Guest Writer 04/08/2025
By: Carmen Hayman, Great GreatGreat Grandaughter
Ann Grigson. From intensions to marry project.
Strange things happen in cemeteries. I was doing a live Facebook video to invite people to help me research and write blogs when Carmen just happened to be on the other side of the cemetery walking her dog. After getting a ping in her pocket from the live notification, she popped over to introduce herself.
She shared her story of learning to research and hunting for history, and told me about her ancestor. I asked if I could share her story, and thankfully she said yes! So here we are… WuHoo Timaru’s very first guest writer on our blog: Carmen’s story of her great-great-great-grandmother, Ann Grigson. Thank you Carmen.
Ann and her family arrived in Lyttelton in February 1860, then travelled south through Timaru before reaching Waimate on 20 February 1860. Her father, William Grigson, is noted as a “timber carter residing at Waimate”, though he died near Saltwater Creek (north of Timaru) and was buried in Timaru Cemetery. Ann married Richard Champion in Waimate in 1861 and lived there until her death in 1878.
(A note from Roselyn Fauth - WuHoo Timaru... Please note: this blog includes some difficult content, but we both feel it is important – though challenging – to share the truth so people today can reflect on it. Her story reminds me that our town’s history isn’t just names on headstones or dates in a book. It’s real people, especially women like Ann Grigson, who helped build this place through lives that were often tough and unrecognised. Sharing her story connects us not just to the past, but to the land and community we’re part of now. It’s a reminder that Timaru’s history isn’t somewhere far away – it’s right here under our feet, in our streets, and in the stories we choose to remember and tell.)
Ann was born in Raydon, Suffolk, to parents William Grigson (or Gregson) and Ann Grigson (née Butcher). She was christened on 12 April 1846, though I do not know her exact birthdate.
In the 1851 Census, her age is listed as six years. Her father William, a carter, was aged 30; her mother Ann was 26; and her younger sister Susannah was two.
On 25 October 1859, the family boarded the ship Ambrosine at Gravesend in London, bound for Lyttelton, New Zealand. Shipping records show William aged 38 (a farm labourer), Ann aged 34, Ann aged 13, and Susannah aged 11. Because young Ann was 13, she was transferred to the single women’s quarters, where she is listed as a domestic servant. I cannot imagine how she felt being isolated and separated from her small family unit for the nearly four-month voyage, especially as the ship endured heavy gales throughout.
They finally arrived in New Zealand on 15 February 1860 and quickly made their way to Timaru and then on to Waimate, reaching there on 20 February.
Only 18 months after settling in Waimate, Ann married Richard Champion. Richard had arrived the year before on the Strathallan 1869. The "Intentions to Marry" records state that they married in a dwelling house at Waimatea (spelled that way at the time) on 2 September 1861 by Rev. G. Foster. Richard’s age was given as 22, and his occupation was listed as sawyer. Ann’s age was given as 16 (though I believe she was possibly 15). Because she was still considered a minor, her father William had to give consent. Apparently, Richard gave Ann a wedding ring fashioned from a gold half sovereign.
Not long after the wedding, Ann became pregnant with her first child. About four to five months into the pregnancy, a terrible event occurred.
11 March 1862
Ann retired to bed early. Her husband Richard was absent, presumably away working.
She was awoken between 1 am and 2 am by a noise against the chimney outside and became alarmed. A man then came to the front door asking for meat and beer. When she refused, he threatened to break the door open. She got up, partially dressed, and as she did so, he forced the front door open and rushed into the bedroom. He threw her down on the floor, bound her head and arms with bedclothes, and brutally assaulted her, repeating the offence afterwards. During the struggle, her throat and chest were lacerated by his fingernails.
Before leaving, he stole her purse, which contained a one-pound note and a half-crown piece, then ransacked the house, threatening to cut her throat if she did not reveal where more money was hidden. Shortly after, he fled.
At daybreak, Ann ran to her parents’ house, about six chains away (roughly 120 metres). Her father William went immediately to Ann and Richard’s house, where he found marks on the outer door showing it had been forced open with a spade. He also found footprints leading to a sod bank, where a clear boot mark was visible.
Ann believed she recognised the man’s voice, although it had been pitch black. She recalled hearing a man speaking to her husband two or three months earlier who had a peculiar stutter and rough voice. This man was identified as Jacob Small, aged 28, described as "an American man of colour".
Corporal of Police John Melton of Timaru arrested Small, who was sent to Lyttelton to face trial in the Supreme Court on 18 June 1862.
Small pleaded not guilty. Mr Slater was retained by the court to defend him, given that he was a foreigner. The judge noted:
"This case is somewhat remarkable from the fact that though the chief legal point to be established in any criminal case – namely the identity of the accused – could not be arrived at from any direct evidence, the circumstances and incidents are so conclusive as beyond doubt to fix this atrocious crime upon the prisoner."
Section of a map of Lyttelton NZ Heritage Maps. Platform, accessed 05/08/2025, https://maps.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/1273
The Evidence
Mr Giles, landlord of an accommodation house in Waimate, stated that Jacob Small was at his house on 10 March. He left between 8 and 9 am, saying he was going to the Oamaru races, and returned between 5 and 6 pm, announcing he was heading north. He admitted he had no money to pay the 18 shillings he owed.
Between 5 and 6 am on 11 March, Mr Giles awoke to Small calling for him. Small now had the money, paid a pound note, and received two shillings in change.
Small stayed for breakfast and dinner, paying with a half-crown.
The footprint found in the sod bank was unusually large, with two nails missing from the toe and several missing from the inner heel row. This matched perfectly with Small’s left boot.
The jury deliberated briefly before returning a verdict of guilty. Small was sentenced to four years’ penal servitude.
Thankfully, Ann’s pregnancy was unaffected, and on 14 July 1862 she gave birth to her first child, Sarah Ann Champion. Sarah Ann is recorded as the first European baby born in Waimate (and my great-great-grandmother).
This incident must have taken an enormous toll on Ann. She was still only a girl herself, but with few options, she had to settle into domestic life. It is comforting to know her parents lived nearby.
Waimate Township 1865 NZ Heritage Maps. Platform, accessed 05/08/2025, https://maps.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/237
Family Tragedies
Ann and Richard’s second child, George Edward Champion, was born on 28 February 1865, followed by James Richard Champion on 30 April 1866. While Ann was pregnant with her fourth child, Hannah, tragedy struck:
16 August 1867
William Grigson, Ann’s father, died suddenly. He was travelling from Timaru with his dray and horses when he fell and was killed before reaching Saltwater Creek. An inquest suggested he may have been intoxicated and fallen asleep. The verdict was "accidental death, caused by deceased falling off a dray, the wheel passing over his head". He was buried in Timaru Cemetery in an unmarked grave.
Less than a year later, further heartbreak followed:
5 June 1868
George Edward Champion, aged three and a half, tragically died. During Ann’s brief absence, George was playing with fire. His clothes caught alight, and he ran screaming into the street. Neighbours tried to save him, but his injuries were too severe, and he died en route to Timaru for medical care.
Ann, barely in her twenties, endured unimaginable grief.
Ann and Richard went on to have four more children: Charles (1870), George Thomas (1872), Mary Maria (1874), and Esther (1876). Sadly, George Thomas lived only six weeks.
Above: Ann's grave - courtesy of Find a Grave.
Ann’s Death
Ann died on 26 May 1878 at roughly 32 years of age. She is buried in Waimate Old Cemetery. Her headstone is now mostly illegible, but faint markings remain.
Waimate Road District 1878 NZ Heritage Maps Platform R22668130_01 accessed 05/08/2025, https://maps.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/970
Reflection
How do I feel knowing the story of my great-great-great-grandmother? Humbled. She endured immense heartbreak and loss in such a short life, yet she carried on. I hope she also experienced joy and love amidst the hardship.
This story was not passed down through our family; I do not even know if it was ever spoken of. I discovered it through old newspapers. But it is worth telling. It is Ann’s story. It is my great-great-great-grandmother’s story. And now, it is part of mine.
Richard remarried in 1880 but had no more children. His second wife died in 1912, and he married again the same year before passing away on 28 November 1914 aged 76.
Ann’s mother, Ann Grigson, never remarried after William’s death. She died in Waimate on 25 June 1909 aged 84.
Research Sources
Papers Past NZ
Intentions to Marry Project NZ
FamilySearch
Find A Grave
Waimate District. NZ Heritage Maps Platform, accessed 05/08/2025, https://maps.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/767
Roselyn Fauths response: What I’ve Learned from Her Story as a Woman in 2025
Reading about Ann’s life and sharing her story has really made me stop and think. As a woman in 2025, it’s hard to wrap my head around everything she went through – the violence, the heartbreak, the loss – and yet somehow, she kept going. She raised her kids, stayed close to her family, and survived in a world where women had so few choices and no real safety net.
It’s made me realise just how strong the women before us had to be, and how much we take for granted now. I’ve also realised how important it is to tell these stories. I don’t think this was something that was ever talked about in her time – it feels like it was probably kept quiet. But now, bringing it into the open feels like a way to honour her and all the women like her.
Alot my blogs so far have shared stories of peoples lives, none have included the violence and deep grief in her life. Her story retold by Carmen, has made me realise how much women's struggles have shaped the lives we have today. I also found it interesting to read that Ann's father was buried in an un marked grave. Makes me even more passionate about finishing the monument at the cemetery for those who rest in pauper and unmarked graves.