Tag Archives: Naburn

Guy Silversides (1883-1964) – emigration to Canada

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Introduction

I am continuing my occasional research into more distant members of my family. Currently I am working on a project for the Family and Community History Research Society looking into the experience of patients in County Pauper Lunatic Asylums during the period 1861-1901. While researching my Silversides cousins I came across Guy, my third cousin four times removed, working as an attendant in Stanley Royd Hospital, Wakefield in the 1911 census. Stanley Royd was the first West Riding county pauper lunatic asylum built in 1818. Guy didn’t remain working there long but turned out to be interesting for another reason; he emigrated to Canada not long after the 1911 census was taken.

Guy was the youngest son of William Silversides (1842-1916) and Elizabeth Habbishaw (1842-1927). He was born in Naburn near York (see OS Yorkshire sheet CXCI.NW published 1910 map) and was said to be 18 and a gardener when he enlisted in the Northumberland Fusiliers on 27 February 1900. Guy was 5ft 5in tall, weighed 124lbs, with brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion. His three older brothers, George, Robert and John had enlisted in the army before him and two of his sisters’ married men who served in WWI.

Guy’s military record indicated he had served as a bandsman in the West Indies and then South Africa where he arrived on 23 July 1902. The Treaty of Vereeniging, which ended the Second Boer War, had been signed on 31 May 1902. Guy remained in South Africa until 4 March 1907. As a sergeant bandsman he was posted to the army reserve on 7 March 1908. While serving in the army he gained his St John’s ambulance certificate for first aid to the injured. Perhaps this enabled him to gain a position at Stanley Royd as an attendant. Guy was working there when the 1911 census was taken on 2 April. Not long afterwards his military record showed that on 2 June 1911 he was permitted to go to Canada.

Emigration to Canada

Guy left Liverpool for Canada on 7 July 1911 as a passenger on the steamship Victorian, Allan Steamship Line, bound for Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He arrived on 14 July 1911 and was described as an attendant with the intention of farming. His entry on the passenger list was stamped “British Bonus Allowed”. Commission was paid to UK steamship booking agents, by the Canadian government’s Immigration Branch, for suitable immigrants who bought a ticket to sail. Guy as the passenger did not receive a bonus.

The next record found for Guy was his marriage to Edythe M Kimber (or Kember) in 1913 in Edmonton, Alberta. Edythe, a nurse, had left Liverpool on 21 February 1913 bound for New Brunswick, on the Hesperian, Allan Steamship Line.

On 8 January 1915 Guy enlisted in the 101st Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force Band Corp. He was described as an attendant living at 9725, 96a St, Edmonton South, with his wife Edythe. His previous service with the Northumberland Fusiliers was noted.

Guy departed for England on 8 January 1915 and by 9 October 1915 he was a corporal in the 49th Battalion of the Canadian Infantry on his way to Boulogne, France. While he was serving in the army his personnel records showed that he was granted leave on the following dates:

  • 20 August 1917 – 2 September 1917.
  • 15 February 1918 – 3 March 1918.
  • 25 January 1919 – 8 February 1919.

Guy’s personnel record also recorded separation payments to his wife Edythe. She returned to England on 2 August 1915 and gave her intended address as 43 Pentonville Rd, London. The record of her payments showed that she didn’t remain there for the duration of WWI. Edythe spent some time at 2 Darby Terrace, Horn Street, close to Shorncliffe camp used as a base for the Canadian forces (see OS Kent sheet LXXV.SW published 1908map). This was also where Guy’s brother John was base and his wife and family were at 2 Darby Terrace. Edythe’s final address was in Naburn, possibly with other members of Guy’s family. Perhaps he was able to visit her when he returned on leave from France.

After the end of WWI Guy and Edythe both returned to Canada on separate ships. Edythe arrived back at St John’s, New Brunswick on 25 April 1919 on the ship Corsican while Guy returned to Canada on 2 May 1919. After this date no records have been found which included either or both of them, notably the 1921 census. At some point Guy moved to Vancouver where he married his second wife, Elsie Davenport (1902-1970), on 23 May 1931. They were recorded together in the 1931 Canadian census when Guy’s occupation was recorded as a postman, who was not working. It is not clear what happened to his first wife Edythe. They may have divorced and it is possible Edythe remained in Alberta and remarried there in 1924.

Guy and Elsie continued to live in Vancouver where they were recorded on lists of voters:

  • 1945 – Guy, a mail carrier, and Elsie living at 2784 Adanac St, Vancouver East.
  • 1949 – Guy, retired, and Elsie living at 2784 Adanac St, Vancouver East.
  • 1962 – Guy, retired, and Elsie living at 2784 Adanac St, Vancouver East.

Guy died on 12 May 1964 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. His burial record stated that he had been in Canada for 45 years and Vancouver for 41 years. It also included information from his British Columbia marriage record and that he was a bachelor when he married Elsie. His first marriage to Edythe was mentioned and she was his next of kin in his Canadian Expeditionary Force personnel file. If he had been in Vancouver for 41 years then that suggests he moved there about 1921, possibly two years after he returned to Canada from serving in WWI.

Finally

I would like to know more about all the people mentioned in this blog post, and in particular, Guy who emigrated to Canada. Do contact me if you have any further information which you are willing to share.

Note: the maps used in this blog have been reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland under the following creative commons licence https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ and sourced from the NLS maps site https://maps.nls.uk/.

Bibliography:

Alberta, Canada, Marriages Index, 1898-1944. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/ : accessed August 2024.

Births, marriages and deaths. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/ : accessed August 2024.

British Army WWI Medal Rolls Index Cards, 1914-1920. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/ : accessed August 2024.

British Army WWI Service Records, 1914-1920. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/ : accessed August 2024.

British Columbia, Canada, Death Index, 1872-1990.

British Columbia, Canada, Marriage Index, 1872-1935. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/ : accessed August 2024.

Canada, Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/ : accessed August 2024.

Canada, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1865-1935. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/ : accessed August 2024.

Canada, Voters Lists, 1935-1980. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/ : accessed August 2024.

Canada, World War I CEF Attestation Papers, 1914-1918. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/ : accessed August 2024.

Canada, World War I CEF Personnel Files, 1914-1918. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/ : accessed August 2024.

Canadian Immigration Records. https://library-archives.canada.ca/eng/collection/research-help/genealogy-family-history/immigration/pages/immigration.aspx : accessed August 2024.

Census records. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/ : accessed August 2024.

Newspapers. https://www.findmypast.co.uk/ : accessed August 2024.

OS Maps. https://maps.nls.uk/ : accessed August 2024.

Passenger Lists Leaving UK 1890-1960. https://www.findmypast.co.uk/ : accessed August 2024.

Shorncliffe Camp. https://www.saltwoodkent.co.uk/the-canadian-at-shorncliffe-during- : accessed August 2024.

UK and Ireland, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/ : accessed August 2024.

UK and Ireland, Outward Passenger Lists, 1890-1960. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/ : accessed August 2024.

UK, Royal Hospital Chelsea Pensioner Soldier Service Records, 1760-1920. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/ : accessed August 2024.

Yorkshire baptisms, marriages and burials. https://www.findmypast.co.uk/ : accessed August 2024.

Thomas Lazenby and Antonia Armstrong – my eight times great grandparents

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According to Redmonds dictionary of Yorkshire surnames, Lazenby is an example of a geographical surname which was derived from three possible places, two in Yorkshire: Lazenby near Northallerton and Lazenby near Redcar plus Lazonby in Cumberland, which suggests a number of distinct origins for the surname.

By the early 14th century there were examples of the surname in the North Riding of Yorkshire, York and the West Riding of Yorkshire. A major expansion of the surname had taken place in York and nearby villages and it is possible that my ancestors are descended from this group, although my research is still a work in progress. Certainly, by the 17th century there was a concentration of Laysenby’s and Laysnby’s in York and the nearby village of Huntington who, used distinctive first names like Seth and Wilfray. This group were linked by Redmonds to some important York families, including the anti-clerical poet Wilfrid Holme and the Snawsells family.

By the 1881 census, Lazenby was reasonably numerous in Yorkshire with higher totals in Pocklington, Selby and York. Lazonby was a rarer variant of the surname and found mostly in Durham and Cumberland.

Thomas (b. about 1684) and Antonia (b. about 1684) – Thomas was born about 1684 and there is a possible baptism for him in York dated 28 September 1864 to father Thomas Lazenbie. There is another potential baptism in Holy Trinity Church, York in 1685 to parents John and Ann, however there is also a burial record for a young man called Thomas in 1699 who may be the same person as in this baptism.

Thomas married his wife Antonia Armstrong on 17 June 1704 in St Crux church, York. Their marriage license suggested they were to be married in St Denys Church, York which, at that time, was also linked to the parish of Acaster Malbis. On the license Thomas was described as a yeoman and he signed it together with Thomas Simpson. He gave his residence as “Gilridding” which was a property in Naburn, a village near York. Naburn was also part of the parish of Acaster Malbis and was where Antonia was baptised on 3 December 1684. Her father was Methamus (Matthew) Armstrong (1650-1690) and her mother was his second wife Isabella Gray. The following descendant chart shows what’s been found so far for Methamus and his family:

Descendant chart for Methamus Armstrong

Thomas and Antonia continued to live in Naburn and had at least five children, one son and four daughters. Their second daughter Rebecca (1716-1792) was my 7th great grandmother. She may have had a child called Francis before she married her husband Nicholas Simpson (1714-1800). Rebecca and Nicholas were married by license, dated 20 July 1744, in York Minster on 27 July 1744. Their license described Nicholas as a husbandman aged 27 from Saxton and Rebecca a spinster aged 26 from Stillingfleet. It was signed Nicklas Simpson, John Nicholson and Wm Morritt. Saxton is about 12 miles from York and 8 miles from Stillingfleet. Stillingfleet is 3 miles from Naburn and 7 miles from York. I do wonder how Nicholas and Rebecca met.

The following outline descendant report shows Thomas, Antonia, their children and grandchildren.

Descendant report for Thomas Lazenby

Towards the top of the chart, I have highlighted Francis Lazenby, as one hypothesis I have, is that he was Rebecca’s illegitimate son. He appears in the Saxton records in 1756 when an indenture was paid for his apprenticeship to William Stoker, wheelwright. Francis married Susannah Stubbs (1739-1810) in Saxton on 11 April 1770 by license. The license was witnessed by John Firth and Will Morritt. It is possible that Will was either the same person who witnessed Rebecca and Nicholas’ marriage license or someone related to him. It does seem that there were some connections between the Morritt and Nicholson families, as there is a record of a William Morritt marrying Ann Nicolson on 3 December 1736 in Saxton church.

Francis and Susannah had at least six children; two of their son’s baptisms described his mother as Rebecca, daughter of Thomas Lazenby of Stockton, and his father as John Lazenby also of Stockton. It is likely that Stockton was a property about 10 miles North West of Saxton. However, no baptism has been found for Francis. 

Descendants of Rebecca and Nicholas Simpson continued to live in Saxton into the 19th century and can be found in census records. For example, William Simpson (1787-1861), my first cousin 7 times removed, was recorded in the 1851 census in Saxton village and was described as a farmer of 35 acres employing one labourer.

Lewis’ 1848 topographical dictionary of England described Saxton as follows:

Saxton, Yorkshire from Lewis’ Topographical Dictionary of England

Members of the Lazenby and Simpson families were found as tenants of both the Gascoigne family and Lord Hawke in the West Yorkshire land tax records held on Ancestry.

Lastly – I would like to know more about all the people mentioned in this blog post. So far, I’ve been unable to find burial burials for Thomas Lazenby and Antonia. He may have moved to a property called Stockton 10miles North West of Saxton, but a search of the burials records for the surrounding parishes has so far failed to find them. They weren’t found in the records of the parishes of Naburn or Stillingfleet either. Do contact me if you have any further information which you are willing to share with me.

Bibliography:

Births, marriages and deaths. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/ : accessed September 2021.

Census. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/ : accessed September 2021.

Lewis, Samuel ed. (1848) A Topological Directory of England. London: Lewis. https://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/england : accessed September 2021.

Naburn (in parish of Acaster Malbis). https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/ERY/AcasterMalbis : accessed September 2021.

Redmonds, George. ((2015) A Dictionary of Yorkshire Surnames. Donington: Shaum Tyas.  

Saxton. https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/WRY/Saxton : accessed September 2021.

Stillingfleet. https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/ERY/Stillingfleet : accessed September 2021.

UK, Duties Paid for Apprentices’ Indentures, 1710-1811. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/ : accessed September 2021.

West Yorkshire, England, Select Land Tax Records, 1704-1932. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/ : accessed September 2021.

York Minster Marriage Register. https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/ARY/York/MarriagesYorkMinster : accessed September 2021.

Yorkshire baptisms, marriages and burials. https://www.findmypast.co.uk/ : accessed September 2021.