Elizabeth Munro Paterson and Josiah Lee Jones - my generation’s great grandaunt and uncle

Elizabeth (Lill / Lily / Lillie) Munro was the oldest child of John Paterson and Elizabeth Boyes Davidson. She was born on the 28th November, 1889 in Otepopo and was the older sister of my generation’s great grandfather, James Gordon (Gordon) Paterson. Lill was Gordon’s only full sibling.

At 26, Lill married Josiah Lee Jones on the 28th of June, 1916 at St Paul’s church in Oamaru. This was just a couple of months before Gordon Paterson married Maggie Corrigall. World War I had broken out in 1914 and compulsory military service was instated during this same year, possibly inspiring these couples to marry in 1916. Of course they would have all known each other, but I wonder how they met? And did Lill and Josiah meet first, or Gordon and Maggie? Omakau, where the Jones and Corrigalls were based, and Oamaru, where the Patersons were based, are 192 km apart on today’s roads. To travel by train, one would have first journeyed to Dunedin and then onto Omakau or Oamaru, a distance of approximately 300kms. We will probably never know the details of their meeting, but it is kind of nice to know that Lill and Gordon both had a connection to Omakau.

Josiah Lee Jones was born in Ophir on the 22nd of February, 1883. His parents were Josiah Compton Jones, originally from Warwickshire or Wales and born1833, and Charlotte Frances Lee, born circa 1864, who had apparently been in New Zealand for 50 years. His father was certainly in the Matakanui district in 1889, as he is mentioned by his full name in the Otago Witness as a member of the licensing committee. Josiah’s parents are buried in the Presbyterian area of the Omakau cemetery in Lot 6, plot 16. Josiah’s siblings included

• Ethel May 1881-1958

• Emily 1886 - 1974; married William D’Arcy Watson; both are buried together in Omakau cemetery in Lot 8, plot 19

• Leslie Vincent 1887 - 1956; married Mary Ann Sudden; both are buried in Andersons Bay Cemetery, Dunedin, Block 91, Plot 70

• Lionel Percy 1889 - 1974

• Edward Francis Victor 1891 - 1984

Lill and Josiah settled in Omakau, where Josiah worked for himself as a contract labourer and Lill became involved in the local community. In November 1916, she won second prize at the Central Otago A. and P. Show at Omakau for her girdle scones. Unfortunately for Lill and Josiah, their time together as a married couple was very short. It was wartime, so less than eight months after their wedding day, Josiah enlisted for the military service. He formally commenced service on the 12th of April, 1917. A couple of months after that, he sent Lill the following photograph / card, which is written on the back. It is dated the 2nd of June, 1917, ten days before he embarked on the ‘Tahiti’ and left for Devonport, England. The photo is of the men wearing their army denims, which were actually a khaki colour and issued to new recruits. It is taken in camp, most likely at Featherston, north of Wellington.

Photo sent to Lill from Josiah before leaving New Zealand for World War I, and his note to her on the other side below. I believe Josiah is in the front row, seated on the right.

Josiah, service number 53200, was a Private in the Second Battalion of the Otago Infantry Regiment. Apparently the Second Battalion were made up of largely Otago and Southland recruits. Josiah’s military records describe him as 5 foot, 11 inches, tall and weighing 175 pounds, with black hair, brown eyes and a florid complexion. He commenced service on the 12th of April 1917, serving for 89 days in New Zealand and 210 days overseas. His records also reveal that he had likely suffered from Rickets when he was younger and had a slight deformity on his chest as a result.

The rear side of the postcard sent to Lill by Josiah from Featherston in June 1917

From what I can make out, the back of the photo reads: ‘My dearest wee wife, Just a card to let you know I am still alive and well. But it is very hard, you don’t half know how much I miss you. Think there would be a lot of us get hurt making for the train if we were told we could go home. We shifted out of the tents and into the huts here yesterday. I am not sorry either. I am still on the Police yet… have not done a step of drill since we left Trentham. I ????y ???le of anything else , one thing ??n/ut think I will be like the rest of the boys be transferred into the ???? as I am told go out of every company are to be transferred are you only trying to take a rise out of me about the four months Lil. Anyhow am very leased to hear you are quite well Lily, don’t you go working if you can stop home Lil, ??. I ought to do all right out of the spuds this year as the Blite is pretty bad on them all that goes through the cook shops here the longe?? are getting turned down up hol? sale? up here. Jack Morgan is away home. I think Tom Moran will be away tomorrow. xxxxxxxx’. Perhaps you can make out those words I am unsure of? Please let me know!

It was not the war that ended Josiah and Lill’s time together, but Lill’s death on the on 25th October, 1917. She was only 27 years old and had been married for just over a year. The Oamaru Mail death notice doesn’t give us a clue about her cause of death, and it may well have been TB like her father, John William Paterson. However, Josiah’s post card written only three months earlier mentions he was pleased that she was keeping well and something about four months. Could Lill have in fact been pregnant and died in childbirth? The later Otago Daily Times death notice and Otago Witness death notice states that Lill died at Nurse Bell’s, Oamaru. Nurse Bell’s was a private maternity hospital located at 210 Thames Street, Oamaru. I have not located Lill’s death certificate for confirmation to date.

Lill’s headstone in old Oamaru Presbyterian cemetery reads ‘In loving memory of Elizabeth Munro, dearly beloved wife of Josiah Lee Jones, Omakau, who died 25th Oct 1917 in her 27th year, “so loved so mourned”’

Lill’s death occurred while Josiah was in France. What a tragedy for him losing his wife and possibly his child, while being so far from home fighting in a God forsaken war. Lill is buried in the old Oamaru Presbyterian cemetery, in Block 80, plot 34, next to her mother Elizabeth Boyes Turtle nee Davidson and brother Jack Turtle.

1917 proved to be a terrible year for Josiah as on the 28th of December he received a gun shot wound on his right forearm. His war medical records describe this as a flesh wound that became infected, and state that Josiah suffered from considerable loss of strength although apparently retained normal movement. The Oamaru Mail reported on the 11th of January, 1918 that Lill’s mother, Elizabeth Turtle, received a cable saying Josiah had been wounded in the war. That same edition of the newspaper included a New Zealand Honours List, which noted Josiah as one of the wounded. Two weeks later on the 26th of January, 1918 the same newspaper described Josiah’s injuries as severe.

Josiah endured a second wound that required an x-ray on the 3rd of February, 1918, described as a ‘light injury to humerus’. It is unclear if this injury to his upper arm was on the same arm as his previous gun shot wound or not.

A curious event occurred around this time. Lill’s death notice was placed in the Otago Daily Times on the 8th of February, 1918 and in the Otago Witness on the 13th of February, 1918, over three months after she had died and since the initial death notice in the Oamaru Mail on the 27th of October, 1917. I wonder who placed these notices in these regional newspapers and for what purpose? Could the clue be in the fact that these later notices both included that fact that Lill died at Nurse Bell’s? Or was the placement of these notices somehow related to Josiah and the severity of his injuries?

Josiah’s photo appeared in an Otago Witness supplement on the 6th of March, 1918 where he was described as a ‘New Zealand son in the roll of honour’. Despite his injuries Josiah was not discharged from Military Service for almost another year.

Josiah’s photo placed in the Otago Witness on the 6th of March 1918

Meanwhile the anniversary of Lill’s death was acknowledged with memorials on the 28th of October in the Otago Daily Times and on the 30th of October in the Otago Witness. According to the memorial notice, these were placed by Josiah, her mother, Elizabeth, and siblings.

Memorial to Lill as placed in the Otago Daily Times on the 28th of October, 1918 and the Otago Witness on the 30th of October, 1918

The Evening Star of the 6th of January, 1919 listed Josiah as a soldier coming home and he was finally discharged from Military Service in February 1919.

Josiah returned to Omakau where he appeared to go into partnership with John Robert Clare and Edward Clouston to seek their fortune gold mining at the Devonshire Diggings. This site is to the west of Omakau at the end of Devonshire Road several hundred metres to the south, at the base of the Dunstan Range.

Josiah along with his comrades had some sort of dispute regarding their two mile long tail race at Devonshire in the ‘Warden’s Court’ during May, 1919. This appears to have be resolved by June when the trio were granted a tail race. Their operation seemed to expand with the application for a dam at Day’s Gully, Devonshire and also from a branch race at Devonshire in September 1919. These applications were subsequently struck out later that month, when it was also reported that the three were versus Thos. Donnelly re: forfeiture and abandonment of Dam 506. I have not found out the details of this dispute nor anything further about Josiah’s gold mining endeavours.

A memorial to Lill was placed in the Otago Daily Times on the 25th of October, 1919 in the Otago Daily Times and again in the Otago Witness on the 28th of October, 1919. This memorial acknowledges Josiah as her husband, but he is not named as one of those who inserted the memorial.

In Memoriam for Lill placed in the Otago Daily Times on the 25th of October, 1919, p. 8 and Otago Witness on the 28th of October, 1919, p. 39

Similar memorials were placed by Lill’s family in the Otago Daily Times and Otago Witness a year later.

In Memoriam, placed in the Otago Daily Times, on the 25th of October, 1920, p. 4 and in the Otago Witness on the 26th of October, 1920, p. 35

Josiah remarried in 1921. His new wife was Amy Edith nee Sycamore born on the 4th of October, 1894 in Carterton. Her parents were Wallace Sycamore and Elizabeth Ann Sycamore nee Daysh of Invercargill. I have not found when they were married to date. According to one source, Amy may have had one child, James Arthur Flers Sycamore, who was born in 1916 but had died in 1919. I have not found any information about any further children.

There are a few more mentions of Josiah and his second wife in the newspaper reports including: * Mr and Mrs Jones attending the 1937 Omakau Military Ball wearing black morocain and gold lame, as reported in the Alexandra Herald and Otago Daily Times

• Mrs Jones of Omakau had Mr and Mrs N. McEneamy as guests from Dunedin in March 1939; I believe this was Amy’s sister and brother in law

• Josiah was on the committee for the Omakau Progressive League in July 1939

• Josiah wrote with others to Vincent County Council for a street light in Omakau in September 1940

• there is a bereavement notice in June 1942 regarding Amy’s father’s death on the 26th of May, 1942

• donations to an All Purpose Fund £2 2s in August 1942 and again in 1944

Josiah died on the 26th of September, 1958 at the age of 66. He is buried in Omakau cemetery alongside his wife Amy, who passed away in 1975 at the age of 80. Burial records say that Josiah was a retired labourer and his religion was Church of England. The couple are laid to rest in the Presbyterian area of the cemetery in Lot 8, burial plot 21. The headstone inscription says ‘In Loving Memory of Josiah Lee beloved husband of Amy Edith Jones1882-1958 Also Amy Edith died 25th July 1975 'Thy will be Done’. Apparently there is also a bronze plaque that reads ‘53200 Pte J L JONES Otago Regt Died 26 Sept 1958 1st N.Z.E.F.’

Josiah and Amy’s headstone at Omakau Cemetery in Lot 8, burial plot 21