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EUREKA!! We've found the family in the 1841 England census: Alfred, Ann, Marinus, Rafton and Botrine!
They're living on Little Cherry Garden Street, Bermondsey, very close to the "Cottage on the Rector's Island" which was the Seven Islands area of Rotherhithe, where Baltriune was born in 1837. Alfred and Ann are both 40, both born "in same county" ~ meaning Surrey. Of the three boys, only Marinus is born outside Surrey. He is listed as born in "Foreign Parts." Marinus is 11, Rafton is 9, and Botrine is 3. Alfred's profession is MS ~ Man Servant? But, the MS has been written in later, so we have some doubts. Censuses were frought with errors. Marinus, for example, is spelled Marino, and listed as a girl. The final o has been written in later; someone could not read the original information, it seems.
See modern map of the area
Cherry Garden Street is left of the Bermondsey label, near the northwest corner of Southwark Park (which is the Seven Islands area).
We have several documents naming Alfred Canning, which place him in position as our earliest Canning ancestor found to date:
The birth of his son Baltriune, 1837 Rotherhithe, naming Alfred Canning, Civil Engineer, as the father (and Anne Powell Canning as the mother)
Alfred's death registration, 1851 Rotherhithe, age "about 54"
Marriage of his son Raftan [sic] to Mary Anne O'Connor (left side), (right side), Paris, 1862, naming Alfred Canning, Civil Engineer, as Raftan's father.
Letter to Alfred Canning, dated April, 1831, from the Shipwreck Institution (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) in Austin Friars, discussing the invention made by Alfred for saving lives at sea
Page 1
Page 2
Alfred's address on outside of letter, with red wax seal
There is also a
marriage of an Alfred D. Canning and Anne Powell 1817 in Worcester, Worcs. The date is right, the names are right. But, there's no other information on the record that proves whether it is our record or not.
Signatures of Alfred D. Canning and Anne Powell, traced from the 1817 marriage registration, Worcester, Worcs.
1841 England Census ~ our family found!
In this census, we find Alfred and Ann (both 40), and three boys: Marinus (13), Rafton (11), and Botrine (3). This census listing was found June 24, 2006. It comes close to proving that Marinus, Rafton and Botrine are related; that Rafton and Botrine are two separate people (we had speculated that it was one person using two names, since we could find no documentation on Rafton at all, and his name was hushed up in the family), and that their father indeed was named Alfred Canning, at least as far as they were concerned. Since the 1841 census did not list the relationships among the people in a household, we have no indication if the boys are actually sons of Alfred's, except for the fact that we have Baltriune's birth record, showing his father as Alfred Canning, and mother as Anne Canning nee Powell.
According to this census, Alfred was born about 1800, in Bermondsey, Surrey (which then included Southwark, Bermondsey, and basically everything on the south side of the Thames for several miles). Alfred's death record (Rotherhithe) says he was "about 54" when he died in 1851, making him born c. 1797.
May have married Anne Powell in 1817 in Worcester, Worcestershire, in which case his name was Alfred D. Canning. The father of Marinus (b. c. 1830, in "Foreign Parts"), Rafton (b. c. 1832, Surrey) and Baltriune Canning (b. 1837, Rotherhithe). Was a Civil Engineer (as it says on Baltriune's birth record, and Rafton's marriage record). He was, moreover, the same Alfred Canning who, in October, 1831, presented a model for a life-saving device to use at sea, to the Royal Sailing Society, London, together with a Lieut.-Colonel Leslie Walker (Army). (This LtCol Walker may very well be the same Lieut-Col Leslie Walker who founded, with a few other men, the first Masonic Lodge in South Australia.)
Describing Alfred's invention, The Times of 1831 wrote:
"Mr. Canning then explained the machine which he had invented for the purpose of saving the lives of persons wrecked. It is the simplest contrivance that can be imagined, consisting merely of spars, or booms, or any similar material, of which there is no lack on board ship, fastened together with ropes, in the form (to use a most familiar illustration) of one of those portable seats carried about by artists. At each of the three lower ends is fastened a barrel, and the end of the barrel is protected against the rocks or sand banks it may encounter by a hammock and bedding. The barrels give the necessary buoyancy, and the ropes and intermediate space afford a safe place for the persons escaping, who are thus preserved from the two greatest dangers of shipwreck---immersion in the water, and bruising against the shore." (The Times, London, October 7, 1831, article #CS68181319)
Members of the Royal Sailing Society at that date included "Admirals Saumarez, Paget, Hotham, Keates, and others." The secretary relates that the purpose of the Society is not common recreation, but in naval architecture, and in promoting inventions by which persons in peril at sea might be saved. Thus it seems that Alfred's work was perfectly in keeping with the most important goals of the Society.
A letter (pg 1), (pg 2) to Alfred Canning which we have in the family, shows that this inventor was certainly our Alfred. It is from Thomas Edwards, the Secretary of the Shipwreck Institute, April 1831, Austin Friar's, to Alfred Canning, Blackfriar's, and speaks of a model which Mr. Canning wishes to present to the Shipwreck Institute.
An intriguing coincidence is that Alfred named his son Baltriune, a name unmatched anywhere in the world, while on the Isle of Man there is an ancient site, "Baldrine." Baldrine is very close to where Sir William Hillary was living as he spent all his energies promoting the foundation of the Shipwreck Institution (1824) and the building of the three-towered refuge offshore (1830-1832). The very weirdest coincidence, if it is a coincidence, is that there is an ancient motif on the Isle of Man, first instance in the 1300's on a stone cross, consisting of a triangle with three human legs joined together in the center. Is this the original "Baltriune"?
Please enjoy the Isle of Man website at www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/.
See where Alfred was living or working in April, 1831 - CLICK HERE (400 Kb!) Alfred was living/working in the heart of London, at No. 16, Bride Lane, Bridge Street, Blackfriars, the address to which the letter (see link above) was addressed. A mile away, at No. 18 Austin Friars, was the office of the newly-formed Shipwreck Institution, later to become the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, now a globe-spanning operation. Alfred's location is the red dot on the map. This map, from Horwood's 1797 maps, sent to us by the Guildhall Library, prints out as a single page, so add it to your files!
At present, Alfred is the focus of our search for our Canning origins and relationships. However, Gustave's memoirs have thrown in a puzzling second name for presumedly the same person: George Richard Canning. Gustave wrote his memoirs, as many do, late in life. Clearly many of the dates are quite wrong ~~~ in one case, by over 10 years. But one thing is quite clear: Gustave repeats the name George Richard Canning and calls him grandfather, over and over.
Gustave was French-born and raised (son of Louise Perrot nee Canning), and gets his information from his grandmother, Ann Canning, probably through his mother. He says his grandfather was born around 1780 to -85, and died in 1873, a year after having been decorated by the Prince Consort Queen Victoria's husband, for his nautical inventions. Since the Prince Consort died in 1861, this cannot have been true. Also, George Richard would've been 93 when decorated by the Prince Consort, if Gustave is correct ~~ not impossible, but it sounds a bit ominous. Most likely, he forgot that Alfred died in 1851. He may have confused his grandfather's with his grandmother's death year, 1873. If Alfred/George Richard was indeed decorated by the Prince Consort a year before Alfred's death, it would have been around 1850.
Nevertheless, was George Richard decorated at all? A letter to the Royal Archives (25 August, 2005) states:
"[concerning your ancestor Alfred or George Richard Canning]... Having searched our various indexes for his name, I regret to say that I found no reference to it, so I fear we are unable to provide any details about the award given to him. However, it is possible that the medal was presented by the Prince Consort as the patron or head of an organisation, and in view of your suggestion that your grandfather was given the aware for his engineering discoveries, the most likely organisation might be the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. The Prince Consort was President of this Society from 1843 until his death in 1861, and the Society made awards of medals (and indeed still does so today). You will probably know that the Great Exhibition was held in London in 1851, and the Prince Consort and the Royal Society of Arts were much involved with this. Your ancestor's medal may have been presented as a consequence of the exhibition."
--- Douglas Sulley, Archives Assistant
Gustave relates that George Richard was related to the Cannings of Westcoat (clearly he means Foxcote), that he was the youngest son of his most honorable family, and was a distant cousin to George Canning the Prime Minister. All of this needs to be ascertained. Every Canning family in existence feels themselves to be related to George Canning the Prime Minister.
June this year, we have obtained (1) a letter to Alfred Canning, 1831, from the Shipwreck Institution, later to be named the Royal National Lifeboat Institution; (2) memoirs of George Canning of Cleveland, Alfred's presumed grandson, and (3) memoirs of Gustave Perrot of France, Alfred's presumed grandson.
Taken together, they present us with quite a puzzle. Gustave recalls his grandfather as George Richard Canning in France, born around 1785. Yet all of our documents to date name Alfred Canning, and show him to have been born around 1797, a whole generation later than George Richard. Granted, Gustave had his dates quite skewed ~~ for example, he said George Richard was decorated 1872 or -73 by the Prince Consort ~~~ who had died in 1861!
We wonder: Was there one man, George Richard "Alfred" Canning? Or was there one man, surname Canning, given name unknown, who adopted different given names for different reasons, perhaps one in England and one in France? Were there two men, George Richard Canning and Alfred Canning, both married to the same Anne Powell ~~ or perhaps to two different Anne Powells? If there were two men, both very keen on nautical engineering, how were they related, if at all? Were they father and son?
On the question of nautical inventions, Gustave says that George Richard was super keen on the navy and nautical things of all kinds, and that he was decorated for his inventions. This fits very well what we know of Alfred. On the Internet, we see Bell's Weekly Messenger, October,1831, describing how an Alfred Canning presented a lifesaving device for use at sea to the Royal Sailing Society. We long suspected that this was our Alfred, but were not sure until June, 2005, when we received, from the files of Anthony B. Canning (deceased) of Ft. Worth, an original letter dated April 8, 1831, from the Shipwreck Institution (later the Royal National Lifeboat Institution) to Alfred Canning. The letter says Alfred's "model" would better be tested by the Navy than by the Institution!
Rotherhithe, port of London
Alfred and Anne Powell Canning gave birth to son Baltriune Canning in 1837, in a "cottage on the Rector's Island" in Rotherhithe. This Baltriune, we believe, must be the same Georges Boutrenne Canning who was the same George "P." Canning of the CSS Shenandoah, the man destined to fire the last shots of the American Civil War. Ironically, Rotherhithe was home to the Arctic whaling fleet!
To understand our family, I think one must understand Rotherhithe. South of the Thames, always a "foreign land" to proper Londoners, sharing the same Southwark shores as Shakespeare's Globe theater, and Shakespeare himself for a time, Rotherhithe was a thin stretch of occupation right on the river front. At its back, for millennia, were vast expanses of poorly-drained riverland. The Seven Islands area is a honeycomb of small canals, that must have been worked and reworked for centuries, if not millennia. Eventually, docks were built there that berthed great ships.
The name Rotherhithe
I pass on the story received from the Local Studies Library in Rotherhithe. From author Wheatley, thus:
"The name appears as "Aetheredes hyd" in a charter of A.D. 898, printed in Birch's Cartularium, vol. ii, p. 220. In the 17th century it had come to be so generally called Redriff that out of twenty trade tokens, recorded by Mr. Burn, nineteen spelt it Redriff; in the twentieth it was Rothorith, 1666."
How Rotherhithe Was
Seafaring, that's how it was. For now, suffice it to say that the Mayflower's captain is buried in Rotherhithe. Rotherhithe may have been the inspirational home of the American form of church organization: they insisted there on electing their own church leaders.
The Seven Islands as it was in 1740.
The same Seven Islands area in 1840.
Alfred Canning, born around 1797, may have been descended from the ancient Foxcote Cannings, at the heart of the old Catholic nobility of England. Alfred's proposed son, Marinus Francis Alfred Canning of Australia, said that his father (named "Francis,") was of the Foxcote Cannings. We have nothing more than this vague reference to go on; this reference's source is a biography from Perth, Western Australia. And if true that his father was "Francis" and NOT Alfred, we are really in a quandry. We expect that his father's name was actually both, Francis and Alfred, just as MFA himself was named.
No amount of searching could turn up a Francis Canning who was an officer in the English Army at the right time. Perhaps in another army, such as the Indian Army, or the French Army, or Australian Army, or some distant, overseas Army.
Alfred Canning was the father of Baltriune Canning, born in Rotherhithe, London, in 1837. Alfred's wife was Anne Powell Canning. They may be the same Alfred and Anne Powell Canning who were married in a Church of England marriage in Worcester, Worcs., in 1817 --- that date would fit the Family Tree Chart's construction of their lives. (Except that the Chart says the patriarch was "George Richard Canning," not Alfred Canning. On this the Chart, is in error, at least with respect to Baltriune Canning's birth. We cannot assume anything about our Family Tree Chart's truth or error.
If indeed these were the same Alfred and Anne Powell Canning, then the Worcester marriage might possibly be another Foxcote link, as the Foxcote Cannings had a very ancient manor-quality house in Worcester.
We know that Alfred was a "civil engineer," a term that had been coined relatively recently (it was equated to "civilian engineer"), and indicated any kind of engineering that was not military. But he is not listed in the rolls of the national civil engineers' association in England.
We have also Alfred's death record, 1851, Rotherhithe. "Found dead in bed," is the unusual note on it. There was a coroner's inquest (an official speaks with neighbors and any family they can contact to determine cause of death), and the cause was stated, "Natural decay." Probably tuberculosis. He was "about 54," thus the 1797 birth year estimate.
Get your CAR or TRUCK ...
UNSTUCK !!
with
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Existing Records
Alfred D. Canning (c. 1803-1857) Father of the Mystery Generation (Rafton, Marinus, Baltriune, Louise, Arthur who "went to Spain"), husband of Anne Powell; (1) death registration Rotherhithe 1857, "Found dead in bed" written right on it, and coroner's inquest held, age "about 54," Occupation "Engineer," died of "Natural Decay", living at 5 Surrey Place, Lower Queen Street, Rotherhithe, London; (2) marriage of his son Raftan Canning to Mary Anne O'Connor in Paris, January 1862, lists Alfred as "Civil Engineer"; (3) birth of his son Baltriune in 1837 lists Alfred as "Civil Engineer"; (3) Marriage Alfred D. Canning and Anne Powell on June 2, 1817, Saint Martin, Worcester, Worcs. (not conclusively ours; no parents' names, places of birth, zero!)
Marinus Francis Alfred Canning (c. 1828-1911): (Rafton's brother) -- (1) Death certificate from Perth, Western Australia (certified copy): Date of Death, Nov. 13, 1911, at 83 years of age; Father's name, Francis Canning (deceased); Mother, Ann Powell; Born in Paris, France; Buried, Anglican Cemetery at Kerakatta (?) on Nov. 15, 1911; followed by a listing of his issue [children] in order of birth w/ ages: Ada 5(4?), Letitia 52, Arthur 50, Edmond 45, Eleanor 44, Blanche 42, Algernon 40, George 38, 1 male 4 females (deceased).
(2) Much biographical information from the Battye Library in Perth, Western Australia, where he was Member of Parliament, including records of voyages, stating (possibly from a passport) that he was born in England, and
(3) Obituary [the West Australian, Nov 14, 1911] stating "Mr. Canning was a son of Mr. Francis Canning, a member of an old English county family, the Cannings of Foxcote, Warwickshire, famous in English history. He himself was educated at l'Ecole Charlemagne, Paris, and privately in England. He had always been a politcal student, was a classical scholar..." and
(4) Biographical Register of MP's of WA: "Canning, Marinus Frederick [sic] Alfred: Educ. priv. in Engl. and at Ecole Charlemagne, Paris. arr. Q 1855; storekeeper in 1856; bank mngr early 1870s to Tahiti; 1875 joined Bank of NSW; 1877 to Noumea office and later possibly to Tas.; 21 Feb 1883 arr. in WA to found Perth br. of bank; 1884 left bank and founded WA Mortgage & Agency Co., 1888-95 mngr; sec. AMP 1886, Comm. agent 1887-89. founded WA Stannaries; 1893 JP: 1891-1911 member Perth Public Library Cttee."
Rafton Canning (c. 1832-1866): (1) Death registry from London, Apr. 3, 1866 (certified copy) age "about 34"; address at time of death at 48 Spencer Street, Clerkenwell (which is a baker's establishment - home? shop?) on a street containing several jewellers and goldsmiths; Occupation "Beer and spirit merchant"; person in attendance -- his brother-in-law John O'Connor of "14 Denmark Terrace, Islington"; cause of death -- "Phithisis, Certified [sic]". (2) Consular birth registry of his son Achilles Botriune in 1862 (see below), which lists father "Raftan" (not "-ton") Canning, residing at 4, rue de Villejust, Paris, Profession -- "Commercial Agent."
Mary Ann O'Connor Canning Davidson (1832-1925): (Rafton's wife) ~~~ (1) unreferenced newspaper obituary clipping (photocopy) titled "One in the Court of Napoleon III Dies," describing her sons (steel brokers in Cleveland), her adoption at age 16 into the court of Napoleon III by a French duchess, "many years of colorful court life", and her escape from France at the fall of the Court of the Second Empire, "...as a friends drove her to the coast from which location she made it safely to England" (2) death certificate, 92 years old, died March 2, 1925 in Cleveland, Ohio, was widow, wife of Eugene H. Davidson, born in Rathkeale, Ireland, father Jeremiah O'Connor (b. Ireland), maiden name of mother Unknown (b. Ireland), informant George Canning of 16861 Homer Ave. East, Cleveland, died of broncho pneumonia.
Baltriune Canning (1837-1865): Rafton's brother (see "George P. Canning" following). (1) Birth certificate in Rotherhithe, London, born July 15, 1837, in a "Cottage on the Rector's Island" (=Seven Islands, now Southwark Park), father Alfred Canning, Civil Engineer, mother Anne Canning formerly Powell, residence of informant (father) "Cottage on the Island", registered August 25, 1837; (2) birth certif of his first son, Alfred Canning 1858 Paris (qv), listing him as "Gentleman"; (3) birth certif of his second son, Rafton Boutrenne, 1860 Arcis-sur-Aube, Champagne, France, "no profession"; both boys' mother is Margaret Hook (Hucks).
George P. Canning (1837-1865): (Rafton's brother Baltriune Canning, which fact is established by an officer's journal from the CSS Shenandoah, wherein it is described how Rafton Canning, owner of an "ale and stout depot in London," responds to newspaper ad seeking George's relatives in Nov., 1865) ~~~ evidence consists of historical military documentation from the journals of the officers of the CSS Shenandoah (photocopy of stamped official photocopy), the warship which destroyed the US whaling fleet in the Bering Sea, 1865, with George P. in charge of the Marine group and the guns ~~~ the crew learned he had a wife in Paris (but he would tell no one of her name or whereabouts), a brother in Australia, and that his friends were in "St. Germain"; he was accompanied on board by an older Negro servant named Edward Weeks/ Wickes to whom he was very close and for whom he insisted on equal pay; he said he was wounded at Shiloh, as an Aide de Camp for General Polk (but no record exists of him there); he died on board ship Oct. 30, 1865, of phthisis, and was buried at sea with a Roman Catholic ceremony.
Eugene Hilary Davidson (1839-?) Marriage certificate to Mary Anne O'Connor Canning, July 9, 1869, Kensington, married in the Register Office, both then living at 48 Ledbury Road, Bayswater, his father Charles James Collie Davidson, Colonel in the Indian Army; her father Dennis O'Connor, Clerk.
Alfred Canning (1858-?): Elder son of Baltriune Canning. Consular Birth Registration, Paris; Info reads Alfred, boy, born Nov. 16, 1858, Father Botrinne Canning, Gentleman, Mother Margaret Hook, Informant's signature "B. Canning", residence L. Boulevart de l'Etoile Fernes [=Ternes], registered Dec. 23, 1858
Rafton Boutrenne ("Paul") Canning (1860-?): Son of Georges Boutrenne Canning and Margaret Hook
mentioned in letter (original, ink on thin paper, 8 pages) dated Aug. 3, 1877, from Louise Canning Pierrot to "sister" Mary Ann (O'Conner Canning). As Louise thinks she is dying ("I cough blood"), and Mary Ann has left for America, mention is made of every male child, of the generation following that of Rafton and Marinus, whom Louise has cared for. No mention of the father of Paul and Alfred is made. However, Paul is described as one who must have been a teenager "feeling his oats" and gets kicked out by Louise, preferring to lodge at the Chantilly stables where his heart lies. And Alfred is mentioned with him, as of good character, but hindered by his epilepsy, which is described as being serious. These two are contrasted by Louise with the "good" boys, sons of Mary Ann; Have 3 documents: (1) French birth record, 1860, Arcis-sur-Aube, parents Georges Boutrenne Canning 26, no profession, and Margrette Phillipis [sic] Hook, 27, no profession, born in the residence of the shire officer; (2) Letter, 1877, from Aunt Louise Canning Pierrot to Mary Anne O'Connor Canning, delineating "Paul's" behavior and mentioning all the boys she is raising (see above); and (3) 1881 census in England, Rafton Canning age 20, working in Sussex as a servant ("Boots") at a hotel in East Grinstead, Sussex, born in "Arrusn Aube" (Arcis-sur-Aube), France
Achilles Botriune Canning (1862-1937): (Rafton's 1st son) (1) Consular birth registration.
Document Number: 102
When & where born: 09 August 1862 at Paris
Name: Achilles Botriune
Sex: Boy
Name of father: Raftan CANNING
Maiden name of mother: Mary Ann O'Connor
Father's profession: Commercial Agent
Informant & his residence: Raftan Canning, father [of] 4 Rue de Villejust, Paris
When registered: 26 December 1862
Consular Officer performing registration: T Pickford HBM Consul, Paris
Consular district of birth: Paris
(2) Certificate of Death from the State of Ohio, Div. of Vital Statistics, obtained from the Cleveland Historical Society. In this, his name is spelled Achille Botrium Canning, but this is explained by the fact that the convalescent hospital filled out that part of the certificate, and "botrium" is a microbial term, thus the confusion. The family always spelled it Botrine, and Achille himself was a Notary, so we take Botrine to be the correct spelling as he intended it. Date of birth: blank. Age, "About 75 years." Birthplace: "Paris, France". Father: "Unknown". Mother: "Unknown". Wife: Anna. Trade or Profession: Collector. Date of death, July 30, 1937. Place of death, Cleveland, Ohio. Address at time of death: 925 Roanoke Rd., Cleveland Hgts. Informant: Henry Canning, Son (same address). Cemetery: Calvary Cemetery. Funeral Director: R. S. Mcllurch (McColloch?), The Millard (Milland?) Co. lic. # 1237. Body was embalmed.
George Canning (c. 1864-1938): (Rafton's 2nd son) ~~~ death certificate from Ft. Worth, Texas, (certified copy) d.o.d. March 31, 1938, d.o.b. August 27, 1863, saying his father's name was George Canning, mother's name Mary Ann O'Conner, and that he, (George) was born in France. We have found no birth registration for George, in the British Consul's records.
Arthur Rafton-Canning (1865-1915): (Rafton's third son) -- (1) Birth Registration from British Consulate at Paris; Name, Arthur Canning; Date of birth, May 7, 1865; Father, Rafton Canning; Mother, Mary O'Connor; Profession of mother's father, Clerk; Informant, Louisa Butler, Dressmaker [Note: possibly related to our Angel-Butlers of Guernsey], 117 Faubourg St. Honore, Paris; When registered, Nov. 7, 1866 [Note: months after Rafton's death].
(2) Death registration from the Archives at Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Died Dec. 15, 1915 at Age 86, at Vancouver
For fuller details, see the Biographies
To see scans of the complete set of all documents found to date Click Here. WARNING: Very large file!
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