All Mixed Up; How many Ebenezer Grossets??? and Other Adventures with Repetitve Naming

One of the issues every family historian has trouble with is all the people with the same name. This has certainly caused me some distress in the past; when trying to figure out which record belongs to which generation of 'William Nicholson Edgill', for example. There were three William Nicholson Edgills, and one William Edgill (no Nicholson) and it took some working out who was who, especially between William Edgill and his younger brother William Nichsolson Edgill! (And yes, both were established to have been individual from each other, and were both alive at the same time; one a product of his father's first marriage, and the second a product of his father's second marriage.)

In our family tree on my husband's side we have a gajillion Ebenezer Grossets. (OK- I admit it; a slight exageration). One thing that made them a little easier was the difference in spelling of the last name. The first Ebenezer that I've found was born in 1723; Ebenezer Grozer. The next (his grandson) used the same spelling and was born in 1772. Next was Ebenezer Grozard (born in 1807), the son of the 1772 Ebenezer, and then came his son Ebenezer Grosart in 1829. Then there was the 1853 Ebenezer, Grosset who was my husband's 2x great granduncle. And finally the great granduncle of my husband, Ebenezer Grosset who was born in 1886. By this time  I suppose our Grossets had read The Christmas Carol and decided that they didn't want their child to be compared to Mr Ebenezer Scrooge, and the name fell out of use. Thank goodness!

Marley's Ghost, by John Leech, 1843

That said, I can think of a particular time when a repeated use of names has really helped me break through a brick wall; or should I say a 'Birkett' wall. My great grandmother was Sarah Annie Birkett. Her mother was born Elizabeth Walker, 'natural daughter of Mary Walker'. This was 'Church Speak' for Elizabeth being born 'illegitimate', and quite right too, as her mother Mary was only about 14 years old at the time of Elizabeth's birth. I have often found getting past a single mother in family history research a tricky stage to get past. Luckily I found a record establishing Mary Walker's birth, and parents, but then stumbled again, because, as it turned out, Mary's mother Elizabeth was also born illegitimately. What added to the confusion was that Elizabeth, mother of Mary, was not christened Elizabeth. Betty, 'natural daughter of Sarah Edmondson', was born in 1792, when Sarah Edmondson (my 5x great grandmother) was 22. 

Baptism records from St Peter's, Heysham, Lancs, from 1792

When I first read this record I could feel my brain clickety clack clicking! I recognised the last name Edmondson; I had seen in somewhere else in the same tree branch. Reviewing later generations I could see that my great grandmother had a brother named Robert Edmondson Birkett. This use of a previous last name, as a middle name, confirmed to me that I was on the right track with this branch, and following the Edmondson line further back I was able to reveal an ancient story of catholic recusants and a family that went from wealthy landownership to barely scraping by on servants wages, all because of their recusancy fines, and catholic persecution.

Old Hall, Heysham, the home of the Edmondson family.

So, whilst all family historians will despair of the miles long list of 'Joseph Bloggs' or 'John Does', we will all celebrate a breakthrough when we find a Joseph Wilson Bloggs, whose great grandmother was a Josephine Wilson! Watch out for those names, they'll trick you, and yet your attention will pay dividends!

#Holding

#Grosset

#Edgill

Member of the Club; A Pair of Freemasons

The Freemasons seem to be synonymous with secrecy. Secret handshakes, secret rituals, and taking oaths to keep secrets, all contribute to the general mystique that surrounds The Freemasons.  Records from a couple of Freemason lodges, however, have been very helpful in understanding a couple of completely unrelated ancestors. The first ancestor comes from a great grandfather's paternal line, and the second ancestor comes from the same great grandfather's maternal line.

The Masonic Square and Compass, with the letter G is a
symbol most commonly associated with the Freemasons.

The Freemasons is an abbreviated term. The full name of this 'club' is the fraternal order of 'Free and Accepted Masons'. The Freemasons evolved from the tradesmen guilds of Britain that represented the stone masons of the medieval era. These included craftsmen who built cathedrals and churches. As the building of these religious structures slowed down, so did the number of new stone masons, and so to ensure that the 'club' continued, members of other trades and vocations were invited to join, as honorary members. The early Freemason lodges adopted rites and rituals of 'ancient religious orders and chivalric brotherhoods'. The Freemasons are not religious but are connected to a form of Christianity that questions the dogma of organised religion. This is not to say that all Freemasons must be followers of the Christian religion. To be a Freemason it is understood that members must believe in the existence of a supreme being and the immortality of the soul, and Freemasons teach the importance of morality, charity, and adherence to the law. The earliest Freemason's lodge was established in England, in 1717, and as the British Empire spread into far corners of the world, so did Freemasonry. 

The first Freemason in the family was Asa Farrer Reed, who was my 4x great granduncle. Asa Farrer Reed (sometimes spelled Reid) was the son of Thomas Reed and Lucy Farrer, my 5x great grandparents. And he was the brother of 4x great grandfather, also named Thomas Reed (1767 - 1850). Asa Farrer Reed was born 20th September 1772, in Littleton, Massachusetts, and married Charlotte Clapp, in Amherst, MA in 1800. He was 27, and she was 30; both rather old for newly weds of the time. It seems that the blush of romance was not to last for this pair, because by 1802 Asa Farrer Reed had left the USA for Canada, had his medical qualifications recognised by the government there, and was able to set up in business as a physician. In 1802 Dr Asa F Reed joined the Freemasons at the Lodge in Kingston, ON. It's not clear if he arrived in Canada with his wife Charlotte, but by 1811 their relationship had certainly soured. 

View of Kingston from Fort Henry, circa 1828

On the 24th June 1811 the minutes of the Kingston Lodge notes that the Worshipful Master 'made a motion the body should assist Mrs Reed' since Dr Reed would not assist her in returning home to her friends, nor offer her any support. The brothers agreed to send Mrs Reed $15, as well as a letter which would explain the support that the lodge had, for her plight. The reason for her desire to leave the town, and her husband Dr Asa F Reed, and to return to her friends was explained in the minutes of a later meeting.  On 1st August 1811 a second complaint was made against Dr Asa F Reed, namely;

'for having his lawful wife in the United States coming into Canada and living in adultery with another woman and for absolutely refusing to aid or assist his lawful wife in her wants, but to continue in the same unlawful way.'

A further complaint was made;

'by Brother Walker against Brother Reed for having used him with the greatest contnemt and likewise, using the Lodge in the same manner.'

These were very serious complaints, especially the former, considering the morality rules that the Freemasons espoused. He was not going to get off lightly. Brother Dr Asa Farrrer Reed was suspended from the lodge for 6 months, during which time he was to 'clear up his character if it lies in his power' before he could again, return to the Lodge  as a 'worthy member.' It's not clear if he did 'clear up his character' sufficiently to become a Freemason again. Probably not.

On the 30th March 1814 Dr Asa Farrer Reed married Deiademia Story, in Kingston, Ontario. It is not clear whether or not she was the woman with whom he was living in adultery, as mentioned in the Freemason's minutes in 1811, but its likely. Alas, the marriage was not to last, and our Dr Asa Farrer Reed was about to experience some just desserts! 

A broken hearted Victorian woman, by Luke Fildes, published 1880

On the 22nd October 1814 the Kingston Gazette published a notice that Deiademia Reid had left her husband, and that 'Dr Asa F Reid... will pay no debts incurred by her.' At the age of 42 Dr Asa Farrer Reed was now twice married, and twice divorced. Luckily for him, all was not lost. An Irish woman named Margaret married Asa. I have not found any marriage records for them, so I suppose it's possible that they didn't actually marry. Nevertheless, they had five children together; Asa Henry (1822 - 1867), Jane (1825 - 1864), Lucy (born 1830), George (born 1831), and Margaret Alice (1844 - 1895). Dr Asa Farrer Reed died 18th October 1859, aged 87, and Margaret passed on 3rd January 1874, aged 81.

The Kingston Gazette was a daily newspaper from 1810-1818, and during the War of 1812, was the only paper available in Upper Canada.

The second ancestor who was part of this club was my 2x great grand uncle, and brother to my 2x great grandmother. Eldest son and 2 years younger than my 2x great grandmother, Edward John Main was born 3rd March 1848, at the Peacock Hotel, in North Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland. The Peacock Hotel had a popular restaurant where they served a great fish supper, and was located very close to the Leith Docks. I suspect it was a great favourite of the sailors arriving in port, looking for a good meal and a comfy bed. Since the hotel was in close proximity to the port, it's not surprising that Edward John Main joined the navy, and took to the sea!

The Peacock Hotel, North Leith

Edward John Main worked as an engineer, for the Royal Navy, and ended up living and working for a time in Canton, China, when he was recorded by the Freemasons as having membership with them in 1883-1884. After this time he moved to Hong Kong where he worked at the Hong Kong harbour as a harbour engineer. He remained with the Hong Kong freemasons from 1887-1889, during which time he may have married Miranda (last name unknown). Miranda and Edward welcomed their first child in October 1891; Gracie Lilian Emma Main was born in Hong Kong on the 10th October 1891. A second child was born 9th January 1894; Edward Liston Main. Sadly Edward Liston Main died at exactly 8 months of age, on 9th September 1894. Edward, Miranda, and daughter Gracie visited the UK in 1901, at which time Edward John Main was recorded in the ships passenger list as a 'merchant'. It seems that at some point between 1889 and 1901, Edward left the navy, and had started a business as a merchant possibly importing 'chinoiserie', tea, or some other Chinese artefacts or produce. It seems that the visit in 1901 was indeed a visit; Hong Kong was the family's home by that point.

Hong Kong Harbour, in the early 1900s

Edward and Miranda had a third child together; Sadie Jean Main was born on the 31st August 1902. She was not to know her father for long. Edward John Main died on the 21st September 1903, just 11 months later. Both Edward John Main and his only son, Edward Liston Main were buried in the Hong Kong Cemetery, in Happy Valley, Hong Kong, China.

It's not entirely clear exactly what happened to Miranda and her daughters, in the years shortly after the death of Edward John Main. At some point Miranda Main returned to the UK and became a school mistress. Sadie returned to the UK at some point, and in 1929 married a Glaswegian named James Malcom Ian Armstrong McIntyre in Oxfordshire. They had 2 children; Ian Edward Armstrong McIntyre (born 1931), and Jane Armstrong McIntyre (born 1933). Sadie died in 1981, in Droxford, Hants.

Gracie worked as a governess for a Hong Kong businessman named Percy Hobson Holyoak in 1918, and married a Japanese born merchant's assistant of Scottish descent, Fraser Syme-Thompson, a year or two later. Gracie had two sons with Fraser Syme-Thompson; Fraser (born circa 1922) and George (born circa 1923). Sometime between 1926 and 1935 Fraser Syme Thompson must have died. On 27th October 1935 Gracie married widower William Herman Godden, a British merchant born in Curacao, which was then considered part of the Dutch West Indies. They lived in Cryals, Matfield, Kent, but also appear to have had an apartment in Thames House, Queen's Place, London, which is now known as Five Kings House, and not to be confused with Thames House, home of the British security service!

At the time of the 1939 register Miranda was living at Cryals, Matfield, Kent, with her daughter Gracie and Gracie's husband, and step-son Peter Musgrave Godden. I believe that Cryals, Matfield was a large manor house now known as Cryals Court. Cryals Court is an elegant Edwardian building which has since been converted into a number of apartments. Miranda died in 1946, at Cryals, Matfield, at the age of 86. She was 43 when her husband Edward John Main died, and lived a further 43 years as a widow. Gracie died in 1992 at the impressive age of 101.

Cryals Court, Matfield, Kent

Without the Freemasons' records much of the lives of these ancestors might have been missed by me. It seems satisfyingly ironic that the 'club' that is well known for its secrecy, helped me unlock the secrets of these two ancestors' lives.

#Newell

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https://www.britannica.com/topic/Freemasonry

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freemasonry_in_Canada

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Freemasonry

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinoiserie#Popularization

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Kings_House

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kingston_Gazette

Favourite Discovery; Stained Glass Windows

William Nicholson Edgill was my 2x great grandfather. Born in Sheffield, Yorkshire in 1821, and the son of a mason, William was on his way upwards. My favourite discovery is a newspaper clipping that I found, that tells a lot about his character. I will share that clipping shortly, but first, let me tell you a little about this man.

William Nicholson Edgill was born around 1821 in Sheffield, to John Edgill and Hannah Nicholson. John was a mason, from Marylebone, Middlesex (now London). Sadly I don't know much about Hannah Nicholson; I've been unable to trace anything much about her life. John and Hannah married in Rotherham, Yorkshire. At some point after William's birth Hannah died, and John remarried a lady by the name of Frances. John and Frances had one daughter, by the name of Jane in 1827. The 1841 Census recorded the family of 4 as living at Castle Hill, Sheffield with John working as a mason, and Frances as a shopkeeper. William was also working, as a merchant's clerk, at the age of 20. It seems that the family were definitely of the lower middle class; all with paid employment and literate, but no live in servants to speak of. William was setting off in an upward trajectory.

Castle Hill, Sheffield, circa 1900

In 1846 William married Elizabeth Hague, and in the following 4 years welcomed their first two children into the world; Tom Nicholson Edgill (born 1848) and John William Edgill (born 1850). Sometime between John's birth and their next son, William's birth in April 1851 the small family had moved to Cheetham, Lancashire, where William had taken up a new post as an accountant's clerk. Leaving Tom behind in Sheffield (perhaps while the family got settled in their new city) William, Elizabeth and John were living at 9 Southall Street, Cheetham with an Irish house servant by the name of Catherine Macguire. 

Today Southall Street runs along one side of the HM Prison Manchester, often known better as 'Strangeways'.  In 1841, where the prison now stands was the location of a rather different looking building, Strangeways Hall.

Just 4 short weeks after the census was taken, Elizabeth gave birth to their third child; another son, by the name of William. Within the following 10 years Elizabeth was kept busy, with a further 5 births; John Ashley (born 1853), Mary Jane (born 1855), Harriett (born 1856), Elizabeth (born 1858), and Harry Rawson (born 1860). William was kept equally busy earning the income to keep them all fed, clothed, and housed in the manner to which they must have become accustomed. By the time of the 1861 census the family of 10 (2 parents, and 8 children) were living on Queen's Terrace, Withington Road, Moss Side, and employed 1 servant. William was no longer an accountants clerk, but was now 'clerk to the guardians'. 

The Chorlton Union was built in 1854-55

'The Guardians' were the guardians of the Chorlton Poor Law Union; the workhouse for the 12 parishes of Ardwick, Burnage, Chorlton-upon-Medlock, Chorlton with Hardy, Didsbury, Gorton, Hulme, Levenshulme, Moss Side, Rusholme, Stretford, and Withington. The area that the Chorlton Union covered would now be considered part of south Manchester. Each poor law union in the country appointed 19 guardians to oversee the workhouse, and it's activities. As the 'clerk to the guardians' William Nicholson Edgill would have enjoyed a degree of prestige.

In the following 10 years William and Elizabeth had a further 2 children; Charlotte Justina (born 1862) and Jessica Frances (sometimes recorded as Frances; born 1865), and in just one more year his wife, had died. Elizabeth Hague died on 6th July 1872, and William registered the death. She had died of tuberculosis- a disease that was to claim many more members of the Edgill family. On Elizabeth's death record he noted his occupation as 'Clerk to the Board of Guardians and Superintendent Registrar, Chorlton Union'. He wasted no time in remarrying, but did so not in Manchester, but at the Liverpool Registry Office, on the 10th September 1872; just 5 weeks after Elizabeth had died.

TB, or consumption, as it was known then, was considered a 'fashionable disease'. Lord Byron said of the illness, "How pale I look! I should like, I think, to die of consumption... because then the women would all say, ‘see that poor Byron, how interesting he looks in dying!’”

William's new wife was Hannah Standring; the daughter of James Standring, the omnibus proprietor from a previous blog piece. I have been unable to ascertain where Hannah was living in the 1871 census but I suspect she was residing with her brother James Massey Standring, who lived in Toxteth, Liverpool around that time. William Nicholson Edgill knew the Standring family reasonably well. In the 1861 census James Standring (of the Standring Omnibus Company), Hannah Standring and other members of the family were living just a few doors down on Withington Road. William was also an investor in James' omnibus enterprise.

The census of 1881 records a larger Edgill family; one which raises some questions. I discussed these issues in the 'Step' week post. Apologies for any duplication but it would be easier to explain things again here, although you're welcome to pop over via the embedded link, and read that post. In 1881, just 9 years after Hannah and William married, several children appear who should have been recorded in the previous census; Nanna Nicholson (born 1865), Florence Nicholson (born 1867), and Etholwyn Nicholson (born 1869). Their birth records have not been found. Only their baptisms, which took place years after Hannah and William were married, as adults, can be found. Their baptismal records give birth dates, and their given birth years match with later census records. As a result it is not possible to establish the parentage of these children. Is their mother Hannah, or Elizabeth? Is their father William Nicholson Edgill, or someone else? Or were they adopted? So many questions, to which we'll never have the answer! Another child was born in July 1871; William Nicholson Edgill (junior). The 1871 Census was taken in April of that year, so we should not expect to see a July baby in that census. His mother could well have been Elizabeth Hague, although it seems unlikely that a 50 year old woman suffering from the symptoms of final stage of tuberculosis would conceive. Not impossible, but highly unlikely.

Nevertheless, in the 1881 census we see those 4 extra children, plus three more children, born after Hannah and William's marriage; James Standring Nicholson (born 1874), Mary Beatrice (born 1875), and Agnes Hilda Violet (born 1880). Living then at 77 Cecil Street, Chorlton Upon Medlock, William was  Superintendent Registrar and Clerk to the Guardians, with wife Hannah, sister Jane, and his children Elizabeth, Harry, Charlotte, Frances, Nanna, Florence, Etholwyn, James, Mary, and Agnes, plus a servant named Elizabeth White, from Nottinghamshire. William's eldest son Tom had died in 1877 whilst working overseas, and William, his third born son, and Mary Jane, his first daughter, had both died from tuberculosis, in 1879. Joseph Ashley (who had been a warehouseman in the 1871 census) was married in 1876, and was working as a salesman in 1881. Similarly, Harriett had married in 1878, and was a mother to two daughters by 1881.

The Ormond Building, as it looks today. In 1883 it would have looked pretty much the same.

It was around the same time that the Chorlton Poor Union was growing and in need of new offices. In 1880 and '81 the Offices of the Poor Law Union was built on the corner of Ormond and Cavendish Street, and across from Grosvenor Square in Chorlton. The building was to be an imposing, grand structure, boasting about 100ft of street frontage. The architect noted that... 

'To the left of the principal entrance first described, after passing through the vestibule, which will have glass doors, will be Mr Edgill's office, with an ante-room adjoining to a passage communicating therefrom to the registrar's offices, which will be of ample size, with a large-sized fire-proof room for the storage of books and documents, and with a private room, also immediately adjoining the registrar's office, which will be used principally for the registration of marriages; a waiting-room on the right of the principal lobby, adjoining to the porter's room, will be used by persons waiting to see the officials upon that business.' 

It is related to this new office of Mr Edgill, that my favourite discovery, the Newspaper Clipping, pertains. On Saturday 14th April, the Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser reported on a court case against the clerk to the Chorlton Guardians, regarding armorial bearings. An 'armorial bearing' was not defined by law, but could be described in laymen's terms as a coat of arms, or a design that related to heraldry. The displaying of armorial bearings was taxed, and required an excise licence from 1870-1944. (Prior to 1870 armorial bearings had been taxed in various different ways from 1798.) In this court case William Nicholson Edgill had been summoned to the court by the local excise officer, John Sinter. Mr Sinter testified that he had seen armorial bearings displayed in the windows of Mr Edgills offices at the Ormond/Cavendish Street Chorlton Union building, the previous December. He described the armorial bearings as one including a lion rampant, and another including the head of an ox. 

A lion rampant is a common symbol on heraldic crests.

James Howard Ryder, a member of the Board of Guardians, gave witness to seeing the armorial bearings in the windows of the clerk's office. He stated that he had brought the board's attention to the matter, and that he had heard Mr Edgill admit that he had 'placed the crests in the windows without the sanction of the board' and that they were 'put into the windows without the authority of the guardians or the sanction of the building committee.' He confirmed that the guardians did not pay duty for the bearings. 

The court heard that there were three armorial bearings on display in the windows; one to represent Mr Edgill's own family, another to represent his first wife's family, and the third to represent his second wife's family. The defence argued that Mr Edgill should not be paying duty on another person's window, despite the evidence that the guardians had not placed the crests in the window in the first place. The judge hearing the case advised that 'the guardians ought to tell Mr Edgill to take the crests out of the windows.' The case was dismissed.

Click here to see a full transcript of the newspaper article.

It seems that Mr Edgill was perhaps using the opportunity to display personal crests in his office windows, thereby evading the tax that should have been payable. Furthermore, after having researched William Nicholson Edgill, and his family, including his two wives, I would argue that none of them had family crests to display in the first place! The case is a wonderful snippet of this ancestors character which I feel portrays him as a pompous man who has come up in the world, from the son of a mason to a reasonably well off man, who was actually still a clerk. Living in the industrial world, where 'new money' was on the rise, but without the power and wealth of 'new money', I suppose Mr Edgill was reaching for some 'old money' status. At the same time, William Nicholson Edgill went for the cheap route, which in the end, made him look a bit foolish.

The old Chorlton Union building still stands, and is now a part of the Manchester University school of art. I have reached out to the people there, to ask if there are any armorial crests still in the windows there, but they assure me that the windows were replaced for modern ones long ago.

William Nicholson Edgill lived until he was 70 years old, and worked as the clerk to the Chorlton Union guardians, and superintendent registrar right up to his last. He died from a fatty degeneration of the heart and kidneys, and albuminuria (a sign of kidney disease.) Medical friends have suggested that this might have been due to an excess of alcohol consumption in his general lifestyle. If this is true, this gives me another clue as to his character. 

William Nicholson Edgills obituary was very thorough and we can learn a lot about him in his professional life. His funeral was also well covered by the papers at the time, and his daughter Florence wrote a letter to the board of guardians, which was read at their meeting, following Mr Edgill's death. All of these, of course neglected to refer to the armorial bearings case!

The obituary for William Nicholson Edgill, clerk to the Chorlton guardians and superintendent registrar, 1821-1891.

Whilst we can never really know what our ancestors were like, its only with these sorts of snippets that we can get a glimpse of their character. Whenever we research an ancestor, we must do a search through newspaper archives; you never know what you might find!

#Edgill

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https://www.officemuseum.com/office_workers.htm

https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/147827294.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chorlton_Poor_Law_Union

https://manchestervictorianarchitects.org.uk/buildings/chorlton-poor-law-guardians-offices-ormond-street-cavendish-street-all-saints?fbclid=IwY2xjawEothtleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHWl34RYOydLt4oqn-Ou3OunS_J4oSk3okDbavDOT3lb6ywI60xx1y_mw6w_aem_Zr1wlSt6QXIkS84kygr4GA

https://modernmooch.com/2018/12/05/all-saints-grosvenor-square-manchester/

https://friendsofsheffieldcastle.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Castle-Hill-M-Clark.pdf

https://ifthosewallscouldtalk.wordpress.com/2017/02/02/hidden-histories-2-union-street-manchester-buildings-of-the-northern-quarter-part-2/

https://blog.sciencemuseum.org.uk/tuberculosis-a-fashionable-disease/

Free Space; When You Find A Record That Shakes You To The Core

This blog post includes details relating to violence against women, and abuse of children. Please take care when reading.

One evening, whilst pootling about on Ancestry, looking at various records related to siblings of my direct ancestors, I came across something that so shocked me I actually gasped. Like a proper gasp; one that makes others around you sit up, pay attention, and ask, 'Is everything alright?' As it happened, I wasn't alright. This was the record I found.

Charles Vinall was the older brother of my 2x great grandmother. He was the 6th child (of 8) born to Henry Vinall and Jane Munro, in Brighton, Sussex, in October 1851. His two younger siblings were his sisters Louisa, and Mary Jane (my 2x great grandmother) born in 1854 and 1856, respectively.

In September 1872 Charles Vinall, at the age of 20, joined the army; specifically the Royal Artillery, based in Woolwich, Kent. The Royal Artillery had been based in Woolwich since the early 1700s. The Royal Artillery Barracks were built in the 1770s to better accommodate the regiment, which by then totalled more than 2,400 men. The Woolwich Garrison is still an active part of today's British Military, and the Royal Artillery continue to be based there. Unfortunately it no longer is deemed suitable for military needs, and the Ministry of Defence for the UK has announced that the site will close in 2028.

Royal Artillery Barracks, Woolwich, circa 1900

During his time in service, Charles participated in the 2nd Anglo-Afghan War (1878-80), the Anglo-Zulu War (1879), and the Anglo-Egyptian War (1882), and by the time he was discharged in 1890, at the age of 38, he had risen to the rank of corporal. At some point Charles married a lady named Emily. I have not been able to find a reliable marriage record, so I can't be sure what her maiden name was, or who her family were. The census return of 1891 tells us that she was from Wisbeach, Canbridgeshire, but that is all that I can find out, about her life. Sadly her death came too soon. Emily died in July 1896, at the age of 42, in the Brighton Workhouse, presumably because that was the best place for her to receive the medical care she needed for the endometrial cancer that was killing her. Charles was with her at her death, but was not a resident at the workhouse at the time. He was living at 27 Vine Street, Brighton at the time. Charles and Emily did not have any children together, so at her passing Charles was once again free from any ties or responsibilities.

The Women's Ward at the Brighton Workhouse

Shortly after Emily's death, and sometime before May 1898 Charles Vinall moved away from Brighton, where his family was based, and took up  residence in Emsworth, Hants. He had stationed in Portsmouth, Hants when serving with the Royal Field Artillery, and perhaps friends or a work opportunity had brought him to the Emsworth area. Later newspaper reports will tell us that Charles lived with a woman named Rebecca Meaden for several years. Possibly during the time that they lived together, Rebecca Meaden had a son by the name of William Arthur Meaden. There is no father named on the birth certificate of the child, so it's impossible to know who his birth father was, but it's highly possible that Charles was William's natural father.

Emsworth High Street, circa 1910

Rebecca Meaden was a northern girl from Salford, and the wife of a soldier named Frederick Meaden. They married in 1893, when Frederick was going by the last name Fry, and  was serving with the Liverpool Regiment. He had, however, previously been serving with the Wiltshire Regiment, with whom he had enlisted in 1889. In 1891 Frederick, who had been receiving 'good conduct' awards, was deemed a deserter by the Wiltshire Regiment, when in actual fact he was serving with the Liverpool Regiment, under a different name; Frederick Fry. Rebecca Taylor and Frederick Meaden (using the name Fry) married in 1893, and later the same year their daughter Emily was born. Her birth certificate gives her father's name as Frederick Meaden, which may have been the reason why Frederick returned to the Wiltshire Regiment in late 1893. With the Liverpool Regiment behind him, he remained with the Wiltshires, was court-martialled for his desertion, and then shipped off to India in 1895, where he stayed until his return to England and civilian life in 1908. While Frederick was away serving crown, country, and empire, their baby daughter Emily was sent to her Meaden grandparents in Trowbridge, and Rebecca, a laundress, moved to Emsworth, Hants. 

In the 1901 Census, living with her new son William, born in 1899, Rebecca was to be found living in Emsworth, Hants, and working as a laundress. This was many years after Frederick had left for India, and many years before he was to return. In 1901, Charles Vinall was not living with Rebecca Meaden, and little William, but was instead living just around the corner from them both, and working as a general labourer. Again, later newspaper reports tell us that they lived together, for a time, with Charles working as a relief postman, and Rebecca keeping house for him. They lived together for 7 or 8 years, until the time came for Frederick's return from service.

Whatever their relationship may or may not have been, Rebecca made the decision to leave Emsworth, and took little William with her under the name of Willie Cousins, to live with her husband. Rebecca moved to Holt, Wiltshire, in September 1907, where she set about preparing a home for a new family life, with her legal husband, who had returned from overseas military service after about 13 years, and her daughter, who had been thus far raised by her in-laws. She found work with a local laundry in Wiltshire, and kept house, while Fred finished up his time in the army at the nearby barracks. Charles remained in Emsworth, Hants, alone once more.

The White Hart public house, Holt (now know as the Toll House).

At Christmas 1907, Charles visited the family at Holt, Wilts. Frederick, who hadn't yet left the army, and was residing at the Devizes barracks, was visiting the home for the holidays too. I have wondered at what this holiday season might have been like for this family; a husband and wife who have been apart for 13 years, a daughter who had been raised mostly by grandparents, a son who was not a blood relation to the father of the house, and Charles- potentially the lover of the wife, and father of the boy. Despite the possible tension, Charles made some friends in the village, and was 'regarded as a quiet, gentlemanly man.' 

In May 1908 Frederick was finally released from the army. He packed up his old kit bag and made way to Holt, Wilts, and the new family home. After 13 years, he and Rebecca were to live once again, as husband and wife, with their new strange family. Three weeks after Fred's return, Charles arrived, unexpectedly, at the cottage door in Holt.

Before leaving Emsworth Charles had made some preparations. Inspector Frank Reasy of the Hants Constabulary gave evidence that on April 2nd, 1908, Charles Vinall had visited the Havant Police Station, to get a permit signed, so that he could buy a revolver. Charles had already attempted the purchase of a gun, but had been hampered by the need for a permit. The inspector asked why Charles wanted one and Charles explained, 'I want to amuse myself in the garden, and at the miniature rifle range adjoining.' When the inspector continued to argue that he did not know Charles, he argued back that his pension papers had been signed by police at the station for the past 5 years. After this, the permit was signed and returned to Charles. At the time of this interaction Charles Vinall seemed to the inspector, to be perfectly rational, and did not give him any reason to be suspicious.

After obtaining the gun, Charles set about preparing for what was to come after his final visit to see Rebecca. He got out paperwork pertaining to his insurance and pension, and collected his keys, placing them all together in his front room. Then he wrote a couple of notes, both addressed to his sister Louisa.

5, North Street, Emsworth, Hantt,
April 3rd, 1908

Dear Lou,

I have left all the keys I have, and there is my insurance papers and also the others but do not send them to them, but see if you cannot draw them for yourself. There is my pension paper, but you had better take them to the Registrar and he will give you one shilling for the one that have got the rings on. What I wanted you to do on Sunday was to have a good look round, so you could see where the things where. You can do what you like with the furniture, but there is one bill to pay, that is to Mr Blackmore for coals, a quarter of a ton. The rent is paid up to the 6th of the month, but I do not know whether they will give it to you or not, but you can try for it. Do not worry about me, for I shall be happy, more happier than living in this wicked world. I will  give you my love, my most kind sister, but God only knows what I have gone through this last seven or eight months, but now all is ended, thank  God for it. Good-bye and God bless you my dear sister. 

From your most miserable and broken-hearted brother- C. Vinall

Dear Lou,

If there should be any letters lying about on the floor pick them up, open them, and if there is a postal order you keep it yourself, and write to him and tell him that I am gone away, and while you are here tell them all letters directed to me are to be sent to 4, St Peter Street, Brighton, and you will know what to do.
12 midnight: I hope I shall be dead this time to-morrow night. Do not be frightened in keeping the P.O., if any comes, for it is money owing me.

I have wondered about to whom he was referring in the line 'write to him and tell him that I am gone away.' Who was the 'him'? Was it the person from whom he was expecting a postal order, or could it have been someone else...? The sister 'Lou' was undoubtedly Louisa, the aunt to whom my great grandmother must have turned, with her sisters, when their mother died and they found they were not wanted by their new stepmother. 

The following day, 4th April 1908, Charles arrived at the Meaden home in Holt, Wiltshire. The journey was not insignificant; today it would take about 2 hours to drive from one to the other. Charles had taken the train that day, from Emsworth, by way of Hilperton; a journey that today would take about 8 or 9 hours. The rail network has changed a lot over the years, in the UK, and the journey would undoubtedly have taken less time than that, but it was still a distance of some hours. Either way, he arrived at about 1pm on that Saturday afternoon. Charles was drunk on arrival at the house. Frederick said that this did not concern him. It was common for men to have a few drinks on pension day. Food and drink was offered to the guest, and the daughter Emily was sent to the White Hart pub, for bottles of beer. After the beers had been drunk, Fred said that he would be off to see the football match at nearby Melksham. Charles, and William left with him, and they walked together for part of the way. The men stopped off first at a pub, named the White Hart, where Vinall bought a round, and then the Three Lions, where Fred paid for a round. It was reportedly congenial between them, with talk about the weather and the boat race. (The 65th boat race, between Oxford and Cambridge was held on the 4th April, 1908; the same day.) After their drink Fred continued on to the football. Fred's last words to Charles were, 'I don't sit about in public houses in Holt, and I do not wish anybody who comes to see me to do so. Go home and treat the house as if it were your own.'  Fred reported that Charles had clearly been drinking heavily that day, but simply put it all down to it being pension day. Charles and William went first to the post office, where Charles sent a money order, and then they returned to the cottage together.

At 2:30pm that spring afternoon, shortly after Charles returned to the cottage, shots were heard. It was Rebecca's 14 year old daughter Emily Meaden, and son William who gave witness to exactly what happened. Emily said that Charles came back to the house with her brother William. Emily went on to say that Vinall was unable to walk straight and was 'compelled to lean against the wall on entering'. 

When Charles arrived back at the cottage with William, Rebecca was upstairs. When she came back down the stairs she asked Charles, "Has Fred gone on yet?' Charles replied that he had, and then Rebecca went with William to get some coal for the fire in the front room. Charles followed her, and all was quiet for about 5 minutes. Emily heard no conversation, even though the door to the room was open. William also testified that no quarrelling took place between the two of them. William saw Charles take the revolver out of his pocket, and fired at his mother, as she was stooped over to put coal on the fire. Charles, standing about 2 yards from Rebecca fired 4 times, and then put the revolver in his own mouth, and fired just the once. They both fell to the ground, at which point poor little William ran from the room.

When Emily heard the shots she was in the wash house. She ran immediately to her neighbour's house, passing the open front room door on the way. Through the doorway she saw her mother on the floor, lying on her back, and Charles Vinall standing there, with a revolver in his hand. She heard her mother exclaim, 'Oh God, Oh Fred.' and then Charles knelt down saying, 'You b---.' At this point the terrified young girl ran out the front door, to Mrs Bibby's house next door. She did not return to the house.

Tom Bibby, the next door neighbour, who was having a wash in the back yard at the time, rushed off immediately to alert the police. Tom Bibby and a Mr Edwards went through the garden gate and down the path towards the house. The front door was ajar, but the inner door was closed. They dared not go in, for fear of meeting the same fate but after half an hour had passed, they entered the house. Mr Bibby and Mr Edwards found poor Rebecca Meaden lying on her back, near the fireplace, and Charles Vinall, slumped over her, with a pistol near his right hand.

The doctor later testified at the inquest on the 6th April (two days later) that Rebecca had been shot above the right ear, in the centre of her forehead, and above the left ear. This does not tally with the number of shots William recalled being fired at his mother, but it's not surprising that a traumatic event such as this, especially for a young child, should have confused some facts. With the single shot that the doctor testified Charles had inflicted upon himself, that would make 4 shots; the number that Willie had recalled. Curiously though, Charles' gun shot wound, according to the doctors testimony, appeared to exit half an inch above his left eye. William testified that Charles had put the gun in his mouth, before firing the pistol, in which case I would imagine the bullet would exit at the back of the head, not the front. These details did not, apparently perturb the coroner, Mr F A P Sylvester.

After all the evidence had been heard, the coroner stated that there was no doubt that Rebecca Meaden had been wilfully murdered by Charles Vinall, and that Charles had committed this act with malice and intent. As far as the death of Charles Vinall was concerned, the evidence was equally clear; he had shot himself, therefore the verdict relating to his death had to be suicide. There was no evidence that Charles was of an unsound mind, and urged the jury to not 'save his memory from any shame that may rest upon him.' The jury considered the verdict for a very short length of time and then the foreman announced the following verdict;

"That Rebecca Meaden was wilfully murdered by Charles Vinall, and that Vinall committed suicide while of sound mind."

This most awful of crimes caused reverberations, which affected all the survivors. Fred, left a widower by the murder, married a local Trowbridge girl by the name of Meena Minnie Whately, just 6 months after the murder of Rebecca Meaden, on the 17th October 1908. A swift remarrying after the passing of a wife was very common amongst Victorian/Edwardian men, so this was not at all surprising. Together they had 5 children. The children Fred had with Meena Minnie apparently knew nothing of Frederick's first wife, and her murder. Fred worked as a groom, and when World War I was declared he rejoined the army, and served again with the Duke of Edinburgh Wiltshire Regiment. Frederick James Meaden died on the 17th October, 1940, from heart disease. He was 69 years old, and was buried in Trowbridge, Wilstshire.

After the murder of her mother, Emily, who had been raised for most of her life by her Meaden grandparents, returned to their care. In the 1911 Census Emily can be found at the family's Trowbridge address, as an 18 year old domestic servant. Her grandparents, John and Louisa Meaden were the head of the household, and wife, respectively, and others in the household included her uncle Alfred, who was the same age as Emily, her aunt Ada, who was just 14, and a cousin Willie Meaden, aged 9. This Willie Meaden was not her half brother, and co-witness to their mother's murder, but a cousin, and son of another Meaden sibling. Emily married a soldier, George MacBrayne, in Glasgow, Scotland, on the 11th Feb 1918. George MacBrayne had served with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders during WWI. Emily and George had at least 2 children together. George died in 1963, and Emily passed away in 1976, at the age of 82, in Ayrshire, Scotland.

The person I was most concerned about, when learning the story of Rebecca Meaden's murder, was William Arthur Meaden. By Charles' actions William was effectively orphaned. With no one to take care of him, William was taken into the care of Dr Barnardos. Dr Barnardos is a children's charity, based in the UK. Thomas John Barnardo, was a philanthropist with a special interest in helping children from poor and/or deprived backgrounds. He founded his first home for children in 1867, and it grew into a national charity, which still works hard for children and campaigns for children's rights today. Their history is chequered however, and by the late 19th century Barnardos participated in a child migration program run by the British government of the day, called the 'British Home Children' scheme. In this program British children were sent away from orphanages and from living in poverty with their families, to what were then considered British colonies. Children were sent to South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Canada from the late 1900s, to start new lives. It was thought that children from impoverished homes, or orphaned children, would do better in these new countries, than in the workhouses and orphanages, etc. As mentioned some children were taken from their impoverished families, who were under the impression that their children would be returned to them, when their circumstances had improved. However well intentioned the British Home Children scheme was, it was not a success for many children who arrived in a country far from home, without the child protection measures we might expect today, and who were more often than not considered as indentured servants, than adopted children and members of the family.

Thomas John Barnardo (1845 - 1905)

It seems that William Arthur Meaden, arrived in North America at Portland, Maine in 1909. From Maine he travelled to the new Dr Barnardos home, at 50-52 Peter Street, Toronto, Ontario, where he waited to be moved on to what was to be his permanent home. This home only opened in 1909; a replacement for the reception home for Dr Barnardos British Home Children, at Farley Street, Toronto, ON. 

British Home Children arriving in Canada, by ship.

Most children did not stay in the reception home for long. Shortly after landing in Toronto William left for Manitoba, a prairie province of Canada. At this time Manitoba was making its name as a global leader in wheat production. Farming was big business and cheap labour was always wanted by greedy farmers desirous of widening their margins, so as to better line their pockets. The British Home Children scheme created an opportunity for them to do just that, and William was one of their victims. 

This cartoon from the Grain Growers of Canada, 1915, speaks to the sense that the poor farmers of the prairie provinces do all the hard work, while the fat cats in Ontario and Quebec (namely Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal) just sit back on their laurels and gobble it all up.

At the age of 10, William Arthur Meaden, fresh from the trauma of having witnessed his mother's murder and the suicide of her killer, arrived in a foreign land far away from his home country. He was not adopted as such, but was taken in by them as an indentured servant by a farming family, who treated him very poorly. He was not allowed to go to school, which was against the provincial policy of the time. William was forced to work the land until his indenture came to an end, which would have been around the age of 18. In the Canadian Census of 1921 William was 22 years old, and was working as a farm labourer, in Lisgar, Manitoba. 

During the days of the 1930s depression William worked in both Manitoban and Saskatchewan camps as a cook. Its not clear what kind of camps these were, but during the '30s the Saskatchewan government tried to help unemployed people in the cities, and rural farmers, by transporting large parties of workers by rail, out to the farmlands from the cities. There workers would experience long hard work days, and poor food and living conditions. During his time in Saskatechewan William lived in a shack that was no better than a basic garden shed, and cooked, perhaps for workers at these such camps.

The shack; home to William Meaden, November 1930

Eventually in 1940 William joined the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve, where he worked as a cook, on the HMCS Chippewa and later the HCMS Naden. During his time in the navy he reached the rank of Able Seaman. William met and married a Saskatchewan woman named Margaret Main, in Victoria, BC and he was discharged from the navy in 1945. 

William Meaden, in naval uniform, 1941

William lived for a time in British Colombia with a long time friend Albert Murriel, but returned to Manitoba where he lived in Winnipeg, until his death in 1981. William and Margaret had 5 children together, and were ultimately grandparents to a total of 10 grandchildren. 

I was so relieved to find that William was able to find, with his family and friends, what sounds like a happy, peaceful life, after all the trauma he had endured as a direct result of Charles Vinall's actions. But I was also so very sad that  one of my ancestors had caused him so much harm; harm and trauma that could have very easily echoed through the lives of further generations of William's family. William Arthur Meaden died at the age of 82, in June 1981, in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

William Arthur Meaden, 1899 - 1981

While researching this story I have made contact with some of the descendants of Frederick Meaden, and William Arthur Meaden. It's been a strange kind of connection, considering how brutally my 2x great granduncle killed their ancestor, and changed the life of another in such a disastrous way. I would have liked to have ended this article with some statistics to show how violence against women has decreased over time. Unfortunately, in February of this year, almost 116 years after Charles Vinall pulled that trigger, the UK declared violence against women a 'national threat'. Reem Alsalem, the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls reported that, 'A woman is killed by a man every three days in the UK, and one in four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime.' Meanwhile, Renfrew County, Ontario recently declared intimate partner violence an epidemic. Whilst it seems that not much has changed, in regards to the safety of women in the past century, I'm hopeful that my 2x great grandniece will read this story one day, and wonder how such brutality was ever imagined.

This blog piece was written with the help of research by John Rogers, and with information about William Arthur Meaden's life made available to me by Tim Langevin, one of his descendants. Many thanks to both for their assistance, and information. A large part of the information about the crime committed by Charles Vinall was obtained from the article about the inquest, published in the Wiltshire Advertiser, on the 9th April, 1908.

#Edgill

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Artillery_Barracks,_Woolwich

https://www.barnardos.org.uk/who-we-are

https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/02/no-time-lose-uk-declares-violence-against-women-national-threat-un-expert

https://www.countyofrenfrew.on.ca/en/news/renfrew-county-declares-intimate-partner-violence-an-epidemic.aspx

https://esask.uregina.ca/entry/farm_labourers.html

https://www.bradfordonavonmuseum.co.uk/old-photos-holt#gallery-8

End of the Line; The Mystery Letter

A while back, in my piece about nicknames, I mentioned a mysterious letter I found, almost a year ago to the day, in a folder full of paperwork and photos. The letter was dated 18th May 1922, and apparently came from a person by the name of Lilly, who lived in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. My mother and I were unfamiliar with most of the names mentioned in the letter, and were oblivious as to who the recipient 'little scotch mother' was. I made it my mission to find out, and thus began the activity of unravelling the mystery only to find quite a knot in this branch of the family.

The letter, as it turned out, was from an Henriette Svenningsen, who was born in Denmark in 1879, to Ove and Julia Svenningsen. Sometime between 1895 and 1900, as a teen or young adult, Henriette and her family moved to the USA, and settled in Boston, MA. On the 20th September 1902 she married Liston Clark Newell, the younger brother of my great grandfather, George Edward Newell (aka Ted). 

Liston, like so many of that part of my family, including father Frederick, and brother George/Ted, was a mariner. He had trained with the British Merchant Navy, and had sailed over to the USA, from his home in Edinburgh, where there was extended family on his father Frederick's side (Frederick was from Framingham, MA). Liston worked on the Boston, MA to Yarmouth, NS steamer service, for the Yarmouth Steam Ship Company, and they lived in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, where they raised their daughter Julia. Julia was born in Boston, MA before her parents were married, in 1900. I have often wondered at this, as such a thing would have been quite scandalous for people of their class in that era. Perhaps that is one of the reasons for their move to Nova Scotia; to escape the gossips. Alas, the women of this family were fated to dole out gossip in large amounts, to the small town of Yarmouth, NS.

As the Great War started in 1914, Liston switched from merchant navy to Royal Navy, and was given the rank of chief engineer. In the October of 1915 Liston was assigned to a ship named SS Dunelm, which was harboured in Halifax. The ship was take a cargo of scrap metal to the UK; the scrap would be useful to the war effort and was to be used to make weapons and ammunition. SS Dunelm was not designed for ocean travel, and was meant for use on lakes and rivers. Nevertheless, it was loaded up; it has been suggested, possibly with more cargo than was safe. The ship left Halifax in early October 1915, and was last sighted off the coast of Newfoundland on the 17th October. It is not known what happened to the steamship. German U Boats were not active in that part of the ocean at the time, so it's unlikely that it was torpedoed by the enemy. No icebergs were sighted at that time either. It is thought that the overloaded ship, that was not designed for ocean travel, hit poor weather, and the weight of the cargo shifted, causing it to overturn. No crew or wreckage was ever found. 

Liston C Newell is remembered at the Halifax Memorial, where his name can be found on Panel 3.

The letter from Henriette (aka Lilly) is to her mother in law, Liston's mother; Christina Hall Newell (aka Little Scotch Mother). In the letter Lilly talks about the death of Liston, and how hard life was for her and her daughter, who she names as 'Mussa'. It seems that this nickname might spring from the Danish word 'mus' meaning mouse. Perhaps Julia was a quiet, timid child, or maybe she had mousy brown hair.

Later in the letter, Lilly explains how she has remarried, this time to a doctor, who also signs the letter, with the name 'A R Campbell'. On researching their marriage I discovered that this doctor's full name was Alexander Rae Campbell. He was born in Noel, Hants County, NS in 1888, to presbyterian minister, Alex, and Bessie Campbell. Alexander Rae Campbell (aka Doc) was one of three sons, one of whom was a minister, like their father. Lilly was very proud of her marriage to this high status professional 'Doc', but this union was not to last. It seemed like an unlikely union. At the time of their marriage Lilly was 42, and Doc was 33. Sometime between 1922 and 1927 Lilly and Doc divorced, and (I have to say I was shocked to discover this) Doc married the sweet little Mussa on the 24th March 1927. That's right! Julia Newell married her mother's ex-husband!

Alexander Rae Campbell is pictured here on the right, with his parents and brothers.

What is somewhat more surprising is that the three of them continued to live together in the same house. In the 1931 Census of Canada the relatively newly married couple, Alexander Rae and Julia Theodora Campbell were living at 90 Parade Street, Yarmouth, NS with Lily Henrietta Newell (who had reverted to using the married name of her first husband, Liston) as the head of the household. Lily Henrietta was recorded as 'divorced' while her ex-husband (now recorded as her son-in-law) was recorded as married. The house in which the 3 of them were living had 20 rooms, I had at first thought that perhaps this made it easier for them to maintain a distance without creating too much tension. In my exploration of this branch of the family I found a Yarmouth native who had known Julia and her mother. They had lived nearby and visited with Julia in her later years. Julia had apparently admitted that the house, being so very big, was very expensive to heat, and so the three of them lived most of the year in just the kitchen, where the heat could be maintained without costing too much money.

The home on Parade Street, where Lily, Mussa, and Doc lived is now home to the Yarmouth Lions Club.

However fraught their union might have been at the start, 'Doc' and 'Mussa' lived an apparently happy life together, and went on to have two sons; Alexander Newell Campbell (known to his family and friends as 'Sandy'), and Peter Albert Campbell. 'Doc'  died in 1940, at the age of 51. He was buried at Castle Hill Cemetery, in Pictou, NS in the spring of 1940. 

Obituary for 'Doc' who was a recipient of the Military Cross for his work in WWI.

Julia continued to live at Parade Street, Yarmouth, NS until her death in 1962. She was buried at Yarmouth Mountain Cemetery, Yarmouth, NS. It's not clear to me where or when Lily/Henriette died. She was living with Julia up until at least 1953, when they were both in the electoral register at the same address, and both using the last name 'Campbell'. For a moment, in my research, I thought perhaps that Lily had changed her names to Theodora Newell, using her daughter's middle name, and her first married name. I kept turning up records for a Mrs Theodora Newell, widow, from Atwood's Brook, a municipality of NS, about an hour south of Yarmouth. On closer inspection, however, it seems unlikely; the family name 'Newell' was quite common in that part of the principality, and Theodora was a relatively common name for the age.

Whilst Julia's grave gives her birth date as 1904, other documents suggest her birth was closer to 1900/01. No reliable birth record has yet been found.

When I first discovered that Julia and Alexander had children, who would have been cousins to my mother, I was a little excited. We've been living in Canada now, for about 18 years and all our family are in the UK and mainland Europe. If Sandy and Peter had children I might have distant relatives in this new world; how fun would that be!?! Alas, and alackaday- it was not to be so.

I have not been able to find any reliable life records for Sandy, but the obituary for Peter Albert Campbell stated that he 'was the last surviving member of his immediate family.' This suggests to me that Sandy had passed away without issue too, meaning that, for this branch of the family, it is the end of the line.

Peter Albert Campbell's obituary.

Or is it? Today, while tidying up the last few bits for this blog I discovered a tree on Ancestry, that I'd never seen before. It includes 'Sandy', Peter, and their parents, Julia and Alexander. It also includes a spouse, and two children, all of whom are still living, and so details are unavailable to me. I have messaged the tree owner, and wait with curiosity! Maybe I do have some living Canadian cousins, after all!

And that is where this story ends, or does it?

To see the letter in full, and to read my research notes about it, and the people written about, please follow this link.

#Newell

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https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=112166