Miriama is the first spouse in my direct Greenwood line that I have enough information on to write about, although there is nothing in writing about her own heritage. I have assumed that she is Tainui, coming from the Kawhia area, although the Potikis are spread far and wide, from the Bay of Plenty down to Stewart Island.
How Miriama met Joseph is also unknown, but she was as mentioned earlier only eighteen when Joseph McLean was born. He thought enough of her and their son to provide for them and include his son in his will. When Miriama went to live with Solomon Clarke after Joseph’s departure from New Zealand it was with his blessing it seems, and as mentioned earlier she went on to bear Solomon two children in the next two years.
In 1863 Miriama left Solomon and their two children and went on to marry Richard Joel Paltridge, to whom she then bore six children. He was the signaller at Manukau Heads, and they were married for 25 years, until her death at fifty, in 1888. She was buried in the graveyard at Awhitu Central where there is a small wooden church still standing, looking much like it would have in the 1800s. Her actual grave was marked only recently, in the early 2000s, and at the time of writing, family members are organising a fitting memorial to her.
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| Manukau Heads lighthouse |
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| Awhitu Central church and cemetery |
It is regrettable that there are no photos available for either Miriama, Joseph or Joseph junior, but one can assume that Miriam junior, Miriama's daughter with husband Richard Paltridge, inherited her mother’s features. John looks like he may have taken after Solomon.
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| John Clarke |
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Miriam Junior with her husband Duncan Forbes-Dawson and
father Richard Joel Paltridge
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