Matthew Cummings

Hi,

My name is Shirley Barrow, nee Hand. I don't know if anyone can help me as I have so little to go on.

  My Great Grandfather was Matthew Cummings, and he was born in Armargh in 1822, but I don't have any other information about his birth. The only other things I know about him was that he arrived in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1863, on the "Caduceus" which sailed from Melbourne, Australia.He joined the local Militia and moved to Thames, Waikato, and took part in a Maori Land War called "Gate Pa" in Tauranga.

 He lived in Thames, and while there met, and married Annie Cunningham from Scotland. They had 9 children, and 1 of their sons, Arthur Lewis, married Ruby Vera Fearon. Their 2nd daughter, Vera Jean, married Fredrick Herbert Hand, and they were my parents. Two of Matthew and Annie's children went on to become well known throughout parts of the world. Kathleen Veronica was a pupil of the New Zealand artist Goldie, and then became a painter in her own right, and Miriam Bridelia became one of the 1st female "Radicals" in New Zealand. In 1920, she became a member of Auckland Women's Political League, and at he star of W.W.1 was classed, along with her Dalmation Husband, as Austrian Enemy Aliens. Her Husband, Peter Soljack, migrated partly to escape conscritpion into the hated Austrian Empire Army.

 Matthew died September 1906 in Auckland, New Zealand. He's buried with several of his extended family members, but not his wife Annie. She, and Veronica, are buried in the Catholic Section in a seperate cemetery. This is because it was decided to bring up their 2 sons as Anglican, Matthew's religion, and the 7 daughters as Catholic, Annie's religion.