This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: SharonWilliams444 Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.canada.novascotia.pictou/3364.2.1.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Hi Graham, You have the right Rushant family. My aunt, Ella Ruth Rushant's maiden name was Williams, but her mother was Martha Davidge. John Charles Rushant is known as Jack. Ruth was born in Great Village, NS 4 Nov 1920. Jack was b. 03 Jul 1923. His father was Charles Rushant; mother was Hattie Ada Midgeley. To the best of my knowledge, Jack was born in Powell River, B.C., where he met Ruth. His occupation was as a photographer. They had a camera store in Vancouver when I was a child and later, another one in Prince George. Jack went into repairing photographic equipment after they sold the store in Prince George and became known as Mr. Camera throughout B.C. The whole family spent a year living in England, 1964/65. Three of his and Ruth's 4 children and 3 of their grandchildren live on 2 adjoining properties that the family calls the Rushant compound. I don't feel I have the right to give out his phone number on the internet, but it is not unlisted. I don't know how to describe your relationship to me, but it seems that we may be distant cousins related by marriage. The appearance of a Strickland in our family history book comes from Harriet Strickland (known as Sis), born in West Point, NL who married Ambrose Davidge born in Burgeo, NL. Somewhere around 1902, they left Burgeo, taking my paternal grandmother, Martha, with them to live in New Glasgow, NS. Martha's father was William J. Davidge, 2nd child of John and Sarah Jane. The reason I posted the Strickland name is that when the Davidge family reunion was in NL in summer 2006, I met Roland and Terry Lyn Strickland in Wheelers Restaurant where we stopped for a meal after travelling all day from Mississauga. These Strickland's live in Kippens, NL. Roland knows Bud (birth name Everard)Davidge who is a descendant of Thomas Davidge who came from England and settled in Bay du Nord. This is a different line of Davidges than my own, but oral history records tell of Thomas's son making several trips to Burgeo to visit the Davidge family there. We believe there must be a family connection back in England, which several genealogists are working on proving. Part of our problem with tracing Thomas is that he is alleged to have been a 15 year-old stowaway trying to escape punishment for theft. In those days, convicts were often transported to Australia for repeat offences. I am in contact with a Davidge descendant in Australia who has a daughter with eyes that bear a very close resemblance to one of my Davidge cousins. The ancestor of this branch was Richard Davidge, who was transported after stealing twice from a Thomas Davidge in England. One problem is lack of literacy in the past generations. Another is the number of variations of spelling of the Davidge name. This is something to keep in mind if you are trying to trace Stricklands as this name may also have variations. Thomas' grandson, John Benjamin Davidge is in his 70's and lives in Carbonnear,NL. Bud is either his cousin or nephew. John's niece, Charmaine, lives in St. John's NL and is trying to help connect the dots between the two lines. We believe there is a blood relationship between Thomas and John Davidge, my great-great-grandfather, who settled in Burgeo. They may have both originally landed in the Burin Peninsula of NL first. Ambrose Davidge and his wife, Harriet, had 2 children: Hubert b.29 Jan 1887 who m. Catherine (?Katherine)Mason and Mabel b.17 Oct 1894 who m. Oscar Niehus (born in Boston, Massechusets). There were no children from either marriage, but Ruth visited the families in New Glasgow and Boston. To the best of our knowledge, Ambrose died around 1946 in New Glasgow NS. Because our family genealogist was tracing only the Davidge lines, I don't have any other info on Harriet or her children. I don't know if Roland Strickland's family has any family genealogy information as he did not have any knowledge of Harriet, but Strickland is as uncommon a name as Davidge. If you are looking for Strickland information, your best shot at finding out info about Harriet would be in West Point NL for her birth information and Burgeo for marriage date. Burgeo is a tiny community, but will have listings as Upper, Lower, East and West Burgeo. Given the poor communications available in those days, it is possible that Harriet and/or their children lost communication with the Strickland family after she and Ambrose left for NS. Formal education was not readily available in the outports of NL. Ruth and her mother, Martha, figured out that Martha had the equivalent of a Grade 3 formal education, although she was a very intelligent woman. I clearly remember her visits during my childhood and last saw her around 1977 when my sales territory included Prince George and she was staying with Ruth and her family. If the Rushant family (an even rarer name) is related to yours, Jack is alive and living in Prince George. We are still in touch periodically. If you want information on the Rushant side, I would not delay in contacting Jack. While he is still in good shape physically, I think his memory is starting to fade. I know he came from Powell River, B.C. but have no info on his family history. His mother died many years ago, but there may still be some family in Powell River. My dearly beloved Aunt Ruth died 10 Dec 2002, exactly 10 months before my father, Frank Ross Williams died. Her other brother, Albert Louis, known as Lou died on Ruth's birthday, 4 Nov 2002. Both her only daughter, Shelley, and I held the same belief in 1999 that when one sibling died, the other 2 would follow within 6-12 months of each other. Ambrose was the 4th of 7 children of John Davidge and Sarah Jane Guy who m. in Burgeo 15 Sept 1848. John and his eldest son George drowned in April 1867 while trying to save shipwreck victims between Wreck Island and Connoire Bay. The contact info for Roland Strickland is available on the Canada411 directory. Happy relative hunting, Sharon Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.