My maternal grandmother Dorothy Claire (Moreland) Creighton (1909-2000) never really knew her mother Florence Mary (Curd) Moreland (1886-1915) because Florence died at the very young age of 28 years after suffering for two years with pulmonary tuberculosis.
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| Dorothy Claire (Moreland) Creighton (1909-2000) and her mother Florence Mary (Curd) Moreland (1886-1915) |
What I love about the Curd family story is how loved and close Dorothy felt to her mother's sisters (Dorothy's three aunts: Frances, Alice and May) despite the fact that Dorothy's mother died when she was only six years old and Dorothy was born and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia and her aunts lived their entire lives in England.
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| Florence Mary (Curd) Moreland's sisters Frances, Alice and May Curd of Dover, England (Source: Chandler Family Archives) |
In the fall of 2020, I was delighted to connect with Sue who is the granddaughter of Clara Alice Elizabeth (Curd) Chandler (1900–1969) my 2nd great aunt. Sue is pictured below (year unknown) being hugged by my grandmother Dorothy (Moreland) Creighton (1909-2000) on one of her many visits to England.
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| Dorothy Creighton, Sue and Alice (Curd) Chandler in England (Source: Chandler Family Archives) |
This blog post (photos and information) would not be possible without Sue (full name withheld for privacy reasons) and I am grateful for her permission to share photos from her private collection with Curd descendants in Canada and the United States who read my blog.
Jane Anne (Wellard) Curd (1866-1907)
When I first saw the photograph of my 2nd great-grandmother "Jane Anne Curd", I wondered if my grandmother had ever seen it?
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| Jane Anne (Wellard) Curd (Source: Chandler Family Archives) |
The photo of Jane Anne Wellard (above) is one that Sue's father (William J.J. Chandler) took from a much larger photo. It was quite common for women to wear that sort of outfit when helping out at children's homes. Before marriage, Jane was a domestic servant and would have worn something similar but in the photo, she looks older than 20 years - that is when she got married and would have stopped employment.
Sue also provided the funeral card for "Jane Annie Curd" who died in 1907 aged 41 years and is buried in Charlton Cemetery in Dover, England
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| (Source: Chandler Family Archives) |
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| (Source: Chandler Family Archives) |
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| (Source: Chandler Family Archives) |
Jane Anne Wellard was born January 20, 1866 in Wingham which is a village and civil parish in the Dover District of Kent, England. The village lies along the ancient coastal road, now the A257, from Richborough to London, and is close to Canterbury.
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| (Source: Chandler Family Archives) |
There is also a baptismal record dated February 25, 1866 and although the mother Ann Elizabeth Wellard appears on both records, no father is mentioned. A brother, Charles Henry Wellard is born in 1868 (and the father's name is omitted from the record again)
The photo below was inscribed on the reverse by Clara Alice Elisabeth CURD who wrote "Nan" and Sue believes that the young woman in the photo is Clara Alice Elisabeth Curd with her grandmother Ann Elizabeth Wellard (estimated to be in her seventies).
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| Ann Elisabeth Wellard and Clara Alice Elisabeth Curd |
In 1871, Jane and her brother Charles are living in Canterbury, England which is a cathedral city in southeast England and was a pilgrimage site in the Middle Ages. They are living with the Johncock family and listed as "boarders". It is believed that Hannah Johncock is the grandparent of Jane and Charles Wellard.
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| Source: The National Archives; Kew, London, England; 1871 England Census; Class: RG10; Piece: 969; Folio: 12; Page: 17; GSU roll: 827251 |
By 1881, Jane Anne Wellard is fifteen years of age and has moved to Dover, England which is a coastal town in England’s southeastern county of Kent. (It’s a major port for ferries to Calais, in France.)
Jane is listed as a visitor with the Patney family and her occupation is listed as "General Servant (Unemployed)". Sarah Patney (nee Sarah Wellard) is Jane's great aunt.
It is in Dover where 19 year-old Jane Wellard met and married Alfred Curd (1860-1917) who was 22 year old and a labourer.
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| Marriage Certificate Sept 15, 1885 |
The marriage took place on September 5, 1885 at St Bartholomews in Dover, Kent, England.
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| St Bartholomews, Dover, Kent, England 1891 |
The photo below (recently found) is believed to be of Alfred & Jane Curd, possibly on their wedding day as the woman is carrying flowers. William J.J. Chandler had written on the back "Mr & Mrs Curd"
Alfred William Curd (1860-1917) was born in Dover, England on the 17th of November 1862 son of William Curd and Hannah Ralph
In 1891, the Curd family was living in the Castle Ward of Dover and two children have been born: Florence who was five years old and attending school and Alfred Jr. who was two years old. Alfred Sr. was employed as a Carter.
A Carter was a driver of horse-drawn vehicles for transporting goods. A Carter typically drove a light two wheeled carriage. (Source: https://www.familysearch.org/)
In 1901, Alfred and Jane Curd had four children: Alfred (12), Flora (14), Frances (7) and Clara (1) and cousin Charles Patney (26) is a boarder.
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| Source: 1901 England Census: RG13; Piece: 838; Folio: 43; Page: 25 |
It is the 1911 census where the composition of the family is dramatically changed forever.
Eldest child Florence has moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia (March 1908) to marry John Moreland (1880-1940) and Alfred's wife Jane and their only son Alfred are both recorded as "dead". Father Alfred is left a widow with three young daughters Frances (16), Alice (11) and May (9)
It must have been very difficult for Alfred. Before the taking of the next census, Alfred Curd passed away (1917) and is buried in the Charlton cemetery with his beloved wife.
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| (Source: Chandler Family Archives) |
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| (Source: Chandler Family Archives) |
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| (Source: Chandler Family Archives) |
The Three Curd Sisters
The three sisters remained very close following the death of their father, mother, and brother Alfred and sister Florence in Canada.
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| The Curd sisters and their families in 1933 (Source: Chandler Family Archives) |
Frances Ellen Curd (1895-1945)
Frances Ellen Curd (1895-1945) married William Thomas Brown (1893-1927) and the couple had two daughters.
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| William Thomas Brown and Frances Ellen Curd (Source: Chandler Family Archives) |
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| The Brown Family 1941 (Source: Chandler Family Archives) |
Clara Alice Elisabeth Curd (1900-1969)
Clara Alice Elisabeth Curd (1900-1969) married William Joseph Chandler (1897-1985) and they had one son.
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| Curd ~ Chandler Wedding: 14 Feb 1925 • Hornsey Parish Church, Middlesex, England; (Source: Chandler Family Archives) |
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| William ("Bill") Chandler in the Laboratory in Leeds 1923; (Source: Chandler Family Archives) |
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| The Chandler Family 1938 (Source: Chandler Family Archives) |
Dorothy Daisy May Curd (1902-1989)
Dorothy Daisy May Curd (1902-1989) married William Alfred Daniels (1896-1968) and they had one son.
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| Curd ~ Daniels Wedding: Jul 1925 • Dover, Kent, United Kingdom (Source: Chandler Family Archives) |
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| The Daniels Family (Source: Chandler Family Archives) |
Here is our Aunt May (Curd) Daniels visiting my parents in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada in 1980
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| May (Curd) Daniels, Dawn (Creighton) Moynahan, Peter Daniels, Claire (Creighton) O'Connor, Ernest Moynahan |
The Chandler - Hale Archives
The descendants of Dorothy (Moreland) Creighton in Canada and the United States have grown up with a deep-rooted affection for our English family roots. I am incredibly grateful for our Chandler and Daniels cousins in England who continue to share photos, records and stories about our ancestors with us so that we may know them and honour them all.
Our thoughts and prayers go to Heather (Hale) Chandler pictured below with our grandmother Dorothy (Moreland) Creighton in 1968 and many thanks to her daughter Sue for sharing her research and opening up her personal archives and granting us permission to share them on this blog.
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| Dorothy (Moreland) Creighton with Heather (Hale) Chandler in London 1968 (Source: Chandler Family Archives) |
More Curd | Moreland | Creighton Links
- 52 Ancestors #45 - The Curds of Dover, England.
- Beloved Matriarch: Dorothy (Moreland) Creighton
- 52 Ancestors #11: Quilts & Crochet
- John Moreland: From Workhouse to War
- On This Day: October 10: John Miller Moreland Died
- Another Mystery Solved: John Miller Moreland's Second Wife
- John Moreland's Sister Jemima Hind: Was She Sent To Canada?
- The Halifax Explosion: A Tomlin and Moreland Update
- The Visitors From Australia - NOT Our Moreland Kin
Additional Photographs from the Chandler - Hale Archives
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| ""Nan" on Flashman's Outing 1924" |
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| Clara Alice Elisabeth Curd (middle row, 2nd from the right) N.A.A.F.I. Staff 1922 |
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