History of the Ure Family

James Ure was born about 1821 in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland and married Elizabeth Street by Banns which were read on the 19th January 1839 and the 5th February 1839 in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland.

Elizabeth Street was born in 1820 in Middlesex, England,

In 1841 James and Elizabeth Ure were living in Auchterderran, Fife, Scotland at residence Lochgelly and James' occupation is listed as a Brickmaker.

Immigration to New Zealand had been brought about by an economic depression in Scotland and a division between the Church of Scotland and the Free Church of Scotland (which was an offshoot of the Presbyterian Church). In 1847 the Free Church of Scotland organised two ships to sail to the head of the Otago Harbour and found a Colony. The 2 ships were the John Wycliffe, which was to leave from London, and the Philip Laing, which was to leave from Glasgow. Both vessels sailed at the end of November 1847 but struck bad weather and had to take shelter, the John Wycliffe at Plymouth, and the Philip Laing at Lamlash Bay, Isle of Arran.  The John Wycliffe sailed from Plymouth on the 14th December 1847 and arrived at Port Chalmers on the 23 March 1848. The Philip Laing sailed finally on the 20th December 1847 and arrived at Port Chalmers on the 15th April 1848. These were the pioneering ships of the settlement. The next vessels to arrive in the year 1848 were the Victory on the 8th July 1848, the Blundell on the 21st September 1848 and finally the Bernicia on the 12th December 1848. All the ships brought passengers and supplies to New Zealand to help with the settlement.

James Ure and his wife Elizabeth Street with their son James Street Ure boarded the Philip Laing in Scotland and arrived in New Zealand on the 15 April 1848.

 These ships brought tradesmen to work in the new Colony of New Zealand. They were needed and in great demand. James Ure was a Brickmaker by trade in Scotland and he continued this work when he came to New Zealand.

He took his wife and young son and arrived in Otepopo, North Otago where he built a wooden house, which he named "Bark Hall".

He was engaged in making bricks for the Otepopo Railway Tunnel (now known as Herbert). The bricks were all handmade and fired with Black Pine and Totara wood which at that time grew in abundance in the district. The Otepopo tunnel is the first one south of Christchurch on the main Trunk Line to Dunedin.

Seven other children were born there. James Ure moved around the country to where the bricks were required - partly to secure fresh clay, and also to save cartage, which was a deciding factor.

There is a home in Otepopo/Herbert which has a wall of bricks made by James Ure. The wall has been painted and papered over the years.

James Ure had a brick kiln in Oamuru.

The children of James and Elizabeth Street/Ure are - James Street, Jessie Elizabeth, Robert, William Henry, Catherine, John Alexander, Mary Stark and Henry Ure.

Robert, William, John and Henry mostly folllowed the work of Bullock Driving and carted big loads of Wool and merchandise from the outback sheep stations. Later they did sheep shearing, and two of them - Robert and Henry made a record of shearing for over 60 years in one shed - Cowie Nichols shed at Maheno. This was a record for Australasia.

The eldest son James Street Ure (1840-1903), had a plot of land at Waianakarua, south of Herbert, and farmed there for a while. He married Mary Ann Kelly in 1860. His wife became a mental patient and later died at Seacliff Lunatic Asylum, Dundedin. James then went to Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and changed his surname to "Street". He was at one time Mayor of Footscray, a suburb of Melbourne. He married Matilda Catherine Coggan in 1873 in Victoria, Australia and they had a family - Sarah Elizabeth, James Thomas, Ellen Elizabeth, Mary Margaret, Matilda Catherine, Eliza Jane and William Henry George Ure.

Jessie Elizabeth Ure (1849-1926) was the eldest daughter and married in 1865 to James Gilham. They had a family of James, Elizabeth, Margaret Isabella and Catherine Gilham. Her husband died young, and later she married in 1876 to George James Cooper, a most objectionable man who was very cruel to their children who were Mary Sarah, Wheeler Tumber, George James, Daniel Richard, John Henry Wakefield, Jessie Harriet Susanna and Alice Bertha Cooper. His favourite punishment was sending them to bed without their supper (the third meal of the day), and as rations were never too plentiful it was indeed a punishment. They had to work very hard at clearing gorse, rabbiting, milking cows and hoeing turnips. He would not allow them to go to school, and as they had a river to cross, the Education Board could not force him to send them. Some of the family were very clever with their hands and they had good gardens.

Robert Ure (1851-1929) married in 1873 to Emily Young. They had a family of James Loader, Ernest, Louisa Susan, Edith Emily, Catherine Mary, Emily and Robert Ure. After his wife Emily died Robert Ure married in 1895 to Mary Lefevre, a widow, who had 2 children - Mary and Edward William Lefevre. Together they had John Henry, Hugh David, Ida Helen, Violet May, Daisy and Lily Stark Ure.

William Henry Ure (1852-1926) married in 1873 to Mary Elizabeth Young, sister of Emily Young. Their family were - Susan Jane, Grace, William Henry, Thomas, Mary Elizabeth, Rose, Robert John, Ada, Lillyan May and Ernest Harold Ure.

Catherine Ure (1856-1875) died when she was 19 years old in Otepopo/Herbert.

John Alexander Ure (1858-1936) remained a Bachelor.

Mary Stark Ure (1860-1954) married in 1878 Otepopo to Donald Sinclair. They had Donald, Annie, Catherine, Peter, Mary, Robert Henry and Jessie Hanora Sinclair.

Henry Ure (1862-1946) married in 1888 to Jane Donaldson. They had Elizabeth, John, James and Christina Ure.

James Ure died in 1881 and is buried in the Waimate Cemetery.

Elizabeth Street/Ure died in 1879 in Otepopo/Herbert and is buried in the Herbert Cemetery.

Information from -

Mary McQueen  "History of the Ure Family"  25.6.1973

New Zealand Records

Wikipedia

JMMorris 2019