Her dad is recorded as Albert Kingsley - where did he come from? Who is Libbeus Kingsley?

+3 votes
326 views

In among the good French Canadian names in the parish register, suddenly there is the family name Kingsley.  His name is Albert and he spells his own surname something like Camsley.  (He uses the old-fashioned long 's', and it has even been transcribed as Camzelay.)

Here he is at nosorigines

The plot thickens - lots of family researchers equate him with one Libbeus Kingsley, son of Jeremy Kingsley of Connecticut. What would a member of that family be doing getting married in Vaudreuil, Québec in 1787?

I'm primarily interested in identifying the father of Anastasie Kingsley, whose profile is linked to this question.  She is the daughter of Albert Kingsley and Marie Louise Lanthier.  

Who is Albert Kingsley? We know that Albert's father's name is Jeremy, and we know that Libbeus' father's name is Jeremy.  Is that the only source of the rumour? Does anyone have any evidence?

Thanks so much for considering this puzzle.

WikiTree profile: Anastasie Kingsley
in Genealogy Help by Shirlea Smith G2G6 Pilot (280k points)
PS - in the registration of the marriage of Albert Kingsley and Marie Louise Lanthier, a mother is recorded for Albert.  It looks like Hanna Lielly (spelling?).  Libbeus's mother is Hannah Lillie.

One good reason for a 1787 marriage in Canada for someone who was supposedly born in what would become the United States (at the time he was born, later) was that his family was on the Tory (Loyalist) side rather than the Patriot side? Just a thought, there.  

Loyalists in Canada | The Canadian Encyclopedia

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca › article › loyalists

Loyalist (American Revolution) - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Loyalist_(American_Revolution)

Good avenue to pursue, but no sign of him or any Kingsleys on the Loyalist List 

1 Answer

+4 votes
actually, the priest did not use a long S, he used a Z in the name.  Written as Camzelay. Added some research notes to Anastasie's profile.

As far as the mother's name, it's written Lailay in the marriage record, but this was probably a phonetic rendering of what he was told.  You do seem to have identified the right parents for Albert.  Whether he is in fact the same man as ''Libbeus Kingsley'' remains to be proven, his age at death given by the priest puts it rather specifically at ''79 years and a few days.''  Thus putting his birth in 1758.  Really unclear how he knew the age so closely though.
by Danielle Liard G2G6 Pilot (647k points)

Whatever happened to Libbeus, he disappears from the genealogies kept by the NE branch, such as this one and this one.  Maybe that is another reason why family historians have identified him with Albert.

Would we expect to see an adult baptism some time before Albert's marriage to Marie Louise Lanthier?  Was there a St Albert but no St Libbeus?  Could that have been the source of a name change?
the priest does not use the older long S form at all, that was actually mostly gone out of usage by this time.  It is definitely a Z.

Albert on baptism of his first son has signature that is more legible, writes Canslay.

His first son is named Albert, his second son is named Jérémie, baptism for him in different parish and the name gets written Quinzelay,  sigh.  Albert didn't sign that one.

Next child is Paul, name written Camzelay, Albert signs Canslaes.

Next is son Verance Adonatger (no clue what that would be originally, obviously phonetic), family name written Kinsley, Albert not signing

Next is Anastasie Kinzeley, Albert signs Canslaeif

Next is François Xavier Camzelai, Albert signs Canslaef or Canslaes

Next is Marie Augustine Ruth Canslais, Albert signs Canslaef or Canslaes

Next is Jean Noël Kingseley, no signature

Next is Louis Kenselay, Albert signs Kingsley

Next is Marie Magdeleine Kenselley, Albert signs Kingsley

Last is Marie Théophile Kengselay, Albert signs Kingsley

Albert is listed as ''cultivateur'' or ''agriculteur'' (farmer) on records where it is mentioned.

As far as the name change, as you can see, he changes the spelling on his signature over time, it's the same handwriting so there is no doubt about it being him.

Libbeus or variants thereof is definitely not a French name, so might have been dubbed Albert and gone with it afterwards.  Abjurations records that I can find stop at 1757 so don't know if he renounced protestant faith after arrival here.

That he names his second son Jérémie is further evidence that he is son of the parents of Libbeus.  Just can't tell if he is in fact the same man as Libbeus, FS didn't have a link to the actual baptism for that one, just a file.
WOW, thanks so much, Danielle!

Really interesting collection of alternate spellings for Kingsley!
Apparently the name Libbeus is pronounced with the accent on the second syllable.  Knowing that, maybe it is not so far-fetched after all that a person named Libbeus may find himself referred to as Albert -- in a francophone context, where the accent in Albert is also on the second syllable.

That interesting name Verance Adonatger Kingsley:

I wonder if Adonatger corresponds to Libbeus's younger brother's name 

Adonijah

 https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Kingsley-313

Cheers

Shirlea

Well I figured he might have been a Loyalist (yesterday that was) and Danielle seems to have found support for that idea (12 hrs ago) but an hour ago Shirlea said nope, not on Loyalist lists.

might have just found a wife who suited him and moved here, the border was open until early 1900s between US and Canada, lots and lots of ''uncontrolled'' motion back then.  laugh

Yes, it could be as simple as that!  I was looking for an abandoned wife on the US side, but if she is there, i couldn't find her...
i started a profile for Albert and made a note on it that he might be Libbeus.

Related questions

+5 votes
1 answer
+2 votes
2 answers
159 views asked Jul 9, 2014 in Genealogy Help by anonymous
+1 vote
1 answer
144 views asked Feb 6, 2022 in Genealogy Help by Susan Selchert G2G Rookie (160 points)
+4 votes
2 answers
133 views asked May 18, 2019 in Genealogy Help by Nace Few G2G3 (3.0k points)
+3 votes
1 answer
98 views asked Apr 7, 2018 in Genealogy Help by Holly Pinkley G2G6 (7.4k points)
+4 votes
1 answer
0 votes
1 answer

WikiTree  ~  About  ~  Help Help  ~  Search Person Search  ~  Surname:

disclaimer - terms - copyright

...