William Randell

In 1867 William Randell, a bricklayer and mason from England, built a small wooden cottage in St Mary Street, in Thorndon, for his wife Sarah and their growing family. The couple raised their ten children there. William (Bill) was the fourth child and eldest son of the family and was still living at home when William senior died in 1880. Bill and his siblings took on heavy responsibilities, enabling Sarah to manage the household and support five younger children. Bill (20) was a qualified saddler, Harriet (23) was a singing teacher, 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. 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. 2022. Unpublished research notes provided to curator.