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Hi Sue,

I was kind of hoping you'd list James Finney (my great-great grandfather). No such luck I guess. He was born around 1824 and married Catherine Fleming. She died around 1877 in Newfoundland. They had four sons: Henry, John, James and William. If you happen across anything that seems relevant, please let me know.

Thanks for the info all the same. You never know where it might tie in.

Regards
Valerie

Hi Gillian,

Thanks for this. You know a week ago I knew nothing about Tom Gowans other than he served in WWI, was born in Scotland and was a pretty crotchety old guy. Now I have tons of history.

So here's what I can fill in for you. Tom died in St. John's in 1977. Tom's wife (my GGrandmother) was Elizabeth Janes b. 22 Jan 1893 in St. John's, Newfoundland (NL), Canada. Around 1948 they moved to Montreal (actually Tom was already there so not sure when he went. Elizabeth followed after her son-in-law (my grandfather) remarried.  She had been caring for her 3 little grandsons. Elizabeth died in Montreal in 1963 and is buried in Notre Dame des Neiges cemetery. Her headstone says she was born in 1894. Elizabeth's parents were James Janes b. Oct 1870 in Grate's Cove, NL and Mary Murray b. Aug 1875 in Cape Broyle, NL. So far I have no other details on them but I don't live in NL anymore so when I'm home I spend time at the Provincial Archives. Their records are not all online unfortunately.

Tom and Elizabeth had 6 children:

- Tommy b. 1915. Married Syvia King, had no children. Lived in Boston I think but has since passed away.

- Margaret (my grandmother) b. 1919, d. of TB 03 July 1941. She married my grandfather William Finney in 1937 and had three sons William (my father) in 1938, Kevin in 1939 and John in 1940.

- Martha b. 1921, d. of a barin aneurysm while swimming in 1937.

- Elizabeth (Bet) b. 1923. Married Mike Yetman, had 3 sons Jim, Mike and Robin and 2 daughters Dorothy and Gail. Bet is still living in St. John's.

- Rita b. 1926. Had a son Bobby Gowans. Later married Art Roberts and had 2 sons, Gary and Glenn. Rita is still living in Montreal.

- Andrew b. 1929. Married a woman named Rosa and lived his life in Florida. They did have children but I know no details. He has since passed away.

I know plenty of details about aunt Bet as I grew up knowing her and her children are my father's first cousins. Everyone else lived away from NL so I never met them.

Regards
Valerie

Finney is my family name and I've been at a standstill regarding my GGGrandfather James Finney. He was born in England around 1824, moved to Newfoundland as an adult to my knowledge. He married Catherine Fleming and had several children. Years later after his wife died, he and his adult son John married the Mercer sisters. James married Jane Mercer and his son married Christina Mercer. He was in his 60s when he married Jane. They had three children, William (my GGrandfather born in 1885) who married Sarah Gibbons, James who died at sea and Emily, who married a Maloney.

I have no idea where in England James came from and I have no knowledge of siblings, parents etc. There are names that keep cropping up in the family over many generations but they were very common at the time: James, John, William, Jane, Mary, Emily. I know tracking down info about James Finney will be like finding a needle in a haystack but if anyone had info on him or his travel to Newfoundland, I'd really appreciate it.

NOTE: I have come across a record of a Bryan Finney in NL who had sons James and Dan but I don't know if he's related. Although my father had a first cousin Dan Finney and Dan's sister also named her son Dan so it seems to be another common name in the family.

Cheers
Valerie

Wow J.J. this is great stuff. My GGrandfather must have been quite a bit younger than his brothers. He died in 1977 and he was about 84 then. Where did you find all this info?

Thanks so much.
valerie

Hello,

This is the first time I've seen new info about my great grandfather. Thomas Crawford Gowans (born 1893 in Scotland) was my GGrandfather. I now see where he got some of his children's names. He had two sons: Thomas and Andrew and four daughters: Margaret (my grandmother who died of TB in 1942), Martha, Elizabeth and Rita. Both Bet and Rita are still living but are not in great health. Rita lives in Montreal and Bet lives in St. John's NL. Both sons (Tommy and Andrew) are now dead and lived in the States. Neither of them had children. All of Bet's children live in NL. She has 3 sons and 2 daughters.

So are you saying the Andrew Gowans who died in 1916 was Thomas Gowans father? And that they were from Greenock, Scotland? Tom Gowans is buried in St. John's, NL. Although he lived for years in Montreal and his wife, my GGrandmother, is buried in Cote de Neige cemetery.

If you have other info such as who was Thomas's oldest sibling or their birth order, I'd really appreciate it. I know very little about his life as a child. And until today I knew nothing of his aprents. I know Thomas served in WW1 with the Royal Newfoundland Regiment. We have some photos of him in uniform.

Thanks
for any help.

Regards
Valerie