The Morris Family

John Harper Morris (c1839-1894) was born in Henley-on-Thames, England. He came to NZ around 1868, maybe from the Australian or Californian goldfields.

The parents of Lucy Clarke (c1858-1906) parents were John Clarke and Margaret Doherty (1831- ? ). Margaret Doherty was transported to Tasmania in May 1852 aboard the John William Dore, after being sentenced in Co Limmerick in 1851 for receiving stolen goods. In 1858, Lucy (aka Alicia) was born in Gordon, Tasmania. We don't know how they got to NZ, but in 1870, Lucy (13) and George (6) Clarke were admitted into Lyttelton orphanage, "father dead and mother in goal".

In November 1874, John Morris married Lucy Clarke in Christchurch, NZ. They lived in Richmond, Christchurch until about 1881, when they moved to Alford Forest, near Methven in South Canterbury. John worked as a bushman, or agricultural labourer. They had 7 children.
Andrew Albert Morris (1875-1950)
Walter Morris (1877-1878)
Agnes May Morris (1878-1942)
Ernest George Morris (1882-1858)
Christopher Thomas Morris (1884-1957)
Alexander Morris (1887- ? )
Rose Morris (1890- ? )

John Morris died in 1894, and the next year Lucy married James Carr. Lucy and James had three daughters; Winifred (1895- ? ), Lucy (1897-1971) and Margaret (1899-1963).

In 1906, George Morris (1882-1958) married Alice Berry (my great grandparents).