The Hudsons and Peels in Perth

UPDATE: New information from 3rd cousin Charles Hudson indicates that 2nd great grandparents Edward Hudson and Frances Robson were not who we thought they were. Some of the erroneous assumptions were made by me based on vague information. Charles says Edward was a merchant in Gibraltar, not "in the employ of the British government," as a descendant of his told my Uncle Ed in a genealogy interview in the 1970s. And Frances Robson, the so-called "Spanish Lady," was born in Gibraltar of Scottish parents. She listed her birthplace as Spain in several Canadian census returns that I have seen. Leon Robson and Rebecca Duncan were identified in cousin Chuck's research as the parents of Frances. Frances had a sister named Rebecca Robson.

Way back in time, it seems, 16 July 2001, to be exact, the document I sent for from The King's Chapel in Gibraltar brought a copy of the marriage document of Edward Hudson and Frances Robson. They signed the document as did the Chaplain, J (or I) Hughes, and by witnesses Mary Fitzgerald, Elisha Robinson, Rebecca Robinson, and what looks to be James Kehoe. TEXT - "Edward Hudson, Batchelor, and Frances Robson, Spinster, Inhabitants, were married by Licence in this Garrison, this Twentieth____ Day of May, in the Year of Our Lord, One Thousand, Eight Hundred and Eleven, by me, J. Hughes A.M., Chaplain." Marriage Document

Edward died on 8 March 1837, reason unknown. He is buried in the Craig Street Cemetery in Perth, Lanark County, Ontario. Patrick Ward is also buried there. Edward's daughter, Mary, and Patrick's son, Edward, married in 1872, long after the deaths of their fathers. Frances lived on for 42 years after Edward's death, passing away on 7 May 1879 at the age of 90. Source: Perth Courier newspaper, 9 May 1879, on microfilm at the Algonquin College Library, Perth, Ontario, Canada.

Edward & Frances married at The King's Chapel in Gibraltar on the 28th (?) of May, 1811. Their first child, also named Edward, was born there in 1814. After Edward's discharge in 1816, he, Frances and young Edward immigrated to Canada where he received a land grant for his service in His Majesty's Army. Record of the family's arrival in Canada in 1816 is #458 here - Transactions of Land Grants, Ref: National Archives of Canada, MG9 D8-27 Vol Reel C-4651, Transcribed by Christine Meinert Spencer, Page 3 of 12.

The children of Edward and Frances were:

  • Edward, b. Gibraltar, 1814, m.1st, Mary Ann Dougherty, m. 2nd, Sarah McKay, d. 2 May 1875. See pix 4 & 5 below.
  • Charles, b. 1823, Perth, Lanark, Ontario, Canada, m. Margaret McWilliams, d. 1874. Source: Cousin Chuck Hudson's web site.
  • Henry, b. 24 May 1826, Perth, Lanark, Ontario, Canada, was Christened 19 June 1826, at St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church in Perth. Source: Church records. Some Ancestry members have that as his death date. That's wrong. Henry died in Ottawa, Canada in 1849. No known marriage, no known children. He might be the source of Inez Bellow Strouse's belief that her brother died in a Canadian railroad construction accident. Inez was a descendant Of Mary Hudson and first husband James Peel's last child, daughter Mary Alice Peel.

  • Mary, one of my 4 great grandmothers, b. 7 Sep 1834, Perth, Lanark, Ontario, Canada, m. 1st, James Peel, 20 Feb 1854, m. 2nd, Edward Ward, 4 Jan 1872, d. 5 April 1886, in Langston, Montcalm, Michigan, of consumption (TB).

The Edward born in Gibraltar in 1814 had a son named, you guessed it, Edward, b. 1842. Pic #3 is that guy, a carpenter living in Chicago. Why he moved from Perth to the USA and Chicago is unknown. I'm trying to find some descendants of that Edward. One of the tips was in research from Bob Jackman of Ontario, who sent me some of his research on the Tovey family. One of the Tovey daughters, Margaret Ann, married the 1842-born Edward. Further evidence is pic #4 from St. John the Baptist Cemetery near Perth. It's a headstone for his mother, Mary Ann Dogherty Hudson. She died at the age of 30 in 1844. "Erected by Edward Hudson, Chicago" is near the bottom of the headstone.

The images in the photo "album" below can be viewed at normal size by clinking on the word "Link" below the image.


Hudson Family Photo Album - click link for larger image
Photograph of Edward's Service.
#1-Edward Hudson's record of service...maybe. Link
Photograph of Edward's signatures.
#2-Edward's 1811 signature (top) & 1816 signature. Link
Photograph of Edward Hudson.
#3-Edward Hudson of Chicago. Link.
Photograph of Mary Ann Dougherty's headstone.
#4-Mary Ann Dougherty Hudson's monument. Link
Photograph of Edward & Sarah McKay Hudson's monument.
#5-Edward & Sarah McKay Hudson's monument. Link
Photograph of Hudson Plot Headstone.
#6-Hudson plot headstone. Names: Henry Hudson, wife Margaret Graham, their son Edward & his wife Anna Wright. Link

More Hudson-related Photos
Photograph of Peel-Hudson-marriage.
#7-Peel-Hudson Marriage entry. Link
Photograph of 1861 Canada Census.
#8-1861 Canada Census, Hudsons and Peels. Link
Photograph of James Peel burial info.
#9-James Peel Burial info. FindAGrave Memorial URL
Photograph of Edward Ward & Mary Hudson Peel Ward .
#10-Edward Ward and Mary Hudson Peel Ward
Photograph of Mary Alice Peel Bellows.
#11-Mary Alice Peel Bellows. Link
Photograph of Cripplegate Parish record.
#12-London Cripplegate Parish record. Link

Photographs 10 and 11 are a bit speculative...I went with what was written on the back of the photos. I don't know who ID'd them. Maybe Inez Bellows Strouse or Mary Alice Peel Bellows? I'm guessing.

Image 12 is a snip of a christening of a boy born in the Church of England's Cripplegate Parish on 25 November 1782, named Edward Hudson. His parents were Thomas Hudson, a Hatter, and Penelope Hudson. The entry "22" noted his christening date, 22 December 1782. It's just another clue, since just the time frame is close. Thomas and Penelope aren't names of Edward and Frances Hudson's children, as one might expect of the naming tradition used then.

Notes from the previous version of this page:

  • Names published in the Perth Courier on 19 May 1905, in conjunction with "The Perth Old Boys and Old Girls Reunion" lists Robt. Hudson, 122 South Chester St., Syracuse, NY, and Fred Hudson, Peterboro. These two men may be grandsons of Edward and Frances Hudson. Their family, with parents Edward and Sarah McKay Hudson, are on the same page in the 1861 census. See image #8 above.
  • 1861 Census - On page 17 of the east ward of the Town of Perth, Enumeration District One, is Frances Hudson, born in Spain, Roman Catholic, age 62 (not accurate), and widowed. Next is Mary (Hudson) Peel, born in Canada West, Roman Catholic, age 27, widowed. Children are John Peel, age 6; Fanny Peel, age 4; and Mary Peel, age 2. Frances "Fanny" Peel died in August, 1870. In the "Disease or Other Cause of Death, "Hip Disease" was noted and in the "Remarks" in the next column was written "Spine."
  • More Perth Old Boys and Girls Reunion info - Mrs. Edward Hudson, of Chicago, came with the contingent of that city to revisit the old town on this gala occasion. She was the guest of her brother, Mr. James Tovey, Bathurst, and of her sister, Mrs. M. Drennan, town. Link. The Mrs. Edward Hudson was the former Margaret Tovey, mentioned above.

Additional sources, resources

My 2002 trip to Perth with pix.

Inez Bellows Strouse's recollections of her mother, Mary Alice Peel, and her family in Perth.

Granny's Genealogy Garden 2 Lots of Ontario, Canada-specific links, including the Bathurst Township Census for the years 1819 and 1821, which lists Edward Hudson Sr., Edward Jr., and Frances.

1821 Assessment list, also on the site above, lists Edward Hudson on Concession 1, Lot 8, in Bathurst township. I don't know when they moved to the town of Perth.

My Hudson Gedcom, last updated in 2004. Note: Frances Robson's parents were Scottish merchants in Gibraltar and that is where she was born, not Spain, per information from cousin Charles Hudson.

Pembroke, Ontario, Canada Observer story about John Charles Hudson, a grandson of Edward & Frances Hudson, and his tragic death.