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Thomas Liez (or Leiz) was born in St Peter Port, Guernsey in 1829. The family had been in Guernsey since at least 1700. In 1851 he was baptised into the Church of the Latter-Day Saints and became an elder three months later. He then became a pastor of a French Mission at Le Harve. In 1856 he married Caroline Foreman at Dover, Kent. His occupation was a carpenter.
By 1860 they were living in Preston where Thomas was president of the Preston Conference of Latter-Day Saints. In May 1862 they departed from Liverpool heading to New York with their two young children Thomas junior and Selina along with several hundred Latter Day Saint emigrants. On arrival, the established route was a steamboat from New York up the Hudson River to Albany, then by train to St Joseph, Missouri via Niagara, and then finally a steamboat to Florence, Nebraska.
On 10th August 1862, the family departed the outfitting post at Florence on a ‘church train’ of wagons, led by Horton D. Haight, a seasoned leader of ‘down and back’ wagon trains. There were 509 people taking part in the train. They arrived at Salt Lake City on the 19th October.
Caroline’s mother and sisters Louisa, Eliza, Charlotte with their families had travelled a similar journey the year before. Sadly on that journey her mother died from injuries after being run over by a wagon and never made it to Salt Lake City.
Caroline died in 1865 and in 1866 Thomas remarried to Annie Mitchell who was born in London. She likely travelled to SLC with her siblings in a different 1862 Company. Their children George Mitchell, Caroline Annie and Eleanor Ann were born in SLC. By 1870 Thomas has joined the Reorganised Church of the Latter-Day Saints.
They arrived in Nelson in 1874 on the ‘Ocean Mail’ from England. Daughter Clara was born in Nelson in 1876 and by 1878 the family had moved to Wellington.
In 1880, Thomas attended a meeting advertised for the unemployed held on Flagstaff Hill, Mt Victoria, primarily to discuss the misleading books and pamphlets circulated in England and to consider asking the ‘Home government’ to relieve them, as the New Zealand government did not appear to care about their welfare. Thomas was voted to the chair (or boulder as it was in this case). It was agreed to form a committee to wait on the government.
His children Thomas junior and Selina went to Melbourne. In 1886 Selina was admitted to Fairfield asylum suffering from ‘mania’ and died at Beechworth in 1933. Thomas junior was a coach smith and died in 1929.
Annie signed the women’s suffrage petition in 1893.
Thomas died in 1902 at his residence 168 Adelaide Road. His funeral service was conducted by Rev Bond, a Wesleyan church minister.
His son George became a farmer and lived in the Manawatu. Daughter Clara became a teacher at Mt Cook school, married an accountant and moved to Auckland. Daughter Eleanor became involved with charitable work at the Missions to Seaman Church. She married William Cook. Caroline worked as a boot machinist. Annie died in 1925 aged 93.
Thomas & Annie Liez, daughter Caroline Annie Liez, and Eleanor & William Cook are buried in this plot.
Public/P/35
