The table below shows the people that make up the group.
No | Last Name | First Names | Maiden Name | Relationship | Occupation | Born | Died | School Year |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Toms | Robert (Bob) | Husband | Mail contractor, farmer, orchardist | ||||
2 | Toms | Mary Lavinia (Polly) | Hancock | Wife (1st) | ||||
3 | Toms | Cecil Denny (Snow) | Child | 3 Jul 1912 | 4 Feb 1918 | |||
4 | Toms | Phillis Mary | Child | 16 Oct 1913 | 30 Oct 1918 | |||
5 | Toms | Ronald James (Rusty) | Child | 25 Aug 1915 | 15 Nov 1920 | |||
6 | Toms | Richard Herbert | Child | 23 Aug 1916 | 28 Jun 1921 | |||
7 | Toms | Lloyd Allenby | Child | 6 Dec 1918 | 8 Jun 1923 | |||
8 | Toms | Lola June | Child | 21 Apr 1921 | 21 Nov 1927 | |||
9 | Toms | Margaret (Maggie) | Breen | Wife (2nd) |
The table below shows any historical notes about the party group.
Note | Date | Short Description | Note Text |
---|---|---|---|
2546 | 1915 | General note |
At this time the author does not have reliable information about the location in Bannockburn of the Toms family. However - it appears that around 1915 Mr Toms either sold dwelling #241 with the orchard, or leased it out. |
2547 | c1915 - c1920 | Robert Toms purchased his land. |
Robert Toms purchased a parcel of land on the western side of Tineys Gully which included the farm run by his father Thomas Toms (1) and dwelling #449. On a site on the west side of the gully road, and the corner of Toms Road south side, he built a new house. This house (dwelling #228) was a three bedroom home, constructed of concrete, cast insitu, or homemade concrete blocks, with a timber and corrugated iron roof. Mr Toms planted an orchard of grafted apricots, cherries and walnuts. He also planted an apricot orchard on the northern side of Quartzville Road. This was later owned by Mr A R Henderson (see dwelling #13). He also helped to plant other orchards in the area. |
2548 | 1920 | Stoned directory listing. |
Stones directory lists Robert Toms as a mail contractor. He worked on his orchards and helped to plant others in the area, as well as farming dairy cows. |
2549 | 1921 | Robert elected chairman of the Bannockburn School Committee. |
Robert elected chairman of the Bannockburn School Committee. |
2550 | 1921 | Birth of Lola June Toms. |
Lola June Toms was born on 21 Apr 1921. She was raised by Robert Toms brother (William) and his wife, after the death of Mrs Poly Toms in 1922. |
2551 | 1922 | Death of Mary Lavinia (Polly) Toms |
Mary Lavinia Toms died on 24 Sep 1922, of pnemonia, at the age of 42 years. She is buried in the Cromwell cemetery. |
2552 | c1923 | Robert sold his mail contracting business. |
Around 1923, Robert Toms sold his mail contracting business to Edward Lawrence who had been working for him. The business sold for £40 (forty pounds) which included two horses, a cart, and a gig. |
2553 | unknown | Robert employed a housekeeper to look after the children. |
Following the death of his wife Polly, Mr Toms employed a housekeeper to look after his children. This was Margaret Breen. The author has no details on Margaret Breen, however Stones directory does list a Mr James Breen as an orchardist in Bannockburn between 1915 and 1918 (see dwelling #241). |
2554 | 1925/1926 | Robert leased his farm to his brother William |
Mr Robert Toms leased his dairy farm and orchards to his brother William (Bill) Toms for one year. Robert Toms moved to Dunedin with his housekeeper and children where he worked as a builder on he construction of the New Zealand South Seas exhibition. It is not known if anybody lived in dwelling #228 during this time. |
2555 | 1927 | Robert and family return from Dunedin. |
Robert Toms and his family returned from Dunedin. On his return Mr Toms constructed a new house on the corner of Jocelyn Road and Gully Road, western side. This was dwelling $237, which was constructed of sun-dried mud-bricks with a timber and corrugated iron roof. The material for the bricks was obtained from close to the site. The timber and corrugated iron was brought back from Dunedin, having been part of the exhibition buildings. The mud-bricks were initially not plastered on the outside, but by later years they were rough cast with cement plaster. |
2556 | 1929/1930 | Robert Toms married his housekeeper Margaret Breen. |
Robert Toms married his housekeeper Margaret Breen. |
2557 | c1930 | Dwelling #228 was sold to Mr David Donaldson. |
Robert Toms and his family moved to the new dwelling #237. Dwelling #228 and the surrounding dairy farm was sold to Mr David Donaldson. |
The table below shows a list of images related to the party group. Click on 'View Image' to display more details about the image, and to view the image.
Image Id | Source | Date | Short Description | |
---|---|---|---|---|
149 | Ted Lawrence Collection | c1900 | Little Tom - the Cannon - Quartzville. | View Image |
1202 | Mrs D Norman, Roxburgh | 1910 | Postcard "Bannockburn Bridge" | View Image |
1240 | J W Toms - Roxburgh | 1899 | William Toms, Robert Toms & Jim Hancock | View Image |