Sophia Float (1811-1882) and George Lillywhite (1808-1877).
My 4th great-grand aunt and uncle.
Sophia was baptised on 22 November 1811 at St Mary’s Church in Battle, Sussex, the daughter of Richard Float and Hannah Windom.
She married George Lillywhite on 13 September 1828 at St Mary’s in Washington. He was baptised on 31 March 1808 in Findon, Sussex, to parents Joseph and Hannah and was doubtless Sophia’s brother-in-law – Lydia Lillywhite had married her older brother James a few months earlier. The couple had several children but one, Sarah, died as a toddler in 1834.
The couple emigrated to Canada in 1836 with their remaining two children, Ann and George Jnr. They were Petworth Pioneers, just one family among many who were helped to emigrate by a project sponsored by the Earl of Egremont (whose family seat was Petworth House in Sussex). Churches, parish authorities, Poor Law commissioners and individuals supported the project financially, in order to offer a new life to those such as the rural poor who were struggling to find work and to support themselves in England. Around 1,800 emigrants, mainly from Sussex, left England to settle in such areas as Ontario between 1832 and 1837. Several Findon families took advantage of the scheme, including some of George’s Lillywhite relatives.
It’s worth noting that the scheme was set up in the wake of the Swing riots, in which agricultural workers in southern England rioted against mechanisation and harsh working conditions. So there may well have been other motives on the part of the governing elite in encouraging the poor to emigrate – to remove them to other lands where they were out of the way.
George, Sophia and their children travelled on the Heber under the command of Captain Rue. They left Portsmouth on 28 April 1836 and arrived in Quebec on 5 June. Many of the Petworth emigrants settled around Brantford in Ontario and the 1851 census showed Sophia and George with their new son Richard in Woodstock, some miles to the west in Oxford County. In 1861 George was described as a farmer at East Nissouri in Oxford County and the family had grown with the arrival of additional children. Ten years later they were living in Ingersoll and George was working as a labourer.
George died of heart disease on 30 May 1877 in Ingersoll and was buried at the Ingersoll Rural Cemetery. Sophia, who in her last years had become a baptist, died on 23 September 1882 and was buried at the same cemetery as her husband. Sophia and George had children in both Britain and Canada. The birth dates for the Canadian children are estimates as many records for these years are missing:
- Ann Lillywhite (1829-1897) was baptised in Findon, Sussex, and married Canadian Lawrence Clouse, whose ancestors were German. He was listed as a farmer and labourer in the census returns. The couple had children and lived for many years in Ingersoll in Ontario. Ann died there on 1 January 1897, Lawrence died in 1902 of heart failure.
- Sarah Lillywhite (1831-1834) was baptised and buried in Findon, Sussex. The burial record noted that she died after being run over by a horse.
- George Lillywhite (1833-1911) was baptised in Findon, Sussex. He married Canadian Fanny Dardy in 1859, when he was working as a labourer. They also had children and, like many of his siblings, they lived their lives in Oxford County, Ontario. Fanny died of liver problems in 1877. George lived until 1911.
- James Lillywhite (1845-1917) was born in Oxford County, Ontario, Canada, and married Canadian Diana Haynes – although I have yet to find the actual record. He worked as a carpenter and they raised a family. Diana died in 1907 and James married again – twice. In 1914 he wed widow Julia Glass. In 1916 he married widow Isabella Gardner. He died of bowel cancer in Elgin, Ontario, in 1917.
- William Lillywhite (1846-1911) was born in Oxford County, Ontario, Canada, and married English immigrant Hannah Rolison. He worked as a moulder and they lived in Ingersoll in Ontario for many years, where they raised their children. William died of Bright’s disease in 1911. Hannah, or Annie as she was known, lived until 1934.
- Daniel Lillywhite (1848-????) was born in Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada, but his actual birth date is unclear. He married Margaret Anderson in 1867 and worked as a carpenter and framer. It’s possible that they emigrated to the USA in the 1890s and settled in Detroit, Michigan, but if they did they dropped the ‘Lilly’ from their surname and were known as White. If this is the case, Daniel died in 1931, Margaret in 1927.
- Richard Lillywhite (1851-1924) was born in Oxford County, Ontario, Canada, and married American Elizabeth Pickard in 1871. They had children and he worked as a labourer and machinist. Newspaper reports (Ingersoll Daily Chronicle) note that they were involved in the local church, celebrated more than 50 years of marriage and that Richard played trumpet in the town band. He died of apoplexy (a stroke) in 1924, Elizabeth of cancer in 1927. They lived in Ingersoll in Oxford County for much of their lives and were buried there.
- Henry Lillywhite (1857-1921) was born in Oxford County, Ontario, Canada, and married American Susan Agnes Pickard in 1881 (note that the marriage record gave her name as Lucy). She was the sister of Richard Lillywhite’s wife Elizabeth. Henry worked as a jeweller and watchmaker and together they raised their children. They lived in Moore township, Lambton West, Ontario, for many years. Henry died in 1921 of chronic spinal muscular atrophy. Susan lived until 1946.
Sources: BMD, census and other records at Ancestry.co.uk and Findmypast.co.uk. Sussex Family History Group records. Petworth Emigration Project. Canadiana for Canadian newspaper reports.