Thomas Leaver Dengate
KEY DATES:
Baptised: 24 March 1807, St John the Baptist Church, Wittersham, Kent
Married: 15 May 1826, St John the Baptist Church, Wittersham, Kent
Died: 30 April 1874, Perry Mills, Champlain, Clinton County, New York, America
Buried: Perry Mills Cemetery, Perry Mills, Champlain, Clinton County, New York, America
BIOGRAPHY:
Thomas Leaver Dengate was born to Daniel and Lettice Dengate in Wittersham, Kent. He was baptised 24 March 1807 in St John the Baptist Church, Wittersham. It is very likely that Thomas grew up in Wittersham, where he worked as a labourer in his adult life.
Wittersham Church, 2002
On 15 May 1826, Thomas Leaver Dengate married Mary Fielder in St John the Baptist Church, Wittersham, Kent. Witnesses to the marriage were Priscilla Fielder and Thomas' uncle William Freeland. Thomas and Mary had five children: George, Harriet, William, Marianne and Sally, all baptised in St John the Baptist Church, Wittersham. Soon after the birth of the final child, the family embarked on a new life in America.
Thomas emigrated with his wife and children to Canada between May 1840 (when daughter Sally was born in England) and January 1843 (when daughter Margaret was born in Canada), although there is no trace of the family on the 1841 census in Wittersham. His great-granddaughter recalls hearing stories when she was young, stating that the voyage took six weeks "in a sailboat" and that they arrived in LaColle, Quebec, Canada during springtime.
The family settled in Champlain, Clinton County, New York where they had two further children, Margaret and James Thomas Dengate. The 1860 census shows Thomas, Mary, their daughter Margaret, their son William and his wife Caroline living in Champlain, Clinton County, where Thomas was working as a farmer. By 1870 Thomas is working as a day labourer, whilst Mary's occupation is listed as 'keeping house'.
Thomas Leaver Dengate on died 30 April 1874 at Perry Mills, Champlain, Clinton County at the age of 67. He was buried in Perry Mills Cemetery. Five years later Mary Dengate died on 19 January 1879 and was buried with her husband in Perry Mills Cemetery. The gravestone inscription for Thomas and Mary reads, 'They bloom in heaven, but the fragrance of there [sic] love is with us still'
CENSUS:
Grateful thanks to Michelle Ricard-Mahoney for the information used in this biography.
© Copyright N. Goodwin MMII