Our Clifford Ancestors by James Clifford Retson Last Revised at http://www.retson.ca/clifford.pdf December 19, 2020 Note: This file is under construction and should be regarded as incomplete and unverified as to content

Table of Contents Our Clifford Ancestors ...... 1 Clifford Context ...... 1 The Cliffords in Ireland ...... 2 1. Owen Clifford and Mary Hayes ...... 2 2. John Clifford 1801-1881 Alice Kennedy 1804 - 1888 ...... 3 3. Deacon James Clifford 1839 – 1905 Rebecca Nelson 1841 - 1924 ...... 6 4. Beatrice Clifford 1887 – 1958 William Rankin Retson 1884 - 1975 ...... 9 Appendices ...... 10 Abbreviations ...... 11 Research Questions on Clifford Line ...... 11 Resources ...... 11 Relationship of the Cliffords to the Author ...... 12

Clifford Context

The Cliffords are of Catholic Irish origin. To date the earliest Clifford discovered is Own Clifford of Cork County. John Clifford his son came to in 1826.

I welcome additions to this file such as pictures, stories, new data or corrections to data which may be sent to [email protected]. There are two files. The first, http://www.retson.ca/clifford.pdf contains a story line on Clifford ancestors. The second file, http://www.retson.ca/clifforddescendants.pdf is an outline listing of the Clifford descendants.

In this file direct ancestors are listed in Arabic numbers. Their children are listed in small roman numerals and their grandchildren are listed in capital roman numerals. Abbreviations used in the file may be found in the Appendices at the end of the file.

The last Clifford in our direct line was our Grandmother Beatrice Mary Clifford. She was the daughter of a Baptist Evangelist James Clifford. John Clifford, her grandfather was an Irish Catholic immigrant to Canada.

1

The Cliffords in Ireland

The first Act of Supremacy passed on 3 November 1534 by the Parliament of England, granted King Henry VIII of England and subsequent monarchs Royal Supremacy. The act declared that the king was "the only supreme head on Earth of the Church of England." Two years later in 1536 Irish Parliament accepted Henry VIII as with the Church of Ireland. A ruling class which became known later as the "Protestant Ascendancy" sought to ensure dominance with the passing of a number of laws to restrict the religious, political and economic activities of Catholics and Dissenters. It was only in 1829 that Irish Catholics become free to practice Catholicism without legal prosecution. The prohibitions against catholic affects the records kept and the difficulty in locating more information on Owen Clifford and Mary Hayes or their ancestors.`

New laws called the Penal Laws were passed for several decades after 1695. Exclusion of Catholics from most public offices date from 1607), Presbyterians were barred from public office from 1707. Ban on intermarriage between Catholics and protestants( repealed 1778 ); Presbyterian marriages were not legally recognised by the state. Catholics were barred from holding firearms or serving in the armed forces (rescinded by Militia Act of 1793). Bar from membership in either the Parliament of Ireland or the Parliament of England from 1652; rescinded 1662–1691; renewed 1691–1829, applying to the successive parliaments of England (to 1707), Great Britain (1707 to 1800), and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1800 to 1829). Disenfranchising Act 1728, exclusion from voting until 1793; Exclusion from the legal professions and the judiciary; repealed (respectively) 1793 and 1829. Education Act 1695 – ban on foreign education; repealed 1782. Bar to Catholics and Protestant Dissenters entering Trinity College Dublin; repealed 1793. On a death by a Catholic, his legatee could benefit by conversion to the Church of Ireland; Popery Act – Catholic inheritances of land were to be equally subdivided between all an owner's sons with the exception that if the eldest son and heir converted to Protestantism that he would become the one and only tenant of estate and portions for other children not to exceed one third of the estate. This "Gavelkind" system had previously been abolished by 1600. Ban on converting from Protestantism to Roman Catholicism on pain of Praemunire: forfeiting all property estates and legacy to the monarch of the time and remaining in prison at the monarch's pleasure. In addition, forfeiting the monarch's protection. No injury however atrocious could have any action brought against it or any reparation for such. Ban on Catholics buying land under a lease of more than 31 years; repealed 1778. Ban on custody of orphans being granted to Catholics on pain of 500 pounds that was to be donated to the Blue Coat hospital in Dublin. Ban on Catholics inheriting Protestant land. Prohibition on Catholics owning a horse valued at over £5 (to keep horses suitable for military activity out of the majority's hands). Roman Catholic lay priests had to register to preach under the Registration Act 1704, but seminary priests and Bishops were not able to do so until 1778. When allowed, new Catholic churches were to be built from wood, not stone, and away from main roads. 'No person of the popish religion shall publicly or in private houses teach school, or instruct youth in earning within this realm' upon pain of twenty pounds fine and three months in prison for every such offence. Repealed in 1782. Any and all rewards not paid by the crown for alerting authorities of offences to be levied upon the Catholic populace within parish and county.

Historians disagree on how rigorously these laws were enforced. The consensus view is that enforcement depended on the attitudes of local magistrates bringing or hearing particular cases; some of whom were rigorous, others more liberal.1 But as an understatement, life for Catholics was not easy

1. Owen Clifford and Mary Hayes

Owen Clifford and wife Mary (Hayes) are the earliest Cliffords that I have found to date. The Marriage record of John Clifford in 1829 give his parents as Owen Clifford of the city of Cork and May Hayes. We know little

1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penal_Laws_(Ireland) 2 of these Cliffords. The history of Ireland and its history of religious conflict might explain the absence of records.

Cork, from which Clifford emigrated was a city in south-west Ireland, in the province of Munster. The unsuccessful revolt of the Earl of Desmond in the late sixteenth century led to the confiscation of the bulk of the holdings of these Norman and Gaelic families and the distribution in 1583 to English adventurers. Around 15,000 people were brought over in what is known as the Plantation of Munster. The plantation was largely a failure with many of these settlers leaving during the O’Neill war with the English in 1598. Some more English came in the 1550s following the 1641 rebellion. In the late 17th and early 18th centuries French Protestants (Huguenots) arrived in Cork fleeing from religious persecution at the hands of Louis XIV of France. By mid 18th century Cork City had a population of about 80,000. Cork and nearby Cobh became major points of departure for Irish emigrants, who left the country in great numbers.

The Children of Owen, John and his siter Mary were baptised at St Mary’s Cork City which is located in County Cork East

Owen and Mary Clifford had the following children found to date:

2. i. John Clifford b. abt 1801 Bp. 11 Apr 1803 at St. Mary’s Cork City, Cork County, Ireland, d. 25 Dec 1881, County, Nova Scotia, buried in Robie Street Cemetery, married ii. Mary Clifford b. Jun 1805, bp 30 Jun 1805 in St Mary's, Cork city, Cork, Ireland, d. Possibly 1875 in Cork, Ireland; Age: 70

2. John Clifford 1801-1881 Alice Kennedy 1804 - 1888

John Clifford was born in Cork, abt 18012. (Other conflicting but inaccurate data is available elsewhere. In the 1871 census his age is given as 65 and hence a birthdate of 1805. In his 1881 Canadian census, John Clifford reported his age as 80 and by this source John Clifford was born in 18013. His gravestone in Robie Street Cemetery M-2#20 has his death as 23 November 1881 and age 90 hence 17914. He was baptised on 11 Apr 1803 at St Mary's, Cork city5 Little is known of either of young John or his sister Mary in Ireland who was baptised in 1805 in St Mary’s Cork, Ireland.

2 Record on passenger list in 1826 gives age as 25 Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Prospect, Nova Scotia, Marriage Record of John Clifford and Elisha Kenedy, Nova Scotia Archives, MG4, 11803, citing Genealogical Society of Utah, Roll number 866366, 1992, See also John Clifford Household, 1871 Census of Canada, Nova Scotia, Colchester ( 199) Kemptown (sub-district h) page 5 line 12, digitized page of Census of Canada, 1881 for Image No.: 4396326_242 3 John Clifford Household, 1881 Census of Canada, Nova Scotia, Colchester (district 19) North River page 6 line 10, digitized page of Census of Canada, 1881 for Image No.: e008122511 4 Robie Street Cemetery, Truro, Nova Scotia, Marker M-2#20 Book 88.16a date of death 23 November 1881. 5 https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000633151#page/1/mode/1up , https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=IRE/PRS/BAP/0893154 3

He arrived in North America at Frenchman Bay, aboard the Schooner Maine on June 26 18266. I assume he traveled by schooner landing on the southwest shores of Nova Scotia and then traveled by land to the Halifax Dartmouth area. Alternatively he could have proceeded up the Bay of Fundy to the Subenacadie or Salmon River as the earlier Nova Scotia Planters had done some 60 years earlier. According to Rebecca Jenkins his great-grand daughter, her mother Beatrice (Clifford) believed he worked on the building of the Shubenacadie Canal. The Shubenacadie Canal is a Canadian canal in Scotia, linking Halifax Harbour with the Bay of Fundy by way of the and Shubenacadie Grand Lake. Begun in 1826, it was not completed until 1861 and was closed in 1871. Its length from its starting point from Halifax Harbour to its end at (Maitland is 114 km (71 mi). The Shubenacadie Canal was envisioned to facilitate transportation between Halifax and the agricultural, timber and coal producing areas of northern Nova Scotia and the .

He took up residence in the Dartmouth, Nova Scotia area. He married Alice Kennedy, daughter of John and Eliza Kenedy, 20 Sep 1829 in the Lady of Mount Carmel, Prospect Church. Name given in the registry were John Clifford and Eleshia Kenedy. She was born in Nova Scotia about 19047. She died in Nova Scotia 6 July 18888. Little else is known about here.

Construction of the Canal was started in 1826 by the Shubenacadie Canal Co. but the company went bankrupt in 1831. Several Scottish and Irish stonemasons who had immigrated to Nova Scotia to work on the project, were left stranded in the colony with few resources after the project had halted. The canal's ongoing construction delays were partly responsible for the 1851 decision by Nova Scotia's colonial government to build the Nova Scotia Railway, which built lines from Halifax to Windsor and Truro by 1858. Railway construction created a short-term surge in canal traffic but a decision in 1870 by the Intercolonial Railway to replace the Waverley draw bridge over the canal with a fixed bridge blocked canal steamships and severely limited canal traffic, a conflict related to the frog wars which plagued rival railways crossings.

Following the bankruptcy of the Shubenacadie Canal company, Hiram Hyde a Truro entrepreneur hired him to operate Ten-Mile Road House at Manganese Mines. On Church map of 1864 it was called the J Clifford Hotel. A four-horse stagecoach ran daily from 1842 to 1858 between Truro and Halifax then between and Truro until May 1867.

In the 1838 Nova Scotia Census he is listed as resident in the Kemptown Subdistrict of Colchester County. His residence was in East Mountain, Manganese Mines and finally Brookside Road, Brookside. East Mountain is located about a mile south of the South Branch of the North River in central Nova Scotia. Manganese Mines is located between the Salmon River and South Branch North River about six miles north-east of Truro. Brookside is located between the Salmon and North Rivers, north-east of Truro in central Nova Scotia. See footnotes below9

6 NARA Records, group 85 ancestry.ca 7 Ellis A. Clifford, 1871 Census of Canada, Nova Scotia, Colchester #199, Sub district Kemptown #h, Page 5, line 5 age 66; ALLICE C. Clifford, 1881 Census of Canada, Nova Scotia, Colchester #19, Sub district North River Age 77 8 Cemetery Index - Colchester County, Death date 6 July 1888 July, age: 85 Robie St. cemetery Truro #: 94 Marker Number: M-2#20, Book Number: 88.16a 9 View digitized page of Census of Canada, 1901 for Image No.: z000036554, 1901 Census of Canada, Nova Scotia, Colchester #29, Sub district North River O Division Number 1 Page 17, line #19 Microfilm T6448 4

In Clifford Archibald in his little book A Goodly Heritage, provides some information on John Clifford:

“The first of these properties mentioned had originally been the Ten-Mile Road House (ten miles from Truro) in the days when the stage hauled freight and passengers from Truro to Pictou. This service had been inaugurated by a man by the name of Hiram Hyde. He had a grant of several hundred acres reaching from the old Pictou Road, north and across the south branch of the North River. He picked up an Irish immigrant by the name of Clifford in Halifax and turning the property over to him to be operated as a hotel, he went to establish the next one ten miles further, at Mount Thom.

Clifford was just the type for this sort of an operation. As well as food and a bed when necessary, the patrons could have the refreshment of their choice. He had a large stable, as all four horses were relieved every ten miles. This meant that

considerable land was cleared to produce the necessary horse feed. When the road was shifted further north to avoid two very steep hills, he shifted his operation to the other end of his property. “ Ray Johnson in A Glance Backward indicates that he may have come from a well-to-do family who sent him money regularly. Both in Ray Johnson's "A Glance Backward" and Clifford F. Archibald's "A Goodly Heritage", there is a story that John Clifford was somehow involved in the disappearance of a Syrian peddler, but he was never charged with any crime.

Mrs. Clifford appears to have been a well-educated woman and at a time when Catholics did not read the bible, she read it to her children. She read the Bible to the children daily, a custom which was not usual in Catholic families at that time.

John and Alice's children included i. Malvina Clifford born about March 5, 1831. She married Abel Wall (1821- 1899). She died March 5, 1899. They had a daughter, Elizabeth Alice Wall b. 22 Dec 1861 in NS, married Robert McLeod. ii. John Clifford b. 09 Jan 1832 at Truro, Nova Scotia. He married (1) Rachel Masher 15 Dec 1853 Portland, Cumberland, Maine, USA. She died 05 Oct 1899 Bath, Sagadahoc, Maine, USA and was buried Oak Grove Cemetery, Bath, Sagadahoc, Maine, United States. They appear to have to Adopted children Florence and Oscar. At the same cemetery are Charles W. Clifford and other identified Cliffords 5

He then married Agnes (or Aggle) Nelson Apr 26, 1905 in Bath, Maine, US. It was John's second marriage at age 65 and she was 37, born Aug 18, 1867 in East Mountain Colchester County Nova Scotia. She died June 6, 1927. He died 13 Sep 1922 at Bath, Sagadahoc, Maine, USA 3 iii James Clifford born October 31, 1838. He married Rebecca Nelson (born April 4, 1841 at Truro, NS) on May 27, 1863 in Truro Nova Scotia. He died June 25, 1905 in Bible Hill, Colchester County and She died Mar 18, 1924 in Salmon River, Colchester County, NS. (For Children see below) iv. Mary Ann Clifford, b. 1840, d. 26 Mar. 1913 Manganese Mines m John Andrew McCabe; b. 1840 d. 6 Dec 1927. They had at two children, I. Andrew Clyde McCabe b. 6 Dec 1875 , Hants County, N.S. Canada d. 12 Oct 1877 II. Anne Marshall McCabe b. 17 Jun 1880 m. Harper Turner, d. 2 Jul 1972 Halifax, Halifax, Nova Scotia, v. Elizabeth Clifford b. 6 October 1847 East Mountain; d. 25 Apr 1931, m. James King Carlyle; b. 15 July 1848, East Mountain d. 28 Dec 1928, They had two children, I. William Seymour Carlyle b. 20 May 1878 East Mountain, Colchester County, m. Ethel Jean Christie on 2 Dec 1903 in Greenfield, Colchester County, N.S. d. 2 May 1961, East Mountain, II. John Andrew Carlyle b. 9 Jun 1881 in Colchester County, Nova Scotia, Canada m Bessie Sterling, d. 1956, Truro, Colchester County, NS vi. Timothy Clifford b. abt 1852, d. 11 Dec 1887 Truro, N.S. Killed by Robert Welsh who was firing his gun to frighten Clifford away.10 He had one son with a Widow Kent.

John Clifford died on November 23, 1881. His wife died six years later July 6, 1888. John and Alice Clifford are buried in the Robie Street Cemetery.

3. Deacon James Clifford 1839 – 1905 Rebecca Nelson 1841 - 1924

James Clifford, son of John and Alice Clifford was born on 31 October 1838 Bible Hill, Colchester County. Rebecca was born in Truro on 4 Apr 1841. James was the third child in the family. His residence at the time of his marriage is Upper Onslow and continues up until the 1881 Census when it is given as North River

His sister Malvina Clifford was born about March 5, 1831. She married Abel Wall (1821- 1899). She died March 5, 1899. They had a daughter, Elizabeth Alice Wall b. 22 Dec 1861 in NS, who married Robert McLeod.

10 The Daily Times, Moncton 13 Dec 1887 “Sunday Morning Tragedy in Truro” also Ottawa Journal, “A Sunday Murder”, Ottawa Journal December 12 1887 accessed from newspaper.com May 12 2020 with less detail 6

The second child in the family John Clifford born about 1833. He married Agnes (or Aggle) Nelson Apr 26, 1905 in Bath, Maine, US. It was John's second marriage at age 65 and she was 37, born Aug 18, 1867 in East Mountain Colchester County Nova Scotia. She died June 6, 1927. He died 13 Sep 1922 at Bath, Sagadahoc, Maine, USA

James Clifford was the third child of John and Alice Clifford, born on 31 October 1838 Bible Hill, Colchester County.

Mary Ann Clifford, the fourth child arrived about 2 years later in 1840. She married John Andrew McCabe and they had two children, Andrew Clyde McCabe b. 6 Dec 1875 Hantsport, N.S. Canada d. 12 Oct 1877 and Anne Marshall McCabe b. 17 Jun 1880 m. Harper Turner, d. 2 Jul 1972 Halifax. Mary Ann Clifford died 26 Mar. 1913 Manganese Mines.

Elizabeth Clifford the fifth child arrived October 6 October 1847 in East Mountain when James was 9 years old. She married James King Carlyle (b. 15 July 1848, East Mountain d. 28 Dec 1928). They had two children, (1)William Seymour Carlyle b. 20 May 1878 at East Mountain, Colchester County, (m. Ethel Jean Christie on 2 Dec 1903 in Greenfield, Colchester County, N.S. d. 2 May 1961, East Mountain,) and (2) John Andrew Carlyle b. 9 Jun 1881 in Colchester County, Nova Scotia, Canada (m Bessie Sterling, d. 1956, Truro, Colchester County, NS) . Elizabeth (Clifford) Carlyle died 25 Apr 1931.

Timothy Clifford, the sixth child of John and Alice Clifford was born about 1852 when James was about 14 years. Prior to his death December 11 1887 in Truro, he had lived on an intimate basis with a Widow Kent by whom he had a child. In May,1887 he had a quarrel with her and was charged with stealing some clothes from her house. He was sent to jail and on his release he “persecuted her with his attentions” at her boarding house. On the day in question, to frighten Clifford away, Robert Welsh shot several times with his gun loaded with salt and powder. The last shot with powder and shot hit Clifford in the face only 3 feet away from the muzzle of the gun and he died instantly.11 Neither “Widow Kent” or her son have yet to be identified but presumably was born during the 8-year period of Intimacy between 1879 and 1887. His surname may have been Kent or Clifford. Research on Robert Welsh may suggest he was born in 1873 and been the son of William Welsh and Ida Welsh and had a sister names Mary. William and Mary are located in the Truro Poor house in the 1921 census.

To date little information has been found concerning James relationship with this brother who died when James was 49 or the affect his death had on him.

Clifford F. Archibald in “A Goodly Heritage” who did not speak well of John Clifford had a fond admiration for James speaking of John Clifford and James indicates,

However, some of the best people in the community later could trace their ancestry to that same immigrant hotel keeper. A son James Clifford was an elder in the Baptist Church at East Mountain. He

11 The Daily Times, Moncton 13 Dec 1887 “Sunday Morning Tragedy in Truro” also Ottawa Journal, accessed from newspaper.com May 12 2020 with less detail 7

was a living example of what James in his Epistle exhorts the believer to be. He married Rebecca Nelson, no religious slouch herself.

It is believed that James and Rebecca had 10 children. Their children include,

i. Infant Clifford, a stillborn, evidence for the existence of this child is sketchy. ii. Mary Alice Clifford b. 1864, 15 Apr 1899 m. 2 September 1899 John Henry Archibald, III. Maynard Brown Archibald, 26 Jan 1891 m. Helen Mc- Gregor Dustan and had two children Joan Dustan Archibald and Marjorie MacGregor Archibald, IV. Rebecca Dell Archibald b. 09 Apr 1892 in Manganese Mines, Colchester County, NS, Canada, d. 02 May 1957. m. Frederick Johnson on 15 Dec 1915 in Valley Station, Colchester County, NS iii. David Lorenzo Clifford b. 1866, d. 29 May 1878 died of Diphtheria. iv. Nanette known as Nettie Clifford b. 1868 or 1869, Married Howard Mills (b. 1854), d. 1896 buried Mines V. Faye Christine Mills b. 30 Dec 1888 d. 26 Jul 1981 Newton, Massachusetts VI. Max H. Mills b. 21 May 1894 in Londonderry, Colchester, Nova Scotia, Canada d. Feb 1979 Magna, Salt Lake, Utah, USA v. Benjamin Scott Clifford b.13 Aug. 1871, m. Lilly Taylor 27 Dec. 1899 d. 3 Jul. 1965 VII. Mrytle Mae Clifford23 Sep 1900 in Brookside, Colchester County, Nova Scotia, m. Roy Vance VIII. Matthew Lloyd Clifford b. Nov 1909 Nova Scotia, m. Cora Lavenia Anderson 10 Nov 1932 in Valley, Colchester, Nova Scotia, Canada, d. 18 Aug 1979 in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada vi. James William Clifford b. 1874, East Mountain Colchester County, NS; m. Ethel May McNutt (b. Feb. 3, 1884) Brookside (daughter of William McNutt and Mary B. McNutt known as May, moved off to Chase BC. D. 21 May 1946 No Children vii. Noble Clifford b.1876, d.1878 died of Diphtheria d. 26 May 1878 age 1 Yr. 10 Months viii. Lena M. Clifford b.1879, d 1901 died of TB 27 Feb. 1901 age 21 yr. ix. Sarah “Sadie” Pearl Clifford b. 25 June 1882 Colchester County, d. 20 Jan 1902 died of TB age 19 years. 4. x. Beatrice Clifford b. 16 February 1887 in Brookside, Colchester County, N.S. d 16 Sept. 1958, (See below)

Only 4, Mary, Nettie, Benjamin Scott, and Beatrice lived long enough to marry and leave offspring. The family faced one tragedy after another. 1878 brought the death of David and Noble of diphtheria. Two girls who looked after others with TB also succumbed in 1901-02. Another child was born stillborn. James Clifford became a deacon of the Baptist church on the Brookside Road. His Grandson, Cliff Retson indicates that he was highly regarded by people who had known him. He reports that his funeral was heavily attended. Someone referred to him as “nature’s nobleman.” Cliff Retson named his second son James Clifford Retson in recognition of the high regards he had for James Clifford.

John Clifford was born into an Irish catholic family in Cork, Ireland. He was baptised on 11 Apr 1803 at St Mary's, Cork city12 His sister Mary in Ireland who was baptised in 1805 in St Mary’s Cork, Ireland. We know little about John’s Catholic up bring in Ireland or his religious convictions. He married a Catholic in a Catholic Church. Mrs. Alice Clifford appears to have been a well-educated woman and at a time when Catholics did not read the bible, she read it to her children. 13

12 https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000633151#page/1/mode/1up , https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=IRE/PRS/BAP/0893154 13 Excerpts from Ray Johnson’s A Glance Backward Page 28 8

“The Clifford’s were probably the only Catholics in the area, and there was no church of their denomination within travelling distance. However, Mrs. Clifford did not neglect the religious training of her children. Each day she read the Bible with them, a custom which was not usual in Catholic families at that time. Thus, the Christian faith was maintained in the family, but the children were lost to the Catholic Church. The census of 1871 lists their son James as a Baptist, Timothy as a Methodist, and daughter Elizabeth as a Presbyterian! James Clifford was a highly respected member of the community and an Elder in the Baptist Church” 14

James Clifford was married to Rebecca Nelson 27 May 1863 in Truro. Her parents were Baptist, and it is safe to assume she was also Baptist. The Baptist in Nova Scotia trace from the preaching of Henry Alline.15 Alline emigrated to Nova Scotia from Rhode Island to Nova Scotia with his parents in 1760. Following his conversion during adolescence, he became an evangelical preacher and travelled throughout Nova Scotia. He rejected the tenets of Calvinism, favouring universal salvation and human free will. He attempted to develop an intellectual rationale for his evangelical position. He rejected the Puritanism coming out of the United States and rejected the British church (Anglican). He visited Onslow and Truro. While in Onslow he stayed at the Home of Thomas Lynds an ancestor of Rebecca Nelson. They had been raised Newlights in New England but had switched to Baptist in Nova Scotia.

Ray Johnson, grandson of John Henry Archibald relates a story about James Clifford:

Grandfather Archibald was always known as John Henry. He grew up on his father’s farm and worked for a time in the manganese mine, where he broke his hip in a rock fall. They managed to bandage him up and got him to bed and called the doctor. The doctor, whose competence may be questioned, commented them for their work but did nothing for the patient. After the doctor had gone back o , James Clifford, a neighbour who had taken an interest in young John Henry, heard what had happened. He was furious. H itched up his horse and made a quick trip into town. He stormed into the doctor’s office and demanded to know why nothing was being down for John Henry. The doctor said that anyone that badly hurt usually died anyway. Mr. Clifford ordered the doctor to go back to Manganese Mines and do what he could for John Henry. This must have been an unusual experience for the doctor, for doctors were usually treated with a respect which bordered on reverence. The doctor returned as ordered, and John Henry recovered.16

James Clifford died on 25 Jun. 1905 Rebecca. His wife lived another 18 years dying on 18 Mar 1924.

4. Beatrice Clifford 1887 – 1958 William Rankin Retson 1884 - 1975

Beatrice Clifford, daughter of James and Rebecca Clifford, both of Irish descent, was born 16 February 1887 in Brookside, Colchester County, Nova Scotia. She was the youngest daughter of James Clifford and Rebecca Nelson. She married William Rankin Retson 25 December 1905 in Onslow, Colchester County, Nova Scotia approximately two years after he immigrated to Canada. He was born on February 22, 1884 in Fenwick, Ayrshire, Scotland. He died July 14, 1975 in Bible Hill, Colchester County.

Beatrice Clifford came from a cultured family. When her family would write letters, they would write them in the form of poetry. Beatrice Clifford had a love of poetry. She had graduated from Colchester Academy. She was a school teacher in Valley and maybe Bible Hill as well.

14 Excerpts from Ray Johnson’s A Glance Backward Page 28 15 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Alline, The Life and Journal of Rev. Henry Alline, 1748-1784, Boston : Printed by Gilbert & Dean, https://archive.org/details/cihm_27898/page/n4/mode/2up 16 Johnson, Ray, (1989) A Glance Backward, Page 21 9

She was a very religious. She was a Sunday school teacher at First Baptist Church in Truro for many years. In the early years Beatrice, strong puritan background rose to the top. There were no cards – at least in the house or to the knowledge of Beatrice Clifford, no dancing, no drinking and church attendance was compulsory. Doris Hancock relates that her father took her to her dance at the Agriculture College when she was in grade 10. Similarly, it was her father that gave her some money to buy cards in Truro to play “45s” when some boys from New Brunswick were going to arrive and required some entertainment. None of the children held any resentment to their mother – it was her religious convictions. However, none either to choose to maintain her rigorous views with respect what was “of the devil”.

She had rheumatoid Arthritis before the end of the twenties. On her husband’s birthday February 22, 1946, she had a stroke which paralyzed her left side. She did not think she was going to survive but lived another 12 years. She was bed ridden much of that time. She died September 16, 1958. They took Margaret Jennings from the NS Training School to help in the home.

James and Rebecca Clifford had four children,

i. Mary Doris Retson b. 19 Aug 1909, d. 31 Oct 2008 in Truro, m. Lawrence Thomas Hancock 29 Jun 1933 in Bible Hill, Colchester . They had one child I. Leslie Margaret Hancock ii. George Clifford Retson b. 19 Dec 1912 at Bible Hill, d. 17 Feb 1997 in Truro, NS, m. Grace Elizabeth Atkinson 26 Jul 1941 Ottawa, Ontario. They had six children I. William Edward Retson II. Madeleine Jane Retson III. James Clifford Retson IV. Mavis Ruth Retson V. Donald George Retson VI. Robert John Retson iii. Rebecca Jean Retson 18 Nov 1917 in Bible Hill, d. 23 Sep 2015 in Truro, NS m. William Angus Jenkins 01 Jul 1943 at Truro, NS, I. Catherine Faye Jenkins m. Charles Peter Langtry II. Heather Jo Jenkins m. Robert MacDonald iv. William Armour Bateman Retson b. 16 Mar 1925 in Bible Hill, m. Eldora Poirier 1946 NB, (2) Clara Emma Parlee 08 Nov 1963 in in Moncton, NB 17 Feb 1997 in Truro, NS. By his first wife he had two children, I.Victoria Sylvia Retson II. Dale William Retson

By his second wife he had

I. Shanda Lee Beatrice Retson, m. Roger Desire Cormier II. John William Retson, m. Brandie MacDougall III. Amber Dawn Retson m. Darrell David Holleran IV. Devin James Retson m. Laura Lea Flood

Appendices

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Abbreviations

abt. About aka. also known as b. born Bp. Baptized d. died m. married NB New Brunswick NS Nova Scotia NSARM Nova Scotia Archives and Record Management p. page PEI Prince Edward Island yr. year

Research Questions on Clifford Line

Research on the Clifford line has been on going for some time. Difficulties in research include certainty over the birth date of John Clifford, his immigration date and some of his children. My best guess is that he was born in 1801. However, the fact that he was not baptised until 1803 raises serious questions concerning this conclusion. His marriage at the Prospect Church, Halifax County, disclosed his parents as Owen Clifford and Mary Hayes of Cork, Ireland. His voyage to Nova Scotia came by way of Frenchman’s Bay, Maine. Until January 1 1820 masters of ships were not legally obliged to present their ship’s passenger lists to US Officials. These records at the US National Archives and Records administration (NARA) are digitized and indexed at Ancestry.com . It is believed that the record of his passage to Frenchman’s Bay, arriving on 26 Jun 1826 was his earliest arrival in North America. Through out much of the a ferry service ran between Maine and Yarmouth Nova Scotia. Exactly how he continued his trip to Nova Scotia is still conjecture. Most probably he took a ferry between Main and Nova Scotia. Work continues on research on Owen Clifford and his spouse Mary Hayes.

Resources

Archibald, Clifford F. A Goodly Heritage, Hantsport: Lancelot Press, undated Daly, Marie, Genealogist Handbook for Irish Research, Boston: NEHGS, 2016 Foster, R.F. The Oxford History of Ireland Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989 Grenham, John Tracing Your Irish Ancestors, 4th Edition, Dublin: Gill Books, 2012 Johnson, Ray, 1989 A Glance Backward (May be purchased at Colchester Museum at Truro) Lalor, Brian, Editor, The Encyclopedia of Ireland, New Haven and London: Yale University Press 2003 Ryan, James, Irish Records, Sources for Family and Local History, Dublin , Ireland: Ancestry Inc. and Flyleaf Press 1997 Santry, Claire, The Family Tree Irish Genealogy Guide, Cincinnati, Ohio: Family Tree Books 2017 Topographical Township Map of Colchester County, Nova Scotia, from actual Surveys Made, Drawn and Engraved by and under the direction of A.F. Church [Circa 1874] available for purchase from the Colchester Historical Society, Truro, N.S.

Websites

https://www.nationalarchives.ie/ National Archives of Ireland

http://www.rootsireland.ie/ for Griffith’s Valuations

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Relationship of the Cliffords to the Author

James Clifford Retson The Author

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