THE MARSTERS OF PALMERSTON
The definitive story of a unique family saga
The definitive story of a unique family saga
These young Marsters are the latest in a family line which stretches back nearly 200 years. They're part of a fascinating family saga. And following worldwide publicity about the quest by the author of this website to find out more about founding father William Marsters, the complete story can be told for the first time.
THE FOUNDING FATHER
THE EARLY YEARS
From England to Penrhyn via California
From England to Penrhyn via California
William Marsters was born Richard Masters (with no R in the middle of his surname) in 1831 (we don't know his exact date of birth, but he was baptised on 6 November).
He was the second child of John Masters (1809-1880) and Ann Armstrong (1802-1873) who married in the ancient church of St. Mary deCastro near to Leicester Castle on 6 November, 1827. (Ann's name appears in earlier parish records as Armston) His place of birth was the parish of Misterton in the Lutterworth district of Leicestershire. It also helps to explain why one of the islets in the Palmerston lagoon is called Leicester Bank.
This information is based on English parish records. (no birth certificates exist as this was before a law was passed in England and Wales making registration compulsory)
He was the second child of John Masters (1809-1880) and Ann Armstrong (1802-1873) who married in the ancient church of St. Mary deCastro near to Leicester Castle on 6 November, 1827. (Ann's name appears in earlier parish records as Armston) His place of birth was the parish of Misterton in the Lutterworth district of Leicestershire. It also helps to explain why one of the islets in the Palmerston lagoon is called Leicester Bank.
This information is based on English parish records. (no birth certificates exist as this was before a law was passed in England and Wales making registration compulsory)
BUILDING THE DYNASTY: William's first Palmerston wife and children
BUILDING THE DYNASTY: William's second and third Palmerston wives
Marsters second wife on Palmerston, Tepou Tinioi was NOT a sister but a cousin of his first, as was his third wife, Matavia. Tepou bore him six children. The eldest, Marion, drowned at sea when the 'Araura' was lost off Aitutaki. Matavia was first married to a Jean Baptiste Fernadez (or Fernandos) who jumped his whaling ship at Manuae to join Marsters who was on the island at the time and accompanied Marsters back to Palmerston. Fernandez and Matavia had one son of their own, Mahuta, and three other children who are thought to have been William's because they were fair skinned, whereas Fernandez is said to have been a dark skinned man, probably from Goa. Fernandez had a big row with Marsters about the parentage and subsequently abandoned Matavia, went to Atiu and drowned in 1895 in Avatiu harbour, Rarotonga while drunk. Matavia and Marsters married and she gave him a total of seven children. It's also significant that these births were recorded as MaRsters rather than Masters.
BUILDING THE DYNASTY: The fourth Palmerston wife
Most reports say William had only three (Palmerston) wives, but William's great great granddaughter, Yolande Browne, who herself has researched the family tree, has confirmed for me that there was definitely a fourth. She was called Arehata and the couple had one daughter, Ritia who went on to join a dynasty of her own. She married a Penrhyn trader called William Ford who, I'm was told, was the brother of Henry Ford (pictured right) - founder of America's Ford Motor Company and creator of the famous Model T. Sadly, this is not correct. However, Yolande's confirmation is very significant. Previously, the only reference to the fourth wife was in the meticulously researched book 'Sisters in the Sun' by A.S. Helm and W.H. Percival.
This house remains a testament to the skills, hard work and commitment of William Marsters to making Palmerston his home. It's built from shipwreck timbers, mainly from the sailing ship Annie Laurie which was wrecked on the reef soon after he arrived on the island. William used 18 inch by 18 inch timbers as combined foundations and wall studs, sinking them down 14 feet. And the rafters are equally massive.
How and why he ended up on Palmerston is a story that has been confused for generations. But the facts can now be separated from the fiction for the first time, thanks to documents in the UK's National Archives, including one in William's own handwriting.
How and why he ended up on Palmerston is a story that has been confused for generations. But the facts can now be separated from the fiction for the first time, thanks to documents in the UK's National Archives, including one in William's own handwriting.
We now know WHERE WILLIAM WAS BORN - it was Leicestershire not Glouestershire - that he had FIVE WIVES not three or four, HOW HE ENDED UP ON PALMERSTON, the full story of HOW HE CAME TO OWN THE ISLAND, and WHY ISLANDERS SPEAK WITH A MIDLANDS ENGLISH ACCENT. Along the way, there's also a tale of a CONNECTION WITH THE BRITISH ROYAL FAMILY. This page is the first of several which documents all of that in detail for the first time anywhere.
When you're writing - or in this case re-writing history - it's important to make sure the facts are right. This is not always easy, and I look for at least two separate sources, with one providing documented evidence. Not all writers have been as meticulous. Quite a few things still need to be checked..but I thought it was important to share what I've got so far.
And there are also some loose ends which you may be able to help tie up. If you have any additional information, please email me and, with your permission, I will share that through this website. Copies of photographs and documents relating to early family members would be especially welcome too.
When you're writing - or in this case re-writing history - it's important to make sure the facts are right. This is not always easy, and I look for at least two separate sources, with one providing documented evidence. Not all writers have been as meticulous. Quite a few things still need to be checked..but I thought it was important to share what I've got so far.
And there are also some loose ends which you may be able to help tie up. If you have any additional information, please email me and, with your permission, I will share that through this website. Copies of photographs and documents relating to early family members would be especially welcome too.
PLEASE NOTE: The content of thes pages are the product of original research by the website author and all rights are reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part by any means is strictly prohibited without written permisison from the author
Copyright, John Roberts, 2008
Reproduction in whole or in part by any means is strictly prohibited without written permisison from the author
Copyright, John Roberts, 2008
The house that William built...the only structure to remain in place in a major hurricane in 1926
MARSTERS BY THE MISSIONARY WHO MET HIM
English missionary William Wyatt Gill spent most of his adult life in the Cook Islands. A meeting with Marsters is recalled in his book "Jottings from the Pacific", published in London in 1885. It's the only known published contemporary account of a meeting and as such it's a unique insight into Marsters, the man.
Gill says William was "one of those waifs so common in the Pacific" who had decided to settle on the island after years of wandering among the Line Islands (a group of 11 atolls and low coral islands in the central Pacific about 1,000 miles south of Hawaii). He describes him as "a short, well set man of about 60 years; very active, but with an uneasy expression of countenance".
Gill says William was "one of those waifs so common in the Pacific" who had decided to settle on the island after years of wandering among the Line Islands (a group of 11 atolls and low coral islands in the central Pacific about 1,000 miles south of Hawaii). He describes him as "a short, well set man of about 60 years; very active, but with an uneasy expression of countenance".
We learn from Gill that William planted 80,000 "cocoa-nuts" and that bĂȘche-de-mer (sea cucumber) was collected for the Chinese market. The missionary is also responsible for the first church being built on Palmerston. He refers to "a private conference" that he had with Marsters: "He listened attentively to what I said, and engaged to give sufficient wood for the erection of a little church."
We also learn that William always carried a loaded revolver with him. Gill explains: "A few years ago a plot was laid to kill Marsters whilst asleep and to drown his children in the lagoon. The women were engaged in the plot....This may have accounted for the presence of two large fierce dogs. Marsters world is law, and must be implicitly obeyed".
We also learn that William always carried a loaded revolver with him. Gill explains: "A few years ago a plot was laid to kill Marsters whilst asleep and to drown his children in the lagoon. The women were engaged in the plot....This may have accounted for the presence of two large fierce dogs. Marsters world is law, and must be implicitly obeyed".
And he compares the founding father of Palmerston to Alexander Selkirk, the real life Robinson Crusoe who inspired the famous story by Daniel Defoe. "Monarch of all he surveys, His right there is none to dispute".
Author's note: Gill does not give Marsters full name in his account. He refers to him as M_______. He also refers to the island as Palmerston's with an apostrophe.
Today's church... successor to the first which W. Wyatt Gill persuaded William to build
William Marsters Senior with some of his family and heirs (photographer and date unknown)
EXCLUSIVE TO THIS WEBSITE
ABOUT THE RESEARCH
All the published writings to date say William ran away to sea when he was 18, but Anne Elizabeth's birth certificate proves that can't be true. He would have been at least 22, and that assumes he fled almost immediately after the birth of his second child. So far, I have also been unable to confirm why he left England. One report in the UK's 'Daily Mirror' newspaper in 1959 says he had a fierce row with his father about going off to seek his fortune in the California gold rush. It makes sense. Given that William had just become a father for the second time, you can understand why Masters senior would have lost his temper.
Great great grand-daughter, Yolande Browne (descended from William and his first wife) says William was accompanied by three other boys when he left. He subsequently earned a living on the whaling ships ending up, according to one report, in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. Sea stories and songs of the sea attracted him to the life. And one of those songs is still sung today on Palmerston,...."Blow the winds I O/To the Logan I will go/To live no more on England shore. And let the music play/I'm off for the morning train/To cross the railway road/I am a rose to me own true love/Ten thousand miles away"
Great great grand-daughter, Yolande Browne (descended from William and his first wife) says William was accompanied by three other boys when he left. He subsequently earned a living on the whaling ships ending up, according to one report, in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. Sea stories and songs of the sea attracted him to the life. And one of those songs is still sung today on Palmerston,...."Blow the winds I O/To the Logan I will go/To live no more on England shore. And let the music play/I'm off for the morning train/To cross the railway road/I am a rose to me own true love/Ten thousand miles away"
The patriarch
Christened Richard, not William
Originally a Masters not Marsters...
Born in 1831 not 1821...in Leicestershire not Gloucestershire
Christened Richard, not William
Originally a Masters not Marsters...
Born in 1831 not 1821...in Leicestershire not Gloucestershire
CAN YOU HELP?
In a 1998 letter from Palmerston, the Rev. Bill Marsters says William heard the sea songs and stories from seamen who gathered every evening at the "Red Lion Fish Market". It was definitely not in his home village of Walcote, as claimed in a recent book. Local records dating from 1835 show the only pub in the village at that time was the Bull's Head. There was a Red Lion in nearby Gilmorton, but neither village had a fish market. So..do you know where this Red Lion was? Email me if you have any information.
In a 1998 letter from Palmerston, the Rev. Bill Marsters says William heard the sea songs and stories from seamen who gathered every evening at the "Red Lion Fish Market". It was definitely not in his home village of Walcote, as claimed in a recent book. Local records dating from 1835 show the only pub in the village at that time was the Bull's Head. There was a Red Lion in nearby Gilmorton, but neither village had a fish market. So..do you know where this Red Lion was? Email me if you have any information.
According to the Marsters family, William worked alongside men like this one panning for a possible fortune in the California gold rush. The Rev. Bill Marsters, in a letter of 1998, says the patriarch "came away with a find of three jars or jimmy-johns of gold nuggets".
If that's true, it not clear why he ended up destitute after returning to sea and jumping ship at Penrhyn (also known as Tongareva) in the Northern Cook Islands. The dates don't add up either...even if William fled England as soon as he knew his wife was pregnant with their second child, he wouldn't have reached California in time for the gold rush which ended in 1852. Clearly, further research is needed.
If that's true, it not clear why he ended up destitute after returning to sea and jumping ship at Penrhyn (also known as Tongareva) in the Northern Cook Islands. The dates don't add up either...even if William fled England as soon as he knew his wife was pregnant with their second child, he wouldn't have reached California in time for the gold rush which ended in 1852. Clearly, further research is needed.
Click here to see exactly where Misterton is and here to find out more about the St. Mary deCastro church.
DESTINY OF A DESTITUTE
FOUNDING A DYNASTY
From Penrhyn to Palmerston via Manuae
From Penrhyn to Palmerston via Manuae
American, John Hart was Master of the schooner, 'Horai' which took William to Palmerston. The vessel was owned by Scotsman, John Brander who was a trader in Tahiti. Brander told Hart to relieve Sweet of his role as "caretaker or Manager of Palmerston" - apparently, Sweet was fed up with the job - and find another man to take his place. En route, Hart called in at Manuae (or Hervey Island as it was called at the time) and found Masters there.
A letter from Palmerston in William's own hand, dated 6th January, 1888, confirms that it was Brander who arranged for him to take over as caretaker.
It says: "I was put here by Mr John Brander of Tahiti to make cocoanut oil for him. For the first six years, their vessels attended me regularly but afterwards they left me for two and three years at a time without coming near, and in 1878 they ceased coming here".
It says: "I was put here by Mr John Brander of Tahiti to make cocoanut oil for him. For the first six years, their vessels attended me regularly but afterwards they left me for two and three years at a time without coming near, and in 1878 they ceased coming here".
The woman who accompanied William to Palmerston was the first of four Palmerston wives and was of noble parentage. Akakaingaro (Sarah) was from the royal family in Penrhyn. She was the child of Tehaharua Parerima, a great chief from Tetautua whose own wife, Kaneakore was the daughter of another royal chief of Omoka and a descendant of the famous warrior chief Te-Kairangi.
Sarah gave William nine children. But tragedy struck the first two - Anne was drowned in the Vai Sinane River in Samoa at the age of 2, and Elizabeth died on Manuae when she was only one year old. The places where they died confirm other writings which say that at this time, William was visiting other parts of the Cook Islands and the central South Pacific, although there don't seem to be any records of exactly where he went.
Sarah gave William nine children. But tragedy struck the first two - Anne was drowned in the Vai Sinane River in Samoa at the age of 2, and Elizabeth died on Manuae when she was only one year old. The places where they died confirm other writings which say that at this time, William was visiting other parts of the Cook Islands and the central South Pacific, although there don't seem to be any records of exactly where he went.
Marsters first son was born in 1860 and called Joel (his brother's name). Other writings say the eldest son was William who would subsequently succeed his father as head of the island, but his year of birth is given as 1862. This is also confirmed elsewhere in academic research. The other children in order of birth were James (died 1920), Aaron (died on Palmerston, aged 6 months), Elizabeth Saretuaroa Akiakirau - commonly referred to by William as "one girl" - (born 1866), Kuras (born 1898) and Teraia (1881-1932).
In a statement sworn at the British Consulate in Papeete, Tahiti on 4th February, 1891, he says: "When I took Wm Masters off Hervey Island, he was entirely destitute and was highly pleased to accept the positon I offered him." And he also confirms that William was not alone when he was taken to Palmerston.
"I conveyed him, his woman, her sister and one or two children to Palmerston Island, landed them on 8th July <1863>, and made a written ageement with him in which it stated that he, Wm Masters, was to hold possession of the said Palmerston Island, for, and on behalf of Mr John Brander....and his renumeration for so doing was to be a share of the produce raised on the island". (From the Logbook of the Schooner 'Horai' )
There was already a small community there. Hart took 18 men and women back to Rarotonga with him, but left on the island with William a man and two women from Penrhyn, a white man and his son and some others who he describes as "Atiu natives".
"I conveyed him, his woman, her sister and one or two children to Palmerston Island, landed them on 8th July <1863>, and made a written ageement with him in which it stated that he, Wm Masters, was to hold possession of the said Palmerston Island, for, and on behalf of Mr John Brander....and his renumeration for so doing was to be a share of the produce raised on the island". (From the Logbook of the Schooner 'Horai' )
There was already a small community there. Hart took 18 men and women back to Rarotonga with him, but left on the island with William a man and two women from Penrhyn, a white man and his son and some others who he describes as "Atiu natives".
CAN YOU HELP?
No records have come to light so far that explain how William ended up on Manuae after jumping ship at Penrhyn. Do you know? Email me if you have any information.
No records have come to light so far that explain how William ended up on Manuae after jumping ship at Penrhyn. Do you know? Email me if you have any information.
Henry Ford of car fame... linked to the Marsters dynasty?
MARSTERS THE MAN: A FURTHER INSIGHT
We get a further insight into Marsters, the man in the definitive study of the Palmerston language which was undertaken in 1992 by one of the world's leading linguists.
Sabine Ehrhart-Kneher writes: "It seems that William Marsters tired to prevent his wives from speaking Maori. He was a very distrustful person and he did not want them to communicate in a language he could not (fully) understand. He obliged his children - and later on, his grandchildren - to speak English all the time...According to witnesses, Marsters influence was greater than the Bible on what is known to be a religious island."
Sabine Ehrhart-Kneher writes: "It seems that William Marsters tired to prevent his wives from speaking Maori. He was a very distrustful person and he did not want them to communicate in a language he could not (fully) understand. He obliged his children - and later on, his grandchildren - to speak English all the time...According to witnesses, Marsters influence was greater than the Bible on what is known to be a religious island."
English with a West County twang - read more about the unique language of Palmerston
William's first marriage
Much has been written about William's wives on Palmerston (see below), but few realise he was already married when he arrived on the island. On 10 November, 1851, at the age of 20, he married 18 year old Charlotte Farmer of Walcote, Leicestershire, in Misterton. And they had two children, Richard (or John Richard according to census records) who was born about January, 1852, and Anne Elizabeth who was born on 5th December, 1853. The records which confirm all this mean also that Charlotte was heavily pregnant at the time of her marriage.
It's debatable whether William committed bigamy when he married his Palmerston wives. No one owned the island at the time, so it was not subject to the law of any country. However, he was bound by UK law from 1891 when he leased the island from the British Crown.
It's debatable whether William committed bigamy when he married his Palmerston wives. No one owned the island at the time, so it was not subject to the law of any country. However, he was bound by UK law from 1891 when he leased the island from the British Crown.
The California connection
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF SOURCES
I am deeply indebted to Pam Vowles from England who has meticulously researched the Marsters family tree and also provided a wealth of other valuable information. I would also like to thank William's great great granddaugher, Yolande Browne from New Zealand for her research and detaled family knowledge, and the Davies family of France who did valuable research in the UK's national archives.. Books referenced are:
Sisters in the Sun by A.S. Helm an W.H. Percival, published by Robert Hale and Company, 1973
Jottings from the Pacific by W. Wyatt Gill B.A. , published by the Religious Tract Society, 1885
Discoverers of the Cook Islands and the Names they Gave by Alphons M.J. Kloosterman, Cook Islands Library and Museum - Bulletin 1, second revised and augmented edition, 1976
Sabine Ehrhart-Kneher's paper on the linqustics of Palmerston is included in the "Atlas of Languages of Intercultural Communication in the Pacific, Asia and the Americas" volume II.I, published by Walter de Gruyter, 1996
Photos of the house and church are courtesy of Marion Marsters Bebo website
I am deeply indebted to Pam Vowles from England who has meticulously researched the Marsters family tree and also provided a wealth of other valuable information. I would also like to thank William's great great granddaugher, Yolande Browne from New Zealand for her research and detaled family knowledge, and the Davies family of France who did valuable research in the UK's national archives.. Books referenced are:
Sisters in the Sun by A.S. Helm an W.H. Percival, published by Robert Hale and Company, 1973
Jottings from the Pacific by W. Wyatt Gill B.A. , published by the Religious Tract Society, 1885
Discoverers of the Cook Islands and the Names they Gave by Alphons M.J. Kloosterman, Cook Islands Library and Museum - Bulletin 1, second revised and augmented edition, 1976
Sabine Ehrhart-Kneher's paper on the linqustics of Palmerston is included in the "Atlas of Languages of Intercultural Communication in the Pacific, Asia and the Americas" volume II.I, published by Walter de Gruyter, 1996
Photos of the house and church are courtesy of Marion Marsters Bebo website
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO EXPLORE NEXT?
THE MODERN DAY MARSTERS MORE ABOUT PALMERSTON MANUAE PENRHYN
OR TAILOR MAKE YOUR OWN TOUR USING THE MENU ON THE LEFT
THE MODERN DAY MARSTERS MORE ABOUT PALMERSTON MANUAE PENRHYN
OR TAILOR MAKE YOUR OWN TOUR USING THE MENU ON THE LEFT
VIDEO CLIP
The fascinating story of William Marsters is told in a short song written for the 100th anniversary of his arrival on Palmerston. Click here to watch it on YouTube
Opens in new window or tab
The fascinating story of William Marsters is told in a short song written for the 100th anniversary of his arrival on Palmerston. Click here to watch it on YouTube
Opens in new window or tab