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George Canning of Cleveland, Ohio, as he was often called,
was citizen, businessman, father, correspondant, and above all, "Shepherd of the Family" as his grandson, Richard George Canning, titled his family history.
Though we have not been able to find any birth record for him, his family-acknowledged birthdate was October 26, 1863, and birthplace, Paris, France. George was raised with his older brother Achilles Botriune Canning ("Achille" to the family, b. 1862). Their younger, brother Arthur Rafton-Canning (1865, Paris) was raised by George's uncle, John O'Connor. The boys' parents were
Rafton Canning (1832?-1866) and
Mary Ann O'Connor (1832 Rathkeale, Ireland - 1923).
The boys were raised by their aunt, however ~~~ Louise Canning Pierrot, Rafton's sister, and wife of Louis Pierrot, Postmaster of Luzarches. Mary Ann, the family believes, was affiliated somehow with the Court of Napoleon III and the Second Empire. Also in the Pierrot home were Louis and Louise's sons, Louis and Gustave. Cousin Gustave was to eventually maintain close contact with George in the US, while opening a school of shorthand there. And apparently, the sons of another uncle, Botrinne Canning, and Margaret Hook Canning (a Southern belle) were also raised in the Pierrot home. These cousins were Alfred Canning (b. 1858, Paris) and Paul Rafton Canning, b. 1861, "Arrusn, Aube, France" as the English census says ~~~ any number of towns match that phonetic spelling in Aube. So the Pierrot home, in a small "suburb" of Paris (probably more of a country town, by our reckoning), would have been a lovely place to grow up.
The office of Postmaster, which Louise Canning Perrot held, as well as her husband, carried much distinction with it. It also carried the responsibility for much overseeing of horses. Postmasters in France not only had to maintain the horses for their postal riders, they also had to be able to provide horses for anyone requesting them (upon presentation of a passport). In return, the Postmaster received the taxes from riders upon the postal roads.
If this were not enough involvement with horses for Achilles, George and Arthur, they also had the influence of another uncle, John O'Connor, their mother's brother. John (who was later to be the informant at Rafton Canning's death) was listed in 1866 in England as a "Theatrical Equestrian Agent." He was, for many years, the director of the fabulous Arcadia show in Islington, London. No wonder the Cannings of George's generation were avid horseracing enthusiasts!
Cousin Rafton Boutrenne "Paul" Canning left Louise's home at age 17 to work where his heart always lay, at the unparalleled Chantilly stables. From there, he moved to East Grinstead, England, two miles from Crabbet Park. There, Lady Anne Blunt (granddaughter of two notable people: Lord Byron, and his wife, who had been the first love of Stratford Canning de Redcliffe) was just beginning (1878) to import the East's finest Arabian horses for breeding. Arthur, George's brother, was raised by uncle John O'Connor, Equestrian Agent, for many years, and when an adult, became a Canadian Mounted Policeman. Achilles, George's other brother, celebrated the Kentucky Derby with his family, almost more than Christmas ~~ descendants recall that the family would congregate for days upon days of festivity. And we, the modern generations, can all attest to avid interest in horse-racing upon the part of our forebears.
There certainly was a general affinity for great horses in our family. Since it was shared by the North American and French descendants, it must have come at the latest from their parents' generation, i.e., that of Rafton and siblings.
It is tempting to think of the Cannings as all of a sudden moving to England, then with equal finality, moving to the U.S. However, the picture that is emerging for our family, including George of Cleveland, is one of many reciprocal visits across the Atlantic on the part of many family members. But let's get back to young George.
Achilles' memoirs are what we are using to piece together the early lives of George and his brothers. He writes (from the work mentioned above, Shepherd of the Family):
Achilles' Memoirs
"My earliest recollections are of a village of Luzarche, France, a suburb of Paris, where I was born. My uncle, Monsieur Perrot, kept the Post Office there, which is quite a position in France. I must have been about five years of age. My uncle was a fine looking old gentleman, and his wife, Aunt Louise, was a good soul.
"Aunt Louise was my father's only sister. She had been adopted by a Madam Lannes, the wife of Marshall Lannes, one of Napoleon's best generals. That is how my French relations come in.
"The Perrots had one son, Louis, who gave them plenty to think about, as he was a mischief. One of the things he did to me was pinch my ears; another was to help break my nose. When he was of age, like all good Frenchmen he went into the army to serve his year -- which I think took some of the mischief out of him.
"My parents had three children. I was the oldest, then came George, and finally red headed Arthur. We all were born in Paris. But my father, Rafton Canning, died in 1866, leaving my mother a widow with three small children. Not being blessed with too much money, my mother was in trouble.
"My brother George was taken to London by Uncle Charley (Mother's brother), to live with his Grandmother O'Conner. She thought that George must be Charley's child, as Charley did not explain things to her for some days.
"In the course of time, all four of us were in London and my mother went into business. So George and I were sent to Barnett to a boarding school. We did not like that school, as Charles Dickens was writing at that time about the bad management of schools in general and especially boarding schools. We had to walk about one-half mile every evening to our dormitory to sleep. The food was bad, we were hungry, and I got chilblains. Mother visited us often, but we were young and afraid to tell her our troubles.
"The next thing I remember was that Mother got married to Lieutenant E. H. Davidson, an English officer who had served in India. In the course of time, they and we three boys moved from London to Toronto, Canada.
"Shortly before we left, Dad Davidson was having dinner at our boarding house and was told about the cold Canadian winters. Someone said that you could skate clear over to the Island (on Toronto Bay). Dad thought the person had said Ireland -- and that was too much for him.
"I remember sailing from Liverpool; the reason I remember is that they sold Everton taffy there, and we had some. We came across on a Cunard steamer, and I can still remember the many immigrants aboard and the odor from some. At last, our boat landed at Montreal. Our destination was Toronto, some 400 miles further west, where we arrived in the spring of 1871."
George's mother, Mary Anne, remarries after Rafton's death, to Eugene Hilary Davidson
Now, according to documentary record, Mary Anne and Eugene Hilary Davidson were married in Kensington, London, in July, 1869. Later, in the 1871 census, we see Achilles and George in two separate boarding schools five miles apart, both in the Barnet vicinity. Achilles' age is given as 8 years old at that time, which would have been correct; his school was in South Mimms, headed by "The Presbytery." George's age was 7, also correct according to our account; his school, "St. Peter's," was in Hadley. If Achilles remembers attending school in Barnet together with George, and then remembers his mother married the Lieutenant Colonel, the boys must have gone to school together before the 1869 marriage. Achilles would've been 6 and George 5 in 1869 --- such a tender age to be going to private school! Arthur would've been 3 or 4 at that time, much too young. He was taken in by John O'Connor and wife.
The interesting part of the boys' early childhood, to me, lies in the question of the relationship they had to their mother and father. Achilles' earliest memories are of Aunt Louise. I think we can safely assume that Louise raised the boys from early infancy if not from birth. Do we have any indication that the boys ever laid eyes on their father, Rafton Canning?
George wrote down his own recollections. We have recently (2005) found these memoirs, from the files of Anthony B. Canning of Ft. Worth. They may be read online at www.lionsgrip.com/family2005.html.
In George's memoirs, he says that even though he was only about 3 years old, he recalls no longer seeing his father's head on the pillow where it usually was, and when told his father had been taken away in a coffin, he imagined it to be standing vertically. Of course, memories from such early ages can be misleading, but I feel George really did have his first few years with Rafton Canning.
Mary Anne's obituary is also very intriguing reading. If one reads the story of the fall of the Second Empire, and the desperate escape of the Empress from Paris to the coast, thence to sail to England, it is apparent that a crisis necessitating any kind of desperate escape came in 1870 at the beginning of the siege of Paris, not in 1869. Mary Anne's obituary, if correct, is describing an escape on her part, very similar to that of the Empress, in fact so similar that one might think Mary Ann was part of the close circle of friends who stayed in the palace with the Empress until the very last moment, barely escaping with their lives as the palace is invaded by the Paris mob from one side, clamouring for "The Spanish woman," as they leave by another side.
George's memoirs (above) shed new light on his mother's activities while in France. She several times performed as a bareback rider in her brother John O'Connor's circuses (John brought the first English circus into France)!!! This is an entirely new revelation. With the similarity in appearance, and now in riding capability, between Mary Anne and the Empress Eugenie, it is easy to imagine that Mary Anne may actually have doubled for the Empress at times. The Empress, of course, was a superb horsewoman, some said unsurpassable.
Rafton had been dead for four years by the time Mary Anne left France in 1870. And Mary Anne, if she made any desperate escape from Paris, did so when she was already married to Lieut-Col. Davidson.
There is much room for mistaken memory in obituaries, as well as in memories from infancy. The real story of George's birth and early childhood is still largely in doubt.
George's Chess Set
A wonderfully pleasing chess set has come down to us, reportedly made by George "when he was a boy." Since he left England in 1871, at 7 years of age, the chess set must have been made in Toronto, where he grew up, if it was indeed made by George. It is only hearsay, from my grandfather to my mother, thence to me, that the set was made by George.
More detail can be seen at Chess Set Details.
The set has kings 3- 5/8 inches tall, queens 3- 1/2 inches tall, large pieces 1- 1/8 inch diameter at base. Each piece has a plug of putty in the lathe attachment point at its base. The putty has been evened off with a chisel of some kind, with even, parallel strokes typical of an adult, not a child (I've taught 50,000 children, so have some feeling for childrens' work.)
I would very much like to hear from you if you have any idea how to determine whether this set was made in the U.S., Canada or England, or any other things that can be determined about this chess set.
Your email address (optional):
George in Toronto
Growing up in Toronto, in the household of his mother, stepfather, and two new blessed additions to the family (Amy Davidson and John Davidson), must have been nourishing to George and Achilles. (Perhaps Arthur joined them from time to time, but there is evidence that he stayed in England until adulthood.)
By the time he is 23, George is listed in the Toronto city directory as a clerk for the Canadian Pacific Railway. Then, according to some oblique comment I can't now locate, he says he met Annie Angel-Butler in a "convent." They marry around the time their first child, Mary Anne ("Annette") is born, at which time George is a "shorthand writer." The wedding, and christening, are in Montreal. Annie is from Montreal, giving hope that the Angel-Butlers might be found by researching in that city.
George's interest and abilities in shorthand certainly continued, because his diary was written in his own amalgamation of several different types of shorthand, which only a U.S. court expert (Morris I. Kligman, C.S.R., friend of Mana Marx) was able to decode (per request of George's son Anthony B. Canning of Ft. Worth).
George in Cleveland
After Annette was born, George and Annie moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where George became Secretary of Cleveland City Forge (and Iron), one of Cleveland's best companies, originally a marine hardware manufacturing company. He held that position for many years.
The Canning family home was on Elgin Avenue, where the rest of the wonderful generation of Cannings known to us today were born and raised.
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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
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