| BICKNELL REUNION IN NEW ZEALAND 9th JUNE 2007 |
On Saturday 9th June 2007 a Bicknell Family Reunion was held at Manukau City, Auckland, New Zealand.
Descendants from;
- Alfred James Bicknell Snr,1817 – 1897 & Emma Henshall, 1833 – 1900, married 1851.
- Alfred James Bicknell Jnr, 1864 – 1929 & Caroline Emma Cragg (1st Wife) 1865 – 1899, married 1887, & Charlotte Jane Maria Hammond, (2nd Wife) 1882 – 1963, married 1901,
attended.
Children of Alfred James Bicknell Snr & Emma Henshall were;
- Emma Elizabeth Bicknell, 1852 – 1934, married John Joseph Williams in 1872.
- William Isaac Bicknell, 1854 – 1931, married (1). Sarah Jane Rhimes in1887,
- (2). Mary Fraser Black in 1921.
- Augusta Bicknell, 1856 – 1940, married Hugh John Elkins in 1876.
- Adelaide Bicknell, 1858 – 1883 who died on the day she was to be married.
- Mary-Ann Bicknell, 1861 – 1861 died young 3mths.
- Alfred James Bicknell Jnr 1864 – 1929 as above.
- Frederick George Bicknell 1867 – 1940, married Mary Francis Devlin, 1887.
Children of Frederick George Bicknell & Mary Francis Devlin were;
- Frederick George Bicknell Jnr 1887 – 1967, married Joan Walker Scobie in 1920.
- Alice Clara Bicknell 1889 – ,married James Hadley.
- Doreth Myrtle Bicknell 1897 – 1985, married George Lindley.
The children of Alfred James Bicknell Jnr & Caroline Emma Cragg were;
- William Alfred Bicknell,1891-1955, married Florence Esther Deighton.
- Percy Edgar Bicknell,1893 -1912 unmarried.
- Ruby May Bicknell,1896 – 1979 unmarried.
- Adelaide Stella Bicknell 1899 – 1977, married Henry James Vaughan.
The children of Alfred James Bicknell & Charlotte Hammond were;
- Roy Woodford Bicknell 1899 -1988, married (1) Myrtle Galley, in 1924 and, (2) Eva Collins in 1966.
- Norman Eric Bicknell 1904 – 1996, married Ivy Katherine Saunders in 1928
An apology was received from Bernard Frederick Bicknell,1917 and his wife Marion Morrison, nee Morgan, who were unable to attend for health reasons. They live in Christchurch, New Zealand and Bernard turns 90 in August this year, 2007. Bernard is the son of Herman Bicknell 1875 – 1963 & Constance Hammond, married 1914, grandson of Frederick Bicknell 1819 – 1914 & Elizabeth Armstrong, married 1855, who was the brother of Alfred James Snr. They were both sons of William Isaac Bicknell 1783 – 1859 & Phoebe Honiborn, married 1806.
Interested parties from the spouses family lines were also invited.
9TH JUNE 2007
“WELCOME TO OUR GATHERING TODAY. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF US BEING HERE TO ACKNOWLEDGE OUR HERITAGE AND REMEMBER THOSE WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE US IN OUR LIFE’S JOURNEY, WILL BE DETERMINED AS FUTURE GENERATIONS LOOK BACK ON THIS DAY. I AM SURE THEY WILL THANK US FOR CATALOGING A RECORD OF OUR BICKNELL ANCESTORS AND OUR PLACE IN HISTORY.”
THE HISTORY OF THE BICKNELL FAMILY CAN BE TRACED BACK TO LORD AMALBERT De PAVILLY WHO FOUNDED A MONASTERY IN 664 AD IN FRANCE. IN 1260 JOHN De PAVELEY CHOSE TO GIVE UP THE SURNAME De PAVELEY, AND BECOME JOHN De BYKENHULLE, OUR FIRST ANCESTOR OF THE BICKNELL NAME. TODAY WE TRACE OUR ANCESTORY SPECIFICALLY FROM WILLIAM BICKNELL 1610-1685, to RICHARD BICKNELL1682-1765, to JOHN BICKNELL 1716-1754, to WILLIAM BICKNELL 1749-1825, to WILLIAM ISAAC BICKNELL 1783-1859, to ALFRED JAMES BICKNELL Snr 1817-1897 and ALFRED JAMES BICKNELL Jnr 1864-1929. ENCOMPASSING ALL OTHER FAMILIES BY MARRIAGE.
PROGRAM
9.30 – 10am Registration.
10am Welcome & Introductions & Apologies.
OFFICAL OPENING.
Reading of scripture: Hebrews 12 v1
Prayer of thanksgiving for those who have passed on.
Selection from William Bicknell Memoirs.
Ray White (4th Great Grandson of William),
Grandson of William Alfred Bicknell & Florence Esther Deighton
Musical item : Clecia & Sharn Danford
(Daughter & Son in law of Ray & Pat White)
William Bicknell’s 1749 – 1825 childhood.
Zachary Huia White, 12years of age,
6th Great Grandson of William Bicknell
and Grandson of Ray & Pat White.
Hymn: “Great is Thy Faithfulness”
Break for cuppa
Commentary on Alfred James Bicknell Snr ,
“Early Pioneer of Victoria, Australia”
Paul Lawrence Bicknell his Gt Gt Grandson
Special welcome and acknowledgement to members of the Deighton Family who are descendants of Henry & Eliza Deighton, whose daughter Florence Esther Deighton married William Alfred Bicknell, from whom many of us today are descended.
REUNION CELEBRATION LUNCH
2pm at Happy Days Restaurant
Great South Road Manukau.
THANK YOU FOR COMING TODAY AND MAKING THE EFFORT WORTHWHILE. Ray & Pat White
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
We acknowledge the wonderful Christian heritage we have, as passed on by William Bicknell 1749 – 1825 in his Memoirs, down through the generations with previous forebears being very active and involved with the Methodist Church and Salvation Army in particular. In his Memoirs William states
“In 1755, (6yrs of age) I was removed to a day school kept by Mr Gibson where I continued until the beginning of the year 1757. Here I learned to read, and had so far attained the art as to understand what I read, and that with delight. It was the Bible only which I read, but I recollect I was a tolerable master of the stories therein related, and upon which I often mused”.
“I also frequently contemplated upon the power and wisdom of God in the creation, as related by Moses in the judgements on Pharaoh and the Egyptians and the deliverance of the Israelites in their bondage etc. During this period my Mother first heard of the Methodists, and I can well remember the first time I saw and heard Mr john Wesley preach, which was in the Chapel in Snowfields, Southwark.
Mr Wesley now became familiar to my Mother’s house and during his stay in town for the winter season usually slept there on Saturday nights, for the convenience of officiating at the said Chapel early on Sunday morning.”
As representatives of today’s generation, we are gathered here in Manukau City, to pay honour and respect to past generations of Bicknells, from whom we are descended. We met in the Manukau City Apostolic Church Auditorium, which was transformed with 17 large display boards, depicting various families and details of our history surrounding the room. Portraits were on display of William Bicknell 1749 – 1825, William Isaac Bicknell 1783 – 1859, Alfred James Bicknell Snr 1817 – 1897, Alfred James Bicknell Jnr 1864 – 1929, and William Alfred Bicknell 1891 – 1955. Also hundreds of photographs and other memorabilia, including Sidney Bicknell’s Books “Five Pedigrees” & “Excerpta Biconyllea”, An early Bicknell Autograph/Visitors Book, a copy of the book on “the Bicknell Family Reunion at Weymouth, USA. 1880” by Thomas Bicknell. A copy of relevant parts of “Visitation of England& Wales, Vol 17 pages 33 – 36. Most of these were loaned for the purpose of the Reunion by Bernard Frederick Bicknell in Christchurch NZ.
We were truly surrounded by a great crowd of witnesses, and felt it was appropriate to read the scripture verse found in Hebrews chapter 12v1:
“Therefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience, the race that is set before us. Looking to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the Throne of God.”
The Opening Service was led by Ray White, son of William Huia Moore White and Florence Ivy Bicknell. Upon the death of Ray’s mother in 1989, he began to research his family roots, starting with the Bicknell’s and the Deighton’s, his Maternal grandparents, William Alfred Bicknell and Florence Esther Deighton.
As a result of that beginning in 1989, today’s Reunion is the culmination of 18years research. Most of the displays and portraits here today are directly from searching and through the co-operation of many friends and relatives over this time.
Ray has written two books; “The Bicknell’s of Taunton Somersetshire” and “The Deighton’s of Rudston, Bridlington, Yorkshire”, as well as books on the other branches of his family.
A vital part of Ray’s research was the discovery of various part copies of William Bicknell’s Memoirs, written originally in 1816 and later added to in 1821.
A full copy of these Memoirs can be seen on Marcus Bicknell’s web site, www.marcusbicknell.co.uk as well as a multitude of other Bicknell History items.
The first part of the Memoirs were read at the Reunion by Ray, followed by a section of the Memoirs where William specifically talked about his childhood from 6yrs of age. This was competently read out by Zachary Huia White, aged 12yrs, Ray’s grandson and 6th Great Grandson of William Bicknell 1749 -1825.
Mr Paul Lawrence Bicknell, son of Gordon Alexander Bicknell, 1924 -2002 and Gt Gt Grandson of Alfred James Bicknell Snr addressed the gathering and spoke of his research and production of his book “ Alfred James Bicknell – Early Pioneer of Victoria, Australia.” Paul has done a tremendous amount of research into various branches of the Bicknell family and has a wealth of knowledge, having investigated many of forebears in detail from birth to the grave.
The day ended with a Celebration Luncheon with 80 plus attending.
It is hoped that which has transpired today at this Reunion of the Bicknell Family here in Manukau, Auckland, New Zealand will inspire future generations to do likewise.