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!