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Post by blewe005 on Apr 22, 2014 17:41:53 GMT -5
Looking for the family of my ancester who emigrated to USA in about 1845 plus or minus a few years. I had found a good solid lead but seems like there is another Edward Blewett who stayed and died in England and think I might have the wrong one - cannot find a ship manifest or confirmation that I have the right one.
My Ancester is:
Edward Blewett
Birth1825
Gwinear,Cornwall,England
Married in 1847 in the state of Maine and then moved to Minneota; was in the civil war in Brakett's Calvary Battallion and likely fought in the Sioux UPrising
Death 26 Aug 1895
in St Paul, Dakota, Minnesota, USA
I think (hope) he is the son of William Blewett (b. 1796-1955) and Mary Thomas (1798-1862). Once I get ot the USA my information is pretty solid. It's just which Edward Blewett is he??
Any response appreciated!!
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Post by zibetha on Apr 23, 2014 0:03:53 GMT -5
Hello, Blewe,
I only discovered that I was a Blewett within the last 4-5 years. In the meantime, I have charted out about 2200 members of the family with much work to follow! My branch of the family resided in the Gwinear to Crowan area. I am wondering what information you have to place your Edward there?
I could be wrong, but I think that the Edward son of William Blewett and Mary Thomas was a mine agent who married Jochabed Symons and lived and died in Cornwall.
Is your Edward the tailor in Minneapolis in the 1880 census with wife "Evalin" and various children and grandchildren? That would be quite a coincidence as that is where I reside. I think St Paul was already part of Ramsey County during the period you mention, but it was split off from the northern part of Dakota County.
The older ship manifests to the US look like notes I took in school on ruled notebook paper and dropped in the bathtub and are hard to confirm. I have had some great luck with some relatives and have about 500 options for others!
Can you provide more names of Edward and Eveyln's (Reed?)descendents? If they followed naming patterns, it could help identify the correct Blewett branch.
Looking forward to hearing more,
Zib
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Post by Cornish Terrier on Apr 23, 2014 4:45:21 GMT -5
I have just spent time working on this problem using the US and UK Census as well as Parish Registers. By first searching the 1841 UK Census I compiled a list of Edward Blewetts (var.) born around the right time and then compared that list with a similar list from the 1851 Census. There were candidates in London, Essex and Westmoreland as well as Cornwall although only one whose age represented a birth of 1825 or 1825. After the 1841 vs 1851 comparison I had narrowed the field down to an Edward Blewett baptised at Crowan in February 1828 to Thomas and Elizabeth but unfortunately after checking the burial records it appears that he died in 1844 at the age of 17.  The son of William and Mary at Gwinear was also baptised in 1828 but he was still with his parents (William a mine agent) in 1851 so he is certainly eliminated. I have checked the non-conformist registers of the time as well as the Established Church registers and unfortunately I am not able to find any possibility who cannot be eliminated by his appearance in 1851 or by a burial. I am not quite sure what to try next although it is possible that your Edward might have been an illegitimate child. He may have been baptised with his mother's surname and later taken the name of his father. It is a longshot but still a possibility.  CT |
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Post by blewe005 on Apr 23, 2014 12:21:09 GMT -5
Thanks CT and Zib -
CT: Yes, I am now convinced that my Edward Blewett was not the Edward from Gwinear. Really disappointed - seemed like such a nice and interested family. I will go back and keep working on this.
Zib: Yes, my Edward was the Tailor and his wife was Evalin. I have a marriage certificate from Maine for the two of them and then most the Census information to detail his life in MN - He is my third great grandfather. Just cannot find where he came from and how....
Children of Edward and Eveline (Evalyn) were:
Eva A Blewett (1849– )
Wilmot M Blewett (1852–1889)
George Edward Blewett (1854–1932) - this is my ancester...
Charles A Blewett (1860-1922)
Mary S. Blewett (1864–1901)
-My third great grandfather was Edward Blewett (1825-1895)
-My 2nd great grandfather was George Edward Blewett (1854-1932)
-First Great Grandfather was Francis Stephen Blewett (1882-1952)
LB
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Post by blewe005 on Apr 23, 2014 12:28:01 GMT -5
And Thank You! For responding so quickly
LB
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Post by Cornish Terrier on May 12, 2014 15:48:48 GMT -5
My apologies but I have only just found these updates. For some reason they did not show up as 'new' which additions to any threads normally do. Do you happen to know what any of the other middle initials represented? Wilmot 'M' might be an interesting one given Wilmot was a name found in the West of Cornwall so if any of those middle names are known then there might be more clues to help identify Edward. CT |
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Post by zibetha on May 13, 2014 1:25:16 GMT -5
This is interesting/puzzling. First question that comes to mind for me is, why Maine?? Off the beaten track for miners coming to the USA-- Timber, fisheries, and why go there as a tailor?
Family search has a lot of records for this family in the US.
Question 2: why Minnesota? After Maine, Edward initially went to a farming area in Minnesota: Cannon Falls in Goodhue County. 1860 Census reads mostly farmers with a mason, stagecoach operator, dressmaker, and our favorite tailor. It's pretty short, so I looked at the whole thing, and I think perhaps his wife's family chose the location. At almost the end, there is a farmer "Haws" Reed born Maine, along with wife Adelina and a 61-year old Serina/Savina/Lavina? Reed also from Maine. The Maine marriage records have Hawes Reed marrying Adeline Benner in 1857. There is also a marriage for Lavina Young and David Read in 1822, all in Belfast, Maine. My guess is that Evaline and Hawes may have been siblings, and the family struck out for the Midwest of the USA together.
Edward seems to have moved between rural and urban areas (Cannon Falls, Minneapolis, Champlin, St. Paul), probably for income reasons given his profession. More work for a tailor in the city, I would think. None of these cities/towns are near the mining area in Minnesota where about half of my Michigan-born great-grandfather's siblings eventually settled.
Also on FS, the death record index of Edward's son, name given as"Wilmont Malvin Blewett" married, painter, died 1910. PS: My Cornish relatives named "Wilmot" were all women??
Z
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Post by blewe005 on Sept 28, 2014 0:34:40 GMT -5
This was such a great hint – thank you so much!
I have information on Hawes Reed and your theory makes a ton of sense. I have information on the Reeds in Maine from the 1850 census with no record of Evalyn but Edward Blewett and E. Reed married in 1847 so she would have been out of the house by then so was not surprised that she wasn’t listed. I also found an 1830 Census David Reed and Lavina family but it doesn’t include names but does say the following:
1 boy under five – which could be Hawes 1825
1 girl under five - born (1825-1830) – maybe Evalyn 1828
1 girl between 5-9 - (1820-1825) ??
Hawes reed was married in 1857 and immediately left for Minnesota – in a 1857 cannon falls, MN Census he is there with his wife. By 1960 they had 2 kids and the mother-in-law Lavina Reed.
Evelyn Reed and Edward Blewett were married in 1847 and had 3 children in Maine. They left for MN between 1855 and 1860 – so they could have all traveled together. Or maybe they came out with the Evalyn and Hawe’s mother.
The question is whether there are any birth records that I could document that Evalyn was part of this family. I have another lead on an Elvira Reed from the same area that lines up as well but the Hawes Cannon Falls link seems too good.
Still am struggling with Edward Blewett’s (1825) birth family but I did find a Sarah Blewett who had a child in 1825 Cromwell with no father listed and am going with this for now. There were many tailors and master tailors who were Blewetts in England. I found an Edward Blewett who was a servant who worked alongside a servant who was a Reed. The dates don’t quite work out but I was thinking that his friend who was a Reed said – “Hey you should go to Maine – I have a ton of relatives there…” Or maybe they both went together. I am pretty sure Edward was illegitimate – am almost ready to let this one go.
Any advice welcome! And thank you!
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Post by Cornish Terrier on Sept 28, 2014 1:58:43 GMT -5
Are you aware of a Howard Barnes Blewett born about 1877 who was a son of Edward Blewett and Elizabeth M Barnes? He married Ada Maud York at Brooklyn, Hancock, Maine 7th November 1900 - record found in FamilySearch Maine collections. I realize there is a large gap between this event and the earlier events you have been working on but the fact it is in Maine and involves the son of 'an' Edward Blewett is interesting.  CT |
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Post by zibetha on Sept 28, 2014 17:32:34 GMT -5
LB,
Thanks for posting about your progress; it's good to hear from you. The Blewetts can be found in Cornwall, Devon, Wales, and beyond since they crossed the Pond from Normandy. Do you have family traditions or information passed down that points you to Cornwall in terms of the origins of your branch of the family?
Do you have a documented year of birth to work from for your Edward or is it estimated from Census or other records? It might make sense to search wider than 1825.
What I have found from my own family research is that people seldom came here alone. They joined family or friends and then worked to bring other family members over. If they were the first of a family to arrive, they came to communities where other people they knew back home had settled. (And I am not just speaking of Cornish family members.) After fifteen years, I was able to confirm an old family account a couple of days ago via the arrival of a marriage certificate. I knew my great-greatgrandfather and his brother both came to the US and the brother returned to Cornwall after being injured in a mine accident. Period. I have just verified his marriage, and he had three sons whom he named following the traditional pattern. I figure I spent about a dollar for each year I have been looking for him! Now I just have to find out where he was "hiding" for 20 years!
Don't give up!
Z
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