The Grainger family originated in and around the area of Brough in Westmorland.

Parish records go back to the 1500s and we are fortunate to have a comprehensive tree that goes back to this time.  Other families that the Graingers married into can be accessed from the button bar above.  George Willan Grainger, who came and settled in New Zealand, researched the family tree himself before leaving England.  The original copies of this are still in the Grainger family here in Nelson.

Christopher Granger m. Margaret

                                                                          d.Nov 1585             d. Jun 1617

                                                                              Brough

                      __________________________I_________________________

                      I                          I                         I                       I                         I

               Elizabeth                    Alice                 Christopher             Grace                     John

                   c.18 Aug                 c.18 Nov                 c.25 Dec                c.1 Apr                 c.27 Dec

                      1561                         1565                        1668                      1671                      1673

all christened Brough under Stainmore

                                                                 m.11 Oct 1597

                                                                                  Isabell Smyth

               ______________________________I_____________________________

                   I                    I                      I                        I                     I                     I                   I

           Granger      Margaret      Elizabeth    Christopher      John           James        Issabell

           b.4 Aug        c.3 Nov         c.6 Mar         c.17 Nov       c.12 Feb     c.14 Jun       c.17 Apr

             1598             1599              1603               1605                1609            1612            1614

      d.4 Aug  1598                                              d.Jan 1677   d.Jun 1612

                                                      all christened Brough under Stainmore

                                                           m. 30 Jan 1633

                                                                        Alice Dickynson

                       ___________________________I___________________

                            I                                   I                                  I                                I

              Christopher                   John                       Thomas                    Isabell

                c.13 Dec 1635           c.14 Jul 1639            c.7 Jul 1646          c.28 Nov 1652

                                                                                       d.12 Sept 1695       m. Richard Bell

all christened Brough under Stainmore

                             ____________________________I__________

                                     I                                              I                                       I

                                John                                Christopher                        Elice

                       b.12 Dec 1676                       b.18 May 1679            c. 27 May 1682/3

                        d. Sept 1759                           d.1 Jul 1679               

                 m. 30 May 1700                     all christened Brough under Stainmore

                 Jane Collinson

      ____________I_________________________________________________

       I                         I                          I                              I                           I                            I

Thomas            Isabell                John                    Robert                Sarah               Elizabeth

  c.1701     c.2 May 1702/3    c.1 Apr 1705        c.2 May 1708    c.2 May 1708    c.24 Jan 1714

m. 1761                                    d. Mar 1783          d. Aug 1783                                      m. 1739

Sarah Vert                             m. 19 May 1746         m. 1743                                     Mark Dawson

                                               Mary Broadbery    Mary Birbeck          all christened Brough

                       ____________I_____________________________

                              I                                             I                                              I

                          John                                  Thomas                               Richard

                    c.11 Oct 1747                   c. 20 May 1753                  c. 28 Sept 1756

                  d. 21 Sept 1839                    d.5 Oct 1823                        d. Apr 1824                      

                   m. 21 Jul 1783                   m. 19 Feb 1787                  m. 16 Feb 1779

               Ann (Agnes) Taylor             Elizabeth Batey             Elizabeth Sanderson

        ______________________________________________I__________________

          I                               I                             I                            I                              I                                  I

      Mary                     Agnes                   John                  Richard                   Thomas               Elizabeth

c.11 Mar 1781      c.1 Dec 1782      c.16 Jan 1785     c.11 Oct 1786        c. 29 Aug 1788      c.4 Oct 1790

m.13 May 1807    m. Stockdale     m.14 Mar 1812     m. Dec 1813    m. Jane Lewthwaite      m. 1812

  William Routh                                    Isabella Middleton     Phillis Blythe                       I                  Thomas Longmire

                                 all christened Kirkby Stephen                                                          I

          _________________________________________________I_____________

            I                                        I                                    I                                    I                                    I

         Ann                              George                       William                      Elizabeth                        Jane

  c.24 Mar 1813               b.11 Feb 1816           b. 9 Oct 1820             c.1 Sept 1826             c. 8 Jan 1826

      Brough                   Chester-le-Street          Gateshead                 Gateshead                 Gateshead

  m. Thomas Wales               d.17 Dec 1873               m. Jane Foster          m. Christopher Heslop    m. Frederick Brown

                                            m. 16 Apr 1838

                                   Ann Willan

          ________________I________________________________________________

          I                I                   I                     I                  I                      I                            I

   Jane Ann     Thomas    George Willan     Elizabeth      Richard  Thomas Lewthwaite    Elizabeth Jane

   b. 23 Feb     b. 23 Jan        b. 31 May          b. 26 Jun     b. 27 Jun           b. 29 Nov                     b. 1 Nov

        1839            1841                1842  1               1844             1847                   1849                             1852

   Evenwood      Evenwood         Evenwood          Evenwood        Crawley              Crawley                         Crawley

   d.25 Sept 1847       d.7 Sept 1847          d. 17 Sept 1918           d.25 Sept 1847       d.15 Jul 1847        m. Anna Montgomery                    m. 18 Aug 1880

          Crawley                Crawley                      Napier                        Crawley                  Crawley                                                                     Henry Hunter

At this stage we'll take a break from the tree and introduce our ancestor George Willan Grainger.  According to a story circulating, George lost all his siblings at the time from a fire at a Sunday School function.  The reason George survived was that he was home with the measles at the time.  He was obviously a bright young man and received a good education - The engineering college he attended in Chester is in the drawing below that was kept by one of his sons.

In August or September of 1867 he married Eliza Jane Fleetham at St. Hilda's, Hartlepool, Durham.  He was then residing in Sunderland.  At the time of the 1881 cencus George was a brick manufacturer employing 13 men, 6 women and 3 boys and was residing at no. 2 The Knoll with his family of 6 and a female servant.  Here are two photographs of the Knoll as it appears today. You can see the house on the right hand side of the second photograph.

In 1883 he undertook the researching of his family tree in 1883.  Records show he obtained permission from the Rector of Kirkby Stephen, the Rev. Canon James Simpson, and the Rev. William Alnwick, Rector of Brough and Mallerstang.  He paid 2/- for each entry copied. The Brough records were apparently had a page torn out that covered the years 1640 - 1670. To see his hand written notes click on the word DATA.

On the 21st May 1886 he emigrated to NZ on the Aorangi (ex London). His reason for the move was primarily for the sake of his five sons, believing that, by so doing he would be providing them with better opportunities for advancement.

He originally settled in Napier  with his family and in the 1890-1891 Post Office Directory he is residing at Regent Lane, Napier.  He was employed as an engineer for the Napier Harbour Board. 

At some point in the early 1890's he purchased land at Kiritaki.  In the 1907 and 1911 Directories he is "J.P., Farmer and Post Master, Kiritaki."

George took a leading role in the establishment of a local co-operative butter factory, the Kiritaki School and telephone and mail services.  He installed the first mechanical milking machine in the district and the forth in NZ. As well as a J.P., he served as Chairman of the Roads Board (now know as District Councils).

Extracts of articles written by his daughter Violet May (known as May Cottrell) give us an idea of the conditions they lived in when pioneers in Kiritaki.

Speaking of the challenges faced by her mother she wrote " Her home a rough slab whare, a camp-oven and pots slung over an openfire her only means of cooking for her family".  Georges wife Eliza was 50 years old when she began this lifestyle - a far cry from "her pleasant, comfortable and convenient home - staffed with three maids - in the English city of Sunderland".

George Willan Grainger  m.  Eliza Jane Fleetham

                                            b. 31 May 1842                   b.19 Sept 1843

                                         Evenwood, Durham                   Hartlepool

                                            d.17 Sept 1918                    d. 18 Jun 1918

                                                Napier, NZ

      ___________________________________I__________________________________

      I                    I                     I                     I                I                 I                     I                 I       

Herbert Edwin   Arthur George   Frederick William   Rosa Jane   Evelyn Ann   Thomas Henry   Charles Andrew   Violet May

   b.14 Jul             b. 4 Aug               b.16 Dec             b.14 May      b. 22 Oct          b. 6 Mar             b. 21 May         b.17 May