England to Canada
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LEONARD HELPS: Son of James Helps and Hannah Gifford.
Baptized 7 Dec 1782, died 15 Oct 1858, Frome Somerset, England. He married Ann ?, born
1788,
died 24 May 1853 Frome.
They had 8 children. Henry, Hannah, James, Ann, Joseph, George, Jane and Catherine.
In 1837 Leonard was a Baker and Ann owned a Confectionery Shop.
The following was taken from Leonard's Military Service Records:
Leonard Helps was in the service of the Kings Dragoon Guards (Cavalry) that took him to the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, where the Duke of Wellington defeated Napolean.
Leonard Helps of the 1st (Kings)
Dragoon Guards was granted an army pension on 26 April 1816 after serving 12 years and 10
months as a private.
He was allowed to add 2 extra years to his pension because he had served at Waterloo,
being wounded
in his left arm during the battle. At the time of his discharge, his age was given as 33
years and his birthplace as Frome in Somerset. His pension was 9 pence a day and a
request for a pension
increase on the 10 October 1816 was refused.
He was 5 feet 7 1/4 inches in height, brown hair, dark eyes and a sallow complexion.
1. HENRY HELPS: First child of Leonard Helps and Ann ?.
Born 21 Mar 1808, Frome Somerset, England, died 3 Dec 1886, Plympton
Twp., Lambton Co., Ont.
On the 25 Aug 1828, he married MARY RAWLINGS, born 1807, died 25 Nov
1877. (d/o William
Rawlings and Jane Summers).
Both buried Old Bethel Cemetery, Plympton Twp., Ont.
They had 9 children. Mary #1, William, Mary #2, John, Sophia, Samuel,
Jane, Sarah and Martha.
They were married in
St. John's Anglican Church in Frome. This Church is over 650 years old as it
includes the remains of an earlier Norman Church, that was built
in the late 1300's and it is still used
for regular Church Worship. (January 2003).
In England, Henry
was a Plaisterer and Tyler. When he came to Canada in 1833, he took up farming
in the Camlachie, Ont., area which is situated near the shores of Lake
Huron.
When the first
Church was built in the early 1860's, the people of the vicinity got together and after
saying a prayer, they went out to the near-by forest, cut the trees,
made their own lumber, then started
to build their place of Worship.
This Church was later torn down and a Methodist one was built. Some of
the old lumber was used in
the construction of the new Church.
Since Henry's name was one
of the name's on the deed for the first Church, before construction even
started, it is only fitting that both Henry and Mary are buried in the OLD
Bethel Cemetery, Lot 8 Con 10,
Plympton.
Their son Samuel is believed to be the first person buried in that Cemetery
in 1860.
The Cemetery Stones from
the Old Bethel Cemetery by the lake have now been moved to the
Beechwood Cemetery, at Forest, Ont. This was done in December 1986.
CHILDREN OF HENRY HELPS AND MARY RAWLINGS
