The Search for Ella Cossill - Solving the Mystery of the Woman in the Photo

 

At last, and quite by accident,  here's who she is. 

One of the most enduring mysteries in our family research journey was the  photo of the woman with the gun. One family had the photo (below) with the name Ella written on the back of it, and it was logically believed that Ella was the name of the woman in the photo. It was the most evidence there was to work on in those pre-internet days.

 Through the processes of elimination and deduction, it was thought that this could be a photo of  the first-born child of Charles Cossill and Pourewa.  Ella was a family name across several generations. It was a logical conclusion.  For many years this photo has been shared, circulated and published in family histories with the name Ella as the only evidence, and we claimed this woman as our own. 

Thanks to the internet and all the research and genealogical information now so easily available, we have been able to identify an increasing amount of evidence about the Cossill family from their very beginnings in New Zealand.

When we recently discovered that "Ella" was actually called Sarah, and we found her on a whaling ship heading for New Hampshire, it became a challenge to match the same woman with this photo. The  firearm and bayonet - and the photograph itself - did not fit in timewise with Sarah's final departure from New Zealand in 1857.  

There were more questions than answers: If this isn't Sarah formerly-thought-to-be-Ella, then who was she? 

And then, quite by accident, thanks to a suggestion from distant-cousin-Celia to join the "Old North Auckland - Northland Photos & Stories" Facebook group, I stumbled across the photo of our by now mystery woman in an old  post. A Cossill descendant had posted the photo with the Cossill story,  and other people joined the conversation,  noting that they had the same photo  - but had a different name - and posted their same photo with their indisputable evidence. 

The name on their photo is Hene/Jane Maxwell (1862 - 1932).  Hene/Jane was the daughter of Heremaia Te Wake and Maraea Topia  (and the half sister of Dame Whina Cooper). She married James Maxwell.

So after all these years of studying the photo for clues and thinking up all the possible contexts of who and where this woman was and how she fitted into our family,  it turns out she doesn't.  I'm quite saddened to lose her, but very pleased to have been able to solve that mystery at last and to "return" her to her own family after being a member of ours for so long.

  Although how she came to be in a collection of family photos with the name Ella on the back is another mystery. 

I am so very grateful to this amazing woman in the photo, Jane Te Wake, as even though it turns out she's not ours, by trying to prove she was Ella, we actually discovered Sarah Cossill, and we may not have done so otherwise. 

Grateful thanks to the Cossill descendants who instigated and contributed to the FB post that started this revelation and to Jane Te Wake's whanau who shared their information. Thanks also to NZ author Joan Druett, who had discovered our Sarah* long before we did.  Joan used information from an earlier post in this blog to join the dots to her information and started us on the process of matching her Sarah with our Ella, finding they were the same person.   And thanks to the ancestors for allowing a little bit more about themselves to be revealed.  Great team work, whanau!

As always, feel free to challenge, question or add to anything I've written.  Whatever helps us get to the facts is always helpful. See email option on the right, or add a comment at the bottom. 

Check out the Cossill label on the right for further posts about the Cossill story and Sarah's whaling adventure.

* Petticoat Whalers, Whaling wives at sea, 1820 - 1920 by Joan Druett (1991). Sarah has been hiding in plain sight since 1991 in Joan's book, pp 124, 126-7.

Follow this link to a blog post  by Joan Druett about Sarah Cossill Evans. 

The Ella Cossill Story (Part 4) Sarah Evans becomes Sarah Heath

This is Part 4 of my research on the life of Sarah Cossill  (formerly thought to be named Ella Cossill), daughter of Charles Cossill and Pourewa, of Mangonui, New Zealand.  Please note there have been many variants of the spelling of Cossill and Mangonui over time, and some  have been used below where relevant. As always, please feel free to question, challenge, correct, clarify or add to any of my information below. It's a work in progress. Either leave a message at the end or email me (see side panel).  If you are a Cossill descendant or researcher, please feel free to join the private Face Book group, Descendants of Charles and Pourewa - all. 

To put Part 4 in context, Read the following posts first: 

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

- - - - - - - - - - -

Some time after her return to America as a pregnant widow in 1857, and likely some time after the late Charles A Evans and Sarah's son Charles Herbert Evans was born in July or August that year, Sarah Cossill Evans met John Gerald Heath. Perhaps Sarah moved to Raymond, Rockingham for some reason and met John there, as that is where they were later married.  

Sarah Heath, formerly Evans, born Cossill with son Charles Herbert Evans c 1862

(Date calculated from the appearance of the age of the child.) 

Sarah's new husband, John Gerald Heath,  was born May 27, 1833, at Candia, in Rockingham County, New Hampshire.  He was about the fourth of at least 12 children of Samuel Heath and Mary Clifford.  Samuel was recorded as a labourer in the 1850 federal census and was by then living about ten kilometres away at Raymond, Rockingham, and John Gerald was aged 17 and at school.  By the 1860 census Samuel was a farmer and John was aged 27, living at the same address and was a cordwainer (shoemaker) along with his brother and at least 3 other men in the same street!

John Gerald Heath  History of Northfield, New Hampshire, 1780-1905

 On June 8th, 1861, Sarah Evans (born Cossill) married John Gerald Heath at Raymond, Rockingham, New Hampshire.  It's about 50 miles (80 kilometres) from Northfield, so I wonder how they got to meet, and  why they got married in Rockingham and not Northfield. I wonder if Charles Evans' family had opinions on the new relationship? 

The record (which is a copy from the original register) states that the groom's residence was at Raymond, and he was born at Nottingham, New Hampshire. The bride's residence was Sanbornton, New Hampshire (presumably still with the Tiltons), and it states that New Zealand was her place of birth. John was 28  and employed as a shoemaker, and Sarah was 25 and a domestic.  This was John's first marriage and Sarah's second, and the ceremony was conducted by a Justice of the Peace.  This would indicate that it was likely to have been a small ceremony. Note that neither mothers' names were included and Sarah's father's name is given as Charles Carssell - born in New Ireland.  This is likely to be a transcription error and should be New Zealand,  or it could be the hint we have been looking for to locate further evidence of his origins? It's unlikely to be a clue - more like a mistake in the paperwork, but there  was a short-lived New Ireland island settlement off the coast of Papua New Guinea and there was a place called New Ireland in Maine. There's no evidence of Charles Cossill ever being  in either place. It shows the importance of always going back to primary document for evidence.

"New Hampshire Marriage Records, 1637-1947"

"New Hampshire Marriage Records, 1637-1947"

Marriage register entry for Sarah's second marriage to John G Heath.
 
New Hampshire Marriages, 1720-1920 Film#0005511244 Image 70 of 474 

Note in Sarah and John G Heath's marriage registration (above) where it requires name and place of birth of parents: John G Heath supplies both his parents' names and places of birth, and Sarah writes her father's name  - Charles Cossell - but no place of birth.  What a missed opportunity for us to have learned or confirmed where he was born!  We can infer that she may not have known this information. She includes her mother's first name only - Margaret - and place of birth has been shortened to Zeland [sic].  Transcribers must have thought it was a maiden name of Leland.  Compare the original handwriting of Sarah's place of birth of New Zeland [sic] and you can see it's the same spelling - minus the "a" in each  Zeland and the same way of doing the capital "Z".  That is why it's always good to see the original copies of documents where possible. 

Sarah had at least three more pregnancies after Charles Herbert Evans was born and, so very sadly, none of her babies survived birth or early infancy. What must this have been like for her to go through each pregnancy and birth with increasing despair that this one, too, would end in tragedy?  

On 8th March 1862,  George William Heath was born to John G and Sarah Evens Heath - exactly nine months after their wedding - just saying. This must be the same child known as George Elmer Heath also recorded born 1st March 1862 and died 7 October 1862.  This child is buried at Tilton Cemetery, Belknap County, New Hampshire. 

Then one year later, on March 5th, 1863, Sarah gave birth to an unnamed stillborn baby boy. Sarah's maiden name was recorded as Sarah Evans. 

In June 1863 John G Heath, aged 30, shoe maker, was included in the list of new subjects to do military duty (US Civil War Draft Registrations Records 1863 - 1865.) I can find no evidence that he was involved in any active service - which is not to say that he didn't.

On October 12th, 1872, Sarah gave birth to an unnamed male. The father was recorded as John G Heath. There is no evidence that this baby lived for any length of time. 

The next information I can find about John and Sarah is the 1880 Census.  

1880 Census (16th June);

John G (47), and Sarah (44) Heath were still living in Northfield. Sarah's son Charles Evans (23) is living with them as a boarder. Sarah is 'keeping house", and both John and Charles are working at a woollen mill. John seems to have given up cordwaining (shoemaking).  They have 3 other boarders with them (two males and one female) who were also working at the woollen mill. Some time between 1880 and 1889 Charles started going by his stepfather's surname.  This may have been happening interchangeably up until this time, but it was locked in at the time of his marriage in 1889. 

In July 1886, John and Sarah  came by train from Tilton with delegates to a grand and raucous reunion of the GAR (Grand Army of the Republic)  at San Francisco via Los Angeles.  Delegates came from far and wide and a robust and jolly time seems to have been had by all. Check out this article in the Los Angeles Herald, 31 July, 1886,  for a very long-winded article about the event, but it gives you an idea of the company John and Sarah kept on the train and the experience they had. (John G Heath and Mrs J.G. Heath - Tilton - it has to be them!). If they weren't attending the reunion then, might they have been using the journey as an opportunity to visit Sarah's siter Marilla who had moved to the West Coast?  This theory awaits further research. See further below for an extract from the History of Northfield where it states than John and Sarah Heath went to Southern California several times for John's health.  Again, this possibly provided opportunities to catch up with Sarah's sister Marilla - to be explored in a later post. 

On 5th November, 1889, Sarah's son Chas Heath (formerly Evans) married Ida M Sanborn at Tilton, NH. Charles' occupation is railroading, and it is his first marriage and Ida's 2nd - she was divorced. 

 1891  Birth of John Samuel Heath: son of Charles Heath (formerly Evans) and wife Ida, and Sarah's first (and only - it seems - grandchild). 

1900 Directory: 

Charles H Heath is listed as a fireman,  living on Park St, Tilton. (Probably fireman on trains rather than putting out fires? See occupation below.) 

John G Heath is listed living on Granite Street, Tilton, and boarding house given as occupation. 

1900 Census (7th June): 

Sarah and John G  Heath were living in Northfield, Merrimack. Sarah's birth is given as New Zealand in February 1836, and both her parents were recorded as born in New Zealand.  She declares having one child only and that one child is still living. Her stillbirths weren't counted as births, but sadly little George Elmer/George William's short life was not counted here either.  She  gives 1857 as the year of her immigration to US (not 1856, interestingly, when she first arrived with husband Charles A Evans). John and Sarah are operating a boarding house on Granite Street, and they have ten boarders living with them, including two married couples (two females in total).   All the boarders work at the woollen mill or hosiery mill apart from one man who is a rail road section guard.  

Still living in Northfield town in 1900, Charles Herbert Heath (57) gives August 1847 as his birth month and year and his mother's birthplace as New Zealand. He is a railroad engineer, can read, write and speak English and owns his own freehold house which is on a farm, although I see he has a mortgage on his property later on. The letter code was not very clear. Ida indicates her birth as February, 1857, and that she has had one child who is still living - their son John, 9 years old, at the same address. They have two young girls recorded as lodgers. Twelve-year-old Eva Dinsmore, born February 1888, attends school and can read, write and speak English. Her parents were both born in New Hampshire.  Six-year-old Ruth A. Cobbett attends school. Her father was born in New Hampshire and her mother was born in Ireland. Side note about Ruth: In the 1910 Census, Ruth (aged 16)  is recorded as living at home with her parents and also recorded in the home of her grandparents in Northfield. Maybe her parents included her as usually there, but she was actually at her grandparents at the time the enumerator visited? I can find no connection between the families. This Ruth is Ruth Adella Cobbett. Confusingly, there is another Ruth A Cobbett in the same vicinity and born the same year. I can see that some family trees have them mixed up. (Note: Ruth Adella had parents, brothers and sisters living nearby, and married into the Willey family who appear to be connected to Dinsmore, Heath, Evans and most of the other old families of Northfield.) Eva Blanche Dinsmore (1887 - 1957) was the daughter of Ida's brother Olin A Dinsmore and his wife Josephine Boucher. The marriage ended in divorce sometime after 1900 and Josephine remarried. Note that by 1920, Olin A was a full-time lodger with Charles and Ida. Eva became a nurse and married Robert L Cox. She died in 1957. Robert L Cox's grandfather was Sylvester E Cox who was Eva's mother Josephine's second husband. Confused?  

1901, on 28th December, John Gerald Heath died at Northfield, aged 68, from heart failure, with acute bronchitis as a contributing cause. 

New Hampshire, U.S., Death and Disinterment Records, 1754 - 1947. 

John G Heath died intestate, and Sarah and her son Charles had to petition the court to appoint Walter Wyatt of Tilton to administer his estate. 

1907: Sarah  Heath died on 11th May at Northfield after residing there for 52 years.  Her death certificate indicates her age was 71 years, 3 months and 8 days,  and gave her date of birth as 3 February, 1836 at Mangonui, New Zealand. Note that her name says Sarah C Heath - the C is probably a reference to her maiden name Cossill.  Her colour was given as white. Her father's name was given as John Corsell, a farmer born in New Zealand.  Sarah's mother's maiden name was not given.  Sarah had been suffering from nephritis for four years. 

 Sarah also died intestate, and her only son, Charles Herbert Heath petitioned the court to have the administration of her estate, which was valued at $3,500 worth of real estate.  

The graves of  Sarah Heath born Ella Cossill, John Gerald Heath, and their son George Elmer Heath. (Source: Find a Grave) 

And so, after a life spanning so much of early colonial New Zealand history and  some of the most significant events in American history, Sarah Cossill-Evans-Heath died on the other side of the world, far from where she was born to a released captive Maori woman and an illiterate English sailor-turned-labourer. 

For many years, Sarah had been "lost" to her New Zealand  family connections, likely after the last of her siblings with any memory of her passed away.  Sarah having had no descendants after her grandson John Samuel Heath also contributed to our "loss" of her.  There was no0 one left in America to remember her. Even though other Cossill descendants had been looking for her,  she was thought to be called Ella - and that, of course, led us to brick walls.  

Our discovery of Sarah is totally thanks to New Zealand historian and writer Joan Druett who was searching for a Sarah Gorsell, wife of whaling captain Charles Evans who was buried on an island in Mangonui, within sight of his father-in-law's house. From that tiniest piece of information, published in the newspaper in 1857, we found Charles and Pourewa's daughter - and much more. 

Charles Evans and Sarah Cossill had long been lost to their respective families and, poignantly, each of their graves has long lain forgotten in the vicinity of each other's homes. We don't know the exact location of Charles Evans' grave, although it can be assumed to be in the same location as Pourewa's.   Sarah is buried in Park Cemetery, Tilton, Belknap County, New Hampshire.  Her family details have now been added to the  Find a Grave

website.   

And - most special of all, just recently, Cossill-descendent Sue and her grandson Michael were able to visit  Sarah and her family's grave at Tilton while holidaying in New Hampshire.  We can be pretty sure that this is the first visit Sarah has had from a New Zealand family member. It  feels so special to have been able to connect Sarah back to her family after so many years.  All we need to do now is to find Chares Evans' grave on Paewhenua, then they can both rest peacefully.  

Stay tuned for my next posts which will be about what happened next to Sarah's son Charles and his family, and answer the question, "Did Sarah ever catch up with any of her family again after leaving New Zealand in 1857?"

 Sources: 

Petticoat Whalers by Joan Druett (1991) 

Family Search 

Find a Grave

Ancestry.com

My Heritage 

History of Northfield, New Hampshire, 1780-1905

The Ella Cossill Story, Part 3: Sarah Evans Returns to America

 This post  is Part 3 of a series which adds to the story of English-born Charles Cossill and his Maori wife Pourewa (later known as Margaret) who raised a family in the far north of New Zealand from the mid 1830s. These posts investigate what happened to their first-born child  believed to have been called Ella - but later discovered to have been known as Sarah  - with many variants of the spelling of the surname Cossill. Follow this link for Part 1, and Part 2 of  Ella's/Sarah's story. Please leave a comment at the end or email me (see side panel for email function) if there is any information you would like me to amend or include. I am happy to be challenged as this is a work in progress, and it will be updated as new information arises.    All my information has been fact-checked with links or sources acknowledged or comes directly from primary evidence available online, mostly through Family Search, My Heritage, or Ancestry.com.  Even then, the information in some documents is only as accurate as details which were given or known at the time.  My speculation is clearly indicated as such.  I am incredibly grateful to New Zealand author Joan Druett who discovered our Ella/Sarah  in her research on women in whaling. She found my research here on Charles and Pourewa and joined the dots to connect it with her research on Sarah the whaling wife. I encourage you to read her books  to gain a greater understanding  of the context in which our Ella/Sarah lived. From this point on Ella  will be referred to as Sarah. 

It is interesting to speculate on Sarah's  decision to return to America as a 20 to 21-year old  widow,  the only female on the whale boat Jireh Swift - and pregnant.  The wife of Captain William Earl (also known as Earle) of the Jireh Swift had been known to travel with him, but I can find no evidence of her on this particular voyage, so Sarah is likely to have travelled unchaperoned.  It's a long time to be the only female on a whaler, even if it was returning straight home. Was it a measure of his respect for the late Charles or pity for his widow  that prompted William Earl to take Sarah back to America as a passenger?  Regardless, she would have been expected to pay for her passage which took three months. She either had the money already or may have been eventually entitled to her late husband's share of the whaling profits to date and possibly inherited his estate on return to America. Pure speculation, but the payment had to come from somewhere.  What made Sarah choose to leave her mother, father and siblings - and her buried husband -  and return to the other side of the world to uncertainty?  She had only been back in New Zealand for a few days since stowing away on the Arctic the previous year.  Sarah must have made a deliberate decision to give birth to her child in America - where she would have met Charles' family the previous year.  She must have liked them enough or felt obliged enough to return - or there may have been discord within her own family enough to make her not want to stay. Or maybe she just felt she had more opportunities in America - even as a solo mother. Charles must have left her well provided enough for her to consider being able to survive financially, or she had an expectation that his father could help her. 

 Given any of the possible circumstances that set this course of events in motion the previous year when Sarah stowed away on the Arctic,  she was undoubtedly a strong, independent and resilient woman who must have known it was unlikely that she would ever see her family again. 

The Jireh Swift left Mangonui on the 2nd of February and arrived back in New Bedford on May 6th 1857.  I have no details about  Sarah's movements after the Jireh Swift arrived at New Bedford, but she must have made her way back to Charles' home in Northfield, Merrimack, New Hampshire. 

"New Bedford, Massachusetts, 1854," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/17826.

Do the Maths: 

By the time she left New Zealand on the Jireh Swift,  Sarah must have been aware she was pregnant. 

There have been two dates given for the birth of her son Charles Herbert Evans (later changed  to Charles Herbert Heath). According to a Thurston family history (published 1892), he was born on 1st July, 1857, at Northfield, New Hampshire.  At the risk of being  . . . indelicate . . . from this date, we can assume that conception would have been around late September 1856, well within the time frame of Sarah being on the Arctic with Charles Evans.  

On Charles Herbert Heath's headstone, the date August 11,1857 is given as his date of birth. Charles had also given August 1857 as his month and year of birth in the 1900 census.  This would suggest a conception date of about November 4th, which is 7 days after the death of his father on 28th October, 1856.  Accounting for Sarah being up to two weeks overdue in her pregnancy, it still works out that conception must have occurred not long before Charles A Evans' death (or not long after? Just a thought . . . ) In any case, Charles Evans would never have known Sarah was pregnant. 

 Sarah was in Northfield, New Hampshire by the time of her son's birth. I have found what appears to be a 1905 transcript of Charles Herbert Evans' birth certificate. 

It has an unnamed male child, born August 11, at Northfield. The father's name is Chas Evans and there is no mention of the mother's name.  At the bottom of the certificate it says

"The State of New Hampshire: I hereby certify the above birth record is a correct transcript as required by Chap. 21, Session Laws, 1905. Signed Clerk of Northfield, Date: Dec 1, 1905.

This must be Sarah's baby, though interesting that her name wasn't included in the information.  Strangely, there's occasional references elsewhere (will add them when I re-find them) to Charles Herbert's father being Lyman B Evans (who was the late Charles  A Evans' brother).  This is not possible - given the dates and locations of all the key players and is probably incorrect information supplied by a family member at a later date. 

The next information I can find for Sarah is the 1860 (June) Federal census.

1860 Census (June):  Sarah Evans and son, 2-year-old Charles Evans, are in Sanbornton, Belknap, New Hampshire. Sarah is recorded as a house servant, with her son included in the household. 

Sanbornton Bridge, 1860 

Sarah is in the employment of Colonel Jeremiah Carter Tilton (aged 41) and his wife Emily  Tilton (aged 40).  Other household members noted in the 1860 census are the Tiltons' sons Frank (14), Fred (11), and Charles (3). Tilton is very much a local name of significance and is connected to all the other notable local families by marriage across several generations. There is also a town called Tilton which was created alongside - and absorbed some of - Sanbornton in the 1850s and was named after the family's ancestral connection to the area. Jeremiah C was instrumental in the creation of this new town. 

Jeremiah C joined his father's woollen manufacturing business in 1848 (J & JC Tilton) and remained there for the next 20 years when the mill became G H Tilton Hosiery Co. (This information will be useful in the next installment of Sarah's story.) He was also a member of the Legislature in 1855.   In the 1860 census, Jeremiah C Tilton's occupation is listed as a manufacturer. Such was his interest in the textile process that he applied for, and was granted,  at least three patents for weaving, loom and flocking equipment. Jeremiah sold his business at the beginning of the Civil War when military responsibilities took over his time.  

In the 1861 New Hampshire Annual Register and United States Calendar, Jeremiah C Tilton is listed as a Justice and a Railroad Commissioner for the town of Sanbornton. In April 1861, after the outbreak of the Civil War, Jeremiah was one of the special aides appointed to manage the recruitment of volunteers to supply the regiment required of the state of New Hampshire. By August of that year he had been appointed Commissary of Subsistence. It was during his time as a commanding officer of commissary supplies that he contracted malaria in the swamps of Virginia, and the ongoing resulting health complications eventually caused his premature death at age 53 in 1872.  Jeremiah was  also the postmaster of Sanbornton Bridge from 1871 and was widely involved in public affairs until his death. 

Sarah appeared to have landed a job and accommodation with one of the notable families of Northfield.

As an interesting aside, in 1868 (after the war and after Sarah's time with the family)Jeremiah C  patented an "improved composition for dressing hair . . .  and for restoring grey and faded hair to its original colour and promoting its growth." The ingredients included precipitate of sulphur, superacetate of lead, glycerine, borax, spermaceti, Barbary tallow - and perfume. . .  

Other points of interest to note from this 1860 census page is that Sarah is the only non-New Hampshire-born resident on the entire page. Her place of birth is recorded as New Zealand, and then above it, Pac.Isl. seems to have been added as an after thought (Pacific Island).   There were 27 white males, 16 white females, no coloured males or females, no blind, deaf, dumb, or insane people, and one foreign born person - our Sarah. Here, and everywhere else I have seen this information required,  Sarah is classified as white.   By omission (a column to indicate persons under the age of 20 who cannot read and write) it is inferred that Sarah is literate. 

Of further interest, Sarah is living  probably two doors down from her parents-in-law.  House No. 548 on the page records the details of Sarah's late husband Charles Evans' family: father John, age 59, a farm labourer; his second wife Laura, aged 48; and his twin sons Horace and Hiram (19) and daughter Mahala (17).  The Rollins' house (recorded as house no.549 on the page) is between Sarah's parents-in-law's and her employer Jeremiah C Tilton's house (house no. 550 on the page). I wonder if this means that Sarah was on good terms with her in-laws and they were helping her find accommodation, employment and support nearby? Or did they not want her in their house, or maybe their house was too small? 

Of perplexing interest  in the census is that Sarah is recorded to own real estate to the value of $2000. No personal estate is recorded. This is more than her employer's  declared real estate of $1,500 and personal estate of $100.  I note that John Evans had no real or personal estate recorded, and Sarah's amount was similar to other householders on the street where it was recorded. Was this her husband Charles' estate that she inherited?  Where was it and why wasn't she living on it?  And if she had independent means, why was she a house servant? 

So many questions to ponder. But we now know what happened to her and why we could find no reference to her at all in New Zealand. 

 I'm pretty sure nothing nearly as exciting and adventurous happened to Sarah again in her life, and yet living in a totally different culture must have been adventure enough.  Just think of the short distance in time between Sarah's mother Pourewa's  "traditional" Maori early childhood in pre-Colonial New Zealand  and Sarah's son Charles' early childhood in the society of urbanised New Hampshire. What monumental changes in less than about fifty years. 

Stay tuned for the next instalment of "What happened next?"

Sources: 

History of Northfield, New Hampshire, 1780-1905. In two parts 

Information on Jeremiah C Tilton is on p 303 of the book but page # 868 of the document on line. 

https://whalinghistory.org/

The Whaling History website is a collaboration between Mystic Seaport Museum and New Bedford Whaling Museum.  

1860 US Federal Census 

Link takes you to Family Search site which requires a (free) membership. 

The Ella Cossill Story (Part 2) Charles A Evans' Story

Please feel free to contact me to correct any errors I may have made or if you would like to add any more information.  If any of these are your ancestors or their families, I would love to hear from you - especially if you can add any further details or photos. This is the story of Charles Albert Evans who Ella/Sarah Cossill appears to have run away to sea with in 1856.

Note: I have used the contemporary spelling Mongonui for Mangonui where relevant.

🐋 🐋 🐋 🐋 🐋 🐋 🐋 🐋

See the previous post for Part 1 of this story ending in 1857, where we left  Charles A Evans finally buried on Paewhenua Island, Mangonui, NZ -  within yards of  his parents-in-law Charles and Margaret (Pourewa) Cossill's home - after being stored onboard the whaling ship Arctic since his death the previous October. 

Paewhenua Island abt 1994

Looking down towards Pourewa's grave 1994. Is Charles A Evans buried here too? 

Charles A Evans' widow Sarah Evans (born Ella Cossill) headed for New Bedford on the homeward trip of the whaler Jireh Swift which was conveniently in port at Mongonui at the time of the Arctic's arrival with Charles' body. From there she continued on to his hometown in Northfield,  New Hampshire.  

The whaling ship  Arctic, previously under the command of Charles A Evans, had been captained by second-in-command Peter Butman (also spelled as Beedman) since Charles' death the previous October. After his funeral, the Arctic  left Mongonui  to continue whaling and didn't return to Fairhaven, USA, until 1858 (some sources say 1861 - maybe there were two separate voyages. To be confirmed.) 

Whale ship Jireh Swift on which Sarah returned to America in 1857.

Before we leave Charles A Evans to rest in peace, let's find out a little bit more about him and his family and the people who would have been in his thoughts so far from home. He is, after all,  Pourewa's burial companion on Paewhenua Island, and his family are the people that Sarah returned to after his burial.  

The earliest reference I can find to  Charles Albert Evans'  date of birth is in a history of the Thurstan family published in 1892. It gives his date of birth as 6th February 1827, at Northfield, Merrimack, New Hampshire. I have also seen an "H" used instead of the "A" probably mis-transcribed.   It includes that he married Sarah Corsil of New Zealand on 6th February 1856 - a slight discrepancy with the official document - and that he drowned in the Indian Ocean January 1857 - another discrepancy, but easily confused with his date of burial. 

From Thurston Genealogies (1892) 

Charles' father was John Evans  (possibly junior) - born about 1802 in Northfield New Hampshire where he lived all his life. Charles' mother was Mehitable Thurston (1808 -1852), born in  Gilmanton, New Hampshire - from a well-known family of descendants of early English settlers.  John Evans has been recorded as a mechanic, shoemaker (1850 census), farm labourer(1860 census) and labourer (1870 census). Mehitable was killed in 1852 when she was hit by a horse-drawn vehicle when rescuing her deaf daughter (presumably didn't hear the vehicle?) Six years later, 57-year-old John Evans married again to Laura Willey aged 47 from nearby Canterbury.  She does not appear to have been married before, and I can find no further evidence of her life before marrying John Evans. .  

Various genealogies and  online family trees attribute more children to John and Mehitable  than was humanly possible for poor Mehitable to produce - an easy mistake when so many of their extended families shared the same first and middle name and many local families seem to have been quite inter-related over the generations. In some online family tree sites, Charles A Evans and his siblings have also been incorrectly included as descendants of James T and Mehitable Evans from Strafford, New Hampshire - but I think I've got it sussed now. 

John Evans and Mehitable Thurstan's children  were most likely: 

- Lydia Thurston Evans: (1822 - 1888) married Cyrus Woodruff Lord - a farmer. 

- Lyman Barker Evans: (1824 - 1863) farmer, married Diana Copp. He served in the 8th Vermont Regiment and died in hospital at Baton Rouge, Louisiana on September 13th 1863. He is buried in the Baton Rouge National Cemetery.  Note that Lyman Barker Evans has been mistakenly conflated with his brother  - our Charles Albert Evans - in one published genealogy, and also mysteriously, acknowledged as the father of Sarah's son Charles Herbert Evans, in an official birth document. More investigations needed there.

- Charles Albert Evans: (1827 - 1856) "Our" Charles, married our Ella/Sarah Cossill. It seems he was involved in whaling for most of his life. The earliest record of him is as a greenhand in 1845. His details were mixed with his brother Lyman Barker Evans (above) in at least one published book about the family. See below for a more detailed account of his whaling career. And see previous post for details about his death in 1856. 

- Julia Ann Evans: (1829-1905), married Amos Kimball Copp, a carpenter and brother of Lyman Barker Evan's wife Diana Copp. Amos Kimball Copp served "against the rebellion" and was wounded. Julia Ann died in 1905 from malnutrition as a result of paralysis. 

- Mary Francis: born1831 - died in infancy. 

- Gardiner Thurston Evans: (1835 - 1853).  In 1850 he was living with his parents at Merrimack, Northfield, and recorded as a labourer (aged 17 - 1850 census). In 1851 he was a "greenhand" on the whaling ship William C Nye (departed Massachusetts) on which brother Charles was the 2nd mate. On the same voyage in 1853 Gardiner Thurston Evans drowned at sea - unknown date, place and circumstances. 

- Mary Francis Evans: (1837 - 1855) Possibly the daughter who was deaf.

- Hiram Bradbury Evans: (1841 - 1864) twin. By age 19 he was a shoemaker (1860 census) living at home with his parents.  He served in the 9th New Hampshire Regiment (Company G) as a private and was promoted to sergeant. He died in hospital in1864 from wounds received the the Battle of the Wilderness. 

- Horace Bradbury Evans: (1841 - 1864) twin, By age 19 he was an operative (factory worker) (1860 census). He served  as a private in the 12th Massachusetts Regiment, (Company E), was also wounded in the Battle of the Wilderness and died in hospital in 1864. 

- Mahala Etta Evans: (1843 -1904) married  Herbert Goss Chase who was an optician and who served in the 9th NH Regiment as a musician.  (Sad when a woman's biography tells us more about husband than her.) Known as Etta, she died of typhoid at aged 60 and is buried in Lowell MA. Her obituary again refers to her husband's profession as an optician, but includes that she was past president of the Woman's Relief Fund and was "a woman well known for having many friends in the city."

I have searched the data base of New Bedford Whaling Museum and have found the following references to Charles A Evans' whaling career, showing his progress from "greenhand" to Ship's master. Note - some of the details (e.g., 1st mate or second mate, seem to vary according to the source - to be reviewed.) 

 - 1845 - Ship Arab (Fairhaven, MA) as greenhand; Either Loring or Samuel T Braley, master. 

 - 1849 - Ship Benjamin Tucker (New Bedford, MA) as boat steerer (Daniel D Wood, master). 

 - 1851 - Ship William C. Nye as 1st mate  - same ship as his  brother Gardner T Evans. (C.H Adams, master). 

 - 1854 - Ship Arctic as 1st mate

 - 1855 - Bark Byron (New Bedford, MA) as steward; William E Tower, master;  Need to confirm this is our Charles - maybe incorrect. 

 - 1856 - Ship Arctic (Fairhaven, MA)  as master 

Details of the Benjamin Tucker from Ship Registers of New Bedford, Massachusetts published 1940. Note: 285 must have been the voyage our Charles was on, which sailed July 18, 1849. 

Whale ship Benjamin Tucker in Honolulu, 1857 (after Charles A Evans time). On her return passage from the Arctic, Benjamin Tucker encountered a storm which damaged her rigging. Captain Spencer commissioned this ambrotype depicting the damage to send to the vessel's owners. It is one of the earliest known photographs of an American whaleship. (Wikipedia)

Charles' 1849-1851 voyage as a boat steerer on the Benjamin Tucker is particularly interesting as he features significantly in the ship's log  kept by the cooper Daniel Chappell.  It seems to me, from reading as much of it as I could decipher, that Daniel and Charles were good friends - to the point where it is clear from identifying Charles' handwriting that he is the co-writer of a significant amount of the log - especially  towards the end. It looks like he enjoyed handwriting and he has an elegant and well controlled style with flourishing capital letters in his opening initials and headings.   On several pages at the back of  the log he has copied poems, either from a book or memory, and practised various swirls and flourishes and other decorative details. There are also drawings and a few sayings or quotes and possibly a few in-jokes with Daniel Chappell. There are also cartoon-esque drawings  - probably done by Charles, indicating a sense of humour. 

The log is mainly brief factual details of weather at morning and evening,  the number and name of the sails used during the day,  general employment and activities of the crew,  any whale sighting and subsequent  activity,  and which other ships had been sighted or "gammed" (visited). Occasionally, there are some matter-of-fact accounts of ship-board discord.  Of particular interest is the following  entry of January 7th 1850 (page 24 - 25, with spelling and punctuation as per the original): 

"Begins and ends with fresh breezes from the NE Westerly. The watch imployed in helping the cooper [?]in oil at least 1/2 past 3pm saw a [s]chool of sperm whales and lowered the boats the 4th mate struck [harpooned] and the mate also the lines got fowl the 4th mater cut and lost his whale the first mate killed his whale and at sunset took him alongside at dark one of the boat steerers and the capt had some [?] words about getting up the cutting falls the capt jumped down in the fore hold with a mind to check him but he found he had his match and got up again and called him aft he went aft and they tryed to put him in irons but cold not the irons was to small the capt bigins to cus him and kick witch John P Willard also boat steerer interfered and told the capt that he wold not stand and see Charles Evans abused the first mate then struck Willard P witch he returned back the capt had bound Evans hands with spun yarn and sent him into the [?]and then went at Willard and struck him with the irons 3 times in the fais and brused him most shamfully and sent him blow the same fat 8oclcok the capt acknowlage that he was to fast and sent Evans on duty agan and promased it shold drop whare it was the watch [?]the falls. So ends this day. Lat 3000South Long 164 W."

January 8th: 

"Begins light breezes from the NE at daylight cut in the whale at 7AM finish cuting at 9AM  the capat had a long talk with Willard and [you?] in that he was sorry that he had used [?] and at last after treating him sent him on duty again the watch imployed in boyling out  the whale So ends this day." 

It seems that January was a particularly stressful  or discordant time on the Benjamin Tucker because before the month was out " . . . the carpenter and one of the boat steerers had a falling out at the supper table . . ." and  "... the capt struck [Portuguesas?] 5/6 times . . . ", and "... flogged cabin boy." 

  

By September the captain was obviously on good enough terms with the boat steerers as is noted that he " invited boat steerers to take tea in his cabin and eat [?].

Our Charles features again on November 15th:

"...One of the boat steerers Charles Evens got his little finger ground/jammed? off between two barrels.. . "

By November 21st Charles finger must have been in a considerably bad condition as "... The capt went on board the 'Milo' the mate of her came on board and cut Charles Evena's finger off..." 

There are some other references by the log author Daniel Chappell alluding to the exploits he and Charles will get up when back on land. Some key words are indecipherable or may be contemporary references.  It requires further research, but suggests that both Daniel and Charles anticipated having a good time.

"... Today I was athinking if my silf and Charles Evans was at home that I would tack him out on the Rail rode track and get some [?]long with the girls but never mind Charles we will be there soon enough to catch a [june bug?] if nothing happens... "

 Charles writes his own thoughts at the end of the log as they just sighted land  - which proved to be Long Island. His writing at the end of this page is uncharacteristically unclear and annoyingly difficult to decipher some of the key words. Your imagination may have to fill the gaps in the meantime; however, it clearly indicates a sense of shared anticipation;

May 30th:

"Well Dan, we are here and here we are like to be unless the new bedford ladies take the [stering?] into their hand for god almightie ...... and he has got a head wind [? ...] poor devils blowing [16?] knots [?...?...] we will send home and have [our? ] names put on the meeting house door then we can sail [?]" 

On May 31st Charles added at the end of his journal entry: 

"The wind is fair and prospects too

           Of arriving in Bedford the first of june 

            It's eight o'clock and I'll retire 

            Dan! You may call me at three if you dare ..." 

 From all that Charles has written and what I have discovered about him, we know he would  have been well educated, with an interest in literature and poetry.   His spelling is better than Daniel Chappell's, but his punctuation is equally absent - not unusual for the times. We could infer  that he was probably precise and accurate with attention to detail (neat practised handwriting with lots of embellishments when he had time or inclination). He enjoyed handwriting, as he had copied several poems and passages of prose  - with his name at the bottom and occasional reference to the original poets and authors. His selections indicate either a limited choice of literature on board to copy or he was a bit of a romantic and philosopher - with wit and a wry humour. Charles has written at least one poem - an acrostic based on the letters of his name, showing an articulate and creative command of language. He seems to have a recurring comment appearing in personal notes; "Wall [well], what of it." 

He must have been quite large  - or at least had thick wrists if the irons were too small to fit around them.  He sounds like a man who doesn't look for a fight but won't back off either.  Clearly, he will say if he thinks something is wrong. Equally, he must have been able to get over any disagreements and not carry a grudge  - as indicated by making his peace with the captain, certainly enough to take private dinner with him and the other boat steerers. It seems he did not let the loss of a little finger affect his career. 

Charles must have had ambition and skill to have worked his way from green hand to ship's captain in just over ten years. It seems that he may have been the stereo-type whaler when anticipating or enjoying the shore-based delights between voyages, He was obviously a risk-taker or confident in his ability to stand up to any authority. He must have known that he couldn't have hidden a woman in his cabin for several years. Or maybe Sarah stowed away without his knowledge.  When Ella/Sarah was discovered,  Charles did the "decent thing" and married her - evidently willingly. The fact that she travelled with him on the next journey must indicate the relationship was sound and that Sarah was certainly no snowflake. 

May 30th 1851 Log entry by Charles A Evans 

End pages of the book where Charles had been practising his writing.  This is his writing even though he is writing Daniel's name. 

I presume this is Charles drawing as it is his handwriting. 

Finally, Charles the poet.  I found this little gem in the log book. 

An Acrostic 

Cho[o]se ye a proper mate

How happy then will be your fate 

And every step will bring to view 

Resplendent happiness for you 

Lusciously you will ride 

Every swell of liffes uneven tide 

Soon the moonbeams you'll outglide 

And now to what shrine shall I bow 

Ever to beauty  no not I 

Virtue is the shrine for me 

And to that I'll bend the knee

Never from it will I stray 

So[o]ner live single  till I am gray 

Chs A Evans 

of Sanbornton New Hampshire

County of Bellknap 

Charles A Evans' acrostic poem

 

Timeline (continued from Part 1) 

1822: 

- July 4 - John Evans marries Mehitable Thurston 

- October 22 - Lydia Thurston Evans born (Charles' sister).

1824: Lyman Barker Evans born (Charles' brother) 

1827: Charles Albert Evans born 

1829: Julia Ann Evans born (Charles' sister)

1831: Mary Francis Evans born (Charles' sister, dies in infancy, year unknown) 

1835: Gardiner Thurston Evans born (Charles' brother) 

1836: Sarah aka Ella Cossill born. 

1837: Mary Francis Evans born (Charles' sister) 

1841: Hiram Bradbury and Horace Bradbury Evans born (Charles' twin brothers) 

1843: Mahala Etta Evans born (Charles' sister) 

!845: Charles A Evans employed as a greenhand on the Arab.

1849: Charles A Evans employed as a boat steerer on the Benjamin Tucker. 

1851: Charles A Evans (2nd mate) and Gardiner Thurston Evans (greenhand) employed on              William C. Nye 

1852: Mehitable Evans dies in accident (aged about 43) 

1853: Gardiner Thurston Evans dies at sea (aged 18-19)

1854: Charles A Evans employed as 1st mate on the Arctic 

1855: Mary Frances Evans (Charles deaf sister) dies. 

1856: Sarah and Charles married at sea, Charles becomes master of the Arctic, Charles                    drowns (aged 29) 

1857:

           - Charles Evans buried on Paewhenua Isalnd 

            - Sarah returns to New Bedford on Jireh Swift 

            - July 1 - given as date of birth of Charles and Sarah's son Charles Herbert Evans in               Thurston family history. 

            - August 11th -  documented birth of Sarah's son Charles Herbert Evans  

1858: May 25 - Charles Evans' father, John Evans (aged 57) marries Laura Willey (aged 47) at Sanbornton.

          - July 19 - Charles Cossill, Sarah's father dies in New Zealand.  

1861: June 8th - Sarah Corsell Evans marries John G Heath (More about this in Part 3)

1863 - Lyman Barker Evans dies  in hospital - likely war-related 

1864: Hiram Bradbury Evans and Horace Bradbury Evans both die in hospital from war-related wounds.  (aged 23)

So that's probably more than anyone has known about Charles A Evans for a long time.  I've thoroughly enjoyed researching him and found out a lot about whaling and a few small towns in New Hampshire  and his family along the way.  I got to know them all quite well through my research and was  saddened each time I discovered an untimely death in the family - which was the fate of the majority of them.  You wonder what kind of impact this had on the rest of the family each time there was another tragedy.  

After not knowing what happened to Ella/Sarah  a few months ago we now probably know more about her husband Charles than we do about her.  Charles A Evans lies buried on Paewhenua Island  probably somewhere near Pourewa and possibly even confused with the grave of Charles Cossill.  It is wonderful that he is now  remembered and is forever a part of the Cossill family. Likewise our Ella (their Sarah) is forever part of New Hampshire now.  Part 3 (next post) will investigate what happened to Sarah - note: there are some clues in the timeline above. 

References and Sources: 

- William C Nye - harpoon for auction  Could have been one of the very ones our Charles used. Just a lucky discovery thanks to Google.  

- 1860 United States Federal Census

- Thurston Genealogies by Brown Thurston, Dalcassian Publishing Company, 1892)

- The History of Sanbornton New Hampshire, Volume 1, by Rev Moses Thurston Runnels (1882) 

- History of Sanbornton, New Hampshire, Volume 2 by Rev Moses Thurston Runnels (1881) 

- History of Northfield  New Hampshire, 1780 - 1905 , Part  1 by Lucy Cross (many errors so any information should be verified with separate evidence). 

- History of Merrimack and Belknap Counties (1885) 

- The Boston Transcript - 1861-08-08  Jeremiah C Tilton promotion to captain

- The Boston Transcript - 1939-08-26  (Dates of John Evans marriages - note that James T Evans information is also included. His details are sometimes confused with John Evans' details.) Publication title: The Boston Transcript, Publication place: Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States, Date: Aug 26 1939, Page: 22  (Link will only work for "My Heritage" subscribers)

The 12th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Gives background, dates and places

New Hampshire Annual Register, and United States Calendar,

- New Hampshire in the Civil War 

- New Bedford Whaling Museum   Whaling Crew list data base 

- New Hampshire Marriage Records 1637 -1947 

- The log of the Benjamin Tucker 1849 (Check out page 24-25 if you can) 

- Model of Jireh Swift and history of ship 

- Buy your own copy of a print of the whaler Jireh Swift 

Family Search ID Numbers and details: 

1. Charles Albert Evans - K4LJ-TL3  - born 6th February 1827, Northfield,  Merrimack, NH,

    (Death incorrectly given as January, 1857)  

    Sarah Corsil (c1829 NZ -?) K4J5-324 (no marriage events - year of birth clearly incorrect) 

2. Charles H Evans  (1834 - ?) LTNM-5V6  (Marriage incorrectly given as 29 May 1856 Connecticut, US)

   Sarah Corsell (1836 - 1907) LTNM-2B1  

   Charles Herbert Evans (1857 - 1930) LLC8-H9W (Sarah's son) 

3. (From Second wedding details) 

   Charles Corsell (1802 - ?) G95N-81D

   Margaret Leland (1806 - ?) G95N-DF8 

  John G Heath (1833-1901) G9PK-38P 

   Sarah Corsell (1836 - 1907) LTNM-2B1  (as above)