Edith Wheeler
Born In the Wrong Century
Born In the Wrong Century
Edith was the fifth of the ten children born to Anna and John Wheeler at Titi Farm, Mauku. Edith's life seems a sad one in modern terms, forever overshadowed by the so-called "disgrace" of having a child out of wedlock. It is hard to view her life from a 21st century perspective and not feel sympathy for her situation. She gave birth to Wilfred Reid Lancelot Wheeler on 30 Dec, 1894, in John St, Ponsonby, when she was 22. Her father John was farming near Ngaruawahia and she and her sister Lottie were trying to make a living for themselves in Auckland, perhaps without much elder support or protection. A father's name is not recorded on Wilfred's birth certificate and there are two accounts mentioned in the family - one associating Edith with the son of a prominent Auckland family, the other suggesting she was "taken advantage" of by an Auckland jeweller who she was house keeping for while his wife was in hospital. Whatever the truth, Edith does not seem to have recovered from this early setback. She never married and died in sad circumstances in a mental institution possibly suffering from deep depression. She was in the institution for many years, as in 1918, when her brother Ernest died, she was incapable of consent when it came time for the family to appoint an administrator for the estate. Her brother noted then that she was in an Auckland institution for mental patients. Wilfred, her son, was raised by the wider family, in particular by Edith's sister Lottie, and had a successful and fruitful life as a businessman and cinema owner. It is unclear if he ever knew that Edith was his mother. Lottie, her sister, also had a child out of wedlock in 1902, but kept this information secret, which may have been a consequence of witnessing what had happened to Edith. Edith Wheeler's dates: Born 2 Dec, 1872, at Mauku, Died 2 June, 1939, Auckland. |
Edith's only child, born out of wedlock, was Wilfred. Click on the name below to go to his bio page. |