Edith Oldham (nee Keymer)
Edith was born on 22 April 1886 in Auckland. At the time the Keymer family lived at 25 Ponsonby Road, in Auckland (on the right hand side, just down a bit from Karangahape Road), then moved to Brown Street, then Chamberlain Street around 1905/06, and then, around 1911, to Birkdale Road, Birkenhead, Auckland.
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| The Keymer family. 1889. Unknown photographer. (Photo courtesy of the Keymer Family Tree) |
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The Keymer family 1898
Photographer unknown
(Photo courtesy of G J Bland)
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| The Keymer family, 1904. Seated back from left: Bertha (or could be Edith), Edith (or could be Bertha), Alice Seated middle from left: Eliza, Louie, Laura, William Snr, Mary, Ada, William Jnr Front, from left: George, Hector, Dorothy Unknown photographer. (Photo courtesy of G J Bland) |
Edith attended the Beresford School and was admitted to the Richmond Road School, in Ponsonby on 7 August 1899. She was withdrawn on 7 August 1899 and returned to the Beresford School. Edith's father re-admitted her to the Richmond Road school on 25 August 1902. Richmond Road School records show that she completed her Standard V year there, then left for 'home' duties.
Marriage & family
Edith married James William Oldham (22 June 1887 - 16 August 1953) on 19 August 1914 at the Keymer family home in Birkdale. James was a dock worker. He had immigrated to New Zealand with his parents, Alfred Oldham and Sarah Cross, in 1909, and was originally from Crompton, Lancashire. It seems that James was an only child. |
| Edith Keymer on her wedding day 1914. Photographer unknown. (Photo courtesy of E Donaldson) |
James and Edith had two daughters:
- Dorothy Lilla Oldham (27 May 1915 - 14 January 1989)
- Edith Nancy (known as Nancy) Oldham (dob unknown, possibly 1920?)
Married life
After their marriage, James and Edith lived on Hauraki Street, Birkenhead. It appears that Edith may have worked as a dressmaker for a period of time.
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| The Keymer sisters in the early 1920s Standing from left: Laura, Alice, Ada Seated from left: Dorothy, Bertha (or could be Edith), Eliza, Edith (or could be Bertha), Louie Photographer unknown. (Photo courtesy of E Donaldson) |
On 29 May 1936, Edith's mother, Mary, passed away at her home in Opaheke. Her funeral was held at the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Mackelvie Street, Ponsonby on the following Sunday afternoon. She was buried at the Purewa Cemetery.
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| The Keymer siblings in 1939, possibly at the occasion of William Jnr's second marriage. Standing from left: Dorothy, Bertha, Laura, Alice, Edith, Ada, Louie, Lilah Seated from left: William Jnr, unknown, Hector Photographer unknown. (Photo courtesy of E Donaldson) |
The 1946 James and Edith lived at 319 Karangahape Road where James was working as a store keeper.
James' father Alfred, died on 10 July 1946 in Auckland aged 82. He was buried at the Hamilton East Cemetery, next to his wife, B-A-21.
In 1949, James and Edith were living back at their home at 54 Gordon Road, Mt Eden. James was listed on The Electoral Roll, as being retired by that stage.
James died in a private hospital in Epsom, Auckland on 16 August 1953 after suffering from lung cancer and Paget's disease complicated by pneumonia. He was 66 years of age. James was buried at the Waikumete Cemetery, Auckland, Protestant lawn A, Row 9, Plot 2. His cemetery record lists his occupation as 'tabacconist'. The following obituary appeared in The Australasian Record, 14 September 1953, p7:
OLDHAM - James William Oldham passed peacefully to his rest on Sunday, August 16, 1953, at the age of sixty-six years. We laid him to rest in the Waikumete lawn cemetery, Auckland. We extend our deepest sympathy to Sister Oldham in the loss of a devoted partner, and to the two daughters, Sister Sawyer of Putaruru, N.Z., and Sister Stacey of Thornleigh, Sydney. With them we await the glorious consummation of our hopes. A. G. Jacobson.
Electoral Rolls for 1954 and 1957 show that Edith lived at 13 Troonville Avenue, Mt Albert. It appears that she moved to Australia shortly afterwards and lived with her daughter Nancy and son-in-law Colin in Wahroonga. Colin worked as a church minister, and later, a secretary.
Edith died on 22 June 1971 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and is buried at the Avondale Cemetery, Cooranbong, New South Wales, Australia. Her obituary was printed in The Australasian Record, 26 July 1971, p15:
OLDHAM. On Friday, 25 June, 1971, a small circle of relatives and friends met at our little cemetery at Avondale, New South Wales, to pay their last respects to Mrs. Edith Oldham. She was a quiet, consistent Christian lady, the mother of Nancy (Mrs. Colin Sawyer) and Dorothy (Mrs. Des Stacey). She and her parents were pioneers of our message in New Zealand, being won to Christ by Pastor Daniells. Now, after eighty-five years, the Lord has seen fit to lay her to rest. Surely to those that mourn, the promises of the resurrection at our Lord's return softens their sad loss. Ken R. Low
The children of James and Edith Oldham
- Dorothy Lilla Oldham (27 May 1915 - 14 January 1989)
- Dorothy was born in Birkenhead, Auckland in 1915, probably at the family homestead.
- She married Desmond (known as Des) Frederick Stacey (27 February 1919 - 22 March 2011) on 25 February 1941. Des was born in Opotiki in the Bay of Plenty and was the son of Charles and Dorothy Stacey. Des became a mechanic, and had a talent for singing.
- Des and Dorothy had seven children.
- Dorothy died in St Andrew's Hospital, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. Following her death, Des married again, on 17 April 1994 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Des passed away in Caloundra, Queensland, Australia, in 2011, aged 92.
- Edith Nancy (known as Nancy) Oldham (dob unknown)
- Edith married William John Colin Sawyer (known as Colin) (15 November 1920 - 22 August 2001) on 2 February 1943. Colin was the son of Percy Sawyer and Margaret Flossie Thomas Smith.
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| The wedding of Nancy Oldham to Colin Sawyer. 1943 Photographer unknown. |
- Colin and Nancy had a son, and a daughter who was born in Mt Albert, Auckland.
- By 1958, Colin and Nancy lived in Wahroonga, Australia. He worked as a church minister, and later a secretary.
Sources
- Births, Deaths and Marriages
- Papers Past
- The Stacey's of Somerset - genealogy
- Ancestry
- Family records complied by Jessie McLean (Courtesy of G J Bland)
- Richmond Road School. Registers of admissions, progress and withdrawals, 1885-1987. Auckland War Memorial Museum Library. MS-2002-116. Accessed 27 May 2016.
- Photographs from E Donaldson & G J Bland
Last updated 28 March 2020
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