Tuesday 21 January 2014

Fanny GREENFIELD 1863

My serendipitous discovery was this little angel.

Named for her maternal aunty, for whom I was searching at the time, Fanny was born the fourth child of John and Mary Jane GREENFIELD on or about 20 May 1863 in Oamaru, New Zealand. The first New Zealand born child in this line, and only 14 months after her mothers arrival there.

The only evidence of her existence (to date) is her death certificate, NZ BDM ref #1863/1840, which states:
WHEN DIED AND WHERE: 27 May 1863, Oamaru
NAME AND SURNAME: Fanny Greenfield
SEX: female
AGE: 1 week
RANK OR PROFFESSION: -blank-
CAUSE OF DEATH: inflammation of the lungs
SIGNATURE, DESCRIPTION, AND RESIDENCE OF INFORMANT: Jon Greenfield (father), Boatman, Oamaru
DATE REGISTERED: 28 May 1863

God Bless you precious little one, such a short existence in this earthly plain, but duly noted and included in our family tree... remembered in future generations.

11 Dec 2014, Further to this blog:

Several months later I was advised by ancestry.com that there might be a match for Fanny GREENFIELD, there was. Fanny's birth had indeed been registered, NZ Registrars Return BIRTHS ref # 118 which states
WHEN BORN AND WHERE: 21 May 1863, Oamaru
NAME IF ANY: Fanny
SEX: female
NAME AND SURNAME OF FATHER: John Grienfield
NAME AND MAIDEN SURNAME OF MOTHER:  Mary Jane Grienfield formally Annet
RANK OR PROFESSION OF FATHER: Boatman
SIGNATURE, DESCRIPTION AND RESIDENCE OF INFORMANT: Jon Grienfield (father), Boatman, Oamaru
DATE REGISTERED: 28 May 1863

I have since obtained photocopies of both certificates which were registered at the same time and both have Fanny's surname misspelled as GRIENFIELD