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From Porthallow to The United States of
America
The Story of Amy (Harry) White
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Amy Harry was born in St Keverne in 1841,
probably at the family farm at Roaring Style.
She was the one of the ten children born to
John Harry and Amia (nee Richards) who were
married at St Keverne Parish church on 29
January 1828.
John Harry was a carpenter at various times at
both Grougath and Roaring Style.
He died at Roaring Style in April 1840 aged 40
and was buried at St Keverne on 21 April.
Amy Harry married Josiah White, a carpenter
from Porthallow in about 1865 and they had six
children, apparently all male.
The eldest appears to have been Thomas Henry
who was baptised at Porthallow Bible Christian
chapel on 31 March 1867.
The second son, Alfred John Harry was baptised
at St Keverne Parish Church on 7 March 1869.
A third son, Josiah James was born in 1871 and
the fourth, Arthur, in October 1875 but he died
soon after.
Arthur White, infant of Porthallow, was buried
at St Keverne on 11 October 1875.
The two youngest sons were Ernest born in 1876
and Samuel born in 1878. Josiah White, the son
of Edward White and Loveday, was baptised at
his parent's house in Porthallow on 26
February 1846.
Edward White was a joiner, a trade that he
passed on to his son Josiah.
What happened to Josiah White
remains a mystery because no death record can
be found for him but by 1881 Amy White was a
widow.
In the 1871 Census Amy White was the Head of
the Household, and married - three children were
living with her. Alfred John Harry aged 2,
Thomas Henry aged 4 and Josiah James aged 3
months.
By 1881 Amy White was still at Porthallow but
her status was that of a widow aged 40.
Her children living at home were Thomas Henry
aged 14, Alfred aged 12, Ernest aged 5 and
Samuel aged 3.
Her widowed mother Amia Harry aged 75 was also
living at Porthallow together with her daughter
Loveday Harry (35) and grandson Josiah White
aged 10.
The White family had strong connections with
the Methodist (Bible Christian) chapel and
choir at Porthallow and it was this link that
Amy took with her to USA in 1881/2 for she was
one of the first members of a Methodist church
in the North-west corner of Washington State.
Her obituary appeared in the Blaine Journal of
July 18th 1919 and referred to her passing
under the headlines
"Death of an Aged Pioneer".
It reads " Mrs.Amy Vogt, one of the
earliest settlers of this section and a
continuous resident since 1882, passed away
Saturday last at the age of 79 years. Death was
due to old age. Funeral services were held on
Sunday afternoon at one o'clock,
Rev.O.Congdon officiating, and interment made
in the family lot in California Creek cemetery.
The deceased was born in Cornwall, May 4th 1841
and in 1856 she was married to Josiah White. To
this union six children were born, five boys
and one girl, the latter dying in infancy. In
1882, being left a widow, she came to America
to her brother Richard Richards, who has since
passed to his long rest and who lived near the
head of Drayton Harbour. Two of the sons that
came over with her have passed on, leaving but
two - Thomas Henry of Fairbanks, Alaska and
Alfred John Harry of Blaine.
In 1883 she married Charles Vogt and to this
union three children were born - Otto, Grover
and Mrs Amy Wilcox, all of Birch Bay. Mr Vogt
also passed on to his rest (d.1902). When the
deceased first arrived here there was no place
of worship except at California Creek in a
little log cabin which stood near the cemetery
there.
Later Rev. Carr organised a Sunday School and
held services at the Vogt home. She was a
devoted Christian woman throughout the most of
her life, although kept from attending church
these last few years by reason of
invalidity".
Her second husband Charles Vogt was originally
from Berlin, Germany and came to the German
settlement in Illinois when he was eighteen
years old before moving to the Pacific coast.
Although the obituary referred to a daughter,
it seems that Josiah White and Amy had six
sons, one of whom died very young.
The marriage in 1856 also seems rather early -
Amy would only have been 15 and the first child
was not born until eleven years later in 1867
(Thomas Henry White).
The obituary also referred to her coming to USA
to join her brother, Richard Richards - this
seems much more likely to have been a relative
(uncle or cousin?) as her mother Amy (Amia)
Richards married John Harry. However, Amy
White, a widow together with four sons, took on
the daunting task of leaving Porthallow and her
aged mother and other family members for the
life of a pioneer in Washington State in the
North-west USA.
AND NOW A REQUEST
I have written this short article based on
three people's recent correspondence to
me as part of an ongoing task. I am in the
process of putting together a database of
all the people who emigrated abroad from St
Keverne parish. To date I have used letters
(family history requests) re St Keverne
families over a period of 30 years and more
recently email enquiries to me personally
or via the St Keverne Local History
Society's website. I am using the
following headings - · name ·
maiden name where applicable (as in the
case of a married couple emigrating)
· age at emigration · date of
emigration · ship (if known)
· destination (country + precise
location) · any additional comments.
If any current member of the CFHS living
either abroad or elsewhere in the UK has
information about roots in St Keverne
parish, I would very much appreciate them
getting in touch with me.
At present I am concentrating on St
Keverne families who emigrated to the
"New World" but will make a start
to migration to other parts of this country
very shortly. |
To email the author - Terry
Moyle - Click here
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