Just discovered this article from The Daily Echo, in Bournemouth, Dorset which tells of our 2004 visit as part of the Bemister family reunion in England to the churchyard grave at St Hubert's Church where my Bemister ancestors are buried - GGGG grandparents John Bemister (1747-1832) and Mary (Willis) Bemister (1749-1838).
A very special site, we also held a small memorial service within St Hubert's Church to honour their memory as well as gratitude for the special opportunity of sharing a moment of reflection in the church which had held such great importance for family members over the years.
-- The Daily Echo article --
A village graveyard provided the unlikely setting for a family reunion when 28 descendants of a Corfe Mullen couple joined to pay homage to their ancestors.The group had travelled from Canada and America to visit the graves of Mary and John Bemister at St Hubert’s church, Corfe Mullen.
Two of the couple’s sons emigrated to Newfoundland in the early 1800s. Between them, William and Edward fathered 18 children who were to continue the Bemister family’s links with Canada for the next two centuries.
Poole’s links with Newfoundland date back to when fishermen from the Dorset town sailed west to catch the cod.
In 1802 the Poole fleet numbered 350 ships whose mariners braved mountainous seas and bloody clashes with privateers.
But the end of the Napoleonic wars in 1815 signalled the end to the lucrative cod trade.
William Bemister came to Carbonear in 1803, where he earned a reputation as a respected businessman and community leader.
His brother Edward left England in 1812 and it is likely that he was on the high seas in June, unaware a war was raging.
His vessel was captured by the Americans and he was imprisoned on a ship in Boston for a year and a day.
On his release Edward was given a suit and enough money to find his way to Newfoundland.
The family reunion was organised by local historian Dr Alan Perry, who has just returned from his 47th visit to Newfoundland and Cameron Hopkins, Mary and John’s great- great- great- great-grandson who now lives in Ontario.
“Various people including my sister helped trace the family tree,” recalled Cameron.
“I came here nine years ago but for many it was their first visit to England.
“They were very excited about seeing the places where their direct ancestors lived and died all those years ago.”
As well as paying their respects at Mary and John’s graves, the party visited Wimborne’s historic Minster where the couple were married in 1785 and were guests of Lord and Lady Digby at their home in Minterne near Dorchester.
Dr Perry, who is chairman of the Wessex Newfoundland Society and was awarded an OBE in 1997 for his work there, said: ”It was quite emotional. Family members had travelled a long way and they weren’t disappointed.
“We had a wonderful farewell dinner in the Blue Boar in Poole, surrounded by letters and deeds on the walls from Newfoundland. It was the perfect ending to a very successful trip.”
Dr Perry is planning another trip to Newfoundland next month.
(By Julie Magee, published in the Daily Echo, Thursday August 12, 2004. Courtesy of The Daily Echo, Bournemouth)
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