The Strange Case of Julian Haverfield Rowland

Proceedings of the Central Criminal Court, 9 Jan 1899

In the summer of 1883, Sarah Jane Pittaway (1859-1932), a sister of my gg-grandfather Joseph Snow Pittaway (1852-1927), married Julian Haverfield Rowland in the Camberwell district of South London. Like many young women from Watchet, Somerset, Sarah Jane had gone into service in London. In 1881 she was a housemaid in the home of Richard Cross, a draper in Deptford. At the time of her marriage Sarah was with child, as her daughter Maud was also born in the summer of 1883.

Julian Haverfield Rowland, the son of James Rowland and Ann, was born in 1844 in Deptford, however, the family moved to Gloucestershire before 1851. Julian was baptised at Cromhall, Gloucestershire on 1 Jan 1851, and was living in that parish at the time of the 1851 Census. By the 1861 Census the family had moved to Wooton under Edge, Gloucestershire.

Julian then disappears from the record until his marriage to Sarah Jane Pittaway. Their daughter Lillie May was born in the spring of 1885, and their daughter Florence Ada was born a year later. Both births were registered in the Woolwich district of London.

The family appears in the 1891 Census living at 51 Barking Road, West Ham, Essex. Julian, however, has been replaced by Joseph E. Nugent, a general practitioner. Sarah Jane and her three children are recorded as having the surname Nugent. Did Julian die and Sarah Jane remarry? The answer is no. Until he was convicted for manslaughter and perjury in 1899, Julian Haverfield Rowland had for several years impersonated Dr. Edward Joseph Nugent.

Kelly's 1887 Directory

The Kelly's Directory of Kent, Surrey & Sussex for 1887 lists Julian Haverfield Rowland as a surgeon in Woolwich, suggesting that Julian impersonated a doctor for over ten years. He is again listed as a surgeon in Woolwich under his own name in the 1891 Directory, but by the date of publication had moved to 51 Barking Road. Evidence at his trial suggests that Julian had at one time been employed as a doctor's assistant but by 1891 was acting on his own as a medical practitioner and using the alias Nugent.

Julian's undoing was the death of a patient. In the evening of November 29, 1898, he was called to attend the delivery of Jane Elizabeth Smith's second child, having been present at the birth of her first. The labour seemed to proceed naturally and the child was born close to midnight. Shortly afterwards, "grave symptoms appeared—great pain in the back, the colour of the face became waxen and yellow, the lips were clenched, and the eyes were staring." Julian attributed Jane's condition to afterpains and left without examining her. Jane's conditioned worsened. Julian relectantly returned early the next morning and upon examination discovered that Jane was suffering from uterine inversion, a rare complication of vaginal delivery. Julian sent for a Dr. Richard John Carey who reduced the inversion or as he described it, "remedied the matter within two minutes." Julian stayed with Jane after Dr. Carey left, however, she died shortly afterwards from haemorragic shock.

Barking Road, West Ham, Essex

At the coroner's inquest Julian swore that he was Dr. Edward Joseph Nugent but refused to answer a number of questions about his background. Expert medical testimony showed that had Julian examined Jane immediately after her symptoms appeared, he would have discovered the inversion and her life would likely have been saved. As a result Julian was indicted for manslaughter.

A police investigation revealed that Julian was not Edward Joseph Nugent. As a result he was further charged with committing perjury at the coroner's inquest.

One of the witnesses at Julian's magistrates' court appearance was Armanda Nugent, the wife of the real Edward Joseph Nugent. She testified that her husband had left England for Australia in 1895, that he had given his medical diplomas to Julian, and that Julian, who she knew as John Rowland, paid her 3s 6d a week. Other witnesses confirmed that Julian was not Nugent. Dr. Carey testified that he had known Julian as Dr. Nugent for eight years. The case was sent to trial and Julian was released on £300 bail.

John Charles Darling

Julian's trial was held on 14 Jan 1899 before Justice John Charles Darling. During the trial Dr. Carey stated that Julian "was well known and well liked by the poor in Barking, who he had attended professionally." The jury, however, found Julian guilty after ten minutes of deliberation. Darling sentenced Julian to three years in prison.

The case was widely covered in British newspapers and generated articles in both the Lancet and the British Medical Journal. Articles also appeared in newspapers in New South Wales and New Zealand.

But who was Edward Joseph Nugent? Edward, the son of James Nugent and Anna Marie O'Donahue was born in Ireland about 1850. In 1866 he became a licentiate of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, and in 1872, a licentiate of the King and Queen's College of Physicians in Ireland. In 1884 he married a cousin, Armanda Nugent, in Dublin. Two children were born in Ireland. About 1889 he brought his family to London where his son Joseph Ignatius was born in the winter of 1890. At the time of the 1891 Census, Edward was living with his family in Deptford.

Edward fell into financial difficulty and departed London on the SS Aberdeen for Sydney, Australia on 16 Jan 1895 leaving his wife and children behind. He was certified as a medical practitioner in New South Wales later than year. Armanda and her children joined him in Australia about 1900.

In Apr 1906, Edward was admitted to the Liverpool Asylum for the Infirm and Destitute. He was discharged in May 1907, readmitted in Mar 1909 and discharged again in June 1912. Edward Joseph Nugent died on 27 Dec 1915 and was buried in the Rookwood Catholic Cemetery in Sydney. His wife, Armanda, died on 19 Aug 1939 and was also buried at Rookwood.

And what of Julian Haverfield Rowland? At the time of the 1901 Census, Julian was in Parkhurst prison. Sarah Jane was still living in West Ham with her daughters. In directories from 1902 onwards Julian is listed as an artificial teeth manufacturer, although his daughter Lillie May describes him as a dentist on her 1907 marriage certificate. In 1911 Julian, now a "mechanical dentist" and Sarah Jane were living in Willesden, Middlesex with two of their grandchildren. Julian Haverfield Rowland died in 1913. Sarah Jane returned to Watchet where she died in 1932.

A Hub of Trade and Industry (Part 2)

James Easton Abbey 1823-1863

Another name closely associated with the early history of Port Robinson is that of Abbey. In the late 1830s, Robert Abbey, a boat builder by trade from Grangemouth, Scotland, arrived in Upper Canada and established a shipyard at Port Dalhousie at the northern terminus of the Welland Canal. At his shipyard, Robert and his sons built mostly yawls and sailing yachts, and later small steamers. The 1842 launch of their first large vessel, the schooner Scotia, was recorded in the St. Catharines Journal:

Launch.—We owe an apology for not sooner noticing the launch, which took place on the 7th instant [7 Jun 1842], of a fine large schooner, named the "Scotia" by the enterprising owner, Mr. Abbey, at Port Dalhousie. An eye witness has informed us that she moved off in fine style into her destined element, and that the "happy meeting" was greeted by much "tremendous cheering" from a large concourse of people, who had assembled from the surrounding country to witness the happy event, being the first that had taken place at the port. In the evening, the young "bloods," to celebrate the occasion, gave a splendid ball at Mr. Thomas Read's, and which is said to have passed off very agreeably.

Robert, the son of Alexander Abbey and Ann Mitchell, was born in 1788 in Bothkennar, Scotland on the Firth of Forth. He married Mary Powell (1793-1851), daughter of John Powell in 1812 at South Lieth where his two oldest children were baptised. About 1816 he moved his young family to Grangemouth in Stirlingshire, part of the parish of Falkirk where seven additional children were baptised.

Robert and Mary brought at least seven of their nine children with them to Canada, as well as two nephews, the sons of Robert's brother Alexander. It is not known whether Robert's son William, born in 1826, or his daughter Ann, born in 1832, lived long enough to make the journey.

John Powell Abbey 1820-1877

Census data shows that Robert's two oldest sons, Alexander (1813-1896) and Robert (1817-1885) were boat builders in Port Dalhousie, presumably working with their father. Brothers John Powell Abbey (1820-1877) and James Easton Abbey (1823-1863), however, moved to Port Robinson and founded a shipyard there. After the locks on the First Welland Canal were replaced during the construction of the Second Canal, the Abbey brothers converted the old locks into a dry dock.

The Abbey Brothers' shipyard at Port Robinson built wooden sailing ships, side-wheel and propeller steamers, barges and scows. While most of the Abbey Brothers' vessels plied the Great Lakes, the barque E. S. Adams, launched in 1857, made at least one voyage to England. In 1868 the ship sank in Lake Erie after a collision with the barque Constitution, eight kilometres east of Point Pelee. One sailor off the E. S. Adams was lost overboard and presumably drowned.

An account of the launch of the E. S. Adams appeared in the St. Catharines Constitutional:

The E.S. Adams is owned by Messrs. Norris and Nelson of St. Catherines: she is a three master of about 400 tons. Of the excellence of the workmanship, and of the materials of which she is built, it is unnecessary for us to say anything, as the testimony of several gentlemen connected with the marine merchant service, given at the dinner to the Messrs. Abbey the same evening, is sufficient to show that she is not inferior to any vessel on the inland waters of North America. On the water she appears a most beautiful model.

Only six or seven years ago Messrs. Abbey commenced their career without any means of their own, and without friends to assist them. By perseverance, sobriety, and honest industry, they attained the enviable position they now hold among the first shipbuilders in Upper Canada. They recently built a dry dock at an expense of about $10,000, and so rapidly is their business increasing, that they begin to feel the want of another. They have now in their employ from seventy to eighty men, and yet they have more work than they can readily manage to perform. On the day the E.S. Adams was launched, there were no fewer than four schooners and five or six scows lying in port waiting for repairs.

The St Catharines Post published an account of the launch of an earlier vessel in 1854:

Another Launch at Port Robinson—Those well-known and enterprising Shipbuilders, Messrs. J. & J. Abbey, will launch the clipper brig Napier, from their their shipyard, Port Robinson, on Saturday, 16th inst., at 4 o’clock, P.M. The Napier is a fine vessel of about 300 tons measurement, and was built for Messrs. Norris and Nelson, of this town, and is the second vessel launched from the above yard the present season. We are informed they have done a very large amount of repairing and refitting the present season; the proximity of their yard and dry dock to the Welland Canal rendered it very convenient for vessels requiring repairs to take advantage of their skill in such matters. We are happy to learn that the Messrs. Abbey have always as much work on hand as they can attend to, and that their business is constantly increasing, which is always the result where men of skill and integrity have charge of an establishment.

Another notable vessel was the two-masted schooner China built by the Abbey brothers in 1863. In November 1883, China was bound for Parry Sound when she strayed off course in a snow squall, and ran on to a reef to the west of Tobermory on the Bruce Peninsula. The wreck is one of over twenty frequented by scuba divers at Fathom Five National Marine Park. The wreck is close to shore but badly broken up.

An account of the shipwreck was included in Patricia Folkes's Shipwrecks of the Saugueen:

On November 20,1883 the schooner China, Edward McGowan master, was wrecked on what is now called China Reef, above Cape Hurd, during a fierce snowstorm. She was bound, light, from Buffalo to Parry Sound where it was intended to load lumber. Early in December the Detroit salvage tug Balize, engaged in yeomen service on Lake Huron, arrived at the wreck and left a man to strip her.

The China was launched at Port Robinson on the Welland Canal in April of 1863 by J. & J.P. Abbey for E. Browne of Hamilton. Browne owned her until 1874 when she was purchased by Thompson & Company of Hamilton who sailed her through 1878. At the time of her loss she was owned by M.B. Proctor of Sarnia. Ironically, Captain McGowan almost lost the China in 1879 when she stranded near Lyon's Head and had her rudder carried away. A.N. Moffatt of Port Huron, Michigan, is reported to have owned her on this occasion. Four years later she was not as lucky and broke upon the China Reef, pieces of her floating into the shallows between Wreck Point and China Cove.

The Abbey Brother's shipyard also suffered from a number of set backs, notably a fire in 1861 and the death of James Easton Abbey in 1863. This article about the fire appeared in the St Catharines' Journal:

Fire at Port Robinson: Abbey's Ship-yard Destroyed

We understand that the workshops in Messrs. J.P. and J. Abbey's Ship Yard, Port Robinson, were set fire to last night, and completely destroyed. The loss is not stated, nor if there was any insurance. It is supposed to have been the work of incendiaries, and three men, members of the Ship Carpenters and Caulker's Union, have been arrested, charged with the crime.

Mr. Currie, of St Catharines has gone up to watch the proceedings.

The following particulars we learn by telegraph from Port Robinson this morning.

About two o'clock on Sunday morning June 16 a fire was discovered in an old building, used by Messrs. Abbey's as a joiner shop, in which was stored at the time some lumber, two buggies, and nine chests of tools belonging to the joiners which were all consumed.

Three men, Gus Lennon, Mike Cature, and John Dorrington, belonging to the "Union men" of this place, have been arrested, on suspicion of having fired the building. The "Union men" were discharged from Abbey's employ two weeks ago. It is the general opinion here that those men have done it in revenge. The trial commenced yesterday, and was adjourned until tomorrow. Nothing has, as yet, been made out against them to condemn them but it appears they are holding guilt.

City of St. Catharines
(Bowling Green State University)

The last large vessel built at Port Robinson was the steamer City of St. Catharines, constructed by John Powell Abbey in 1874. In the following years the ship had several Canadian owners. In 1880 while sailing from Montreal to Chicago, the ship collided with the George H. Morse in Lake Huron off White Rock, Michigan. Although the ship sank in 15 minutes there were no fatalities.

The City of St. Catharines sank in 27 metres of water, but in September of 1882 it was raised and eventually towed to Detroit. There it was rebuilt and refitted and in 1883 renamed Otego. The ship burned and sank at Duluth in 1895. 

John Powell Abbey married 19-year-old Elizabeth Coulter in 1849. Their son Robert was born a year later. Seven other children followed. John Powell Abbey closed his shipyard in 1876 and died at Port Robinson the following year. He is buried along with his wife and three of his children at St. Paul's Anglican Church Cemetery in Port Robinson.

His brother, James Easton Abbey, married Marion Stark (1833-1876) in 1850. James and Marion had three children. The oldest, Robert (1852-1890), became a Presbyterian missionary and died in Nanking, China. James is buried with his wife and youngest son at Port Robinson Presbyterian Cemetery. A death notice appeared in the St. Catharines Constitutional:

Died.—At Port Robinson, on the 22nd instant [22 Jun 1863], in the 30th [sic] year of his age, Mr. James Easton Abbey, of the firm of Messrs. J. & J. E. Abbey, shipbuilders, a native of Grangemouth, Stirlingshire, Scotland. The deceased was a gentleman highly respected by all who know him. His death was very sudden and unexpected. He retired to rest in apparent good health on Sunday night, and was found dead in his bed on Monday morning. He leaves a wife and three children to mourn his loss.

When Robert Abbey's brother Alexander and sister-in-law Janet Shepherd both died in 1835, Robert became the guardian of his nephews Alexander and James Sheppard Abbey. Alexander and James came with their uncle's family to Port Dalhousie, but later moved to Port Robinson where they worked as ship carpenters, married, and raised families.

Alexander Abbey and his wife Ellen Bell (1838-1921) are both buried at St. Paul's Anglican Cemetery in Port Robinson. 

Steamer Ada Alice (Toronto Public Library)

James Sheppard Abbey survived his wife Sally Ann by 44 years. He died in 1910 and is buried at Drummond Hill Cemetery in Niagara Falls.

James and Sally Ann's daughter Ada Alice Abbey (1857-1920) had a small steamer named after her in 1879. The Ada Alice was built in Port Dalhousie by Ada's cousin Alexander Abbey, and operated for many years as a Toronto Island ferry. In 1911 she was shipped north by railway flatcar to Muskoka. Ada Alice was seriously damaged by fire in June 1915. Although she was repaired, Ada Alice was abandoned in 1919 and for many years was a  derelict hulk at the Gravehurst dockyards.

After the death of his wife Mary in 1851, Robert Abbey retired to Port Robinson and was living there in 1861 with his son John Powell Abbey. He died at Port Robinson in 1866 and was buried at St. Andrew's United Church Cemetery in Port Dalhousie. While the original gravestone has not survived, the gravestone of his wife remains in situ.

Sources:

The History of the County of Welland: It's Past and Present. Welland Tribune Printing House, Welland, 1887.

Folkes, Patricia. Shipwrecks of the Saugeen 1828-1938. Privately published, 1970.

Jackson, John N. The Welland Canals and their Communities. University of Toronto Press, 1997.

Tatley, Richard. "Ada Alice," The Real Muskoka Story. Issue 94. Summer 2015.

Thompson, John H. Jubilee History of Thorold Township and Town. Thorold and Beaverdams Historical Society, 1897.

"Five Little Ferry Boats," The Scanner. Vol. 30, No. 8 (May 1998)

"Encore for the Ada Alice," The Scanner. Vol. 30, No. 9 (August 1998)

A Hub of Trade and Industry (Part 1)

Survey Map: Second Welland Canal at Port Robinson
(Brock University Archives)

Port Robinson, a small community west of Niagara Falls, owes its existence to the Welland Canal. When the First Welland Canal opened in 1829, boats were able to bypass Niagara Falls by sailing from Port Dalhousie on Lake Ontario to the Welland River, then down the Welland River to where it meets the Niagara River at Chippewa. Port Robinson, named after John Beverley Robinson, chief justice of Upper Canada, grew where the canal met the Welland River. In the years following the canal was extended to Lake Erie, but for many years Port Robinson was a hub of trade and industry.

John H. Thompson’s Jubilee History of Thorold Township and Town, published in 1898, describes Port Robinson during the 1840s:

A great deal of business was done there, for a large number of people were constantly coming and going, as this was the central point for travellers. A steamboat made daily trips between Buffalo and Port Robinson, carrying hundreds of passengers during the navigation season; a line of passenger packets plied daily during the open season between Port Robinson and Dunnville; a daily stage coach was laden with passengers on each trip to and from St. Catharines; and mail coaches cane to the village from Wellandport and way stations, and from St. Johns West and North Pelham. A four-horse stage coach also carried passengers and the mail between Port Robinson and Hamilton.

At its heyday in the mid 19th century, Port Robinson had a sawmill, carding mill, two grist mills, a shipyard and dry dock, four hotels, six saloons, several blacksmiths, numerous other shops and four churches. Two of the churches are still standing, however, all that remains of the Port Robinson Presbyterian Church are the concrete steps that once were the entrance to the church.

According the brass plaque mounted on the steps, the congregation was formed about 1825 and closed in 1947. The surrounding cemetery is thought to contain about 130 burials and is now in the care of the City of Thorold. For CanGenWeb's Cemetery Project I was able to find and photograph 75 gravestones, many of which lie flat on the ground and have become encroached with grass. The Ontario Genealogical Society transcription lists several additional gravestones that I was unable to locate.

The most frequent name found on the gravestones is Elliot. Andrew Elliot (1775-1857), his wives Jane Scott (1786-1819) and Ann Hume (1812-1892), and eight of his fifteen children are buried at Port Robinson, as well as several grandchildren.

Ten years before the opening of the canal, Andrew Elliot brought his family from Albany, New York to the Niagara Peninsula. Andrew was born in Hawick, Roxburgshire, Scotland about 1775 but had emigrated to the United States before 1790. His wife, Jane Scott, was also born in Hawick and had emigrated with her parents probably at the same time as Andrew. Andrew and Jane were married in 1803. Andrew was a sawyer who operated a sawmill in Albany. Why he decided to come to Upper Canada is not known.

Robert Elliot House

Andrew and Jane had eight children. Only the youngest, Robert, was born in Upper Canada. Robert became a merchant and owned a general store in Port Robinson. In 1845 he married Maria Darling. Maria died in 1849, shortly after the death of her two month old son Andrew. In 1851 Robert married Susan Caniff. The year after his second marriage he built a 2 1/2 story brick house which still stands and is a designated property. Robert was elected Reeve of Thorold Township in 1857 and was also a charter member of the Port Robinson Division of the Sons of Temperance.

His brother, James Elliot (1811-1879) was a sawmill foreman at Port Robinson, and later a farmer in Crowland Township. The Gazetteer and Business Directory of Lincoln and Welland Counties for 1879 records him at Lot 10 Concession 1 in Crowland, as does the 1862 Tremaine's Map of the Counties of Lincoln and Welland, Canada West. Another brother, Andrew Elliot (1817-1878), was a butcher in Port Robinson. In April of 1849 he and his wife Elizabeth Darby (1821-1889) lost three children, presumably to disease.

Their mother, Jane died in 1819 at the age of 33, shortly after her arrival in Upper Canada and the birth of Robert. Her gravestone is the oldest at Port Robinson Presbyterian. Many years later her husband Andrew remarried. Ann Hume was 28 years younger than Andrew. In fact she was younger than Andrew’s two oldest children.

Andrew Elliot 1775-1859

Andrew and Ann had seven children. Their names and dates of birth are recorded in a farm account book housed at the Brock University Library in St Catharines, part of the Andrew Elliot family Fonds. The youngest child, Jane, was born in 1851 when Andrew was 76 years old. The deaths of two of Andrew and Ann’s children are also recorded in the account book and their gravestones can be found at Port Robinson Presbyterian.

Andrew's death on 26 Jan 1857 was recorded in the account book and on his gravestone. Ann's funeral was recorded in the diary of Melvin Byron Misener on Monday, May 16, 1892: "We were at old Mrs. Elliot's funeral in forenoon." The diary also records the funerals of Robert in 1874, Andrew in 1878, and James in 1879.

Descendants of Andrew Elliot continued to live in the Port Robinson area into the 20th century, but with the completion of the Third Welland Canal in 1881, the importance of Port Robinson as a commercial centre quickly declined.

Orphaned Gravestones

Hazen Cemetery, Walsingham, Norfolk, Ontario

According to its official website, Norfolk County in Southwestern Ontario has 111 documented cemeteries and burial sites. Settlement of this area on the north shore of Lake Erie began more than two centuries ago, so it is common to find gravestones dating from the early to mid 19th Century. One name that appears on a number of these gravestones is Secord.

In genealogical circles there is considerable interest in the Secord name, primarily due to the connection with War of 1812 heroine Laura Secord. Laura’s husband, James Secord (1773-1841), was the son of James Secord (1732-1784), a Loyalist refugee during the American Revolution and brother of my ggggg-grandmother Mary Beebe née Secord (1736- ?). While none of James Secord’s children or grandchildren settled in Norfolk County, many of his cousins were pioneers in what was known as the Long Point Settlement.

The largest collection of Secord gravestones is found at Hillcrest Cemetery in Charlotteville Township. Other graveyards in Norfolk, however, contain only single Secord burials. This post looks at four of these “orphaned” graves.

Mary Elizabeth Secord (1884-1897)

Mary Elizabeth Secord
(1884-1897)

Mary, the oldest daughter of William Gourley Secord (1864-1946) and Ada Maria Lemon (1861-1920) was born in Simcoe, Ontario on 15 Sep 1884. While her parents are both buried at the Oakwood Cemetery in Simcoe. Mary was buried at Walsh Baptist in Walsingham Township after her death at the age of 12. The official cause of her death was “congestion of brain” which could describe a number of conditions. Several years ago a descendant of William Gourley Secord posted online that Mary died “of blood poisoning from a cut by a rusty fence.”

William Gourley Secord was the son of Abraham Wartman Secord (1832-1904). William’s grandfather was also named Abraham Wartman Secord (1795-1852). The Wartman name comes from Susannah Wartman (1758-1842), the wife of William’s great-grandfather John Secord (1757-1830).

John Secord was born in Westchester County, New York. A few years before the start of the American Revolution, John’s father had settled his family on the Susquehanna River near what is now Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania. During the Revolutionary War, John’s father choose to abandon his farm since he and his son remained loyal to the British. They first moved up the Susquehanna to Tioga Point and later to Fort Niagara.

John served under John Butler in the Indian Department and later in Butler’s Rangers. He was likely present at the Battle of Oriskany during the Saratoga Campaign in 1777, and at the Battle of Wyoming in 1778. A certificate attached to John Secord’s 1798 Upper Canada Land Petition gives some more details about his activities during the war:

These may certify that Mr John Secord Junr when in the late Corps of Rangers commanded by Lt Colo John Butler, in many instances behaved himself as a brave man, having after the Battle of Wyoming, when the Loyalists were retreating towards Niagara (and found it necessary to have a better supply of Provisions) returned by desire of the commanding officer to Wyoming, with only eight men and brought from the Enemy, One Hundred and forty head of Cattle – upwards of ninety Head were drove to Aughquaga, and there issued to the troops, and the others used for an immediate Supply – and in all other instances he behave with a manly spirit in opposing the Enemy &c – Given under our Hands – [Signed] Peter Hare, Andrew Bradt, Benj: Pawling, John Turney, Bernard Frey, Jesse Pawling, P Ball, D. Servos, R. Clench Lt B Rangers, Saml Thompson

John was often known as "Deaf John" because of the hearing loss he suffered during the war.

Drusilla Aramenta Secord (1860-1864) 

Drusilla Aramenta Secord
(1860-1864)

Determining Drusilla Aramenta’s parentage was a bit of a challenge since her father’s initials were obscured on her gravestone in Bell Mill Cemetery in Middleton, Township. Eventually, research led to Sarah Rebecca Secord née Buck (1832-1921) and her husband, John Lampman Secord (1824-1912). Drusilla Aramenta was the fifth of Sarah and John’s seven children.

Like several of his brothers, John later emigrated with his wife and family to the United States. In the 1885 Iowa State Census, John is shown as a farmer in Highland Township in Green County. Sometime after 1900, John and Sarah moved to Crookston, Polk, Minnesota and later retired to Twin Falls, Idaho where both are buried.

John Lampman Secord was the brother of Abraham Wartman Secord and thus the great-uncle of Mary Elizabeth Secord. The Lampman name comes from his mother, Elizabeth Ann Lampman (1794-1832).

Almira Secord née Fuller (1834-1854) 

Almira Secord née Fuller
(1834-1854)

Almira Secord née Fuller was the first wife of Robert Addison Secord (1826-1909), brother of Abraham Wartman Secord and John Lampman Secord. Almira was the daughter of Stephen Fuller (1802-1881) and Elizabeth (1801-1888), and married Robert in 1852. She is buried at Clear Creek Cemetery in Houghton Township where her parents are also buried. Almira likely died from complications of childbirth. Her daughter, Marilla Amelia Secord (1854-1928) was raised by Stephen and Elizabeth.

After Almira’s death, Robert emigrated to the United States and settled in Cordova, Rock Island, Illinois He married Lucy Ann Ormstead in 1858. A daughter, Emma, was born the following year. Eight other children followed.

Robert served in the 126th Illinois Infantry during the Civil War from 1862 until 1865. His unit participated in the Siege of Vicksburg in 1863. For most of the war, however, his unit was part of the Union’s occupation force in Arkansas.

A few years after the Civil War, Robert moved with his wife and four children to Tama County, Iowa. A decade late they moved to Otoe County, Nebraska. Robert and Lucy are buried in Wyuka Cemetery in Nebraska City.

Robert was named after Church of England clergyman Robert Addison (1754–1829) who baptised him in 1827.

Janette Secord (1858-1860)

Janette Secord (1858-1860)

Janette, the oldest daughter of Asa Secord (1833-1898), a lumberman, and Mary Ann Laforge (1840-1915) was buried at Hazen Cemetery.

Commercial lumbering was a major industry in Norfolk Country during the mid 19th Century. Like many of his generation, Asa worked as a lumberman for several years then emigrated to Michigan.

Asa was the son of Asa Secord (1795-1877) and Jeanette Brown of Oakland Township in Brant County. Asa was the fourth oldest of 18 children and was only a few years younger than his father’s second wife, Sarah Elizabeth Darling. Asa’s grandfather was John Secord (1762-1817), a cousin of James Secord.

Mary Ann Laforge was the daughter of Peter Laforge (1805-1872) and Mary Gumberson. Her father was French Canadian and her mother was English.

Peter Laforge was born in Detroit shortly before a fire destroyed most of that settlement. As a child he may have experienced the Siege of Detroit during the War of 1812. His father, Louis Basile Laforge (1768-1839) had been born in Berthier, Quebec while his mother, Jeanne Archange (1768-1806), had been born in Detroit. Detroit has been part of New France until its capture by the British in 1760 during the French and Indian War. Detroit remained a French community and society for many years thereafter. During the American Revolution, Detroit served as the base for a detachment of Butler’s Rangers. In 1795, the Jay Treaty transferred ownership of Detroit to the United States but it was not until the following year that the Americans took possession.

Mary Gumberson is something of a mystery. Her last name only appears on the marriage registrations of two of her children. She is shown with her husband and six children including 12-year-old Mary Ann in the 1852 living in Walsingham, Norfolk. The census lists her place of birth as England and her age as 26, however, it is unlikely that Mary gave birth to her oldest daughter Caroline when she was 11.

Other “Orphans”

There are several other orphaned Secord gravestones in Norfolk County. For example, Abraham Wartman Secord (1795-1852) is buried at Sipprell Cemetery in Walsingham Township, however, the cemetery is located on private property. At Port Royal Cemetery in Walshingham is the grave of John Secord (1787-1869), a cousin of Asa Secord (1795-1877). Regretably, with the exception of the graves of Laura Secord nee Ingersoll and her husband James Secord at Drummond Hill Cemetery in Niagara Falls, and of James's brother Solomon Secord (1755-1799) at Homer Cemetery near St. Catharines, the burial spots of the older generation of Secords remain unknown.

Margaret Priscilla Ritchie (1890-1893)

Margaret Ritchie's Gravestone

While photographing McKee Pioneer Cemetery for the CanadaGenWeb Cemetery Project last summer, I came across this difficult to read gravestone. According to the OGS Wellington Branch transcription, this was the gravestone of Elizabeth E. Ritchie, the daughter of George and Fanny A. Ritchie who had died at three years of age.

A few months later on a return visit to the cemetery, the sun's position was such that most of the inscription could be read. The inscription, however, read Margaret P. Ritchie. Curious I did some online research using FamilySearch, Ancestry, and Findagrave and discovered the following:

Margaret Priscilla Ritchie was born on 22 Jan 1890 in East Garafraxa Township west of Orangeville, Ontario. Her parents were George Ritchie and Fanny Ann Cope. Margaret was the third child of George and Fanny. According to her death registration, Margaret died of "inflammatory croup" on 15 May 1893.

George and Fanny had eight more children after Margaret, all of whom survived until adulthood. At some point prior to the 1901 Census, George purchased a farm in West Luther Township northeast of Arthur, Ontario. According to his death registration, George was a leap year baby, having been born on 29 Feb 1864. George died in 1933 of "myocardial failure" and is buried at Greenfield Cemetery in Arthur. Fanny died in 1947 and is buried with her husband.

Elizabeth Ritchie's Gravestone

George's father David Ritchie and his mother Elizabeth Stewart are both buried at McKee Cemetery. David was born in County Armagh, Ireland about 1820 and came to Canada in 1850. David purchased a farm in West Garafraxa Township. Sometime between 1850 and the birth of his first child in 1855, he married Elizabeth Stewart who had also been born in Ireland. David and Elizabeth had six children, three of whom died within one week in the winter of 1862. Elizabeth died in 1868 when George was four years old. David remarried in 1870 and again in 1874. David died in 1905.

The Effigy of Thomas Chafe of Dodscott

The Effigy of Thomas Chafe of Dodscott
St Giles in the Wood, Devon, England

One of the more striking features of of the parish church of St Giles in the Wood in North Devon is this 17th century wooden effigy.

The inscription reads:

In
Piam
THOMAE CHAFE
Generosi memoriam
Ex per antiqua CHAFORUM de CHAFE-COMBE familia in Comitatu
SOMERSET oriundi; ex collegio EXON in Academia OXON Artium
Magistri; viri probitate, virtute, ac ingenio insigis; qui in Apostolica
fide constante versatus, in beatae justorum, resurrectionis spe Animam
expiravit XXVto die Novemb Anno salutis, 1648
aetatisq suae Climacterico Magno
eXVVIas sVas eXVIt MeDICVs
Uxorem reliquit MARGERIAM, filiam PHILIPPI BURGOYNE clarrissima
BURGOYNORUM prosapia orti; Matronam religiosissimam bonorumq
operum plenissimam quae et obdormiuit in Domino die
Anno a Chro nato 16 aetatis
vero suae

ABSTULIT A NOBIS MISERE QUEM FLEM' ADEMPTUM
AESTULIT E VIVIS MORTIS INIQUA MANUS
NEC CECIDIT SOLUS; NAMQ ET PRUDENTIA VIRTUS,
CANDOR, AMOR, PIETAS, INTERIERE SIMUL,
TESTE VEL INVIDIA, VITA EST, LETHOQ BEATUS
VIVUS ERAT DOMINI, MORTUUS IN DOMINO

Which translates as:

In pious memory of the noble Thomas Chafe arisen from the very ancient family of the Chafes from Chaffcombe in the county of Somerset, Master of Arts from Exeter College in the University of Oxford; a man remarkable in probity, virtue and character who having been devoted in constant apostolic faith breathed out his spirit on the 25th day of November in the year of grace 1648 and in his grand climacteric year, in hope of the blessed resurrection of the Just. The doctor rejoiced exceedingly at his loud howlings. He left a wife Margery, daughter of Philip Burgoyn sprung from the most famous stock of the Burgoyns, a most religious matron and most full of good works who too went to sleep in Christ on the [blank]day of [blank] in the year since the birth of Christ 16[blank] of her age [blank]
He took away from us misery
He took away from the living the unjust hand of death
Neither did he fall alone, for prudence, virtue
Honesty, love and piety perished at the same time
With envy as witness [unknown]
Of the Lord he was alive, he died in the Lord

Thomas Chaffe (abt 1585 -1648) of Dodscott was the third son of Thomas Chaffe of Exeter (? -1604) and Dorothy Shorte (? -1612). His sister, Pascoe Chafe, was the wife of Tristram Risdon of Winscott (abt 1580-1640), author of The Chorographical Description or Survey of the County of Devon. Thomas married Margaret Burgoyne (? -1655). In his will dated September 24, 1648 he appoints his "hopeful godson and young nephew" Thomas Chafe (1611-1662) executor and directs him to inter his body "as neere as he can by my sister Risedon, and I doe ordain appointe and require £30 rather more than lesse to be bestowed in a monument of my Effigies by my Esecutor, of whose ove herin I am no diffident, who have reaped so many gratuities formely from mee, and now in present burthening his conscience for effecting it as he shall answer coram Deo. I desire him to inscript in my monument some memory of his good Aunt Risedon, and of the family deceased there interred, also of my wife and her two children, noe great onus to an ingenious, generous, and gratefull minde." Thomas Chafe was buried at St Giles in the Wood on 29 Nov 1648.

The dates of Margaret Burgoyne's death and burial were never inscribed on the monument. Her burial on 30 Mar 1655 is recorded in the St Giles in the Wood parish register.

The effigy is described in detail in Charles Worthy's Devonshire Wills, published in 1896:

In accordance with his uncle's injunctions, Thomas Chafe erected in the chancel of St. Giles, and within the altar-rails, a high tomb to the memory of deceased, with his effigy thereon. The figure, with moustache and peaked beard, is lying upon the right side, the face supported by the hand, the elbow resting upon a cushion. The costume consists of a coif or skull-cap which entirely conceals the hair, a short cloak with tight sleeves, and which being open in front shows that the body is protected by a cuirass, frequently worn in those troublous times, fastened down the front with studs; breeches and long stockings gartered below the knee with roses or knots, and on the feet are low shoes similarly decorated. There were also two female figures, who probably represented the two children referred to in the will. Over the figure are three coats of arms. In the centre the ancient, but questionable, arms of Chafe, already blazoned, with mantling and crest: A demi lion ramp. or, holding between its paws a fusil, az.

On the dexter side; Chafe impaling Burgoyne: Az. a talbot pass. arg. in chief a mullet.

And on the sinister side; Risdon: Arg. 3 bird bolts sa., impaling Chafe.

Thomas Chafe's epitaph

The inscription is interesting in that it describes Chafe as having died in the year of his grand climacteric (63). The inscription also contains a chronogram. The Roman numerals in the line "eXVVIas sVas eXVIt MeDICVs" add up to 1648, the year of Chafe's death.

When the church was rebuilt in 1862 the effigy was removed from its original position in the chancel within the alter rails and placed against the south wall of the tower. Worthy writes, "The two female figures then disappeared; and I understand that 'they fell to pieces, and could not be put together again.'"

In 1987 the effigy was carefully restored, and placed in the newly created Mary Withecombe Chapel.

Sources:

Worthy, Charles. Devonshire Wills. Bemrose & Sons, 1896.

Worthy, Charles. “Thomas Chafe, of Doddescote, Gentleman.” Report & Transactions of the Devonshire Association, vol. 19, 1887, pp. 531–537.

William Cooke: From Devon to Gaspe

William Cooke (1791-1867)

In 1817, my ggg-grandfather William Cooke left High Bickington, Devon, England to assume management of a fishing station located at Great Paradise on Placentia Bay on the south coast of Newfoundland. The fishing station had previously been owned by William's great-uncle George Cooke and had been inherited by William's father in 1790. William was the youngest son of George Cooke of Langley Barton, High Bickington and was the grandson of Michael Cooke of East Dodscott, St Giles in the Wood.

The first record of the Cooke family in St Giles in the Wood is the baptism of George, son of Michael and Margaret Cooke in 1742. A daughter, Mary, was baptised in 1744 and a son, Michael, in 1748. Michael and Margaret had at least two other children: Michael who was buried at St Giles in the Wood in 1747 at the age of seven, and Rebecca., who married in 1761. As Michael and Rebecca's baptisms are not recorded at St Giles in the Wood, it can be assumed that Michael and Margaret Cooke came to St Giles about 1741.

Michael Cooke, the son of Michael Cooke and Mary Carter, was baptised in Otterton, in the south of Devon, in 1707. Michael's brother George was buried at Otterton in 1790, and although his baptism is not recorded there, George's will clearly supports the Otterton connection. In his will dated 27 July 1788 he writes, "In the Name of God Amen I George Cooke formerly of Otterton, but now of Saint Giles in the County of Devon Mariner..." George owned property in the Parishes of Langtree and Topshaw as well as at Paradise in Newfoundland. George requested that "I desire to be buried in Otterton Church Yard as near to my late wife as ___ may be." George also had a watch which he bequeathed to his grandnephew, also named George.

Michael Cooke most likely moved to St Giles in the Wood at the request of Henry Rolle, later Baron Rolle of Stevenstone, and took up occupancy of East Dodscott as a yeoman farmer. His daughter Rebecca married William Snell of South Dodscott in 1761 and they had numerous children. Michael's daughter Mary married Thomas Loveband of Yarnscombe in 1767 but they did not have any children.

Dodscott is listed as Dodecota in the Domesday Book. It was acquired by George Rolle of Stevenstone in the 16th century and was formerly the home of Thomas Chafe whose effigy can be found inside the church at St Giles in the Wood. The East Dodscott farmhouse is a listed building described as a 16th century farmhouse with major 17th century improvements. 

Three gravestones at St Giles in the Wood

Michael Cooke was buried at St Giles in the Wood in 1777. His slate headstone is a listed monument. Nearby are a group of three headstones that are also listed. The first records the deaths of Michael and Margaret's sons, Michael in 1747 at the age of seven and his brother Michael in 1771 at the age of 23. Beside this is a gravestone with no name or date but bearing a poetic epitaph in praise of "a tender mother, a virtuous wife." This gravestone covers the front of a third gravestone which records the death of Rebecca Snell, however, the date is obscured. The St Giles in the Wood parish register records a 1779 burial for Rebecca, wife of William Snell.

After Michael Cooke's death, occupancy of East Dodscott transferred to his son George. George married Elizabeth "Betty" Walkey, daughter of John Walkey, in December 1777 at Great Torrington. In 1783, George purchased Langley Barton in High Bickington for £1935 but did not take up residency until 1788. George and Betsy both died in 1821 and were buried inside the church of St Giles in the Wood. Unfortunately, their ledger stone is now badly worn and very little of the inscription can be read.

Langley Barton, High Bickington, Devon

Langley Barton is a Grade II listed manor house believed to date from the early 17th century. The house was previously the home of the Pollard family and it is believed the Pollards lived there from 1303 to 1732. The Pollard coat of arms are carved about the entrance and a fireplace stone (now concealed) bears the initials RP and the date 1624 (most likely Richard Pollard). The house has a five bay south-facing front and retains numerous 17th century features including a staircase, panelled door and fireplace.

George and Betty had twelve children. One daughter, Maria, died before her first birthday in 1793. A second daughter, Sarah, died in 1798 at three years of age. Elizabeth died in 1804, two months before her 17th birthday. Two other daughters, Mary and Rebecca, never married and lived in Barnstaple.

The eldest son, Michael, married Mary Wood of Westleigh in 1809. For the next twelve years Michael Cooke occupied East Dodscott in St Giles in the Wood. Michael inherited Langley Barton in 1821 and lived there until his death in 1866. Michael's son George then inherited Langley Barton, however, sold the property in 1878. Two of Michael Cooke's children emigrated to the United States, Dr. William Henry Cooke who settled near Peoria, Illinois and Charlotte Caroline Cooke who married William Newell Vicary of Great Torrington and settled in Stafford, Genesee, New York. Another son, Michael Cooke, was a surgeon in Barnstaple.

Prayer Book of Ann Cooke (1782-1827)

George and Betty's daughter Ann married Anthony Loveband, son of Anthony Loveband of Yarnscombe. It is interesting to note that Ann's aunt, Mary Cooke, had married Anthony's uncle, Thomas Loveband. George Cooke and Anthony Loveband were partners in a private bank established in Great Torrington in 1802. In 1821 the partnership was dissolved but the bank continued as Loveband & Co until its 1843 amalgamation with the National Provincial Bank of England. A collection of family and estate papers was recently deposited at the North Devon Record Office in Barnstaple. Included in the collection is Ann Cooke's Book of Common Prayer and an account book that records the birth of Ann's two children and her death in 1827. Ann and Anthony were buried at St Andrew's in Yarnscombe.

George Cooke's son George, who presumably inherited his great-uncle's watch, married Mary Best of Bishops Tawton and became a coal merchant in Bideford. His brother John married Mary Lake of Witheridge, Devon and was a tanner in Fareham, Hampshire. Their sister, Charlotte, married James Wood of Westleigh, brother of Mary Wood. Charlotte, her daughter Mary Rebecca Wood and her husband James are buried at St Peter's in Westleigh.

Cooke ledger stone, St Giles in the Wood

Samuel Cooke married Elizabeth Edwards, daughter of William Edwards and Elizabeth Chichester. Elizabeth Chichester was the daughter of the Revd William Chichester and the granddaughter of Sir John Chichester, 4th Baronet of Youlston. Samuel was involved in a number of activities including timber merchant, wine and spirit merchant, and gentleman farmer. There are also indications that Samuel acted as the English agent for his brother William. Samuel occupied East Dodscott in St Giles in the Wood after his brother Michael inherited Langley Barton. All four of his children were baptised at St Giles in the Wood. Samuel, his son Wakeman Edwards and his mother-in-law were buried inside the church of St Giles in the Wood. There is also a window and brass plaque in memory of Samuel Cooke and his wife Elizabeth Edwards.

My ggg-grandfather William Cooke married Lucinda Power of Liverpool, Nova Scotia. Nine children were born in Newfoundland, although only the birth dates of five of them have been discovered. It is known that in 1821 William inherited his father's share in the ship Friends, a brig of 69 tons built at Cleavehouses, Barnstaple in 1812.

An account of William Cooke, written in 1835, appears in the journal of the Revd Edward Wix, a Church of England missionary:

Saturday, March 14. - In the morning started in the sleet and rain, and in a very wet condition from my last night's lair, to find the south east bight, and was more successful in my search, than the preceding evening. I was most humanely entertained by a Roman Catholic planter, Handlin and his wife, at whose house I dried and warmed myself, and after breakfast, was put over the bight in a punt, whilst it was blowing very heavily, and afterwards proceeded on foot to the winter-house of Mr. William Cooke, (of Bideford, England) at Red Cove. As Mrs. Cooke, much to my regret, had, on the first intimation of my arrival, walked nearly three miles to their summer residence at Adam's Island, in Paradise Harbour, to receive me there, I accompanied her husband to this place, where he has been settled eighteen years, and has a fine establishment. Finding that Mrs. C., who is the mother of a very interesting family, (if not a native,) was formerly a resident of Liverpool, in Nova Scotia, to the inhabitants of which place I am warmly attached, it was delightful to me to have an opportunity of speaking of scenes and persons which will ever be dear to my memory.

Another account is the diary of William Harding. Harding was employed by William Cooke as a fisher and blacksmith from April 1818 to October 1820 and married Cooke's housekeeper in July 1820, "according to the Rights of the Church of England by Wm. Cooke Esq. and merchant of the Harbour."

William Cooke left Newfoundland about 1840 and settled on a farm at New Carlisle on the south coast of the Gaspe Peninsula. The farm remained in the family until the death of his great-grandson, Alfred Harris Cooke in 1977. New Carlisle records often refer to William Cooke as a schoolmaster, suggesting he left the operation of the farm to his oldest son, William.

The first record of William Cooke in New Carlisle is the marriage of his daughter, Julia Ann, to Jessie Caldwell in 1841. His oldest daughter, Anna Eliza, married Matthew Caldwell in 1842, and his daughter Mary married Amasa Beebe in 1844. The record of this marriage in the St Andrew's parish register is interesting as it indicates that William and Lucinda were elsewhere at the time of Mary's wedding.

On this twenty first day of March in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred & forty four Amasa Beebe of New Carlisle Farmer, Son of Joshua Beebe of said place Farmer & the deceased Margaret McKinnon his former wife & Mary Cooke Daughter of William Cooke formerly of New Carlisle Schoolmaster & of Lucinda Power his wife, were married after due publication of banns in presence of James Craig & Hugh Caldwell & others, the said parties having been illegally married on the twenty first day of July, one thousand eight hundred & forty one by a Justice of the Peace.

One possibility is that William had returned to England for an extended visit. It is known that William was in Devon in 1836 where an assignment of lease refers to him as "William Cooke of Newfoundland, North America, but now of Bideford, merchant." 

New Carlisle 1865 by Thomas Pye

New Carlisle was settled in 1784 by Loyalist claimants and discharged soldiers of the British Army. Five of William Cooke's children married descendants of the original settlers. Amasa Beebe was the son of Joshua Beebe and the grandson of Joshua Beebe and Mary Secord. Before the American Revolution, Joshua Beebe and Mary Secord had been living in Pennsylvania on the Upper Branch of the East Susquehanna River. Joshua Beebe was a Loyalist, and in 1777 he and his oldest son, Adin Beebe, enlisted in Butler's Rangers.

In the summer of 1778, just prior to the Battle of Wyoming, Mary Secord and her children were evacuated first to Tioga Point near Athens, Pennsylvania, where Amasa Beebe's father was born in August, and then to Fort Niagara. Mary Secord's husband died of smallpox in October 1778, after being captured by the Americans. Mary Secord and her children were eventually sent to the refugee camp at Machiche near Trois-Rivières, Quebec. Mary Secord married Christopher Pearson at Machiche and they were among the first settlers at New Carlisle in 1784. Mary Secord lived to well over one hundred. Her brother, James Secord, a Loyalist who was granted land west of the Niagara River, was the father-in-law of the Canadian heroine Laura Secord.

William Cooke's daughter, Louisa, married Hugh Chisholm in 1846. The youngest daughter, Charlotte Rosa married James Milne in 1854. Two sons, Alfred Wood Cooke and George Cooke did not marry.

William Cooke's oldest son, William, married Judith Chatterton, the granddaughter of Samuel Chatterton and Charlotte Beebe. Samuel Chatterton was a member of the 31st Regiment of Foot and received a land grant in New Carlisle upon his discharge from the British Army after the American Revolution. Charlotte Beebe was the older sister of Joshua Beebe. Her baptism at the age of 14 was recorded at Trois-Rivières but her place of birth is uncertain.

William Cooke died in 1867 and was buried at St Andrew's in New Carlisle.