Letters From Home

Hand-written letters are a real part of family history. Old letters are prized for the information they contain about individuals and events. They reflect the writer’s thoughts, dreams and emotions. Unfortunately, the art of letter-writing is a dying phenomenon and future generations will not be privileged to enjoy the intimate feelings expressed in a hand-written letter.

Letters in the past served to tell family members about the lives of their relatives – the important events being observed, the new additions to families, the loss of loved ones – all on a very personal note from one individual to another.  They were eagerly anticipated and highly coveted by recipients, especially if they had come from relatives who lived far away.

It is possible to see how historical events unfolding in different parts of the world affected the lives of individual families through the news expressed in letters to loved ones. Following are two letters written by a mother, living in England, to her son and daughter-in-law, living in Canada in the late 1930s. A very good friend has allowed me to publish them here as illustrations of family connections kept strong by the regular contact of personal correspondence.

The letters were written a year apart, by my friend’s grandmother – 11 months before and just one month after the start of World War II – and comment on both intimate family matters and on the effects of a war that was to eventually consume most of the world. They are a wonderful insight into one individual’s thoughts about the conflict and also her personal feelings toward her family members during that time. It is particularly appropriate during this week of remembrance to recognize and remember how conflicts affected not only the soldiers, but the families who remained at home.

74 Shakespeare Av.

Bath

Oct 3^rd 1938

My Dearest Laurence and Lenore,

We’re back to normal this week. We have had a most anxious and tense time the last two weeks. Last Wednesday we all thought War would be declared – and when Chamberlain arrived from the Munich pact it was with great relief to hear it was Peace. Last Wednesday a great number of children were getting ready to leave London. We feel we have a breather now. How long it will last no one knows. Austen last week was helping to fit and deliver gas masks after business hours and it would be 12 to 1 o/c before he got back. We were fitted for ours but would only get them if War was declared. Austen was surprised as everyone was carrying theirs about in Southampton and Winchester. I’m sending you and Lenore a little “peace present” in separate parcels. Yours is a silver “paper and letter” opener – perhaps you may remember it – and Lenore a little Burmese silver box. Please let me have a line as soon as you receive them or I will think they have gone astray. Hope you received the draft for £500!

Love from Aunty Ethel and Your affectionate

      Mother

Parcel posted Oct. 4.

74 Shakespeare Av.

Bath

Oct 2^nd 1939

My Dearest Laurence and Lenore,

I received the enlargement of “Bill” this morning. I thought it must have got lost as I received the snaps two weeks ago last Friday. It is a lovely picture of a baby so young. He looks very determined and intelligent and I’m very glad to have the picture. The dates on the back of the snaps you first sent me were 7 weeks and 4 days and the second lot marked 11 weeks. He certainly is a very fine baby and I can see a great likeness to you both.

Aunty would love to knit a sweater for Bill but she couldn’t get any book in town with ones for a baby under a year old. Would you be able to send her the directions for one and illustration of same. When you say sweater do you mean with a high neck and polo collar or little coat buttoned up to the neck with or without a collar. What colour would you like it knitted?

In this mornings paper, men of 21 to be called up. Service will begin early next month. Isn’t it all too terrible. Every town and city is a perfect “black out” no streak of light to be shown anywhere. We’re getting a little more used to the gloom but it is very depressing. We’re glad you is all well. I’m glad to say I’m feeling better although these troublesome times are very trying for my complaint. The Petrol is now rationed so we don’t expect to see Austen now. We will let you know how he gets on.

Do write again soon and send directions for any knitted garment you want. Hope your Mum and Dad keep well. With fondest love to you all from us both.

Yours lovingly and kisses for Bill.

Mother

[Note: “Austen” was Laurence’s brother and “Aunty Ethel” was their mother’s sister. “Bill” was the first grandchild in the family and son of Laurence and Lenore.]

In both letters we see an attitude of “life does go on” even though the parties lived so far apart from one another and a tremendous uncertainty of war was so apparent. And we can feel the love expressed by one person through but brief notes sent by a mother to her son, written in her own hand.

This week, remember also all the families of the past who were also touched by conflict but yet continued on as best they were able in trying to maintain as normal a life as was possible.

Thanks, Bill, for allowing me to share these precious letters with the world!

Wayne Shepheard is a volunteer with the Online Parish Clerk program, handling four parishes in Devon, England. He serves as the Editor of Chinook, the quarterly journal of the Alberta Family Histories Society. Wayne also provides genealogical consulting services through his business, Family History Facilitated.

Looking Next Door for Answers

Not every clerk or vicar was as diligent in recording notes in many of the old parish records; so, if answers are not readily apparent in one parish, sometimes it is useful to look at entries for the same time period in a nearby area.

Take, for example, the great many deaths of children in Plympton St. Mary parish between 1769 and 1773. Out of 195 burials, 69 were indicated as being infants or children. A first assumption might have been that an epidemic spread through the area, taking first the most vulnerable of residents – the very young!

1769 to 1770 Burials in Plympton St. Mary Parish, Devon County

Similar notes appear in the burial register for Plympton St. Maurice parish, next door, in the 1760s. Children always seemed to bear the brunt of whatever afflictions invaded the communities in the 18^th century, but the latter part of 1766 witnessed an inordinate number of child deaths when, between  October  2^nd and December 12^th, 10 of 12 burials were children.

1766 Burials in Plympton St. Maurice Parish, Devon County

This kind of information suggests that some research would be warranted to find out if there had been an outbreak of contagious disease. And if health issues persisted over many years, might it even have caused a migration of people away from an area?

There was no cause of death given for the large number of deaths of children in either of Plympton St Mary or Plympton St. Maurice parishes in the mid-18^th century; so was the answer to be found elsewhere?

In the neighbouring parish of Cornwood, there were, again, many deaths during the same period, many of them children and infants as well. Between 1770 and 1772, the local vicar recorded notes concerning the causes of death. So we can get an insight into what may have been happening in that community. The notes did not specifically refer to just children but of the 42 burials listed, 13 died of old age, four from consumption and nine from smallpox. At least two contagious diseases caused the deaths of over half of those buried in this small, rural community. Had similar outbreaks occurred in towns such as Plympton St. Maurice, no doubt the rates may have been much higher.

1771 to 1773 Burials in Cornwood Parish, Devon County

In this case, it helped to look in neighbouring areas for information to answer the question of cause of death. It is not totally definitive but the combined notes in all of the parish registers do give us an expanded picture of what was happening in the region over several years.

By the way, for other types of data, such as baptism and marriages, it is also useful to review records in next door parishes. Often a couple might have been married or had some or all of their children baptized in a parish near to where they actually lived and worked, possibly because one of both of them had originated there or because a vicar was out of town at the time they needed him. If you cannot find a marriage or the births of all of the children within a family, look in the records of a nearby area.

Burial images reproduced here are used with the kind permission of the Plymouth and West Devon Record Office (PWDRO),  Images were downloaded from FindMyPast , or copied from my own microfiche of the parish registers.



Kellow/Kellar/Callard: Many names for but one Devon family

In October 2012, as the Online Parish Clerk for Plympton St. Mary parish in Devon, England, I had a query from “Paul” who was looking for any information about his 2nd great-grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Callard who he believed had been born in Plympton St. Mary parish, in1837 or 1838. He thought her father’s name may have been John Callard, who had also been born in Plympton St. Mary, around 1804. Paul had encountered a “serious brick wall” in his research. In particular, he had been unable to find them on the 1841 or 1851 censuses, or on any birth or marriage records. How he came to conclude that Callard was the proper surname for his ancestor is documented below.

Paul had begun his research looking for information about his grandfather, Charles James Stephens, who he found, aged 10, on the 1901 England census, along with his parents, Charles and Emily Stephens. Paul obtained the couple’s 1889 marriage certificate on which Emily’s father’s name was recorded as Samuel Eastman.

A further search of census records revealed Great-Grandmother Emily was living at home with her parents, Samuel and Mary Eastman in 1881. The record showed Mary had been born in Plympton around 1838. It also listed Emily’s two brothers, James, born in 1867, and Thomas Henry, in 1876, and a sister, Catherine, born in 1878 – all of the children born in Plymouth. Using this information, Paul went looking for marriage and birth certificates for all of them. He assumed that the marriage of Samuel and Mary would have taken place around 1866 and that all of the children would have the Eastman name. No marriage record could be found before 1867, though, when James was born.

A birth record for Emily Eastman was also not discovered. There was an entry in the civil records for a James Eastman of the right age; so Paul put in an order for that certificate. The register office called to tell him that they could not deliver the certificate because it had been cancelled, due to the fact that there was no proof of a marriage between Samuel and Mary. They would instead send him a copy of one that had been reissued in the name of James Kellow. He later visited the Plymouth record office and asked for a copy of the original registration. The request was refused but the office did apparently confirm that Samuel Eastman was James’ father. Now armed with information about a second surname, Paul then searched and found a record for the birth of Emily Kellow in 1868. He assumed, at this time, that perhaps Samuel and Mary had never married and James and Emily had been given their mother’s name.

A search was then undertaken for Mary Kellow, mother of James and Emily, on the pre-1881 censuses. In 1861, a Mary Kellow, aged 23, and her father, John Kellow, aged 57, were living at 6 High Street in St. Andrew, Plymouth. Both had been born in Plympton St. Mary parish. The address given for Mary Kellow, shown on the birth certificates of her children, James and Emily Kellow, was 7 High Street, Plymouth, which seemed close enough to suggest the census information was for the same person.

Paul did not find Mary Kellow listed on the 1871 census; so he looked, instead, for a womand named Mary, born about 1838 in Plympton, with two children, James and Emily, born around 1867 and 1869, respectively. He found a Mary Callard, aged 33, born in Plympton St. Mary, living in the Union Workhouse in Plympton St. Mary parish. But she had four children: William, aged 9; Louisa, aged 6; James, aged 4; and Emily, aged 2. All of the children had been born in Plymouth. It seemed clear that this was the individual he had been looking for, and suggested that there were at least two family names for which searches should be made.

I found that the four children of the presumed Mary were all recorded in the Plympton St. Mary baptism register on March 15, 1871, with the mother’s name of Mary Kellow. They were in the Union Workhouse in Plympton at the time of their baptism. No father for the children or occupation for Mary was recorded. Armed with the census and baptism data for Mary’s four children, Paul was able to find birth certificates for most of them, as well. All of the births had been registered with the surname, Kellow.

Paul knew his great-grandfather, Samuel Eastman, had died in 1890. On a whim, he decided to see if his great-grandmother had remarried. He found an 1892 marriage between a John Doble and Mary Eastman, in Plymouth. He ordered the marriage certificate and found both John and Mary had been widowed and that, to his surprise, Mary’s father was shown as John Callard.

With this information, a further investigation was made for a marriage of Samuel Eastman and Mary Callard, this time for an extended time period. It was discovered that the marriage was solemnized on November 24, 1874, in Plympton St. Mary parish – right in the middle of the birth dates of the children listed on the 1881 census. The marriage certificate showed that he was a 48 year-old miner and she was 36. Her father was named as John Callard. It also indicated Samuel had been previously married while Mary was a spinster.

I found a possible baptism entry in the Plympton St. Mary register for Mary’s father, dated November 16, 1803, under the name John Kellar, son of Matthew and Betty Kellar. If correct, we now had a third surname for the family! The couple apparently had other children baptized in the parish as well, including: Ann, daughter of Matthew and Betty Kellow, baptized in 1800; James, son of Matthew and Elizabeth Keller (a fourth spelling), baptized in 1806; Mary, daughter of Matthew and Elizabeth Callard, baptized in 1813; and William, son of Matthew and Elizabeth Kellar, baptized in 1816. In spite of the variance in spelling of their surname, we were confident that they were all of the same family.

I did find the marriage for Matthew Kellow and Betty Turpin, in Sheepstor parish, in 1800. I also found the baptism of Matthew to John and Jane Kellow, in St. Germans parish, Cornwall, in 1678. The date and birth place fit with the information for him on the 1851 census where he was shown as Matthew Callar.

A marriage entry was found for John Kellar and Emma Goad, in the Plympton St. Mary register, in 1830, that seemed to fit the family. He signed the marriage register with that name while she made her mark. There were also entries in the Plympton St. Mary baptism register for three children of John and Emma, including: Emma Jane, daughter of John and Emma Kellar, baptized in 1831; Louisa, daughter of John and Amy Kellar, baptized in 1833; and Ann Eliza, daughter of John and Amy Kellar, baptized in 1835.

But there was still nothing for Mary Elizabeth! We assumed that the family had moved out of the area prior to 1838, the year the censuses suggested she was born.

On the 1841 England census, the family was found living in Charles, Plymouth and shown as John and Amey Killar, with children, Emma, aged 10, Louisa, aged 8, Ann, aged 5, Mary, aged 3, and James, aged 6 months. No information was given as to their birthplace, other than in the County of Devon, but the ages of Emma, Louisa and Ann did fit the baptism dates in Plympton St. Mary. By 1851, the family was living in St. Andrew, Plymouth. Amey had died by then – in Plymouth, in 1844. John Kellar had three children living with him in 1851 – Emma, Mary and James. John and Emma were indicated to have been born in Plympton, Mary in Shaugh parish and James in Plymouth, the latter two giving in indication where the family had travelled and worked since leaving Plympton St. Mary parish. On all censuses John was shown as a labourer.

A reference for a birth was finally found for Mary Elizabeth Kellar on the civil registration index, in the April quarter of 1838, in the Plympton St. Mary Registration District. A search of the FamilySearch website resulted in a hit for a baptism record for Mary Elizabeth Keller, on April 20, 1838, at St. Andrew Ebenezer Wesleyan Chapel, Plymouth. Her parents were shown as John and Emma.

We seemed to have completed a circle of names at this point and could conclude that Kellow, Kellar, Callard and some other minor variations, were all surnames of individuals of the same family.

The pedigree for Paul’s grandfather, Charles James Stephens, along with the many different spellings of names for various individuals, now looked like this:

John KELLOW = Jane STEPHENS (m. 1751, St. Germans, Cornwall)

                        |           12 children baptized as KELLOW

                        |           John buried probably as KELLOW

                        |

Mathew KELLOW = Betty/Elizabeth TURPIN (m. 1800, Plympton St. Mary)

                        |           Matthew married as KELLOW

                        |           Two children baptized as KELLAR, one child baptized as KELLER,

                        |                one child baptized as KELLOW, one child baptized as CALLARD

                        |           Matthew shown as CALLARD in 1841 and CALLAR in 1851

                        |           Mathew buried in 1852 as KELLAR

                        |

John KELLAR = Amy/Emma GOAD (m. 1830, Plympton St. Mary)

                        |           John married as KELLAR

                        |           John shown as KILLAR in 1841, KELLAR in 1851,

                        |                KELLOW in 1861 and CALLARD in 1871

                        |           John’s death in 1877 registered as CALLARD

                        |

Mary Elizabeth KELLAR = Samuel EASTMAN (m. 1874, Plympton St. Mary)

                        |           Mary’s birth registered as KELLAR

                        |           Births of four children registered as KELLOW

                        |           Children all baptized as KELLOW in Plympton St. Mary

                        |           Family shown as CALLARD in 1871

                        |           Mary married as CALLARD

                        |

Emily KELLOW/EASTMAN = Charles STEPHENS (m. 1889, Plymouth)

                        |           Emily married as EASTMAN

                        |           One brother continued to be known as CALLARD

                        |

Charles James STEPHENS