THE SAULLs SETTLE IN THE USA
by John Westerdale
This article was originally published in the April 2009 edition of Soul Search, the journal of The Sole Society
Many have the distinct honor of inheriting baubles that have embedded stories of dramatic times and valiant people gone by. Such was mine when my Mom passed away last year, and left us a Teak Writing Desk that sheltered many such trinkets from all over the family tree as well as all over the world.
In this article, we'll track William Tomkins Saul, his brother Vincent Saull and their emigration to the US. More family members (including their father John Saull) came to the US and settled in the Philadelphia area, but that can come in the next article.
William T Saull
Anne and Dave Miller, made a great contribution (referenced below), documenting the John Saull (b. 1818) family line. William Tomkins Saull (b.1840) was said to have settled in Philadelphia area. I read of this and knew I had some work to do; a William Saull was also noted in my grandfather’s hand writing attached to a few objects in the teak desk!
That teak and ebony desk was used by William when he was involved in the military operations in India around the time of the Uprising in Cawnpore around 1857. What follows are the historical records of that branch of the Saulls in America. I do encourage anyone who can help fill in or straighten out any details to contact me.
Cawnpore Medal Side1: This is the medal awarded to William Tomkins Saull for his part in the Mutiny of 1857. The perimeter bears "Wm SAUL 3rd BENGAL EURPn REGt". (sp: Saul should be Saull).
William Tomkins Saull is the First Son of John Saull and Sarah Bamford, born in Long Buckby in 1840. William came to the US after his Service with the 3rd European Regiment in India (dates not yet known). He received the Indian Mutiny Medal for surviving the Siege of Cawnpore. Was he on the only boat that made it out of Cawnpore? I look forward to learning more about this.
William Tomkins married Sarah Adelaide Apperley on 19th March 1874 in the Woolwich Parish Church, England. They travelled to Boston, Massachusetts, settling there in 1875.
Selina S. Saull was born to William and Sarah on July 11 1875, next was William E. Saull in 1877, and 1879 brought Ada L. Saull. The 1880 US census records put them at 675 East Seventh St, Suffolk, Massachusetts.
William’s father John Saul (b. 1818) lost his first wife Sarah (nee Bamford) to typhus in November 1849, and lost his second wife (Maria Chaplin) in June 1872. John left his 4 young children in a orphanage in England and came through Canada to settle with his Son, Vincent, in Philadelphia. John’s son Herbert Harry (b. 1868) came over to the US, as did Louisa (b. 1837) and their sister Annie (b. 1867). Vincent ran the Market Restaurant on 9th and Girard Ave, and his father John was listed as a Canvasser, doing whatever canvassers do. The dates for these immigrations aren't exactly clear. Perhaps we'll cover these siblings in a following issue. There were quite a group of Saulls tending to the Restaurant.
From discussions with Anne and David, Vincent married Sarah Stone in 1873, and appears in the 1880 US Census as living at 409 2nd St in Philadelphia. Sarah is recorded as being born in 1848 in St Peters, North Hamptonshire, England.
While the Ancestry.com website normally provides great US census records, 1890 does not seem to be a rich year for any Saulls. This may have to do with the transition to punch cards for census records, but that's for another day. William and Sarah show up in a Philadelphia City Directory in that year. Vincent and Sarah brought 2 nieces back from England to live with them: Elizabeth G. Saull and Elizabeth V. Saull.
In the 1900 census, Vincent and Sarah and both nieces are placed in their home at 921 North Franklin Street in Philadelphia. 1900 census reports note he emigrated to the US in 1850, and Sarah in 1863, and their nieces in 1890. Their servant, Charlotte Whitehead (b 1845) is said to have come to the US in 1845. Their 1850 immigration conflicts with other records. Anne and Dave describe the low cost passage from England to Canada which was intended to swell the British presence there. John Saull was said to have come to the US through this channel, and perhaps other family members.
The 1910 Miracode Index in Philadelphia and the 1920 US census show niece Bessie living with Vincent and Sarah. Anne Miller provided several pictures, including one of Bessie and Vincent late in his life, and mentioned that he'd lived out his years in the George Nugent Home for Baptists at 221 West Johnson Street, Philadelphia, PA.
Vincent and his niece Bessie at the George Nugent Home for Baptists in Philadelphia
Elizabeth V Saull. Bessie in the garden at the Nugent Home
Turning back to William and Sarah: After growing their family in Massachusetts around 1880, we see William and Sarah and family moving to Philadelphia, and working with Vincent at his restaurant at 409 North Second street in Philadelphia. The birth of Lillian in 1889 and Horace Saull in 1894 was shown in later census reports.
Sarah Saull. This is either William’s wife (Sarah Apperley) or Vincent’s wife Sarah Stone
In 1910, Sarah is still in Philadelphia, but is now living with her daughters Selina and Lillian Saull. Sarah is shown on the census to have had 5 children, and only 3 surviving. As Horace Saull is shown in the 1920 Census, we can surmise that Ada and William E did not live a long life.
Sarah is said to have passed away on 10th May 1911, back in Massachusetts.
Williams’s fate is not presently known. We hope to learn more.
Skipping back in time, we find another tale from the Teak Desk. A golden locket has inscribed: “In Memory Of” attached to a note written by my Grandfather stating “This locket commemorates the death of Williams Sister during the siege of Cawnpore in 1858”. Based on Anne and Dave's website, that sister must have been Selina Saull, born ca1843. This was a brutal time, and her loss must have weighed heavily on his heart. I've read some about the English family members being present at Cawnpore at the time of the Uprising. This must be such an example.
Sarah and William’s first child was their daughter Selina born in 1875, named in honor of Williams sister. Another piece of the puzzle snaps in place! In the locket is a patch of woven hair and a picture/painting of her. Maternal DNA testing could confirm heritage if there is anyone so aligned and motivated.
Back to the 1890s, and the Selina S. Saull (b. 1875). Selina meets and marries Garwood Jaggard in 1896, and moves across the river to Camden, NJ. Together they have a son Robert Vincent Jaggard on 16th Sept 1898. That's my Grandfather.
The 1900 US Census shows Garwood and Selina (Lena) living with their son in Camden. Garwood worked as a provisions dealer.
In the 1910 US Census, Selina is still listed as Married, but is living with her mother Sarah and Sister Lillian on Hemberger St, in Philadelphia. My Grandfather (Robert Vincent Jaggard) is shown as living with his grandfather in the Alms house in Camden. NJ. The family had apparently split up.
Garwood Jaggard died before 1920, but Selina is shown working in the Philadelphia Navy yard aircraft division. Lena Jaggard (nee Saull) is shown as living with her sister Lillian and her brother Horace at 1522 Porter St in Philadelphia. She was 42 at the time, and is said to have passed away in 1947.
My mother had written the name Lena Saul/Johnston on a tagged reference in the teak desk. Perhaps that surname that will lead to her later life path.
Hopefully, the 1940 US census will show more when it is released in 2010.
Robert Vincent Jaggard worked on the Submarine Fleet in Connecticut in WWI, and married Marie Hauck in 1925. They settled in Sewell, and ran a chicken farm, working hard and living off the land.
In 1927 Robert Vincent Jaggard and Marie had their daughter, Norma Jane who is my Mother. She lived a full, prosperous and exemplary life. She Married my Father, Raymond William Westerdale (b. 1923) and had 4 children. They both passed away in 2007, nine months apart. He on 22nd February and she on Thanksgiving day. They are missed very much.
Camp Vincent Saull, Knights Templar Field Day - This little cardboard tag 3.75" square was printed on both sides, and is an admission ticket for some sort of event at Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, on 28-Sep-1929.
A slice of ivory with the image of an Indian nobleman is under scrutiny. Currently, we are thinking its Nana Shahib. I'd welcome comments from anyone knowledgeable of the era.
Indian Prince
The Saul surname (and its derivatives) seems popular in the Philadelphia locale. It seemed to be an area that the Saulls recolonized on this side of the pond. My Grandfather’s farm was in Sewell, NJ, a town that I never dreamed might be associated to the Saull surname. Having read several Sole Society news pamphlets, I am curious.
The Teak Desk and its contents tied together many people and events. Each salve boxes, swimming medal, wartime gas coupon, brass shotgun shell and so-on contains stories of times gone by. Each adds to the appreciation of where our ancestors had been.
We'll restore the desk, and ensure it has a few things from all of us to pass on to future generations. It’s rewarding to know more of what we came from. Likewise, it will be good of us to leave baubles that relate to what we went through.
Be sure to write things down – especially on pictures!!
Author: · John Westerdale, whose Mothers, Fathers, Mothers Father was William Tomkins Saull.
References:
· Many thanks to Anne and David Miller for their work on the John Saull Line. All pictures are courtesy of Anne and Dave Miller.
· John Saull and descendants main page on Sole Society website: www.sole.org.uk/p50_58.htm
· Thanks to Guy Barker on filling in some details, I look forward to more collaboration.
· Sarah Adelaide Apperley's background: www.wells-genealogy.org.uk/apperley/james.htm
· Medal, painting, locket and Knights Templar ticket are from the Teak Desk.