 |
| Jane Leov (Nee Turner) and son Harold Leov |
 |
| Charles Sullivan Leov with son Len and Pearl Leov (M Carl Neal) |
Written by Jane Leov (nee Turner
) 1948 for the Leov children of Greville Harbour d'Urville Island
Charles Augustus Leopold Von
Fitzgow was born in Treptow, Pomerania, Germany on May 24th 1824.
Grandfather Leov had a long name and a long life. He died at Rai Valley on June 11th
1918 at the age of 94 years.
He was as most Germans were then,
a military man. He turned against the
life and with others left Germany without permission, about 1850, going to
Wisconsin, USA. From USA he went to
Australia and had a store on the Ballarat goldfields, where he became friendly
with the Nees family.
He had not kept any records of
his family in Germany and had never kept up any correspondence with them to my
knowledge. His father was an officer in
the army and had died before Grandfather left Germany. His mother, two sisters and only brother had
a house and some land.. He told me of
them attending church in an old fashioned conveyance which they nick-named “The
Ark” because it was so roomy. The
sister's names were Amelia and Joanne.
The brother's name was Augustus.
Grandfather must have been about thirty years old when he left
Germany. He came to New Zealand about
1860. Through his friendship with Mr
Charles Nee's parents in Ballarat he became godfather to their son (Mr Charles
Nees of Okaramio) who carried on the friendship with your grandfather all their
lives. It continues through between the
descendants until the present time and forms a pleasant link with the past
. When your Greatgrandfather Leov was over seventy years
old he attended the diamond wedding of Mr & Mrs Nees Snr. In
Wellington. Like himself Mrs Nees had a
lot of names which appeared on the invitation card thus – Christina Albertina
Whilamina, also the photograph of herself and Mr Nees.
Greatgrandfather Leov married
Phoebe Mary Lequire Sullivan of Nelson, daughter of Mr & Mrs Tom Sullivan,
a cultured woman about half his age.
She suffered from asthma and hard times, living only until she was
thirty eight. She had claims to beauty
and was loved and respected by all who knew her. Aunt Milly, her eldest child was only
eleven. So the death of their mother
was a great misfortune. Charles Sullivan
was only ten and Uncle Fred was only five.
They had very hard times around Brownlee's mill where some kind women
did what they could to brighten their sad childhood. Grandfather Leov tried strorekeeping in
Havelock. He told me he had fourteen
hundred pounds when he came to New Zealnad, but he did not not do well with the
shop. Previously, before Grandma Leov
died, he tried farming at the back of Dalton's estate on whtat is known as the
Wilderness. That was where Grandma Leov
died, when I (Nanna Leov) was three days old in 1878. Leovs also lost a baby son there. My father, Grandfather Turner, was also
trying to farm in the Wilderness. Neither
of them did well. There seems to be a
lapse somewhere here, for I believe Leovs went from Blackball, where Brownlees'
mill was and tried farming just below Havelock for a year or so, and lost
everything they had there. Your
grandfather was then about fourteen and helped his father cut wood for sale,
the Mr Archer offered him droving and other farm work, which he kept on with
for many years. Afterwards he went to
work for Mr John Duncan of Mahakipawa.
Charlie S Leov also tried to make his fortune on the Coolgardie
goldfields in 1892 with Uncle Tim, (my oldest brother Charles Turner) but they
were not successful. When Uncle Fred
Leov was about fourteen, he and his father went to work at a coppermine on the
Dun mountain, Nelson. From there they
went to Marlborough to a station owned by the Mowats. Grandfather did odd jobs, including beating
cakes for Mrs Mowat while Freddie got his first lessons in sheep work, which
later became his life work, in the sounds (Maud Island) and in the North, where
his services were valuable to several big sheepfarmers at Taihape and
Hunterville. He gave good service for
small pay. He once worked on the
railway line in Marlborough for some time.
He told me he left because he was becoming too lazy to lace his
boots. He was known as a good
storyteller. Twenty years after his
death his prowess was still remembered.
He married Miss Sarah Workman and they had three daughters, one died at
three weeks old. So Uncle Fred never
had a son to carry on his father's long long name.
Now I must continue with what
there is to tell about poor old Greatgrandfather. Well, after he left Mowat's station he tried
teaching in the Pelorus Sounds at Mrs W. Harvey's with more or less
success. Mrs Harvey was crippled with
rheumatism and grandfather told me how dreadful it was that she was always laid
up in bed, and that if he had to put up with a woman like that he would set
fire to the bed. He also said that his
pupils there gave him some trouble teaching them (his English was not very
good). He said they were dear children
and he cried sometimes after as he said beating them godlessly, However, one of them used to write to him for
years, so she must have remembered him for more kindness than ill-usage. In the early years of their married life he
and Grandma took part in the social life of Havelock. Grandfather used to sing and wear a dress
suit, also wear white gloves. Of course
Grandma wore her best and looked lovely, as you can see in the photo taken of
her about that time.
I don't think there were any
photos of Grandfather in those early days.
The one in our group and the one by himself were taken by Mr Akeratan in
1912. I well remember the day too, a
Sunday and busy serving the usual hot dinner, when the photographer
arrived. Auntie Alice was only ten
months old. Mr Akerstan was cross
trying to arrange the group and keep the baby still for a photograph of
herself. There were rosebuds to wear
from the old rose tree which your Grandfather had brought me from Tuna
Bay. It had been planted by Mrs Archer
which had been given to her by a Mrs Bond, also of the Sounds. I still have the bush and it was over fifty
years old when we left our original home across the river. Uncle Harold brought a tall branch of the
old rose and planted it here. It is
still as sweet and lovely, bearing creamy pink flowers from November to May. (We are sorry to report that when the second
home was burnt down the old rose was destroyed.)
Well, this is not about
Grandfather, but he often wore a bud in his coat and so did your grandfather. Great grandfather's name brings many memories
to me. He had many funny sayings and
doings. One scorching January day, when
the air was full of thistle puffs, he volunteered to help Aunt Emily and myself
bring a bag of sugar from the coach, almost a mile away across the river, which
we crossed in a canoe. We carried the heavy bag to the canoe, and
Grandfather was sure he could place it in the canoe. He could only see with one eye. He put the big bag on his shoulder and aimed
for the canoe. Splash into the river it
went to our dismay. We rescued the bag
while Grandfather kept saying, “Toodie, (Emily) get a sack”. I set out for home as fast as my legs could
go. Returning with a dry bag we saved
what sugar was not wet. Our laughter
must have irritated Grandfather as much or more than the loss of the sugar.
Another time, some years later,
when the first track to Okiwi was being made, your grandfather and my brother
Uncle Tim were camped on the hill. My
father sent Greatgrandfather on a little horse, belonging to our mother (his
name was Rowdy if I remember right) to pack provisions to the camp. He left quite early that morning but
returned late in the afternoon having failed to find the camp. The next day off he went again. This time he did not return. We wondered why?
Next morning I was at the far end of the
farm bringing in the cows. Hearing
sounds over the river like voices I thought it might be surveyors going to
work. As the calls continued, I went to
see who the caller could be. There on
the bank across the river, tottering and waving was poor old Grandfather. He had been out all night. He had let the horse loose and lost his
way. He said he had tried to keep
himself warm by swinging on the branches of small trees. He used to say I directed him to the deepest
place in the river. I helped him up the
bank. He was so cold and tired. He was soon warm in bed after a nip of
brandy and hot tea made by my mother.
It was rather wonderful that he had no ill effects after such an
experience, in the depth of winter. He
was soon as cheerful and jaunty as ever.
Aunt Milly Kenning has not been
mentioned very much. She has lived long
and inherited her father's cheerfulness.
Her early life was badly marred by the loss of her mother. She had the choice of her mother's religion
(Roman Catholic) but never accepted it, although she had always felt kindly to
that church. She told me of her
attempts to keep house for her father, and the failures she met with, one of
which was the leaving of a dish of dough in the sun to rise and going away
somewhere and returning to find the hens had found it overflowing and had
become entangled in the dough with their feet, much to the enragement of her
father.
I met her in her own home where it is still on Vanguard St in
Nelson, when I was fourteen years of age.
She was I thought very pretty and had a low sweet voice. She married Uncle Richard Kenning and reared
eight children, Charlie, Wilfred and Oliver, Walter, Eileen and David, Theodore
and Merle. Uncle Dick was a sober,
steady man and a faithful worker for the Nelson City under the city fathers,
whom he served well until he was too old for the position of head foreman, and
he took his retirement very sadly. He
was a good rifleman and won many trophies at shooting matches. Of the other three Sullivan girls little is
known. One married a chap called Firth,
they had two children, a son Oliver and a daughter. The daughter Ella, married a chap called
Frank Vickerman, who was killed in a car accident just out of Wellington.
{Ed Note:- I have left name spellings as they were in the text as it arrived.)
