The Lost Hamlet of Mimosa

Mimosa Union Cemetery, Erin, Wellington, Ontario

Mimosa usually refers to an alcoholic drink combining equal parts of champagne and orange juice. Mimosa is also the genus of the sensitive plant, native to South America but cultivated as a houseplant. Why a lost hamlet in Wellington County northeast of Guelph, Ontario was also given this name is not known.

Mimosa officially came into being in 1860 when inhabitants in the northwest corner of Erin Township, first settled in the 1820s, successfully lobbied for a post office. The establishment of a post office attracted other businesses to the area including a general store, hotel, blacksmith, and a shoemaker. In 1862 a Methodist Church was erected, followed by a Disciples of Christ Church in 1863, and a Presbyterian Church in 1864. In 1872 a school house was built between the Methodist and Disciples Church.

S.S. No. 14 Erin
"Mimosa School"

Mimosa's success, however, was short-lived. When the Credit Valley Railway opened their Elora-Cataract branch in 1879, the nearest station to Mimosa was five kilometres away. Business was soon drawn to the railway location, which was named Orton when a post office opened in 1882.

Mimosa lost its post office in 1914. The general store closed in the early 1920s and was briefly a residence before fire destroyed the building in 1928. In 1922 the wood frame schoolhouse was replaced by a brick structure. The school finally closed in 1965 and the building was converted into a home.

John Small
(1800-1904)

Mimosa Union Cemetery dates from 1860 when John Small sold a quarter acre to the Methodists. A frame church was build in 1862 but was replaced in 1885 with a brick structure. This in turn was replaced by another brick building after a fire in February 1905. In 1925 the congregation joined with the Mimosa Presbyterian Church and services ceased. The building was demolished in 1938.

It is interesting to note that John Small, on whose property the cemetery was located, died in 1904 at the age of 104. John was born in County Antrim, Ireland and had arrived in Canada in the early 1840s. His wife, Elizabeth McLaren, who died in 1901, was 23 years younger.

According to his gravestone, Henry Reed (1795-1870) was born in Suffolk, England, enlisted in the 68th Regiment in 1815, and served for 14 years.

Henry Reed
(1795-1870)

The 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) was stationed in Ireland from 1814 to 1818. The regiment embarked for Canada in May 1818, and remained there for eleven years, returning to England in October 1829.

According to his British Army discharge, Henry served from 25 Mar 1815 until 24 Apr 1827. He was "sent home from Canada in 1825 for Epileptic Fits and Ulcerated Leg." Henry appears on a December 1815 pay list when the regiment was stationed in Belfast, and Royal Hospital Chelsea Pensioner records show that he was admitted as a out-pensioner on 25 Apr 1827.

Henry, the son of Robert Reed and Margaret Kemp, was baptised at Framlingham, Suffolk, England on 19 Jul 1795. He married Ann Holmes (1805-1882) at St Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Quebec on 10 Jul 1824. Henry and Ann had 12 children. There oldest, James Reed, was baptised in Stoke Dameral, Devon, England on 30 Apr 1826. The remaining children were all born in Upper Canada, beginning with Henry in 1828.

Henry brought his family to Erin Township in 1855, having previously lived in Nassagaweya Township east of Guelph. Two of his daughters were buried at the Ebenezer Cemetery in Nassagaweya in 1838. Henry was appointed Mimosa's first postmaster in 1860. 

Francis Awrey (1855-1856)

A number of stones commemorate the Awrey family. John Awrey (1790-1861) was a blacksmith who was born in New Jersey but came with his parents to Upper Canada (now Ontario) as a child. He purchased 500 acres in Erin Township in 1827, and was one of the first settlers in the area. A schoolhouse known as Awrey's School was built on his land in 1840. The schoolhouse was also used as a church by the Methodists. A small graveyard, known as Awrey's Cemetery, was located beside the schoolhouse. 

When Mimosa Union cemetery opened in 1860, the seven bodies that had been buried at Awrey's Cemetery were re-interred. A few of the older gravestones, including that of Francis Awrey (1855-1856), grandson of John Awrey, likely came from Awrey's Cemetery. Most of the monuments at Mimosa Union, however, date from the late 19th to early 20th century. The cemetery is still active although burials are infrequent.

Mimosa Disciple Cemetery, Erin, Wellington, Ontario

The Mimosa Disciple Cemetery dates from 1863 when Henry Reed (1828-1883), son of Henry Reed (1795-1870) donated land for a church to the Disciples of Christ. During the late 19th century, the Disciples of Christ were very active in Erin and neighbouring Eramosa townships. Regular services church continued at the Church until 1939 when the congregation joined with Hillsburgh Disciple Church. The brick church building, dedicated in 1890, was demolished in 1951.

One of the earliest gravestones at Mimosa Disciple is that of David Westover, infant son of Jacob and Mary Westover, who died in 1867. Another early gravestone is that of John Cawthra who was born about 1790 and died in 1868.

Both Mimosa Union and Mimosa Disciple were vandalized in 1977, however, restoration work was undertaken by two local monument companies.

Sources:

Hutchinson, Jean, The History of Wellington Country, Landsborough Press, 1998.

Bowley, Steve, Guelph and Wellington County Cemeteries and Burial Sites, Ontario Genealogical Society, 2015.

McMillan, C. J., Early History of the Township of Erin, Boston Mills Press, 1974.

  

Cemetery Crawling 3

Huttonville Cemetery, Chinguacousy, Peel, Ontario

Huttonville Cemetery

Winter is not the usual time for photographing gravestones, but this was an unusual winter in Southern Ontario with very little snow. As a result, I finished photographing gravestones in a number of cemeteries that I had started last year. One of these is the Huttonville Cemetery, located on the west side of Brampton, Ontario.

Huttonville was a hamlet that grew up around a grist mill on the Credit River two kilometres south-east of the cemetery. The hamlet was named after James P. Hutton who bought the grist mill in 1855, and later added a woollen mill.

Joseph McKay Leflar
1806-1858

Huttonville Cemetery was formerly known as Springbrook Methodist Episcopal Cemetery. The graveyard is located on land granted to John Frank in 1819, but acquired in 1831 by Joseph Leflar. Shortly after purchasing the land, Leflar deeded one acre to the Methodist Episcopal Church for the use of a cemetery. A church stood on the site until at least 1877, and possibly as late as 1886 when the Springbrook congregation merged with the Page congregation and moved to a new building in Huttonville.

A square monument near the front of the cemetery commemorates Joseph Leflar and two of his daughters. Joseph Mckay Leflar was born in Upper Canada on 29 Mar 1806, a son of John Leflar (1776-1856) and Elizabeth Mckay (1777-1854). Joseph married Eliza Ann Biggar (1809-1897) in 1835. Their children were Adaline (1838-1848), Eliza Ann (1840-1842) and Elizabeth Ann (1843- ?). Although Joseph Leflar died on November 16, 1858, his widow continued living on the property until 1875. Also living in the area was Joseph's brother Hiram (1809-1884). Three of Hiram's children are buried at Huttonville, as is a daughter-in-law and a granddaughter.

Leflar Plank House in 2004

Joseph Leflar's original house was located north of the cemetery, and was constructed using a unique method known as "plank on plank" construction. Rough cut planks were stacked horizontally to form the outside walls and were then covered with roughcast plaster. The Leflar Plank House had a fieldstone foundation, and a centre door flanked by two windows, typical of the early 19th century Georgian Revival style. Unfortunately, the house was inadvertently demolished in 2011.

Originally the gravestones at Huttonville were in regular rows, but when the cemetery was turned over to the City of Brampton in 1983, many of the gravestones were placed in a cairn.  The earliest gravestone in the cairn is dated 1842 and commemorates four children of Abraham and Susannah Scott. When Mississauga Road was widened several years ago, an 1844 gravestone for William Whetham was discovered and placed at the head of the cairn. The gravestone also records the death of his son Benjamin in 1838. The last burial at Huttonville occurred in 1929.
 
A transcription of the cemetery was made in the 1930s by local historian John Perkins Bull. He describes the graveyard as, "badly grown up with small trees and brush, some of which is ten to twelve feet in height. In the summer most of the monuments would be entirely obscured by foliage and at present the snow has drifted deep." The Ontario Genealogical Society's transcription is dated 1981 and remains accurate even though it was completed before the cairn was built. As expected, the Perkins Bull transcription lists a number of gravestones that were not found in 1981, while the OGS transcription records gravestones not found by Perkins Bull.

Page Cemetery, Chinguacousy, Peel, Ontario

Page Cemetery

Page Cemetery is located about two kilometres south of Huttonville Cemetery. It was established in 1845 when Aaron Page sold part of his land to the Methodist Episcopal Church. The graveyard is also known as Ostrander's Cemetery, since there are over 20 burials for the Ostrander family at this site.

The earliest gravestone is that of George Warner who died in 1849 at the age of 18 months. Also buried here is the thirteen-year-old Henrietta Page, daughter of Aaron, one of only two Page burials in the cemetery. The other is Henrietta's five-month-old cousin Thomas Edward Page. Both died in 1852.

A church was built at the northeast corner of the site. In 1886, the congregation of this church and the church at Springbrook merged and moved to a new location in Huttonville. The new church was called Huttonville Methodist Church until 1925 when it became Huttonville United Church.

The City of Brampton took control of the cemetery in 1983. Some of the older stones were placed into a cairn, and in front of the cairn was placed a 1961 plaque dedicated to the memory of the pioneers of Huttonville.  The cemetery is still active with buriald occurring as recently as 2003.

Jane Ostrander 1761-1865

Perhaps the most interesting gravestone is that for Jane, the widow of Andrew Ostrander. Jane died in 1865 at the remarkable age of 104. Jane was the daughter of Thadeus Davis (1738-1824) and Deborah Hall (? -1818). Thadeus was a United Empire Loyalist who had spent several years in captivity during the American Revolution before coming to Upper Canada (Ontario) in 1796.

Jane was born in Milford, Fairfield, Connecticut in 1761. She married Andrew Ostrander (1758-1831) in 1785. Andrew Ostrander was born near Albany, New York. Andrew and Jane moved to Canada after the birth of their first child, Deborah, in 1785, and settled in Niagara Township near the hamlet of St David's. In 1795 Andrew successfully petitioned the government of Upper Canada for a grant of 200 acres in addition to the 100 acres he already owned.

In 1797, and again in 1810, Lucy petitioned for a grant of 200 acres as the daughter of an United Empire Loyalist. In her 1797 petition she gave evidence that Andrew Ostrander had served in Brant's Volunteers during the American Revolution, and had twice been taken prisoner. While this petition was rejected, her later petition was accepted.

Thirty years later, Lucy petitioned the United States government for a Revolutionary War Pension, claiming her late husband had been a soldier in the Revolutionary Army. This petition was rejected as there was no record of Andrew's service.

Lucy and Andrew's sons, Loyal Ostrander (1801-1889) and James Ostrander (1792-1880) settled in Chinguacousy Township. Loyal Ostrander is buried at Page as are a number of his descendants.

St John's Anglican Cemetery

St John's Anglican Cemetery, Esquesing, Halton, Ontario

St John's Anglican Cemetery is located at the top of a hill in the hamlet of Stewarttown southwest of Georgetown, Ontario. The cemetery is not easy to find as it is invisible from the road and can only be accessed via a steep stairway. The land may have been used as a cemetery as early as 1819, the year the Township of Esquesing was opened for settlement.
 
St John's Anglican Church traces its history back to 1834. Plans originally were to build a church beside the cemetery but members of the congregation objected to the relative inaccessibility. It appears that a log church may have later been built on other site. In 1883 the Anglicans purchased the Wesleyan Methodist church building that was located a few hundred metres south-east of the cemetery.

Ann Thompson
1791-1838

While St John's Anglican Church is still in use today, the last burial at the cemetery was in 1934. Many of the oldest gravestones have been gathered into a cairn. Most of these stones date from the mid-1800s.

Many of the early gravestones belong to members of the Thompson family. The oldest is for Ann, the wife of William Thompson, who died in 1838. Hannah "Ann" Cooke was born in County Leitrim, Ireland in 1791. She married William Thompson (1789-1854) in 1814. Their three oldest children were born in Ireland.

Upon his arrival in Canada, William purchased the west half of Lot 15 Concession 7 Esquesing. He later purchased the west half of Lot 16 Concession 7. William also requested a grant of land from the government. In his Upper Canada Land Petition, dated 2 Mar 1824, William states that he:

"is a Native of the County of Longford, Ireland, from whence he emigrated to Quebec in July 1822 — has a wife a 3 children, has taken the Oath of Allegiance ... that he served 14 Years in the Irish Yeomanry..."

With the petition were two letters of recommendation attesting to William's good character. The one letter describes him as "a good farmer" while the other shows that William emigrated at the same time as his brother George Thompson (1799-1881). George married Mary Cooke (1801-1883), sister of Ann Cooke. George and Mary are also buried at St John's Anglican.

The Apprentice and the Gunner: The Cooke Family of Tawstock

St Peter's, Tawstock, Devon in 1906

As far as I know, there is no connection between Thomas Cooke (1741-1802) of Tawstock, Devon, and my ancestor, George Cooke (1742-1821) of nearby Langley Barton in High Bickington. But while exploring the possiblility of a connection, I uncovered a number of fascinating stories about Thomas Cooke's descendants, in particular, his grandchildren Charity Cooke and John Lovering Cooke.

Charity Cooke

Charity Cooke, was baptised at Tawstock on 6 Oct 1816. Her father George Cooke (1789-1873) was an agricultural labourer. In 1815, George married Jane Lovering (1797-1868) of Georgeham, Devon. Charity was the first of 13 children.

Thomas Cooke (1770-1841)

George's parents were Thomas Cooke (1741-1802) and Charity Richards (1738-1833). George's father had been appointed sexton of St. Peter's, Tawstock in 1785. A sexton's primary task was the digging of graves, although he was also responsible for cleaning the church and maintaining the churchyard.

After his father's death, George's older brother Thomas Cooke (1770-1841) became sexton. Thomas's gravestone is located in a prominent position near the south porch of the church and records that he was sexton for forty years, had two wives, and 14 children.

At the age of nine, Charity Cooke was bound as an apprentice to George Lovering of Tawstock. George was a recently married yeoman farmer living at Fishley Barton. He later moved to nearby Chapelton. Despite having the same surname, there does not appear to be a connection between George and Charity's mother, Jane Lovering. Charity was bound until her 21st birthday, so it is likely that Charity worked for George Lovering until 1837.

Charity Cooke's Apprenticeship Indenture

Until the passage of the Poor Law Amendment Act in 1834, individual parishes were responsible for the relief of the poor. The English Poor Laws, dating back to the reign of Elizabeth I,  allowed for children "whose parents shall not ... be thought able to keep and maintain their children" to be apprenticed to a master or mistress by parish officials, subject to the consent of two justices of the peace. Doing so removed the child as a financial burden to the parish, since the master or mistress became responsible for the child's board and lodging. In return the child worked as an unpaid servant. Children as young as nine could be indentured, and girls were bound until the age of 21, or marriage. When a parish wanted to bind a poor child, the parishioner they had chosen as master or mistress had to take the child or pay a fine.

Chapelton, Tawstock, Devon

In addition to Charity Cooke, two other child were bound as apprentices to George Lovering in 1825: Mary Brimble, aged 12, and Richard Madge, aged 9.

Apprenticed children had little protection from ill-treatment or overwork, and were, in effect, a cheap supply of labour for farmers who needed agricultural workers. How they were treated depended on the master.

So what kind of master was George Lovering? There are three clues. The first is a short article from the North Devon Journal reporting on the Petty Sessions held at Barnstaple on March 19, 1829:

Mr. Lovering appeared to answer the complaint of John Jones, shoemaker of Tawstock. Complainant stated, that his daughter had been in service to Mr. Lovering, at the commencement of whose servitude, her mother made an agreement with Mrs. Lovering, for one shilling a week, but that she replied she though that too much, and that thirty shillings a year would be the full value of her services; and that she had at two different periods, paid her mother 7s. 6d. each time, as a quarter's wages for her daughter's services. Mr. Lovering was ordered to pay her wages at the rate of thirty shillings a year, to the time the girl quitted his service.

The second is his obituary that appeared in the North Devon Journal in 1866:

DEATH OF MR. GEORGE LOVERING.—It is with deep regret we announce the death of the above much-respected gentleman, which took place at his residence, Chappletown, Tawstock, on Saturday morning last. Deceased was well known in the neighbourhood as a diligent, consistent, and zealous preacher of the gospel. His style was clear, plain, and impressive; a style which the uneducated could well understand, while the educated could not carp at it. As a "good minister," he was very useful in his day and generation, visiting and relieving the sick and the poor, enlightening the ignorant, strengthening the weak, comforting the afflicted, and warning the impenitent and unruly. In him every sect and denomination of Christians found a faithful and warm-hearted friend, and his house was ever open to receive and entertain them. As a neighbour, he so demeaned himself as to gain the respect, honour, love, and esteem of all classes. His death will be deeply deplored, especially in his locality where, some years since, he built a neat and commodious chapel (with a burying ground attached), of which he was pastor. A school-room was added by his munificence and a neat cottage and garden purchased by him for the residence of a master and mistress. His attachments to the place was strong and unwavering, and he leaves a satisfactory testimony that for him to die was gain.

The final clue is contained in a book about the life of Robert Cleaver Chapman. Robert Cleaver Chapman (1803-1902) was a pastor, teacher, and evangelist with the Plymouth Brethren.

One of the places in Pugsley’s neighbourhood was called Tawstock. Here the Wreys, a distinguished family with an ancient baronetcy, have a beautiful estate. The antique church, nestling beneath Tawstock Court, is full of well-preserved monuments to the ancestors of the Wreys. Sometimes members of the family have been rectors of the parish. It therefore caused widespread comment when one of the members of this family—a daughter of the rector himself—was baptized by Mr. Chapman. This happened within twelve months of his arrival in Barnstaple. His culture and gracious bearing commended him to people of all classes. He never sought the patronage of the wealthy or influential, but he did seek to bring them to a knowledge of salvation. With Pugsley living in the neighbourhood of the Wrey estate, contact with the family had been made possible, and Miss Wrey had seen her position as a sinner before God. Trusting Christ in simple faith for salvation, she had experienced the new birth and, in consequence, though she knew that her decision would set tongues wagging and make her father’s position difficult, she had felt bound to ask for baptism.

It was a remarkable scene that was enacted on the day of her baptism. She stood on the banks of the river, side by side with a farmer’s son who was to be baptized on the same occasion. As she stood there she could look up over the woods and pastures of the Wrey estate, and she was conscious of the curious eyes on either bank, for many had come to see the rector’s daughter baptized. When the simple service was over, Chapman went back to Barnstaple convinced that the work of God in Mr. Pugsley’s neighbourhood had been helped forward by the events of that day. And undoubtedly they were, for Miss Wrey’s conversion made many think seriously, whilst the farmer’s son—George Lovering—carried on Christian work for over thirty years in North Devon, founding chapels at Swim-bridge, Atherington, and Little Hill.

Chapman's cousin Susan Chapman had married Thomas Pugsley of Barnstaple, Devon and in April 1832, Chapman moved to Barnstaple. George's baptism likely occurred later than year.

Charity married Robert Vodden of Alverdiscott in 1839. Robert was a carpenter, and he and Charity lived first in Tawstock and later in Atherington, Devon. They had five children. Robert died in 1874. Charity continued living in Atherington until her death in 1903.

John Lovering Cooke

While Charity's life was rather ordinary, the same cannot be said for her brother, John Lovering Cooke. Not content with becoming an agricultural labourer, John joined the Royal Artillery, and served in India during the Indian Rebellion of 1857, also known as the Sepoy Mutiny. In 1873, Rev. Charles Henry H. Wright wrote and published John's memoir.

John Lovering Cooke was born on April 30, 1834. Unlike his sister, he was able to attend school, although was frequently truant. Despite this he learned to read and write well enough to later keep a journal. John left school at the age of 11 to work as an agricultural labourer. Although Wright does not name John's first employer, he is described as "a farmer and also a Baptist preacher." This suggests George Lovering. In February 1854, after working as a railway navvie for a year, he enlisted in the Royal Artillery.

On April 18, 1857, John's company was sent to Hong Kong on board the Moorsfoot. They arrived in Hong Kong on August 8, having rounded Cape Hope in early June and surviving several storms crossing the Indian Ocean. Three days after their arrival in Hong Kong, they were ordered to Calcutta.

After their arrival in Calcutta on September 17, John's unit proceeded upriver by steamer to Allahabad. At Allahabad they were armed with mortars and attached to the forces proceeding to the relief of Lucknow.

The Relief of Lucknow by Thomas Jones Barker
National Portrait Gallery

The Seige of Lucknow was a key event during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. From the end of June until mid-November, rebels forces besieged the garrison of British and Indian soldiers. The defence was centred on the Residency. With the garrison were over one thousand British civilians, mostly women and children. 

In September, a first attempt to break the siege failed to evacuate the Residency. The relief force joined the garrison and the siege continued. A second relief force, commanded by Sir Colin Campbell, and including John's company, successfully evacuated the Residency.

John's unit departed Allahabad on November 4 and arrived at Cawnpore six days later. Four months earlier Cawnpore had been the location of another key event of the Indian Rebellion. In June, forces of the East India Company surrendered to the rebels after a siege of three weeks. As the British withdrew to Allahabad under a promise of safe passage, they were attacked and massacred at the Satichaura Ghat. The surviving British woman and children were taken into captivity and moved to the Bibighar, a villa in Cawnpore, where they were later joined by other captured refugees. In total 206 woman and children were kept prisoner in the Bibighar.

When East India Company forces retook Cawnpore in July, they discovered the Bibighar empty and blood-splattered. The captured woman and children had been hacked to death with meat cleavers, and their stripped and mutilated bodies thrown down a dry well.

The British troops were horrified and enraged. At Cawnpore, captured rebels were forced to lick the bloodstained floor of the Bibighar before they were hanged. Other rebel prisoners were "blown from cannons" a method of execution described by George Carter Stent of the 14th (King's Light) Dragoons, in Scraps from My Sabretasche:

The prisoner is generally tied to a gun with the upper part of the small of his back resting against the muzzle. When the gun is fired, his head is seen to go straight up into the air some forty or fifty feet; the arms fly off right and left, high up in the air, and fall at, perhaps, a hundred yards distance; the legs drop to the ground beneath the muzzle of the gun; and the body is literally blown away altogether, not a vestige being seen.

There is no evidence that John witnessed this form of execution, or indeed any executions, however, "Remember Cawnpore!" became a war cry for the British soldiers for the rest of the conflict.

Aftermath of the Siege of Lucknow
Imperial War Museum

John's unit departed Cawnpore and joined up with Campbell's main force near Lucknow. They began shelling the enemy the evening of the 15th. On the 17th, Campbell's forces reached the beleaguered Residency and began evacuating the non-combatants. A few days later Campbell began to withdraw his own forces.

Meanwhile, rebel forces were again threatening Cawnpore. Campbell moved to reinforce Cawnpore with his cavalry and artillery. John "manned the guns" during the opening stages of the Second Battle of Cawnpore. Unfortunately he contracted dysentery and was admitted to hospital on December 5th, and thus missed the decisive British victory on December 6th.

John was released from hospital a month later and rejoined his unit. Later that month John was charged with insubordination when he lost his temper with one of the officers. He was sentenced to three months hard labour. John remained with his unit but was tasked with unpleasant duties such as burying dead bullocks and camels.

Once John had served his sentence he participated in a number of minor actions against the rebels before going into garrison near Lucknow.

While at Lucknow, John began attending Methodist prayer meetings, and soon became a fervent Wesleyan Methodist—a process which Wright describes in detail. On April 30, 1861, John wrote:

This is my birthday. I am twenty-seven years old. Twenty-five years I served the devil, only two out of twenty-seven have been given to my God.

John was in India for eight years. Most of this time was spent in garrison near Lucknow, then Futtehgurh, and finally Mohar. John was frequently in hospital while at Mohar and was invalided on November 17, 1865. Two months later he left India.

After a "tedious and uneventful" voyage, John disembarked at Netley on the Thames on July 1, 1866.

While in India, John had began a correspondence with Emma Plumridge of West Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, the niece of a friend. At first the letters were written on his illiterate friend's behalf to Emma, who was writing on her uncle's behalf. Eventually John began to write letters directly to Emma. This continued for the next six years. After John was discharged on August 14, 1866 he hastened to West Wycombe where he and Emma were married less than a month later.

After a visit home to his parents in Devon and a brief period of employment as an agricultural labourer, John obtained employment with the London Metropolitan Police force. His first child, Wilfred, was born in 1867.

Emma, Wilfred, and John Lovering Cooke

While a police officer, John also volunteered as a lay preacher and temperance missionary. He found police work "irksome" and the "opportunities for doing good limited." In March 1869, John was offered the post of lay agent at the British Sailors' Institute in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France.

British Sailor's Institute
Boulogne-sur-Mer

The British Sailor's Institute had been established the previous year, "for the purpose of providing English seamen in that port with a place where they could read the newspapers and hold social intercourse with one another, without the debasing associations of the public-house." A few months later John also became caretaker of the Wesleyan chapel in Boulogne-sur-Mer.

The British Sailors' Institute in Boulogne-sur-Mer later became the parsonage for Holy Trinity Anglican Church. It was destroyed during World War II but was rebuilt afterwards.

In the spring of 1871, John and Emma lost their second child, Francis, who had been born the previous year. Six months later Emma passed away. She was 28.

The following year John began suffering headaches and severe ear pain. He travelled to London to consult a specialist, but began to have difficulty breathing as well. Rev. Wright, having been acquainted with John since he was a police officer, visited him on his death bed, and was entrusted with his journals. John Lovering Cooke died on 26 Dec 1873.

John's surviving son Wilfrid was raised in an orphanage in Bristol, spend several years in Cardiff, emigrated to Canada in 1910, and settled in Toronto where he died in 1930.

Sources:

North Devon Journal, 26 Mar 1829
 
North Devon Journal, 8 Feb 1866
 
Frank Holmes, Brother Indeed: The Life of Robert Cleaver Chapman, 1956
 
Charles H. H. Wright, Memoir of John Lovering Cooke, with a sketch of the Indian mutiny of 1857-58, 1873

Dolton Mills and the Lace Collar

Elizabeth Tucker Budd with her six oldest children.

When my great-great-grandmother, Elizabeth Tucker Budd, emigrated to Canada from England, she brought with her a number of keepsakes. Among these keepsakes were teacups, a quilt made by her mother, and a very old, very delicate flat lace collar. As often happens in family history, myth enshrouds the collar, a myth that holds that Elizabeth "once worked conscientiously and well for a grateful royal household."

Elizabeth was born in Dolton, Devon in 1836, the daughter of John Budd and Eleanor Southcombe Tucker. In the summer of 1864, she married Henry Smith, a mason, the son of Thomas Smith and Mary Field Bulleid. The following year their daughter Pollie was born, followed by my great-grandmother Edith in 1868, Fannie in 1868, and Kate in 1872.

In 1873, Henry and Elizabeth emigrated to Canada with their four daughters, and settled in Usborne Township in Huron Country, Ontario. Six children later they moved out west, first to Brandon, Manitoba, and then to Hamiota, Manitoba.

When they emigrated, Elizabeth left behind most of her relatives, including her father, two brothers, and several uncles.

1849 Map of the Brightleys
showing the location of Dolton Mill

During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Budd family were prominent inhabitants of Dolton. They owned or occupied a number of estates in the west of the parish, and more importantly, they owned two mills. Elizabeth was the only member of her extended family to emigrate.

In 1873, Elizabeth's cousin William Budd (1846-1922) was the miller. William had trained as a miller with his uncle Robert Budd (1813-1871), and had taken over when his uncle had died childless. Robert had inherited the mill on the death of his father (Elizabeth's grandfather) John Budd in 1834, who in turn had inherited the mill from Elizabeth's great-grandfather, also named John in 1809.

Elizabeth's great-great-grandfather, Richard Budd, may had been the miller for over sixty years when he died in 1786. Richard Budd does not appear to have been born in Dolton. Recorded in the register of the nearby parish of Peters Marland, however, is a Richard, son of Richard Budd, Miller, and Catherine, born in December of 1705 and baptised the following month.

The evidence suggests that Richard Budd came with his parent to Dolton some time before 1723. His father, "Richard Budd of Dolton" appears on the 1723 Oath Rolls and was buried the following year in November. His mother was buried five months later. Richard married Joan Ley (1703-1796) in 1728 and the first of their seven children was born a year later.

In 1761 Richard Budd purchased Woolridge from John Lethbridge of Pilton. In the 1798 Tax Assessment, the property is listed as owned and occupied by his son, John. Woolridge Farmhouse is Grade II listed and dates from the early 17th century. It has plastered cob walls and a thatched roof.

For most of the 18th century, the manor of Dolton, including the mill, had been owned by the Cleveland family. In 1805, John Cleveland sold of most of his Dolton holdings. Higher Langham and South Woodtown were purchased by John Budd, but it is not clear whether this was the father or the son. When Dolton Mill was purchased is also not clear as the mill does not appear in the list of estates for sale published in Trewman's Exeter Flying Post.

Dolton Mill House, Dolton, Devon

Dolton Mill is located on a tributary of the Torridge River. It and the miller's house were likely built in the early 18th century, although a mill may have existed at this location as early as 1342. The mill used an overshot wheel fed by the stream via a leat reinforced with stone.

The miller's house is built of rendered stone and has three separate open fireplaces. The house has not been lived in for many years and has partially collapsed. It was recently sold at auction along with the ruins of the old mill.

Ruins of the New Mill
Dolton, Devon

A second mill was built in the late 1830s on the bank of the Torridge. This mill used an undershot wheel fed by a weir and leat. Both mills continued operation into the 20th century but by World War I it had become more economical for farmers to transport their grain to larger mills. The ruins of both mills still exist. The "New Mill" is accessible via a trail through the Halsdon Nature Reserve. It was photographed on several occasions by noted Devon photographer James Ravillous

When John Budd died in 1834, Higher Langham went to his wife Margery and after her death to their son, Frederick. South Woodtown went to Rowland Budd, while Woolridge went to Elizabeth's father, John Budd.

Elizabeth's father, however, did not live at Woolridge, choosing instead to lease nearby Lower Brightly. Higher and Lower Brightley had been purchased by Thomas Owen in 1805. Lower Brightley is a Grade II listed farmhouse dating from the late 15th century but rebuilt with additions in the 17th century and 19th century. The house is of plastered cob and stone and was thought to have been originally built as an open hall house with a central hearth.

Lower Brightley, Dolton, Devon, England

In 1834, John Budd married Eleanor Southcombe Tucker of Hatherleigh, Devon. Their son William Tucker Budd was born the following year, followed by Elizabeth in 1836 and John in 1839.

Sadly, Eleanor Southcombe Tucker died in 1842, possibly of tuberculosis, leaving John a widower for three small children. Her epitaph reads:
 

Eleanor Southcombe Budd
(1814-1842)

Through months and years in pain and tears
Through troubled paths I trod
My Saviour's voice bid me rejoice
And put my trust in God.

In 1851, John was living with William and Elizabeth at Lower Brightley, along with a house servant and three labourers. His eleven-year-old son John was living at Dolton Mills with his uncle Robert Budd.

In 1861, all three of John's children were living with their uncle Robert at Dolton Mills, while another family occupied Lower Brightly. John was at Buckland Filleigh working as a shepherd for farmer James Risdon. An intriguing clue as to what may have happened is contained in a letter from John Budd's granddaughter Fanny to her nephew Clarence Sadler:

Grandfer Budd owned his own Estate "Lower and Higher Brightly" pretty name. Grandfer followed the Hounds at too great a rate and lost it all.

Advertisement,
Exeter and Plymouth Gazette,
27 Mar 1852

While is has been established that Brightley was leased rather than owned, Fanny's letter suggests that like many yeoman farmers, John Budd, participated in fox hunting, although perhaps far too enthusiastically. Fox hunting was an expensive pastime, and John Budd may have been more interested in the chase than in farming. As gambling was not a part of fox hunting, it cannot be claimed that gambling debts were the cause of John Budd's downfall. What is known is that John Budd sold Woolridge by auction in 1852 to local landowner John Henry Furse of Haldsdon House.

By 1871, John Budd was a porter at the Union Workhouse in Great Torrington. In 1881 he was a gardener living in Great Torrington, and in 1891, he was inmate at the Union Workhouse where in died in early June.

According to his obituary in the Bible Christian Magazine, Elizabeth's brother, William Tucker Budd, moved to Exeter when he was 26. He married in 1864 and had two children before his death in 1870.

William and Elizabeth's brother John was raised and trained as a miller by his uncle Robert Budd. He moved to Stroud, Gloucestershire about 1865. John married three times but had no children. After his death in 1892, his third wife Adelaide married three more times before her death in 1940 at the age of 88.

After Henry Smith's death in 1903, Elizabeth's granddaughter Myrtle often kept her grandmother company and would "talk about all the things of Devon." In a letter to her cousin Clarence Sadler she wrote:

Grandmother Smith was raised on her father's farm. Her father had a housekeeper, also help in the farm yard, kept sheep & a good many fowl. She really had to bring herself up. She was fond of her father, who seemed to be a jolly man. I believe he lost his farms. Grandmother went to a young ladies private school. Some years later she became ill after taking a chill. The Doctor advised she go to Portsmouth. She did and regained her health then worked for a time in a store then returned home to Devon [and] later married Grandfather Smith.

When Elizabeth returned home to Dolton, she brought with her a flat lace collar.  After Elizabeth's death, her daughter Ella had the collar examined by a textile expert in London, England who dated the collar to the 17th century and was of the opinion that it had been commissioned for Charles II. Ella offered the collar for sale and it was purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Whether it is actually in the Met's collection has not been confirmed.

A 1958 article in the London Free Press describes the collar:

The lace ... is five inches wide and fashioned in the T-square shape popular in 17th century England. The design is intricate, bearing carefully-worked crowns, roses and plumes in a stylized pattern that repeats at intervals of about a foot. Lettering on the ground read "Carolus" and "Vive Le Rex Roy" on one angle of the "T"; coronets on the other read "C. B. Baronet" and C 1661 B."

The London Free Press article, which was likely written by one of Elizabeth's many granddaughters, goes on to claim that Elizabeth "as a young girl was employed in a royal household" and the lace collar "was given her to her in appreciation of her service."

This claim was disputed in Fanny Smith's letter to Clarence Sadler written a few months after the London Free Press article.

Mother never worked in any Royal Household. She left home and went to the Isle of Wight to work in a store of some kind. The owner of the store bought a bag from a woman who worked in one of the Castles. They were allowed to take anything that was discarded. The piece of lace was in the bag. Either the man gave it to Mother, or she bought it.

It is not difficult to understand how a flat lace collar from the 17th century would lead to a myth about domestic service in a royal household.

Elizabeth Tucker Budd died in Hamiota, Manitoba on February 12, 1927.

Sources:

Dave Dingley, Partners in Time: The History of Dolton & Dowland, 2011

National Heritage List for England

"Fragile Lace is Link between Ilderton and Royalty," London Free Press, May 17, 1958.

The Tragic Life of Samuel Slooman

Slooman Gravestone at Tawstock, Devon

The above gravestone reflects just two of the tragedies that afflicted Samuel Slooman of Tawstock, Devon. Samuel was born at Tawstock on 25 Oct 1784, the son of George Slooman (1749-1816) and Ann Searle (1756-1835), and was baptised two months later.

In 1805, 21-year-old Samuel married 25-year-old Mary Pearce, daughter of John and Mary Pearce. Their first child, William Pearce Slooman, was born in 1806. Three years later, George Searle Slooman was born. Unfortunately, George died at the age of ten months and was buried in the Tawstock churchyard. The date recorded for George Searle Slooman's death on his gravestone is incorrect as the Tawstock parish register records his baptism on 29 Jun 1809 and his burial on 24 Feb 1810.
 
Unusually, there were then no more Slooman children until the birth of Mary Ann Pearce Slooman in 1819.

Roodge, Tawstock, Devon

Samuel farmed Roodge, an estate of 51 acres near the hamlet of Harracott, which he leased from Sir Bourchier Palk Wrey, 8th Baronet. The rendered cob and stone farmhouse still exists. Most of the Grade II listed building dates from the 17th century, however, the description of the property notes that a significant part of the roof was replaced in the 19th century.

In the summer of 1829, Samuel's surviving son, William, died at the age of 22. William was buried in the Tawstock churchyard and a gravestone was erected to commemorate him and his brother.  The inscription reads:

Sacred to the Memory of
GEORGE SEARLS SLOOMAN
Son of SAMUEL & MARY SLOOMAN
of this Parish who Departed this
Life the 28th day of February
1809 Aged 10 Months
ALSO to the Memory of
WILLIAM PEARCE SLOOMAN
Son of the Above Samuel & Mary
Slooman who Departed this Life
the 7th day of July 1829 Aged 22 Years
In Blooming days it pleased God
By death to smite us with his Rod
Therefore dear friends Content with rest
And hope in Christ we're every bless
Farewell dear Parents & Sister too,
For now we must depart from you.
Christ's Blessing now with you Remain
We hope in Heaven to meet again.

Less than two years later, tragedy struck again when in March of 1831 Devon was hit by a severe storm. The winds caused part of the farmhouse roof to collapse, severely injuring Samuel, and killing Samuel's wife and eleven-year-old daughter as they lay in their beds.

Samuel recovered but his life would have been empty. Just over a year later he was dead. The coroner's inquest concluded that Samuel died on his way home from a public house when he was thrown from his horse. It was a tragic end to a tragic life.

Sources:

North Devon Journal, Thursday, March 17, 1831
North Devon Journal, Thursday, May 31, 1832