Relatives' corner - Robert Loftus Stanford

Robert Loftus Stanford (RLS) arrived in New Zealand in 1864 with his wife. He is Evan SE's maternal, paternal great grandfather. More easily understood, Evan's mother's (Norah Osbon nee Stanford) paternal grandfather, that is her father's (Arthur Kynaston Stanford) father. A separate article is being written; another part of a series for family records of those who have gone on before us, to help answer those questions that arise. Such as, "Where do I come from and who were they?" Copies of the articles are available on request in the comments section from family and genuinely interested individuals.

The following is a brief summary of the full article still underway.

RLS was born in Buckinghamshire, England in 1839 and was educated at Cheltenham College and Exeter College, Oxford. In 1862 he took his degree at Oxford and two years later he and his wife came to Dunedin, New Zealand on the ship "Chilli."

He was ordained as a Minister of the Anglican Church of New Zealand and was the founding Vicar, in 1868, of the Church of Saint John the Evangelist in Milton, Otago. There is a full article on his activities in the centenary publication of Saint Johns. Further invetsigations are underway regarding his subsequent ministries in Dunedin and Napier.

He studied for the legal profession and was admitted as a barrister and solicitor of The Supreme Court in Dunedin in 1883. In 1884 he was awarded his LLB degree from the University of New Zealand in Dunedin. RLS practised his legal profession for many years, his firm being Stanford and Milne. On the 15th of November 1894 he was appointed as Stipendary Magistrate at Palmerston North. This position required him to act in New Plymouth and Wanganui over the years till his death in Wanganui in 1909.

During his Oxford years he was intiated into the Apollo Lodge of the Masonic fraternity and in 1864 he was married to a daughter of the Dean of Leiglin in Ireland. There were five sons and five daughters from the marriage.

In 2009 he has many descendants and these will be the subject of identification and linking through their descendants to the present. Evan SE's grandsons, Isaac Morch of Brisbane and Thomas Harvey of New Plymouth are two of RLS's great, great, great grandchildren. Both Isaac and Thomas have longer ancestral ties with New Zealand through their mother's and father's sides respectively. These also will be the subject of investigation and recording.

(in progress). Watch this space.