Ann Brimacombe & James Woodley
It is in this generation of my 3rd great grandparents where we find that the Woodley family came from England. Ann Brimacombe and James Woodley were born a few miles from each other in Cornwall, a historic county in England. On the map above, you can see St. Swithin’s Church marked which is located in Launcells.
Ann was born in Launcells, a small hamlet in north-east Cornwall, near the seaside resort of Bude. James was born in Stratton, an area between Launcells and Bude.
The first two children of Ann and James were born in England, Elizabeth Ann in 1832 was baptized in Holsworthy (see the map above), and John in 1834 in Launcells.
On the map you may also notice that other places have been highlighted – Kilkhampton, Bradworthy and Holsworthy which are in the neighbouring county of Devon.
Devon is important in my family history because my Francis ancestors lived in that area, only about 12 km from where James and Ann lived. I will add more detail about this in the story of Sarah Stacey and Henry Francis.
Ann Brimacombe was born in 1810 and James Arthur Woodley was born in1804.
We have been able to trace Ann’s family back through a long line of Cornwall residents. It is believed that James’ ancestors also lived in Cornwall, but it has been difficult to find documents to trace their history.
Ann and James were married on June 30, 1832 in St. Swithin’s Church, shown in this recent photo. St. Swithin’s is a 1200 year old mediaeval church that is beautifully maintained and has a rich history.
These photos below were taken by another Woodley cousin of ours on a visit to England in 2018. This one shows the baptismal font where some of our ancestors may have been baptized.
In the next photo, notice the ornate wood carvings at the end of each pew which were done in the 15th century.
Ann and James’ third child, Mary Ann, was born in 1836 in Ontario which leads us to believe that the Woodley family emigrated in 1835. There is a family story that John learned to walk on the ship while coming to Canada which seems to fit.
If we look at the history of what was happening in Cornwall and Devon in the 1830s, we can understand why the Woodley’s emigrated. James and Ann had joined the Bible Christian Church, a branch of Methodists that was formed in 1831 in Cornwall. The church decided to send missionaries to North America in 1831, and many stalwart members of the church decided to emigrate as well, possibly to find new opportunities with property readily available in this new land. You will find many Bible Christians noted in the 1851 census for Darlington Township.
This map from 1861 shows two properties that James and Ann owned in Darlington Township, Ontario. The family homestead was built on the larger property on Lot 8 Concession 2 and the house still exists today. Seven of their children were born there from 1837 to 1850.
The smaller property on the map was the basis for the development of the Woodley Sawmill since a stream ran through it. Later James also purchased Lot 10 across the road to allow for further expansion and this is where the sawmill is currently located. You can see a photo of the house on the sawmill property in this post.
The aerial view above shows the Woodley Sawmill property on Lot 10 of Concession 8. Woodley Road (yes, that is it’s name!) is running diagonally from top left down to the bottom.
This aerial view is of the farm property that Ann and James owned on Lot 8 as it looks today. I believe the house is the original one, although there likely have been improvements to it.
This is the only photo we have of Ann Brimacombe and James Woodley, and we can thank their oldest son, John, for that. The wording at the bottom tells us that the photo was taken in Petrolia, a small town in southern Ontario near Sarnia.
John had bought a 140 acre property in Petrolia area in 1859 and had discovered oil. A biography written about him describes him as “a man of large means and much prominence”.
When Ann and James visited John in Petrolia, both couples had their photos taken. John’s wealth may have allowed him to afford this luxury and we are fortunate to have copies.
The Woodley family was large as was typical for many families in that era. Ann bore a total of eleven children, the first when she was 22 and the last when she was 45. She died in August 1872 followed by James in January 1887.
Both of them are buried in the local Bethesda Cemetery which is often referred to as the Woodley Cemetery since many generations of the Woodley family are interred there.
It’s a small cemetery, beautifully-maintained and well worth a visit if you are in the area.
At Bethesda Cemetery you will also find the gravestones of their sixth child, William Woodley and his wife Charlotte Regina Francis, my great grandparents. You can read their story here.
2 Comments
Margaret Richmond
Thank you. I am a related to James and Ann and visited the church were the were married with Marilyn. I did not his details of his birth. I was born and live in Derbyshire England.
Ruth Anne
Hello Margaret, I’m happy to hear from you. Marilyn told me that she met you when she was in England. Have you seen the biography of his son John? There are two pages about John and his parents in a document from a book of biographies from the area where John lived. The year of James birth is in that document. I can email them to you if you like.
Ruth Anne