Burke, William Ellison Messervy

Person

Dates

Existence: 1830 - 1900

Biography

Burke was baptised on 26 Feb. 1830 at St. Heliers, Jersey and arrived in Canterbury in the early 1850s. He was employed by the Resident Magistrates' Court, Christchurch, from 1859 to 1871; he was bailiff from 1867, resigning in 1871 shortly before being convicted of fraud and being sentenced to four years' imprisonment. He married Laura Ennie Caggett on 22 Jan. 1863 at Lambeth, London. They had six sons, all born in Christchurch. He is thought to have died in Christchurch about 1900.

Found in 2 Collections and/or Records:

Reminiscences of old Canterbury by Johannes Carl Andersen

Collection

Identifier: Arch 0401

Scope and Contents

Reminiscences of old Canterbury is a photocopied copy of sections of William Ellison Messervy Burke manuscript scrapbook made by Johannes Carl Andersen.

Andersen also copied the original sketches, made an index, and included other, non-Burke material into these Reminiscences. He rewrote much of the scrapbook to produce a sanitized version sometimes at variance with the facts of the original.

Dates: 1873-1962

Found in: Christchurch City Libraries Archives Collection / Reminiscences of old Canterbury by Johannes Carl Andersen

William Ellison Messervy Burke manuscript

Collection

Identifier: Arch 0320

Scope and Contents The William Ellison Messervy Burke manuscript is a scrapbook with text written as gossipy personal comment about individuals written in a lively manner. The period covered in depth is 1850s and 1860s during the settlement years, with some later material. Interspersed throughout the text are hundreds of cuttings from books and magazines. Many of the cuttings are portraits and caricatures, not always of the people described, but regarded by Burke as having similar...

Dates: 1850-1869

Found in: Christchurch City Libraries Archives Collection / William Ellison Messervy Burke manuscript