Andrew Begbie

  General Notes:

The information about Mrs. Begbie, yes, that is my grandmother. She and Andrew - my grandfather who we called "Father" - were married in 1903, and three weeks later Father went to South Africa, to make a living there - he was a tailor - but after two years, he decided that that wasn't going to work, so came on to NZ. After another two years, he had earned enough to send the fare to Gran, for her to join him. So she had about four years waiting in Dundee for him to send for her, of course keeping in touch, but she got a lot of 'flack' from people there, saying that she'd seen the last of him! Well, they had 55 happy years together! And yes, the journey took so long, and she would tell us the story that when she arrived in Auckland, she was waiting on the wharf for him to come. A lady, also waiting, said to her that 'that man has been walking passed us a lot, do you know him?' And Gran said, 'yes, that's my husband but I'm too shy to speak to him'. After nearly four years apart, she found it awkward. It wouldn't happen these days, would it. And they had known each other since school days. It's a lovely story, isn't it, and true. ⁴⁰¹

  Noted events in his life were:

• Occupation: Tailor.

Andrew married Jemima Leslie Stewart, daughter of Unknown and Elisabeth Reid Stewart, on 14 Jan 1903 in Dundee, Forfarshire ³⁰⁸.^,309 (Jemima Leslie Stewart was born on 14 Aug 1878 in Land 7, Door 8, Dudhope Crescent, Dundee, Forfarshire ^17,308 and died on 12 Dec 1958 in New Zealand ³⁰⁸.)