Marriage in Newfoundland

[thombenn]

Anybody know of a marriage between William Clarke and Susannah (?) in New Foundland, early 1870s?  Daughter Elizabeth born abt 1872/4.  Driving me mad this one!!!

Tried Newfoundland web site and Ancestry.

Thanks

Thombenn

[Miss Kate]

Hi Thombenn,

Do you know where in Newfoundland the marriage took place? Do you know which religious faith they belonged to?
That would be important information in order for them to check their church record microfilms they have in NL or for you writing to a particular parish or a diocese/synod.

The Memorial University of Newfoundland will conduct research (for a fee) and they do have surname files. I did check on-line at their website and they do have the Clarke surname. They also will search marriages which were gleaned from newspapers. Again, research fees would apply.

Marriages: 1810 - 1890
http://www.mun.ca/mha/holdings/bdm/bdmintro.php

Research & Collections information
http://www.mun.ca/mha/holdings/genealog.php

There are 3 Newfoundland newspapers on-line, one of which may cover the time-span you need to search. Look for The Newfoundlander (from St. John's; not all dates) at:
http://news.google.com/newspapers


Best wishes,
Kate

[thombenn]

Hi Kate, Thanks for your reply.  All I can tell you is the following

William Clarke - fisherman/seaman   place of birth      
wife : Susannah - nothing else known about her.
Don't know when they actually married but believed to be of protestant faith (not RC) had one daughter

Elizabeth Clarke born 5 June 1872

She married William Bennett on 29 July 1895 in Halifax Nova Scotia at St Mark's Church, he was a soldier stationed at Wellington Barracks and she was a domestic servant living in Almond Street Halifax.  Nothing else is known about her life in Canada from her birth to 1895.

The tale is that her father, William Clarke, died either before her birth or very soon afterwards - he died at sea, believed drowned.

Her mother was believed to have died when Elizabeth was around 8 years old? So where did Elizabeth go to?


I have found 3 William Clarkes on 1871 censuses - all fishermen/seamen living in the following areas:

BRIGUS        PORT AU BRAS    BAY DE VERDE

Would those areas be a starting point?

Any help or guidance would be really appreciated, Kate,

Best wishes Mary (Thombenn)

[Miss Kate]

Hi Mary,

If you believe you've exhausted every resource in obtaining records for Elizabeth Clarke Bennett in Halifax (or wherever she eventually settled), then all you have to work with is the William Clarke (and Susannah) name. I'm assuming you found the names from the 1871 edition of Lovell's Directory? I had found this one: William Clarke, fisherman at Gullys, in the District of Brigus ( http://ngb.chebucto.org/L1871/071-dist-idx.shtml )

Since St. Mark's is an Anglican Church in Halifax, begin with Anglican record research in Newfoundland. 

For Brigus and Bay de Verde, contact:

Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador
Peter Chalker, Archivist
19 King’s Bridge Rd.
St. Johns, NL A1C 3K4
Tel.: 709-576-6697
Fax: 709-576-7122
archives@anglicanenl.net


For Port au Bras:

Diocese of Central Newfoundland
Synod Office
34 Fraser Road
Gander, NL A1V 2E8
Tel.: 709-256-2372
Fax: 709-256-2396

The above contact information is from:
Archives in the Anglican Church of Canada
http://www.anglican.ca/resources/gsarchives/incanada/ 

The family stories of drownings and early deaths seem common for many parts of NL in that era. If that occurred I'm sure she went to live with extended family. For some, their way out was to become a domestic servant in the larger cities, from St. John's, NL; to Halifax, NS; St. John's, NB or immigrate to Boston in the U.S.

I hope the archivist will be able to guide you in your research and that you'll find success!

Regards,
Kate

[thombenn]

  Thanks for all the information Kate. I will bear it in mind and plod on!

Regards  Mary