Jane Hanspiker (abt 1807-), Annapolis County, Nova Scotia

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 4^th 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 4^th 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 3^rd Great Grandmother): born August 23, 1843 in Annapolis County, NS.; married my 3^rd 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)