My great-grandmother and her family have always been the
family branch that I’ve found the most intriguing. For one thing, she was born in Nova Scotia –
the last of my family to be born in Canada. Why she left, and how our family ended up there in the first place has
always been a bit of mystery. Some
sources online connect her with Stephen Hopkins from the Mayflower. However, I have a four-generation hole in my
research to make the connection. I have
the names, just no actual proof. The fact
that it does lead to the Mayflower is cause enough for me to be
suspicious. I’ve tried throwing out the
names I know and just starting from scratch, but the trail always ends in Nova
Scotia.
Here’s what I know of her from my mother: My great-grandmother was named Helena Snow. She went by Lena. She was born in Nova Scotia, immigrated to
America, and married Jessie Dudley. They
had at least one child in Maine, Lora.
They also had two sons, Percy and Perley, one of whom died very
young. She died in Denver somewhere
between 1934 and 1936. Her father was named Alexander.
As I searched for her birth record, I hit the first wall. There is a birth record in Nova Scotia in
1868. The father’s name is Alexander.
The problem? It has been
transcribed as “Helenor”.
So, is it a poorly written “a” or is it actually “or”? I have not been able to find another record
that comes close to matching. Of course,
that doesn’t mean that there isn’t one.
Note that her parents' marriage is listed as either May 7 or 4, 1862 in
Barrington.
Helena M. Snow married Jesse E. Dudley. She was born in Clyde River, NS (same as
birth record). She married before her 22nd
birthday, so the dates match. Her parents are Alexander C. and Maria G. Here, we come to the second wall. Some sources say that Maria G. and Ellen M.
Crowell is the same person.
Here is a 1880 census for Hamilton, MA:
It’s
very difficult to read, but here is the transcription:
The Alexander C. on this census record was born in Nova
Scotia. Maria is also born in Nova
Scotia. Helena is 12 (which would make
her born about 1868) and was born in Nova Scotia.
There is an Angus H. born around 1875. I was able to find his birth record:
Angus Holly was born on June 13, 1874 in Clyde River. His father was Alexander from N.S., his
mother was…Ellen Crowell. Note again that
his parents were married in Barrington on May 7, 1862.
Lelia B. is four years old in the 1880 census. Above, we see that her birth date is May 18,
1876. Her name is spelled Leila, but her
father is Alex Snow (Clyde River) and her mother is…Maria Crowell! Her parents married on May 7, 1862. The located is listed as Woods Harbour. I discovered that Woods Harbour is a community
in the Barrington municipal district of Shelburne County.
So, I think we can say that Maria and Ellen Crowell is the
same person. Where the G. comes from,
I’m not sure. I’ve seen it listed as Gaddas/Geddas,
but with no source listed. I can find no
record of her birth so far. I guess that will the subject of another hunt! And that is, of course, assuming that this
Helena is my great-grandmother.
As for Helenor? The
names and dates match up. Maybe they
thought they said “Helenor” or maybe it was just a slip of the pen. However, that slip – along with Ellen/Maria –
may make proving any link to other ancestors difficult.
What are your thoughts?
Is “Helenor” my “Helena”?
~Kathy
~Kathy
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