Ann PHILLIPS (nee COX or COCKS) was born in Cornwall England in 1805. Ann had married John PHILLIPS in St. Teath, Cornwall on 19 April 1819. Both John and Ann signed their marriage certificate with an X. Mr. James HIGGINS was a witness. John's occupation was given as Labourer and the place of abode as Treworthern. If you were to look at a modern map of this area there is a small collection of houses known as Trewethern, about a mile west of St. Kew village which is probably one and the same location. The marriage witness was probably a family friend of John & Ann.

The children of John PHILLIPS and Ann COX (COCKS) were all born and baptised at St. Kew, Cornwall England. They are listed as follows:

1. Jane PHILLIPS was born 1821 and baptised on 06 May 1825 at St.Kew, Cornwall. She married James CLIMO on 30 October 1840 in Stoke Damerel, Cornwall England. She died in Inglewood, Taranaki, New Zealand on 01 July 1884. (Jane is my g.g.g.great-grandmother).

2. Ann PHILLIPS was born in 1822 and baptised on 24 February 1822. She married John JAMES on 14 January 1841, aboard the William Bryan en route to New Zealand. She died on 02 May 1867 at Inglewood, Taranaki, New Zealand.

3. Mary PHILLIPS - was born in 1824 but she was not batised until 03 January 1831. She married George HUMPHRIES in 1849 and died in 1911.

4. Richard PHILLIPS was baptised on 06 May 1825.


5. Emma PHILLIPS was born in 1826 and baptised on 03 January 1831. She married Edward TUCKER on 26 August 1844 at New Plymouth. She died on 14 December 1908 at Havelock North, New Zealand.

6. John PHILLIPS - was baptised on 27 January 1833.

No one knows why Jane & Richard and Emma & Mary were baptised together - but it may be that John and Ann could have had many reasons for doing so, one being that it was simply less expensive to have the children baptised together. Another reason could have been that John and Ann were not regular church folk or it may have been that they simply forgot or had no inclination to have the children baptised as infants.

It is believed that John died before the family left for New Zealand in 1841 but here again a search of the local parish registers has failed to find a burial entry which can be attributed to him. It is thought that he died in 1839 or 1840.

So Ann was a widow when she set sail on the William Bryan with her children and her new son-in-law, James CLIMO. She re-married to Arthur DAWE on 06 July 1841 in New Plymouth. Arthur had also come to New Zealand on the ship William Bryan. He was 45 years old and his occupation was an agricultural labourer.

Arthur DAWE, in the "31 January 1846 Police Magistrate New Plymouth - A list of Houses, Cottages and Warres in Settlement of New Plymouth with the names of Proprietors and Owners", is named as owning and occupying one cottage. No other occupants are named.