Following the death of her first husband Captain James Ellis on a whaling boat, in 1853, Eliza Ellis, then aged 29, married Thomas Deacon, at St Paul’s in Auckland (New Zealand, Marriage Index, 1840-34).
Up until recently it was thought that Thomas William Deacon (1823-1918) was born in 1823 in St Stephen, Borough of Saltash, Cornwall, England. It was thought that his father was mason John Deacon (age 65 in 1841) and his mother was Mary Deacon (age 60 in 1841).
However, in 2023, a direct descendent, Sylvester Riddell, with atDNA and Y-DNA matches, that Thomas William Deacon was born Thomas William Scantlebury. Mr Riddell writes:
“Thomas William was the eldest son of John and Thomasin Scantlebury, farmers from Landulph, Cornwall. Christened in 1828, his birth year is not clear. In 1841 he was not on his parent’s farm, but residing with his grandmother, Blanche Deacon, in Stoke Damerel, Devon, working as a gentleman’s servant. His age then is recorded as 15 which suggests a birth year of 1826. In February 1845, occupation hostler, ostensibly of full age, he marries Mary Ann Pyke, daughter of butcher, Robert Pyke, of Stoke Damerel. His address then was Chapel Street, Stoke Damerel, the same as his father-in-law. Six months later, on the 18th of August 1845, the warship H.M.S. Calliope, 26 guns and 220 men, departs Plymouth on a voyage to New Zealand via Australia. Thomas William Scantlebury is aboard the Calliope, rank Captain’s Cook.
The Calliope arrived in Auckland in December 1845, heading to the Bay of Islands to assist in the war with Heke. In July 1846 Te Rauparaha is captured and taken on the Calliope to Wellington. Probably it is at this time Thomas William departed the ship. Likely a desertion rather than a discharge, which would explain why he adopted his mother’s maiden name, Deacon. The entry for Thomas William in the Cyclopedia of New Zealand, relates that after he left the Calliope he joined a barque going to Hokianga to load spars, and Dr John Logan Campbell was on board the same barque. Campbell and Deacon became friends and we can speculate that Campbell might have assisted Deacon in establishing his storekeeping and hotel business in Riverhead, probably about 1847, with Campbell’s firm, Brown & Campbell, supplying all Deacon’s requirements.
In 1853, Deacon married Eliza Ellis, widow of Captain James Ellis who died at sea off the coast of New Zealand (reported by some to have been killed by a whale). His first wife, Mary Ann, was probably abandoned: when he married he gave his status as bachelor.”
Deacon proved to be a very successful businessman. Riverhead was a busy terminus for travellers heading North in the early years, an outlet for the extensive timber trade, a centre for gum digging, and flour and paper milling. Apart from his hotel, storekeeping operations, and ferry operations in Riverhead, he acquired extensive local land holdings in advance of the railway at Kumeu, and established a large hotel, store, bakery, and blacksmith’s shop there.
Thomas and Eliza had five daughters: Blanche Deacon (b.1851, married John McCrea Brigham), Grace Deacon (b.1859, married John Alexander Lamb), Sarah Deacon (b.1861, married James Nehemiah Griffin), Mary Deacon (b.1865, married Richard Percivall Kinloch), and Mabel Thomasine Deacon (b.1869, married Thomas Francis Cahill) and three sons: Arthur Deacon (b.1853 married Eliza Jane Nixon), Thomas William Deacon (b.1856), and Francis Deacon (b.1863 married Elizabeth Hamilton Lochead). The household included Deacon’s three step-sons: Walter Ellis (b.1844, married Mary Ann Braidley), John Ellis (b.1846, married Ellen Elizabeth Russell), and Edward Ellis (b.1848, married Ada Blanche Street).
Thomas Deacon died on the 9th of May 1918, at a putative age of 94 years. His wife Eliza following him six months later at age 93.
The Deacon family business
Following his arrival in New Zealand, Thomas Deacon started acquiring land around Riverhead.
Thomas Deacon was one of the first hoteliers in the Upper Harbour region. He established Deacon’s Inn on the foreshore of Riverhead and provided a ferry services and a cargo shed (Dunsford, p23).
As the Waitemata portage terminus, Riverhead benefitted tremendously from the commerce, and by 1868 Thomas Deacon was making substantial profits by operating a ferry shuttle service, wharf, goods storage shed and Deacon’s Inn at Riverhead.
By April 1868, Deacon had received a new Bush Licence at the Waikomiti Hotel, Waikomiti, and by 1870, the Waikoukou Hotel, Kaipara.
In April 1870, Thomas Deacon transferred the Bush Licence for Deacon’s Inn to his step-son John Ellis, Eliza’s second son with her first husband Captain Ellis.
In April 1871, the Bush liquor license for the Riverhead Hotel was transferred from James Ensor to Thomas Deacon. It is from this point that Deacon’s dominance of hotel accommodation in Riverhead and Kumeu grew (Dunsford, p29).
By 1877, three licenses were owned by the Deacon Family: Riverhead Hotel managed by Thomas Deacon Snr), Railway Hotel manage by Thomas Deacon Jnr and Kumeu Hotel (aka White Horse Hotel) managed by Arthur Deacon.
Missing photo here of Riverhead Hotel
The Deacon children
Eliza and Thomas Deacon had three sons and five daughters, all born in Riverhead, Rodney, Auckland:
- Blanche Deacon (1851-1930) – m. John McCrae Brigham
- Arthur Deacon (1854-1930) – m. Eliza Jane Nixon
- Thomas William Deacon (1856-1915) – m. Edna Grace XXX
- Grace Deacon (1859-?) – m. John Alexander Lamb
- Sarah Deacon (1861-1943) – m. James Nehemiah Griffin
- Francis Deacon (1863-1920) – m. Elizabeth Lochead
- Mary Deacon (1865-1942) – m. Richard Percival Kinloch
- Mabel Thonasine Deacon (1869-1918) – m. Thomas. F Cahill
Life in Riverhead
Riverhead records that soirees and dances were greatly appreciated by the folk of Upper Harbour. Early evening parties were held at the Waitemata Mills and XXX. A party at the Kumeu Public Hall on 23 May 1877 had musical items, presented to the accompaniment of Eliza Deacon. These included Mary Deacon and Messers Sharp singing Mother I’ve come home to die and Sarah Deacon’s rendition of The Officer’s Funeral. These soirees preceded an evening of dancing which, on the evening of 23 May 1877, continued until dawn (page 195).
Some artefacts in the collections of Sarah Deacon’s surviving grandchild and her great-grandchildren, indicate a level of comfort and gentility not immediately evident from photos of the exterior of the Riverhead Hotel.
