Digging Down East: Elgin

Showing posts with label Elgin. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

52 Ancestors: #17 George William Smith (1844-1925)

George William Smith, my 2nd great grand uncle, was born on this date in 1844, in River Glade, Westmorland County, New Brunswick, the sixth of eight children born to George Alfred Smith and Caroline Steeves, and their second son.

George's great grandparents, Nathaniel Smith and Elizabeth Duck, and their children, came to Canada from England in 1774, during what is called The Yorkshire Emigration.

George was a farmer in Elgin, Albert County, for his entire life.

He married Barbara Ann Steeves on August 12, 1869. Barbara was the daughter of William Bleakney Steeves and Charlotte Steeves.

Together, George and Barbara had eight children of their own:

Jessie May, b. 1870

Annie Mable, b. 1873

Estella Maude, b. 1875

Madge C., b. 1877

Urbane A., b. 1878

George William, Jr., b. 1881

Robert Ainsle, b. 1884

Ina Minetta, b.1887

George died a widower, on November 5, 1925, in Elgin, and, according to his death certificate, was buried in Gowland Mountain.

Sources:

"Canada Census, 1871," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M4M6-N48 : accessed 27 Apr 2014), George W Smith, Elgin, Albert, New Brunswick, Canada; citing p. 37, line 9; Library and Archives Canada film number C-10395, Public Archives, Ottawa, Ontario; FHL microfilm 2229127.

"Canada Census, 1881," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MV63-26M : accessed 27 Apr 2014), George W. Smith, Elgin, Albert, New Brunswick, Canada; citing p. 56; Library and Archives Canada film number C-13177, Public Archives, Ottawa, Ontario; FHL microfilm 1375813.

"Canada Census, 1891," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MWKZ-LDG : accessed 27 Apr 2014), George W Smith, Elgin, Albert, New Brunswick, Canada; citing Public Archives, Ottawa, Ontario; Library and Archives Canada film number 30953_148099.

1901 Census of New Brunswick, Elgin, Albert County, George W. Smith, transcribed digital image, Automated Genealogy (http://automatedgenealogy.com/census/View.jsp?id=784&highlight=46&desc=1901+Census+of+Canada+page+containing+George+W.+Smith) : accessed 27 Apr 2014.

1911 Census of New Brunswick, Elgin, Albert County, George W. Smith, transcribed digital image, Automated Genealogy (http://automatedgenealogy.com/census11/View.jsp?id=1923&highlight=41) : accessed 27 Apr 2014.

Brides, Philip and Joan Smith Brides, The Descendants of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Smith. (Halifax, Mass., August 2000), p.42.

New Brunswick. Dept. of Health and Social Services. Index to Death Certificates (RS141C5), Reg. 1346, Vol. 1, Microfilm F18797. Provincial Archives of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, Canada. http://archives.gnb.ca/. Accessed and downloaded 4/27/2014.

Yorkshire Emigration to Nova Scotia, 1772-1775 (http://www.libris.ca/yrkfam/yrkemi.htm).

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This is the 17th in a series, “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks,” coordinated by Amy Johnson Crow at No Story Too Small.

Monday, March 10, 2014

52 Ancestors: #10 Benjamin Bishop Bustin (1879-1975)

Benjamin Bishop Bustin, my great grand uncle, was born on this date in 1879 in Mechanic Settlement, New Brunswick, Canada, the sixth of nine children born to Samuel James Bustin and Mary Ross and their fourth son.

In the 1901 Census of Canada, he was listed as the head of the family, which, at that time, consisted of himself and his five brothers (Alexander, Stephen, Thomas, Walter, and Fred and a sister Harriet). Their father had died in 1897, but their mother lived until 1904, according to her headstone. It is unclear where their mother lived in 1901.

Following his older married sister, Annie, and his younger brother, Tom, he came to the States in 1902, at the age of 31, and moved into 430 Stevens Avenue in Portland, Maine.

By the 1910 U.S. Census, Annie had been widowed, having lost her husband three years before.

Two months after the census was taken in April, Ben married Agnes Rachel Hamilton, a 20 year old house servant for the Hayden family at 360 Woodfords Street in Portland. Nessie, as she was known, happened to be the sister of Ben's brother Fred's wife (Fred and Melvina had married in Portland in 1907). The sisters were born in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Ben and Nessie had two children, Harry, born in 1910, and Caroline (known as Carrie), born in 1913.

Ben Bustin and Family

In the 1920 Census, Uncle Ben was listed as an Engine-wiper for the Steam Railroad, and in the 1930 Census, he was listed as a Watchman in the Roundhouse. He undoubtedly worked for the Maine Central Railroad, probably at the Rigby Yard.

In the 1940 Census, he was living with his married daughter and son-in-law, Ashley and Carrie Horton, having lost Nessie the year before.

I remember being taken to visit Uncle Ben in a sparse apartment in the Six Links Building on Bishop Street in Morrill's Corner in Portland, Maine.

He resided in a nursing home on Rt. 302 in Windham, Maine, in his final years. He passed away there on February 24, 1975, at the age of 95. He is buried beside Nessie in Pine Grove Cemetery, in Falmouth, Maine.

Postscript:

The Bustin-Hamilton ties were further bound, when brother Tom married Catherine "Cassie" Margaret Hamilton in 1918, being the third Bustin brother to marry a third Hamilton sister. The romantic tale was poetically, if not accurately, retold by the Portland Evening Express newspaper on July 2, 1910, a transcript of which can be found at the above tab.

Sources:

1901 Census of New Brunswick, Elgin, Albert County, Benj. Bustin, transcribed digital image, Automated Genealogy (http://automatedgenealogy.com/census/View.jsp?id=1809&highlight=38&desc=1901+Census+of+Canada+page+containing+Benj.+Bustin) : accessed 9 March 2014).

1910 U.S. Census; Census Place: Portland Ward 9, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: T624_539; Page: 12B; Enumeration District: 0099; FHL microfilm: 1374552, Benjamin B Bustin.

1910 U.S. Census; Census Place: Portland Ward 6, Cumberland,Maine; Roll: T624_539; Page: 14A; Enumeration District: 0094; FHL microfilm: 1374552, Agnes Hamilton.

1920 U.S. Census; Census Place: Portland Ward 9, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: T625_640; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 59; Image: 907, Benjamin B Bustin.

1930 U.S. Census; Census Place: Portland, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: 831; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 0080; Image: 878.0; FHL microfilm: 2340566, Benjamin Bustin.

1940 U.S. Census; Census Place: Portland, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: T627_1476; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 3-112, Benjamin B Burton.

"New Hampshire, Marriage Records, 1637-1947," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FLC4-QD5 : accessed 27 May 2012), Benjamin B. Bustin and Agnes R. Hamilton, 1910.

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This is the tenth in a series, “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks,” coordinated by Amy Johnson Crow at No Story Too Small.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Treasure Chest Thursday – My Steeves Plate

I still have quite a bit of genealogical research to do on my Steeves ancestors, but I feel fortunate to have one of these plates.

Matthias Steeves was born in 1761. He died on May 21, 1848 He married Sophia Beck, and together they had 13 children. One of their nine sons, Jacob Steeves, was born on May 3, 1788.

Jacob and Eleanor Bleakney had four children. One of their two sons, William Bleakney Steeves, was born in 1823. He married his cousin Charlotte Steeves on October 22, 1846, and they had one daughter, Robina Elizabeth Steeves, born in Elgin, Albert County, New Brunswick, Canada.

Robina Steeves married James Henry Smith (who also had Steeves roots) on Nov. 3, 1873, and together they had 7 children, the eldest of which is my great grandfather, Wylie Herbert Smith.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Tombstone Tuesday - Grandpa Bustin

Have you ever plucked a random picture out of an assortment of relics, just to simply see how far you can go with it? That's what I did the other day, with wonderfully unexpected results.

The following is the front and back of my picture, 2 x 3 in size (fitting in the palm of my hand).

Of course, my first question was "Whose Grandpa?" I remember my great-grandfather, Frederick Parker Bustin (1886-1965), buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Portland, Maine. Was this his father or his grandfather?

My second question was "Where is Church Hill?" It was not a placename I was familiar with, although I had to assume it was in New Brunswick, where my great-grandfather grew up. Was this a church graveyard, or was this the name of a NB village, like Mechanic Settlement, where "Pap" was born.

Google Maps led me to a Church Hill Rd near Mechanic Settlement, as well as Elgin, a town I had also heard mention of:

After quite a bit of creative googling, going back and forth between Church Hill, Church Hill Cemetery, Church Hill United Church, I finally arrived at a list of Albert Co., New Brunswick, cemeteries, and lo and behold, there was my cemetery - Church Hill United Cemetery Est. 1865, in ELGIN! And it was annotated as being fully transcribed in 2010! You can only imagine how excited I was!

But here is the best part -- M. Helena Lewis, just this August, transcribed and photographed (!) every single grave, including those of my great-great Bustin grandparents. Here they are, with full credit to Ms. Lewis for doing all the work:

Samuel J Bustin

died Oct 29, 1897 aged 79 yrs 4 ms

Mary E Bustin

died July 10, 1904 aged 55 yrs 10 ms

As I finish this post, I realize suddenly that Great Great Grandmother Bustin died when she was the age I am now - 55. I can only speculate on her life, which undoubtedly was a hard one, and what caused her death. But I am thrilled with this "best yet" genealogy discovery, and hope to make it down east someday to pay my respects.