Genealogy is like trying to put together a giant puzzle except you don’t know how many pieces there are, and you don’t have a box showing you a picture of the completed work. It can be mass chaos, my friends. One minute my notes are concise, clear and organized, the next minute the entire room has exploded with charts, notes, pictures and post-its covering every available surface. There will always be unanswered questions. There will always be loose ends. With that introduction (warning), may I introduce you to my 4th Great Grandmother, Jane Hanspiker.
Jane was born about 1807 in Digby County, Nova Scotia. We
know this from her daughter, Mary Eliza’s death registration. She married my 4th
Great Grandfather, Enoch Marshall (who I wrote about in my last post) some time
prior to 1838.
On the 1838 Census Jane and Enoch Marshall were residing in
Wilmot, Annapolis County. Enoch was a farmer. They had 4 children living in the
house: 1 boy under 6, 1 girl under 6, 1
boy under 14 and 1 girl under 14. It doesn’t specify if the children are Jane
and Enoch’s, although unless I find documentation confirming otherwise I will stick
with this theory for now. And if they are Jane and Enoch’s children, this gives
us an idea as to how long they have been married. I have been able to confirm that
one of these children, a girl named Leah, born in July of 1838 in East
Arlington, Annapolis County, NS is Jane and Enoch’s child. She died on May 24,
1929 and her parents’ names are listed on the record. This would indicate that
she is the “I girl under 6”.
I was also able to find information confirming that Jane and
Enoch had 3 children born after the 1838 census:
- Ebenezer: born in Wilmot, Annapolis County, NS.; married Barbara Grant on February 5, 1865 in Annapolis County, NS
- Samantha (my 3rd Great Grandmother): born August 23, 1843 in Annapolis County, NS.; married my 3rd Great Grandfather, John Grant on Christmas day, 1864 in Harmony, NS. One of the witnesses for their nuptials was a David Marshall. Could this be one of her brothers? Samantha died on June 27, 1931 in Outram, Annapolis County, NS. For further information on Samantha (and the Marshall line) see post from Friday, May 13, 2016: The Marshalls of Nova Scotia: Discovering Roots in New England
- Mary Eliza: born December 31, 1845 in Nova Scotia; married Samuel Bent in Arlington, Annapolis County, NS on November 14, 1875; died December 23, 1922 in Outram, Annapolis County, NS
On the 1861 Census Enoch Marshall is
living in Annapolis County, NS. There are 3 males and 3 females. Although we
can’t say for certain that Jane was living there, it is probable. Since we know
Ebenezer, Samantha and Mary Eliza were all married AFTER 1861, we can conclude
that the three females living at this residence in 1861 were Jane and daughters
Samantha and Mary Eliza, and two of the males would be Enoch and and Ebenezer.
The third male that is unaccounted for is most likely another son that I don’t
yet have documentation for.
Like the 1861 census, the City &
Area Directories only list the head of house. There is an Enoch living in
Annapolis County in 1867. He is listed as “Marshall Enoch, farmer”. Again in
1869, we find an Enoch residing in Wilmot, Annapolis County, NS. He is listed
again as “Marshall Enoch, farmer”. We can safely assume that Jane is also
residing there as well if this is the
correct Enoch. Since no further information is given, we can’t be certain it
is. We know Enoch had two sons who I have not been able to account for. Is it
possible one of them is also named Enoch? I searched through ancestry.ca and
novascotiagenealogy.com and found no records indicating there was more than one
Enoch Marshall. I couldn’t locate him on the 1871 census, but I also haven’t
found a death record for him. However, the great thing about the 1871 census is
that everyone in the household is listed, not just the head of house. So, with the
trail running cold searching for Enoch I turned my focus to searching for Jane
Marshall.
Initially, there was only one result:
New Glasgow, Pictou County, NS
Marshal Jane
Jane Marshall, F (female), 68, b. NS,
religion: Presbyterian, origin: Scotch
Cathrine Marshal, F (female), 30, b. NS
Ann Marshal, F (female), 26, b. NS
Elizabeth Marshal, F (female), 24, b.
NS
Jane McGill Marshal, F (female), 23, b.
NS
Alax Marshal, M (male) 22, b. NS, occ:
Truck Man
In searching the other people listed
in the household I couldn’t find a link between our Jane and this Jane. Also,
since it is in a different county I was skeptical that it was her.
It wasn’t until I was searching for
her daughter, Mary Eliza, on the 1871 Census that I found another Jane
Marshall:
Clarence, Annapolis County, NS
Marshall David, male, 84, b. NS, rel:
Baptist, occ: farmer, marital status: MW
Marshall Jane, female, 70, b. NS,rel:
Baptist, marital status: MW
Marshall Mary Eliza, female, 24, b.
NS, rel: Baptist, marital status: -
At first I thought Jane had
remarried, but after a search for that came up empty, I took a second look and realized
the age of this David Marshall lines up with Jane’s father-in-law.
Unfortunately, this census doesn’t provide the household members’ relationship
to the head of house, so I can’t confirm it, but this certainly seems like a
promising match. David’s wife, Elizabeth, had died 4 years prior (August 17,
1867) and they were living in Port Williams, Annapolis County at that time. On
the 1871 census both David and Jane were listed as MW. David died Feb 20, 1876,
so unfortunately I have no other census records to compare this one to. Could
it just be a coincidence that he is living with two women whose names match his
daughter-in-law and granddaughter? I feel this is likely a correct match
because there were no other matches for a Mary Eliza on the 1871 Census.
There were no matches for the 1881
Census so I moved on to the 1891 Census and this is where things got interesting.
There were two very similar matches:
1. Jane Marshall, b. abt 1805 – Nova Scotia,
residence: Port Lorne, Annapolis, Nova Scotia
2. Jane Marshall, b. about 1807 – Nova Scotia,
residence: Port Lorne, Annapolis, Nova Scotia
How is it that after finding very few
records for even ONE Jane Marshall previously I now find TWO that are so
incredibly similar? I knew I’d have to go over each record with a fine tooth
comb.
The first record:
Milbery David F, male, 55, M (married),
b. NS, rel: Baptist, occ: Farmer
Milbery Leah, female, 52, M (married),
W (wife), b. NS, rel: Baptist
Milbery David, male, 16, S (son), b.
NS, rel: Baptist
Milbery Julia E, female, 12, D (daughter),
b. NS, rel: Baptist
Marshall Jane, female, 86, W (widowed),
Moth (Mother), b. NS, rel: Baptist
So, I searched for a birth, marriage
or death record to try and find out Leah’s parents’ names. I tried birth first,
then marriage and had no luck, but third times a charm! I found her death
registration and lo and behold, her parents are listed as Enoch Marshall, b.
Port Lorne and Jane Handspiker, b. Digby! The informant for her death was her
son, David Milbury, address: Mount Rose. According to this document, Leah Marshall
was born in 1839 in East Arlington, NS. She was living in Port Lorne when she
died at the age of 90 on May 24, 1929. She was buried two days later in Port
Lorne. BINGO! Direct hit on the first try… but… there was another match…
The second record:
Bent Samuel, M (male), 48, M
(married), b. NS, rel: Baptist, occ: Farmer
Bent Mary E, F (female), 44, M
(married), b. NS, rel: Baptist
Bent Edmund, M (male), 14, S (son), b.
NS, rel: Baptist
Bent Edith, F (female), 12, D
(daughter), b. NS, rel: Baptist
Bent William, M (male), S (son), b.
NS, rel: Baptist
Bent Joseph, M (male), S (son), b.
NS, rel: Baptist
Marshall Jane, F (female), 84, W (widowed),
Moth (Mother), b. NS, rel: Baptist
Yep, another daughter of Jane! We
had already confirmed this relationship from Mary Eliza’s marriage and death
records. So to recap: both wives of these two families are daughters of Enoch
Marshall and Jane Hanspiker. Neither of their husbands has a mother with the
name Jane Marshall, be it their maiden name or married name. Soooo… huh?
I can’t tell you how many times I
re-read the documents to try and figure this out. The only theory I have been
able to come up with is that it is the same Jane Marshall listed at both
residences. Perhaps she was in transition and inadvertently ended up being
enumerated at both addresses??? I really can’t say for sure. It’s certainly an
interesting thing to find and I don’t have an answer for what exactly is going
on here.
Sadly, the 1891 census is the last
record I could find for her, so this is where the trail for Jane ends. For now. :)
In the meantime, happy hunting fellow
gene geeks!
Sources:
Ancestry.ca (1861, 1871, 1881, 1891,
1901 Census Records)
Novascotia.ca (1838 Census Returns)
Novascotiagenealogy.com (Birth,
Marriage, Death Registrations)
