Category: Boorman

Jillian Diane (Boorman) Slagboom - Rest in Peace

6/29/2022

Jill (Boorman) Slagboom, 2011

Terry’s older sister Jill would have turned 80 today, and we are remembering her with love. Jill sadly passed away on 19 April 2021 after an extended illness. Her outgoing and welcoming nature, plus her abundant talents and accomplishments as an artist, enhanced many lives. She is sorely missed.

Jill’s husband and their 2 children wrote a lovely and fitting obituary, which is shared below. It was also published on the funeral home website, where a video and slideshow can also still be viewed. As her death and funeral occurred during the Covid lockdown, only 10 could attend the funeral in person, but many others attended via Zoom. The sheer quantity of condolences on the following link speaks to large number of long time friends and family that Jill nurtured.

Obituary for Jillian “Jill” Diane Slagboom (nee Boorman)
June 29, 1942 – April 19, 2021

https://www.mccallgardens.com/obituaries/jillian-jill-diane-slagboom-nee-boorman

Jill passed away peacefully on April 19, 2021 at the age of 78. She leaves behind her loving husband Barry, whom she was married to for 55 years, her son Kevin (Cynthia), daughter Tisha, and granddaughters Hannah, Kailee, Phoebe, Madeline and Caitlin, and her brother Terry Boorman (Claudia). Jill had an early passion for art and she evolved into an accomplished and well-known Canadian nature artist. Her paintings expressed realism and exhibited the colours and abundance of Vancouver Island as well as the places she travelled to. Jill completed many private commissions, was an "artist in residence" on the SS Universe to Alaska and taught painting throughout Greater Victoria, including at her home studios. She was a long-time member of several art clubs and associations, including the Federation of Canadian Artists, Saanich Peninsula Arts & Crafts, the Victoria Sketch Club and was an enthusiastic member of the Victoria Plein Air painter's group, called the Al Frescoes of Victoria.

Her favourite place was always at home in her garden and in her studio and she hosted many paint-ins in her garden with other notable artists. Jill was extremely creative in all areas of her life, was a vivid storyteller and maintained her love of art and the experience and tranquility that this brought into her life. She and her husband enjoyed travelling, Jill loved to see new places, to put her feet in the sand and to swim in warm ocean waters. In later years, they ventured up and down the island in their RV and spent summers with friends at Westwood Lake. Jill was the much-loved matriarch of the Slagboom family. Birthdays and special occasions always required special attention and an excuse to have family and friends over. These gatherings were central to her life and happiness, as were the many dear friendships she gained over the years. Jill's presence, warmth, and compassion will be missed by many whose lives she has touched and by the legacy of her paintings.

A Memorial Service will be held in person for the immediate family at McCall Gardens on Friday, April 30, 2021 at 1pm. All others are invited to join virtually on Zoom.

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2018 Genealogy Research Recap

12/14/2018

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(Graphic designed by Freepik)

Christmas is almost here (yet again), and as usual I reflect on what progress I have made in my genealogy research over the past year. This is not always an easy task; I really should keep a better research log! But I do have a ton of emails to fall back on as well as my digital genealogy trees and my DNA research accounts and notes to review.

At the start of 2018 I resurrected my enthusiasm for blogging, and decided to at least start on another 52 week challenge to write one family history story each week. It involved gathering information I already knew about individuals or groups of deceased relatives (in both Terry's and my trees), doing further research to fill in some of the gaps, and writing it in a way that is hopefully more interesting for living relative who are not genealogists. I did pour a lot of effort into this for the first 4 months, producing 17 blog articles (to the exclusion of almost everything else). See these 2018 posts which involve the surnames BOORMAN, HENSON, RICHARDSON, ANDREW, COMPTON, SEELEY, and JOHNSTON.

The topics covered in this year's blog postings:

The discovery of the local grave of Terry's Aunt and Uncle Audrey and Don KING, and many other BOORMAN relatives in the Royal Oak Cemetery (2 postings).
Terry's grandfather Harry E BOORMAN served in Vancouver BC during WWII as head of the 68th Battery, Canadian Field Artillery, which focused on recruitment and training.
Used the England Tithe Survey records to explore BOORMAN land usage in Kent in the 1800s.
Amelia Alice BOORMAN Terry's maiden great-aunt, was an early school teacher in the Victoria BC public school system specializing in needlework for girls.
Used Vancouver BC Fire Insurance plot maps to learn more about the locations of Terry's JOHNSTON and KERFOOT families (the Irish side), but mysteries remain.
Explored the life and descendants of Terry's relative Louisa (BOORMAN) Seeley because descendants are DNA matches.
Reviewed the 1790 will of William BOORMAN.
Life of Ernest Frederick COMPTON who immigrated to New Zealand and Australia.
Reviewed the life of Eliza Pring COMPTON, my great-great-grandmother.
My ANDREW Aunt Eleanor JONES hand-crafted a stain glass sun catcher for my mother
Celebrating my ANDREW mother's 100th Valentines birthday with cards and photos (2 postings).
Explored one branch of my early maternal RICHARDSON roots in Sussex England.
I finally found my father Claude HENSON in the 1921 Canada census. Reviewed his life, including photos of family and his WWII kit bag and hat.
"Strawberry" HENSON had a unique nickname and a huge family in Arkansas.
My memories and photos of our ANDREW family reunion in 1959.

But it seems it's either feast or famine with my blogging, as the year is now ending with only one additional posting that summarizes my 32 third-great-grandparents. Starting in May I needed to devote more time to my volunteer work with our local Victoria Genealogical Society where I am now a Director, which encompasses my continuing duties as their Webmaster and co-organizer for their DNA Special Interest Group. There were other VGS projects that needed attention, some still ongoing. So even my own research took a back burner for a while, except when I got welcome emails for others that drew me back into my research for brief periods. Thanks to those who contact me or add comments to my blog posts. Always welcome.

My website is gradually growing, with a new Grigg and Cornish page added this week. And I added more photos to my Andrew page. But the main growth is in the blog (in spite of not doing the full 52 postings this year). My "tree" reports have not been updated this year (based on the information I am editing all year in my family tree software), so that is something to focus on early in the new year.

On the DNA research front, I am trying to encourage close relatives to test, as it makes it much easier to identify what the connections are with other matches, and it broadens the number of new relatives you can find. So I was very happy when my maternal first cousin Mary recently decided to test at AncestryDNA (where I tested a year ago). Her results are now in, and she is one of my top two matches at that company. So now I am on a mission to review and contact all our shared matches, most of whom are 4th to distant cousins. I am currently corresponding with some newly found ANDREW and COMPTON cousins, and this gives me great pleasure:) My list of contacts is happily growing. Last year my maternal cousin Lorelei (also a cousin of Mary) tested Family Tree DNA (where I originally tested late in 2015), so this provides a 3rd set of results from the same grandparents on my mother's side. I also have a first cousin Sherrill on my father's side who has tested. Thank you all! Terry' sister has also tested, as well as our older son. It's fascinating to compare both the variances and similarities between related matches, and through their results get access to even more new cousins.

Family history is my passion and I consider it my personal treasure hunt. That's because each of our families is important and very special, and learning their stories truly does help you better understand your roots. So here's wishing all of you and your special families a wonderful Christmas, and happy and healthy times in 2019.

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BOORMAN Burials in Royal Oak Burial Park - #17 (52 ancestors)

5/6/2018

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Theme: Cemetery

I started the year off writing about family burials in Ross Bay Cemetery, one of the oldest cemeteries here in Victoria, BC, Canada. So it seems more than fair to introduce you to some of Terry’s other BOORMAN relatives buried in the newer and largest community burial park in Greater Victoria. The Royal Oak Burial Park and Mausoleum first opened in 1923, and is indeed a beautifully green and peaceful place on 135 acres.

All of the burials I will be listing here are for members of a single BOORMAN family, most of whom are shown in this family group portrait taken in Victoria in 1942:

BOORMAN Family, 1942, Victoria BC in Harry and Daisy Louise’s back yard with their 5 children and some spouses:
Standing (L to R): Joyce and Bill, Daisy Louise and Harry, Valerie and Ken, Audrey
Sitting in front (L to R): Sheila, Jack and Mary Boorman

Row of 4 BOORMAN graves: Harry, D Louise, Ken and Valerie

There is a row of four BOORMAN graves for Harry, Daisy Louise, Ken and Valerie in the upper (northeast) part of the "Garden of Remembrance", close to the park’s office and south of the Garden Chapel.

Harry Eustace BOORMAN (1881-1951)
Terry’s grandfather Harry Eustace BOORMAN served in WWI as a recruiter in Vancouver BC, where he was commanding officer of the 68th Battery Canadian Field Artillery (see my last blog posting). But Harry started life in Battersea, Surrey, England, born on 16 Jun 1881, the youngest of seven children of William Scoons BOORMAN and Frances Jane “Fanny” ROBSON. Harry was still a teenager in the mid 1890s when most of this family emigrated to Victoria on the Pacific west coast of Canada.

The first record of Harry in Canada is the 1897 Victoria City directory when he was working as a clerk for C D Mason and living with his parents at 129 Michigan Street in the James Bay area. Later that same year, his sister Henrietta BOORMAN married their cousin Jim ROBSON, and Harry attended the wedding. By 1900 Harry was a clerk with the Board of Trade, no doubt gaining valuable business and financial experience there. By 1902, Harry was also gaining military experience as part of the 5th BC Regiment militia where he rose through the ranks for about six years. By the time his father died in 1909, Harry had already moved to Vancouver to further his carrier, but still acted as the informant on his father’s death registration.

Harry and D Louise BOORMAN in later years

Harry met Daisy Louise JOHNSTON in Vancouver and married her there on 30 May 1910 at the JOHNSTON family home at 1419 Harwood Street. By then Harry was working as a bookkeeper, and was also treasurer of the National Finance Co Ltd at 1770 Georgia. He also called himself a broker and financier. The young couple went on a trip to California where their first son Bill was born in January 1911. They were back in Canada in time for the 1911 Canadian census. I've also found a record of Harry and Daisy Louise returning from England via New York, traveling with one of her sisters, in Jan 2012. No mention of baby Bill, so perhaps he was cared for by his grandmother back home while they had a holiday.

Back in Vancouver, their second son Ken was born in 1913, and their third son Jack in 1914. It looks like Harry went into partnership with a James J Hunter, forming the brokerage firm of Hunter and Boorman operating at #308 - 470 Granville. And at some point he also joined the 72nd Seaforth Highlanders militia unit. He was a busy guy! And then the Great War started and, as previously discussed, Harry served well on the home front until January 1919. Their daughter Sheila was born in 1917, and Audrey in 1920, both in Vancouver. By 1921 the family had moved to Victoria, closer to his Boorman relatives. Harry got a job as manager with the BC Bond Corporation.

Then came the market crash of 1929. Harry didn't fair well. He was sued by some of his clients and ended up serving time in jail, which had a lasting affect on him. Yet he seems to have rallied as in 1933 he started up his own family business, acting as manager of Boorman Investment Co. Ltd. which over the years grew to offer investments, insurance, mortgages, real estate sales, and leasing and property management services. These companies were in family hands for three generations, and have only recently been sold.

In his later years, Harry suffered from angina, and in 1938 he had some kind of coronary event (I can't read the doctor's handwriting!). He retired in 1948 and his three sons continued to run the business. On 21 Apr 1951 at the age of 69, Harry died of congestive heart failure.

FOUR BOORMAN BURIALS IN THE ROBP "GARDEN OF REMEMBRANCE"

Daisy Louise (JOHNSTON) BOORMAN (1887-1961)
Terry’s grandmother was buried as D. Louise BOORMAN beside her husband Harry. I have written before about her and her extended Irish Canadian family in JOHNSTON - What house is this anyway? and in JOHNSTON, James Irvine - Luck of the Irish

After her husband died in 1951, Daisy Louise lived with her daughter Sheila and Tom SMITH and family. Terry remembers his parents and his aunts and uncles taking turns having his grandmother over for Sunday dinners. She died ten years after Harry on 6 May 1961 at the age of 73 due to cancer.

Kenneth Lloyd BOORMAN (1913-1959) and
Valerie Cornelia (KENNEDY-SMITH) STOCKS (1917-1982)
The next grave beside Daisy Louise was their middle son Kenneth L BOORMAN and his widow Valerie C STOCKS. Sadly, Ken was the first of the five siblings to pass away from a heart attack on 28 May 1959 at the young age of 46, two years before his mother. His teenage son and daughter were tragically left without a father.

Ken worked in the family business as a salesman of stocks and bonds and manager for Boorman Investments. And like his older brother Bill, Ken attended the Royal Canadian Naval College HMCS Royal Roads in 1941. He served in the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve during WWII as a Lieutenant (RCNVR). He was originally attached to the Esquimalt (Victoria) Division, then later to the Vancouver, Toronto and Ottawa Divisions. A more complete list of Ken's wartime postings can be found on the Unit Histories website.

On 29 Nov 1941, Ken married Valerie Cornelia Kennedy-Smith in Victoria where they lived and raised their two children until his early death in 1959. Valerie was the daughter of George and Gladys Eleanor (Fullick) Kennedy-Smith. She remarried in October 1961 to Peter STOCKS, and passed away on 24 Apr 1982 in Victoria BC at age 65.

William Irvine "Bill" BOORMAN (1911-1966)
Terry’s father Bill BOORMAN is also buried in the lower section of the Garden of Remembrance not too far from his parents. Bill died much too young and before I had even met Terry. I have written before about Bill’s houses and career in real estate, as well as his service as a Canadian naval officer in World War II. His military service has since been summarized on the Unit Histories website as well.

Bill's health was never the same after the war and about 1958 at the age of 47 he suffered the first of three heart attacks. Eight years later he died instantly from his third attack, just over a month after his only daughter was married, and while at home on a Sunday on his way to answer the phone. He was only 55, and never lived to meet his four grandchildren. Heart trouble certainly runs in the family. Bill’s cremains are buried in Block F, Plot 124 in the Garden of Remembrance, right beside a path in the lower section of the Chapel Garden.

(On a side note, one of my own maternal relatives is buried quite close to Bill, as mentioned in a previous blog posting about Arther Austin CRESWELL.)

Sheila and Jack Boorman in WWII military uniforms
with their father Harry E Boorman, c1942

John Stuart "Jack" BOORMAN (1914-1998) and
Mary Johnson Montgomery (ALEXANDER) BOORMAN (1917-1999)
Jack BOORMAN, the youngest son, and his wife Mary ALEXANDER are buried in a newer section of the Royal Oak Burial Park, closer to the back in section U near the Mausoleum.

Jack was born 30 Nov 1914 in Vancouver. He served in the army in WWII, and on 14 Mar 1942 he married Mary at St Andrews Presbyterian in Victoria. They had two sons and one daughter. Jack worked in real estate for the family business, and was interested in his family history. He died on 30 Jan 1998 in Victoria at the age of 83. Both their sons also worked at Boorman Investments.

Mary was born 26 Mar 1917 in Victoria, as was her twin sister Marshie ALEXANDER, both the children of Archibald ALEXANDER and Margaret Thompson McGREGOR. She graduated from the Royal Jubilee School of Nursing in 1939 as an RN. Mary developed Alzheimers and died on 20 Nov 1999 at the age of 82.

Audrey Evelyn BOORMAN (1920-1977) and Donald Victor KING (1919-1978)
Audrey and her husband Don KING both died from heart problems while still in their 50s, after two of their three daughters had married. They are buried side by side in the "Grove of Remembrance" section, Block C, Plots 393 and 394 of the Royal Oak Burial Park. I have only recently learned of their burial locations, so we recently made a special trip to the cemetery to visit their graves.

Audrey BOORMAN was born 12 Dec 1920 and was still an infant when the family left Vancouver. She grew up in Victoria, and by 1945 she was renting at her parents' home at 865 Newport and working as a clerk at Canadian Bank of Commerce. She was soon to be married.

Don KING was born in in Lanigan, Saskatchewan. He served in WWII before marrying Audrey, and worked in the family shoe store on lower Yates Street in Victoria, started by his father A V King. Audrey worked at the store as well.

The only members of this particular BOORMAN family NOT buried in the Royal Oak Burial Park are Sheila Frances BOORMAN (1917-2002) and her husband Thomas Alfred SMITH (1915-1994). Instead, they are buried up-island in Parksville BC. Also, Bill's wife and Terry's mother Lillian Joyce (THOMAS) BOORMAN SCHOENECKER is buried in Ross Bay Cemetery here in Victoria.

Southeast entrance to Garden of Remembrance, Royal Oak Burial Park, Victoria, BC, Canada

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Harry Eustace BOORMAN (1881-1951) in WW1 - #16 (52 ancestors)

4/27/2018

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Theme: Storm
Updated: 1 May 2018 - another photo added at the bottom.

I am very excited to share with you a newly found photo of Terry’s paternal grandfather Harry Eustace BOORMAN, thanks to a recent email from an informative military enthusiast and volunteer with The 15th Field Artillery Regiment RCA Museum and Archives in Vancouver - thank you Stu McDonald! This photo shows two men on horseback in military uniform - the officer on the right is Harry - and was found on the City of Vancouver Archives site. It was taken during the First World War, a time of horrific loss, turbulence and destruction overseas, so I think it fits right in with the “storm” theme this week. Wars are the biggest man-made storms I can think of.

“W.S. Holland and Major Boorman on 'Credential' at Little Mountain”, ca 1916/17 (WWI uniforms), Vancouver, BC, Canada
http://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/w-s-holland-and-major-boorman-on-credential-at-little-mountain

According to John D. Redmond, Assistant Curator with the 15th who joined our conversation: “The date given, '1911' is incorrect, as the uniforms are WWI. Officers in 1911 did not wear open collar tunics, and ORs tunics had seven smaller buttons, and were of a different cut. Also, of course, there was no artillery unit here [in Vancouver] in 1911.”

So this photo was more likely taken in 1916, the year Harry enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF). Or perhaps in 1917, which could more easily have been read as 1911 during indexing. The location of “Little Mountain” is now in the middle of Queen Elizabeth Park near Cambie at 33rd in Vancouver. Perhaps they used this area for their training? And the magnificent horse that Harry is mounted on was named ‘Credential’, a very fitting reference to Harry’s civilian occupation of Financial Agent.

Portrait of
Harry Eustace Boorman

Looking more closely at Harry BOORMAN's WWI military file on the Library and Archives Canada (LAC) site, Harry declares (on 4 May 1916) that he served with the 72nd Seaforth Highlanders of Canada in Vancouver, and formerly 6 years with the 5th Regiment Canadian Artillery (RCA) in Victoria BC. Both of these militia units became volunteer reserves during the Great War. For the war effort, Harry signed up on 22 Mar 1916 as a Captain, and was assigned to the 68th Depot Battery as their commanding officer (Acting Major). This would explain the reference to “Major Boorman” in the photo title (see above caption).

A news article posted in the Vancouver Daily World on 25 Mar 1916, page 23, gives more details about Harry’s appointment to the 68th Battery:

VANCOUVER OFFICER TO COMMAND BATTALION
Captain. H. E. Boorman, It is Announced Will Head 68th Unit.

What will be known as the 68th Battery of Artillery has been authorized as the contribution of Vancouver district to the brigade which will be raised in the west under Col. A. T. Ogilvie, formerly officer commanding Military District No. 11. Capt. H. E. Boorman (local major), it is understood, will be placed in command of the battery, the organization of which will be proceeded with immediately.

Captain Boorman, Colonel Ogilvie and other military officers were in conference this morning at military headquarters. There are some 150 men now in training at artillery barracks. This detachment, it was intended, should form the third overseas draft, but it may now be diverted to form the nucleus for the new battery.

Training will be conducted under nearly active service conditions as is possible.

Other officers of the 68th brigade will be drawn from the officers of the Vancouver Volunteer Reserve. Mr. A. H. Stewart, formerly of the London Scottish and the Hongkong Rifles, will probably be second in command, while Mr. J. M. Stewart will also be transferred to the battery.

Provisional Lieutenants Macdonald, Borland, Wilde and Cooke will be taken on the strength of the new unit also.

The 68th battery, it was announced, will have permanent headquarters in Vancouver, and overseas drafts will be supplied through it.

From the LAC “Guide to Sources Relating to Units of the Canadian Expeditionary Force - Artillery” (on page 111):

68th Battery, Canadian Field Artillery
Organized in March 1916 as a draft-giving depot battery under the command of Captain H. Boorman. Known as Boorman’s Artillery. Authorization published in General Order 69 of 15 July 1916. Mobilized at Vancouver. Recruited in British Columbia. Absorbed by No.11 Artillery Depot in October 1918. Disbanded by General Order 191 of 1 November 1920.
Archival references:
Appointment of officers RG 24, vol.1372, file HQ 593-6-1-ART
Inspection reports, clothing and equipment RG 24, vol.1683

Harry remained in Canada for the duration of the war, leading the recruitment of infantry soldiers as directed by Ottawa. He was very successful in his appointed task, as many soldiers signed up with the 68th through a series of at least 20 different drafts. Recruits were then trained and assigned as replacements to other existing units overseas.

The City of Vancouver Archives has portraits of a number of these uniformed draft groups, sometimes including officers. Harry probably delegated the honour of posing with these recruits to some of his officers. But I think I've found Harry in a 1917 group portrait of the 68th unit, complete with dog mascot. It looks like Harry, wearing a very serious expression, sitting front row centre:

68th Battery C.F.A. - May 21, 1917 - Photo 33B by Stuart Thomson
http://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/68th-battery-c-f-may-21-1917

I have to include a final photo of the 68th, showing them on parade through downtown Vancouver. No doubt this was a promotional tactic to try and gain more recruits, and it was probably a fairly long route based on the number of parade photos in the archives. Could the Captain riding alone behind the buglers be Harry? I don't think it's the same horse; 'Credential' did not have a large white blaze on his face, or at least it wasn't apparent in the top photo. In the following parade photo, I was also interested in seeing the surroundings: buildings, streetcars and onlookers in Vancouver, as Harry would have known them.

CVA 99-469 - 68th C.F.A. parade [along the 100 Block of East Hastings Street]
http://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/68th-c-f-parade-along-100-block-of-east-hastings-street

These photos represent a part of Harry's life that we knew very little about, and we still hope to learn even more. In 1916 when he enlisted, Harry would have been age 35, already married with three children, and a fourth before war's end. Referred to as Captain H.E. Boorman on his last CEF pay certificate, Harry was demobilized on 31 Jan 1919, when he returned to civilian life and his residence at 1678 Davie Street in Vancouver.

There were to be more storms ahead in Harry's life, but he weathered these war years, respected and in a position of authority in service to his country.

Added 1 May 2018:

Another impressive photo has now been uncovered, thanks to Leon Jensen, webmaster of the Vancouver Gunners website (including the 15th Field Artillery Regiment, RCA among other organizations). He found this large group photo (see below) of the 68th Battery CFA in the collection of 15th Field Artillery Reg't Museum & Archives (accession #985.115.01). And this time the photographer, Stuart Thomson, has penned in Capt. Boorman's name! It is dated 22 May 1918, in the final year of the Great War.

Harry is quite recognizable in this photo, and apparently more relaxed and comfortable in his position as Commanding Officer of this large WWI Battery. As we have not yet found a single formal military studio portrait of Harry, I have cropped him out of this group photo for his personal file, and to complement this large photo, displayed here with permission from the 15th Field RCA Museum and Archives.

Acting Major H E Boorman, OC,
68th Battery, Vancouver BC, 1918

68th Battery C.F.A. - Vancouver, B.C. May 22nd 1918 - Capt. H.E. Boorman O.C.
Displayed with permission of the 15 Field Regiment, RCA, Museum and Archives; collection accession #985.115.01
http://www.vancouvergunners.ca/whats-new/group-photo-update8357418

An overview of Terry's paternal BOORMAN line can be found on our Boorman page.

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Edward BOORMAN (1785 - 1858) - #15 (52 ancestors)

4/15/2018

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Theme: Taxes

In my recent story about Terry’s ancestor William BOORMAN II who died in 1790, I promised that: “William III’s youngest son Edward became the next BOORMAN wheelwright of Staplehurst [Kent, England], 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!”

It’s now time to share more details about William's land and his grandson Edward BOORMAN.

About 1837 when England instigated their civil registration programs for births, marriages and deaths, they also initiated a very comprehensive tithe survey of land ownership, occupancy and usage throughout Britain that lasted until the early 1850s. According to online dictionaries, “tithe” means “one tenth of annual produce or earnings, formerly taken as a tax for the support of the church and clergy”. Further clarification is provide by a guide on this Tithe Survey, published by the National Archives, which says in part: -

“By the early 19th century tithe payment in kind seemed a very out-of-date practice, while payment of tithes per se became unpopular, against a background of industrialisation, religious dissent and agricultural depression. The 1836 Tithe Commutation Act required tithes in kind to be converted to more convenient monetary payments called tithe rentcharge. The Tithe Survey was established to find out which areas were subject to tithes, who owned them, how much was payable and to whom.”

I have recently discovered these tithe survey records (both indexes and images of the registers and associated maps) are available on The Genealogist site by subscription - https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/tithe - although searching the index is free. The Boorman name is listed 1,342 times in the index, although many names if not properties are usually repeated multiple times.

Tithe Apportionments Register, Staplehurst, Kent, England, 1838.
Outlined in red: properties leased by Edward BOORMAN, wheelwright
© TheGenealogist © Crown copyright images reproduced courtesy of The National Archives, London, England

Edward BOORMAN of Staplehurst Kent is listed 6 times as occupier of various plots, all listed on the same page of the Apportionments register [piece 17, sub-piece 343, image 34]. One of the plots he rented [number 1032] was owned by a Charles Ingram:

Plot 1032 a “cottage and garden” and cultivated as a “meadow”

The other 5 plots were all owned by William Jull, and also cultivated as a meadow:

Plot 395 was an orchard
Plot 396 a wheeler’s shop, shed and yard
Plot 398 was a house and garden
Plot 399 a house
Plot 400 was a garden and sheds.

Its unclear how Edward could “occupy” all three houses. If he was sub-letting two of them, perhaps he qualified as occupier as long as his name was still on the lease. Or did some of his extended family live in these properties?

Lot 397 (on the corner of High Street and Chapel Lane) is not included in Edward’s list because it was the property of the Independent Chapel (also known as The Lower Grove or The Presbyterian Meetinghouse; non-conformist) that had been leased to this church in 1766 by Edward BOORMAN’s grandfather William. According to the Tithe index, Plot 397 was owned in by a large group of men in 1838:

Landowner   John Osborne Junior & Samuel Harman & Samuel Buss & Robert Barling & Richard Booy & William Foster & George Mullinger & Thomas Harnden & Isaac Watson & Joseph Brown & George Archer Junior & Richard Holmes Junior
Occupier   Robert Orpin
Parish   Staplehurst
County   Kent
Original Date   11th August 1838
Plot   397
Reference   IR 29/17/343
Tithe Apportionments, 1836-1929 [database online]. TheGenealogist.co.uk 2018
Original data: "IR29 Tithe Commission and successors: Tithe Apportionments" The National Archives

Perhaps the occupier Robert Orpin was the minister? What’s also interesting here is that, in spite of being a church, the owners still had to pay a tithe of 1£ 17s 6d to the Rector (presumable of the official Church of England that stood a short way up the hill on High Street).

I am uncertain about how to accurately read the numerical columns in these registers, partly because of the excessive use of “ditto” marks, even at the top of pages.

“Quantities in Statute Measure” [A. R. P. columns: 1 acre = 4 roods, 1 rood = 40 square perches (also called rods or poles), and 1 perch = 16½ feet]]
“Amount of Rent-Charge apportioned upon the several Lands, and Payable to the Rector” [£ s d columns = English pound, shilling, pence]

How reliable was this survey or am I not reading these numbers correctly? I have my doubts that all these plots were each over 4 acres in size. Was the tithe to the rector on the Ingram property alone really 8£ [from previous page], 18s, 6d [recorded as “ 18 6]? The total tithes payable on all 5 of the Jull plots was perhaps 8£ 3s 6d [recorded as “ 3 “].

If my understanding of this process is correct, payment of these tithes to the Rector would have been the responsibility of the land owner rather than the occupier, but would have likely been passed on to the occupier as part of their rent.

Although not all parishes were included in this survey (excluded if tithes weren’t applicable in that area), these extensive tithe records are a valuable resource for many parts of England in this time period. I’m glad that Staplehurst in Kent was among those parishes surveyed, and that these entries provide insight into the extent of Edward's leased properties and status.

Tithe Survey map, Staplehurst, Kent, England, 1838.
Outlined in red: properties leased by Edward BOORMAN, wheelwright
© TheGenealogist © Crown copyright images reproduced courtesy of The National Archives, London, England

Edward BOORMAN was Terry’s 4-times-great Uncle, the youngest son of William BOORMAN III (1746-1824) and Ann WELLER (1745-1829) and the 9th of their 10 children. His grandfather William Boorman II left extensive property in Staplehurst, Headcorn and Cranbrook (all in Kent) to his grandchildren under the care of his two children William BOORMAN and Mercy CARPENTER. After the death of these children, the properties were then to be sold or otherwise equally divided among the next generation. The information in these tithe documents confirms that Edward was not a landowner, so the Staplehurst properties inherited by his father William must have been sold, with the proceeds split about 8 ways amongst his surviving children, including Edward. Yet it was Edward who continued his father’s wheelwright business there, and probably continued to occupy at least some of these ancestral lands as tenant after his parents’ death in the 1820s, judging by the land description and proximity to the Independent Chapel.

Edward married twice, first to Sarah HUCKSTED in 1808 in Maidstone Kent, and secondly to Harriet TOWN in 1845, 11 years after Sarah’s death. Edward and Sarah had at least seven known children between 1809 and 1823, only one of them a girl. Edward died in Staplehurst on 14 Jun 1858 at the age of 71, and was also buried there. Although listed on his parents’ gravestone, it is not clear if he was buried with them.

They say taxes are inevitable, so I wonder what other types of taxes Edward had to pay during his life? I wouldn't be surprised if the money he inherited from his father and mother's estate was taxable.

REFERENCES and FURTHER READING

England Tithe Survey Research Guide (National Archives) - http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/tithes/

National Archives Catalogue - Staplehurst Tithe Map -
http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2302460

The Genealogist Tithe Records - https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/tithe

England Tithe Records (National Institute) -
https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/England_Tithe_Records_(National_Institute)

The Tithe Surveys of the Mid.Nineteenth Century By H. C. PRINCE -
http://www.bahs.org.uk/AGHR/ARTICLES/07n1a3.pd

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Amelia Alice BOORMAN (1869-1918) - #14 (52 Ancestors)

4/12/2018

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Theme: Maiden Aunt

Terry’s paternal Great Aunt Alice was the sister of his grandfather Harry Eustace BOORMAN. Alice was actually named Amelia Alice BOORMAN by her parents William Scoons BOORMAN and Frances Jane “Fanny” ROBSON”. According to her birth certificate, she was born on 12 Jul 1869 at 2 Cedar Terrace in Fulham, Middlesex, England.

Alice was the third of their seven children, and grew up in the London districts of Fulham and Battersea near Wandsworth, just across the Thames. Her father supported the family as a grocer, and then as a coal merchant clerk. By 1891 at the age of 21, Alice was already employed as a board school teacher. Like her older sister Lillie (Frances Eliza), she never married. Perhaps because of that, we have been able to find out some interesting details about her life.

Like many in her family, Alice emigrated to the west coast of Canada - my home town of Victoria BC - sometime between 1892 and 1896. Probably in 1894 if the 1901 census is to be believed, or in 1895 according the 1911 census. Although she was not listed individually in the city directories in this period, she was mentioned in the Victoria Times Colonist newspaper on 29 July 1896, page 6, as “Entitled to Teach - Results of the Recent Annual Examination for Teachers’ Certificates … qualification to teach in the public schools of British Columbia”. Examinations were held starting on 3 July. Alice was granted one of the 17 “Third Class Grade A Certificates, Maximum Marks 1950. Boorman Alice A, [mark] 1114”. She was 10th in her class.

On 27 May 1897, Alice attended the wedding of her older sister Henrietta BOORMAN to their maternal cousin Jim ROBSON. I have previously written about this Victoria wedding and the large group photo showing many family members, most still unidentified. Many many years after this event, a grandchild wrote a caption on the back of the photo. It says, in part “Granny's Maid of Honour -- directly behind her and her two Brides-Maids.” Unfortunately no names for them are known with certainty. But we know from the marriage registration document that the witnesses were Walter Wm BOORMAN and Alice A BOORMAN, both of Victoria. They were both siblings of the bride and cousins of the groom, and likely the names of the Best Man and the Maid of Honour. But Alice could have been any of the three woman attendants standing behind the bride in this cropped version of the photo.

Alice Amelia BOORMAN was probably the Maid of Honour at her sister Henrietta's wedding in 1897.
But which of the three attendants is she?

Alice had three sisters (as well as three brothers), so it seems likely that the bride and the three attendants were all siblings (however some could be the groom’s sister(s) instead - he had four of them). Alice’s oldest sister Frances (known as Lillie) stayed behind in England when the family emigrated to Canada, and was operating a lodging house on the Isle of Wight in 1901. Did she make the long journey to western Canada in 1897 to attend the wedding before returning to England? Perhaps not, as it was such a long way. No such travel records can be found for her or any of the family traveling to Canada in the 1890s.

Alice's youngest sister Kate is still quite a mystery; according to the 1901 census Kate was living in Victoria with her brother William and his young family. Kate’s birthdate is incorrectly recorded, but she is listed as William's sister. It also says that both William and Kate immigrated in 1889. But Kate (born Oct 1877) would have been only eleven or twelve at that time, and it seems unlikely that her parents (who didn't emigrate until about 1894) would have entrusted her care in a new country to their son who was barely 18 in 1889. Regardless, it seems probable that Kate was already in Canada in 1897 and attended her sister’s wedding as a bridesmaid, age 19.

Alice was said to be age 30 in 1901, living with her parents (a little vanity is allowed as she would have been almost 32). Their street address is not provided in the census, but directories list the males at least at 129 Michigan in the James Bay area.

In 1907, Alice would have been greatly sadden by the lost of her oldest brother Walter William BOORMAN due to typhoid. She was listed as “Miss Boorman of Victoria” in Walter’s obituary. Only three sisters were mentioned, so what happened to the fourth?

Then in 1909 her father died of cancer: another painful loss for Alice and the family.

We know that Alice pursued her career in teaching, specializing in sewing and needlework. An amazing 2-page spread in the Sunday Supplement of The Victoria Colonist on 14 Mar 1909 was titled “Useful Arts in Victoria Schools”. It’s an enlightening history of the development of public education in the City of Victoria in this early period. Alice is mentioned once as “Miss Boorman” in the article, and pictures of some of the students were included. Sure wish they had included a photo of Alice as well. Here are a couple of excerpts:

“It is more than nine years since Dr. Robertson, now of Macdonald College, visited Victoria, and in an enthusiastic address convinced his audience of the benefits that would follow a thorough training of the hand and eye. As a result of his visit the Board of School Trustees accepted the offer of Sir William Macdonald to establish a manual training centre as an experiment - the school board only giving it a home. The annex to the Central School was taken for the purpose.” …

The program started off with woodworking (“manual training”) for the boys, but quickly expanded to include classes in drawing, design and colour work. Domestic science and then needlework were also introduced for the girls. This required extra training for the teachers, who were often ill prepared to teach these subjects.

“… Needlework was taught by some of the women teachers to their girls when the boys went to manual training, and a short course in plain sewing was given in the three classes in the intermediate grade of the Girls School. This did not meet the needs at all, and through the efforts and influence of Mrs. Jenkins, Miss Boorman was appointed to teach all the girls in the common schools the art of plain needlework. This work has been hitherto done with very little assistance from the regular teachers, and but few can form any idea of the arduous labor required of the teacher who takes full control during five days in the week of more than a thousand girls ranging from the tiny tot, who does not know the finger upon which the thimble should be place, to the girl in the senior class, who can cut, fit and finish a garment.”

A Sewing Bee at the Public School in Victoria in March 1909,
no doubt arranged and taught by Miss Alice Boorman.
From The Victoria Colonist, 14 Mar 1909, Sunday Supplement, page 1

So Alice played a recognized role in this progressive expansion of Victoria’s public school curriculum. The complete news article can be found on the Daily Colonist website. In several other editions I have also found mention of Alice BOORMAN, providing more insight into her life and activities:

Alice was publicly rewarded for her work with a pay increase that same year …
1909 British Colonist April 16 1909 page 02 Normal School for City of Victoria - Teacher’s Salaries
….That Miss Boorman’s salary be increased by $30 per annum.

Other work-related clippings:
1909 British Colonist July 02 1909 page 2 CAN NOW SEW Diplomas awarded to the girls…
Miss Boorman is the special teacher in sewing…

1909 British Colonist Sept. 02 1909 page 03 SOCIAL AND PERSONAL
Miss Boorman of 1328 Alfred Street will resume her sewing classes on Saturday next.

It also seems that Alice managed to find time for her own personal needlework projects as well, and on at least two occasions, entered her own handiwork in the exhibition:
1907 British Colonist September 29 1907 page 30 Prizes awarded at Fall Fair - Fancy Work
Most Handsome toilet set – Alice A. Boorman, Victoria.

1909 British Colonist September 18 1909 “Victoria’s Show” page 2
2nd prize for children’s pinafores in the ladies sewing category Miss A. Boorman

Another time she might have helped out at the fair?
1908 British Colonist September 23 1908 page 014 THE EXHIBITION IS UNDER WAY (cont. from page two) ….supervision of Miss Boorman the teacher of various grades.

I was heartened to find this news clipping, which shines some light on Alice’s civic and political views:
1907 British Colonist December 22 1907 page 15 COURT OF REVISION IS NOT ADVERTISED
The name of Alice Boorman is included in the list of the names of women who voted against removing the names of women from the voters lists.

The following notice may just be announcing a summer holiday? Or was this break health related?
1910 British Colonist June 02 1910 page 05 SOCIAL AND PERSONAL
Miss Boorman will not receive this Friday, nor until the first Friday in September.

In the 1910 city directory, Alice was living at 1328 Fisguard with her brother Albert and family. In the 1911 census, Alice was living with her widowed mother at 1324 Fisguard (now Balmoral) in the Fernwood area of Victoria, and next door to her brother Albert and his young family. In 1913 and 1915 directories her address was listed as 1324 Fisguard.

We have found a marvellous article on the history of this house, published in the Winter 2007 edition of the local community periodical "Fernwood News". Not only does it list Alice Amelia BOORMAN as the original owner of 1324 Balmoral Street (previously 1324 Fisgard) since 1910, but it also provides some of her genealogical information as well. Details of subsequent owners are also covered. The house was designated a heritage building in 2007. The authors also mention nearby houses belonging to her relatives. Here is a partial clipping with transcription (click on the following images to enlarge):

History Corner
1324 Balmoral (Previously 1324 Fisguard)
Designer/builder: David Herbert Bale
The original owner, Alice Amelia Boorman (c.1871-1918), lived here from 1910 with her widowed mother, Frances Jane (Robson) (1844-1924), until Alice's sudden death after an operation to repair a ruptured ulcer. Alice was a needlework specialist, teaching the subject at local schools. Frances came to Canada with her family and husband William Scoones Boorman (c.1843-1909) from London, England, in 1894. The family lived on Michigan Street in James Bay for nearly ten years. William was a clerk at the Driard Hotel for several years before his death. He had two houses built near this house in 1905, also designed by David Herbert Bale, 1328 and 1340 Balmoral (originally Alfred, then Fisguard), and a family tennis court between the two, where 1334 Balmoral now stands. Son Albert Sidney Boorman (1876-1947), a cabinetmaker with J. A. Sayward and then a box factory foreman with Canadian Puget Sound Lumber Co., lived at 1328 with his wife Frances “Fanny” (Oliver) (c.1888-?), whom he married in 1910. Alice lived at 1328 until 1324 was built; after Alice's death, Albert and Fanny lived in 1324 until the early 1920s. Another son, Walter William (1871-1907), a bookkeeper with B. Williams & Co. (528 St. Charles, Rockland), lived at 1340 with his wife Marian Emelda “Mamie” (Guthro) (c.1876-?), until his death from typhoid fever. ...

Credits: Fernwood News, Winter 2007, page 3
The Fernwood News would like to thank Jennifer Barr and the Victoria Heritage Foundation for their assistance. Victoria's Heritage Neighbourhoods, Volume One (Fernwood and Victoria West) is published by the Victoria Heritage Foundation, 2004. Copies of this volume and Volume Two (James Bay) are available at local bookstores.

As noted in the above article as well as in her obituary and death registration, Alice sadly died on 13 Jun 1918 in Victoria’s Royal Jubilee Hospital following surgery for a "ruptured gastric ulcer". I am wondering if she had an overly nervous personality, or did she find her job and recent family losses so stressful that she developed an ulcer? The informant for her death was her brother Albert S BOORMAN who said she was living at 1328 Balmoral. Had she moved back to this old address, or was she still next door at 1324 with her mother? Perhaps in his grief, the number 1328 came more readily to mind? He may not have been the most reliable informant, as he "could not say" what his sister's birthdate was, and also said that Alice had been in Victoria and Canada for only 15 years. In fact it was at least 22 years. She was only 48 years old when died, at much too young an age.

Alice was one of the BOORMAN family members buried in the historic Ross Bay Cemetery, fairly close to home.

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JOHNSTON - What house is this anyway? - #13 (52 ancestors)

4/9/2018

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Theme: Homestead

The JOHNSTON / KERFOOT family, 1911
On steps: Daisy Louise (nee JOHNSTON) BOORMAN and her brother Russell Kerfoot JOHNSTON.
On veranda: Deborah S (nee KERFOOT) JOHNSTON holding baby William I BOORMAN (1st grandchild),
her mother Eliza Jane (nee NEELAND) KERFOOT, Della E JOHNSTON, Irene JOHNSTON (later DELISLE).

Bill BOORMAN's baptismal certificate, 1913, Vancouver, BC

Old family photos hold secrets, especially when there are no captions, and we're still struggling with this one. Although no formal caption was written on the back of the above photograph, the people in it had previously been identified by older family members.  It was taken in 1911 and depicts the infant Bill BOORMAN (Terry’s father, born on 16 Jan 1911) and his extended JOHNSTON family on his mother's side.  Another portrait, taken on this same occasion, includes only baby Bill and three female adults (as shown in a previous post about Bill Boorman’s life).

Both these photos are very important family keepsakes as they include four generations of Bill BOORMAN's female JOHNSTON, KERFOOT and NEELAND ancestors.  Bill’s father Harry Eustace BOORMAN isn’t even included!

We had always assumed that these photos were taken to commemorate Bill’s baptism.  The family is obviously gathered together in formal dress, and it was an important enough occasion to warrant having formal portraits taken (presumably by a professional photographer).  However, Bill’s colourful baptism certificate says that he wasn’t baptized until 22 Aug 2013 at 1419 Harwood Street in Vancouver by his Uncle Samuel Fletcher KERFOOT, a Methodist Episcopal minister then living in North Dakota. Bill was then two and a half years old.  So I think this 1911 photo is simply in honour of Bill’s birth as the first grandchild on this JOHNSTON side of the family.

Street number 1409. Where?

One would assume that this important birth celebration would also take place at the family's home. But look again at this photo, and focus on the house rather than the people. What address was it? The house number is partly shown in the shadows above the front door, but unfortunately the tops of the numbers are cut off. When I first looked at a slightly trimmed version of this photo, it looked like the address was 1407. But I now realize the house number is almost certainly 1409. Not a match for 1419; it's off by 10.

I'm sure this is just wishful thinking, but could the street numbers on this street have been revised around that time period, and the actual number on the house not yet been updated? I so want this to be Deborah’s house in the photo!

If not, then which street and which city are we truly looking at? And whose house was it?

Although baby Bill BOORMAN had been born in California when his parents were on a temporary visit there, the JOHNSTON family had been living in Vancouver BC Canada since about 1890, having moved from Ontario to Manitoba before journeying to the west coast. By 1910 some of the family was living at 1419 Harwood Street, including Daisy Louise’s mother Deborah and her grandmother Eliza Jane, both widows. Daisy Louise’s father James Irvine Johnston had died in Vancouver in 1900 (no address recorded on his death registration), her grandfather James Elden JOHNSTON in Vancouver in 1901 (no address), and her widowed maternal grandfather Samuel KERFOOT passed away in 1906 at 1041 Burrard St, Vancouver. With the surviving widows living together at 1419 Harwood, that would have been the logical place to hold a family celebration.

In my research collaboration back in 2016 with Randi, a Johnston second cousin, we wondered if they might have used a neighbour’s porch, perhaps because it was larger or better suited for the photo. So we searched city directories, census and old maps trying to see if such an address existed. On modern maps, their house and its neighbours no longer exist, replaced with a utilitarian 1950-ish apartment or condo building now called Sunrise Court. In fact, there are no single family dwellings left in this area - how sad. Harwood parallels Beach Ave and is two blocks off Sunset Beach Park. Prime real estate! House number 1419 on Harwood is between the Broughton and Nicola cross streets, and if there had been a house numbered 1409, it would have been replaced by the apartment building on the corner at 1315 Broughton Street.

With a bit of digging, I have found two different Vancouver City maps online from this period. The first is the 1911 map by the White Print Company which shows surveyed lots and blocks and street names, with civic block numbers in red, but no individual civic addresses. So while it's a good overview map of Vancouver, it's not much help with our quest. Then just today I found the online collection of Goad’s Fire Insurance Interactive Section Maps from 1912 which includes the civic address, lot dimensions and the outline of buildings on the lots. As shown on the following map, I found 1419 Harwood in District Lot 185, on a 66 ft by 131 ft lot backing onto a 33 ft lane. The large square wooden house in Block 51, Lot 19 was situated closer to the front and right boundaries of the lot, and a small square garage or shed was right off the back lane on the right side boundary (yellow references a wooden structure). If the outline of the house is correct, it didn't have a veranda that jutted out into the yard, which the one in the photo may have had. It would be nice to see an old photo of the full front of the house to be sure.

1912 Vancouver City Goad's Fire Insurance Map, including District Lot 185
showing the location of 1419 Harwood Street, home of the widow Deborah S JOHNSTON.

The City of Vancouver Archives may well have further information on this property, but that will likely require a personal visit if I want to learn more about this JOHNSTON home.

One of the problems I'm still having is that I can’t find this family in the 1911 census. Was there a section missing from the census pages, or was it badly transcribed, or had she moved out of province? In the 1910 Henderson City directory, Deborah (widow of James) was living at 1419 Harwood, but in 1911 she is not listed at all in the directory Looking for that address, her home was then occupied by a Francis J Gillespie (I don't know who he was). But the following year in 1912, Deborah is back at that address (also in 1913 and 1914 at least).

Did she rent out her house and go on an extended holiday to California to help her daughter through Bill’s birth? But if this was the case, I've been unable to find any record of her relatively brief stay there. The US census in 1910 was too early to record them. Of course I may be way off the mark with this theory.

There was no house number 1409 listed on Harwood in the directories or on the above map, so we need to keep looking elsewhere for the house in the photo. It may belong to another relative or even a family friend. I have found some of the other members of this Johnston family at different residences in Vancouver in 1911, but none at an address containing the number 1409. Baby Bill BOORMAN and his parents were living as 1209 Jervis in a big apartment block (another number only 1 digit out!) Could the whole JOHNSTON family been visiting their BOORMAN in-laws in Victoria where baby Bill's paternal grandparents and other relatives lived? Or what about the KERFOOT relatives in Vancouver? We've searched both without success. A California address would be a long shot, only if all Vancouver Johnston relatives also traveled there to visit the new baby (and be included in the photo) before everyone returned to Canada in time for the 1911 census.

So the identify of the house in the photo remains a mystery, and the search continues.

Elsewhere on my site you can find summaries and other links for Terry's:
Johnston and Dever lines
Kerfoot, Neeland and Smith lines

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

3/27/2018

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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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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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Paying Respects at Ross Bay Cemetery - #1 (52 ancestors)

1/10/2018

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BURIALS: BOORMAN, SCHOENECKER, GOSSE, WHITTAKER, IRVINE, ROBSON

Theme: Start

ROSS BAY CEMETERY, Victoria BC Canada
Looking west from in front of the grave of
Joyce (Thomas Boorman) SCHOENECKER.
Arnold SCHOENECKER's grave is at the base of this tree as shown, right side.

As part of the new 2018 “52 ancestors in 52 weeks” challenge, this first posting focuses on multiple relatives in my husband Terry Boorman’s tree who are all buried in Ross Bay Cemetery in Victoria, BC, Canada. Instead of one ancestor this week, this is about one cemetery with multiple family burials. I’m feeling unconventional! But I have a good reason for this approach.

The optional theme this week is “start”, and to get inspiration I decided to look back to when I started my blog in 2012 . Back then I chose to start close to home here in Victoria, looking at burials for Terry’s paternal relatives in Ross Bay Cemetery, one of the oldest cemeteries in the area.

At that time I only wrote about 7 BOORMAN burials, with all but one of them resting in the Boorman family plot in Block O. They are marked with only a single gravestone, inscribed simply with their surname “BOORMAN”.

Boorman family plot gravestone in Ross Bay Cemetery, Block O, Victoria, BC, Canada

However, there are additional family burials in this historical cemetery, which is situated on Dallas and Fairfield Roads, right on Victoria’s scenic waterfront. One of these relatives died only last year. So this posting is about Ross Bay Cemetery and some of the other family burials that we have found so far. There are likely more to be found.

SCHOENECKER

My husband Terry’s mother, Lillian “Joyce” BOORMAN (nee THOMAS), was buried in Ross Bay Cemetery in 11 May 2006, as was her second husband Arnold John SCHOENECKER in 1988. Joyce died peacefully on 24 Feb 2006 in a nursing home in Victoria. Arnold was born 27 Sep 1910 in St Paul, Minnesota. He was previously married with 2 children and worked as a labor negotiator in the US. He married Joyce in Victoria on 17 May 1970 and for a short while they lived in Seattle before returning to Victoria.

Joyce’s ashes were buried by her two children under a large tree on the eastern edge of the cemetery, close to where Arnold was buried under a neighbouring tree. Joyce certainly has a marvellous view of the surrounding trees and monuments.

GOSSE & BOORMAN

GOSSE family plots, just south of the Wilson monument

According to the Ross Bay Cemetery Index, the GOSSE family secured 3 adjacent burial plots in Block Q on the west side of Road U (a paved path), just south of similar plots acquired by the prominent Wilson family (not related). While the Wilson family erected a massive monument across their plots, it is in stark contrast with the grassy GOSSE plots beside them, adorned only with 2 small and simple flush-mounted markers:

Plot 71: One name listed: Josiah Gosse
Plot 70: Six names listed a small metal plaque: GOSSE; Josiah 1938, Susannah 1946, Frank (S S Sophia) 1981, Josiah (Si) 1937, Llewellyn 1930, Katie (nee Boorman) 1991

NOTE: The cemetery index says that the 2nd Josiah (1853-1937) is buried in Block P Plot 124 on the east side of M Rd with Deriah Gosse and Anna Maria Gosse; the index does not list Katie at all, at least that I could find.

Katie Evelyn BOORMAN as a girl in Victoria
in a formal portrait with her dog

Katie Evelyn BOORMAN was Terry’s father’s first cousin. She was the only child of Walter William BOORMAN (buried in the Boorman plot mentioned above) and Marian Emilda GUTHRO. Katie was born on 18 Jul 1899 in Victoria BC at 57 Kings Road. Two months after she turned 8, her father succumbed to typhoid in 1907. In 1909 her mother remarried to Albert Edward WHITTAKER, but they had no further children. Katie’s mother Marion died 29 May 1942 in Victoria and is buried with her first husband Walter William in the BOORMAN plot in Block O. Ten years later in 1952, Albert was buried in Block A.

The only photo I have of Katie is a formal portrait of her as a child, dressed in elaborate finery and accompanied by a very large dog. Not your usual portrait but wonderful to have.

Katie met and married Llewellyn Sparkes GOSSE on 15 Apr 1924 in Victoria. I have rarely seen such a detailed wedding announcement (including gifts and out of town guests) as was published the next day in the Victoria Times:

Home Wedding was Pretty Ceremony.
Nuptials Last Night of Miss Katie Boorman and Mr. L Gosse.
A very pretty wedding took place last night at 9 o’clock at the home of the bride’s mother, Mrs. A. E. Whittaker, Balmoral Road, when the Rev. Dr. Campbell united in marriage Katie Evelyn Boorman, only daughter of the late Mr W W Boorman and of Mrs A E Whittaker, Balmoral Road, and Mr. Llewellyn Sparks Gosse, third son of Captain and Mrs. J Gosse, 235 Belleville St.
The ceremony was performed in the drawing room under an arch of greenery from which was suspended a large floral bell, while potted plants and cut flowers were artistically arranged throughout the rooms.
The bride, who was given in marriage by her stepfather, Mr A E Whittaker, looked charming in a gown of powder blue Canton crepe, simply fashioned and embroidered with steel beads and wore a wreath of orange blossoms in her coiffeure. Her only attendant was Miss Mildred Russell, who looked fascinating in a fawn Canton crepe costume. The groom was supported by Dr H L Alexander of Portland, Oregon. During the signing of the register Mrs. Morton sang “Beloved, It is Morn,” accompanied by Miss Dorothy Morton, who also played the Wedding March as the bridal party entered the drawing room.
A delicious buffet supper was served in the dining room which for the occasion was in a color scheme of blue and gold. Streamers in these shades formed a canopy over the table, which was centred with a three tier wedding cake, surrounded by bowls of daffodils and blue candles in bronze sconces.
The following friends of the bride assisted in serving: The missed J Homans, Edith Parsell, Marguerita Hicks, Alice Findler, Della Fair, Evelyn Macdonald, Dorothy and Gertrude Gosse, Quida Beacham and Florence Russell.
Among the many beautiful wedding gifts was a set of flat Community silver, presented by the members of the commercial staff of the BC Telephone Company of which the bride has been a member for a number of years, also a set of aluminum ware from the employees of the Union Oil Company, with which company the groom is associated.
On their return from the honeymoon, which is to be spent in Vancouver and the Sound cities, Mr and Mrs Gosse will reside in Coper Apartments, Menzies Street. Among the out of town guests at the wedding were Mr and Mrs Fred Beacham and daughter of Chemainus, Mr and Mrs I L Dougan of Cobble Hill, Captian and Mrs T S Gunns of Vancouver, Captain and Mrs J Goss of Vancouver, Dr and Mrs Homer Alexander of Portland, Mr and Mrs J F Strang of Vancouver, Captain and Mrs J F Gosse of Colwood, Mrs. A D Losee of Seattle, Mr R Sparks of Vancouver and Mr R Gosse and daughter of Rossland.”

After Llewellyn’s early death on 19 Apr 1930 following surgery and his subsequent burial in Ross Bay Cemetery, many years passed before Katie was remarried to a widower Douglas Edmonds PEARSALL. Douglas passed away in 1976 in Vancouver, and Katie died 15 Nov 1991 in Victoria, then cremated in Royal Oak. Athough her burial is not recorded in the Ross Bay index under Pearsall, Gosse or Boorman, the memorial plaque placed by family on the Gosse plot implies that Katie (nee Boorman) was buried there.

Alan Frank Guthro GOSSE, 1925 - 2017

Katie and Llewellyn had one son, Alan Frank Guthro GOSSE, born 11 Mar 1925 in Victoria. He was Terry’s second cousin. We had the pleasure of meeting him in 1999 at a Boorman family reunion, where he shared some of his family stories and photos. One of the group photos showed and impish Alan as a young boy with his grandmother Marian, together with Terry’s grandparents and 2 aunts (when they were girls)I was contacted by Alan’s daughter last year to let me know that Alan passed away on 16 May 2017 at the age of 92, and that his ashes were buried at Ross Bay. His name is not yet in the cemetery index, nor is there a marker for him yet. But on a recent visit to Ross Bay Cemetery to pay our respects, we noticed a patch of recently disturbed grass in Gosse plot 70 that is likely his resting place. Alan Gosse’s online obituary provides more information on his life and family.

The other GOSSE’s known to be buried in this plot included Llewellyn’s parents Capt. Josiah GOSSE (c1865 - 28 Apr 1938) and Susanna “Susie” SPARKES (c1868 - 7 Jun 1946). They both died in Vancouver. Frank was Llewellyn’s oldest brother who tragically drowned while working in Alaska when he was only about 26.

Daisy & Harry Boorman with 2 granddaughters Sheila and Audrey Boorman,
on the right: young Alan Gosse and his grandmother Marian (Guthro, Boorman) Whittaker (sister-in-law of Harry Boorman)

IRVINE & ROBSON

Evelyn Maud “Eva” ROBSON was born 3 Jun 1870 in the Medway District of Kent England. Her parents were my husband Terry’s great-great-uncle and aunt: William Matthew ROBSON (1842-1923) and Annie TICK / MUNRO (1847-1923). They started their family while still in Kent, where their son Jim and 2 daughters Eva and Emma were born. Sometime in the mid 1870s they decided to give New Zealand and try, and their daughter Annie was born there in 1877. But by 1880 then had moved again to the west coast of Canada, settling on Mayne Island where their 2 youngest children Eliza May and Stanley Howard ROBSON were born. William Matthew ROBSON’s sister was Francis Jane “Fanny” ROBSON (1844-1924) who married William Scoons BOORMAN (1842-1909) - Terry’s great-grandparents. There were some later interconnections between these families as described in my 2012 posting: “ROBSON / BOORMAN Wedding in 1897, Victoria BC”.

Back to Eva ROBSON, who was the member of this family to marry Andrew IRVINE on 17 Aug 1894 in Victoria BC. Andrew was born in the Shetland Islands in 1866, son of John IRVINE and Margaret JOHNSTON. I know nothing about his early life or when he emigrated. Andrew and Eva had 5 children together between 1895 and 1907, some at least on Mayne Island. Some of the others are listed as born in Victoria, but back then the Victoria District encompassed quite a large area including the Gulf Islands, so it’s hard to be certain. But by 1921, most of this IRVINE family was living in Victoria City, except for their oldest son Robert who was living in Vancouver (poised to marry a girl from Washington State the following year and eventually move to California). Andrew worked as a seaman until 1932.

Eva died first on 22 Apr 1924 from cancer at age 53, then Andrew followed her on 7 May 1943 following a sudden stroke at age 76. Just this past October I realized that both Andrew and Eva IRVINE were buried in Ross Bay Cemetery. It turns out their grassy double plot is very close to Fairfield Road across from the Fairfield Mall. Officially they are buried in Block 3, plots 90 and 91 on the west side of road 46. There is no grave monument, only their surname “IRVINE” engraved in the cement curb surrounding the raised grassy area.

A final side note to the IRVINE name: Terry's father was named William Irvine "Bill" BOORMAN, and we're still not certain where his middle name came from. Bill BOORMAN'a father (Harry Eustace Boorman) and Eva (Robson) IRVINE were first cousins on Harry's mother's side. But why would Harry name his first born son after the husband of a first cousin? There must be more to that story!

These families of Terry's certainly didn’t go in for a lot of memorial showmanship, but no doubt it was much more affordable that way. The cemetery records have been very helpful in tracing the lives as well as the deaths of these Victoria relatives.

REFERENCES
Ross Bay Cemetery Index - City of Victoria Archives
Plot Map of Ross Bay Cemetery - interactive with incomplete index

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Jillian Diane (Boorman) Slagboom - Rest in Peace

Obituary for Jillian “Jill” Diane Slagboom (nee Boorman)
June 29, 1942 – April 19, 2021

2018 Genealogy Research Recap

BOORMAN Burials in Royal Oak Burial Park - #17 (52 ancestors)

Harry Eustace BOORMAN (1881-1951) in WW1 - #16 (52 ancestors)

Edward BOORMAN (1785 - 1858) - #15 (52 ancestors)

Amelia Alice BOORMAN (1869-1918) - #14 (52 Ancestors)

JOHNSTON - What house is this anyway? - #13 (52 ancestors)

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

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

Paying Respects at Ross Bay Cemetery - #1 (52 ancestors)

BURIALS: BOORMAN, SCHOENECKER, GOSSE, WHITTAKER, IRVINE, ROBSON

SCHOENECKER

GOSSE & BOORMAN

IRVINE & ROBSON

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Obituary for Jillian “Jill” Diane Slagboom (nee Boorman)June 29, 1942 – April 19, 2021

BURIALS: BOORMAN, SCHOENECKER, GOSSE, WHITTAKER, IRVINE, ROBSON

SCHOENECKER

​GOSSE & BOORMAN

​IRVINE & ROBSON

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Obituary for Jillian “Jill” Diane Slagboom (nee Boorman)
June 29, 1942 – April 19, 2021

GOSSE & BOORMAN

IRVINE & ROBSON