Annie Law

GEDCOM Note

Annie Gargill was born at Nelson, New Zealand, on Saturday 15th May 1847. Very little is known of Annie's childhood, or what sort of education she received. She may have gone to school at Renwick where her younger sister Mary is known to have received some schooling.

Early in 1862 Annie entered into a de-facto marriage with Joseph Law. The reason for this marriage not being legalised was that to do so would be bigamy, as Joseph already had a wife, still alive in England and was not legally divorced from her. On 22nd September 1862 Annie gave birth to a son, William, she then being 15 years and 4 months old. Joseph Law was born on 30th July 1823, at Thenford, Northamptonshire, England the son of Joseph Law and Mary nee Newitt.

Joseph and Annie took up farming in the Tua Marina district and acquired a lot of land there over the years in various parts of the district.

Joseph and Annie had a further ten children over the following 21 years, the youngest being born 1883, two years before Joseph's death. Joseph Law died on 10th March 1885 at Whakarewarewa, Rotorua, where he had gone for a visit, for health reasons.

Being widowed and left with a large family, the youngest of whom was only one year old when her father died, Annie married three years later in 1888 to a man 19 years younger than herself. He was John Turner Wilson. John Wilson was a cabinetmaker and he and Annie lived in Spring Creek for 14 years. They then went to live in Blenheim for 6 years, before moving to Hamilton in the North Island. They had one child, a daughter named Marion Kate, born 13th July 1889.

Annie Died at Hamilton on 11th February 1916 aged 68 years. John Wilson later remarried, survived his second wife, and eventually died on 31st May 1952 aged 86