52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks
Week Six – February 12 – 18, 2024
Immigration
Since the United States is for the most part a country of immigrants, I found it difficult to choose an ancestor to highlight for this week’s prompt. I decided to go with one of my maternal 2X great-grandmothers, Elizabeth Jane Jewell.
Elizabeth Jane, the second child of Richard and Charity Tippett Jewell was born on 12 September 1842. According to her birth certificate, her place of birth is listed as Lancarrow in the District of Weldon, county of Cornwall, England. Her baptism, according to the Cornwall Parish Records was on 30 July 1843 in the Parish of Wendron.
Her father, Richard, worked as a miner, presumably in the copper mines of Cornwall. Continuing in the family tradition, according to the 1861 census her occupation was listed as Copper Mine Laborer. She was 18 years old. Possibly out of necessity, Elizabeth labored in the mines of Cornwall because her father, Richard died in 1851 when Elizabeth was only 8 years old.
Her first marriage to Thomas Paull (Paul), a tin miner, was solemnized at the Austell office of the District of Redruth in the County of Cornwall on 25 August 1866. She was 24 years old. Four children were born of that marriage: Thomas Paul, Susan Jane Paul, George William Paul, and John Paul, all born between the years of 1865 and 1875.
Pennance (Penzance) was the name of the village in which they lived during that period. It was also the location of the Pennance Mine, formerly known as Wheal Amelia, and worked by “tinners” as early as the 17th century. Between 1880 and 1881 the mine was worked under the name of East Buller.
At the age of 35 and with 3 young children, Elizabeth’s husband, Thomas Paull died. Elizabeth had four children with Thomas, but one of them, Susan, also died before his death. His death is recorded as occurring in Redruth in 1872. The life of a tin miner and his family in the 1800s was a difficult path riddled with poverty, disease, and death. Elizabeth’s family’s lives were no exception.
On 23 August 1878, Elizabeth married for the second time to Henry White, my 2X maternal great-grandfather, an ironstone miner. She and Henry married in the District of Guisborough, a market town and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire. At the time of their marriage, they were both recorded as living at 9 William Street, North Skelton. Henry was also approximately seven years younger than Elizabeth depending on what dates were recorded in various
county records.
The county of North Yorkshire and the county of Cornwall are approximately 400 miles apart, Cornwall is in the southwest tip of England while North Yorkshire is in the northeast area of England. That was a long trip for a woman and three children in 1878. I have not yet determined why or how she and the children came to live in North Yorkshire.
Elizabeth Jane and Henry went on to have three children: Annie Charity, born 18 September 1878 in Lingdale, Yorkshire, Richard, born 6 February 1881 in Lingdale, Yorkshire, and Lillian (Lily), born 24 July 1883 in Brotton, Yorkshire. Unfortunately, their son Richard died at the age of three years in 1884.
The family lived in at least three residences in Yorkshire and Brotton during the years before they immigrated to America. Living with Elizabeth and Henry were also her three children that she had as the wife of Thomas Paul. I have also discovered that Elizabeth’s occupation was at times recorded as a “seamstress” as many of the women in England were during this time.
Elizabeth, Henry, and five of her children, Thomas, George, John, Annie, and Lillie, immigrated to the United States aboard the S.S. Wyoming arriving in New York on 27 September 1887. The “Wyoming” was a steamship that made regular trips between England and the United States. Leaving from Liverpool, and stopping in Queenstown, Ireland (today known as Cork), the trip took approximately 9 to 10 days to sail across the Atlantic.
After arriving in New York, it is not clear where or if they lived there. As recorded in the 1900 U.S. Census they were living in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Henry was now a grocer. Eventually, some of the children moved out to their residences in the Wilkes-Barre area but some remained living with them along with their grandchildren. Life in Wilkes-Barre was not easy either but the extended family living near them made life a bit more bearable.
In 1914 a tornado hit the East End section of Wilkes-Barre where they lived destroying homes, and businesses, and causing loss of life. Elizabeth, Henry, and the children lived on the outer fringes of the tornado’s funnel-shaped cloud. It created great havoc for the lives of those near Henry and Elizabeth White but did not do much damage to their rented home. As a grocer, Henry was probably remarkably busy at that time.
On 6 February 1919, Elizabeth passed away at her home at 218 Kidder Street, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Her death certificate states “apoplexy” as the cause of death which probably means that she succumbed to a stroke. She was 75 years old. Henry, her husband lived until 1926, the year that my mother was born at 54 Pearl Street, Wilkes-Barre. It was the house her parents shared with Annie White Harris, Elizabeth’s daughter, and her husband William Harris, my maternal great-grandparents along with my grandparents, Elizabeth Harris Lord, and Clarence Lord. My grandmother, Elizabeth Lord, told me the story that my mother was born on her mother, Annie’s, dining room table!
And so, life continued forward for my maternal ancestors who were miners from Cornwall, England to Yorkshire, England to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, adding more ancestors to my large and interesting family tree.
Note: This biographical narrative of my maternal ancestors was written with the assistance of my wonderful Australian cousins, Bruce Jewell and his wife, Penny. Much of the information came from their well-researched book, In Search of a Better Life, The History and Family Tree of John Jewell, written and published by Bruce and Penny Jewell.
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