Arthur Rostron

Who is Arthur Rostron I hear you ask.  Well he was the captain of the Carpathia who rescued the majority of the survivors following the sinking of the Titanic...and yes I'm related to him.  

So where do we start on our journey to Arthur Rostron...would it surprise you if I said it was Edward Hunt's family line that gets us there.  In my previous post on Edward we discovered that he left Stockton on Tees to move to Chicago in America.  He would leave for America from Liverpool on the Cunard lane ship now remember that name as it's important later.  It is his wife Edna woodworth and her family line via the Weidner or Whiteners the starts our journey.  I'll write a bit more about the Whiteners in a later post.  They would flee Germany due to religious persecution.

The first person we meet is William Pinkney Bollinger who was born in 1836 in America.  He was a farmer and enlisted at the age of 25 as a second corporal.  Sadly he died in 1862 by accidentally discharging his own weapon while fighting on the banks of the Potomac River.  Don't worry I've already checked the heritage of the Bollinger family and no I am not related to the champagne producers!

We then meet the Lingenfelter and Sturm families who like the Whiteners were Palatine immigrants seeking refuge in America from religious persecution.  The Palatine Migration to America began in the early 1700's.  They were mainly Catholics who lived in states in Europe controlled by the Holy Roman Emperor.  Many were fleeing famine, war and religious persecution in their native lands.  There wer harsh winters which led to poor harvests.  They had support from Queen Anne of England and it was she who propsoed that Palatines would be given free passage to America if they worked in a trade in the new country of America.

John Hart is the next family member we meet.  The expanding cotton industry in America would make him leave Lancashire to move to Philadelphia in the hope of a better life.  There was a huge growth in the textile in Philadelphia.  John Hurt's father was a weaver.  Conditions were miserable with long working hours and low pay.  The working conditions were unhealthy and many died young.  

In 1887 Rostron joined the Red Gauntlet as a second mate. In December 1894 he passed his exam for his extra master's certificate. A month later he joined Cunard Line as Fourth Officer on the ocean liner RMS Umbria. Rostron became First Officer aboard the RMS Lusitania in 1907, but was transferred off her the day before her maiden voyage. He had to wait until 1911 to command his first passenger ship, Pennonia, and in January 1912 he was given command of RMS Carpathia.

Rostron was asleep in his cabin when news of Titanic reached him. He immediately ordered the ship to change course and raced towards the Titanic’s reported position. At nearly 60 nautical miles away, Carpathia was the closest ship to Titanic and it took her three and a half hours to reach Titanic’s position. Carpathia rescued 710 passengers and crew before returning to New York.

It was no doubt due to Rostron’s quick thinking, his preparations on board before any survivors were picked up and the speed with which he got to the scene that so many survived.

Captain Rostron gave evidence to both the US and UK inquiries. He was honoured for his efforts on both sides of the Atlantic, including a gold medal from Titanic’s survivors. Cunard rewarded him with command of the Mauretania. He served throughout the First World War and retired in 1931.  Remember me mentioning the Etruria which took Edward Hunt to Chicago, well her is the spooky bit.  Joining the Cunard Line in January 1895 Rostron gained the position of fourth officer on the Umbria. It was in this capacity that he made his first visit to New York. In the years that followed he served aboard various Cunard vessels including..the Etruria.  Who knows...he may have me Edward Hunt! 

Although there may not be many famous or celebrity members of this family line it has been a big learning curve regarding the Palatine immigrants and also the growth of the cotton industry in America.

Titanic - Arthur Webster Newell

When I start creating a post I like to not just look at the person or persons I also like to delve back into their past to see what I can find.  It blows my mind when I discover the amazing branches of my family tree, they are either bloodlines or through marriage. 

By delving back and forward in the family I discovered I have distant relatives who died on RMS Titanic and also survived.  So... I thought I would look back into the dark depths of the family discovering that I would be related to the family that founded Gorton in Lancashire and also another Salem witch.  Read on for more...

The first person we meet is Arthur Webster Newall.  He was born in 1854 in Suffolk county Massachusetts to Benjamin Newall and Susan Bennett.  Author very much wanted to see Egypt in the surrounding areas so he decided to take his family overseas to visit the amazing Holy Land.  He would travel with his two daughters Madeleine and Marjorie.  As you surprise to his two daughters he had made reservations for their return on the maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic. They would embark on the Titanic in Cherbourg, France.  At 11:30 p.m. on April the 14th they were awoken by the sound of the collision with the iceberg.  Their father would ensure that Marjorie and Madeleine would be put into the first lifeboat to leave the struggling Titanic.  That would be the last they saw of their father as he went down with the ship.  His body would be found 2 weeks later and returned to the family in Lexington Massachusetts.  Such a sad end to a happy journey with a father and two daughters.

So... how am I related to Arthur Webster Newall I hear you ask?  Well...remember Edward Hunt - who lived in Chicago.  That's where the journey begins.  His daughter Dorothy Hunt would marry Byrl Ted Hewitt in 1940 in San Diego California.  Byrl Ted, or BT as he was known to his family, would exasperate his family by always being truant from school.  His mother was convinced that the best thing for him was to join the navy and in July 1929 he was a sculpted to the recruiting station and signed an affidavit saying his birthday was 1911 making him old enough to join.  BT's naval career took him around world to places that include Alaska, Pearl Harbor, the South Pacific and Hawaii.

BT's father Eugene would begin the journey with his grandmother Betsey Farnsworth.  The Farnsworths would be one of the first settlers in Massachusetts in 1740.  Josiah Farnsworth who was born in 1721 was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, also known as the War of independence, between 1775 and 1783.  He also took part in the relief of Fort William Henry; a British Fort near Lake George at the base of the Adirondack Mountains and was attacked by the French forces. Josiah's mother Mary Pierce, born in 1696, takes us on the next part of the journey.  

Mary Pierce's mother Mary Whitney was born in 1675 and would marry Ephraim Pierce.  They would be one of the first settlers in Lunenburg.  Mary Whitney's father Joshua was born in 1635 and would serve in King Philip's war.  This war is not a campaign for King Philip of Spain but rather a war related to the English Colonists fighting native Americans.  It was named after Metacom, chief of the Wampanoag who's English given name was 'Philip'.  Mary Whitney's mother was Abigail Tarbell and her father, therefore Mary's grandfather, was called Thomas Tarbell.  Thomas was born in 1615 in Dorset, England and died in Charlestown in 1678 and married Mary Groton.  Thomas Marvell's ancestor was John Maplett (1581 - 1630) who was the personal physician to Charles II of England.  Thomas' daughter in law was Mary Nurse who was accused of witchcraft.  I knew there would be more witches in my family...but more of that in a later post.  Mary Gorton's family can be traced back to Gorton, Manchester in about 1332.  Her father was Samuel Gorton (1592 - 1677) was part of the Puritan underground and would leave England to have the freedom to worship as the Bible prescribed and emigrate to Rhode Island and would become the founder of Warwick, Rhode Island.  

Mary Whitney's sister Alice is where we go next.  Alice's grand daughter Phebe Wood married William Scott and it is his ancestor Margaret Stephen who is the interesting person.  In 1692 Margaret would be put on trial for witchcraft.  She was indicted and sentenced to death on the 22nd of September 1692 and was hanged at Gallows Hill, Salem, Massachusetts.  I think the number of witches that I have discovered in my family deserves a post of their own...so watch this space.  

Phebe Wood's daughter Betsey would marry Samuel Robb and it is Samuels family that would lead us to Arthur Webster Newell.  Marjorie Newell, who survived the Titanic sinking, would Murray Floyd Newton Robb in 1917.  Marjorie would go on to teach both violin and piano in New Jersey and would later be one of the founders of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra.  She died in 1992 at the ripe old age of 103.

JRR Tolkien Part 3

 We are finally nearing the end of our journey into the world of JRR Tolkien and my connection to his family.  What I realised on these little journeys into the world of celebrity is not the connection the person themselves or the destination but the journey it has taken me to reach the celebrity.  With Tolkien I have journeyed to Nova Scotia, British Colombia and Australia and eventually took a detour to Jesmond which is only two minutes away from me.

The first two parts of this journey were via Tolkien's wife Edith Bratt.  The final part of the journey is via Tolkien himself.

The first person we meet is Ann Arno, the wife of Robert Hunt.  We met Robert earlier. 

Ann Arno was Robert Hunt's second wife and was born and died in Whitby, North Yorkshire.  Ann's Aunt Jane Coverdale who was born in Lockton, Pickering, North Yorkshire would marry John Linton in 1799.  The Linton family would live in Goathland, North Yorkshire until Francis Linton, who was born in 1802, would move to Pickering, Ontario, Canada.  Wikipedia states that 'the township was originally called "Edinburgh" but in 1792 was renamed after Pickering, North Yorkshire.[11] Pickering Village, now part of Ajax, emerged as the major population and commercial centre of the Pickering Township in the early 19th century. The conversion of a local trail into the Kingston Road in 1799 contributed greatly to the increased settlement in the area. In 1807, Quakers led by Timothy Rogers settled in the area, and by 1809, the population of Pickering Township consisted of 180 people, most of whom lived along the Duffins Creek.[8] In 1811, the Pickering Township became a separate municipality.[12] Several sawmills, gristmills, taverns, and other businesses operated in the area. During the War of 1812, the maintenance of the Kingston Road improved because of the increased military traffic and further contributed to the development of the area.[8] 

Francis Linton's son Lawrence was born in 1846 in Pickering, Ontario and he would marry Rachel Wilson in 1866.  It is Rachel Wilson's mother Jemima Tool who will take us on the next part of our journey.

Jemima Tool - we start off this journey with John Tool who was born in 1792 in Mauncy Township, Pennsylvania; he would go on to marry twice first to Catherine Wurts who he would have 14 children with; and secondly to Mary Elizabeth Schell. John would live a long life dying at the age of 87 from Consumption in 1879.  John and Catherine would move to Pickering Township in 1820 where the first of their children were born.  In 1840 they would move to Chicago but Catherine found the climate unsuitable so they returned to Pickering, Ontario.  Sadly Catherine died in 1845 never recovering from the long trek from Chicago.  In 1849 John would marry Mary Elizabeth Schell and move again to Michigan.

We now follow the story of the Schell family as it evolves and we have to go back to the very beginning when Johann Schell arrived in America

Johann Schell was born in 1725 in Baden-Baden, Germany and due to the persecution of the Palatine Germans he emigrated to Philadelphia from Rotterdam in 1749 aboard the ship 'Isaac'.  The Schell family were some of the early settlers in Pennsylvania.   According to Wikipedia 'Palatines (German: Pfälzer), also known as the Palatine Dutch,[2] are the people and princes of Palatinates (Holy Roman principalities[3][4]) of the Holy Roman Empire.[5] The Palatine diaspora includes the Pennsylvania Dutch and New York Dutch.[6]

In 1709, England found itself hosting thousands of Palatines and other Germans who were fleeing famine, war and religious persecution in their native lands. Many of the first arrivals came from the Rhenish and Bavarian Palatinates, and the refugees became collectively known as the "Poor Palatines". They had been displaced by French invasions and famine during the Nine Years' War and the War of the Spanish Succession. After arriving in London, many were resettled in Ireland and British America.'

Johann's son Marcus was born in 1770 In Schell's Bush, New York State where the family settled.  In 1781 there was a major battle between the native people and the Settlers.  Marcus was captured by the Iriquois indigenous people where he remained captive for four years before escaping and returning to the family farm where he discovered that his whole family had been massacred.  In 1794 Marcus would marry Delila Casler in German Flatts, Herkimer, New York.  They had numerous children but the one we are interested in is Frereick Theodore Schell and he was born in 1795.  In 1799 the family moved To Markham, Ontario, Canada.  Frederick would marry in1827 in Markham.  In 1837 there was a revolt against the Canadian government and this was called the MacKenzie Rebellion, Frederick had voted in favour of William Lyon MacKenzie and his ideas and would join and fight as part of the Rebellion.  The revolt did not go well and Frederick escaped across the border to America; in 1843 an amnesty was declared which meant that Frederick could return to Canada.

Frederick's daughter Janet Elizabeth Schell was born in 1830 and would marry Henry Robert Howe in 1851 in Scarborough, Ontario.  Their daughter Hannah Jane How born in 1852 would take up the next part of our journey.

Janet would marry William Bassingthwaighte in 1870 in Brock Township, Ontario, Canada.

William Bassingthwaighte's great grandmother was Alice Murrell; she was born in 1760 in Wymondham, Norfolk, England.  Alice's uncle Stephen Murrell was born in 1724 and would later die in Clerkenwell, London, England.  Stephen is described in the UK Register of Duties Paid for Apprentice Indenture 1710 - 1811 as a Master Carpenter.  In 1732 Stephen would marry Elizabeth Scoons at St Andrew's, Holborn, London, England and his namesake Stephen was born in 1753.

It would be Stephen's daughter Eliza Murrell born in 1787 in London who would introduce us to the Tolkien family.  She married George Tolkien in 1805 at St Bartholomew the Great, London.  They would go on to have 11 children.  George Tolkien was born in 1784 in Islington, London and his father John Benjamin was born in Gdansk, Poland.  In the City Directory of London dated 1736 - 1943 John Benhamin's occupation is stated as Watchmaker.

Eliza and George's son, John Benjamin Tolkien was born in 1807 in Clerkenwell and died in 1896 in Kings Norton, Worcestershire.  He would marry twice, first to Jane Holmwood and secondly to Mary Jane Stowe.  It is Mary Jane Stowe and her children that we are interested in; two children in particular Arthur Reuel Tolkien and Grace Brindley Tolkien.  In the Birmingham Church of England Marriages and Banns John Benjamin is described as a Music Seller and Mary Jane a Spinster; it also describes John Benjamin's father George William as a Professor of Music.

First of all let's talk about Grace Brindley Tolkien.  She was born in 1833 in Birmingham and died in Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne, England in 1947.  In 1887 she would marry William Charles Mountain in King's Heath, Birmingham.  According to the 1911 Census Grace and William lived in Newcastle upon Tyne.  George is described as the Managing Director of an Engineering Company.  It is also interesting to note that Grace's mother Mary Jane was also living with her.  In the National Probate Calendar it states that George left a sum of £36,000 to his widow.

Secondly we have Arthur Reuel Tolkien who was the father of JRR Tolkien.  Arthur was born in 1857 and died in 1896 in Bloemfontein, Orange Free State, South Africa and in 1891 married Mabel Suffield.  Arthur's headstone in South Africa stated he was a manager in the Bank of Africa.  Their son John Ronal Reuel Tolkien was born in 1892 in Bloemfontein and as they say...the rest is history.

As I said in the initial paragraph...sometimes it is not about the person at the end but the fascinating journey it takes you on.  I wonder where my journey will take me next.  Hint, hint...the date April 1912 is a very important date.

JRR Tolkien Part 2

Welcome back!  Now this one involves a little bit of scandal at the end...what would a family tree be without a little bit of scandal.

We finished our story with John Burnyeat living in Okanagan. 

We resume the story with his daughter Dorothy Burnyeat.

Dorothy Burnyeat was born in 1890 and died in 1967 in the city of Vernon in the Okanagan region of British Colombia   I didn't really tell you about Okanagan did I.  The Okanagan Valley lies within the shadows of the Cascade Mountain range and has a humid climate.   The city of Vernon was named after Forbes George Vernon (21 August 1843 – 20 January 1911), Lieutenant (ret.) British Army, was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of the Canadian province of British Columbia from 1875 to 1882, and from 1886 to 1894, representing the riding of Yale.  Dorothy would live her whole life in British Columbia, Canada.  In 1912 she married James Gray Sims (1886 - 1964) and it is James's family which takes us on the next part of our journey to Edith Bratt who would eventually marry JRR Tolkien.

James Sims father was Dr William Cawley Simms and was born in 1859 and died in 1939 after living his whole life in St John's Newfoundland.  William would temporarily move to Edinburgh in Scotland around 1854 to attend the Royal College, Edinburgh where he was awarded the second prize in surgery.  It is here that he met Christina st Clair McLean; she was born in Edinburgh in 1831 and would die in 1867 in Newfoundland Canada; they married in 1858 in St Johns, Newfoundland, Canada.

Christina's brother Lachlan Alexander McLean was born in 1849 in Kirkcudbright and died in 1895 in Victoria Australia.  Wikitree states that Lachlan moved to England and in 1871 he was boarding with Mary Ann Fitter and her son Joseph in Edgbaston, Warwickshire. He was employed as a Bankers Clerk adn would later qualify as an Accountant.In 1876.  Lachlan was married by special licence by the Rev. Phillip Browne of St James in the parish of Kings Norton to Lucy Warrillow, daughter of Frederick Warrillow.  After the marriage, he sailed on the ship 'Somersetshire' to Australia leaving London, 1 March 1877. Lucy didn't make the voyage with Lachlan and must have sailed at a later date.Lachlan and Lucy settled in Fitzroy, Victoria on Regent Street. He was employed as an Accountant in the colony of Fitzroy. No children were born to Lachlan and Lucy and Lachlan MacLean died in St. Vincents hospital, Victoria in 1895 age 46. He was buried the day of his death at St Kilda Cemetery, Melbourne.  After his death, Lucy sailed back to England in 1896, via the Cape, on the ship Dunottar Castle arriving London May 21. 

Lucy Warillow's father lived and died in Birmingham; her mother was Ellen Taylor who was born in 1823 in Liverpool.  The various census state that Frederick was the manufacturer of printed books and stationery and owned his own company F Warillow Limited.  Handwritten notes and letters reached peak popularity during the second half of the 19th century.

His brother Alfred John Warrilow was also born in 1818 in Birmingham and married in 1838 in Parish Chapel St Pancras, London to Elizabeth Scott who had been born in London in 1813.  Their son was Alfred Frederick Warlow who was born in 1842 in Clerkenwell in London and died in 1891 in Solihull Birmingham.  In the 1881 census Alfred is stated as being a paper dealer based in West Bromwich.

This is where the bit of scandal first appears.  Alfred was a man of means and able to employ a governess and this governance was Francis Janny Bratt.

Francis was born in 1859 in Wolverhampton and would die in 1903 in West Bromwich.  During her time as governess for Alfred she became pregnant and it is rumoured that the father was Alfred Frederick Warrillow.  After the birth of her daughter Edith in 1889, Francis would leave the services of Alfred Warrilow and set up her own business as a stationer in Solihull according to the 1891 census.  In the 1901 census it appears that Francis had moved to Handsworth with her business continuing as a stationer.

Her daughter Edith was born in 1889 in Gloucester and would die in 1971 in Bournemouth.  Wikipedia states that Edith was brought up in Handsworth, a suburb of Birmingham, by her mother and also her cousin, Jenny Grove (related to Sir George Grove).The circumstances of Edith's birth were a regular subject of neighbourhood gossip.

Frances Bratt died when her daughter was 14 and Edith was sent to the Dresden House boarding school in Evesham. The school was run by the Watts sisters, who had studied music in Dresden. Although the school had a very "strict regime", Edith was always to remember it fondly. It was at the Dresden House School where Edith "first developed her great love, and talent, for playing the piano."

Following school, Edith was expected to become a concert pianist or at the very least a piano teacher. While he considered how to proceed, Edith's guardian, solicitor Stephen Gateley, found her rooms at Mrs. Faulkner's boarding house at 37 Duchess Road, Birmingham.  Edith first met Tolkien early in 1908, when he and his younger brother Hilary were moved into 37 Duchess Road by their guardian, Fr. Francis Xavier Morgan of the Birmingham Oratory. At the time Tolkien, known within his family as Ronald, was 16 years old and Edith was 19.  The Tolkien's were married in the Catholic Church of St Mary Immaculate on West Street in Warwick on 22 March 1916.

I told you this family of mine was amazing...and it gets better.  The next post will show how I am related to JRR Tolkien by a different family line which involves Elizabeth Tiplady and Robert Hunt....