Notes for: Eliza Bodine

From: Nancy Przybylski [xstitch22 at hotmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Subject: Nicholas Bodine Family in Middlesex/Elgin Ontario

Hello David --

I'm reaching out to you because I see some info on your Bodine genealogy pages that may be linked to a person in our family tree and I'm hoping you might be able to verify this link. I hope it's not too much to ask if you might.

In the process of tracking down any info on my wife's 3G Grandmother, Eliza Bodine, I came across your Bodine genealogy pages. Finding any info on Eliza has been very difficult but I'm wondering if you may be able to corroborate what I do see (and maybe confirm some of my hunches).

What I do know is this...
- My wife's GG Grandparents are Jacob Messner (b. 1862 in Ontario) and Charlotte "Lottie" Shaw (b. 1866 in Ontario) who were married in Wardsville, Ontario in 1887
- We have a Messner family bible the lists Charlotte's parents as John Shaw and Eliza "Bodine" (this is the only Bodine reference that I've ever seen in any records)
- I can find Charlotte living with her parents, John (b. ~1814 in Ireland) and Eliza Shaw (b. ~ 1835 in Ontario), in the 1871 and 1881 Canadian censuses in Aldborough, Elgin, Ontario
- I also see John and Eliza Shaw in the 1861 census with their older children in Aldborough
- And, just as a note, I find the Messners in these censuses back through 1861

So, in trying to find info on Eliza "Bodine", I find a person of her age in the 1851 Census in Mosa, Middlesex, Ontario listed as the daughter of Nicholas & Charlotte Bodin. Realizing that Elgin & Middlesex are in fairly close proximity, I ran with this lead. I then found your Bodine site where Nicholas' history (and the 1826 letter) are documented very well.

I'm just wondering if you have any hard evidence (or even whispers; or other sources I may investigate) that Eliza, the daughter of Nicholas & Charlotte, indeed married John Shaw. Based on evidence in the 1851 and 1861 censuses, it appears that John is likely the son of Samuel and Jane Shaw (maiden name unknown).

Please let me know if you have any info on Eliza.

Thank you,
Mark Przybylski

From: joan best [joanbest1 at earthlink.net]
Sent: Thursday, August 18, 2011 1:51 PM
To: 'Nancy Przybylski'
Cc: 'Dave Bodine'
Subject: RE: Nicholas Bodine family in Middlesex/Elgin Ontario

Nancy and Dave [Hi, Dave, good to hear from you],

I think you have very good circumstantial evidence. Charlotte was not that common a name is one clue. Also, this Bodine family is the only Bodine family in that area at that time. Of the five Bodine siblings that came to the Elgin Co. area with their families from Pennsylvania in about 1811, only Nicholas and Abraham carried the name Bodine, the other three families, Best, Watson and McIntyre had Bodine women. I have Abraham's children pretty well documented. There are a number of researchers from that branch of the Bodine family. You are the first from Nicholas' side. I will be very interested in what you find.

You may find marriage records in either Elgin or Middlesex county information. A Watson researcher recently sent me the marriage information on the Best/Watson marriage of the same generation. The genealogical society in Elgin was very helpful to me, and a lot of their stuff is on line.

Also the Sovereign family is a large one and well written up. Leonard Sovereign was the founder in Ontario. His son, Leonard was the second husband of Mary Ann Best, Amy Bodine Best's daughter. I believe I found the link between Leonard and George, Charlotte's father, in the writing, but did not get it into my online info as it was supposition. If I remember George was the only Sovereign I could find that had a child, Charlotte, of the right age, so I left that much of a clue for future researchers. The Sovereigns came from New Jersey.

I think my box of Bodine stuff is here [I am still in the process of moving from one house to another]. If it is I will try to look through it this weekend.
Joan Best