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.     

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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

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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 

 

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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