Levuka History and Timeline

Birth Cordelia Marthar Valentine Female Birth: 07 JUN 1843 Levuka,Ovalau, Fiji, Pacific Islands 1 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints http://www.FamilySearch.org

levuka — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 04:03:43 +0000

International Genealogical Index ref Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints http://www.FamilySearch.org

Fiji Births/baptisms and marriages and deaths registered at British Consul, prior to 1870

levuka — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 23:17:58 +0000

This list comes from Christine Liava’a, member of the NZ Genealogical Society and founder of the Pacific Islands Interests group ( I have sent her an email, and hope for a response) She says: ” All of these, plus others from 1870 – 1873 are registered in the 4 volumes of deeds compiled by the British consul in Levuka between 1853 and 1873.”

More data: “There could be a similar set of documents from the American Consul- J B Williams, probably held in NAARA, or perhaps filmed and held in other places. But, these only list registrations by people who wanted to be registered. They do not list Europeans with Fijian wives, or their children”.

1874/75 Census: The 1874/75 Census does list them, if they were alive at that time, but does not include the really early ones. All the directories etc, date from the 1870s”.

I have capitalised what I believe is the surname

BAKER, Clara Nuinui -1865

Sarah Alice-1861

Harriet Ann- 1859

Parents Thomas* and Harriet BAKER

BLAKELOCK James Thursfield -1865

Parents Thomas and Elizabeth BLAKELOCK

CALVERT, Philip Fowley 1841

Annie 1843

David 1844

Sarah 1846

Hannah Hunt 1849

James 1851

Parents, James and Mary CALVERT

CAREY, Annie Amelia *1859

Frances Helen 1861

Eustace Lawford 1862

Ernest Birkby 1864

Effie 1865

Reginald Stevens 1866 ?

Alfred Ernest 1869

Murine May 1872 p

Parents- Jesse and Lydia CAREY

FISON Mary Calvert 1864 p

Parents Lorimer and Jane FISON

GILL, Horatio Kioa 1863

Parents John Joseph and Anne Eliza GILL

GRANT Lily Ethel* born Wooloomoolooo 1867

Parents ? and Mrs GRANT

HARRIS, Emily Ada 1871

Parents Edwin ad Louisa HARRIS

HORSLEY, Louie Jane 1861

Mary Calvert 1864

William Thornton 1865

Parents John Fenwick and Louisa Jane HORSLEY

INGLIS Female child 1868

Parents John and Priscilla INGLIS

MCINNES, Lizzie Isabel born at sea 1868

Parents Daniel and Margaret Hill MCINNES

MOORE, Emelie Louisa 1860 parents William and Mary Anne MOORE

NIEMAN, male child 1868
Parents John Henry and Harriet NIEMAN

ROBSON Eliza Creed 1866 ? 1868

Parents John and Nancy Maria ROBSON

SIMMONDS Harold Ernest 1873

Parents Joseph Henry and Sarah SIMMONDS

TAIT, John George 1862

Francis William 1865

Parents Francis and Eleanor TAIT

THURSFIELD, Henry 1869

Parents Thomas and Elizabeth Blatlelver THURSFIELD

WATERHOUSE, Mary Watson 1852

John 1855

Joseph 1857

Henry Martyn 1859

George Marsden 1861

Rowland William Jabez 1863

Parents Joseph and Elizabeth WATERHOUSE

WEBB, Effie Beton 1869

Florence 1872

Walter 1870

Parents Arthur John and Sarah Annie WEBB

Marriages prior to 1870 registered with British consul

Alexander Barrack & Matilda KNIGHT- 1863 @ Savusavu

George Boyes Evans & Marion MORTAN 1869 @ ?

William Thomas PRITCHARD & Ellen Fanny GLOVER 1862 @ Levuka

Morris Russel & Catherine VAUGHAN 1861 @ Levuka

Jacob B Storck & Alexandrina Sophia HAGG 1868 @Levuka

Deaths prior to 1870 registered with British Consul

BARKER, Thomas* 1867 @ Navosa CAREY, Annie Amelia * 1861 @ Taveuni

CARR, David AKA Christopher 1864 at sea

GRANT Lily Ethel* 1868 ?

MCLACHLAN, James 1869 @ Levuka

RYDER, Edmond Urmson 1867 ?

COCKS, Robert 1869 @ Levuka

CREELMAN, James Campbell 1868 ?

IRVINE, Alexander 1867 ?

SANDILANDS, Edward Vincent 1869 @ Sydney

This data collected by “Christine Liava’a is a New Zealander married to a Tongan. Her interests are the history and the peoples of the Pacific region.She is a longstanding member of the NZ Genealogical Society and founder of the Pacific Islands Interests group, She has previously published a series of booklets containing lists of people involved in various events in the Pacific area, and intends to produce more”. http://www.genealogy.org.nz/Pacific_Islands_Interest_Group_209.aspx

1873: Thurston’s new constitution: “Even old beachcombers saw the 1870s as the white mans’ age….

levuka — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 10:30:42 +0000

“Even old beachcombers saw the 1870s as the white mans’ age…. in the days of Cakobau’s kingdom – from 1871 to 1875 – Levuka was the major European social and polical hub, as race-war loomed.
Ma’afu signed arms contract: The watchful Royal Navy dwarfed the cutters and schooners, and white residents who stood appalled …. in 1873, at the prospect of Fijian control under Chief Secretary Thurston’s new constitution, (and ) discovered that their suppose(d) ally, the Viceroy ‘Enele Ma’aful’atuitonga” had profound limitations as man of action. … Just before, Ma’afu signed the arms contract ( … and?… ) had sailed into port to announce his defection about his yacht Xariffa , sometime the property of the absconding Sydney business man, S.C Burt, Cakaobau’s business agent in matters like hiring out labour and member of his first cabinet”.
p 141.
1870: Cakobau’s kingdom – 1870 – 1875 – Race war in Levuka
Scarr, Deryck A history of the Pacific Islands Ch 12, Power, Labour, Production, Output, and Identity: The Fiji Case 1871 – 1919 http://books.google.com/books?id=xmtWaIpX-zYC&pg=RA1-PA143&lpg=RA1-PA143&dq=%22William+kopsen%22+fiji&source=bl&ots=X_9R-9g445&sig=f1fwkbEvmwEV8b4OGI9LzOJu5NQ&hl=en&ei=Fkb2Sdv0GomBkQWqyYT1Cg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4#PRA1-PA141,M1

1871: Levuka – Australia sailing time 11 to 20 days

levuka — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 09:42:12 +0000

“The Fijian market is supplied by Sydney and New Zealand as the Melbourne route is not economic due to the Bass Strait current or seas.
1730 miles from Sydney: “The distance from Sydney is generally given as 1730 miles, but ship-masters reckon on going 1000 before they anchor in Levuka; the passage usually occupies around 11 to about 20 days, and from about December to March, often more. From Sydney there is always a vessel on the berth for Fiji, and often four or five.
1200 miles from Auckland: “The passage is usually about ten days each way. Melbourne – Levuka trade not economic: “Melbourne has very little direct traffic with Fiji, the time occupied in clearing Bass’s Straits prolonging the voyage ; the Alhambra, steamship, was dispatched by…last October, but the voyage was evidently unprofitable, for the attempt to open up a trade was discontinued. The distance fromMelbourne to Levuka is a little over two thousand miles. ”.

The Sydney Morning Herald Friday 3 March 1871 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13221624 and http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~24701~940040:Physical-chart-of-the-Pacific-Ocean

1814: Samuel Marsden engaged Dillon as master of the Church Missionary Society brig, Active

levuka — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 09:21:29 +0000

“ In 1814 Samuel Marsden engaged Peter Dillon, age 26, as master of the brig Active and instructed him, with Thomas Kendall and William Hall, to proceed to the Bay of Islands, New Zealand, to ‘open a friendly intercourse with the natives’, as a preliminary to the foundation of a Church Missionary Society settlement there. This task they successfully accomplished”.
George Bayly, Sea-Life Sixty Years Ago (Lond, 1885); J. W. Davidson, ‘Peter Dillon and the South Seas’, History Today, vol 6, no 5, May 1956, pp 307-17. Author: J. W. Davidson Print Publication Details: J. W. Davidson, ‘Dillon, Peter (1788 – 1847)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 1, Melbourne University Press, 1966, pp 306-308.
George Bayly, Sea-Life Sixty Years Ago (Lond, 1885); J. W. Davidson, ‘Peter Dillon and the South Seas’, History Today, vol 6, no 5, May 1956, pp 307-17. Author: J. W. Davidson Print Publication Details: J. W. Davidson, ‘Dillon, Peter (1788 – 1847)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 1, Melbourne University Press, 1966, pp 306-308.

1813: Rise of the Fijian Chiefdom of Bau due mainly to the projection of its Sea Power through its sea warriors-the Lasakau and Soso Kai Wai

levuka — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 09:16:29 +0000

“The rise of the islet of Bau as the pre-eminent state in pre-colonial Fiji was due mainly to the projection of its Sea Power through its sea warriors – the Lasakau and Soso Kai Wai. As quoted by Deryck Scarr …“for Bau relied on levying… and power projected at sea by the Lasakau and Soso sailors”.
Sea power: ” The kings of Bau based their rule not on native cultivators but on native sailors and fishers-which is to say in Fijian categories, as in political strategies, not on the land but on the sea.
Plus guns from Europeans: Added to this naval superiority was the fire power the War Lord Vunivalu of Bau, Naulivou, exploited through the use of musket-bearing European beachcombers. Of notoriety was Naulivou’s white mercenary Charlie Savage who was the terror of Bau’s enemies until his death in 1813 Thus at the time of Naulivou’s death, Bau seemed well on the way to establishing a Fiji-wide political hegemony.
Author: Jonocan 14 July 2008 (UTC).

1870: 2,150, 400lb bales of cotton exported from Levuka, value l0d. to 3 shillings lb

levuka — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 08:46:58 +0000

“Cotton is the principal (export) and nearly the only item. 2150 bales left Levuka – with the exception of a few – for Sydney, during the year.
400 pound bales: Reckoning the bales as weighing ‘each 400 lbs. and varying in price from l0d. to 3s. per lb., and the last 150 bales at 4s., gives the total “estimated value £85,733. ‘ This since the depreciation in cotton consequent on the war may be rather high, but it was a very fair computation considering the advices received at the latter end of 1870. The Sydney Morning Herald Friday 3 March 1871 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13221624

Oct 3 1843: four children of William Valentine Senior baptised at Wesleyan-Methodist Chapel

levuka — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 06:57:52 +0000

25 Oct 2007 barband2fam wrote “I have a copy (1 page) from “Baptisms solemnized in the Wesleyan-Methodist Chapel” for October 3 1843. “The minister by whom the ceremony was performed” in the following baptisms was Revd Jno Hunt.

Oct 3 1843 Louisa daughter of William Valentine, Ovalau,

Oct 3 1843 Ann daughter of William Valentine, Ovalau,

Oct 3 1843 Emerlin daughter of William Valentine, Ovalau,

Oct 3 1843 David son of William Valentine, Ovalau.

No birth dates: There is no provision for a 2nd parent’s name on the form. There is no provision for the actual birthdate either.

http://www.ancestry.com

1815: William VALENTINE senior, either born around 1815 on Levuka, Ovalau, or from Chile, or USA?

levuka — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 06:26:50 +0000

About 100 years ago William Valentine arrived in Levuka; and fathered a dozen children from three mothers. He partnered with some high-ranked Fijian women, as did his son, William Valentine, Junior.
Family researchers worldwide, seek Valentine: Posts on personal sites and Ancestry.com now appear from all over the world, seeking more about Valentine St. The Fijian maternal-gene records go back, beyond 1815, but by 2009, no detail was available about William Valentine Snr – oral records describe him variously as “born in Chile”; or the “Butcher’s boy from New York”.
Speculation based on name of first child: The Western habit of the time was often to name the first child after the name of the parent. The name of Valentine Snr ‘s first child in Fiji was Lydia. If Valentine Snr had a role in naming the child , then this may offer a little information – The name Lydia suggests the relics or connections to a classical British education as the name, from the Assyrian ‘Luddu’, was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern Turkish provinces of Manisa and inland. Its population spoke an Anatolian language known as Lydian. Lydia was later the name for a Roman province.
From Canada: Seruwaia Sanday BC, Canada wrote “I am researching my husband’s family tree, his grandmother was a McComber. A Valentine married into the McComber Family. William Valentine, was the father of William Valentine (the one that married Adi Sereima Bolavou). ….Williams father was William, born around 1815 on Levuka Ovalau.
Born in Chile, South America. or the USA? In October 2007, fijianbanshee Posted “My greatgrandmother was Cordelia Valentine whose parents were William Valentine and Adi Kasanita Likutabua (she was one of his 11/12 children from 3 different wives. Some information I have on William Valentine which was passed on to me as follows:
- William Valentine came from Chile, South America, a butcher by trade and was born in 1815.
- He was married in 1836 in Levuka.
William Valentine’s three wives: He had children by at least three women:
- a Ra lady;
- his married wife – probably Adi Kelera of Batiki or Nairai of Lomaiviti Group;
- His second mistress was Adi Kasanita Likutabua born in 1820 of Verata Ucuni Vanua, Viti Levu;
- Their first child was Lydia Valentine born in Levuka Ovalau in 1837. Adi Kasanita was probably 16 years old then.
- Second was Cordelia Martha Valentine who was born to them in 07/06/1841 in Levuka. She was married to Mr Augustavus Petersen from Smalem, Sweden. “Cordelia had some 11 or 12 brothers and sisters from 3 sets of mums for instance in 1841 there were 3 children born to Mr William Valentine. In fact he did register all his 11 or 12 children of 3 different mothers”.
http://www.ancestry.com

1819: Peter Dillon now owner and master of the ships in which he sailed

levuka — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:52:29 +0000

On 22 September 1814 Dillon married Mary, daughter of Patrick Moore, an emancipist businessman and farmer. Marriage and the birth of three children cut him off for some years from the adventurous life of the islands. For two years he was employed in the coastal trade. In June 1816 he moved to Calcutta, from which port he made a number of voyages to the Australian colonies.
George Bayly, Sea-Life Sixty Years Ago (Lond, 1885); J. W. Davidson, ‘Peter Dillon and the South Seas’, History Today, vol 6, no 5, May 1956, pp 307-17. Author: J. W. Davidson Print Publication Details: J. W. Davidson, ‘Dillon, Peter (1788 – 1847)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 1, Melbourne University Press, 1966, pp 306-308