Son of Jeremiah (1962-1934) & Johanna Josephine (1863-1936) Finnerty

• His father was a Contractor in the Hutt. He opened the first trench in Upper Hutt for the Water Supply. Hugh Stewart and Edward Morrison laid the first pipe and Frank Lawson caulked it. In 1890 he was ordered to pay £1 per week towards the support of his wife and children. In June 1895, in the Lower Hutt Court, Jeremiah Finnerty, a 'hard-working contractor' was charged with assaulting his wife and daughter. His Worship said Mrs Finnerty must be protected from him but he did not want to send him to gaol and therefore bound him over, and made a separation order between them, Johanna to have custody of the children. Five months later, in Nov 1895, he was sentenced to 6 months hard labour for disobeying the order to provide for his wife and family. In Dec 1890 Drs Henry and Cahill certified to his insanity, he was arrested by the police and was committed to the Mount View Asylum. In Sep 1891 he was again in court and ordered to pay £11 in 7 days (2018 equivalent of $201) or, in default, go to prison for one month. In Nov 1897 Jeremiah visited Johanna, assaulted her and threatened to kill her. He said in his defence that he didn't remember anything about the occurrence. He was bound over for 6 months. By 1899 he was boarding at the Kaiwarra Club Hotel. In 1925 Johanna was living at 43 Aro Street, Aro Valley. Jeremiah & Johanna are buried together at Karori with another son, James Patrick Felix Finnerty (1896-1973)

Their son Herbert Gerald Finnerty (1886-) served as Private 2113, embarking with the 16th Australian Battalion, 6th Reinforcements on 23 June 1915. When he was wounded in 1915 and admitted to the London Hospital, his mother, as next of kin, was living at Thorndon Quay, Wellington

24 Dec 1891 A child named Edward J. Finnerty, two years and one month old, and a son of Jeremiah Finnerty, labourer, of Lewisville road, Thorndon, died suddenly about half-past 3 o'clock yesterday morning. The boy was seized with an illness about 2 o'clock, and Dr Cahill was sent for, but his skill did not avail, and the little sufferer died as above stated. The doctor having certified that the cause of death was acute diarrhoea, the Coroner, to whom the matter was reported by the police, has decided that two other children of the same family are ill with the same serious complaint