William and Sarah Stokes sailed from Gravesend on the Thames Estuary on 5 September 1850. They were on board The Randolph one of four ships that left at this time bound for Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand. Collectively they became known in the history of Canterbury as the First Four Ships and they effectively established the settlement of Canterbury.

William and Sarah had with them their eight children and Sarah was heavily pregnant – her ninth child was to be born on board the ship in the southern Indian Ocean. Two years later she gave birth to a tenth child and in 1854 she had twins but Sarah tragically died in childbirth. Her twin sons both survived.

Descendants of William and Sarah are now spread around the globe.

ABOUT THE BOOK

In Search of a Better Life - The Story of the Stokes Family by Peter and Kathy Williams is the story of William and Sarah Stokes, their twelve children, and the first two or three generations of the Stokes family in New Zealand – and Victoria, including photos. Genealogical charts of all known descendants of William and Sarah Stokes will be provided with the book in pdf format.

The books contain 224 pages and are $25 each, with additional costs for postage and packaging.