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Louisa BOORMAN SEELEY (1844-1931) - #11 (52 ancestors)

3/27/2018

Theme: Lucky

Well, we finally got lucky. Not that we hadn’t been trying for the last year and a half to find a connection, any connection, amid the thousands of distant matches in Terry’s autosomal DNA test results. There were just too many early-generation gaps in our trees on all sides, and not a single match declaring the surname Boorman in their pedigree. Until now. This is definitely cause for celebration!

We have now contacted a brother and his sister (who also tested), third cousins who share the same great-great-grandparents: Mary Ann GREEN (1816-1862) and Thomas BOORMAN (1810-1894), a wheelwright and coach maker in Wandsworth Surrey England on the south shore of the Thames. Terry is descended from their son William Scoons BOORMAN, and these newly found cousins are descended from William’s younger sister Louisa BOORMAN.

Photo courtesy of S. Seeley, MyHeritage

It’s now time to share Louisa’s story.

Louisa was born on 30 Jan 1844 in Wandsworth, Surrey, the 5th of fourteen siblings, and no doubt named after her maiden Aunt Louisa BOORMAN (1808-1879) I have written previously about her father Thomas’s four sisters, and his own large family. Louisa the younger is listed in the 1851 and 1861 census, living on the south side of High Street in Wandworth with her parents and many of her siblings. So she grew up in this London neighbourhood.

On 25 Aug 1864 Louisa married George Thomas Seeley, a 20-year-old clerk of New Wandsworth. As non-conformists they were married in the East Hill United Reformed Church in Wandsworth. George was probably her relative as well, although researchers disagree on the exact path of this connection. George’s maternal grandmother may have been Susannah BOORMAN (1776-1846) who married William TAMKIN.

Louisa and George didn’t waste any time starting a family. By 1871 they already had 4 children: Florence age 5, Fred George age 4, Arthur W age 2, and Catherine age 8 months. The young family family was then living at 7 Wilton Road in Hammersmith, London where George worked as an organist and music teacher. Their two oldest children had been born in Battersea, just east of Wandsworth. Arthur was born in Wandsworth, and Catherine was born in Hammersmith on the north shore. So they were trying their luck in a variety of London area neighbourhoods.

The trend continued, and by 1881 this SEELEY family had traced a path from Hammersmith to Shepherds, back to Battersea and then on to West Ham in Essex where they lived at 1 Maud Villas, and where George was working as a clerk for the Iron Works. Their family had grown to include seven children, with the added Reginald age 8, William S age 6, and Walter H age 3. By 1891 they were living in Tatsfield Surrey with 7 children ranging in age from 25 to 2. The youngest children now included Gertrude age 9, Edgar age 6, Margaret age 3 and Mabel age 2. In 1901 only Margaret and Mabel were still at home, which was then at Freshfield Cottage in Horsted Keynes in the Cuckfield and Lindfield area of Sussex. In all Louisa and George SEELEY had a dozen children, with seven of them being boys including Clement who died as an infant in 1880.

One thing that stands out about Louisa's life, is that they moved quite frequently. In trying to pinpoint some of these old addresses on modern maps, I quickly realized that some streets sadly no longer exist, and district names and boundaries have changed. For instance, Wilton Road (their residence in the 1871 census) no longer exists in Hammersmith. Askew Crescent was listed on the same census page, and Clifton Road was also close by (as listed a few pages later) . Both these streets now exist just north of Hammersmith in the Shepherd’s Bush (or White City) neighbourhood. But not Wilton. Looking at modern crossroads in this small area, the B408 is also labeled as the Old Oak Road, but it was also known as Askew Road according to the old London maps of 1940 . Could it have been previously known as Wilton Road in 1871?

In the above interactive map, click on each marker to read event notes for each location.
Zoom in (+) to access partially hidden markers.

Louisa’s husband George SEELEY died in 1903 in the Cuckfield district of Sussex at the age of 58. As he had been living on his own means since at least 1891, I would hope that there were funds still available to support his widow Louisa and the two remaining dependent daughters after his early death.

In 1911, Louisa was a widow with private means, living with her youngest daughter Mabel in Chiddingly in the Hailsham district of Sussex. But later that same year, Mabel married and soon emigrated to Australia with her new husband John Billings. Other family histories claim that they lived in Paramatta near Sydney. So what happened to Louisa? She probably remained behind in England, as she passed away early in 1931 in Twickenham, Middlesex at the age of 86 or 87.

I wish I knew more personal details of Louisa’s long life. Her portrait, which reportedly was taken in 1916 when she would have been 72, hints at a strong character. But that's just my impression. We look forward to learning more about Louisa and her descendants from Terry’s new DNA cousins.

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Eliza Pring COMPTON (1833-1890) - #10 (52 ancestors)

3/12/2018

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Theme: Strong Woman

In belated recognition of International Women’s Day on March 8, I wish to focus this week on another of the amazing women in my direct female line: Eliza Pring COMPTON, my Great Great Grandmother. I have written previously about my more recent maternal ancestors:

My Mother - Mabel Marion ANDREW
My Grandmother - Eleanor Louise “Nell” RICHARDSON
My Great Grandmother - Isabella Harriet “Ella” COMPTON

Ella’s mother Eliza was also a COMPTON by birth. In fact, I think that my multiple COMPTON ancestors went out of their way to contribute to my pedigree collapse! Ella was the eldest of 9 children born to George COMPTON (1835-1903) and Eliza Pring COMPTON (1833-1890), who were also second cousins to each other, as outlined in the following chart.

This simplified chart lists my mother at the top and shows the multiple Compton interconnections in her lineage.

My Great-Great-Grandmother Eliza Pring COMPTON was born 13 Jul 1833 in St Eleanors, Prince Edward Island, a first generation Canadian. Her parents Thomas Compton COMPTON and Hannah JEFFERY were well-to-do farmers who were born in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, England. They were married in 1810 in St John’s Anglican Church in St Eleanors, but later converted to Catholicism. Some of their younger children were baptized Catholic, including Eliza Pring COMPTON, the eleventh of twelve siblings. This dichotomy of religions within the household must have caused some discord in both the family and the community. But after her father died in 1850, Eliza converted to the Church of England, reversing the the religious affiliation started by her father Thomas and grandfather Harry Childeroy COMPTON (see also a second posting on Harry Compton's good deeds). This must have taken great strength of character and conviction! Eliza was later married and eventually buried in the churchyard of St Johns Anglican Church where her parents had been married. Full circle.

Eliza’s middle name PRING is quite distinctive. Some list it incorrectly as Pringle, but there is a maternal PRING relative who Eliza was most likely named after. Eliza’s mother Hannah JEFFERY had an older sister named Eliza JEFFERY whose second husband was Samuel PRING. As this sister didn’t have any children, Hannah decided to use her sister’s married name when she named her daughter Eliza PRING COMPTON. There are other examples of this practice in my Compton lines.

The population in PEI was growing in the 1850s, but still the settlements were small and family sizes large, creating a shortage of suitable mates. So as mentioned, Eliza married her second cousin George COMPTON (born 1835 in Charlottetown PEI) on the 11 Mar 1858 in St Johns Anglican Church, St Eleanors. They settled in the area and took to farming some of the Compton land. I’m not sure if this George was the one who won prizes for his sheep and turkeys at the Fall Exhibition in 1890, but I had previously attributed these prizes to another relative George Major COMPTON who married a different Eliza and also lived in this area. It could have been either one.

5 daughters of George and Eliza Pring COMPTON.
From L to R: Nell (standing), Kate (sitting), Anna (standing), Ella (sitting) and Louise (bottom right)

George and Eliza Pring COMPTON had 9 children - 5 girls and 4 boys - who all lived to adulthood. Three of these children ended up marrying cousins, and two never married. We are very fortunate to have a formal portrait of all five of their daughters, taken sometime before Jun 1903 when the youngest daughter Nell COMPTON died, single at age 26. I don’t know her cause of death. My grandmother Nell RICHARDSON was born in 1894 and named after this aunt. I can certainly see the family resemblances.

Eliza Pring had already died back in 1890 at the age of 57, after only her oldest daughter Ella had married, and only two of her 25 grandchildren had been born. Eliza's husband George married again in 1895, but died in Feb 1903 (just months before their youngest daughter Nell). Unfortunately, I have no photos of either of them. I believe they lived their entire lives on Prince Edward Island, but have found very few records of their daily lives except for the births, baptisms and marriages of their children to mark and add colour to the passing of their years.

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William BOORMAN (1719 - 1790) - #9 (52 ancestors)

3/4/2018

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Theme: Where there’s a will
Updated 11 Mar 2018: added 2nd grave photo + Brattle Farm Museum youTube video

As quite a few early BOORMAN family wills have survived, I would like to expand on my earlier post about “Researching Old Boorman Wills in Kent” and share the story of another one of my husband’s paternal BOORMAN ancestors. There were three William BOORMANs in three consecutive generations who all worked as wheelwrights in Headcorn or Staplehurst, Kent, England. This is the story of the middle William who wrote quite an explicit will in 1785. A will by Will.

Terry’s five-times-great (5G) Grandfather William BOORMAN Jr was born about 1719, probably in Headcorn Kent England, the son of William BOORMAN Sr (1692-1771) and Sarah CHAPMAN (1688-1755). His parent’s marriage was recorded in the St Peter and St Paul Anglican church register in Headcorn Kent on 14 Oct 1718, and years later they were subsequently buried in Headcorn, conveniently listing their six children on their gravestone. William Jr was their oldest child.

The earliest record we have of William Jr is from 1725 when he was bequeathed £5 by his paternal grandmother Elizabeth BOORMAN (nee HAYWARD) who died in Cranbrook in 1731. Then on 23 Oct 1744, this William married Mercelina "Mercy" KNOWLDEN (1720-1750) in Linton (just south of Maidstone, and about 12km north of Staplehurst). The distances here aren’t large, but these towns and villages were still distinct, so I wonder how and why these two met? I have not yet researched the Knowlden family so can only guess that religion or business could have been their point of contact.

“This plate published in a volume of Encyclopédie in 1769 shows both
methods of shoeing a wheel. In the centre the labourers are using hammers
and "devils" to fit a hoop onto the felloe, and on the right they're
hammering strakes into place.”
Attribute: By Denis Diderot - Encyclopédie, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=54996506

Other researchers believe that his father William Sr was “probably a member of the Headcorn General Baptist chapel. There is no record of his children’s baptisms, [as] they too were members of the Baptist chapel and the registers of the chapel for this period no longer exist. The chapel was founded in 1675.“ No doubt these non-conformists met elsewhere, perhaps in members homes, before this chapel was built.

William Sr. was a wheelwright, a skilled trade that must have afforded him a good living as he was rated for property in Headcorn between 1723 and 1754 (at least). He died in 1771. His son William Jr also became a wheelwright, probably apprenticing with his father. At some point before 1750 he moved to Staplehurst (only about 6 km west of Headcorn) to apply his trade there. His parents remained in Headcorn.

Painting of Staplehurst Kent ca 1824, Ref T81
http://www.staplehurstsociety.org/pageT81.html

On 30 Jan 1766, a lease was signed (N/C 347 T1) between Wm BOORMAN of Staplehurst, wheelwright and Jacob CHAPMAN of Staplehurst Minister of Christ of the Presbyterian Denomination. The property in question was the Messuage or Meetinghouse called The Lower Grove or Presbyterian Meetinghouse, plus+ 12’ x 12’ on east. The plots to the south and east were the lands of this William Boorman. The lease was witnessed by Hannah Quested and Wm Boorman the younger. This was a prime piece of property fronting on High Street, on the corner of Chapel Lane in Staplehurst. It is evident from these actions in support of this other church, that William Jr was also a non-conformist. I haven’t seen the lease document, so don’t know what rents if any were charged to the church. The family version of this story was that William had given land to his church.

Another researcher also suggests: “I think it was this William who was a tenant on some of the Bly Court lands in Staplehurst. He bought Lower Grove, the house used as a Meeting House, then leased it to Jacob CHAPMAN the Minister on 30 Jan 1766. His Workshop was part of the same site.” (I wonder if the minister was related to William's mother’s CHAPMAN family?). The “new” United Reform Church built in 1825 still stands on the corner site, and was previously known as the Congregational Church as back as far as 1662 before they merged with the Presbyterians. But by whatever name, they were all non-conformists. Regarding Bly Court, the Bly Cottages are located a short distance down Chapel Lane next to the Providence Strict Baptist Chapel (that wikipedia says was previously a barn), so it was very possible for William to have lived on these lands close to his wheelwright shop.

The will of William BOORMAN, wheelwright of Staplehurst Kent England, written 19 March 1785.

Anita and Terry discussing the grave of William Boorman,
who died in 1790, and his two wives, Mercy and Jane.

We know from William Jr’s will of 1785 that he and Mercy had 3 children: Anthony, William (the third), and Mercy. Other records detailing their births have not been found; any non-conformist records from that period haven’t survived. We also know that in 1785, William’s wife was called Jane. We found a burial for his first wife Mercy on 28 Sep 1750 in the All Saints Churchyard in Staplehurst, so the family must have been living there by then. William married again on 24 Oct 1758 to Jane HUSMAR (some say HUSMAN) in Staplehurst, but there is no indication that they had any children together. Jane too was buried in Staplehurst on 6 May 1786, the year after William wrote his will, but almost 4 years before he died on 9 Jan 1790. All three are buried together.

We had the pleasure of visiting Staplehurst in 2012 on an memorable trip to England, and saw first hand the grave of William Jr together with both his wives Mercy and Jane. The neighbouring stone was erected for William’s son William III and his wive Ann nee WELLER. Not that you could tell from looking at the stones as they were virtually unreadable. So we were unsure which stone was for which William. In fact we wouldn’t have been able to find these stones at all without the help of some friendly folks in the church who referred us to a woman from the local historical society. After we phoned her, Anita quickly arrived with her Monument Inscription booklet in hand, and led us to the BOORMAN graves. She had been one of the volunteers who transcribed the stones over 20 year earlier (perhaps as early as 1980) when they were somewhat more readable. Even so, she said they worked at night and shone flashlights obliquely so the shadows would improve the relief and visibility of the inscriptions. The Staplehurst Society's MI index has been posted on their website and, together with the will, have become the main sources for this family’s information. Previous monument transcriptions had been recorded back in 1922 by Leland Duncan, a member of the Kent Archeaological Society. Some of the details vary between these two transciption. For instance: Did Mercy, William’s first wife, die at age 30 or 36?

Two gravestones for two William BOORMANs and their wives
in Staplehurst All Saints Churchyard, Kent, England.
The grave on the right is for the older William who wrote his will in 1785.
Taken in 2012, Terry stands behind the grave of the younger William and Ann.

So, what other insights can we gain from William Jr’s Last Will and Testament? The will is crammed onto a single but large page. I have transcribed it fully so can vouch for the following succinct highlights as written by another researcher (although the will does not explicitly say that Anthony was the youngest son, and lists him first):
“He made his will on 19 Mar 1785 when wife Jane was still alive. Ref. No. Kent Archive Office PRC17/102.22. Jane was provided for: youngest [?] son Anthony got 300 pounds if he returned home: son William of Headcorn got his father’s house and land in Staplehurst: and daughter Mercy and son-in-law James Carpenter got land in Cranbrook. By 1818 son William was William Boorman, wheelwright of Staplehurst.”

Son William III was a co-executor along with a John Merrall. As Jane, his father’s second wife, had already passed away before 1790, that would have greatly simplified the probate process. (Her name was Jane HUSMAR or HUSMAN when she married William, but it doesn't say if she was a spinster or a widow.) Had she lived, the will required both William and Mercy to pay separate annual annuities to their stepmother, and defer transfer of some of the properties set aside for her use.

We know the least about son Anthony BOORMAN. He was alive in 1785, but I can’t find record of his birth or marriage or death in England. So perhaps he emigrated to one of the colonies? At this point I don’t even know if he ever returned home to collect his inheritance. £300 was a lot of money back then, and constituted at least half the value of his father's estate according to the probate notes (see image below). Anthony's two siblings would have been greatly relieved if he was a no show, because the will required each of them to pay £150 to Anthony as repayment of their debts owed to their father. Otherwise, these debts would be forgiven. I can image that such large payments would have caused quite a cashflow problem, as the real estate was not theirs to liquidate during their lifetimes. I would really like to find Anthony and see how his fortunes faired. Could he have been the eldest son?

This 1790 probate notice for the 1785 will of William BOORMAN values the estate at under £600.

Daughter Mercy BOORMAN was already married to James CARPENTER and they had five children by 1790, although the youngest child wasn’t born until after 1785 when the will was written. They inherited about 22 acres in Cranbrook with house, barn and buildings that was occupied by Richard Drawley (not sure if I’ve read this last name correctly), to be held in trust for their children upon their death (which occurred in 1825 for James and 1816 for Mercy). Earlier generations of this Boorman family were rooted in Cranbrook, so I wonder if this land had been passed down from William Jr’s grandfather Thomas, a husbandman who died young in Cranbrook Kent in 1698 at the age of 31. Mercy and James also split the household goods and books with brother William.

Son William BOORMAN III (1746-1824) inherited the most land from his father. In 1785 he was living in Headcorn with his wife Ann (nee WELLER) and their ten children. Were they living on property that previously belonged to his grandfather? We haven’t yet found the grandfather’s will from about 1771 to find out details of that estate. But it would be fitting if a grandson took over his wheelwright business in Headcorn (just a guess at this point). William III inherited his father’s dwelling house or apartment with orchard and garden shop and timber yard in Staplehurst AND the additional properties there that were bequeathed to Jane. In a similar manner, these properties were in trust for their children upon their death (William would died in 1824 and Ann in 1829). In addition, William split the household goods and books with his sister, and inherited the balance of the estate. At some point after his father's death, William set up residence in Staplehurst (some say 1818?). William and Ann were buried in the Staplehurst churchyard beside his father.

William III’s youngest son Edward became the next BOORMAN wheelwright of Staplehurst, keeping up the tradition of trade if not the first name. However, Edward did not own his property according to tithe records. But that's another story!

William BOORMAN Jr's one-page will, with its wealth of details as well as properties, has made it possible for us to build this early Boorman family with some certainty, and to gain insights into how this family interacted. William went out of his way to ensure (on his own terms) that his 3 children and considerable number of grandchildren benefited from the impressive amount of property and belongings that he had amassed during his lifetime. And he at least tried to entice his son Anthony home again.

All Saints Church, Staplehurst Kent, ca 1935. Boorman graves somewhere on the far right.
http://www.staplehurstsociety.org/pagec001.html

I have posted further information on Terry's BOORMAN heritage on our Boorman page.

REFERENCES and FURTHER READING

The Staplehurst Society - http://www.staplehurstsociety.org/
The History of Staplehurst - http://www.staplehurstsociety.org/Staplehurst%20History.pdf

Bly Court Manor - https://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101060739-bly-court-manor-staplehurst#.Wp8-55PwYy9

Boorman Family Research by John Squier - http://squierj.freeyellow.com/TreeSquier/Boorman/Tree5A-Boorman.htm#833_William_Boorman

Kent Probate Index: Canterbury Probate Records (1396-1858) Database - https://wills.canterbury-cathedral.org/

Kent Archaeological Society - http://www.kentarchaeology.org.uk/
Kent Monument Inscriptions - http://www.kentarchaeology.org.uk/Research/Libr/MIs/MIslist.htm

Wheelwrights Guild History - The Worshipful Company of Wheelwrights - http://www.wheelwrights.org/history.php

The Wheelwright’s Craft, Witheridge Historical Archive -
http://www.witheridge-historical-archive.com/wheelwright.htm

Painting of Wheelwright Shop - “Interior of the Coach-Wheelwright's Shop at 4 1/2 Marshall Street, Soho, London” by Clare Atwood (1866-1962), held at the Museum of London (© the artist’s estate) -
https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/interior-of-the-coach-wheelwrights-shop-at-4-12-marshall-street-soho-london-50516

Wheelwright - wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheelwright

Brattle Farm Museum in Staplehurst Kent - youTube video shows old farm equipment, vehicles, tools and wheels:

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Family Keepsake - Handcrafted Stained Glass Sun Catcher - #8 (52 ancestors)

2/26/2018

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Theme: Heirloom

This heart-shaped stained glass sun catcher was handcrafted by my Aunt Eleanor (ANDREW) Jones at a class she once took, almost certainly in Duncan BC Canada where she lived. Although I don't know what year it was made, I do know that from the start, she intended it to be a birthday present for her oldest sister, my mother Mabel Marion (ANDREW, HENSON) Taylor. She chose a heart because Mom's birthday was on Valentine's Day. The design included leaves and stems and a single flower, probably because Aunt Eleanor loved to garden. So it was a very personalized and appropriate gift, for sure.

After Mom passed away in 2000, I brought this lovely keepsake home with me, and decided it need to be admired rather than stored away in a box. I chose our west-facing dining room window to hang it in, where the afternoon sun could bring its design and colours to life. And it was there every time we looked out the window into our garden. In hindsight, I should have checked the suction cups more often, as one day in 2013 they let go and in the fall, a section of the clear glass was broken. Oh no! I was heartbroken (pun not intended - well, maybe partly intended!) Still beautiful but damaged, I didn't want it to come to further harm. So since then, it's been stored it in a red heart-shaped box to keep it safe. I wish I knew how to repair it, but then again, doing so would remove some of her handiwork which I'm reluctant to do.

I am sad to say that I never confessed to Aunt Eleanor that her beautiful creation had been damaged. She passed away in 2016 without knowing. Yet I still treasure this sun catcher, and her thoughtfulness in creating something so special for my Mom.

A stained glass sun catcher, a gift to my Mom and handcrafted by her sister Eleanor Jones .

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Mabel Marion ANDREW (1918-2000) - Valentine Birthday - #7 (52 ancestors)

2/18/2018

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Theme: Valentine

On Valentine’s Day, I posted a birthday card to my mother, who would have celebrated her 100th birthday on that very day if she was still with us. We always thought it was extra special that she was born on the holiday that celebrated love and devotion, which she certainly gave to us. So we had a double reason to celebrate, and still do. So many happy memories. I now want to continue her story in celebration of her life.

Mabel (ANDREW) HENSON with her two daughters. In honour of her 100th Valentines Day birthday, 14 Feb 2018

Mabel Marion ANDREW, probably in Summerside, PEI

Mabel Marion ANDREW was born 14 Feb 1918 just before the end of WWI on her family farm in North St Eleanors, Prince Edward Island on the east coast of Canada. She was the oldest daughter and second of seven children born to Harry ANDREW and Nell RICHARDSON, and the namesake of her paternal Aunt Mabel MAY who did not have any children. There was work to do on the farm, and all children helped out as soon as they were able. Mom helped care for her younger siblings and was known to work in the fields and garden. But there was also school and church to attend, and many relatives and friends to visit. I grew up on the other side of the country, hearing about the many places and people that occupied my mother’s childhood rural farming community in PEI.

Distances were not large on PEI, but it wasn’t until my teenage years when I looked at a map of PEI (Canada’s smallest province) that I realized the true scale of the place. Prince Edward Island is only 3 miles across from shore to shore in that particular part of Prince County! North St Eleanors is on the north shore and Summerside on the southern shore, but still they are at most 3 miles apart. My perspective underwent a rather abrupt reality check that day. It was literally a “small world”! Now of course Summerside has grown and spread, and the two communities have since amalgamated.

Mom’s generation lived through the post-war recovery years of the 1920s, followed by the stock market crash of 1929 and the depression in the 1930s. While everyone needed food, the price that farmers could get for their crops was often less than the cost of labour to harvest them. My grandfather once told the story of having to abandon a field of turnips because he couldn’t afford to dig them up. It was a very hard time. Then WWII started and in 1941 the family farm was taken over by the government as part of the new air base and training centre for Atlantic Canada, where my grandfather later got work as a boiler man. I don’t think he was too sad to see the farm go.

Barely attaining adulthood by 1939, WWII took away so many of these young men and even women in my mother’s generation while in their prime. Their lives and their families were turned upside down during the six war years, by life altering experiences both at home and abroad. Mom’s life was no exception, as three of her brothers were old enough to enlist including Dean ANDREW who was critically injured while oversees. My Mom had already finished 10 years of school by then, which was as high as grade school went at that time. She moved to Summerside and got a clerical job there in the legal office of a relative Lowell Compton. According to one of her brothers: "She had this job after she left school. She proved very good at it. She had a good mind, and picked up the 'legalese'. It was a Compton firm she worked for." Mom also made new friends, and seemed to enjoy her new freedom and responsibilities. Her best friend during this time was Betty Manderson, known as “Mandy”, who may have been a nurse.

The following photos, many taken by Mom's uncle Fred MAY, give us a glimpse at her earlier years living in Prince Edward Island.

On right: Mabel HENSON holding daughter Claudia
On left: her sister Harriet CLARK and daughter Elaine, in SookeBC

I have already written about Mabel ANDREW's life in the period after WWII, and her decision in 1947 to travel on her own all the way across Canada, leaving her mother, her sister Harriet, and her maternal grandparents behind. Mom’s new life started on the west coast, near the town of Duncan on Vancouver Island, where her father, some of her other siblings, and her aunt and uncle Fred and Mabel May had recently moved. Mom first lived with her parents in a house on Herd Road north of Duncan before the family moved into Duncan, buying a small 2 bedroom house on Garden Street on the east side of the railway tracks.

At some point she met my father Claude Angus HENSON, a veteran as well as a miner and logger, whose sister Ethel KING lived in the area. In 1952 Claude and Mabel moved to Sooke, west of Victoria, and my sister and I were born in rapid succession. Then in 1954, tragedy struck when Claude was killed in a logging accident, leaving the whole family in shock and devastated.

Mom moved back to Duncan with her babies and once again moved in with her parents; it must have been a tight squeeze in their small house. She found work in the nearby Cowichan Senior Secondary School Office (where I later graduated). In 1959 her Aunt Mabel MAY (nee ANDREW) died, and as her namesake, Mom inherited her 2-bedroom house at 667 Coronation Ave in Duncan. She met John Gilbert TAYLOR, an English bachelor who was part owner of Taylor Bros Logging with his brother Geoffrey TAYLOR. He was known as Gilbert and lived in a boarding house two doors down the street from her house. I know very little of their short courtship except that their first date was square dancing in Mill Bay on the outdoor platform which used to be visible from the highway. Mom finally learned to drive using Gilbert’s large red and white Oldsmobile. And she gave up smoking.

Gilbert TAYLOR and Mabel HENSON arriving at the
Duncan United Church for their wedding, 3 Jun 1960

Mom and Gilbert were married 3 Jun 1960 at the United Church in Duncan. Gilbert moved into Mom’s house and Mom quit her job to became a full time housewife. Under legal guidance and following the convention at that time, they both adopted me and my sister the following year, and legally changed our last name from HENSON to TAYLOR. I was not happy about the name change as I was old enough to know what was happening and I realized I was losing the surname given to me by my birth father. But I had absolutely no say in the matter.

In the summer of 1963, they sold Mom’s house in town and bought a farm 5 miles out of Duncan on the old Cowichan Lake Road, between Tansor and Sahtlam. Gilbert proceeded to log part of the property between the house and the road. This may have been necessary for financial reasons, but it was upsetting to lose most of the beautiful large evergreens, and created an awful eyesore that he made little effort to properly landscape. There were more adjustments needed because of the more isolated location, where we needed to bus to new schools, make new friends and meet new neighbours. And visiting my mother’s relatives was no longer within walking distance. We were on well water and septic tanks, and had to be very frugal with our water use, especially in the summertime.

Mabel TAYLOR and her parents Harry and Nell ANDREW
at Claudia's wedding in Duncan in 1974

In the 1970s, Mom let her girls “fly the coup” at an early age to make their own way in the world, but she continued to be there whenever we needed her. She was there to help me find a place to stay when I moved 40 miles away to Victoria to attend university. In 1974 she was there when I was married in her church in Duncan, although Gilbert refused to give me away or have anything to do with the wedding. She was there to accompany me to Vancouver just after my younger son was born and needed surgery at the BC Children’s Hospital. She traveled down to the US to visit my sister and help out when her boys were young. Just to name a few examples. Mom did not like to drive over the winding Malahat, necessary if she wanted to visit us, and I regret that our visits to Duncan to visit her were not nearly often enough. In spite of keeping busy on the farm, she must have been quite lonely as Gilbert was not very social and they rarely went out to social events.

In the 1990s, Gilbert decided to buy Mom a house without consulting her, and purchased a 2-bedroom bungalow off of Gibbins Road closer to Duncan. I think the idea was to replace the house she already had when he married her. With the farm not sold, he didn’t stay at the new place that often. And then he announced that he was leaving Mom after over 30 years of marriage. He contacted my sister, then living in the US, and told her to come back home to look after Mom, and in 1995 she arrived with her two sons. It was a hard time for everyone. Gilbert subsequently sold the farm, moved out of the area and remarried twice after Mom died. In the end, he refused contact with my sister and I.

Mom returned to her Anglican faith, and was an active member of St Johns Church where she joined the various women’s groups. She helped out at church bazaars and when closing time approached, she was wont to buy some of the remaining knick-knacks, especially those made by children. They usually ended up in our Christmas packages. It was a lesson in charity and in showing appreciation for their creative efforts.

Never one to complain, Mom nevertheless suffered from arthritis, and underwent knee and hip replacement surgeries in later years. She was active with the Arthritis Society as well. After she turned 80 she would admit that she felt tired and seemed to really need that morning cup of coffee to get going. We all wrote it off as age related, but not long after her 82nd birthday in April 2000, she was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer. Like many in her generation, she had smoked for a number of years as a young adult, but quit in 1960. Although she never smoked after that, the cancer developed and spread to the lymph nodes, and she was given 6 months to live. Yet just over 3 weeks later on 20 May 2000, Mom passed away in hospital with us all by her bedside. We strongly believe that she chose that day to leave us, as it was the anniversary of her first husband Claude HENSON’s accidental death back in 1954. It took 46 years, but she was finally together with him again.

Mabel’s obituary was published on page 25 of the Cowichan Valley Citizen, Duncan BC on May 24, 2000:

“TAYLOR, MABEL MARION (nee ANDREW)
Passed away peacefully at Cowichan District Hospital on Saturday May 20, 2000, following a short encounter with lung cancer.
Born February 14, 1918, North St. Eleanors, PEI. Moved to Duncan BC 1947. Predeceased by husband Claude Angus Henson (1954), brother George (1976), father Harry Charles (1985), mother Eleanor Louise (nee Richardson) (1992).
Lovingly remembered by daughters Claudia (Terry) Boorman, Vivian Lucas; grandsons Russell and Colin Boorman, William and Warren Lucas; siblings Dean Andrew, Harriet (Charles) Clark, Alan (Doreen) Andrew, Eleanor (Vernon) Jones, Sydney (Barbara) Andrew; numerous nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.
Service at St. John's Anglican Church, Jubilee Street, Duncan BC, 2pm Friday May 26. Private burial of ashes in St. Mary's Cemetery at later date.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Cowichan Valley Arthritis Society, Canadian Cancer Society or St. John's Anglican Church.”

Mom had arranged to be buried in St Marys Anglican cemetery (the Church has been moved elsewhere, but their cemetery remains on Somenos Road), where her parents are also buried. Claude had been buried just down the road in the Municipal cemetery. But after Mom's memorial service, my sister and I were not yet ready to bury her ashes. Six years later we eventually buried her on the anniversary of Claude’s funeral, in a small private ceremony also attended by a few relatives. All considered, we thought that was the most appropriate time and way to put her to rest.

At the time of her memorial service, the outpouring of love for Mom was extremely heartwarming, and the church was packed to overflowing. One of my cousins shared the following testimonial about Mom, which speaks to both her character and her lasting legacy:

"Aunt Mabel was such a constant in our early lives, partly because of Dad’s powerful affection for her and partly because of his work with Gilbert and his brother. At any rate, because we saw her so often, especially out in the country, I have more of a “sense” of Aunt Mabel than specific recollections. Whenever we arrived, Aunt Mabel was hard at work. But, like Granny, she always had something to offer those of us who dropped in – juice or milk for the kids, tea for the grownups, and usually some cake or cookies. She always made sure we were warm enough and sat us down by the fire or heater – I guess what I think of is that sense of safety and comfort, with grown-ups talking in another room. I do remember going haying at Aunt Mabel’s when we were slightly older: she did up all or most of the food that day, and we had so much fun getting hay stuck in our hair and cutting our fingers. As with all of Dad’s sisters, food was a very important element of get-togethers, and provided the glue that kept the family in touch with one another.

I know that Dad loved Aunt Mabel very much. He was a close friend of Claude’s and I think, after his death, Aunt Mabel’s welfare was often a subject of concern for him. It pained him that she had to work so hard on the farm. I find that Dad’s love for Mabel and Eleanor (and theirs for him) has shaped my own feelings of tenderness for those two. And, like you, I was often struck by how smart Mabel was and how interested in the world – especially when I called to visit in later years."

Another cousin shared a story by her Dad about Mom and her inexperience with controlling horses. It seems that Mom was not a natural rider. I think the horses must have sensed her lack of resolve and knew she wouldn't hurt them, so they took advantage!

It's always revealing to learn other people's memories or impressions of a person we both know. These comments about my Mom were very touching, and I heartily agree. Yet I often saw the other side of Mom that liked to keep in the background and not "force" her opinions, wishes or thoughts on others, even though she did have some strong opinions. She also had a wonderful sense of humour. She was such a caring person, and always seemed to put others first. It was not her way to "rock the boat" and she was rarely outwardly assertive. Mom had her share of insecurities (don't we all?), often second guessing what would be best to do or say or act. I know she carried a lot of guilt around with her about some of the decisions she had made at various times in her life, perceiving they had caused others harm. But she kept the details about the hard times to herself. Although I felt that she was being overly hard on herself, it's difficult to see things from her perspective without more details. I so wanted to reassure her that she really was a wonderful person, but didn't really know how to make her believe it. She WAS smart but I remember her being self-depreciating about that too. We once talked about the final grades she got in school at the end grade 10. If memory serves me, she said she graduated in all but 1 subject. Her best subject was math (perhaps 80%?), but she didn't quite make it in history (perhaps 48 or 49%?) (dear knows where my notes on that little story are so I can't check the details). She obviously regretted that failure. I look on the positive side and celebrate her successes and her strengths and her caring nature.

As mentioned above, food was always at the centre of hospitality for the Andrew women. And I remember those haying "parties" too, when many gathered to help with the work, so needed to be fed (a farmer's wife's duty!) One year was particularly hot when I helped out in the field, stacking, loading and unloading bails of hay. Hard work for sure. Other years I helped Mom in the kitchen and delivered rounds of food and drink to the fields or barn. During the rest of the year we had a herd of polled Hereford cattle to care for. I remember one year after calving season I helped with the paperwork to register the new arrivals, and my Mom was very grateful for my efforts. I enjoyed doing it because I got to dream up appropriate official names for the calves, based in part on their official pedigree. Perhaps that was the first sign of my budding interest in our family’s genealogy!

In 2013 I created a photo book titled “ANDREW, RICHARDSON, COMPTON - Ancestry of Mabel Marion ANDREW HENSON TAYLOR 1918-2000“. It's an overview of the family, with limited text linking the photos and the people together. If interested, you can view all the pages of this book on the Shutterfly website via a link in a previous post: “A Picture Book About My Mother and Her Ancestors”.

Mabel TAYLOR with her mother Nell ANDREW, daughter Claudia and 2 grandsons. 4 generations in 1990.

Mom, we love and miss you and thank you for all your love and your gentle heart. You will forever be my special Valentine. Rest in peace.

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Happy Birthday, Dear Mom

2/14/2018

1 Comment

Wishing today that my Mom, Mabel Marion (ANDREW) HENSON TAYLOR,
was still with us on what would have been her 100th birthday this Valentine's Day.

We miss you, Mom! Here's a birthday card for you,
with love from your two daughters and four grandsons.

1 Comment

Thomas Wakeham Ashburnham RICHARDSON (1796-1876) - #6 (52 ancestors)

2/11/2018

2 Comments

Theme: Favorite Name

St Giles Church, Dallington, Sussex, England
Rev. William NORTH served as Vicar here, and his youngest grandson
Thomas Wakeham Ashburn RICHARDSON was baptised here in 1796.

Listed at Grade II* by English Heritage (NHLE Code 1233384)
By The Voice of Hassocks - Own work, CC0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16067647

I am quite partial to lengthy names, where a single individual has three or more first names. While theses types of names can come across as pretentious or even grandiose, they are usually very distinctive (if not unique). They also offer additional clues to family relationships, thereby helping the family building process.

One branch of my maternal grandmother’s RICHARDSON family really embraced this practice. My 5-times great uncle Thomas RICHARDSON (with only one unremarkable first name) married an Elizabeth Ashburnham NORTH in 1790 in Dallington, Sussex, England. Elizabeth was the only child of Rev William I NORTH (middle initial only mentioned in one parish record, and we don’t yet know for certain what it stands for). Her mother Ann WAKEHAM was William’s step-sister as well as wife, so there was already a strong bond between these families.

I think it was important to Elizabeth and her parents (who had no male descendants) to continue on the surnames in her line in any way possible. So Elizabeth and Thomas RICHARDSON awarded each of their three children with three Christian names each:

William North Wakeham RICHARDSON (1791-1871)
Eliza Ann Irving RICHARDSON (1793-1877)
Thomas Wakeham Ashburnham RICHARDSON (1796-1876)

Quite the jumble of names, for sure, and each a mouth full in their own right!

It’s immediately clear where most of these names came from (Richardson, North, Wakeham), but two of them are not as obvious (Irving, Ashburnham). Unless of course Rev North’s middle name was Irving? Anyone want to bet on that? If I ever decide to push this unrelated NORTH side back further, I’ll have to keep an eye out for IRVING families. I originally thought that one of the executors of Rev North’s 1797 will was a George Irvin, shopkeeper of Robertsbridge, but a later document clearly refers to him as George Munn. So much for my handwriting interpretation skills!

The NORTH name has been the most tenacious, appearing several generations later in Australia branches at least. I have been in contact with a talented researcher and historian “down under” who has unearthed some interesting records about these Richardsons. I was very impressed with how well she grasped implications and possible scenarios from her findings, offering useful historical insights that help connect the dots. Such was the case with the ASHBURNHAM name. From old newspapers and the Clergy of the Church of England Database, among other sources, she investigated Rev North’s education and career history. Of particular interest was this reprint in an English newspaper (almost 100 years after the fact):

Sussex Advertiser, 28 June 1842, “Gossip with our Great Grandfathers” column: CLERICAL -
"Lewes, Feb 1747.- The Rev. William North, AM., has been lately instituted to the Vicarage of Dallington, in this County, at the Presentation of the Right Hon. the Earl of Ashburnham; a living worth L100 per annum."

Ashburnham Place, Sussex, England, home of the Earl of Ashburnham, patron of Rev William North, Vicar of Dallington.

This kind of patronage by a notable Earl couldn’t have happened without a pre-existing or developed connection with this titled Sussex family. Perhaps this connection was through the Wakehams “who are clearly described as gentry”. We also believe that Rev North probably reciprocated, acknowledging this sponsorship and gift by including the name ASHBURNHAM when christening his first (and only) child: Elizabeth Ashburnham NORTH. It seems his patron’s name got higher priority than his wife’s maiden name (Wakeham), which was missed in this generation. This would give Elizabeth added incentive for using Wakeham as well as North and Ashburnham when naming her own children. We do not yet know of any blood connection between the North and Ashburnham families.

(Click to enlarge this image from Google Maps)

I'd now like to focus on the youngest child of Thomas Sr. and Elizabeth: Thomas Wakeham Ashburnham RICHARDSON, who was christened 8 Aug 1796 at St Giles in Dallington, Sussex. This location was also where his maternal grandfather Rev William NORTH had been Vicar, and perhaps still was at the time of his grandson's birth (I’m not sure if William ever retired).  Sadly, his mother Elizabeth died when Thomas Jr. was only two, followed by his grandfather's death in 1800 when he was four. Unfortunately I know nothing else of Thomas’ childhood.

I'm still not sure if Thomas actually inherited part of his grandfather's estate. Rev North wrote his 5-page will in 1797 when his daughter Elizabeth was still alive, but in the end she preceded him in death. His will also named his brother Thomas Wakeham of East Grinstead, who was to pass away before July 1805. Rev North left provisions in his will for all three grandchildren to inherit equally, in trust until they turned of age, under control of his executors Richard Smith and George Munn. However there seems to have been a legal hearing or perhaps a dispute in 1812 when Thomas's oldest brother William turned 21. It wasn't until 1815 that their grandfather’s estate was finalized with the conveyancing and release of the real estate to the Earl of Chichester. Thomas Jr, the youngest grandson, was only about 19 at the time, which makes me wonder if he got his fair share in the end.

By 1815 Thomas Jr was a “gent” living in Walworth Surrey. His older brother William emigrated to Canada while still a teenager, but returned to England  to collect his inheritance, settling in Devon for a time before returning to Canada and spending the majority of his life in Ontario.  His sister Eliza married a relative James RICHARDSON in 1815 and settled in Brede Sussex.  Thomas later moved to Brede as well where he married on 5 Nov 1829 to Jemima BARNES APPS (another name I like).  As an interesting aside,  Jemima’s surname APPS comes from her paternal grandmother who gave birth to Jemima's father prior to marrying Samuel BARNES. So the records use both Barnes and Apps as surnames, making this line quite confusing to trace.  The pattern then repeats itself in the next generation, with Thomas and Jemima having a daughter Angelina in 1828 prior to their marriage in 1829.  So poor Angelina had three possible surnames to use: Richardson, Barnes and Apps! Thomas RICHARDSON (mechanic / pauper) is listed as her father in Angelina’s baptism record of 3 Feb 1828, and in a maintenance order, which confirms her paternity.  Thomas’s fortunes had certainly declined since 1815.

How many children did Thomas and Jemima RICHARDSON really have? At least eight.  The census records, along with birth registrations and baptisms, helped build this family.  In 1841 they are listed with only two children: Angelina age 13 and Thomas age 3.  His son’s full name, according to his birth registration, was Thomas Wakeham Cavendish RICHARDSON.  So the long names continue!  With such a large gap between these 2 children’s ages, there were likely other children born in between who died young, but this isn’t a certainty.  No such baptisms have been found, although they may not yet be indexed online.

Gravestone for Thomas's son William North RICHARDSON
and wife Jemima in Brede Sussex.
Thomas is mentioned, but where is he buried?

In 1851, Angelina had already moved out (she was living in a Workhouse, pregnant with her son Clement). Younger children listed were Thomas W C (13), Dorothy (9), Elizabeth (5), William North (4), and Fanny Jemima (1). Ten years later in 1861, their children were Thomas C (22), William N (14), Clement (10), Horace (8) and Mary (6). We know that Clement was really their grandson, the illegitimate son of Angela who died shortly after childbirth, so he was taken in by his grandparents and raised as their son. So I can't help but wonder: were Horace and Mary also their grandchildren? Jemima was christened in Feb 1810, so she would have been 41 when her grandson Clement was born, and still young enough to have two more children when she was about 43 and 45. Her oldest son Thomas (born 1837) was probably not old enough to have fathered children in 1852 and 1855, and we know he didn’t marry until 1868. So I think that Jemima really did have two children after her first grandson Clement was born.

The 1871 census confirms her children William (23), Horace (19) and Mary (16?).

Thomas supported his family through a succession of occupations. He is alternately listed in the census and children’s baptisms as mechanic and pauper, artist, optician and brass founder. He seems to have been a man with artistic inclinations, combined with some mechanical aptitude that he could fall back on as needed. The arts are not renowned for paying high wages!

At least three of his children died before him: Angelina in 1851 (age 23), Fanny Jemima in 1858 (age 9) and Elizabeth North in 1874 (age 29). Thomas himself died 20 Jan 1876 in Brede Sussex when he was about 80. Just a few months later, he was quickly followed by his son William North in May 1876 (age 30). His wife Jemima passed in 1877. Jemima and son William share the same grave in St George's churchyard on Brede Hill. Thomas is also mentioned on the gravestone, but if he is also buried in this grave or cemetery, his dates are not acknowledged or his own grave is not marked.

According to Thomas's published death notice:

Death notice in the London Evening Standard. The Standard (newspaper), London, Wednesday, February 9, 1876, No 16,081, column 1, DEATHS:
“RICHARDSON, Jan 20, at Brede, Sussex, Thomas Wakeham Richardson, Esq., in his 80th year. Friends will please accept this intimation. American papers, please copy.”

The reference to American papers suggests that close relatives had already emigrated. We know that his grandson Clement was living in Chicago where he married in 1874 and moved to San Francisco prior to 1880. Son Horace was a seaman who also ended up in San Francisco. But his son Thomas III remained in England and continued the tradition of giving his children two or three first names apiece, some including Wakeham, North and Cavendish. I don't know who the Cavendish name honours, so it's another name requiring further research.

These grand-sounding names serve as reminders of their more illustrious and prosperous ancestors. And I like these names!

2 Comments

Claude Angus HENSON (1919-1954) in the Census - #5 (52 ancestors)

2/2/2018

3 Comments

Theme: In the Census

Claude Angus HENSON as a boy, c1927

Today I finally found my father in the 1921 Canada census! As mentioned in my last blog post, Claude Angus HENSON wasn't born until 1919, so this was the first and only applicable Canada census where he should be recorded.

Claude's parents were married in the USA in August 1910, just after the US census that year, where each were listed as single in different households. After starting a family, they emigrated to Canada in about 1914, so missed being recording in the 1911 Canada census. The family fortunately shows up in the 1916 Canada "prairie" census along with their first three young children Pearl, Wayne and Ethel. It was too early for Claude, though. Later census in Canada are not yet accessible by the public, so this was my only opportunity to find Claude in our federal census.

Finding this ancestral family in 1921 records is cause for great celebration, as they had been hiding in the census indexes for some time. It turns out that this was yet another example of hard-to-read handwriting (in part due to the use of a thick black pen), and poor deciphering skills by the indexers. The wrong names were indexed. Unable to guess the actual spelling variant used in the indexes, I turned to the census images on the Library and Archives Canada (LAC) site (whose indexes produced no correct results either using the surname Henson). I checked the notes provided by LAC for known issues with this census. They warned that in some areas, the names had been cut off and not shown in the film images. That did not sound promising.

Knowing that my Hensons lived near Boyle in rural northern Alberta, I then accessed the district and subdistrict lists on the LAC site to determine the best search parameters for that location (thankfully made easier with details provided by the 1916 census). There I learned that the the census images for that area DID exist. Limiting the search to district and subdistrict numbers but no names, the list of results was very long. But I got lucky. On the very first page I recognized the first name Wayne who was the right age to be Claude's older brother. So I accessed that image, and - Voila! - there they all were with names included!

HENSON family as entered (in part) in the 1921 Canada census in
"Cartier", Dist 5, Sub-Dist 41, Section 28, Tp 64, Range 19, West of 4th meridian ~~~ (click above image to enlarge)

To access full LAC file: http://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.item/?app=Census1921&op=img&id=e002857969

Want to guess what the associated index said for this family?

Claude Henson was listed as "Clark Hannas" - really! Of course, the others in this family were also listed as "Hannas". While I admit that Bessie's name is hard to read, I would never have read her name as "Burt". All the other first names were fortunately correct, except for poor Pearl whose name had been corrupted to "Paresh". I spent some time submitting correction notes to LAC. Checking ancestry.com for the name Hannas, I found them there as well with the exact same errors. So I sent them correction notices too.

The only mystery remaining here is the location of "Cartier" Alberta, as it doesn't exist on modern maps. Although there is a Cartier Creek Campground in Alberta, it's hundreds of miles to the southwest. Cartier must be in the Boyle area, though, because the district and subdistrict numbers are the same. I checked on the 1929 township map of the western provinces, but even Boyle wasn't shown. So I've marked up a clipping from that map (below) to show the Henson's location in 1921.

I am absolutely thrilled that my young father and his family have finally been found in the 1921 Canada census!

Update regarding "Cartier" and other Alberta locations - 5 Feb 2018:
Thanks to my cousin Sherrill and the information she found on the Province of Alberta Archives site (explaining the development and organizational history in what is now County of Athabasca #12 in Alberta) , I have learned that the Cartier Rural District #637 was created in 1914. It was renamed as Cartier Municipal District in 1917 (where my Henson father was enumerated in 1921), and renumbered as #103 in 1945 (same name). Then in 1947 the Cartier MD was merged with a number of other districts (105, 106, 102, 122, and Athabasca 103) to become a larger Athabasca MD 103. In 1958 it was renamed again when it amalgamated with the Athabasca School Dist #42 to form the "County of Athabasca #12".

For reference: 1 section = 1 square mile, usually divided into quarters for homestead applications. A township is 36 square miles (a square 6 miles by 6 miles). The further north you go, the larger the township number. The further west you go, the larger the range number until you hit the next meridian when the range numbers start again at one.

In the 1921 Canada census, Cartier Municipality is said to encompass townships 64 & 65, range 19. The Henson homestead was in the NE1/4 of S28, Tp64, R19, W4, so was within this municipality. We know they lived near Boyle, a village now within the County of Athabasca. On a larger scale township map of this area, Boyle is shown in NE1/4 of Sec 3, (inferred Tp 65, R 19), which would put Boyle within Cartier Municipality as well. So we're looking at different ways to describe parts of the same area.

Boyle village was named after the Hon J R Boyle, Liberal representative as well as a lawyer and judge. Boyle was part of the Warren School District. School Districts in this area that are mentioned in our Henson family history are:
School Dist #: section-township-range-meridian: date range
• Warren #3265 [Boyle]: 3-65-19-W4: 1915-?
• Flat Creek #3106: NW 28-66-19-W4: 1914-1949
• Cash Creek #3045: 18–64-20-4: 1913- ?
• Plum Lake #2815: 5-65-20-W4: 1912-1948

It would seem to me that the names used for residences must have been rather loosely applied by the people who lived there. Or else the above coordinates did not encompass all of the associated area. In looking at the homestead application by Angus HENSON in the period of 1914-1919 (homestead in NE1/4 of Sec 28, Tp 64, R 19, W4, just south of Boyle), he said he was living in Flat Creek (which is listed as Township 66 in the above list , which would place it a few miles north of Boyle). But perhaps, considering the vast expanse of land in this area, a few miles difference is close enough!

REFERENCES
Library and Archives Canada - Western Canada Land Grants (with link to map...)
Map of Western Canada Townships - data2.collectionscanada.gc.ca/nmc/n0043265.pdf
Library and Archives Canada (LAC) - census pages
Library and Archives Canada (LAC) - 1921 census image and index for Claude Henson
Province of Alberta Archives (PAA) - County of Athabasca #12 - Fond PR2315
Athabasca County, Alberta website - 2016 Athabasca County Land Ownership map

3 Comments

Claude Angus HENSON (1919-1954) - #4 (52 ancestors)

1/31/2018

2 Comments

Theme: Invite to dinner

Claude Angus HENSON served in the Canadian Army in WWII

If such dreams really could come true, I would invite my father - Claude Angus HENSON (1919-1954) - to dinner, so I could visit and talk to him for a while. I never got that chance before, as I was only a toddler when he was tragically killed in a logging accident. I have so many questions for him, about every aspect of his shortened life. What does he remember about growing up on a homestead in rural, northern Alberta during the depression? How did he get along with his parents and six brothers and sisters? Who were his childhood friends? Did he like school? What was his favourite interest? When did he first leave home? How and when did he meet my mother? I also have some tougher questions about his war service and his first wife and the difficult time of his divorce. The questions could go on and on. No shortage of conversation anticipated. I'm not worrying about the menu here!

My mother was only able to tell me a limited amount about Claude, and I have always wished I knew more about who Claude was as a person. I still have a sense of loss, so perhaps being able to ask him even a few questions, to hear his voice and to see his mannerisms, would help ease some of that. I believe I look more like my mother, but would I recognize myself in him? I know it would be an intensely emotional meeting.

The outline I have of Claude’s life is based on what relatives have shared with me over the years, and what little else I have uncovered in family photos and papers, local newspapers, and online.

HENSON - HUNT FAMILY, Probably in Boyle Alberta Canada, c1927-28
On left: Bessie’s parents Joseph and Mary Jane Crow.
Henson family, back row: Ethel, Wayne, Pearl, Angus and Bessie;
4 children in front: Mae, Mildred, Claude and Dick

HENSON FAMILY, minus Claude (away working?)
Mildred, Wayne, Betty, Mae, Dick, Ethel with baby Raymond and husband Joe King (sitting), Bessie and Angus Henson. Alberta Canada 1940.

Claude was born 4 May 1919 on the family homestead near Boyle, Alberta, Canada, the 5th child or seven children, and the 2nd son of Henry Angus HENSON (1887-1968, known as Angus) and Bessie Mae HUNT (1886-1968). Both the HENSONs and the HUNTs have deep roots in the USA. His father Angus was born in Crawford County Arkansas, and Bessie in Missouri, but they met and married in 1910 in Elmwood, Beaver, Oklahoma. Their two oldest children (Pearl Leila, 1911, and Earl Wayne, 1913) were born in Oklahoma before they decided to try homesteading in Canada. They emigrated about 1913 or 1914, then claimed a land grant in the area of Boyle, 163km NNE of Edmonton Alberta. Bessie’s parents - Joseph Alexander “Alec” HUNT (1860-1928) and Mary Jane CROW (1856- 1934) and sister Hettie also moved north to the same area, but her sister Tanie stayed behind with her new husband Herbert HIBBS. Hettie married Elmer JONES in Alberta in 1913 but unfortunately she and her baby died in childbirth the following year. Also in 1914, Claude’s sister Ethel was born, followed by Mildred in 1917. All this happened before Claude was born in 1919, and before the first World War ended, but set the stage for Claude's arrival. Two more children followed: Lorena Mae in 1921, and Richard Raymond “Dick” in 1924.

The above family group photo is the only one I have that shows Claude as a boy. As his Grandfather Hunt died in Sep 1928, and as his younger brother was born in Jan 1924, I am guessing it was taken in 1927 or earlier in 1928 during the warmer months.

As I’ve already described in my earlier story about his father Angus HENSON, life on the homestead was difficult for the HENSON family right from the beginning. After his father lost his right hand in a sawmill accident, the depression made it even more difficult for a man with disabilities to get a job. So as soon as they were able, the oldest three went out to work to help support the family. And everyone worked to maintain and survive on their homestead. Claude may have made it up to grade 11 in school before seeking employment.

There is one other story from this period that may have involved Claude:

“One thing though that Daddy did do, with the help of one of the boys, Claude I think, was to dig a 60 foot well in the center of Boyle. This was in 1934 and that was the village’s main water supply for the next 30 years.”

I don’t have an exact timeline for Claude after he left home. But I believe he followed his older brother Wayne north to Yellowknife where they both worked as gold miners for a time. I have some photos of him there, mostly outside in the snow with his coworkers and heavy equipment (photos not yet scanned and organized, so those will have to wait for a later post).

Both brothers also lived in Ontario for a time, which is where Claude enlisted in the military. First he signed up in the active militia on 10 Jan 1941. He was assigned to the Algonquin Regiment and attended the NPAM Training Centre for the next month. But he would have rather been in the Air Force! He is described as 6 ft 1 inch tall, with blue eyes, fair hair and complexion, 190 pounds. He claimed a public school education, and was living at the time in South Porcupine, just east of Timmins, Ontario. Two months later in nearby Matheson Ontario, Claude married Mary Hykaway.

With the war continuing, Claude re-enlisted on 25 Jun 1942 as a gunner in the No. 2 District Depot in Timmins. I am told he went overseas, and have ordered his military file but it has not yet arrived. So those details must wait, too, for a future story.

By 1945 he is listed as a voter and soldier in Boyle, Athabasca, Alberta. Claude was demobilized on 25 Jan 1946 at the Armoury in Calgary Alberta. By Sep 1946 he was up mining again in Yellowknife NWT. By this time he was obviously separated from his wife Mary, but his divorce took quite a while to finalize.

In 1951 Claude’s mailing address was a postal box in Duncan BC, where his sister Ethel and family lived, and where he met my mother Mabel Marion ANDREW (1918-2000), perhaps at a dance or event at the local legion. I know that Claude was friends with my Mom’s brother Dean ANDREW, a fellow veteran who had been badly injured during the war. I also know that Mom was friends with his sister Ethel (whose husband Joe KING was also a veteran I believe), but don’t know whether either of these friendships were the cause or in the aftermath of Claude and Mabel meeting. So many unanswered questions!

By 1952, Claude and Mabel were living near Sooke BC and Claude was employed as a logger. I was born, and then my sister, but very shortly thereafter, on 20 May 1954, Claude was instantly killed by a falling tree. Mom remembers hearing the sirens racing by and wondering who was in it. But I can hardly dare to imagine what it must have been like to later learn that it was actually Claude in that ambulance, already deceased. There was a coroner’s inquest (I have not seen that paperwork) and his death registration was signed by the coroner, declaring the death accidental. The other informant was his brother-in-law J R KING.

Claude was buried on 26 May 1954 in the Mountain View Cemetery in the Somenos area outside Duncan BC, and close to Mt Prevost. His sister Ethel was to join him in his grave many years later. The local newspapers published a very short account of the accident as well as a short obituary for Claude HENSON:

1954 news clipping, Victoria Daily Times, Victoria BC, Friday, May 21 1954:

“Sooke Logger Killed. Father of Two Hit by Tree
Claude Angus Henson, about 30, was killed instantly Thursday at 2.30 pm at the Elder Timber Products Ltd. operations at Sooke when a falling tree twisted and crushed him at his work.
Married and the father of two small children, he was employed as a bucker and had worked for the company since March of 1952.
Dr E C Hart, coroner, will conduct an inquest at Hayward’s Funeral Chapel Tuesday at 10 am."

Brief news coverage of Claude HENSON's logging accident, 1954

1954 obituary, Victoria Daily Times, Tuesday, May 25, 1954, pg 18, deaths:

"HENSON - On May 20, 1954, at Sooke, BC. Claude Angus Henson, aged 35, beloved husband of Mabel M Henson of Sooke, BC, born in Boyle, Alta. Besides his wife and two children he leaves his parents, Mr and Mrs Henry A Henson, two bothers and four sisters. Mr Henson was a veteran of the Second World War.
The remains are resting in Hayward’s BC Funeral Chapel and will be forwarded on Wednesday morning’s train to Duncan, BC, where service will be held and interment made."

Obituary of Claude Angus HENSON, 1954

Claude's 6 HENSON siblings and spouses, Duncan BC, 9 Jul 1987
Dick Henson, Pearl Millard, George Gillespie, Ethel King, Mae Gillespie, Wayne Henson behind a with Mabel (Andrew Henson) Taylor in front, Fran Henson (Wayne’s wife), Mae Gillespie and Joan Henson (Dick’s wife) in front.

In 1980 and also in 1987, I met Claude’s surviving 6 siblings, some of them for the first time. I wish that I had asked many more questions then, but at least I took some photos. My Aunt Pearl and Aunt Mae also sent me some family papers and information. It wasn’t until years later that I found a couple of articles online that Mildred had written about her HENSON and HUNT family and then published in 1982 in a Boyle Alberta local history book titled “Forests, furrows and faith : a history of Boyle and districts“. These articles gave me further insights into their lives and the hardships and misfortunes they suffered. All these HENSON siblings have since passed. Claude of course was the first.

Early in 2017, I was thrilled to meet a new first cousin Sherrill from Alberta for the first time, although we had been corresponding since 2014. She is a daughter of Claude’s youngest brother Dick. Sherrill and her husband visited us in Victoria for an afternoon while on vacation in our area, and she shared lots of old family photos and stories with me. Dick was the last HENSON sibling to pass away in 2010, and I learned that among his affects was a WWII army kit bag complete with canteen, shaving kit, and wool cap with ear flaps, which Sherill later mailed to me. I was extremely moved to hold and touch them - an unexpected gift and invaluable family keepsakes! There was also a beret with a badge that reads "Sherbrook Fusilier Regiment, Droit au But". Claude's name and number are written on the back of the kit bag, but the cap and beret aren't labeled. However, I recognized the beret and badge from one of his army portraits, and the wool cap with earflaps from a younger portrait of Claude in uniform.

Dick served in the Air Force, but had managed to meet up with Claude during the war. He and Claude were said to be quite close, and Dick had obviously held onto these mementoes of his brother for all those years. I am so very grateful that Sherrill developed an interest in her family history and recognized their significance when sorting through her father’s belongings. They are very special to me.

So, if it were possible to finally meet my father, over dinner or anytime, there would be two different lifetimes of stories to catch up on. Wouldn't it be wonderful if such wishes really could come true?

2 Comments

Orvil “Strawberry” HENSON (1912-1986) - #3 (52 ancestors)

1/19/2018

48 Comments

Theme: Longevity

Orvil "Strawberry" HENSON, postcard photo

Orvil HENSON was born 19 Mar 1912, but to most of the folks in his native Winslow Arkansas he became known as “Strawberry”. This unusual nickname stuck, even after he stopped selling strawberry plants and fruit. He later became a timber worker, as were many in his family. His father Ike owned his own sawmill, as did his oldest brother Theron near Millers Chapel, Washington County, Arkansas. The family was known for their hard work and honesty.

Strawberry was the son of Isaac “Ike” Henson (1886-1956) and Mahala Elizabeth EASTER (1887-1963), and the 3rd of their 7 children (although there may have been an 8th child, perhaps older than Orvil). He died 9 Jul 1986 in Fayetteville Arkansas at the age of 74. Although his age was 3 years above the average life expectancy for males in the USA at that time, he was far from breaking any records for longevity.

Yet age and years aren’t the most important ways to measure a life’s value, at least according to the following popular quotes (showing just 3 of the many variations found online) …

“It does not matter how long you live, but how well you do it.”
“The quality, not the longevity, of one’s life is what is important.”
~ Martin Luther King Jr.

“And in the end, it’s not how may years in your life, but how much life in your years.”
~ Edward J. Stieglitz, M.D., author of “The Second Forty Years”, 1947

There is definitely more to be said about Strawberry’s accomplishments and his life well lived. Certainly there were stages of Strawberry’s life of greater than normal duration than average. Most prominent on his list are his 19 children. That’s right, according to family sources he had 19 children (or perhaps even 20?).  Strawberry was married twice, first to Bernice in 1937 in Benton County Arkansas (when he was 25 and she was 18). Together they had 11 children before divorcing. In 1968 (when he would have been 56) he married again and then fathered another 8 children. That's a lot of mouths to feed.

I would consider Strawberry’s extended period of child rearing a form of longevity. Would you agree?

As Strawberry's first child was born in 1938, only 2 children made it into the 1940 USA census. Later census records cannot yet be accessed.  Looking at census statistics in general, I was disappointed to see that they count all families with 7 or more people together in a single column, and do not identify the size of the largest family. But I think most would agree that families with 19 children are rare. Considering the necessary ages and time span required to produce this many children, it would be highly unlikely for all of them to be living in the same household at any given time. Many of the older ones would have moved out on their own before younger ones were born. The census deals with household size rather than family size, so is not always an accurate source of overall family size.

Notoriety came to Strawberry, not only through his unusual name and the amazing size of his family, but also through a national publication.  In the March 1978 edition of National Geographic magazine, page 421, as part of an article on Arkansas, they chose to include a full page head shot of Orvil “Strawberry” HENSON with his long grey beard, his floppy hat, and dark piercing eyes.  A face full of character.  On page 420, the magazine also published  a small photo of his 2 youngest children (as of 1978) along with the following caption:

“Ozark patriarch, Orvil “Strawberry” Henson (facing page) has cut broomcorn in Kansas and picked apples in Washington. Now 66, he’s home to stay with his second wife and the youngest of his 16 children ... . He resents newcomers who clear the forest for development. But of those who come to find a simpler way of life, he believes “that’s real worthwhile. Those people won’t hurt the land.””

A photo very similar to the one in National Geographic was produced on a postcard (shown at the top of this post) One copy at least has been saved by a relative. The back of that postcard reads:

“Strawberry Henson was born and raise[d] in Arkansas and for many years he has performed on TV Programs, public benefits, or just wherever a crowd gathers. His ability to create a multitude of sounds and make them all come out of his mouth at once has made his animal fights a pleasure to many Arkansans. Self taught, he plays several musical instruments and writes many of his own songs.”

Simple wooden cross marks grave of Orvil "Strawberry" HENSON,
Millers Chapel Cemetery, near Winslow Arkansas

From these various sources we have learned some interesting facts about Strawberry and his life well lived. He was industrious and hard working, with a strong respect for the land and its resources that he and his family relied upon for their livelihood. Probably out of necessity, he was practical and down to earth, keeping his beard long and his floppy hat shielding his eyes with their intent gaze. He had musical talent, and liked to perform for people. He had strong family roots in the Winslow Arkansas area on the western edge of the Ozark National Forest, and he fathered an unusually large number of children that practically guaranteed the continuation of his line.

I have been in touch with this family via facebook, and as of 2016 his second wife and 16 of his children were living. 11 of those children attended a family reunion that same year.

Only a simple wooden cross marks Strawberry's burial in Millers Chapel Cemetery near Winslow, but his living memorial exists in the extraordinary number of his descendants.