I believe I know a little of this person although I question when you think he was born. I believe he was born c 1883, and that the years 1916/1917 relate to when his son was born. I would be interested to know how you have arrived at his birth date. Of course this may be a completely different person, but the location fits closely with 'my man'.

I have just realised that I have made a mistake with the date for Henry Sharlands birth. Oof course this was his son Wilford .(my father in law)
I would love any information you may have. I am sorry that I have taken so long to reply but I had forgotten I had joined the site.hoping to hear from you. Many thanks. Merle65

My research suggests that Henry Sharland HALL was born Henry Sharland SEYMOUR, and it is this family I have been researching for several years. If you search the birth of Henry Sharland SEYMOUR on NZ DIA Births, Deaths and Marriages Historical Records, enter the surname SEYMOUR and the search to and from dates as 11 Sep 1883 this will take you to his birth record. He was the 7th of 8 children born to Robert Sharland SEYMOUR & Kate Maria SEYMOUR. If my research is correct Kate already had two children from a previous marriage before she married Robert Sharland SEYMOUR. Her first husband was lost at sea only a couple of years into the marriage.
So this couple was bringing up 10 children, and articles in Papers Past suggest that they were living in very 'straightened' circumstances.
My research on NZ Archives Archway website found the military record of Henry Sharland HALL which records his dob as 11 Sep 1883, so same birth date as Henry Sharland SEYMOUR. I also found two probate files, one for Henry Sharland HALL and the other for Henry Sharland Seymour HALL, both dated 1948.
My probable conclusion is that Henry Sharland may have been fostered or adopted by William & Elizabeth HALL, if for no other reason than his natural parents were struggling to provide for their large family, and that foster or adoptive parents may have been able to give him a better life.
I do not live close to Canterbury so have no way of researching foster or adoption records of the time, even if they do exist. The Sharland name is perhaps the most interesting link, as it goes back generations in the SEYMOUR family, although I am aware that Henry did not necessarily continue to use the name throughout his life, only to have it surface again in his probate file/s. The other link is that both these families had strong links to Lyttelton and Banks Peninsula, some for all their lives.
I can cite sources for most of my research, but be aware that I cannot cite a source for a possible fostering or adoption.
I hope this gives you some food for thought. I will conclude by stating that my research suggests that Henry lead a very worthy life - one that his descendants can be justly proud of.

Thank you for this information. I will look into adoption records etc and see what I can find out. The only information we have was a Seymour
Inserted on a wedding certificate. Otherwise nothing pertaining to Seymour . I live in Christchurch and will investigate. Henry Sharland took his own life .are you a relative?
He had two sons Wilford Laurence Hall and David Hall.who in turn had only 1 son each.

Many thanks
Merle67

Hi Merle

I have information on SEYMOUR family history dating to c1535-1539,(researched by others), but I have been researching more recent history and particularly the NZ family history for the past few years. Robert Sharland SEYMOUR came to NZ and my first confirmed record is his marriage to Kate Maria "Maria" GAWEN in Christchurch in 1871. She was a widow and WHYTE was her first marriage surname. She seems to have been known by several different Christian names after marrying SEYMOUR. Their children were Fanny Sharland b1871, Robert Charles b1873, Beatrice Marion "Bessie" b1875, James Joyce Winslow b1877, William Edward Fry b1879, John Percy Octavius b1881, Henry Sharland b1883 and Rhoda Emily Gawen b1886 (surname SEYMOUR for all.)

I have been unable to find any record of Robert Sharland's arrival in NZ, but have some records of his early family life in ENG. His only sibling, a brother, died as a child.

This family lived in Lyttelton and Christchurch areas and I found a family grave of one son and his wife at Lyttelton Anglican Cemetery in February 2014. Others are believed to be buried there but in unmarked or unidentifiable graves.

The NZ website Papers Past has articles about some of these family members in newspapers from the Canterbury region.

I would be interested to hear if you have been able to find any record relating to a fostering or adoption of Henry. I was aware that he had married, and knew of one son, but not a second but the HALL name is not easy to research when one does not have much to go on.

Seymour is my married name. My husband is a grandson of Robert Charles SEYMOUR.

Regards
Carole