| Notes |
There are no details of John's early life in County Longford. There are few records of Haddocks in Co. Longford, and the only known record in the townland of Mosstown is the burial of John's mother, named as "Mrs. A. Haddock". Iit seems likely that the Haddocks originated elsewhere.
On 10 June 2015 Paddy England, an historian in County Longford, replied to a letter by Rex Sinnott. Paddy said:
'Replying to your letter of April 25 re John Haddock and related families, I have made many searches over 6 weeks but unfortunately I found nothing about the man in question.
It would appear to me that John Haddock and his parents were employed in Mosstown Mill which would have about 50 men on the payroll at peak. I looked through the old Mill ledgers and found many names but not John Haddock. I also have the Mosstown Diaries and Records relating to the estate. There were 28 tenants living in houses on the estate (all workers houses). But I did not find any information relating to Haddock. I am sorry to say that I drew a blank on this problem.
There is no name of Haddock on the Tithe applotments of 1825, the Griffiths Valuations 1856 or the 1901 census. I spoke to Rev Kingston about the matter but he had nothing new to offer.
The best way that I can think of is to contact the Hall family at Coolnahinch, Kenagh, Co. Longford. The big problem is that many men like John Haddock were what was then known as "journeymen". They drifted from one job to another without leaving any information where they were going. On account of he being a Policeman I would suggest that you contact the British Police office or the London war office they might have some record of his service. There are at present many families of Halls in this locality but they do not know anything about the Haddock family.
Sorry I have nothing new to offer you, but you should keep trying, the Church of Ireland records in Kenagh date back to 1832 but there are "Blank Pages" which might yield up something.'
John Haddock joined the Royal Irish Constabulary in 1860. There are few details about his career, but the Garda Museum at Dublin Castle has this:
Joined; 26 May 1860
Warrant number; 25734
Religion; Protestant
Occupation; Labourer
Born; County Longford
Age on joining; 21 years
Height; 5 feet 8 ¼ inches
Served in; County Westmeath from 07 Sep 1860 until he resigned to emigrate on 19 Jan 1867.
John's Royal Irish Constabulary service record in the National Archives confirms these details, apart from the occupation which is not noted. It also provides the name of the person who recommended John: I. Henry, Clk.
The Williams family tree on ancestry.com (owner given as: phil@williamsfamilytree.co.uk) gives this version of John's emigration:
John emigrated from Ireland to Victoria, Australia, between 1 Apr 1867 and 30 Jun 1867, arriving aboard the Ulcoats as an unassisted passenger (the Index to Unassisted Inward Passenger Lists to Victoria 1852-1923 at http://prov.vic.gov.au/ has a John Haddock aged 24 as a passenger on the Ulcoats which arrived in Victoria in June 1867). John later left Victoria aboard the Alhambra, and arrived 4 Oct 1870 at Bluff, New Zealand, heading for Otago, Lyttleton and Nelson. The Alhambra actually arrived in Bluff on 14 October (Otago Witness, 15 Oct 1870 p. 13). John is not on the passenger list, but he could have been one of the 4 people in steerage. The Alhambra left Port Chalmers for Lyttelton on 18 Oct (The Press, 19 Oct p. 2).
Haddock family legend is that, while in Sydney, Australia, John Haddock went to the aid of a woman who was being attacked by 2 men. The men turned on John, who fled and boarded a ship to escape them - and ended up in NZ. That is why there is no record of his voyage from Australia to NZ. This story is consistent with the Williams family tree story above.
An alternative version is that John emigrated to Australia where he was recruited by Capt. Steel into No. 1 Company of the 4th Waikato Regiment. A report in The Southern Cross, Thursday 18 February 1864 read "Arrival of Military Settlers - Colonel Pitt, it appears, had gone on to Sydney, to enrol more men there, and he is to return by the 'Claud Hamilton' due on the 22nd." However, John's resignation date from the Irish Constabulary (1867) is later than his supposed recruitment in Australia (1864), so this scenario seems doubtful.
John joined the NZ Armed Constabulary on 21 Oct 1870. He was sworn in on 24 Oct 1870, his number was 1421, and he was stationed at the Orakau Redoubt.
Sarah Qualtrough was down from Auckland helping on the farm of an older married sister, Mrs Cowan, who was pregnant and whose farm was almost on the old battlefield . While John was stationed at Orakau Pa Redoubt, his job included collecting milk from the farm nearby, and he met Sarah at the farm.
John's 1876 marriage entry give his profession as Constable a.c. force (Armed Constabulary). Those who served in the Armed Constabulary were granted 50 acres of land in the country and one acre in the town of Hamilton. The 50 acres granted to John was mostly under water in the winter so he sold this and bought land further up the road and this land was farmed by Haddocks for decades, the last being Fred Haddock. The town acre was left to Edwin and Bertie Mervyn (Pat) but on Edwin's death had to be sold to pay death duties.
John transferred to Auckland District Police Force on 1 Apr 1877, and was stationed at Hamilton, Ngaruawahia, Dargaville and Warkworth (March 1887). John is mentioned in the book "Armed Settlers" by H. Norris for arresting a drunk in Hamilton.
However he is famous in another way. While at Warkworth he refused to allow his younger children to be immunised against diptheria because the operator was unlicensed and had caused some deaths through unsterile practices (2 of the Haddock children had died, possibly as a result of the immunisation). This was not sufficient reason according to the Police so he was dismissed and he left the Police Force on 20 May 1895, and took up farming at Karamu in the Waikato. John, with his son William and daughter Eve, lived for a time in very primitive conditions on the Karamu land until the house was built.
He did not leave it at that and following a lengthy court case, reported in the Herald of Mon 26 June 1896, he was pardoned and re-instated by the Prime Minister R. J. Seddon. He did not take up the offer to rejoin and retired to No. 5 Pratt St in Ponsonby.
Pratt Street was a short street of 10-12 houses, at the foot of Pitt St. The street no longer exists, it became the site of a sports stadium.
In his will, John left everything to his wife Sarah.
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1839 - 1903 (64 years)
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