item details
Overview
This deed records the apprenticeship of William Randell, junior, to saddler John Edward Evans, signed 20 February 1874. William was 14 years old at the time. William Randell, senior, is called William Harding Randell in this document. Harding (or Harden) was his mother’s maiden name, and the lawyer may have suggested the inclusion of Harding to avoid legal confusion.
William (Bill) was the eldest son of William H. and Sarah Randell. He was still living at home when William senior died, and with two other siblings took on heavy responsibilities, enabling Sarah to manage the household and support five younger children. Harriet (23) was a singing teacher, Bill (20) was a qualified saddler, Ted (18) was a clerk, and all three contributed to the household income.
Bill lived in the family home in Thorndon until 1884. As the long depression of the 1880s worsened it became difficult to find work in Wellington, but he found more success in Palmerston North where saddles for working horses and racehorses were needed. Bill did not marry until 1898 when he was 38. This delay may have been partly caused by his continuing financial responsibilities for his widowed mother and younger siblings. In 1898 he married Grace McIlvride in Palmerston North, and they had four children.
References
Randell, Beverley. 1992. A Crowded Thorndon Cottage: The story of William and Sarah Randell and their ten children. Wellington: Gondwanaland Press.
Randell, Beverley, and Susan Price. 2021. Unpublished research notes provided to curator.