James (Jimmie) Corrigall - my generation’s great great great granduncle PART TWO

An Accident, A Fire and A Burglary

During winter of 1880, when Jimmie was 42 years old, he had a nasty accident. The Dunstan Times reported on the 2nd of July that:

‘Mr James Corrigall, farmer, of Blacks, whilst returning from the Welshman’s Gully coal pit with a three horse dray load of coal, by some mischance stumbled and fell immediately in front of the wheel, which passed over his arm, breaking it in two places and dreadfully lacerating the breast. Being in the vicinity of Millward's White Horse Hotel, he made his way there, whence he was quickly conveyed to Blacks in Mr McMorran's buggy and placed under the care of Dr Sleeman, who we are pleased to learn made a very successful setting of the broken bones. Mr Corrigall is now progressing as favourably as possible’

Ouch! This story shows that although Jimmie was relatively wealthy, he was a hard working and was still grafting literally at the coal face! Welshman’s Gully is now known as Cambrians and is over 28 kilometres from Blacks / Ophir, so it would have been a big day’s journey by dray in the depth of winter. The area has an average June temperature of 1.5 degrees Celsius with minus 20 degrees Celsius having been recorded in the area at that time of year. These types of temperatures bring snow and ice and would be hazardous for horses and drays, as they are today for modern vehicles. The White Horse Hotel mentioned in the newspaper report is at Becks, about 18 kilometres from Blacks / Ophir, so it would have been a long and painful buggy ride to the doctor for Jimmie. During December 1881, eighteen months after his accident on the dray, Jimmie decided to sell it and his dray and horses. Perhaps his days at the coal face were over after all?!

Around midnight on Friday the 25th of May 1894, Jimmie was in the Shamrock Hotel on the main street of Ophir / Blacks when a fire broke out in three stacks of wheat on Harrington’s property nearby, essentially owned by the Bank of New South Wales. Jimmie went to the scene when alerted, but by the time people arrived, the wheat could not be saved. Reading the report of the inquiry, it sounds to me as though it was a case of arson but without adequate evidence, no one was convicted.

Jimmie’s Central Otago house was burgled on the 16th of February, 1911. I think this would have been his house at Lauder, but I am unsure where it was. I assume Jimmie was in Waimate at the time, and that is why the burglar was able to gain access. Stolen from the house was one pair of boots, one pair of socks, one razor, one half-pound of tobacco and 6 shillings in silver, with a total value of £1 18s. Andrew Morton, Jimmie’s manager, gave evidence at Magistrate’s Court in Ophir. The thief, Joseph Sweeney (alias John Allanton) pleaded guilty and was committed to the Supreme Court for sentencing.

It wasn’t the first time that Jimmie had things stolen from him. Between the 27th of November and 8th of December 1910, the Police Gazette reports he had a ‘gentlemen’s suit of clothes’, with the trousers recently let down at bottoms, size 6, made by D.I.C , valued at £4, stolen. An upper set of false teeth were in the coat pocket and they were valued at £3. They were stolen from the Glasgow Restaurant in Dunedin, a boarding house and restaurant on the corner of Moray Place and George Street where you could lodge for 16 shillings a week in 1910. I imagine Jimmie utilised this venue as a stop over en route to Waimate from Lauder and visa versa.

Debts and Donations

Jimmie was a generous man, regularly subscribing to Dunstan District Hospital from as early as 1870, when he donated £1 / year. In those days, voluntary contributions, such as Jimmie’s, were essential to finance hospitals. He also donated 10 shillings to the Irish Distress Fund in April 1880.

Being relatively well off and generous with it, could result in stressful situations when debts were not repaid. In 1876 Jimmie bought a case in the Supreme Court Case against John Litchfield. I assume that Litchfield owed Jimmie money as court ordered that “all right title and interest … to section 2,3, and 13 Block II Tiger Hill … together with the corrugated house … will be sold unless the Warrant of Fi. Fa. is sooner satisfied”. This property was approximately 67 acres and can be clearly seen on the Crown Grant Index Record Map of Tiger Hill District, of September 1913, bearing Litchfield’s name, which I assume means things were settled amenably so that Litchfield could remain on the property.

One way to chase debts was to publish notice in the newspaper. For example, in 1891 Jimmie inserted a memo in the Dunstan Times which simply read “Mr Jas. Corrigall inserts notice re monies due to him.” In those days, it was not unusual for those more affluent to provide credit to for example, miners, in hope that they would strike gold and be able to repay the creditors. While this no doubt happened in some instances, creditor meetings reported on at the the time indicate that backing miners was not always a money spinner. For example, Jimmie was one of the creditors in named in a 1894 meeting regarding John Slattery’s estate, a Matakanui miner. Jimmie was owed £37 14s 11d. Slattery owed creditors close to £250 according to the report. The following year in 1895, another miner, Edward Booth, filed himself as bankrupt, and owing 73$ 3d, of which £4 1s was owed to Jimmie.

In 1898, the Evening Star reports on a court case that Jimmie brought against John McKay, a horse trainer that he claimed £16 14s 11d against. The article describes how McKay had gambled his debt at the races and lost it, and that the judge ruled he owed Jimmie £15 5s 10d, which needed to be paid over twelve months and if not, there would be a prison sentence.

Money disputes were not always one way, however, and Jimmie had two concurrent court cases brought against him by T. Moynahan and John Allan during autumn of 1907. John Allen claimed £16 10s for wages due. He had agreed to work for Jimmie at 30 shillings a week plus ‘keep’, which usually included the essentials of food, lodgings and clothing. Jimmie had employed Messers Kirk and McKean in his defence, who were able to have Allan admit he had been paid £3 and had received goods to the value of $1. Allan had been employed in ‘race cutting and scrubbing’ as well as harvesting. Jimmie said he’d employed Allan to carry out general farm work at £1 / week, and he had agreed to pay him an extra 10s while ‘working at the race’. He went on to allege that Allan had been absent from his work for approximately a fortnight. S. Leask also gave particulars of the time worked by Allan on the race. In the the end, judgement was with the plaintiff for £8 10s, with costs.

Moynahan claimed £112 17s 5 d for wages due. This was initially adjourned and then in May, when Jimmie laid a counter claim, it was reported that “the case was struck out together with the counter claim, the parties having arrived at an amicable settlement”.

I wonder if these court cases against Jimmie were a motivating factor in his move to Waimate? He was 69 years old at this time.

Waimate

By December 1907, and quite possibly earlier, Jimmie became a land owner and part time resident of Waimate. Jimmie would have been sixty nine years old at the time, and perhaps was looking for new opportunities or possibly to ‘down size’. Possibly the court case brought against him by T. Moynahan and John Allan during autumn of 1907 prompted the move. Or maybe he went there for heath reasons, as it is known that he was under medial care in Waimate during 1909-1910. Jimmie retained his property in Central Otago, and a report of his house being burgled in 1911, confirms that he had a manager, Andrew Morton overseeing that property.

In 1908, another James Corrigall was also residing in Waimate, just to confuse matters for researchers!. This was Francis Walter Corrigall’s son, from Hakataramea. This James was only 22 years old at the time, and was playing football for the Taniwha club, and a member of the Waimate Rifle Volunteers. I have not found a strong link to date between this family and our Corrigalls, however, it is very likely that they were related, as both families originally came from the Orkney Islands.

Although I can not be certain until I track more about the younger James Corrigall, but I think it was Jimmie who was involved in the Waimate Horticultural Society, was a supporter and host of the Waimate Harriers and treasurer of the newly formed Waimate branch of the Labour Party in October 1910. He may have also been the James Corrigall involved in the Waimate ‘Ivy Lodge Number 21’, the United Ancient Order of Druids. This lodge met on alternative Wednesdays at the Oddfellows’ Hall and/or the Foresters’ hall in Waimate and collected funds in aid of for example, the Ladies Benevolent Fund in 1911. This J. Corrigall was elected as a ‘V. A. bard’ in December 1907, a role he apparently held until December 1909 when he became A.D. Bard. He represented the Druids at card matches during 1909 and 1910 and was re-elected into this role of A.D. Bard and also the role of auditor during December 1910. He did not stand for, or was not elected to office in 1911.

If you consider bowling to be more of an older person’s sport, you will agree that it was likely to have been Jimmie who joined the Waimate Bowling Club as a new member in September of 1908. He participated in several matches during the next two years. Likewise, you may consider gardening to be more likely be the interest of a 70 year old man, rather than a 23 year old man. I may be wrong of course, but I believe it was probably Jimmie that was the Mr Jas. Corrigall elected as a member of the Waimate Horticultural Society in November 1908. In January 1910, he won second prize for his sweet pea collection. In January 1911 he won two second prizes for his nasturtium collection and his dahlia collection.

It is likely to have been Jimmie who hosted the Waimate Harriers during 1909 to 1911, as newspaper articles of the time reveal that this J. Corrigall assisted but did not run with the harriers. The younger James had been playing football in the district till at least June 1909, when he was 23, and it seems likely that had he been involved, he would more likely be running, rather than hosting. Assuming it was Jimmie, his place seems to have become known as the "Harriers' Retreat" on these occasions. The Timaru Herald reported in June 1909 that Jimmie was thanked by Captain A. Butcher for his hospitality after receiving them at the “Harriers’ Retreat” and the Waimate Advertiser stated that the harriers were heartily entertained by Mr Corrigall. This must have become a regular event as in April 1910 the Harriers were reportedly entertained by Mr Corrigall and this was reported in several newspapers including the Waimate Advertiser, the Timaru Herald and the Oamaru Mail. The Waimate Harriers dissolved around March 1911 when Mr Corrigall was thanked for use of his rooms.

It is almost certain that it was Jimmie who was the J. Corrigall attending a share holders’ meeting of the Waimate Gas and Coal Company Limited 1909. I have not found out any more of his involvement in this company to date. His participation in the above community and business groups indicates that Jimmie spent a reasonable amount of time in Waimate.

Was it the young James or Jimmie that was trampled by team of horses at Painstown, Waimate, in August 1909? Apparently the “man named Corrigall” had been attending to the horses, got under their feet and was run over by a wheel. The victim “escaped with nothing worse than a bad cut on one leg and a severe shaking”. I think this was Jimmie for a couple of reasons. Firstly, he did not appear to participate in any bowling matches for the season beginning in Spring 1909, only commencing again in November 1910. Secondly, I believe Jimmie may have been contracting out his team of horses. At the end of 1910 he advertised his Waimate property, stock and implements for sale, and included in the sale notice were seven draught horses, possibly the team that trampled a “man named Corrigall”. There was a range of horse drawn implements advertised as well. Finally, I can find no mention of the younger James Corrigall in the Waimate area in regards to football after June 1909. Poor old Jimmie! At least this accident was less serious than the one involving a dray and three horses some thirty years earlier, in Central Otago. Incidentally his property did not sell in 1910, as it is confirmed as selling in June 1912, after his death.

Jimmie’s Death

On Thursday the 4th of January 1912, Jimmie sadly died while riding the first express train from Christchurch to Dunedin. He had been in the first class smoking carriage, and the incident happened just as the train left Palmerston. It seems that Jimmie left the carriage to stand on the platform, possibly to get some fresh air, as he was obviously not feeling well. From witness reports at the coroner’s inquest, the event happened relatively quickly with little suffering. It is believed that Jimmie caught the train in Waimate and was en route to Lauder. The Otago Witness reported the unfortunate occurrence on the 10th of January, 1912, but there were 3 errors in that newspaper article; namely that Jimmie was about 90 years old, he was a widower and his son was James Corrigall from Omakau! In fact Jimmie was 74 years old, unmarried and as we know, an uncle to James. The Dunstan Times, which reported Jimmie’s death on the 15th of January, 1912 said he was one of the oldest residents of the Ophir district and that he appeared in the best of health and spirits, but made the error that he was travelling to Timaru. The Evening Star reported on Friday the 5th of January, 1912, that Mr Leask (most likely William Leask, Jimmie’s nephew) and Mr Clouston (likely James Clouston, Jimmie’s nephew, who later erected his headstone) were expected to arrive in Dunedin that evening. I suspect that the reason that James didn’t go to Dunedin with his cousins, was he was busy with his son Jim’s impending wedding, who was married on the 10th January 1912.

The Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, of the 10th of January 1912, gave the most comprehensive report of the incident. Here it was confirmed by a Dr. Hunter, a passenger on the train, that Jimmie died very quickly just after the train left Palmerston and that there were absolutely no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death. The guard rang Dunedin from Seacliff, and the police took charge of Jimmie’s body once the train arrived in Dunedin. William Leask, Jimmie’s nephew, said that Jimmie was 70 years of age and a single man, who had been under medical care in Waimate approximately 12 months earlier for heart or chest trouble. William said that Jimmie had left Lauder approximately a fortnight earlier and was most likely to have been travelling back from Waimate. The Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette also reported that his death caused ‘widespread regret amongst numerous friends in Omakau, Lauder and surrounding districts, where deceased was popularly known’.

Jimmie’s death was reported with varying degrees of accuracy across the country. Perhaps there was widespread reportage at the time because Jimmie was well known, well liked and relatively wealthy. Perhaps his passing was widely reported because of the time of year, where in New Zealand at least, most people tend to be on holiday and news is scarce. Or perhaps it was the unique place of death that the newspapers found intriguing. Whatever the reason, Jimmie’s passing was reported from the Southland Times to the Hawkes Bay Tribune, from the Taranaki Daily News to the Pahiatua Herald, from New Zealand Times to the New Zealand Truth and everywhere in between.

Jimmie’s handwritten will was and signed in the presence of two solicitors, J. R. Bartholomew of Alexandra and T. B. McNeil of Naseby on the 25th of March, 1909. His will clearly states ‘I give devise and bequeath all my real and personal estate of whatsoever nature and whatsoever situate until my nephew James Clouston of Becks Otago Farmer absolutely and I appoint the said James Clouston the executor of this my will.’

By the end of January 1912, advertisements were placed asking for anyone with claims against Jimmie’s estate to come forward by the 6th of February. Notices in the Dunstan Times revealed that the executor of Jimmie’s estate was his nephew, James Clouston. By the 23rd of February, 1912, Jimmie’s probate had been dealt with by His Honour Mr Justice Williams. In June 1912, Jimmie’s farm at Lauder was passed in at auction, the highest bid having been £500, with the reserve £400 in excess of this offer. However, his property at Timaru Road, Waimate was reported as sold in June 1912. In September of 1912, Jimmie’s estate was listed as one of the largest estates in Otago at £1670. The estates listed in the article ranged from £21,143 to £533, so while Jimmie was well off, I don’t think he was ‘super rich’.

Jimmie was buried in plot 0026 of Blacks Cemetery at Omakau, on the 6th of January 1912. His cemetery records, record number 0399, say that his place of residence was Omakau and that he was a Presbyterian. Rest in peace, Jimmie.