Pentecost Family Profile

A concise, source‑grounded portrait of the Pentecost family — immigrants, professionals, and the next generation who made their lives in Toronto and beyond.

Family Overview

The Pentecost family traces roots from England and the United States to Toronto, Ontario. Key family members include Ashton Spencer Pentecost and his wife Agnes Elizabeth D'Eye Pentecost, and their children Norman, Hazel, Agnes Ruth, and Marjorie. Several family events — births, marriages, occupations, and burials — are documented in archival records and contemporary newspapers.

Quick timeline

Ashton born 1863 Agnes D'Eye born 1864 Marriage 1884 (Chicago) Children 1884–1896 Norman died 1917 (France) Ashton died 1936 (Toronto) Agnes died 1946 (Toronto)

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Ashton Spencer Pentecost

Born: 25 Feb 1863 — Died: 10 Dec 1936 — Occupation: Architect

Ashton emigrated from England and worked as an architect in Toronto. He is recorded in the 1911 census as residing at 93 Charles St. East and later at 39 Wheeler Avenue. His obituary appeared in the Toronto Star following his death in December 1936.

"Pentecost - On Thursday, December 10th, Spencer Ashton, dearly beloved husband of Agnes E. Pentecost, 39 Wheeler avenue, and father of Mrs. A.H. Wilson; Mrs. E.D. Shaw: in his 74th year."

Notes: Worked as an architect for many years; burial at St. John's Cemetery is recorded.

Agnes Elizabeth D'Eye Pentecost

Born: 13 Oct 1864 (Watton, Norfolk, England) — Died: 4 Feb 1946 (Toronto)

Agnes was born in Watton, Norfolk, and immigrated to Canada in 1882. Census records show her living in Toronto by 1911; her obituary and burial are documented in Toronto newspapers and cemetery records.

"On Monday, Feb. 4, 1946, at Toronto, Agnes E. D'Eye, wife of the late Ashton Pentecost, and mother of Mrs. E.D. Shaw (Marjorie), of Philadelphia, U.S.A."

Notes: Buried at St. John's Norway, Toronto.

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Children and Next Generation

Norman Ashton Pentecost

Born: 4 Dec 1884 (Chicago) — Died: 9 Apr 1917 (France)

Norman served and died during World War I; military burial records place him in Pas‑de‑Calais.

"He was buried at the Nine Elms Military Cemetery in Pas de Calais, France in 1917."

Hazel Madge Pentecost (Mrs. Arthur H. Wilson)

Born: 1 Jul 1887 (Chicago) — Died: 1 Jun 1945 (Toronto)

Hazel worked professionally as an accountant and later settled in Toronto; she married Arthur Harold Wilson in 1915 and had one daughter, Vivienne Louise Wilson.

"She worked as an accountant on 21 Jun 1911 in Toronto, York, Ontario, Canada."

Buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery.

Agnes Ruth Pentecost

Born: circa 1890 (Chicago) — Died: 24 Jun 1903 (Toronto)

Agnes Ruth died young; death records list diabetes and heart disease as causes and show burial at St. John's Norway in Toronto.

"Cause of Death: diabetes/heart disease."

Marjorie Pentecost (Mrs. E.D. Shaw)

Born: Oct 1896 (USA)

Marjorie appears in the 1911 Toronto census with the family and later is referenced in Agnes's obituary as living in Philadelphia (Mrs. E.D. Shaw).

"She was Anglican on 21 Jun 1911 in Toronto, York, Ontario, Canada."

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Granddaughter: Vivienne Louise Wilson

Vivienne Louise Wilson

Born: 6 Aug 1919 — Died: 5 Mar 1940 (Toronto)

Vivienne, daughter of Hazel and Arthur Wilson, worked as a stenographer in Toronto. Her death in 1940 was reported in contemporary newspapers and the coroner's report concluded drowning, possibly following electric shock.

"Vivienne Wilson, pretty 20-year-old stenographer, was electrocuted or drowned while taking a bath at her home today."

Buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery.

X00196 Ann Halfhyde Green Baptism - Solved!

After searching in a number of places, I did ultimately manage to solve X00196 and track down a baptism record for Ann Halfhyde Green.

I first looked for marriages before 1771 between an Edward Chapman and an Ann. There were a number of different variations, but a few people on Ancestry had pointed to Edward Chapman and Ann Macro as being the ones, so I had a look at that marriage:

The marriage took place in Barrow, Suffolk, where Ann Macro was from, but it notes that Edward Chapman was from St. Edward Parish in Cambridge. So I looked in both places for baptisms and found this one for an Ann Halfhyde Chapman:

So, mystery solved. I have now identified her parents and have found her baptism record. The next mystery, of course is where the names "Green" and "Halfhyde" come from, but that's a mystery for another day.

X00196 Ann Halfhyde Green (ca. 1771 - 1844)

A few weeks ago I mentioned X00196 and the search for a baptism record for Ann Halfhyde Green. I have since made an interesting discovery - I've found a will from an Edward Chapman who died in 1777.

Interestingly enough, it refers to him as "Edward Green, formerly Chapman", and a few pages in, it mentions a daughter named "Ann Halfhyde Chapman".

So, it would seem that the family at some point changed their name from Chapman to Green - or at least the father did - and the daughter eventually did as well. This might help explain why I haven't been able to find a baptism record - I was looking for an Ann Halfhyde Green when I should have been looking for an Ann Halfhyde Chapman. So the search still continues....

X00349 Sorting out Nathaniel D'Eye d. 1773 Part 2

I posed a few weeks ago about X00349 and the discrepancy with Nathaniel D'Eye's birth year.

I have since found in the parish records for Eye in 1737 a baptism record and a burial record for a Nathaniel D'Eye, son of Nathaniel D'Eye. The baptism was dated 25 July 1737 and the burial was 23 October 1737

So, it would appear that there was a child named Nathaniel D'Eye who was born and died in 1737 as per the Find-a-Grave reference. It would appear to be the same one, as they are both listed as the son of Nathaniel D'Eye and the burial record wouldn't have likely said "son of Nathaniel D'Eye" if he was older.

So, what does that now mean for Nathaniel D'Eye who died 1773? Well, I went back to what my original source, which was the Visitation of Norfolk 1664. Sure enough, I did find the mention of Nathaniel D'Eye buried 13 January 1773, son of Nathaniel D'Eye and Mary Cullum. That one is definitely my ancestor, as he married Ann Rust in 1770.

But then I also found a Nathaniel D'Eye, son of Francis D'Eye and Mary Stebbing who died 6 January 1773.

So now this is interesting. If the information in the Visitation is correct, then these two Nathaniel D'Eyes would be first cousins and would have died around the same few days as each other. It seems quite unlikely that that would be the case; unless there was some disaster or plague that happened. On the other hand, if the Visitation is wrong and they are the same person, which set of parents is the correct one? Looks like this investigation just got a whole lot more complicated.

X00196 Ann Halfhyde Green (ca. 1771 - 1844)

Ann Halfhyde Green D'Eye is my Fourth Great-grandmother. I know some details about her, but unfortunately, I haven't been able to get back to the generation before. You'd think that with a rare name like "Halfhyde" in her name it would be easier, but not so much.

I've confirmed her date of death of 19 February 1844 from her death record [D00684] and from the National Burial Index. Both of those sources put her year of birth at around 1771. The 1841 census suggests a birth year of 1776, but the 1841 census often rounded ages to the nearest multiple of five, so that is likely what happened [D01522].

Her name appears as "Ann Halfyde D'Eye" on her death record and "Ann Halfhyde Green" on her marriage registration [D00149].

Unfortunately, I have not been able to find a baptism record for an Ann Halfhyde Green. Or, for that matter, an Ann Halfhyde anything. I've been looking for an Ann Green born about 1771, but there are quite a number of them. And none with an obvious family name of Halfhyde. I was hoping to find an Ann Green with a father with a surname of Green and a mother with a surname of Halfhyde, but haven't found anything so far.

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Sources
[D00149] Saint Edward (Cambridge, Cambridge, England), "Marriage Record - D'Eye & Green"; FHL microfilm Batch No. M13034, Sheet No 00, Dates 1559 - 1837, Source Call No. 0496690.

[D00684] England and Wales, death certificate for Ann Halfhyde D'Eye, died July 8 1844; citing 13/21/451, S quarter 1844, Depwade registration district, Diss sub-district; General Register Office, Southport.

[D01522] 1841 Census UK, HO 107 / 1024 / 12; Image 227; Folio 3; Page 1; Entry 1.

X00349 Sorting out Nathaniel D'Eye d. 1773

I have a number of direct ancestors in my tree named Nathaniel D'Eye and a good number of them were members of the clergy. One in particular that I am looking at is my fifth great grandfather, Nathaniel D'Eye who died in 1773.

I had his year of birth down as 1737. But recently, I found another Nathaniel D'Eye listed on Find A Grave from the same parents who was supposedly born and died in 1737. There is no photo of the gravestone or inscription on Find A Grave so it hasn't been verified. But it has my thinking if I have the right year of birth or not. It's very unlikely that the parents could have had two children by the same name in the same year.

So, I went back to check my sources for the year of birth and found that it was "Ancestral File" and must have gone back to my early days of genealogy research when I wasn't so thorough with my research, and took the Ancestral File as a valid source. I suspect what likely happened is that someone found the 1737 baptism record for the Nathaniel who died young and took it as the baptism record for the Nathaniel who died in 1773. So, now it's time to start checking for the original records. More to come....

X00112 Solved!

Sometime when you wait long enough, an X-File will solve itself.

Such is the case with finding a burial location for Henrietta Fox Addison Rust-D'Eye. She was born 15 November 1838 in Soham, Cambridge, UK but spent time living in Suffolk and Norfolk. She came to Canada with the rest of the family in the 1880s.

Her husband, George Hastings Rust-D'Eye died in 1885. After that, I found her in the 1891 and 1901 censuses in Toronto Junction living with some of her children.

I wasn't able to find anything beyond 1901 for the longest time, until I started searching outside of Canada. I found a death record for her in 1921 in Suffolk, UK. I have not been able to fine her in either the Canadian or English 1911 census, or the 1921 Canadian census.

So, this means that she could have moved back to the UK prior to her death, or could have been there visiting when she died. When the 1921 England census comes out next year (or if I can find her in either 1911 census), it may give some answers. But this means that while she died in the UK, she could have wanted to be buried in the UK or back in Canada with the rest of the family. I checked with Mount Pleasant cemetery (where a number of the family are buried) and there is no record of her having been buried there.

I found a hint on Ancestry recently that pointed me to Gravestonephotos.com and the listings for the Municipal Cemetery in Kirkley, Suffolk, England. I found a listing, but no photo unfortunately, for a Henrietta Fox D.Eye. Although there was no photo there, I was able to find the same cemetery on Find a Grave and found the listing and photos there.

X00120 Solved!!

I had posted previously about X00120 and the mystery of what happened to Jane Louise D'Eye and George Forbes after 1897.

In my previous post, I had found George's death certificate noting that he had died in British Columbia in 1951 [D07117]. I had also narrowed down Jane's date of death between 1901 and 1921, as I had found their daughter's baptism record in 1901 [D07119] and the 1921 census shows George as being a widower [D07118].

But I did some searching on newspapers.com and came across an article in the Calgary Herald dated 25 January 1905 that mentioned that the wife of George Forbes, a CPR employee had died recently [D07122].

The last Friday before January 25th 1905 was the 20th of January. I then checked the death indices for Alberta and found a death registration for a Jane Forbes who died 20 January 1905 [D07120].

So, mystery solved. It took researching in four provinces, two religions and two languages, but I have finally managed to trace Jane D'Eye after 1897. The article in the Herald indicates that her remains were shipped to Toronto and her death registration indicates that she was buried at an Anglican church. I haven't yet been able to track down which church at this point, but that's a mystery for another day.

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Sources:
[D07117] British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency, death certificate 1951-09-004040 (1951), B13208; British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency, Victoria. Rec. Date: 24 Jun 2018. Cit. Date: 17 Dec 2020.

[D07118] 1921 census of Canada, district 6, sub-district 83, Edmonton, p. 11, dwelling 132; RG 31; digital images, ancestry.com (accessed 17 Dec 2020). Rec. Date: 1 Apr 2017. Cit. Date: 17 Dec 2020.

[D07119] Église Saint-Romuald (Farnham, Quebec, Canada), Drouin Collection, "Baptism - Gertrude Ellen Forbes," B.119; digital images, ancestry.ca (accessed 20 Dec 2020). Rec. Date: 20 Dec 2020. ID: D07119. Cit. Date: 20 Dec 2020.

[D07120] Alberta Provincial Archives of Alberta, Alberta Canada Deaths Index, 1905: 227; digital image, "Alberta Deaths," (19 Dec 2020).

[D07122] "Local and General," Calgary Herald, 24 Jan 1905, p. 8, col. 3; digital images, newspapers.com (accessed 19 Dec 2020).

X00120 What happened to Jane Louise D'Eye after 1897?

George Hastings Rust-D'Eye and Henrietta Fox Addison had thirteen children born between 1862 and 1881. So far, I've been able to trace what happened to all of them except for one of them: their fifth child, Jane Louise D'Eye, born in 1868.

Jane came to Canada in 1883 with the rest of the family [D02319]. I have found her Marriage record from 1897, indicating that she married George Forbes, a telegraph dispatcher for CPR [D01887].

But that is the last record that I have found for her. Nothing after that marriage. I haven't found either George or Jane in any census record or death record. At least until recently.

I had a new look on my tree on Ancestry and specifically at the hints for George Forbes (none of the hints for Jane Laura D'Eye were valid). There were a number of hints given for George Forbes, but it's hard to tell which ones are valid and which ones can be ruled out. This is partly because the name George Forbes isn't that uncommon, but also because working for the railway, it's likely that he moved around a lot so it's difficult to say where he could have been living at any given time.

There was one hint, however, that caught my attention, it was a passenger record showing a George Forbes living in Naramata B.C.[D07128]. So I thought that I'd check with the British Columbia death indexes to see if I could find that person. Sure enough there was a George Forbes who died 14 April 1951 living in Naramata, B.C. [D07117].

In the record, the year of birth matches, he's a dispatcher for the C.P.R. He's listed as a widower and his wife's name is given as Jane Louise D'Eye. So it's definitely the right person. Not only does this tell us what has happened with George Forbes, but we now know that Jane had passed by 1951. This gives us a date of death range between 1897 and 1951, which is still quite a wide range.

Another piece of information that the death record gives was that he was in the province twenty-three years prior to his death. So, this means that he would have been living outside of B.C. during the 1921 census. With that in mind I did some additional searching in the 1921 census and managed to find a George Forbes living in Edmonton in 1921 with his daughter Gertrude. The dates match, he is listed as a widower and he is listed as a CPR employee, so it is likely that this is the same George Forbes [D07118].

Gertrude E. Forbes is nineteen years old in the 1921 census, which puts her birth year at about 1902 and also notes that she was born in Quebec. I next checked the Quebec birth records and found a Gertrude E. Forbes born in Quebec in 1901, with her parents being listed as George Forbes and Jane Laura D'Eye [D07119].

So, no definite answers yet, but we can at least now pin down Jane Laura D'Eye's date of death between 1901 and 1921.

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Sources:
[D01887] Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Marriages, MS932; Reel: 91: 121, 1368, Forbes-D'Eye; digital images, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Marriages". Rec. Date: 9 Sep 2017. Cit. Date: 17 Dec 2020.

[D02319] Canada, "Passenger List - SS Oregon 1882"; C-4532 C-4532, Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa. Rec. Date: 17 Dec 2020. ID: D02319. Cit. Date: 17 Dec 2020.

[D07117] British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency, death certificate 1951-09-004040 (1951), B13208; British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency, Victoria. Rec. Date: 24 Jun 2018. Cit. Date: 17 Dec 2020.

[D07118] 1921 census of Canada, district 6, sub-district 83, Edmonton, p. 11, dwelling 132; RG 31; digital images, ancestry.com (accessed 17 Dec 2020). Rec. Date: 1 Apr 2017. Cit. Date: 17 Dec 2020.

[D07119] Église Saint-Romuald (Farnham, Quebec, Canada), Drouin Collection, "Baptism - Gertrude Ellen Forbes," B.119; digital images, ancestry.ca (accessed 20 Dec 2020). Rec. Date: 20 Dec 2020. ID: D07119. Cit. Date: 20 Dec 2020.

[D07128] "Manifests of Alien Arrivals in the Seattle, Washington District," online images, ancestry.ca (accessed 20 Dec 2020), manifest, Nederland, 20 Dec 1945, 1207. Rec. Date: 20 Dec 2020. Cit. Date: 20 Dec 2020.

Profile: Pytches Clement Rust-D'Eye (1838-1898)

The next theme for the 52 Ancestors Challenge is "Unusual Name". So, for this one I'm going for Pytches Clement Rust-D'Eye. He has both an unusual first name and last name. Any time I come across a record with the name "Pytches Clement Rust-D'Eye" I never have to worry about whether or not I have the right person.

On a side note, at one time I wondered where the name "Pytches" came from. As I got along further in my research, I found that it was actually a family surname. In fact, it helped in indentifying which couple was the correct one when I saw that the wife had the surname "Pytches"

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Pytches Clement Rust-D'Eye (1838-1898)
2nd great grand-uncle

Pytches was born Pytches Clement Rust on 1 November, 1838 in Hastings, Sussex England (the family later changed their surname to "Rust-D'Eye" in 1852). He was the son of Edgar Rust, Rector of Drinkstone, Suffolk and Ann Dioness D'Eye [D00166]. He was baptized on 13 November, 1838 and his father performed the baptism [D00166].

He spent his early years growing up in Hastings, Sussex [D01513, D01622]. After his father died in 1852 he moved to Norfolk and at the time of the 1861 census he was living on his brother George Hastings Rust's farm. He was listed as being a landed proprietor and so was living off of his land holdings at the time [D01586].

He was shown again as living on his brother's farm in 1871 [D01556], but had moved out and started his own farm in Gisleham, Suffolk by 1881 [D01363]. Pytches' brother George emigrated to Canada in 1882 but some of the family remained in England, including their daughter Evelyn. Evelyn was staying with her uncle Pytches in 1891 [D00782].

He remained a farmer in Gisleham, Suffolk until his death on 21 July 1898 [D01985]. He never married. He was buried 25 July 1898 in the cemetery of Holy Trinity Anglican church of Gisleham, Suffolk [D02639].

Sources:
[D00166] St Clements (Hastings, Sussex, England), "Baptism Record - Pytches Clement Rust"; FHL microfilm 1,061,077.

[D00782] 1891 census of England, Gisleham, Suffolk, England, folio 26, page 12, 38; digital images, Ancestry, Ancestry.ca (accessed 15 Oct 2017); citing PRO RG 12/1490.

[D01363] 1881 census of England, Gisleham, Suffolk, folio 26, page 10, 2; digital images, Ancestry.ca, Ancestry.ca (accessed 13 Jan 2019); citing PRO RG 11/1900.

[D01513] 1841 census of England, Hastings, Sussex, folio 19, page 2, Rust, Edgar; digital images; citing PRO HO 107/1107/5.

[D01513] 1861 census of England, Watton, Norfolk, folio 135, page 20, 110; digital images(accessed 13 Jan 2019); citing PRO RG 9/1238.

[D01556] 1871 census of England, Watton, Norfolk, folio 128, page 13, 61; digital images, Ancestry.ca, Ancestra.ca (accessed 13 Jan 2019); citing PRO RG 10/1842.

[D01622] 1851 census of England, Hastings, Sussex, England, folio 260, page 49, 201; digital images(accessed 12 Jan 2019); citing PRO HO 107/1635.

[D01985] England and Wales, death certificate for Pytches Clement Rust-D'Eye, died 21 July 1898; citing 04a/623/46, S quarter 1898, Mutford registration district, Kessingland sub-district; General Register Office, Southport.

[D02639] Holy Trinity Anglican (Gisleham, Suffolk, England), England, Select Deaths and Burials, "Burial Record - Pytches Clement Rust-D'Eye," 377; digital images, Ancestry.ca, Ancestry.ca (accessed 13 Jan 2019).