Charles E. Sexey

Charles Eamer Sexey (March 1818 – July 24, 1888) was an English trader, merchant adventurer and gold rush pioneer. He first visited New Zealand as a young man where he farmed and traded. In 1849 he travelled to San Francisco, took part in the Gold Rush as a trader in the mining camps eventually Finding his fortune and moving to Marysville where he Is one of the most notable citizens in the city's history and became a Levee Commissioner and Chairman of the important Anti-Debris Association. Charles Sexey built some of the most important buildings in the city, one of which housed the Appeal newspaper which is still in existence as the Appeal-Democrat. He was devoted to the advancement of the people of Marysville California, morally, socially and politically and was one of its foremost men. He is noted in the history of both countries as being an early pioneer.

Biography

Charles E. Sexey was born in London in March 1818. His surname is unusual and the name can be traced mostly to the Hampshire/Dorset area of England. The most famous person bearing this surname is Hugh Sexey of Bruton, Somerset, an auditor for Queen Elizabeth 1.

Early Settler of New Zealand

Nothing is known of Charles Eamer Sexey’s childhood but the first ‘sighting’ of him is an account recorded on 17 April, 1935 by Mr. J. Oliphant. He was interviewing Elizabeth Mainwaring (nee Sexey) the daughter of Charles and she stated as follows: ‘This is the story of Rihi Huanga daughter of Charles Sexey a Pakeha (European) who came to the Waikato in the early days, long before Morgan the Missionary. He was one of four stowaway boys, all Pakehas, who came up the Waikato from the coast. Porokora and Hakepa, two of the Waikato chiefs adopted them.’ Although Charles’ arrival in New Zealand has not been dated, it is possible to know when Morgan the Missionary went to Te Awamutu where Charles lived. The Church Missionary Society registers tell that the Rev John Morgan was born in Dublin and in 1832, when he was 21, sailed to New Zealand. On August 26 1835 he married Maria Mathers Coldham who arrived in New Zealand in 1832 to help her sister, the wife of the Reverend Henry Williams, to run her school. In 1841 the couple went to Te Awamutu to live and work.

Te Awamutu was a pa, a settlement occupied by the Waikato people. They had fled there from Ngapuhi at the time of the Matakitaki massacre in 1822 and were given shelter by the Ngati-Ngutu people and land at Otawhao. There a pa was built by Ngutu, son of Whaita of the Ngati-Turanga or Tainui people.

This is was the world of the young Charles Sexey, a pa occupied by the Waikato people with the ministry of the Reverend Morgan a devout Protestant and staunch anti-Catholic.

These were early days in the history of New Zealand and the number of Europeans living there were very few. There had been ships visiting the country since c1700, but these were connected with the whaling industry and largely American in origin. The Europeans in New Zealand prior to 1840 were missionaries and their families, traders, stowaways, runaways, deserters and generally the type of people used to a harsh life. Although the Maori people were often wary of the newcomers and occasionally inflicted violence, for Pakehas not considered a threat of any kind they were treated well and often lived with a tribe for many years. In 1841 it was advertised in the New Zealand Government Gazette that a letter was waiting for Charles at the post office and this may have been a letter from a relative in England. It is clear that Charles was well settled in New Zealand as he was called by a local name, Tiara Tikitini.

According to local custom Charles married a chief’s daughter named Rihi (Rea) Tahuta and they had four children, Catherine birthdate unknown, Sarah born 23 October 1846, Henry born about 1843, and Elizabeth born 26 March 1848. During the early years Charles is recorded as making his living as a ‘flour miller’ and on his daughter Elizabeth’s marriage certificate he is shown as being a ‘storekeeper’. An Auckland street directory of 1848 shows him as having a shop in Shortland Street and in 1847 a Mr. Hardington of the Victoria Hotel appointed Charles as his agent..

However, on 6 June 1849 Charles left New Zealand forever leaving behind his wife and four young children never to set eyes on any of them ever again. He was off to make his fortune in the goldfields of California and sailed on the brig Fanny which arrived in San Francisco on the 29th August 1849 with Captain Francis D. Leathard in charge.. On board were 42 passengers with children.

The family Charles abandoned managed to survive. Although Rihi married again in 1852 and had seven more children by her new husband Hireme, Charles’s children endured hardship because of their mother’s connection with the Anglican Mission of John and Maria Morgan at Otowhao. The couple worked tirelessly to persuade the government to fund schools for half-caste children and their efforts were rewarded in 1849 when they opened a boarding school at their mission for twenty three children. Many half-caste children were abandoned by their European fathers and this became something of a social problem at the time. Life at the school was not easy, it was cold and the children weren’t provided with warm clothing but they were taught to sew and also made flour bags for the local native flour mills. It meant, at least, the children who attended the school were given food, a basic education and guidance.

Gold rush Pioneer

Life for Charles, however, was quite different for his fortunes had taken a turn much for the better. He was about to become a very wealthy man.

Charles was not a gold miner, but rather a trader who did very well for himself providing the necessities of life in the gold fields. By 1870 had settled himself in Marysville, California, where he ‘enjoyed a comfortable standard of living from the wise investments he chose.’ A lithograph shows his home as being built of brick, quite large and occupying a substantial corner site. Prior to this Charles was trading in the mining camps and is listed on the census for 1860 at Long Bar, a Yuba County mining town on the main Yuba River above the confluence with Dry Creek, near Parks Bar. Gold was first discovered here in June 1848 by Jonas Spect of Pennsylvania and by the spring of 1850 there was a population of 1,000 with six stores, eight hotels and eight or ten saloons. The diggings gave out in 1864. Charles is also listed as having a store in a mining camp Browns Valley.

Marysville citizen

By 1863 Charles was on his way to becoming a property developer with a newspaper reference to ‘a building Charles Sexey will erect on D Street’. This was the Tremont Block on the corner of 2nd Street and Maiden Lane. Etchings of the place show a massive construction that was to house the Appeal Steam Printing House, the Daily and Weekly Appeal, F. Buttleman & Co, Wholesale and Retail Licqor Dealers and W.L. Lawrence, Harness and Saddlery.

In 1864 at the Catholic Church in Marysville, Charles married Jane Frances O’Donnell born in Ardare, County Donegal, Ireland. She was aged 26 and a devout Catholic. The marriage entry in the parish register suggests that Charles was not a Catholic.

Charles went on to become one of the seven trustees of the local woollen mill, a highly successful venture incorporated in the spring of 1867 with a capital stock of 50,000 dollars. By the time of the 1870 census Charles is noted as being a 46 year old Englishman with a 32 year old wife and a young Chinese cook. His assets are 80,000 dollars with 20,000 dollars in real estate. He served as president of the Anti-Debris Association and is recorded as resident at 5th near corner of Maiden Lane. There are many incidences, during these years, of Charles buying and selling property in Marysville such as when, on January 28 1870 at twenty minutes past two, he purchased the famous ‘Ramirez Castle’ for four thousand one hundred and twenty five dollars in gold coin. In spite of the high cost he and Jane never lived in the house. Some years later, after his death, she sold it, but at a loss. The price was four thousand dollars and the buyer was Atkins C. Bingham a local businessman.

The Marysville Appeal Directory of 1878-79 tells us that Charles was a Levee Commissioner born in England who held 280 acres (1.1 km²) of land. W.T. Ellis writing in his memoirs, ‘My 72 years in the Romantic County of Yuba, California’ published in 1939 recounts an event when the dam broke and raging waters hurled towards Marysville. A telegram was sent to ‘the mayor or Charles Sexey’ giving news o of the imminent danger. Charles and several others raced to the town to give warning. However, the flood was averted because the levee on the south bank of the river Yuba had broken allowing water and debris to run through the township of Linda to the Feather River as other floods had done before.

Charles E Sexey was naturalised as an America citizen on November 3 1876 with registration of same not taking place until June 1880.

On May 3 1887 Charles resigned as president of the Anti-Debris Association saying that the duties of the office were ‘onerous’ and his health had been greatly impaired. The Board refused to accept his resignation, nevertheless, he insisted and left on a year long trip to Europe.

Sadly, on 24 July 1888 Charles caught a chill during a trip to Oban in Scotland and his obituary published in the Oban Times was re-published in Marysville’s ‘Appeal’ on 14 August 1888.

Headed, ‘Death & Burial in a foreign land’ the article go on to say that ‘the Hon. Charles Sexey of Marysville, California, while on a short visit to the Highlands for the benefit of his health, died rather suddenly at Oban on Tuesday evening last. He had unfortunately caught a chill on his journey from which, in spite of the utmost skill on the part of Dr. McKelvie and Dr. Hally, he never rallied. The deceased gentleman was an Englishman by birth and had been long resident in the land of his adoption to which he was one of its earliest pioneers. Having amassed considerable wealth, much of his time in later years had been devoted to the advancement of the people of Marysville morally, socially and politically and he was generally recognised as one of its foremost men. The deceased gentleman, who only arrived in this country a month ago with the intention of making a tour through Europe was 68 [sic] years of age and we understand leaves a widow but no family. The Requiem Mass was sung at the Pro-Cathedral this morning (Thursday) at which Bishop McDonald and the Rev. Fathers Simon and Savelli officiated. The remains were buried at Pennyfuir Cemetery’

On Charles’ death certificate the cause of death is shown as being Pleurisy and Pneumonia and the person who registered the death was Mr. Robert Nish of Glasgow described as ‘a friend’. Charles parents are shown as, ‘unknown – deceased’.

Sexey Estate

For the purposes of probate the Estate was appraised at 100,000 dollars and included stock in the San Francisco Gas Light Company, California Insurance Company, California Electric Company, [[Spring Valley Water Company], the Bank of California. In addition to this he was a stockholder in the Marysville Woollen Mill, and had both business and residential property in Marysville.

The widow lived on for approximately eight years. During this time she spent time in San Francisco as a semi-permanent guest at Lick House, an expensive and fashionable hotel and it is there she died in late August 1896. The Appeal reported her death as follows:

‘Death of Mrs. Sexey. One of Marysville’s most liberal and charitable women. Mrs. Jane F. Sexey died at the Lick House, San Francisco at an early hour Sunday morning. The news of her death created considerable surprise among her many friends in this city, for although it was known that she had not been well for some time, no one thought the end so near. The deceased was a relict of the late Charles E Sexey who died at Oban in Scotland in 1888 where he had gone with his wife on a pleasure trip to renew old acquaintances and visit the scene of childhood’s day in England and Ireland. They were married in 1864 residing in Long Bar up to 1870 coming to Marysville where the deceased has made her home ever since. It was her custom to go to San Francisco every year and it was during one of these visits that the grim Angel of Death knocked at her door.’

The obituary is lengthy and talks about Mrs. Sexey being a ‘model woman in every way’ describing her charitable work and devotion to the Catholic Church and the College of Notre Dame. It is stated that the deceased had no known relatives and that her money was left to charitable institutions.

However, on December 10 1897 the husband, who had died in Scotland, and his wife who had died in America were ‘laid to rest in one mound’ according to Mrs. Sexey’s wishes. This strange occurrence came about when Catholic priest the Rev. Father Coleman was sent to Scotland to retrieve the remains of Charles Sexey who had died there some nine years previously. The Appeal stated ‘In accordance with telephonic instructions received from Father Coleman who has arrived in San Francisco from Scotland with the remains of the late C E Sexey, Undertaker Bevan left for Oakland on the Oregon Express Train this morning. Having in charge the casket bearing the remains of Mrs. Sexey which has been ensconced in the vault at the local cemetery since the funeral following the request of the wife’s will. Both bodies were interred at the cemetery in Oakland this afternoon.’

In spite of the declaration in Jane Sexey’s obituary that her money would be left to charitable institutions, two of her relatives went to Marysville in January 1898 to claim their share. The Appeal newspaper reported as follows:-

‘The Sexey Estate. Two of the beneficiaries under the will arrive in town. Margaret O’Donnell one of the heirs of the estate of the late Mrs Jane F Sexey, her husband and Patrick Burne the husband of her sister who is also one of the heirs have arrived here from Aberdeen, Dakota to look after their interests. The two sisters were born in Ardara, Co. Donegal and are two of the children of James O’Donnell named in the will, the other two, a brother and sister, also being alive. It will be remembered that Mrs. Sexey left the residue of her Estate to her brother James O’Donnell and her sister Hannah and in case of death of either the other was to get the share. It so happens that both are dead and the four children of James will get a quarter each. Attorney Richard Belcher was appointed to act for the heirs and Attorney W H Carlin is acting for the Executor.

The final act in the drama was reported in the Appeal on March 20 1898.

‘The Sexey Estate. Decree of Final Distribution made and entered by Judge Gray. Administration Praised. Value of Property had increased twenty thousand dollars since the death of Mrs. Sexey.’

The final judgement was that the Estate of 60,000 dollars was to be distributed amongst the four heirs, with the residue being distributed in payments to attorneys and Father Coleman. The Estate was appraised at about 80,000 dollars but the rents and other income increased it to 101,000 dollars. Judge Gray heard evidence to ascertain the identity of the heirs and had affidavits confirming that Jane Sexey’s brother and sister had both died. The heirs, when examined, said that although they were near relatives of the deceased they had never met her and knew very little about her as she’d left home so many years before. It seems there were other heirs attempting to get the money, and these were not even blood relatives, but in the end the Judge decided it was the four O’Donnells were entitled to receive it. What is tragic about this judgement is that those who were entitled to receive the money, Charles Sexey’s four children in New Zealand never received a penny of their father’s wealth or ever derived any benefit from it.

See also

• Sexey's School

References

• Bateson ‘Gold Rush to California’ mentions departure of the brig Fanny from New Zealand to San Francisco 6 June 1849.

• History of New Zealand for background on early missionaries and accounts of tribal wars and whaling trade.

• Oliphant, J., for Elizabeth Mainwaring’s account of her father in 1935.

• Church Missionary Society archives for information on Rev John Morgan

• Letters, journals and papers of Rev John Morgan in University of Birmingham Library under CN/065

• Women of Waipa by Women’s Group published 1991 for an account of the fate of children with European fathers who had deserted them.

• US Census for 1860 and 1870 listing Charles Sexey

• Marysville Library for newspaper index references to Charles Sexey.

• Ellis, W.T., ‘My Seventy Two Years in the Romantic County of Yuba’

• Great Register of Yuba 1879 and 1886