James Henry Gallaher

Maria married shopkeeper James Henry Gallagher on 19 July 1866 at the Ramelton First Presbyterian Church. He was the son of Joseph Gallagher (b1780, Ireland). James was a widower. His first wife was Isabella Reid. She was born in 1813 and died on 4 January 1865. They had one child together.

James and Maria sold their drapers shop in High Street to a Mrs McFadden before they, along with their six children, sailed on the Lady Jocelyn from Belfast in May 1878 to settle at Katikati as part of George Vesey Stewart's plan for an Ulster Plantation. They were part of the second party of settlers and upon arrival in New Zealand changed the spelling of their last name to Gallaher for ease of pronunciation and spelling.

Lord George Hill sponsored the Gallahers immigration to Katikati so that they could start a new branch of the Donegal Woollen Mills. Unfortunately Lord Hill died shortly after the Gallahers arrived in Katikati and his heir decided not to continue with the venture.

James Gallaher initially received an allocation of 60 acres of land in the vicinity of what is now known as the Highfields subdivision but James was in his late 60’s and the acreage was too small to support a family of eight.

In 1879 the Katikati No. 2 School in Beach Road was built and so it was Maria who, being many years younger than James, used her talents and became the first teacher of the school. The Gallaher family moved into the schoolhouse in Beach Road. David was aged six years old when he was enrolled in the school. In Katikati, Maria had four more children, including twins Charles and Henry.

Maria continued teaching and was the breadwinner for the family as well as supporting many of the activities in the town.

Maria became increasingly unwell with ovarian cancer. She died in Auckland Hospital, aged 42, on 9 September 1887 (reg. 1887/3221). The Gallaher family moved to Auckland in 1889. James Henry Gallaher died, aged 82, on 30 November 1894 (reg. 1894/5595).

Source: Biography by Debbie McCauley: http://tauranga.kete.net.nz/katikati_history/topics/show/1094

• Reference: Ancestry Genealogy - SmartCopy: Feb 24 2017, 13:29:14 UTC