The Family Crowsen

[ChuckM]

I am trying to find information on the origins of my second great grandmother, Robina Esther Crowsen. One consistent bit of information that I have is that she was born in England and that her parents were Scottish (per the 1920 U.S. census). In addition, I found a travel record (New York Passenger List, 1820-1957) listing her arrival in New York on Aug. 16, 1913 from Liverpool and indicating that she was born in Dover, England abt. 1872. Robina often appears as "Robina", "Helena" or "Lena" in various census / arrival records as well as in the birth records of her two sons, Charles Lithgow Pearce and George Enbro Tarbutt Pearce, who was born in Jamaica in 1893 and 1892, respectively. What is consistent in almost all of the records is the presence of one or both of her sons as residents in the household, at least up until about 1920. On both of these birth records, her maiden name of Crowsen is listed and consistently spelled.

Robina married George Edgar Radcliffe ("GER") Pearce, a civil servant in Jamaica, in Dec. 1890. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find a record of their marriage. She moved with her husband and sons to New York City around 1905 and died in New York in 1929, where she is listed as Robina Esther Pearce. There is no information for her parents on the death certificate.

I believe that she was well educated, earning a living in the US as a music tutor, and she was also elected as a member of the Institute of Jamaica in 1895 (appearing as Mrs. GER Pearce), an organization focused on "the Encouragement of Literature, Science and Art in Jamaica". Unfortunately, I do not have a record of her arriving in Jamaica and research on the Crowsen name in Jamaica has not provided me with any additional information.

Finally, through my grandmother's recollections, Robina's parents died when she was young and she was raised by a wealthy aunt and uncle who died either during or before WWI and left their estate to help finance Britain's WWI efforts against the Germans. I find this last bit of information hard to believe and somewhat contrived, but I have been unable to uncover any information to prove otherwise. She was clearly educated and, looking at a picture of her from 1890-1891 (when she would have been 18 or 19), she presents a confident, refined demeanor.

I have spent several years trying to uncover her parents names looking at English, Scottish and Jamaican records, without success and her apparent willingness to change first names opens up the possibility that, perhaps, Crowsen is not her true maiden name.

Any help would be much appreciated.


Chuck

[Megan Roberts]

Crowsen is a surprisingly rare name. There are only 4 recorded births in England and Wales between 1837-2006 and each of them in different locations. There are virtually no occurrences in the UK censuses.

Have you looked into how and why she originally went to Jamaica?

Have you looked for any records about GER Pearce's civil service employment? You might find some useful pointers on the National Archives site: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/default.htm

[ChuckM]

Thank you Megan. I do not know why she went to Jamaica. She would have been relatively young when she arrived (no older than 17, if you assume a 1 year courtship). I have not been able to uncover any other Crowsen's in Jamaican records so, while she may have been a daughter of a merchant or civil servant in Jamaica, I have not been able to identify a likely family.

With respect to GER, I have uncovered quite a bit of info in the national archives (primarily in CO 137-554), including info that sets an approximate date of his marriage (Dec. 1890). In order to gain a position as a sub-inspector in the constabulary, he promised that he would not marry until he achieved the rank of inspector. He broke this promise by marrying Robina (although she is not named in the documents) and was moved (after much complaint) to a position in the Customs, Excise and Internal Revenue Dept.

If I could uncover a marriage announcement in the local paper (or a record of the marriage), I think this would shed light on who she was. I believe I know which church she was married in and even who married her, but the records are missing for that year (1890).

With respect to Crowsen's in England, there are a few in Lincolnshire and there is a Crossen family in Lanarkshire, Scotland (including a Robina Crossen who was born about the 1872), but I have not been able to make a connection. With respect to Robina Crossen, she appears in Boston, MA in 1895 as a domestic. Robina Crowsen did not emigrate until 1905 and there is record of her in Jamaica as Mrs. GER Pearce during the 1890's, so I do not believe they are the same person.

Thanks again.

Chuck

[Raffaele]

I think you have to concentrate on what is known, and not heresay.
Wealthy relatives giving everything in support of WW1 is not too believable.

Looking on Family Search both the births are there with scans of the original documents.
These seem to be earliest facts available. While GER claimed Civil Service on the second birth the first claims Measuring Clerk.
Could this be Weights and Measures/Customs

Lithgow, Tarbutt and Enbro could be relatives Surnames. I could not find a connection but I think it could be a line worth investigating.

There could easily be a past here from Plantation owners which has been lost over time.
Do you know their ethnic origins?

[ChuckM]

Raffaele,

I agree with your comments on "wealthy relatives". It seems too far fetched. I can track my Pearce line back to a William Pearce (possibly born in St. Dorothy, Jamaica around 1817). He was an overseer on a plantation in 1846 and lists birth as being in England, although it is unclear if this was truly in England. Some of the other Pearce relatives list England on census data when they were actually born in Jamaica. GER's father, George Henry Pearce (who became Post Master General in 1894) was caucasion (I believe), while his wife, Emily Ann Radcliffe McBayne (and GER's mother) was of mixed race (although she probably appeared very light skinned if not white (my assumption). From the picture that I have of Robina (although black and white), it appears that she also is caucasion.

With regards to the surnames, there were quite a few Scottish merchants in Jamaica and the Lithgow name was carried down through my grandmother. I do believe the Lithgow name is from Robina's side of the family as it first appears as a family name with her youngest son, Charles Lithgow Pearce, so this is worth some further study. I have done some research on the Tarbutt name and they appear to have been either owners or operators of a plantation in St. Thomas (both "in the vale" and "in the East") around the 1840's. The Pearces also lived in St. Thomas for a number of years. There is clearly a connection here, but I am not sure it is a blood connection.

Thanks for your help.

[Raffaele]

Over here we have a programme called "Who do you think you are" which researches celebrities family trees.
With the large influx of carribean immigrants in the 50's a number of these tracked back to that area.

What these programs showed was that a lot of plantation owners and senior workers had children by slave women but oddly a lot treated them quite well and they and the children enjoyed a good lifestyle. It could be your odd surnames were passed down in this way highlighting the Plantation Owner/Father of the illegitmate slave child.

Two of the programs I remember particularly were Ainsley Harriot and Colin Jackson which might be worth looking at over the internet to get some research clues.

[ChuckM]

Great, thank you. I will look into them. With respect to your earlier post re; researching middle names, I have not been able to find much information on the "Enbro" name. Could this be an abbreviation?

[Megan Roberts]

I came across an alternative spelling for Robina which might help in your search. It is RUBINA, and that is from a parish register circa 1888.

[ChuckM]

Thanks Megan. I have now three different spellings of this name, incl. Rowbena, Robina, and now Rubina. Also, I took another look at the National Archives on-line and found a few additional documents from the Colonial Office (CO) that I overlooked on previous visits. I am waiting on quotes for the cost of copying / mailing from the Nat. Archives researchers relating to GER, his father George Henry Pearce, and GER's brother Frank L. Pearce. I am not optimistic that I will solve the mystery of the origins of Robina but, based on my last review of some Nat. Archives CO documents last year, there are sometimes surprisingly insightful bits of info.

Thanks again.

[ChuckM]

I recently discovered the marriage certificate of Robina and G.E.R. Pearce indicating that they were married in St. Ann, Jamaica at hte Holy Trinity church (at Linstead) on Dec. 29, 1890. She describes herself as a "spinster" under heading Condition and as a "Gentlewoman" under the heading Calling. Also of interest is that she lists herself as being 26 years of age (born in 1864) rather than in 1872-1874 as indicated in several U.S. Census records. Per the marriage certificate, she is two years older than her husband who is 24 (born in 1866). Her father is listed as Charles Crowsen and no mention is made of her mother's name. If she were born in England (which all the documents that I have collected indicate), I would think that she would appear in both the 1871 and UK 1881 UK census. Unfortunately, I have found no Charles Crowsens in the census data, although I have found several Charles Crowsons (none of whom have a Robina or Esther listed as a daughter). Looking at Crossen, Crosson and other variations does not uncover any likely candidates either nor does a search for Charles Crowsen (or variations) of the name in Jamaica.

Does anyone know how widespread (or accurate) the census were in 1871 and 1881? What is the chance that they were living in the UK but were missed in both census?

Thank you in advance for any help.