Charles John Henry Mahon (b. 1866, d. 1944)
Charles John Henry Mahon was born in Hamilton, New Zealand on 21 December 1866. The informant for his birth was his father John, whose occupation is given as settler, and the residence is Victoria Street, Hamilton.
Charles married Eva Ellen Jessie Walker on the 24'th January 1894 in Parnell, Auckland at the house of Eva's mother on York Street in Parnell. Eva was aged 20 at the time of the wedding so was a minor, who required consent of a parent to marry. This consent was given by her mother Sarah Ann Walker. The witnesses to the wedding were Eva's mother Sarah Ann Walker and her older sister Elizabeth Aubrey. Charles' occupation is given as Baker on the marriage registration and his residence as Ohaupo.
Charles and Eva had five children, all of whom survived to adulthood. These children were, in birth order: Myrtle Myra (Mahon) (b. ~15 Aug. 1896), Ivy Clarice (Mahon) Sarich (b. 8 Nov. 1897), Raymond Eric Henry Mahon (b. 9 Nov. 1899), Cecil Mahon (b. 8 Oct. 1902), and Norma Annie (Mahon) Wilkinson (b. 15 Apr. 1905).
At the time of his marriage Charles was a baker in Ohaupo. However, by February 1896 he was adjudged to be bankrupt and the bankruptcy notice had that he was a Baker in Cambridge. At some point after that the family had moved to Auckland and in the 1911 electoral rolls his occupation was given as labourer and he was living on Moa Street in Ōtāhuhu. By this time home life was a struggle. Charles and Eva had separated in 1912, if not earlier, and Eva and the five children were living in Takapuna with Eva's mother while Charles lived in Ōtāhuhu and worked on the railways. This all came to a head in February 1913 when Charles attacked Eva with a hammer or tomahawk, then attempted to commit suicide. Charles was initially imprisoned, primarily for the attempted suicide which was illegal at that time in Aotearoa, rather than the assault. He was ultimately released under a bond to live with his Brother and Mother in Hamilton. A divorce was granted to Eva in 1919 on the grounds of desertion. By the time the divorce was granted Charles was living in Stockton in California, where he had gone after leaving Aotearoa under an assumed name. This sequence of events is based on Eva's testimony in the divorce proceedings.
At some point Charles returned to Aotearoa and in 1938 remarried to Ethel Donkin.
John died on 14'th July 1944. He had been admitted to the Public Hospital in Taumarunui with rectal carcinoma. His four children who were still living at that time put a death notice in the Auckland Star. Charles is buried in the Taumarunui New Cemetery.
Eva Ellen Jessie (Walker) Mahon (b. 1873, d. 1932)
Eva Ellen Jessie Walker was born on 25 June, 1873 in Auckland. The informant for her birth was her mother Annie. Eva's father was George Walker and his occupation is listed as boatman. He had emigrated from Germany and currently nothing is known about his family roots in Germany. Eva was the third child born to Annie and George out of ten children. Eva had a child in 1892 who was registered at birth as Sidney Walter Walker and a father's name was not registered. Sidney died in 1893.
After Eva and Charles' divorce in 1919, Eva remarried
Julia died on 12 December, 1919 in Waihi, New Zealand. Sometime after her husband had died Julia moved to Waihi from Hamilton. By 1906 her daughter Adela was living in Waihi with three children so it is likely that she moved to be with her daughter and grandchildren. Julia is buried in the Hamilton West Cemetery. Under the terms of Julia's Will her estate was to be divided such that four of her five children, with the exception of Marjorie (Mahon) Goodwin were to receive half her estate, and her grandson John Paisley Mahon, Marjorie's son, born prior to Marjorie's marriage, was to receive the other half of the estate. The two executors of the will were her sons Walter Kenrick Mahon, and Geoffrey Laurence Mahon. The terms of her will must not have been upheld as in 1922 John Paisley Mahon sued the two executors of Julia's will.
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