The family Ure have carried out a huge research project into the origins of this mysterious Herbert and the activities of his mother. It has long been suspected that the so-called Wallace Barrington was not the father, and this is now confirmed.
Upon Wallace's desertion in about 1904-5, she moved from Invercargill first (we surmise) back to Dunedin, where her father was dying, then to Christchurch, where she got a job in a women's clothing factory run by one Joseph Wacked, originally from Lebanon. She and Wacked produced Herbert, loved the boy, and were hoping things would work out, until Joseph's existing wife and daughters arrived from USA. Bad news! Joseph succumbs to a stroke, Herbert is adopted locally, and Jeannie cuts and runs to the North, never to contact Herbert again. Then a new chapter of her life begins with Ernie McGlashan. To further confuse us all, Herbert's 1935 marriage document lists parents who were in fact (one of?) his foster placements - totally different names to his real parents.
There is more information on Herbert's activities which result in the Ure connection, revealed by their DNA research. That's for another thread..
