Dale Family History
The Story of the Charles Hawkins Dale and Eliza Mary Bolton Stow
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Charles and Eliza Dale
This page has the story of Charles Hawkins Dale and Eliza Mary Bolton Stow[e].
The information on this page is a shortened version of the full story. You can download the full printable version of Charles and Eliza Dale.
NB> Eliza's surname was written in two different ways in many records: Stow and Stowe. I have chosen to use the surname Stow, and believe the e was just a flourish of the pen which was misinterpreted as an e.
On this page:
Charles Hawkins DALE 1825-1898
Charles Hawkins Dale was born on 4 December 1825 in Margate, Kent. His parents were William Dale 1783- and Mary Hawkins 1787- . He had a sister Sarah Anne Dale 1824- . (death dates unknown)
Charles Dale travelled to Victoria, Australia between 1848-1849 from Gravesend as a 23-year-old. The exact date and on what ship is not known. Charles must have landed in Melbourne and stayed there for several years, as the goldrush had not yet started in Victoria.
Five months after her arrival in Melbourne, Eliza Mary Bolton Stow married Charles Hawkins Dale on Wednesday 8 June 1853 in St James Church, Melbourne.
Eliza Mary Bolton STOW 1832-1914
Eliza Mary Bolton Stow was born on 18 December 1832 in Margate, Kent. She was one of nine children altogether. She was christened on 8 December 1833 in St John Thanet, Margate, Kent. Her parents were John Stow 1778- and Jane Bannister 1789- .
It is likely Charles and Eliza knew each other before they went to Australia because they were from the same parish in England. Also in those days the "wedding banns" had to be announced in the church for three Sundays before the proposed marriage date, so that any objections could be made.The witnesses to the marriage were Joseph and Elizabeth Batten who both signed the register with their mark. However Charles and Eliza both signed their own names. (See photos of church below taken March 2021 by Maureen Farrington).
(1) St James Cathedral, Melbourne where Charles and Eliza were married.
(2) St James Cathedral, Melbourne, view of altar
(3) St James Cathedral, Melbourne, view down the church.
(4) St James Cathedral, Melbourne, view of St James stained glass window.
After their marriage, Charles and Eliza headed off to the goldfields as it was at Bendigo in 1854, in central Victoria where Charles worked as a miner.
Their first child, William Charles Dale was born in an area known as Californian Gully, Bendigo, Victoria on 13 September 1854.
Eliza gave birth to 13 children, but only 11 survived. This is their family story:
- William Charles Dale 1854-1914
- Eliza Mary Dale 1865-1922 (Box-Sinclair family)
- Lydia Annie Dale 1859-1941 (Bridgman family)
- Rose Dale 1861-1891 (Muir family)
- Edward Dale 1864-19??
- George Dale 1866-1948
- Frank Beaumont Dale 1868-1868
- Henry Dale 1869-1909
- Frank Dale 1870-1954
- Twin 1870 (lived 1 day)
- Emily Dale 1893-1950
- Mary Constance Dale 1875-1914 (Batchelar family)
- Clara Dale 1877-1949 (Litchfield family)
William is listed as being born in Bendigo, while Eliza Mary, Lydia Annie and Rose Dale were all born in Castlemaine.
The remaining children were born in Otago, New Zealand.
You can read their individual stories on the pdf files linked from the list above.
Move to Otago
On 11 July 1862, when Rose was just a baby, Charles boarded the "Aldinga" bound for Port Chalmers. He was 42 years of age and travelled "steerage". It is believed they were following the trail of gold to the new goldrush area in Central Otago. Charles is listed as being a Labourer and variously a Miner.
After he had found suitable lodgings for his family, Charles had obviously sent for his family. They arrived on 5 March and laid up overnight for inspection before landing the next day. There were 414 passengers on this trip. The joyous reunion after 6 months separation must have been quite exciting for the family. Eliza had travelled with four young children on her own across the Tasman.
When the family was reunited and rested, they travelled up to the gold mining area in Tuapeka - now known as Lawrence, and from there another 8 children were born, with the first being Edward in 1864.
Charles Dale is recorded as resident in Lawrence, and a bootmaker in the 1887 Tuapeka Electoral Rolls (assuming that's our Charles Dale!). Reference to him on previous years' electoral rolls could not be found. His son William Charles (junior) Dale appears in the 1890 Residential Roll as resident in Tapanui, a butcher.
However, it seems that his family back in England had lost track of his whereabouts, and his sister Sarah had put a notice out which appeared in the "Tuapeka Times" on 8 July 1891:
The following are inquired for in Lloyd's Weekly:- Charles Hawkins Dale, of Margate, went to Australia in 1848-49, and afterwards proceeded to New Zealand; sister Sarah asks.
Whether they were found or not is unknown.
Move to Palmerston North
Around 1889, (according to Eliza's obituary), Charles and Eliza Dale moved north to the Manawatu area which was just being opened up for farming and settlement, and settled in Palmerston North . By then the goldfields were winding down and everyone was moving on to new fields or other pursuits, including farming.
It is presumed daughters Mary Constance aged 14, Emily aged 16, and Clara aged 12 years, and sons George aged 24, a builder, Frank aged 19, and Henry aged 20 years, also went with them as they were unmarried. Apparently, they stopped in Rangiora and lived there for a short time on the way north. We have not found out exactly when and how the family moved north, but the Wellington-Manawatu railway had recently opened, and there were many coastal trading ships that took passengers. So we assume they went from Lyttelton to Wellington by ship and then up to Palmerston North on the train.
It is not known what work Charles did in the new northern town, although his occupation then was listed as Labourer. Some newspapers of the day were destroyed or lost, so part of the history of Palmerston North in the early days is sketchy. By then Charles was in his mid-60s and probably looking at retirement anyway. We know the family lived at 43 and 125 Grey Street, now commercial properties.
Death of Charles 1898
Charles died on 9 October 1898 aged 73 years. He was buried in Terrace End Cemetery on 11 October, Block 26, Plot 42. His religion was Anglican. No death notice or obituary has yet been found, and there's no evidence of a will.
Death of Eliza 1914
Eliza passed away on 10 December 1914, from "senile decay" and was buried with Charles at Terrace End.
Charles and Eliza had produced 11 (or 13, with 2 not surviving) children and 46 grandchildren.
Their son Henry had died in June 1909, and daughters Rose (Muir) in June 1891 and Mary Constance (Batchelar) earlier in February 1914. Son George and daughter Emily are also buried with their parents.
Contact details
If you have any information or photos to add to the site, or any corrections, please contact Dale Hartle in Levin, New Zealand, by phone +64 21 45 34 24 or email me at mjhartle at xtra.co.nz (please adjust email address).