George ALLOWAY and Sarah Ann MANN had 3 boys

Francis Betram ALLOWAY - 1884-1982
Edward Randall ALLOWAY - 1894-1949 (this might be a family surname)
Gordon Ashley ALLOWAY - 1898-1969

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May be at least one of these boys have a family name from Sarah Ann's female line….

The marriage 6 March 1877 at St Andrews Presbyterian Manse, Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand - who were the witnesses?

? Where does the information comes from that Sarah Ann was born in England

Street Address Given Name Surname Relationship Marital Status Age Estimated Birth Year Gender Occupation Birth City Birth County Birth Country

Blaenau Gwent William Sellwood Head Married 32 1849 Male Railway Porter South Cerney Gloucestershire England
Blaenau Gwent Sarah Sellwood Wife Married 27 1854 Female East Dean Gloucestershire England
Blaenau Gwent Elizabeth Sellwood Daughter 9 1872 Female Scholar Abertillery Monmouth Wales
Blaenau Gwent Ellen Sellwood Daughter 2 1879 Female Abertillery Monmouth Wales
Blaenau Gwent William H. Sellwood Son Male Abertillery Monmouth Wales
Blaenau Gwent Henry James Sellwood Boarder Brother 22 1859 Male Groom (M) South Gwesney ? Gloucestershire England
Blaenau Gwent Elizabeth Manns Visitor 22 1859 Female General Servant East Dean Gloucestershire England

I strongly suspect the surname was given as SELLARD at the time of the marriage due to local dialect!

So you can now discount both Sarah's and will need to search elsewhere.

Mike

I stated that Elias SMITH died in 1894. So my next step was to try and track down Sarah. I have not been able to find a marriage or burial but I have traced her in the 1901 Census as follows:

Household Number Name Relation to Head Age Estimated Birth Year Gender Birth Place
Millend Row, Awre
34 Richard Embling Head 67 1834 Male Wiltshire, England
34 Sarah Ann Embling Wife 49 1852 Female N.K
34 Lydia Smith Stepdaughter 20 1881 Female Blakeney Hill, Gloucestershire, England
34 Richard Smith Stepson 13 1888 Male Blakeney Hill, Gloucestershire, England
34 William Smith Stepson 10 1891 Male Blakeney Hill, Gloucestershire, England
34 Edwin Smith Stepson 8 1893 Male Blakeney Hill, Gloucestershire, England

I have not been able to find a marriage between Richard EMBLING and Sarah and I suspect they did not marry. However I did find an earlier marriage for Richard EMBLING as follows:

Year: 1884
Month: Feb
Day: 25
Grooms_Surname: EMBLING
Grooms_Forenames: Richard
Grooms_Age: 47
Groom_Condition: Widower
Grooms_Occupation: Collier
Grooms_Residence: Blakeney Hill
Grooms_Fathers_Surname: EMBLING
Grooms_Fathers_Forenames: Richard
Grooms_Fathers_Occupation: Labourer
Brides_Surname: VIRGO
Brides_Forenames: Harriet
Brides_Age: 48
Brides_Condition: Widow
Brides_Occupation: [not stated]
Brides_Residence: Blakeney Hill
Brides_Fathers_Surname: PROUT
Brides_Fathers_Forenames: James
Brides_Fathers_Occupation: Sawyer
Licence_or_Banns: Banns
Date_of_Banns: [not stated]
Signature_or_Mark: Both sign
Witness_1: John Embling
Witness_2: Mary Embling
Other_Witnesses:
Officiating_Minister: Edward S Smith
Event: Marriage
Memoranda:
Notes:
Register_Reference: P348 IN 1/3
Page_Number: 71
Parish_Chapel: Viney Hill

and a burial for Harriet in 1897:
Year: 1897
Month: May
Day: 18
Surname: EMBLING
Forenames: Harriet
Residence: Blakeney Hill
Age_at_death: 67
Officiating_Minister: E.S.Smith
Event: Burial
Cause_of_death:
Memoranda: Grave No. 525
Notes:
Register_Reference: P348 IN 1/6
Page_No: 20
Parish_Chapel: Viney Hill

If we go back to the marriage between Elias SMITH and Sarah Ann MANN(S) a witness was Harriet VIRGO.

Richard Embling died in December 1901 and we find Sarah in the 1911 Census living with her mother Ann MANN:

Name Relation to Head Birth Date Age Gender Marital Status Occupation Birth Place Address
New Road, Blakeney
Sarah Embling Head 1857 54 Female Widowed Westbury On Severn, Gloucestershire New Road, Blakeney, Glos
Ann Mann Mother 1823 88 Female Widowed Dymock, Gloucestershire New Road, Blakeney, Glos
William Smith Son 1891 20 Male Single Colliery Horse Driver Blakeney Hill, East Dean, Gloucestershire New Road, Blakeney, Glos
George Jones Visitor 1892 19 Male Single Colliery Labourer Drybrook, Gloucestershire New Road, Blakeney, Glos
Gertie Smith Granddaughter 1903 8 Female Howbeach, Gloucestershire New Road, Blakeney, Glos
Dolly James Visitor 1905 6 Female Yorkley, Gloucestershire New Road, Blakeney, Glos

Mike

Thank you all so very very much. We are are delighted & astounded by the detail of records you are able to access.

"Our" Sarah Ann MANN,is the daughter of Jeremiah MANN & Ann (BLACKWELL) MANN who are listed in the 1871 Census as being at Blakeney Hill, East Dean, Westbury on Severn along with the other children Henry Thomas, John, William, Emma, Elizabeth, Charles, George & Harriet.
The Sarah Ann MANN from this family does not appear in the 1881 Census. We have tried to search for a possible marriage or death.

We believe, thus far, that Sarah Ann did travel to South Australia, possibly as an indentured young woman seeking work. C1872. Sadly we have no travel records yet discovered.

As best we can judge, Sarah Ann MANN did eventually travel to Christchurch & Rangiora in Canterbury, South Island, New Zealand. We believe she did work primarily in Rangiora. There she met George ALLOWAY/ALLAWAY, born 1848 Cheltenham, to John ALLOWAY & Elizabeth Glenister. In 1853 & 1854 the ALLOWAY & GLENISTER families sailed to Melborne, Victoria, Australia. C1865 young George ALLOWAY sailed to New Zealand to the West Coast goldfields & then settled in Canterbury as a farm worker. There he met & married Sarah Ann MANN. Their NZ marriage certificate does not offer any other information.

ANY information that may help us to trace Sarah Ann's birth family would be hugely appreciated. If some of you good folk can prove that we are on the wrong track then please speak up.

Does anyone know if there were 'travel/work passages' to the colonies, such as South Australia, that might have attracted young women? By the by, South Australia was not a penal colony.

John & Gwenda Alloway. NZ.

Year: 1871
Month: Aug
Day: 4
Grooms_Surname: SELLARD
Grooms_Forenames: William
Grooms_Age: Full Age
Groom_Condition: Bachelor
Grooms_Occupation: Collier
Grooms_Residence: Township of East Dean
Grooms_Fathers_Surname: Sellard
Grooms_Fathers_Forenames: James
Grooms_Fathers_Occupation: Shepherd
Brides_Surname: MANNS
Brides_Forenames: Sarah
Brides_Age: 18
Brides_Condition: Spinster
Brides_Occupation:
Brides_Residence: Township of East Dean
Brides_Fathers_Surname: Manns
Brides_Fathers_Forenames: Jeremiah
Brides_Fathers_Occupation: Labourer
Licence_or_Banns: Banns
Date_of_Banns:
Signature_or_Mark: Both sign
Witness_1: Tom Knight
Witness_2: Mary Ann Knight
Other_Witnesses:
Officiating_Minister: Chris[tophe]r Jay Jones M A Vicar of Westbury-on-S
Event: Marriage
Memoranda:
Notes:
Register_Reference: P145 IN 1/11
Page_Number: 112
Parish_Chapel: Flaxley

Year: 1874
Month: Feb
Day: 2
Grooms_Surname: SMITH
Grooms_Forenames: Elias
Grooms_Age: 24
Groom_Condition: Bachelor
Grooms_Occupation: Collier
Grooms_Residence: East Dean
Grooms_Fathers_Surname: Smith
Grooms_Fathers_Forenames: William
Grooms_Fathers_Occupation: Collier
Brides_Surname: MANNS
Brides_Forenames: Sarah Ann
Brides_Age: 21
Brides_Condition: Spinster
Brides_Occupation: [not stated]
Brides_Residence: East Dean
Brides_Fathers_Surname: Manns
Brides_Fathers_Forenames: Jeremiah
Brides_Fathers_Occupation: Labo(u)rer
Licence_or_Banns: Banns
Date_of_Banns:
Signature_or_Mark: He signs; she marks
Witness_1: Mark of John Virgo
Witness_2: Hariet Virgo
Other_Witnesses:
Officiating_Minister: John A. Mathias
Event: Marriage
Memoranda:
Notes:
Register_Reference: P85/1 IN 1/5
Page_Number: 107
Parish_Chapel: Cinderford St John

Witnesses at the marriage of William SELLARD to Sarah were Tom and Mary Ann Knight. This is their marriage:
Year: 1870
Month: Feb
Day: 28
Grooms_Surname: KNIGHT
Grooms_Forenames: Tom
Grooms_Age: 19
Groom_Condition: bachelor
Grooms_Occupation: waterman
Grooms_Residence: Newnham
Grooms_Fathers_Surname: Knight
Grooms_Fathers_Forenames: Thomas
Grooms_Fathers_Occupation: waterman
Brides_Surname: MANNS
Brides_Forenames: Mary Ann
Brides_Age: 19
Brides_Condition: Spinster
Brides_Occupation:
Brides_Residence: Newnham
Brides_Fathers_Surname: Manns
Brides_Fathers_Forenames: Jeremiah
Brides_Fathers_Occupation: miner
Licence_or_Banns: banns
Date_of_Banns:
Signature_or_Mark: both sign
Witness_1: Charles Knight
Witness_2: Charlotte Workman
Other_Witnesses:
Officiating_Minister: E.C. Brice vicar
Event: Marriage
Memoranda:
Notes: Newnham centred in box
Register_Reference: P228 IN 1/13
Page_Number: 204
Parish_Chapel: Newnham

So this tells us that Sarah's mother was Ann MARTIN.

William SELLARD would appear to be from South Cerney but apart from the births of two daughters (see below) after the marriage I have yet to find what happened to the family.

Child Surname Child Forename Father Surname Mother Surname Mother's Former Name Year District Office Register Entry
SELLARD Elizabeth SELLARD SELLARD MANNS 1871 Forest of Dean Westbury on Severn, Newnham 33 186
SELLARD Ellen SELLARD SELLARD MANNS 1873 Forest of Dean Westbury on Severn, Newnham 36 338

Elias SMITH and family can be found in Census returns for 1881 and 1891 at Blakeney Hill and this would suggest that as this is also the home of Jeremiah and Ann nee BLACKWELL they connect.

1891 Census Blakeney Hill
Elias Smith Head Male 45 1846 East Dean Gloucestershire England
Sarah Ann Smith Wife Female 27 1864 East Dean Gloucestershire England
Edith Smith Daughter Female 14 1877 East Dean Gloucestershire England
Lydia Smith Daughter Female 8 1883 East Dean Gloucestershire England
Annie Smith Daughter Female 5 1886 East Dean Gloucestershire England
Richard Smith Son Male 2 1889 East Dean Gloucestershire England
William Smith Son Male 4/12 1890 East Dean Gloucestershire England

Elias Smith died in 1894:
Year: 1894
Month: Aug
Day: 30
Surname: SMITH
Forenames: Elias
Residence: Ruspidge
Age_at_death: 48 years
Officiating_Minister: E. S. Smith
Event: Burial
Cause_of_death:
Memoranda: 43
Notes:
Register_Reference: P348 IN 1/5
Page_No: 99
Parish_Chapel: Viney Hill

Mike

Who did you Sarah MANN marry? and who were the witnesses?? occupation of Jeremiah????

Looking at Gloucestershirebdm - the are many children of Jeremiah MANN(S) - mother's maiden name MARTIN and also MANN(S) - BLACKWELL.

Both Jeremiah's appear to be labourers

Children of Jeremiah MANN(S) and Ann MARTIN - Glos BDM

Jeremiah - 1845 - Forest of Dean, Westbury on Severn, Newnham
William Isaiah - 1848 - ditto
Mary Ann - 1850 - ditto
Sarah - 1852 - ditto
Emma MANNS - 1855 - Gloucester, Huntley
Eliza MANNS - 1861 - Forest of Dean, Westbury on Severn, Newnham

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Sarah Ann MANN - mother's maiden name BLACKWELL - 1853, Gloucester, Huntley ****

Fod Records. Marriage at Cinderford St John - 2 February 1874

Sarah Ann MANNS - age 21, Spinster, father: Jeremiah MANNS, labourer
married
Elias SMITH - age 24, Bachelor, father, William SMITH, Collier

witnesses: John & Hariet VIRGO

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1861 Census, Awe, Brains Green, Blakeney Hill

MANN

Jeremiah - Day labourer, born Westbury on Severn
Ann - 36 - born Hereford, Eastmoor
Hannah - 12
Henry -11 - 1849, Glos Huntley - mother's maiden name BLACKWELL
John - 9
Sarah A - 7
Mary A - 5
William - 3
Emily - 1 - 1860, (Glos BDM) Forest of Dean, Westbury on Severn, Newnham: MANNS/BLACKWELL

We believe that Sarah Ann MANN, daughter of Jeremiah & Ann (BLACKWELL) MANN is our ancestor. She was born 02/12/1853 Westbury on Severn.

However, we do wish to be absolutely sure we are correct, therefor we ask anyone reading this who believe that the can help with more exact identification we would be most grateful.
John & Gwenda ALLOWAY, New Zealand.