Crossing the Atlantic in 1842: Christopher Remington Bateson

Christopher Remington Bateson of Lancashire, England, was the first Bateson to cross the Atlantic from England to America. I’m not exactly sure of the date of the crossing, but we know that he was in New York by 1839 because of a New York City Directory.

Recently, I found this record on FamilySearch. It’s a record of the ship “Independence” crossing from Liverpool, England, to the Port of New York in June, 1842. Christopher Bateson is on board, but not his wife Mary, nor his sons Christopher Henry or Thomas.

 

Julie in Brussels thinks that he has been on a voyage to pay his last respects to his father, the Rev. Christopher Bateson in England, who died in the spring of 1842.

And the existence of this crossing in 1842 gives us hopes that there is also an earlier record of his first crossing. Why not? New records are becoming available every day!

Diamonds in the Mailbox: A Letter From Walter John Bateson, 18 September, 1970

A few months back, Sugar received a packet of family letters and information from a cousin in Connecticut. And even though I haven’t finished with the Gold Mine in the Closet, it’s time for a Diamond from the Mailbox.

(Don’t strain your eyes. The transcription follows the images.)

 

16 King Street, North,

Alliston, Ontario

Canada

18 September, 1970

Dear Cousin Douglas:

I was delighted to receive your letter with the enclosed charts

and correspondence. Due to my enthusiasm with the project of gathering

information on the Bateson family, and contacting relatives; I was

anxious to hear from you. I was not concerned because I was assured by

Mrs. Rosina Bateson that I would be hearing from you in the near future.

No apology required, and I thank you sincerely.

In my second letter to Mrs. Bateson, I enclosed sheets with

information similar to the attached sheets, on your immediate family.

I requested that if she felt so inclined would she attempt to fill in

the necessary information relating to your grandparents (Charles E.),

her husband and herself. I was sure that she would be in a better

position to give dates, places, etc. As I have not heard further from

her, perhaps you can assist in obtaining the information that I requested

from her. I would also appreciate if you would take the time to correct

my mistakes in the attached sheets of your family, add in the missing

information, and return one copy please.

I wrote to Farrar Jr. and Philip Briscoe Bateson. They acknowledged

my letters and will be forwarding similar information on their immediate

families. I, in turn, will complete and compile the information and will

send copies to you and other interested members of the family.

I am also enclosing my latest information on great aunt Florence

Amelia and her family. Florence’s daughter, Dorothy Talbot, age 95,

passed away on the 16^th July 1970, in Victoria. She was cremated. I

have been corresponding with our cousin, Althea (Mrs. Hugh Aylmer) who is

Dorothy’s daughter.

I have some more requests to make from you:

(1) Would you please forward to me, Cousin Richard Humphrey’s

address – if available.

(2) Can you obtain more information for me on great uncle Horace’s

family. Did he have sons and daughters? Where are they living?

What are their names? From the chart you sent, there are two

names that are not legible to me. The first, Great uncle

Horace’s wife Sophia H. LAMEROUX. Is that correct? Second,

Great uncle Richard Henry’s son, FREDRICK __________? I

could not make out his second name.

(3) Our great aunt Polly (Mary Jane) who married Arthur Widdows

and had two sons; I believe the father and one of the sons

were lawyers. If this is so, through you Law connections,

perhaps you could attempt to trace their family without too

much difficulty. Hope that you will be able to pursue this

further.

-2-

I have a lead on information relating to two of our great-great

uncles who went to the USA from England before the Civil War. Like

yourself, the gentleman is very busy and is unable to devote too much

time to this project; but he informed me that I should be hearing from

him soon.

My daughter, Lynda, went to England for a visit. She left home

on the 3^rd Sept and is spending the first couple of weeks in Coventry,

doing volunteer work at Coventry Cathedral. It is an inner city program

and involves youth from all over the world. From there she will visit

friends and relatives, then find work for awhile. She may stay a year.

I hope to have Lynda do some research for me. I would like to confirm

some of the information that we possess. I want to know the birthplace

of our great aunts and uncles; Richard’s family. I saw great aunt Ada

when I was in England in 1940. Aunt Ethel was looking after her at the

time. I am certain that Ada dies in 1940-41 but I am not sure where she

was buried. My father was in England around 1930 and had a picture taken

with great aunt Clara. My sister may have the snap. I may make a trip

to the UK within the year. When in England in 1940, my Aunt Ethel gave

me Farrar Sr.’s and Geoffrey Widdows addresses. Being young and not

interested in genealogy, I did not attempt to write. Now, I regret not

having contacted members of your family because most of the generation

before us have passed on, and so much valuable information that could

have been recorded is lost.

On the 8^th July, my wife, we call her Ella (Catherine Isobel) and

I drove to Winstead, Connecticut, to attend the funeral of Mr. Judson

LeGeyt. He was a former member of the General Assembly, State of Conn.,

representative for Barkhamstead County. Time was so short on this

occasion or I would have at least telephoned Mrs. Farrar Bateson Sr. We

were not too far away from your firm’s address in Stamford, as mentioned

in your letter.

My son Walter and daughter Shirley were in England last winter. I

was just getting started in genealogy so could not give them any direction

as to where to look for information on the family. Walter worked and

travelled around England, Scotland, Ireland, Gibralter and Europe. He

came home the end of April and went to work with the Dept. of Lands and

Forests at White River, Ontario. It is over 600 miles from Alliston.

I was up there for a few days on August 1^st holiday. He came home a

couple of weeks ago and is getting ready to take off for the West Coast

of Canada, down through the USA to South America, then hopes to fly to

Australia. Last Saturday he went to the Maritimes to visit my Mother

in Dartmouth and his sister Shirley in Escumanic, Quebec. He plans to

return next year and resume his studies. Shirley taught school, and for

two years taught the Eskimos at Pond Inlet, Baffin Island, North West

Territory. She completed a world tour, and arrived home by way of

Vancouver, 8^th May. She married the Rev. Ross Routliffe on the 27^th

June in Ottawa. I was planning on visiting the newlyweds on our Thanks-

giving weekend, the 12^th Oct., but Ella is deeply involved with meetings

at that time, and therefore will have to postpone it until later. The

children have travelled on their own resources without any assistance

from me (the kids).

-3-

Colin MacDonald must have been a very sick man between the years

1965-68. In his letter to you he mentioned having eye trouble. I hope

that you are successful in reaching him now.

I would like to know the whereabouts of Liston’s family in South

Africa. As a boy I corresponded with one of the sons, but we do not

possess an address. There were 5 boys and 2 girls, the opposite to my

family. There was Sarrah (Jarrah) Sybil, Seth, Serb, Sewell, Sidney.

I am not sure of all the names. I will have to write to the Registry

Office in Johannesburg, S.A., to try to locate them. Do you have any

suggestions of a quick and sure method of locating these cousins?

In his letters to you, Colin did not amplify on his family. He

did not enlighten you too much. No dates, places, etc. I certainly

wish that he had done so. Colin wrote to my brother Richard, Sardis,

B.C., in 1965. This past May or June Richard wrote to me and said

that Colin wrote to him but that he in turn did not write to Colin

because he misplaced the letter, and when he did find it, was too

embarrassed to write after such a long delay. I wrote to him in June

in care of his Australian address – no response. It appears that the

Batesons are notorious procrastinators when it comes to corresponding

with one another. I am trying to avoid the pitfall, hope that you

will do the same. Poor Colin did not fare too well in 1965. Are there

other relations left in Australia?

At a later date I will accept your kind offer to provide copies

of family pictures. I will make the same offer to you. At present I

do not possess many pictures but with the help of my sister, Dora, will

try to obtain more. She is working on our Mother’s family tree, at the

same time I asked her to do a write up on our Father, so that I can have

it recorded.

One more request before signing off. The sheet of Sundry Batesons

before 1600. If you have time and can make out the writing, would you

mind forwarding a typewritten copy. It will help to make sure that we

have recorded it properly.

Once again I thank you for your assistance; and hope that you will

find the time to correspond at regular intervals. I also hope that one

day we will be able to meet. I expect to have lots of questions to ask,

and you in turn feel free to ask the same from me.

How is your Mother? Is she living near you? I am looking forward

to hearing from you son with the information on you immediate family,

and my questions. In the meantime, my regards to you and your family.

Sincerely,

Cousin Walter

The two great uncles that he refers to are Robert Remington Bateson and Christopher Remington Bateson. If you have been reading this blog for longer than 15 minutes, you’ll probably know that Christopher Remington Bateson’s family is buried in Laurel Grove Cemetery, and Sugar had the plot marker made and installed only a few months ago. Robert Remington Bateson is buried in New York in Green-wood Cemetery.

Why is so important that I need to write about Walter John Bateson right now?

Because Sugar and I met his son and daughter-in-law just a few days ago. I’m going to break my self-imposed blog rule now and post our faces, not just side shots or tops of heads or shoes…

But who is whom?

What Was Tangled Becomes Less Tangled: A Letter From Thomas Bateson, 1873

I’ve talked about the Bateson family a lot here on the blog. It started when Sugar and I learned that there was a Bateson family in Savannah, Georgia, that died out 135 years ago.

We’re so close to Savannah that we can be there in under an hour.

But what about people that live far away, like Julie in Belgium? She can’t just hop a freighter and pop in to say hello. However, we do have our friend the internet, and we can chat in fragmented pieces, allowing a bit of downtime for sleep and the time difference. It takes a while to discuss things.

Like Batesons. We want to talk about the Batesons. It appears that the earliest Batesons in America were not Sugar’s ancestors. Julie in Belgium figured out last year that it was one generation before, that being the Christopher Remington Bateson family. He was married to Mary, and they came to New York City, and then later moved to Savannah. They had four children, Alice, Christopher H., Mary Jane, and Thomas.

Through the magic of the internet, a Bateson cousin from Canada found the blog, and commented that he had a copy of a letter written by Thomas Bateson to his uncle Henry back home in England. And Henry? Just happened to be Julie’s ancestor. And just to make this all a bit more remarkable, none of these descendants knew of each other before the blog.

And when the Canada Batesons come to town to meet us, do they bring a copy of the letter?

Ohyestheydo.

 

T. BATESON,

DEALER IN GERMAN, FRENCH, ENGLISH & AMERICAN

TOYS & FANCY GOODS,

Musical Instruments, fire-works, Confectionery, fruits, Nuts, etc.,

CORNER CONGRESS & DRAYTON STREETS,

Savannah, Ga.     April 23, 1873

Dear Uncle Henry,

Some years have elapsed since

my last writing to you, and no doubt you may won-

der what it is that now prompts me after such

long silence. At my last writing which I think

was shortly after the close of our late civil

war, my Mother and Brother Christopher was

alive and well. Since which time death has

claimed them. Mother after an illness of

six days died April 10^th, 1869 of Typhoid

Pneumonia and Brother Christopher Henry died

Oct. 12^th, 1870 of Pulmonary disease.

I am now the only one that is living of your

brother Christopher’s family. I hope that on

your side of the Atlantic that death has

not been so sure a reaper and that your

own family as well as my other Uncles

and Aunts are in the enjoyment of good health.

Respecting myself I will state that I am

now 31 years of age, married, and have three

children named, respectively, Alice, Georgia Agnes,

and Thomas Remington, and am continuing the

business established by Father in 1852 at

the same stand.

Shall be pleased to hear from you; also

from my Aunts.

Your affectionate Nephew,

Thos. Bateson

Original Letter held by Mrs. Bess Blagden (Col William Blagden).

Granddaughter of Henry Bateson, Overdene, Brighton.

Copy given to Walter J. Bateson 15 April 1973.

*****

Goodnight, Bateson people. We’re thinking of you.

At the Corner of Congress and Drayton

If you’ve been reading this blog, then you perhaps already know about the Christopher Remington Bateson family.  Christopher was from Lancashire, England, and was Sugar’s great-great-grandfather’s brother, but we didn’t know that until this year.  Christopher Remington Bateson died in 1855, and is buried in Plot 322 in Laurel Grove Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia.

After Christopher Remington Bateson died, his widow Mary and his two sons, Christopher H. and Thomas, ran the family business, which was a toy shop, which also sold fireworks and confections.

Mary died, Christopher H. died, Thomas’s wife Martha Mann Bateson died, and Thomas died.  Martha and Thomas left three little children.

After we found the plot was unmarked, Sugar decided to have a marker installed.

And now we want to find out where they lived.  The Savannah City Directory tells us that the Bateson toy store was at the south east corner of Congress and Drayton. Thomas Bateson’s death and funeral notices tells us that the store and the residence were in the same building.

 

Savannah Morning News Nov. 7, 1877:  3/2 – Mr. Thomas Bateson, the proprietor of Bateson’s Toy Shop, at the corner of Congress and Drayton streets, a place which has been known to the children of Savannah for a quarter of a century, died suddenly at his residence, adjoining his store, about half-past ten o’clock yesterday morning.

The deceased was native to the State of new York, but came to this city, when quite young, with his father, who established the business which had descended to him.  He was about thirty-five years of age, and leaves three little children, who had the misfortune to lose their Mother a year or two ago.

 

 

Savannah Morning News, Nov. 8, 1877:  3/1 – Funeral Invitation –

Bateson – The friends and acquaintance of Thomas Bateson, and of Mrs. Agnes Mann, are invited to attend the funeral of the former, from his late residence, corner of Congress and Drayton streets, this morning at half past 10 o’clock.

The Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of Georgia show the corner of Congress and Drayton in 1884 is R. DeMartin’s Livery. The Batesons resided at 101 Congress.  The Toy Store fronted on Drayton.

 

I found some old photos on the Georgia Historical Society’s webpage of old buildings. While the photos aren’t old enough to show the Bateson shop or residence, they do provide some landmarks that are still there today.

It appears that we are looking across the street at the southern side of this ten-story building that is still in Savannah. The short side of the building that we see is the eastern side. The western side fronts on Drayton. Are all these cars at a car dealership?

Remember this ten-story building.  It will help you keep your bearings.  I’ll point in out in some of our photos.  There’s another one that’s similar to it, but not as tall and wide.

The left side of this building fronts onto Drayton Street. Drayton is one-way headed north towards the river.

 

31 Drayton Street, Corner of Congress, in 1940.  This is the southwest corner.  See the corner of a building on your very right?  You’ll see that again in modern-day photos.

 

32 Drayton Street, Corner of Congress.  This is the southeast corner, I believe, and I think this is our corner.  It’s clearly not a one-story livery any more.

 

On Drayton Street looking north from Congress. I think the building on the right is the same building in the previous photo, and I think that’s the location of the Bateson shop and residence.

Still looking north on Drayton.

You know what this means, don’t you? We have to go look for ourselves.

Now we’re on Drayton headed north, because that’s the only way you can go on Drayton.

 

In the next photo, look on the right side of the street.  See the ten-story building?

At the intersection of Oglethorpe and Drayton.

Closer still.  Now at the intersection of Drayton and Broughton.  Broughton Street is part of the shopping district.

I’m driving, and Sugar suggests that I turn left and circle around one of the squares, so that we can come out onto Congress and face across Drayton.  He points out that this is Christ Church Episcopal where he was baptized by Dr. Tucker.  (Remember Dr. Tucker?  We took him an Easter lily.)

I believe that this is where Thomas Bateson met Martha Mann from Beaufort.  When Beaufort, South Carolina, was occupied early in the Civil War, everyone fled for refuge, anywhere, any place they could go.  After the war, the Manns returned to Beaufort, and Martha married Thomas Bateson.  They are both buried in Plot 322 in Laurel Grove.

Johnson Square is to our left.  We’re on Congress approaching Drayton.  There’s the parking garage at the right of the photo which is at the location of the Bateson’s Toy Shop and residence.

From the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of Georgia.

So we just sit for a minute at the stop sign and pretend we’re tourists.

And we stare at the parking garage as if for just one second we can imagine that it’s a toy shop and confectionary, and the little children are calling out with delight that they are at Bateson’s.

We look off to the left, and there’s our friendly landmark, Mr. Ten-Story.

We drive across Drayton, and circle around Reynolds Square so that we can approach Mr. Ten-Story on our right.

As we approach Drayton, Sugar tells me that the white building? Is the back of Christ Church!

I stop the van pretty much in the street before we get to the stop sign, because I can’t stop looking to my left.  It’s a building.  In a building!

 

I thought at first that it was the inner wall of a building that was demolished.  The longer I looked at it, I thought that perhaps the existing building was simply built over an older building, incorporating it into the entire structure.

If we shoot across Drayton, we’ll be back at Johnson Square.

But we don’t.  Instead, I get out of the van and take a photo of Mr. Ten-Story, even though he wasn’t here when the Batesons were.

We head home, hearing the echoes of little children at Bateson’s Toy Shop.

And now I want a confection.

The Diamonds in the Mailbox: Or Now We Have A Problem

Sugar has just received a package of Diamonds in the Mailbox.

See what you think.

This is the family of Richard H. Bateson, 1823-1908ish.  Present are his 4 daughters, 2 sons-in-law, and one granddaughter.  His four sons, Sugar’s great-grandfather being one of them and already in the United States, are not present.  This photo comes to us from Sugar’s cousin who has quite his own treasure trove.  The photo was already labeled, so I do not expand upon that here.

Back row:  

Possibly the husband of Florence Amelia Bateson, an unnamed Humphreys, who is a major.

Mary Jane (Polly) Bateson, who married Arthur Widdows.  They had two sons, Manley and Jeff, and went to the United States.

Richard Holgate Bateson, the patriarch of this group.  Do you remember the Christopher R. Bateson family group, that died in Savannah, Georgia, and Sugar had their graves marked this summer? BROTHERS.  Richard Holgate Bateson and Christopher Remington Bateson were brothers.

Clara Beatrice Bateson – never married.

Florence Amelia (Florrie) Bateson, who married the Humphreys man in the photo.  They had a daughter Dorothy (Talbot), and two sons, Frank and Brian.

Front row:

Susan Ada Bateson, never married.  The photo caption says she was “sickly”.

The next person may be Edith, a Humphreys daughter.

And lastly, probably Major Arthur Widdows, the husband of Mary Jane (Polly) Bateson.

And a copy of the original unedited photo. Y’all, I’ve had to buy a new scanner/copier. The old one couldn’t keep up.

I’m going to have to quit my day job.