Person:Matilda Wamboldt (1)

_CSTAT: Twin

_FSFTID: MVHW-HW3

_FSLINK: https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/MVHW-HW3

Matilda is of German descent. Her ancestors, and the founding fathers of the name Wamboldt in Canada, were amoung the Foreign Protestants brought to Nova Scotia by the King of England in the mid 1700's to settle there when they displaced the Acadians.

Matilda was a very busy woman. Not only did she give birth to eleven children and raise nine of them. She made butter and cheese. She spun yarn from sheep's wool and wove cloth from hemp for her own family's needs and to sell. She tailored all their clothing. In 1870, she made 350 pounds of butter, 25 pounds of wool, 120 yards of cloth and flannel, and 10 yards of linen. She is said to have a volatile temper, and that may be so, but, in truth, she was a remarkable woman. She had a strong work ethic and endeavored to pass that on to her children.

The following is Aunt Myrtle's story of the visit to her grandparents house in 1901, originally written by Aunt Myrtle (Johnson) Stoddard and edited and published by Shirley (Johnson) Lewis. 1996.

MY VISIT TO SEE MY GRANDPARENTS IN 1901

My father decided he wanted to take his family to see his parents. This was quite an undertaking in those days -- to take a wife and four children, age six months to 12 years old, from Merrimack, New Hampshire to Brookfield [Westfield], Nova Scotia. Down from the attic came the huge trunk and clothing and blankets were thrown in. We left by train to Boston, Massachusetts -- 50 miles away -- and found the boat by hiring a wagon to deposit us at the ship. We had one stateroom, and started our overnight sail by 4:00 P.M.

My brother, age 12, had a grand time roaming all over the ship and talking with the men who ran the ship. We stayed in the cabin and, shortly after taking off, all became seasick, including the baby. We kept my father busy all night long. Morning finally came, and we dragged ourselves on deck and I was sick again over the rail. Finally, we got ashore, and with our trunk boarded a train that went from Yarmouth to An[n]apolis. There we took the stagecoach to Brookfield [Westfield], via Caledonia, and our grandparents' home , where we were put to bed. I imagine my grandparents thought we were a discouraging looking bunch, and wished we'd stayed in new Hampshire.

The next day, we had recovered and for a week and a half had fun roaming around the fields, picking daisies and wild strawberries. My brother went fishing with his uncle. I can't remember much about being there except my grandmother was a large person and my grandfather much smaller and quiet spoken. I remember seeing codfish drying on the attic floor and sittng in chairs that my grandfather had made. I don't remember where I slept, and years later when I visited the house, wondered where they put all of us. My uncle and his wife and my grandparents must have slept on the first floor and we slept on the second floor. There was one large room, which served as kitchen, living room, and dining room. I think there were also two small bedrooms on the first floor. The dread of returning to New Hampshire hung over me the whole time I was there. I wished I could have been home without going through the overnight trip on the boat! I can remember being handed up into the stagecoach, drawn by horses, that took us to the train and to the ship. The minute I got on the ship, the salt water smell made me feel sick. I've never been able to enjoy being on the ocean in a ship. Even though I do not actually get sick now, I feel queasy and am always glad to get on shore.

We finally made it back to New Hampshire and my father went by himself twice after that. Once he brought back a moose's head and had it put up on the wall in our dining room over the horsehair couch. We used to reach up and pull the "bell", which hung down under its chest. Finally he gave it to a lodge in Manchester, New Hampshire.

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Don Shankle. "Lunenburg County and Queens County Birth, Marriage and Death Records From Primary Sources," database, Gail Ed. ((http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~canns/lunenburg/bmdindex.html : Copyright @1996-2006))
   ).
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4} Canada. Nova Scotia. 1881 census of Canada. RG 31. Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. Digital images.. (Library and Archives, Canada. \i Census of Canada, 1881\i0 . http://www.collectioncanada.gc.ca/databases/census-1881 : Last modified: 8/6/2008)
   district 12 (Queens), sub-district K (Brookfield), p. 15, dwelling 62, family 63, James Johnson; (http://www.collectioncanada.gc.ca/databases/census-1881 : accessed 07 Aug 2008); citing C-13170, 28 Feb 2009.
3. ↑ New Hampshire. Nashua.  \i The Nashua Telegraph\i0.
4. ↑ ^4.0 4.1 Canada. Nova Scotia. 1901 census of Canada. RG 31. Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. Digital images.. (Automated Genealogy. \i 1901 Census of Canada\i0 . http://www.automatedgenealogy.com : n.d.)
   district 40 (Shelburne & Queens), sub-district T (Brookfield), p. 7, family 66, James Johnson; (http://www.automatedgenealogy.com : accessed 02 Mar 2009); citing Schedule 1 Microfilm T-6456, 2 Mar 2009.

   Johnson, James, m, head, m, Feb 13, 1827, 74
   Matilda, f, wife, m, Jun 11, 1830, 70
   Judson, m, son, m, Jun 15, 1871, 29
   Mary, f, daughter-in-law, m, Dec 24, 1874, 26

5. ↑ Nova Scotia Canada. Certificate of Death for James Johnson. (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. 1908. Registration # 1908-02-015028, No. DF000133).
6. ↑ Canada. Nova Scota. 1891 census of Canada. RG 31. Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. Digital images.. (Library and Archives Canada. \i Census of Canada, 1891\i0 . www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/census-1891 : n.d.)
   district 40 (Queens), sub-district 11a (Brookfield), p. 20, dwelling 1-1/2/13, family 95, James Johnson; (www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/census-1891 : accessed 28 Feb 2009), 28 Feb 2009.
7. ↑ James E. Johnson
   1827-1908
   Matilda S.
   1830-1901
8.   (Research):Nova Scotia records of TB Smith show Mathilda's surname to be Mansfield. My great aunt Myrtle Stoddard, the grand-daughter of Matilda is quite certain her name was Wamboldt. The TB Smith collection in Nova Scotia is considered to be a reliable source, but I cannot find any collaborating evidence of either name.
   
   Myrtle has indicated Matilda's middle name to be Caroline and (in one note) crossed off and indicated Sophia. I have found that the gravestone inscription is for Matilda S. Johnson so I am making the assumption that her middle name was Sophia.
   
   I am making an assumption that Mathilda's mother was Elizabeth, who married John Wamboldt in 1835, five years after Mathilda was born, and that her first husband was John Mansfield. This assumption has been proved wrong:
   First of all Elizabeth, age 79, was living with James and Matilda in 1871. I have been in contact with Bob Hegerich (Apr 2008), who has done a lot of research on the Mansfield family. He has evidence that John Wambold and Eliizabeth were living with eachother in 1871, and the Elizabeth [Harnish] who married 1st John Mansfield and then John Wambold was born about 1807.
   Secondly, I found a website with a great deal of information on Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. According to that website, there is a Matilda, born 12 June 1830, daughter of George and Elizabeth Wambold. In the 1901 census, Matilda is listed with a birthdate of 11 Jun 1830. I have decided that TB Smith is in error, and am now recording Matilda as the daughter of George and Elizabeth.