Jane Williams
Date of birth
Circa 1801
Date of death
06 Oct 1896
Place of birth
Place of death
Biography
Jane Nelson was baptised at St Mary Gate Independent Chapel, Nottingham, England, on 29 April 1801, daughter of James Nelson and his wife, Anna Maria Dale. Her parents were Dissenters. In 1817 Jane was engaged as a pupil teacher by Mary Williams at her school in Southwell, Nottinghamshire. There she met Mary's son William, an ordained minister, who was preparing for missionary work in New Zealand. Despite Anna Nelson's initial discouragement Jane and William were married at Sheffield, on 11 July 1825, and on 12 August sailed in the Sir George Osborne. On 25 March 1826 they arrived at Paihia, where William's brother Henry, and his wife, Marianne, had established a mission station.
Jane and Marianne Williams worked as well together as did the two brothers. Both women were often pregnant, Jane having six daughters and three sons by 1846. The families shared meals and the two wives took turns at cooking and teaching. This close family bond was maintained after William and Jane left the Bay of Islands to set up a mission station at Turanga, Poverty Bay, in 1840. Children were frequently exchanged, and the letters between the two women are now one of the main sources of information about the minutiae of daily life at Paihia and Turanga.
Jane Williams, especially instructed by the Church Missionary Society in London to remember that 'no country can be happy or Christian but in proportion as its Females become so', was to seek every opportunity of influencing Maori women. She taught them to read and write, to sew and cook (in European fashion), and trained them in 'civilised' household management. Like her husband she took a special care in visiting the sick. At Paihia girls who had been making 'satisfactory progress' were often taken away by their relatives to serve the shipping which frequented the Bay of Islands. There was little danger of this at Turanga, but there was always some doubt as to whether her girls would turn up, because tribal demands took precedence.
To Turanga Maori, irrespective of age, Jane Williams was 'Mother'. The sharing of household tasks and of childbirth gave Jane and the Maori people an intimacy which was closer than that between male missionary and convert. When William Williams was away, the smooth running of the mission devolved on Jane, who was also responsible for the day-to-day teaching of her younger children. She was an efficient person who had to bear with constant domestic interruptions of a sort seldom suffered by her husband. Days of 'very great raru' (hindrances and encumbrances) figure frequently in her journals. Quiet evenings with her husband and family she particularly valued, but often William was away for weeks or months at a time. 'These continual separations form my greatest trial', she wrote in 1844, 'I try to remember that I am a soldier's wife…. Still I cannot but feel it.'
After leaving Turanga in 1865 for the Bay of Islands, Jane and William settled at Napier in 1867, where she took a lively interest in the Hukarere school for Maori girls, established close to her home by her husband in 1875. After William's death on 9 February 1878 Jane was one of the last survivors of the missionary band of the 1820s. Reminiscing in 1880 she wrote, 'we were always contented and happy…never even dreamt of the land being occupied by Europeans. Civilization was good for our children, but sadly marred our work.' She died at her residence, Hukarere, on 6 October 1896. Her obituary stated: 'The treasure William Williams brought to these shores was that bright, intelligent, courageous and cheerful soul'.
Frances Porter. 'Williams, Jane', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 1990. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/1w23/williams-jane (accessed 18 December 2019)
Jane Williams, born Jane Nelson (born: 1801?, Nottingham - died: 6 October 1896, Napier), was a pioneering educator in New Zealand. Together with her sister-in-law Marianne Williams she established schools for Māori children and adults. She also educated the children of the Church Missionary Society in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand.
Early life
Jane was baptised on 29 April 1801. She was the daughter of James Nelson and his wife, Anna Maria Dale of Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire.
In 1817 Jane became a teacher at the school for girls in Southwell, Nottinghamshire run by Mary Williams, mother of Henry and William Williams who were both members of the Church Missionary Society (CMS). In 1822 Henry Williams and his wife Marianne Williams sailed to New Zealand, to join the CMS mission in the Bay of Islands. William Williams intended to follow his brother after completing his training. On 11 July 1825, Jane married William Williams. On 12 August William and Jane embarked on Sir George Osborne to sail to Sydney, Australia, then on to Paihia, Bay of Islands, where they arrived on 25 March 1826.
Jane and her husband had nine children:
Mary, born 12 April 1826; married Samuel Williams
Jane Elizabeth, born 23 October 1827; married Henry (Harry) Williams
William Leonard, born 22 July 1829; married Sarah Wanklyn.
Thomas Sydney, born 9 February 1831
James Nelson, born 22 August 1837; married Mary Beetham.
Anna Maria, born 25 February 1839
Lydia Catherine, born 7 April 1841
Marianna, born 22 August 1843
Emma Caroline, born 20 February 1846; married William Nelson.
Paihia mission
Jane Williams and her sister-in-law, Marianne Williams, shared mission responsibilities and together cared for and educated their families. They set up a boarding school for Māori girls in Paihia and provided classes to the children of CMS missionaries in the morning with schools for Māori children and adults in the afternoon. The teachers included the wives of other CMS missionaries, her daughters, nieces or future daughters-in-law. In 1832 Janes and Marianne Williams, together with Mrs. Brown, Mrs. Fairburn, and Mrs. Puckey, continued in charge of the Native Girls' School, and of an Infant School at Paihia.
Waimate mission
In 1835 William and Jane moved to the Te Waimate mission where she conducted the school for girls and her husband conducted the school boys in addition to as his work on translating the Bible into Māori. On 23 and 24 December 1835 Charles Darwin visited while HMS Beagle spent 10 days in the Bay of Islands.
Tūranga, Poverty Bay Mission
William and Jane and their family arrived at Turanga, Poverty Bay on 20 January 1840. Jane Williams ran the mission during her husband's frequent journeys conducting the work of the mission. They left Waerenga-a-Hika in Poverty Bay in 1865 when it was threatened by a band of Pai Mārire (Hauhau) and returned to Paihia for two years.
Napier, Hawkes Bay Mission
Hawkes Bay was added to the Waiapu diocese and Archdeacon Williams, Jane Williams and their daughters moved to Napier in May 1867. William Williams was consecrated as the Bishop of Waiapu on 3 April 1859 at the meeting of the General Synod at Wellington.[21] Jane and three of her daughters were involved in establishing a school for Māori girls, which became Hukarere Girls' College that opened in July 1875 on Hukarere Road, Napier.[22] Anna Maria Williams, known as 'Miss Maria', as the superintendent of the school, kept the accounts, managed the correspondence and taught English and the Scriptures. She was assisted by her sisters, Lydia Catherine ('Miss Kate') and Marianne ('Miss Mary Anne').
Death
Jane Williams died on 6 October 1896. Her obituary said: "The treasure William Williams brought to these shores was that bright, intelligent, courageous and cheerful soul."
accessed 18/12/2019 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Williams_(missionary)
Jane and Marianne Williams worked as well together as did the two brothers. Both women were often pregnant, Jane having six daughters and three sons by 1846. The families shared meals and the two wives took turns at cooking and teaching. This close family bond was maintained after William and Jane left the Bay of Islands to set up a mission station at Turanga, Poverty Bay, in 1840. Children were frequently exchanged, and the letters between the two women are now one of the main sources of information about the minutiae of daily life at Paihia and Turanga.
Jane Williams, especially instructed by the Church Missionary Society in London to remember that 'no country can be happy or Christian but in proportion as its Females become so', was to seek every opportunity of influencing Maori women. She taught them to read and write, to sew and cook (in European fashion), and trained them in 'civilised' household management. Like her husband she took a special care in visiting the sick. At Paihia girls who had been making 'satisfactory progress' were often taken away by their relatives to serve the shipping which frequented the Bay of Islands. There was little danger of this at Turanga, but there was always some doubt as to whether her girls would turn up, because tribal demands took precedence.
To Turanga Maori, irrespective of age, Jane Williams was 'Mother'. The sharing of household tasks and of childbirth gave Jane and the Maori people an intimacy which was closer than that between male missionary and convert. When William Williams was away, the smooth running of the mission devolved on Jane, who was also responsible for the day-to-day teaching of her younger children. She was an efficient person who had to bear with constant domestic interruptions of a sort seldom suffered by her husband. Days of 'very great raru' (hindrances and encumbrances) figure frequently in her journals. Quiet evenings with her husband and family she particularly valued, but often William was away for weeks or months at a time. 'These continual separations form my greatest trial', she wrote in 1844, 'I try to remember that I am a soldier's wife…. Still I cannot but feel it.'
After leaving Turanga in 1865 for the Bay of Islands, Jane and William settled at Napier in 1867, where she took a lively interest in the Hukarere school for Maori girls, established close to her home by her husband in 1875. After William's death on 9 February 1878 Jane was one of the last survivors of the missionary band of the 1820s. Reminiscing in 1880 she wrote, 'we were always contented and happy…never even dreamt of the land being occupied by Europeans. Civilization was good for our children, but sadly marred our work.' She died at her residence, Hukarere, on 6 October 1896. Her obituary stated: 'The treasure William Williams brought to these shores was that bright, intelligent, courageous and cheerful soul'.
Frances Porter. 'Williams, Jane', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 1990. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/1w23/williams-jane (accessed 18 December 2019)
Jane Williams, born Jane Nelson (born: 1801?, Nottingham - died: 6 October 1896, Napier), was a pioneering educator in New Zealand. Together with her sister-in-law Marianne Williams she established schools for Māori children and adults. She also educated the children of the Church Missionary Society in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand.
Early life
Jane was baptised on 29 April 1801. She was the daughter of James Nelson and his wife, Anna Maria Dale of Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire.
In 1817 Jane became a teacher at the school for girls in Southwell, Nottinghamshire run by Mary Williams, mother of Henry and William Williams who were both members of the Church Missionary Society (CMS). In 1822 Henry Williams and his wife Marianne Williams sailed to New Zealand, to join the CMS mission in the Bay of Islands. William Williams intended to follow his brother after completing his training. On 11 July 1825, Jane married William Williams. On 12 August William and Jane embarked on Sir George Osborne to sail to Sydney, Australia, then on to Paihia, Bay of Islands, where they arrived on 25 March 1826.
Jane and her husband had nine children:
Mary, born 12 April 1826; married Samuel Williams
Jane Elizabeth, born 23 October 1827; married Henry (Harry) Williams
William Leonard, born 22 July 1829; married Sarah Wanklyn.
Thomas Sydney, born 9 February 1831
James Nelson, born 22 August 1837; married Mary Beetham.
Anna Maria, born 25 February 1839
Lydia Catherine, born 7 April 1841
Marianna, born 22 August 1843
Emma Caroline, born 20 February 1846; married William Nelson.
Paihia mission
Jane Williams and her sister-in-law, Marianne Williams, shared mission responsibilities and together cared for and educated their families. They set up a boarding school for Māori girls in Paihia and provided classes to the children of CMS missionaries in the morning with schools for Māori children and adults in the afternoon. The teachers included the wives of other CMS missionaries, her daughters, nieces or future daughters-in-law. In 1832 Janes and Marianne Williams, together with Mrs. Brown, Mrs. Fairburn, and Mrs. Puckey, continued in charge of the Native Girls' School, and of an Infant School at Paihia.
Waimate mission
In 1835 William and Jane moved to the Te Waimate mission where she conducted the school for girls and her husband conducted the school boys in addition to as his work on translating the Bible into Māori. On 23 and 24 December 1835 Charles Darwin visited while HMS Beagle spent 10 days in the Bay of Islands.
Tūranga, Poverty Bay Mission
William and Jane and their family arrived at Turanga, Poverty Bay on 20 January 1840. Jane Williams ran the mission during her husband's frequent journeys conducting the work of the mission. They left Waerenga-a-Hika in Poverty Bay in 1865 when it was threatened by a band of Pai Mārire (Hauhau) and returned to Paihia for two years.
Napier, Hawkes Bay Mission
Hawkes Bay was added to the Waiapu diocese and Archdeacon Williams, Jane Williams and their daughters moved to Napier in May 1867. William Williams was consecrated as the Bishop of Waiapu on 3 April 1859 at the meeting of the General Synod at Wellington.[21] Jane and three of her daughters were involved in establishing a school for Māori girls, which became Hukarere Girls' College that opened in July 1875 on Hukarere Road, Napier.[22] Anna Maria Williams, known as 'Miss Maria', as the superintendent of the school, kept the accounts, managed the correspondence and taught English and the Scriptures. She was assisted by her sisters, Lydia Catherine ('Miss Kate') and Marianne ('Miss Mary Anne').
Death
Jane Williams died on 6 October 1896. Her obituary said: "The treasure William Williams brought to these shores was that bright, intelligent, courageous and cheerful soul."
accessed 18/12/2019 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Williams_(missionary)
