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1854–1933Methodist minister and administrator
Samuel Lawry was born at St Mabyn, Cornwall, England, on 22 August 1854, the fifth child of Gertrude Robins and her husband, Walter Lawry, a farmer. The Lawrys emigrated to New Zealand on the Queen of the Mersey in 1862 with their 10 children. After their arrival at Lyttelton on 20 October...
Story: Lawry, Samuel
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1867–1958Methodist minister and administrator
Charles Henry Laws was born at Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, England, on 21 January 1867, the eldest of seven children of Mary Ann Newlands and her husband, Thomas Laws, a journeyman joiner. Thomas Laws was a local preacher and the family were devout Methodists.
In 1873 The Laws...
Story: Laws, Charles Henry
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1875–1971Teacher, university professor, educationalist
Richard Lawson was born in Warrnambool, Victoria, Australia, on 16 June 1875, the fifth child of Thomas Lawson and his wife, Susan Sides. His parents had emigrated from Ireland to Warrnambool, where his father established a thriving drapery business. Richard attended the local secondary school...
Story: Lawson, Richard
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1833–1902Architect
Robert Arthur Lawson (baptised Robert) was born on 1 January 1833 at Grange, in the parish of Abdie, Fife, Scotland. He was the fourth child of James Lawson, a carpenter, and his wife, Margaret Arthur. Educated at the parish school, he commenced his architectural training in Perth around 1848...
Story: Lawson, Robert Arthur
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1835–1902Merchant
Frederic Le Cren and his brother, Henry John Le Cren, were born in London, England. Henry was baptised on 3 September 1828; Frederic was born on 7 November 1835. They were the sons of Henry Le Cren and his wife, Emma Ann Davies. Their father was an exile from France, as also was their mother's...
Story: Le Cren, Frederic
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1870–1958Catholic nun, hospital matron
Ellen Leahy was born on 12 June 1870 to Bridget McNamara and her husband, Daniel Leahy, who farmed in the Waimea West district near Nelson, New Zealand. The family later moved to Blenheim where Ellen was educated by the Sisters of Mercy. She entered the novitiate of this congregation at St...
Story: Leahy, Mary Gonzaga
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1824–1893Runholder, architect, military volunteer, musician
Alexander Lean was born in London, England, on 21 May 1824, the son of Charles Lean, a stockbroker, and his wife, Emma Cleghorn Proctor. Nothing is known of his early education, but he was a clever and cultivated man. From 1845 to 1849 Lean trained as an architect and surveyor in the London...
Story: Lean, Alexander
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1891–1990Lawyer, writer
Leonard Poulter Leary was born at Palmerston North on 24 March 1891 into a comfortable, middle-class, Methodist family. He was the second of four sons of Florence Lucy Giesen and her husband, Richard Leary, a chemist with a shop on The Square. The family lived behind and above the shop. From...
Story: Leary, Leonard Poulter
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1891–1982Criminal, swagger, soldier, politician, hotel-keeper, writer, bookseller
John Alfred Alexander Lee was the son of Alfred Lee and Mary Isabella Taylor. In 1889 they had filled out a form giving notice of their intention to marry but failed to actually do so. Alfred was a man of many parts – troubadour and gymnast, entertainer, and occasional labourer. He drank and...
Story: Lee, John Alfred Alexander
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1871–1939Servant, dressmaker, coalminer, homemaker
Mary Isabella Taylor was born in Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, Scotland, on 18 June 1871, the first child of Alison (Alice) McDonald and Alexander Taylor, a railway porter. In 1877 she emigrated with her parents from Glasgow on the James N. Fleming, arriving in Dunedin, New Zealand, on 3 October....
Story: Lee, Mary Isabella
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1837?–1922Teacher, school inspector, educationalist
Robert Lee was born at Grantham, Lincolnshire, England, where he was baptised on 1 July 1837. He was the son of Ann Hatfield and her husband, John Lee, a hatter and furrier. Robert was educated at the Grantham national school, where he was apprenticed as a pupil-teacher for four years. In 1854...
Story: Lee, Robert
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1908–1993Artist, illustrator, designer, photographer
Eric Albert Johnson was born in Suva, Fiji, on 8 November 1908 to an Australian father, Frank Johnson, and his Fijian-born wife, Mary Lee; sometime in the 1940s Eric assumed the name Lee-Johnson. His ancestry was never less than antipodean: his maternal grandfather had served in the New Zealand...
Story: Lee-Johnson, Eric Albert
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1785–1852Missionary
Samuel Leigh was born probably on 1 September 1785 at Milton, Staffordshire, England, the son of Matthew Leigh, an engineer; his mother's name is unknown. Samuel initially belonged to the Congregational church, but later joined the Wesleyans. After two years at Dr David Bogue's Congregational...
Story: Leigh, Samuel
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1870/1871?–1957Music school director, conductor
Anton Bernhardt Julius Lemmer was born in Altona, Hamburg, Germany, probably in 1870 or 1871, the son of Adolf Lemmer, an agent, and his wife, Alivine Schostach. He was educated at music schools in Berlin and Hamburg and at the age of 18, when he became liable for military conscription, he...
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1818–1903Merchant
Nathaniel William Levin was born in London, England, on 4 May 1818, the son of William Lewin Levin, a Jewish merchant, and his wife, Frances Joseph. At 21 years of age, after training in his father's business, Nathaniel sailed to Australia, taking family capital to set up as a trader. In Sydney...
Story: Levin, Nathaniel William
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1845–1893Merchant, politician, philanthropist
William Hort Levin, frequently called Willie Levin, was born in Wellington, New Zealand, on 7 August 1845. Both his parents, Nathaniel William Levin and his wife, Jessie Hort, were active adherents to the Jewish faith. William Levin was educated at Edward Toomath's school in Wellington (where...
Story: Levin, William Hort
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1892–1985Agricultural scientist, scientific administrator
Enoch Bruce Levy was born on 19 February 1892 at Auckland, the sixth of eight children of William Levy, a nurseryman, and his wife, Esther Ann Bruce. William had been orphaned as a child in Wales and took his name from his stepfather, Samuel Levy, who brought him to New Zealand and left him...
Story: Levy, Enoch Bruce
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1915–1990Public servant, unionist, lawyer
John (Jack) Philip Lewin was born at Masterton on 3 June 1915, the second son of Frederick John Lewin, an engine driver, and his wife, Mary Theresa Williams. Jack’s father, who was president of the New Zealand Locomotive Engineers, Firemen, and Cleaners Association, was prematurely retired...
Story: Lewin, John Philip
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1831–1913Bootmaker, Church of Christ minister
Edward Lewis was born on 21 July 1831, at Pillgwenlly, near Newport, Monmouthshire, England, the son of Evan Lewis, a gardener, and his wife, Ann Thomas. When Edward was about 10 years old the family emigrated to New Zealand, arriving in Wellington on the Birman on 4 March 1842. Evan Lewis...
Story: Lewis, Edward
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1850–1924Journalist, editor, newspaper proprietor, philanthropist
Thomson Wilson Leys was born at Snenton (Sneinton), near Nottingham in Nottinghamshire, England, on 23 April 1850, the son of Hannah Hartley Wilson and her husband, William Leys, a supervisor of inland revenue. Thomson was educated at the People's College, Nottingham. In 1862 his father became...
Story: Leys, Thomson Wilson