View Full Version : Benjamin Hawkins b 1847 Newfoundland
I seem to have quite a few DNA matches with this chap. While this is feasible, the trees take him back in Newfoundland for several generations.
The forty five or so trees do not disagree that his father was Thomas, born 1790.
As I don't have a world subscription, could sks check that there are records to support this?
I suspect that there was a small society in Newfoundland who mainly originated in Dorset, with plenty of intermarriages, so Benjamin is a red herring. The alternative is a very strong clump of DNA which has continued down the generations.
Could there be a fishing connection, Phoenix?
My 4x g-grandfather turned up in coastal Devon about 1800. The family story was he came from Newfoundland, and came to the UK because there was a lot of to-ing and fro-ing by the fishing fleets.
I should add I've never found any evidence to support this, but the family stories from this line have generally been quite accurate.
Entirely, Lindsay.
Huge quantities of fish from Newfoundland coming to the UK. I think it was timber travelling in the opposite direction, but I wouldn't swear to it.
About twenty years ago I attended a conference on the subject.
Many of the surnames in Newfoundland are very obviously West Country in origin.
kiterunner
16-02-21, 11:41
I can't find any records on Ancestry to support it but maybe there will be some on other sites. One of the witnesses at Benjamin's wedding was an Edward Hawkins.
Everybody seems remorselessly to have copied everyone else.
I have a spare Thomas b 1800 with brothers Robert William and Benjamin who seems a prime candidate to be the man who married Jane Rodgers in Newfoundland, but a census or the burial entry would knock that into a cocked hat.
kiterunner
16-02-21, 14:27
"As Newfoundland did not become a province of Canada until 1949, it was not included in the Canadian census returns of 1851 to 1911. Only a few local census returns have survived for some areas of the province."
https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/Pages/newfoundland-labrador-microfilm-reels.aspx
Ooh, thank you, Kite!
So unless it was spelled out on a gravestone, nobody would have known where Thomas came from.
Not sure I can battle with DNA against the combined wisdom of over forty trees, but it does strengthen my case.
I have found the marriage of Benjamin's parents on Family Search. Thomas was a bachelor, living in Greenspond and Jane Rogers a spinster of Vere Island. Oct 30 1832. This is effectively an index, so no signatures, witnesses etc.
No trace that I can find of Thomas' death/burial in 1868.
Yet another DNA match with Thomas Hawkins.
This time Ancestry hints suggest a Newfoundland record for Thomas.
Would someone with worldwide membership check the record thrown up by the hints, please?
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/discoveryui-content/view/6610065781:62476?ssrc=pt&tid=185575512&pid=202448236225
It's probably the 1832 marriage to Jane Rogers, but it might be the burial of Thomas.
The info is from Geneanet Community Trees Index
copy and paste:
Name: Thomas Hawkins
Gender: M (Male)
Birth Date: 1790
Birth Place: Dorsetshire, Dorset, England, United Kingdom
Death Date: 25 mai 1868 (25 May 1868)
Death Place: Greenspond, Newfoundland, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Spouse:
Jane Rogers
Child:
Elizabeth Hawkins
Link to Geneanet:
https://gw.geneanet.org/mepeckham?n=hawkins&oc=&p=thomas
Thanks, Merry. Everyone quotes that death date, which I have to assume is correct, (or at least refers to the burial) since it is exact. And it's not impossible that he should be 22 years older than his wife. But nobody (that I can see) has provided a source for his death or his age at death.
The fact that I have a missing death, and the Newfoundland families a missing birth does not mean that the two men are one and the same, but I'd love to find information to reinforce or disprove my theory. My Thomas is bp 1801, with brothers William, John, Robert, Benjamin. Their Thomas has sons William, John, Robert, Benjamin and Edward.
There's an apparent transcription here:
http://ngb.chebucto.org/Parish/gpbur1.shtml
kiterunner
17-02-23, 19:22
There is a William Hawkins burial in those transcriptions, 15 Feb 1856, age 64, from Dorset. He would have been born about 1791. Does that fit with the brother of your Thomas, Phoenix?
From MyHeritage (https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-1-422247271-20-13/benjamin-hawkins-in-myheritage-family-trees):
Birth
Oct 1847 - Fair Island, Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Death
Apr 28 1921 - Greenspond, Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Parents
Thomas Hawkins, <Private> Hawkins (born Rogers)
Siblings
Elizabeth Burry (born Hawkins), William Hawkins, Robert Hawkins, Edward Hawkins, <Private> Howe (born Hawkins)
Wife
Jane Hawkins (born Sparkes)
Children
Elizabeth "lizzie" White (born Hawkins), Rachel Jane Hawkins, Arthur Hawkins, Sarah Hawkins, <Private> Crocker (born Hawkins)
View Record:
======================================
Name Benjamin Hawkins
Birth Oct 1847
Fair Island, Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Marriage Marriage to: <Private>
Nov 5 1875
Greenspond, Bonavista, Newfoundland, Canada
Death Age:73
Apr 28 1921
Greenspond, Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Family members
Parents
Thomas Hawkins
1790 - 1868
<Private> Hawkins (born Rogers)
Wife
Jane Hawkins (born Sparkes)
1856 - ?
Siblings
Elizabeth Burry (born Hawkins)
1838 - 1869
Robert Hawkins
1840 - 1921
<Private> Howe (born Hawkins)
William Hawkins
1839 - 1905
Edward Hawkins
1842 - 1918
Children
Elizabeth "Lizzie" White (born Hawkins)
1888 - 1923
Arthur Hawkins
1892 - 1964
<Private> Crocker (born Hawkins)
Rachel Jane Hawkins
1891 - 1893
Sarah Hawkins
1895 - 1897
Source
Karen Kielley Family Website
Updated on Feb 13 2023 (4 days ago)16,815 profiles in one family tree1483 photos
======================================
This and many others—probably much the same as you've already seen in the 40-odd trees on Ancestry.
Interesting history of Greenspond here:
https://greenspond.wordpress.com
"The early inhabitants of Greenspond hailed from the West of England, mainly Dorset but also Devon, Hampshire, and Somerset. The names of these early settlers can still be found there today: Bishop, Blandford, Bragg, Burry, Burton, Butler, Carter, Chaytor, Crocker, Dominey, Easton, Feltham, Granter, Green, Harding, Hawkins, Hoddinott, Hoskins, Hunt, Hutchins, Kean, Lovelace, Lush, Meadus, Mullett, Mullins, Oakley, Oldford, Osmond, Parsons, Pond, Rogers, Samson, Saunders, Smith, Stratton, Way, Wheeler, White, Wicks, Woodland, Wornell, Wright, and Young."
Family History Society of Newfoundland and Labrador has a forum:
"Below you can read messages regarding family history and related subjects. You do not need to be a member of our society to post messages, but you will need to register and login to our website to do so."
FHSNL Forum (https://www.fhsnl.ca/?page_id=663)
Many mentions of Hawkins on a Greenspond Historical Society page publicly visible on Facebook:
Greenspond Historical Society - search Hawkins (https://www.facebook.com/groups/6798324646/search/?q=Hawkins)
Benjamin Hawkins
Male
Death Age 71
Birth Date 1850
Death Date 28 Apr 1921
Greenspond, Newfoundland, Canada
Newfoundland, Canada, Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1850-1949 for Benjamin Hawkins (https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/61508/images/FS_004554314_00047?treeid=&personid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=Uoo2&_phstart=successSource&pId=338494)
Line 23
In case you can't see it:
Fisherman
Methodist
Died of apoplexy
Thank very much, everyone!
So, however much I may distrust Thomas's age at death, it is what it says in the transcription.
I believe that "my" Thomas's brother William was born in 1784 in Wimborne Minster, where his parents married, and died in Winterborne Kingston in 1832. The trouble with a surname like Hawkins is that like Bowen or Robinson, it derives from a first name, so two men with the same surname may have no blood ties at all. Or they could be brothers.
I have a lot of DNA in common with Greenspond descendants, and the waters are muddied by the fact that I also have Dominey ancestors, on another side of the family, with strong links to Canada.
I have found the marriage of Benjamin's parents on Family Search. Thomas was a bachelor, living in Greenspond and Jane Rogers a spinster of Vere Island. Oct 30 1832. This is effectively an index, so no signatures, witnesses etc.
No trace that I can find of Thomas' death/burial in 1868.
Yes, image on Ancestry:
Bonavista - Greenspond (Church of England) - Marriage 1815-1890, Vol. 78 (https://www.ancestry.co.uk/discoveryui-content/view/123994:61507?tid=&pid=&queryId=3a94e37186e4dc5e5cbf9a6827cfb07b&_phsrc=MWk3&_phstart=successSource)
Thomas Hawkins Male 30 Oct 1832 Greenspond, Bonavista, Newfoundland, Canada Jane Rogers
Jane Rogers Female 30 Oct 1832 Greenspond, Bonavista, Newfoundland, Canada Thomas Hawkins
Many mentions of Hawkins on a Greenspond Historical Society page publicly visible on Facebook:
Greenspond Historical Society - search Hawkins (https://www.facebook.com/groups/6798324646/search/?q=Hawkins)
Whoo, yes! Quite a few DNA matches posting there! Thanks, Janet!
:) :) :)
You may thank my lassitude, a comfortable couch, and my trusty laptop.
vBulletin® v3.8.7 PL3, Copyright ©2000-2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.