Looking for Francis Herbert Harwood (known as Frank or William)
My Grandfather was born in 1874 near Little River, Banks Peninsula, New Zealand. He lived in Taranaki and ran a team of bullocks. He married Rose Baldwin b 1880 and they had 5 children - Rose Elizabeth (Ruby)- Roy Francis - Ivor Lucien Herbert (my Granddad) - Stanley George and Albert William Thomas (died as an infant). Francis changed his name to William and left the family and was on the 1911 electoral roll for Bay of Plenty. He then disappeared. His sister said she had a letter from someone in Canada (maybe British Columbia) to say he had a family there and he had died. My Aunt didn't want to know and burnt the letter. I don't know when she got this letter so I don't know where or when he died or who our half Aunts & Uncles are.
Comments
If you've got the time, you could try searching through the Paperspast website of all the Newspapers in New Zealand. If you search for 'harwood' there are at least 12,000 search results.
Think about putting your family tree online, I recommend Geni. Start adding your family tree and invite living relatives via their email addresses and watch the tree grow right in front of your eyes.
Just wanted to say it can be all too easy to go off on a wild goose chase. Be patient and work with the known facts first whilst keeping an open mind.
The genforums are helpful too: HARWOOD Family Genealogy Forum.
Best wishes,
EDITOR.