Category: Compton

Harriet Washbourne COMPTON (1849-1923) - #51 (52 Ancestors)

12/22/2015

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Harriet Washbourne ANDREW (nee COMPTON), PEI Canada

My mother Mabel Marion ANDREW was only five when her paternal grandmother Harriet Washbourne ANDREW nee COMPTON died in 1923 at the age of 74. It would have been nice if my Mom had been granted even a few more years to enjoy her Granny Andrew. My grandfather Harry Charles ANDREW was the youngest of Harriet’s nine children, born when Harriet was forty, so she was almost 69 when my mother was born. It’s also sad that Harriet died before she could meet four of her twenty-nine grandchildren, and that she outlived her youngest daughter Sadie who died in 1906 at the age of twenty.

Harriet Washbourne COMPTON was the oldest of eleven children born to Albert “Harry” COMPTON and Mary Robinson COATES on 8 May 1849 in St Eleanors, Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada. She was four months old when she was baptized on 9 Jul 1949 in St Johns Anglican Church, St Eleanors. Her grandfather Thomas Compton COMPTON emigrated as a teen in 1803 from Hampshire England to PEI with his father Harry Childeroy COMPTON. Harriet's middle name WASHBOURNE (multiple spellings found) has been traced to her maternal grandmother Sarah ROBINSON whose older sister Harriet ROBINSON (born 1790) married a Henry WASHBOURN in Norfolk England, but didn’t have any children. So Mary decided to carry on this name through her own daughter - a bit of a twist on a family tradition, I think.

Harriet grew up to be a tiny woman with a round face and apple cheeks, quite the contrast to her tall, long-faced husband William ANDREW, a first generation Islander whom she married on 27 Oct 1870 in St Johns Anglican Church, St Eleanors. She was 21. Harriet's daughter Delores (Dot) looked the most like her. I have no first hand accounts of Harriet’s personality but I must assume that she was a loving and “nice” person, judging by her descendants! Fortunately some photos of her have survived, and in general I sense a quiet, kind nature. The exception is earliest photo where she looks rather severe and tense, perhaps because she is trying to keep still for the photo and follow tradition by not smiling. Could this formal portrait have been taken as early as her marriage in 1870? The other photos were taken when she was much older, some not long before her death.

Grave of William and Harriet ANDREW and their daughter Sadie,
St Johns Anglican Cemetery, St Eleanors, PEI

William and Harriet operated their family farm of about 200 acres in St Eleanors PEI on land once owned by her great-grandfather Harry Childeroy COMPTON (see my posting on William ANDREW for more details of their homestead). There was always work to do: tending the garden, crops and animals, as well as raising, feeding and clothing their nine children: Alice, Albert, Delores, Horace, Isa, Fanny, Mabel, Sadie and Harry. Everyone had to pitch in to help with the chores as they grew old enough. Their children were born there between 1871 and 1889; many went by their middle names. One photo shows Harriet sitting on a couch, busily mending a blanket. No idle hands allowed! They were thrifty, took care of what they owned, and made items last as long as possible.

Harriet's youngest living daughter Mabel Hetty ANDREW graduated as a nurse in Charlottetown in 1918, and likely worked for a short time afterwards in that city. But her father William ANDREW’s health was failing and she may have returned to St Eleanors to care for him before his death on 19 Jul 1920. Certainly by 1921 Mabel was living with her widowed mother Harriet in St Eleanors next to her brother Harry and family (I think that Harriet and Mabel had their own apartment sectioned off in what had become Harry ANDREW’s home). Harriet only lived another two years, dying in 1923. Five of her ten younger siblings had died before her.

Harriet and William ANDREW are buried together in the St Johns Anglican Cemetery. A memorial plaque in their honour was later mounted inside the church by their growing family, unveiled by the youngest of their twenty-nine grand children in 1938. At last count, they had sixty-eight great children (although there may be some I don't yet know about), and many younger descendants. Although Harriet and her husband lived their whole lives on Prince Edward Island, I don't believe that any of her descendants still live there.

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

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

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Isabella Harriet “Ella” COMPTON - #48 (52 Ancestors)

12/2/2015

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Isabella Harriet "Ella" RICHARDSON nee COMPTON
of St Eleanors, Prince Edward Island, Canada

I have always been thankful for the maternal influences in my life. For most of my formative preschool years my mother, sister and I lived with my maternal grandparents, and I had much more contact with my nurturing maternal line relatives throughout my life. And it was my maternal grandmother who encouraged my interest in family history.

Tracing a direct maternal lineage (mother’s mother’s mother …) has it’s own set of challenges, yet I’ve found it very rewarding and interesting. I have always been intrigued by the fact that the surnames for women change every generation. Of course this is because, in English and western cultures at least, females usually take on their father’s surnames at birth and then their husband’s name at marriage (with exceptions in cases of intermarriage or illegitimacies). So surnames aren’t designed to identify female lineages even though women are the ones to give life to their children and ensure the continuation of our species - a fairly significant contribution, I would say! This has never seemed right to me. Others have obviously felt the same way because sometimes the mother’s maiden surname (or that of another female relative) is sometimes inserted as a child's middle name. I have numerous examples of this in my family tree.

I have traced my direct maternal line back as far as my 4th-great-grandmother on the Isle of Wight in England. The surnames in this pedigree, starting with my mother, are ANDREW, RICHARDSON, COMPTON, COMPTON, JEFFERY, and RYDER. Yes, there are two COMPTON's is a row; the earlier one married a second cousin with the same surname. As part of a tribute to my direct maternal line, I have already written stories about my mother Mabel Marion ANDREW and her mother Eleanor Louise “Nell” RICHARDSON. It is now time to write about my great-grandmother Isabella Harriet COMPTON. Known as Ella, she was the oldest of nine children born to George COMPTON and his wife Eliza Pring COMPTON (also his second cousin). (Eliza’s middle name of Pring came from a relative on her mother’s side, although her mother’s maiden name was actually JEFFERY.)

FIVE COMPTON SISTERS, taken before 1903 in PEI Canada, from L to R:
STANDING IN BACK: Eleanor L COMPTON (1877- 1903), Anna Mary HASZARD nee COMPTON (1865-1946)
SITTING: Viola Catherine "Kate" COMPTON nee COMPTON (1863-1935), Isabella Harriet "Ella" RICHARDSON nee COMPTON (1859-1951)
KNEELING, BOTTOM RIGHT: Sarah "Louise" Cundall MACLENNAN MORRISON (nee COMPTON)

Ella was born 13 Jan 1859 in St Eleanors, Prince Edward Island, Canada, likely on the family farm of 103 acres. She was baptised the following April in Richmond Parish PEI. My Aunt Harriet (whose middle name was Compton) once told me a bit about her grandmother Ella: "Grandma Richardson was born in St. Eleanors she was the eldest of 10 children [I count only nine] and worked very hard helping to bring up her siblings. Her mother was very Delicate !!!!! or so we’ve been told. Grandma was a great horse woman, and so was my mother [Nell], she used to ride side-saddle in Horse Shows when she was young in the town of Summerside, 2 miles to the south.”

In 1881 the family is listed as living at Beech Point Prince County PEI, the name given to part of Lot 17 including St Eleanors. Ella’s age was mis-indexed as 27 rather than 21. Her eight siblings ranged in age from 19 to 1. So I don't doubt that Ella played a role in caring for her younger siblings.

We know that Ella became a nurse, although I have not yet found any record of her formal training. Anna, one of her sisters who was almost seven years younger, was an early graduate of the Nursing School of Prince Edward Island Hospital in Charlottetown, beginning her training in the original hospital and completing it in the new hospital on Kensington Road in 1898. Presumably Ella received similar training. Ella continued nursing, probably part time as needed, even after she married and had children. I have heard stories of Ella assisting in some very grizzly procedures including an amputation, which is why she didn’t want her daughters to go into nursing.

Ella COMPTON met Sydney RICHARDSON in about 1883 after he had been recruited from Ontario to start up the first cheese factory in Prince County PEI. Ella was almost 27 when she married Sydney on 9 Dec 1885 at St Johns Anglican Church in St Eleanors. He was three and a half years younger than her. At first they rented a cottage owned by the Darby family, across the road from the Darby farm. Their first child Melbourne RICHARDSON was born there the following year. According to Melbourne, "My father had a small cheese factory, supplied with milk from the farmers surround[ing] it … After a couple of years or so, father bought a small farm 25 acres, a good house about 7 rooms, 2 stories. A good barn suitable for 3 cows, 3 horses and mows for hay for long winters.” They had four more children: Frances Lulu in 1888, George Lewis in 1891, my grandmother Eleanor Louise "Nell" RICHARDSON in 1894, and Frederick C early in 1897 who died as an infant.

Ella participated in farming and gardening activities in addition to raising her children and nursing. In 1907 she won second prize for her Bradshaw plums at the Prince County Fall Exhibition. Family stories mention everyone pitching in with farm chores. Sydney also helped out with the cooking but relied on his family to help out on the farm when he worked at his nearby cheese factory. There was lots of work to keep everyone busy, but they also took time out to socialize and get involved in church and community activities.

Ella and Sydney RICHARDSON with their great-granddaughter
Arlene BERNARD, taken 1939 in their garden, St Eleanors, PEI

In 1915 this news item was published in the Charlottetown Guardian (Oct 28, 1915, page 8, column 4):
“Western Personals … Mrs. Sydney Richardson, St. Eleanor's, and Mrs. William Andrew, North St. Eleanor's, spent a few pleasant days with friends and relatives at Port Hill.-V”
Mrs. William ANDREW was Ella’s first cousin whose maiden name was Harriet Washbourne COMPTON and whose son Harry ANDREW was destined to marry Ella's daughter Nell RICHARDSON. Port Hill was another community on the north coast of Prince County PEI to the north west of St Eleanors.

Later in 1928, I found another short notice published in the Charlottetown Guardian (Monday 5 Nov 1928, page 8, column 4):
“Personals. Mrs. Sydney Richardson of St. Eleanors, has returned home this week from Seattle, Wash., where she had spent an enjoyable three months visit with her two sons who reside there.”
The two sons were Mel and George, both working in mattress manufacturing. I have a few family photos from this 1928 trip, so I was glad to learn the approximate dates and duration of Ella's once-in-a-lifetime visit to the west coast. While there, Ella would have met Mel’s three children for the first time, just missing the birth of their fourth child later that November. Her son George had married the previous summer in Spokane and did not have any children yet. The trip included swimming and camping at a nearby lake, and visiting old growth forests with enormous, towering trees. I'm sure Ella took home many wonderful memories of her growing family and her trip to the Pacific Northwest.

The RICHARDSON house, St Eleanors PEI Canada, taken 1946

About 1935 when Ella was 76, she suffered a debilitating stroke and was bed ridden for the remaining 15 years of her life. This would have been so hard on her as well as her family. Her daughter Lulu became ill and died in 1940, followed by her son George in 1943. In 1946 her son Mel and his wife Marion journeyed across the continent to visit his parents and his home province of PEI.

Her daughter Nell, the last of their children still living in PEI who had stayed behind to help her father care for Ella, finally moved west to Vancouver Island in 1950 to join her husband. Nell arranged for other Compton relatives to care for her ailing her parents. Ella's granddaughter Harriet CLARK (nee ANDREW) was her only descendant left on the island.

The following year on 16 Mar 1951, Ella passed away at the age of 92, followed soon after by Sydney, her husband of 65 years. They are buried together in the St Johns Anglican Cemetery in St Eleanors PEI.

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

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

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Arthur Austin CRESWELL (1892-1982) - Hockey Player - #47 (52 Ancestors)

11/26/2015

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Theme: Sporting | Images: Click on many to enlarge

Canadians love their hockey; it’s a matter of national pride. So I was quite excited to learn that Austin CRESWELL, one of my ancestral cousins, had been the captain of an amateur hockey team prior to WWI. In fact the Regina Victorias Hockey Club were inducted into the Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame in 1967 because of their remarkable achievements in 1914. They were the 1914 World’s Amateur Champions, and holders of the Allan Cup (1914), the Patton Cup, and the Van Naikenberg Cup. During the process the Regina Vics had won 21 of 25 games, and scored 166 goals while only allowing 70 goals against. And Austin was goal keeper for at least some of these games.

1914 Regina Victorias Hockey Club - Team Inductee, Saskatchewan Hockey (SHA) Hall of Fame
World’s Amateur Champions 1914 ~ Allan Cup Holders ~ Patton Cup Holders ~ Van Naikenberg Cup Champions
Front Row: J. Kain, J.Tait, Fred Wilson, J. Brown (physical instructor), Lyman Abbott, J. Potts, C. Young
2nd Row: Frank Mastel, Austin Creswell (captain), Charlie Otton, Alvin Hammond, Walter Molisky, Fred McCulloch
3rd Row: A. Urquhart, G. Woolside, C.A. Wood, J.A. Westman, G.B. Reid (manager), F. Ritter
http://www.saskhockeyhalloffame.com/images/2013_inductees/Bios/1914_Regina_Victorias_-_Team_Bio.pdf

Unfortunately the war intervened and their magic disbursed when many of the team members enlisted to fight for Canada; they were among 42,000 Saskatchewan residents who joined up. Their teammates were devastated when their right wing sharpshooter Lyman (Hick) Abbott was killed by a sniper in the Battle of Amiens on 14 Aug 1918, having previously earned a Military Cross and Bar for his bravery and leadership. Austin is mentioned twice in the published story of Hick Abbott:

Naturally, Abbott heard the call [to war], as did many of his teammates from that 1913-14 team, including goaltender Fred McCulloch, defencemen Charlie Otton and Austin Creswell, who was the team captain, and rover Freddy Wilson. ...
Late in 1918, [teammate] Joe Potts started a fund-raising drive, the result of which would be the Abbott Memorial Cup, which for years would go annually to the champion of western Canadian junior hockey. When the subscription drive started, the first name on the list was Lyman Potts ($10). The second name was that of Lieut. Austin Creswell, the captain of the 1914 Victorias.”

Arthur Austin CRESWELL in hockey jersey, c1910
perhaps when he played amateur hockey
for the Shamrocks Hockey Team in Regina Saskatchewan
Photo courtesy of Stordy Family Tree by CollectiveRoots, ancestry.com

Arthur Austin CRESWELL, known as Austin, was my maternal second cousin, three generations removed (2C3R). There is disagreement about his birthdate, although all agree he was born in June. Austin's military file lists both 21 Jun 1893 and 23 Jun 1892. His baptism record says 21 Jun 1891 (followed by his baptism on 29 Jan 1892), and his death registration says he was born 21 Jul 1892. Only one of these can be right! As to location, almost everyone says he was born in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, although his baptism records says he was born at home in St Eleanors PEI, which has since been incorporated into nearby Summerside.

Austin only had two brothers although he was the ninth of ten children born to Harry Compton CRESWELL and Margery Ann BELL. Both his parents were also born in Prince Edward Island. His grandparents Robert CRESWELL and Catherine COMPTON were married there after immigrating from Hampshire England. The family name has also been spelled CRASWELL, especially in previous generations.

Austin spent most of his childhood in Prince Edward Island, and likely learned how to play hockey on outdoor rinks as a child. By 1905 his family had moved to the prairie province of Saskatchewan, in or near Regina. He joined the Regina Shamrocks Hockey Team who earned the title of Amateur Champions of Saskatchewan for the 1910-11 season. By the time of the 1911 census he was living with his parents and younger brother Fred in Assiniboia, quite a distance to the south west. This location must have been short-lived because by 1912 Austin was back in Regina playing cover for the Regina Bees.

In 1914 at the start of WWI, Austin was an athletic young man of about 22 who was team captain and one of the founding members of the Regina Victorias Hockey Club in 1913-14. Hockey was not well funded as it is today, so other employment was also necessary. By 11 Sep 1915, when Austin enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) in Regina, he was listed as a surveyor (it's interesting that this date was another "911"). Austin was assigned to the Canadian 68th Battalion Regina detachment as a Lieutenant. He shipped out of Halifax on 28 Apr 1916, arriving in Liverpool on 7 May. By 1 Jul 1916 he was in France with the 5th Battalion undergoing field training, including grenade and anti-gas courses, ending on 12 Aug 1916 when he was returned to field duty.

Late that September and only about 6 weeks after his stint in the trenches began, Austin was wounded when a rifle bullet shattered a bone in his right forearm. He was evacuated to England on 29 Sep 1916, then granted leave on 29 Nov 1916 due to his disability. He arrived back in Canada on December 8th, taking up residence in Regina. It is noteworthy that the 1916 Canada census lists Arthur Austin living with his sister Winifred and family in Regina in June of that year, although he was obviously in Europe at that time. Once back in Canada his wound continued to be monitored and he received massage therapy for his injury. On 5 May 1917 he was listed with the 9th Saskatchewan Rifles, part of the Canadian Defense Force (CDF). His medical exam on 13 Aug 1917 in Regina declared him fit for duty but he didn't leave Canada again until 17 Nov 1917 with the Regina Divisional Cyclist Platoon. Early in 1918 he was posted to the 15th Reserve Battalion, and then to the Saskatchewan Regimental Depot on 15 Feb 1918. Two days later he was seconded to the Royal Flying Corps, and assigned to the 24th Squadron from 5 Oct 1918 to 26 Jan 1919 as a flying officer in their "B" Flight.

Of course the war officially ended in Nov 1918, but there was still so much work that needed doing in the aftermath. But again Austin was sidelined, becoming "dangerously ill" with the influenza and pneumonia in Feb and March 1919. Fortunately he recovered in time to undergo three operations in May, in part to reset the bone in his injured arm, recovering in the Red Cross hospital in London until 7 June 1919. Finally he set sail for Canada on 11 Jul 1919 aboard the SS Cedric and was demobilized on 25 Jul 1919. Austin was now about 27 years old and single.

According to a family member:
"After the war [Austin] returned to his hockey career--was signed to play for Los Angeles on the first artificial ice there. Remained in the U.S. Had a laundry business in Redding and other places."

While I cannot find any official records to support his involvement in hockey in Los Angeles, I have found a note about a "Creswell" who played for the Milestone team in Saskatchewan about 1921 when Austin was living and working there as a carpenter. He was a lodger in the Reyes family boarding house.

Austin moved to the States about 1925, and by 1930 he was working as a service station salesman in Kelso, Washington. He was still single and renting a room on Pacific Avenue from a coworker. But by 1935 he had married Lorena and they were living in Tacoma WA where he was a service station manager. I do not yet know her maiden name. They moved to Eugene Oregon for a brief time, and by the 1940 census had moved again to Spokane WA, having landed a job as a "promotional man" for an oil company. By 1841 they were living in Seattle, and his job with Richfield Oil Company (based in Los Angeles) had him crossing the border into Canada on at least a couple of occasions. Austin's 1942 WWII draft card says they were living then at 316 East Harrison in Seattle. In 1944 Austin petitioned to become a naturalized US citizen, and in 1945 they were back living in Tacoma.

Gravestone of Arthur Austin CRESWELL
Royal Oak Burial Park,Victoria BC

Austin and Lorena don't appear to have had any children. They were living in Redding California in the 1960s, and Austin cared for his wife when she became an invalid. Lorena Marguerite died there in 1967 at the age of 73, and Austin brought her ashes up to Victoria BC to bury them with her parents. While in Canada he took the time to visit and reunite with his relatives in BC and Saskatchewan, and in 1968 ended up marrying Cora (Elliot) CRESWELL, his younger brother Fred's widow and his sister-in-law. His nieces and nephews were supportive of their loving uncle, now step-father. Austin and Cora lived in Redding for a year, and then moved up to Victoria British Columbia.

Austin died at the age of 90 on 18 Sep 1982 at the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria. His first wife's ashes were moved to a shady corner at the Royal Oak Burial Park where there was room for Austin's ashes to be buried beside her. The gravestones for cremation vaults are small and there is no room to mention his sporting achievements nor his service in the great war. I'm sure the poppy I left stuck in the ground at the corner of his gravestone will not last long. While this story is not etched in stone either, it hopefully provides a fitting memorial to this lovely man and his life.

Location of graves of Arthur Austin CRESWELL and Lorena M CRESWELL, Royal Oak Burial Park, Victoria BC

REFERENCES and FURTHER READING

Regina Shamrock Hockey Team, Amateur Champions of Saskatchewan 1910-11 - “Hockey heritage: 88 Years of puck chasing in Saskatchewan” - book shared on our roots site
Regina Victoria Hockey Club - Saskatchewan Sports Hall Of Fame site
Hick Abbot, The Story of a War Hero - Austin's teammate
Arthur Austin CRESWELL, WWI Military File - Library and Archives Canada (LAC) site

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James JEFFERY (1757-1815) - #46 (52 Ancestors)

11/20/2015

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Theme: Change | Images: Click on many to enlarge

My maternal JEFFERY line hailed from the Isle of Wight off the south coast of Hampshire, England. Others have traced this family back as far Richard JEFFERY, Yeoman of Nettlestone Farm, who was buried in St Helens, Isle of Wight in 1686. Richard’s great-grandson James JEFFERY was born in 1757 in Brook, Isle of Wight and lived in Newport. Their surname (in a variety of different spellings) has been found in records for this Island as far back as the 1300s. So the family has deep roots on the Isle of Wight (IOW), living in several different communities over the generations.

JEFFERY Family Locations on the Isle of Wight, England including Nettestone, St Helens, Newchurch, Brook, Newport, Carisbrook, Whitwell

James JEFFERY, my 4-times-great grandfather, was baptised in Brook IOW on 6 Nov 1757, the oldest son of Stephen JEFFREY Jr and Betty EDGIN, and the second of their nine children (although at least four died very young). James became a land owner and shop keeper. By 1783 he was living in Carisbrooke near Newport when he married Jane Saunders RYDER in Newport IOW at St Thomas-a-Becket Church. They had nine children between 1784 and 1800. His three oldest children (Eliza, James Jr, Stephen) were baptized in Whitwell IOW, and his next daughter Hannah (my 3x-great-grandmother) was baptized in Carisbrooke on 21 Nov 1790. The remainder of his children (George, Sarah, Edward, John and Jane) were baptized in Newport, the second largest city situated in the centre of the island. Three of these children (Sarah, Edward and John) died as infants between 1794 and 1798. James' mother died in 1799. Then his wife Jane died in July 1804. Life had turned quite grim indeed.

All of this must have been terribly hard to bear. But with a young family to care for, he quickly remarried on 4 Dec 1804 to the widow Elizabeth PEDDER (nee CHESTLE) in Carisbrooke. Their daughter Sarah (perhaps named after her deceased half-sister) was baptized in Newport in March 1806. Later that same year, James’ oldest daughter Eliza married in Winchester on the mainland. A couple of months later on 14 Jan 1807, his oldest son James JEFFERY Jr married Lucy CAFFIN in Chichester Sussex and then returned to the Isle of Wight to raise his family. Eliza also returned to the island.

James life seemed to be back on track, surrounded by family. But change was in the offing.

We can only speculate on the reasons why James decided to emigrate to Canada. Sometime in 1809 James’ sister (or cousin?) Ann died at the age of 50. James was two years older, so Ann's death would have been yet another reminder of his own mortality. Perhaps a mid-life crisis played its part, and a new start would have sounded appealing. The grass was definitely green in Prince Edward Island, and the advertisements for colonial settlers presented it as a golden opportunity. So in 1809 James sold some property, bought supplies and sailed to PEI where he bought two large parcels of land totaling 694 acres in Lot 17 from the proprietor Harry Childeroy COMPTON. We know that James’s son George was also in PEI in Nov 1809 as he was a witnesses on one of the land transaction documents.

At least some of his family did not emigrate until the following year. Family documents mention at least one unnamed family member sailing from England on 14 Aug 1810 and landing 5 Nov 1810 in Charlotte Town. It is a real shame that passenger lists haven’t survived or may not have been created that far back. But from newspaper accounts of ship arrivals, perhaps they were aboard the brig “Louisa”, arriving in Charlottetown on 5 Nov 1810 from Portsmouth.

Just eight days later on 13 November 1810, James’ daughter Hannah JEFFERY married Thomas Compton COMPTON, son of Harry COMPTON, proprietor of Lot 17 who had sold them the land. Unless this was an arranged marriage, Hannah must have emigrated earlier in order to meet and be courted by Thomas, and have time to plan the wedding to follow the arrival of more of her relatives. Or did Thomas go to England for business or family matters, and meet her there or on board ship? There are several possible scenarios. The Comptons had settled in PEI in 1803 and had built a large home which they named "The Pavillon". Hannah at least was soon living in comfort, as she would have quickly taken up residence there with her new husband.

Not everyone emigrated. James oldest two children Eliza and James as well as his daughter Jane, his father and siblings, remained in England. Those in PEI attending Hannah's wedding were probably James and his 2nd wife Elizabeth, Stephen, Hannah, George and young Sarah.

The process of felling trees, clearing land, planting crops, building a house and setting up a business must have been daunting and filled with hardship, at least initially. And perhaps business was not as profitable as hoped for. So not everyone stayed. James must have become disillusioned and decided to move back to the Isle of Wight, leaving on 27 Jun 1812. Just days before sailing he signed his will, summarized as follows:

Will of James Jeffery, Richmond, Richmond, PEI [1757-24 April, 1815], yeoman. Bequests: to Charles and the other 2 children, sons or daughters of [his son] James Jeffery & Lucy Jeffery, late Lucy Coffin of Chichester in the city of Chichester, County of Sussex; to daughter Elizabeth Pring?; to son Stephen Jeffery; to daughter Anne or Hannah Compton; to son George; to daughter Jane; to daughter Sarah Lawford Chestle-Jeffery; to Edward Lawrence, son of Francis Lawrence, one farm called Welling [130 acres], late in occupation of John Welling. Witnesses: Thos. Nickerson, George Coles, Daniel Davis. Will signed 22 June, 1812; probate granted 5 Sep., 1816.

A codicil stated that the will (which was once reported missing) was dated 20 Jun 1812 and the codicil itself was dated 22 Jun 1812. Generally speaking, James divided his estate equally among his children and his three grand children of that time. I don’t know yet how Edward and Francis Lawrence were connected.

We do know that Hannah remained in PEI after her father left, as did Stephen and George. Sarah was still very young , but as of 1826 she was living in PEI as well. James’s second wife Elizabeth died in 1829 on the Isle of Wight, so she presumably left PEI with her husband, assuming she went there in the first place. James himself died before her in 1815 in Carisbrooke IOW, only three years after returning to England. He was buried in Church Litten Park, Newport on the Isle of Wight.

I would like to acknowledge the original research of Betty M Jeffery and Carter W Jeffery, my main source for this story. They published their book "The Jeffery Family of the Isle of Wight and Prince Edward Island" in 1998.

REFERENCES and FURTHER READING

The Jeffery Family of the Isle of Wight and Prince Edward Island, by Betty M. Jeffery and Carter W. Jeffery, 1998
PEI Heritage Buildings - blog by Carter W Jeffery
Early Wills of PEI, Summaries - Island Register site
Isle of Wight - wikipedia
Map of Isle of Wight, England - myGoogle Maps

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Clara Duchemin COMPTON (1882 -1945) - #44 (52 Ancestors)

11/5/2015

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Theme: Frightening | Images: Click on many to enlarge

View looking south, showing the damage caused by the Halifax Explosion - 6 Dec 1917
Library and Archives Canada / C-019944; Ref No. MIKAN 3193308, 3623023
https://www.flickr.com/photos/lac-bac/albums/72157627774733594

It must have been terrifying to witness first hand the catastrophic explosion and destruction that occurred in Halifax Nova Scotia on the morning of 6 Dec 1917. Thousands were killed or injured when a French vessel “Mont-Blac” loaded with explosives collided with the Belgian relief boat “Imo" in the Halifax harbour, creating the world’s largest man-made explosion of its time. A huge area in the more affluent south side of the city was decimated, including of the business and residential district of Richmond.

A COMPTON second cousin of mine (twice removed) was seriously injured during the Halifax explosion, but was lucky enough to survive. The transcript of a brief news article from the PEI Summerside Journal, Wed. Jan 16, 1918, published about five weeks after the explosion, says:

"Mr. & Mrs. H.A. Compton, Summerside have received word that their daughter, Mrs. George B. Hillis, who was severely injured in the Halifax disaster, will soon be sufficiently recovered to be removed to Summerside.”

A few more details were shared by another family researcher: “… Clara was severely injured in the Halifax explosion, visiting her husband's lumberyard in the city's south end. Several months after the explosion, local PEI newspapers published that Clara was returning home to the island to finish her recovery”. Their son Gordon was also injured in the Halifax explosion. According to his 1964 death registration, Gordon's injury 46 years previously was listed as a contributing factor in his death.

At the time of the explosion, Clara Duchemin COMPTON was living with her husband George Beaman HILLIS in his native Halifax along with their two sons Benjamin Franklin “Frank” (born 1904) and James “Gordon” HILLIS (born 1905). Clara and George HILLIS also brought up Eva MACPHAIL from an early age, a step-daughter of Clara's sister Alfreda Compton MacPhail. Eva was born about 1912, and was no longer living with the HILLIS family in 1921.

Clara was born on 2 Feb 1882 in Summerside PEI, the daughter of a prosperous merchant Harry Alfred COMPTON and his wife Sophia Eleanor CLARK. She was one of ten siblings, although three died very young; Clara was the oldest surviving daughter and grew up in Summerside. I cannot locate her in the 1900 or 1901 census, so don't know how she met her future husband. Less than two years later on 14 Jan 1903, Clara and George were married in Summerside PEI. They lived in Halifax were both sons were born.

Published 22 Dec 1917, Charlottetown Guardian, PEI
(see transcript below); http://islandnewspapers.ca/

George’s family, headed by his father James HILLIS, were owners of the HILLIS & SONS Iron Foundry, located in the Richmond area near the waterfront in Halifax. They were a significant employer in the area. George was involved with the family business, and at some point worked at their Richmond foundry. By the time of his retirement on 23 Dec 1949, he was president of Hillis & Sons Ltd.

Looking further in old PEI newspapers, I have located a few articles covering this historic tragedy and its affect on the HILLIS family. On Dec 22, a visitor from Halifax told of attending a large public funeral for about 250 unidentified dead before traveling to PEI on business. Efforts were still underway to excavate dead bodies in cordoned off Richmond, but reconstruction work had already begun in southern Halifax. A death notice was published for a Mr Clement Fraser, a previous resident of PEI who worked as a molder in the Hillis Foundry in Halifax. He died in the disaster. Another brief article was republished from the Halifax Chronicle on 22 Dec 1917:

"Frank Hillis’ Body Found — Yesterday morning at twelve o’clock the bodies of Frank Hillis and Harry Saunders were discovered buried in the fallen cement at Hillis’ Foundry. Though partially crushed they were easily recognized, the faces being only slightly injured. It is supposed that Mr. Hillis, who was early at work that morning, had seen the fire and watched it from across the road. He and Mr. Saunders were just entering the office door when the explosion occurred, which instantly killed them. Mr Hillis had on his office coat. Besides the bodies of Hillis and Saunders those of three other men were found but these were so covered with debris as to be unrecognizable.”

A scene following the Halifax Explosion - 6 Dec 1917. The Hillis & Sons Foundry is the building on the left.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/lac-bac/8148372966

The above Frank HILLIS was George’s older brother, not his son. I do not know if Harry Saunders was related. According to other Hollis family trees, another brother James Burton HILLIS was also killed that day. How very tragic. As the whole foundry was destroyed, it’s amazing that George survived. He must have been at a different location that day - perhaps at the lumber yard mentioned above - and any injuries he might have received were not fatal. I have not found any references regarding injuries to either George or their older son Frank. The whole family must have been overwhelmed with grief at the loss of family members, friends and associates as well as the destruction of their foundry. George’s father James died less than two years later at the age of 79, likely still deeply affected. But they did rebuild and the business continued.

The support of Clara's COMPTON family in PEI likely aided her recovery from this frightening ordeal. Clara and George continued to live in the Halifax area for the rest of their lives. Their final residence was in Birch Cove to the north west on Bedford Basin. Clara died at the age of 63 in hospital in Halifax from a stroke on 12 Sep 1945. George died a widower six years later on 29 Jun 1951. The were both buried at Camp Hill Cemetery in Halifax, not far from Dalhousie University and well within the 1917 debris zone from the explosion that changed their lives so many years before.

REFERENCES and FURTHER READING

Clara Eleanor MacPhail (Clara’s niece and namesake, born 1922) - "Following Their Footsteps" blog
PEI Historic Newspapers - islandnewspapers.ca
All about the Halifax Explosion of 1917 - cbc site
Halifax Explosion, 1917 - 25 photos by Library Archives - flickr.com

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

10/28/2015

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Theme: Oops | Images: Click on many to enlarge

Granny Nell Andrew's keepsake of Cardinal NEWMAN whom she believed was related

Some family legends take on a life of their own. They continue to hang around without proof even after repeated and unsuccessful attempts to verify them. Some stories continue to have advocates even after evidence to the contrary has been unearthed. Their appeal must be greater than other more realistic but mundane options, I guess. There are a couple of such stories in my maternal COMPTON tree. This unproved legend involves my NEWMAN branch.

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

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

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

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

Many have researched and published Cardinal NEWMAN’s family tree online, although the earliest generations are varied and unsourced. Many of these trees go back six or more generations:

His father John NEWMAN (1767-1824) had one brother Thomas NEWMAN (1774-1778), dying too young to produce heirs.
John (1734-1799) had 4 brothers, all born in Swaffham Bulbeck Cambridgshire: Francis, William 1740, Rolph 1743, and Ralph 1744 (descendants not known).
Francis NEWMAN (1698-1728) had three brothers, all born in Bottisham Cambridgeshire: William 1693, John 1701 and Martin 1704 (no descendants listed).
William NEWMAN (1664) had four brothers, all born in Swaffham Bullbeck Cambridgeshire: Thomas 1661, William 1663-1663, Martin 1668 and Francis 1672 (whose descendants have been traced to Essex)
William NEWMAN (1639 Potton Bedfordshire - ) had two brothers: Thomas 1637, John 1639
Thomas NEWMAN (1609 Colmworth Bedfordshire) - no siblings listed
Thomas NEWMAN (c1568 Colmsworth Bedfordshire)

I call the above descent the "Bedfordshire version". Not all agree. Another tree lists different early ancestors:

William NEWMAN (1664-1741)
William NEWMAN (1618- )
Frances NEWMAN (born Stetchworth Cambridgeshire)

This is not an exhaustive genealogy for Cardinal NEWMAN. There are other variations as well.

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

Charlotte's grandparents were John NEWMAN (1698-1766) and Anne Hooke (1694-1734) who were married in Ringwood in 1724. After Anne's early death, John Sr. remarried an Elizabeth who quickly died as well. This rather tragic state of affairs has been detailed on a large NEWMAN family memorial plaque at the St Peter and St Paul Church in Ringwood. The smaller oval plaque commemorating Arthur NEWMAN's family paints a similar fate. I believe that all three of Charlotte's brothers died without issue. I have not been able to trace this Newman line back any further.

Charlotte Lisle NEWMAN
(1760-c1789)

Charlotte Lisle NEWMAN was baptised 30 Aug 1760 in Ringwood Hampshire, a pretty market town situated on the east bank of the River Avon on the western border of the New Forest National Park; Ringwood is north of Christchurch. Her father Arthur NEWMAN was also baptized (1727) and buried (1785) there. Ringwood and nearby Ellington are both famous locations associated with her ancestor Lady Alice Lisle, the regicide’s widow (see my earlier blog post). Charlotte’s middle name “Lisle" came down through her mother Joanna WHITAKER's line and her ancestor Margaret LISLE, wife of Rev Robert WHITAKER and daughter of the infamous Lord John LISLE and Lady Alice BECONSHAWE. (Her connection to these notable historic figures has been verified.) So Charlotte's ancestors have a long history in this part of Hampshire.

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

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

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

REFERENCES and FURTHER READING

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

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

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

10/7/2015

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Theme: October | Images: Click on many to enlarge

St Mary's Church, Hassingham, Norfolk
where Samuel COSSEY was baptised in 1704
Courtesy of google maps

October is the time to harvest summer’s bounty and admire the turning colors of the autumn leaves. Days get shorter and the temperatures cooler, and in Canada it is the designated time to celebrate Thanksgiving. October can also be a time of new beginnings. My 6-times-great grandparents started a new life together when they married on 13 October 1730 in Norwich, Norfolk, England.

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

Locations of COSSEY and GILLINGWATER ancestors
Custom Google map

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

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

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

St Andrew Church, Claxton, Norfolk, England

St Andrew Church, Claxton, Norfolk where
Samuel and Mary COSSEY are buried. Google map photo

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

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

REFERERENCES and FURTHER READING

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

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Thomas Compton COMPTON (c1789 - 1850) - #38 (52 Ancestors)

9/26/2015

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Theme: Favorite Place | Images: Click to enlarge

One day I really must visit Prince Edward Island, my mother's homeland.

I became hooked on genealogy back in the 1980s when I started asking questions about my mother’s family history. Although I was born and have always lived in British Columbia Canada, my mother Mabel Marion ANDREW and five earlier generations of her COMPTON ancestors were born and/or lived in Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada’s smallest province on the east coast in the Gulf of St Lawrence. So I have long been interested in this picturesque little province and its friendly people. PEI has an active genealogy society and the PEI Archives provide their baptismal indexes and some other collections online. The private Island Register site is great for networking and other resources. But as always, not everything is online, especially the earlier records.

I have already told the story of my 4-times great (4G) grandfather Col Harry Childeroy COMPTON, who was the first generation to come to the island from England in 1803. Other branches of my mother’s family came to PEI later that century. My Great Great (2G) Grandfather Charles ANDREW immigrated to PEI from Cornwall in 1842. And my Great-Grandfather Sydney RICHARDSON came to Ontario in about 1882 and moved to PEI in 1883. So I have a lot of relatives to research in this small province. And although I have never visited, it was my first favorite ancestral location.

Major Thomas Compton COMPTON of St Eleanors, PEI
Courtesy of Joan Compton, and "The Jeffery Family of Isle of Wight
and PEI" by Betty M Jeffery and Carter W Jeffery

This week's story is about Thomas Compton COMPTON, who immigrated with his father Colonel Harry Childeroy COMPTON to PEI in 1803 when he was about 14 years old. I’m still unable to find his birth or baptismal record in Hampshire England. Others claim he was born in Amport about 1788 or 1789, perhaps the same year his young mother Charlotte Lisle NEWMAN died. His parents were married 28 Nov 1779 in Amport, and their older son Arthur Newman COMPTON was baptized 9 Aug 1782 in Amport. Their daughter Charlotte Alicia Lisle COMPTON is listed twice in the christening records: first baptized the same day as brother Arthur in Amport (her second name listed as Elvira). The second christening took place four years later on 6 Apr 1786 at Nether Wallop, daughter of Henry and Charlotte. As Harry inherited land in Wallop Hampshire from his grandfather, this baptism likely belongs to this family as well. So perhaps there were two daughters born with the same name. If so the the first one likely died very young. Details of Thomas’s birth and his mother's ear death are still unsolved mysteries. What a challenging time it must have been for the family.

In 1791 Thomas’s father Harry married his second wife Mary Anne LYNE in Dorset, and their daughter Lyne was born in 1793, a half-sister for Thomas. Then Harry joined the militia (Perth Highland Regiment of Fencible Infantry) serving in Ireland during the Rebellion. So Thomas likely did not see a lot of his father in his younger years. In 1803 Harry emigrated to PEI Canada, taking along his son Thomas, daughter Charlotte and housekeeper. Harry's wife and daughter Lyne stayed behind in England, and his older son Arthur joined the British Navy (he drowned while serving in the East Indies in 1805). They sailed from Portsmouth on the “Teresa”, leaving on 23 Aug 1803 and arriving in PEI on 23 Sep1803, a one-month journey by sailing ship. The journey and new life on Prince Edward Island would have seemed like a real adventure for Thomas, then a teenage boy.

Conditions and amenities were rustic in these pioneer days, but there was the promise of growth and opportunity. The population in the whole province in 1798 was only about 4,000, sparsely distributed in rural areas. Quite a contrast to England! The family settled on the north shore of Richmond Bay, north of the town of St Eleanors in Lot 17, Prince County, where they built a grand house called the Pavillion. Construction was complete by 1806. The house was later destroyed by fire in 1844.

On 13 Nov 1810, Thomas married Hannah JEFFERY, daughter of James JEFFERY and Jane Saunders RYDER. James and his family were from the Isle of Wight off the coast of Hampshire England, and emigrated to PEI in 1809, where James purchased land from Harry Compton. Hannah obviously met Thomas COMPTON and had a quick courtship because their first son was reportedly born in August 1810, followed by their marriage on 13 November 1810. Between 1810 and 1837 Thomas and Hannah had twelve living children, although their oldest daughter Matilda died at age 9.

Thomas’s father Harry did not stay in PEI, traveling back to Europe on more than one occasion before moving permanently to France in about 1821 where he bought a chateau and gifted it to his third wife Anna Maria Wells. She had been previously married as well, and was the daughter of a Royal Navy commander. So Thomas, Harry's only surviving son, was left to manage the “colonial affairs” in PEI. In 1839 just before Harry died, he deeded land in PEI to his two oldest grandsons Harry Alfred Newman Compton and John Arthur Newman Compton (John died soon after in Kent England in 1844). Harry was buried in the churchyard in St Launeuc, Brittany, France, but I’m told his gravestone no longer exists and his bones now reside in the village ossuary, the skull on a shelf with its name and dates.

Back in PEI, Thomas was not only a prosperous farmer of a sizable estate, but was also involved in local politics and public service. He was also said to be a Major in the British Army, but I have no further details on his military involvement. In 1812 he was a juror in the first murder trial recorded on the island. In 1829 he was appointed a magistrate under the Small Debt Act, and in 1831 he was elected MLA as well as a tax accessor and collector. In 1835 he and Thomas Richard petitioned the Governor to purchase 50 acres of undeveloped land in Lot 15 to build a grist mill. In 1841 he was appointed receiver of land assessments for St Eleanors. Thomas seems to have also been involved in several Supreme Court cases between 1835 and 1847, at times the plaintiff or the defendant. Several disputes involved S E Jeffery, perhaps a relative of his wife.

Both Thomas and Hannah were raised as Anglican, but later converted to Catholicism, perhaps influenced by his father Harry's growing affinity for the Roman Catholic faith (although Harry never officially converted). It has been difficult to pin down the actual date of their conversion because both the Anglican church in St Eleanors as well as the Roman Catholic Church in nearby Miscouche were named after St John. This has led to confusion and possible inaccuracies as to which children were baptized where. And not all records are available for this period. While we know that many of their younger children were baptised in the Roman Catholic church, at least one daughter was baptized Anglican as an adult. Most of his children were married in the Anglican church as well as buried in Anglican cemeteries. I would hope that all these changing allegiances didn’t cause too much friction within the family.

Thomas died on 5 Aug 1850 in St Eleanors PEI when he was only about 61. Buried with his wife and one daughter at St. John the Baptist Church [RC], Miscouche, their graves are unmarked. Thomas's long will and codicils, filed in Aug 1850, contain a wealth of family names, relationships, land descriptions and references to existing lease agreements and neighbours. We are indeed fortunate to have access to a transcript of such a wonderful family document. His wife Hannah lived another 21 years, dying on 13 Dec 1871.

Thomas and Hannah’s many descendants have carried on Harry’s COMPTON line in Canada. So far I know of 64 grandchildren (30 boys, 34 girls), 5 of them dying as children. I am descended from two of Thomas's children, Albert Harry COMPTON and Elizabeth Pring COMPTON, due to subsequent intermarriages. They were a prolific bunch!

A final note about PEI: this year they are celebrating the 250th anniversary of the influential and infamous land survey of the island undertaken by Samuel Holland in 1765 for the British Government. The resulting division of the province into three counties and about 67 "lots" or townships had huge repercussions on the development of the province. The Confederation Centre Art Gallery in Charlottetown is currently displaying the original huge Holland map on loan from the National Archives in England. They also hosted a series of eight lectures about the survey, map and history of Prince Edward Island. If you missed attending them, the lecture videos can now be viewed on YouTube.

REFERENCES and FURTHER READING

PEI Public Archives and Records Office (PARO)
PEI, Miscouche St Jean de Baptiste (Miscouche / Malpeque) baptisms
Island Register - PEI genealogy resource and family tree site
Island Newspapers, UPEI, Robertson Library (1900-1962)
Prince Edward Island - Canadian Encyclopedia site
PEI in 1850 - Culture Summerside site
Demographics of PEI - wikipedia
PEI Heritage Buildings by Charter W Jeffery, co-author of "The Jeffery Family of Isle of Wight and Prince Edward Island", 1998
PEI Genealogical Society site
Samuel Holland, 1765 Surveyor of PEI - 250th anniversary
and Samuel Holland series lectures on YouTube

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Frances Louisa “Fanny” COMPTON (1857-1925) - #33 (52 Ancestors)

8/26/2015

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Theme: "Defective, Dependent, & Delinquent" | Images: Click to enlarge

Today we might use words such as “special needs”, "intellectual disabilities", “mentally ill” or “criminal” to describe people who face challenges of various sorts, and who get singled out for special attention by the authorities. In the past, other more offensive and politically incorrect terms were used, and treatment focused more on containment and segregation rather than on rehabilitation and medical help. In the 1880 US census there was even a special schedule to identify “defective, dependent and delinquent” individuals including the blind, deaf, paupers, homeless children, prisoners, insane, and idiotic. I have not yet found relatives listed there.

The Canadian census in 1881,1891 and 1901 used the words “deaf and dumb”, “blind” and “unsound mind” relating to “infirmities" worthy of identification. By 1911 they had replaced “unsound mind” with “crazy or lunatic” and “idiotic or silly”. I would suggest that was a step backwards! Connotations may have changed over the years, but I think these words are derogatory and hurtful. Perhaps this sentiment is one reason why people were not always declared as such in the census, even if they "qualified". Many families also tried to keep such conditions secret, perhaps to avoid ridicule, shame or sensor.

So now I’d like to tell you a sad story about my Great-Great-Aunt Frances Louisa “Fanny” COMPTON who spent the last seven years of her life in an insane asylum.

A clipping from the death registration for Fanny MCMILLAN - BC Archives document.

Fanny was born on 16 Oct 1857 in St Eleanors, Prince Edward Island in Canada, the sixth child of Albert “Harry” COMPTON and Mary Robinson COATES. She was baptized as a toddler on 6 Feb 1859 in Richmond Parish PEI, and grew up on their family farm in Lot 17, North St Eleanors, along with ten siblings. As her older and then younger siblings grew up, left home and married (except one brother who drowned at age 15), Fanny remained at home. In 1881 five other siblings were still at home. Fanny’s father died in 1889, and by 1891 Mary’s household contained Fanny and four other children. By 1901 Fanny was listed as age 40, living with her brother Henry’s family and her widowed mother Mary.

It must have been shortly after the 1901 census that Mary moved to Winnipeg Manitoba to be with or near her youngest son Horace Melville COMPTON (known as Mel). Mel is said to have moved there when in his early 20s; he turned 20 in 1892, and certainly moved there with his brother Leslie before 1901. And when Mary moved to Winnipeg she brought along her daughter Fanny. In 1904 her brother Mel married Flora Larkin. Sadly Mary died in Winnipeg the following year at the age of 77; her daughter Fanny was then almost 48 and still single. The informant on Mary's death registration was a company (perhaps her lawyer or funeral home) - why not one of her 2 nearby children? After Mary's will was probated in early 1907, her estate was equally divided between Horace Melville and Fanny Louisa. But in the meantime, according to the 1906 Canadian “Prairie” census, Fanny was living with Mel and Flora along with several boarders in Winnipeg.

Provincial Lunatic Asylum in New Westminster BC opened in 1878
http://www.nwheritage.org/heritagesite/history/content/timeline/1875-1899.htm

The family has hinted that Fanny “needed taking care of”, implying that she had challenges, although I don’t know how severe any limitations might have been. Certainly there was no mention of infirmities in any of the census records through the years. The loss of her mother would have been difficult for her in any case, but if she did require special care then it could no longer have been provided in the same way. What we do know is that, on 2 Oct 1906, before her mother’s estate had even been finalized, “Fannie” COMPTON married a James MACMILLAN in Winnipeg. By 1911, James and Fannie had moved west to Penticton in the Okanagan fruit-growing region of British Columbia where James was operating his own orchard. No infirmities were listed. Fanny was no longer close to any relatives that I know of.

Then once again everything changed. In the 1921 census I found “Fanny Mac Millan” listed as a 63-year-old inmate in the BC Mental Hospital in New Westminster BC. The municipality of Penticton is also mentioned in the census (implying this is where she was admitted from). So this entry seems to be for the right person. Fanny’s death record confirms that “Fanny Mcmillan” died from pneumonia at age 67 on 23 Jan 1925 in the Public Hospital for the Insane, B Street, New Westminster, having been there for the last 7 years, formerly of Penticton. James is nowhere to be found until his death in Penticton in 1931.

I have been told by a family researcher that Fanny was "admitted to Riverview Hospital on Dec. 10, 1917 from Penticton BC” but I cannot find proof of this exact date or location for her care. We know she was in New Westminster in 1921 and 1925 at the BC Mental Hospital (aka Asylum) where she died. There was a second provincial Mental Hospital (aka Essondale, also called Riverview) that opened in 1913, but it was a separate hospital in Coquitlam. The New Westminster facility served exclusively as an institution for women between 1913 and 1930. But by 1924 Riverview had become the administrative centre for the province’s mental health services, so perhaps Fanny's records ended up there, even though she was an inmate in New Westminster.

Why did she need hospitalization? I am assuming that more detailed records would be of a confidential nature, even if I could find them. Did she always have mental problems that worsened? Or was this a new heath issue for her? Or was it more a matter of containment of someone who was intellectually challenged? Without further details I can only hope that she was well and properly cared for. Yet she was certainly denied her freedom for the last seven years of her life. How sad is that.

SOURCES and FURTHER READING

History of Madness in Canada - BC
Woodlands School, New Westminster, previously Provincial Lunatic Asylum - wikipedia
Woodlands - Inclusion BC site
Riverview Hospital (Essondale), Coquitlam - wikipedia

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George Major COMPTON (1851-1928) - #20 (52 Ancestors)

5/16/2015

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Theme: Sheep [of any colour] | Images: Click on many to enlarge

What colour were George COMPTON's sheep?

Search as I may, I found it hard to identify any black sheep in my family tree. No ancestor stuck out as being overly odd or a troublemaker or even disreputable, as the definition of "black sheep" suggests. Perhaps I need to dig deeper! Certainly there were examples of illegitimacies in my tree, a possible cause for being shunned or outcast by a family (often the consequences of being a "black sheep"). Although I personally wouldn’t call him a “black sheep”, I have already written about the most obvious candidate, Charles ANDREW, who fled England with his young wife and base born daughter in 1842. This theme was quite the challenge!

So instead I decided to broaden the scope of the theme this week to include sheep of any colour and of the animal variety, as I have plenty of farmers in my tree. But surprisingly I have only uncovered one reference to sheep farming. Other animals like cows and horses and chickens seemed more popular. There were likely other ancestors who raised sheep, but I lack the specific details on how most of my farmers made their living.

My mother’s great uncle George Major COMPTON (1851-1928)) was a farmer who, it seems, lived his whole life in St Eleanors, PEI, Canada. He was the oldest son of Albert Harry COMPTON and Mary Robinson COATES, and a younger brother of my maternal great grandmother Harriet Washbourne (COMPTON) ANDREW. In the 1861 census, his father Harry was listed as head of household, and there were a total of 5 males and 6 females living on their 175 acre farm. One of them would have been George, age 10. Unfortunately PEI had not yet joined the newly formed Canada by 1871, so was not included in the federal census that year. By 1881 PEI had become a province of Canada, and George and his younger sister Sarah where listed in the census living on their own farm in St Eleanors. When their father died in September 1889, George was still single, but not for long.

On 21 January 1890 and at the age of almost 39, George married Eliza Jane MacGougan at St Johns Anglican Church in St Eleanors. They did not have any children; they lived alone according to all the federal census between 1891 and 1921. The only personal details I know about George and Eliza COMPTON came from my mother, who grew up in the same area of PEI and obviously knew them as a child. She remembers that Eliza used to twiddle her thumbs, so this trait obviously made quite an impression on Eliza's great-nieces. George was known for his “long beard, long grace”. So they must have had family dinners together on occasion. I can just picture others at the table watching their meal get cold as George’s lengthy blessings went on and on! If ever there was a time for twiddling thumbs!

It was only recently that I stumbled on a reference to George in a an old PEI newspaper “The Daily Examiner” for 27 September 1890. The Prince County Exhibition, held in nearby Summerside every Fall, had published their list of prize winners. Three entries caught my eye:

“SHEEP: Pen 2 Long Wool Ewes, having reared lambs this season - 1st, Stewart Burns, Freetown; 2d, George Compton, St. Eleanors; 3d, Murdock Ross, Bedeque. ...

”SHEEP: Pen two Ewes other breed or cross, having reared lambs this year - 1st, Judson Burns, Freetown; 2d, A. C. Rogers, S'side; 3d, Geo. Compton, St. Eleanors. ...

“POULTRY Pair Turkeys - 1st, Albert Craswell, St. Eleanors; 2d, Geo. Compton, do.”

Although the top prize seems to have eluded George, it is gratifying to learn that he won prizes for four of his ewes (not to mention the two turkeys), and that he raised a variety of breeds. I am no expert on sheep, but I suppose some could have been black?

At the age of 77, George passed away in St Eleanors on 28 Feb 1928, and his wife remained a widow until her death in 1945. Both are buried in the St Johns Churchyard in St Eleanors, PEI.

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

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

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Harriet Washbourne COMPTON (1849-1923) - #51 (52 Ancestors)

Isabella Harriet “Ella” COMPTON - #48 (52 Ancestors)

Arthur Austin CRESWELL (1892-1982) - Hockey Player - #47 (52 Ancestors)

James JEFFERY (1757-1815) - #46 (52 Ancestors)

Clara Duchemin COMPTON (1882 -1945) - #44 (52 Ancestors)

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

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

Thomas Compton COMPTON (c1789 - 1850) - #38 (52 Ancestors)

Frances Louisa “Fanny” COMPTON (1857-1925) - #33 (52 Ancestors)

George Major COMPTON (1851-1928) - #20 (52 Ancestors)

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