When I was back in Ontario this summer, we had a small family reunion with my mom’s Hird cousins.  One of them brought along a large box of old family photos and memorabilia.  Included in this box was an album of postcards from World War I.  These postcards had been collected by Edward Downard (1881-1841), the husband of Bessie Melville (my mom’s great aunt) and son of George Downard and Mary Vaughn.

During the first two years of the war (1914-1916-ish), Edward was a Staff-Sergeant with the No. 2 Canadian General Hospital.  The postcards are mostly from this time and they show some of the locations in England where the staff of the No. 2 trained (Bulford, Market Lavington and the Salisbury Plain).  More interestingly, however, the postcards document in detail the daily life at the No. 2 General Hospital when it was stationed on the Normandy coast in Le Tréport, France.  They show the daily life at the hospital: life in the wards, life as a wounded soldier, growing a garden, the hospital mascot (Pete the Duck).  They also show some of the extraordinary events which occurred: a storm which blew down the hospitals’ tents in September 1915; a VIP visit from Sir Robert Borden, the Prime Minister of Canada and Sir Max Aitken, later Lord Beaverbrook; the funeral of a major who accidentally fell off a cliff; and Dominion Day and Christmas celebrations.

Many of these postcards were sent to Edward’s fiancé Bessie Melville and are inscribed on the back.  The inscriptions tell the story of Ed’s life at the hospital.  He was in charge of the linen stores.  He distributed the linens to the wards, and he was responsible for having the linens cleaned.  To do this, he would travel twice a week to Dieppe (a name all too familiar to Canadians) where there was a laundry factory which had the equipment necessary to clean the linens.  Ed’s postcards mention some of his friends and colleagues in the linen stores and in the sergeant’s mess: George Harris, Samuel Bartlett, Wally Robinson, and Leon Jackson.

The bulk of the postcards seem to come from a local photographer in Le Tréport named E. Arnault.  His photos also show up in a postcard collection by a Canadian nurse named Alice Issacson. Her collection can be found at the Library and Archives Canada site here.

Around 1917, Ed was promoted and was transferred to the No. 16 Canadian General Hospital in Orpington, Kent.  There are very few photographs after this time, likely because there was no local photographer interested in documenting the hospital as had been the case in Le Tréport.

I was really moved by this album which showed a different side to the war.  My husband and I scanned the entire album and I have uploaded it to Flickr with the hopes that anyone who is interested in it may find it.   We are currently trying to find a good home for the non-virtual album.

You can also find more information about the No. 2 Canadian General Hospital in the Colonel’s and Matron’s Diaries which are posted on the Library and Archives Canada site.

Below are a few choice photos of Edward Downard.

Coming soon though:

- A post on an amazing photo/postcard album from World War I.

- How I think I’m making progress on finding my poor Irish ancestors.

Between 1845 and 1870, several branches of the Bray family of St. Teath, Cornwall, England emigrated to Ontario, Canada or to Pennsylvania, United States. Several of these families were Bible Christians and were fleeing moderate persecution and less-than-moderate poverty.

The Brays who went to Pennsylvania worked in slate mines. Those who chose Canada worked as farmers and aspired to own their own lands.

Below are the emigrations that I have found in two branches of the St. Teath Brays. These families are related. The children in each family are second cousins. While there is evidence that the sons of William Bray and Elizabeth Pethick kept in touch with each other after their emigration, I’m not sure how close they were to their second cousins who had also emigrated.

In Ontario, it was difficult to sort out the relationship between the Northumberland Brays and the Durham County Brays.

Sons of William Bray (1792-1872) and Harriet Inch (1794-1879):

• William Bray (1818-bef 1891) and Ann May emigrated to Ontario c. 1848. William was a farmer in Haldimand Township in Northumberland County. He and his wife had three daughters.
• James Bray (1826-?) and Elizabeth Keat emigrated to Plainfield, Pennsylvania between 1861 and 1870 where James worked as a slater.
• Thomas Solomon Bray (1827-1909) and Elizabeth Ann Stephens emigrated to Ontario in 1850. Thomas and his wife settled in Hamilton Township, Northumberland County where they were farmers. Thomas and his wife had 11 children.
• Samuel Henry Bray (1836-1916)and Anna Maria Male emigrated to Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania in 1866. Samuel worked as a quarryman.

Sons of William Bray (1798-1882) and Elizabeth Pethick (1795-1850)

• John Bray (1823-1905) and Mary Luxon emigrated to Hope Township, Durham County, Ontario and were farmers. They emigrated between 1851 and 1854 (based on the birth dates and places of their daughters Annie and Matilda.)
• William Bray (1825-1908)and Betsey Bath also emigrated to Hope Township where they were also farmers. They emigrated in 1850.
• James Bray (1827-1890) and Mary Jewell moved to East Bangor, Pennsylvania where they were slaters. They moved between 1861 and 1870.
• Richard Bray (1829-1870) moved to East Bangor, Pennsylvania where he died in 1870.
• Joseph Bray (1834-1889) and Louisa Preston moved to East Bangor, Pennsylvania in 1856. Joseph Bray owned a slate mine and died a prosperous man.
• Philip Bray (1837-1883). Philip moved to East Bangor, Pennsylvania between 1851 and 1860 and worked there as a slater.

As you can see from the chronological list of emigrations below, those who chose Ontario did so in the 1850s. Those who moved to Pennsylvania emigrated (with the exception of Joseph) in the 1860s.

1. William Bray (1818-bef 1891) and Ann May to Ontario in 1848.
2. William Bray (1825-1908) and Betsey Bath to Ontario in 1850.
3. Thomas Solomon Bray (1827-1909) and Betsey Stephens to Ontario in 1850. Betsey Stephens is however still in England in 1851 and she is staying at her parents in Poundstock, Cornwall. Perhaps Thomas went ahead?
4. John Bray (1823-1905) and Mary Luxon to Ontario between 1851 and 1854.
5. Joseph Bray (1834-1889) and Louisa Preston to Pennsylvania in 1856.
6. Philip Bray (1837-1883) to Pennsylvania between 1851 and 1860.
7. James Bray (1826-?)and Elizabeth Keat to PA between 1861 and 1870.
8. James Bray (1827-1890) and Mary Jewell to PA between 1861 and 1870.
9. Richard Bray (1829-1870) to PA between 1851 and 1870.
10. Samuel Henry Bray (1836-1916) and Anna Maria Male to PA in 1866.

There were probably several more of the St. Teath Brays emigrated to Ontario or Pennsylvania who I have yet to find. If you know of more, let me know!

You can find my article on the Waterloo 200 web site: http://www.waterloo200.org/after-waterloo-a-veteran-in-the-canadian-wilderness/.

I thought that someone else might be able to benefit from this list.

(The ID numbers refer to the person’s ID in my tree)

St. Teath

- Earliest = William Bray, bap. 09 Feb 1726, son of William and Mary (OPC)

- Stray – William Bray m. Elizabeth Hickes

- Stray – Thomas Bray son of John and Ann bap. 25 Dec 1790. John Bray, 1794, also son of John and Ann.

- What happened to the grandchildren of William Bray and Mary Sloggett? Is it possible that some of John Bray and Mary Lobb’s children are in fact, from this line?

- Stray – John Bray, bachelor of Tywardreath, married Honor Tremayne of St. Teath. Witnesses Moses Sloggett and Joseph Martin. 25 Mar 1805.

Potential Confusions with Camelford Brays

Emanuel Bray, bap 1814, son of John Bray and Mary Porter. ID 551

Emanuel Bray, bap 1833, son of William Bray and Mary Inch. ID 566

Emanuel Bray, bap 1841, son of Thomas Bray and Jane. ID 572

***

Francis Bray, abt 1820, husband of Mary Ann George, ID 577

Francis Bray, bap. 1845, son of Francis and Mary Ann, ID 580

***

Harriet Bray, bap. 1831, dau of William Bray and Harriet Inch. ID 564

Harriet Bray, bap. 1843, dau of William Bray and Ann. ID 579

***

James Bray, bap 1799, son of John Bray and Mary Porter. ID 546

James Bray, bap 1805, son of William Bray and Esther Barber. ID 478

***

James Bray, bap. 1826, son of William Bray and Harriet Inch, husband of Elizabeth Keat. ID 560.

James Bray, bap. 1827, son of William Bray and Elizabeth Pethick, husband of Mary Jewell. ID 166

***

John Bray, abt 1733, parents unknown, husband of Mary Lobb. ID 471. (Marriage license states he is not from St. Teath)

John Bray, died 1737, son of William. ID 531.

John Bray, bap 1739, son of William Bray and Mary Sloggatt, ID 528.

***

John Bray, abt 1760, parents unknown, husband of Ann, father of Thomas and John. ID 540

John Bray, bap 1768, son of John Bray and Mary Lobb, husband of Mary Porter. ID 517

John Bray, abt 1774, from Tywardreath, parents unknown, husband of Honour Tremayne. ID 545

***

John Bray, bap 1794, son of John Bray and Ann, ID 544

John Bray, bap 1796, son of John Bray and Mary Porter, husband of Honor White. ID 537

John Bray, abt 1804, son of William Bray and Esther Barber. ID 441

***

John Bray, bap 1820, son of William Bray and Harriet Inch. ID 556

John Bray, bap 1823, son of William Bray and Elizabeth Pethick, husband of Mary Luxon. ID 130

***

Joseph Bray, bap 1801, son of John Bray and Mary Porter. ID 547

Joseph Bray, bap 1807, son of William Bray and Esther Barber, ID 545

***

Joseph Bray, bap 1827, son of John Bray and Honor White, ID 561

Joseph Bray, bap 1834, son of William Bray and Elizabeth Pethick, ID 218

***

Mary Bray, bap 1793, St Teath, dau of John Bray and Mary Porter. ID 543

Mary Bray, bap 1810, St Teath, dau of William Bray and Esther Bray. ID 479

Mary Bray, bap 1810, Lanteglos, dau of John Bray and Honor Tremayne. ID 582

***

Mary Bray, bap 1830, Lanteglos, dau of John Bray and Anne Matthews. ID 449

Mary Ann, bap 1823, St Teath, dau of William Bray and Harriet Inch. ID 557

Mary Ann, bap 1834, Lanteglos, dau of Joseph Bray and Elizabeth Garland. ID 474.

Mary Bray, bap 1833, St Teath, dau of John Bray and Honor White. ID 565.

***

Richard Bray, bap 1810, son of John Bray and Mary Porter, ID 594

Richard Bray, bap 1818, son of William Bray and Ann Kett, ID 555

***

Richard Bray, bap 1829, son of William Bray and Elizabeth Pethick, ID 217

Richard Garland Bray, bap 1832, died 1837, son of Joseph Bray and Elizabeth Garland. ID 476

***

Susan Bray, bap 1833, dau of Robert and Susanna. ID 567

Susan Bray, bap 1837, dau of John Bray and Anne Matthews. ID 450

Susan Jane Bray, bap 1830, dau of Joseph Bray and Elizabeth Garland. ID 477

***

Thomas Bray, bap 1790, son of John Bray and Ann. ID 539

Thomas Bray, bap 1804, son of John Bray and Mary Porter. ID 548.

***

Thomas Bray, bap 1825, son of John Bray and Honor White. ID 559

Thomas Solomon Bray, bap 1828, son of William Bray and Harriet Inch. ID 562

***

William Bray, abt 1700, husband of Mary Sloggatt, ID 522

William Bray, abt 1705, husband of Elizabeth Hickes. ID 532

***

William Bray, bap 1792, son of John Bray and Mary Porter. Husband of Harriet Inch. ID 542.

William Bray, bap 1798, son of William Bray and Esther Barber. ID 128

***

William Bray, bap 1813, son of John Bray and Honor Tremayne. ID 583

William Bray, bap 1818, son of William Bray and Harriet Inch. ID 554

William Bray, bap 1821, son of John Bray and Honor White. ID 600

William Bray, bap 1835, son of William Bray and Elizabeth Pethick. ID 60.

One of my most difficult challenges has been to trace my Player family relatives back to their London origins and beyond. I’m not alone on this — I know of several other Player researchers facing the same problem.

I have written about my Player family ancestors before. The family lived in Coventry, England and owned a prosperous watchmaking company. Joseph Player, the patriarch in the penny farthing photo, was at least the second generation of watchmakers in his family. His father William Player was variously called engine turner, a watch case maker and a watch dial painter. In other words, he worked with a lathe and made watch parts that required this expertise.

Before the industrial revolution, watchmakers worked from home. They often lived in homes with “top shops” — a well-lit atelier on the upper floors of a residence. Here they would have enough light to work on the small and intricate watch pieces.

There were several watchmaking specialties such as dial painter or case maker and they would each work on their various pieces in their own workshops. The manufacturer would coordinate the process, gather the various parts and have them assembled. Watchmaking required a community and you often find watchmakers living in a particular part of a city. In Coventry, several watchmakers lived on Craven Street and this is where you can find the Player family.

The watchmaking industry in Coventry grew rapidly in the mid-19th century and at this time you find watchmakers from all over the country moving to this city. The William Player family moved from London to Coventry some time between 1841 and 1851.

At least two of William’s brothers were also watchmakers. His brother John Byard Player moved to Reading and opened a watchmaking shop there. William’s brother Horatio remained in London and continued to make watches in the Gray’s Inn part of London.

William, John Byard and Horatio were the children of John Player and Patience Byard. John and Patience’s marriage is well-documented, as is the baptism of their children (with one possible exception). They were married in the Old Church in St. Pancras and lived in the Shoreditch area of London. As three of their sons were involved in watchmaking, I would not be surprised if John Player or perhaps Patience’s family were also involved in the industry.

Unfortunately, however, I have never been able to positively confirm the identity of John’s parents. With newly digitized parish records, there are three possible John Players born in London who could be our guy. I have investigated two of these families (both families are included as John’s parents in my tree) and have not found any conclusive evidence that would confirm a relationship between the families.

Here’s what I know for sure:

- John’s father was likely named John as our John is listed as John Jr on his marriage record.

- In 1791, the year of his marriage to Patience, John was a resident of St Giles Cripplegate in London. This may not mean much, however, as one only had to live in a parish for a short time before being considered a resident).

- John died before 1818. Patience signed the marriage allegation between her daughter Ann Elisabeth and Mortimer Corner (Ann was a minor and required her parents’ consent to marry). Patience is listed as a widow.

Here are some other possible clues to this puzzle:

- In Coventry, a Thomas Player is found living next to a group of other Players. He is a watch dial painter and lists his birthdate as 1803 and birth place as Birmingham. He is the only Player born in Birmingham.

- In 1803, a Daniel Player died in Birmingham. According to the baptismal records, John and Patience had a son named Daniel. The death record for Daniel lists his parents as John and Prudence Player. Pretty close, isn’t it.

- Patience Player died in Jul 1831 and was buried in St Andrew Holborn, although her address is listed on the burial record as St James, Clerkenwell. Why was she buried in a parish other than the one of residence? This could mean that she had a connection to the St Andrew Holborn parish.

- Another descendant of this family found some old family notes from c. 1900 which were copies of information about a Player family from Bristol. There are certainly many Players from Bristol, but I also haven’t been able to find a connection here.

Honestly, I think that the best chance of solving this puzzle is finding information about John’s profession and finding an apprentice document which lists his parents.

When I showed my father a copy of my recent research, he loved the fact that he was related a Methusaleh (Methusalem) Pethick (1801-1881). The name probably tickled my father’s funny bone due to his almost non-existent religious inclinations and the name’s hard-to-ignore religious implications.

As it turns out, Methusaleh was quite a luck name for me. It is an unusual name, and it helped me to establish that Methusaleh’s mother Mary Thomas (1773-?) was the daughter of, you got it, Methusaleh Thomas (1752-1833). This would have been a rather straight-forward connection had it not been for some strange wording on Mary Thomas’ marriage record to William Pethick. The record claimed that Mary was a sojourner in Hartland, Devon, at the time of her marriage. For a long time, I took this to mean that Mary was from Devon. In fact, the record is quite right: she was just visiting. She was actually from St. Teath, Cornwall — you know, that parish where all of my other Bray relatives are from.

Mary’s father Methusaleh (or Methusalem — the variations seem to be interchangeable) was the son of another Methusaleh Thomas (1715-1759). You see, my friends, it pays to name your children something unusual — your ancestors will love you for the unmistakable trail you leave behind. As it turns out, my Methusalehs are a lovely genealogical case study. And for more than teaching me to actually read (and believe) the wording of marriage records!

According to the Cornish Online Parish Clerks (COPC) web site (a must if you are doing research in Cornwall), Methuselah Thomas the Second (my name for him, not official) was either baptized in Feb 1751 or Feb 1752. There are two records. One record is from the parish register and states that Methuselah was baptized in 1752, the other from the Bishop’s Transcripts (a list of records which was regularly created for all of the parishes in a Bishop’s jurisdiction) which states that Methuselah was baptized in 1751. I just ignored this difference, and chalked it up to bad transcription. However, I recently started to pay more attention to the calendar changes that took place in England in 1751. Two important changes happened that year: First, January 1 was declared the beginning of a calendar year (as opposed to March 25). These changes began after December 1751, i.e., 1751 ran from 25 March to the 31 December and 1752 started on 1 January. Secondly, England moved to the Gregorian calendar in order to rectify the errors caused by the Julian calendar. To eliminate the extra days, the days from 3 September to 13 September were skipped. (You can read more about the calendar changes here, if you are interested).

Now, what does this have to do with our Methusaleh? Well, if you look closely, notice that poor Methusaleh could not have been baptized in February 1751, because 1751 did not have any February! Methusaleh must have been baptized in Feb 1752. The Bishop’s Transcripts are wrong and the parish records are right.

The tale of the two Emmas in the Bray family left me with a vague impression about the lives of illegitimate children in the 19th century. I had this sense that they just disappeared into the world with shifting last names and a secret to hide. This week, I finally got around to looking at the third illegitimate child on my family tree, a child auspiciously named “Illegitimate Johnson” on her birth certificate. “Illegitimate” was born in May 1873 and she was the daughter of Mary Ann Johnson. Did she vanish like Emma #1 or did she die young like Emma #2? Was she permanently disadvantaged by the circumstances of her birth?

I found her rather quickly enough in the 1881 census living with her widowed grandfather Richard Norton Johnson in Sydenham, Grey County. Maud — rescued from the label “illegitimate” — had taken on the last name of her step-father George Yates. Maud had three half-sisters: Charlotte, Emma, and Frances Melissa. Tragically, Maud’s mother Mary Ann had died a week after giving birth to Frances Melissa in February 1881. The Yates family was split up after this tragedy. By the time of the census taking in 1881, Maud was living with the Johnsons and Frances Melissa was adopted by another family in the township. (I discovered this fact, by the way, simply by Googling her somewhat unusual name. I found her on the family tree of the adoptive parents). Maud’s step-father disappears from the records for several years and then reappears when he married again. Maud’s half-sister Charlotte married and remained in Grey County. I’m not sure what happened to her half-sister Emma.

Unfortunately, Maud also disappears from the records after the 1881 census. Vanishes. I could find no trace of her in the 1891 census, no trace of a marriage in Ontario, no trace of her death in Ontario. Nada. Sometimes, someone’s disappearance from the records is only an effect of digital blindness. Sadly, not everything can be found on the internet… After bashing my head against the brick wall of Maud’s life for a few hours, I gave up and moved onto filling out the trees of Mary Ann Johnson’s siblings.

The Johnson family seems to have had a predilection for marrying siblings. I am connected to Johnson family twice on my tree. My 2x great grandfather Thomas Glenfield Bray married Mary Ann’s sister Martha. Martha’s brother Thomas Wilson married Thomas Bray’s sister Adelaide. The two younger Johnson siblings followed suit. William Johnson married a Sarah Jane Cleave. William’s younger sister Charlotte married Sarah’s brother William Cleave at the ripe age of 16. These two couples were married on the same day in Owen Sound in 1886.

Sadly, Charlotte Johnson also died young, leaving two children motherless. However, I was able to trace William Cleave and his family as they headed west from Manitoba to Alberta where they settled near Medicine Hat.

Now, Cleave is one of those names that you like as a genealogist. Simple enough that most people spell it right, but uncommon enough that you aren’t inundated with possible matches. As I traced William’s travels, I noticed another Cleave living in Manitoba – a Thomas Cleave whose wife Maud was born in 1873 in Ontario. Could it be? My spidey sense was a-tingling!

Manitoba, it turns out, has a clever little database with birth, marriages, and deaths of genealogical interest. One quick check later and I had “Dora the Explorer” singing “We did it” in my head. [Confession: my three-year old watches way too much Dora!] Yes, indeed, Maud Johnson Yates married Thomas Cleave, brother of William and Sarah Jane, in 1898 in Manitoba. There she was: Maud Cleave, mother of two boys, wife of the postmaster. Her boys both served in the army and led successful lives in Winnipeg. Maud lived a seemingly normal life – the tragedy of her circumstances overcome.

I am relieved.

I was always destined to be the family genealogist. When I was younger, I had a “Family History” notebook where I had diligently filled out what was known of my family tree in my child’s handwriting. In Grade 10, I wrote a family history for the Bray family which encompassed several generations and told the story of their emigration from Cornwall to Ontario.

In my 20s, I travelled to England and Scotland for the first time. I was going through my new age stage and I decided to travel by “intuition.” (Basically, I had a train pass and no itinerary). My intuition/inclination led me to Cornwall – Penzance, to be exact. There, I signed up for a tour with “Harry Safari.” Harry is a local who makes a living showing tourists the wonders of Cornwall. He was quick to point out that I must be a “Cornish girl” with a name like Bray. I had never identified myself as Cornish before, but I had noticed the surprising prevalence of people who had the same watery blue eyes as many of my family members. These eyes, the mysterious Cornish coastline, and Cornish pasties made me think: hmmm, maybe I am a Cornish girl.

Harry Safari must get his fill of New World visitors looking for their Old World pasts. He must have seen that that was what my “intuition” was looking for – a taste of connection to the mystical rocks and ancient places (new age phase remember!). After his tour, Harry asked me if I wanted to have a look at Billy Bray’s chapel. Billy Bray was a powerful figure in 19th century Cornwall. He was a preacher who led the Bible Christian movement – a movement which advocated strict temperance, exuberant worship and careful reading of the Bible.

Harry Safari and his wife very, very graciously offered me dinner and drove me out to Billy Bray’s chapel. Part of our tour included a stop at a graveyard where I was convinced that my “intuition” had led me to discover the graves of my Bray ancestors. As for Billy, I was sure that I must be related to him too because I could remember vague stories about my ancestors’ tee totalling ways.

I was deluded of course. Utterly and embarrassingly mad. But I do want to point out that, until recently, almost all of my family’s ideas about the origins of our Bray ancestors were, uh, totally wrong. To say the least. It was long-standing lore in my family that the William Bray (the Bray who made the “crossing”) was from a family of tin miners in Redruth, Cornwall. I am told that this fact is inscribed in a family Bible. My brilliant aunt, also predestined to succumb to the genealogy virus, set about to find our Bray ancestors in Redruth. She travelled to Cornwall more than once, not only because she loves it there but also because she hoped to learn more about our elusive Brays.

The internet changed everything. Within weeks of discovering Google’s ability to cough up (ir)relevant information about my ancestors, I had located John, a not-so-distant cousin who is the Chief Wizard of Bray-lore. He quickly straightened out my side of the family. Redruth? Not a chance! Not even close! No, our Brays are from Northern Cornwall. Our Brays are from St. Teath and Lanteglos-by-Camelford. A few odd strays in places like Morwenstow and Tintagel, but look at the Camelford area closely and it is hard to find the Brays who aren’t related to us. (Figuring out the exact nature of these relationships is another story all together, but I’ll save that for a future post!)

The irony of our genealogical follies is made more delicious by the fact that my side of the family is, how shall I put it, a touch over-educated. Fortunately, I think that we have been blessed with a compensating dose of self-deprecation, and I can appreciate the “eggheads gone wrong — really wrong” humour here. I do wonder, however, how this wonderfully misleading Redruth rumour started. Was there some connection to this city? Was it a stop along the way to Canada? OK, OK, I know. I have to let this one go.

Surprisingly (at least to me), this ass-whooping has turned out to be a somewhat common experience in my journey through my family’s history. The story told by the bureaucrats and their records is never quite the same story as the one that has trickled down through the generations. My research often feels like a cat-and-mouse game with history; and it is me, I am afraid, who is batted around and tossed into the air by the wily and always invincible past.

The internet is ruthless with the secrets of the past. I discovered the extent of the power of the internet to reveal our secrets as I turned my attention to the Bray family. I noticed, as had other Bray researchers, two mysterious Emma Brays who were, according to census returns, living with my great-great-great grandparents William Bray and Betsey Bath.

William and Betsey were married in Michaelstow, Cornwall in Mar 1850. Shortly after their marriage (the journey to Canada most often began in the spring), they emigrated to Canada and settled in Hope Township in Durham County, Ontario.

In the 1851 and 1861 Ontario censuses, an Emma is listed as a daughter of William and Betsey. However, she is quite a bit older than their next eldest daughter Anna Maria. Emma disappears from the 1871 census and it is uncertain what happened to her, although William purchased a grave at Welcome Church in 1868. This is, perhaps, Emma’s grave. It is also possible that Emma married and simply disappeared into life with a new last name.

Because Emma was born in 1844, six years before William and Betsey’s marriage, it seemed unlikely that she was their biological daughter. I assumed for a long time that she was simply the child of a sibling who, for some reason, could not look after her. Eventually it occurred to me (OK, I know: duh!) to search English baptismal records for a Emma Bath (Betsey’s maiden name). Sure enough, Emma Bath was the “bastard” child of Betsey Bath, baptized in Trevalga, Cornwall in 1844. (This is most certainly our Emma as Betsey was from Trevalga and can be found living there with her family in the 1841 census.)

The existence of Emma came as a complete surprise to us. Her life seemed somehow obscured and possibly even hidden. She was not present in any family photos or on an elaborate family tree that had been completed in the 1950s. I find myself wanting to make some assumptions about the plight of an illegitimate child, but I am wary of jumping to conclusions. But I am fascinated to say the least. What did this mean for Emma? What did it mean for Betsey? Was William Betsey’s saviour? Were they motivated to emigrate so that this “sin” could be erased from the memory of the community where they lived? Or was this a commonplace event, understood to be something that happened and that should be survived in some way or another?

This story does not end with our Emma born in 1844. Interestingly enough, another mysterious Emma Bray is living with William and Betsey according to the 1881 census. In this case, it was rather easy to discover that Emma #2, born in 1873, was the illegitimate daughter of Sarah Jane Bray, William and Betsey’s daughter. Emma #2′s birth was duly recorded by an (undoubtedly sour and judgmental) Ontario bureaucrat. We do know that Emma #2 was raised by William and Betsey as their daughter. She died at the age of 16 of a bowel obstruction. Again, this Emma does appear in a photo nor is she is listed on a family tree. But I am inclined to believe that this Emma was much loved as she is buried beside William and Betsey in Gardiner’s United Cemetery in Cavan, the headstone engraved with her nickname Bena. I find this to be a tender gesture.

Wait! There’s more. A couple of weeks after I discover the birth certificate of Emma #2, I looked more closely at it. I discovered that the illegitimate child born one month after Emma and listed beside Emma’s entry is also a member of my family! This child is the daughter of Mary Ann Johnson who was the sister of my g-g-grandmother Martha Johnson. Martha married William and Betsey’s son Thomas Glenfield. The Brays and the Johnsons lived next to each other on Concession 3 in Hope Township. To top it off, a third illegitimate child was born near this concession that summer and is also listed next to the Bray and Johnson children on the birth record. (This third child is not on my family tree, but two out of three isn’t bad!) What was happening that year on Concession 3 in Hope Township? Were three local girls seduced by a rural Ontario Lothario? Was there a serial rapist afoot? Or were the harvest festivals of 1872 simply out of control? Now this is a tantalizing mystery worthy of much more of my attention, I would say!

The discovery of the two Emmas has made me think about how we understand families and how we draw boundaries around the family unit based on cultural rather than biological ideas of relatedness. The Emmas fell off of my family tree because they were culturally unacceptable relations, products — most likely — of scandal and “untoward” behaviour. This deliberate forgetting was aided and abetted by time and distance, forces which could not be overcome by the communications technologies of the past. But these secrets are easily revealed again by the forces of mass digitization and indexing. My ancestors’ hidden lives (and hidden children) are laid bare thanks to the penetrating power of Google, and now that illegitimacy is no longer an embarrassment, these family members can be reclaimed and joyfully added to the family tree. As a parent, I would like to think that this brings some comfort to the souls of Betsey and Sarah Jane, the mothers of the two Emmas.