Part 859sv- Smith Robertson Genealogy – A Definite Possibility – Great-Great-Grandaunt Sophia (née Smith) Ventour – 1865 Burial Registration

Good Day,

Well as I mentioned the genealogy bug has bit me once again and I guess it definitely is time to come in out of my three-month retirement.

What I have now discovered is an 1865 Burial Registration that may be that of great-great-grandaunt Sophia (née Smith) Ventour. Here is an image of the page from the Grenada, Parish Registers, 1784-1971, Anglican Church, Parish of St. George, Burials 1844-1930 and the microfilm FHL [1523656] Item 18-19.

As you can see the copy from the microfilm is somewhat opaque. Actually it is almost bloody illegible... I have tried to decipher the Burial Registration and determine a possible script even due to the bleeding of the ink of the registration. It seems that the ink from both the facing page and the verso or back side of the page bled through prior to the microfilming of the Register.

I have made close-ups of the registration.  The first is the actual registration and the second is my attempt to make sense of the hidden script using a red tracing to give me a chance to determine the messy script.

Actual registration.

My endeavor to make out the script.

My attempted transcription –

[Page 219]
BURIALS in the Parish of St. George
In the Colony of Grenada in the Year 1865
Name. – Sophia Ventour
Abode. – Town of St. George
When buried. – Feb 2?
Age. – Yrs 59?
By whom the Ceremony was performed. – J K. Anton, Rector

And now, my thoughts and observations. At the present time I cannot be 100% sure that this is the Burial Registration of great-great-grandaunt Sophia (née Smith) Ventour. All I can do is present a number facts and some logical possibilities.

The Burial Register is that of the Anglican Parish Church of St. George, Grenada. This was, from what I understand the Smith family’s primary place of worship. I have been able to collect a considerable amount of documentation and registrations from this church which are all specific to my Smith family. There is some sense to the possibility the gg-grandaunt Sophia (née Smith) Ventour was registered at her death and burial at the family church.

The Burial Registration appears, if I am deciphering it correctly for one “Sophia Ventour”. All-things-being-equal gg-grandaunt Sophia Smith married Benjamin Ventour 16 September 1825. (See Part 62s.)  Her married name would have been Sophia Ventour.

From the 1865 Burial Registration I am trying to decipher the age that this Sophia Ventour passed. It looks to me like it is “Yrs 59”. It is extremely hard to be sure that this is the actual age. If it is 59 years and this Sophia Ventour was buried at the age of 59 there is a possibility that she was born about 1806. And if it is 1806 and this is gg-grandaunt Sophia (née Smith) Ventour then, all-things-being-equal it could be possible that she is the elder sister to gg-grandaunt Mary Ann (née Smith) and to all the other gg-grand Smiths that I have been able to find respectable documentation regarding their birth years and dates.

Following another train of thought, and examining ggg-grandfather James Smith’s Last Will and Testament (see Part 61s), gg-grandaunt Sophia is mentioned after ggg-grandmother Mary Ann and gg-granduncle George and before gg-grandaunt Mary Ann. She is also addressed before gg-grandfather James and gg-granduncles Thomas and Henry. I am not sure if this is a general rule of thumb and process but it may be possible that ggg-grandfather James was addressing a specific hierarchy as he included his survivors in his will; his wife first, and then his children in their possible order of age.

And if this is the case, it would make sense that gg-grandaunt Sophia (née Smith) Ventour would have been older than her sister Mary Ann (née Smith) Steele. GGG-Grandfather James’s will states “and the further sum of Eight pounds annually to each of my daughters Sophia Ventour and Mary Steele during their natural lives…”  This is the initial place in the Will where gg-grandaunts Sophia and Mary are mentioned.

In my previous post, Part 858ss, we discovered that there is a possibility that gg-grandaunt Mary Ann (née Smith) Steele was born about 1809. If gg-grandaunt Sophia (née Smith) Ventour was born before gg-grandaunt Mary Ann it is possible that she would have been born before 1809 and that it would not be unreasonable to say that she may have been born around 1806. And this may be the calculated year of birth of the Sophia Ventour of the 1865 Burial Registration if the age at her death was 59 years.

Definitely food for thought. If you have any comment, thought, idea, or question, please feel free to contact me at A Genealogy Hunt.

Enjoy,

Jim

Click here to continue reading...

Part 858ss – Smith Robertson Genealogy – Great-Great-Grandaunt Mary Ann (née Smith) Steele – An Aha Moment

Good Day,

I couldn't wait until September 1 to start working on my A Genealogy Hunt again.

Who said “Patience is a virtue”? And I guess I do have a shade of patience… but whether my patience is virtuous, that is another question, for another time.

Most recently I have exchanged a couple of emails with a distant relative of mine regarding some information referencing an ancestor that we may have in common. (Thank you Ashley.) This mutual ancestor is my great-great-grandaunt Mary Ann (née Smith) Steele.

The piece of documentation found is the 1881 Burial Registration of great-great-grandaunt Mary Ann (née Smith) Steele. Here is an image of the page from the Grenada, Parish Registers, 1784-1971, Anglican Church, Parish of St. George, Burials 1844-1930 and the microfilm FHL [1523656] Item 18-19.

My transcription –

[Page 342]
BURIALS in the Parish of St. George
In the Colony of Grenada in the Year 1881
Name. – Mary Ann Steele
Abode. – Town of St. George
When buried. – Oct 2nd
Age. – Yrs 72
By whom the Ceremony was performed. – John K. Anton, Rector

Here is a close-up of the registration.

Based on the information provided by the Register, gg-grandaunt Mary Ann (née Smith) Steele was 72 years old at her burial. Calculating from 1881, this would mean that there is a possibility that gg-grandaunt Mary Ann may have been born in about the year 1809. This is possible proof that gg-grandaunt Mary Ann may have been an elder sister to gg-grandfather James Smith who was born in 1815. (See Part 88s.)

Following this new information I have re-constructed my GenoPro James Smith Descendant Chart.

We now have possible documentary proof and information for the following:

GG-Grandaunt Mary Ann (née Smith) Steele – born circa 1809

GG-Grandaunt Eley Smith – born 17 Mar 1812 (Part 87s)

GG-Grandfather James Smith – born 20 Mar 1815 (Part 88s)

GG-Granduncle Henry Smith – born 3 Mar 1818 (Part 89s)

GG-Granduncle Thomas Smith – born 5 Nov 1820 (Part 90s)

I am still looking for information regarding:

GG-Granduncle George Smith, and
GG-Grandaunt Sophia (née Smith) Ventour

If you have any information and/or documentation that could lead to a discovery and more details regarding gg-granduncle George Smith, gg-grandaunt Sophia (née Smith) Ventour and gg-grandaunt Mary Ann (née Smith) Steele please feel free to contact me at A Genealogy Hunt.

Also some food for thought – It could be possible, based on possible naming conventions that as gg-grandaunt Mary Ann (née Smith) Steele has the same name as her mother, ggg-grandmother Mary Ann (née Doret) Smith and that gg-grandfather James Smith has the same name as his father, ggg-grandfather James Smith, they, gg-grandaunt Mary and gg-grandfather James may have been the elder daughter and son of the Smith family. Just something to think about.

Enjoy,

Jim

Click here to continue reading...