William Gibson Stevenson aka Red Rob

William Gibson Stevenson was born on 21 June 1848 at Kirkbean, Kirkcudbright his parents were James Stevenson a ploughman and Jane/Jean McNaught

I can’t remember not knowing about my Great Great Grandfather who was known as Red Rob, I was told he was over 6ft tall and had red hair and was a policeman at Gretna Green. I also learnt that he married three times and each of the wives had children by him. Apart from my Great Grandmother his offspring were all boys and each of them married more than once and had children by more than one of their wives. Needless to say I couldn’t retain the sons, wives and various offspring in my head.

Luckily for me my Grandmother had recorded the details of her husband’s grandfather and his wives and offspring with only a few question marks here and there. With the help of records and family members I have managed to fill out the details even more.

Going back to Grandma, it occurred to me to ask her if she had ever met Red Rob, and she had. Apparently she commented on what a nice day it was and he replied, “Aye, bonny!”

I asked my Great Aunt Molly, my Grandfather’s youngest sister if she remembered Red Rob. She said that he had told her off because she had threatened to stab older sister Lena “in the heart with a carrot”. He said it was “a terrible thing to say to your sister”, her defence was that “Lena is always saying it to me”.

So what else do I know of Red Rob apart from his weather descriptions and disapproval of sibling carrot stabbing?

I know his name was actually William Gibson Stevenson and he was apparently known as Red Rob because of his hair colour and the Rob was because he was a policeman or bobbie, it doesn’t make much sense, perhaps it was just alliteration.

I don’t know why his middle name was Gibson. I can’t find any Gibsons among his ancestors so it seems most likely that the name came from a family friend or godparent. His sister was called Janet Blount Stevenson for probably similar reasons.

Red Rob was born

I shall refer to him by his given name of William from now on.

William Gibson Stevenson was born on June 21, 1848, in Kirkbean, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland, to Jane or Jean McNaught, age 29, and James Stevenson, age 33. William was baptised at Kirkbean a week after his birth on 28th June 1848. He was the middle child of eleven children, most of whom survived to adulthood. Two of his brothers like William were employed by the police; older brother John rising to the rank of inspector at Kirkbean and younger brother David joining the police across the border in Cumberland. William was to become a constable at Gretna. 

William, his parents, six older siblings and younger sister Jane are living at Fallonguhern cottage, Kirkbean in 1851, father James is a ploughman.

Ten years later, the family are living in Roadside, Kirkbean and father James is described as a farm servant. This must be a different role to ploughman as that is now the recorded occupation of William’s eldest brother John who is now aged 20, older sister Janet 14 is simply described as living at home, presumably helping round the house, which may be just as well as William now has five younger siblings.

The 1861 census is the last one recorded with William living in the family home because in 1868, aged just 20, William married 18 year old Mary Hyslop. The marriage took place in Tinwald, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, on December 4th.

The marriage was a short one as Mary died a year and a half later, she had just turned 20 and had been a mother for a week. I always understood that she died in childbirth, but her death certificate shows that she in fact died from puerperal peritinitis an infection caused by giving birth and the cause of death of many women before the 20th century. Rates of death went down when the importance of hygiene (chiefly simple hand washing by doctors) was recognized and further still with the introduction of antibiotics.

It seems that this manner of death was described as “death in childbirth”, although “death from childbirth “ would be more accurate. The mother of Henry VIII, Elizabeth of York and Henry’s favourite wife Jane Seymour died as a result of this infection. It also perhaps more surprisingly took the life of household management expert Mrs Beeton.

I can only imagine how the young William would have felt at this time, the joy of a new baby obliterated by seeing his young wife suffer and die. I do know that he was so concerned when his daughter had her first child that he insisted that she came “hame” to give birth and so my Great Aunt Ginny was born in the police house at Gretna Green.

Mary’s headstone in Kirkbean cemetery describes her as the “beloved wife of Wm Stevenson”.

In the 1871 baby Mary, now nine months old, is living with her maternal grandparents, Flora Swan and Andrew Hyslop, her nine year old aunt Jessie makes the fourth member of this little family.

William is boarding in Dumfries and his occupation is given as police constable, he would clearly have to work to support his young daughter.

Things changed quickly over the next few years, grandmother Flora died in 1872 and Andrew can be found doing farm work for other families in the next two censuses. Aunt Jessie is next found in Canada working as a nurse. So how did William cope with the care of his young daughter?

William married Jane Kitchen on October 13, 1874. The couple quickly expanded the family. James D was born on January 20, 1875 followed by son Thomas Kitchin on October 14, 1877, in Penpont, Dumfries-shire, and then daughter Jane Ann arrived in 1881 but lived only three months. Her sad and uninformative cause of death is given as “debility from birth”.

All four children (including Mary) can be found living with William and Jane in the 1881 census in Springfield Village, Gretna.

William’s marriage to Jane Kitchen was to last nine years ending with her death from one day epilepsy and eight hour lung congestion. William was once again a widower with a young family to care for, I expect Mary aged 14 was probably kept busy with her younger brothers, but that is pure guesswork.

Just two years later William Gibson Stevenson married another Jane, maybe a family trait as his son Thomas married two Dorises! His third wife was Jane Coltart they married in Gretna, on 2 November 1886. A son Andrew Coltart was born on 13 August 1890 again in Gretna.

Over the next decade William’s efforts to keep law and order in the Gretna area are regularly reported in the newspaper. He seems to come off worse in some of his confrontations with the less law-abiding, but he also appears dedicated and tenacious (but this could be my imagination).

21 Nov 1890 Annandale Observer

Dumfries Sheriff Court. Poaching Prosecution.

Constable Stevenson, stationed at Gretna, stated he had been on duty near the farm of Nutberry on the date referred to… He took possession of the bag, but accused took the bag from him again by force.

22 Nov 1890 Dumfries and Galloway Standard

Defiant poachers

Constable Stevenson, Gretna, stated the he met the accuse on the public road near Nutberry farm… Witness seized the bag, but Clark and Baxter took it from him by force.

21st October 1891 Annandale Herald and Moffat News

Superintendent McIntosh deposed that on the morning of 3rd September he and Constable Stevenson met accused on the public road near Broats…

Apprehension of an alleged horse stealer

21st October 1891 Eskdale & Liddesdale Observer

On Thursday Harrison Armstrong, a butcher, was apprehended by Constable Stevenson, at Gretna, on a charge of horse stealing in the Barnard Castle division of 20th September last. He was handed over to the Durham police and removed thither on Friday. Accused who is believed to hail from the English side of the border, but whose father recently resided at Gretna, was liberated in May last after having undergone fifteen months’ imprisonment in Carlisle Jail for sheep stealing. Curiously enough it was the same Constable who apprehended Armstrong on the previous occasion.

It seems that 1891 was a busy year for William dealing with all that animal related crime. On the home front he can be found living with third wife Jane, 13 year old Thomas Kitchen and new addition to the family seven-month old Andrew. Daughter Mary was working in Carlisle and son James was apprenticed to a shoemaker at Half Morton.

11 Aug 1894 Dumfries and Galloway Courier and Herald

Assaulting a Constable

26 Sep 1896 Dumfries and Galloway Courier

… James Larkin, labourer, Gretna, was fined 21s, with the option of thirty days’ imprisonment, for assaulting Constable Stevenson.

Constable William Stevenson knocked down

… and further with assaulting Constable William Stevenson by tripping him and knocking him down while in the execution of his duty.

13 Jan 1897 Annandale Herald and Moffat News

Effusion of blood on the public road

In the Sheriff Court, Dumfries, on Thursday, Elliot Wilkinson, labourer, residing at Headless Cross, Gretna, was charged with having assaulted Constable William Stevenson to the effusion of blood, on the public road at Gretna, on 1st January.

It is easy to imagine a policeman at Gretna Green at the turn of the century witnessing a lot of weddings and apprehending the odd petty thief. The newspaper reports that the actuality was much tougher than that and very much based on rural crime. It is easy to see how William went from ploughman to policeman to farmer. A story that didn’t reach the newspapers is recounted in my blog post about Mary Stevenson, when William was attacked by a prisoner in his own home.

After all this excitement it seems William retired from the police force because by the 1901 census he is living with just wife Jane and son Andrew and his occupation is described as retired police constable. They are living in Raggiewhat, Dryfesdale.

William kept out of the newspapers in his retirement and appears in two further census records. In 1911 he is living with Jane and Andrew (aged 20 a farm manager) at Gallhills, Kirkpatrick Fleming, William is described as a farmer (retired police constable). By 1921 the family of three are all living at Hillhead, Half Morton.

William Gibson Stevenson died on April 13, 1925, in Half Morton, when he was 76 years old, the death certificate records arterial sclerosis as cause of death, witnessed by son Andrew. William is buried in Gretna Green New Cemetery, I have no image of his grave.

The photographs with young Andrew were taken in 1905 when he was 14 years old.

 

Frances Hiden/Smith

The 1900 census records that Elizabeth had five children and that two are still living, so who is the other child besides Rachel still alive in 1900?

Given that the surname Hiden seems to fall foul of transcription errors, a marriage of a Frances Elizabeth Haten to a Robert J Smith in Cook County, Illinois seemed a possibility. This possibility turned to probability when a scan of the census showed Frances (Fanny) and Robert living next door to Rachel and Elizabeth in Pine Street, Topeka in 1900. Interestingly Frances was born in the USA in 1855 according to this census and as her maiden name was Hiden not Twigger, does this mean her father Thomas travelled to the USA as well?

Frances and Robert had no family but lived to a good age. This is Frances’s rather sad little obituary.

Topeka State Journal, Thursday Evening, February 28, 1935, page 7:
Mrs. Robert Smith Dead
Came to Topeka From Chicago Sixty Years Ago
Blind, penniless, widowed and without known relatives, Mrs. Robert Smith, 80, died this morning at the Methodist Home for the Aged.

She was born in Chicago September 14, 1854, and came to Topeka in 1875, following her marriage to Robert Smith. Mrs. Smith entered the Methodist Home in January 1932, following the death of her husband. She had been befriended by several welfare organizations thru the efforts of Tom Fullerton, for whom Mr. Smith had worked for many years.  

Funeral services will be at the Sanders-McMichael funeral home Friday afternoon at 2:30 o’clock. Burial will be in Mount Auburn cemetery.

 

Mary Ann Halden/West

Mary Ann Halden is the second daughter of Edward Halden and Jemima Eaton, this is unclear from the rounding to the nearest five years of the 1841 census which puts her and sister Eliza as both aged 20. I had wondered if they may have been twins but subsequent censuses in the USA show Mary Ann to be the younger sibling.

Mary seems to have travelled to the USA with her parents as she is present on the 1851 census with her mother Jemima, brother Edward (occupation butcher) and sister Rachel.

To find out what happened to Mary, I had to backtrack. Remember the earlier newspaper cutting about Minnie West visiting her Aunt, Mrs Twigger? Further investigation showed that Minnie was the daughter of Mary West and that she went on to marry a Luther Lee Allen. Mary West was of English birth and the right age to be Mary Halden.

A marriage of a Mary Holden to John M West in Chicago 6th September 1853 is that of Mary. The only census where I have found Mary, John and daughter Minnie together is Topeka 1875. John was twenty years older than Mary, also born in England and a cattle merchant. In 1879 he met a horrible death, gored to death by a bull.

In 1880 we next find Mary aged 50, described as a wife rather than a widow and living with 18 year old Minnie who is “at school”.

The 1888 Topeka City Directory lists Mary as a widow, Minnie is also listed, living at the same address.

The most significant address for Mary is in the 1900 census where she is living with Minnie and Minnie’s husband Luther Lee Allen (who is much closer to Mary in age), they are living on Pine Street, Topeka, on the same census page and presumably only several doors down from the houses of sister Elizabeth and her daughter Frances. Sadly this record shows that Mary had four children but that only one survived, it also says she came to the USA in 1855 which doesn’t fit with her record in the 1850 census. Mary seemed to lose five years from her age as time progressed whether this was deliberate or accidental, I have no idea. Minnie aged 28, has been married for five years but has had no children.

Mary died aged 85 in 1911 (although her baptism implies she was 91), there was clearly some strength in those Halden genes.

Mary A. West, aged 85, died yesterday at her home at 1512 [North] Quincy street of old age. The funeral will be held Friday morning from Conwell’s undertaking rooms at 10 o’clock. Burial in Topeka cemetery.
—Topeka State Journal (Topeka, KS), April 13, 1911, 7:3. Newspapers.com

So what became of Mary’s daughter Minnie? The answer is that I don’t know, her husband Luther Lee Allen died in 1911 although there is some controversy over where he is buried, Minnie may have married again but I can find no record of it and she would be unlikely to have children by this age, so it seems the line dies out, unless runaway brother Edward Halden wasn’t eaten by wolves and had some descendants.

And as for Edward…

 

Edward Halden junior – the runaway

The tale of Edward Halden I have been aware of for as long as I can remember. The story is that he ran away in annoyance when his sister Rachel got married and that he was never seen again.

Researching the family I could find no evidence of the family having a son as he doesn’t appear at home in the 1841 census and due to a mistranscription I couldn’t find the family in the USA.

Research and help from other family historians led me to Edward’s grandmother Elizabeth Halden as described on my post about Anthony Eaton. Elizabeth married her cousin Richard, a butcher, after the death of Anthony Eaton and the couple can be found living with an Edward Halden aged 15 in the 1841 census.

After some searching I found Edward in the 1850 census in Chicago USA, he is living with mother Jemima and sisters Mary and Rachel, but the name Halden was mistranscribed as Holder. Edward’s occupation is butcher which would fit with him living with his grandmother and her butcher husband, maybe Edward had been serving an apprenticeship.

That is the last record of Edward that I am at all sure about, this would tie in with his disappearance after Rachel’s marriage in 1852.

What are the possibilities?

There is an Edward Holden, a gamester living in Lyons, Cook, Illinois in 1870, born in England, again he disappears from view.

Another Edward Halden/Holden is in and out of the workhouse in Stepney during the late 1870s/early 1880s, date of birth is about right and he varies between being single and a widower. I can find no record of this Edward on the censuses, could it be because he was in the USA? Maybe time will tell.

With enormous thanks to Nina Reauveau who helped me so much with the research in the USA.

 

Thomas Willis Joyce and Clara Jenni Joyce

Thomas W Joyce is the son of Rachel Hiden and Henry E Joyce, he was born, according to census records around 1871 in Connecticut. The first record I can find of his existence is the 1880 census for Bridgeport Connecticut where he and his younger sister Clara Jenni are in the Bridgeport Protestant Orphan Asylum. I find this most odd as at the same time their mother is living with their paternal Aunt and her husband in the same city. You would have thought that between them they could have cared for two school age children, Rachel was working in a tannery but the children’s Aunt was “keeping house”.

This is even more surprising as a newspaper report from 1892 just short of Thomas’s 21st birthday shows that he and Clara Jenni received a very reasonable legacy of $5000 from their aunt, widow of New York millionaire Daniel B Fayerweather. Another beneficiary is Mrs Ephraim Doolittle, the Aunt their mother was living with while Thomas and Clara were in the orphanage. Mrs Ephraim Doolittle was born Emily Louise Joyce, younger sister of Henry Joyce; Lucy Joyce was the eldest sibling in the family and she became Mrs Fayerweather the benefactor. To put things in perspective $5000 dollars would equate to about $151,971.98 today (2021) around £38,000, not a bad start for a 21 year old.

Newspaper records show that on 24th October 1895 Thomas married Ida E Buckingham and by 1900 he is living with Ida and their two children Louis B Joyce and Helen L Joyce, the family are living at 27 Tom Thumb Street, Bridgeport. (PT Barnum was from Connecticut and first met Tom Thumb in Bridgeport).

PT Barnum was actually Mayor of Bridgeport as was Edward T Buckingham Thomas Joyce’s brother in law. His wife Ida was present at her brother’s inauguration.

Thomas clearly recovered from the above bout of pneumonia as he is recorded in two further censuses. In 1920 he is living with both children, his wife and mother, by 1930 son Louis has left home so Thomas is living with three generations of women, he runs a printing company.

This article records very well the life of Thomas Joyce, unfortunately I am unable to find the source. I’m not sure what to make of the masonry connections but my Grandmother had a book about the masons as I understand her grandfather Thomas Willis had been a mason, maybe it was something he took up while in the states.

Thomas Joyce died on 24th April 1937, from an inauspicious beginning he seemed to live a successful and comfortable life and took care of his mother in her older years, whatever her reason for putting him in the orphanage in his early years, he had clearly forgiven her, but perhaps there was nothing to forgive.

Thomas had two children, a son and a daughter Louis Buckingham and Helen L (I don’t know what the L stands for).

Louis served in the Marine Corps during WW1, from the various documents we learn that he was 6ft tall, slim with brown eyes and light brown hair (maybe a bright brunette like his aunt, see article to follow?). He married twice, first to a Madeleine Craddock who died just four years later, then to Catherine Logan, neither marriage appears to have produced children. Louis was a salesman by profession.

Sister Helen had a brief marriage to an Oliver Martin which ended in divorce and Helen reverted to her maiden name. Helen was a primary school teacher like her mother, she died in 1976.

A rather unfortunate event involving Helen must have been upsetting for the family. An extract from the local paper The Bridgeport Times shows that servant Carrie O. Duffy was arrested for stealing from Helen Joyce. It is a little odd that it is specifically Helen’s money and property as she was living with her mother at the time. Perhaps it was Helen who took the case to court.

Clara Jenny Joyce

Clara Jenny Joyce was born on 25 March 1874 in Chicago, her parents were Henry Joyce and Rachel Hiden. Clara or Jenny as she seems to have been called had a short life and I feel a slightly sad one. Like her brother Thomas she was in an orphanage shortly after her father’s death, but later newspaper reports find her living with her mother Rachel. As previously mentioned Jenny had a poorly attended birthday party which was reported in the local paper.

Aged just 19 Clara Jenny married a James Magill of Hennessy Oklahoma, the wedding is described in lavish terms and was attended by “three to four hundred people” am impressive although vague number. This is clearly the number of people at the church as the reception was at the bride’s home. The bride is described as a ”bright brunette”.

The next news of the couple is the birth of their daughter, Anita. The announcement is made on the 14th January just three days after the birth of Anita’s second cousin once removed my Grandma Winifred Willis Airey. I can’t help but wonder if they would have got on had they ever met!

Jenny and Anita are next mentioned in a Topeka paper in the summer after Anita’s birth when they go to Connecticut for a holiday with relatives and friends.

The next we hear of Jenny is her death which is recorded in December 1896 in the Topeka State Journal. Jenny died in Christ Hospital in Topeka and her address is a Topeka address. I wonder if she had separated from her husband.

Jenny’s rather sad story doesn’t end with her early death, she left behind a daughter less than a year old, so what became of her?

You may remember that Jennie’s mother Rachel was living with her granddaughter Annetta (Anita) in the 1900 census, but apparently she had to fight to keep her. Yet another newspaper account shows that James Magill took Rachel to court to gain custody of Anita. I don’t like the way the journalist refers to Anita as ”it”.

As for Anita’s father James E Magill, he remarried a Gertrude Hull in December 1897 and the couple soon had a son Hull Magill, but a year later Gertrude was requesting a divorce from Magill and asking for him not to interfere with her or her son. It seems that Rachel’s concerns were not unfounded.

Sadly, despite the care of her Grandmother little Anita died when she was just six years old, I imagine Rachel would have been distraught to lose both her daughter and granddaughter at such early ages.

With enormous thanks to Nina Reauveau who helped me so much with the research in the USA.

 

Rachel Hiden/Joyce

Rachel Ann Hiden and her sister Eliza are in the 1851 census, with parents Elizabeth Hiden (née Halden) and Thomas Hiden.

A marriage for a Rachael Hilen can be found in the Daily Inter Ocean newspaper on 5 May 1869, she marries a Henry E. Joyce also from Chicago. It is Hilen not Hiden but it was worth checking out Rachel Joyces (or similar spellings) in the USA.

Rachel Joyce appears in the 1880 census in Bridgport, Fairfield, Connecticut, she is widowed, living with an Ephraim Doolittle and his wife Emily, she is working in a tannery. So Rachel’s marriage was relatively short, in fact her husband died on 19th January 1875 in Cook County Illinois and he is buried at Oak Woods cemetery in Chicago.

It seems odd that Rachel is living in Connecticut but that her husband died in Chicago, however the Joyce family were from Bridgport originally. Further investigation proves that Emily Doolittle (maiden name Joyce) was Rachel’s sister-in-law so clearly there was no animosity between Rachel and her husband’s family, this is odd as I will reveal later.

Rachel can be found living with Elizabeth Twigger in the 1895 census in Topeka and this is how I tracked down Elizabeth Halden, although the census doesn’t give their relationship. Both are born in England and Rachel has moved to Topeka from Connecticut so that looks likely that it isn’t another Rachel, also distinctively she is Rachel Ann as on the 1851 census.

Rachel next appearance is in a newspaper report of when a badly attended birthday part for her daughter Jenny, this is the first I have heard of Rachel having a child or children. I do feel sympathy that the bad weather put people off going to the party, I hope Rachel and Jenny weren’t too disappointed, perhaps the newspaper article is a quiet dig to those who didn’t make the effort to attend. More of Jenny to follow.

26 March 1891 Topeka Daily Capital

In 1901 Rachel is living with her mother Elizabeth Twigger and her grandchild four year old Annetta, this census records that Rachel has had two children but only one is living, so another mystery child still to be found and who is the parent of little Annetta? (It seems most likely that the child was actually called Anita)

A newspaper article in 1902 reveals that Rachel is selling some household items from her home in Pine Street, Rachel is going through a sad time as Annetta died that year and Rachel’s mother Elizabeth had died in 1901. It seems likely that Rachel was preparing for a move.

And indeed by 1910 Rachel has moved. She is back in Connecticut living in the same house as a German mother and son, although both Rachel (spelt Rachelle) and the mother are described as heads of the household, so maybe the house was split into apartments. This record says that she had three children and that one is living.

In 1920 we find Rachel living in Bridgeport Connecticut with her one surviving child Thomas W Joyce, his wife Ida (nee Buckingham) and their two adult children Louis and Helen. Rachel has reached the age of 73.

The final census for Rachel is 1930 still in Bridgeport with Thomas, Ida and Helen, according to this record she is 84 years old.

Rachel died in Bridgeport on 15 May 1931, she outlived her husband, one child (possibly two) and a grandchild, born in Staffordshire, England she lived in Illinois, Connecticut and Kansas in various stages of her life. She had to put her children in an orphanage while she worked in a tannery to make ends meet but she lived with both her daughter and son in her later years and through the stories of Clara Jenni Joyce and Thomas Willis Joyce which follow in new blog posts we can learn a little more about Rachel.

Thomas W Joyce and Clara Jenni Joyce

 

Elizabeth Halden/Hiden/Twigger

My blog about Elizabeth Halden, sister to my 2 x G Grandmother Rachel, shows that she remained in England when her siblings and parents left for the States. She married a miner called Thomas Hiden.

Elizabeth is living with Thomas and daughters Rachel Ann and Eliza in the 1851 census, records show the couple also had a daughter Jemima who was born and died between the 1841 and 1851 censuses. I can find no other record for Eliza, certainly not in the Walsall registration district, but it seems she must have died fairly young.

After this census the entire family disappears from England, there are no likely deaths for Thomas and he is not the Thomas deported to Australia nor the Thomas married to Rebecca who emigrates to the states.

Elizabeth is not to be found again until 1870 when she can be found living in Topeka with husband George Twigger and a Josiah Twigger, you will have to take my word for it that this is her, explanations to follow.

Elizabeth’s age on the 1870 census is given as 40 (she is closer to 50) and George aged 36 is described as a farmer. I’m not sure of Josiah’s connection to George but his occupation is labourer, he is too old at 25 to be George’s son.

Topeka is significant because it was the final place where my Great Grandmother lived in the USA before returning to England and is the place where Rachel Halden (Elizabeth’s sister) is buried.

In the March 1875 census for Topeka, George Twigger is described as a farmer aged, 40 Elizabeth has apparently aged just two years and is now only 42 (although the age is hard to read).

On 18 December 1881 Elizabeth was mentioned in the Topeka Daily Capital because she had some post that needed collecting, I hope it was a Christmas letter and not a bill.

Ten years later on 1 March 1885, the couple can be found still in Topeka, George is now a gardener aged 49 and Elizabeth has the more realistic age of 62.

An exciting event in 1891 for Elizabeth was the receipt of her war pension which received two notices in the paper. I suspect at least one of the items is paid advertising for the services of PH Coney war claim attorney. The second article, paid for or not, gives a flavour of Elizabeth’s personality, she also seems happy with her move to the USA, I wonder if she would have felt the same pride under Donald Trump.

Elizabeth ages at a faster rate again according to the 1895 census and on 1 March 1895 Topeka, she can be found, now widowed, living with daughter Rachel Joyce, her age is given as 74. (Note that daughter Rachel ties in with the English census for 1851.

We can be thankful for a slow news day in October 1897 when the paper reported that Elizabeth was visited by her niece Minnie from another location in Topeka. More of Minnie to follow.

In 1900 Elizabeth is in Pine Street Topeka, living with Rachel Joice and Great Granddaughter Annetta L Joice, her age is now a reasonable 79 and a birth date of December 1820 is given which fits with her UK census record for 1851.

Elizabeth died on 18th April 1901, she is buried with husband George in a Topeka cemetery.

Elizabeth’s story poses almost as many questions as it answers.

What happened to Thomas Hiden her first husband?

When and in what country did she marry George Twigger, if at all?

What happened to Elizabeth between 1851 in the UK and the next record in 1870 in Topeka?

And you are probably wondering how I know that Elizabeth Twigger is Elizabeth Halden.

Let’s go back to her children.

The UK census and the birth marriage and death records show that Elizabeth had three daughters, Rachel, Eliza and Jemima, I am not sure about the death of Eliza but it seems that she died young, I can find no trace of her in the USA. Jemima died in the UK aged two.

Which leaves Rachel, again she deserves a post of her own.

And so does Elizabeth’s American born daughter Frances, no you haven’t heard about her yet!

 

Katie Elizabeth Willis – Aunty Kittie milliner and semaphorist

Aunty Kittie was my Grandmother’s maternal aunt, her mother Nellie Eaton Willis’s older sister. Kittie was remembered with affection by Grandma and also by my father. She had no descendants so it is up to me to tell her story. I was told that Kittie ran away from home to work in a hat shop, which I think was quite shocking at the time, this was despite having been more compliant and obedient than her sister Nellie to the strict Aunt who brought them up after their mother’s death.

Kittie was clearly a hat lover

I was also told that Kittie was obsessively tidy (unlike Nellie) and once threw a paper bag in the fire only to find out it contained a recent purchase of lace. I think this must have been much resented at the time for me to even know about it, or maybe it just fascinated me so I remembered the story.

Katie Elizabeth Willis was born in Chicago to English parents Thomas Willis and Rachel Halden there is no record of her birth and I was told this was because her birth certificate was burnt in the Great Fire of Chicago, in latter years it was discovered that she and her father disagreed about her age by one year and they had no way of proving which one was correct. She opted for the younger age as that suited her at the time! The 1870 census taken on the 13th June reports her to be seven years old and as her birthday (according to the 1939 census) was May 1st then I think we can take her birth as being 1863, not 1864 which seems to be the year she opted for.

Kittie was living with her parents in 1870 and a Katherina Willis who research shows to be her father’s half sister, probably visiting from England to help the family out. Sadly, Kittie only had one sibling who survived from a total of eight, this is something I have been told but again I have yet to find any records of the other children. My Great Grandmother Nellie was born in October in that same census year so maybe Katherina’s help gave Rachel the rest she needed to produce a healthy baby.

The family of four had paid a visit to England in 1873, I don’t know if this was simply a holiday or maybe part of a plan to return to the UK permanently. However, they did return to the USA and at some stage moved to Topeka, Kansas where Rachel’s sisters also lived.

In later years Kittie told the family her memories of their return to the UK after their mother’s death, this included her pushing five-year-old Nellie forward to provide entertainment on the boat “I can’t but my little sister will”. After arriving in London she took it upon herself to go out for a walk with little Nellie not realising the potential dangers of London street life and getting stares from passers-by.

The next census account of Kittie is in 1881 when she is not living in County Durham with either her father or sister but instead is in the Pancras area of London, (she had no fear of London clearly) so that is where she ran away. She is living at 88 Marchmont Street and working as a milliner, lodging with a butcher and his family. There is a Joshua Hubbard Milliner at 94 Marchmont Street, I wonder if he was Kittie’s employer.

By 1891 Kittie (or Kattie on the census) is back living with her father in Staindrop, County Durham, presumably keeping house for him.

Kittie married in 1896 in Darlington, her husband was James Henry Westcott and in 1900 their baby Norman Willis Westcott was born, my father was given Norman as his second name after baby Norman and it became the name he was known by. I wonder if the name that will make a comeback? Sadly, baby Norman lived for a short time and Kittie had no further children and my Grandmother was her only nibling (had to get the word in somewhere in the blog).

Kittie back right with her husband, it looks like the lace was replaced!

Kittie and James are living in Bishop Auckland in 1911 and again in 1921 but at a different address.

Records are sparse again but Kittie became a widow in 1935. I was surprised to find her in 1939 working as a housekeeper for an Emily Caroline Corps, by this stage Kittie was 64. A bit of investigation revealed that Emily Corps was Kittie’s sister-in-law who seems to have had a little money. I was totally unaware of this relationship as it was never mentioned by my Grandmother, I had presumed Kittie lived alone after her husband’s death.

Recently I ordered a copy of Kittie’s will, she left £100 each to her sister Nellie (my Great Grandmother), my Grandmother, my father, and her sister-in-law Emily Corps, my Grandfather received £25 and a niece from her husband’s family received £50, the remainder of her estate also went to Nellie, I doubt it amounted to much. Four years later my parents married, my mother was delighted by how much my father had to spend on her engagement ring, maybe his legacy from Aunty Kittie helped, I like to think so.

There is some controversy surrounding Kittie’s will, she left written instructions to sister Nellie, listing her items of jewellery and giving instructions for their disposal, but apparently this letter was never found. Maybe Kittie “tidied it away” or is there some implication that jewellery was stolen and the letter disposed of? Without the letter my Great Grandmother wouldn’t have been able to prove if anything was missing.

What else do I know of Kittie? Well I’m pretty sure she rode a bike as I have photographs of her on a cycling trip to the Yorkshire Dales and she apparently always pronounced the word squirrel with an American accent. She was a bit innocent, (I don’t mean unintelligent) when she heard advertisements on the radio, she would say “they speak well of it, don’t they?” But the best story and the reason I know I would have liked her, is that she let her Great nephew Norman (my Dad) teach her semaphore which he was learning at cubs. Apparently she waved her arms around energetically, getting it all wrong (probably deliberately) much to the amusement of the whole family, she would have been in her early 60s at the time. As they say, “what’s not to love”.

The aforesaid cycling trip

 

Doris, Virginia and Ernestine – the doctor’s daughters

It is always good to hear from someone who is interested in your research and even better when they can provide information.

I was therefore delighted to hear from another family historian in the USA regarding some photographs she had bought in an antique store. She thought I might be interested in the pictures as part of my one-name study into the surname Cleasby.

The pictures were of three little girls and were labelled with the children’s names, Ernestine, Dorris and Virginia Cleasby. The pictures show three happy and very well-dressed little girls.

One picture depicts Ernestine aged about two, bare footed and playing with something on a small table.

Ernestine looks a robust child but despite this she appears to have had a very short life. The only records I can find of her existence are this picture and the fact that her sister’s births record them as second and third child.

Ernestine Cleasby

The second picture shows two girls, one aged about four wearing a bow almost as large as her head, the other is a baby of about one year old. Records show that these are Dorris born in 1907 and Virginia born in 1911.

Dorris Cleasby and Virginia Atwood Cleasby

Ernestine, Dorris and Virginia were the daughters of Dr Ernest Milo Cleasby and Josephine Atwood, Dorris was born in Littleton New Hampshire in 1907 and Virginia in Barton, Vermont in 1911. The family settled in Barton. Sadly Josephine died still relatively young in 1925, Ernest did remarry but more of that in another post.

The family was clearly well respected in the community, probably with Ernest being a Doctor, he appears to have worked at the Cleasby hospital, whether this was named after him I do not know, something for further research.

I hope this post isn’t too dull but it goes to show how much can be learnt about someone through researching a local newspaper. The Cleasby sisters (Dorris in particular) were very involved in their community and led busy lives from being quite young children.

Hold the front page! Eleanor Lyon, Mark Richardson and Dorris Cleasby had the measles in April 1913. The paper almost consistently spells Dorris with one R but most official documents spell her name with two, so I am going to stick to that spelling.

Dorris Cleasby has the measles Orleans County Monitor, Wednesday, April 2, 1913

In February 1917 Dorris became secretary of a “Pollyanna club” at her Sunday school. The picture shows the pin members of Pollyanna clubs would wear. I can’t find out much about them but apparently the book was published in 1913 and the first club started in 1916, so Miss Heidger was quick off the mark.

Dorris Cleasby is secretary of the Polyanna club. Orleans County Monitor, Wednesday, February 14, 1917

April 1917 Dr Cleasby the girl’s’ mother returns from Brightlook Hospital. The same week disaster befalls Dorris who breaks her arm in two places.

Mrs EM Cleasby returns from hospital. Dorris Cleasby falls and breaks her arm in two places. Orleans County Monitor, Wednesday, April 25, 1917

In September 1917 Dorris Cleasby performed in a “splendid program” trained by Miss Skinner where she performed a song holding a baby doll.

Dorris Cleasby sings a “character” Mexican song. Orleans County Monitor, Wednesday, September 12, 1917

May 1918 Dorris had both Liberty bonds and thrift stamps, something much encouraged by her school.

Dorris Cleasby buys Liberty bonds The Monitor, May 8 1918g

August 1919 the two sisters attended the 12th birthday party of Miss Virginia Hanscome at the cottage of Mr and Mrs at GS Dodge at Willoughby Lake.

Mr and Mrs GS Dodge entertain Dorris Cleasby and Virginia Hanscombe at Willoughby Lake. The Evening Caledonian, Friday August 22 1919

Dorris Cleasby visited relatives in Lisbon and Littleton, New Hampshire for a January holiday in 1921.

Dorris spends her vacation in Lisbon and Littleton NH. Caledonian Record January 4 1921

November. 1924 Virginia Cleasby a high school pupil made a recitation for Armistice Day at the Opera House.

Virginia Cleasby recites a poem for Armistice Day. Orleans County Monitor (Barton, Vermont) 12 Nov 1924

A busy week in January 1929 for Virginia hosting a bridge party and attending a baseball game with Miss Elizabeth Dickens, the two young women were entertained at the home of Dr and Mrs C M Crampton.

Virginia Cleasby entertains a bridge party and attends a basket ball game. Orleans County Monitor (Barton, Vermont) 30 Jan 1929

June 1932 and Virginia has a visit from Miss Dorothy Curtis from Berlin, New Hampshire.

Dorothy Curtis visits Virginia Cleasby for a week. Orleans County Monitor (Barton, Vermont) 8 Jun 1932

In January 1935, Dorris spends a few days in Boston with Mr and Mrs Ralph Brahana.

Dorris Cleasby spends a few days in Boston. Orleans County Monitor (Barton, Vermont) 16 Jan 1935

A busy week for Dorris, in February 1935, bridge playing and hosting and food a food sale to organise.

Dorris Cleasby wins a prize playing bridge, organises a food sale and hosts her own bridge party Orleans County Monitor (Barton, Vermont) 13 Feb 1935

And the same week she went to a basketball game.

Dorris and Virginia Cleasby attend a ball game. Orleans County Monitor (Barton, Vermont) 13 Feb 1935

In April 1935 the sisters visit friends in Lisbon N.H

Dorris and Virginia Cleasby spend Easter with friends in Lisbon, New Hampshire. Orleans County Monitor (Burton, Vermont) 15 May 1935

In April 1935 Dorris Cleasby entertained her Christmas Club, presumably they were busy all year long!

Dorris Cleasby entertains the Christmas Club The Caledonian Record (St. Johnsbury, Vermont) 12 Apr 1935

May 1935 and a trip to Boston for Dorris.

Dorris Cleasby visits Boston Orleans County Monitor (Burton, Vermont) 15 May 1935

November 1935 and Doris has a trip for about a month to Athol, Massachusetts.

Dorris Cleasby returns home from Athol, Massachusetts St Johnsbury Republican (St Johnsbury, Vermont) 18 November 1935

January 1936 Dorris is on the committee arranging a bridge party for the Orient Eastern Star.

Benefit card party The Caledonian-Record (St Johnsbury, Vermont) 9 September 1938

Dorris Cleasby is Chapter chairman The Newport Daily Express (Newport, Vermont) 15 Nov 1941

January 1936 finds Dorris organising a sewing session at the Women’s Alliance of the Congregational Church.

The Women’s Alliance has a meeting led by Dorris Cleasby. Orleans County Monitor (Barton, Vermont) 1 Jan 1936

January 1936 Dorris hosts The Women’s Alliance first meeting of the year.

The first meeting of The Women’s Alliance The Orleans County Monitor, January 8th 1936

April 1936 finds Dorris entertaining the young ladies from her Sunday class at her home.

Dorris Cleasby entertains Sunday School class at home. Orleans County Monitor (Barton, Vermont) 29 April 1936

All this social life but Dorris was a business woman too. In July 1936 she visits Waterbury on business.

Dorris Cleasby in Waterford on business Newport Daily Express (Newport, Vermont) 10 July 1936

All this, how did she find time to knit? October 1936 she offered a handmade knitted suit as a raffle prize. I wonder what finished garment was like. I hope it was more appreciated than the crocheted one I had in the 1970s.

Dorris Cleasby gives a lady’s hand-knitted suit as a raffle prize. The Newport Daily Express (Newport, Vermont) 5 Oct 1936

November 1936, Dorris attended the Order of the Eastern Star meeting of the Orient Chapter in Barton.

Dorris Cleasby attends the OES meeting of the Orient Chapter The Caledonian Record (St Johnsbury, Vermont) 6 November 1936

October 1940, Dorris travels to Newport for a reception to Grand Officers at the Masonic Temple.

Dorris Cleasby attends reception to Grand Officers of the Masonic Temple. Palladium and News (Newport, Vermont) 30 Oct 1940

Virginia went to Toronto in January 1944 and on to Long Beach California with Mrs I J Isbell and her sister Mrs W S Cone, at least that is my interpretation.

Virginia Cleasby visits Toronto. Orleans County Monitor (Barton, Vermont) 12 Jan 1944

Virginia visited Burlington in November 1947 with Mrs Charles Hardy on business.

Virginia Cleasby visits Burlington. The Newport Daily Express (Newport, Vermont) 4 Nov 1947

Sadly the newspaper reports Virginia’s death in 1949, her death certificate shows she had tuberculosis of the lung, she was only 38 years old, again, if a Doctor’s daughter could die from TB you wonder how the general population fared?

Death of Virginia Atwood Cleasby 1949 The Newport Daily Express, Newport, Vermont, Saturday August 20 1949

Death of Virginia Atwood Cleasby 1949 The Newport Daily Express, Newport, Vermont, Saturday August 20 1949

September 1951 and another holiday in Boston for Dorris.

Dorris Cleasby holidays in Boston St Johnsbury Republican (St Johnsbury, Vermont) 28 Sept 1951

Marriage of Dorris Cleasby to Lawrence Allard The Newport Daily Express 22 Oct 1955

In October 1955 Dorris married, this auspicious occasion is given very little coverage in comparison to her other activities, perhaps rightly so. Lawrence Allard had divorced three years previously on the grounds of extreme cruelty, I am unclear as to whether he was cruel or his ex-wife or quite what “cruelty” implies. He was ten years younger than Dorris and they remained married until Dorris’s death.

In 1955 Dorris, now Mrs Allard was guest of honour at a dinner held by Mrs Leigh Carl.

Mrs Lawrence Allard guest of honour at dinner Newport Daily Express (Newport, Vermont) 3 Nov 1955

July 1959 maybe a slow news day but the paper reports the exciting news that Mrs Allard had her mother in law and sister in law round for Sunday dinner.

Mr and Mrs Lawrence Allard have Sunday dinner guests. Essex County Herald (Island Pond, Vermont) 31 July 1959

And there the news of the Cleasby sisters runs dry. Dorris died aged 87 in 1995 of severe dementia, she had also been hypocalcaemic for ten years, this would have caused dementia and would probably be treatable now. A sad end for such an industrious and capable woman.

The three Cleasby sisters had no descendants and that is probably why their photograph ended in an antique shop. It has been a pleasure to learn about their lives and to tell their tale as best I can.

 

Born in the USA

There were two things that sparked my interest in family history from an early age. One was that we were a sociable family and often had visitors. On the whole I called older friends and relations Auntie or Uncle and eventually asked how they were related to me. Some of them were quite distantly related though close in other ways, this led to me eventually drawing up a formal family tree.

“Three cheers for the red, white and blue“

The second thing was that my Great Grandmother Nellie Willis was born in the USA. To recap earlier blog posts, her English father brought her and her sister Kitty back to County Durham after their mother died. But Nellie left behind Aunts and a runaway Uncle from her mother’s side of the family. When I was young I hoped to eventually find family in the USA and to maybe go out there and visit them, a childish fantasy, but it got me interested in my American cousins and in family history in general.

I have blogged about Nellie’s Aunt Eliza in Which Elizabeth Halden? and promised more to follow.

What happened to Eliza, sister Mary and elusive brother Edward? Did they fare well in the states? Was there a large family waiting to hear from me their cousin in England (only child of an only child of an only child)?

My blog about Elizabeth shows that she remained in England when her siblings and parents left for the States. She married a miner called Thomas Hiden, I find this slightly odd as her occupation is given as governess and I do wonder how their paths crossed.

Elizabeth is living with Thomas and daughters Rachel Ann and Eliza in the 1851 census, records show the couple also had a daughter Jemima who was born and died between the 1841 and 1851 censuses. I can find no other record for Eliza, certainly not in the Walsall registration district, but it seems she must have died fairly young.

She deserves her own blog post.

Elizabeth Halden/Hiden/Twigger

With enormous thanks to Nina Reauveau who helped me so much with the research in the USA.