Who Are the Pitcairners?

This is a work in progress. If you have information that adds to or changes an entry, you are invited to contact Herbert Ford at hford@puc.edu.

Buckner, G. W., Steley. G. W. Buckner, along with his wife Rosa Reece, was a self-supporting Seventh-day Adventist missionary on Pitcairn Island from 1894 to 1896.

Buffett, Colin William Lyndsey, Lareau, thePeerage.com. Colin William Lyndsey Buffett was born on Pitcairn Island on May 3, 1855. He was the son of John Buffett and Elizabeth Young. He married Anne Taylor on January 24, 1883, on Norfolk Island. He died on September 8, 1921, at age 66 on Norfolk Island. Colin was a carpenter. He converted the east-most building at Government House on Norfolk into a dwelling. The children of Colin and Anne Taylor were Helen Evelyn Buffett, Mary Elizabeth Buffett, Charles Clifford Buffett, Claudius Buffett, Catherine Alice Buffett, John Charlton Buffett, and Florence Violet Buffett.

Buffett, David, Lareau; thePeerage.com. David Buffett was born on Pitcairn Island on May 27, 1826. He was the son of John Buffett and Dorothy Young. He married Martha Young, daughter of George Young and Hannah Adams, on January 28, 1851, on Pitcairn Island. He married Maria Elizabeth Quintal, daughter of John Quintal and Maria Christian on July 20, 1881, on Norfolk Island. He died on August 7, 1924, at age 98, on Norfolk Island. David held the office of Chief Magistrate of Norfolk Island in 1871. The children of David and Martha Young were Thomas Austin Buffett, Fortescue Moresby Buffett, Henry Charles Davis Buffett, Emily Mary Jane Buffett, William John Ward Buffett, Robert Edward Buffett, Jemima Buffett, George Edward Young Buffett, and John Wilburn Buffett. The child of david and Maria Elizabeth Quintal was David Christopher Buffett.

Buffett, Dorothy (Dolly).  See Young, Dorothy (Dolly)

Buffett, Edward, Lareau; thePeerage.com. Edward Buffett was born on Pitcairn Island on November 27, 1835. He was the son of John Buffett and Dorothy Young. He married Louisa Victoria Rose Quintal, daughter of Arthur Quintal and Martha Quintal, on October 3, 1858, on Norfolk Island. He died on November 28, 1911, at age 76, on Norfolk Island. (For the children of Edward and Louisa Victoria Rose Quintal, see "Louisa Victoria Rose Quintal").

Buffett, Emily Evangeline, Lareau; thePeerage.com. Emily Evangeline Buffett was born on Pitcairn Island on July 14, 1853. She was the daughter of John Buffett and Elizabeth Young. She married George Rowland St. Clair Evans, son of George Francis Mason Evans and Catherine Christian, on April 11, 1883, on Norfolk Island. She died on October 6, 1899, at age 46, on Norfolk Island. From April 11, 1883, her married name was Evans. (For the children of Emily and George Rowland St. Clair Evans, see "George Rowland St. Clair Evans").

Buffett, Emma Quintal, Lareau; thePeerage.com. Emma Quintal Buffett was born on Pitcairn Island on September 18, 1846. She was the daughter of Thomas Buffett and Louisa Quintal. She married Fortescue Moresby Buffett, son of David Buffett and Martha Young, on August 15, 1875, on Norfolk Island. She died on August 12, 1916, at age 69, on Norfolk Island. The children of Emma and Fortescue Moresby Buffett were Martha Louisa Buffett, Martha Buffett, David Buffett, Blanche Buffett, Steele Buffett, Marion Buffett, Olive Buffett, and Janet Buffett.

Buffett, Eveline Helena Eva, Lareau, thePeerage.com. Eveline Helena Eva Buffett was born on Pitcairn Island on July 23, 1849. She was the daughter of John Buffett and Elizabeth Young. She died on February 28, 1929, at age 79

Buffett, Fortescue Moresby, Lareau; thePeerage.com. Fortescue Moresby Buffett was born on Pitcairn Island on November 12, 1853. He was the son of David Buffett and Martha Young. He married Emma Quintal Buffett, daughter of Thomas Buffett and Louisa Quintal, on August 15, 1875, on Norfolk Island. He died on October 30, 1927, at age 73, on Norfolk Island. (For the children of Fortescue and Emma Quintal Buffett, see "Emma Quintal Buffett").

Buffett, Henry Seymour, Lareau; thePeerage.com. Henry Seymour Buffett was born on Pitcairn Island on May 7, 1847. He was the son of John Buffett and Elizabeth Young. He married Marianne Selina Buffett, daughter of Thomas Buffett and Louisa Quintal, on November 27, 1875, on Norfolk Island. He died on May 1, 1931, at age 83, on Norfolk Island. Henry held the office of First Councillor of Norfolk Island in 1887, and he was Chief Magistrate of Norfolk Island in 1888. (For the children of Henry and Marianne Selina Buffett, see "Marianne Selina Buffett").

Buffett, John, thePeerage.com. John Buffett was born on July 16, 1797, at Hull, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England. He married Dorothy Young, daughter of Edward Young and Mauatua, on February 10, 1824, on Pitcairn Island. He died on May 5, 1891, at age 93 on Norfolk Island. John Buffett was a school teacher and carpenter. On December 10, 1823, and English whaler, the Cyrus, visited Pitcairn. John Adams, beginning to feel the infirmities of his age, asked the Captain if there was anyone on board ship who would be willing to stay and help him with the arduous task of teaching the many young people. Captain Hall kindly passed his request to his crew. John Buffett, a young man of 26, stepped forward and volunteered his services. Being bound by no family or home ties, he counted it 'no great sacrifice to remain'. Buffett had, in early youth, been apprenticed to a cabinet maker in Bristol. Of a roving nature, the sea held a strong fascination for him, and he left his earlier profession to sign on aboard a small Newfoundland trader, serving in the American merchant marine, went to London in 1821 to board the Penelope, and later the Impregnable. He had been shipwrecked in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and later cast away on the coast of California. There, he was treated very kindly by an old Spanish commandante, who made every effort to convince him to stay. But Buffett made his way to Honolulu, where he signed on the Cyrus. It was only on Pitcairn that the wanderer had a vision of a congenial occupation and a peaceful home. He wrote many Pitcairn memoirs after the death of Adams (who had full editing rights of everything written while he was living), and is considered a reliable source. From 1823-1828, when George Hunn Nobbs arrived, the young school teacher, with his practical, easy-going approach to living, took an increasingly powerful role in the leadership of the island. As Adams declined in health, he was also looked to as the defacto religious leader. The period from 1829-1832 seems to have witnessed a growing division between followers of the impudent and increasingly devout Nobbs and the practical strong-willed Buffett. When Nobbs formed an 'alternate' school that attracted many of his pupils, Buffett quit teaching in disgust. The arrival of Joshua Hill in 1832 marked the beginning of a very trying period in the lives of Buffett, Evans, and Nobbs. Realizing that these three would be the most threatening to his plans and beliefs, Hill singled them out for special humiliation and punishment. Of the three, strong-willed Buffett was considered the most imminent threat. Hill, hearing of an incident that occurred five or six years before wherein Buffett had committed some wrong against the people of Pitcairn, obliged Buffett to undergo severe punishment, as he describes in his own words, 'After Mr. Hill's beating me over the head, breaking it in two places, and likewise my finger, I was suspended by my hands in the church, and flogged until I was not able to walk home. I was from this treatment confined to my bed for two weeks, and it was several weeks before I was able to walk or to use my hand.' The ill-treatment that the three endured reached a climax when they were forced to leave the island in March of 1834, on board the Tuscan. They were carried to Tahiti, where Buffett became mate of a trading vessel. He was later reunited with his family, but they were not able to return to Pitcairn until after Hill's forced departure in 1837. After Hill's departure, Buffett seems to have returned to teaching, and also to imparting his woodworking skills to his students, leaving the pastoral duties to Nobbs, and a cautious truce prevailed between the two. In fact, Buffett's introduction of woodworking to the curriculum brought several former pupils, disinterested in abstract education, who became very interested in learning more manual skills. From early 1848, Buffett left the island on a voyage of commercial enterprise,' perhaps to find a market for the higher and higher quality of carving and woodcraft produced by his students. He spent most of the period in Hawaii, and if he was successful, history does not relate. He returned on 10 July 1849 to much rejoicing. In April of 1856, Buffett went to Norfolk with the rest of the population. He returned to Pitcairn, but in July of 1872, he decided to return to Norfolk as a Minister to the people there 'who needed him.' Buffett emerges from the records as a curiously appealing personality, a man whose desire for virtue exceeded his ability. Despite his faults, he was extremely popular with his fellow Pitcairners due to his lack of aggressiveness, his good nature, and his willingness to share with everyone the woodworking skills that were eventually to become the basis for Pitcairn's chief industry. The children of John Buffett and Dorothy Young were Thomas Buffett, born January 3, 1825, and died October 18, 1900; David Buffett, born May 27, 1826, and died August 7, 1924; John Buffett, born July 21, 1827, and died June 23, 1906; Robert Pitcairn Buffett, born March 26, 1830, and died January 2, 1916; and Edward Buffett, born November 27, 1835, and died November 28, 1911. The children of John Buffett and Mary Christian were Mary Buffett Christian, born October 1, 1828; Benjamin Claudius Christian, born May 30, 1832, and died August 4, 1897; and Ephriam Christian, born February 15, 1843, and died May 20, 1920.

Buffett, John, Lareau; Snell. John Buffett was born on Pitcairn Island on July 21, 1826. He was the son of John Buffett and Dorothy Young. On October 12, 1845, he married Elizabeth Young, who was born on Pitcairn Island on September 8, 1826. The children of John Buffett and Elizabeth Young were Henry Seymour Buffett, Eveline Helena Eva Buffett, who was born on Pitcairn Island on July 23, 1849, and died on February 28, 1929; Joseph Allen McCleave Buffett, Emily Evangeline Buffett, Colin William Lyndsey Buffett, John Augustine Buffett who was born on Norfolk Island on February 3, 1857, and died before 1906; Elizabeth Augusta Buffett, Edward Young Buffett, Ida Anna Buffett, and Charles Buffett, who was born on July 10, 1863, on Norfolk Island, and died November 23, 1863, on Norfolk Island.

Buffett, Joseph Allen McCleave, Lareau; thePeerage.com. Joseph Allen McCleave Buffett was born on Pitcairn Island on August 5, 1851. He was the son of John Buffett and Elizabeth Young. He married Kathleen Laura Nobbs, daughter of Fletcher Christian Nobbs and Susan Quintal, on November 27, 1873, on Norfolk Island. He died on January 19, 1921, at age 69, on Norfolk Island. Joseph usually went by his middle name of Allen. He was a whalerman. He was president of the Norfolk Executive Council between 1909 and 1915. The children of Joseph and Kathleen Laura Nobbs were Louise Hilda Etheleen Buffett, Charles Buffett, Elizabeth Buffett, Dorothy Buffett, Peter Moore Buffett, Allen Fletcher Buffett, Catherine Hannah Buffett, and Karenhappuck Gertrude Buffett.

Buffett, Marianne Selina, Lareau; thePeerage.com. Marianne Selina Buffett was born on Pitcairn Island on February 4, 1856. She was the daughter of Thomas Buffett and Louisa Quintal. She married Henry Seymour Buffett, son of John Buffett and Elizabeth Young, on November 27, 1873, on Norfolk Island. She died on March 1, 1943, at age 87, on Norfolk Island. When she died she was the last person living on Norfolk Island who was born on Pitcairn Island. The children of Marianne and Henry Seymour Buffett were John Augustus Buffett, Lionell Lindsay Buffett, Edith Buffett, Alice Buffett, Henry Wentworth Buffett, Richard Cameron Buffett, Catherine Gertrude Buffett, Bernard Campbell Buffett, Guy Stewart Buffett, Louisa Victoria Buffett, Olivia Buffett, Frederick Stanley Buffett, and Thomas Henry Seymour Buffett.

Buffett, Mary Ellen Olivia, thePeerage.com. Mary Ellen Olivia Buffett was born on Pitcairn Island on January 31, 1854. She was the daughter of Thomas Buffett and Louisa Quintal. She married Leonard Elliott Wood Christian, son of Isaac Christian and Miriam Young, on August 18, 1874, on Norfolk Island. She died on October 11, 1895, at age 41, on Norfolk Island. From August 18, 1874, her married name became Christian. The children of Mary Ellen and Leonard Elliott Wood Christian were Thomas Elliott Christian, John Mills Christian, Christabel Christian, Richard Beaumont Christian, Muriel Christian, Henry Montague Christian, Dorcas Elaine Christian, Ethel Christian, and Esther Christian.

Buffett, Robert Pitcairn, thePeerage.com. Robert Pitcairn Buffett was born on Pitcairn Island on March 26, 1830. He was the son of John Buffett and Dorothy Young. He first married Lydia Young, daughter of William Young and Elizabeth Mills, on December 7, 1862, at Norfolk Island. He married, secondly, Mary Elizabeth Young, daughter of Moses Young and Albina McCoy in September 1896. He died on January 2, 1916, at age 85. He was buried on January 23, 1916, on Pitcairn Island. Robert Pitcairn Buffett held the office of Chief Magistrate of Pitcairn Island in 1868. He was described in 1859 by Nobbs as having 'so taciturn a disposition that he would scarcely speak for months, if not spoken to. In fact, no girl ever expects Robert Buffett to make them an offer. Nobbs was apparently wrong, because Robert was married three years later. He and his wife were among the second wave of returnees to Pitcairn from Norfolk in 1864.

Buffett, Thomas, Lareau, thePeerage.com. Thomas Buffett was born on Pitcairn Island on January 3, 1825. He was the son of John Buffett and Dorothy Young. He married Louisa Quintal, daughter of Edward Quintal and Dinah Adams, on June 20, 1853, on Pitcairn Island. He married Dorcas Young, daughter of William Young and Elizabeth Mills, on May 25, 1875, on Norfolk Island. He died on October 18, 1900, at age 75, on Norfolk Island. Thomas held the office of Chief Magistrate of Norfolk Island between 1860 and 1861. (For the children of Thomas and Louisa Quintal, see "Louisa Quintal"). The children of Thomas and Dorcas Young were Maria Elizabeth Buffett, and Ellen Mills Buffett.

Buffett, Thomas Austin, Lareau; thePeerage.com. Thomas Austin Buffett was born on Pitcairn Island on September 5, 1851. He was the son of David Buffett and Martha Young. He died on February 10, 1874, at age 22, on Norfolk Island.

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