References
Lawrence Thomas Shadwell was born in the townland of Gibraltar in Kiltale, Dunshaughlin, Co. Meath, Ireland on August 26, 1849 to parents John Shadwell and Bridget Byrne.
He had 8 siblings and lived on land that was leased to his father's brother, James, who had a wife named Ann Melia and several children.
He immigrated on his own to the Orange, New Jersey, USA in 1865 at age of 16. Afterward, various siblings and cousins also immigrated, many settling in New Jersey.
Lawrence married Mary Ann Cooney at Our Lady of the Valley Catholic church in Orange, NJ on April 10, 1877. Together they had 9 children and he worked various jobs including being a watchman for the local railroad station and a hatter.
At the age of 59, Lawrence left Orange, NJ in 1908 and immigrated to Waikato, Auckland. He traveled on the mail boat, Ormuz, and after the ship made several stops from Liverpool, UK to New Zealand, he disembarked in Wellington. (Fun fact: He lived in the same region (Waikato) that is home to the countryside that was used as the location for Hobbiton in Lord of the Rings.)
Lawrence died there in 1924 at age of 76 and he spent his final years in the Costley Home for the Poor in Epsom, Auckland. (The hospital was renamed the Auckland Infirmary in 1924.) He was buried in the Hillsborough Cemetery in Auckland (Area 3 Block P Lot No 80).
| Additional Information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 2nd Aug 1849 | VIEW SOURCE |
| Date of Death | 1st Jan 1924 | VIEW SOURCE |
| Father (First Name/s and Surname) | John Shadwell | |
| Mother (First Name/s and Maiden) | Bridget Byrne | |
| Townland born | Gibraltar in Kiltale, Co. Meath | |
| Place & Date of Marriage | 10 Apr 1877, Our Lady of the Valley Church, Orange, Essex, New Jersey, USA | |
| Spouse (First Name/s and Maiden/Surname) | Mary Ann Cooney | |
| Number of Children | 9 | |
| Place of Death | Epsom, Waitakere, Auckland, New Zealand (immigrated there in 1908) | |
