Theophilus and Rebecca Easton

Theo Easton was the youngest of the children of Frederick Spencer Easton and his wife Caroline nee Eastman. He was born in London in 1844 and was educated at Peckham Collegiate School and at the City of London School. He left England in early August 1861, in his 18th year, travelling to Plymouth to sail on the ship “Kent” to Melbourne where his older half-brother and his brother Augustus were in business. Theo had served his time as a builder’s apprentice before leaving England and he followed his trade in Australia for sometime. However when the gold rushes were on in New Zealand, he also succumbed to the fever and left Australia to try his luck in a number of places in the South Island, but later came to Wellington to be with his brother and to again follow his trade. In Wellington he met and married Rebecca Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Mr and Mrs James Coley and the couple resided some time in Wallace Street before making the move to Foxton.

Soon after their arrival in Foxton a property was purchased in Howan Street and there Theo built Hatcham Cottage, named after his parents’ home in Queen’s Road, Peckham, London. He and Rebecca lived there for the remainder of their lives. A large number of early homes and businesses were built in Foxton by Theo Easton. He worked on All Saints in 1876, and it was enlarged and altered by him in 1900. His children were baptised there, two of them by Bishop Hadfield. Theo and Rebecca were both devoted members of the Church, often attending with their family twice on Sundays. A brass plaque in the Sanctuary of All Saints records his service to the Parish.

Theo was always a scholar and read widely, his relatively extensive library indicated his chief interests were theology and horticulture. Rebecca was noted for her public and private generosity. She was born in Onehunga about 1850, her parents having arrived in the early 1840’s. Theo and Rebecca had a family of six girls and four boys and through the marriages of these children became connected to many other early Foxton families. Caroline married a cousin T.W. Twist, Rachel Mary married J.A. Cameron, William married A.G. McAlister, Hannah married C.J. Petersen, Elizabeth married Octavius Cook, Charlotte first married Lewis Wilson then Carl Petersen, Richard married Ada Seabury and Hugh married Violet McSaveny. Kenneth had no issue and Louisa died as a child.

Theophilus died in January, 1911, and Rebecca survived him by 19 years. At the time of the Easton Reunion in 1972 there were well over 400 descendants of this early Foxton family.

Information supplied by Lois and Doug Easton.