* CHARLES JEFFERS WASSELL
- was born 1861 in Southhampton, England
- a son of John WASSELL & Annie JEFFERS

ANNIE JOSEPHINE LAVIN
- was born in Ireland in 1861
- she arrived in New Zealand about 1890
- she married Charles Jeffers Wassell in Wellington in Aug 1889
- ** they had 1 child
- Annie died in Christchurch on 26 November 1930 aged 69
- she had been living at 17 Duke street, Central Christchurch
- she is buried Plot 211, Block 42 at Linwood cemetery

17 AUGUST 1887 - ANNIE IS A WITNESS
Extraordinary Suicide A young man, named Frederick George Thomas Sibun, employed as waiter and barman at the Royal Hotel, Christchurch,committeed suicide in his bedroom on Monday night ... Annie lavin, employed as housemaid at the Royal, depose that she saw the deceased last about half-pst seven the previous evening (more at link)

14 APRIL 1892 - CHARGE AGAINST A POLICE CONSTABLE
... Thomas J. McCormack, police constable, stationed at Lyttelton, was yesterday charged, on the information of Inpector Pender, with being guilty of misconduct as a constable in making use of scandalous and inurious language concerning and towards Mrs Annie Wassell, of Lyttelton, being a breach of the Police Regulations.
Mr T. L. Joynt apeared for Inspector Pender, and Mr H. N. Nalder for Constable McCormack, who pleaded "Not Guilty." The words "being guilty of insolent and indecorous behaviour" were added to the indictment.

Annie Josephine Wassell, wife of Charles Wassell, deposed that she was married in August 1889, and was a barmaid at the Lyttelton Hotel.
Consable T. J. McCormack was her cousin.

On March 15th he went to the hotel and said that she was not maried to her husband, and also made other serious accusations against her character. Subsequenty he denied using the language, and then acknowledged doing so, and repeated it.
Her husband was in Christchurch Hospital suffering from rheumatic fever. Witness had not lived with him for twelve months. She was first at the British Hotel and asked McCormack not to let people know she was a married woman, but to call her Miss Wassell and introduce her as such.
Had heard from Mrs Smith and Constables Fitzgerald and Bleasel that accused used the language,
Coolness arose between her and McCormack and his wife about two months ago, when he used the language complained of. It was not because witness accused him of telling Bleasel that she was a married woman.

Fanny Smith, barmaid at the Lyttelton Hotel, gave corroborative evidence.
Several seafaring men were present when accused spoke of Mrs Wassell. William CLARKE, boilermaker; Charles SCOTT, bootmaker; W. S. WILLIAMS, coppersmith; Constable FITZGERALD, Mrs MOYNIHAN, licensee of the Lyttelton Hotel and Henry ABBOTT, master mariner, gave evidence,

Constable BLEASEL stated that McCormack had told him Mrs Wassell was not married and had also heard him say she was no good.
Constable Mccormack said when Mrs Wassell took service in the bar of the British Hotel she asked him to introduce her as Miss Wassell. Mrs Wasell called him into a private room in the hotel on March 10th. There were several people present, and she taxed him with telling people she was not married. Witness denied it . She refused to give him her authority.

Sergeant James O'MALLEY, in charge at Lyttelton, state McCormack was a very good man.

His Worship, in giving judgment, said the cause of the trouble was evidently Mrs Wassell's anger at accused's saying she was not a married woman, which was the very thing she had asked him to do. The evidence of Mrs Wassell and Mrs Smith was at variance on several points. The charges had not been proved, nor in his opinion had anything been proved against the accused which detracted from his position and character as a constable in any way.
The case was dismissed, no order being made as to costs.

6 DECEMBER 1900 - THE DIVORCE COURT
... At Christchurch yesterday, Mr Justice Martin disposed of yet another divorce case, granting a decree nisi in the suit in which Annie Wassell sought a dissolution of her marriage on the ground of her husband's desertion.
In 1889 Miss Annie Josephine Lavin was married to Charles Jeffers Wassel,a waiter at Wellington, the ceremony being performed in the Church of St Mary's of the Angels. For a time they lived in Wellington, and then at Christchurch, Wassell subsequently deserting his wife. A warrant for his arrest, on an order for the maintenance of his child, was issued, but, although police and detectives made every effort to find the missing man, and had his description gazetted and duly posted all over New Zealand, "not a trace of him could be found", as Detective Livingstone remarked.
Mr Justice Martin said he supposed the evidence offered was all that could be expected under the circumstances, and granted the decree, returnable in three months. Costs were allowed "merely as a matter of form" as Mr Loughrey (who appeared for petitioner) remarked

* - what happened to Charles Jeffers Wassell

** - who was their child