Major General J W Gosset, R.E. : Part Two

Well, a l-o-n-g time between posts (see Part One - in August!!), which left Major General James William Gosset in some limbo, having last left him in 1871, apparently retired to his birthplace on the island of Jersey with his family. However, he did not remain there for too long after the census was taken. I do not know the reason but it seems that in 1871 and 1872 the James William Gosset family made the move to the other side of the world, to New Zealand. It seems the first to make the move was the eldest son, James Woodriff Gosset. The searchable Auckland Area Passenger Arrivals (available from the website of Auckland City Libraries) shows that the 18 year old James W. Gossett travelled on the ship Ballarat, which departed London 1 May 1869 and arrived in Auckland on 9 August 1869. The only other "James W. Gossett" in the family was James William, and he is shown as arriving with his family in 1872. Although it could be difficult to distinguish between father and son with the same first name and middle initial, James William Gosset is referred to in arrivals as Major General Gosset. He and Mrs Gosset (nee Maria Asia Hull Woodriff) arrived on the ship Caduceus on 2 February 1872, accompanied by three daughters and two sons. They are referred to in the arrivals by title (Mr or Miss) and initials. So for the daughters we have G., M. M. and M. A. (for Gertrude, Maria Margaret and Mary Asia). For sons we have A. C. and A. H. (Arthur Charleton and Alfred Hobson).



There is one child as yet unaccounted for: William Montgomery Gosset, my great great grandfather. There is an "H. M. Gossett" arriving on the ship Countess of Kintore on 26 September 1871. It is not shown if this was a Miss, Mrs, or Mr. I do wonder if H. M. is a transcription error for W. M., although that might just be wishful thinking on my part. Perhaps William arrived at another port entirely, or is just missing from the arrivals database. However, in his cemetery record in 1930 it is stated that he had been in New Zealand for 39 years, which fits with arriving in 1871. Either way he seems to have travelled to New Zealand separately to his eldest brother James Woodriff, or the rest of his family. Again, the reasons for their departure are not known to me. Upon arrival the Gossets seem to have become involved in the Auckland social scene. The searchable database Papers Past gives lists of party attendees for various functions (an early version of today's social pages?). These lists include Major General and Mrs Gosset at various parties, often accompanied by one or more of their children.


Although James William Gosset had left Jersey for the colonies he was still able to receive his Imperial war pension, with the proviso that he could be called upon for defence if that was warranted (a clause for all those receiving military pensions). He became active in the Freemasons in Auckland, in the Prince of Wales Lodge. His involvement was such that he received a medal engraved with his name and rank. From the trademe site that carried his portrait:























The Gosset family in Auckland lost one of its members when 25 year Gertrude Gosset died 28 January 1874 (five days after her birthday) and was buried in St Stephen's Cemetery. James William Gosset lost his wife and his mother in 1878. On 26 January of that year, Maria Asia Hull Gosset, nee Woodriff, died at Parnell, Auckland. The cause of death was cancer. On 8 February Margaret Gosset, nee Hammond, died on Jersey. This was communicated to her son a little while afterwards. We know this as a death notice for her appeared in the New Zealand Herald, her son marking her passing a world away.

In 1880 two of the Gosset sons were married. Perhaps the first was William Montgomery Gosset who married Annie Venetia Baker in Gisborne, in a Catholic Church, on 11 January 1880. The choice of a Catholic Church is interesting as the Gossets had strong Anglican Church ties hitherto. James William Gosset's brother Rev. Clement Hammond Gosset was an Anglican cleric, and four of their sisters/half-sisters had married Anglican clergymen: Laura Gosset to Rev. Isaac Henry Gosset (a fourth cousin); Anna Magdalen Gosset to Rev. William Brock; Mary Gosset to Rev. James Tanner; and Elizabeth Gosset to Rev. William Craddock Hall.

William's brother Alfred Hobson Gosset also married that year, to Catherine Bertha Gudgeon. The next year, 1881, saw two more Gosset children marry: James Woodriff Gosset to Ada Beattie; Mary Asia Gosset to Arthur Bushe Christian (my grandmother Olive knew that her grandfather William had a sister married to "Mr. Christian", but no other details).

1883 saw another death visited on the family when 27 year old Arthur Charleton Gosset died. This was followed in 1885 by the marriage of the last Gosset of that generation, Maria Margaret. She married William Goldie, who among other things was gardener at the Auckland Domain.

On 5 March 1888 James William Gosset himself passed away. An obituary under G at a site called Auckland Deaths gives the following snapshot of him:

"GOSSETT Major General Gossett, late of the Indian service, died at his residence, St Stephen's Avenue, Parnell, on Monday night. General Gossett arrived in Auckland after the first Katikati special settlement was established, and since then his figure has been one of the best-known in Auckland. His fine physique and military bearing always attracted attention, and his general manner and happy disposition gained for him hosts of friends everywhere. The immediate cause of death was cancer. He leaves several sons and daughters, all grown up, to mourn his death, one of his daughters being Mrs Goldie, wife of the curator of the Domain. General Gossett, since his arrival in Auckland, has been an active member of the Masonic fraternity, and held office for several years in the Prince of Wales Lodge. It is understood that, by General Gossett's own desire, there will be no demonstration, Masonic, or military, at his funeral."

Here then, has been something of what has been learned by me of the life of one of my great great great grandfathers. It is certainly more than I know of several others of that generation in my family tree. There might be others who come across this page who are also descended from this gentleman. If so, I'd encourage them to make contact in the comments section of this blog.