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Charlotte Lisle NEWMAN (1760-1789) - #43 (52 Ancestors) 

10/28/2015

2 Comments

 
Theme: Oops     |     Images: Click on many to enlarge
PictureGranny Nell Andrew's keepsake of Cardinal NEWMAN whom she believed was related
Some family legends take on a life of their own.  They continue to hang around without proof even after repeated and unsuccessful attempts to verify them.  Some stories continue to have advocates even after evidence to the contrary has been unearthed.  Their appeal must be greater than other more realistic but mundane options, I guess.  There are a couple of such stories in my maternal COMPTON tree.  This unproved legend involves my NEWMAN branch.

My maternal grandmother Nell ANDREW was convinced that she was related to historically renowned Cardinal NEWMAN.  She was a strong believer in the Anglican faith, and treasured a small portrait of him, kept in a pocket-sized hard-covered folding frame that my uncle passed on to me after my grandmother died.  There was a hand-written note from my uncle taped to the outside of the frame, which said: "(From Mother Andrew / Apr. 85).  Cardinal Newman is a distant relation in Compton History.  Left Protestant religion for Roman Catholic.  On journey with R.C. Mon C. wrote "Lead Kindly Light" which is why the hymn is in both R.C. & C of E Hymn books."

Cardinal John Henry NEWMAN’s religious career and his many impressive achievements are well documented online.  He was born in 1801 in London and first became a vicar with the Anglican Church in 1825 before converting to Catholicism in about 1845.  He was also a teacher at Oxford and a poet with many published works to his credit. He wrote a poem in 1833, initially titled “The Pillar of the Cloud”, while on his way home from a trip to the Mediterranean where he became ill and nearly died.  In 1845, the poem was turned into the hymn “Lead, kindly Light”.  John eventually became a Cardinal Deacon in the RC church in 1879 by Pope Leo XIII.  So my grandmother knew her church history.  But what about the corresponding family history?

The name NEWMAN enters my family tree when Charlotte Lisle NEWMAN (1760-1789) married my 4-time-great grandfather Harry Childeroy COMPTON on 28 Nov 1779 in St Mary’s Anglican Church in Amport, Hampshire England.  This explains the COMPTON reference by my grandmother, who believed Charlotte NEWMAN was related to Cardinal NEWMAN.  One version of this family legend says that Charlotte was the aunt of Cardinal NEWMAN.  At least the generation is roughly correct (Charlotte was the older by 41 years).   But the above note by my uncle downgraded the relationship to “distant”.  Too bad no further details were given.

​Cardinal NEWMAN did not have children of his own, and although he had two brothers, they were too late a generation to provide our “missing link”.  The Dictionary of National Biography for Cardinal NEWMAN (Vol. 14, pgs 340-351) provides very little information on his ancestry, except that “His father, John Newman, who is said to have been of a family of small landed proprietors in Cambridgeshire, was of Dutch extraction, the name being originally spelt Newmann.”

Many have researched and published Cardinal NEWMAN’s family tree online, although the earliest generations are varied and unsourced.  Many of these trees go back six or more generations:
  • His father John NEWMAN (1767-1824) had one brother Thomas NEWMAN (1774-1778), dying too young to produce heirs.
  • John (1734-1799) had 4 brothers, all born in Swaffham Bulbeck Cambridgshire: Francis, William 1740, Rolph 1743, and Ralph 1744 (descendants not known).
  • Francis NEWMAN (1698-1728) had three brothers, all born in Bottisham Cambridgeshire: William 1693, John 1701 and Martin 1704 (no descendants listed).  
  • William NEWMAN (1664) had four brothers, all born in Swaffham Bullbeck Cambridgeshire: Thomas 1661, William 1663-1663, Martin 1668 and Francis 1672 (whose descendants have been traced to Essex)
  • William NEWMAN (1639 Potton Bedfordshire - ) had two brothers: Thomas 1637, John 1639
  • Thomas NEWMAN (1609 Colmworth Bedfordshire) - no siblings listed
  • Thomas NEWMAN (c1568 Colmsworth Bedfordshire)
I call the above descent the "Bedfordshire version".  Not all agree.  Another tree lists different early ancestors:
  • William NEWMAN (1664-1741)
  • William NEWMAN (1618- )
  • Frances NEWMAN (born Stetchworth Cambridgeshire)
This is not an exhaustive genealogy for Cardinal NEWMAN.  There are other variations as well.

With or without prestigious connections to Cardinal NEWMAN, Charlotte is still my direct ancestor.  Her surname comes of course from her father Arthur NEWMAN (1727-1785).  As these two families share a common surname, any connection to the Cardinal would need to be through one of his male NEWMAN relatives in previous generations.  As far as males relatives on Charlotte's line goes, her father Arthur had an older brother John who married twice, but his first wife and daughters died young.  I don't know if he had any sons. 

Charlotte's grandparents were John NEWMAN (1698-1766) and Anne Hooke (1694-1734) who were married in Ringwood in 1724.  
​After Anne's early death, John Sr. remarried an Elizabeth who quickly died as well.  This rather tragic state of affairs has been detailed on a large NEWMAN family memorial plaque at the St Peter and St Paul Church in Ringwood.  The smaller oval plaque commemorating Arthur NEWMAN's family paints a similar fate.  I believe that all three of Charlotte's brothers died without issue.  I have not been able to trace this Newman line back any further.
PictureCharlotte Lisle NEWMAN
(1760-c1789)
Charlotte Lisle NEWMAN was baptised 30 Aug 1760 in Ringwood Hampshire, a pretty market town situated on the east bank of the River Avon on the western border of the New Forest National Park; Ringwood is north of Christchurch.  Her father Arthur NEWMAN was also baptized (1727) and buried (1785) there.  Ringwood and nearby Ellington are both famous locations associated with her ancestor Lady Alice Lisle, the regicide’s widow (see my earlier blog post). Charlotte’s middle name “Lisle" came down through her mother Joanna WHITAKER's line and her ancestor Margaret LISLE, wife of Rev Robert WHITAKER and daughter of the infamous Lord John LISLE and Lady Alice BECONSHAWE.  (Her connection to these notable historic figures has been verified.)  So Charlotte's ancestors have a long history in this part of Hampshire. 

Charlotte’s marriage to Harry COMPTON in 1779 took place in Amport, Hampshire, a small town west of Andover and a considerable distance north by north-east of Ringwood.  I have no idea how she came to meet her future husband who was born in Amport.  But marry they did.  Their first of three children was a son Arthur Newman COMPTON, born in Amport in 1782. He later joined the navy, became assistant to the ship’s surgeon, and drowned while in the West Indies in 1805 at the age of 23.  Their second child was a daughter named Charlotte Alicia Lisle COMPTON after her mother.  She lived a long life but never married.  Their third child was my ancestor Thomas Compton COMPTON, born about 1789, close to the date of his mother’s death.  Others have suggested that Charlotte didn’t have a strong constitution, based on her appearance in her formal portrait.  We can only speculate that she succumbed to illness or complications due to childbirth, causing her early death at the age of about 28.  We cannot find her death or burial records in Hampshire and know much too little about her short life.

Admittedly I haven’t checked every nook and cranny in my NEWMAN tree to positively rule out an overlap with Cardinal NEWMAN’s tree.  There is still much to learn about her earlier ancestors, so there is still room for speculation.  But so far I have no proof  linking the two NEWMAN lineages.  I also admit that I’m not looking very hard for proof of the Cardinal's pedigree and his collateral lines. I think it unlikely that there is a connection, and certainly my Charlotte was not his aunt.  So far the name Arthur does not appear in the Cardinal's tree.  Locations don't match; Cardinal NEWMAN’s line lived for at least several generations in Cambridgeshire before moving to London, and my Newmans are from Hampshire. I think they are different families.

But you never know.  Cardinal NEWMAN’s sister was named Jemima Charlotte NEWMAN, after all!  My Charlotte might have been impressed had she lived that long and known the family.
​
REFERENCES and FURTHER READING

Select Newman Surname Genealogy   
Newman Name Society registers
​Ringwood Hampshire History - wikipedia
John NEWMAN memorial - findagrave
​Arthur NEWMAN memorial - findagrave

​John Henry Newman - wikipedia, with extensive source lists
Newman Reader - Works of John Henry Newman, biography 
Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, Biographical Dictionary
​John Henry Newman family tree - genealogy.com   See also trees on ancestry.com
John Henry Newman, author of hymns and biography - hymnary.org
Story behind the hymn 'Lead, Kindly Light' by Anglican Vicar John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
Lead kindly Light hymn performed at Arundel Cathedral - YouTube

2 Comments

Paul Sinclair ANDREW (1908-2000), Artist - #42 (52 Ancestors)

10/21/2015

7 Comments

 
Theme: Proud     |     Images: Click on many to enlarge
PictureSelf portrait by painter Paul Sinclair ANDREW, c1939
I am proud of my mother’s first cousin, Paul Sinclair ANDREW, a talented and well respected artist who painted until he was over 90 years of age. During his career he witnessed and contributed to the emergence of a unique Canadian art identity, starting in the early 1900s with the famous Group of Seven and their contemporaries including BC’s own Emily Carr. In the 1930s, Montreal was the centre of further change where a group of ten women known as the Beaver Hall Group veered away from the landscapes painted by the all-male Group of Seven still based in Toronto. These Montreal modernists focused more on painting still lifes, the human form, and cityscapes.  Paul followed the tides of change, painting landscapes in the Laurentians in Quebec “en plein air”, plus beautiful still lifes, portraits and figures, including a self portrait. He studied with Edwin Holgate, one of the later members of the Group of Seven, among others. For a time his studio was in the centre of the action on Beaver Hall Square in Montreal. ​

In 1988 when he was 80, Paul Sinclair ANDREW celebrated his life as an artist with a sixty-year retrospective exhibit.   A short biography, together with his career timeline and lists of exhibits, paintings and professional affiliations, were published in his art exhibition flyer.  I have transcribed the contents of this flyer as follows:

​Paul S. Andrew, A Sixty Year  Retrospective 

During the 1930’s and 40’s, Paul Andrew’s involvement with the Montreal Art community established his position as a gifted and dedicated painter of his time.  For over 20 years his work was seen frequently in exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Art, the Royal Canadian Academy and in travelling exhibitions sponsored by the National Gallery of Canada.
​ 
Sixty years after these auspicious beginnings, Paul Andrew is now being recognized as a prominent figure in the second wave of painters and sculptors emerging from an important period in Canadian art history.  This group of artists are now gaining prominence in the Canadian art community after long being overshadowed by the awesome critical and commercial success of The Group of Seven.  Andrew’s long association with these artists of the Beaver Hall studios, (who formed the nucleus of the Montreal academic art community), provided the springboard for a long and rich journey in search of his own painterly vocabulary.

Six decades later, Mr. Andrew’s paintings have recorded this journey, resulting in an impressive and unique body of artwork.  The early influences of his teacher Edwin Holgate and the work of James Wilson Morrice are seen clearly in the work of the late 30’s; when the sombre and meticulously painted still lifes, interiors and portraits gave way to a looser approach and bolder palette.  Later, work of the French Impressionists lured Andrew even further from his academic roots, becoming the catalyst for a deep and lasting change in his creative sensibilities. 

In recognition of both Mr. Andrew’s accomplishments of the past 60 years, and the 80th anniversary of his birth, we are proud to present this retrospective exhibition of one of Canada’s most dedicated and undeservedly overlooked painters.


BIOGRAPHY - Paul Sinclair Andrew
Born February 16, 1908 St Antigonish, Nova Scotia to Rev. A.E. Andrew (Hon. Capt) and M.E. Sinclair.
Attended military school - Windsor, Nova Scotia.  Learned telegraph and Morse Code at Western Union - North Sydney.

1926 - In Search of employment moved to Montreal.  Worked during summer at CN Telegraph.  Studied commercial art during winter with Wilfred Barnes (ARCA)
1927-28 - Worked as commercial layout artist for Bill Finch and George Adams
1929 - Began figure drawing classes wih Paul Caron ARCA in effort to enhance commercial art skills
1930 - Prompted by Caron - entered a red chalk (sanguine) drawing into the MMFA Spring Exhibition - hence, the first sale
1931 - Moved into a studio in Beaver Hall Square.  Began fine art study with Adam Sheriff Scott RCA.  Accepted as a member of Montreal Arts Club (Leslie Smith recommendation)
1932-33 - Regular sittings in Paul’s studio and Scott’s classes produced a number of portraits and figures.  From this period forward Paul’s involvement became more extensive and he began to exhibit regularly at the MMFA Spring Exhibitions (Archives records show his work exhibited: 1931, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1940, 1947, 1949, 1953, 1954).
1934 - Involvement in Montreal Arts Club provided creative nourishment and life long friendships: T.R. McDonald, David Morrice, Bob McKay, Sam Borenstein, Norman Bethune.
1935 - Began regular sketching trips with A.S. Scott RCA in Laurentians
1936 - RCA Exhibition - moved into Scott’s studio - St. Famille St.  MMFA Exhibition
1937 - RCA Exhibition - “Wall of Honour”.   MMFA Exhibitiion
1938 - RCA Exhibition - Began studies with Edwin Holgate RCA (member Group of Seven).  MMFA Exhibition
1939 - RCA Exhibition in Toronto - moved into Robert Pilot’s studio (next door to former studio).  MMFA Exhibition.  November - concluded studies with E. Holgate.   Married.
1940 - Canada enters World War II - after an unsuccessful bid as a war artist, enlisted in Signal Corps.  Served Canada overseas until 1945.
1945 - Returned to Montreal confirmed Capt. Paul S. Andrew
1946 - Moved to Town of Mount Royal.  Formed Mount Royal Arts School on Cote de Neiges St. with Audrey Gautiere, Jean Dunn
1947 - Exhibited One Man Show RCA arranged by R. Pilot PRCA.  MMFA Exhibition
1948-52 - Taught Art School Town of Mount Royal.  Organized exhibitions Town of Mount Royal Hall.  Ran art school for CNR Headquarters
1953 - Exhibited MMFA
1954 - Two Man Exhibition MMFA with Paterson Ewen
1969 - Retired from CN
1970 - Moved to Glovertown, Nfld.  Resumed painting full time.  Exhibitied several times in Maritimes.
1978 - Moved to Vancouver [BC Canada]
[ARCA = Associate of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA)]
[MMFA - Montreal Museum of Fine Arts ]


PictureReproduction of Paul's painting printed
on back of 1988 exhibition flyer, with
handwritten note to his Aunt Nellie
Probably in 1988, Paul sent a copy of this flyer to his Aunt Nell ANDREW nee RICHARDSON (my grandmother).  At some point it was folded an extra time, unfortunately leaving a white line through the images.   Paul had handwritten a note on the back above the image of his still life painting “Laughing Nymph / Orange Roses” circa 1935 which said: “Nellie, Hope to sell this one to Halifax Art Gallery.  P". I’m sure Granny would have loved to attend this special event, but at the age of 94 she was in a care facility in Duncan BC and unable to travel.  

​The flyer doesn’t list the location of the exhibit, and at first I assumed it was held in Montreal.  But I’m rethinking this because his note mentioned Halifax, and he had connections to a variety of other Canadian cities as well.  My aunt told me that Paul used to spend summers in Newfoundland (his wife Daphne’s home) and winters in Vancouver, BC (where his brother Geoffrey ANDREW lived).  She also mentioned that they were invited to a showing of his self portrait being held in Halifax Art Gallery, but they did not attend due to cost of travel.  As a picture of his self portrait was included in the flyer, and as his obituary said the "the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia owns an exceptional collection of Andrew portraits from the 1930's",  I’m now betting that the 1988 exhibit was held in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Paul Sinclair ANDREW had an earlier connection to Nova Scotia, as he was born there on 16 Feb 1908 at St Martha’s Hospital in Antigonish. He grew up primarily in Pictou Nova Scotia where his younger sister and brother were born. WWII started when he was only six, and his father left for a time to serve overseas as chaplain.   Paul was the fourth of six children born to Rev Canon Albert Edward ANDREW and Minnie Ethel SINCALIR.  An older brother Geoffrey C ANDREW was Dean and Deputy President of the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver.  His younger brother Arthur J ANDREW was a Canadian diplomat overseas after WWII, and his oldest brother Gerald W “Bill” ANDREW worked in banking.  He had two sisters Marjorie and Elaine.  ​​
Most of his father’s ANDREW relatives lived across the water on Prince Edward Island (PEI) where his father was born.  As children there were a number of trips back and forth between NS and PEI during the summer months to visit cousins and grandparents.  Thankfully a few photos were taken, mostly by Paul’s Uncle Fred MAY who was the one with the camera.  The earliest photo I have of Paul is as a baby in the arms of his grandmother Harriet ANDREW nee COMPTON, surrounded by his 3 older siblings.  Another photo from his pre-teen years, shows that, at that time, he was taller than his older brother Geoff. I’m not positive of the identity of the two young children in another photo of this family, but based on relative ages I think it must be Paul and his younger sister Elaine. Two other photos show Paul as a teen visiting in St Eleanors PEI.
Picture

Paul Sinclair ANDREW, painting in 1936 ...
Picture

on location, Laurentians, Que.
As mentioned in Paul's art exhibit flyer, he "began regular sketching trips with A.S. Scott RCA in Laurentians” in 1935.  As luck would have it, Fred MAY’s albums contained two special photos with the caption "Paul Andrew 'In Action' in the Laurentians, Que.  1936”.  It looks to me that Paul was doing more than sketching, and actually painting on location.  “En plain air” painting is still a popular practice today.

I do not know a lot about Paul’s home life, except that he married Dapne in 1939, and she died a number of years before Paul did.  They had a son and a daughter.  Paul died in Vancouver BC in Aug 2000 (either on the 1st or the 5th, sources vary).  He was 92 years young, and left behind an impressive legacy of paintings which can be enjoyed by art enthusiasts wherever they are on display.
​
REFERENCES and FURTHER READING
​
Paul Sinclair Andrew, artist index - Canadian Heritage Information Network website
Paul Sinclair Andrew, art - on artnet site
Paul Sinclair Andrew, art auction history - art sales index site
Canadian Painting in the 30s - a book by Charles C Hill - from the National Gallery of Canada site
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA)     
Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) History - RCA site
RCA History pdf book  - covers 1880 to 1933  

Group of Seven Art
The Collection - The Group of Seven - McMichael site
Beaver Hall Group - book previews on google books
"By Woman’s Hand", a 1994 documentary film about the Beaver Hall Hill Group - National Film Board of Canada
En Plein Air Painting   
​
For one of Paul Andrew's art teachers:
Paul Caron Biography - Lock Gallery site
Paul Caron Biography - Klinkhoff Art site
Paul Caron Art - Alan Klinkhoff Gallery site
7 Comments

John GREEN (c1796-1888) - #41 (52 Ancestors)

10/15/2015

4 Comments

 
Theme: Colorful      |     Images: Click on many to enlarge
Green is one of my favorite colors, and it is a common enough surname that both Terry and I have it in our trees (but thankfully no connection has been found between these two groups so far). This surname dates back to at least the 1100s in England (Grene), and has several potential origins: someone who lived near a village green, or played the “Green Man” in May Day fertility celebrations, or liked to dress in green clothes.  There was no single source, but no matter which way you look at it, the common denominator is the colour green.  In the UK, this common surname was most prevalent in northern England and London but can be found in every county.

John GREEN, Terry’s 3-times-great grandfather, was born about 1796 in Surrey England, the son of John GREEN senior, the shoemaker.  John married Mary Ann in about 1814; we do not know her maiden name.  We believe they had six children.  I have already talked about their oldest daughter Mary Ann GREEN (1816-1862) who had 14 children with her husband Thomas BOORMAN in Wandsworth, Surrey (now part of London).  I'd now like to tell the story of her GREEN ancestors.

John GREEN is a very common name.  The number of associated records on ancestry is close to 3 million, so research on this line has been a challenge.  Fortunately we have a short compiled family history document written in the early 1950s by Caroline Winifred DYER, the great-granddaughter of John and Mary Ann GREEN, and the granddaughter of Thomas BOORMAN and Mary Ann nee GREEN.  Although she doesn’t list her GREEN ancestors' full names, Winifred's memoirs have given us first hand knowledge of their character and situation. These colorful clues have allowed us to piece together the bigger puzzle with greater certainty.  Winifred writes from her own perspective, starting with her BOORMAN / GREEN grandparents [I have inserted names in the following excerpts for clarity]:
... Before long [grandfather Thomas BOORMAN] became acquainted with Mary Ann GREEN, whose father was a tailor in Wandsworth High Street.  She was one of a family, and I think she was probably the eldest.  She certainly had two younger sisters, both still living in Wandsworth till I was pretty well grown up.  They were Aunt Hannah GREEN and Aunt Adelaide BERRYMAN.  Grandmother had also a younger brother, Uncle Fred [GREEN], who went off to Australia as a young man, but was never heard of again, and was believed to have been lost at sea on his way out. 

Grandmother Boorman
[Mary Ann nee GREEN] was well educated, having been to the best school in Wandsworth at the time. The large house where she went to school was still standing when I was a child and had an observatory on the roof.   She learnt French, and I had, as a child, the French Grammar book which she had used at school and which had been handed down to my mother.  One of the subjects in the school curriculum was described as ‘Geography and Use of the Globes, Terrestrial and Celestial’.  When crinolines came into fashion she set herself strongly against them and could not be persuaded to wear one, although they were so universally worn at that time, that she looked quite conspicuous without one.  She was good and affectionate and kind, but a little inclined to be sarcastic. She always addressed her husband as “My dear” and he always addressed her as “My love”.

Great-grandfather Green [John GREEN] was a cheerful and chatty man, small of stature, and in the habit of smoking a long Churchwarden pipe in the evenings.  Great-grandmother [Mary Ann] Green must, I think, have died before the younger daughters were grown up, or certainly while they were still at home, because Great-grandfather Green married again [to a Caroline Phillips] and I have understood that Aunts Hannah and Adelaide did not get on too well with their stepmother.  Great-grandfather Green and his second wife ended their days very comfortably in an Almshouse.  I think he was a Freeman of the City of London, but I am not clear about that and feel I may be mixing him up with some other story of my Mother’s.
The above extracts are filled with wonderful details about the family, and we have confirmed and expanded some of them through other documents.  A pivotal record in our research was the 1841 England census because it lists John GREEN, a tailor born 1796 in Surrey, living on High Street, Wandsworth with his wife Mary Ann (1796) and four children:  Rebecca (1821), John Jr. (1826 ), Frederick (1829 ) and Adelaide (1831 ).    It was the two children Frederick and Adelaide in the same household that actually drew our attention to this particular family, as they match two of Mary Ann’s siblings. The location and father’s occupation also match the family story.    But the family group was not complete in the census.  Where were their two daughters Mary Ann and Hannah in 1841?
Picture
We know from the BOORMAN family bible (referenced in the Dyer memoirs) that Mary Ann nee GREEN was born on 16 Dec 1816.   I haven’t been able to find any further records of her childhood and education.  The family bible also states that Mary Ann GREEN married Thomas BOORMAN on 13 Sep 1836 at St Giles Camberwell in London.  So it makes sense that she had already left home.  In 1841 Mary Ann and her husband were found living nearby with their own young family on High Street in Wandsworth. ​
Picture
BOORMAN family bible provides birth and marriage information for Mary Ann GREEN, daughter of John GREEN.
In 1841, Hannah GREEN was probably working as a servant for the COLEMAN family and living on the north side of Garratt Lane in Wandsworth. By 1851 she was back home, living with her father  John GREEN (tailor born 1796 in Middlesex) and his wife Caroline GREEN.  No other children were living at home.  This fits with the story of a stepmother. We then found the marriage of John GREEN widower to Caroline PHILLIPS, spinster daughter of Robert Phillips, which took place on 21 July 1849 at St Luke, Chelsea in London. I don't believe they had any children of their own.   In the 1861 census Hannah was age 36, still single and living with her father John (age 66) and stepmother Caroline (age 57).  Her single status coincides with the family story, which refers to Hannah by her maiden name even when she was older. 

The above family story also mentions Aunt Adelaide BERRYMAN nee GREEN.  Indeed there was a marriage of an Adelaide Amelia GREEN to a George BERRYMAN in the Stepney Registration District of London and Middlesex in the June quarter of 1857.  George was a widower, working in sales for a tailer in Wandsworth in 1851.  He was considerable older than Adelaide who was working for him as a shop woman or servant even before they married.  They had one son George who likely died without issue.
What about Uncle Fred?  Was he really lost at sea on his way to Australia?  In 1841, Frederick GREEN was still only twelve years old and living with his parents, but after that the record trail goes dry.  Although the name Frederick GREEN (and its many variations) does appear on Australia passenger lists starting in the 1850s, the records lack enough details to be conclusive.  As one researcher puts it: "“Uncle Fred  being lost at sea” might not be true. I found an Unassisted Immigration Passenger list with a Frederick Green listed just below a Thomas William Robson. I don’t know if it is the same person but it wasn’t uncommon to run away and ‘reinvent’ ones self back then and I couldn’t find a death listing for him. It’s also curious having the name Robson on the same document."  [Robsons later married into the Boorman line, so perhaps there were some earlier connections?].  For now this mystery remains.
PictureBelieved to be the last residence of John and Caroline GREEN.
Courtesy of victorianlondon.org
Details of John’s first wife’s death or burial are not yet known with certainty, perhaps in 1845 or 1847, and certainly before 1849.  A promising burial for Mary Ann GREEN on 27 Dec 1847 in All Saints Wandsworth lists her age as 56 (so born about 1791 rather than 1796).  Ages in the 1841 census are usually rounded down, and if this really is our Mary Ann, perhaps she didn’t want to appear older than her husband.  In spite of this age variation  I am hopeful this is the right Mary Ann.

By 1871, John and and his second wife Caroline GREEN were living on their own at 10 Tailor’s Asylum, St Pancras parish, Kentish Town in London.  This facility was built in 1843 by the Tailors Benevolent Institution for the Relief of Aged and Infirm Journeymen Tailors.  Each qualifying retired journeyman tailor was assigned an apartment of two furnished rooms, coals and medical attendance, and received a pension of  £26 per year (rates as of 1890).  Somehow the word “asylum” doesn’t seem the right choice for such a facility.  The word “almshouse", used in the family story, is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “a house founded by private charity, for the reception and support of the (usually aged) poor”. This seems appropriate for John GREEN’s circumstances, although until now I had incorrectly equated "almshouses" with "workhouses" or "poorhouses", and therefore feared the worst.   According to Wikipedia, “poorhouses” were for paupers, mainly elderly and disabled people, who were supported at public expense. They could be associated with prisons or other penal or charitable public institutions.  Tailors’ Asylum doesn’t appear to be such a place.  I certainly hope that both John and Caroline "ended their days very comfortably" as the family story says.

It is possible that John’s second wife Caroline also died before him.  We have found a death registration for Caroline GREEN at the age of 67 later in 1871 in the Pancras district - the most likely death record as both the age and location match, although not yet proven. Seventeen years later, John GREEN was buried on 11 Jun 1888 in Tooting Graveney, Wandsworth, having reached the advanced age of 92.   Looking at a map of southern England, both Wandsworth (where John lived and worked as a tailer) and nearby Tooting Graveney (where he was buried) are both south of the winding Thames River and Battersea Park.  Haversack Hill (where the Tailors Asylum was located) and the St Pancras parish are north of the Thames and Buckingham Palace near Regent’s Park.  I think it possible that John GREEN died while living at Tailors Asylum, but his death was registered in the Wandsworth district in the second quarter of 1888.  I don’t yet have his death certificate to clarify the location.

Was this John GREEN a Freeman of the City of London?  Such freedom was customarily granted to many who had achieved success, recognition or celebrity in their chosen field.  John's working career as a tailor was spent in Wandsworth Surrey, across the river from London.  If John's business extended as far as London, and especially if  he was a member of the early "Merchant Taylor" livery (trade association) of London, he might have had reason to apply or be nominated for freedom to do trade and vote within the London square mile.  More research on this is needed.

In 1851, tailors were the 11th most popular occupation in England, although numbers and ranking decreased in later census, perhaps because of increased demand for cheaper readymade clothing for the growing middle class. We do know that John was a skilled journeyman tailer and received a small tailor's pension and housing in London (away from Wandsworth) upon retirement. He was not a rich man after all his labours.  But he lived a long life, and if family stories are to be believed, he was a cheerful and chatty man, deserving of loving family and friends.



REFERENCES and FURTHER READING

​GREEN Name Meaning - ancestry site
GREEN and GREENE Surname - surname database site
Occupations in 1851, 1861, 1871 England census - victorian web site
Tailors Benevolent Institution for the Relief of Aged and Infirm - victorian London site
"The Charities Register and Digest", 1890, page 777, Tailors Benevolent Institution - google book
The Almshouse Association - almshouses site
The Workhouse History in England - workhouses site
Freedom of the City of London - city of London site
Livery Company - wikipedia
The Guild of Freemen of the City of London - their guild site

I have posted additional  information on my BOORMAN  families elsewhere on this 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.
4 Comments

Samuel COSSEY (1704-1772) & Mary GILLINGWATER - #40 (52 Ancestors)

10/7/2015

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Theme: October     |     Images: Click on many to enlarge
PictureSt Mary's Church, Hassingham, Norfolk
where Samuel COSSEY was baptised in 1704
Courtesy of google maps
October is the time to harvest summer’s bounty and admire the turning colors of the autumn leaves.  Days get shorter and the temperatures cooler, and in Canada it is the designated time to celebrate Thanksgiving.    October can also be a time of new beginnings.  My 6-times-great grandparents started a new life together when they married on 13 October 1730 in Norwich, Norfolk, England.

Samuel COSSEY was baptised 14 Jan 1704 in Hassingham Norfolk, a small rural village on the north side of the Yare river valley, less than 10 miles east of Norwich, and slightly farther west of Yarmouth on the east coast.  Samuel (Junior) was the son of Samuel and Elizabeth COSSEY; their family lived in Buckenham Norfolk about a mile from Hassingham.  We do not yet know his mother’s maiden name, and are still trying to locate and verify possible siblings, potentially Jane 1702, Joseph 1706, Elizabeth 1713 and Mary 1715.  Records in this period are skimpy!

PictureLocations of COSSEY and GILLINGWATER ancestors
Custom Google map
We believe that Samuel's bride Mary GILLINGWATER (1706-1780) came from Stoke-by-Nayland in Suffolk, baptized there on 16 Mar 1706, the daughter of John GILLINGWATER and Jane SANKSTER.  Mary had an older brother John and two younger sisters Elizabeth and Margaret.  As Stoke-by-Nayland is north of Colchester and more than 50 miles to the south of Norwich, it is still a puzzle as to how Mary met Samuel COSSEY prior to their courtship and marriage in 1730. 

The parish of St George Tombland, where their marriage took place, is in the heart of Norwich city. Perhaps Mary’s family had moved north sometime after the children were born, or perhaps Mary moved there as a young adult seeking a new life in or near the big city.  By 1700,  Norwich was a boom town of 25,000 people.  People there worked in weaving, wool manufacturing, leather works, brewing and import / export businesses as well as agriculture.  The city would have provided greater opportunities for meeting new people.  Records of potential GILLINGWATER ancestors in Norfolk near Norwich and Yarmouth suggest there might have been relatives in the vicinity to take Mary in.  I wish I knew more.

In 1730, Mary was about 24 years old and Samuel was 26, both of full age at the time of their marriage.  As Samuel was a husbandman (free tenant farmer or small landowner), they likely did not remain in the city, but returned to working the land nearby.  They quickly started a family, but baptism records continue to be illusive except for a daughter Mary who was baptized 4 Mar 1738 in Hassingham, and daughter Amy who was christened in Claxton on 16 Sep 1744.    Claxton Norfolk is on the other side of the Yare river valley opposite Hassingham and Buckenham, SE of Norwich, so they didn’t move far.  Estimates for the births of their other four children have been extracted from burial and other types of records.  I am descended from their oldest child William COSSEY who was born about 1731, dying 3 Aug 1809 in Claxton Norfolk at the age of 78.  (One of William's female descendants later married into my COATES line, and the next generation married a COMPTON.)

St Andrew Church, Claxton, Norfolk, EnglandSt Andrew Church, Claxton, Norfolk where
Samuel and Mary COSSEY are buried. Google map photo
Samuel was buried in St Andrew church yard, Claxton Norfolk on 25 Oct 1772 at the age of 68.  His wife Mary joined him there on 22 Oct 1780, reportedly at the age of 80 years.  If true, she would have been born about 1700.  But as Mary’s parents weren't married until 1703 and her older brother John was baptized late in 1705 before Mary in 1706, I think Mary was closer to 75 when she died.

This story is more of an outline, including many guesses and assumptions along with only a few substantial details from primary source records. Census didn’t happen that far back, and there is a shortage of accessible alternatives.  But I still dream of finding a lengthy will, more parish records, or land tax records.  A family bible would be nice too. With so many blanks still to fill in, I don’t yet know if the month of October held any other significant milestones for this family.  But I am truly grateful for their October marriage record.  This year their 285th anniversary fittingly falls on the day after Thanksgiving, soon to be celebrated.

REFERERENCES and FURTHER READING

Hassingham, Norfolk Genealogy - familysearch site
Hassingham - origins site
St Mary, Hassingham, Norfolk Church - norfolkchurches site
Norwich History - localhistories site
Claxton, Norfolk Genealogy - familysearch site
Claxton, Norfolk Village - norfolkparishes site
Stoke-byNayland, Suffolk - wikipedia
COSSEY / GILLINGWATER Locations Map - custom google map

I have posted additional  information on my COMPTON  families elsewhere on this 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.

0 Comments

Sydney RICHARDSON (1862 - 1951) - #39 (52 Ancestors)

10/1/2015

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Theme: Unusual     |     Images: Click on many to enlarge
PictureSydney RICHARDSON as a boy in Norfolk England
I think it’s unusual for a family tree to contain a prize-winning cheese maker, but it fact my material great-grandfather Sydney “Cheesy” RICHARDSON was such a man.  Last year I wrote about Sydney in my “Finding Treasures in Old Newspapers about PEI Ancestors” posting - Sydney and/or his wife are listed at least 32 times in old Charlottetown PEI newspapers. And in 2013 I talked about Sydney twice: his emigration to Canada and getting his start in the cheese making trade in “Richardson Migration”, and about his family’s photos in “Weaving Stories Around Old Family Photos - Richardson & Andrew Families”.  Now it’s time to focus on Sydney’s long life.

Sydney RICHARDSON was born 3 Jul 1962 in the village of Weston Longville in Norfolk England (north west of Norwich), where by 1861 his father Henry Proctor RICHARDSON II was a gamekeeper for the Custance family of nearby Weston Hall (the manor house dates back to 1558).  Sydney’s father came from Brede Sussex near Hastings, and his mother Elizabeth HARRIS (1828-1902) was born in Lower Slaughter Gloucestershire in the scenic Cotswolds.  Sydney was the fifth of eight children (3 boys and 5 girls) and was baptized in All Saints Church in Weston Longville on 20 Sep 1863 at the age of 14 1/2 months.  From his father he gained an appreciation of animal and land management and a love for gardening and hunting.  According to my aunt (Sydney’s granddaughter), he must have done well at school because he received an award for his good penmanship, which was proudly displayed on their wall at home. (I had previously and incorrectly attributed this award to her other grandfather William ANDREW.)

Picture
Weston Hall, Weston Longville, Norfolk, England (ca 2010)
Estate employed both Henry RICHARDSON (c1860-aft1891) and then son Sydney RICHARDSON (1881) as gamekeepers
By 1881, Sydney was still living with his parents and siblings in Weston Hall Cottages, then 18 years old and employed as a gamekeeper like his father.  But he had other plans.  Family stories tell us that Sydney emigrated to Ontario Canada while still a teenager to learn the cheese making profession, and this is likely because other Richardson relatives were already there and could help him get started.  Stories claim this happened in 1880 but more likely it didn’t happen until 1882.  The closest travel record I can find is for a Sydney RICHARDS [sic], age 17, leaving London England aboard the “Thames” and arriving 21 Aug 1882 in Halifax Nova Scotia destined for Montreal.  If our Sydney, he would have turned 20 the month before this arrival.

I have been unable to trace any personal record for Sydney during his brief life in Ontario.  But records in the Prince Edward Island (PEI) Archives verify that Sydney Richardson was the first cheese maker in the new "St Eleanors Cheese Factory” in 1883. The Archives Canada site also refers to it as the “St. Eleanor’s Cheese Manufacturing Company”.
"St Eleanors Cheese Factory: St Eleanor's [PEI] boasted one of the earliest cheese factories on PEI.  Unfortunately there is little documentation of this enterprise.  The company was established by statute in 1883 (Cap. 21) and the factory was built on Lot 16 Road.  The first cheese maker at St Eleanor's was Sydney Richardson who received a bronze medal in 1886 for the best exhibit of cheese in the British Empire. The factory was still in operation in 1903 according to an entry in the report of the Dairy Association for that year."

Fond Summary: "The fonds consists of a photocopy of a letter from Charles Andrew Sr. on behalf of the St. Eleanor's Farmer's Club who were desirous of starting a cheese factory to Samuel Wood at Newtonville, Ontario requesting him to take the letter to a cheese factory where someone could respond to questions regarding the starting up and operating a small cheese factory.”
Having obtained a copy of this letter (which appears to be a typewritten transcription rather than the original), a note at the top says that the letter was subsequently forwarded to John Waddell in Orono, Ontario. Unfortunately there is no further record of any other response or actions taken.  It seems clear, however, that the planned cheese factory was incorporated in 1883 and Sydney RICHARDSON was hired for the job after this letter was written, as it was still in the planning stages then.  Perhaps Sydney worked or apprenticed in the cheese industry in Newtonville or Orono when he was in Ontario and heard about the opportunity in PEI.  The letter states that “there is to [two] factorys on the Island [PEI] over fifty miles from us”, so the St Eleanors factory was not the first of its kind in PEI, but likely the first in Prince County.  It is a bonus for me that the letter was written by Charles Andrew Sr., my great-great-grandfather, whose grandson Harry Charles ANDREW (my grandfather) later married Sydney RICHARDSON’s daughter Nell RICHARDSON (my grandmother).  So if the letter hadn’t been written, or if Sydney hadn’t been hired for the job on PEI, the marriage wouldn’t have happened.  Thank goodness it did!

Regarding the references to Sydney’s 1886 bronze medal award for his excellent cheese, I looked for confirmation of this in various PEI publications.  On June 2nd and 3rd, 1886, the Charlottetown Daily Examiner newspaper published lists of PEI exhibitors at the Indian and Colonial Exhibition in London.  "St Eleanor’s Cheese Factory - Cheese” was an exhibitor in their June 3rd issue. The following year on March 26, 1887, the Charlottetown Daily Examiner listed “St Eleanors Cheese Factory, St. Eleanors” as one of the winners of "diplomas and medals”.  Sydney’s name and the exact nature of his award were not listed.  However a couple local history booklets provided additional information. “Sketches of Old St Eleanors” published in 1973, states on page 34:
 “In 1886 [Sydney Richardson] received a bronze medal for the best exhibit of his cheese in the British Empire.  This medal, now in Edwin Bernard’s possession, shows that Edward Albert, Prince of Wales, was president of the Colonial and Indian exhibition, London, England.  The old cheese dry house is now on the farm of Ralph Riley used as a machine shop.  Hogs were kept in an enclosure at the back of the factory to feed on the surplus whey.”
Picture
While Sydney was busy establishing himself in the cheese making industry and winning awards, he also found time for courtship, marriage and parenthood. Isabella Harriet “Ella” COMPTON was the daughter of George and Eliza COMPTON, farmers in St Eleanors and  contemporaries of the above Charles ANDREW who wrote the letter.  They were part of the same farming community and likely supplied milk to the cheese factory.  Sydney and Ella were married on 9 Dec 1885 at St Johns Anglican Church, St Eleanors.  The first of their five children, Henry Melbourne RICHARDSON, was born the following year.  When he was old enough, Melbourne helped his father out at the cheese factory.  Their remaining children Frances Lulu RICHARDSON (1888), George Lewis Compton RICHARDSON (1891) and my grandmother Eleanor Louise “Nell” RICHARDSON (1894) also grew up and married.  Their youngest child sadly died as an infant.

His son Melbourne wrote a short memoirs of his early years which included the following details:

“I was born Apr 6 1886.  Eldest of 5 children...  I was born in a cottage owned by the Darby family across the road from their farm.  My father had small cheese factory, supplied with milk from the farmers surround it with delivery routes about 5 or 6 miles in several directions around the factory.  The routes picked up milk & returned whey to those who could use it, a food for pig feed mixed with crushed grain also chickens, etc.  After a couple of years or so, father bought a small farm 25 acres, a good house about 7 rooms, 2 stories.  A good barn suitable for 3 cows, 3 horses and mows for hay for long winters. ”
PictureSydney RICHARDSON and his daughter Nell ANDREW, St Eleanors PEI probably in the 1940s.
One of my favorite stories about Sydney came from one of his granddaughters, my Aunt Harriet (ANDREW) CLARK, who grew up in St Eleanors.  She told me that Sydney was quite the cook.  He loved to fish and hunt rabbits and wild birds.  Many the bird, wild duck or goose that he gave to his daughter Nell’s family when the children were young had to not only be plucked etc., but when they ate the bird they had to watch out for buck shot, as "those hunters were really generous with their ammunition!”  Harriet remembered being invited to stay for lunch one time and the stew bubbling away on the stove smelled delicious, like chicken in fact.  They enjoyed it immensely and after lunch Sydney got a big kick out of watching their faces when he hold them that it had been RABBIT stew!

From the few pictures I have of Sydney, he was a square-jawed man with rigidly square shoulders and very upright bearing.  My grandmother Nell once told me that he was very particular about his posture and insisted the same of her, going to the extend of strapping a board to Nell’s back to make sure she kept her shoulders back.  Judging from Granny's later posture, it worked.  I wonder if Sydney’s parents had done the same to him?

Old newspapers provide additional glimpses of Sydney's life and activities over the years. He won prizes at the Prince County Exhibitions in Summerside, sometimes for a heifer or a pair of Orpington Buff chickens, or for his produce: carrots, cabbage, parsnips, eschallot seeds, Roxbury Russet apples, wheat, and celery. He traveled to Charlottetown on occasion, sometimes with relatives and sometimes staying in hotels there.   In 1901 he was one of 2 directors elected to the Kensington Dairying Association for Prince County. In 1909 he was elected Vestrymen as well as delegate for St John’s Church in St Eleanors.  In 1921 he was honorable pall bearer at the funeral of Thomas ANDREW, his son-in-law’s uncle.  In 1926 he was foreman of the jury at the inquest into the death of an Anthony Mitchell.  In 1928 he was one of twelve called to serve on the Grand Jury in Summerside for 5 criminal and several civil cases.  In 1947 (but reprinted from 1897) Sydney RICHARDSON was acknowledged as one of 32 cheesemakers on the island the previous year, saying that he had been at St. Eleanors for 15 years (13 by my reckoning).

Sydney and Ella remained in St Eleanors PEI for the rest of their lives, outliving three of their children, and eventually separated by distance from their other two.  Their daughter Lulu died in 1940, and George died in 1943, having suffered from mustard gas in the First World War.  Their son Melbourne had left home as a young man and ended up in Seattle.  Nell was the only one left of the island.  Ella had a bad stroke in about 1935 when she was 76, leaving her bedridden and dependent on family for another 15 years.  Their daughter Nell tried to help her father out with nursing duties as much as possible although her own youngest child was only six at the time of the stroke and most if not all of her seven children were still at home.  It must have been so hard on Ella too, as she had been a nurse herself so knew what the commitment entailed and the toll it had on her remaining family. By 1950, Nell had her own health issues and could no longer care for her aging parents, so moved to the west coast of Canada where her husband and family were already settled.  Some distant COMPTON relatives took over the care of Ella and Sydney.

Ella died at age 92 on 16 Mar 1951, her daughter Nell’s birthday.  Sydney must have been holding on for Ella’s sake because just a short 19 days later, Sydney died at the age of 88 on 4 Apr 1951.  They are both buried in St John’s churchyard, St Eleanors PEI.  They were also remembered by their descendants on 27 Jan 1985, when a new stained glass window in St Johns Church, St Eleanors was dedicated to the memory of Sydney and Isabella RICHARDSON and their daughter and son-in-law F. Lulu and Bruce BERNARD. They are remembered.
Picture
Grave of Sydney and Ella RICHARDSON, 1951
St Johns churchyard, St Eleanors, PEI
Picture
Stained glass window in St Johns Church, St Eleanors PEI, dedicated in 1985 to Sydney & Ella RICHARDSON,
and Lulu and Bruce BERNARD
RESOURCE LINKS

Weston Longville All Saints Church, Norfolk England - Norfolk Churches site
Images of Weston Longville Norfolk (copyrighted): Weston Hall, 1946 and Weston Longville Church sketch
St. Eleanor's Cheese Manufacturing Company Fonds - archivescanada site
PEI newspaper index, 1886 exhibitors and 1887 medals and diplomas - islandregister site
St Johns Anglican Church, St Eleanors, PEI, Canada - historic places site
St Johns Anglican Church, St Eleanors - PEI heritage buildings
St Johns Church St Eleanors and Richmond  Parish Fonds - Archives Council of PEI

I have posted additional  information on my RICHARDSON families elsewhere on this 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.

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    Authors

    Terry and Claudia Boorman have been interested in their family history since the 1980s.  They live in Victoria BC Canada.

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