The maternal line of the Blanchard, Park, Saunders, Jeddore & other families just keeps growing!
As more people in Newfoundland test their maternal line (mtDNA) through familytreedna.com, the more maternal ancestors that are coming up showing as descended from the same maternal line. For my previous articles on this particular maternal line click the following links: The Moulton Connection, Fortune Bay NL, & Fortune Bay mtDNA.
The two new additions to the maternal line are:
1) Catherine (Unknown) Blanchard born about 1816 in the Bay of Islands. Passed Away on November 11, 1896 in Meadows. She married William Blanchard JR. born about 1805 (son of William Blanchard SR. and Elizabeth Joe).
2) Ann (Unknown) Taylor born 1818 at Deer Island, Burgeo, passed away on April 3, 1895. She was married to James Taylor (Born about 1815 in England, died 1887 in Grand Bruit).
Catherine (Unknown) Blanchard:
According to her death record in 1896, Catherine was known as Kate. During the time of Kate’s birth, there was a limited amount of families in the Bay of Islands. For some time, several researchers had believed Catherine may have been a Darrigan (due to her children’s association with Elizabeth (James) Darrigan Companion – the matriarch of the Darrigan family in the Bay of Islands) or a Park, of the original Park family in Newfoundland.
Kate married William Blanchard JR. prior to the birth of their first child Elizabeth in 1837. This was likely a lay marriage as there was no priest around during this time. In the time of lay marriages, a highly respected individual in the Bay or community would perform the service where a priest was not available. Kate & William went on to have eight recorded children as documented in the ‘Elizabeth Project’ conducted by researcher John G. Edgar and others.
As we know, William Blanchard JR.’s mother was Elizabeth (Joe) Blanchard, the Mi’kmaq matriarch of the Blanchard family and carries the same maternal line as Catherine. It’s likely Catherine & William were cousins, perhaps 1st or 2nd or beyond on their mother’s side due to the matching of this maternal line.
Who were Catherine (Unknown) Blanchard’s parents?
- It is quite possible Catherine could be the daughter of early Bay of Islands residents William Wheeler and his wife Ann –?. They were having children during the time of Kate’s birth in the Bay of Islands, and as of yet there is only one confirmed daughter, Sarah, for them.
It is widely believed Ann –? was the daughter of Robert Park & Mary (Unknown) Park Brooks. Mary is confirmed as being of this maternal line as well. It is not likely Catherine was a Park herself of Robert & Mary, as Mary was born about 1758, making her around 58 years old at the time of Catherine’s birth.
An mtDNA test for Ann –? wife of William Wheeler is currently in development to confirm she is also of this maternal line, strengthening the theory she is Robert Park & Mary (Unknown) Park Brooks’ daughter. Furthermore, Bishop Feild in 1849 noted that 2 of William & Catherine’s children were left with Elizabeth (James) Darrigan Companion while the parents were away fishing. Elizabeth’s daughter Mary Darrigan married Richard Wheeler, of William Wheeler and Ann –? So, there is some recorded familial connection.
2. There is also a possibility that Catherine is the daughter of Richard Park and his wife Mary –? Only one of their children, William, has a record baptism. For this theory to work, Mary wife of Richard would have to be a part of this maternal line also, which is possible but have no information on either. Unfortunately, we do not know when either Richard or Mary were born. Perhaps if they were too young at the time of Catherine’s birth, they may not even be an option for her parents.
Ann (Unknown) Taylor:
Several researchers have listed Ann as being a Strickland. However, this has been disputed as she does not have the same mtDNA as that of Elizabeth wife of Thomas Strickland of which she was purported to be her child.
Who were Ann (Unknown) Taylor’s parents?
Reverend Wix spent a lot of time baptizing several children in the Burgeo area in 1830 and again in 1835. Of course, not all on the coast were baptized as only those in the immediate area of his visits could avail of his services, being there no permanent Church of England minister along the isolated coastline.
From his baptisms, there are tens of families listed. Without a marriage record for Ann & James Taylor it may prove difficult to figure out her maiden name. Here are some possibilities if she was baptized by Wix:
1) Anne of William and Susannah Anderson born 1823 Cornelius Island, Burgeo.
2) Anne of William and Elizabeth Poole born 1823 New Harbour (Now Parsons Harbour).
3) Anne of John & Sarah Baggs born 1820 La Hune Bay.
If she wasn’t baptized by Rev. Wix, there’s also a fourth possibility of being of another family. Out of the 3 possibilities based on the baptisms, the most likely possibility being that of Anne of John & Sarah Baggs of La Hune Bay. It is the closest in age to her approximate year of birth of 1818. According to several family trees online, Sarah was a Dollimount but I’m not sure this is confirmed. Also, some people have Anne married to Meshach Meade, however this is also not confirmed.
James & Ann Taylor have a great many descendants that spread across the South Coast and particularly in the Community of Grand Bruit. They have 8 confirmed children.
The Ever-Growing Maternal Line
As stated in previous articles, mtDNA testing has confirmed the following known Mi’kmaq women are all of the same maternal line, meaning their mothers mothers mother etc. line matches up at some point in time.
(1) Elizabeth (Joe) Blanchard b. abt 1780 d. Bay of Islands. Married to William Blanchard SR. The Ancestors of all the Bay of Islands Blanchards.
(2) Mary (Unknown) Park Brooks b. abt 1758 Burin, d. Bay of Islands. She married (1) Robert Park (2) John Brooks. Ancestor of all the Bay of Islands Parks.
(3) Charlotte (Jeddore) Cox b. abt 1820 Conne River d. Creston South. Married Frederick Cox.
(4) Elizabeth (Unknown) Saunders b. about 1790 Bay d’Espoir d. Terrenceville, Fortune Bay. Married John Saunders.
We can now add the above Catherine (Unknown) Blanchard and Ann (Unknown) Taylor to this line via recent testing. It is difficult to know if Catherine was known of Mi’kmaq descent considering her husband would be Native under his mother Elizabeth (Joe) Blanchard, and therefore William & Catherine’s children would also be known as being of Mi’kmaq descent. To date I am not aware that Ann (Unknown) Taylor was known to be of Mi’kmaq descent. It may be that she was, or if she wasn’t her maternal line must go back far enough that she is strictly of European descent.
The following are some likely possibilities for the Maternal Line. These are NOT confirmed, but can give you a visual of the possibilities based on the mtDNA results. Please note: The Elizabeth Project by John G. Edgar and others, believe Elizabeth (Joe) Blanchard’s parents to be Thomas Joe & Marie Cabish. If this is true (no baptism has been found) then Marie would be the sister of Mary etc.
Stay tuned for more articles as more mtDNA testing brings the Bryant family of Trinity Bay into the equation as one of their maternal ancestors recently matches into this line as well.
This picture is not of Catherine Blanchard, it is my great great grandmother Irene Compagnon. This photograph hung in my great grandmother’s home and has been widely mislabeled. My great grandmother identified it as her mother Irene.