William Brownbridge and Elizabeth Metcalf

According to LDS documentation William (1814)and Elizabeth (1818) were both baptised in Masham Parish, Yorkshire England. I have verified Elizabeth's baptism on Nov 25 1818 in Pallots Baptism Index for England. As for William, I did find a William Brownbridge born to Peter and Elizabeth and christened on July 5, 1814 in York, Yorkshire England. Aunt Margaret's records indicated that William's father was also named William, but this may be in error as the christening record fits what we know about William. Also, Elizabeth may have been called Nancy or Nan by her family.

Elizabeth was the fifth child of a large family, many of whom immigrated to Canada. Her parents were Robert Metcalf and Elizabeth Craddock. Robert was a Weselayan Methodist preacher. He was born in Ilton, Yorkshire England to John and Mary and baptised May 4 1888 in Masham Parish. He married Elizabeth Craddock on Apr 15 1808 in Masham Parish. She was born in Wensleydale, Yorkshire England in 1790 to William and Ann.

According to Robert's obituary the family arrived in Canada in 1834 and I am assuming that their daughter, Elizabeth, came with them. Whether she met William in England or Canada is unknown, but I believe they were likely married in Canada as all of their children were born in Canada starting in 1838. Records show they had 12 children who lived to adulthood, which was quite the accomplishment given the times. Elizabeth died at 55 of consumption, leaving several young children who were then looked after by their widowed older sister, Frances Chellew. William died 4 years later at 63 of heart trouble. They may be buried in Gosford cemetery, but there are no headstones in the family plot.

William was a shoemaker, which was a necessary trade in those days (more info here). He would have had a shop in his home and the family lived on a small farm, which provided for their growing family. The farm was located in Concession 8, lot 1, near the Gosford Church and cemetery which is south-west of the town of North Augusta (see maps). Local land records show that in 1850 William Brownbridge bought 50 acres from his brother-in-law, William Metcalf, for the sum of 125 pounds (he may have been renting the property before that). The last land records we found were for a Robert Brownbridge in the 1950s, so the property stayed in the family for over 100 years. In his later years William worked as a house and sign painter.

The 1851 census gives a fairly detailed picture of life for the family at that time. Of the 50 acres, 25 were "woods or wild", 16 (2 of these were orchard or garden) were "under crops" listed as oats, wheat, Indian corn, potatoes and turnips and 9 were pasture. They owned: 3 milk cows, 2 calves, 2 horses, 10 sheep and 3 pigs. Food stores were: a half pound of butter, 4 barrels or cwt. of beef and 3 of pork. They also possessed: 30 lbs of wool, 12 bundles or tons of hay, 20 lbs of maple sugar, 50 yards of flannel, 8 yds of cotton and 18 yds of linen (probably made from locally grown hemp). The family lived in a one story log house.