A Granddaughter's Letter

Letter from Maria Lovenia Jarvis to Samuel Peters,
Oct 2, 1802. John Macintosh Duff Collection,
University of Guelph, XR1 MS A210031

Maria Lovenia Jarvis (1788-1829) was only three years old when she accompanied her parents and siblings to Upper Canada (Ontario). Maria, the oldest daughter of William Jarvis (1756-1817) and Hannah Peters (1762-1845), was born in London, England on 31 Dec 1788. In 1791, Mary's father, a Loyalist living in London, had been appointed Provincial Secretary of Upper Canada, a post he held until his death.

For the first few years Maria and her family lived at Newark (Niagara-on-the-Lake), but in 1798 they moved across Lake Ontario to York (Toronto).

In 1802, Maria wrote the following letter to her grandfather, Reverend Samuel Peters (1735-1826). Samuel Peters has been born in Hebron, Connecticut, but at the start of the Revolutionary War had left for England. He was living in London at the time of this letter.

The letter forms part of the John Macintosh Duff Collection at the University of Guelph. A significant part of the collection consists of letters written to Reverend Peters by his daughter Hannah and his son-in-law William Jarvis. One of the recurring themes of the letters is the entreaties for Reverend Peters to visit his daughter's family. This is reflected in this letter from his granddaughter.

From Maria Lovenia Jarvis
York 2nd October 1802

Honoured Grand Papa
    It is a long time since I have seen you. I have no remembrance of you but your name which is so often repeated that it would be rather hard if I forgot. Our expectations of seeing you in Upper Canada has been long and as yet in vain but hope that we shall be gratified when Mr. Mosely returns. The tall pines which surround us I believe have wafted away all my ideas for fun—not think of any thing to amuse you with. The Castles in this place are so numerous were I to undertake a description it would swell my letter to a greater size than would be pleasing to you. The one I have seen appears to me that the owner had some thoughts of looking over the trees at the time of building and after all forgot the trees grew as high on the hill as in the valley Castle Frank—the rest being inhabited by bears and wolves. I have not ventured as yet to take a view of then as yet. We have a tolerable house unfinished but can I hope make you very comfortable if you will come. I am almost as tall as Mama and I have learnt to nurse. It would give me much satisfaction to have it in my power to practice in some degree with my Grand Papa with or without sickness. My sister and self have been hard at work to send you a patchwork counterpane the which we request your acceptance. Mama sends you a lap, tippet, socks and gloves and believes you will wear them for her sake and is sure you will find comfort in them on your passage out to Canada and also a Bottle of Bear's Grease. I shall be very much obliged to you for some useful and entertaining books. It is very difficult to procure any here and those very indifferent print. Mama finds it so painful to write or read that she cannot write you at this time. Without a glass she cannot read at all and very little with.
    I am honoured Grand Papa your most dutiful Grand Daughter.
    MLJ

Castle Frank may refer to the now buried Castle Frank Brook or to the rustic lodge built in 1796 by John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada. The word "castle" was used ironically by the early inhabitants of York. Maria's sister, Augusta Honoria Jarvis (1790-1848) was eleven when this letter was written.

Maria married George Hamilton (1788-1838) at York in 1812. After the War of 1812, George purchased land in Barton Township at the head of Lake Ontario. He developed a town site which grew to become the City of Hamilton. Maria's grandfather finally visited in 1818, and baptised his grandaughter, Maria Lavinia Hamilton.

Maria Lavinia Jarvis died in 1829, leaving behind her husband and eight children.

The Gorringe Family: The Ones Left Behind

1792 Map of Part of St Martin in the Fields

London Lives asks, "What was it like to live in the first million person city in modern Western Europe. Crime, poverty, and illness; apprenticeship, work... all this and more can be found in these documents." The London Lives collection cover the period 1690 to 1800, and include Workhouse Admissions and Discharge Registers, Pauper Examinations, Coroner's Inquests, and Criminal Proceedings.

London Lives has been an invaluable resource in researching the family of Francis Goring (1755-1882). When Francis left England for Canada in 1776, he likely expected that he would not see his parents and sisters again. Still, he could look forward to occasional news from home. Unfortunately, the news he received was not good.

Francis Gorringe was born on 26 Aug 1755 in Westminster, Middlesex, the son of Abraham Gorringe, a bookseller, and Ann Lloyd. He was baptised twelve days later on 7 Sep 1755 at St Martin in the Fields. Abraham and Ann, "of St Bridget's, Fleet Street" were married at St. George's Chapel, May Fair on 19 Nov 1751. The Chapel, which was located at Hyde Park Corner, was established for those who wished to marry clandestinely, that is, without banns, a license, or the consent of parents.

It is likely that Abraham and Ann were married without the consent of Ann's parents. Ann, the daughter of William and Mary Lloyd, was baptised on 17 Dec 1734 at St Bridget's, Fleet Street, so she may have only been 17 at the time of her marriage. Ann would also have been pregnant when she married, as her first child, Mary, was born on 9 Jun 1752.

The parish register for St Martin in the Fields records the baptism of eight children of Abraham and Ann. Francis was the third oldest. Childhood illnesses took their tool. Francis's only brother, William, died at 23 months of age. Two of his sisters also died quite young: Ann (1753-1756) and Louisa (1770-1770).

There is evidence for another daughter named Elizabeth who was born about 1766 and buried at St Martin in the Fields on 16 Jun 1778, however, there is no record of her baptism at St Martin in the Fields.

Abraham's career as a bookseller was likely unremarkable. In the Old Bailey Proceedings for 7 Dec 1763, however, is recorded the indictment of Alexander Lowe for stealing two books from Abraham, one called The Travels of the Jesuits into Various Parts of the World, valued at two shillings, and the other The Complete London Songster valued at six pence. Ann Gorringe's testimony is also recorded:

I am wife to the prosecutor, he is a bookseller, and lives in May's Buildings. Last Monday, between three and four in the afternoon, the prisoner was looking at these books, and, as the window was open, he asked the price of two others, but we could not agree; he was going off, two of these volumes lay there five minutes before: I observed a book in his left-hand pocket, he was gone six or seven yards, I went and laid hold of him, and said, you thieving fellow, come back and give me the books out of your pocket; he had the two books, mentioned in the indictment, in his pockets; he insisted upon it, they were his own property, and talked of carrying me before a magistrate, the books produced, and deposed to.

Lowe's defence consisted of the statement, "I was in liquor. How they came into my pocket, I know not." Lowe was convicted and was "ordered to be branded in the hand and discharged."

Abraham was also named as the executor of the will of his brother Richard. The will was dated 8 Jan 1768 and was proved at the Prerogative Court of Canterbury on 20 Aug 1770. Richard was a mariner and served on HMS Druid, a 10-gun sloop launched in 1761 and sunk as a breakwater in 1773. Ten years later administration was transferred to Abraham's daughter Ann, as Abraham had left the will "unadministered."

Abraham died several months after Francis had left for Canada. Less than two years later his mother was also dead, as was his sister Elizabeth. Francis received the news in a letter dated 28 Mar 1779 from James Crespel, the husband of his mother's sister:

I wrote you last year acquainting you of the death of your father. I now must acquaint you of the death of your Dear Mother, also your little sister, Betsy. Likewise your Aunt, my dear wife. All the rest of your family is well. Sally is in the Workhouse of St. Martins and is very well satisfied with her Situation. Nancy and Charlotte are in places and I hear no complaint.

James Crespel's letter is part of the Francis Goring Fonds at Brock University.

James and his brother Sebastian were silversmiths. A silver ewer (left) dated 1765 and bearing the makers' mark for Sebastian and James Crespel is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, while a tankard can be found at Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum. James married Sarah Lloyd at St Botolph without Bishopsgate, London on 17 Jan 1768. Sarah's burial is not recorded at St Martins in the Fields, however, James was buried there on 10 May 1815, aged 79.

Shortly before her mother's death, Francis's sister Ann (Nancy) applied for poor relief on behalf of her family:

The Examination of Ann Gorringe lodging at No.4 in Lazenby Court in parish of St Martin in the Fields, taken this 18th Day of March in the Year 1778. This Examinant on her Oath saith That her mother Ann Gorringe now ill as aforesaid is the Widow of Abraham Gorringe (who died in August 1776) to whom she was married at May Fair Chapel about the year 1754, That her father was a Book seller and lived and Rented an House in Little Mays Building in the Parish afore said for the space of twenty six years at the yearly rent of twenty pounds besides taxes quitted the same about Christmas 1775, That her father never kept house rented a tenement of ten pounds by the year nor paid any parish taxes afterwards, That her mother hath not kept house rented a tenement of ten pounds by the year nor paid any parish taxes since the death of her said husband, That her Mother hath three children by her said husband to wit Sarah aged eighteen years (who is Blind) Charlotte aged 16 years (who is lame) and Elizabeth aged twelve years now in Hungerford School. Sworn the 18th Day of March 1778.

The most common form of relief available was the workhouse. Workhouses were institutions where the poor were given shelter, fed and put to work. The St Martin in the Fields Workhouse had been opened in 1725, and it was here that three of Francis's sisters became inmates.

Sir Frederick Morton Eden's 1797 State of the Poor provides a description of the St Martin Workhouse:

The Poor are partly relieved at home, and partly maintained in the Workhouse in Castle Street, Leicester Fields. There are about 240 out-pensioners, besides a considerable number on the casual list. There are 573 inmates (473 adults, 100 children). Their principal employment is spinning flax, picking hair, and carding wool. Their average earnings £150. It was once attempted to establish a manufacture, but the badness of the situation for business, the want of room for workshops, and the difficulty of compelling the able Poor to pay proper attention to work rendered it unsuccessful. Between 70 and 80 children are generally out at nurse in the Country, at a weekly allowance of 3s. (lately advanced to 3s. 6d.). At 7 or 8 they are taken into the house, taught a little reading, etc., for 3 or 4 years, and put out as apprentices. The bill of fare is as follows : Breakfast—bread and butter; Friday, water gruel sweetened and spiced; other days, milk pottage. Dinner—Sunday, 6oz. meat without bone; Monday, Wednesday, pease soup; Tuesday, Thursday, beef and greens; Friday, barley gruel with milk; Saturday, 1lb. plum pudding. Supper—every day, bread and cheese or butter. Fourteen oz. bread and 1 quart beer are allowed a day to each person; mutton and broth for the sick every day; to each married lying-in woman, one pot of porter for caudle the first 9 days and a pint for 7 days after; others half that quantity; boiled mutton with potatoes once in 6 weeks, pease and beans with bacon, and mackerel and salmon once in the season; grey pease and bacon on Shrove Tuesday; buns on Good Friday; roast beef on Christmas Day; pork and pease pudding on New Year's Day; plum cake on Holy Thursday.

Ann Gorringe was first admitted to the St Martin in the Fields workhouse on 8 Jun 1778. She was discharged, readmitted and discharged again. She was last admitted on 22 Dec 1789, and died while an inmate on 9 Jan 1790.

Charlotte Gorringe was not admitted to the workhouse until 6 Nov 1783. She was eight months pregnant at the time. Charlotte died while an inmate on 6 Jan 1784 shortly after the birth of her illegitimate son, Francis. Francis was born on 20 Dec 1783, baptised on 6 Jan 1784, died on 15 Jan 1784, and was buried on 17 Jan 1784.

Sarah (Sally) Goring was first admitted to the workhouse on 16 Apr 1778. She spent the next forty-two years in and out of the workhouse, and was last admitted (for the 17th time) on 3 Mar 1817. She died while an inmate on 2 Jan 1820, the last of Francis's sisters.

The Roof Bosses of Atherington

St Mary's, Atherington, Devon

The North Devon parish of Atherington is one of five parishes that I collect information about in my role as a Online Parish Clerk (OPC). An OPC is a volunteer with an interest in the genealogy and history of a parish, and collects copies of original records, indexes or transcripts relating to that parish. The OPC undertakes to make such information available to enquirers for their own personal use. For more details about the OPC project click here, or visit my website to see what I have collected about Atherington, High Bickington, Tawstock, St Giles in the Wood, and Yarnscombe.

Atherington is one of my neglected parishes. Much of the information I typically provide (lookups of baptisms, marriages, burials) is available elsewhere, either through FamilySearch or Devon Heritage. As well, despite two visits to Devon in the last four years, I have not been able to get inside the church. The first time the church was locked and there was no indication as to where a key could be found. The second time the roof was being replaced, so even the churchyard was inaccessible. This is unfortunate, since everything I've read and seen about St Mary's, Atherington suggests that the inside is definitely worth seeing.

St Mary's contains a number of effigy monuments and chest tombs. A few photographs of these (including the one to the left) were recently uploaded to Wikipedia. The effigies and chest tombs were moved to St Mary's from nearby Umberleigh when the Chapel of the Holy Trinity was demolished about 1800.

St Mary's also contains unusual crocketed bench ends, a 15th century font, as well as some medieval glass. Also noteworthy is the rood screen and loft. The elaborately carved screen and loft date from the mid 16th century and were the work of two local craftsmen. The loft also has the distinction of being the only surviving rood loft in Devon.

One of St Mary's interesting features is the large number of late medieval oak roof bosses that adorn the wagon roofs in the nave, chancel and north aisle. The carvings depict fruit, foliage, animals and men, as well as mythological creatures, including several imps. A few years ago, I was sent a collection of photographs. Here are four of the best, beginning with an imp:

This roof boss features a dragon suckling its young. The boss may be a reference to a verse from the Book of Lamentations: “Even the sea monsters draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones."

The foliate head or "green man" is a common roof boss motif in Devon churches. The green man is undoubtably of pagan origin and is commonly thought to represent fertility. Another interpretation, more in line with Christian teaching, is that the green man is a symbol of rebirth or resurrection.

Titivillus was the demon responsible for recording the idle chatter of the laity in church, to be later used as evidence for damnation. Titivillus is also the patron demon of scribes and is said to have entered the scriptoria of monasteries and caused errors in manuscripts as they were copied.

I'll be visiting North Devon again next summer, and hope that this time I'll finally have the opportunity to photograph the inside of St Mary's Atherington.

Homer Cemetery: Historical and Neglected

Gravestones obscured by fallen tree

Homer Cemetery is an inactive cemetery located in the shadow of the Garden City Skyway across the Welland Canal from St. Catharines. The cemetery is sometimes referred to as the Ten Mile Creek Burying Ground, although the actual creek was obliterated by the construction of the fourth Welland Canal in 1926.

Gravestone
encroachment

From a historical standpoint, Homer is one of the most interesting cemeteries in the Niagara Peninsula. It is an old graveyard, and is the burial place of several of the first settlers west of the Niagara River. In the graveyard can be found several members of Butler's Rangers — Loyalists who fought for Great Britain against the Americans during the Revolutionary War. Also buried at Homer are numerous veterans of the War of 1812.

Despite its historical significance, Homer is a badly neglected cemetery. Most of the gravestones lie horizontally on the ground. Grass and earth have encroached on the stones to the point that many have almost disappeared. In the process of photographing the gravestones this past summer, I often had to carefully remove the grass and soil. Due to a lack of rain this summer, this was relatively easy, but it was still dusty and time-consuming work.

Excavated
gravestone

Two large trees have fallen at the back of the cemetery, obscuring a number of the gravestones, including that Mary Read (1764-1839), wife of George Read (1763-1834), a private in Butler’s Rangers. The trees apparently fell many years ago. Why no one has brought in a chainsaw and removed them is a mystery.

Homer Cemetery is located on land that was granted to George Read’s brother, William Read (1759-1831). In his 1795 petition requesting land on behalf on his wife and five children, William writes that he, “with the assistance of his neighbours has erected a church on his premises in which Divine Service had been performed by the Rev’d Mr. Addison. The log church stood until 1832 when it was destroyed by fire. A church of brick was built to replace it, but this was torn down in 1939 when the four-lane Queen Elizabeth Way was built.

By the 1930s the cemetery had become so overgrown that a fire was set to clear out the undergrowth. This had the unfortunate effect of cracking or descaling a number of the older stones. A stone cairn and commemorative plaque was also installed about this time.

The cemetery has been transcribed on a number of occasions, beginning with a partial transcription by Janet Carnochan in 1898. In 1928, W.G. Reive recorded most of the gravestones, and also noted that the cemetery was overgrown and poorly maintained. In 1984 and 1985, the Niagara Peninsula Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society undertook a systematic transcription. A quarter century later this transcription is invaluable for locating individual stones and discerning faded inscriptions.

George Grass
1789-1813

In her 1898 transcription, Carnochan notes the gravestone of George Grass (1789-1813) who was killed on May 1813 during the Battle of Fort George. Grass is one of few “Canadian” soldiers who died during the War of 1812 whose graves are marked. Also mentioned are the gravestones of Solomon Secord (1756-1799), a Lieutenant in Butler’s Rangers; Jacob Ball (1777-1820) and his wife Elizabeth (1790-1892); Margaret Hare (1764-1851), whose first husband was Solomon Secord, and whose second was Peter Hare, who also was a Lieutenant in Butler’s Rangers. Finally Carnochan records the epitaph for the double stone to Francis Goring Parnall and Elizabeth Secord.

William Havens
1738-1800

Conspicuously absent from Carnochan’s account is the oldest gravestone in the cemetery, that of William Havens (1738-1800). The stone is incorporated into a much larger monument that documents the history of the Havens family, beginning with their emigration from Wales to Rhode Island in 1638. Unfortunately, the original stone for William’s wife, Lydia Masters (1742-1817) which was also incorporated into the monument, no longer exists.

It is unfortunate that Homer Cemetery is not better maintained. The Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake lists Homer Cemetery on its website as one of ten inactive cemeteries “that are cared for by our staff.” The care of cemeteries, however, must go beyond just cutting the grass. It must include preventing gravestones from disappearing altogether.

Petticoat Rule: Hannah Jarvis (1763-1845)

Hamilton Family Burial Ground, Queenston, Ontario

The Hamilton Family Burial Ground is a small cemetery located in village of Queenston, halfway between Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake. As would be expected, most of the gravestones commemorate members of the Hamilton family—a family of considerable influence and power during the early days of Upper Canada (Ontario). The graveyard is situated on the grounds of the Greek Revival mansion known as Willowbank, built by Alexander Hamilton around 1834. Willowbank is now a National Historic Site, and is also the home of the School of Restoration Arts.

The School of Restoration Arts offers a Diploma in Heritage Conversation, and is making the effort to restore and maintain the cemetery. A blog entry by one of the students describes repairs that were recently made to two of the gravestones. A number of other stones, however, still require attention.

Alexander Hamilton
1794-1839

One of these stones belongs to Alexander Hamilton, third son of the merchant Robert Hamilton. Alexander was born at Queenston in 1794. He served with distinction during the War of 1812, and afterwards held a variety of important positions including sheriff of the Niagara District. As sheriff, Hamilton was required to perform the hanging of a condemned prisoner when the executioner failed to show. Some sources claim that Hamilton was so affected by the hanging that his health failed, and that this resulted in his death in 1839.

Alexander Hamilton's widow, Hannah, continued to live at Willowbank until her own death in 1888. Hannah was the daughter of William Jarvis, provincial secretary and registrar of Upper Canada. Alexander's untimely death left Hannah with the task of managing the estate, and of raising their numerous children, one of whom was born after the death of his father.

Hannah Jarvis with
her daughters Maria
and Augusta
(James Earl Raise,
1791, oil on canvas,
Royal Ontario Museum)

Hannah received help from her widowed mother, Hannah Owens Peters, who had been living with her daughter at the time of Alexander's death. Born in Connecticut in 1763, and after spending several years in England, the elder Hannah became an member of the "aristocracy" of Upper Canada. A significant amount of correspondence written by and about Hannah has been deposited at Library and Archives Canada, the Archives of Ontario, and the University of Guelph, providing a fascinating glimpse into her life.

One such glimpse is given by a former slave. Although uncommon, slavery did exist during the early days of Upper Canada, and several were owned by the Jarvis family. The 1797 wedding of "Moses & Phoebe, Negro slaves of Mr. Secy. Jarvis" is recorded in the records of St Mark's Church in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Henry Lewis, who escaped and fled to New York, wrote a letter to his former owner in 1798.

The reason why I left your house is this. Your woman vexed me to so high a degree that is was far beyond the power of man to support it.

Different attitudes towards slavery was one the reasons why Hannah Jarvis was not impressed with John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada. Simcoe took measures to limit slavery in Upper Canada; measures that ensured the eventual end of the institution. Hannah wrote that Simcoe, "by a piece of chicanery has freed all the Negroes by which he has rendered himself unpopular..." Hannah firmly believed that Simcoe's appointment as Lieutenant Governor was entirely due to his wife's money and influence, and frequently complained of "petticoat rule."

Hannah Jarvis was highly critically of Elizabeth Simcoe, the wife of the Lieutenant Governor, at one point calling her a "little stuttering Vixon." Hannah was quick to notice Elizabeth Simcoe's absence at a ball celebrating the King's Birthday, suggesting that Mrs. Simcoe had been deliberately sick. Hannah seemed to blame Elizabeth Simcoe for just about everything. Writing about how a chest of linens had become mildewed aboard ship, Hannah noted that "Mrs. Simcoe's things escaped."

For her part, Elizabeth Simcoe barely mentions Hannah Jarvis in her diary, although other members of Upper Canada society make frequent appearances.

In other letters, Hannah Jarvis complains about the difficulty of finding servants, since the best servants would frequently "take up land and work for themselves. She complains about a cook she was able to employ: "Nasty, Sulky, Ill Tempered Creature." She complains about the prevalence of disease: "Ague and Fever are so prevalent that whole Families are confined at once..." In letters to her family in England she complains about the high costs of goods in "this Grim country," and asks that shoes, fabric, castor oil, and other goods to be sent to her.

John Graves and Elizabeth Simcoe returned to England in 1796, but Hannah Jarvis remained in "this Grim country" for the rest of her life. After the death of William Jarvis in 1817, Hannah made lengthy visits to her daughters, and eventually moved in with her daughter Hannah and son-in-law Alexander Hamilton in Queenston. Alexander Hamilton's death in 1839 reduced the family to poverty, and forced the elder Hannah to take over the housekeeping at Willowbank. A woman who once had slaves and servants, spent the last few years of her life cooking, washing, ironing, and cleaning.

Hannah Owens Peters, wife of William Jarvis, was buried in the Hamilton Family Burial Ground in 1845.

Hannah Jarvis (1763-1845)

Melancholy Tragedy: The Murders of Sarah and Annie Pethebridge

Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum

October of 1871 is perhaps best known as the month of the Great Chicago Fire, allegedly begun when Mrs. O'Leary's cow kicked over a lantern. But for the secluded North Devon village of Yarnscombe, October 1871 is the month when Jane Pethebridge murdered her two daughters.

Jane Pickard, oldest daughter of James Pickard (1813-1897) and Sarah May (1813-1876), was born in Fremington, Devon in 1839. In 1855, Jane married George Pethebridge, the son of Thomas Pethebridge (1816- ?) and Rebecca (1816-1872).  Sometime after their marriage, Jane and George moved to Aberavon, Glamorgan, Wales, where their daughter, Elizabeth, was born during the summer of 1858. George was badly injured in a mining accident, and the family returned to Fremington to live with Jane's parents. Unfortunately, George succumbed to his injuries during the summer of 1860.

For the next few years, Elizabeth was raised by her grandparents, as Jane had obtained a position with a family in London. Finally, in the summer of 1868, in Exeter, Jane married Richard Pethebridge, the younger brother of her first husband. Richard was born in Yarnscombe, Devon in 1837. He was a road labourer, and lived with Jane in a cottage in the village. Their daughter Annie was born a year later in the summer of 1869. Another daughter, Sarah, followed in the winter of 1871.

On Thursday, October 5, 1871, Jane sent her daughter Elizabeth to fetch some beer from her aunt, Mary Ann Pearce, who lived at East Orchard Farm about a mile away. On her way back, a neighbour, Emma Moon, the wife of Police Constable James Moon, called to Elizabeth and asked her if she knew that her mother had gone out. Mrs. Moon then urged Elizabeth to check on her step-sisters. When she got home, Elizabeth went upstairs to find the two girls on the bed. Thinking they were asleep, she tried to wake Annie but soon realized that neither child was breathing. Elizabeth ran back to her neighbour and told Mrs. Moon that her sisters were dead. Emma fetched her husband who after a quick examination of the crime scene set out after Jane. He caught up with her outside of Yarnscombe on the road to Barnstaple, brought her back to his house, and charged her with murder.

Later that evening PC Moon, accompanied by Charles Richard Jones, a surgeon from Great Torrington, examined the crime scene more closely. They discovered marks around the necks of both children, as well as a bruise on Annie's forehead. PC Moon also found two lengths of string, with which the two girls had apparently been strangled.

Newspaper coverage of the murders was extensive. Trewman's Exeter Flying Post refers to Jane as "crippled and paralysed" but states she ran from her house without the aid of her crutches intending to drown herself. PC Moon mentions that she had a walking stick when he arrested her. The reporter states that at her appearance before the magistrates in Great Torrington, Jane had "a somewhat forbidding countenance, and she betrayed no traces of compunction."

The North Devon Journal provides a more detailed picture. Annie’s birth had left Jane paralysed on her right side, and although her mother had partially recovered, it was Elizabeth who largely managed the household. Jane was also subject to seizures.

During the Victorian Era, there was a growing awareness of mental illness, and the possibility that a person might not be criminally responsible for their actions. This was especially the case when a mother murdered her child. To an educated person, the thought of a sane woman murdering a child was inconceivable. As a result, insanity became a foregone conclusion is these cases.

At the Devon Assizes a month later, the presiding judge, Baron Martin, instructed the Grand Jury to discharge Jane, after hearing medical evidence that she was "of unsound mind." The judge then directed that Jane "be detained during Her Majesty's pleasure."

Jane was sent to the Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum in Berkshire, where she died in 1881. At the time of the 1881 Census, her daughter Elizabeth was a domestic servant at a lodging house in Ventnor on the Isle of Wight. In the spring of 1882 she married Frank King. Together they raised a large family, although it is unlikely that Elizabeth's children ever knew about their step-aunts.

Sources:

North Devon Journal, October 12, 1871
North Devon Journal, December 21, 1871
Trewman's Exeter Flying Post, October 11, 1871
Trewman's Exeter Flying Post, December 20, 1871

Ponsonby Pioneer

Ponsonby Pioneer Cemetery, Nichol, Wellington, Ontario

After three and a half days of "off-and-on" rain, we had a few hours of partially cloudy skies, so I took advantage of the good weather and visited Ponsonby Pioneer Cemetery in Wellington County north of Guelph, Ontario.

The Ponsonby Hotel

Ponsonby started as a stagecoach stop along the Gaxafraxa Settlement Road, leading north from Guelph into the wilderness known as the Queen's Bush. The settlement was originally named Thorpeville, after the first postmaster, John Thorpe. In 1863 the named was changed to Ponsonby. By this time Ponsonby was a thriving community with a hotel, wagonmaker, carpenter, butcher, blacksmith, and general store. Ponsonby today is a ghost town. The only remnants from its heyday are the hotel, which is now a private dwelling, and the cemetery.

In 1843 a 3/4 acre lot for a cemetery was purchased by Bethany Methodist Church. The cemetery remained active until about 1888. In the 20th century the cemetery became the victim of road widening. The existing gravestones were placed into a sloping concrete pad facing the road. In 1958, a cairn was erected on the site by the congregation of Bethany United Church, the successor to Bethany Methodist. 

Thomas HOWSE
(1788-1874)

The gravestones are for the most part in good condition, athough no longer in situ. The gravestone of Thomas Howse is particularly striking and bears a poetic epitaph: 

     He's gone! the loved and cherished one;
     Like some bright star he passed away.
     Death claimed his victim and he sank,
     Calm as the sun's expiring ray. 

Thomas Howse was born on 20 Apr 1788 in Aynho, Northamptonshire, England. He emigrated to Canada with his wife Mary Churchley (1787- ?) and seven children in the 1830s, and settled in Pilkington Township west of Ponsonby. Thomas's family was one of several Aynho families that emigrated from England to the Ponsonby area.

Also at Ponsonby are the gravestones for Thomas's son George Howse (1819-1858), his daughter Elizabeth (1826-1878), his daughter Mary (1823-1855), Thomas's unmarried sister, Ann Howse (1788-1880), and two grandchildren.