Strong Water

We had a couple of days before having to return our rental car, so spent them in and around Aquaforte.

It's a great name - Aquaforte - isn't it? It means Strong Water. Our home in Labrador was in the town of Forteau, another word that means Strong Water. I guess the equivalent in BC would be Skookumchuck in the Chinook language.  

Visiting Aquaforte was not a random choice, and we were lucky to find a place to stay, as Aquaforte is pretty small. The reason we chose it was family tree-related. Yes, at the end of the trip we are tapping into the beginning, researching Jenny's family tree.

In my research I found that my great-great grandmother (the matriarch in the photo on this blog's front page, there, on the upper right) was born a Winsor. No D - although many subsequent people spelled it that way, and some ancient relations had it spelled Winser. Census-takers and other officials were not all that good at ensuring names heard were spelled correctly, and most people in Newfoundland were illiterate until the mid-1800s and even later, so names are often spelled wrong.

Anyway, my g-g-grandmother was born Sarah Ann Winsor, and I found her marriage certificate, which indicated she was born in Aquaforte. Her parents moved there from Denbury, Devon, in England where they had resided for centuries. I have traced the Denbury Winsors back to the 16th century thus far!

Interesting story. Sarah Ann's father Jacob was a ship's captain, as was his brother Peter. They seem to have been on the same ship on its way back to England with a boatload of cod when they were intercepted by Napoleon's navy. This would have been in 1810 or so. They would have been carrying the British flag, which made them a target to the French.

They were both imprisoned until 1813, when the war was ended and they were released to go home. In about 1820 it looks like Peter decided to bring his family to Newfoundland, and his brother Jacob did the same thing a few years later. together with their wives and 20 children between them (ten each!) They settled in Aquaforte, which had been a seasonal fishing station since 1670, so the brothers might have known of it beforehand. They might even have been one of or even the first permanent settlers there.

By the way, Aquaforte became a prominent Norwegian-owned whaling station in 1902, and it's postal code is the lowest alphabetically AND numerically in the country - A0A 1A0.

Anyway, long story short (too late), Jacob's 9th child was Sarah Ann Winsor, who married John William Azarias Butler from Port de Grave, Newfoundland and had 7 children. In 1891, the family had all moved to Victoria, BC., and ultimately - several decades later - produced Jenny. 

Jacob Winsor and his wife Anna (Jennings) are buried in Aquaforte's tiny church on the hill, and that is why we are here in Aquaforte.

walking up the old grassy track
to the tiny church 

picturesque and dilapidated

searching for the right Winsors 

There he is - Jacob (1784-1858),
with his wife Anna (1796-1876)
and one of their sons,
Captain Daniel Henry (1818-1898)

hello ancestors!

Our B&B was the old whaling station owner's house, high on the hill and overlooking the harbour. 

Each of the rooms has a hand-made sign with its name. When I commented on the one bearing the name "Windsor" as being connected to my family history, it turns out the owner's wife was born a Windsor (Newfoundland people never move far from where their family roots are) and there are still Windsors all over the place. 

We compared family tree branches, and it turns out she is the great-great-granddaughter of Peter Winsor, brother to my great-great-grandfather Jacob, so we are 5th cousins!