Joseph Eva and Ann Prisk

18th century origins

There were two Joseph Evas baptized in Wendron in 1765: Nicholas and Martha Eva had a son named Joseph baptized on 15/9/1765, and Samuel and Mary Eva had a son named Joseph baptized on 9/6/1765. Both these couples had earlier sons named Joseph who presumably died before 1765: Samuel and Mary’s earlier Joseph was baptized on 26/6/1763; Nicholas and Martha’s earlier Joseph was baptized on 4/9/1761. It is possible that Samuel and Nicholas were brothers, sons of Samuel Evah baptized in Ludgvan on 5/8/1722 and 4/10/1724 respectively.

At first I did not know which of these Joseph Evas was my ancestor. But now that FamilySearch.org have made images of Wendron parish records available online, we can see that Joseph the son of Nicolas Eva died in 1771: an image of a burial register page shows that he was buried on 18/11/1771. So my ancestor must have been the son of Samuel and Mary.

Samuel Eva and Mary Gill, both of Wendron, were married in St Gluvias on 1st January 1750. It seems probable that this couple were the parents of Samuel Evah (baptized on 12/4/1752 in Helston), Ephraim Eva (baptized on 30/12/1753 in Wendron), Blanch Eva (baptized on 26/12/1756 in Wendron), Mary Eva (baptized on 7/5/1758 in Wendron), Ephraim Eva (baptized on 19/7/1761 in Helston) and Joseph Eva (baptized on 26/6/1763 in Wendron), as well as my ancestor Joseph baptized on 9/6/1765. Note that both the Helston baptism records above say that the family lived in Wendron.

A Joseph Eva and an Ann Dally were married in Wendron on 21/6/1788, and a Joseph Eva and an Ann Prisk were married in Wendron on 24/6/1793. Before discovering that Samuel son of Nicholas died at age 6 I had assumed that these two marriages corresponded to the two Joseph Evas born in 1765. But now it seems highly probable that the son of Samuel and Mary first married married Ann Dally and then married Ann Prisk. Surely Ann Dally was the Ann Eva, wife of Joseph, who was buried on 18/11/1789 in Wendron. Note that the burial record gives her age as 23.

Ann Dally was baptized in Wendron on 14/12/1766; her parents were William Dally and Catherine Ralfe. If she was about a month old at baptism, which would be fairly typical, then she would have been (just) 23 on 18/11/1789; so I think it likely that this is the right Ann Dally. At their marriage she would have been 20 and her husband 22. The surprising thing, though, is that there was a child named Joseph Eva, son of Joseph and Ann, baptized in Wendron on 21/6/1788, the same day that Joseph Eva and Ann Dally were married! I suppose that it is conceivable that another couple named Joseph and Ann Eva had their son baptized on the same day that Joseph and Ann were married, but that would certainly have been a remarkable coincidence. It is much more likely that the baby belonged to the couple who were married. Presumably the marriage preceded the baptism on 21/6/1788, and this meant that the child was legitimate, and was given the surname Eva rather than Dally.

I do not know what became of the child Joseph Eva after his mother died, but my guess would be that his Dally grandparents looked after him.

There was an Ann Prisk, daughter of a widow named Mary Prisk, baptized in Wendron on 2/10/1774. This could well be the Ann who married Joseph Eva in 1793. Probably Mary Prisk's husband was the Samuel Prisk who died in Wendron in May 1774; an image of a burial register page shows that Samuel Prisk was buried on 10/5/1774.

Mary Kestle of Wendron and Samuel Prisk were married in Helston on 21/10/1756. Presumably this couple were the parents of the following children: Paul Prisk (baptized 13/2/1757), William Prisk (baptized 18/2/1759), Joseph Prisk (baptized 19/4/1761), Samuel Prisk (baptized 22/5/1763), James Prisk (baptized 10/11/1765), James Prisk (baptized 11/12/1768) and Mary Prisk (baptized 5/7/1771), as well as the Ann baptized after her father's death in 1774.

It is by no means certain that Ann was born after her father's death. She could easily have been one or even two years old at her baptism. I believe that most babies were baptized when only a few weeks old, but there were plenty of exceptions to this.

If my theory is to work then the Ann Prisk who was buried in Wendron on 27/5/1781 is not the one who was baptised in Wendron in 1774, but someone else. There were certainly other Ann Prisks; for example, the Ann Drew who married Thomas Prisk in Wendron in 1736 might have died in 1781.

Joseph and Ann Eva had a child baptized in December 1793, about six months after Joseph Eva's marriage to Ann Prisk. Joseph and Ann Eva then produced children every couple of years until 1817. This is quite consistent with the theory that Ann Eva was the Ann Prisk baptized in 1774: she would have been about 19 or 20 when she married Joseph (who was about 28) and in her mid forties when she had her last child.

A Wendron census record (below) provides good evidence that on census day 1841 Joseph's widow was aged between 65 and 69, meaning that she was born between mid 1771 and mid 1776. And there is a Wendron burial record from October 1848 for a 76 year old Ann Eva, who was probably (I think) Joseph's widow. If she was indeed the Ann baptized in 1774 then this would mean that she was two years old (or very nearly) at her baptism. But ages in burial records are not necessarily reliable, and it is very possible that she was only 75 or 74 when she died. All in all I think that Joseph's wife was probably the Ann baptized in 1774, and that she was probably only 75 when she died.

There are Wendron baptism records for 10 children with parents Joseph and Ann Eva in the years from 1788 to 1817. Here are the names and the baptism dates:

• Joseph, 21/6/1788;
• Mary, 25/12/1793;
• Mary, 22/2/1795;
• Ephraim, 3/11/1797;
• Samuel, 10/6/1800;
• Francis, 10/7/1805;
• Eliza, 4/7/1808;
• Ann, 19/5/1811;
• Elizabeth, 29/5/1814;
• Josias, 26/10/1817.

According to my theory the Joseph born in 1788 was a half brother to the others. His fate is unknown, but perhaps the fact that none of his half brothers were named Joseph (after their father) suggests that he survived childhood, and may have been raised with the others.

There is a Wendron burial record for a 56 year old Joseph Eva who died in 1820. This was presumably the son of Samuel and Mary baptized in 1765, and the father of the children listed above. I am conjecturing that his wife was the Ann Eva who died in 1848, and I think that she must be the Ann Evea in the following 1841 census record.

Lezarea, Wendron:
Name	Sex	Age	Occupation
Ann Evea	F	65	House Keeper
Eliza Evea	F	25	Dress Maker
Elizebath Evea	F	20	Ag Lab
Joph Evea	M	15	Tin Miner
Epherform Evea	M	13

If Ann was 76 when she died in October 1848 then she would have been less than 70 and more than 65 on census day 1841; so at least these pieces of information are consistent with each other. I think that Eliza and Elizebath must be Ann’s daughters Eliza and Elizabeth, whose ages should really have been recorded as 30 and 25 respectively. I think that the two boys were sons of Ann’s son Ephraim; the younger boy’s age would actually have been 15.

Joseph Eva (born 1788)

I cannot find any marriage, census or death records that match this Joseph. Perhaps he emigrated.

Mary Eva (born 1795)

It appears that Mary married John Goldsworthy in Wendron on 14/8/1824. The date fits reasonably well, and I cannot find a record of any other Wendron marriage that fits. A 33 year old Mary Goldsworthy died in Wendron and was buried on 11/1/1829. This is consistent with a birth date in late January or early February 1795; so this could be our Mary. There are Wendron baptisms records for three children whose parents were named John and Mary Goldsworthy: John (baptized on 10/2/1826), John (baptized on 26/5/1826) and Mary (baptized on 6/11/1827). The second John was aged 18 months at baptism. I conjecture that the same John was baptized twice: sometimes there was a private baptism first and a public baptism later. The alternative is that there were two couples named John and Mary Goldsworthy who had sons named John baptized in 1826; however, I could find no other record of a John Goldsworthy marrying a Mary in Cornwall between 1810 and 1826.

Unfortunately, all my attempts to find more information about these people have failed. In particular, I do not know for certain how many children Mary had, or what became of them.

Ephraim Eva (born 1797)

Ephraim Eva married Elizabeth Martin in Wendron on 1/9/1823. The best matching baptism I could find for Elizabeth was for a daughter of John and Frances Martin, baptized in Wendron on 1/7/1804. Ephraim and Elizabeth apparently had three children: Joe Eva baptized in Wendron on 21/11/1823, Ephraim Eva baptized in Wendron on 10/2/1826, and James Eva baptized in Stithians on 6/4/1828. Evidently the family moved from Wendron to Stithians, because we can be fairly confident that there was no other couple named Ephraim and Elizabeth Eva in the vicinity at the time.

I assume that Joe and Ephraim are the Joph and Epherform appearing in the 1841 census record described above. On census night their brother James was in Redruth in the household of John and Mary Beddison, who were both in their 70’s. James’ age is given as 13 and his occupation as Tin Miner. The Beddisons do not seem to be relatives of our Evas; so perhaps James was a lodger in their house. It may be that his father Ephraim lodged there also but was absent on census night.

It seems clear that Ephraim’s wife Elizabeth died some time before the 1841 census: I cannot find a census record of her, and she certainly was not with her children on census night. A 26 year old Elizabeth Eva of Stithians was buried at Wendron on 15/3/1829; perhaps this was Ephraim’s wife, although the age does not fit particularly well with the possible baptism date of 1/7/1804. As for Ephraim himself, I could only find one 1841 census record that is remotely plausible: a 50 year old Ephrem Evea, described as a Sump Man, whose address on census night was “H:s:w Basset Mine Sump Hse”, Illogan.

Ephraim Eva married again in the March quarter of 1846, in the Redruth district, his wife’s name being Mary Ann Morcum. From the census records of 1851, 1861 and 1871 we find that Mary Ann was born in Gwennap; her age was given as 38 in 1851, 47 in 1861 and 56 in 1871.

The Gwennap Online Parish Clerk’s Website shows several Mary Ann Morcoms baptized in Gwennap: Edward and Alice Morcom had a daughter Mary Ann in 1811, as also did Augustus and Mary Morcom; Philip and Joanna Morcom had a daughter Mary Ann in 1812; John and Joanna Morcom had a daughter Mary Ann in 1813. And there were plain Mary Morcoms baptized in Gwennap in 1812, 1815 (two) and 1818, the parents being Thomas and Anna, Henry and Jenifer, John and Joanna and Thomas and Mary. A record submitted to the I.G.I. says that the 1813 daughter of John and Joanna married Benjamin Jennings in 1837 and later emigrated to Australia; however, since John and Joanna had a daughter Mary in 1815 it seems probable that the 1813 Mary Ann died in infancy, and presumably the 1815 Mary married Benjamin Jennings. (Census records give Mary Jennings' age as 25 in 1841 and 33 in 1851.)

I think that the Mary Ann who married Ephraim Eva was the daughter of Philip and Joanna Morcom. This couple had married at Gwennap on 26/12/1810, the bride's maiden name being Baker. They had children named Richard (21/4/1811), Mary Ann (11/10/1812), Eliza (11/9/1814), Johanna (7/9/1817), Alice (7/9/1819), John (31/8/1821), Phillip (4/5/1824), William (2/11/1826), Edmund and Joseph. I cannot find baptism records for the last two, but they appear in Phillip and Johana's household at the 1841 census, aged 10 and 9 respectively, along with William (16) and Alice (20). The only 1841 census record I can find for a Mary Morcom of the right age to be the one who married Ephraim Eva is for a 25 year old servant at Illogan in the household of a 65 year old farmer named Thomas Gill. And this makes some sense, since apparently Ephraim was also in Illogan in 1841.

The Cornwall Online Census Project's transcriptions of the 1851 and 1861 census returns for Redruth include the following households, which I think are probably comprised of the same four people.

Trefusis, Redruth, 1851:
Name	Rel	Status	Age	Occupation	Birthplace
Ephraim Evans	Head	M	52	Copper Miner	Gwennap, Cornwall
Mary A Evans	Wife	M	38		Gwennap, Cornwall
Eliza Evans	Dau	U	3		Gwennap, Cornwall
James Evans	Son	U	4		Redruth, Cornwall

Gordow, Redruth, 1861:
Name	Rel	Status	Age	Occupation	Birthplace
Ephraim Eva	Head	M	60	Mine Engine Worker	Wendron, Cornwall
Mary Ann Eva	Wife	M	47		Gwennap, Cornwall
Eliza Eva	Dau	U	13	Mine Girl	Gwennap, Cornwall
James Eva	Son	U	11	Driving Cart	Redruth, Cornwall

Ephraim Eva died at age 64 and was buried at Wendron on 16/3/1862. Mary Ann Eva died in Redruth in the December quarter of 1874, aged 60.

— Ephraim's sons named James

Ephraim's third son, and first to be named James, was born in 1828 and died in 1848 at age 20. He was buried at Wendron on 13/3/1848. The census returns shown above indicate that Ephraim and his second wife also had a son named James. There were births of James Evas registered at Redruth in the September quarter of 1848 and the March quarter of 1850, and I think that the James in the census returns shown above must be the one born in 1850. The age 4 in the 1851 record is presumably the result of some transcription error. No doubt the James born in 1848 died in infancy – I can find no James Eva of the right age in subsequent censuses – but whether or not he was another son of Ephraim and Mary is unclear.

Ephraim's youngest son, the second (or third) James, can be found in the 1871 census in the household of an aunt, Johanna Morcom, a 43 year old miner's wife born at Redruth. (In fact this Johanna's husband was William Morcom, Mary Ann Eva's brother.) James' age in 1871 is given as 21, his occupation as Mine Smith, his birthplace as Redruth. His widowed mother Mary Ann is in the same household; her age is given as 56, her birthplace as Gwennap, and her occupation as "Woman of All Work". A 21 year old James Eva died in the Redruth district in the December quarter of 1871.

— Ephraim's son Joseph

Ephraim's eldest son, Joseph, married Elizabeth Reed in 1847; I am told that the exact date was 31/1/1847, but I have not checked this. Elizabeth was the daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Reed, baptized at Wendron on 19/2/1826. Although she had a sister named Jane, I think this is probably not the Jane Reed who married Joseph's cousin Samuel Eva (son of Samuel Eva, Ephraim's younger brother), but the Jane Reed who in all the censuses from 1861 to 1891 is a servant in the household of one Frederick Penberthy, at Helston. Joseph and Elizabeth Eva had nine children who survived infancy (all born at Wendron): Joseph (birth registered June quarter 1847, baptized 17/5/1847), Josiah (birth registered December quarter 1849, baptized 13/11/1849), Ann (birth registered December quarter 1851, baptized 9/11/1851, and buried on 12/12/1851), Elizabeth (birth registered December quarter 1851, baptized 9/11/1851), Ephraim (birth registered September quarter 1853, baptized 16/11/1853), Richard (birth registered December quarter 1855, baptized 4/11/1855), Ann (birth registered June quarter 1857, baptized 9/9/1857, and buried on 13/5/1858), Samuel (birth registered December quarter 1860, baptized 20/1/1861), Sheba Reed (birth registered June quarter 1862, baptized 12/5/1862), Ann (birth registered June quarter 1864, baptized 17/5/1864), Thomas (birth registered September quarter 1867, baptized 22/9/1867, and buried on 18/4/1869), Margaret Jane (birth registered June quarter 1869, baptized 18/7/1869).

Seven of these nine children are in their parents' household (at Halwin, Wendron) at the 1871 census; the other two – the sons Joseph and Ephraim – are in the household of their Reed grandparents. Joseph Reed was a wheelwright, and so were Joseph and Ephraim Eva.

Here are the 1851, 1861 and 1871 census records for Joseph and Elizabeth Eva's household. They show that Joseph retained his job as a tin miner despite the decline of mining in Wendron on the latter half of the nineteenth century.

Halwin, Wendron, 1851:
Name	Rel	Status	Age	Occupation	Birthplace
Joseph Eva	Head	M	28	Tin Miner	Wendron, Cornwall
Elizabeth Eva	Wife	M	25		Wendron, Cornwall
Joseph Eva	Son		3		Wendron, Cornwall
Josiah Eva	Son		1		Wendron, Cornwall

Halwin, Wendron, 1861:
Name	Rel	Status	Age	Occupation	Birthplace
Joseph Eva	Head	M	37	Tin Miner	Wendron, Cornwall
Elizabeth Eva	Wife	M	35		Wendron, Cornwall
Joseph Eva	Son		14	Carpenter's Apprentice	Wendron, Cornwall
Josiah Eva	Son		11	Tin Dresser	Wendron, Cornwall
Elizabeth Eva	Dau		9	Schollar	Wendron, Cornwall
Ephraim Eva	Son		7	Schollar	Wendron, Cornwall
Richard Eva	Son		5	Schollar	Wendron, Cornwall
Samuel Eva	Son		5m		Wendron, Cornwall

Halwin, Wendron, 1871:
Name	Rel	Status	Age	Occupation	Birthplace
Joseph Eva	Head	M	47	Tin Miner	Stithians, Cornwall
Elizabeth Eva	Wife	M	45		Wendron, Cornwall
Josiah Eva	Son	U	21	Tin Miner	Wendron, Cornwall
Elizabeth Eva	Dau	U	19		Wendron, Cornwall
Richard Eva	Son	U	15	Tin Dresser	Wendron, Cornwall
Samuel Eva	Son		10	Scholar	Wendron, Cornwall
Sheba R Eva	Son		9	Scholar	Wendron, Cornwall
Ann Eva	Dau		6	Scholar	Wendron, Cornwall
Margaret Eva	Dau		1		Wendron, Cornwall

According to a message posted to the Eva Family Genealogy Forum, Joseph and Elizabeth Eva had thirteen children altogether. I guess that the one we are missing is Peter, birth registered in the December quarter of 1859, death in the June quarter of 1860.

The death of a 57 year old Joseph Eva was registered in the Helston district in the second quarter of 1880, and there is a Wendron burial record dated 22/6/1880 which matches, although unfortunately it does not give the age or place of residence of the deceased.

I have been given some information on the children of Joseph listed above and their descendants, most of which I have not been able to check. Some of it is presented herewith, along with a few extra details obtained from census records.

• Joseph (born 1847) married Eliza Jury in 1873. They had children named Edith Annie, Beatrice Jury, Rhoda Jane, Joseph Leslie and Josiah Reginald. At the 1881 census Joseph's occupation is given as wheelwright and carpenter, and in 1891 and 1901 it is given as wheelwright (employer). I was given a file that has the elder son's name as John Leslie rather than Joseph Leslie, but I think this must have just been an error. This source also says that Edith Annie and John Leslie both migrated to South Africa.

  At the 1901 census only the three youngest children were in their parents household in Halwin. The census record tells us that the fourteen year old Rhoda was an Elementary School Teacher. Edith Annie Eva had married John Perry Matthew, a blacksmith, on 2/1/1898 in Wendron. An image of the parish register page is viewable at FamilySearch.org. The 1901 census shows that by that time John Perry and Edith Annie Mathews had two daughters, whose names were Louisa Annie and Ida Beatrice. In 1901 Edith Annie's sister Beatrice J. Eva was living in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, where she was a Domestic Help in a family named Knight. (I notice an Australian connection here: the six-year-old Marcella M. Knight was born in Tasmania.)

  Beatrice J Eva married George H Ward in the last quarter of 1922; Rhoda J Eva married Sydney C Jury in the last quarter of 1914; Joseph L Eva married Irene D Jenkin in the second quarter of 1922; Josiah R T Eva married Blanche Gilbert in the second quarter of 1924;

• Josiah (born 1849) married Susan Medlyn in 1873. She was baptized in Wendron on 15/6/1851, the daughter of William Medlyn and Mary née Tripconey, who had married in December 1850. The 1871 census shows Susan in the household of her grandfather, William, a 71 year old farmer who worked 65 acres. The other members of the household were William's unmarried sons John (38) and Matthew (36), and two year old grandson Joseph J. Medlyn. Susan was presumably their housekeeper; her occupation was listed as "general servant". At this time Susan's parents, with her grandmother (Elizabeth Tripconey, aged 68) and four sisters (Martha, Elizabeth, Grace and Mary, aged 15, 7, 5 and 5 months respectively) were living in Constantine Parish, where her father was farming 42 acres.

  After their marriage Josiah and Susan migrated to the U.S.A., arriving in New York on the Minnesota on 15/4/1873. The relevant page of the passenger list can be viewed online at FamilySearch.org. It gives Josiah's occupation as laborer, his age as 23, and Susan's age as 22.

  I am told that Josiah and Susan had children named Jane Susan, William, Minnie and Josiah. Records on FamilySearch.org show that the son Josiah was born in Gardner, Worcester MA, on 29/10/1887, and miraculously died on the previous day. Willie Eva was born in Vermont on 18/9/1878. Minnie was born Massachusetts in April 1884. I believe that at the time of the 1880 census of the U.S.A. the family's residence was in Ely, Orange County, Vermont; the census transcription on FamilySearch.org has the surname as "Ean", which I conjecture to be a transcriber's error. Other aspects of the record match known facts: Josiah is aged 30 and is a mine worker, Susan is 28, and they have children Jane S (aged 6, born in New Jersey) and William (aged 2, born in Vermont). At the time of the 1900 census Josiah was a meat peddler, living in Gardner with Susan and Minnie; Jane Susan, who had married Fred Wilson Murdock in 1899, was also living in Gardner; William was boarding in Newburyport City, his birth date is given as May 1879 and his occupation as Silversmith.

  

  US census of 1900, Gardner MA

  

  US census of 1900, Newburyport City MA

  By the 1910 census William had acquired a wife named Jessie, two stepdaughters (Mary and Willena Aldrich, aged 10 and 7) and a son William A Eva (aged 4). They were living at 283 Buckland St, Providence, RI, and William was still a silversmith. A WW1 draft card has William as a metal worker employed by the Gallaudet Air Craft Corp, still living at 283 Buckland Street with his wife Jessie, but gives his birth date as 18/9/1878, contradicting the 1900 census record.

  

  US census of 1910, Providence RI

  The following appeared in the Fitchburg Sentinel on 19/3/1927:

  Josiah Eva, 77 years of age, a well known resident of this city, died at his home 29 Lande Street shortly before midnight last night. He had been ill for five weeks.

  Mr. Eva had been a resident of Gardner for 44 yrs. He was born in Cornwall, England, and came to the United States immediately after his marriage to Susan Medlyn in 1873. Mr & Mrs Eva came to Gardner in 1883 after living for ten years in New Jersey. At the time of the gold strike in Nevada and Colorado, Mr Eva, who had been a miner in Cornwall, spent several years in Nevada. Surviving are his wife and two daughters, Mrs Fred Murdock and Mrs Fred Rothlis, both of this city, a son William of Providence Rhode Island, several grandchildren and three brothers and three sisters in England. Burial will be in the Crystal Lake Cemetery.

  Minnie Eva had married Fred Rothlis on 20/9/1911 in Gardner. Susan Jane Eva married Fred Wilson Murdock on 15/11/1899 in Gardner.

• The information I was given said that Elizabeth (born 1851) married William Treloar in 1876; however, I think that in fact William Treloar's wife was Eliza Williams Eva, daughter of Stephen and Elizabeth Eva baptized on 4/6/1852 in Helston. Our Elizabeth actually married James Floyd in the September quarter of 1875. James died in the September quarter of 1879; he was buried on 30/8/1879 in Wendron. The 1881 census shows Elizabeth Floyd, widow, age 29, with children Joseph James (5), Robert William (4) and Elizabeth Annie (1), living at Halwin. All the children were born in Wendron. The daughter Elizabeth Anne died in the March quarter of 1885; she was buried on 1/2/1885 in Wendron. At the 1891 census the occupation of the 39 year old Elizabeth Floyd was "Rural Post Office (employee)", and her sons Joseph James and Robert William – still living with their mother – were both apprentice wheelwrights. No doubt they were apprenticed to one or other of their uncles Joseph and Ephraim.

• Ephraim (born 1853) married Fanny Prisk in 1875. They had children named Annie Jane, Joseph and Fanny, all born at Wendron. Transcriptions of the 1881 census record for Ephraim's household give his name as William rather than Ephraim, but the 1891 record has his name as Ephram. In 1881 "William" is a wheelwright and carpenter employing two boys, and in 1891 Ephram is a wheelwright (employer). Annie Jane Eva married Nicholas Dale in the last quarter of 1900; there is a Dale family of West Cornwall website with some information about them.

• Richard (born 1855) married Ann Reed Faull in Wendron on 8/6/1879. An image of the parish register page is viewable online at Familysearch.org. Ann was the daughter of Thomas Faull, a wheelwright, and his wife Ann, née Reed, elder sister of Elizabeth Reed. Thus Richard Eva and Ann Reed Faull were cousins. They had children named Jane, Ethel Annie, Samuel and Joseph Reed, all born at Wendron. At the 1881 census Richard's occupation was given as "wheelwright"; in 1891 it was given as "carpenter (employee)".

• Samuel born in 1860 died in 1880 and was buried on 4/7/1880.

• In the 1881 census Sheba Reed Eva (age 19) is found in the household of his 82 year old grandfather Joseph Reed. Sheba and his grandfather are both wheelwrights. Sheba emigrated to the USA in 1883, arriving at Boston on 7/7/1883 on board the Pavonia. The passenger list can be viewed on-line, courtesy of FamilySearch.org.

  The material appearing in the following frame is posted at http://files.usgwarchives.net/wa/stevens/bios/biose1.txt.

  Sheba died on 6/11/1926, and is buried in the Chewelah Pioneer Cemetery, Stevens County Washington. There is a memorial to him on "Find a Grave".

  

  US census of 1900, Colville Reservation, Ferry County, Washington

  The "Find a Grave" memorial for Sheba's wife Annie has the information that her maiden name was Noyes and that she was married three times. The 1900 US census record for Annie and family tells us that Annie was a farmer, divorced, and names her children as George Carter, Mary E. Philip, Winne F. E. Philip, Joseph W. Philip and Sheba L. Philip. The last three were born in Washington, in January 1891, August 1892 and November 1894 respectively. (Note that Sheba L. Philip was a girl.) Mary E. Philip was born in Canada in January 1889. George Carter's age was originally entered as 21, but his birth date was entered as August 1888. Since this birth date is really too close to that of his half sister Mary, it is unclear when he was actually born. But he was born in Missouri.

  FamilySearch.org has a birth record for Mary Elizabeth Phillips, which shows that she was born in British Columbia on 22/1/1889, the daughter of Annie Noyes and William Henry Phillips. So this raises the intriguing possibility that Annie' second husband was Sheba Reed Eva's second cousin William Henry Phillips, the son of Joseph Phillips and Elizabeth Eva, this Elizabeth being the eldest daughter of Samuel Eva and Elizabeth Caddy. My best attempts to track William Henry Phillips had identified him with an unemployed divorced miner William H. Phillips who shows up in the 1900 US census in Colville Reservation, Ferry County, Washington. He had a connection with British Columbia, because his elder brother Joseph lived there, and the census record also indicates that he was married in about 1888. See the Samuel Eva and Elizabeth Caddy page for further information about this Phillips family.

  A 1910 US census record has Sheba R. Eva living in Valley, Stevens County, Washington, with his wife Annie, five year old son Clyde N. Eva, and three Phillips step-children: Mamie (21), Joseph (17) and Leone (15). FamilySearch.org also has a record of Leone Phillips death in Spokane, Washington, on 23/9/1925, unmarried, aged 30 years 9 months and 23 days. This record names her parents as Wm Henry Phillips and Anna Nayes.

• Annie (born 1864) married John Wesley Richards in Wendron on 5/5/1883. An image of the parish register page can be viewed online at FamilySearch.org. Annie and John had children named Emily, Clara, John, Hilda, William and Lottie, all born at Wendron.

• Margaret Eva (born 1869) married Richard Henry Moyle in 1896. They had a daughter named Lillian, born at Wendron.

— Ephraim's son Ephraim

Ephraim's second son, Ephraim, born in 1826, was surely the 13 year old boy listed in the 1841 census record of the household of his grandmother, his name rendered as "Epherform". As mentioned above, I believe that the elder Ephraim (born 1797) appears in the 1851 census returns as Ephraim Evans. I can only find one Ephraim Eva in the 1851 census: he is an unmarried lead miner, a lodger in a household with several other lead miners at Liskeard. Although his age is given as 29 and his birthplace as Redruth, I think that this must actually be the Ephraim born in Wendron in 1826, because I cannot find any other evidence of an Ephraim Eva born in Redruth in 1822 or any other year.

A FreeBMD search for Ephraim Eva marriages finds exactly two: Ephraim senior's marriage to Mary Ann Morcum in the first quarter of 1846 and the 1875 marriage of Ephraim junior's nephew Ephraim to Fanny Prisk. But there also appears to be a marriage of an Ephrain Eva in the Redruth registration district in the first quarter of 1846, the same district and quarter as the second marriage of Ephraim senior. FreeBMD in fact finds 10 people on page 268 of the relevant marriage register, five males and five females, as one would hope, but including an Elizabeth Rowett and an Elizabeth Rowitt as well as an Ephrain Eva and an Ephraim Eva. Now according to FreeBMD's guide to identifying spouses there should be only 8 people per page. Moreover, on their FAQ page they explain that sometimes two entries were created in the index when the register was unclear. This surely explains the occurrence of both Elizabeth Rowett and Elizabeth Rowitt, while "Ephrain Eva" is surely just the result of a transcription error. So I think that Ephraim senior was the only Ephraim Eva married in the March quarter of 1846; for what it's worth, I think that Elizabeth Rowett or Rowitt actually married William Dower.

It transpires that, along with many other Cornish miners, Ephraim junior migrated to the U.S.A. to work in the copper mines of North Michigan, which were opening at a time when many mines in Cornwall were closing. The 1880 US census includes a record of a household at Greenland, Ontonagon County, Michigan, consisting of three people: Ephram Eva, a 52 year old miner born in England, his wife Eliza, 55, also born in England, and their 21 year old son Robert, a laborer, born in Michigan. Our Ephraim would have been 54 rather than 52, but the occupation of miner certainly fits, and I do not believe that there were any other Ephraim Evas of approximately the same age. There is also an 1870 census record, giving Ephraim's age as 47, Eliza's as 45 and Robert's as 12.

In fact the marriage of Ephraim and Eliza appears in the IGI: Ephraim Eva, age 24, married Eliza Uren (age 34) in Ontonagon, Michigan, on 3/1/1860. Ephraim would have actually been 33 or 34 on 3/1/1860, depending on how old he was at his baptism on 10/2/1826. It seems safe to assume that the 24 on the marriage record is the result of some error. It appears that the son Robert must have been born before his parents were married, since his age as shown on every census record puts his birth date before 1860.

One of Robert's descendants sent me the 1860 US census record shown below, which deepens the mystery associated with these people.

The identity of the waif Robert Uren is a mystery, but the existence of the 9 year old Mary Eva was also a surprise to the person who sent me the record, since she had always believed that Robert Eva was an only child. Pursuing the mystery further, she realized that Mary was the grandmother of a relative named Arthur Martin, born in about 1894, who, as a soldier in the Great War, wrote letters to the Eva family, signing them "cousin Art". Cousin Art's father was named Ephraim Martin, and his parents were named William and Mary. Moreover, Art had a sister named Eva Martin, indicating that the Eva connection was proudly remembered, and his father Ephraim had a sister named Eliza Martin, indicating that Mary Martin named two of her children after her parents.

It seemed strange that Mary Eva did not appear with her parents and brother in the 1870 census record shown above. It transpires that she was on the next census page, in the next household, presumably living next door to her parents.

But this is very puzzling: Mary says that she was married in the previous July, yet still gives her name as Mary Eva rather than Mary Martin. And things become even more confused when her marriage record is located.

Mary's surname appears as Uren, not Eva! (Note that the IGI also includes the marriage of Mary Uren and William Martin on 23/7/1869, the groom being 23 and the bride 18.) But in fact this is as it should be: Eliza Uren's daughter, born before Eliza married Ephraim, would technically bear the surname Uren, despite the fact that she was evidently always known as Mary Eva. However, it is doubtful whether she was actually Ephraim's daughter.

Observe that the 1860 and 1870 census records are inconsistent on the matter of Mary's birthplace, the former giving it as England and the latter giving it as Michigan. I performed a FreeBMD search just in case there was a Mary Uren birth registered at about the right time. And, indeed, there is one very strong candidate: the birth of a Mary Uren was registered in the Redruth district in the second quarter of 1851, and I cannot find any matching person in the 1861 census records. I will perhaps have more idea whether or not this is the right person once I have obtained the birth certificate, which I have yet to do.

It seems to me that the waif Robert Uren in Ephraim and Eliza's household in the 1860 census record must have been the son of some deceased brother of Eliza. So it would seem that Eliza was not the only member of her Uren family to travel to Michigan. In fact the 1860 census shows six men named Uren living in Ontonagon county: their names and ages were William (33), William (30), John (24), Thomas (21), Simon (25) and Robert (29). If my theory is correct then there must have been at least one other, someone who died before 1860. It could be relevant that a list produced by Dick and June Ross giving names of people who made declarations of intention for citizenship in Ontonagon county between 1854 and 1861, includes two Robert Urens. It also includes Ephraim Eva: he apparently made such a declaration on 26 March 1858. (The dates alongside the two Robert Urens are 24 July 1850 and 6 June 1859, but the 1850 here is evidently a misprint for 1858, since otherwise the entry would be out of chronological sequence.)

Ephraim died in Ontonagon on 13/9/1882; the death record gives his age as 56. There is a record of the death of a 62 year old Elza Eva in Bessemer (Gogebic County, not very far from Ontonagon) on 17/8/1888. The death record says that she was married rather than widowed, but I guess that the person in question was Ephraim's widow.

Ephraim and Eliza's son, Robert Eva, married Minnie Morganroth on 7/12/1885 in Ontonagon. He was 27 and she was 26. An 1880 census record shows that Minnie's parents were named Henry and Mary, and she had younger siblings named Edward, Frank and Rosa.

The marriage record says that Robert had the rather strange second name of "Huron". I wonder if this was meant to be "Uren", which would make some sense in view of his parentage. In fact, looking closely at the image, I am not sure that it does not say "Huren". At the time of his marriage Robert was a miner, but he later became a logging contractor.

I have been sent some photos of Robert, Minnie and their children. These are shown below, together with the captions that accompanied them.

Robert Eva on a farm in Greenland

Minnie Wilhamena Morganroth Eva

Minnie

Back: Frank, Robert Front: Milton, Merle, Dorothy, Harry

Back (L to R): A friend, Robert Jr Front (L to R): Milton and Frank

Back: Harry Eva, Mary Labyak Front: Frank Eva, Margaret Labyak

Art Martin

Harry

Frank's daughter Mildred

Robert and Minnie had children named Frank, Robert, Milton, Harry, Merle and Dorothy. Harry served in the First World War; he was promoted to the rank of sergeant, but was killed in France. Merle died in a hunting accident, shot by his brother Milton. Frank married Margaret Labyak, and had children Margaret, Mildred and Frank. A census record from 1930 shows that Frank followed in his father's footsteps and became a logging contractor. The same census page shows two Martin households; one consisting of (I suppose) Cousin Art and his wife, the other consisting of Cousin Art's parents and siblings.

The 1930 census record of Robert and Minnie Eva's household shows their three surviving children all in the same household and all employed in the lumber industry. I am told that Dorothy Eva later married one Peter Panscik, and her niece Mildred married Peter's brother George.

"Find a Grave" has memorials for Robert Eva and Minnie Eva, their children Frank E. Eva, Robert H. Eva and Dorothy Eva Panscik, Frank's wife Margaret F. Eva and children Frank W. Eva and Mildred M. Eva Panscik.

— Ephraim's daughter Eliza

I have not been able to find a birth or baptism record for Ephraim's daughter Eliza. FreeBMD shows me that her brother James was born in the Redruth district in the March quarter of 1850; so, assuming that Eliza was also born in the same district and was older than James, one might guess that she was the Eliza Jane Eva born in the March quarter of 1847. But the Cornwall OPC database has Eliza Jane Evas baptized in 1846 and 1847, and in both cases the parents' names were Richard and Catherine. Note that the Elizabeth Ellen Eva born in the June quarter of 1847 (probably) died in 1858; so she was not our Eliza. There were also births of Elizabeth Evas registered in Redruth in the June quarter of 1845, the September quarter of 1845, and the June quarter of 1849. However, none of these Elizabeths would be the right age. It looks as though our Eliza's birth is missing, for some reason

Since Eliza is not in the same household as her mother and brother at the 1871 census, she presumably either married or died between 1861 and 1871. There were three Redruth marriages of Eliza or Elizabeth Evas in the appropriate period: one in June 1865, one in June 1866 and one in June 1870. The bride's names are (respectively) Elizabeth, Eliza A., and Elizabeth Jane. An 1871 census record shows that the man Eliza A. Eva married was Daniel Williams, a miner born in St Just who was 27 in 1871. Eliza Williams' age in 1871 is given as 23 and her birthplace as Gwennap. This fits quite nicely, but it would be good to find a matching birth registration record. I suppose that the marriage certificate would tell me the name of the father of the Eliza A. Eva who married Daniel Williams, but I have not yet purchased it.

The 1871 census record for the household of Daniel and Eliza is RG10 2314/27, Schedule 147. Schedule 146 on the same page is Johanna Morcom's household, with James Eva and Mary A. Eva. So it looks as though Eliza was living next door to her brother and mother.

There were no children in Daniel and Eliza's household in 1871.

A Daniel Penberthy Williams was baptized on 8/1/1843 in Morvah; his parents were Daniel Penberthy Williams and Grace Williams of Keigwidden, St Just. There is also a record of the marriage of Daniel Williams and Grace Rogers in Sithney on 22/2/1838. The groom's residence at this time was Breage, and his father is named as Thomas Williams, a cordwainer. One of the marriage witnesses was named John Williams, and it seems likely that he was the groom's brother: there was a John Williams baptized on 7/11/1819 in Perranuthnoe, his parents being Thomas Williams (a shoemaker) and Mary. Penberthy was Mary's maiden name: Thomas Williams and Mary Penberthy were married on 20/8/1803. All of this fits well with census data: in 1841 there is a household at Wheal Vor, Breage, consisting of Thomas Williams (shoemaker, 60), Mary Williams (60) and John Williams (copper miner, 20), and the 1851 record of the household of Daniel and Grace Williams confirms that Grace was born in Sithney. It also shows that Daniel was born in about 1814. This is all fine, except that the census records of 1851, 1861 and 1871 all insist that Daniel was born in Ireland (although the 1841 record says that he was born in Cornwall), whereas his father Thomas the shoemaker was born in St Hilary (according to an 1851 census record). Nevertheless, I think that I have correctly identified the Daniel Williams who married Eliza A Eva.

I had hoped that the distinctive second name Penberthy might help me trace Daniel Penberthy Williams and his wife Eliza A Williams. Sadly, it has not helped me yet.

For a while I thought that Daniel, Eliza and their family emigrated to America. In the 1900 US census a matching family is found in Argentine, Kansas City, at 326 1st Street. The census record says that they arrived in the United States in 1881; Daniel was a Rail Road Hostler, born in England in June 1842, Eliza was born in England in January 1847. Eliza had had a total of seven children, one of of whom had died. Four of the remaining six were living with their parents: Sidney C. (b. Oct 1876 in England), Albert (b. July 1880 in England), John (b. March 1883, Nebraska) and Flossy (b. Feb 1889 in Kansas).

However, it transpires that these people were not my Williamses, and in fact were from Wales. The 1881 British census shows a household in St Woolos, Monmouth, consisting of a loco (rail) engine driver named Daniel Williams, his 33 year old wife named Eliza, and five children: Henry A. (11), Austin A. (8), Emily A. (6), Sidney C. (3) and Albert (8 months). Everyone in the household was born in Wales: Daniel in Penallt, Eliza in Llangatack, Albert in St Woolos, and the other children in Abergavenny. These are surely the people who went to Kansas, and surely also not my Daniel and Eliza (since their birthplaces are wrong and they would have already had a son in 1871). What happened to my Daniel and Eliza remains a mystery.

Samuel Eva (born 1800)

There is an 1841 census record that fits Samuel Eva born 10/6/1800, and I think that it is probable that he is indeed the Samuel Eva whose daughter Ann married Thomas Worden and went to Australia. See the Samuel Eva and Elizabeth Caddy page.

Francis Eva (born 1805)

Francis Eva born 10/7/1805 married Harriet Nicholls at Gwennap on 5/10/1833: see the Gwennap OPC list of marriages. I have not been able to determine with any certainty who Harriett’s parents were or where she was born. The closest baptism to be found in the IGI is from 16/6/1805: Harriott daughter of William and Mary Ann Nicholls, baptized at St Gluvias. Her parents could have been the William Nicholls and Mary Ann O’Brien married at Mylor on 5/5/1800.

Here is the 1841 census records for the household of Francis and Harriet.

Penhalurick, Stithians, 1841:
Name	Sex	Age	Occupation
Frances Eva	M	30	Copper Miner
Harriot Eva	F	30
Ann Eva	F	7
Frances Eva	F	9m

Ann Eva, daughter of Francis and Harriet, was baptized in Redruth on 15/2/1835.

Information from subsequent censuses shows that the baby Frances Eva was actually a boy. The birth of Francis Eva was registered in the Redruth district in the September quarter of 1840. If 9 months is right then he must have been born in August or early September.

Here are the 1841 and 1851 census records.

Girl’s Bridge, Altarnun, 1851:
Name	Rel	Status	Age	Occupation	Birthplace
Francis Eva	Head	M	41	Tin Miner	Gwenap, Cornwall
Herriet Eva	Wife	M	45		Gwenap, Cornwall
Ann Eva	Dau	U	18		Gwenap, Cornwall
Francis Eva	Son	U	11		Gwenap, Cornwall
Mary Eva	Dau	U	6		Gwenap, Cornwall
John Rawe	Lodger	U	30	Tin miner	St Hillary, Cornwall

Downgate, Stoke Climsland, 1861:
Name	Rel	Status	Age	Occupation	Birthplace
Francis Eva	Head	M	55	Copper Miner	Gwendron, Cornwall
Harriet Eva	Wife	M	56		S Lavan, Cornwall
Ann Eva	Dau	U	26		Gwendron, Cornwall
Francis Eva	Son	U	19	Copper Miner	S Lavan, Cornwall
Mary Eva	Dau	U	16		Gwennap, Cornwall
John Eva	Grnson	U	6	Scholar	Sinharth, Cornwall

I have been in contact with a descendant of Francis who has this John Eva’s birth certificate, and it confirms that John was Ann’s son. The birth registration (Camelford district, June quarter of 1855) gives his full name as John Perry Eva. Apparently – according to information provided by another descendant – John Perry Eva was hidden in an upstairs bedroom for the first two years of his life!

It is interesting to note that Francis junior aged only 8 years in the decade from 1851 to 1861 and thereafter remained two years younger than his birth date would suggest. Presumably Francis himself did not actually know how old he was.

Births of three Mary Evas were registered in 1844: a Mary Ann Eva and a Mary Jane Eva in the June quarter, in the Redruth and Falmouth districts respectively, and a plain Mary Eva in the December quarter, in the Redruth district. The Mary Jane Eva was certainly a different person; she can be found in the 1851 census in Falmouth. Based on 1861 census records I think that the Mary Ann Eva born in 1844 was the daughter of a William Eva and born in Gwinear. So I expect that the daughter of Francis and Harriet was plain Mary.

Francis Eva senior died in the Liskeard district in the June quarter of 1868. In 1871 Francis junior is the head of the household, now located in St Ive.

Pensilva, St Ive, 1871:
Name	Rel	Status	Age	Occupation	Birthplace
Francis Eva	Head	U	28	Miner	Wendron, Cornwall
Harriett Eva	Mother	W	67		Wendron, Cornwall
Ann Eva	Sister	U	35	Miner Girl	Wendron, Cornwall
John Eva	Bro	U	16	Miner	St Teath, Cornwall

It is remarkable how their birthplaces changed with time! In the 1851 and 1871 records they clearly decided that it was easiest to just give all members of the family the same birthplace, but at least in 1861 they attempted to distinguish between different people. So my best guess for Harriet’s birthplace is “S Lavan”. Moreover, Francis was born there too. But I am sure that Francis was not born at St Levan: in 1881 his birthplace is given as Redruth and in 1891 it is given as Gywnip. My best guess is that S Lavan refers to some place in or near Gwennap or Redruth. But I remain very unsure about the parentage of Harriet.

Harriet Eva died in the Liskeard district in the March quarter of 1875.

I have some further information about the children of Francis and Harriett.

• Ann Eva married George Henry Couch in the Liskeard district in the December quarter of 1871. At the 1881 census George and Ann are living in St Ive parish, and have two children: George H. (aged 8) and Elizabeth (aged 2), both born at St Ive. George is described as a 59 year old Superannuated Furnace Man, born at St Ive. Ann's birthplace is now given as Helstone, but her age is 46, as it should be, and so I think it is the right person. In 1891 they are in Liskeard with the same two children; George is now described as a retired blacksmith. Ann Couch died in Liskeard in 1892, aged 57.

  Ann's son John Perry Eva married Eliza Symons in the Liskeard district in the December quarter of 1876. In 1891 their address is Longridge Cottage, Linkinhorne, John is a copper miner (employee), aged 35, Eliza is aged 32 and her birthplace is given as Linkinhorn, they have a 6 week old baby daughter named Eliza S who was born in Linkinhorn, and five other children all born in St Ive: Elizebeth A (10), Harriet J (9), Francis Jn (8), Edith M (3) and George H (1). In 1901 they are in Trimdon, Co Durham, and as well as the six children listed above they have a three year old son named Horace, who was born in Trimdon. I am told that John Perry Eva died in Trimdon in 1943.

• 

  Royal Cornwall Gazette, 9/12/1887

  Francis Eva junior married Susanna Venning in the Liskeard district in the December quarter of 1880. At the 1881 census their address is Pensilva St. Ive, Francis is a 38 year old “Dealer in Fish, Vegetables etc.” and Susanna is 37, born at St Ive. In 1891 the address is Cross Pensilva, St Ive, Francis is a Fishmonger, and there are four children, all born at St Ive: Francis (9), Susan (8), Harriet (7) and Hetta (3). In fact "Hetta" was really "Meta": the birth of Meta Eva was registered in Liskeard in the March quarter of 1888, and her marriage to William George Smetherham was registered in Liskeard in the March quarter of 1914. The photograph below provides additional evidence that Francis the fish and vegetables man really was the son of Francis and Harriett, since it shows his daughter Meta in the company of John Perry Eva's daughter and granddaughter.

  

  "Meta Eva's farm Cornwall, Liza & Mother, Uncle Jan, Meta & son."

  John Perry Eva's daughter (Edith Mary, b. 1887) is second from the right, Meta Smetherham is second from the left. The man between them is Meta's husband William George, who was known as Jan, the boy is one of the sons of William and Meta. The woman on the right is Edith's daughter, Eliza Jordan (b. 1907), whose son sent me the image and conveyed this information (including the words written by his mother on the back of the original photo).

  

  Francis Eva 3rd (1903)

  The death of Francis Eva the second was registered in the Liskeard district in the September quarter of 1903. His age was given as 60, consistent wth the censuses after 1851 but not consistent with the birth registration.

  Francis the second's son, another Francis, is shown on the right. The 1901 census gives "Coster Monger" as the occupation for both Francis the second (aged 59) and Francis the third (aged 19). The others in the household are Susanna (aged 56), Harriett (aged 16), Meta (aged 13) and Susanna's 71 year old sister Elizabeth Venning (who, so we are told, was "feeble-minded").

• It is unclear what became of Mary Eva born 1844. In the decade from 1861 to 1871 there were marriages of ten Mary Evas registered in Cornwall, but none of them seem quite right. Given that the family were in Stoke Climsland in 1861 and St Ive in 1871 one would expect Mary's marriage to be registered in either the Launceston district or the Liskeard district, but there was no such marriage. Of the ten Cornwall Mary Evas married in the decade, four were Mary Ann's and one a Mary Jane, leaving five plain Mary Evas. Three of these appear in the Cornwall Online Parish Clerks' marriage database and are definitely not the Mary Eva I am looking for. That leaves two: a Mary Eva married either William Eathorne or Thomas Johns in the Redruth district in the June quarter of 1862, and a Mary Eva married either Thomas Nicholas or Thomas Williams Rodda in the Helston district in the December quarter of 1863. Unfortunately I have not been able to find any matching household in the 1871 census. Of course they may have left Cornwall. And it is also possible that Mary died: there were Mary Eva deaths registered in the Falmouth and Helston districts in the March quarter of 1862 that could have been her.

Eliza Eva (born 1808)

Eliza Eva (born 1808) married John Hodge, a widower of Sithney, on 25/3/1847. John Hodge was a miner. His father was named Edward Hodge, and he too was a miner. The census data for 1841 shows that at that time John Hodge had children named Mary, William, Samuel, John, Edward and Susan. The ages of the last three were 13, 10 and 6 respectively, while the others were all between 15 and 19. In 1851 John Hodge (aged 50) was an inn-keeper at Kenap in Carnmenellis, and only the two youngest children were living with John and Eliza. FreeCEN's transcription of the census record has Eliza's age as 43, as expected, and the ages of Edward and Susan as 18 and 15 respectively. John Hodge died at age 57 and was buried at Wendron on 2/7/1857; Eliza Hodge died at age 63 and was buried at Wendron on 8/7/1871.

John and Eliza had daughters named Eliza Ann baptized on 1/6/1851 in Wendron, and Charlotte baptized on 27/1/1854 in Wendron. In 1861 Eliza Ann Hodge (aged 10) and Charlotte Hodge (aged 7) and their widowed mother Eliza (aged merely 48) were still living at Kennap, and Eliza was an Inn Keeper. Eliza Ann Hodge married Alfred Treglown in 1871.

Ann Eva (born 1811)

Ann Eva (born 1811) died at age 19 and was buried at Wendron on 22/12/1830.

Elizabeth Eva (born 1814)

As mentioned above, I believe that at the 1841 census Elizabeth was living in her mother’s household; her name is given as Elizebath Evea and her age as 20, even though she was actually 27. I can only find one 1851 census record that could possibly be her: a 44 year old unmarried Elizabeth Evea at Lezerea, Wendron. Her occupation is given as “householder”, and the only other person in the household is a 45 year old lodger named Grace Olive, unmarried, whose occupation is listed as “dressmaker”.

In the 1861, 1871 and 1891 censuses I find records of an unmarried Elizabeth Eva whose address is Halwin, Wendron. In each case she is the only person in the household. In 1861 her age is given as 46 and her occupation as “charwoman”, in 1871 her age is 57 and her occupation is “annuitant” and in 1891 her age is 77 and her occupation is “nurse (employee)”. These records do fit well enough with the baptism date of 29/5/1814, although she would actually either have been only 76 on census day (April 5th) in 1891, or already 47 on census day (April 7th) in 1861. At the 1881 census she was a visitor in the household of a mine agent named Joseph Tregoning, whose address was Angarrack, Phillack. Her age is correctly given as 67. There is also a burial record that matches reasonably well. She would actually have been 84, not 83, in July 1898.

Josias Eva (born 1817)

Although the parish register clearly says Josias, in handwriting that is wonderfully neat, I think this person came to be known as Josiah. There is no further record of a Josias Eva, but there is a Josiah Eva that fits the parameters. Even if he considered that his name was really Josias, he would surely have quickly given up trying to correct all the people that called him Josiah.

There was a Josiah Eva, a copper miner aged between 20 and 24, who spent census night 1841 at Cardeston in Shropshire; moreover, the census record also says that he was not born in Shropshire. It seems probable that this was the 1817 Josias. I suspect that he was also the Josiah Eva who emigrated to Australia in 1846, sailing on the Abberton. This Josiah Eva married Caroline Harris on 15/9/1849; Caroline travelled to Australia on the William Money in 1849, aged 22. Since the William Money sailed from Bristol with many Cornish passengers, it seems quite possible that Caroline was Cornish. I found a couple of possibles in the 1841 census data for Cornwall, the two that fit best being the eldest daughter of Francis and Elizabeth Harris of Camborne, and the eldest daughter of Henry and Jane Harris of Phillack. However, it seems that the former of these actually married one William Sparnon, while I thought I had eliminated the other for some reason that I cannot now rediscover. So Caroline’s origins remain unknown to me. Both Josiah and Caroline are buried at Williamstown (in the Barossa Valley). According to the burial records, Caroline was buried on 15/2/1877 and was 49 when she died, while Josiah was buried on 20/12/1895 and was 77 when he died. If I am right in identifying him with Josias then he was actually 78, but that is close enough. Note that Josias' niece Ann Worden, wife of Thomas Worden and daughter of Josias' brother Samuel, also went to live at Williamstown; this is my main reason for believing that the Williamstown Josiah was the 1817 Josias.

Although I have no clear evidence to support my contention that Josiah Eva of Williamstown was the uncle of Thomas Worden's wife, it is perhaps significant that Thomas Worden's second son was named Isaac Josiah Eva Worden. Furthermore, there is evidence that Josiah and Thomas acted in cooperation on a couple of occasions. For example, in January 1865 Josiah Eva and Thomas Worden were two of the two hundred or so electors to publically support James Martin Esq. for election as member of parliament for Barossa. The supporters' names are not listed in any particular order, but the names of Josiah Eva and Thomas Worden appear next to one another.

The Register 24/1/1865

In November 1880 Messrs J. Eva and T. Worden tried unsuccessfully to persuade the Barossa West Council to oppose the leasing of Crown lands in the district.

Reports of District Council Meetings
South Australian Advertiser, 12/11/1880

Josiah had in fact been a member of the Barossa West Council in 1868. His name appears in several newspaper items, and it is clear that he was a person of some significance in the early history of Williamstown. He demonstrated righteousness by donating the land on which the Wesleyan Chapel was built.

The Register 29/6/1868 The Register 16/3/1866 The Register 29/5/1858	South Australian Advertiser 5/10/1860
The Register 12/12/1867

Since Josiah had been a miner in England, it seems quite plausible that he proceeded to the Victoria Creek district with the intention of continuing in that occupation. According to an article in The South Australian of 2/4/1850, "in this region the Enterprise Mining Company and the Barossa Mining Company work copper mines, but apparently as yet with no great success". By 11/3/1850 Josiah had taken up farming: Josiah Eva, a farmer of Victoria Creek, Barossa, was one of those who attached their names to a public endorsement of newspaper editor John Stephens.

The Register, 11/3/1850

Farmer Josiah Eva presumably did not own his farm, at first. In March 1856 he was one of a group of "land-owners and occupiers" to object to a road closure planned by Mt Crawford District Council. The wording of their letter suggests that Josiah occupied land owned by a Mr Leigh in England.

The Register, 5/4/1856 – see the full article

I think that the road controversy was eventually settled to everyone's satisfaction.

On 7/5/1857 Josiah purchased 88 acres of his own, paying £88/5/- for it. A year later he sold all his farm stock, farm implements and household furniture; the auction advertisement says that he was leaving the district.

The Register, 8/5/1857

The Register, 14/5/1858

The June 18th meeting of the Barossa West Council received a letter from Josiah Eva resigning as Councillor, from non-residence in the district, and the council vacancy was duly filled at a meeting of ratepayers on July 17th. Nevertheless, Josiah either did not leave the district or returned after a short absence, since the 25/1/1859 meeting of the Barossa West Council granted a slaughtering licence to Josiah Eva.

From 1859 onwards Josiah Eva's name appears in many reports of meetings of Mount Crawford and Parra Wirra District Councils, in the context of contracts for road-making and other works. Perhaps he had decided to give up farming because enough work of this kind was available, and more to his liking.

South Australian Advertiser, 6/8/1859

The Register, 30/9/1870

On 8/10/1860 the Barossa West Council decided to establish a pound at Victoria Creek, and Josiah Eva was appointed poundkeeper. His name appears on a large number of "impounding notices" published in the South Australian papers between 1860 and 1865.

South Australian Advertiser, 13/10/1860

South Australian Advertiser, 29/11/1861

In 1877 a copper mine named Wheal Friendship was started near Williamstown. Mr J. Eva was elected as one of the directors of the company. Despite expert opinion that the mine was promising, it seems that required investment capital could not be raised, and the company was wound up the following year.

South Australian Advertiser 12/3/1877 The Register 11/7/1878

The Register 24/2/1877 The Register 12/7/1881

Josiah was appointed poundkeeper again on 15/7/1876, and resigned on 22/10/1877. And in 1894 – shortly before his death – he was poundkeeper for a third time.

South Australian Advertiser, 24/7/1876

The Register, 26/10/1877 The Register, 26/10/1894

One of the Williamstown reports of 1877 mentions the death of Josiah Eva's wife.

The Register, 19/2/1877

There is a street in Williamstown named after Josiah.

From the October 2009 issue of Willy Wagtail
(published by the Williamstown Community Council)