Clara Elizabeth Gibbison
- an only child who birthed a large family -
- an only child who birthed a large family -
Clara's mother Mynie Stevens died in a scarlet fever epidemic when Clara was only three months old. Her father Francis Stevens - known as Frank - was a Wellington civil servant who sent his baby daughter back to Mauku to her maternal grandparents, John and Anna Maria Mellsop for her early years.
She returned to live with her father in Wellington when she was seven or eight years old, where she may have known two step mothers in quick succession. Lydia Sladen, a wealthy widow her father had married in 1867 (when Clara was 3) died in June, 1871. Clara gained a half brother, Frank before her death. A few months after the death of Lydia, Frank married Ellen Maclurcan, and two more half brothers were soon added to the family: William in 1872 and John in 1875. |
Clara Gibbison's children:-
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To go back to the page about Clara's mother, Mynie, click HERE.
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Her father's secure Government position - he ultimately rose to be Commissioner of Crown Lands - enabled the family to enjoy a very comfortable standard of living with a busy social life. Clara met her husband William Gibbison while visiting cousins at Okete, Raglan. William was a wealthy widower with three young daughters whose first wife had died within a few days of giving birth to their third child.
William was a successful farmer and businessman but Clara had to get used to a very quiet rural life and immediate motherhood of at least two of the three step daughters who had been living with their maternal grandmother.
Although Clara was of sensitive disposition, suffered from migraine headaches and endured several miscarriages, she went on to have five healthy children (Frank, born 1892, Andrew, born 1895, Clara, born 1897, Robert, born 1900, and Ellen (Nell) born 1903, who in turn produced large families.
Clara adjusted to the quiet life as a farmer's wife and mother in the Kauroa Valley, Raglan. In the 1920s their son Frank took over the farm and Clara and William retired to Raglan to live out their final years.
Clara's dates:
Born 3 Dec 1864, Auckland
Died 13 April, 1932 at Raglan.
Although Clara was of sensitive disposition, suffered from migraine headaches and endured several miscarriages, she went on to have five healthy children (Frank, born 1892, Andrew, born 1895, Clara, born 1897, Robert, born 1900, and Ellen (Nell) born 1903, who in turn produced large families.
Clara adjusted to the quiet life as a farmer's wife and mother in the Kauroa Valley, Raglan. In the 1920s their son Frank took over the farm and Clara and William retired to Raglan to live out their final years.
Clara's dates:
Born 3 Dec 1864, Auckland
Died 13 April, 1932 at Raglan.