Notes:

Frederick's middle name, Fortescue, reflects the fact that his mother's mother was Joanna Fortescue, who was descended from John Fortescue of Shebbear. Shebbear is a parish south of Buckland Brewer, and close to the Parish of Buckland-Filleigh, where a major branch of the Fortescue family owned the Manor of Buckland-Filleigh. The Fortescue family was a noble family, with many illustrious members. The main branch of the Fortescue family is traced back to the birth of Richard le Fort in 1015. He was a commander in the army of William the Conqueror, who saved William's life during the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

Evidently the Downings (who also included the Fortescue name in several succeeding generations) and the Passmores were very anxious to preserve and commemorate their connections to the noble Fortescue family. [Reference: "A History of the Family of Fortescue in all its Branches" http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=%2FFH23&CISOPT R=73354&REC=4&CISOBOX=Joanna+Fortescue]. Another reference on the Parish of Buckland Filleigh and the Fortescues who owned its manor from 1472 to 1834 is in the book "Buckland Fileigh - A Continuous Thread", by Jane Taylor.

Frederick Fortescue Passmore's father died when he was only four, and the family suffered financially. Frederick decided that emigration to Canada would be the best course of action, after which he could bring his mother and sisters over as well (which he did, returning to England and bringing them back with him to Canada in 1847). In one of his letters to his family in England, Frederick mentioned that the Passmores possessed about 1200 pounds in capital investments. Frederick supported his mother and sisters for the rest of his life.

After a short career at sea in the Navy, Frederick Fortescue Passmore emigrated alone from England to Canada West on 11 April, 1845, arriving in Quebec late May, 1845. He settled in Toronto, and apprenticed to John G. Howard, a prominent local surveyor, architect and engineer. His voyage to Canada and his first few years in Toronto are chronicled in the letters he wrote home to his mother and sisters in Devon, England between 1845 and 1847. These letters have been preserved in the family, and have been transcribed. Much information about Frederick's successful career as a surveyor is contained in the 1994 Bachelor of Arts thesis at of his great-great granddaughter, Sarah Dewar, at Acadia University, "Labouring for the Whole Hive".

According to the Find A Grave site http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=PAS&GSpartial=1&GSbyrel=all&GScntry=10&GSsr=401&GRid=28495524&, a third cousin once removed, Thomas Passmore emigrated from England to Quebec on the same dates as Frederick. Frederick and Thomas perhaps came on the same ship, although Frederick does not mention Thomas in his letters to his family.

Passmore was licensed as a Provincial Land Surveyor (PLS) in 1846. In addition to his important survey work in Toronto and other parts of Ontario, Frederick Passmore did much to advance his profession, helping its transition from an entirely government-run enterprise to an independent self-regulated association of professionals. In 1852 he was appointed Secretary of the Board of Examiners for Surveying in Canada West. In 1879 he was appointed its Chair. During his career, Frederick surveyed in many parts of Ontario, including Toronto and Scarborough, Grantham, Etobicoke, Arthur, Trafalgar, Barton, Burlington Bay, Goderich, Oil Springs, Dover Township, Fort Erie and Dundas. He produced the lines for the Hamilton Incline Railway and for the Toronto City Hall foundation. For 12 years he was Deputy Registrar in the Toronto Registry Office.

"The History of the Royal Grenadiers" contains Frederick's militia career in that regiment in Toronto, starting in 1861, when tension began with the United States during its Civil War, and the "Trent Affair" [when the US Navy stopped and boarded the British mail steamer "Trent", taking prisoner two Confederate politicians it found on board]. Frederick was appointed a lieutenant, and his friend Sandford Fleming a captain 10th Batallion, Volunteer Rifles, later called 10 Batallion, Volunteer Militia (Infantry). The unit's uniform was scarlet. One of the people in the photo of Frederick's 1864 Scarborough survey camp was wearing the uniform of the unit. The Toronto Globe newspaper of 6 Jan. 1862 lists Frederick as being nominated a lieutenant in the Engineers' and Mechanics' Battalion. The militia unit was later re-named the 10th Royal Regiment, Toronto Volunteers, and saw service against the Fenian threat in 1865 and 1866. It is not known whether Frederick was still with the unit at that time.

In his younger days, Frederick was an enthusiastic yachtsman an interest that he passed on to his sons Alfred and Forneri.

In 1849-50, Frederick, civil engineer Sandford A. Fleming (later the originator of standardized time zones) and several others decided to set up an institute to advance the professional concerns of surveyors, engineers and architects. At an initial meeting in February, 1850, only Passmore and Fleming showed up. Sandford Fleming's comment in his diary: ".."a Chuzzlewit affair. Truly a Canadian Institute." Undaunted, they proceeded to form the Canadian Institute, and elected each other, Fleming as Secretary and and Passmore as Chairman. The Institute (later known as the Royal Canadian Institute) has existed since then, promoting science, engineering and architectural endeavours by public lectures and other means. Passmore presented several lectures, such as "Upon the Ameliorating Influences of the Climate of Canada"; geological changes in the earth;

Passmore was a close associate of Sandford Fleming over the years, according to "Sir Sandford Fleming - His Early Diaries 1845-1853", edited by Jean Murray Cole [Natural Heritage Books, Toronto, 2009]. As well as being among the founders of the Canadian Institute, they worked together on surveys and architectural projects, socialized with each other and with other friends (skating, playing chess, dinners, borrowed money and gave each other gifts, went on canoe camping/surveying trips in the Peterborough area etc.) On 24th April 1852, Fleming was in court as a witness for Passmore. He also secured at least one piece of land through Passmore.

In 1859, Frederick married Isabella Rankin. Their marriage produced three children, according to Frederick, and four, according to Isabella. Their marriage was a stormy one, probably not least because of enmity between Isabella and Frederick's widowed mother and his three unmarried sisters.

A set of over 100 notes and letters by Frederick and Isabella and others during the years 1859 - 1871 partially document their turbulent marriage, and are in the City of Toronto Archives ["Frederick F. Passmore Separation papers", File #180984 Series 347], among a larger set of documents which are Frederick's surveying notes. Since the Separation Papers are among Frederick's surveying papers, we can assume that it was he who preserved them. We can only speculate that his purpose was to strengthen his eventual legal case for a marital separation. The adverb "partially" is used, since some of the letters mention events with which both sender and receiver are familiar, and which are therefore only superficially described. Besides letters, there are short notes, many undated, written by Frederick on tiny scraps of paper. They betray what can only be described as an obsessed and vindictive state of mind. The letters from Isabella are very hard to read: her handwriting is hard to decypher; she tends to neglect punctuation, capitalization and paragraph separation; some of the ink is faint; and some of her letters are written in two crossing perpendicular directions on the same page. Accordingly, we get a somewhat sharper view of Frederick's view than of his wife's.

The letters introduce us to others connected to the Passmore's marital drama, including Dr. Alexander Johnson Williamson (ca. 1796-1870), for whom Isabella was a live-in servant before her marriage. Dr. Williamson, in the 1857-1870 period, was apparently a non-practicing medical doctor, who worked as a clerk of correspondence for the Board of Education. From the 1837 Toronto Directory, we learn that Dr. Williamson had been a published poet: one of his books, "Devotional Poems", published in 1840, is accessible on the Internet. One of the letters in the Separation papers file informs us that Isabella had entered his house as a servant at age 12, and that Dr. Williamson undertook to educate her, effectively becoming her guardian.

The letters and notes may be roughly divided into two main phases: 1859-1862, in which Frederick accuses Isabella and Dr. Williamson of "trapping" him into marriage; and 1866-1871, in which Frederick accuses Isabella of infidelity with a young male boarder and tries to effect a legal separation. There is no written material from the 1862-1866 period, within which the couple's second and third children were born, so that must have been a period of relative calm.

From the birth of the Passmore's first child, on 6 April, 1860, we surmise that Isabella was pregnant when she and Frederick married on 4 Aug., 1859. The wedding itself was a small private affair, in Williamson's house, with a clergyman and a couple of witnesses. In an undated note written about 1866, Frederick claimed he "did not dream of such an event [their marriage] taking place until one week before it happened." Williamson, in a letter of 8 April, 1860, reminded Frederick that the couple had been acquainted for about 18 months before the marriage. The marriage turned sour within a few weeks. Williamson upbraided Frederick for publicly insulting Isabella. Frederick complained of Isabella's flirtations with other men and reported hearing rumours of Isabella's previous employment in taverns, during which she was said to have "shared a bed with a negro woman". He accused Isabella and Dr. Williamson of conspiring to trap him into marriage, although he never strongly denied that he was responsible for Isabella's pregnancy. Isabella protested Frederick's treatment, refused to sign over her dowry, and at one point told her husband that she no longer wished to be supported by him. The couple separated soon after the wedding, with Isabella boarding with a Mrs. Sparrow, while awaiting the birth of her child. She wrote many impassioned notes to Frederick, denying the rumours about her past and imploring him for reconciliation and continued support. It is clear from the letters and notes that Frederick's mother and sisters were instrumental in tearing the couple apart.

On 6 April, 1860, Alfred Clarence Passmore was born, 8 months after his parents' wedding. Frederick seemed indifferent to his new son, but became furious when Dr. Williamson placed a birth announcement in the Globe newspaper. Notes and letters between the two men indicated that they almost came to blows. Frederick forbade Isabella to have any further dealings with Williamson. For some part of the next six or seven years, Isabella and young Alfred lived separately, but close, to Frederick and his mother and sisters. Frederick continued to support his wife and son. There was certainly some contact among all the parties involved (except Dr. Williamson), since Frederick and Isabella had two more children, Forneri Frederick on 29 Oct., 1862 and Isabella Mary Eugenie on 14 Nov., 1864. During most of this period, and for several years after, Isabella managed boarding houses that were likely owned or leased by her husband.

Matters came to a head again on 28 April, 1867, when Frederick and Isabella and their three children were living in a boarding house managed by Isabella. Late that evening Frederick tiptoed downstairs to listen to Isabella conversing behind a closed door with a young male boarder named Lowe. Opening the door suddenly, he imagined that Isabella had risen from Lowe's lap and was running across the room. Based on this one incident, Frederick constructed a story of heinous adultery on the part of his wife, in numerous notes to himself. These notes, mostly undated, and written on tiny scraps of paper, are among the archived Separation Papers, There are also letters to and from lawyers representing Frederick and Isabella, as Frederick was apparently attempting to effect a legal separation from his wife, that might cut off his support for her and gain him custody of the children. There are also documents reporting Frederick's assets and income, and receipts for expenses incurred by Isabella.

There is also in the file a clipping from the Globe newspaper which reported the arrest of Frederick, in October, 1867, "at the instance of his wife, whom he has frequently mistreated in a variety of ways, occasionally winding up the proceedings by locking her out in the cold." Another Globe article, in October, 1868, reports a court proceeding involving an assault by Frederick on Isabella.

It should be mentioned that in 19th century Canada, divorce was essentially unavailable; the alternative was legal separation, in which the disposition of assets and children was decided, but the parties remained legally married. Child custody could be awarded to the mother, if the child was under 12, the mother was not guilty of adultery, and "if the court saw fit". Otherwise, the father usually gained child custody.

An April 19, 1871 invoice to Frederick from Isabella's lawyer (who was evidently paid by Frederick) detailed the legal preparations and expenses, including drafting of a Deed of Separation, which, it was noted, was not agreed to by Frederick and his lawyer. No record has been found of the actual separation court proceeding, apart from a pencilled note by Frederick on an envelope: "Suit tried Aug. 15 1871. Verdict for McDonald [this was Isabella's lawyer] $2.00. Costs $5.60. Paid Div. Court Aug. 19/71 $7.61." From this we infer that Frederick did not succeed in freeing himself from financially supporting Isabella. The immediate custody of the children is uncertain, but subsequent census and directory entries indicate that they lived with their father, aunts and grandmother for most of the following years.

Another bizarre element in this rather sordid drama is that Isabella had a fourth child, named Blanche Ellen, in or about 1871. She appeared in the 1871 census (which was collected on 2 April, 1871) under the name "Nelly", age 5 [probably meaning 5 months]. Isabella claimed she was Frederick's child; Frederick claimed she was not.

In the 1850 Toronto Directory, Frederick Passmore is listed at 226 Yonge St.
In the 1853 Toronto tax assessment rolls, F.F. Passmore is listed as an architect on King St. W. in St. George's Ward, and Fred'k Passmore is listed as a clerk on Church St. W. in St. James Ward.
In the 1856 Toronto Directory he is listed as architect and surveyor, residing on James St. in Yorkville
1866 Mitchell and Co. Directory of Toronto: Frederick is listed as a civil engineer and provincial land surveyor, at 141 Church St. W.

1861 census listing forToronto St. James Ward District 3:
Maria Passmore, age 63 b. Parkham England, C. of E.
M.L. Passmore, age 38, b. Selby, England, C. of E.
H.F. Passmore, age age 32, b. Maryport, England, C. of E.
M.A. Passmore, age 34, b. Cumberland, England, C. of E.
Fred F. Passmore, land surveyor, age 36, b. England, P.M.
I.H. Passmore, age 28, b. Ireland, P.M.
A.C. Passmore, age 1, b. Canada West, -

1871 census listing forDistrict 47 (Toronto East, St. James ward), Sub-district B, Division page 3:
F.F. Passmore, age 40, religion CE, occupation: Depy. register; Div. 3, P. 40
Alfred Passmore, age 11, going to school
Forneri Passmore, age 7, going to school
Isabella Passmore, age 6
Maria Passmore, age 42, born in England, married (not clear who this is, perhaps a servant, with her family name incorrectly listed)
Note that Frederick's wife Isabella is listed at a different address, as are his mother and sisters.

In the 1870 to 1872 Directories, Frederick is at 196 Church St., while his sisters and mother occupy 222 Church St. In 1872-73, Isabella has moved to 222 Church St. In the 1873-74 Directory, Frederick, his mother and sisters are at 58 Wood St., while Isabella is at 228 Church St. Isabella has apparently left the family, as she is listed in the same directory as the "widow of Frederick". In the 1874 Fisher and Taylor's Toronto Directory, he is listed as a provincial land surveyor at 58 Wood St. in St. James Ward, near the intersection with Church St. He is also listed as Deputy Registrar in the City Registry Office. In the 1881 Canada census, [St. Thomas Ward in Toronto, District 134, sub-district C, division 2, page 31], Frederick is listed as a land surveyor and head of a household consisting of his sons Alfred and Frederick Forneri (listed as a clerk) and a female servant, Jane Drummond. His and his sons' religion is Methodist. He and his sisters are still at 58 Wood St. in 1885, but Isabella is now listed at 91 Wilton Ave. In the 1890 Directory, Frederick is listed as a "clerk" at 47 Alexander St., along with his son Forneri F. Passmore, who is listed as a "surveyer", and his sisters Maria and Mary. Isabella is now listed at 209 Jarvis St.

Frederick Passmore's life is described in the "Commemorative Biographical record of the County of York, Ontario", published in 1907, and available at http://www.ourroots.ca/e/page.aspx?id=78246,1 as follows:

"Frederick F. Passmore C.E. (deceased) was for many years a well-known civil engineer in Toronto, in which city he died in 1892. He was born in Devonshire [sic], England in 1823, son of Frederick [sic] and Maria Passmore.
Mr. Passmore grew to manhood in his native country, and there received both his literary and professional education. When a young man he came to Toronto, and shortly thereafter formed a paartnership with a Mr. Tully, under the firm name of Tully and Passmore, civil engineers and government surveyers. In this, his professional work, continued for a number of years. He then received the appointment to the registry office of the City of Toronto, and served in that capacity until his death.
Mr. Passmore married Miss Isabella Rankin, who belongs to a family long identified with County York, being a daughter of William and Mary (Mahoffey) Rankin, natives of Ireland, who came to Toronto at an early date, settling on Yonge Street, where Mr. Rankin owned a tract of land, and where both he and Mrs. Rankin died. Of their thirteen children, Mrs. Passmore and her sister Mrs. Cunningham, and one brother, Abraham Rankin, are the only survivors.
To Mr. and Mrs. Passmore were born four children: Alfred C., Frederick F., Isobel (deceased) and Blanche Ellen, the last named the wife of Robert McKay, a well-known barrister of Toronto. Mr. Passmore was a member of the Church of England, to the faith of which his widow also adheres".

The above biography was almost certainly written by Frederick's widow Isabella, before she died in 1906, since it has so much detail about her family and about Blanche Ellen (whose paternity was always denied by Frederick and his other children).

Obituary in the Toronto Globe and Mail, Jan. 13 and 14, 1892: "On Sunday, Jan. 10, at 47 Alexander St., Toronto, Ont., Frederick Fortescue Passmore P.L.S., native of Selby, Yorkshire, aged 68 years."

There are several records from the Court of Chancery in the Ontario Archives of lawsuits, mostly about unpaid debts and mortgages by F.F. Passmore on others, or by others on him:
RG22-409 bar code B110117 Passmore vs. Gray 1871
RG22-409 bar code B103546 Passmore vs. Scovell 1877
RG22-409 bar code B111823 Read vs. Passmore 1871

In his will, which was composed and witnessed in 1879 by Provincial land Surveyor, George Layburn, Frederick leaves to "..the woman I was fool enough to marry [Isabella] - the sum of five shillings and no more - being the utmost value of any claim or demand that she has on me - and to the child who is now living with her - or under her care whose name I do not know - and whom to my knowledge I have never seen, the sum of five shillings only and no more - each of such sums to be paid only on the said devisees' own personal application therefor and not otherwise." The remainder of his estate, amounting to $4950, was left to his sister Maria Louisa, in trust for his children Alfred, Forneri and Mary Eugenie (who was deceased at the time of Frederick's death).

It is thus quite clear that Frederick did not acknowledge Blanche Ellen Passmore as his child, and that he assumed she was the result of an extramarital affair by his wife Isabella.

Frederick, his mother Maria, his sisters Harriet, Louisa and Mary Ann, his daughter Bella Mary and his son Forneri Frederick are all buried in the Toronto Necropolis in P-36b (east side).

Frederick married Isabella Henrietta RANKIN on 4 Aug 1859 in Toronto, Ontario. Isabella (daughter of William RANKIN and Mary MAHOFFEY) was born about 1833 in County Antrim, Ireland; died on 14 Aug 1906 in Toronto; was buried in St. James Cemetery, Toronto, Section Eps, 58th grave s. off Parliament. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Alfred Clarence PASSMORE was born on 6 Apr 1860 in Toronto, Ontario; died on 26 Mar 1956 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; was buried in Toronto Twp. No. 1 Churchville Cemetery plot 341.
2. Forneri Frederic PASSMORE was born on 29 Oct 1862 in Toronto, Ontario; died on 11 Mar 1932 in Hamilton, Ontario; was buried in Toronto Necropolis and Crematorium P-36b.
3. Isabella Mary Eugenie PASSMORE was born on 14 Nov 1864 in Toronto, Ontario; died on 10 Feb 1881 in Toronto, Ontario; was buried in Toronto Necropolis and Crematorium P-36b.
4. Blanche Ellen PASSMORE was born about 1870 in Toronto; died on 7 Oct 1949 in Toronto; was buried in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto Plot C, Section 21, Lot 15.

Notes:

Peter Passmore [excerpts from notes compliled by Lola Falconer]:

Peter Passmore was a customs officer in Plymouth in 1814 and in Liverpool in 1818; there is a leather case with the inscription "Mr. Passmore, Customs, Liverpool, 1818. The 1822-23 Piggot's Directory of Devon and the 1823-24 "London and Provincial New Commercial Directory" listed him as a Customs landing waiter at the Custom House quay in Bideford, Devon. He was listed as "principle [sic] officer, Ousegate, in the Custom House in Baines Directory and Gazetteer Directory for Selby, Yorkshire, in 1822 [http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/WRY/Selby/Selby22Dry.html]. Although Selby is inland, it is situated on the River Ouse, and was an important trading and shipbuilding port.

Peter was also listed as "collector and surveyor of the port, Quay", in the Pigot & Co. Directory for Maryport, Cumberland of 1828-29. Maryport is on the northwest coast of England, on the Solway Firth, near the Scottish border. There was a short article about him in the "Liverpool Mercury" newspaper of 15 April, 1825: "The great inconvenience which the masters of vessels at Maryport have hitherto laboured under, that of having to travel to Workington for the purpose of clearing out their vessels, for either Ireland or coastwise, has just been removed. Mr. Passmore, having been appointed principal-coast officer at Maryport, a power so far as clearing of vessels, similar to that enjoyed by the officers at Workington, is vested in him",

The National Archives in London has Customs records back through several centuries. A search of some of them [CUST 18, CUST 19/5, CUST 28/78, CUST 39/46,175,182, CUST 66/16-19, CUST 69/80, CUST 83/82-86] turned up no records of Peter Passmore.

There are interesting stories told by his grandson, A.C. Passmore - of articles being smuggled from France and other places. There was a shipment of walnuts, each of which was found to contain a fine white kid glove, made in France.

Peter was married to Maria Downing in Chester in 1819. The bishop's transcript of the marriage describes Peter as a gentleman, of the Parish of Bideford, in Devon, and Maria as a spinster of this (i.e. St. John the Baptist, Chester) Parish. There is a copy of a rather long and sentimental poem from Peter to Maria from Plymouth in 1814, 5 years before they were married. Its title is "My own Character Addressed (owing illness) to a Lady", and ends with "And if ever sincerity glow'd in my Breast,
'Tis now when I swear xxx xxxxx x x x xxxxxx".

Our family has their silver Sheffield tea service, serving spoons and tea spoons, which have the initialed monogram "P.M.P" - Peter and Maria Passmore. We also have a Crown Derby tea and coffee service, which may or may not have belonged to them. There is a set of plates and tea cups without handles, which must date further back. When his daughter Mary Ann, was asked in later years where the saucers were, she said "there were no saucers in those days". There is also some old pewter, including a teapot with the data (or some designation) 1790,and the signature Tyler Sheffield.

The children of Peter and Maria, who survived to adulthood, were Maria Louisa (b. 1822, Selby), Frederick Fortescue (b. 1824, Selby), Mary Ann (b. 1826, Maryport) and Harriet Fortescue (b. 1828, Maryport, shortly after Peter died). There is also a 24 May, 1820 baptismal record, in Bideford, Devon, of a Frederick Fortescue Passmore, born to Peter Passmore, Officer of the Customs (no mother's name is given). This first-born Frederick Fortescue died in 1822 in Selby, Yorkshire, two years before his brother was born and given the same name.

There is a letter, dated 18 Oct., 1821 from a Mr. R. Wilson in the Customs House, Bideford, to Peter Passmore, Principal Coast Officer, Selby, Yorkshire. It contains several topics:
(1) Repairs needed for Peter's house, which had been rented to a Dr. Chanter.
(2) Matters concerning the property that Peter's father had leased from Mr. Kekewich - probably part of the Manor of Broad Parkham. It appears that the Manor is about to change owners - from a Risdon to a Turner. Most lessees will be served Notices of Ejectment. He has not had success in collecting rents from tenants Mr. Camp and Mrs. Short. It may be that Peter Passmore is a steward of all or part of the estate, and that Mr. Wilson is acting as his bailiff in Peter's absence.
(3) A report of local Customs activities. (The letter is "On the Service of Customs", so perhaps this bit was inserted to justify having the postage paid by the government.)
(4) Local news, including a recent storm and maritime disaster.
The letter ends with a statement of Peter's account: salary of 20 pounds plus Mrs. Chanter's rent of 5 pounds, less a small amount deducted for received post.

Obituary in "Liverpool Mercury", 20 June, 1828:
"On Monday, the 9th instant, Mr. Passmore, Collector of Customs, in his 45th year".
This obituary was found on the British Newspaper Archive Internet site. Other newspapers that might have more information: "Whitehaven News", "Cumberland Pacquet".

Peter married Maria DOWNING on 19 Apr 1819 in Chester, Cheshire, England (St. John the Baptist Parish). Maria (daughter of Thomas DOWNING and Joanna FORTESCUE) was born on 1 May 1791 in Parkham, Devonshire, England; died on 29 Apr 1873 in Toronto, Ontario; was buried in Toronto Necropolis and Crematorium P36b. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Following her husband's 1828 death, Maria and her children moved back to Devon. Maria inherited the rents, interest, dividends and annual produce from her father's West Goldworthy property in Parkham. The 1842 tithe map of Parkham Parish shows Maria Passmore leasing properties called Whitefields Broad Parkham and Short's Cottage from Mr. Samuel Kekewich Trehawke Esq. She sub-rented the properties to tenant farmers, Thomas Lemon and John Lang, respectively.

Two mortgage indentures [B127/4/33/7&8] in the North Devon Record Office show Maria lending a total of 230 pounds in the form of a mortgage, to James Chappell for properties he was occupying in Northam Parish and Appledore. The first mortgage document was in 1844 and the second was in July, 1845, and also involved other people: two Prusts, a Norrice, a Pyke, and Richard Buse. Worries about complications in these mortgage transactions were mentioned in the May and June, 1845 letters from the ship and Canada to Maria from her son Frederick .

The letters of Maria's son Frederick to her and her daughters in 1845 were addressed to Plymouth, Devon. In the 1841 census, Maria and her four children were living on Providence Row in the Parish of Bideford, Devon. All four children were shown as being born outside of Devon. Under "profession, trade, employment or independent means", Maria was listed as "independent".

In the 1866 Mitchell and Co. Toronto Directory, Maria is listed as the widow of Peter Passmore, and occupying a house at 222 Church Street.

In the 1871 census [Toronto St. James Ward, District 47, Sub-district B, Division 4, page 40] she is listed as age 74, born in England, Church of England, head of household, and living with her daughters Maria Louisa, age 45, Mary Ann, age 35, and Harriet, age 35.

Death certificate information: age about 82 years. Died of paralysis and old age.

Maria's will and codicil,made in 1871, leaves the bulk of her estate to her son Frederic and all his children, however precluding any of said children are "other than dutiful, obedient and respectful to my said son (of which conduct he is to be the sole judge)". The will specifically excludes Frederic's present wife [Isabella] or any of her relatives from appointment to or rearrangement of administration of the will if her son resigns from that responsibility. If Frederic dies intestate, or without having appointed a new trustee during the childrens' minority, then Maria's daughters are named as the childrens' trustees, with the hope that the children will be obedient and respectful towards them.

The property left to Frederic in trust for the benefit of his children:
-Money on deposit at Canada Permanent Building and Savings Society
- Lot #1 on north side of Sydenham st. in the Village of Yorkville, York County, with dwelling houses and appurtenances thereto belonging which said property was conveyed to Maria by General Warren johnston by deed dated Oct. 9, 1861.
-Lots #37 and #38 fronting on Edinburgh St. and Merion St. according to the subdivision of Lots 5 and 6 of Division "A" now in the Town of Guelph in Wellington County, which lots were conveyed to Maria by William haskins by deed dated Dec. 20, 1860.
- Lot #276 in first concession northeast of the Toronto and Sydenham road in the Township of Melancthon in Grey County, which property was conveyed to Maria by way of mortgage by Edward Harrison by indenture dated Jan. 21, 1860.
-West half of Lot #11 in fifth concession in Tay Township, Simcoe County.
-West half of Lot #11 in seventh concession in Tay Township, Simcoe County, conveyed to Maria by way of mortgage by William Johston Evans and his wife on June 1, 1869.
- Peter's gold watch chain and seals and his masonic medals.
- A gold ring presented to Maria by her brother-in-law the late John Roberts.

Property left to Maria's daughters, Maria Louisa, Mary Anne and Harriet:
- Household furniture, books, pictures, plate, jewellery, china, bed and table linen
- Inasmuch as Mary Anne never had a conveyance of certain property a part of which is situated on Lot #11 Section G of the Military Reserve in the City of Toronto, it was Maria's desire that Mary Anne will bring such property into the General Fund and thereafter participate in equal shares with her sisters and brother. Should she be unwilling to comply with this request, then the Executor [Frederic] has power to take the conveyance of such real and personal property into his consideration and by a true appraisement of the value thereof by some competent person, so distribute the remainder of Maria's property as in his judgement shall be considered four equal shares.
- It was Maria's desire that her son should have his fourth share from the personal estate only, and should not have any claim on the landed property or house property.

The will specifically states that her son's present wife [Isabella] shall have no right, claim or interest by any law of succesion or inheritance of any of the above property.

The will goes on to say that at the time of creation of the will, Maria is planning to have a house erected on a lot on the south side of William St. purchased on May 30, 1870, and to which is added lots #7 and #9 on the west side of Bellaire St. This house is intended to be a "homestead" for her daughters, and it may also be a home for her son and his three children (but not his present wife).

Our family has a book published in 1696, "Mystery of the Skill of Physic Made Easy", by Nicholas Culpepper. It is inscribed in several places with "Mrs. Passmore, Maryport, Cumberland, A.D. 1820" and "Maria passmore her book 1832". Other signatures in the book include James Fortescue, Joanna Downing, Joanna Fortescue, Henry Downing and James Downing.

Notes:

Listed as a carpenter in parish registers.

There are indentures which record Peter's lease of dwelling houses from his father Richard, who in turn was leasing them from lords of manors. In 1778 he leased the upper half of a cottage dwelling house and part of a garden in Buckland Brewer from his father. The lease was a "copyhold for lives", meaning that the property could be held by the Pasmore family until the deaths of all three of Richard's wife Jane and of his sons William, John and Peter. Such leases required an up-front sum of money, called a heriot, a yearly rental sum, payable quarterly, and various unspecified duties and produce due to the landlord when asked for.

In 1787 there was a similar lease of a house in Buckland Brewer in the Manor of Bartin to Peter Pasmore from a John Clevland and his wife. The lease is 2239 B-8/71 held in the North Devon Record Office.The other copyhold of lives names in the lease are Richard's wife Jane, his son William and Peter's 3 year old son Peter. The yearly fee is 4 shillings and two fat capons. The lease also obliges Peter to grind his corn at the Tythacott Mill in the parish of Buckland Brewer.

In September 1797 there was another lease for house and land, including outbuildings, orchards, pastures and commons ("Messuage") in Broad Parkham in the Parish of Parkham, but excepting timber and mineral rights, and giving the landlord hunting rights. In this case the lease is from a Mr. Samuel Kekewich, and no copyhold of lives names are mentioned. The indenture indicated that Peter and his family were to act as caretakers and property managers of the estate. [Written transcripts of these indentures were originally made by Lola (Passmore) Falconer.]

Peter's son, Peter, had the following marble memorial shield mounted on the wall of the Church of St. Mary and St. Benedict in Buckland Brewer:
"Sacred to the memory of Peter Passmore
of this parish who died 8th December 1808 aged 57 years
also of
Mary his wife
who died 29th September 1817, aged 70 years.
He was pious and prudent
She discreet and virtuous.
As an affectionate tribute of filial duty
their only son
erects this monument."

Peter married Mary BEST on 22 Jul 1779 in Buckland Brewer, Devon, England. Mary was born about 1747; died on 29 Sep 1817 in Buckland Brewer, Devon, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Mary's birth year is obtained from her memorial plaque in the church in Buckland Brewer. There are no parish records of a Best being born in the Hartland Deanary. The only Best marriage recorded in the Hartland Deanary is that of Peter and Mary in Buckland Brewer.

Notes:

Thomas Downing has hitherto been assumed to be born to William Downing and Elizabeth Floyde in Buckland Brewer in 1748 [there was indeed such a birth of a Thomas Downing to William and Elizabeth]. However, Thomas's burial record, in 15 March, 1837, states his age as 84. This means that he was born in 1752 or 1753. There was a Thomas Downing baptized to James Downing and Elizabeth Braund in East Putford (a chapel connected to the Buckland Brewer church) in 1752. James Downing and Elizabeth Braund had been married in Buckland Brewer in 1748.

The 1780 and 1800 Parkham Land Tax records [at http://genuki.cs.ncl.ac.uk/DEV/Parkham/ParkhamLandTax1780.html and at http://genuki.cs.ncl.ac.uk/DEV/Parkham/ParkhamLandTax1800.html], show Mr. Thomas Downing as the proprietor and occupier of West Goldworthy.

Thomas Downing's will, written in 1823, and in the Devon Heritage Centre, Exeter, shows the executors as Thomas's nephews, William Cleverdon and James Vanstone. Thomas's sister, Joanna Cleverdon was to inherit 5 pounds, Ten pounds was a donation to the poor of Parkham Parish. The executors were to hold the leased (from Richard Pine Coffin) dwelling and fields in Parkham in trust for Thomas's wife and sons as follows:
1/4 to son Henry Downing
1/4 to son Charles Downing
1/4 to son James Downing
1/4 to wife Joanna
The rents, interest, dividends and annual produce was bequeathed to Thomas's daughter Maria Passmore.

Thomas married Joanna FORTESCUE on 19 Oct 1780 in Buckland Brewer, Devon, England. Joanna (daughter of George FORTESCUE and Elizabeth NORTHCOTT) was born on 25 Aug 1757 in Buckland Brewer, Devon, England; died on 23 Sep 1813 in Buckland Brewer, Devon, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Joanna's burial record states that she was living in Alwington.

Notes:

Rent accounts [B1056/2 , B1056/3 and B1056/4 in the North Devon Record Office] for Barton Manor in Buckland Brewer in 1770 1771 and 1772 show Richard Passmore paying a yearly rent of 5 shillings and sixpence. These accounts show Richard among about 25 other tenants occupying about 34 properties on the Manor.

A Dec. 9, 1778 indenture was copied by Lola Passmore Falconer. It was from Richard Pasmore, carpenter, transferring the upper part of his house in Buckland Brewer "above the entrance of the door now made use of to go in and out of the same, and also all of the eastern part of the garden belonging to the above higher part of the house leading towards Bowden Cross" to his son, Peter Pasmore. The assignment was for the remainder of a 99 year lease or until Richard's wife Jane and his sons William and John had all died. The indenture states that Richard was the lawful owner of the entire house and garden by virtue of an indenture made earlier with Richard Stevens Esq., now deceased. The consideration for the assignment was 8 pounds and 8 shillings, plus a yearly fee of 2 shillings and 9 pence.

There is a record of a 1787 will of a Richard Passmore of Buckland Brewer proved in the Court of the Archdeaconry of Barnstable and indexed at http://www.origins.net/NationalWills/Search/devon/showrecordsdevonwills.aspx. Unfortunately all the Devon wills of the Archdeaconries of Barnstable and Exeter were destroyed by bombing in WW2. The Buckland Brewer burial record shows Richard Passmore being buried on 13 May, 1784.

Richard married Jane WEBB on 6 Jan 1732 in Buckland Brewer, Devon, England. Jane was born about 1708; died in Apr 1798 in Buckland Brewer, Devon, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

A 1787 indenture on the Manor of Bartin named Jane as still living in that year. The Buckland Brewer burial register shows Jane Passmore, age 90, being buried on 3 Apr. 1798.

William married Elizabeth FLOYDE on 16 Jan 1733 in Buckland Brewer, Devon, England. Elizabeth was born on 2 Sep 1712; died in UNKNOWN. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

George married Elizabeth NORTHCOTT on 28 Apr 1756 in Buckland Brewer, Devon, England. Elizabeth died in UNKNOWN. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]