Ernest Henry Sellens
Ernest Henry Sellens, 1939
KEY DATES:
Birth: 25 February 1885, Hastings, East Sussex
Married: 1 July 1911, Ebenezer Chapel, Hastings, East Sussex
Died: 17 August 1974, Wellington, New Zealand
Buried: 20 August 1974, Karori Cemetery, Wellington, New Zealand
BIOGRAPHY:
Ernest Henry Sellens was born in 10 Alma Terrace, Hastings on the 25 February 1885 to Frederick Albert and Hester Elizabeth Sellens. Around 1888 the family moved to 22 Alma Villas, the next street from Alma Terrace.
10 Alma Terrace, (left) and 22 Alma Villas (right), Hastings, East Sussex, 2003
Sellens family, c.1900
Back row from left; Albert Victor Jubilee, Frederick William, Ernest Henry
Front row from left; Hester Elizabeth, Rosina Gertrude, Ethel Elizabeth, Frederick Albert
Sellens family at 22 Alma Villas c.1906 taken by Frederick William Sellens
Back row from left; Frederick Albert, Ernest Henry, Albert Victor Jubilee
Front row from left; Ethel Elizabeth, Rosina Gertrude and Hester Elizabeth
At three years of age, Ernest Henry went to Silverhill Board School until he was thirteen. He worked a few fill-in jobs including a picture frame makers porter until 1901, when he went to Sedlescombe to work for his cousin Herbert Dengate as an apprentice for five years doing carpentry and joinery. The below job reference by Herbert Dengate dated 16 October 1906 was used by Ernest upon his arrival in New Zealand to get work as a builder. Ernest saved up £26 of which he spent £17 on a fare to New Zealand. He arrived on the 4 December 1906 aboard the 'Corinthic' and stayed with his brother Frederick William who had already travelled there and settled in Northland, Wellington. The brothers emigrated there to get building work in the fledging country.
For a time, Ernest built wooden houses in collaboration with a colleague, Dick Turner. Together they built the first house on Ellesmere Avenue, Miramar.
On the 22 February 1911, Ernest left New Zealand on board 'Orsova' bound for England in order to marry his fiancée Ada Martha Curtis. They had previously met around 1902 when they both attended the same Sunday school in St Luke's Presbyterian Church near Alma Villas. The couple married on the 1 July 1911 at the Ebenezer Chapel, Takleway, Hastings.
Ada Martha Curtis, c.1906
Ernest and Ada travelled on the 'Ophir', arriving in New Zealand on the 3 September 1911. The couple had three children; Ernest Lionel, Norman Albert and Peggy Sellens.
Sellens family, taken at 33 Hobart Street, Miramar in October, 1939
Left to right; Ernest Henry, Ernest Lionel, Norman Albert and Peggy Elizabeth Sellens
Centre; Ada Martha Sellens
When Ernest Henry's mother Hester Elizabeth Sellens died, she bequeathed him one hundred pounds in her will.
Ernest Henry and Ada Martha Sellens
Ada Martha Sellens died on the 17 February 1961 at her home of 33 Hobart Street, Miramar aged 73. She was buried on the 20 February 1961 in Karori Cemetery, Wellington, New Zealand.
In 1962 Ernest Henry made his first trip back to England since his departure where he spent three months staying with his sister Rosina Sellens. The story was reported in the Hastings & St Leonards Observer. During his stay to England he visited some of his cousins, including Florence Ethel Dengate in Hastings and Frederick Charles and Elsie Dengate in Eastbourne.
Rosina Gertrude and Ernest Henry Sellens, 1964
Ernest Henry Sellens died on the 17 August 1974 at Graytown Hospital, Wellington aged 90 years. He was buried on the 20 August 1974 with his wife Ada in Karori Cemetery, Wellington.
CENSUS:
LINKS:
Hester Elizabeth Sellens' will (pdf format)
Grateful thanks to Ernest Lionel Sellens for the photos and information of Ernest Henry and family. Also thanks to Ruth McLeod, Heather Andrews and Geraldine Sellens for further information.
© Copyright N. Goodwin MMII