| Brief Description |
Sepia original carte de visite photograph of Mr Reuben Bason. Studio portrait photograph of man's head and torso cropped in oval frame. Man wears blazer jacket open over white collared shirt worn with tailored necktie and buttoned waistcoat. Man has a full moustache and short beard, and cropped wavy hair.
Reuben Bason was born on 3 March 1841 in Northampton, England, son of John, and was christened on 2 May that year. He emigrated to New Zealand around 1855 and settled in Whanganui where he and his nephews, Thomas and John, established a brickworks on the corner of Bell Street and London Street. Reuben married Emma Strong Windiate in 1860 and they had the following children:
William James born 1867, married Matilda Bourne in 1889, died 1948 aged 81 years
Isaac born 1869, married Sarah Batson in 1893, died 1936 aged 66 years
John George born 1872, married Mary Anne Williams in 1895, died 1934 aged 61 years
No Name Recorded born 1874
Emma Maria born 1876, died 1881 aged 5 years, after drowning at Urenui
Reuben born 1878
Margaret Harriet born 1879, married Arthur Edwar Signal in 1896, died 1957 aged 79 years
They are also thought to have had a daughter, Mary Jane, and a son, Thomas, although these births are not registered.
Reuben was often in trouble with the law including several cases of assault and battery against his wife (for which he served time in prison), ill-treating a horse, drunk and disorderly, destruction of property, and stabbing his wife (refer to Research tab for links to newspaper articles).
Reuben Bason committed suicide by gunshot to the head on 18 December 1890, aged 49 years. Emma remarried in 1892 to William Moody, and died in 1915 aged 73 years.
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