Ewhurst, London, Canada ~ Rural, Urban, Rural

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025: Week 44 (RURAL)

My 4th great grandfather was from Ewhurst, Surrey, England.

"Ewhurst is a village about 35 miles south west of London on the Surrey Sussex border. Close by is the larger village of Cranleigh and the nearest towns of Guildford, Dorking and Horsham, are each about 10 miles away." 1

In looking at DNA Ancestral Journeys and matches there is a solid connection back to Ewhurst.

My 4th great grandfather

Daniel Dendy

Birth 1819 • Ewhurst, Surrey, England
Death JAN 1893 • England

His parents were James & Elizabeth (maiden name unknown) Dendy.

This is as far back on this line I have found records for to date.

BUT we know the family was in the Ewhurst area as far back as the Tudor timeframe.

"The Weald became a centre for glass working. The industry centred on Chiddingfold and Wisborough Green and the two sites at Ewhurst, at Ellen's Green and Summersbury, are the most northerly. The names of Huguenot families known to be involved in glassmaking are found in the Ewhurst Parish lists for the Surrey Musters of 1583/4. (The purpose of the Muster lists was to identify able bodied men available to fight if the Spanish invaded)

During this period a new social class emerged. Yeomen were prosperous farmers, who owned their own land, but were below the status of gentlemen. The Rydes of Oldhouse were a typical family of yeoman farmers in the parish. At various times different branches of the family were in possession of Bildens, Longhurst Hill, Coxlands and Mapledrakes. Other prominent local families included the Dendys who were associated with Somersbury, Breach, Woolpit and Downhurst; the Knights of Isemongers, High Edser, Bramblehurst and Slythehurst; and the Hills of Hillhouse, Pollingfold and Rumbeams." 2

The Surrey Index of Names (sourced below) lists 721 records for Dendys in the Surrey area, 217 of them are in Ewhurst specifically.

When I first began researching this Bramble Bush I had thought our Canadian roots were very deep. I was surprised to find how shallow they are in various parts of the tree. Via this line I am a 4th generation Canadian. When the Dendy family immigrated to Canada in 1903 from London they immigrated to rural Manitoba. 

Daniel was married twice
I descend through 1st wife

Mary Mitchell

Birth 1821 • Wotton, Surrey, England
Death 29 MAY 1856 • Wandsworth, Surrey, England

his 2nd wife was his daughter-in-law's sister (making her my 3rd great aunt as well as my X2 step great grandmother).

Christiana Gunnell

Birth abt 1816 • Hambleden, Buckinghamshire, England

Death Jan 1892

My X3 great grandparents

William James Dendy

Birth ABT. 1841 • Ewhurst, Surrey, England

Death 1909 • Horsham, Sussex (formerly Surrey), England

and

Honor Gunnell

Birth ABT 1832 • Hambledon, Buckinghamshire, England

Death 12 JUL 1882 • Hambledon, Surrey, United Kingdom

My X2 great grandparents

William Herbert (Herbert) Dendy

Birth 27 JUL 1866 • Balham, Surrey, England

Death 25 DEC 1929 • Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

and

Amy Louisa Baker

Birth 18 MAR 1875 • Ealing, Middlesex, England

Death 23 DEC 1949 • Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

My X2 great grandparents
William Herbert & Amy Louisa (nee Baker) Dendy
My immigrant ancestors

My great grandmother was their first child born in Canada

Rose Honor Dendy

Birth 14 APR 1906 • R.M. of Pipestone, Bardal, Manitoba, Canada

Death 17 SEP 1974 • Nelson, British Columbia, Canada
married to my great grandfather

Earnest (Ernest) Helmer (Elmer) (Hap) (Ernie) Bayes

Birth 17 JUL 1903 • Campbellford, Northumberland, Ontario, Canada

Death 19 OCT 1986 • Nelson, British Columbia, Canada

How the family went from rural England to urban England to rural Canada is a story I am still researching!!!

This is why I search - 

Cause ... 

You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!

***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***

Footnotes:

1  A brief history of Ewhurst. Ewhurst – the Village and Parish. Ewhurst Historical Society. Retrieved Oct 29th 2025 from
http://www.ewhursthistory.com/about-ewhurst/a-brief-history-of-ewhurst

2  A brief history of Ewhurst.Tudor Ewhurst. Ewhurst Historical Society. Retrieved Oct 29th 2025 from
http://www.ewhursthistory.com/about-ewhurst/a-brief-history-of-ewhurst

Sources:

A brief history of Ewhurst. Ewhurst – the Village and Parish. Ewhurst Historical Society. Retrieved Oct 29th 2025 from
http://www.ewhursthistory.com/about-ewhurst/a-brief-history-of-ewhurst

A brief history of Ewhurst.Tudor Ewhurst. Ewhurst Historical Society. Retrieved Oct 29th 2025 from
http://www.ewhursthistory.com/about-ewhurst/a-brief-history-of-ewhurst

Dendy. Surrey Index of Names. West Surrey Family History Society. Retrieved October 29th 2025 from
https://www.wsfhs.co.uk/pages/sindex/siList.php?sisurname=dendy&siforenames=&siplace=&btn=Search

Ewhurst. Exploring Surrey's Past. Surrey Heritage. Retrieved October 29th 2025 from
https://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/themes/places/surrey/waverley/ewhurst/

Ewhurst St. Peter & St. Paul. Surrey Churches Index. Surrey Graveyards. Retrieved October 29th 2025 from
https://www.surreygraveyards.org.uk/waverley/ewhurststpp.shtml

Ewhurst, Surrey. Britain Express. Retrieved October 29th 2025 from
https://www.britainexpress.com/attractions.htm?attraction=3325

Free Resources. West Family History Society. Retrieved October 29th 2025 from 
https://www.wsfhs.co.uk/pages/freeresources.php

Some Memorials of the Dendy' Family. By Sir William J. Collins, K.C.V.O." M.P. Transactions of the Baptist Historical Society. Retrieved October 29th 2025 from
https://biblicalstudies.gospelstudies.org.uk/pdf/tbhs/volumes/05-3.pdf

Photos:

Ancestry DNA Ancesteral Journeys Clip. Retrieved Oct 29th 2025. 

Google Maps Clip. Retrieved Oct 29th 2025.

Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

______________________________________________________________

Wedding Present ~ Bowls 129 Years Later

On September 10th 1893 Amy Louisa Baker married William Herbert Dendy.

On that day, almost 129 years ago, they received these 2 bowls as a wedding present. 

The bowls are 6 inches across and 2 inches deep.

They are etched with a flower (including stem & leaves) on each side

129 years later they held snacks on the table at their great grandchild's 50th wedding anniversary celebration.

What an amazing legacy these bowls stand for. 

I'm not sure if there were more bowls to the set, but it's likely there were. Only these 2 bowls remain.

They traveled across the Ocean from England to Canada in 1903. They were then passed down daughter to daughter until arriving safely to the homes of two great granddaughters who treasure these heirlooms. I have no doubt they will continue to be passed down through the family lines. 

Maybe someday the relative of mine who hold them will find this blog. 

Receiving these bowls at their wedding were:
The Bride, Amy Louisa Baker, 
BIRTH 18 MAR 1875 • Ealing, Middlesex, England
DEATH 23 DEC 1949 • Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
& the Groom, William Herbert Dendy, 
BIRTH 27 JUL 1866 • Wandsworth, Surrey, England
DEATH 25 DEC 1929 • Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

They were married September 10th 1893.

Amy's sister Mary & William's brother Harry were their witnesses.

The church they were married in still stand today: 
St Andrew's Church in London, England. 

Food & Drink is the prompt for Week 19 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, and I thought these bowls fit perfectly. 

This is my  4th year participating in Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge. Prior to #52Ancestors  I had been in an uncommitted relationship with my genealogy blog since first starting it in 2014. Since 2019 I have written weekly about someone in our Bramble Bush. If you would like to learn more click the link at the bottom of this blog. 

Genealogy blogging for future searchers!!!

This is why I search - 

Cause ... 

You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!

***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***

Sources:

Photo, St Andrew's Church. Retrieved May 12th 2022 from 
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2628490

St Andrew's Church, Stockwell Green, London: Victorian Re-Modelling by H. C. Coe, Retrieved May 12th 2022 from 
https://victorianweb.org/art/architecture/churches/79.html

Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

______________________________________________________________

Spring Flower ~ Rose Honor Dendy

A Rose by any other name 

I always think about my great grandmother Rose Honor (nee Dendy) Bayes when I hear the name Rose. I often think about her when looking at or smelling roses. She died when I was young leaving me curious about who she was. I remember visiting her, but can't remember a lot about her. I do remember she gave great hugs. 

Strangely enough when I think about Great Grandma Rose I think about haircuts. While mom was gone for her grandmother's funeral I told dad he had to trim my bangs for school photo day. When he said he didn't think he could I told him he had to because mom ALWAYS did. Wanting to avoid a potential temper tantrum he did as I asked.

Dad's bang trim on the left & mom's (the following year) on the right

When mom got home she was very upset, but she completely lost it when the photos were delivered. 

Now back to Great Grandma Rose.

Great Grandma was born on April 14th 1906 in the Rural Municipality of Pipestone, Manitoba, Canada.

Rose Honor Dendy was the first child born to recent immigrants from England.

Her parents were:

William Herbert Dendy
BIRTH 27 JUL 1866 • Wandsworth, Surrey, England
DEATH 25 DEC 1929 • Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
&
Amy Louisa Baker
BIRTH 18 MAR 1875 • Ealing, Middlesex, England
DEATH 23 DEC 1949 • Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

They arrived in 1903 according to the census records from 1916 & 1921. I have been unable to find any documents besides these 2 census records confirming that date.

1916 census

1921 census

Great Grandma Rose is listed in both censuses. They were living in Calgary. How they got from Manitoba to Calgary is not known to me.

1916 census

1921 census

How she got from Calgary back to Manitoba where she met Great Grandpa Ernie is a tale I do not know.

On July 24th 1925 she married Ernest Elmer Bayes in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Almost 2 years later my grandmother was born, and almost 2 years later their second child, a son, was born. They would have no further children which was quite unusual for that time. 

By 1935 Rose & Ernie were residing at 597 Young Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba with Rose's mother & younger sister Edie. 

In 1948 Rose's mother had her 73rd birthday. I found this article from The Winnipeg Free Press,  Wednesday March 31 1948. The article says they are living at 493 Spence Street, Winnipeg.

We don't know when they moved to 493 Spence Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (as recorded in the article & voter's list), but we do know they were living there with Rose's mother and their son, Fred. Sister Edith had gotten married in 1941.

By 1957 Rose & Ernie do not have either of their children living with them and mother Amy died in 1949. They are not living alone. They are living with 3 other people whose names I am not familiar with.

Through the moves over these years they appeared to stay in the same neighbourhood. The Winnipeg map shows these three residences were located fairly close to each other. 

BUT then something changed.

6 years later we find Rose & Ernie on the Voter's List living in the Cariboo region of British Columbia. I should know where they were living & why, but I can't recall this bit of information. In 1963 their daughter was living on Vancouver Island, and their son was living in Winnipeg, Manitoba. I think Ernie's sister was living in that area so I suspect that is what brought Rose & Ernie to the Cariboo region of British Columbia.

By 1972 Rose & Ernie were living in the Kiwanis Senior's Housing in cabin 210 at 824 6th Street, Nelson, British Columiba.. Rose & Ernie moved to live closer to their daughter & her family who were living in Nelson. They lived their until her death in 1974. 

After Rose's death widowed Ernie moved in with his daughter where he resided until his death in 1986.

In looking at the cause of death for Rose there is little doubt she had undiagnosed Hemochromatosis. She was not a drinker, and yet had Cirrhosis liver, portal hypertension, & esophageal varices - all of which could be caused by untreated Hemochromatosis. Knowing she was a non-drinker the odds of her cirrhosis being caused by anything else is low. We know that she carried the genes because the 'celtic curse' DNA continues to pass through her descendants. 

****If you want to learn more about Hemochromatosis

& how it is passed down check the sources below****

Passing along the information that could save the life of a relative not yet met.

This is why I search - 



Cause ... 





You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!










***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***

Sources:

Find-A-Grave, Rose Honor Dendy Bayes. Retrieved March 16th 2022 from 

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/78217264/rose-honor-bayes

Classic Hereditary Hemochromatosis, Rare Disease Database, NORD - National Organization for Rare Disorders, Inc. Retrieved March 16th 2022 from 
https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/classic-hereditary-hemochromatosis/

Images:

Snips from Ancestry. Retrieved March 16th 2022.

Mrs. Dendy honoured on 73rd birthday,  Winnipeg Free Press, Wednesday March 31 1948.

Links:
Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

___________________________________________________________

Bachelor Brothers - Uncle Alf & Uncle Charlie

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 10 (Bachelor Uncle)


This week I introduce you to Uncle Alf & Uncle Charlie - my great uncles. 2 brothers who never married. 

Although uncle Alf never married he lived with a lady named Deedee for about 27 years. 

A cousin shared this story: "When they came to stay, Deedee wouldn’t sleep with Alf because they weren’t married.  Mum used to have fits because our house wasn’t large, and she’d have to prepare two sleeping spaces for them. " 

Alf & Charlie's parents were: 
William Herbert Dendy
BIRTH 27 JUL 1867 • Balham St Mary, Surrey, England
DEATH 25 DEC 1929 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
and
Amy Louisa Baker
BIRTH 18 MAR 1875 • Ealing, Middlesex, England
DEATH 23 DEC 1949 • Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Alf was the older of the two born on the 29th of May 1900 in London, England in the south west district of Clapham. When he was 3 years old the family immigrated to Canada.

Charlie was born the 6th of September 1912 in Calgary, Alberta where the family was farming in the east side of the city. 

Alf & Charlie were the best of friends as adults. They enjoyed hunting and trapping in a shared cabin. They were roommates for parts of the adult years. They were very connected to family. 

uncle Alf on the left, uncle Den (Dennis Dendy 1909-1999) on the right - with my grandma & her brother

                     

The cabin where Uncle Alf & Uncle Charlie were hunters and trappers. Uncle Den joined them until he got married.

This wasn't always the case. When Charlie was young he was placed in an institution because he had seizures. He also had strange behaviour that scared his mother. He would begin running across the room, and not stop until he banged into the wall, and fell to the floor sometimes having a seizure at the end. We now know that what Uncle Charlie had was complex partial seizures in addition to the generalized seizures. It was the early 1900s, there was little in the way of treatment for epilepsy, and Charlie was too strong for his mother to handle when he was having a seizure. Charlie was placed in what was then called a mental institute. After moving into the institute Charlie never had any further seizures. He stayed at the institution in Portage La Prairie until his younger sister Rose, my great grandma, got married in 1925. Rose wasn't able to get her brother out of the institution as a single woman. Once married she and her husband were able to get Charlie released. I have not yet found any records of Charlie's admission to the institute which leaves this at the family lore stage for now. All the Dendy children were close, and when Charlie returned that hadn't changed.
UPDATE: Found in the 1931 census residing in the 'Home for the Aged, Infirm, & Incurables' in Portage La Prairie - Page 3 of 12

Charlie's birth name was William after his father. Shortly after William was born his sister Rose (my great grandmother) had a friend tell her if the first William died then this one would too. Big sister Rose spent two days crying before her mother asked what name she wanted the baby to have. Rose chose Charlie. Family lore says that Charlie legally changed his name as an adult. The baby who died was called Wilfrid James Dendy (25 Feb 1902 [Clapham, London, England] to Dec 1903 [Norwood Cemetery London, England]), and not William as young Rose had been thinking.

When I went looking for photos I was surprised to find almost no photos of uncle Alf, but many for uncle Charlie. In discussion with family member I discovered that Charlie traveled out west to visit my extended family members, but Alf never did which is why we have so few photos of Alf.

My only memory of meeting either of them was when my family visited their apartment in Winnipeg, Manitoba. When my brother and I arrived uncle Alf was super excited to present us each with an ice cream bucket full of hard candies. The buckets were almost too heavy for us to hold since we were probably too young to be eating hard candies. The visual of all those brightly coloured candy has stayed with me all these years. Uncle Charlie was there too, but uncle Alf presented the bucket so his face is clearly etched in my memory.

My favourite family story about uncle Alf was about when they lived on the farm. All the chickens unexpectedly died. Knowing that the feathers were very valuable uncle Alf plucked all the best feathers off each chicken. He tossed the chickens on the burn pile after they were plucked since no one was sure why they died so eating them was likely a bad idea. Several hours after he had accomplished his task those chickens began to wake up, and wander around. Some of them were fully bald, and some still had the less choice feathers attached to them. The chickens had not been dead - they were very drunk. They had gotten into the silage, and passed out after consuming the fermented grains. Imagine how they felt when they woke up hungover, and bald thinking their friends were the worst pranksters ever.  Uncle Alf dutifully rubbed butter on those chickens to protect their skin from the sun until their feathers grew back. We now know that butter does nothing to protect from the sun. I wonder if it smelled like frying chicken on that farm awaiting the feathers regrowing. 

My favourite family story about uncle Charlie is when he came to visit my grandma's family in Victoria. He would take his 3 nieces downtown, and give them some money for a pop and fries while he went to the pub for a beer. They would order a single soda and plate of fries to share, and pocket the remaining money for future treats. Uncle Charlie would come check on them, and give them more money before heading back into the pub. They would repeat the process a few more times. His nieces remember these visits fondly. This was the late 1950s or early 1960s. Imagine what society would think of this today. 

Charlie with 2 of his nieces (my two aunts)

BACK: my great grandpa (Hap/Ernest), my great grandma (Rose), my aunt, my great Uncle Bill (Johnson),
Teedie (who uncle Alf may have lived with),  FRONT: my mom, my great uncle Alf 

uncle Charlie with one of his nieces

The things we don't know until we do!

This is why I search - 

Cause ... 

You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!

***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of to the blog post***

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!