the information in the following journal will help others to indentify this family and hopefully fill in the gaps for youCharles Harmer - London to Wairoa

Dear Novice, Hi. The first thing you need to do is ask any and all family members for copies of old birth, baptismal, death and marriage certificates, Wills, etc. so as to reduce the costs of genealogy.

Think about how you will store the data that you find. Believe me it will add up quickly if you really are interested. You can use the paper method RootsWeb - Charts & Forms firstly, then later you can transfer your data in an electronic format. There are many software packages available, some good ones for free even. You can try downloading Personal Ancestral File from FamilySearch. I use this and it's brilliant. It takes a bit of getting used to at first but really it's easy. It generates a file called a GEDCOM which is basically 'genealogical data communications'.

Then you might want to think about joining up as a member of the New Zealand Society of Genealogists. It's possible that they have a great deal on your ancestry already.

Meanwhile, you can register as a new user of Rootschat for free - have same username 'novice' if not taken. Click on 'enter rootschat' then scroll down to their 'Research in other countries' ... 'New Zealand' childboard. You will find their resources helpful, and also you can post lookup requests.

Thanks for your very welcome support re my search. As a novice, knowing that someone else has tried avenues and found which are helpful in gaining as much info as possible is a huge help. I will certainly undertake to contact the suggested websites.
Thanks again to you both.
novice

Kia Ora whanau! Arthur James Harmer was my Grandmother Madge Painter's (nee Harmer)brother.His mother Puti Mary (Mere) Harmer (nee Lewis or Ruihi) ran the boarding house in Frazertown where most of the children were born (it has since burned down), she was the daughter of Captain David Lewis (Ruihi) and Koko Porohiwi of Kihitu, Koko's father was Chief Porohiwi and her mother Wheroro. They whakapapa back to Kahungunu and Rongomai Wahine coming through the line of Kahukuranui and Te Teihonga. We are a very large family as our ancestors had many children!
Arthur James' brothers and sisters are from his fathers' first wife Alice Smith - Charles Ernest, Albert Montague, Maria Louisa and Sarah. From his parents in order - Edwin James, Percival, Alice, Arthur James, Florence, Grace Josephine, Ivy Beatrice, Rosabel and Madge.
Contact me on kazzieboomsticks@yahoo.co.nz if you want.

Kia ora. My name is Alma Hume and I descend from Charles Harmers second wife Mary Lewis. They had a son Edwin Harmer who married Ellen McKinnie & had Alma who married Teo Hura, & had Edith Hura who married Pani Kaukau, & had Alma who married Tumanako Wilson & had me. Wont go into great detail of brothers and sisters etc. But thats my link to you both. Nga mihi.

Kia ora ,My Name Keitha i had been researching for a while , recently i had found that my Koro Friday Lewis father is David Lewis and he had drown in Maru Maru Wairoa, i got his death certificate and found out his parents are Koko and Porohiwi nothing meantion about his wife tehirata who is a full blood Maori and lived Kihitu Wairoa , only that he had two sons which maybe my two koro , one thing on researching koko is how she married two brothers from US David and William Lewis i am still unclear if i am on the right path .Alot unclear stuff one thing is captain William Friday Lewis is not related to my family, If any can help please contact me thanks

I have some information that relates to my tree on this side but cant substantiate which William David Lewis I am descended from. My mother's whakapapa traces back through Rose Brown daughter of Grace Harmer daughter of Puti Mary Lewis daughter of Koko Tui Lewis nee Porohiwi who was married to a William David Lewis. Its not the famous whaler who died but could be related. According to evidence in a thesis by a Jan Hughes both Koko Tui and William David Lewis were dead by the time her father Porohiwi had been assassinated in 1864 by two toa from the Maniopoto hired by a local hapu to settle a grievance. David Lewis Jnr, a son of Koko Tui and William David Lewis, apparently died after falling from a horse on the way home from the Marumaru pub but he could have drowned in the river as your post suggests and therefore Friday Lewis could have been a grandson of the William Lewis that married Koko tui. Hughes says that William Lewis Jnr more or less joined the hapu who took over the land that Porohiwi was murdered for and that he was married. The thing here is that although the grievance was about land, there was a side issue where Porohiwi was a tohunga as well as a chief descended from Te Koropi, and he had used his tohunga power to control not only others but those in his own hapu. Thus it is not surprising that by 1864 when he was murdered, his second wife Hinerakuia, his daughter Koko Tui and her pakeha husband William David Lewis, and her brother Tapanui were all dead. Was this maketu? Their bodies were initially buried on the Ngamotu block but may have been moved as the squabbles continued. David Lewis Jnr's marriage could have been to Tehirita. This is the interesting connection for me in Keitha's post. However since our small family has followed this whakapapa we have always thought David Lewis Jnr was quite young when he had his accident. The history is obscure but subsequent records after Puti Mary are more numerous and complete. If any one has data on this Lewis - who was also referenced as a whaler - I would appreciate a link. In Lambert, Tales of Old Wairoa, he talks about a Davy Lewis who was an old time Wairoa resident and whaler whose daughter was Mrs C Harmer i.e. Puti Mary.

kiaora koutou, my name is patricia lewis, I have been on the whakapapa trail since the 1990s.
my grandad, and greats lewis/ruihi came from mohaka wairoa area's. very interested in above korero, my email addy is patirihia@gmail.com send me an email if you feel to, cheers.