I have been quiet on here for some time, as life events and health challenges have got in the way, but I have been quietly working on the family history front too.
I have just completed writing my second family and local history book, Work of Heart. As I write, the book is in the process of being set-up and shortly I will have the final quotes and then the book will be in print and ready for distribution! This project has taken many years, and has been a ‘work of heart’ for myself to see it finally completed.
Meet Jane Norgate, later Preshaw (1839-1926); my 3 x great grandmother:
For those of you who have followed my blog for some time, Jane was the grandmother of Henry David Evans (1886-1922) of Reefton, who married Eva Lillian Lawn (1887-1976) of Blacks Point in 1907.
Jane was born in a tiny village in Norfolk, went to Norwich as a child and on to London. She travelled to Australia (alone) while still in her teens, and several years later arrived on the West Coast of New Zealand with her young daughter Alice.
But Jane, a stalwart of the Reefton community as the first Matron of the Reefton Hospital, had some secrets that she never revealed during her life, just as the men in her life had past lives that were not all that they seemed, and which are now uncovered and told in my story spanning several generations and following connected family lines.
Work of Heart
A Life of courage, determination and compassion
Jane Preshaw née Norgate 1839-1926
Her family, the men in her life and her
legacy as matron for the first thirty years at Reefton Hospital.
This book builds on my earlier (much smaller) 2013 booklet called Jane Norgate: a life revealed. Since then I have made a lot of discoveries, corrected errors and completed further research, helped by many connections we have made, including my DNA cousins. I couldn’t have done this without your support!
Work of Heart follows the true story of Jane Preshaw as the central unifying character and brings together her relationships with other key individuals:
- The life of Jane’s father Henry Norgate of Norfolk and his first family born in Norfolk and his second family born in London.
- Jane’s years in Melbourne, her marriages and relationships there and the birth of her daughter Alice Smith.
- The life of Alice’s father Henry Smith and the Smith family from Derbyshire to the Hunter Valley NSW and then his final years in Sydney, including the lives of his illegitimate daughters born in the UK.
- Jane and Alice’s arrival in New Zealand and coming to Reefton, along with David Preshaw‘s previous life and family,
- How Jane and David Preshaw together ran the Reefton Hospital from its beginnings, its organisation and development
- Other people involved in Reefton Hospital either as nurses and doctors and how the town of Reefton grew at the same time.
- Henry Evans, his real name and life in Brighton, Sussex, his parents and sisters and Henry’s time in New Zealand before meeting Alice Smith.
- Following Alice and Henry Evans marriage in 1877, Henry Evans working life prospecting, gold mining and timber, as well as their farm at Burkes Creek and raising a family.
- The Evans children through into the 20th century just prior to WWII, including memories of grandchildren.
- Finally the second part of the book gives some genealogies of the Norgate, Smith, Hole and Preshaw families and some unexpected relatives: the Shardlow, Stubbins and Secretan families.
Like my 2016 book To Live a Long and Prosperous Life, on the life of Dinah Hart and the Lawn family, I have woven these stories with the social and historical contexts of the times and illustrated them with maps, diagrams and lots of photographs.
At this point Work of Heart is looking like it will be close to 400 pages once images and the index are added and will be a single print run. As with my previous book there will also be copies in libraries, so will be available to future researchers; do let me know if you have a local library you think would be interested in a copy.
For expressions of interest please use the form found here: Contact
Make sure that you subscribe to my blog [see end of the post] in order to hear first about new posts and updates on Work of Heart or follow the page on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/inkandstonewriting
Over the coming weeks I will be adding family trees and other information about the families covered in this new book.
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