Amelia Amey “Dora” COATES (Charles Nelson5, Charles Nelson4, Henry3, Henry2, Henry1).
Born on 10 Sep 1856 in Lambeth, London, England. Christened on 26 Sep 1858 in St Botolph, Bishopsgate, MIddlesex, England. Amelia Amey “Dora” died in Petone, Wellington, New Zealand, on 14 Mar 1948; she was 91. Buried in Taita Cemetery, New Zealand.
Information from a descendant:
- Amelia Amey “Dora” Coates, b (almost certainly) September 10, 1856, London, d Mar 14, 1948 Petone, Wellington, NZ. She married Thomas Boyd Reesby on March 6, 1878, Awatere, near Blenheim, NZ (she had previously run off with a young man whose surname was presumably Danzille; it’s said that they were married en route to NZ and he died of TB, but more recent research suggests he may have died before she left the UK). The marriage has not yet been traced. His name was probably Donnel/Donal and that may be why she called herself Dora. A long and ingriguing story which various NZ descendants are trying to uncover. Danzille/Denzel may indeed be an Irish name.
- Amelia Amey (Dora) Coates immigrated to New Zealand as a young woman in 1876. She married Thomas Boyd Reesby. She died in 1948 in Petone Wellington NZ. - dated information with errors on http://reesby.faithweb.com/
- Dora was probably born in London,around 1859 - 1861, although my step-grandmother, Gertie Reesby, thought it may have been Paris.
- Five children ... Thomas and Dora lived and worked on sheep stations in Marlborough in the South Island [NZ]. Their children were Bessie (1878), Thomas Charles (1880), Herbert Arthur (1882), Francis Allan(1884) and William Boyd (1888). William (Bill) was born after his father's death in 1887.
- Thomas died of pneumonia in 1887. “It couldn't have been easy for Dora after her husband died. It seems she took in a boarder, Antonio Valledo. The relationship must have deepened as in 1894 a daughter, Dora Elinor, was born, and in 1897 she had a son, Leonard Antonio Valledo. They were living in Stratford, Taranaki, when the child Dora died of measles at the age of eight. And Antonio himself died, possibly in a timber mill accident in Stratford. Dora eventually moved back to Wellington, living at 7 Gear Street, Petone. She died in 1948, at the age of about 87, and is buried at Taita cemetery.”
- 1 group photo was “probably taken around 1917-18 as Bill was born on January 8, 1916.
Standing at the back are Frank Reesby (Dora's third son, Pat's grandfather). On the right is Dora's son Bill, born in 1888 after Thomas died.” “Dora is seated in the middle of the bottom row. On the right is her daughter-in-law Maud Stagg (Mrs Reesby) with her youngest son Bill (Pat's father).”
- 1 group photo taken in the 1920s showing son Frank 4th from the left.
- 1 group-of-9 photo taken abt 1942: Pat was the baby in this photo, which would have been taken in late 1942. Dora, my great-grandmother, is seated on the right. She's the old lady dressed in black.
A family group around 1942-3. Maud Stagg (Reesby) is second from left in the back row. Dora is seated on the right. The baby is me (Pat).
- 2 “4-generation” photos taken in NZ when Dora was quite elderly - 4 generations with Dora sitting in a chair:
1) Dora (seated) with, above from left Bill Reesby, young Pat Reesby, Frank Reesby
2) Dora (seated) with, above from left, Gertie Reesby (her daughter-in-law), Win Reesby (my mother, Bill's wife), myself [Pat] as a baby, and my grandfather Frank Reesby. My father Bill would have taken the photo.
- 1913 New Zealand, City & Area Directories, 1866-1955
Name: Mrs D A Reesby
Year: 1913
Residence: Petone, Wellington, New Zealand - 46 Victoria Street, corner of Jackson
[Wise’s New Zealand Post Office Directory, by street address, not alphabetical]
- 1930 New Zealand, City & Area Directories, 1866-1955
Name: Mrs D A Reesby
Year: 1930
Residence: Petone, Wellington, New Zealand
[see film - Wise’s New Zealand Post Office Directory, listed by street, not alphabetical;
residence: 7 Gear Street, left side from Jackson Street ]
- 1933 New Zealand, City & Area Directories, 1866-1955
Name: Mrs D A Reesby
Year: 1933
Residence: Petone, Wellington, New Zealand - 7 Gear Street
- 1936 New Zealand, City & Area Directories, 1866-1955
Name: Mrs D A Reesby
Year: 1936
Residence: Petone, Wellington, New Zealand - 7 Gear Street
- 1938 New Zealand, City & Area Directories, 1866-1955
Name: Mrs Dora A Reesby
Year: 1938
Residence: Petone, Wellington, New Zealand - 7 Gear Street
- 1940 New Zealand, City & Area Directories, 1866-1955
Name: Mrs Dora A Reesby
Year: 1940
Residence: Petone, Wellington, New Zealand - 7 Gear Street
- 1942 New Zealand, City & Area Directories, 1866-1955
Name: Mrs Dora A Reesby
Year: 1942
Residence: Petone, Wellington, New Zealand - 7 Gear Street
- 1946 New Zealand, City & Area Directories, 1866-1955
Name: Mrs Dora A Reesby
Year: 1946
Residence: Petone, Wellington, New Zealand - 7 Gear Street
- 1947 New Zealand, City & Area Directories, 1866-1955
Name: Mrs Dora A Reesby
Year: 1947
Residence: Petone, Wellington, New Zealand - 7 Gear Street
- 1950/51 New Zealand, City & Area Directories, 1866-1955
Name: Mrs Dora A Reesby
Year: 1950-1951
Residence: Petone, Wellington, New Zealand - 7 Gear Street
RESEARCH NOTES
Another researcher talks about some family legends:
“There doesn’t seem to be any evidence that Dora’s father was the Paris correspondent for the London Times. [Information] on the web says he was a carpenter in 1853, a waiter in 1858 [at time of baptism] and a superintendent in Penge Surrey in 1871. It doesn’t mention him being a painter but he may have been that too, or maybe one of us didn’t find the right person. [There is also an unproven story without details about a Coates’] French connection. I have also heard that the family was related to Eric Coates (popular composer of the time)…. [he] would have been considerably younger than Dora. [We may also be] related to NZ Premier Gordon Coates but I don’t think there’s any evidence of that. … But someone said about the Coates family possibly having known the Reesby’s in England [which might provide a] reason for Dora to emigrate to NZ. If she is the young woman ‘DD’ in a shipping document, she was an assisted immigrant - so she and the sstablehand could hardly have just ‘jumped on a boat’. Maybe her parents arranged for her to come out to NZ, knowing that she would have a job at Government House and/or she would meet Thomas Boyd Reesby? Who knows?”
- Marriage location (from wikipedia): Blenheim is the most populous town in the region of Marlborough, in the north east of the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the regional council.
- no appropriate birth registrations found under the names in Lambeth London (but lots of choice under Amelia in other reg dists):
Amelia A Coates
Amelia Coates
Amelia Coats
Amelia Cotes
Amy Coates
Dora Coates
+Amelia Coates (phonetic surname search) - search timed out
restricted years (1850-1865) and turned off phonetic search for:
+Amelia Coates
nothing under Amelia Cotes, Amelia Coats, Amelia Cootes, Amelia Coots
On 6 Mar 1878 when Amelia Amey “Dora” was 21, she first married
Thomas Boyd REESBY in Awatere near Blenheim, New Zealand.
Born ca 1845 in Kettering, Northamptonshire, England. Thomas Boyd died in New Zealand, on 4 Oct 1887; he was 42. Buried in 1887 in Omaka Cemetery, Taylor Road, Blenheim, New Zealand.
- from http://reesby.faithweb.com/custom3.html:
“Thomas Boyd Reesby probably came from Kettering in England. Calculating from his date of death, he would have been born around 1845. Most of his family were butchers. Perhaps a relation had already come to New Zealand, as Thomas and Comfort Reesby arrived on the Crusader in 1874 and were from the same area. This family settled in Christchurch in the South Island. But Thomas Boyd was almost certainly a young bachelor when he arrived. He found a farming job not far from Blenheim.
“ Thomas Boyd Reesby became a butcher in Blenheim and was apparently chosen to carve the beast which was roasted in the town square and served the local population with dinner to commemmorate Queen Victoria. He bought a house and five acres and had an abbatoir there.
“According to one account ...
"It must have been 1887 when Thomas Boyd, aged only 42, had a successful stock sale in Blenheim and shouted drinks for most of the town at the local tavern, during a deluge of rain.
Some prankster hid his saddle, so after walking in the rain looking for it and getting soaked to the skin, he gave up and slept on a leather settee in the pub. He died of pneumonia and Dora Amy became a widow with a large family."
Thomas is buried at Omaka Cemetery on Taylor Road, Blenheim. His grave seems to be unmarked, or perhaps the inscription has worn off.”
- He died 4 Oct 1887. The death certificate says he was 42, making his date of birth c1845.
“Here's a quote from Gertie Reesby: "Thomas Boyd Reesby was looked upon as a steady capable man who would do well in life, but died quite young with pneumonia after getting a severe chill after riding a long distance in wet clothes."
This is a little different from the source who believed he'd shouted drinks in the pub and that someone had stolen his saddle.
(By the way, for non-New Zealanders, to "shout" is to treat, to buy drinks.)”
- 1887 New Zealand, City & Area Directories, 1866-1955
Name: Thomas Boyd Reesby - butcher
Year: 1887-1888
Residence: Blenheim, Marlborough, New Zealand
RESEARCH NOTES
This seemed like a viable option for his christening, but according to another researcher, this Thomas (son of Thomas and Ann) actually died in 1875, age 26, so is NOT A MATCH:
- 1858 "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975"
Name: Thomas Reesby
Gender: Male
Christening Date: 13 Jun 1858
Christening Place: St. Peter and St. Paul, Kettering, Northampton, England
Birth Date:
Birthplace:
Father's Name: Thomas Reesby
Mother's Name: Ann Reesby
Indexing Project (Batch) Number: I04821-6
System Origin: England-EASy
GS Film number: 1999478
Reference ID: item 1 p 114
They had the following children:
i.
Elizabeth Ann “Bessie” REESBY (1879-)
ii.
Thomas Charles REESBY (1880-1945)
iii.
Herbert Arthur “Bart” REESBY (1882-)
iv.
Francis Allan “Frank” REESBY (1884-1954)
v.
William Boyd “Bill” REESBY (1888-1979)
Amelia Amey “Dora” second married Antonio VALLEDO. Buried in Catholic Cemetery, Petone, Wellington, New Zealand.
- His and Dora’s children were registered illegitimate. He did not marry Dora. She must have brought the children up under the name Reesby.
- Antonio died possibly in a timber mill accident in Petone (not Stratford) NZ. He is buried in the Catholic cemetery and has his name on a memorial wall in Petone. The graves in the old Catholic cemetery were moved to make way for a road.
They had the following children:
i.
Dora Elinor REESBY / VALLEDO (1894-1901)
ii.
Leonard Antonio “Len” REESBY / VALLEDO (1897-)
Arthur COATES (Charles Nelson5, Charles Nelson4, Henry3, Henry2, Henry1).
Born in Q3 1862 in Newington, Surrey, England.
- 1862 Births Sep 1862
COATES Arthur Newington 1d 212
The district Newington is in the county of Surrey
- 1871 England census, Arthur is listed as a nephew rather than a son to Charles N and Sara MA Coates.???