CROWLES

New information was gathered about John and Rebecca Dingle Crowle and their extended family in the wake of a brief but enlightening visit to Cornwall by their great-great granddaughters in June 2002. Their visit prompted further research and the revision and expansion of this chapter of the family history.

Our Crowles came from Cornwall, England, where Crowle is a common name.[1] Through the miracle of the Internet, we know where in Cornwall our Crowle forebears and some of the Dingle connections lived. To understand their difficult lives, one must know something of Cornwall’s varied geography and how mining shaped its economy. Please read attentively the paragraphs interspersed throughout this chapter in bold print as that information is an integral part of the story. Following is a brief description of Cornwall taken verbatim (with some changes in punctuation and capitalization) from a website maintained by the Cornwall Family History Society:

Cornwall is the most southwesterly county in the United Kingdom. It has only one land border, that with the County of Devon, to the east. This eastern boundary is marked for almost all its length by the River Tamar. The rest of the county is surrounded by sea. This makes the county a peninsula and were it not for the short piece of land north of the Tamar, some say it would be an island. The county is actually a Duchy and the Duke of Cornwall is the Monarch’s eldest son, currently His Royal Highness Prince Charles. The population of the county has changed over the last 200 years; in 1801, it was 192,281, rising to a peak of 369,390 in 1861. It then fell back slightly and now stands at around 481,900. Until the end of the 18^th century the ancient Celtic language of Cornish was spoken here; it is currently undergoing a revival and the ancient name of the county, “Kernow,” can be seen at the roadside when crossing the “border” from “England.” The county is 80 miles long from the Devon Border to Land’s End. At its widest it is about 45 miles wide and averages about 24 miles wide with the narrowest point between St. Ives and Mount’s Bay being a mere 7 miles wide. About 30 miles to the southwest of Land’s End lie the Isles of Scilly, which form part of the county. The landscape is varied with large outcrops of granite rock and granite hills, such as Bodmin Moor in the east. The Administrative Capital and County Town is the City of Truro, lying to the west of the center of the county. The main industry was formerly tin mining, but with the fall in tin prices the last mine, at South Crofty, had closed. A Welsh businessman has now reopened the mine so mining is once again about to continue in Cornwall, and there will only have been a short gap in its history. Other industries vary from the extraction and export of China Clay from near St. Austell to the export of spring flowers from the west. The main industry is probably the tourist industry with many visitors coming to the area between Easter and late autumn.[2]

The county is divided into “Registration Districts for Baptisms, Burials and Marriages.” By contacting those Districts, much new information has come to light.[3]

We owe a huge debt of gratitude to our Crowle connections, David and Maree Crowle Stevens of Wellington, New Zealand. David Stevens has traced Crowles back to 1660 and generously e-mailed the results of his research.[4] At the end of this chapter appears the line of direct descent from John and Susannah Croll of St. Austell, Cornwall, who were married in about 1660 in St. Austell, to John and Rebecca Dingle Crowle, who were married in 1877 in Minions. The names of our direct ancestors are in bold face. It is purely guesswork as to why John and Susannah’s children and future descendants chose to spell their surname differently. But our true interest lies with John and Rebecca and their immediate families. And so, we begin with John’s parents.

Crowle Connections

Our great-great-great grandfather, James Crowle was a tin and copper miner, born on December 27, 1835 in the parish of St. Stephen in Brannel.[5] James married Matilda Carpenter in St. Austell, where their marriage was registered in the second quarter of 1856. Matilda was born in 1836 in St. Blazey, which lies on the main road to the east of St. Austell.[6] The first five children of James and Matilda were born in St. Blazey, where the 1851 Census[7] locates them at Doubletrees. While skirting the busy modern town of St. Blazey, Alane and Jeanne saw the sign to Doubletrees but could not follow it.

Sometime between 1867 and 1869, the Crowle family moved about 16 miles northeast to the Parish of Linkinhorne, settling in the mining hamlet of Railway Village—an early name for Minions.[8] The Liskeard & Caradon Railway had been built in 1846 to ship ore to the coast and this area was being heavily mined. We are extremely fortunate that the 1881 Census is on line as most of the key players in our family story were living in Railway Village in 1881 before their general exodus to the United States within the next few years.[9]

Following is the 1881 Cornwall Census listing (revised) for the Crowle family, which gives their places of birth.[10] John, the eldest child, was already married to Rebecca Dingle and head of his own household.

Matilda Crowle, Wife, Married, 44, (Tin) Miners Wife, St Blazey

Frederick, Son, 9, Scholar, Linkinhorne

Joseph, Son, 5, Scholar, Linkinhorne

John Crowle, Head, Married, 23, Copper & Tin Miner, St Blazey (July 17,1857)

The 1881 Census also lists the members of the related Hicks family. Jane, James’ sister (age 48), had married a James Hicks, a copper miner born at Roach in St. Stephens. At this time, they had eight children living with them, four of whom were employed as copper and tin miners.[11] Also living with Jane and James Hicks was 85-year-old Hannah Crowle, Jane’s widowed mother. Hannah was listed as a “pauper” born in St. Stephens. From the Cornish Mining Index for 1891, we know that Thomas, age 24; Frederick, age 19; David, age 16 (discrepancy here with given birth year of 1873); and young Joseph, age 13 (discrepancy here with given birth year of 1875), were all employed as tin miners and were all still residents of Railway Village. David later immigrated to the United States (more about him later) and there is family lore that strongly suggests that William immigrated to Canada.

The Parish of Linkinhorne, where the younger members of the family were born, is located within the Launceston Registration District.[12] The parish is divided by the wooded River Lynher Valley, the west rising steeply to Bodmin Moor while the eastern half is mainly agricultural. The ancient stone circles known as “The Hurlers” lie on open moorland in this parish.[13] About a mile north of St. Cleer is the famous “Trethevy Quoit,” known locally as “The Giant’s House,” one of England’s most impressive dolmens.[14] So we know of at least two ancient sites the Crowle and Dingle children might have visited in their youth.

Rebecca’s parents were James and Mary Williams Dingle.[15] What we know for sure about James is contained in the birth certificate for their son, Thomas John, which was obtained from the Liskeard Registration District Office. James was a copper miner, and he could not write (as he signed the birth certificate with his mark). Apparently, James died sometime after Thomas was born on September 14, 1859.[16] The birth certificate indicates that the family then lived in “Gonamena” at St. Cleer.[17] Lynda Small, the parish clerk for Linkinhorne, e-mailed the following in response to an inquiry about this place name. “Goonamena is a valley on the western side of Caradon Hill, at the head of the valley is Goonamena farmhouse, a lovely old slate covered place. I think it may be empty at present, quite an isolated spot. It looked down over what would have been a highly industrialised site with all the mine buildings, stamping floors, tips for the South Caradon Mine. All the remains are still there, but the stream runs unhindered these days.”

The birth certificate for Thomas John Dingle also informs us that his mother was “Mary Dingle formerly Williams.” About Mary Williams Dingle we know a surprising amount, but first we must introduce her daughter, Rebecca, who was the maternal grandmother of Mary Rebecca Ramp Bower.

We do not have a birth certificate for Rebecca.[18] However, both the 1871 and 1881 Cornwall Censuses puts her birthplace as St. Cleer, and it seems most likely that, if not actually born there, the family arrived in the vicinity soon enough after her birth that she grew up in St. Cleer. The 1871 Census estimated her birth year as 1859, but her burial records give September 1858 as her birth month and year. And we have the proof that Thomas John followed her one year later in September 1859. Although they were only children of 13 and 12 years of age respectively, both Rebecca and Thomas were listed in the 1871 Cornwall Census with the occupation “miner.” They were living in the household of their widowed maternal grandmother, Margaret Williams,.[19]

Sometime in 1868, Mary Williams Dingle remarried.[20] Her second husband was John Carpenter, the son of John and Jane Seymour Carpenter. Note that John Carpenter was born in St. Blazey and may well have been the younger brother or cousin of Matilda Carpenter Crowle (John Crowle’s mother), also born in St. Blazey. Mary was seven years older than John. According to the 1881 Cornwall Census, the Carpenters and their children also lived in Railway Village. The children had been born in the Parish of Liskeard, the parish immediately to the south of the Parish of St. Cleer, where the Dingle family had resided, most likely in the valley called Goonamena. In 1868, Rebecca would have been 10 years old and Thomas 9. Very possibly, they were better off in the household of their grandmother rather than with their mother and her new husband. But during those years, the children and their mother were still, geographically, close. And the children, of course, were already nearly of work age.

John Carpenter, Head, Married, 40, Tin Miner, St Blazey [3/25/1841-12/18/1912][21]

John, Son, 10, Scholar, Liskeard [1870-1962]

Mary J., Daughter, 7, Scholar, Liskeard [1871-1969]

The 1910 U.S. Census provides the interesting information that Mary Carpenter had borne eight children and that, in 1910, five were still living. The records we have account for seven of the births and for two of the deaths (by 1910 both Rebecca and Thomas Dingle were dead). We have records for all the Carpenter children in the United States except Amelia, and very possibly, she accounts for the third dead child. It is likely that a son, Isaac, was born after Amelia as an Isaac Carpenter pops up in a later context (see the sub-section The Carpenter Family below).

Mary entrusted Rebecca and Thomas to the care of her mother, Margaret Williams. In the 1871 Cornwall Census, Margaret’s age was given as 74, her approximate year of birth as 1797, and place of birth as Penzance, Cornwall. She had been a miner’s wife. Her son, John Williams, a blacksmith, unmarried and age 27, lived in the household. The 1881 Cornwall Census adds the information that John was “deaf and dumb from birth.” At age 31 [sic], he was still unmarried and living with his widowed mother in Railway Village. Both John Williams and his older sister Mary were born in Breage.[22] From her daughter Mary’s death certificate, we know that Margaret’s maiden name was Bozance and her mining husband’s name was Thomas.[23] The 1841 Cornwall Online Census Project provides the following listing for the Williams family:[24]

An abbreviated genealogical line with dates of the maternal side of descent might be helpful at this point:

The Cornish Mining Index provides further clues to the Dingle family. As of the source year 1851, several Dingles were living in Common Moor, a hamlet with a Methodist chapel near St. Cleer.[25] Among these Dingles was a James, age 18, born in Guernsey, and a copper miner. James would have been born in about 1833. Mary Williams Dingle, Rebecca’s mother was born in 1834 and was therefore 17 in 1851, a contemporary of this James and several other young Dingles listed. As Thomas’ birth certificate gave his father’s occupation as “copper miner,” it seems at least possible that this is “our” James, but there is no substantiating proof. If we follow this line of speculation, we can suppose that Mary Williams married this James Dingle when both were about age 20 and that Rebecca, born in 1858, was possibly the second of their children and that the older sibling was already living independently by the time of the 1871 Census. We know from a later source (the 1900 U.S. Census) that Mary bore eight children. The fact that Mary’s younger brother, John (the blacksmith), was born about 1844 in Breage may merely indicate that the Williams family, headed by a miner, was following work in the mines and came subsequently to Linkinhorne. When the 1851 Cornwall Census is on-line, we may be able to substantiate this supposition.

John Crowle and Rebecca Dingle were married on December 25, 1877, when both were 20 years old. Their certificate of marriage tells us that John was a bachelor, employed as a tin miner and the son of James Crowle, a tin miner. Rebecca was a spinster, employed as a tin ore dresser, the daughter of the deceased James Dingle, who had been a miner. They were both a resident of Cheesewring Railway in the Parish of Linkinhorne.[26] John signed his own name. Rebecca made her mark. Their witnesses were John Carpenter (Rebecca’s stepfather) and George Wills (who does not appear in the 1881 Cornwall Census in Railway Village). Did they choose to marry on Christmas Day because it was a rare day they were not working?

Their daughter Clara (about whom a great deal is told in the family chapter devoted to the Ramp Family) was born on October 23, 1879. Her birth certificate, registered on December 2, 1879, was signed by John Crowle and Rebecca made her mark.[27] Within the pages of the Ramp Family Bible was tucked a torn and partly missing but still legible baptism certificate for Clara Crowle. Her baptism was formalized [at home] for the Free Methodist (Minions) Chapel in the County of Cornwall in the year 1879. She was baptized on December 9, 1879 at seven weeks of age. Below the minister’s signature is the statement: “I certify that this is a true copy from the Registry Book of the above Chapel. Baptised by me on the above date…..” with the signature of Joseph Needham, Minister, following.[28]

The Methodist Chapel in Minions lies on the roadway behind the famous The Hurlers Halt, an inn and tea shop.[29] A small, whitewashed stone building, it is marked “P.M. Chapel 1863.” The chapel was actually built in 1864; it is unclear when the identification was added to the exterior wall. The chapel in which Clara was baptized may well have served two congregations. Primitive Methodism, originating in the very early 1800’s predated the Free Methodist movement and so it is likely that the chapel was originally “Primitive” and a later congregation adopted the “Free” denomination.[30] The chapel was closed in 1980 and is now a private home, with two skylights in the roof and a cottage garden. It was for sale in June 2002. Working people embraced Methodism when it was preached, often in the open air, by John Wesley and his followers in the late 18^th century. Methodists were “chapel” versus “Church of England.” Chapels were plain, unadorned structures, and many have closed within the past several decades; some of them, like the chapel in Minions, have been converted to private residences.

We have no surviving record of any child born to John and Rebecca between Clara in 1879 and the birth of Beatrice on April 19, 1885. Her birth was registered on May 22, 1885. Again, the place of birth is given as Railway [now Minions] in Linkinhorne. By this time, John and Rebecca had already made their plans to leave Cornwall and to immigrate to the United States.

The following excerpts from a chapter on “Mining” from the Linkinhorne website offers a clearer vision of the kind of life lived by the Crowles, the Dingles and their circle.[31] It sheds considerable insight as to the reasons why John and Rebecca, joined by other like-minded members of their family, chose to emigrate.

Mining in Cornwall: Tin streaming had been an activity on the moors for many centuries and within Linkinhorne there is the Old Tin Dyke which is a deep gulley that runs north from near The Hurlers, where tin was found beneath the peat layer…. It wasn’t until the development of the Newcomen engine that it was possible to mine to any depth. It is believed that Stowe’s Mine was the first deep mine in the area with an engine being erected there around 1730; this was a full century before the other mines in the area became fully active. The main copper boom started in the 1830’s, when men working for the Cornwall Great United Mining Association struck a rich lode of copper in South Caradon in 1836. Many miners migrated from the west of Cornwall where lodes were beginning to show signs of failure. The population around Caradon multiplied and the Liskeard & Caradon railway was built in 1846 to ship ore down ultimately down to Looe [a coastal town]…. The Phoenix United Mine within Linkinhorne was said to be one of the richest mines in Cornwall. Between 1844 and 1898 it produced over 82,000 tons of copper, but as the price fell, it turned to producing over 16,000 tons of black tin. It had over a dozen engines for pumping, stamping and winding…. South Phoenix mine centers around Houseman’s engine house, constructed in 1853 to house a pumping engine. It is now preserved as the Minions Heritage Center [also photographed in June 2002]. It was never one of the highly successful mines and was worked at various times for both tin and copper.

The Workers: The management would employ mine captains, many of whose homes still exist as private dwellings. Engineers were needed to tend all the machinery above ground. There were two types of miner: The tributers who, on a monthly basis, bid for “pitches” to work and they took a share of the ore brought to the surface. If they had a good pitch, they could do quite well, but with a poor one, they would be struggling to feed their family. [Could this be how John Crowle financed his family’s exodus from Cornwall?] Tutworkers were paid to break unprofitable ground, i.e., to create tunnels and shafts for further exploration. As miners worked, the broken rock and ore had to be taken to the surface, by wheeling it to the shaft. Surface workers and ore dressers were paid on a daily basis and included women and children. Bal maidens would break the copper ores into small pieces with hammers, an operation called cobbing. [This was how Rebecca was employed.]

The men working underground had to supply their own tools and candles and might work a twelve-hour shift. The miners would be paid in tokens. The Phoenix token had a picture of a miner on one side and a phoenix on the other. The Post Office at Minions used to be the token shop of the mine where all employees changed their tokens for anything they required. Saturday night was usually very riotous with numerous drinking houses doing a good trade. The local courts had brought before them many cases of assault, often featuring the poor landlord or landlady. So riotous did it become that no decent lady would go outside on a Saturday evening.

As It Would Have Been: Now imagine the peace and tranquility you appreciate completely gone, and in its place there is something resembling a moonscape with heaps of spoil all over the place. There are over 100 engines belching out smoke and steam so that the skyline resembles the Black Country. Between all the spoil heaps there are sheds, buildings, railways, dressing floors, cottages and less permanent dwellings. The noise from all the engines, railways and ore crushing stamps reverberates for miles around, even at night when the glow from the boiler houses lights the sky. The pollution is so bad that they even bring in water to use for the steam engines as the streams are a toxic mixture of minerals that even poison the River Lynher. The industrial fallout is blamed for the deaths of sheep and cattle in the fields around and not even a blade of grass can be seen as it cannot survive!

Now imagine the lives of those men, women and children who lived and worked here. Many died young as the local death registers and newspaper reports verify; at one time the average life span for a miner was only 21 years. Accidents were so frequent that only the more serious made the news. Until the arrival of “man lifts” in the 1880’s, it was a regular occurrence for men to fall to their death. At the end of a long hard shift underground, they had to climb hundreds of feet up ladders, and if hands gave way due to exhaustion, numbness and cold, the miner never made it to the surface. Those that did get to the surface fell exhausted … then often had a long walk home! Children started work at a very early age, often working with the women on the surface to start with. The women’s job as “bal maidens” was to dress the ore, usually in the open air, although later dressing sheds were built. Mortality among children, especially the newborn, was very high with “debility” frequently entered as a cause of death. In other words, they were too weak to survive.

In June 1885, John and Rebecca with their daughters Clara and the newborn Beatrice, very likely in company with Thomas Dingle and the Carpenter family, sailed from “the Hoe” (the harbor) in Plymouth.[32] On June 26, 1897, John Crowle applied to the Prothonotary of Northumberland County at Sunbury for citizenship, which was granted on June 15, 1901. On his petition of 1897, he gave his name as “John Crowle”; that his birthplace was Cornwall, England; that he had emigrated from Plymouth; that he had arrived in the United States in June 1885; that his intended place of settlement was Shamokin, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania; and that he was prepared to “renounce, forever, all allegience and fidelity” to Queen Victoria of Great Britain and Ireland. Unfortunately, these naturalization records did not include wives and children, who were regarded as nameless adjuncts of the male head of the household. If we could locate the ship’s passenger list, we might be surprised at how many now familiar names we would find.

John and Rebecca were not alone in their determination to leave Cornwall for the New World. Whether they first went to Canada, as family history suggests, or came straight to Northumberland County, quite a few family members settled in Shamokin. According to the 1900 Census, John Carpenter immigrated in 1882.[33] Perhaps he was the initial scout for jobs and places to live. However, his name does not appear in the Shamokin City Directory of 1884-85. Perhaps he went first to Canada and, as a miner, later gravitated to the Coal Regions of Pennsylvania looking for work opportunities for the whole family. David Crowle, John’s younger brother, arrived in Shamokin in 1892. One of David’s granddaughters recalls her grandparents packing their clothes to visit David’s brother William in Canada. This helps to confirm the family story that the Crowles passed through Canada on their way to Shamokin.

Shamokin, Pennsylvania

Rebecca Dingle Crowle

The promise of a better life was broken for Rebecca. On June 26, 1886, the baby Beatrice died of measles and was buried in Shamokin Cemetery. Pregnant and grieving the loss of Beatrice, Rebecca herself died “of confinement” (in childbirth) on November 9, 1886, at the age of 28.[34] On the day of Rebecca’s death, her burial lot was purchased by her stepfather, John Carpenter, where he and Rebecca’s mother Mary Williams were later buried themselves. Their simple granite stone says simply “Carpenter.” Rebecca’s daughter Clara honored her mother’s memory by naming her eldest daughter and firstborn child, Mary Rebecca Ramp, as well as naming her third daughter Beatrice.

John and Matilda Crowle

John Crowle married again. His second wife was Catherine Matilda, who evidently used her middle name. She is the Mrs. Matilda Crowle who signed Mary Rebecca Ramp’s birth certificate on December 5, 1897. She was born in November 1861 in Cornwall. The 1900 Shamokin Borough Census provides the information that John and Matilda were living at 18 South Fifth Street.[35] The 1910 Census, dated April 30, indicates that John and Matilda had been married for 12 years (possibly an error since Mary Rebecca’s birth certificate bears Matilda’s name). No occupation is listed for John, who may have been either unemployed or injured. Matilda’s occupation is given as a “mender, knitting mill.” It is likely that she, too, was married previously as there is listed living with them a 19-year-old daughter named Mary J. Bower.

We know nothing of John and Matilda’s life together. They do appear to have been close to David’s family as they are buried beside David and his wife. John Crowle is not listed in the Shamokin City Directories until 1901-03, when he was listed with the occupation of “laborer” and living at 18 S. 5^th Street (same as in 1900). Two years later they were living at the corner of Pine and Diamond, two years later at 35 W. Montgomery, and yet two years later at 146 W. Willow where they were living still in the 1913-15 directory. John’s name is not listed again until the 1917-1919 directory, where his address is given as 604 N. 3^rd and his occupation given still as “laborer.”

John died on October 26, 1917, at the age of 60. His obituary is not available, but Matilda Crowle’s obituary appeared in the Shamokin News-Dispatch on Saturday, May 21, 1938. It appears to be highly inaccurate, starting with the spelling of her name, but it does provide some useful information:

Mrs. Catherine Matilda Crowl, 77, 137 South Seventh Street, died at 5:15 last evening in Northumberland County Institutional Hospital.[36] Death was attributed to pneumonia.

The deceased was in ill health several weeks and was admitted to the hospital last Tuesday.

Mrs. Crowl was born in Cornwall, England, and came to America 29 years ago. John Crowl, her husband, died nine years later. She was a member of Seventh Street Primitive Methodist Church.[37]

The funeral will be held Monday afternoon at 2:00 from the Farrow Funeral Home, 608 North Liberty Street. Rev. W. C. Hall will officiate and burial will be in Odd Fellows’ Cemetery.

Matilda Crowle is buried beside John Crowle in the Crowle-Rawlings family plot, each with a grass marker. On the family headstone is the inscription: “My sun sets to rise again.”

David and Ellen Rawlings Crowle

John’s younger brother, David, arrived in Shamokin in 1892. Both John and David found employment in the coal mines at Shamokin. David’s occupation was given as “timber clerk” on his death certificate and as “timber inspector, coal mines” in the 1910 Census. We have a copy of the marriage license of David and Ellen Rawlings Crowle. Both age 21, they were married in Shamokin on December 19, 1894 by the Rev. James Walker. Ellen was the daughter of Benjamin and Eliza Rawlings. According to the 1910 Census, Ellen was born in September 1875 in England. The 1900 Shamokin Borough Census provides the information that they lived at 1020 West Spruce Street and had two sons: Benjamin, born April 1895 and James, born August 1897.

By the 1910 Census, dated April 15, David and Ellen were living on Bear Valley Road in the South District of Coal Township. They had eleven farm animals. David and Ellen had been married for 15 years and now had six children, all living. The eldest son, Benjamin R. at age 14 was already a laborer in the coal mines. He was followed by James W, age 12; Joseph W., age 9; Ethel V., age 6; Phoebe E, age 4; and Ralph N., age 1 and 3/12. Two more children were born: Daniel in 1914 and Matilda (Betty) in 1916.

The marriage license of their son, James W. Crowle, to Martha Wolfgang (daughter of Israel and Emma Fetterman Wolfgang of 22 Adams Street, Shamokin) informs us that David and Ellen were residing at 40 Adams Street in Shamokin as of November 1922.

David died on December 24, 1923, at the age of 50. His death certificate, signed by his son James W. Crowle, informs us that he died of “probably acute dilatation of heart” with a contributory cause of “probably bronchial asthma.” His death was a predictable one for a man who had labored all his short life underground.

Thomas and Bessie J. Parkyn Dingle

Thomas Dingle married Bessie Jane Parkyn, born in Cornwall on February 21, 1868. They had five children born in Pennsylvania. There is a Dingle family Bible in the possession of the Dingle family still in Shamokin.[38] Thomas appears in the Boyd’s Shamokin City Directory edition for 1889-91, his occupation given as “miner” and his address as 52 S. 3^rd Street. But we can follow him no further. Thomas died at the premature age 40 years, 5 months, and 3 days, after an illness of three years, on February 17, 1900 of “miner’s consumption.” He died at the house at 141 S. 7^th where his widow lived thereafter. The death records on file at the Northumberland County Courthouse in Sunbury, clearly give his parents’ names as “James Dingle” and “Mary Dingle.” We know nothing more about his short life.

Thomas’ widow, Bessie J. Dingle, first appears in the city directory for 1901-03 and through the 1924-1926 editions at 141 S. 7^th Street, the house which she owned and where she raised her five children. She was always listed as “wid Thomas” and never with an occupation of her own. Bessie was the daughter of Joseph and Mary A. Rogers Parkyn and Fredrick (spelled variously) Parkyn, married to Ellen Carpenter, was their son.[39] Their father, Joseph Parkyn, was a grocer at 141 S. Market Street, and was also listed in the 1901-03 directory, although Fredrick was not.[40] The 1910 U.S. Census informs us that Bessie arrived in the U.S. in 1871, that she could read and write, and provides the following about her five children:[41]

Thomas J. Dingle was born December 10, 1888 and died January 22, 1913. Albert James was born in 1890, married Gertrude I. Bergstresser, and died December 30, 1956. Ada M. was born July 15, 1893, married Earl Semmons, a blacksmith, and died July 10, 1972. Bessie Naomi was born October 8, 1894, married Ralph L. Hoover, and died July 23, 1977. Frederick was born in 1896, married Clarissa Crozier, and died December 15, 1964 (they had a son, Richard). A Shirley L. Dingle, 1914-10/30/1943, also appears in the funeral records, but her family connection is unclear.[44] Ronald W. Dingle, Jr. of Catawissa, is the great-grandson of Albert James, the grandson of Frederick Joseph, and the son of Ronald W. Dingle.

Bessie died on the icy cold morning of Friday, March 12, 1948.[45] She and Thomas are buried in Shamokin Cemetery (off Marshall Street – look to the left up the hill) under a large granite stone inscribed “Dingle.” Bessie’s obituary appeared in the top left corner of Page Two of the Shamokin News-Dispatch on the day of her death.[46]

Elderly Shamokin Woman Dies After Two-Month Illness

Mrs. Bessie Jane Dingle, 80, widow of Thomas Dingle, died this morning in the family residence, 141 South Seventh Street, following an illness of two months.

Mrs. Dingle, a daughter of the late Joseph and Mary Ann (Rogers) Parkyn, was born in Common Moor, Cornwall County, England.[47] She came to the United States with her parents when she was four years old. The family settled in Bear Valley. Mrs. Dingle attended Bear Valley school and was married to the late Thomas Dingle 60 years ago. She was a member of Seventh Street Primitive Methodist Church.

Surviving are two sons: Albert James Dingle, Watsontown; Fred Dingle, Shamokin; two daughters: Mrs. Earl Semmons, Bryn Mawr; and Mrs. Ralph Hoover, Shamokin. Two brothers, Fred Parkyn, Sunbury; John Parkyn, Reading; a sister, Mrs. Clara Savery, Easton; 12 grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren survive also.

Funeral services will be held Monday afternoon in the Farrow Funeral Home, Sixth and Chestnut Streets, beginning at 1:30. Rev. Herbert Hoyes, pastor of Seventh Street Primitive Methodist Church, will officiate. Burial will be in Shamokin Cemetery. Viewing will be in the Farrow Funeral Home Sunday evening from 7:00 to 9:00 and continuing Monday until time of the service.

The Carpenter Family

The earliest record of John Carpenter in the Boyd’s Shamokin City Directory appears in the 1889-91 edition.[48] He is the only Carpenter listed. The Carpenter family lived in a house on Market near Pine and John’s occupation was given as “miner.” In the 1901-03 directory, the family is listed at 515 N. 6^th Street and John’s occupation was given as “engineer.” Their son, William H., was listed as a laborer, living at 1514 Wabash in the community of Springfield. Isaac Carpenter is listed as a driver at another address, but Isaac, now a bartender, shows up at the 515 N. 6^th Street address in 1903-1905, indicating a familial relationship. At that time, John’s occupation was given as a watchman, and the family had moved to 17 N. Diamond Street. William H., now a fireman, is at 1007 E. Chestnut. In the 1907-09 directory, John is, yet again, the only Carpenter listed. His last appearance is in the 1909-11 directory at 8 N. Diamond Street and with no occupation listed. William H., the fireman, had moved to 1221 W. Walnut.

From the Farrow Funeral Home Burial Book, Part I, we know that William H. Carpenter married Amelia J. Evans, born in England.[49] He died on July 12, 1949. John married twice: Mary A. Lean and Mary J. Price. He died on August 26, 1962. Mary J. Carpenter married Joseph W. Hodge, born in Cornwall. Mary J. was listed as a widow in the 1924-26 city directory, and died on June 1, 1969. Ellen Carpenter Parkyn died on October 29, 1953. There is no mention of an Amelia Carpenter.

John Carpenter died on December 18, 1912, while living at the 8 N. Diamond Street address. The cause of death was given as “asthma with edema of lungs. He was 71 years, 8 months and 23 days old. Mary provided the information and gave his occupation as “Engineer & [illegible, possibly “firehouse”].”

By the 1913-15 directory, the widowed Mary was living at 304 S. 5^th Street with her son John Carpenter, a pumpman. William H. had moved yet again to 1108 W. Walnut. Two years later, their situation was unchanged. In the 1917-19 directory, Mary and son John had moved to 549 S. Market. No mention of William H. In the next directory, there is no mention of Mary, although her son John was still at 549 S. Market.

But we pick up Mary again in the 1920 U.S. Census which informs us that Mary was then living with her married daughter Ellen Parkyn, age 45, who had immigrated to the U.S. in 1885—that pivotal year for the Carpenter family. She and her husband Fredric (variously spelled) Parkyn, a mail carrier, age 53, who had immigrated in 1883, were living in a rented house at 10 Bear Valley in Coal Township with their children Joseph, age 17, John, age 14 and Carrie, age 8. Mary’s age was given as 85; the year of immigration was confirmed as 1885 and of naturalization in 1890; she could not read or write (although that may indicate she had grown blind as the 1910 Census indicated she could read and write). Mary died at home of chronic bronchitis at age 87 years, 6 months and 15 days on February 22, 1922. Her death certificate was signed by Fred Parkyn and clearly stated the names of her parents, Thomas and Margaret Bozance Williams. She had come a long way from Cornwall but lived in a community full of her own people.[50]

Line of Direct Descent of the Crowle Family

John Croll, married Susannah (unknown) circa 1660 in St. Austell, Cornwall. Their children were:

Anthony Crowle married Rose (unknown) circa 1691 in St. Austell, Cornwall. Their children were:

Susannah, born c. 1694

Richard Crowle married Grace Luny on February 21, 1725 in Saint Sampson or Golant, Cornwall. Grace was born circa 1699 in St. Austell, Cornwall, the daughter of John and Grace Luny. Richard married again, on February 17, 1726 in St. Sampson to Mary Rosewarne. No names of any issue of the second marriage are given. Richard died in January 1774 and was buried on January 21, 1774 in St. Sampson or Galant, Cornwall. His children by Grace Luny were:

Richard Crowle married Elizabeth Garland on March 13, 1755 in Lostwithiel, Cornwall. Elizabeth was born circa 1731 and was buried on April 8, 1781 in St. Stephen in Brannel. Elizabeth was Richard’s second wife (the first was Jane Stephens whom he married December 10, 1749 in Bodmin, Cornwall). Richard was buried on August 23, 1789 in St. Stephen in Brannel. With this generation, the family apparently settled in St. Stephen in Brannel, Cornwall, which lies within the St. Austell Registration District. The parish is named after St. Stephen with the addition of the manor name. The parish church was dedicated to St. Stephen in 1261. The parish is mentioned in the Domesday Book as Bernel and lies in the center of Cornwall on the northern edge of the china clay industry.[51] Richard’s children by Elizabeth Garland were:

William Crowle married Ann Cundy on March 26, 1791 in St. Stephen in Brannel. Ann was born circa 1769, the daughter of William and Jane Treneman Cundy. Ann was buried December 31, 1831. William died only months later and was buried March 29, 1832. Their children were:

John Crowle married Hannah Cullum on February 6, 1819 in St. Stephen in Brannel. Hannah was born circa 1795 in St. Stephen in Brannel, the daughter of John and Elizabeth Cullum. Hannah was about seven years older than John. The genealogy chart e-mailed by David Stevens from New Zealand, indicates that John Crowle married a second time: On March 2, 1833, to Mary Searle, who was born circa 1808. He also had four children by Mary Searle, including both another John and another James. John was a laborer. His date of death is unknown, but he was living in Little Bodinnick in 1836 and in Gwindon in 1838. However, if he and Hannah Cullum parted ways, it was not through her death. She was alive at age 85 in 1881 in the household of her daughter Jane Hicks in Railway Village. John Crowle’s children by Hannah Cullum were:

Originally dated June 4, 1999; further revised February 23, 2002; final (?) revision November 2002

[1] Another “Crowl” family existed in the Shamokin area, but they were of German origin and belonged to the “Blue Church” (a Lutheran church painted the color blue).

[2] Last updated March 5, 1999 by David Holman.

[3] Linda Edwardson, Deputy Superintendent Registrar of the Liskeard Registration District provided the marriage certificate of John and Rebecca Dingle Crowle and the birth certificates for Clara, Beatrice and Thomas Dingle (Rebecca’s brother). She did an exhaustive but unsuccessful search for Rebecca’s birth certificate and her father James Dingles’ death certificate.

[4] Mr. Stevens has clearly stated that most of his information was not obtained through researching primary records, but through the International Genealogical Index (IGI), England’s census records for 1871 and 1881, parish information held by the Cornwall Family History Society and the LDS, as well as from other researchers.

[5] Maree Crowle Stevens is James Crowle’s “second cousin, three times removed.”

[6] The Parish of St. Blazey was named after Saint Blaise, to whom the parish church was dedicated in 1440. The village lies on the eastern edge of the china clay workings around St. Austell and probably owes it existence to the industry. The parish is hilly with some woodland on the valley edges. This information was obtained on the Cornwall Family History Society website and was edited by David Holman as of July 1997.

[7] The Cornwall censuses began in 1801. They took place at the end of March or early April every 10 years. The 1841 Census was the first to provide the name and age of every person; however, it gave the exact age of only those under 14 years of age. The ages of people over 15 were rounded down to the nearest five years below their actual age. From 1851, the relationships and parishes of origin were also added.

[8] The 1871 Cornwall Census puts them in Linkinhorne, but the 1881 Cornwall Census specifies their location at Railway Village, outside Linkinhorne.

[9] According to the home page of the Cornwall Family History Society (CFHS), during the second half of the nineteenth century, almost 25 percent of the population of Cornwall emigrated. As well as those who crossed the Tamar River into England, the Cornish left in large numbers for the United States of America, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Central and South America and later to South Africa. As a result, there are some six million people world-wide who proudly claim Cornish ancestry. The Cornish who found their way abroad were dubbed “Cousin Jacks and Jennies.”

[10] The complete census records for the residents of Railway Village was obtained from the www.lynherparishes.co.uk website maintained by the on-line Parish Clerk Lynda Mulda-Small. Click on the Linkinhorne parish name and then on Census.

[11] The children were Mary Jane, 23, copper miner; William J., 21, copper miner; Clara A., 19, tin miner; John, 15, formerly tin miner; Hannah C., scholar; Bessie, 8, scholar; and Polly, 2. The four elder children were born in St. Blazey and the three younger in Linkinhorne. It appears likely that the Crowle and Hicks families left St. Blazey for the Parish of Linkinhorne at about the same time.

[12] Linkinhorne means “church site (Lann) of Kenhoarn,” but the patron saint of the local church is St. Mylor (Melorus).

[13] Internet address: www.cfhs.demon.co.uk/Society/linkinh.html. Information edited by David Holman as of July 1997. This address may no longer be current.

[14] A dolmen is a man-made Stone Age formation, probably used for astronomical observations. The Giant’s House is comprised of six upright stones (originally seven), averaging about 10 feet high, forming a rectangular chamber 6 feet 6 inches by 5 feet. . . The capstone is 12 feet long and, in its half-fallen state, 15 feet high. There is a natural hole that pierces the highest point of the capstone. There is a strange doorway cut out of the entrance stone, which may have been for the passage of bodies. Trethevy is surrounded by the remains of a mound which, probably, only covered the lower part of the stones and acted as a ramp to aid access to the chamber.

[15] The Dingle surname probably comes from Old English (prior to 1150 AD), probably from Norse or Celtic roots. The name in Old English is a noun meaning “a narrow wooded dale or valley between hills; a small secluded valley, a little dell.” Some definitions imply a meadow or clearing; the name was synonymous with, and used together with “dell” (dingle-dell). In Ireland, “dingle” means “a meadow sloping toward the sea.” Prior to the Norman Invasion in 1066 AD, surnames were not generally used in England. People slowly adopted, or had names assigned (through usage similar to nicknames), which described their trade, traits, infirmities, locale, etc. Names which were location derived referred to both the locale and the people living there. Spelling, not standardized, was dependent upon the education, background, and hearing acuity of the scribe. The earliest Dingle surname was recorded in Northamptonshire in the 12^th Century. The earliest spelling of the name in Cornwall appears to be “Doyngell.” Cornwall has the majority of church-event listings for the name (e.g., marriages, christenings, burials). Approximately 1500 church events occurred over a 400-year span of time, the most active early parish being Linkinhorne. Church record trends indicate that Dingles (Doyngells) were in Linkinhorne long before 1500 AD. Do not look for nobility on this side of the family. Little nobility came from within Cornwall, generally a conquered dissident Celtic-remnant enclave (“Free Cornwall” signs as late as 1988). When it was possible to determine an occupation, it was generally “farm laborer,” “miner,” “fisherman,” “shoemaker” or “seaman.” The foregoing information was appropriated from the website: www.oia.ucalgary.ca/htm/dingle/tree/test1.htm.

[16] Thomas’ birth was registered on October 22, 1859. Despite a diligent search of the four subdistricts of the Liskeard Registration District by Linda Edwardson, she was unable to find the registration of James Dingle’s death between the years 1859 and 1871.

[17] The Parish of St. Cleer, named after its patron saint, St. Clarus, is located at the north edge of the Liskeard Registration District.

[18] Despite an intensive search by the Liskeard Deputy Superintendent Registrar Linda Edwardson.

[19] The 1871 Cornwall Census “Occupants of Dwelling” for Parish Linkinhorne; District 9; Schedule 156. Margaret’s name was spelled with two t’s, but is spelled as Margaret throughout this chapter. At the time of the original research, the 1871 Census of Cornwall was on-line free of charge through Kindred Konnections of the Family History Research Center. It does not now appear to be free (2002). The information on this index was the result of volunteer work by Richard and June Ross.

[20] The 1900 U.S. Census records John and Mary Williams as having been married for 32 years.

[21] Birth and death dates for the Carpenter family were obtained from the Farrow Funeral Home Burial Records, Part I, at the Pennsylvania State Library.

[22] Originally called St. Breock-in Kirrier (Kerrier), St. Breaca or St. Briack, the parish is now called Breage. The word is pronounced Braig or Breeg. The Parish is bounded on the south by the sea. The Williams family lived within the town of Breage itself, the so-called “church town.” As well as the parish church dedicated to St. Breaca in 1130, there were chapels in Breage belonging to the Wesleyan Methodists, Bible Christians, and the Methodist New Connexion.

[23] An Internet correspondent, John Williams, has provided his family pedigree back to Richard and Jane Deeble Williams of Ruan Minor, Cornwall, who married July 9, 1694. Richard was born about 1674 in Ruan Minor and Jane, daughter of Sylvester and Grace Deeble, was born February 19, 1669/70 in Ruan Minor. If, and it does appear likely, that Thomas Williams, born October 10, 1804, was the son of Thomas and Martha Lydicote Williams of Crowan, Cornwall, then we have the line of descent from Richard and Jane Williams. Crowan borders the Parish of Breage on the north.

[24] For the Hundred of Kerrier (the name of the Registration District), HO107/136, Parish of Breage – part 2 – ED 4-7.

[25] There was a Methodist chapel in Common Moor as of June 2002. The informant, an elderly resident of St. Cleer, said that the roof had caved in but had been repaired, indicating that it is a building of considerable age.

[26] Cheesewring Railway may have been one of the early names for Minions as was Railway Village. But the 1881 Cornwall Census provides a separate listing for this location. John and Rebecca are residents of Railway Village as of the 1881 Cornwall Census.

[27] The birth certificates for Clara and her sister Beatrice were provided by the Liskeard Registration District for the sub-district of Callington.

[28] At the beginning of Clara Crowle Ramp’s baptism certificate is the word “No.” followed by a “2,” which could suggest that Clara was the second child of John and Rebecca, but this is purely speculation.

[29] Minions, at 1,000 feet above sea level, is the highest village in Cornwall and home of the highest inn, The Hurlers Halt. The village may have been named after Minions Mound, an earthen feature at the western end of the village said to be the burial mound of a Celtic king known as King Minion, but nothing is known of him. However, the village has not always been known as Minions. A map of 1807 only mentions Pontons Piece and the 1906 Ordnance Survey calls it Cheesewring Railway. The history of the village is tightly interwoven with the history of mining in this area. Large scale extraction ceased immediately prior to World War I and nature’s healing hand has subsequently turned this area into a beautiful landscape not only for the walker but also for the particular interest of the ancient and industrial archaeologist.

[30] The Society of the Primitive Methodists was founded in 1812 as a movement to return to the “purer” form of Methodism. The later denomination of Methodists who adopted the name “Free” meant to signify both that their church had free seats for all (as a protest against pew rental) and was opposed to slavery.

[31] Website: www.incornwall.com/mining.

[32] Plymouth, on the southwest coast of England, was an important port of emigration. It is about 25 miles southeast of Linkinhorne, right across the Tamar River in the County of Devon.

[33] 1900 Census, Roll 1449, E.D. 149, Sheet 5, Line 59, at the Pennsylvania State Library.

[34] A Genealogist’s Guide to Burials in Northumberland County, Vol. V, page 53. Rebecca and Beatrice Crowle are both buried under the name “Crowle” in the above cited source. Death certificates were not available at this time.

[35] Compiled by Jack Pensyl of the Northumberland County Historical Society, who kindly provided this information on February 17, 1999.

[36] A hospital largely for indigent people and now called Mountain View Manor, still a county-sponsored home for the elderly ill. It is located several miles beyond the Odd Fellows Cemetery on the Trevorton Road outside of Shamokin.

[37] The Greater Shamokin Centennial 1864-1964 book provides a brief history of the Primitive Methodist Church, along with a photograph of a substantial edifice. The congregation originated in November 1873 under the Rev. Daniel Savidge. The first church was built in 1875 on Chestnut Street near 6^th but was destroyed. A new church was erected in 1882 at 30 North 7^th Street, the site of the present church, by Rev. W. L. Barringer. In 1909 the building of the present church was authorized and dedicated on April 16, 1911. The mortgage was burned on March 27, 1921. In 1939, the Rev. Dr. William C. Hall, D.D. retired after serving his church for 34 years. The telephone number of the church is 570-648-2342. Alane spoke to Cathy Albright, Church Clerk in March 1999.

[38] The Bible is in the possession of Ida May Dingle Pelter of Shamokin as of June 1999.

[39] Joseph Parkyn was born on November (or January – two conflicting sources) 10, 1844 and died on March 14, 1905. He was married to Mary A. Rogers Parkyn, who was born on November 10, 1846 and died on November 6 (or 16 – two conflicting sources), 1925. Their impressive tombstone (giving the dates of five children who died in infancy) lies close by the Carpenter headstone.

[40] The 1919-1921 Shamokin City Directory lists both Mary, widow of Joseph, and Carrie A., clerk, at 142 S. Diamond Street.

[41] Roll 1384, E.D. 112, Sheet 3A, 4^th Ward of Shamokin, Pennsylvania State Library

[42] The older boys appear in the city directories from 1911 through 1921 as T. John and A. James Dingle.

[43] Fredrick is listed in the 1924-26 city directory as an “inspector, Eagle Silk Mills,” living at the rear of his mother’s house at 141 S. 7^th Street.

[44] Information obtained from both the Farrow Funeral Home Records, Part I, and A Genealogist’s Guide to Burials in Northumberland County, Vol. V.

[45] According to the article beneath Bessie’s obituary of Friday, March 12, 1948, “The mercury fell to five above zero at 4:00 this morning and remained at 10 degrees above zero shortly after daybreak.”

[46] Obituary obtained from microfilm in the Newspaper Room of the Pennsylvania State Library.

[47] Common Moor is a small village just outside St. Cleer, where there was a Primitive Methodist Chapel.

[48] The Boyd’s Company of Reading, PA published city directories every two years, including the businesses, addresses and occupations of individuals, and all city services. The Pennsylvania State Library has Shamokin City Directories on microfilm beginning with 1884-85, skipping to 1889-91, and then through the early 1930’s.

[49] Farrow Funeral Home Book, page 114, and A Genealogist’s Guide to Burials in Northumberland County, (Meiser) Volume V, page 40, give us several children of William H. and Amelia J. Evans Carpenter, most of whom died in childhood: Benjamin F. (4/4/1902-12/13/1903); Earl H. (8/29/1912-5/18/1965) m. Edna M. Lehman; John O. (6/1/1898-8/10/1899); Mary (7/12/1892-1/17/1896); and William E. (3/8/1894-12/30/1911).

[50] No obituary survives for Mary Williams Dingle Carpenter, unless a yellowing copy is tucked away in family records somewhere. The Shamokin Dispatch is on microfilm only back to 1923. Flooding evidently destroyed all earlier editions.

[51] Internet address: www.cfhs.demon.co.uk?Society/brannel.htm1. Information edited by David Holman as of July 1997.