Family History

 

Genealogy of Walter Meyer zu Erpen of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

My genealogical and family history research started in 1973 as a high school social studies project at Wellington Junior Secondary School, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada.

Maternal Surnames:

Fiddick is my mother’s maiden name and has been the focus of significant family history research since 1973.
FIDDICK

Fiddick is my mother’s maiden name and has been the focus of significant family history research since 1973. By the late 1970s it had evolved into a one-name study of Fyttack and variant surnames, including Fittack, Fittock, Fiddick, Fiddock, Fidock, Fiddik. My grandfather John Grandam Fiddick (1911-1972) was born at South Wellington, which was a coal-mining town about ten kilometres south of Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada, the son of Richard Fiddick (1879-1971) and Jane Taylor (1888-1972). Richard was the ninth born of ten children of Samuel Fiddick (1832-1900) and Elizabeth Grandam (1843-1928) who married in April 1863 at the home of John Thompson at Nanaimo. Samuel Fiddick was born at Kellow, Lansallos, Cornwall, England, and made his way to the West Coast of North America during the 1850s, in time to participate in the Fraser River Gold Rush. In the winter of 1857/58, he arrived in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, where over the next three decades he would work as a coal miner, farmer and hotel proprietor.

Grandam was the maiden name of my great-great-grandmother Elizabeth (Grandam) Fiddick (1843-1928) (i.e., my mother’s paternal grandfather’s mother).
GRANDAM

Grandam was the maiden name of my great-great-grandmother Elizabeth (Grandam) Fiddick (1843-1928) (i.e., my mother’s paternal grandfather’s mother). Elizabeth Grandam was born at Tynemouth, Northumberland, England, and in 1862 came to Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada, with her brother John and either their brother or father Christopher. In April 1863 Elizabeth Grandam married Samuel Fiddick (1832-1900) at the home of John Thompson at Nanaimo.
John Grandam (1837-1885) was born at Tynemouth, Northumberland, England, and came to Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada, with his sister Elizabeth and either their brother or father Christopher in 1862.

Taylor was the maiden name of my great-grandmother Jane (Taylor) Fiddick (1888-1972) (i.e., my mother’s paternal grandmother).
TAYLOR

Taylor was the maiden name of my great-grandmother Jane (Taylor) Fiddick (1888-1972) (i.e., my mother’s paternal grandmother). Jane Taylor was born near Pike’s Peak, Colorado; about 1890 she came to Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada, with her parents George Taylor (1850-1927) and Harriett Alma (McDonald) Taylor (1865-1947). Jane’s maternal grandmother Sarah Elizabeth (Lindsay) McDonald (ca. 1832-1908), her aunt Mary Ann (McDonald) Dillworth (1867-1925) with husband Albert Dillworth (1856-1915) and Mary Ann’s daughter Pearl Elizabeth (Blattuer) Horne (1887-1949), her uncle Hiram Nelson McDonald (1856-1928) with wife Phoebe Ellen (Curtis) McDonald (1870-1940) and their daughter Mabel McDonald (1889-1907), and her unmarried uncles Eli Dexter McDonald (1858-1920), Charles Leroy McDonald (1869-1943), and David Franklin McDonald (1877-1954) arrived in Nanaimo about the same time.

McDonald was the maiden name of my great-great-grandmother Harriett Alma (McDonald) Taylor (1865-1947) (i.e., my mother’s paternal grandmother’s mother).
MCDONALD

McDonald was the maiden name of my great-great-grandmother Harriett Alma (McDonald) Taylor (1865-1947) (i.e., my mother’s paternal grandmother’s mother). Harriett McDonald was born near Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States; about 1882, Harriett McDonald married George Taylor (1850-1927), possibly at What Cheer, Iowa. George Taylor had been married previously to Jane Marshall and widowed in Northumberland, England; when he travelled to the United States (before the 1881 census), his three young children remained in England. Two sons of George and Harriett Taylor died as infants, possibly in Colorado, where their daughter Jane Taylor (1888-1972) was born near Pike’s Peak. George and Harriett Taylor and their daughter Jane came to Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada, about 1890. Harriett’s mother Sarah Elizabeth (Lindsay) McDonald (ca. 1832-1908), her sister Mary Ann (McDonald) Dillworth (1867-1925) with husband Albert Dillworth (1856-1915) and Mary Ann’s daughter Pearl Elizabeth (Blattuer) Horne (1887-1949), her brother Hiram Nelson McDonald (1856-1928) with wife Phoebe Ellen (Curtis) McDonald (1870-1940) and their daughter Mabel McDonald (1889-1907), and her unmarried brothers Eli Dexter McDonald (1858-1920), Charles Leroy McDonald (1869-1943), and David Franklin McDonald (1877-1954) arrived in Nanaimo about the same time. George’s son William Marshall Taylor (1875-1930) later immigrated to Canada and joined the family at South Wellington, where they had settled.

Rowe was the maiden name of my grandmother Annie Eunice (Eunice) Rowe (1912-2004).
ROWE

Rowe was the maiden name of my grandmother Annie Eunice (Eunice) Rowe (1912-2004). Eunice Rowe was born at Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada, where in 1933 she married John Grandam Fiddick (1911-1972). Eunice’s father Philip Rowe (1865-1944) was born in Camborne, Cornwall, England. He left Cornwall in April 1884 and, with at least one working stop in San Francisco, made his way to Vancouver Island, BC; in 1890, he married Mary Jane Piper (1873-1950) at Nanaimo. Philip had three younger sisters: Ellen (Rowe) Rutter (1866-1942) and Annie Jane (Rowe) Bennetts (1869-1950) who married and also immigrated to Vancouver Island; the youngest Mary Rowe (1872-1879) died as a child at Camborne. Ellen Rutter, her husband Solomon Rutter (1861-1948), and their eldest child Henry Percival Rutter (1887-1970) came to Canada in 1888, settling in Victoria, BC. Following the death of her husband Henry Bennetts (1862-1908), Annie Bennetts and her three children, Richard Charles (Charlie) Bennetts (1893-1961), James Henry (Harry) Bennetts (1897-1991), and Annie (Bennetts) Welton (1900-1993), made several trips between Cornwall and Canada before permanently settling on Vancouver Island in 1914. Research on the Rowe family tree began in 1973; since 1984 it has been continued in close collaboration with Jeannette C. Merritt of Camborne. These pages include details about several Rowe family branches researched as we were attempting to confirm our own ancestry. The link immediately below (Thomas and Margaret (Bayley) Rowe) relates to our direct ancestry.

 

Descendants of Thomas Rowe (ca. 1680s-1754) and Margaret Bayley (ca. 1685-1752) who married in 1709 at Camborne, Cornwall, England – click here for research details

Descendants of John Rowe (1574-1664), Rector from 1617 to 1664 of Camborne Parish Church, Cornwall, England, and his wife Kathryn (dd. 1679) – click here for research details

Descendants of John Rowe and Josuan Cater (dd. 1671) who were married in 1636 at Camborne, Cornwall, England – click for research details

Descendants of Mahershalalhashbaz Rowe (1702-1777) and Margaret Bate who married in 1734 at Camborne, Cornwall, England, but also resided at Crowan – click for research details

Descendants of John Roo and Ulalia Blande of Werrington, Cornwall, England, who married in 1597 at St. Stephen by Launceston and whose son Degory Rowe (dd. 1668) paid the rates on Tuckingmill, situated on the outskirts of Camborne – click here for research details

Descendants of John Rowe (ca. 1808-1879) and Emily Tyack (ca. 1814-1893) who married in 1836 at Camborne, Cornwall, England, but raised their family at Phillack – coming EVENTUALLY

Descendants of William Rowe and Jenefer Johns who were married in 1776 at Perranarworthal, Cornwall, England – coming EVENTUALLY

Cock was the maiden name of my great-great-grandmother Eliza Cock (1835-1881) (i.e., my mother’s maternal grandfather’s mother).
COCK

Cock was the maiden name of my great-great-grandmother Eliza Cock (1835-1881) (i.e., my mother’s maternal grandfather’s mother). Eliza Cock was born and died at Penponds, near Camborne, Cornwall, England. Eliza Cock and Richard Rowe (1826-1905) were married in 1863 at Camborne; they had four children. The eldest was my great-grandfather Philip Rowe (1865-1944) who left Cornwall in April 1884 and, with at least one working stop in San Francisco, made his way to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada; in 1890, he married Mary Jane Piper (1873-1950) at Nanaimo. Philip had three younger sisters: Ellen (Rowe) Rutter (1866-1942) and Annie Jane (Rowe) Bennetts (1869-1950) who married and also immigrated to Vancouver Island; the youngest Mary Rowe (1872-1879) died as a child at Camborne. Ellen Rutter, her husband Solomon Rutter (1861-1948), and their eldest child Henry Percival Rutter (1887-1970) came to Canada in 1888, settling in Victoria. Following the death of her husband Henry Bennetts (1862-1908), Annie Bennetts and her three children, Richard Charles (Charlie) Bennetts (1893-1961), James Henry (Harry) Bennetts (1897-1991), and Annie (Bennetts) Welton (1900-1993), made several trips between Cornwall and Canada before permanently settling on Vancouver Island in 1914.

Piper was the maiden name of my great-grandmother Mary Jane (Piper) Rowe (1873-1950) (i.e., my mother’s maternal grandmother).
PIPER

Piper was the maiden name of my great-grandmother Mary Jane (Piper) Rowe (1873-1950) (i.e., my mother’s maternal grandmother). Mary Jane Piper was born in Kingswinford, Staffordshire, England, and came to Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada, about 1888. The Piper family arrived in several groups, over a few years. Ultimately, the immigrants included all of Mary Jane Piper’s siblings, her widowed father Thomas Pope Piper (1844-1928), her father’s mother Elizabeth (Hutton) Piper (1821-1899), her uncle William Henry Piper (1846-1903) who died in a Nanaimo coal mining accident leaving a widow and six children in Brierley Hill, Staffordshire, her uncle John Piper (1854-1908) who married in Nanaimo, and her aunt Mary Jane (Polly) Piper (1860-1926) with husband Cornelius Bowen (ca. 1856-1911) and their three eldest children. The men all became coal miners in Nanaimo.

Baker was the maiden name of my great-great-grandmother Ann Baker (1845-1886) (i.e., my mother’s maternal grandmother’s mother).
BAKER

Baker was the maiden name of my great-great-grandmother Ann Baker (1845-1886) (i.e., my mother’s maternal grandmother’s mother). Ann Baker was born and died at Kingswinford, Staffordshire, England. Ann Baker and Thomas Pope Piper (1844-1928) were married in 1863 at Brierley Hill, Staffordshire; they had ten children. The eldest, a girl, died at age four, but the others lived to adulthood and married. The sixth born child (second daughter) was my great-grandmother Mary Jane Piper (1873-1950) who came to Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada, about 1888, with her widowed father Thomas Pope Piper and her eldest brothers Joseph Edward Piper (1865-1950) and Thomas Pope Piper (1869-1940). Mary Jane kept house for them until 1890 when she married Philip Rowe (1865-1944) at Nanaimo.

Add summary of how my family got to Nanaimo – click for more detail

Paternal Surnames:

Meyer zu Erpen was the birth surname of my father Ulrich Friedrich Walter Meyer zu Erpen (1931-2009), though he was more commonly known as Earl or Alec Meyer in Canada.
MEYER ZU ERPEN

Meyer zu Erpen was the birth surname of my father Ulrich Friedrich Walter Meyer zu Erpen (1931-2009), though he was more commonly known as Earl or Alec Meyer in Canada. Dad was born in Herford, Westfalia, Germany. As a young man, he came to Canada, arriving in Halifax in 1952(?) and working his way across the country to Nanaimo, British Columbia, where he settled, married my mother Phyllis Marlene Fiddick, and raised three children.

Geyer was the maiden name of my paternal grandmother Margarete (Geyer) Meyer zu Erpen (1906-1989).
GEYER

My paternal grandmother’s maiden name – Margarete (Geyer) Meyer zu Erpen (1906-1989) was born in Langendreer, Westfalen, the youngest of three siblings.

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