Hi Listers I've seen an online tree that has an Abraham MCKENZIE who drowned at Bluff in 1894 age 28 as a son of John MCKENZIE & Eliza Jane ROLSTON of Derryoghill townland in County Tyrone. The MCKENZIE tree is complicated and it would be easy to assign a person to a wrong family. In this case I think it is the wrong family for Abraham but how to prove it is the problem. I can't find an Ireland birth registration for him circa 1866 (there's one in 1868 but that's definitely for a different man) or an indication that he is a son of John & Eliza Ann. The tree gives a location for him at Oteramika in Southland from the NZ electoral rolls but that's actually for a different Abraham MCKENZIE, a bachelor who died in Southland in 1910 living near his married brother Robert also at Oteramika, they actually being brothers to John MCKENZIE who married Eliza Jane ROLSTON. I can't find a NZ birth registration circa 1866 either, so that he probably did arrive from overseas. There's heaps of A. MCKENZIE in shipping records unfortunately. I suppose the 1894 death registration would give me the parents of the man who drowned in 1894 but I'm doing a tree for a friend, not me, and am reluctant to spend dollars on a person unrelated to me and perhaps not even related to my friend, i.e. on what might be a wild goose chase based on someone's else's possibly incorrect tree. But the tree is otherwise pretty good, so I'm reluctant to dismiss the possibility out of hand. My friend descends from John MCKENZIE's cousin, Samuel MCKENZIE a farmer of Derryoghill who married Elizabeth MCCUTCHEON and then Elizabeth EMERSON and whose son James to the second marriage came to NZ with his own family in 1927 and lived up Tauranga way. What I have for Abraham who drowned in 1894 is this: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__paperspast.natlib.govt.nz_newspapers_ST18930802.2.17&d=DwIFaQ&c=kKqjBR9KKWaWpMhASkPbOg&r=-mWZZZeVf-T2XFKEtPE1g25Egq_c7AQAHDafyY9XXQQ&m=RVwOUZ2ZhfmJffcNX6iI1yNImRephCRwXHXx30hkKVg&s=5IrHE2d9zIgdXEviaDmsj3oHkHVSJ9sGyZbT_Ly0_3U&e= Southland Times, Issue 12661, 2 August 1893, p.2 District Court. Tuesday, 1st Aug .......The hearing of this case was resumed. The following additional witnesses were called for plaintiffs :— Henry Brown, Abraham MCKENZIE, labourer (Bluff)..... https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__paperspast.natlib.govt.nz_newspapers_WSTAR18940228.2.5&d=DwIFaQ&c=kKqjBR9KKWaWpMhASkPbOg&r=-mWZZZeVf-T2XFKEtPE1g25Egq_c7AQAHDafyY9XXQQ&m=RVwOUZ2ZhfmJffcNX6iI1yNImRephCRwXHXx30hkKVg&s=DxveWv-K1YUkX2n2DdLRQhG7JZLjDeDHyeWNgQWYLPA&e= Western Star, Wednesday, 28 February 1894, p.2 Boating Fatality —At the Bluff on Sunday at 9.30 a.m. a boating party consisting of William Wilson, Evan McQuarrie, Andrew King, Abraham MCKENZIE, and James Pleasants left in the Maori Girl for Awarua Arm. Not returning at night a search party went out on Monday morning, and returned with the body of Pleasants. As he was the best swimmer of all, and was stripped to his underclothing it is almost a certainty that the others have also met their death. https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__paperspast.natlib.govt.nz_newspapers_SOCR18940303.2.16&d=DwIFaQ&c=kKqjBR9KKWaWpMhASkPbOg&r=-mWZZZeVf-T2XFKEtPE1g25Egq_c7AQAHDafyY9XXQQ&m=RVwOUZ2ZhfmJffcNX6iI1yNImRephCRwXHXx30hkKVg&s=CPJrnV-nqxHGF4zU0yOWLuEhvdV9c1J2pcrOSfrAERk&e= Southern Cross, Volume 1, Issue 49, 3 March 1894, p.8 The Bluff has been plunged into grief since Sunday last. On the morning ot that day five young men—William Wilson, Abraham MCKENZIE, Evan McQuarrie, Andrew King, and James Felix Pleasants—went out for a sail on the Awarua Arm, and were never afterwards seen alive. The boat was found on Monday full of water, with, mast and mainsail gone, and the dog taken by the party was discovered alive on shore, but in a very bedraggled condition. Indications point to the fact that the boat having filled, her occupants left her and endeavoured to reach the shore. Four of the bodies have since been recovered, viz., those of McQuarrie, Pleasants, King and MCKENZIE. The deceased were well known at the port, and were deservedly respected. https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz_&d=DwIFaQ&c=kKqjBR9KKWaWpMhASkPbOg&r=-mWZZZeVf-T2XFKEtPE1g25Egq_c7AQAHDafyY9XXQQ&m=RVwOUZ2ZhfmJffcNX6iI1yNImRephCRwXHXx30hkKVg&s=l8MJ1LH3wIn6Lg-1qYdu9rJykzvYxYOzuIYQh27q2us&e= NZ Deaths 1894/2212, MCKENZIE Abraham, 28Y New Zealand, Cemetery Records Bluff Cemetery Abraham MCKENZIE died 25 Feb 1894 age 28 years. The public trust became responsible for administering his estate but unfortunately the online probate record at Familysearch gives no inkling as to their investigations of him and family, although an inventory of his property and its estimated value is given as follows: Cash £12 8s 9d. Effects £9 4s. 0d. Section 21 Block 20 Town of Campbeltown 1/4 acre £140 0s. 0d. Jewellery 15s. 6d. Total £162 8s. 3d. The original is at Archives NZ's Dunedin Office but there probably isn't any more with it or it would have been put up at Familysearch.. Does anyone know who this Abraham is? Does he in fact belong to John & Eliza, or is he someone else's lad? Peter

Sorry I got my wires crossed a bit. John MCKENZIE who married Eliza Jane ROLSTON was from Drumderg townland (not Derryoghill) which is close to Derryoghill townland where his cousin Samuel lived whom I mentioned. These MCKENZIE descend from four brothers; John, Samuel, Abraham and William MCKENZIE born either side of 1800 who reputedly were from Skye in Scotland. John & Sam settled at Derryoghill and Abraham & William settled at Drumderg. Abraham was the father of John who married Eliza Jane ROLSTON and John was the father of Samuel whose son James went to NZ. Abraham's will (died 1860) gives the other three as his brothers and also refers to items of furniture of his mother that came from Scotland. The four brothers all had sons called James and three had sons called Abraham, and three had sons called John, plus furher James, Abraham and John were generated. It aint hard to get confused with that lot! Peter > On 11 September 2018 at 16:36 Peter Dillon <peter_dillon@xtra.co.nz> wrote: > > > Hi Listers > > > I've seen an online tree that has an Abraham MCKENZIE who drowned at Bluff in 1894 age 28 as a son of John MCKENZIE & Eliza Jane ROLSTON of Derryoghill townland in County Tyrone. The MCKENZIE tree is complicated and it would be easy to assign a person to a wrong family. > > In this case I think it is the wrong family for Abraham but how to prove it is the problem. I can't find an Ireland birth registration for him circa 1866 (there's one in 1868 but that's definitely for a different man) or an indication that he is a son of John & Eliza Ann. The tree gives a location for him at Oteramika in Southland from the NZ electoral rolls but that's actually for a different Abraham MCKENZIE, a bachelor who died in Southland in 1910 living near his married brother Robert also at Oteramika, they actually being brothers to John MCKENZIE who married Eliza Jane ROLSTON. > > > I can't find a NZ birth registration circa 1866 either, so that he probably did arrive from overseas. There's heaps of A. MCKENZIE in shipping records unfortunately. > > > I suppose the 1894 death registration would give me the parents of the man who drowned in 1894 but I'm doing a tree for a friend, not me, and am reluctant to spend dollars on a person unrelated to me and perhaps not even related to my friend, i.e. on what might be a wild goose chase based on someone's else's possibly incorrect tree. But the tree is otherwise pretty good, so I'm reluctant to dismiss the possibility out of hand. > > > My friend descends from John MCKENZIE's cousin, Samuel MCKENZIE a farmer of Derryoghill who married Elizabeth MCCUTCHEON and then Elizabeth EMERSON and whose son James to the second marriage came to NZ with his own family in 1927 and lived up Tauranga way. > > > What I have for Abraham who drowned in 1894 is this: > > > > > https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__paperspast.natlib.govt.nz_newspapers_ST18930802.2.17&d=DwIFaQ&c=kKqjBR9KKWaWpMhASkPbOg&r=-mWZZZeVf-T2XFKEtPE1g25Egq_c7AQAHDafyY9XXQQ&m=inPxPXDcS6FZqddSnmruWoXDqUzJEHFVLQ-dphRFrtw&s=RBSyobSeWwkwZHj9UAu9QCJYYwwss0BWPTN-DZLZpKU&e= > Southland Times, Issue 12661, 2 August 1893, p.2 > District Court. > Tuesday, 1st Aug > .......The hearing of this case was resumed. The following additional witnesses were called for plaintiffs :— Henry Brown, Abraham MCKENZIE, labourer (Bluff)..... > > > https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__paperspast.natlib.govt.nz_newspapers_WSTAR18940228.2.5&d=DwIFaQ&c=kKqjBR9KKWaWpMhASkPbOg&r=-mWZZZeVf-T2XFKEtPE1g25Egq_c7AQAHDafyY9XXQQ&m=inPxPXDcS6FZqddSnmruWoXDqUzJEHFVLQ-dphRFrtw&s=eRj8hCEEpDuJ7xeELhu1EWt-kwVvHHk2dFN20OwHCSY&e= > Western Star, Wednesday, 28 February 1894, p.2 > Boating Fatality —At the Bluff on Sunday at 9.30 a.m. a boating party consisting of William Wilson, Evan McQuarrie, Andrew King, Abraham MCKENZIE, and James Pleasants left in the Maori Girl for Awarua Arm. Not returning at night a search party went out on Monday morning, and returned with the body of Pleasants. As he was the best swimmer of all, and was stripped to his underclothing it is almost a certainty that the others have also met their death. > > > https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__paperspast.natlib.govt.nz_newspapers_SOCR18940303.2.16&d=DwIFaQ&c=kKqjBR9KKWaWpMhASkPbOg&r=-mWZZZeVf-T2XFKEtPE1g25Egq_c7AQAHDafyY9XXQQ&m=inPxPXDcS6FZqddSnmruWoXDqUzJEHFVLQ-dphRFrtw&s=Kxk1bZnStbwMwrm2oT7dv6YaxJx5UXqw6Fcd8BZhH_E&e= > Southern Cross, Volume 1, Issue 49, 3 March 1894, p.8 > The Bluff has been plunged into grief since Sunday last. On the morning ot that day five young men—William Wilson, Abraham MCKENZIE, Evan McQuarrie, Andrew King, and James Felix Pleasants—went out for a sail on the Awarua Arm, and were never afterwards seen alive. The boat was found on Monday full of water, with, mast and mainsail gone, and the dog taken by the party was discovered alive on shore, but in a very bedraggled condition. Indications point to the fact that the boat having filled, her occupants left her and endeavoured to reach the shore. Four of the bodies have since been recovered, viz., those of McQuarrie, Pleasants, King and MCKENZIE. The deceased were well known at the port, and were deservedly respected. > > > https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz_&d=DwIFaQ&c=kKqjBR9KKWaWpMhASkPbOg&r=-mWZZZeVf-T2XFKEtPE1g25Egq_c7AQAHDafyY9XXQQ&m=inPxPXDcS6FZqddSnmruWoXDqUzJEHFVLQ-dphRFrtw&s=w4ZcbiLq1OOWmZ5dr4hvOy4m8dXLP3AzOIJOoefWDzU&e= > NZ Deaths > 1894/2212, MCKENZIE Abraham, 28Y > > > New Zealand, Cemetery Records > Bluff Cemetery > Abraham MCKENZIE died 25 Feb 1894 age 28 years. > > > The public trust became responsible for administering his estate but unfortunately the online probate record at Familysearch gives no inkling as to their investigations of him and family, although an inventory of his property and its estimated value is given as follows: > > Cash £12 8s 9d. > Effects £9 4s. 0d. > Section 21 Block 20 Town of Campbeltown 1/4 acre £140 0s. 0d. > Jewellery 15s. 6d. > Total £162 8s. 3d. > > > The original is at Archives NZ's Dunedin Office but there probably isn't any more with it or it would have been put up at Familysearch.. > > > Does anyone know who this Abraham is? Does he in fact belong to John & Eliza, or is he someone else's lad? > > > Peter >