More Rowbothams found..... David Grant Rowbotham aka Rowe and his sister Peggy Grant Rowbotham

David Rowbotham and Cousin Cpl Leighton Rowbotham

After I found the Rowbothams in Canada Found.... The Rowbothams of Ontario, one son, Alfred Rowbotham, intrigued me. There was much sorrow in his life. His parents died when he was young and then he followed his siblings to Canada to live in 1905. His marriage to Charlotte Grant ended in three babies dying as infants and poor Charlotte dying of TB a short while later. 

I feel that he was sponsored to Canada by a rich uncle who was in the building industry in Warwickshire as there were plenty of opportunities for building in the expanding Canadian provinces and the US territories. As such he had contacts and opportunities in both countries and back home in England.

Next this young widower is found in England as a 33-year-old married to Margaret Robotham (nee Scott) with a child, Peggy Grant  Robotham, in the 1921 English census. Peggy was born in Manchester in 1916.

Rowbotham family 1921 Census

It seems Alfred returned to Canada shortly after the census to prepare the way for his little family. In 1922, Peggy and Margaret  travelled to Canada to make a new home with Alfred. They lived in Canada from 1922 to 1926, and after a visit back home to England, returned in 1926 to Toronto. Peggy had many trips back and forward to visit her grandmother in England. Presumably they must have been able to afford frequent 5 day travel across the Atlantic. Little Peggy has travelled backwards and forwards with or without her mother between Canada and her grandmother's back in England. Her grandmother is Janet Scott, living in Nottingham Road, Mansfield. She is familiar with her home country.

Reading between the lines, it seems Alfred and Margaret split at some time during his time in Toronto. 

Further investigations show a marriage between Alfred  and  Verea Carr, previously Simmons. When at 40 years of age, he married on the 1st of March 1929 in Detroit, the marriage certificates states he has been married twice and now divorced and has no legal wife living. She is also a divorcee. This marriage lasted from the 27th of July 1929 to the 13th of October 1930, when final divorce papers were issued. They had in fact parted in April 1930.

Passenger papers show him in a 1930 border crossing from USA to Ontario to his brother's place from Detroit.

Next Alfred married another Margaret, Margaret M Adams in October 1933 in Rumford, Essex. A son, David Grant Rowbotham, was born in London on the 23rd of July 1934. They lived in London. It seems Margaret may have died in childbirth a year or so later. This is according to an article accessed regarding little David Rowbotham.

Alfred and David in 1939 Register

This is backed up by the War time 1939 Register record, where Alfred and a minor are living in London. Alfred is a  widowed father. David was told stories by his dad about living in Canada and of his extended family who had settled there in the 1900s.

David's life was almost as tragic as his father's.....

A few years later, London and other parts of England were hit by the Blitz. The Blitz was a surprise attack bombing campaign by Germany and Italy  during WWII for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941. It was mainly a night campaign on London, Liverpool and other port  and industrial cities.

At some time during the Blitz, David and Alfred's house/home was hit. Details of what happened next are a little sketchy. It seems Alfred was seriously injured, possibly killed, and/ or was unable to care for his son. Records at the time are sketchy due to the carnage.

Newspaper reporting says that David was orphaned or considered as such. He was taken in by Mr. and Mrs. Frank Taylor of Brighton Sussex, adding to the six orphaned children they had already taken in, because of the London Blitz. 

Some years later, luckily for David, his cousin, Corporal Leighton Arthur Rowbotham, had arrived in London in November 1945 after war service in Germany.

He had enlisted and spent three years in Germany with the Canadian Army. He had received a letter from his family, asking him to trace his little cousin, David. By this time, David was 11 and still living with the Fraser's in Brighton. Leighton set about obtaining legal custody and offering David a home in Belleville, Canada.

“I want to give David a good education and the opportunities which I think Canada can offer him" said Leighton in a newspaper article. Leighton’s parents were George and Florence Rowbotham. 

George was Alfred's older brother. Florence was ecstatic. She was the mother of 13, (10 living) children. Adopting one more was no problem to her. She had four grandchildren living nearby and was looking forward to taking in the son of her husband's brother. “This is a children's country and we know that David will be happy here” she said.

Back in England, the magistrate commended Corporal Rowbotham for his appeal to others to adopt orphan children into Canada. David himself was happy to go back to the place his father had talked about. "I think I would like to be a farmer or a railway man, but anyway, I'm going to be a good citizen of Canada" he said. People have described him as a red head who was a well-mannered boy. He was also a very good singer. He lived with his father’s brother and family in Kern County.  

And what became of Peggy?

Peggy Rowbotham married in 1933 in Detroit. Her marriage too was short-lived, divorcing in February 1938. One child had resulted; George W. Day Jr  was born on the 22nd in 1935 in Detroit and it wasn’t a happy marriage. It seems he may have stayed with his father.  Peggy appears to have returned to England possibly with her father. There looks to be on a 1939 record with her pursuing a career in nursing.

She married Alexander McDougall in 1944 in Surrey. She doesn't appear to have had any more children. Peggy Grant McDougall died in 1981 in Camden, Greater London. Due to the circumstances, she probably wasn't very close to her little brother David, who came along after her father's divorce from Verea Carr and his fourth marriage to Margaret Adams in 1933.

What became of David?

He moved to Toronto,  married Vivian and had two children.

In 1950, he joined the Black Watch Army and was in Korea in the early 50s. When he came back to Canada, he packed his family up and followed Uncle Art (Leighton Arthur Rowbotham) and  Aunty May (Martha Laing) to Bakersfield, California. He died on his birthday in 2002.

He was a home repair handyman and personnel manager at the White Front Store in the early 70s and a driver for Orange Belt Stage Lines for 10 years. At some stage he changed his name to Rowe.

His obituary notes him as  a member of the Stein Road Baptist Church. “He had a servant's heart and left his world after spending several days working on a church at the Eagle Mount Indian Reservation.”

He was survived by his wife Viviann Rowe, son Brian, daughter Janet and grandchildren.

Weaving The Family Tree -Gadsby Life In Attleborough, Nuneaton,Coventry,London and Sydney

When I first visited the picturesque County of Warwickshire in 2006 I was  visiting the birthplace of Shakespeare. With a day to spare we had to choose between spending the day driving around the hills and dales to Warwickshire Castle or visiting the Jaguar factory at Coventry. That was in the days before I knew about our family history connection and little did I know I was only 28 miles south from Nuneaton, the place where generations had lived for hundreds of years. 

Basically the Gadsby family are descended from people who lived in and around Northern Warwickshire in the West Midlands of the UK for at least 12 generations before moving 8 miles away to Coventry and then further to London and Australia. But that was in the days before I was "doing the family history" My main emphasis that day in England and was to avoid a visit to the Jaguar factory. You can guess who wanted to do that. I’m sorely regretting that decision now.

Our focus begins on the Nuneaton area. Draw a small circle around the parish area of Nuneaton to highlight places like Exhall, Foleshill, Stockingford, Chivers Coton and Attleborough. Our ancestors in the Gadsby and the maternal sides lived in and around these villages from the 1550s to 1851 -- 300 years in this little part of Warwickshire. The Gadsby family in particular had local family connections in the Nuneaton district  from the 18th to the 20th century.

One local historian, Peter Lee has described the Gadsby clan as “local gentry amongst the labouring people worthy of a bit extra (research) attention.” There is even a Gadsby Street in Nuneaton named in honour of a famous member of the family -- the preacher William Gadsby. 

Although there was a French and German Belgium influence in the area we seem to have been devoid of continental influences in our names. We can track our family through the Gadsbys for seven generations to approximately 1680. Typical Christian names are John, William, Thomas, Henry and George for the boys and Catherine for the girls. Through the maternal lines of Popes, Lesters and Proctors we can trace from the current generation 15 generations back to 1550, most of which have been lived  in the  northern Warwickshire area.

Our Tudor relatives living in the Nuneaton surrounds probably worked in industries such as leather tanning, brick making and iron working. In the 18th century the town of Nuneaton become famous for silk ribbon weaving. Silk ribbons would adorn the ladies clothing and hats of the day and members of our family worked in that industry since at least the 1780s. By the end of the 1700s Nuneaton had a population of 2000 and was a good sized market town in its time.

In 1770 John Gadsby at aged 50 married for the second time to a young 20 year old named Martha Lingard. He had already had 7 children by Elizabeth Cope who he had married in 1756. He then  proceeded to father 7 more with Martha. His father – also a John had been a shag (carpet) weaver in Coventry but little is known about him and how his son John came to live in Abbey Street, Nuneaton. Note that Attleborough is a hamlet of Nuneaton. However we do know he was a poor roadman who ended up living until 96 years old. His job would have entailed building and maintaining about a mile stretch of road between Attleborough and Coventry. Two of his children by Martha were John and the famous preacher, William. We are descended from John(3) . 

While baptism, marriage and burial records from the Nuneaton area give us details of births, deaths and marriages amongst our relatives it is the accounts of the Gadsbys’ life recorded in published writings  by John Gadsby, son of William Gadsby, the famous Preacher, which give us the first inkling of what it was like to grow up in Nuneaton. This work was also used as a source for the Biography on William Gadsby by B.A.Ramsbottom in 2003.

A sketch of Gadsby’s house in Attleborough, Nuneaton

John was described as a very quiet man as opposed to his wife Martha who was just the opposite. His first child from the second marriage was our John . He and his younger brother William had to nurse the younger children being the eldest of the 7 children from this second marriage. It is said “ the Gadsby children were left to run about the village, barefoot and ragged  and almost wild until they were old enough to work.” (B.A.Ramsbottom 2003). They were also described in Ramsbottom’s biography as   “full of mischief and up to all manner of pranks.”  It is likely that John and William learnt reading but not writing or English at the Nuneaton church school.

 He is also responsible for his brother, William seeking religion. Apparently while out one night John persuaded his brother to go into the Three Crowns at Attleborough and have a taste of the “Queens Cordial”. Three halfpence worth each was enough to do the trick. The Landlady sent them on their way saying “I’ll have no drunken fellows here.” William swore off alcohol from then on and sought the Lord’s forgiveness!

 John went on to be married three times to Elizabeth Smith, Mary Brown and Elizabeth Harris. Mary Brown had only one daughter Damaris, while John and Elizabeth Harris had 5 children one of whom is our John (4) –Thomas Gadsby’s father.

Nuneaton township

It  is the 1841 Census that gives us an inkling of exactly where our John (4) lived, how they earned their living  and perhaps even the hardships faced in his life. At the time of the census this John born 1826 was living with his half sister Damaris Asbury with her family in Hall Row  Attleborough, Nuneaton. At age 15 he is working as ribbon weaver in the Damaris’ family home. His thrice married father had died eight years earlier in 1833 and presumably his mother Elizabeth nee Harris was also dead. John and Damaris were most probably the only living children from the three marriages. He lived just round the corner from where his future in-laws the Pope's lived in Freers Row. Charlotte Pope was also from a ribbon weaving family.

Jno Gadsby and Damaris Asbury on the 1841 Nuneaton census

Nuneaton streets at that time were filled with the clackitty clack of looms as most of the silk ribbon weaving was done in the home.  Single hand looms were pushed up against the long windows for light. Cottages in the streets and courts today show the remnants of the long windows which lit the single hand looms. Later the upper stories were filled with engine looms. A man called Green or known as “Crack Green” had a shop cum factory in Abbey Street filled with plain engine looms. This man was most probably a brother-in-law of Charlotte Pope whose sister, Catherine had married into the Green family. At the time a weaver got 24 shillings per length and could earn in peak times two pounds per week.

By 1847 John had married 15 year old Charlotte Pope and they continued to live in Nuneaton until after the birth of their first son William Gadsby in 1849. The growth of Nuneaton was boosted by the railway which arrived in 1847. This would have enabled easy travel between Nuneaton and Coventry. 

1851 census  married to Charlotte Pope and with baby William in Nuneaton

Sometime after 1851 census was taken John, Charlotte and William moved from 50 Buchanan’s Row in Nuneaton to Coventry where five more children were born. These were Catherine (b1851), John (b1854), Henry (b1859), Thomas (b1861) and George (b1865). 

1861 census with John and Charlotte living in Coventry with William, Catherine , John and Henry

Initially John and Charlotte continued earning a living as ribbon weavers.  John was still noted as a ribbon weaver on John and Catherine’s birth certificates. Coventry had nearly 10,000 workers employed in the silk ribbon trade rising to a peak of 25,000 in about 1857. However by the 1860s, the ribbon weaving trade had collapsed as protective duties were removed and the industry went into deep decline as foreign silk manufacturers flooded the market. For example in 1859 in Coventry and Nuneaton there were 80 manufacturers in the ribbon weaving district. This dwindled  to 12 and wages had dropped dramatically.

John had become a policeman by 1858 as Henry’s birth certificate has him listed as such.  However, they must have continued to work from home as the 1861 census has John, Charlotte and the children living in 17 Swanswell St, Holy Trinity District of St Peters, Coventry and listed as being employed as ribbon weavers. Perhaps John had picked up different work as it became available as he is listed as policeman by May 1861 and again in 1865 on Thomas’ and George’s birth certificates. By 1860 police constables and sergeants in Coventry were paid up to £6 per year and the higher ranks £8 per year. In 1868 Officers were to be issued with revolvers and cutlasses during ‘the present disturbed state of the County’ and pay had grown to £50 per annum. A year later the traditional police helmets were introduced. There was roughly 1 policeman for every 1,128 people.  John is listed as a gun maker in 1870 on Catherine’s marriage certificate. He is called a Gun pickler on his own death certificate in 1875.

Records show the children Catherine, John, Henry and Thomas were baptised on the same day at the ruined St Michaels of Coventry in 1863 where  John is working as a Police Constable. 

John and Charlotte had 4 of their children christened on the same day in Coventry

The family survived the smallpox epidemic of 1871 which killed 166 people in Coventry.

At the time there were a lot of complaints about the living conditions in Coventry. In the 1870s the river was described as “a large open and extremely offensive sewer”. The streets of Coventry were described as being narrow, ill paved and ill cleansed with deplorable housing conditions. The burial grounds were criticised as being inadequate and too near the centre of the city.  There was a typhoid epidemic in 1875. Various improvements were instigated in later years but too late for our John. Unfortunately he died  at age 49 at the end of 1875 after suffering from typhoid and his dear wife Charlotte died only a few weeks later in early 1876 presumably of typhoid also. She was only49.

John Gadsby (4) died of typhoid fever in 1875

Both parents dead within weeks.  Where did this leave the children of John and Charlotte?  What became of them? How did they manage?

William’s fate is still unclear. Being the oldest child, he was 26 years old in 1875 and could presumably fend for himself. William ‘s trail appears to have stopped and efforts are still being made to track him down.  Catherine, the only daughter and second child had married John Rowbottom in 1870 and was living in Aston at the time of her parents’ deaths. Three of her children were born in Birmingham, but by the time of the 1881 census had moved to London with her growing family. Catherine bore 7 children but had unfortunately died by 1904 aged 53 in West Ham, London when the youngest was only 11. 

Catherine Gadsby married John Robotham in 1870

John(5), Thomas’ second oldest brother, was informant at his father John’s death and was living in Aston. A few weeks after his mother’s death, he married Mary Ann Phillpot and continued to live in the Aston, Birmingham area with his four children. The 1911 Census has him as a 56 year old living at 217 Holyhead Rd  Handsworth Birmingham. He was a weighing machine fitter at a Weighing Machine and Scale works. Three of his children had already died and only two daughters were still living. John lived to a good age of 71 dying in 1925.

John Gadsby 1911 census

John gave his brother Thomas a hymn book of the William Gadsby hymns as a parting gift before his travels to Australia.  William, their great uncle had become a famous preacher in Manchester and is still remembered today for his hymns. The Hymn Book was much treasured by Thomas and  still exists today having been passed on to his eldest granddaughter, Betty, who spent a lot of time with Grandad Thomas as a child.

Cousin Betty Shortell with the Gadsby hymn book brought over from England by Thomas in 1912

Henry was only 16 when his parents passed away. After making his way to Scotland he travelled to Brisbane, Australia on the Rodell Bay from Greenock. Thus when he arrived on 27/8/1878 he was 19 years old. After spending a year in Brisbane, he travelled to Sydney pursuing his trade as a bricklayer. Not long after, he married Sarah Fanny Chandler in 1881. Sadly he and Sarah’s only daughter, Charlotte, died in infancy.  After a long absence from England, electoral records show that he was reunited with his brother Thomas and the family again after they immigrated to Sydney and located to Commodore St Newtown. This was a few doors down from where he and Sarah were living.  Both worked as bricklayers in the local area.

Henry’s death certificate gave a lot of clues about Henry’s life

Young George was just 10 years old when he was orphaned. In 1881 he was still living in Birmingham, Aston as a lodger with Catherine’s brother in law, Thomas Rowbotham. He was working as a bricklayer in Rowbotham’s business. After marrying Charlotte Coggins in 1892 he continued to work as a bricklayer and went on to have 6 children, dying in Handsworth, Birmingham in 1929.

George Gadsby and family 1911 census

And what of Thomas – our patriarch?  It could the making or breaking of a child to be 14 year old orphan.  In 1871, he had been a scholar living at Gem Street Industrial School. Perhaps he had started work as bricklayer by the time of his parent’s death in 1876. Clearly his sister and brother were looking out for him as they are recorded as his next of kin in his army records as was the fact that he was a bricklayer. By the time of the 1881 census, Thomas Gadsby aged 20 was a Private in Army Services Corp Warwickshire St Marys Parish. At 18 years and 5 months he had joined the Army at Birmingham on 18/10/1879 signing for 6 years. He served in the 13^th  Brigade and the 1st Warwick  militia where his grandfather had also served. His army records described him as  5 feet 6 inches with a fair complexion, light brown  hair and grey eyes.  After completing his time he signed on again for a further 6 years in the Army Reserve as Lt Corporal from 30/10/85 to 22/10/1891.

Thomas’ Militia Records

Thomas married Selina Smith, a waitress, on October 16 1887at Bethnal Green. Despite the many bouts of syphilis and gonorrhea he was treated for in the army, he managed to father 14 children. As a young dad he moved the family around London and Essex in search of building work. Of the 14 births (one of which was in Sydney), 3 infant deaths resulted.  A recent television series commented on the likelihood of previously contracted STDs to cause birth defects early in parenthood. This may explain the two infant deaths early in their marriage. Possibly these occurred in the early days or between the births of Lena and Harold.

Thomas and Selina’s Wedding Certificate

The 1911 census shows the family of 11 living in 12 Hallsville Rd Canning Town, London which was described as a five room dwelling. Thomas, aged 50 was a Bricklayer and Harold was an errand boy. Forty two year old Selina had given birth to the twins, William and Edith Laura 2 months previously. Thomas Jnr was in the Army. Selina (Lena) was 20 and obviously helping out at home. The other children John 12, Maude 10, Julia 8, Catherine 5 and Grace 3 were either toddlers or attending school. Later in 1911 Thomas and Selina made a decision to move to Australia with their family to escape the London weather. The strong and decisive Selina had had a hard time and wanted to protect her family from the looming threat of war in Europe and the harsh weather in England.

Eventually at 51 Thomas moved his family to Sydney in 1912 in search of more hospitable weather. He and sons, Harold and John most probably travelled by merchant ship while Selina and the younger children, Selina, Maude, Julia, Catherine, Grace and William sailed on board the “Zealandia”. The oldest son Thomas joined the family in Sydney after his service in India and Mesopotamia in WW1. Edie was born in 1914 in Sydney.

The final census(1911) for the family before leaving for Australia

In Sydney Thomas continued working as a builder in and around Sydney until his death in his 73rd year in 1933. He would have been a proud father to see his three oldest boys fighting for both Britain and Australia in WW1 especially after his earlier involvement in the army. I think he would be even prouder of his hard working brood and the way they have lived their lives in a new and warmer country. They have continued to be as the Nuneaton historian said “local gentry amongst  the labouring people” They  and their children were decent upstanding people. Interestingly only 5 of his children had children of their own.  At last count there are 195 people listed in the Descendants of Thomas and Selina.

We didn’t have a lot to go on when we started this search. All his grandchildren who I talked to seemed to know that my great grandfather Thomas was born in Coventry and that he and Selina had married in Bethnal Green but that was about it. Working backwards up a tree relies on good luck and information becoming available.  For example a helpful volunteer at the Family history centre detected John and his half sister Damaris Asbury in the 1841 census.  Almost by fluke she guessed that Damaris Asbury could have been born a Gadsby. From there several people who had published their trees on various genealogy sites had selected the wrong John to be our relation.

The more we looked the more we felt the family had been centred on Nuneaton and not the nearby county of Lincoln. It hurt when we had to scratch off seven generations because of the mistaken Lincolnshire connection.

The release of the Warwickshire Parish records in Novemebr 2011 has meant we can track the relatives back through to the Lesters and the Proctors in 1550 in the town of Exhall. In addition, sheer bloody mindedness on my part made me determined to make William  “the preacher”  and his famous Gadsby Street  in Nuneaton fit into our family tree. Information from his son John’s  memoirs  and Ramsbottom’s book were like pieces of the puzzle waiting to fall into place. Their accounts recounting the family of John and Martha added some flavour to life in Nuneaton but helped the cause by giving enough clues to enable our John and what we knew of his parents to slip into his story.

Gadsby Street Nuneaton named after a famous Gadsby relative

As a family historian, brick walls and lack of detailed information always cause doubt about whether one has woven the correct family together. If only we could get hints from those who had gone before us. Sometimes hints come in the oddest of ways. Once when I attended a Cancer Council afternoon tea. The host had asked a clairvoyant /card reader to do “readings” as part of the fundraiser. I was a reluctant participant in the group. Before she started the session the clairvoyant asked for a person relating to a “Charl” sounding  name surrounded by piles of ribbons. As the hairs rose on the back of my neck she added that there was murder and violence close by – could she be seeing CharlotteGadsby (nee Pope), the ribbon weaver and John Gadsby, the policeman?

At times I’ve wondered if we have found the right people – the right John and the right Charlotte, the right Popes and the right Gadsbys. I’ll take the card reader’s comments as a great big hint.  We’ve nailed it. Charlotte is looking in on us and I think she approves!

Post script: The same card reader “saw “  Selina Gadsby nee Smith- Thomas’ wife. She reported that Selina thought  I was giving her a hard time.  She reportedly said that “I should stop giving her a hard time”. “She had a hard life and she left England because of the weather”.  You’ll have to read the blog "Thomas the Missing Son Is Found” to see why she is upset with me. 

More stories in this series

Two brothers from Nuneaton- the story of William and John Gadsby

Thomas The Missing Son Is Found! Incorporating a history of the Gadsbys' arrival in Australia in 1912

https://robynandthegenies.blogspot.com/2018/10/thomas-missing-son-is-found.html

Found! The Rowbothams of Ontario

A funny thing happened while I was researching another family in Canada. The Rowbotham family turned up. It was on the cards when you consider 3.15 million English people left England for Canada and other parts between 1903 and 1913.

Warwickshire residents, Catherine and John Rowbotham had been married in 1870 and had seven children most of whom were born in West Ham. Catherine nee Gadsby b1851 was my great-grandfather’s sister and she had looked out for Thomas after the death of her parents being next of kin to the youngest boys. Husband John b c1850 initially was working in the gun industry and then as a labourer and frame finisher in London.

John and Catherine’s children were as follows:

- Sarah Ann Rowbotham b: 1877 in Middlesex Aston, Birmingham

- Lavinia Rowbotham b: 1879 in Middlesex Birmingham, d: 1895 in West Ham

- Henry Rowbotham b: 1881 in Poplar Middlesex Birmingham, d: 1881 in Warwick

- Margaret Rowbotham b: 03 Apr 1882 in West Ham Stratford Essex

- Alfred Rowbotham b: 1889 in Stratford Essex

- George Rowbotham b: 1887 in Stratford Essex

- Arthur Rowbotham b: 22 Nov 1892 in Stratford Essex

In 1900 Catherine’s beloved husband died in West Ham Essex. Five years earlier their daughter Levinia had died age 6 and son Henry had died in infancy. Being illiterate herself Catherine had made certain the children had learned to read and write.

At the time of their father’s death the two oldest girls were married and were living with their husbands but Catherine was left as a mother of three schoolboys. This would have seen Catherine living in rather limited circumstances. Sadly though in 1904, Catherine also passed away at the young age of 48. With her oldest girls with families of their own this left her three youngest boys motherless, jobless and possibly homeless. George was 17, Alfred 15 and Arthur 12.

Perhaps it was a reaction to the harsh conditions and fierce diseases which had killed their parents and siblings or possibly it was at the behest of their mother, Catherine but the remaining siblings decided move to the “promising” colony of Canada the next year.

In my previous blog I described the growth of Ontario on the East Coast of Canada

His,mine and yours William Smith 1875 and some of the Canadian government policies for attracting immigrants. Initially I had thought that the boys might have attracted the attention of the various London charities sending young men to Canada but upon further investigation it appears they had a very rich Uncle, Thomas Rowbotham of Gilbertstone Grange who paid their fares.

The five Rowbotham children decided to settle in Belleville, Ontario .Belleville grew out of the coming of the Grand Trunk Railway. Located in Hastings county, it’s known as the “Friendly City” and is located at the  mouth of the Moira River in southern Ontario.

Why was Canada so favourable? Well it was an English colony and it had a familiar government with English speaking residents. Many British people felt they would have a better life in Canada with a healthier environment and would be more likely to get a job. After experiencing rampant poverty and over populated streets of London, Canada had plenty of land and fresh air on offer. There was the expectation that the young children would get a better education and as an added bonus the place names were similar to those at home.  

The environment was appealing compared to London. The surrounding Lake Ontario moderates temperatures during the extremes of winter and summer. The immigration diagrams show it was highly popular. Today Belleville is a busy manufacturing town home to the likes of Kelloggs and Procter and Gamble.

Immigration  to eastern Canada to 1921

One by one the Rowbotham siblings organised their passage and travelled the two week trip by steamship to their new country. The inconvenience of travel and conditions on the steamship for that couple of weeks was outweighed by the anticipation of a new home and life.   

Passengers arriving from England c1905

First to leave was Sarah who had married, was widowed and was married again to husband Samuel Stevens, a painter and decorator. Travelling with her were her sons, William Brain and Samuel, Andrew, Frank and Charles Stevens Their first daughter Lavina was born shortly after they reached Belleville, followed by Sarah, Elizabeth, Leonard, Ralph and Ruth.

Margaret who married a widower, Albert John Gregory also left in 1905. The 1901 census showed them living in Clerkenwell.  Albert was 29 years old and a metal polisher. His children from his previous marriage, Edith, Albert and Elizabeth also accompanied them. The couple had five more children in their new surroundings, Walter, Edward, Ethel Charlotte, Alfred Marshall and Clifford. The family is shown in the 1911 census living in 4 Murden St Hamilton West and Albert is shown as a tobacconist earning 400 pounds per year.

The three remaining Rowbotham siblings, George, Alfred and Albert arrived together. They sailed from Liverpool on 6 July on the “Virginian” arriving 14 days later on 20 July 1905. One piece of information that was collected from the new immigrants was their ability to read and write- the skills obviously put the Rowbothams in a good position in their new land as they appear to have been well employed in skilled rather than labouring positions.

By the 1911 census 54% of the population of Canada was of British origin 6% extra being added since 1901. Generally permanent residence was granted after a suitable immigrant resided in Canada for three years. You can see from the diagrams above that these were times of new waves of immigration coming mostly from Britain and Europe and for the most part concentrating in the Eastern provinces.  Immigration only slowed during the World Wars and around the 30s.

Alfred fell on his feet working in the building trade when he reached Belleville. Within a few years he had married a young Scottish girl, Charlotte Carnegie Grant in 1908. She had also arrived in 1905.

Their children were as follows

-Katherine Mary Rowbotham born prematurely in May1909 and dyng 5 days later.

-Alfred William Cody Rowbotham born 19/10/1910. He died 16/8/1911 of chronic indigestion and diarrhoea.

-Grace Louise Rowbotham born early1912 died shortly after birth having suffered from tuberculosis.  

Alfred is seen in the 1911 census with little Alfred and Charlotte living in 33 Fassinley St, working as a carpenter. Charlotte died on 22/10/1912 of tuberculosis. Alfred is known to have travelled back to England in 1915 and spent some time working with his Uncle Thomas Rowbotham in Birmingham who was a building contractor /developer, returning to live with brother George and family in 1922. It seems rich Uncle Thomas was developing a housing estate on the surrounding land at Gilbertstone Grange.

Some further records show Alfred travelling to the US on business but nothing further is known. Perhaps he developed many building business skills whilst on location with his uncle and followed land development opportunities in Canada.

Arthur’ s new life in Canada only lasted a few years with his premature death occurring on 12 January 1910 when he was just 17 years old. The cause was heart failure from Pulmonary Tuberculosis.

It seems George Rowbotham’s family prospered in Belleville with the family located around there for many generations. George married widow Florence Turner nee Bellis in 1906. At the time of the 1911 census (no record) we know him to be him living in Belleville, Hastings, Ontario with Florence and her daughter Martha Turner plus their children:

-Catherine Mary Rowbotham born on 02 Apr 1907. She married an Ontario man, John Wesley Cornell b 18 May 1907, son of Richard Cornell and Sarah Stapley, on 24 Nov 1925 in Belleville Hastings,West Ontario. He was born on 18 May 1907 in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. A boiler stoker, he died in 1973 in Toronto. Catherine known as Kit was a stenographer prior to her marriage. They had six children. Electoral Rolls show them still living in Ontario in 1963.

-George Alfred Rowbotham born about 1908. Married Alma Weese

-Hilda Emily Rowbotham was born on 22 Sep 1909 in Belleville, Hastings, Ontario, Canada.

-Leighton Arthur Rowbotham was born on 27 Dec 1910. Leighton has been traced to the US – he changed his name to Rowe and was naturalised in 1952. He died in California in 1985. His death certificate has been accessed via internet search with correct mother’s surname. Other family trees have him dying in 1947or 1957 Is this a case of identity theft?

All the above are born in Belleville and Hilda’s birth certificate shows her father as a carpenter. Again in 1921 George was still in the building trade. By then Florence had given birth to 12 children (including Martha)

- Ernest Richard Rowbotham was born in 1912 but his life was short lived dying in Aug 1913 of bronchial pneumonia.

-Thomas Albert Rowbotham born 1913 died on 05 Jan 1920 aged 6 of childhood measles.

-Dorothy Rowbotham was born about 1915 in Belleville, Hastings, Ontario

-Victor Rowbotham was born in 1916. He appears in the 1921 census.

- Alfred "Alfie" Rowbotham was born on 8/5/1918. He died on 19 Jul 2012 in Belleville, Hastings, Ontario, Canada. He was married to Grace Wilson, daughter of Ernest Wilson and Vera Coon, for 71 years. She was born about 1920 and died on 06 Mar 2014 in London, Ontario. From his obituary we see his children as David d1994, Larry, Robert and Judy. He and Grace had  9 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren. Alfie was the planning manager at Stewart Warner and before he retired at Western Supplies Ltd. He served for four years overseas in England and played the trumpet in the air force band, where he played the Last Post at many funerals. In his younger years, he played hardball and hockey and enjoyed golf as he retired at the air base in Trenton. Alfred received his education at Queen Victoria Public School, Belleville Collegiate Institute, and Ontario Business College. For many years they lived next door to sister Margaret and her husband.

Alfred George Rowbotham

-Margaret (Peg) Rowbotham born in 1920. She appears in the 1921 census. She married  John Edward Ronsky and  had two children, John Edward Ted Ronsky d 2009 and Janice. Electoral rolls up to 1974 show John Snr working for Dupont and CNR and Margaret working for Stewart Warner. Margaret and John are also shown living next door to Grace and Alfie.

-Frank Rowbotham was born on 25 Feb 1921. Sadly he died on 19 Nov 1921 of marasmus Iles Colitis aged 9m.

-Stanley Rowbotham was born  at little after that.

It is possible George died in 1961 and Florence passed away in 1967.

 

Stevens' passenger listing

As mentioned before the Sarah and husband Samuel had eleven children including William Brain. On the whole it seems their family remained in Ontario. Only Elizabeth Dorothy seems to have died in infancy. Samuel was a painter, migrated as a farmer and by 1921 was a dealer. The older boys were drivers (Chauffeur and truck) while Frank and Charles were setters in the jewellery industry. They must have been reasonably well educated as the Lavina’s marriage certificate has her as a stenographer. Records seem to diminish after the 20s and it is not known what happened after that except that Lavina married an exotic looking man called Loren Frederick William Cassina and died in 1983. Charles served for a time in WW2 and may have re- married in 1965.

Sarah’s family is as follows:

-Samuel John Stevens b: Abt. 1900 in Stratford, London, England married  Pearl Dykes b: Abt. 1904, on 31 Dec 1921 in London, Middlesex, Ontario, Canada. She died on 08 Feb 1928 in Hensall, Huron, Ontario, Canada. He then married Winifred Louisa Smith b: c1904 in England on 1 May 1933 in Toronto Ontario Canada. He was a driver for a living –isitially a Chauffeur and then a truck driver.

-Andrew Stevens b 1902 in Stratford London, a driver, married Ellen Belch b 1902 on 11 Nov 1922 in Toronto, York Co., Ontario; St Mathews C of E. 

-Frank Stevens b: c1903 in England  married Alvera Eda Newsonen b c1907, on 30 Jan 1925 in Toronto Ontario Canada

-Charles Stevens b c1905 in England, d: 1965 m Mary Eliza Beaton b: 13 Aug 1903 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on: 02 Aug 1927 in Bracebridge, Muskoka, Ontario, Canada. This was a short marriage she died 11 Oct 1935 in Toronto but they appear to have had a child. He died in 1965. Charles served for a time in WW2 and may have re- married in 1965.

Charles Stevens

-Lavina (Vene) Stevens b: 05 Sep 1906 in Belleville, Ontario in Mississauga, Peel Regional Municipality, Ontario, Canada married  Loren Frederick William Cassina b: 04 Nov 1905 in Hamburg, Erie, New York, United States on 08 Sep 1928 in York, Ontario, Canada, He died  15 Feb 1969  and Lavina died , d: 27 Dec 1983

-Sarah Alice Stevens b14 Feb 1908 in Ontario married Norman Pirie b1906 on 13 Oct 1928 in Ontario

-Elizabeth Dorothy Stevens b12 Sep 1910 in Ontario died 30 Oct 1910 in Ontario, Canada

-Leonard Stevens b: 28 Jan 1912 in Ontario

-Ralph Stevens b: Abt. 1913 in Ontario

-Ruth Stevens b: Abt. 1918 in Ontario

-William George Brain b: 1898 in Stratford Essex married Winifred Viola Griffin b c1900 in Toronto Ontario Canada, on 26 Jan 1921 in York, Ontario, Canada

The deaths of Sarah and Samuel cannot be found

What of Margaret’s family? Margaret and Albert Gregory’s combined family totalled eight. While Albert does not appear on the census for 1921, Margaret does and  is a married head with the children. Most of the children married and these records provide a bit of information but the details after 1921 are slim. We do know that Albert died in Toronto in 1932 of carcinoma of the spine and Margaret a few years later in 1936 in Wentworth Ontario of a cerebral thrombosis. Step daughter Elizabeth was informant on her death certificate.

Photos of Margaret and Albert have been located on Ancestry Ipad App but not the corresponding tree.

Margeret and Albert Gregory

What I have found about the Gregory family is listed below:

-Walter Arthur Gregory b: 17 Oct 1905 in Hastings West, Ontario, Canada married Margaret Christina Shaefer on  30 Sep 1926 in Hamilton, Wentworth Ontario

-Edward George Gregory b: 04 Oct 1908 in Hastings, Ontario, Canada

-Ethel Charlotte Gregory b: 12 Aug 1910 in Wentworth, Ontario, Canada is known to have married John Knox MacMillan on: 21 Jun 1933 in Hamilton Wentworth Ontario. She died 10 Dec 2007 in Ontario after having two children Bruce and Muriel. From her obituary we see she was aged 97 years. Ethel was a member of Benton St. Baptist Church, Kitchener and had belonged to the mission circle. She was a loving mother of Bruce and his wife Sharon MacMillan and grandmother of  Shelley MacMillan (Peter), Kim and Jeremy King and Amy and Jamie Stecer, all of Kitchener. She was also a great grandmother of Jaden, Wyatt and Justin. Muriel her daughter and husband John had predeceased her

-Alfred (Fred) Marshall Gregory b: 29 Jul 1912 in Wentworth, Ontario, Canada Fred died in 1981 in Burlington, Ontario. A florist, he had married  Evelyn R Walmsley b1912 from  England, on: 06 Oct 1934 in St Lukes Burlington. She died in 1994. They are buried in the Woodland Cemetary , Ontario.

Fred and Evelyn 1933

-Clifford Gregory born 1917 in Ontario and is living with his mother in the 1921 census.

Of the step children:

-Edith Gregory b 16 Sep 1894 in England  married  Ambrose Mark on 6 Nov 1917 in Lindsay, Victoria Ontario. The 1921 census shows her living with husband and in laws with their 4 year old daughter Alice.

-Albert Gregory b 1895 in England appears in the 1911 census with his family and as a lodger , labourer in the 1921 census..

-Elizabeth Gregory b 1899 in England married Percy George Pappin on 21 Aug 1921.

Captioned Grandpa and Grandma Gregory -presumably the younger girl is one of Margaret and Albert's daughters

So the story of the five branches of Catherine and John’s family has been expanded and fleshed out. I’ve tried to respect privacy by minimising some details and stories. More information and records can be found on my Ancestry tree. Contact me

Hello Canadian Relatives from Aussie relatives- Thomas Gadsby Reunion 1912

In September 1912, many of the Australian arm of the Gadsby family assembled for a reunion. It was one hundred years since they had arrived in Sydney, Australia. Family researchers Leane and myself had discovered the whereabouts of Thomas’  other siblings' families but the Rowbothams were a mystery –they appeared to have fallen off the face of the earth. No they hadn’t – they had gone to Canada!  

Some of the Rowbotham's cousins and Aunt Selina- l-r Maude,Selina,AuntSelina, John, Julia Gadsby c1921 in Newtown Sydney