William Hort LEVIN

William was born at Wellington.

He married Amy Fitzgerald (born at Lyttelton in 1852) at Wellington in 1876.

They had 2 daughters & three sons. One son died in infancy.

William also had a daughter by the family's housemaid. The mother was married off to another man as they were of different social classes. The girl was born 4 years before he married Amy.

One son, William Fitzgerald died of his wounds at Gallipoli. Tragically his wife died one year later. Also her brother was killed on the Somme in 1916.

His youngest daughter's son (and William's grandson) was killed whilst serving on a destroyer at Dunkirk.

William was a wool merchant and became a partner in his father's business 'Levin & Co'. He was an MP from 1879 to 1884 when he resigned due to ill health. He was also a Director of the Wellington Manawatu Railway Co. The town Levin was named after him.