1911 - 1938 Eunice Estella Scott

Eunice Estella Scott  1911 to 1938

“ I grew up in Richland County, Wisconsin… the second child of six children.  We had a happy childhood, helping with farm work and doing chores.  We went to the little country school where my mother was teaching when she fell in love with my father, who was a bachelor farmer living near the school.”  

 Eunice, Theron ( a friend) and Dorothy with baby Edith

                                                        Eunice and her great grand daughter look alike, Abby

“My mother read to us in the evenings.  Dad loved these evenings as much as we children did.  I loved riding the horse when my Dad plowed the corn.”

“We went to the Sunday School in our little country church.  There is where I heard many missionaries speak, and first felt that when I grew up I would be a missionary.  At night I loved to lie out on the lawn and look up at the stars, thinking that sometime I would be looking at those stars from the other side of the world.”

“When I became a country school teacher, I made a real flop of my first year.  I told the Lord, ‘See, I’m not supposed to be a teacher:  I’m supposed to be a missionary.’   In prayer, the Lord suggested to me that if I could not teach, He could not use me as a missionary.   I bargained with Him that if He would help me to get another school, I would really teach.   He did, and I was in that same school for five years, which was the best training I could possibly have had for the mission field.”

         

                  

                                   Mummy with her class

Mummy spent the next few years at Moody

The three years of waiting in India were spent in language study and learning many spiritual lessons, and loving the Jewish people.   John came out during the war which was a real testing time.

1903 - 1942 Cecil John Buffam -

1913   Daddy’s bio from a grandchild's grandparent book, scrapbooks, etc.

“In the early 1900's when most children had uncles or grandparents who owned a farm, they spent most of their vacations on a farm.   I myself did this and was always thrilled with the horses, cows and chickens.   I was usually on my uncle's farm during syrup-making time.  We would 'tap' the trees so the sap would drip into attached pails through a small spout.  Then began the process of boiling the sap until it became syrup.  How good that fresh syrup tasted!”

“But in our own home in the village of Lanark, Ontario, we always had chickens (with their feathers on, of course!) a dog and several cats.  Our house was primitive according to modern standards, but my memory brings back some beautiful features regarding our little house and my parents.”

Sunday School class - Cecil John is front row on the left

Another Sunday School class - Cecil John, 3rd row, second on the right

; 

“My dad worked as a foreman in a woolen mill - about the most important means of employment in the village - and I used to meet him halfway home each evening.   As he entered the house, he would immediately help himself to one or two of Mother's lovely cookies from a well-filled bowl on the kitchen table;   also a rosy apple from an apple tree in our yard.  (the dog would get a burnt cookie.)”

“Mother's day was spent mainly in the kitchen.  There were always at least two kinds of pies and a delicious cake in view for lunch or supper.  Each meal resembled today's Thanksgiving meal!  It seemed that mother was always baking bread on the wood-burning stove, or making preserves, with plums, cherries, or strawberries.  Then too, she spent many hours at her Singer sewing machine, with a Sears Roebuck label.  And always there was washing to do in a large tub.”

“Our parlor was the most sacred place in the house.  There was the piano in the corner, around which Dad would call all us six kids to sing hymns as he played - we did this every Sunday evening.  Then there were the carved -wood chairs and all those little china things gathered through the years; also the large, framed picture of our own grandparents.  Yet one other article stands out clearly in my mind - the large, tall writing desk, which was much more than that.  At the top was a mirror set in an engraved frame, and below the desk (which folded up neatly) were several drawers.  All of these drawers were unlocked except one.  Dad himself wouldn't even mention what was in it.  It was only after he died that we children, now adults, learned about the contents.  Dad's Masonic material, including the Masonic pledge, apron and vital credentials for membership!  For the very first time, we understood!”

“Pleasant memories remain of my childhood.  Dad (Alexander) and Mother (Martha) did all in their power to make our home comfortable and happy, though still there was considerable quarreling among us kids. I recall that Mother often had distressing headaches.  Dad was interested in curling.”

“After finishing Lanark High School, I took a linotype job in Toronto.  ( Jan 1921,   Noble Scott Ltd., Adelaide St. West, Toronto, then May 1922, Kilgour Bros., Wellington St. ) This was a distinct change from village life.  Very weakly I yielded to some of the evils of city life - eg.  gambling in pool halls.  I used to lose almost all my salary each week and existed the entire week on a bowl of oatmeal each morning  (5 or 10 cents).”

A comment from a letter to Anita Durham... "I remember Lisgar Street from my years in Toronto -- when I arrived in the big city as a hayseed from the village of Lanark.  I began working in a printing firm (Noble Scott's) on Adelaide Street West --which as I now hazily recall isn't too far from Lisgar.   I think I roomed on Lisgar Street for a time."

Daddy then heard of a strike in Stamford, Connecticut where the company was advertising for strikebreakers to work as printers.  He entered the USA via Rouses Point, NY, Jan 3/1923.  He arrived in Stamford, Conn. and worked at the Conde Nast Press, Greenwich Ct. until Nov 1923 and in Yale and Towne Mfg. Co from February 1924 until Sept. 1924.   He spent a few months in New Rochelle, NY, working in a printing shop there;  also a couple of months on a ship (Lighthouse Tender) out of New London, CT.

Daddy arrived in Boston (March 1926 – Sept 1936) where he took a job at Smith & Vial, Congress St., in Boston.  At that time he changed his first name, Cecil, to " John"  because he thought Cecil sound sissy.  August 1927  he worked at Waldorf System Printing Dept., High Street, from June 1928 – Aug 1936.  The great depression hit the USA during this time, but Daddy worked for a company (Waldorf?) that  was involved with food vending machines which provided cheap food and did very well during those years, so his job was secure.

“I gave virtually no thought to things of the Spirit, but one Sunday morning I had an experience that changed my entire life.   Observing a good number of young people entering the side door of Park Street Church (next to Boston Gardens), I joined the group -- and found myself in a young people's gospel meeting.  A few months later I gave my heart to the Lord Jesus.   Soon afterwards I was baptized.”

Park Street Church, Boston

Daddy doesn't mention this in his written remembrances, but the story he told us is that he continued to smoke after he was saved,  until one day he saw a minister from Park Street Church come around the corner, and Daddy, guiltily threw his lit cigarette down.  God convicted him that if he was not comfortable with the minister seeing him, he’d better not smoke.  That was Daddy's last cigarette.

“In the course of time I felt guided to Moody Bible Institute in Chicago (1936-1937). There, mainly in prayer meetings, I met Eunice Scott, who was preparing to go to India for work with the Jews.” 

Daddy realized that he needed college and theological school – in a hurry!  He was 34 years old.  In 1937 he headed for Dallas, where he went to Southern Methodist University and Dallas Theological Seminary (perhaps both at the same time?) and studied at Wheaton College, IL in the summers. 

During Daddy’s study, he was in touch with friends from Moody who were going out as missionaries.  One special friend was Eunice Scott!  Eunice had received word from the Lord regarding “India-Jews-Buffam”, but the message hadn’t (yet) gotten to John!  In 1938, Eunice was about to head by boat for Calcutta, India and wanted very much to see John before she left.  (See details in Mummy’s letters.)  Daddy writes:  “On one occasion, Eunice visited me there-- the only time I had a "date" with her; she soon left for India.“

“In succeeding days I began to sense a drawing to India -- and to Eunice in terms of a life partner!  Eventually I wrote to Eunice about this and enquired about her thoughts concerning our relationship.  The answer reached me fairly soon, setting forth the ‘vocal’ answer from the Lord to her in Moody:  ‘India-Jews-Buffam’.”

The story of how Daddy ‘proposed’ has become a family legend.  Mummy in India eagerly read the letters from John to her ‘as a missionary’.  The lady with whom Mummy lived described John as a ‘dry old stick’ because the letters were so totally unromantic.  However Mummy treasured them, reading behind the lines.  At one point, John asked Eunice if she thought they could ‘work together in India’ (!!)  Not so romantic, but that was a proposal for marriage, and Eunice knew that it was.  She responded by writing back (wish we had those letters) telling John of how the Lord had literally spoken to her in Moody with the words:  India-Jews-Buffam. 

Daddy prepared to join Mummy in India and also completed his studies.  College and a Masters of Theology (?) were finished in 4 years—by 1941.  Daddy recounted stories of how tense things were at that time.  Once he was not sure that he would pass a critical test and friends were praying for him.  One who got the news that he had passed ran to him shouting “John, you passed!”.  He recalls some of his professors in Dallas Theological Seminary with great respect and fondness.  (Interestingly, he appears to have graduated from Wheaton College in the summer of 1941, the same year he graduated from DTS!)

Since the groom-to-be could not spend time with his bride-to-be, he visited her family in Wisconsin.  And he took Mummy’s sister Marjorie to Canada to meet his family.

Daddy with his future parents in law

Daddy with Marjorie and his brother Cliff's family

Sept 1941  Daddy's passport to India via Australia

"Bearer is proceeding for missionary work with

The Ohio Messianic Testimony,Inc."

Eunice Estella Scott - Roots

Eunice Estella Scott

Roots

In the early 1600s, ancestors of Mummy’s moved from England to Massachusetts to a new land, then moved to Vermont, and finally Wisconsin.  Mummy’s father was out west avoiding bears, then returned to farm on his father’s farm in Cazenovia, WI.  Some highlights follow.

Early ancestors  (on father’s side):

A relative of Ned Donaldson’s, in separate research, traced the descendants of King Edward I, and they included a simple farmer who bought land in Wisconsin to farm on from the government --- Mummy’s grandfather, Otis Brigham Scott!  For fun, here is the data showing a mere 20 generations to royalty J …

1.      King Edward I – 1239-1307 – and Princess Eleanor (Leonora)

2.      Princess Elizabeth De Bohun

3.      William De Bohun

4.      Elizabeth De Bohun-FitzAlan

5.      Elizabeth FitzAlan-Goushill

6.      Elizabeth Goushill-Wingfield

7.      Elizabeth Wingfield-Brandon – d 1497

8.      Eleanor Brandon-Glemham – d 1480

9.      Anna Glemham-Palgrave

10.   Thomas Palgrave (Pagrave) – b 1505, in Thruxton, Norfolk, England

11.   Rev. Edward Palgrave – 1540-1623, died in Barnham Broom, Norfolk, England

12.   Richard Palgrave, d 1585-1651 in Charlestown, MA, was a physician (came to US in early 1600s!)

13.   Anna Palgrave-Woodbury                                     

14.   Abigail Woodbury-Ober

15.   Richard Ober

16.   Ebeneezer Ober

17.   Mary Ober-Warren

18.   Grace Warren-Scott of Newfane, VT, married Zebulon Scott of Waterbury, CT

19.   Otis Brigham Scott – 1824-1898 and was born in VT, but died in Richland Co, WI

20.   Warner P. Scott – 1876-1946

21.   Eunice Estella Scott-Buffam – 1911-1992

Eunice’s grandparents on father’s side:

Otis Brigham Scott, Nov. 8, 1825-Feb 25, 1898;

married Sally Ann McKune, July 7, 1836-May 24, 1906.

Children:  

O. Wynfield Scott, 1861-1914,

Warner P. Scott, 1876-1946, m. Rosella McLaren, Feb 26, 1887-Oct 2, 1954.

Warren E. Scott, May 7, 1863-Dec 27, 1949, m. Caroline M, July 7, 1867-June 12, 1901

Ethnicity:  Otis presumably British, Rosella McLaren, presumably Irish.

Location:  The Otis B. Scott family lived on a farm in Loyd, WI.  Otis purchased much of the farm in 1872, 79, and 90.  It had been government land till 1854.  Most of the above records are from the Loyd cemetery.

Stories: 

Eunice’s grandparents on mother’s side:

William McClaren, Dec 30, 1857- Sep 9, 1941 (age 83 – of a heart attack)

m Mary Etta Fry, Sept 21, 1866-Aug 11, 1895 (age 28 – of consumption)

Children:  Rosella 8, Bertha 6, Estella (Stella) 5 ½, Bennie 3, Jay 11 months (age at mother’s death)

Ethnicity:  William presumably Irish (Mc), Mary Fry presumably German

Location:  Rosella was born in Orion, Richland County, WI

Stories: 

Rosella wrote about her mother Sally:  “She worked too hard.  Had too little and had too many children or too often.  She had no sewing machine, no washer, no phone or nothing much to work with.  She also had two miscarriages during the 11 years of her married life.  She died when Jay was eleven months old.  She would have been 29 the month after her death.”   Rosella had to be mother to her 4 siblings.

James W. McClaren

Mummy’s parents

Warner Phineas  Scott, 1876-1946, m. Rosella McLaren, Feb 26, 1887-Oct 2, 1954.

Children:  

             Dorothy Marion m John Gilbert Mortimer

            Eunice Estella  m John Cecil Buffam

            Edith Wilma   m Rodney Brown

            J. W. Pershing  m Opal Simpson

            Marjorie June  m  Andrew Crawford

Ethnicity:  Warner presumably Scottish, Rosella presumably Irish

Location:  Loyd, WI

Stories: 

Rosella:   Rose raised her five brothers and sisters.  She early showed great determination by preparing to teach school and taught several years.  She was converted at a Free Methodist revival and was a sincere Christian all her remaining years. 

Rose at Training School

A love letter from Warner to Rose:

My dear friend, tonight is Sunday night and I am at home alone and lonesome.  I wish I were with you and I would tell you all about the wild woolly west.  I am coming to R. C. one day next week and if you will write me telling me where I will find you, I will call on you and we can make arrangements for there fair (sic).  Did you get the picture of that bear that got after me out west.  Good night.  I am your friend, Warner Scott.

Rose's strengths:  had great determination and will.  If she set her mind to do something, the others knew she would do it.  Weaknesses:  She was a diabetic and had to take insulin for a number of years.

Rose was a great worker.  Besides working out in the field, she sewed dresses for the neighborhood children without a pattern.  Her garden was the biggest and best in the neighborhood.  She also raised all kinds of berries.  She raised chickens, turkeys and honey bees.  Because she had so much outdoor work to do, the daughters were given the work in the house to do.

Some old papers torn out of Grandma Rose's Bible

Edith did not marry the Rev. C. J. Buffam as the newspaper article says!  Eunice did!

Grandma Rose died of heart failure from a blood clot that came from her broken hip.



Cecil John Buffam - Roots

Cecil John Buffam's ancestors
 

In the mid-1800's, a couple in Ireland and a couple in England were struggling through the famines and other turmoil of the day, and decided to head for the new world to start a new life for themselves and their children.  They are why Cecil was born, and born as a Canadian.  This is their story.

Note: Most of the old information here is courtesy the genealogist of the Buffams -- Richard Brake.  (But don't blame him for any erroneous information.  He is scrupulously careful, and it is likely any errors are caused by my generalizations ... Beth)
 

Father’s side

Paternal Great-grandparents (great-great-grandparents?)

In the late 1700s and early 1800s, the British colony of Canada agreed on boundaries with the US. Huge amounts of land were in this new world -- although inhabited by the native peoples.  It is easy to imagine how enticing the prospect of moving there would be to young adventuresome English people.  

In the early 1800s, Samuel Buffham and his wife, Ann Wass, resided in Thedlethorpe (Theddlethorpe), Lincolnshire, England. In around 1845, the couple with their daughter Katie emigrated to Lanark, ONT Canada.  Four sons emigrated later separately, including John Clarke.

Samuel Buffham and Ann Wass

Children:

            William   m 1)  Martha Andrews (Scott?) in 1842, Lincolnshire, England  2) Maggie McCabe
          John Clarke (b 1819)  m   Mary Scott      -- gardener     b. Lincolnshire

            Mary Ann m 1) Orange Wright  2) Mr. Smith
            Samuel (b ~1824)
            George (b 1825)  m Elizabeth Scott                -- millwright  b. Lincolnshire

            Henry  m  Mrs. Ready

            Rebecca  m  Chief McNab – not Indian but christened Chief;

                      He was the Laird of the Clan McNabb about whom the book “The Kinsman” was written

            Elizabeth (Lizzie)    m  Holmes Mair

            Catherine (Katie) b 1838    m  Joseph Tennant     b. Lincolnshire

Ethnicity:   Both English

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Paternal Grandparents (Great-grandparents?)

The second son of Samuel and Ann was John Clarke Buffam, born in Thedlethorpe, England, circa 1819.  He married Mary Scott, who Richard says is British, not Scottish.  He emigrated with his wife and brothers to Lanark, Canada. His occupation was described in the census as 'gardener'.   In Lanark he had 8 children, including Cecil's father, Alexander (according to some records....)

John Clarke Buffam, (b in Lincolnshire, England, Aug 1, 1819, d Feb 27, 1907) m  Mary Scott (b in Sheffield, England), 1825-1893

Children:          

            Elizabeth (b. Apr, d Dec 1852) England   m. Mr. Brown

            Samuel (b. 1854) Lanark

            Arthur (b. 1855) Lanark

            William (b. 1857) Lanark

            John H. (b. 1859) Lanark  ("Uncle Jack")

            Emma (b. 1866) Lanark

            Alexander Brown ?  (b. Dec 1870)

            Nellie (b. 1873)   
                                                                                 

Ethnicity:  John Clarke English, Mary Scott English

Location:   Born in Theddlethorpe, Lincolnshire, England;  emigrated around 1857  to Lanark,  ONT Canada 

 

    
.... or is Alexander the son of John Clarke??  There is a mystery associated with Alexander, which our genealogical sleuth cousin has ferreted out.  The census of 1871 says there is a young Alexander Brown, living with the Buffam family.  In the next census of 1881, there is an Alexander Buffam living with the Buffam family.  

Is it possible that Elizabeth married a Mr. Brown and had a son, Alexander Brown, who stayed in the Buffam household?  Then Mr. Brown disappeared ... (divorced? died? never married?) and Alexander Brown was renamed Alexander Buffam and became part of the Buffam line...  and the line of Cecil John Buffam??

That would make John Clarke Buffam Cecil's great-grandfather, not his grandfather! 

Paternal Grandmother (according to this less politically correct but more likely theory...)

Elizabeth Buffam, (b. Apr, d Dec 1852) m Mr. Brown (Irish)

Children:          

           Alexander Brown/Buffam (b. Dec 1870)
           Nellie (b. 1873)   

And possibly, 'sister' Nellie was Elizabeth's child too...  Note:  Mr. Brown, according to Richard, was 100% Irish.  So that's how Cecil was probably 3/4 Irish.  We are more Irish than we thought!

Below are two photos from a Buffam reunion which may be of interest to some hard-core genealogists.  The details are re one brother of John Clarke, I think, probably George.   His genealogy has been well developed.     

------

 

Mother’s side

Maternal Great-grandparents:

In 1844, in Ireland, Thomas Ennis married his bride Mary Ann.  All the records show is that they were Episcopal.  Soon thereafter, they left Ireland for the new world ... Lanark county, Fallbrook, Ontario, Canada.

A history of Ireland at the time gives some idea of why this family might have emigrated: 

In 1800 the population of Ireland was between 4 and 5 million, with 200,000 in Dublin. However the Industrial revolution and especially the Irish Linen industry expanded explosively in the first half of the century, and this allowed the population to increase dramatically. By 1841, there were 8,175,000 people in Ireland.  Most Irish landlords were Protestants, simply because the law forbade Catholics from owning land. 

The Irish peasants themselves, who were both Protestant and Catholic, ate potatoes almost exclusively, since land was scarce and potatoes were an intensive crop. However, in 1845 a fungal disease called 'phytophthora infestans', or 'potato blight' struck and wiped out a third of the potato crop in Ireland. This was a disaster to the peasants who relied upon it. Those who lived near towns were better off, since towns had other sources of food, but things got very bad for those living in rural areas.

By 1846, potato supplies had sold out and many people began to slowly starve. The British government stepped in and imported £100,000 worth of maize from America to feed the starving, and this helped prevent mass death for the first year of the Famine. However, the crop of 1846 also failed and this time wiped out almost all the potatoes in Ireland. Thousands of people simply starved, particularly in rural areas. Many also died from typhus, scurvy and dysentery. The British set up soup-kitchens and workhouses for the poor but they drastically underestimated the scale of the disaster, and many people did not receive any aid at all. The problem was compounded by landlords who evicted Peasants who could not pay the rent because they had no potatoes to sell. Fortunately the crop of 1847 was good, and, although the 1848 crop failed, the starvation was never so bad as in 1846. 

Many thousands of Irish decided to cut their losses and set sail on emigration boats to America. This is the origin of about half of what is now referred to as 'Irish America'. Hundreds of Irish died on the ships which were so overcrowded that they became known as 'coffin ships'. By 1851, the population had fallen 25% to 6,000,000 and the emigration continued until around 1900, by which time only 4,500,000 Irish remained in Ireland. 

Thomas Ennis, (b 1820's, d 1889) married Mary Ann (b 1822, d 1899)

Children:       Mary Ann Elizabeth Ennis and 13 siblings

Ethnicity:      Irish    

Location:      Bathurst township/Fallbrook, Lanark county 

Stories:         Emigrated from Ireland.  Episcopal.

David John's father was Arthur Ennis m Martha Patterson, 11 children

------

Maternal Grandparents:
A daughter of Thomas Ennis, Mary Ann Ennis, and grew up in Lanark, married her first cousin, David John Ennis, who was born in Bathurst township, ONT Canada.  (Was this common, or was it difficult for newcomers to bond with people outside the family?) These were Cecil's maternal grandparents.

David and Mary Ann had five children.  Of them, the second, Martha, was Cecil's mother.  

                                                                                                                                                                   
                                                                   Back   Row:  Minnie, Martha, Margaret, Robert
                                                                   Front Row:  Mary Ann Ennis, Elsie, David Ennis

                                                                                                        

David John Ennis (b 1852, d July 15,1914) m Mary Ann Ennis (b ~1853, d Apr 16,1914) 

Children:      Minnie, Martha,  Margaret, Robert, Elsie

Ethnicity:     Irish    

Location:     Bathurst township, Lanark county, ONT Canada 

 

----

Cecil John Buffam's parents                         

Alexander Buffam, Dec 6, 1870- 1945  

m Martha Ennis (on Dec 26,1900), Nov 2, 1878-Mar 26, 1948

Children:  

Greta, Jan 15, 1902  m

Cecil John, Oct 23, 1903

Cyppy, May 25, 1905

Muriel, Apr 1, 1907

Merle, May 8, 1909

Harold, July 2, 1912

Ethnicity:  Alexander 50% English, 50% Irish, Martha Irish

Location:  Lanark, ONT Canada/ Perth, ONT

Stories: 

Alexander was a woolcarder Supervisor at Caldwell Woolen Mill (Lanark, now Lanark Kitten Mill)    Burned down.

He moved to Perth in 1927 and got a job in Altemonte. The family home is on the corner of Foster and Wilson St, Perth.

(For more stories, please see the blog for Cecil John Buffam, 1903-1942.)

                                                                            Alexander and Martha with Greta, Cecil and Cyppy

  Alexander and Martha with Cyppy's girls, Anneth and Barbara