Digging Down East: Yorkshire Migration

Saturday, October 31, 2015

My Canadian Branches ~ My Smiths...Not To Be Confused With Your Smiths

I imagine most family historians dread the research into their lines with common surnames, like Smith and Jones. So it was when I began my research into my Smith line. I really lucked out, though, because my Smiths descend from one of the most famous Canadian settler families.

My Smith research really began fifteen years ago, during my last visit to Canada. The year 2000 marked the 225th anniversary of the Yorkshire Migration, when, between 1772 and 1775, over 1000 settlers immigrated from Yorkshire, England to the Chignecto Region of Nova Scotia.

My fifth great grandparents, Nathaniel and Elizabeth (Duck) Smith, with their family, sailed out of Hull, England, aboard The Albion in March of 1774. The ship arrived at Fort Cumberland at the head of the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia during the third week of May after first making port in Halifax. Their oldest son, Benjamin, had emigrated a year earlier and purchased a 1500 acre farm with a house and livestock in Cumberland County on his family's behalf. Nathaniel was 54 years old when he and his family left the village of Upsall, Yorkshire, to join Benjamin in the New World.

The first instance of the Smith surname in my family tree is my grandmother, Harriet Cheney Smith.

There are many great source materials on the Yorkshire Migration. In 2000, I was able to purchase a thick, spiral-bound paperback, entitled "The Descendants of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Smith," compiled by Philip and Joan (Smith) Brides. I refer to it often in my Smith research.

For specific background on Nathaniel Smith, I recommend "Nathaniel Smith : Stranger in a Strange Land," published by the Tantramar Heritage Trust, in conjunction with the anniversary.

There is an excellent bibliography at the website Yorkshire Immigration To Nova Scotia, 1772-1775.

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.