My 3 x great grandfather George Tunnecliffe (or Tunnecliff/Tunnicliff/Tunnicliffe) arrived in New Zealand aboard the Dinapore, landing in Auckland on 5th of August 1857. Three days later he married a fellow passenger, Elizabeth Barber, and they made their home in the province of Taranaki.
![1857 marriage register entry for George Tunnecliff and Elizabeth Barber, Auckland [REF]](https://www.iwikiwi.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/1857-marriage-GeorgeTUNNECLIFF-ElizabethBARBER-Auckland-detail-1024x324.jpg)
1857 marriage register entry for George Tunnecliff and Elizabeth Barber, Auckland (NZ Births, Deaths & Marriages 1857/929)

1912 death register entry for George Tunnicliffe, New Plymouth (NZ Births, Deaths & Marriages 1912/2739)
The only clue to his family was the name of the county were he was born — Staffordshire.

Where born, from 1912 death register entry for George Tunnicliffe, New Plymouth (NZ Births, Deaths & Marriages 1912/2739)
George’s birth year was around 1831, and so I searched for likely candidates baptised in Staffordshire around that time. My next step was matching those baptisms to families in the England & Wales censuses of 1841 and 1851. I then tried to find each candidate in the 1861 census, reasoning that I could discount any that were still in England at that time. There was one family whose son George fitted the bill.
This was the family of farmer William Tunnecliff and Louisa Phillips of Tean in the parish of Checkley. Their son George was born on 17th December 1831, and baptised two days later in the parish church, St Mary and All Saints.

1831 baptism of George Tunnicliffe, son of William and Louisa, on 19th December in the parish of Checkley
William and Louisa had seven children baptised in Checkley:
- William, born 1 Oct 1826, bap. 31 Oct 1826
- Francis Nathaniel, bap. 10 Mar 1828
- Edward Philips, bap. 6 Mar 1830
- George, born 17 Dec 1831, bap. 19 Dec 1831
- Georgiana Louisa, born 11 Dec 1833, bap. 14 Dec 1833
- Elizabeth Anne, born 18 Mar 1836, bap. 21 Mar 1836
- Bethuel, born 1 Jan 1840, bap. 20 Feb 1840
Bethuel was the name of Louisa’s grandfather, and it wasn’t hard to research back with such a distinctive name, but I had to stop! What if they weren’t my family?
When I posted on this blog about visiting Checkley in 2012, a descendant of that family got in contact, saying she thought George might be a brother to her ancestor, Francis Nathaniel Tunnecliffe. Francis and his brother Edward both emigrated to Australia, so it wasn’t much of a stretch to think that their younger brother also emigrated to the other side of the world.
In 1841, the Tunnecliff family and three servants were living at Hall Green, Tean.1
Five of their children were living with them. Francis was elsewhere, and Georgiana had died in 1838, and was buried at St Michael’s churchyard in Rocester on 18 Apr 1838.2
By 1851, the household had changed markedly. Son William had died in 1846, and William senior died the following year.
Louisa had moved to Tean Villa and four of her children were living with her: Edward, George, Elizabeth and Bethuel.3 Son Francis was living at Hall Green with his widowed aunt Maria Thweng, Louisa’s sister.4

Tean Villa and Hall Green, between Upper Tean and Lower Tean in the parish of Checkley (map of Lower Tean, Staffordshire, Old Victorian Ordnance Survey 6 inch to 1 mile Map (1888-1913)
https://www.archiuk.com/)
More cousins came out of the woodwork — one descended from the Edward who went to Australia, and another more distant cousin who was descended from William Tunnecliffe’s uncle.
It may have been around the time I was doing assignments on probate records for IHGS, when I thought to look for wills for these Tunnecliffes, specifically Louisa. I hadn’t thought of it before, as none of my other “pre-New Zealand” folks had left much at all, let alone a will.
Louisa’s husband William had died in 1847 without leaving a will, but his father Francis (who died in 1854) left bequests to daughter-in-law Louisa, as well as his grandchildren. Did this provide the funds for grandsons Francis, Edward and George to emigrate?
Louisa Tunnecliff died in 1879, and in her will, apart from the proceeds of her estate to be split between her children, she left explicit bequests of numerous items, notably anything large to family still living in England, and much smaller items such as jewellery to those living overseas. Louisa also bequeathed items to her children’s spouses, and their first-born daughters. Frustratingly, she did not name them! George’s eldest daughter was bequeathed a gold watch and chain, and his wife, two small rings.
Of most significance, there were three items in her bequests that presumably were gifts sent to her from family (or friends?) living overseas — an “Australian ring”, a “New Zealand Picture in Oil”, and a “Satchel and Cover from New Zealand”. Unless Francis and Edward had been gallivanting around New Zealand, I surmised that it was more likely a relation living in NZ would have sent the items from there, namely (hopefully?) my George.
After this, I happily researched the Tunnicliffe and Phillips families, reasonably sure that they were mine. Or was it wishful thinking? Louisa Phillips had come from a well-to-do family and it was a joy to finally discover an ancestral line that had land, houses, wills! At the back of my mind, I still wasn’t 100 per cent confident these were my families.
My parents first had their DNA tested in 2013 at FamilyTreeDNA, and later Ancestry. I haven’t delved too much into analysing their results so far, as I had plenty of paper trails to follow while I was living in England. Still, I kept checking the matches, seeing if particular surnames cropped up, to confirm what I’d researched so far. Worryingly, no matches ever appeared that linked with the Tunnecliffe and Phillips families in England.
Until a couple of weeks ago when a fourth cousin match popped up for my mother — a descendant of Francis Nathaniel Tunnecliffe, one of the brothers who had emigrated to Australia. Eureka! I still need a couple more matches to verify the connection, but it’s a great start.
Later this month I’m off to Sydney to attend DNA Down Under, so I’ll get a chance to learn more about DNA analysis and how to combine it with my genealogical research.* There are some inspiring local and international speakers, and I hope to catch up with a few genie mates as well (and the odd cousin or two!). If you haven’t checked out the DNA Down Under six-city schedule, hurry! Here are the pre-booking dates:
- 7 August – Brisbane and Perth
- 14 August – Adelaine, Canberra, Melbourne
- 18 August – Sydney
There may be tickets available on the day, but to guarantee your ticket, get in and pre-book (plus you go in the draw for a heap of cool prizes)!
While there are presentations for all levels of DNA expertise (even none at all!), I’m planning to do a bit of swatting up beforehand, to get the most out of the event. If you’re new to using DNA for genealogy, a good place to start is the International Society of Genetic Genealogy website.
*Disclaimer: As a DNA Down Under Ambassador, I get discounted entry for highlighting the event.
- 1841 England & Wales census, William Tunnecliff household; digital image, Ancestry.com; citing The National Archives, Class: HO107; Piece 1006; Book: 10; Civil Parish: Checkley; County: Staffordshire; Enumeration District: 13; Folio: 38; Page: 1; Line: 6; GSU roll: 474630
- “England, Staffordshire, Church Records, 1538-1944,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QL7N-P58R : 13 December 2017), Georgina Louisa Tunnecliffe, 18 Apr 1838; citing Burial, Rocester, Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom, Staffordshire & Stoke on Trent Archive Service, Stafford; FHL microfilm 101,022,137.
- 1851 England & Wales census, Louisa Tunnecliff household, Checkley; digital image, Ancestry.com; citing The National Archives, Class: HO107; Piece: 2009; Folio: 559; Page: 4; GSU roll: 87412.
- 1851 England & Wales census, Francis Tunnecliff household, Checkley; digital image, Ancestry.com; citing The National Archives, Class: HO107; Piece: 2009; Folio: 597; Page: 1; GSU roll: 87412.
Pauleen
Your perseverance paid off Maggie.
Peter Moore
Hi Maggie, I’m an antiquarian bookseller, based in Cambridge UK, (established Canberra 1970, and specialising A & Pacific), and have just acquired a ‘Draft Indenture’ dated to 1880/1 concerned with what appears a very complex legal situation regarding the estates of the Phillips, Sykes, Salter and particularly the Tunneclife families. e.g. Edward Phillips T, George T, Francis Nathaniel T, Maria Thwing and Louisa T. et al. 22 pages of a notebook, with many excisions and amendments so a ‘file copy’. Have yet to ‘decipher’ it, writing quite good. Perhaps of interest to you; unless you have the ‘original’!
Maggie
Hi Peter – that sounds fascinating! And no, I don’t have the original, sadly. Of definite interest, and will email you. 🙂
Maggie
Peter Moore
Hi Maggie, Is this ‘Tunnecliffe’ item still of interest? Pls contact me via http://www.petermoorebookseller.co.uk if it is (since my email will not be displayed here).
Thanks, Peter
Maggie
Thanks Peter, will do!
Peter
Ok, I will keep it for you,
Peter