Home - Maddrens

This is a site dedicated to the Maddren Family and their associated families. William Thomas Maddren had emigrated from Cornwall in England to New Zealand. He was married three times and had a very large family. Two of William Thomas Maddren's sons married two Girven girls, I have a similar Google website for the Girven Family.

James Maddren is from a second Cornish family and he also emigrated to Christchurch and also had a large family.

https://sites.google.com/site/girvenfamily/

https://sites.google.com/site/maddren1family

If you have any questions about these sites, please contact Peter Girven, my email address is prgirven@hotmail.com

William Thomas Maddren

William Thomas Maddren was born on the 11^th October 1842 in Madron, Cornwall. This is a small village just outside Penzance and it is now part of Penzance. His parents were listed on his baptism certificate as William and Grace Maddern and he was baptised at Madron, this would have probably been the church that still stands in Madron. In the 1851 census the family are listed as Madron and living location 72 in Madron.

I have not found William Thomas listed in the 1861 census but in April 1864 he was married to Jane Deason at St Marys in the Scilly Islands, off the tip of Cornwall. Jane Deason had been born in St Mary’s, she unfortunately died on the 26th July 1871 at Penzance in Cornwall, her death certificate it shows that she died of consumption, this is the 1800's description of tuberculosis. They had two children, the first one Elizabeth Jane Maddren was born in September 1864 and unfortunately died after a few weeks on the 13^th November 1864. They had a second daughter Elizabeth Jane (Ginny) Maddren was born in 29^th June 1870 in the Scilly Islands and she later emigrated with William and his third wife to New Zealand

William Thomas then married for a second time to Elizabeth Jane Jenkins, they married on the 4th May 1872 at Madron, Elizabeth Jane Jenkins then unfortunately died 6 months later on the 11th May 1872 at Penzance. She died of smallpox, she unfortunately had not been vaccinated, the informant was Grace Maddern, that is Williams mother, we have certificates for both of these events. William Thomas then married for a third time, this time to Agnes Steers Snell. They were married on the 23^rd August 1874 at Madron and then set sail for New Zealand 6 days later on the immigrant ship the Pleiades.

The Pleiades sailed from London on the 29^th August 1874 and arrived in Lyttleton on the 16^th December 1874. William was aged 31 and listed as a farm labourer, sailing with Agnes aged 28 and his daughter Elizabeth(Ginny) aged 4. Agnes Steer Snell takes her name from her mother, she is also Agnes Steer Snell, she takes the middle name Steer from her Grandmother Elizabeth Steer. Agnes's father James Snell also later emigrated to new Zealand along with many of her siblings.

James Maddren

A separate Maddren family was also formed when James Maddren born in 1844 at Madron then emigrated to New Zealand on the Waipa, he arrived in Lyttleton on the 27^th January 1877 and settled in the Christchurch area. He formed the large Maddren Rope Company in Christchurch, he also had a large Maddren family located mostly in the Christchurch area. (William Thomas Maddren had also lived in Christchurch in the early years but later moved to Northland).

Snell Family

Members of Agnes Steers Snell family also emigrated to New Zealand, her parents James Snell and and 8 children also came out on the Waipa, they arrived in Lyttleton on the 27^th January 1877, they had followed the lead set by William Thomas and Agnes Steers Maddren, the Snell also settled in the Christchurch area. Her Uncle John Snell also emigrated with his 4 children on the Waipa, his wife had passed away in September 1873. The Snell family has a famous New Zealand descendant, Peter Snell the Olympic Athlete descends from this side of the family.

The Snell and the other Maddren families stayed in the Christchurch area but by October 1882 William Thomas and Agnes Maddren had moved with their 6 children to Northland, the 7^th child Mary Agnes is shown as born at Whangarei and then the rest of their remaining 6 children were born at Kawakawa. William Thomas had been a farm labourer when he came to New Zealand and he established a large farm with a homestead at Marua near Hikurangi.

Stephen Wayne Maddren is a descendant of one of the two sons who married the two Girven sisters, his great grandfather is George Thomas Maddren and Stephen has researched much of the family. Remy Snell has also kindly photographed many of the gravestones and published them for everyone to share, Remy is also one of the main researchers for the Maddrens. Much of the information I have collated has come from these two excellent contributors.

I have mainly been interested in the Girven side of the family, but in 2020 I have also starting to document the Maddren side of the family more thoroughly.