The Pearces travel from New Zealand to California, via England
We left Francis (Frank) and Mary Pearce and children Earl and Frances in June 1908 in New Zealand, amid many farewell parties and an auction of their household belongings. (Note: to avoid confusing Francis (the dad) and Frances (his daughter) I will refer to Francis as “Frank”.) They departed June 18, 1908, from Wellington, NZ, on the SS Athenic, a dual purpose cargo/passenger ship. The voyage around Cape Horn (southern tip of South America) to London lasted six weeks. After an absence of 24 years, Frank had plans to visit his family in Cornwall.
Typical stateroom from the era
Earl kept a postcard collection, which I have in my possession. There are probably a couple of hundred — some were mailed to him, some appear to have been given to him or collected as souvenirs. On the way to London, the ship made stops in Montevideo, Uruguay, and Tenerife in the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa. Here are two postcards from Earl’s collection:
Postcard from Earl’s Collection
Tenerife, Canary Islands - Postcard from Earl’s collection
The ship arrived in London on July 30, 1908. Here is a Google Earth rendering of the route from Wellington to London. Because it’s more fun than felt pen on a printable pdf map. It’s a slideshow; use the arrows to go back and forth.
The family went on to Cornwall to visit Frank’s sisters. They stayed with Susan (Pearce) Thomas who lived with her husband William Thomas in Treleigh, a village in Redruth. Their son Jim was friends with Earl and Frances and Jim eventually came to live in the Bay Area. Elizabeth (Pearce) Kinsman was a widow living in Nancekuke, another village in Redruth. Another sister, Sarah (Pearce) Clemo was remembered by Frances as living in a large 3 story house with servants in Torquay, Cornwall; her husband was said to have made money in mining in South Africa.
Frank also had 3 brothers: John Pryor Pearce, who preceded Frank to the New Almaden mine near San Jose, California; Joseph Pearce, and Richard Pearce. As Cornish miners they could have gone to the Americas, Australia, or South Africa — the family had connections in all those places. And, sadly, the youngest of the family, Emily Pryor Pearce, passed away in 1867 before her first birthday.
My second cousin Jo Ann (granddaughter of Frances) has a gold and pearl necklace that was received by Frances when the family was presented at court at some time during these travels. How I wish I knew more of this story!
The Pearce family stayed in England until their departure on the SS Oceanic on November 4, arriving at Ellis Island, New York, November 11. They listed Oakland as their intended destination. After years and thousands of miles of travel, they lived out their lives in Oakland, surrounded by Earl, Frances, their spouses and families.
