Mary Ann Vincent (nee Rogers)

Mary Ann Rogers was my 4x grandmother, the daughter of David Rogers and Hannah Hanley or Hedly.  She was born in River John, NS and married John Vincent in 1855 at Wallace, NS.  

photo by Plamen Troshev

She died in 1904 and was buried at the Mt Hope Cemetery in Boston, MA.

Truro Daily News, Thurs, 14 Apr 1904
VINCENT - At Boston, March 31, [1904], Mary A, wife of J W Vincent, in the 71st year of her age. 

How I wish that obit was filled with her life and story!  This pair is an ongoing mystery for me in many ways but I sure wish I could have flushed out the children more...too many gaps.

On the 1900 US census in Boston, Mary Ann indicated that she was a widow and that she had had 12 children but only 8 were lived.  To date I have found 10 of the 12. Of those 10, George Harris is the only one I found who died young

Presbyterian Witness, Sat, 15 Jun 1878

VINCENT, George D 4 Jun at Pictou in 17th yr

There is a possibility that the following obit is for her oldest son but I haven't been able to confirm.

Presbyterian Witness, Sat, 14 Nov 1885

VINCENT, William D as a result of injuries received during an explosion at his mill in West Devon, PEI.

 But what of the 2 unidentified?  What became of Hannah & Edith and James?  The children of their children......ugg

John Vincent + Mary Addy

This pair was difficult to find and pin down.  The only clue I had to start with was his approx birth year of 1814, that he was married to a Mary A, had a son die of smallpox in a Virginia prison and that John died in Monroe, MI.

John Vincent of 1811, was the son of George Vincent & Mary Higgins and remember in an earlier post I wrote of Uncle John who went to Ireland to study shoemaking - well this is the fella!  

He married an Irish girl by the name of Mary Ann Addy and they arrived in Saint John, NB on the Barque Rebecca, on the 4th of Jul, 1838  Bark Rebecca 

Given all the documents indicate that their children were born in Nova Scotia, it appears they married in NS and took the family to Ireland. 

In 1850, John and his clan sailed out of Windsor, NS aboard the Brig 'Brilliant' for Michigan.

John died in 1891, Mary in 1899 and they were buried at the Woodlawn Cemetery in Monroe, MI

courtesy of Lo Marie

Monroe Democrat, Thurs, 31 Dec 1891
Died Vincent - John Vincent, an old and highly respected citizen died Sunday after a short illness with la grippe, at his residence at the corner of Second and Harrison Streets. Mr. Vincent was born in Kingston County, Canada 1811. At an early age he and two brothers went to Ireland to live where they remained a short time. Afterwards moved to Nova Scotia where he was engaged in manufacturing boots and shoes and operating a tannery. In 1850 he came to Monroe where he has since lived. At one time he carried on a grocery business in this city. He was a man of unquestionable integrity and enjoyed the confidence and respect of a large circle of friends. He leaves a widow and one daughter, Mrs. Forbs, of Chicago, to mourn his death. Funeral services were conducted at the residence Tuesday afternoon by Rev. Wm. B. Pope.

courtesy of Janice Hollandsworth

The son who died of smallpox was Thomas Vincent born abt 1833 in Nova Scotia.  He was serving for the Union during the Civil War, 22nd Michigan Infantry, Co 1, when he was captured and imprisoned in Virginia and died while he was a POW

Philip Vincent & Jane Works

Philip Vincent was born abt 1808 in Cumberland Co, NS and was the son of George Vincent & Mary Higgins.  He married Jane Patterson Works, the daughter of William Works and Mary Patterson.  They had 9 children.

Philip Vincent 1808-1874 (courtesy of Arlene Smith-Lowe)

He died in 1874 and was buried with Jane at the New Annan Bell Gift Cemetery.  Janie died 1900

Truro Daily News, 6 Jun 1900

The messenger of Death has again been in our midst, and has carried away one of our oldest residents, Jane, widow of the late Philip Vincent. Her death occurred on June 1st, after a long and tedious illness, leaving seven children to mourn their loss.

Joshua Vincent + Hannah Treen

I have written a little on Joshua, my 5x grandfather, the son of George Vincent & Mary Higgins.  The only one who could read & write in the family so he became the family's business representative, and the dispute with his dead son's wife Matilda Swallow, but unlike the rest of his family, he did not venture into shoemaking or farming. 

Joshua was skilled with his hands and knowledgeable in the ways of wooden mill machinery - a millwright - a specialized carpenter who built watermills used in agriculture, food processing & even the lumber industry. Given his business acumen, he contracted for the design and erection of many mills on the North Shore of Nova Scotia.

He was born about 1802 in New Annan and married Hannah Treen at Wallace in 1833.  Hannah was the daughter of Henry Treen & Lillian Seaman, another Loyalist family and together they had 12 children. 

Based on local history for Wentworth, an epidemic swept through the county in the early 1860s and Joshua & Hannah lost several of their children - George who married Matilda Swallow, James of 1841, Charles of 1842 and possibly Mary Jane of 1849 & Henry of 1851 may have suffered before it became an epidemic.


Joshusa himself died in 1880

Presbyterian Witness Vital Statistics
VINCENT Joshua D 20 Jan at Pictou, aged 78yrs

Based on the GR's book, his will only provided for Hannah and his oldest boy, Benjamin, who received his chest of tools (Benj was the shoemaker of shoemakers in Washington).

Reuben Vincent & the two Marys

Happy New Year!  And so it begins with a simple entry for a guy who had to marry two Mary's just to confuse us!

Reuben Vincent 1803-1876, was the son of George Vincent & Mary Higgins.  He was married twice, first to Mary Ann Higgins in 1831 who was his cousin (daughter to mother's brother Jonathan), second to Mary Ann McLeod in 1856 - yes, sorting out the children was complicated!  

Nova Scotia Historical Vital Stats death entry:

Reuben VINSON, age 73, married man, born New Annan, s/o George and Polly, d 20 Sept 1876, at Onslow, of dropsy, reported by J Johnston, Lr Onslow, to D E Hamilton, Deputy Registrar.

He was buried at the New Annan Bell Gift Cemetery.

I believe that his first wife Mary Higgins was also buried at the Bell Gift Cemetery as Mary McLeod is buried at Brookside Cemetery with her 2nd husband, John 'George' Blackwood.

Truro Daily News, 26 Jan 1912

From the Allan Vincent Collection

On Dec. 29th, 1911, there past away at Stellarton, a lady who had resided there for many years and who was well known by friends and neighbors as a woman worthy of the name, good mother and wife. Her maiden name was Mary Ann McLeod, only daughter of the late James McLeod and Jean Fraser, of McLellan's Brook. They moved to Scotsburn during her childhood. Deceast had eight brothers, all older than herself, all deceast. Mrs. Blackwood was first married to Reuben Vincent, of Onslow, Col. Co., by whom she had two sons, George, in New York; and James, and four daughters, Margaret, deceast, Jessie (Mrs. Howard McDonald, Petatuma, Cal.), Elizabeth (Mrs. Leonard Hinds, Providence, R.I.) and Miss Jennie, at home. Mr. Blackwood predeceast her about six years, and from that date her health began to fail. The last three years and three months she was almost helpless. Her death was peaceful. She was in her 83rd year. The remains were laid to rest beside those of her late husband to Brookside Cemetery.