C. Entrican’s home at that time was sited at 11 Mountain
Road and is probably the house still standing on Alexis Ave, with entrances on
Violet St and Kitenui Ave.
Marriages: Entrican-England
“NZ Herald” 18 September, 1920.
“ENTRICAN-ENGLAND.-On April 14, 1920, at
the Mount Albert Presbyterian Church, by Rev. G. Inglis, Rev. Samuel W.
Entrican, M.A., fourth (sic) son of Mrs and the late Robert Entrican of Mount Albert,
to Laura Alice, third daughter of Mr and Mrs N.L. (sic] England, New North
Road, Mount Albert,- At home September 23 nd 24, 16 Walters Road, Kingsland.”
It
was a relatively late marriage for both- Samuel was 49 and Laura aged 41.
Laura’s parents
Father: William Lilly England (1842 - 11
June 1930), eldest son of John Humphrey England (1817-1887) and Ann nee Rees of
‘Eastbrooke Hall”, Denys-Powell, Cardiff, Wales. William’s father John Humphey England was a
well-known merchant and entrepreneur,
founder & director of the firm England Potatoes Ltd
Mother: Clara
Marian Helen Hill (9 April 1844- 4 July 1926), third daughter of Thomas Barton
Hill (1805-1886), curate of St Stephen’s Church in the parish of St Mary’s,
Islington, and his wife Mary nee Roberts, of Islington, London.
William Lilly England's father, J
William Lilly England's father, J
William & Clara married 4 July 1872.
“Wanganui Herald”, 6 July 1872
“MARRIED: ENGLAND-HILL – On the 4th
instant, at Campbell Town, by the Rev. George Stannard, William Lilly, eldest
son of Mr Jno. H. England, Corn Merchant, Cardiff, South Wales, to Miss Clara
Hill”
They celebrated their Golden Wedding on 4
July 1922, 4 years before Clara’s death on 27 June 1926. Both are buried at Hillsborough Cemetery,
Auckland.
“NZ Herald”, 4 July, 1922
GOLDEN WEDDING: ENGLAND-HILL
William England’s arrival in New Zealand in
1863 was an eventful one. War with the Maori had just broken out in the Waikato
and he was conscripted as he disembarked from the ship “Annie Wilson”, enlisting
with the 2nd Waikato Regiment .
He later spent a
couple of years on the goldfields at Coromandel and on the West Coast , he
became a shopkeeper (with mixed success as he was declared bankrupt twice- once
in 1880 and again in 1888) and more profitably as a grain merchant – living around Hawera and
Wanganui before returning to the West Coast where he ran a business at Westport for several years from 1890. By 1905 he was
living in Hastings. In 1915 he moved with his family to Tauranga where he
financed his son Harry, a seedsman, into a business on the Strand. This burnt
down in 1917 and a court
case was held to establish whether the fire was accidental or deliberate arson for the purposes of insurance fraud –
the decision reached by the jury was that the origin of the fire could not be
established. William England was called as a witness and described at the time
as a retired grain merchant – mention was made at the time of an earlier
fire in Normanby in 1887 involving an England family business.
Following this incident it appears that the
England family made their final shift to Mt Albert, Auckland. William England was described in a later
obituary as “a staunch supporter of the Presbyterian Church”.
“Auckland Star” 4 August 1930
Obituary: Mr W. Lilly England
Their daughter Laura England was one of 9 children. She became a teacher of “elocution and
dramatic art, voice production and singing”, training at the Walter Bentley
College of Elocution and Dramatic art in Sydney and the Laurence Campbell
School of Public Speaking and Dramatic Art, also in Sydney.
Around 1910-11 she and her youngest
sister Clarice moved to Auckland, where they shared a home at 8 Howe Street,
Ponsonby, and made a living by giving lessons in elocution and music
respectively from a studio at the Pierce Buildings. “Auckland Star”, 24
February 1912.
Advertisements: Educational
Elocution lessons Miss Laura England;
Teacher of pianoforte, harmony and theory. Miss Clarice England. Studio: Pierce
Buildings, corner Synmonds Street and Khyber Pass.
The sisters then went to Sydney to
undertake further study, returning to the family home, at that time 300
Frederick Street, Hastings, in 1914 where they again advertised
for pupils. The England family moved to
Tauranga in 1915 and on 16
February 1915 the England sisters announced via the “Bay of Plenty Times”
that they had taken their business to Tauranga and by 1916 were taking pupils
at Devonport Road, opposite Third Avenue.
In addition Laura was also advertising
that she would travel weekly to nearby Te Puke to teach pupils there. In 1917
she returned
to Auckland, this time with her family, and
resumed classes there.
The two sisters also gave many concerts,
recitals and “entertainments” over the years, wherever they happened to be
living, and were particularly involved with “Patriotic
Concerts”- benefit fund-raisers for the war effort during WWI.
See “Bay of Plenty Times” 3 November 1915,
“Dramatic Recital and Entertainment:
Tonight the Misses England give their dramtic recital and entertainment in the
Opera House. Miss Laura England has earned well-merited praise elsewhere for
her elocutionary talent and Miss Clarice England is a pianist of real ability”
William & Clara England's children
1) Annie Margaret England (1873-1958) Married Colin Livingstone 1906.
Buried Hastings Cemetery, Hawkes Bay.
2) John Humphrey England (1874 –1951)
Buried Hillsborough Cemetery, Auckland.
3) Clara Lilly (known as Marion) England
(1876-1945) Married Frederick Lewis
Thomson on 25 Dec 1922. Died 26 Jan 1945 at Birkenhead, Auckland and buried at Glenfleld Cemtery, Auckland.
4) William Earle Lilly (Willie) England (1877-1948).
Married Emilie June Ethel Gilson 1903. Buried at Andersons Bay Cemetery, Dunedin.
5)
Laura (1879-1969)
6) Ada Elizabeth England (1880-1882) Born & died at Hawera, South
Taranaki, NZ.
7) Henry Hill (Harry) England (1881- 1959).
Married Althea Hudson Allan 1923. Buried Waikumete Cemetery, Auckland.
8) Thomas Rees England (1883 -1948) Attended Wanganui Collegiate
School. Served WWI - Pte 12/348, (Signaller) Auckland Infantry Regiment, 1st N.Z.E.F. Buried Waikumete Cemetery,
Auckland.
9) Clarice Elizabeth England (1890- 1981) Never
married. Buried Waikumete Cemetery, Auckland.
Samuel and Laura Entrican's family
They had just one child, son Bernard A. Entrican (1925-1996)
They had just one child, son Bernard A. Entrican (1925-1996)
Several Entrican households were set up in
Mt Albert, based around the Mt Albert Presbyterian Church, established in 1913.
James Entrican was on the committee set up to found the church, shelped
establish a Sunday School and served as its first Superindendant. He also remained a constant
and significant benefactor, contributing much time and money to the cause. His
sister Jennie, Sister Grace Entrican,
served from 1919-1933 as President of the Presbyterian Women’s
Missionary Union attached to the Mt Albert Church. Another sister, Nannie Sims nee Entrican.
served as church organist for many years, also pianist for the Ladies’ Guild
and her husband Robert James Sims acted
as Manager, Elder and Sunday School Superintendant.
The Rev Samuel Entrican was also involved
with the church, taking sermons during its first year and later teaching Sunday
School classes. He also served as a
member of the Session in 1918. He and his wife Laura were regular attendees at
Sunday services, They are recalled thus: “Rev. Sam Entrican sat in the front
seat near the pulpit and read the New Testament Scriptures from the original
Greek text, while Mrs Entrican sat beside him, a neat little figure in black
with a fresh florist’s spray, often of orchids, in her lapel”. Apparently ancient Greek was okay, however in
1945 when Austrian Choirmaster Georg Tintner went classical and began teaching
the Mt Albert Presbyterian Choir Mozart’s “Ave Verum Corpus” in its original Latin,
shocked Elders declared it too “popeish” and Tintner’s contract with the church was promptly cancelled.
See “The First Hundred Years of the Mt
Albert Presbyterian Church 1913-2013”, complied by Joyce L. Ross.
Also close by, just behind Richardson Road,
was another bastion of Irish Protestant
enterprise, “Rahiri House”, then at 15 McLean Street, home of Andrew Caughey of
the long-running firm Smith & Caughey. This home was gifted by Caughey in
1923 to the newly formed Plunket Society for use as a Karitane Hospital - in the 1950s it backed onto my grandparents' house at 14 Richardson Road and I was fascinated by this grand old home sitting amidst a jumble of utilitarian nurses' dormitory blocks. "Rahiri House" still stands today, now part of the Hebron Christian College at 1 McLean
Street.
See “Rahiri House" - the Caughey family home.
Mount Albert Historical Sociey Inc ,
newsletter issue 37, January 2017
Samuel
and Laura Entrican lived for many years at 6 Richardson Road (Robertson Road
till 1907), Mount Albert, Auckland.
Their address had changed to no 10 by 1957, due to infilling along Richardson Road around
that time. Possibly some of this this was caused by the widowed Laura selling off part of her property after Samuel's death. Laura’s youngest sister Clarice Elizabeth England, who never
marrIed, always lived with them as companion/housekeeper . Following his wife’s
death in 1926 her father William Lilly England also joined the Entrican household and died there in July 1930 . Brother Henry Hill
England was added to the England enlave at 6 Richardson Street in his
retirement years - did he and his wife
separate? His wife Althea died in 1974 and is buried at Purewa Cemetery. Auckland. Laura’s
sister Clarice and brother Harry stayed on at what was now 10 Richardson Road after Laura
herself died.
My grandfather
at 14 Richardson Road (formerly no 10) always kept on eye out for the widowed Mrs Entrican and would act as handyman when required. I
recollect as a child visiting with my grandmother and meeting two kindly ladies, one quite elderly, who must have been Laura Entrican
and her sister Clarice England. I have
vague memories of a porch/conservatory filled with plants (possibly the orchids which
made up Mrs Entrican’s Sunday corsages) and a darkish kitchen with an old range, either wood or
coal-fired, plus a bird in a cage, recalled by my sister as being a pet myna. Mrs Entrican had never cut her hair and I was
greatly impressed to see her with it down one day after she had just washed it
- it reached well past her knees, almost to her ankles.
Samuel Entrican died 19 February 1955 aged 83 yrs
and was buried at Waikumete Cemetery in Auckland.
Laura Entrican nee England died 16 September 1969 aged 90 yrs and was also buried at Waikumete Cemetery.
Laura's siblings Clarice
and Harry England lie at the
Waikumete Cemetery. as well. Henry died in 1959 and Clarice in 1981.
