Leach Taylor

http://www.waipawa.com/content/view/92/110/
Quote:
It was obvious the sawmilling was still a large part of Samuel Firth’s business, which continued for a number of years.
One newsparer notice –
Offer a reward of £5 for information leading to conviction of whoever stole the screw jack from the Bush Man’s hut, Raukawa Bush. - Te Aute Store (May 1868)

In 1869 Firth was granted a wine and spirit licence under the 1869 legislation and in 1870 he was selling timber and firewood from the Te Aute Store. Among old store accounts there is evidence of a form of bartering which carried on at times to meet the customers’ needs and financial situations. No doubt butter, eggs, meat and various wares were swapped for agreed values of purchases with the storekeeper.
Firth applied to be an elector, claiming entitlement due to his ownership of stores and house in 1867, but that was rejected, as he did not own the land at the time. This still belonged to Te Hapuku’s relative by arrangement. It was not until 1871, confirmed by Native Land Court records, that Firth purchased 2 acres for £70 and was given title to the property.
It is thought he would not have built such a substantial house on this site earlier because of having to pay a premium of £300 for such a building with the sale.

During the 1870’s when the country districts were being settled by pakeha farmers, the Te Aute area was becoming quite a settlement with the shops, hotel, blacksmith, and school which at that time was situated in a room of a cottage offered by Eliza Firth. She was also the Postmistress, following her husband who had held the position of Postmaster since 1866.

Te Aute became an important stopping place for the coach between Napier or Havelock North and Waipukurau. As time went on, the number of services increased from twice weekly to several times per day, traveling one way or the other. This would have added greatly to the work of the proprietors of the store. Not only that, it was a meeting place for the local families, many of whom lived lonely lives in remote homesteads or huts, so visits to the store would be an exciting event in very busy but isolated lives.

Unfortunately Samuel Firth ‘blotted his copy book’ rather badly when he was arrested for receiving stolen good. In a Supreme Court report in the Hawkes Bay Times, August 14, 1872, before His Honour Mr Justice Johnston, he was charged with receiving a gold watch and chain and waistcoat, knowing they were stolen, the goods and chattels of David Trone.
His Defence Counsel, Mr Lascelles and Mr Lee argued he was a victim of conspiracy between two named men (the thieves). Firth pleaded not guilty. Police Inspector Scully said there was no record against him but his reputation was not good. He was said to conduct an honest business as his main income, but was tempting some young people to become common criminals. The Police Inspector quoted ‘that one receiver made many thieves.’ And considered Firth was a dangerous enemy to society. The jury returned a verdict of guilty. He was sentenced to three years penal servitude.
This must have been shattering to Eliza Firth who was left to cope with the stores on her own. She had no family and must have been lonely as well as extremely busy. This would have been when she took over the Postmistress position. She then decided to nominate family members from England to come to New Zealand as immigrants to help her. These relatives were her neice, Elizabeth Firth, aged 23 from Huddersfield, Yorkshire, Eliza’s brother Abraham Taylor, a carpenter, his wife Paulina and their two daughters, Paulina aged twelve and Lucy aged 19 from Halifax in Yorkshire. Elizabeth Firth arrived on the ship ‘Bebington’ in November 1874, but the Taylor family arrived earlier on the ship ‘Douglas’ at Wellington in September 1873 though Mrs Taylor died during the voyage and was buried at sea. Because she died ‘on the high seas’ no death certificate was issued.
It is understood that Lucy helped Eliza Firth in the store. Very little is known of these relatives after their arrival in New Zealand, apart from Paulina, the youngest immigrant who went to school while living at the store, later working as a maid or doing housekeeping. In 1876 at age 16 she met and married Charles Leach whose wife and child had both died on their journey from England. The couple were married in the Christ Church, Pukehou by Rev Samuel Williams, but they could not receive their marriage certificate till a year later as Paulina was legally below marriage age at that tie. There were four children from that union.

The sawmilling business continued without Samuel Firth at the helm. As well as Te Aute sawmill, he was the proprietor of Waipawa Steam Sawmill (1875) and proprietor of a saw mill in Ormondville.

It is not known if Samuel Firth gained his freedom earlier than the three years of his sentence, but in another advertisement in 1875 there is a request for a storeman who must be a good accountant, Apply S. B. Firth, Te Aute.
1877 seems to be a watershed in the business life of the Firths, as another newspaper advertisement describes the business as wholesale and retail store at Te Aute, and later in June there is a disclaimer for: Being responsible for any debts that my wife Elizabeth may contract from that date, signed S B Firth.
By this time Eliza may have taken over the ownership and running one of the stores herself, possibly Samuel and Eliza were living separate lives after his release from prison. Lists of businesses in the region between 1873 and 1876 have Eliza as owner of the Te Aute store

On July 16 1877 in Hawkes Bay Herald:
S B Firth thanks the people of Te Aute and Kaikora for liberal patronage for the past 13 years that the Te Aute Store has been sold to Charles Leach.

From 1881 Samuel B. Firth was in Ormondville where his main business was saw milling and advertisements attest to this until 1886.
In the Daily Telegraph, August 23, 1886 there was a death notice for S B Firth who died at Papatu on August 20, 1886.