THE HOWSON FAMILY - CANADA PROJECT 150

HOWSON FAMILY

Another family who lived in Canada at the time of confederation in 1867

George Howson is my 3x great grandfather and was born in 1794 in Buckland, Berkshire, England.  He married Jane Lay in October 1816 in Abingdon, Berkshire.  The county boundaries have changed since then and Abingdon is now considered part of Oxfordshire. Jane  was born about 1794 and baptised in Eynsham, Oxfordshire, England in 1795.

According to the book "Commemorative Biographical Record of the County of York" (Canada) published in circa 1905, the Howson family came to Canada about 1832.  There is paragraph  about George Plant who married Georgianna Adelaide Howson (granddaughter of George Howson)   " ...George Howson, who was born in Oxford, England where he married Jane Lay. In 1832 they came to Canada settling at Belleville, where Mr. Howson was a market gardener...."

George and Jane had at least 3 children.  Their first son Thomas was born on June 15, 1817 and died 1 day later in Abingdon.  They had 2 more sons Thomas born in 1818 and George born in 1820, possibly Buckland, Berkshire.  At some point, around 1832 the family of 4 emigrated to the Belleville area of Ontario, Canada.  There were also some cousins of George Howson who emigrated to Belleville about the same time from the Oxfordshire area, namely the Cox and Little families.

The first known record of the Howson family in Canada is 1844 when George (1820) married Bridget O'Neill in Marysville, Ontario.  

George (1794) owned land in Thurlow, Hastings Ontario where he was a market gardener.  The 1851 census lists his land as Concession 2, Lot 9, 25 acres of land.  He later sold this land to the Grand Trunk Railway.

Son Thomas Howson (1818-1896) married Rebecca Reynolds/Runnels(1824-1893) about 1842 possibly in Kingston Ontario.  They had at least 11 children and moved to Morrisburg, Dundas, Ontario where Thomas was a tinsmith.  Thomas and Rebecca retired to Picton, Prince Edward County, Ontario where they are buried.

Son, George (1820-1856), my direct ancestor, married Bridget O'Neill(1812-1884). Bridget was from Thomastown, Kilkenny, Ireland.  They had at least 5 children, all girls:  Jane(Jannett), Eliza, Emma Teresa, Margaret and Bridget.  They were all baptised at St Michael's The Archangel Roman Catholic Church in Belleville, Ontario.

Emma Teresa Howson (1850-1913), picture circa ?1880?

Emma Teresa Howson is my direct ancestor.  She married George Thomas Meehan.  Link to:  Meehan Family 

George (1794-1879), Jane (1794-1876), George (1820-1856) and Bridget (1812-1884) are all buried at the St. Michael's The Archangel Cemetery in Belleville.

HOWSON FAMILY - PART 2

George Howson (1790-1879) was listed as a victualler in 1817, living at West St. Helen's in Abingdon, Berkshire.  A victualler is described as either a supplier of  provisions or an innkeeper.  I have no idea which category George Howson fell into to.  I do know when he lived in Thurlow Township, in Ontario he was described as a market gardener.

I thought I would check out the pubs and taverns of Abingdon.  I tried a search for George as a licensed victualler on the National Archives at Kew but didn't find his name.

There is a wonderful website that records historical information about Pubs in England.  Here is the link Dead Pubs in England  There were over 100 pubs listed for Abingdon, must have been a thirsty crowd that lived there.  There were even several listed on West St. Helen's,  no joy there either.

When George Howson died in the Belleville area in 1879, he left a will.  There were 3 executors:  Thomas Cox, Michael O'Neill and Michael Graham.  I think Michael O'Neill may have been a relative of  George's daughter-in-law, Bridget as her maiden name was O'Neill.  There are several Michael O'Neill's listed in the 1881 Census for Belleville, so I'm not sure which is the correct Michael.

However it started me thinking that perhaps the other executors may be related.  I started a Google search using the names of "Howson" and "Cox".  I found  a genealogy forum that mentioned the surnames Abraham, Howson and Cox and Berkshire England.  It appears that a Catherine Abraham born 1756 married a William Howson.  From that family tree there was also a Phillip Cox who married an Ann Abraham.

Here's where it gets interesting.  Phillip Cox had a son also called Phillip.  This Phillip married a Mary Ward and they emigrated to Belleville Ontario about 1832.  Now this is about the time that George Howson and his wife Jane Lay and their 2 sons are reported to have come to the Belleville area as well.  Thomas Cox, the executor, is the son of Phillip and Mary Cox.

I was in contact with a lady who has done quite a bit of research on the Phillip Cox family.  We tried to find a connection but it remains elusive.   She also told me that Mary Ward's father James  married a Teresa Howson as his second wife.  According to this researcher, the Cox family were Roman Catholics and came to Canada to escape religious persecution.  I contacted the Catholic Library in England to see if I could find any information about my Howson and Lay families.  No Howson or Lay names were found.

The Cox and Howson families seems to have been close.  George Howson (1820-1856) and his wife Bridget O'Neill were the sponsors at the baptism of one of Phillip Cox's children at St. Michael's church in Belleville.  Then just to add to the mix with the Meehan side of the family, Ellen Meehan 's (1845-1901) husband Thomas Bolger (1850 - 1910) was the witness at a wedding that connects with the Cox family as well.

I have found some other Howsons in the Oxfordshire area, so for now my search continues.