Ann, Wife of Thomas Pascoe

Research note by Wesley Johnston (St. Blazey Families Project, English Corners Project)

begun early 2013 - updated 12 Mar 2013, 30-31 Dec 2013 - The 30-31 Dec 2013 update is at the end, following the earlier-written text.

Thomas Pascoe was baptized 25 Sep 1796 at the church in the parish of St. Blazey, Cornwall and died, probably in East Whitby Township, Ontario, apparently sometime between the 1851/2 census and the 1861 census.

He married Rachael Bersey (baptized 8 Dec 1805 at Tywardreath, Cornwall -  the parish just east of St. Blazey) 9 Oct 1823. I have found four children for them born in Cornwall (baptized at St. Blazey [Church of England] and at St. Austell Wesleyan), the last (Sarah) being baptized at St. Austell Wesleyan 10 Apr 1831. Their next child, Jane, was born in Ontario about 1835. So they emigrated sometime between April 1831 and about 1835. They definitely had two more children in Ontario, almost certainly in Whitby Township: Thomas (about 1837) and Lewis (about 1840).

From this point on, I have not established definitively what happened. But there is a grave stone in the Columbus (Ontario) St. Paul's Anglican Cemetery that reads: "Ann wife of Thomas Pascoe died Aug. 9, 1859, AE. 61 yrs. Native of St. Austell, England". And there is an 1843 Whitby Township marriage of Thomas Pascoe to Ann Minear. I know of only one Thomas Pascoe in Whitby Township of the age to have married a wife born in 1798 -- the 1796 St. Blazey Thomas Pascoe discussed above. And he and his children are all shown with no wife for him in the 1852 census. There is, however, an Ann Pascoe of the right age living separately and owning her own property in the same township.

There is also the last child of Thomas Pascoe, his son Jesse (named for Thomas' father), born about 1844. I have not found any records of Jesse after the 1851/2 census. In particular, I have not found a marriage or death record that might give his mother's name. So I do not know if his mother was Rachael or Ann, but it would appear to be likely that it was Ann. Why Ann is living separately in 1852 is something I do not know -- assuming that the Ann Pascoe is the same one buried in 1859.

So there are a number of important open research questions about this family.

Update 30-31 December 2013

Two Comments Made Since This Research Note Began

On 22 Jun 2013, Ancestry member sueretchford added the following comment to the text of this research note as it then stood.

Pioneer Memorial Garden,Bond St.,Oshawa, Ontario,Canada.: Transcript from memorial:Rachel wife of Thomas Pascoe. d.Dec 2 1832.age 36 and 9 months.Children of the above (Thomas)Nicholas B.d. Sept 15 1853 aged 28 years and 2 months.Jesse d. Oct 29 1853 aged 12 years and 7 months.Jesse could not have been Rachel's child.I will try to get a photo.

On 2 Oct 2012, I visited the Methodist Cemetery on Bond Street in Oshawa. This was originally the cemetery of the church that is now the Simcoe Street United Methodist Church, which has had several fires so that all the cemetery records are lost. I photographed all the stones in the cairn of the cemetery, now known as the Pioneer Memorial Garden. But these were just several dozen among thousands of pictures from that research trip, so that I have only today posted this stone and its information to the St Blazey Families tree. (The English Corners tree has yet to be updated.)

This was stimulated by the following 22 Dec 2013 comment by Ancestry member HnsKei on Thomas Pascoe's wife Ann (who at the time I thought was his second wife but now think was his third wife - and not the mother of any of his children - and possibly a widow herself):

in the 1851 census Ann appears to be living away from the family, and is in a list of inmates. I am not too sure what sort of institution she is in, but on the previous page there is reference to mills and factories. It is possible that she had to work away from the family for some reason? I have attached the census to her (Ann Minear) in my Holness/Hanson tree.

This is a mis-reading of the 1851 census, which I will explain in more detail below. But it at least put this family back on my radar, so that I have again taken up the problems that they present. And sueretchford's note reminded me that I had not yet integrated the headstone photo and information, so that I began by doing that. I am going to use uppercase for surnames from this point on.

What does the Headstone Tell Us About the Children and about Ann?

The headstone is very significant, since it reveals that none of the children born in Canada were children of Thomas PASCOSE's first wife, Rachel BERSEY. Rachel died very soon after they arrived in Canada - at the onset of either her first or second Canadian Winter. We know that their daughter Sarah PASCOE was bpatized 10 Apr 1831 in the St Austell Wesleyan Methodist circuit. So we now know that they sailed to Canada in either 1831 or 1832.

So Jane (c 1835), Thomas (c 1837), Lewis (c 1840) and Jesse (c Mar 1841) were not Rachel's children. But if the Ann Minear, mentioned in my original test above, who married Thomas Pascoe 12 Sep 1843 in Whitby Township was the Ann of the 1859 headstone, then either she was not the mother of these four children or else she was their mother by a prior marriage and the children took the surname PASCOE when she remarried or perhaps some of the children were Thomas' by a second wife and some were Ann's by a prior husband but all used the surname PASCOE.

After all, the Ann of the 1859 headstone was born at St Austell 61 years before 1859. So she would have been 45 at her 1843 marriage to Thomas PASCOE. So it is not surprising that the two of them had no known children together.

Was there an Ann MINEAR baptized at St Austell about 1798? Or was there an Ann born about 1798 in St Austell who married a man named MINEAR in Cornwall?

The Cornwall Family History Society's research database returns 32 baptisms for Ann* M*N*R. Of these, 17 are variants of MINEAR. Of these, 5 were baptized at St. Austell. None of these were baptized between 1757 and 1828. So Ann MINEAR was almost certainly her married name.

Searching the CFHS DB marriages for grooms M*N*R and brides Ann*, there are 24 results. Of these, 11 are variants of MINEAR. Three of those were at St. Austell: 1776, 1801, 1817. The first two can be ruled out, since they were before her adulthood. So the 7 Sep 1817 St Austell marriage of Stephen MANNEAR and Ann HARRIS is a possibility.

In the other parishes, there were these viable candidates:

28 Oct 1826 at St. Breock - Samuel MENEER and Anne DYER.

24 Mar 1832 at Tywardreath - Edward MANNEAR and Ann CLARKE

25 Sep 1832 at St Stephen in Brannel - John MENNEAR and Ann BULLON

The problem is that finding a death record in Canada in 1843 or just before is very rare. And there was no 1841 census in Canada. So I will detour to the Ann in the 1851 census.

What of the Ann Pascoe in the 1851/2 Census of Whitby Township?

The 1851 Census is unique in many ways. And to those not familiar with it, it can be confusing. Yet it has a wealth of information if you know how to find it.

First of all, the 1851 Census was actually taken in 1852. Second, the census information for each person spanned 4 pages, so that you need to go to the second page to see how the households were divided up. Otherwise, you might think that everyone was in the same household and were inmates of some institution. (The fact that column 1 is labeled "Names of Inmates" does not help. It does not refer to inmates of an institution but to inmates of a dwelling.) Third, there was an agricultural schedule which gave the lot and concession number and more information about land owners.

Thomas Pascoe in the 1851 Census

Thomas Pascoe appears in the Whitby Township 1851/2 Census on line 39 on the page at

- on Ancestry: http://interactive.ancestry.com/1061/e095-e002362631/144675

- at Library and Archives Canada: http://data2.collectionscanada.gc.ca/e/e095/e002362631.jpg

The entries continue on the following 2-page image:

- Ancestry: http://interactive.ancestry.com/1061/e095-e002362631/144675#?imageId=e095-e002362632

- LAC: http://data2.collectionscanada.gc.ca/e/e095/e002362632.jpg

And it ends on the left-hand page in the image at:

- Ancestry: http://interactive.ancestry.com/1061/e095-e002362631/144675#?imageId=e095-e002362633

- LAC: http://data2.collectionscanada.gc.ca/e/e095/e002362633.jpg

The family is on lines 39-50. which includes HOLLIDA and PASCOE and LUKE family members. The household can be identified by going to the third page (the second image) where it shows on line 39 that this is a 1-story frame house, occupied by 1 family. so all of these people are related. The family at the top of the next page of names is also LUKE in a frame home, so that it is possible that the enumerator really meant to include the two LUKE names on lines 49 and 50 of the first page in the house at the top of the next page of names.

But definitely in Thomas PASCOE's home, there were two HOLLIDA family members: Martha (27, born England), Rachel (6, born Upper Canada). There were 7 PASCOE family members other than Thomas: Nicholas (26, England), Charles (22, Egnland), Sarah (20, England), Jane (17, Upper Canada), Thomas (15, UC), Lewis (12, UC), and Jesse (8, UC). In fact, Martha HOLLIDA was Martha PASCOE HOLLIDA, Thomas' daughter, with her daughter Rachel. If you look on page 2 (second image) line 40, you will see a W on both lines 39 and 40, indicating that both Thomas and Martha were widowed. But Thomas shows as "WR" which may have meant "widowed remarried".

But there is more ... Thomas PASCOE was a land owner. So he appears on line 19 of the Agricultural  Census at

- Ancestry: http://interactive.ancestry.com/1061/e095-e002362671

- LAC: http://data2.collectionscanada.gc.ca/e/e095/e002362671.jpg

As with the Population Census, there are multiple pages, telling how much of each type of crop and animal, etc. The key thing for us is that he owned 100 acres on Lot 9 of Concession 5.

Ann Pascoe in the 1851 Census

So having seen how the 1851 Census worked for this known family, what does it show for the Ann PASCOE who is listed elsewhere in Whitby Township.

She is on line 24 of the 46th page of names in the same sub-district in which Thomas is the 60th page of names:

- Ancestry: http://interactive.ancestry.com/1061/e095-e002362599/143860

- LAC: http://data2.collectionscanada.gc.ca/e/e095/e002362599.jpg (just add 1 to the last number to go to the next image for LAC)

Looking at the next image, you see that she is in fact the head of the household in a 1 story log home, occupied by 1 family. The family consists of lines 24 to 28. Going back to the first page, you see that these are 9-year-old Alfred ESLWORTH and William and Ann WOOD and their son William. Thomas PASCOE had no daughter Ann, so that presumably, this Ann WOOD was the daughter of Ann PASCOE, since the census shows them as one family. (Clearly, researching this family would be worth doing, but for now I will try to resolve the matter of this research note without doing that.)

And sure enough, Ann Pascoe was in fact a land owner, appearing on line 49 of the Agricultural Census:

- Ancestry: http://interactive.ancestry.com/1061/e095-e002362663

- LAC: http://data2.collectionscanada.gc.ca/e/e095/e002362663.jpg

So she was not being forced to work somewhere away from home. She owned the 10 acres of Lot 15 of Concession 6 on which she was living. All 10 acres was under cultivation, with 4 acres under crops and 6 acres under pasture. Two acres were in wheat, producing 20 bushels. One acres was in peas, producing 20 bushels. And one acre was in potatoes, producing 20 bushels. She had 2 bundles or tons of hay. She owned 2 milk cows, 2 calves or heifers, and 4 pigs. And she had 400 barrels or hundred-weights of beef. This was not an impoverished woman. She was doing well, though on a modest scale compared to some of the large farms of her neighbors.

So was this Ann Pascoe the wife of Thomas Pascoe?

She is the right age. She was 55 in 1852, which puts her birth about 1797 vs the headstone Ann about 1798. But I still need more than this to convince me. V-9 is not that far from VI-15. But it is still separate. Since it seems almost certain that MINEAR was her name from a prior marriage, perhaps this 10 acres on VI-15 was the land that her husband and she had owned. But I need to find some way to check this further.

What were the birthplaces of the Anns who married MINEARs?

I'm going back to the Cornwall records. There were four Anns who married a MINEAR at about the right time. Were any of them born in St Austell.

Ann HARRIS who married at St Austell was not baptized at St Austell. A search of the CFHS DB for Ann* HAR*S bpatisms at St Austell yielded 9 hits. But there is a gap between 1788 and 1819. So she is not Ann HARRIS.

Ann DYER (Ann*D*R at St Austell) was not her: there is a gap from 1754 to 1826.

Nor was it Ann CLARKE (Ann( CL*RK* at St Austell), since there is a gap from 1785 to 1815.

But there is hope for Ann BULLON, Ann BULLIN was bpatized at St Austell 26 Dec 1796, daughter of Thomas and Ann BULLIN.

So only the 25 Sep 1832 marriage at St Stephen in Brannel will fit with a wife Ann born at about the time that the Ann of the headstone and also Ann PASCOE in the 1851/2 census were born.

But then she would have been 34-36 years old already in 1832, so that it seem likely that she would have been remarrying as a widow in 1832, so that BULLIN would not be her maiden name.

I am going to have to cut off the research for now. Clearly there is more research needed. I would very much like the Ann PASCOE at VI-15 to be the wife of Thomas PASCOE at V-9 and also be Ann MINEAR. But at this point, I just cannot conclude that she is. Nor can I rule her out. More to come ...

One last thing ... I checked who the later children gave as their mother when they married. All said Rachel. But Rachel died in 1832. So did Thomas marry a second Rachel?

Was the year on Rachel Pascoe's Headstone off by 10 years? Very Probably So

This part of this 2-day note is being written on 31 December 2013, after thinking more about what I have found. I have a strong suspicion that the date of Rachel Pascoe's death should have been 1842 and not 1832 on her headstone. All of the suviving children who married stated on their marriage records that their mother's name was Rachel.

The headstone may have been a replacement of an earlier, with the new one made at the time of death of Nicholas and Jesse in Sep-Oct 1853, as opposed to an earlier headstone that had just had Rachel, onto which the names of the two children were added in 1853. If the stonemason errounesouly put Rachel's death -- which by then was at least a decade in the past -- as 1832 instead of 1842, everything would fit into place. All of the children, including the 1841-born Jesse, would have been Rachel BERSEY PASCOE's children -- just as they said they were later when they married. And this also would fit with the 1843 marriage of Thomas PASCOE to Ann MINEAR.

Conclusion for now regarding Rachel and the Children
Much as I dislike challenging a headstone date, I think the evidence that I have at this point fits best with the date of Rachel's death being 1842 and not 1832. And thus, I am using that date for her death and carrying all the children as they later said they were: children of Rachel. I am further adding Ann, widow MINEAR, as the Ann on the headstone. But I am not yet prepared to consider the Ann PASCOE on VI-15 in the 1851/2 census as being this Ann.

More Research Needed

More research is needed on (1) the origin of the Ann PASCOE of the headstone (i.e., born c 1798 at St Austell), on (2) the apparent prior MINEAR family of the 1843 wife of Thomas PASCOE, on (3) the Ann PASCOE of the 1851/2 Census and the associated WOOD and ESLWORTH (or more likely ELSWORTH) families,  and on (4) whether the 1851/2 Census Ann PASCOE was the wife of Thomas PASCOE who for some reason was living as a land owner a few miles away from him.

Moving Future Consideration to English Corners / Columbus (Ontario) Families tree

Finally, for 2013, I am going to move the primary location of the consideration of this family and their later descendants  from the St Blazey Families tree (Cornwall) to the English Corners tree (Canada). Thomas Pascoe is at these locations in each tree:

- St Blazey Families: http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/20919668/person/1169828219

- English Corners / Columbus (Ontario) Families: http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/12365860/person/26074246205