An Illustrated Life of Ruth Yeoman 1902 - 1993 Pt 1

An Illustrated Life of Ruth Yeoman 1902-1993 Pt1

Kate Reid and Thomas Yeoman were married on January 23 1902 in Pahiatua with her father Charles Reed driving Kate in the gig to the church, Thomas riding a horse beside them. After the marriage the happy couple rode back together in the gig and Mr Reed rode the horse.
Kate and Thomas lived in a weatherboard cottage which Tom had built out of timbers milled at his mill, about half a mile from the mill at Beehive. Unfortunately their first child, a son, died but their second baby, Mary, born December 8 1903, survived.

The sawmills moved frequently to get access to more timber so Gardner and Yeoman established a second mill at Maku, about 2 miles from the Beehive. Then in 1904 the partners purchased a mill at Pukehinau and the Yeoman family moved to a house near the Pukehinau mill where their second daughter Ruth was born on 2 October 1905.

Lottie, Mary, Elsie, Arthur and Ruth Yeoman ca 1907

Arthur followed in 1907 (he died in 1935) Then came Lottie, Elsie, Olive (Bobbie) Eva and another brother, Robert, who died at only five weeks old in 1916. In all Kate Yeoman bore 10 children and all were born at home except the youngest, Gladys.

The Yeoman daughters: Mary, Ruth, Lottie, Elsie, Olive (Bobbie) Eva and Gladys

As their family grew the milling business went from strength to strength. A stable home was needed and they settled on a piece of farm land at Pongaroa near the saw mill and built a large beautiful home called Ngarata.

BUSH ADVOCATE, VOLUME XVIII, ISSUE 451, 2 JULY 1906
Dannevirke Bush Advocate 1906