A Rose by any other name...

I wasn’t sure what to write about for this week’s prompt “Flowers.”  I have no prominent stories about ancestors with a flower name, or who may have owned a flower shop, or loved to garden.  So, I decided to pick a female ancestor with a flower name and do a profile on that person. 

It’s probably not a shock that the most common flowers in my tree are roses, lilies, and violets. There is also a scattering of myrtle, daisy, heather, and ivy with a few floras and a bella. I found several versions of rose including Rose, Rosamund, Rosemary, Rosena, Rosalie, and Rosa a few variations of lily - Lily, Lilly, Lillian, and Lillias.  Most of the others are spelled the same as the flower and in one instance I have a Viola that I grouped in with violets.  My Woodman/Wood family represent half of the flower names in my tree and most of those were some forms of Rose.  There are two instances of Ivy, and both are my paternal grandmothers: Ivy Irene Pearce (biological) and Myrtle Ivy Oikle. 

Rose Ellen Holder (Pearce)

Photo shared on Ancestry by D Rhymer

I decided to profile my paternal great-grandmother Rose Ellen Holder (Pearce).  This line is new in my research and thankfully, I’ve learned a bit about the family from my ‘new’ siblings and cousins to help me get started on my journey.

Rose Ellen Holder was the daughter of Stephen Holder and Mary Jane Mosely.  She was born in Stedham, Sussex, England on April 19, 1874, and baptized there on June 21, 1874.  Her baptism record indicates her first name is Rosa and this is also supported on the 1881 Census of England.  She is living with her father, a “Housemaker,” older brother Stephen age 9, and her two younger sisters, Cathleen, and Edith Jane.  There is a notation that her mother is “away from home attending sick Aunt in Stedham”

1881 Census record from Ancestry

I am still trying to source their marriage date.  I found an index record for Philip Charles Pearce that indicates he married sometime between April and June 1898.  On the 1911 Census of England and Wales it says the duration of marriage is 12 years. The census was done on April 2, 1911 and I think it is safe to assume that their 13^th anniversary was coming soon.  On the 1911 census the head of the family signed the page of family details so I am confident that the information is correct.  It also looks like the handwriting of the family details is the same as Philips signature and I suspect he completed the questions himself.

1911 Census Record from Ancestry

Together they had 11 children.  Two died very young, Leonard Stephen (b: 4 Oct 1901 d: 19 May 1903) and Edith Rose (b: 6 Dec 1905 d: 4 Apr 1906) and they lost their eldest son Phillip Alexander on 11 Jul 1917 at the age of 18, to diphtheria while he was serving in the British Royal Navy in WW1.  Rose Ellen is listed as the next of kin on his Pension Record and it was she that was the “relative notified” of his death. 

Both of the above images from Fold3

Rose Ellen, Philip and five of their children appear in the 1921 Census of England residing in the Parish of Martyr Worthy, Regional District of Winchester in the County of Hampshire. This is the last census they appear on in England.

Image from Google search images

On Friday, April 2, 1926, Rose Ellen and her husband boarded the Cunard ship Andania with their five youngest children.  At the time Cunard was offering “Special Fares for Approved Settlers.”  I suspect this term may be referring to settlers approved under the Empire Settlement Act of 1922 which was an agreement between the British government and several commonwealth countries to facilitate the resettlement of agriculturalists, farm labourers, domestics, and juvenile immigrants.  Reduced transportation fares, agricultural training and financial aid was offered as well as payment plans to help purchase farms. On the passenger list for the Andania the occupation given for Philip, Edward, and Alfred is Farming.  

Clip from The Western Daily Press (Bristol, Avon, England) 

Date: 24 Mar 1926

Source: Newspapers.com

                                        Passenger List from Ancestry

They arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia on 11 April 1926 with $250.  From Halifax they were heading to the Govt. Offices in Drayton, Ontario, travelling inland on CN Rail.  Each entry is stamped LANDED Immigrant.  And so began their life in Canada.  

I did find a fun story about the Anadania on the day they arrived about the gangway falling away early.  I guess they are lucky they had already disembarked!

 

Clipped from The Evening Mail newspaper, Halifax  

Date: 12 Apr 1926

Source: Newspapers.com 

I’m still learning about Rose Ellen and her family.  I know they settled around Inverary, Ontario.  On their daughter Ivy Irene’s marriage record her occupation is “Farmers Daughter” and her groom; Ronald Alfred Gordon is a “Farmer.”  I’ve been told that they met when he was working on her father’s farm.

I don’t have an exact date or record for Rose Ellen’s death.  I know it was after 1950 because I have a picture of Rose from that year.  Some family tree hints give November 1957, but none have sources.  That will be something new to disover as I continue to learn about this branch of my family tree. 

Rose Ellen Holder, 1950

   Photo shared on Ancestry by D Rhymer

Family Tree Research, Part 1 - Lessons Learned

Genealogy is a trend showing that many of us want to know from who and from where we came.  For me it started after I had children and I realized I didn’t know a lot about my ancestors to share with them.  I started researching on my dad’s side (Davis/Oikle) and at various times over the past 20+ years I have researched my mom’s (Woodman/Wood) family and Dean’s mother (Leblanc/Brow) and fathers (Campbell/Waller) roots.  I have learned a lot and my research techniques are getting better. 

To record my research, I primarily use Family Tree Maker (FTM) software on my personal computer and Ancestry online.  I have recently started on FamilySearch which is an online database of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  Both online databases give the benefit of billions of online historical records to search for and confirm our ancestors.

I like FTM because it allows me to add a lot of personal and research notes and my theories easily for a person.  Occasionally when I hit a brick wall in my research, I may add a new name from Ancestry hints to see if any records can be found that ties that individual to the branch of the tree I’m researching.  When I do this, I keep the “true” or “proven” information on FTM so I can easily correct Ancestry if my fishing expedition doesn’t connect that person to my ancestor.

Today I am writing about some things I’ve learned along the way.  Perhaps some of my lessons learned will help anyone starting out in their research.

Some of the most important lessons I’ve learned are:

    Always cite your sources and source documents.  Many a time I had typed information in the research notes for a person, only to later question myself and realize I couldn’t find the source again.  It can take hours and hours of time to find a source document that confirms family data and stories.  Don’t dismiss taking the time to document where it came from.  This has become especially annoying as I refresh my memory on parts of the tree that I have not focused on in a long time and want to feature in this blog. I don’t like to feature family member(s) in my posts without ensuring I have my facts straight. 

    Never take a hint from another person’s family tree without verifying it with source documents.  I have discovered a lot of information in other trees that I couldn’t confirm.  Whenever I get hints on Ancestry, I ignore Family Tree hints unless I’ve come to an absolute brick wall.  Even then, before I accept another’s family tree info, I check their sources to see if they have valid ones to tie that person to my ancestor. 

    Researching historical records is challenging and time-consuming.  Often as you move back in history you need to analyze documents and generate a theory if the record is for your ancestor.  People often use Ancestry like a placeholder for a name they suspect is their ancestor.  If their tree is public and you search it and accept the hint at face value, you may be accepting the wrong information.  When that person changes the information because they can't substantiate a fact, you don’t get a “that information has changed” notification for you to correct your tree.

   We often take other family tree hints based on names and places matching information we have.  But we should also look at the dates involved with that person.  I remember early on doing this to add what I thought was my great-great grandmother on my Ancestry tree. When I typed the information on FTM I got an error message saying something to the effect that “based on this mother’s birthdate she was not of childbearing age.”  I knew that I was adding the mother of my great grandparent, so she had to have given birth to a child. Obviously, this gave me pause and when I scrutinized the record, I figured out that this woman was the wife of one of my great-great grandmothers sons.  He was named after his father and just happened to marry a woman with the same first name as his mother

       Focus on one branch of a family line at a time.  In the beginning it is fascinating to start adding names to grow your family tree.  It is fun and exciting to be able to see your ancestors from way back when, but by splitting up your attention you may be accepting information that cannot be substantiated by fact.  When I started, I was excited to build all my Davis/Oikle ancestry at the same time.  When I slowed down and stuck to one line of family at a time, it allowed me to “connect-the-dots” better because I allowed myself time to focus on the details in a record that often led to other records and facts. 

Meme courtesy of tmgenealogy.com

    Consider the Source. A source document is most correct if it was created at the time or near the time of the event.  Understanding who gave the information is also important. Also, look at the actual record, not just the transcribed facts because sometimes the transcription can have errors.

I have the record of the marriage of George Wood and Eliza King my 2^nd great-grandparents.  George’s parents’ names are William & Annie J Wood.  This information was most likely given by George and I feel it is fairly reliable that the information is correct. However, the individual writing the record wrote Hannah as Annie, which is another problem with some historical records.  Things were written as they sounded, not always as they were spelled.

Source: Ontario, Canada Marriages, 1801-1928

Ancestry.com and Genealogical Research Library (Brampton, Ontario, Canada)

In contrast, I have a death record for George’s father William, b: 1830 d: 1916, that shows Williams father’s name is John.  The informant for this information is George’s younger brother Gilbert b: 1871 d: 1953.  All other records I have indicate that William’s father’s name was also William, b: 1789 d: 1878.  I do have to consider that the death record may be correct, but also given that the information was given by a relative who would not have known much of William (senior) that it could be wrong.  The point being to keep an open mind and compare the sources you find with each other for consistency to help you decide which is correct.

Source: Ontario, Canada Deaths, 1869-1936 and Deaths Overseas, 1939-1947

Ancestry.com and Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario,  Canada

Another thing I have learned is that Census records are often our first glimpse into siblings of our ancestor and places they lived.  Often, we judge the year the person was born by the age given on a census record.  I’ve learned a few things about census records that have helped my research:

• The census information was often given to the enumerator by whoever answered the door, not always the person with the most accurate information.
• Spelling of names was not always correct.  They were spelled as they sounded and often used short forms such as Eliza or Liza for Elizabeth.
• Ages on census records are often close to the year the ancestor was born but may be out by a few years if the person at the door wasn’t the individual or the parent.
• Some census ask Age at Last Birthday and others Age at Next Birthday, it can have influence in what year you calculate as the birth year.
• Google the details of a census such as when in the census year it was done.  You may think a family on the census can’t be yours because your grandfather was born in that year and is not on the census.  It may be that he wasn’t born until after the month the census was done.

If you can’t find a record, there may not be one.  It is a good idea to learn about what records were being kept during your ancestor’s life.  Google is very useful for questions like “when did Ontario start recording births”.  Chances are you might be trying to find a birth record for someone born before the government was registering births.  You may need to look to other sources like church or town records, family bibles, land records, and wills.  If you’re lucky you may connect with a distant cousin who has firsthand knowledge of information like I have for some of my family tree mysteries.

Woman of the Week - Sophia (Munroe) Davis

March is Women's History Month.  What better time to write about our female ancestors! It is also the theme for this month's writing prompts so I will be visiting the ladies in the line for interesting stories to share. This week I start with Sophia Davis (nee Munroe).

My great-grandmother Sophia is a character who has fascinated me. She is somewhat of a mystery as I haven’t confirmed information on her ancestry. The Nova Scotia Archives marriage record lists her parents as James and Sophia and that her father was a carpenter and that is as far as I’ve gotten.

Why I find Sophia interesting, is the life she led. I have come to discover that she married very young, didn’t put up with unfaithful men, and mothered 15 children with 3 different men. Her history started an interesting journey that took years to figure out and eventually DNA testing to prove. So here it is…the life and times of Sophia Munroe.

Sophia was born around 1870 and was a teenager in the late 1800’s while Shelburne was flourishing with ship building. There were many skilled craftsmen and sailors in the area. Sophia’s father was a carpenter, so I think he was probably  working on the ships.

She met and married a young sailor, Richard Calvin Davis, who was about 5 years older than she. I tend to romanticize the relationship. Imagining a handsome young sailor and a smitten 18-year-old girl giddy with the attention he paid her. Richard and Sophia were married on May 10, 1888 and there first son, William, was born in July of that year.

In 1888 it was immoral to have had a pre-marital sexual relationship and I suppose it was a “shotgun” wedding which may explain why the marriage was doomed. I can’t honestly say that they did not love one another in the beginning, but the union only lasted five years. Apparently she caught him cheating on her while she was pregnant with their 5^th son Ernest born in 1893. An elder relation, Rose, tells a story that Sophia left Richard after he was caught cheating and as Rose put it, “Sophia chose someone who would be faithful to her, namely Will Dering, a black man from the West Indies.” 

In 1894, she was in a relationship with Will, and they were together 20 years give or take, and had 9 children. My grandfather, Arthur, was the first of these children, born December 2, 1894. This was confusing to me in my early research because I had a birth record indicating the Richard was his father. Through genealogy message groups I connected with a distant cousin who lives in Shelburne, and she explained that Will was Arthur’s father. She sent me information on the relationships to help me figure it out. I later met her on a trip to Shelburne and was shown pictures of family there. I had no doubt it was true. There were a lot of similarities in appearance to my siblings and cousins at home. A few years ago, my brother took the Ancestry DNA test, and it was proven that Will Dering is our great grandfather.

Sophia and Richard never formally divorced. Divorce itself was extremely uncommon but not unheard of, especially in Nova Scotia, one of 3 provinces to have divorce courts at the time. Adultery was virtually the only basis for divorce, but women had to prove adultery and some other form of wrongdoing to get one.

A comparison of census reports is interesting in piecing together Will and Sophia’s family.

• ·   On the 1901 census they were still indicating the colour of an individual. On this census Will is the head of the household and Sophia a widowed lodger. His father, sister, and brother also live with them. There are 7 children living with them under the Davis surname. William, George, and Calvin have “W” beside their names. Ernest, Arthur, Mary, and Evelina have “B” beside their names.
• ·   On the 1911 census Sophia indicates her marital status as “widow” and Will is “single”. There are six children listed under the Davis surname. They are William, George, Calvin, Ernest, Arthur, and Eliza and not one of them has a “relationship to the Head” in this case Will, on the form. There are five children under the Dering surname. They are John, Walter, Flossie, Russel, and Olive and  all children of Will.
• ·   On the 1921 census Sophia is now living with a man 7 years younger than her, James Wilson. She is no longer claiming to be a widow but is listed as being single and a lodger. Grandpa Arthur is living with her along with 3 of her other children with Will – John, Russell, and Olive.

I don’t have information about her life with James.

Sophia lived until the age of 79 and she passed away at Roseway Hospital in Shelburne, Nova Scotia. She is buried in the Pine Grove Cemetery there.

Sophia seems to me to be such a character. First, marrying to conform to social pressure and avoid stigma then invite it as she began an unmarried, interracial relationship. Finally, her third relationship is not only interracial, but she has added the “older woman” stigma herself.

I respect her for following her heart. She left a cheating husband. She didn’t fear prejudices about interracial couples. She allowed herself to enjoy a relationship with a younger man.

Cheers to you Sophia!