The Amey Family: Sad End to a Long Search

Addendum 8/4/13: Found 1925 census. Maud Amey and daughter Hilda lived with her sister Eliza Buttery Scott in Rochester.

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To recap previous findings, Maud Buttery Amey (1893–1929) was the daughter of Albert Edward Buttery of Grand Bay, Newfoundland, and her older sister was my great grandmother Eliza Buttery Scott. She married Philip Amey and they had 3 children--all born in North Sydney.

Maud sent this postcard to her older sister, and on the back she casually scribbled a note about the death of her first child, also named Eliza, who died of influenza at age 4 in North Sydney, NS.



postcard sent circa 1919

Maud, Eliza, Eliza Buttery Scott--circa 1916

It took me awhile to decipher the handwriting and identification of the people in this next photo, but thanks to an Amey relation, we succeeded in identifying Maud and her two youngest children here around 1922. This postcard seems to have been written to Philip who was already living and working in Niagara Falls, NY. The family officially relocated there in 1924.

Hilda, Maud, John, and "Mrs. Dawe"



Sadly, Maud developed heart disease right before the move and died in 1929. It is curious that she died in Dayton, OH, and had been living there for about 2 years while the family stayed on in Niagara. I had documented Hilda's descendents--they seem to still be in the area, but could find nothing on John after 1937...until my recent discoveries.

New Findings

I was very sad to learn sweet John died at age 19. I have found evidence of his schooling and the fact that he sang (from local news sources). His obit did not contain any details, so I obtained his death certificate from the cemetery. The reason cited was "gangrenous appendicitis." Sad enough? Apparently, his father and sister loved him VERY much. I found the following tributes to him through the years. Heartbreaking. 



Factoids

• Both Philip and Maud (Buttery) Amey grew up in Newfoundland in the late 1890s, and their fathers were born in Jersey, Channel Islands.
• I believe Maud and Philip probably met in North Sydney as Maud's oldest brothers worked there as miners for a time.
• The Ameys lived in Newfoundland, but relocated to Sydney to be miners around 1905. Philip's brother Arthur died in 1911 at age 20 in the worst mining disaster in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
• John was born "Philip John", but never used the official name.
• Philip and John are buried in the famous Oakwood Cemetery where individuals who have attempted to go over the falls, or have jumped to their death are buried. It is quite historic and I would love to visit the area.
• In 1930, Philip and Hilda lived with his sister Mildred Geering and her family in Niagara.
• Philip remarried Elsie and died in 1962. Hilda Jane Castricone died in 1998.
• I have a sketchy chart of Hilda's descendents for those interested. I also have some high school photos of two of her 3 kids.