Blog Archives

Thomas HAZARD (c1610-1680) - #17 (52 Ancestors)

4/29/2015

Theme: Prosper | Images: Click on many to enlarge

We do not know exactly when or where in England Thomas HAZARD was born, but probably by 1610. Reportedly his father was also named Thomas who had at least 2 other sons, one of whom served in the military in Ireland and was subsequently granted land near Enniskillen. Our Thomas is first reported in “New England” in 1635 living in Boston Massachusetts, but his exact date of immigration has not been found. As his oldest son Robert by his wife Martha Potter was also said to be born in 1635, it seems possible that Robert was born in Boston, although other sources say he was born in England or Ireland. It seems everyone is still guessing on this.

I recently wrote about Thomas HASZARD (1727-1804), my 5G Grandfather who changed the spelling of his name upon his move from Rhode Island to PEI Canada following the Revolutionary War. Four generations earlier, my 9G Grandfather Thomas HAZARD (c1610-1680) emigrated from England to North America and became a founding father of Newport, Rhode Island where he certainly prospered. This is his story.

Most of the information on the early HAZARD pioneers of Rhode Island come from a series of genealogical publications written in the 1800s, each quoting from earlier publications with revisions and additions. Colonial papers and local histories and records are also referenced. The most recent of these compilations, published in 1896, was “The Hazard Family of Rhode Island” by Caroline Elizabeth Robinson. She in turn referenced the 1869 publication by Thomas R Hazard and Willis P Hazard, laboriously titled "Recollections of Olden Times: Rowland Robinson of Narragansett and His Unfortunate Daughter. With Genealogies of the Robinson, Hazard and Sweet Families of Rhode Island”. Their sources included "Outline of the History and Genealogy of the Hassards and their Connections” by John Hassard Short Esq of Edlington Grove County Lincoln.

It is obvious that a lot of effort was made over many generations to immortalized the ancestors and the great deeds of this prolific family, with ancestral claims going back to the time of William the Conqueror and to aristocracy in Switzerland. My present view is that this ancient lineage is far from a certainty. As it is, I am taking the identity of my 9G Grandfather on faith that others much closer to the source got it right.

Newport Rhode Island, about 100 years after Thomas HAZARD helped create the city.
Courtesy of http://www.whitehorsenewport.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Screen-Shot-2013-04-07-at-6.15.56-PM.png

Thomas was admitted freeman of Boston on 25 March 1638, or perhaps 1636. This granted him voting rights in “parliamentary boroughs” and the right to trade within the city. By 1638 or 39 he had moved to Aquidneck Island (now Rhode Island) where, along with 8 others, he signed a contract to establish the town of Newport. It is said (with reference to the "Bartlett's Records of the Colony of Rhode Island”) that his name was incorporated into the town records in 1639. As Newport was founded on strong Baptist principles, this perhaps provides a hint as to why Thomas left England in the first place.

Thomas certainly acquired land in Rhode Island. In 1639 he became one of their 4 "proportioners" of land in Newport, and freeman of Newport. On 12 Mar 1640 he was appointed member of the General Court of Elections; he was also admitted as freeman of Portsmouth RI. From the early land records in the town of Portsmouth RI:

1876 map of Newport, Rhode Island. For larger scale, please visit
http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~245070~5514173:Outline-and-Index-Map-of-Newport,-R

“June 30, 1658, Thomas Hazard bequeaths to Stephen Wilcock, as dowry of his daughter, Hannah, thirty-four acres of land;"

“1675, January 11, inventory of estate of Thomas Sheriffe (lately deceased);”

“1675, May 29, Thomas Hazard under promise of marriage with Martha Sheriffe, but disclaims any interest in or control of her estate”.

“Imprimis, I give unto my son, Robert Hazard, one shilling, to be paid in silver coigne, one month after my death.” The same to his daughter, Hannah Wilcox. Again, “I give and bequeath unto my loving daughter, Martha Potter, wife of Icabod Potter, of Portsmouth, one shilling, to be paid one month after my death.” “Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal the thirteenth day of November, one thousand six hundred and seventy-six. Signed by his mark, Thomas (T.H.) Hazard. Witnesses: Thomas Gould, John Coggeshall, John Heath.”

In 1669 his first wife Martha died. It is evident from these later land records that Thomas was at least planning on marrying another Martha, the widow Sheriff. His will of 1680 says that he did. This caused friction in the family and his will assigns his wife Martha [#2] as sole executrix; she also receives the bulk of the estate.

According to the “Recollections of Times Past” compilation, this first Thomas Hazard of Rhode Island “disinherits his only son Robert and his two daughters because, as it would appear, of the opposition to his contemplated or accomplished marriage with Martha Sheriffe, the widow of Thomas Sheriffe, to whom he bequeathed all his real and personal property.” Extracts from Thomas's will:

So although Thomas was a prosperous and powerful man, it seems that he denied his own children the same privilege.

REFERENCES and FURTHER READING

The Hazard Family of Rhode Island book by Caroline Elizabeth Robinson, 1896
Recollections of Olden Times: Rowland Robinson of Narragansett and His Unfortunate Daughter. With Genealogies of the Robinson, Hazard and Sweet Families of Rhode Island. Book by Thomas R Hazard, 1879
Outlines of the History and Genealogy of the Hassards and their Connections by John Hassard Short Esq of Edlington Grove County Lincoln
A history of the Episcopal Church in Narragansett, Rhode Island by Updike, Wilkins, 1784-1867
A Genealogy of the Potter Family Originating in Rhode Island by Jeremiah Potter, 1881
Thomas Hazard - wikipedia
List of Early Settlers of Rhode Island - wikipedia
A Brief History of Newport - Newport Historical Society
The Mysterious Narragansett Pacer - History of Rhode Island and its horses
Rhode Island History - Sons of the South website

"52 Ancestors" is a reference to the "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" challenge I am participating in.
Reference the No Story Too Small blog by genealogist Amy Johnson Crow for more details.
It is giving me the much needed incentive to write and publish my family stories.

1 Comment

Henry Melbourne RICHARDSON (1886-1988) - #16 (52 Ancestors)

4/23/2015

0 Comments

Theme: Live Long | Images: Click on many to enlarge

Henry Melbourne RICHARDSON in the 1950s, Seattle WA

My Great Uncle Melbourne RICHARDSON lived to the age of 102, dying in his 103rd year in Seattle Washington. His youngest sister, my maternal grandmother Nell (Richardson) ANDREW, lived to be almost 98 and was heard to remark sometime earlier in her 90s:"Why would anyone want to live this long?". Regardless of whether her brother Mel had similar feelings, they both had remarkably long lives. So many changes occurred in the world about them during their lifetime.

Born in St Eleanors, PEI Canada on 6 Apr 1886, Henry Melbourne RICHARDSON was the eldest child of Sydney RICHARDSON and Isabella Harriett "Ella" COMPTON. His first name Henry was likely in honour of his paternal grandfather Henry Proctor RICHARDSON; he was usually known by his middle name of Melbourne or Mel, which doesn't seem to be associated with other family members at all.

In a story he wrote about his younger years, Melbourne talks about growing up on a farm, helping and learning the ways of farming from his father and maternal grandfather George Compton. He lists crops, animals, tools and equipment used to make a living off the land. There were always morning and afternoon chores, and between them he attended the Sherbrook 1-room schoolhouse one mile to the east.

The story Melbourne wrote later in life about his youth unfortunately ends before he leaves PEI, with only a hint that he was heading to Winnipeg to try homesteading. We know he went to Winnipeg when he was about 19, but haven't found any homestead records for him. According to my grandmother, Melbourne went to "Winnipeg first [and] learned mattress making. Then he built a place in Victoria, he was married and during the depression he lost it. There were no jobs to be had. So he went to the Portland, and lived there for a while, and then came to Seattle and he was running a mattress factory there, there was 5 with himself, and then the war came on, and they took all the small factories, into one big [one]... So he was out of a job."

Other than these few sentences, which I have not yet fully confirmed from records, this period of Melbourne's life still contains mystery. Details about his time in Winnipeg are still unknown, and I have found only 2 records that mention Victoria. A sighting in the 1912 Victoria city directory shows a H M Richardson renting rooms at the YMCA. This might be him. In 1909 Melbourne shows up on a border crossing document with a relative Walter Bruce COMPTON, both in transit from Winnipeg to Seattle via the Port of Victoria. This might have been a quick trip across the border for both of them because later that same year Walter was back in Canada living in Calgary where he set up his own business. I think that both young men were out trying to find the best work opportunities, perhaps while enjoying a bit of a holiday in new parts of the world.

Again in Seattle on 28 Mar 1913, Henry M Richardson married Marion H Smith in the Manse, Seattle, Washington. He must have been working in the States in order to have met and married Marion in 1913, yet he retained a residence in Victoria until officially immigrating in 1915. On his 1916 US naturalization papers he says that he left Victoria aboard the Princess Charlotte and arrived in Seattle on 12 January 1915. Somehow in the process of border hopping, he avoided both the 1910 US census and the 1911 Canad census, or at least I haven't found them yet in this crucial period.

Melbourne Richardson standing proud and tall

Mel proudly mentions doing a man's work as soon as he was able. And not just on the farm. His father ran the first cheese factory in the area, and in his teen years he helped at the factory between May and October for 4 seasons. He talks about day-long trips, picking up and hauling wood for the boiler from 8 miles away. He also had to keep the boiler stocked and filled with water from the deep well hand pump. The work was hot and labour intensive. He seems to have attended the 2-room high school in St Eleanors on a part time basis, curtailed somewhat by his work schedules. But he got at least some schooling in Algebra, geometry, Latin and French.

Other later jobs included working for Mr Massy the town clerk in Summerside where he learned bookkeeping and sometimes acted as recording clerk for the Police Court trials. Another time he worked as delivery boy for Mr Lidstone's general store and grocery. He also tried Oyster fishing in season with a friend.

Even recreation was hard work. In order to play hockey (with skates that screwed onto their shoes), they first had to clear off a level piece of ground, then flood it with many bucket loads of water that first had to be hand pumped. If they were lucky they'd get a couple of days practice before more snow had to be cleared away. The team in Summerside had a covered rink, which may have given them the edge, with better practice conditions and home team advantage. Melbourne's team lost by a large margin.

Melbourne and Marion RICHARDSON visit his father Sydney in St Eleanors PEI in 1946.

In 1932 Melbourne became a full citizen of the US and lists his occupation as mattress manufacturing. At this time all 5 children were living at home. By 1940 their 2 oldest sons had left home. The Second World War was already underway but the US had not yet got involved. In 1942 Melbourne was 56; although he completed a draft card I doubt that he fought. His son Sydney, however, joined and served in the 41st Signal Comp, and died late in 1945. This would have been an unbearable blow for the family, and added another blow to Melbourne's grief over the loss of his sister Lulu in 1940 and his brother George in 1943.

In 1946 Mel and Marion decided to go on a cross Canada trip, from Vancouver Island BC in the west (just north of Seattle) to Prince Edward Island in the east, visiting their remaining relatives in both locations. In Westholme on Vancouver Island they visited his brother-in-law Harry ANDREW and part of his family, along with some COMPTON relatives. In St Eleanors PEI they visited Melbourne's father and ailing mother and his sister Nell who was nursing their mother. Two of Nell's daughters were also nearby. They also visited COMPTON relatives in Charlottetown PEI.

Ella (Compton) RICHARDSON on the left; Mel and Marion RICHARDSON on the right. Swimming at Lake Sammamish WA, July 1928. 3 generations.

My grandmother must have been right about the poor job situation because during his early years of marriage he seems to have traveled and moved around the Pacific northwest in search of work. Their second son Sydney was born in Portland Oregon in 1917, which ties in with my grandmother's memories of Oregon. In September 1918 when he completed his WWI draft registration form, Mel was living in a hotel in Tacoma and working as a foreman ship fitter for Todd Drydock & Construction Co. His wife remained in their home in Seattle. Things hopefully settled down a bit after that because I have found Mel living with his family in Seattle in the 1920, 1930, and 1940 census. In 1940 he was the owner manager of his own mattress factory. According to his 1942 WWII draft registration document, his company was the Rainier Mattress Company on 26th South and Jackson in Seattle.

Between 1914 and 1930, Melbourne and Marion RICHARDSON had four sons (Roy Compton, Sydney William, John Bruce and Ralph Hunter) and one daughter now living in Washington State. In the summer of 1928, Melbourne's mother Ella made the long journey to Seattle from her home in PEI to visit him and his family and get to know her grandchildren. They enjoyed some family outings including camping and swimming at nearby Lake Sammamish. Wonderful pictures were taken. Swimming "costumes" have certainly evolved since then!

Life continued back in Washington state, until Marion died in 1960 in Renton at the age of 67. I know that Melbourne and his sister Nell (who had moved to Vancouver Island in about 1950) visited one another on occasion. On one of his visits to Duncan, Nell introduced him to Kay Whiteside, a primary school teacher who taught her granddaughters (including me). I don't know how Uncle Mel manage to court Kay from a distance, but they obviously "hit it off" because on 7 September 1963 the two were married in St Johns Anglican Church in Duncan BC. The couple returned to Seattle to start their life together. In 1962, before their marriage and during the Easter holidays that year, I remember traveling to Seattle for the first time to see the Seattle Worlds Fair. We stayed with Melbourne in his house on 63rd Ave South for a few days, but missed some of the fair when we got the stomach flu. His house seemed big and he was all alone. We were thrilled to discover he had a TV with more channels than the 1 or 2 we could get back home. It was there I was introduced to "Mr Ed" the talking horse show and was thoroughly entertained!

My grandmother Nell (RICHARDSON) ANDREW with her brother Melbourne RICHARDSON and cousin Nonie (COMPTON) CAMPBELL

Melbourne and Kay had almost 25 ears together until he died on 24 Jun 1988 at the age of 102. His lifetime spanned the age of horse and buggy, the automobile, computers, spaceships and a man on the moon, and everything else in between. He lived through the Spanish American war, the two world wars, the Vietnam war and other conflicts. He made his home in both Canada and the USA, lived on a farm in a small community and in large cities, and worked hard in a number of jobs, including farming, ship building and mattress manufacturing. Like his father he loved to garden, and was particularly proud of his large sunflowers. And he was a caring family man who raised five children. I think he made very good use of his 102 years.

0 Comments

Thomas HAZARD / HASZARD (1726/27 - 1804) - #15 (52 Ancestors)

4/15/2015

11 Comments

Theme: How do you spell that? | Images: Click on many to enlarge

Signature of Thomas "Hassard" aka "Haszard"

When my 3 times great-grandmother Harriet Clarissa married her husband William Spencer COMPTON in 1827 in Prince Edward Island, she spelled her last name HASZARD. But her ancestors hadn’t always spelled it that way. Harriet's grandfather Thomas (my 5G grandfather) was born a HAZARD in Newport, Rhode Island. There was a long line of HAZARD ancestors going even further back than my 9G grandfather Thomas HAZARD (c1610-1680), who emigrated from England in about 1635 and settled in Rhode Island. In fact this immigrant Thomas was one of the 9 founding fathers of Newport RI in 1639. But that’s for another story.

I am indeed fortunate that much has already been written and published about this pioneer family. Of particular note is a book called "The Hazard Family of Rhode Island" by Caroline E Robinson, printed in Boston for the author in 1895. The given name of Thomas has been repeated very often throughout the generations and among concurrent cousins. This book has used various nicknames and descriptors to help distinguish them from one another. In the case with my 5G grandfather Thomas HAZARD, he was nicknamed “Virginia Tom”, perhaps because his first wife Mary was from Virginia. According to this Hazard Family book, the spelling of his surname changed to HASZARD only after he married his second wife Eunice RHODES.

A small and undated image of his signature is provided on page 46 (perhaps from a 1760 petition). And it looks like “Hafsard”, otherwise “Hassard” (the old handwriting style of a “double s” looks like “fs”). So there were other spellings of their surname also in use - not an uncommon occurrence in this era when standardized spelling was not a priority.

Historic buildings in Newport, Rhode Island where Thomas HASZARD was a merchant. Courtesy of http://www.rare-maps.com/details.cfm?type=maps&rid=1577052

Other branches of the family continued to use the HAZARD spelling. So why did Thomas and Eunice change to HASZARD? I believe this was a reflection of their changed circumstances, and not just a confusion over old handwriting styles and variations due to penmanship, pronunciation and illiteracy. So let’s take a closer look at the life of "Virginia Tom" HAZARD / HASZARD to see what these reasons might be.

Thomas HAZARD was born on 22 February 1726/27 in Newport, Rhode Island (the double year is caused by the old calendar in use prior to 1752). He is listed as the oldest child of Jonathan HAZARD and Abigail MACCOON. His father gave him 300 acres in the Boston Neck area of Rhode Island. He kept the property but moved to Newport soon after his marriage to Mary Preeson/Preston BOWDOIN on 15 Nov 1746 in Northampton Virginia. He became a very successful and wealthy merchant. But on the home front there was much loss. Six of their children died in infancy or as young children, with only three attaining adulthood. Then Mary died in 1760 in Rhode Island when her youngest child was only two. In spite of his wealth, life must have seemed unbearably cruel. As a man of action, Thomas quickly married his 2nd wife Eunice RHODES on 12 Mar 1761 (presumably in Rhode Island) and had 8 more children between 1762 and 1777, including my 4G grandfather William HASZARD (1767-1847).

The affairs of the American colonies grew more turbulent, and the ensuing War of Independence (1775-1783) forced citizens to make life-changing decisions. Thomas sided with the British and was forced to flee first to New York and then to PEI as a Loyalist. He settled in PEI in 1786, while his son William reportedly moved there before him in 1785 and bought property near Charlottetown in 1792.

According to “The Hazard Family of Rhode Island” book mentioned above:

"It is not known that [Thomas] took an active part in actual warfare, but he was obliged to leave his family and flee to New York, then in possession of the British. His property was confiscated; he being the only member of the family who suffered in this way. The others who were attainted, after a little discipline and a few months’ absence from home, make their peace with the Colony, and were restored to their civil rights."

“ 'Virginia Tom’ was of too strong a build and too dominate a nature to yield his firm convictions to a matter of security to his person and estate. Even after the war was over, and he was offered free pardon and restoration of his property, he refused to accept either, at the price of submission. However, the Colony was most kind and gentle to her high-spirited children, and restored all his estate to his wife and children after the close of the war. His adopted mother proved herself but a step-mother, for of all the thousand acres of land granted to him in Ile S. Jean, now Prince Edward Island, but a small part, if any came into his possession. A great-grandson says: “As far as can be ascertained at present, he never profited by any grants of land in this Island, made to him as a loyalist.” Very little is known of his life after he went to Prince Edward Island, in 1786: shortly after his arrival there he is found filling some minor public offices; also at an election in 1787, he was returned as a member of the House of Assembly on both opposing lists. He was peculiar in being the only person having that honor. A great-grandson who furnishes this information adds, “I think that election was set aside as void. I have not yet ascertained whether or not he ever sat in the House.”

Some of these statements are confusing to me. Regarding the mention of “his adopted mother” and “step mother", this is likely an oblique reference to his chosen allegiance to the King of England (the motherland). As his father Jonathan died fairly young and only married once, this reference cannot be taken literally.

Was his estate in Rhode Island really restored to his wife and children? That seems doubtful. His first wife Mary had died in 1760, and his surviving first family were already grown. His second wife Eunice bore him 8 more children, presumably all in Rhode Island, but one died as an infant. We know that Eunice lived with Thomas in the Charlottetown area of PEI, so she was not resident in the US. So it seems probable that his younger second family traveled with him or joined him in PEI, where they continued a life together.

In a very short biography of families buried in Charlottetown PEI in the Old Protestant Burying Grounds (Elm Ave Cemetery), it says:

"The Hazard’s - Another Loyalist family, the Haszard’s arrived here complete with children and slaves. Thomas Haszard [died] in 1804. Two years before he died, he left the only bills of sale for slaves registered in Charlottetown. One of the Haszard sons, William, died in 1847, age 80, and his wife, Ann Farrant outlived him by 11 years, dying at age 78 and buried here.”

Early Charlottetown, PEI, near where Loyalist Thomas HASZARD settled with his family in 1786. Painting c1843. Courtesy of http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/charlottetown/

Upon their death, both Thomas (1804) and Eunice (1809) were buried in Charlottetown. And although I haven’t yet traced the descendants of all their 7 younger children, I do know that my ancestor William HASZARD and his older siblings Thomas Rhodes and Eunice HASZARD all raised families and flourished on PEI. There are lots of related HASZARD names listed in the PEI PARO baptisms and death indexes!

So who would Thomas’s confiscated lands in Rhode Island have been returned to? I have not yet found further details or proof of this. It has also been written that "his son, William Hazard, stated before the Loyalist Commissioners, in 1833, that his father had an estate of £20,000 confiscated in the United States.” So perhaps this offer was also refused, considering the price in principle too high.

The HASZARD spelling has now become synonymous with Thomas’s line in PEI. I believe that their isolation from the Rhode Island HAZARD branches, their preferences for using S’s, and likely their need to emphasize their differing allegiances, resulted in a new spelling of their name. It effectively marked their own territory, and it all happened within the lifetime of my 5G Grandfather Thomas HAZARD / HASZARD.

11 Comments

Mabel Marion ANDREW (1918-2000) - #14 (52 Ancestors)

4/8/2015

5 Comments

Theme: Favorite Picture | Images: Click on many to enlarge

Mabel Marion ANDREW, Mar 1948, Duncan BC Canada

I'm not the only one who chose this as their favorite photo of my mother Mabel Marion HENSON TAYLOR (nee ANDREW). The caption on the back, written many years ago, reads:
     "This is my favorite.
      Mabel, & crocuses - March 1948
      Beneath our bedroom window. East."
I'm not positive, but this may have been written by her younger sister.

As the caption states, this photo was taken in March of 1948, with crocuses in full bloom at the ANDREW family home on Herd Road in Duncan BC Canada. Mom would have turned 30 the previous month. Two months before in December 1947 she had left her home on Prince Edward Island on Canada's Atlantic coast, and journeyed alone and mostly by train across Canada to the Pacific coast to join her father Harry ANDREW and some of her brothers and sisters on Vancouver Island. She left behind the snow and cold winter temperatures as well as her sister Harriet CLARK and family and her mother Nell ANDREW nee RICHARDSON who had stayed behind to nurse her ailing parents. Mabel left her job and her friends and all that was familiar. Her journey would therefore have been bitter sweet, already missing her homeland and those left behind, yet anticipating with excitement the reunion with her father and family. She would also have been anxious about the journey itself and the uncertainties about living in an unfamiliar place, and worried about what the future held in store for her. This journey had not been undertaken lightly.

So by March 1948, Mom was just getting settled into her new life. In that first year she would naturally have compared everything in her new home to the way things were "back home", and been amazed at some of the differences. Like the much milder temperatures. Like the abundant crocuses in March. Like wearing a light spring dress outside in March. Yes, short sleeves in March! Crocuses! Truly a reason to smile :)

Captured at this time of new beginnings, this is partly why this photo of Mom has so much significance for me. She looks so happy and the future seems bright. She has probably not yet met my father Claude HENSON, and has not yet given birth to her two daughters. And she has not yet survived the unimaginable tragedy of Claude's accidental death in 1954. So I look at this photo and am glad that she is innocent of the extreme highs and lows that the next decade will bring.

5 Comments

Thomas HAZARD (c1610-1680) - #17 (52 Ancestors)

Henry Melbourne RICHARDSON (1886-1988) - #16 (52 Ancestors)

Thomas HAZARD / HASZARD (1726/27 - 1804) - #15 (52 Ancestors)

Mabel Marion ANDREW (1918-2000) - #14 (52 Ancestors)

Authors

Categories

Blogroll

Archives