Beatrice & Grace

census records for Beatrice and Grace

Douglas Fevens wrote in Wayves, June 18, 2019:

“The death of a very estimable lady of Yarmouth, in the person of Miss Grace Goudey, took place on Saturday afternoon [December 20, 1930] at the home of Miss Beatrice B. Cann, William Street, with whom for many years past she had resided. … Several years ago she went to reside with Miss Cann and ever since had been her very close and dear companion.” So reads in part the obituary of Grace Stanwood Goudey. The “several years” were in reality at least thirty years for Grace was enumerated on the 1901 census at Beatrice’s home on William Street and would be again for the 1911 and 1921 Census of Canada. An indicator that Grace was more than just a “friend” or “lodger,” to Beatrice as the censuses indicated is found in the Yarmouth listing of McAlpine’s Nova Scotia Directory 1907-08. Grace is not listed as a lodger at Beatrice’s, but that she is at “home” there.

Beatrice & Grace’s story really begins years before they were even born. In August of 1851, 25-year-old Hugh English Cann, carpenter, seeking his fortune leaves Yarmouth setting sail on the schooner Brilliant bound for Boston. Excepting for his obituary in the Yarmouth Herald of January 4, 1898 there is little record of his travels. In part it reads:

“In the early fifties he became enthusiastic over the gold discoveries in Australia and New Zealand. and at once embarked for those distant lands. He was very successful in his undertakings, having become a merchant and active trader. He came back to Nova Scotia and built the brig Stranger, and again embarked in that vessel with his brother Lyman E. for New Zealand. … He became a large shareholder in the New Zealand banks, and also the leading hotel at Otago. About 20 years ago [ca. 1878] he returned to Yarmouth, where he has since resided, and became actively engaged in shipping and other local institutions.”

Hugh built his residence at what is now 56 William Street in 1885. In 1895, he presented the town with a fountain which was placed at the intersection of Forest and Prince streets. He never married.

For the 1891 Census of Canada, Beatrice was enumerated in two households, that of Jonathan Harris, her father, and that of Hugh Cann, a great uncle. The return for the Cann household states Beatrice’s age as eighteen and her occupation as that of a clerk in a dry goods store. In 1896, by an Act of the Nova Scotia Legislature, Beatrice changed her name to “Beatrice Bent Cann,” but on the 1891 census return it is “Beatrice H[arris]. Bent.” Some sources erroneously state that Hugh adopted Beatrice. This error may be attributed to an obituary for Hugh in 1898 which states, “He leaves an adopted daughter, Miss Beatrice B. Cann.” However, this is a figurative and not a legal description of their relationship. If she was his daughter she would have been his next of kin in his estate papers of 1898, which she is not.

As with Beatrice, the 1891 census also states that Grace is employed at a Yarmouth dry goods store. Could it be they worked in the same store and that is where they became acquainted with each other?[pullquote]”[At least thirty years ago,] she went to reside with Miss Cann and ever since had been her very close and dear companion.”[/pullquote]

Hugh Cann died January 1, 1898 and in his Last Will & Testament dated October 14, 1891, left his home at 56 William Street and the “residue” of his considerable estate to his executors in trust for Beatrice for her lifetime. Should she have married she would have lost the benefits of the trust. This clause of the will may have been included to give Beatrice cover on rejecting male suitors.

On February 9, 1899 an item was published in the Yarmouth Light: “Miss Beatrice Cann and Miss Grace Goudey left on Saturday evening by steamer Boston en route for Florida, where they will spend the balance of the winter.” Grace was aged 31 and Beatrice 26. It would seem they were setting sail for a lifetime together, for when Beatrice passed away over half a century later, she was laid to rest in her “family plot” (her words) next to Grace in Yarmouth Mountain Cemetery. They were a family.

Beatrice

Beatrice Bent Cann was born 7 July, 1872, AF Church map ¹ in Short Beach², Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia. Short Beach is just north of the village where her parents lived, what was then known as Cranberry Head, and today as Sandford³. For the 1871 Census (PDF) of Canada, Beatrice’s parents, Jonathan and Rebecca Harris are living next door to his parents, Nathan and Mary. This would seem to indicate that the J. Harris and N. Harris found at the intersection of the Main Shore Road and McCormack Road on the 1871 A. F. Church map of Yarmouth County are Beatrice’s Jonathan and Nathan Harris. name change for Beatrice On the 1881 Census (PDF) of Canada Beatrice is ten years of age. For the 1891 Census of Canada, Beatrice was enumerated in two households, that of Jonathan Harris (PDF) and that of Hugh E. Cann (PDF). The return for the Cann household states Beatrice’s age as eighteen and her occupation as that of a clerk in a dry goods store. Hugh E. Cann is a great uncle to Beatrice and on the return she is named “Beatrice H. Bent.” On February 15, 1896 the Nova Scotia Legislature passed an act that changed Beatrice Harris’ name to Beatrice Bent Cann. Some online sources erroneously state that Hugh adopted Beatrice. This error may be attributed to an obituary (PDF) for Hugh that appeared in the Yarmouth Light of 6 January 1898 which states, “He leaves an adopted daughter, Miss Beatrice B. Cann.” However, this is a figurative and not a legal description of their relationship. If she was his daughter she would have been his next of kin (PDF) in his estate papers of 1898, which she is not. Beatrice’s genealogy is found here. (PDF)

Grace

Grace Stanwood Goudey was born in Yarmouth to Stephen and Mary (Bain) Goudey on 30 July 1867.⁴ The Goudey family is found in Sub-District C, which is the town of Yarmouth, for the 1871 Census (PDF) of Canada. For the 1881 census (PDF) Ada Stanwood, Grace’s step-sister, was a member of the household. Captain Enoch Stanwood, Mary Goudey’s first husband, died December 1, 1859. Grace is living with her parents in Milton (Yarmouth North) for the 1891 census.(PDF) She is twenty-three years old and is a clerk in a dry goods store. Her father’s occupation is described as “general gardener.” Grace’s genealogy is found here.(PDF)

Yarmouth Light clipping According to the 1891 Census of Canada both Grace and Beatrice were employed as clerks in dry goods stores. Could it be they were working in the same store and that is where they became acquainted with each other? Beatrice Bent Cann and Grace Stanwood Goudey were together for the Census of Canada 1901 (PDF), the Census of Canada 1911 (PDF), the Census of Canada 1921 (PDF), and were laid to rest together in Yarmouth Mountain Cemetery (PDF). They were a family. We can not assume to know their sexuality or the gender they each identified as, but there is no doubt they were a family. It is hard to say exactly when Beatrice and Grace became a family, but it seems it may have been as early as 1891 when they were clerks. In his Last Will & Testament (PDF), dated October 14, 1891, Hugh Cann bequeathed Beatrice the use of his home on William Street for her lifetime. The house was to be placed in trust to his executors, and was to remain in their control. In a 1977 Parks Canada report on select buildings in Yarmouth, Theresa Sims is misnamed instead of Grace as Beatrice’s “companion.” 57_William_Street (PDF) On February 4, 1899 Beatrice and Grace travelled to Florida to spend the remainder of the winter there. (Passenger List PDF)

Yarmouth Light clipping 2 This was not Beatrice’s first trip to Florida, for she made the trip at least once with Hugh. There is no way to know if Grace made the trip with them as a passenger list for this voyage could not be found.

On the 1901 Census (PDF) of Canada, Grace appears on the line below Beatrice and is described as her “Friend.” Neither are employed, however they have a domestic servant, Lizzie Addison. Research efforts to learn more about Lizzie were unsuccessful. The family of Albert, Myrtle, and their daughter Kathleen Wyman are also part of Beatrice’s household. Myrtle, aka Mercy (Ritchie) Wyman, is a sister of Alice S. Ritchie, daughters of John and Jane (Pitman) Ritchie⁵. Alice married George Shaw son of Stephen and Rachel (McCra) Shaw. George’s brother, Alexander – “Sandy,” married Beatrice’s sister Edith Harris.⁶⁷ Edith and Beatrice would have attended school in Sandford with George and Alexander Shaw. (Sandford Map PDF)

Alpine’s Nova Scotia Directory 1907-08 (PDF) shows that Grace is more than a “Lodger” or “Boarder” for she has an “h” after her name to designate it is her home on William Street; And not the “bds” to designate a boarder.

The 1911 census (PDF) states that Grace is a lodger in Beatrice’s home. For the column “Profession, Occupation, Trade or Means of Living” Grace is noted as “None” and Beatrice as “Income” which is probably her inheritance from Hugh Cann. Their domestic servant is Gertrude M. Lent (PDF) daughter of Frank and Mary (McKinnan^{⁸ Yarmouth County Deaths – 1932 – Gertrude (Lent) Johnson Book 133 Page 1727 Nova Scotia Archives.}) Lent^{⁹ THE DESCENDANTS of MICHAEL and JANE (SHIPPEE) SPURR; Vernon Morse Spurr; Volume 3, Page 1297.} of Overton. On September 11, 1911 Gertrude sent a post card to her cousin Maude, daughter of Frank and Charlotte – “Lottie” (Lent) Jeffery of Overton. It reads:

Dear Maud.
If you will come over on your wheel Friday afternoon as soon after one as you can I’ll go to roll call with you and you can come down and stay all night with me. We can take the car as far it goes & walk the rest. Let me know Thursday night if Momma & Papa come to town. If I don’t hear from you I shall know you will come.
Lovingly Gertrude

For it being 1911, the car Gertrude speaks of certainly was not hers, and probably not her father’s, it was most likely that of her employers. The post card is of Zion United Baptist Church, of which Grace was a member.¹⁰ Gertrude married Roy G. Johnson, son of Freeman and Lois A. (Hemeon¹¹) of Plymouth, Yarmouth County, February 26, 1913.¹² Gertrude died young at the age of 40 years of liver disease on December 15, 1932¹³ and is laid to rest in Plymouth Cemetery.

Freda Churchill is named as Beatrice and Grace’s “maid” on the 1921 census (PDF). The only “Freda Churchill” (PDF) we found on the 1911 census appears to be too young to be the one who would be their maid in 1921. Both Beatrice and Grace’s “Chief occupation or trade” is “None.” Beatrice is of the Anglican faith and Grace of the Baptist. Grace’s relationship to Beatrice was first noted as “None,” which was crossed out and replaced with “Lodger.”

On Wednesday, December 17, 1930 Grace Stanwood Goudey passes away, Beatrice’s consort^{¹⁴“consort –n. /…/ wife or husband, esp. of royalty. –v../…/ 1 (usu. foll. by with, together) keep company. 2 harmonize.” The Oxford Dictionary of Current English, Oxford University Press, 1996.} of more than 32 years is gone. (Record of Passing – Grace PDF) She is laid to rest in Hugh Cann’s lot in Yarmouth Mountain Cemetery (PDF) on the Saturday the 20th. Beatrice most likely wrote the obituary for Grace that appeared in The Yarmouth Herald. The obituary in The Halifax Herald states that Grace held the office of treasurer in the Yarmouth Branch of the S.P.C.A [Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals] for many years.

The memorial stone in Yarmouth Mountain Cemetery (PDF) also bears the name of Emma E. Jack who died September 27, 1943^{¹⁵Yarmouth County Deaths – 1943 Book 209 Page 446, Nova Scotia Archives, Halifax} and was living with Beatrice at the time. The nature of her relationship with Beatrice is not known. Emma’s daughter, Mrs. Joseph Cribbs (Margaret Jack) arranged the funeral at Sweeny’s and was the “informant” for the death certificate. Margaret Jack married Joseph Cribbs of Chatham, New Brunswick on July 24, 1918.¹⁶ Emma E. Duncan, daughter of Roy and Jenny married David Jack son of George and Jane Jack on July 31, 1889,^{¹⁷ Yarmouth County Marriages – 1889 Book 1839 Page 244 Number 58 Nova Scotia Archives, Halifax} however Margaret states Emma’s parents as Raymond and Virginia (Saulnier) Deveau to the funeral home. Sweeny Funeral Home records

The 1921 census (PDF) shows that Emma was living with her daughter, Margaret and family in the Town of Yarmouth. Although the census indicates that Emma is married, her husband, David is not listed as part of the household. David Jacks (sic) died at the Kings County Hospital on November 11, 1943^{¹⁸Kings County Deaths – 1943 Book 208 Page 564, Nova Scotia Archives, Halifax}. His death certificate states his marital status as “unknown.”

Beatrice Bent Cann died in her 80th year on Friday, March 21, 1952. (Record of Passing – Beatrice (PDF) Her death certificate states her date of death as the 22nd day of March, but both her obituary and Sweeney’s Funeral Home records give the 21st. The funeral service was held the twenty-third in the Ritchie Memorial Chapel, which is located on the grounds of Yarmouth Mountain Cemetery (PDF). Reverend Alleyne George Bradshaw of the Holy Trinity Anglican Church^{¹⁹The Life and Times of God’s Friendly Servant: Biography of Canon Alleyne George Bradshaw, Malcolm H. Bradshaw – Shirley I. Bradshaw, Page 185. 2003} conducted the service.

Mrs. Lovitt Frizzell was the “informant” for the death certificate. John Lovitt Frizzell married Carolyn Glynn Doane on November 19, 1937.^{²⁰ Yarmouth County Marriages – 1937 Book 87 Page 775, Nova Scotia Archives, Halifax} Carolyn’s mother was Ora Rebecca (Shaw) Doane, the daughter of Alexander and Edith (Harris) Shaw. Edith is Beatrice’s sister, her daughter, Ora married Edward Doane, son of Edward and Ella (Perry) Doane, 11 August, 1911.^{²¹Yarmouth County Marriages – 1911 Book 16 Page 156, Nova Scotia Archives, Halifax} Carolyn is also named in Beatrice’s will.

Theresa E. [Etheline] Sims, the executrix named in Beatrice’s will, was born in Little River, Yarmouth County on October 7, 1873 to Jeremiah and Emily (Johnson) Sims. Jeremiah and Emily married 26 December 1860 in Plymouth, Yarmouth County.^{²² Yarmouth County Births – 1873 Book 1823 Page 210 Number 536, Nova Scotia Archives, Halifax} For an American immigration document (PDF) of June 1919, Theresa names her “Calling or Occupation” as “Dress Maker.” In a 1977 Parks Canada report on select buildings in Yarmouth, Theresa is misnamed instead of Grace as Beatrice’s “companion.” As Beatrice’s will is dated November 29, 1947, Theresa may well have been Beatrice’s “companion” at the time. 57_William_Street (PDF)

Theresa Simms (sic) died January 6, 1966 at the age of 92 years.^{²³ Yarmouth County Deaths – 1966 – Page: 1053, Nova Scotia Archives, Halifax} The “informant” for the death certificate is Theresa’s nephew, Percy [St Clair] Hamilton of Yarmouth. The certificate also reports that her home was at 56 William Street.

In her will Beatrice bequeaths $500.00 to her “friend, Mrs. Jessie B. Purdy of Daytona Beach, Florida.” On September 29, 1890 Jessie B. Hemeon, 19, daughter of Cornelius and Martha Jane (Crosby) Hemeon of Yarmouth married Samuel Purdy, 29, son of Henry and Lydia Purdy of Yarmouth. In the October 17, 1957 edition Daytona Beach Evening News on page 17^{²⁴Courtesy Daytona Beach Regional Library} an announcement of Jessie’s funeral appears it reads:

Service for Mrs. Jessie B. Purdy, 85, 2208 S. Ridgewood Ave., South Daytona, who died last night at her home, will be tomorrow afternoon at 2 at Baggett-McIntosh Chapel with Rev. W. A. Wiggins, associate pastor, First Baptist Church, officiating. Burial will be in Pinewood Cemetery.

Jessie was probably first friends with Grace, as her family lived next door to the Goudey family in Yarmouth for the 1881 Census (PDF) of Canada. Jessie’s mother, Martha is as well for the 1891 census (PDF [line 21]).