Richard Nathaniel Blencowe

One item that struck me in the November 2007 issue is the little story on p. 5 called “Just stop him drinking!” The name Richard N. Blencowe is very interesting to me and I would like to know any more that is available about the Richard N. Blencowe who appeared in a New Zealand court in 1883, such as, which family in England he is from and what his initial “N” stands for.

The names Richard and Nathaniel recur in my Blencowe family and I am also exploring the possibility that my Blencowes connect to those in Chalcombe (or Chacombe) where Nathaniel was also a popular name in the Blencowe family. Perhaps Chacombe is the home of my Samuel Blencowe who was married in 1812 at St. Pancras, London, England. So far I have found nothing that requires me to reject my hypothesis.

Does the Richard N. Blencowe of New Zealand connect to any of our members? He seems to have lived in what is now called the Matamata-Piako district east of the city of Hamilton on the North Island.

Marilyn Astle
Canada

Further research in the Archives of New Zealand’s newspapers shows that at the Te Aroha Gold-mining District Warden's Office, Te Aroha on 6th August, 1883, an application for a License for Gold- mining Purposes was lodged by Richard Nathaniel Blencowe.

I located Richard Nathaniel on the database which indicates he was born on 4June 1842 in Warwick to Elias Blencowe and Jane Deely. His spouse it says is Emily Fox! In “Just stop him drinking!" she is Lucy Harriet! He married Emily on 11 September 1864 in Birmingham. Richard Nathaniel Blencowe died on 17 January 1891 in Te Aroha, New Zealand by accident when thrown off his horse and hitting a telephone pole. There was no living issue.

This poses the question: is the son of Elias Blencowe and Jane Deely, the same Richard Nathaniel that ended up in New Zealand married to Lucy Harriet and dying from a fall off a horse?

Can anyone clarify the situation?

Anne