William BAKER, abt 1795 - Limited details, many guesses...

William BAKER, estimated birth date of 1795, is the 2nd great-grandfather in the LEWIS line to brothers Jack & Bill, 3rd great-grandfather to their children, 4th great-grandfather to their grandchildren! The original families came from the USA to Ontario (Upper Canada), then to Manitoba, finally to Vancouver, British Columbia.  

This line goes as follows:  William & wife Margaret, 2nd child Eliza Jane BAKER & first husband John Lewis AIKEN, their 2nd child Alma Jane AIKEN & her 2nd husband Isaac Charles LEWIS, their 7th child Charles William LEWIS, to their 2 sons Bill & Jack LEWIS; both married with children & grandchildren.

William BAKER, estimated birth 1785, is known only because his daughter Eliza Jane BAKER - from her 2nd marriage registration July 1, 1862 (to Clark Peter Aiken, older brother to her first husband, John Lewis/Louis AIKEN) stated her parents were William and Margaret BAKER. No maiden name for Margaret was included.  See rather messy hard to read registration record below - parents Wm & Margaret, in last 'box'.  

Clark Aikins 39 Kingston M[ale]   Robt & Martha | Eliza J. Aikins 37 Kingston female Wm & Margaret

And, that's all I've been able to find on her parents to date, with many spelling variations used along this research journey. Their origin is unknown, but it might be expected they came as early settlers from either the USA to Upper Canada or, from Great Britain. No details of her parents were on her first marriage registration - just the basics. 

The 1851/52 Census shows no William or Wm. Baker with a Margaret with children including an Eliza Jane aged about 18. To date, I have searched in umpteen different ways on four different repositories so far, with no nibbles at all: Family Search, Library & Archives Canada, Automated Genealogy, Ancestry, Ontario Ancestors...  

However, in the 1861 Census for Kingston, Frontenac County, a James R. Baker is listed in Kingston, Frontenac, Ontario (p.1), along with 3 younger females in the household: Eliza Jane BAKER aged 28, Mary Jane Baker aged 19, and Sarah Baker aged 16.  All 4 in the household are listed as single (p.2), leading one to believe realistically that this is a family group of siblings. All 4 are listed as having been born in Canada West, and religion as Wesleyan Methodist. James is listed as a "yeoman" [farmer].  

When I saw that all 4 in the household were single (p.2), I wondered if their parents had died a few years earlier, leaving the farm to James to work to support the other unmarried children. There is a gap of 5 or 6 years between James and Eliza, and a gap of 8 or 9 years between Eliza and Mary Jane. Possibly there were one or two other siblings in those age gaps, either having died or moved away for work or sisters with a new husband. Many possibilities, no clues, few records. 

And finding no record of either of them in 1851/52 or the 1861 Census, I'm assuming both died before 1851. As the youngest child with James on the 1861 Census is Sarah, aged 16, born about1837, we can assume that Margaret - and William? - were alive at Sarah's birth in 1837 in Kingston. 

My assumption, since I could find no listings of a William Baker in Frontenac County, nor a Margaret Baker on any census, is that both parents may have died of various potential causes, before 1851. I have not found death records for either of them - yet. 

One can speculate that William BAKER was very likely to have been a farmer, living in or around Kingston, Frontenac County, where his children were born and raised.  If James, born about 1818, is his eldest son and heir - an assumption based on James being the yeoman of a farm in the county where he was born - then William and Margaret may have married about 1815-1817. From that potential marriage date, we might guess that William and Margaret might have been born about 1785-1790, i.e., aged 25-30 years of age at their marriage, give or take a few years. 

There are a lot of assumptions and estimates in this very brief amily history.  I have a short list of more documents to research, including looking for any wills or legal paperwork, land records, cemetery records and perhaps death registrations. Perhaps a detailed history of the area will provide more information - I have hopes!!  

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If any of these people are also your ancestors, I am happy to share what I have about their families and ancestors as well. You can best contact me at calewisATtelusDOTnet - as Blogger is not allowing me to reply to any comments on my posts.  

Ann LANGFORD 1585-1659, Sussex Eng - New Haven CT

Hannah or Ann LANGFORD is my10th great-grandmother, 11th to my children, 12th to the grandchildren.  It can be somewhat difficult to find and verify names and relationships in such an early time, without original old Parish Registers, clear writing, and consistency in family residences or parishes. There could be errors in this post. Variants of the name Ann can be Anne, Annie, Anna, Hannah, Hanny.

 I first saw the name Ann LANGFORD in walking back through time in my Treat-Graves-Brooks-Potter male ancestors in very early Connecticut, and decided to see if I could find any information and details about her - her parents, more information about her husband, and perhaps the region she apparently lived in - Sussex, England.  Lewes, in East Sussex, is situated on the River Ouse, where the river cuts sharply through the South Downs - chalk hills. The River Ouse drains south to the English Channel, only 8 miles away.  

Ann LANGFORD Potter Beacher appeared in New Haven, Connecticut, having emigrated after her 2nd husband John Beecher, had unexpectedly died in 1638 in his first months after travelling to New Haven, Connecticut to help prepare land and a home for her, his son, and at least one or more stepchildren. That pointed me back to Lewes to find more information in England. I was able to tease out her first husband's name, William POTTER, and searching backwards in time, I was very surprised to find his death/burial of 14 Aug 1619, in Lewes, Sussex, Eng., aged 39. Further information a little further down in this post.

William POTTER and Ann LANGFORD were married 06 Oct 1607 in Lewes, Sussex, England [transcribed records at FamilySearch], and had several possible children born in Lewes as found on FindMyPast:

   1.  William [jr], bap 28 Aug 1608, d. 1662 in New Haven CT; m abt 1639 CT,
            Frances ____; 6 children known.
   2.  John [ancestor], bap 18 Feb 1608/09, d 10 Aug 1644 New Haven CT;
            m Elizabeth WOOD  in Eng., (1606-28 Jul 1677), 4 children known. 
   3. Mary, bap 21 Mar 1611/12; nothing further known about her.
   4. Steven, bap 1 Aug 1614; nothing further known about him. 

Nothing is yet known about William's occupation, nor the cause of his death at a relatively young age. On his minimal burial register it states he was a "housekeeper" - and several other men on the same list, also listed that. Did they mean "householder" -? Did he work in an Estate House-? Confusion continues. In the early 1600s, deaths were often caused by various epidemics such as Dysentery, Scarlet Fever, Plague, Tuberculosis, Typhoid, Typhus, Influenza and related secondary infections such as Pneumonia. Perhaps it was a disease that caused his early death.

One might suspect that William sr. and their two younger children Mary and Steven died about the same time. However, I have not found burial records for the children in Lewes, Sussex, nor nearby places. 

Several years after William's death, about 1622/23, Ann LANGFORD Potter married for a second time to John Beecher. I have  few records or history for John Beecher. The couple had one known son, Isaac, who was born about 1625, in Lewes. He married and had 10 known children (as seen in the book, Families of Ancient New Haven, V.01) Clearly I need to continue more research, including letters to the local parishes/societies.

John Beecher set off for New Haven, Connecticut in 1637/8 along with oldest stepson Wm Potter jr., to set up a house on land he bought.  Unfortunately, as mentioned before, John  died in the winter of 1638/39. I have not found details of his death. Not knowing of his death, Ann LANGFORD Potter Beecher with the living children: John, William jr, and Isaac - set sail for New Haven, Connecticut, arriving only to find that her husband had died in the winter. 

In terms of support for the widow Ann LANGFORD, and her youngest son, Isaac Beecher jr., I found a history note that because Ann LANGFORD Potter Beecher was a midwife, she was granted assistance from New Haven community leaders. Her two other Potter sons would have been of an age to assist her as well. Her youngest son, Isaac Beecher jr., married  Mary ____, approximately 1650 in New Haven, and had 5 known children, all sons. In New Haven town, the land she had is listed in her previous name: Ann Potter, and is by her two Potter sons, William jr. and John. Her son by John Beecher, would have been living with her on her property.  See map link at bottom of the page. 

Ann LANGFORD Potter Beecher did not marry again, having buried two husbands, and likely continued working as a midwife for the community. She remained in New Haven, and died on 5 Apr 1659, aged 74. 

A map of 1641 New Haven town is available and I was able to find the POTTER family as well as many other of my very early New Haven ancestors. The plan of the town is unique, and the 9-square design was planned by one of the early town settlers, John Brockett, and is known by his name, i.e., "the John Brockett map."  Click here to view the map online at the New Haven Museum (and yes, it is safe to click through). 

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If any of these people are also your ancestors, I am happy to share what I have about their families and ancestors as well. You can best contact me at calewisATtelusDOTnet as Blogger is not allowing me to reply to any comments on my posts.  

Thomas WHITEHOUSE 1829-1909, Coalminer

Thomas WHITEHOUSE was the 4th of 7 sons by Joseph WHITEHOUSE & possible wife  Mary (Collins? Groves?-unverified). Thomas and second wife, Sarah, are my paternal 2nd great-grandparents  through my grandmother Harriet Bunn.  

Thomas was born about 10 July 1829 in Rowley Regis, Staffordshire, England, UK. The family moved to the Dudley area in the early 1840s, which was several miles away, likely for work in the coalmines. This region is a southern part of the major coalfields running through the middle of England. See image with sketch of coalmining in Dudley here with smokestacks spewing forth...

Thomas married an Elizabeth or a Sarah _____, likely in 1852 in Dudley - this has yet to be confirmed. So many Thomas Whitehouse men, so many Elizabeth and Sarah/Sara women, and Whitehouse surnames. More digging still to do.  A great example yet again that there could be a surprising number of same-named men with the same surname in the same place, marrying the same-named wife's first name, around the same time. Sigh. Sometimes research is a frustrating slog! Thomas's first wife died within a year, no children noted. 

As a widower, Thomas then married on 16 July 1854 to Sarah PRICE, whose first husband Thomas Shutt had died a year earlier in 1853 in a coal mining accident. Their daughter, Nancy Shutt, was born in June 1853, in Dudley, Worcestershire, England. So, both Thomas and Sarah were widowed at young ages. Thomas' step-daughter Nancy is seen as a Whitehouse child on all censuses.

On the marriage record, it states that Thomas was a "Furnaceman"; his father (deceased) was a Nailer, and Sarah's father was a Miner. See document below.

Thomas and Sarah had the following 5 children in the Dudley/Netherton region: 
    1.  Sarah Elizabeth [ancestor], b. 7 Nov 1858, d. 30 Sep 1928 in Barrow-in-
             Furness, Cumbria; m. 18 Aug 1879 to George BUNN b. 26 Apr 1857
             [search Bunn posts on this site]; 9 children 
    2.  Benjamin, b. Mar 1867, d. after 1901; m. Margaret Milray abt Sep 1890 in
             Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria; no children 
    3.  Henry, b. est 1869; m. Martha ___ est 1888; one daughter; not verified 
    4.  William (Billy), b. 1871; m. Florence (Flo) 3rdQ 1889; 4 sons known
    5.  Enoch, b. 1875; no further information on him to date - too many Enoch
            Whitehouse men in the region to clarify the 'right one.'

One should take note of the blank years between the 1st child and 2nd. Normally with few birth control measures, children would come every 1-3 years apart. So there appear to be at least 2 children lost. Perhaps miscarriages, perhaps illness, perhaps a record misfiled - no details found. as yet. 

On the 1891 Census, Thomas & Sarah are living still in Barrow, with Benjamin and his wife Margaret  and the two younger boys, William & Enoch, working in the Iron Works and  Steel Works. In the 4th Quarter of 1895, Sarah died, aged 60 years,; no information anywhere about how she died so young. 

The 1901 Census in Barrow shows Thomas, listed as aged 74, is living with Benjamin & wife, with their 3 yr old son William. Benjamin continues to be working at the Iron Works, and Thomas is also still working, this time as a "Shipyard General Labourer." A hard-working man all his life. Also, clearly the Iron Works and Shipyard were still going strong, providing good work/wages for the men. 

Finally, we find that Thomas died in the 3rd Quarter of 1909, aged 80, when compared with his baptism record of 10 July 1829. Ages found on censuses are always taken with a grain of salt, as one doesn't know who gave the information. On the 1901 census, for example, his daughter-in-law may have given the information as both men would have been working. 

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If any of these people are also your ancestors, I am happy to share what I have about their families and ancestors as well. You can best contact me at calewisATtelusDOTnet- as Blogger is not allowing me to reply to any comments on my posts.  

Isaac Charles LEWIS 1855-1937

Isaac Charles LEWIS, born 20 July 1855 in Ontario Canada (Canada West), is the grandfather to Jack & Bill Lewis, great-grandfather to their children, 2nd great-grandfather to the next generation. 

Over the course of Isaac's 82 years, he lived in Lennox & Addington county in Ontario, moving to Selkirk Manitoba Canada before 1885, marrying in 1885, having 8 children, and by 1911 he and several of his family moved to Vancouver British Columbia (BC) Canada. Westward ho! 

Isaac Charles LEWIS was the eldest of the 8 children born to Charles LEWIS (1828-1913) & Elizabeth CAMPION (1832-1899). I have little information on 3 of his 5 brothers - more research to do, with common names and many possible men to weed through. Click on CAMPION for a blog post with more information on Elizabeth's family from County Cork, Republic of Eire.

On the 3rd of December 1885, Isaac Charles LEWIS married Alma Jane AIKEN (1858-1954) in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Her family can claim a United Empire Loyalist in their heritage, Gilbert PURDY, from Ulster county, New York. Alma was married briefly in 1881 to Melancton O. Ancrews, and had one disabled daughter Cora; the marriage was apparently annulled shortly after.

Isaac Charles LEWIS and Alma AIKEN had 7 children (8 with Alma's daughter Cora):

  1.  Arthur Aiken, b 16 Apr 1887, Winnipeg Manitoba, d 8 May 1917,
          Vimy Ridge, France

  2.  Edwin Charles, b 2 Jun 1889, Brandon Manitoba, d 30 Sep 1975,
          Sacramento California; m after 1930 Anna ____; one daughter

  3.  Frederick Isaac, b 8 Jan 1892, Selkirk Manitoba, d 2 Jul 1965, Los Angeles
          California; m 23 Feb 1915 Seattle Washington to Mayre E. Bailey; 3 sons 

  4.  Alma Elizabeth, b 29 Jul 1894, Selkirk Manitoba, d Vancouver BC;
           m (Dr.) Otto De Muth before 1925, Vancouver BC; 2 children

  5.  Evelyn Eliza, b 29 Jul 1898, Selkirk Manitoba, d 30 Oct 1950, Sacramento
           California; m bef 1930 to Herbert Lloyd Phillips

  6.  Mona Ann, b 17 Oct 1898, Selkirk Manitoba, d bef 1906, Brandon Manitoba

  7.  Charles William [ancestor], b 19 Feb 1901, Brandon Manitoba, d 8 Feb
           1952; m est 1933 California to Reba Kathryn RICE (clink for more
            information); 2 sons [b in USA]

On the 1891 Census, he gives his occupation as "Farmer" with one 13 year old boy employee, named William Breen. He and Alma had had 2 boys at this time - Arthur 4yrs old, Edwin 2 years old. In 1901, he and Alma have their 7 children plus Cora. Cora Andrews remains with her mother until she dies in 1953. Isaac is still working as a farmer.

   

An advertisement in the Feb 1905 local newspaper in Manitoba shows him owning/running a grocery and butcher shop, I.C. Lewis & Son.  Possibly the eldest son, Arthur, was working with him, aged 19 years old at the time.

And in 1906, still in Manitoba, he states his occupation as Butcher, making $1800/year.  The family were living at 609 Lowe Avenue, with one boarder, Alice Crossland aged 35, from England. 

They clearly moved soon afterwards, as the 1911 Census shows the family living in Vancouver BC, and his occupation is working in a Butcher shop.  Home address at that time was 1842 West 5th Avenue. Both Arthur and Edwin are not living with the family at this time. Arthur is in Comox BC working as a Chainman to a surveyor; Edwin was apparently living in Vancouver BC, although not verified.

By the 1921 Census, Isaac was 65, retired, living with wife Alma, stepdaughter Cora, plus youngest son, Charles [ancestor]. Home address was  342 East 8th Avenue, Vancouver BC. Over the next decades, all sons are living in the USA, married, both daughters married - one in BC, one in USA.  

Isaac died 17 Apr 1937, aged 81 years,  and is buried in Mountain View Cemetery - which indeed has a beautiful mountain view of the North Shore mountains. His wife Alma lived to 11 Dec 1954, aged 96. Cora died  in 1953, the year before her mother died. There is no gravestone for either Cora or Alma, although both are buried there. Photo of his flat gravestone above. Note it states he was born in Bath Ontario - wish every gravestone had such nice genealogical details!  

                                                        

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If any of these people are also your ancestors, I am happy to share what I have about their families and ancestors as well. You can best contact me at calewisATtelusDOTnet as Blogger is not allowing me to reply to any comments on my posts.  

 

Patrick DONAGHY

In the PERRY line of my son-in-law, here is Patrick DONAGHY, the Irish great-great-grandfather of brothers Brent & Martin, 3rd great-grandfather to their children. I have very little information on his parents, on him and his wife, and his 9 known children. But at the same time, I do have "some!" 

Note spelling variations seen on various documents: Donaghey, Donaghee, Donaghey, Donaghoe; and for his wife's maiden name: Magenis, Magennis, Maguines, Maginess, etc. 

Patrick DONAGHY was born approximately 1840 in Emyvale, Monaghan, Republic of Ireland.  That information is inferred by the details of his marriage in Emyvale and his wife and all children's births in Emyvale or nearby Glaslough, and in several Censuses.  In 1860, he was living in Emyvale, as seen on the Griffith's Valuation book.  Note Glaslough is about 5km southeast from Emyvale.

Born in the Emyvale region of County Monaghan, near County Tyrone, Patrick eventually married Martha McGuiness [many variants of spelling - Maginnis e.g.]. They were both Roman Catholic. Their marriage in approximately 1864, Co. Monaghan, was followed by 9 children, all born in the Emyvale/Glaslough region.

Patrick Donaghy and Martha McGuiness children:
   1.  Catherine, bap 19 Jul 1865, Glaslough
   2.  Mary, bap 2 May 1868, Glaslough
   3.  Ann, bap 21 Jun 1870, Glaslough
   4.  James, bap 7 Jan 1873, Glaslough
   5.  Martha Jane [ancestor], bap 7 Dec 1874, Emyvale, d. 11 May 1968
        Staffordshire Eng; m. James PERRY, 2 Aug 1898, Glasgow,
        Scotland; 5 children
   6.  Bridget, bap 15 Apr 1877, Emyvale
   7.  John, bap 17 Aug 1879, Emyvale
   8.  Susan, bap abt 1883, Emyvale
   9.  Thomas, bap abt 1886, Emyvale.

The family moved over to Glasgow, Scotland apparently before Martha & Patrick married 2 August 1898. When Patrick & Martha's  daughter Martha Jane married on 2 Aug 1898 in Glasgow, Patrick's occupation is listed as "blacksmith (journeyman)" at that time. The North Channel between northern Ireland and Scotland was quite commonly taken by people looking for work and higher wages. I suspect that several of the older children may have moved to Glasgow or thereabouts at some time before the 1901 census.

It is obvious that the family moved to Glasgow for only a few years, as children #6-9 were baptised in Emyvale, Monaghan, Ireland.

The next item I have found for Patrick is a listing in the 1894 Slater's Royal National Directory of Ireland. Living in Emyvale, he is listed under the column "Commercial" as a Nailer. Slater's lists the village of Emyvale in 1891 as having had a population of 320, on 27 acres of total land. Not a lot of land for farming for the number of possible families. perhaps less than one acre per family. Wheat, oats, and barley were the common grains grown, plus perhaps some cows and pigs. Perhaps some people shared acreage with extended families in order to grow enough food each year. 

By the 1901 Census, Patrick and Martha had moved back to Emyvale and living with only their youngest daughter Susan, aged 17.  Patrick's occupation is listed as Nailer. The older children Catherine, Mary, Ann, James, Bridget, and John, were likely working in Scotland, perhaps married. I haven't done all the Scotland research for them as yet. Thomas would have been 15 years old, but isn't listed on the census for the village of Emyvale.  Many threads to be followed up on. 

On the 1911 Census, Patrick and Martha are living still in Emyvale with only their youngest child, 25 year old single Thomas, living with them. Patrick's occupation is listed as Nailer once again, and son Thomas' occupation is "Shop Assistant."

On all the Censuses, Martha's education is always listed as "cannot read", while Patrick and the children show they can both read & write. He has a clear neat signature as seen on the 1901 and 1911 censuses.

More research is clearly needed, as I have no information on the children as adults, either in Ireland or Scotland.  I have Martha Maginnes Donaghy's death in June 1915 (i.e., 2nd Quarter of 1915). But no record of Patrick's death yet. To date, I have found no details of his parents, nor Martha's parents in Ireland. Another blog post after more research! 

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If these are your ancestors, I am happy to share what little I have on these ancestors. And if there are errors, please do let me know, via calewis at telus dot net, and I will get back to you by email. I appreciate the opportunity to correct any issues or add additional information in these family trees.

Blogger - or my computer - is not letting me "reply" to your comments. If I don't reply to your Comment, please know that I'm totally thrilled you came to read my post and commented! You truly make my day!!  

Benjamin PIERCE 1657-1730, Dorset Eng to Massachusetts

It's been a while since I posted about another ancestor. I'm back on track now after completing a very large project. Here's a post about a long-ago ancestor in the 1600s: Benjamin PIERCE - variants Pearse, Peirse, Peirce, Pears, Piers, and many more. He is the 7th great-grandfather through the RICE line of brothers Jack & Bill Lewis, 8th to their children, 9th to their grandchildren, 10th to great-grandchildren. 

Benjamin PIERCE was the 4th child, eldest son, born in Scituate, Massachusetts, in approximately
1657. His birthdate is inferred to information of him being 13 in 1670 records, although of course he might have turned 14 soon after. Scituate is the "heart" icon on the coast below Boston. 

Here is some information on Benjamin's parents: his father was [Capt] Michael PIERCE (1615 - 1676) who married Persis EAMES, (1621-1662) in approximately 1644 or 1645.  He was the eldest of the two sons of Michael and Persis; the couple had 5 daughters as well, one of whom died as an infant.  *See below at end for Michael's supposed 2 brothers who also immigrated.

Research for the families of Benjamin PIERCE and his mother Persis EAMES was relatively straightforward as the Online Parish Clerk for Dorset [OPC] England, was extremely thorough and detailed in his postings of genealogical/historical information of the Pierce & Eames families. FamilySearch and Ancestry both have more digitized records from early Massachusetts town records. More research is needed to clarify several fuzzy dates and relationships. 

Note Benjamin's parents, Michael PIERCE & Persis EAMES, immigrated from Fordington, Dorset, England, to Massachusetts or Rhode Island before 1645.  All of their eight children were born in Scituate, Plymouth, Massachusetts, as confirmed by summary images of baptism registers for Scituate, MA.  

The parish church in Fordington, Dorset is
St. George, [right] with a very early history  in this area from the 11th Century on. 
Photo credit: By Chris Downer,
CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org
/w/index.php?curid=12996528  

Benjamin PIERCE was the 4th child, eldest son, born in 1657, in Scituate, MA. 

On 5 Feb 1678, Benjamin PIERCE married Martha ADAMS [1658-1717] who had been born in Plymouth County, MA of very early settlers to MA. The couple had 8 known children, as follows, all born in Scituate, Plymouth, MA: 

   1.  Martha, b 14 Dec 1679, d 18 Feb 1700.  
   2.  Jerusha [ancestor], b 13 Feb 1681, d. 6 Apr 1758, Scituate MA;
              m approx 1702 to Deacon Joseph BAILEY jr., 5 children
   3.  Ebenezer, b 2 Apr 1686, d 15 Dec 1772, MA; poss. married, [Mary]
              2 children, [not proven]
   4.  Benjamin (jr), b 2 Apr 1684 
   5.  Persis, b 6 Jun 1688, d 1717 Scituate MA
   6   Caleb, b 12 Jun 1690, d 22 Dec 1769 Litchfield CT; m est 1720 
              Hannah Tilden; 2 girls known
   7.  Thomas, b 14 Nov 1692, d 9 May 1775; m 29 Jan 1717 Mary Booth,
               2 children   
   8.  Adams, b 11 Jun 1695, d 1714. 
   9.  Jeremiah, b 17 Sep 1697, d Jan 1780, MA; m 24 Aug 1732 Bethsheba
             Litchfield; no other research completed yet. 
  10.  Elisha [Deacon], b 24 Nov 1699, d 15 Jul 1770; m Sara Edson, 2 girls, 2 boys.

Benjamin is listed with other landowners in a late 1620s or early 1630s land record.  For a number of years, Benjamin, with 2 other men, had responsibility from the district council to examine the boundaries of various lands, re buying land, subdividing land, clarifying boundary edges for all freemen. 

After his father Michael died in 1676, Benjamin was executor of his father's considerable estate, receiving the majority of the land and buildings. He apparently managed it extremely well, becoming a wealthy landowner with holdings in excess of 1000 acres. He also owned and ran a sawmill that was erected on a river running through his lands. 

Like his father before him, Benjamin was appointed Captain of the local militia. 

Martha, died aged 59 on 29 Dec 1717 in Scituate MA. 

Two years later, on 21 Jul 1718, he married widow Elizabeth Lobdell Perry, who had 12 children. They had no children together. Elizabeth died in 1742. 

Benjamin died aged 73 on 8 May 1730, where he lived his entire life, in Scituate, MA. A gravestone may be seen at Groveland Cemetery, Scituate, MA:   FindAGrave  

*See "Pierce Genealogy, being the Record of the Posterity of Capt. Michael, John, Capt. William Pierce, who came to this country from England,"* by Frederick Clifton Pierce of Rockford Ill., published in 1889, Albany NY, by Joel Munsell's Sons.  

This is a debunked genealogy book that inaccurately states three brothers, Capt. Michael, John, and Capt. William, emigrated from Frodington, Dorset, England before 1645.  This has been thoroughly debunked as false by current genealogist researchers. Michael Pierce had no brothers with these names. Actually, no siblings have been verified as yet. And there are many Pierce immigrants with variants: Pearse, Peirse, Peirce, Pears, Piers, etc. These first names are very very common as well. Easy to get excited about how they "must" be brothers. They weren't.

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If these are your ancestors, I am happy to share what little I have on these ancestors. And if there are errors, please do let me know, via calewis at telus dot net, or in the Comments below and I will get back to you either by email or in the Comments. I appreciate the opportunity to correct any issues or add additional information in these family trees.

Blogger - or my computer - is not letting me "reply" to your comments. If I don't reply to your Comment, please know that I'm totally thrilled you came to read my post and commented! You truly make my day!!  

A small Selection of Family Christmas Photos

Some first Christmas babies, also families & cousins in this mess of photos. My computer died back in 2006, and I lost many well-loved photos.  Now of course, I back up constantly in 3 ways!! 

    

    

 

Cheers for the Holidays!! 

CLUES GALORE! Greatgrandmother Sarah E. WHITEHOUSE's 1858 Birth Certificate

I love receiving snail-mail. The clunk of the letterbox outside the front door as the mailman drops in something unknown and flops the metal flap back over it. The feel of envelopes, the stamps, the possibilities.

In late 2006, I received a large brown envelope from Dudley, County of Worcester, England, with FIVE certificates: 3 labelled "Certified Copy of an Entry of Birth", 2 labelled "Certified Copy of an Entry of Marriage." What wonderful treasure indeed for a genealogist! However, I was retiring at that time, going into hospital for surgery, and didn't really look at them beyond confirming the contents of that big brown envelope. As I later  wondered what next to work on in my family tree, I looked over each of those five documents, now scanned and filed. And in scanning, I looked in detail at each  record. At this point in time, they now are all scanned, labelled, and filed appropriately. My desk is almost totally clear of genealogy paperwork right now! Amazing.

Here is a copy of my paternal line Sarah Elizabeth WHITEHOUSE - Greatgrandmother's birth record - with  interesting information about her parents and her life.  (I made it X-large so that you could read more details.)  

When I teach Introduction to Genealogy classes for beginners, I always tease people by saying "There are at least 19 clues or questions to ask, on every document you find!"... because I've found that beginners only see two or three, and think they're done looking: "Yes, there's the parents and birthdate. Done."  I know I still have much research to do with these certificates in hand. And I will need to be ordering several more certificates as well - my list of "to order" items is growing. 

This birth registration document is very easy to read, with careful clear writing, birthdate of Seventh November 1858. We have her address (born at home) as Northfield Road, Netherton, Dudley, in the County of Worcester.  I had to look up more about the relationship of Netherton and Dudley to understand why there are two towns listed as if they were separate ones, in Worcestershire. More to learn.  The number in the first column "448"  is the number of the registration, not the house number, by the way.

There is her father's name Thomas Whitehouse. I do wish he had a more interesting name, like Linus or Beauregard, or something quite out of the ordinary. But my father's ancestor men were good solid folk with plain names: Thomas, George, William, John, James, Henry.

But then there is Sarah's mother's name, written as: Sarah Whitehouse late Shutt, formerly Price. Here we see that Sarah's maiden name is PRICE. And she was previously married, to a gentleman, surname of Shutt. I have a few clues to indicate his name was Thomas Shutt, and they were married only 1-2 years at most. However, I haven't been able to confirm this yet - I have a list of more records to order: another marriage certificate, his death record, plus more research still to do.

We have the father's occupation:  "Laborer at an Ironwork".  There is a reason this area was once termed the Black Midlands, due to the smoke/soot in the air which landed on the ground, trees, houses, people and - I am sure - on the laundry put outside to dry.  I'm trying to think how anyone kept clean when they worked such difficult dirty jobs as iron works jobs, or coal mining. I thought I might be able to discover which ironworks Thomas might have worked at. I assumed I'd find something quite specific about an Ironworks foundry near Netherton, or near Northfield Road. Perhaps. I was able to find the following on Wikipedia [scroll down on the page]:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Iron_Company :  

Netherton[edit]

The 'old ironworks' at Netherton (with two furnaces) were acquired from Attwood in 1825 as part of the Corngreaves transaction. The company remained in possession until c1852 when the works were sold to Noah Hingley & Sons. The company is also known to have worked coal mines here.

Brierley Hill, Dudley Wood and Netherton were all held under lease from the Dudley estate.

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Back to those certificates up above:  were you able to read the Registration date?  and the informant?

Note that Sarah made her mark X  The Mark of Sarah Whitehouse  Mother, Northfield road, Netherton/Dudley, on the Fifteenth December 1858.  This registration date is about 5 weeks after the birth of their daughter, Sarah Elizabeth Whitehouse. And I'm making an assumption that my greatgrandmother went to the office to register the birth herself, as her husband, Thomas, had to work.

Sarah would need to bundle up the baby plus her 5 year old stepdaughter against the December cold and wet, and walk to the office where the birth needed to be registered.   Then back they would have to go home again. I would like to find out how she might have gotten to the Dudley Registration office. Surely someone would have given her a lift... was there a railroad? a cart? Perhaps they were close enough to walk there. I'm abysmally ignorant about transportation options in the 1850s in England villages! I also wonder if it mattered to her that she was not able to write her name on the birth registration form at the office in 1858. I know so little about her. On later census records she is listed as having the occupation of "Nailer" which was piece-work, adding to their income.

I went back to look again at the 1856 marriage record for Thomas WHITEHOUSE and Sarah Shutt, finding Sarah's father's name as John PRICE, Miner.  There were extensive coal mines in and around this area, so that is likely what John mined. Sarah's first husband was also a miner, named Thomas.

Thomas WHITEHOUSE and Sarah Shutt PRICE had 5 children: 1 daughter - Sarah Elizabeth (my ancestor) and 4 sons. Thomas' father was noted as Joseph WHITEHOUSE (Dead), occupation, Nailer. Netherton was known as THE place for nailmaking, from the 1600s onwards into the early-mid 1800s.  Also on the marriage record, Thomas is listed as a Widower, occupation "Furnace Man." I have begun to search for his first wife, whom I believe may have been also named Sarah, 5 years younger than him.

I first found the records of a Thomas marrying a Sarah, and a Sarah marrying a Thomas for both first and second marriagesfor this couple, an interesting symmetry.  Perhaps not so unusual, as those were quite common names in this time. It is said that there are so many Bunn and Whitehouse families in Netherton that if you had a stone for each one, you could build a home with them! Several of the Bunn and Whitehouse individuals in my tree were born in Windmill End and in Darby Hand (Darby End), both tiny neighbourhoods near to Netherton.

I have a few photos of my greatgrandmother, Sarah Elizabeth WHITEHOUSE... she married George BUNN in 1879, and they soon moved up to the north-east of England, to Barrow-in-Furness, where iron foundries and ship-building opportunities abounded. They had 9 children, one died as an infant. 

George BUNN died 10 Nov 1919 aged 62; Sarah Elizabeth WHITEHOUSE died 30 Sep 1928 at the age of 69 years. I can't help feel they were both "too young" to die at those ages.  

Any and all BUNN & WHITEHOUSE relatives - please get in touch and I'm happy to email you the copy of any of the Bunn and Whitehouse certificates I have received to date.  And if you have additional details I'd be thrilled to receive them!! (contact information, scroll below)

(This post is an updated version of my original post in 2010.)

Margaret C. WALTERS - 1837-1918, Tennessee to Illinois

 Another RICE ancestor in our LEWIS-RICE family, here is Margaret C. WALTERS, 5th daughter and youngest child of Anderson WALTERS & Elizabeth JOYNER. 

Margaret's 6 siblings were all born in Sumner County, Tennessee, but shortly after 1837 the family migrated westward and settled in  the southeast portion of Illinois, to White County. The Township for this region is Indian Creek.

On December 1855, Margaret C WALTERS married Phillip Wesley VINEYARD [1834-1874] in Carmi, White, Illinois, the county seat of White County. See photo of the Courthouse on the right (public domain).

Children of Margaret C WALTERS & Phillip Wesley VINEYARD:  
   1. Florence, b 15 Nov 1857 Saline co. IL, d 1931 Saline co. IL); m 16 Jul 1882 to Samuel Madison Orr, 4 children
   2.  Priscilla, b 1859 White co. IL, d. Dec 1879 Indian Creek, White IL; m. 15 Feb 1876 to Thomas Shelby Millspaugh, 2 girls
   3.  William Anderson, b 20 Nov 1860 White co. IL, d. 31 May 1940 Los Angeles CA; m 13 Dec 1883 to Arabel Hill; 6 children
   4.  Martha Jane [ancestor], b 2 Aug 1864 White co IL, d. 19 Mar 1954 Los Angeles CA; m. 1887 to Henry Luther RICE; 8 children
   5.  Lucy Lanah [?Leanah?], b 14 Jan 1867 White co IL, d. 4 Mar 1921 Saline co. IL; m. 21 Feb 1886 to Robert James Sneed, 6 children
   6.  Thomas Milligan, b 24 Jun 1869 White co IL, d 26 Jul 1941 Greenway Clay AK; m. 22 Nov 1891 to Rhoda B. Pettigrew, 2 girls
   7.  Rebecca E., b 1871 White co IL; no further information found on Rebecca

Margaret's husband Phillip W. VINEYARD died unexpectedly, aged 40, on 6 Feb 1874 in Indian Creek, White county, IL, leaving her with 7 children, aged 17 to 3 yrs of age. His estate took some time to settle, with debt claims to settle, Margaret's dower portion to settle, and the land and property to sell. His probate papers detail these issues, and may easily be found on FamilySearch.org.  Note that Phillip's father died scarcely 2 years earlier. 

Several years later, in 1878, Margaret married for a second time to a widower with a number of children, Francis Marion Berry. Two boys were delivered of this second marriage:
   8. Lewis Perdue, b 1878 Indian Creek, White, IL
   9. Garfield H., b 1880, Indian Creek, White, IL, d. 16 Oct 1919

Margaret's second husband, Francis, died in 1914, aged 80 yrs.  Margaret moved to be with one of her children - her daughters were living with their families in Salina County. She  died 12 Feb 1918 in Buelah Heights, Salina co., IL. She was aged 81 years old. She is buried with her second husband in the Odd Fellows Cemetery, in McLeansboro, Hamilton county, IL.  

Margaret C WALTERS is the great-grandmother to brothers Jack & Bill Lewis, the 2nd-great-grandmother to their children, and 3rd-great-grandmother to the following generation. I have not been able to find any photos of Margaret. As she died in 1918, I might assume there are photos somewhere in the extended family. Hopefully we will find several eventually.  

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If these are your ancestors, I am happy to share what little I have on these ancestors. And if there are errors, please do let me know, via calewis at telus dot net, or in the Comments below and I will get back to you either by email or in the Comments. I appreciate the opportunity to correct any issues or add additional information in these family trees.

Blogger - or my computer - is not letting me "reply" to your comments. If I don't reply to your Comment, please know that I'm totally thrilled you came to read my post and commented! You truly make my day!! 

REMEMBRANCE : Lest We Forget... LEWIS, BUNN, GILLESPIE

 This is a repeat of an earlier post.

"WWI Roll Call" with basic details of the three relatives who died in "The Great War" 1914-1918. Two relatives (great-uncles) are on my GILLESPIE-BUNN side, the other on the LEWIS-RICE line. The photo on the right is #1 below, George Armstrong Gillespie, aged 28.


1.  George Armstrong GILLESPIE, b. 1886, Barrow in Furness, Lancashire, England, d. 8 Aug 1916, France.  
The 4th and last child of George GILLESPIE & Catherine ARMSTRONG, a bachelor, he was living with his unmarried older sister, Mary, and his parents, at 44 Earle Street, Barrow, at the time he entered military service in 1914. His older two brothers, including Jack Gillespie, were living in Canada at this time.  
George A. Gillespie died August 8, 1916, aged 30; his identifying number is R/3245, attached to the 11th Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps.  He is buried in Hebuterne Communal Cemetery, France.  His headstone carving, as requested by his parents, is the following:
THE WICKED  /  CEASE FROM TROUBLING /
      AND THE WEARY  /  ARE AT REST  

2.  Thomas BUNN,  b. 12 Dec 1886, Barrow in Furness, Lancashire, England, d. 8 Oct 1917, Belgium.  
Thomas was the 4th child (of 9) of George BUNN & Sarah Elizabeth WHITEHOUSE, the brother of my grandfather Jack Gillespie's wife, Harriett BUNN .Thomas lived for a short time in Canada, following his older brother George Bunn who had immigrated in 1910.  He is a bit of a mystery and there is a story that he married or lived common-law with a woman while living in the Maritimes in Canada.  However, when war was declared, he returned to Barrow and enlisted there.  He joined the Royal Army Medical Corp, 23rd Field Ambulance, (the 7th Division). He was killed in action on 8 Oct 1917, in Belgium, and is buried in Tyne Cot Memorial, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. His name may be seen on Panel 160. (The link shows the cemetery ringed by Panels filled with approximately 35,000 names of casualties...)  

3.  Arthur Aiken LEWIS, b. 16 Apr 1887, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, d. 8 May 1917, Vimy Ridge, France.
Arthur was the eldest of 8 children of Isaac Charles LEWIS & Alma Jane AIKEN. Arthur worked as a Surveyor, on Vancouver Island,as seen on 1911 Census.  His CEF - Canadian Expeditionary Force - papers show he enlisted 26 Oct 1915, service number #61710, 22nd Battalion, Canadian Infantry.  There is some confusion re his death date, as the Vimy Memorial certificate provides date of death as 15/09/1916 (Sept. 15, 1916); but the official notification of his death is May 8, 1917, "in the trenches south of Acheville" which is by Vimy Ridge.  The confusion has not been reconciled at this point.  The Canadian Vimy Memorial is a remarkable construction, sitting on the Ridge itself. You can read of its design, construction, and more by clicking on this link.  


So many young men were killed in World War I.  

Lest We Forget...   
   

Elisha RICE, 1679-1761, Sudbury Massachusetts

Another RICE ancestor in our LEWIS-RICE family:  Elisha RICE, Jack & Bill's 5th-great-grandfather, 6th- to their children, and 7th- to their children. Elisha was the grandson of the first RICE immigrant to Massachusetts: Deacon Edmund RICE and his wife, Tamsin FROST who arrived in 1632. Much information on the RICE family is found on the Edmund RICE (1632) Family Association, and I have written on a number of their ancestors to date. Search on the surname in the search box to the right for more RICE family. 

Elisha RICE was born on 4 December 1679 at Sudbury, New Haven, Massachusetts, although another source states 11 December at Marlborough. His parents were Thomas RICE & Mary KING - about whom I have previously written - here is one post example. He was the 12th and last child of his parents. His father died Nov 16, 1681 when he was almost 3 years old; his mother did not remarry, and I'm assuming that there were others in the family nearby available to assist in his upbringing.  Image on right from Flickr, CC Elizabeth B. Thomsen. 

On February 10th, 1707/8 at Concord MA, he married Elizabeth WHEELER, the daughter of Obadiah WHEELER & Elizabeth WHITE. The latter was the granddaughter of Mayflower settler, Resolved WHITE, who came to Plymouth in 1620 with his parents William WHITE & Susanna JACKSON. So here we find the link for Mayflower descendency through this family. 

The couple lived in Sudbury until about 1719, when Elisha was a "proprietor" of Worcester, where he had 30 acres of land granted to him the previous year. I have not found the deed record/s for this land. He moved back to Sudbury after that year apparently. Elisha and Elizabeth had 7 known children:
    1.  Eliakim, b 27 Feb 1709, Sudbury, d after 1763; m. 14 May 1730 in Weston
             MA to Mehitabel Livermore; 5 children [1 died young].
    2.  Elisha [jr], b 27 May 1711, Sudbury; never married; apparently cared
             for sister Julia at times.
    3.  Elizabeth, b 3 Nov 1713, Sudbury, d 29 Mar 1799, Leicester MA; m
             28 Nov 1735 in Sudbury to Jonas Livermore; 8 known children.
    4.  Julia, b 20 Mar 1716, Sudbury, d after 1766, never married; apparently
              had severe mental illness, and her brother Elisha apparently cared
              for her at times.
    5.  Silas, b 28 Apr 1719, Worcester MA, d 24 Mar 1800 Northborough MA;
               m[1]Copia Broughton 10 Mar 1744/5; m[2] Lois Pollard 20 Sep 1770;
               m[3]Mehitable Goodnow 8 Dec 1784.  8 children from [1]marriage, 1
               child from [2]. 
    6.   Elija, ancestor, b 5 Mar 1721 Sudbury or Worcester, d Mar 1818 Holden
               MA; m 23 Nov 1748 Shrewsbury, MA to Huldah KEYES; 9 children
    7.  Zebulon, b 5 Jun 1725 Sudbury or Worcester, d 26 Dec 1799 Boylston,
               MA; no marriage information.

Note that with the Mayflower descendency books providing genealogical information going 5 or more generations down from the original settlers, much of the information about Elisha & Elizabeth's children is taken from the William White bk, Vol.1.  

Elizabeth died in 1727 in Sudbury, 2 years after her last child Zebulon. Elisha did not marry again. His siblings lived near him, and his three eldest children were likely able to help as needed.  

Elisha died before 19 October 1761 at Sudbury MA, intestate.  The estate was appraised on 19 Oct 1761, with the oldest son Eliakim as the Administrator. John Rice, Thos Damon and Phinobus Brintnall were the witnesses to the Bond document as well as the Inventory, which latter was completed Jan 18, 1762. I believe John is Eliakim's grand-uncle, but this has not been verified as yet. The Probate records mentioned were found on NEHGS [AmericanAncestors.org].

There are surprisingly few records that I have found to date on Elisha, other than birth, marriage, a few comments of his land in Worcester, residence in Sudbury, and his Probate records. No deeds, tax rolls, or other such paperwork on him. It is clear he farmed, as his Probate Inventory lists Land valued at over £226, with 1 horse, 4 cows, 1 heifer, 2 calves, plus 420 bushels of oats, 22 bushels and a half of Rye, 30 bushels of Indian corn. He also had a plough share and cotter and other farming equipment. 

I noted that on his inventory he is called "Cap'n Elisha Rice," so he likely had a military role at one point. To date I have not found the details of his military activities. There had certainly been several wars between the local Indians and early settlers, and perhaps he was part of the local militia, called on when needed. 

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If these are your ancestors, I am happy to share what little I have on these ancestors. And if there are errors, please do let me know, via calewis at telus dot net, or in the Comments below and I will get back to you either by email or in the Comments. I appreciate the opportunity to correct any issues or add additional information in these family trees.

Blogger - or my computer - is not letting me "reply" to your comments. If I don't reply to your Comment, please know that I'm totally thrilled you came to read my post and commented! You truly make my day!! 

Samuel TREAT 1714-1798 in Milford, Connecticut

Samuel TREAT is my 5th great-grandfather up in my mother's Terwilliger line, 6th to my children, 7th to their children. Samuel is the great-grandson of the original immigrant to the New England colony, Richard TREAT, bef 1584-1670, who immigrated from Pitminster, England, about 1637, ending up in Wethersfield, Hartford, Connecticut. Richard came with his wife Alice GAYLARD and the majority of their children. For more information, use the search box to the right, to read about those two, and/or others listed below.

Born 13 Aug 1714 in Milford CT, Samuel was the 4th child (3rd son) of Capt. Joseph TREAT & Elizabeth MERWIN, his second wife. His mother died a few months after her 5th child in 1716. There would have been several older children and older step-siblings able to help raise the young children, I'm sure. I do not have a record of any third marriage of his father. 

He would have been living in Milford with his parents shortly after Milford CT was purchased and begun to settle mainly with other New Haven settlers, after 1646. Very early settlers in this area although not the original first group. First group of settlers were Puritans, and their meeting house [church] was made very plain - as note the image to the right, from a booklet Historical Sketches of the Town of Milford [on Internet Archive].  
Samuel TREAT married Beulah JENNINGS on 26 Oct 1743, in likely Milford CT. She was the 3rd of 4 daughters of Michael JENNINGS & Elizabeth JACKSON. They had 8 children, all born in Milford CT, one of whom died young: 

    1.  Beulah, b 15 Jan 1744, d 30 Mar 1844 in Watertown, Litchfield CT;
             apparently did not marry.
    2.  Mary, b 29 Oct 1744, m 1762 to Joel Titus; no further research
    3.  Elnathan Peet, b 18 Jun 1749, d Aug 1749
    4.  Elnathan Peet, b 1 Sep 1751; no further information
    5.  Samuel Peet [ancestor], b 29 Sep 1754, d 5 Jul 1837 Russia, Herkimer,
           NY; m 29 Sep 1780 to Sarah THOMPSON, in Milford, New Haven, CT;
           5 daughters
    6.  Elizabeth, b abt 1756; no further information
    7.  Abijah, b 15 Dec 1761, d. 5 Jan 1799; m. 12 Jul 1780, likely Milford CT
             to Mary Margaret Sperry; no further research
    8.  Hepzibah, b 1763, d unknown; m est 1785 to [unknown] Warner; no further
             research

As you can see there is a lot of possible research to undertake, although this period of time is not awash in high quality documents, as well as finding frequent same names in same generations!  

The 1790 Census for Milford township in CT shows the household of Samuel consisting of 1 male over 16, and 3 females. Unfortunately the enumerator copied his findings so that surnames were alphabetical, so it is not possible to see who is living next or close to him. 

It is believed that Samuel died about 1798 in Washington, Litchfield, CT. I have  no further information on him as yet. It is stated on several trees that Samuel was a veteran of the Revolutionary War during 1775-1783. He would have been in his late 50s to 60s at this point, and it would be somewhat unlikely. There were many many Samuel Treat men in Connecticut, and I believe the Rev. War veteran is one of other Samuel Treat men. 

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If these are your ancestors, I am happy to share what little I have on these ancestors. And if there are errors, please do let me know, via calewis at telus dot net, or in the Comments below and I will get back to you either by email or in the Comments. I appreciate the opportunity to correct any issues or add additional information in these family trees.

Blogger - or my computer - is not letting me "reply" to your comments. If I don't reply to your Comment, please know that I'm totally thrilled you came to read my post and commented! You truly make my day!!