James Henry Chislett (1824 - 1876)

Born 24 Sep 1824 in Heart's Delight, Newfoundland Colony

Descendants

Died 7 Jan 1876 at age 51 in Heart's Content, Newfoundland Colony

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Biography

as researched and written by Christopher Morry

James CHISLETT. Given Name: James. Surname: CHISLETT. ^[1][2] Henry CHISLETT. Given Name: James Henry. Surname: CHISLETT. ^[3][4][5] Found multiple versions of name. Using James CHISLETT.

Born 24 Sep 1824. Heart's Delight-Islington, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. ^[6][7][8] Note: #BI10229.

Died 7 Jan 1876. Heart's Content, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. ^[9]

Christening: 16 Oct 1827. Hants Harbour, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. ^[10][11] Note: #CI10229.

Buried Aft 7 Jan 1876. Heart's Delight-Islington, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. ^[12]

TAG

TAG9

Event: John Tompkins. Minister/Priest 16 Oct 1827. Hants Harbour, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. ^[13] Alt. Death. 7 Jan 1879. Heart's Delight-Islington, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. ^[14]

Religion: Wesleyan Methodist. 16 Oct 1827. Hants Harbour, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. ^[15]

File Format: JPG. James Chislett Jr. Headstone. Note: In the churchyard of St. Matthew's Anglican Church. Photo courtesy of Kimsy Fowler, Stonepics. 1876 Scrapbook: Y. PHOTO

Note: #NI10229.

Notes

Note BI10229Island Cove.

Note CI10229Wesleyan-Methodist Church.

Note NI10229230212: 1

I have no idea how I came up with the notion that this man never married and had no children. If it were not for this notation, not attributed to any source, I would have to say that this is one and the same person who is presently shown as being the father of my great grandmother, Jane Chislett. The two men have the same birth date. The fact that this James Chislett was Christened at the Wesleyan Methodist church in Hants Harbour does not diminish the possibility that he was indeed the James who was the father of Jane because I have no idea in which church, if any, she was Christened. 1

270810 copied from NGB website: 1

Excerpt from Dr. Seary's, Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, MUN 1977. 1

CHISLETT, a surname of England, from the English place name Chislet (Kent)- the gravel place or stream. (Ekwall, Bardsley). 1

In Newfoundland: 1

Early instances: James, planter of Island Cove (now Islington), 1819, of Heart's Delight, 1823 (DPHW 59A, 64B); Charles, of Bonne Bay (Fortune B.), 1835 (DPHW 30); John, of Round Harbour (Burin district), 1836 (DPHW 106); John, fisherman of Seal Island (Burgeo district), 1846 (DPHW 101); Richard Chislet, of Harbour Le Cou, 1858 (DPHW 98); Charles Chislett, planter of Garia, 1871 (Lovell); John Jr., of West Point (Burgeo district), 1871 (Lovell). 1

Modern status: Scattered, especially at St. John's and in the Trinity South, Burgeo-La Poile districts. 1

Notes: 1. DPHW: DPHW volumes of the "Black Books" are now known as the registers of Vital Statistics. From Genealogical Sources at PANL . Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador (http:/www.tcr.gov.nl.ca/panlgen_src.html): Civil Registration started in Newfoundland and Labrador in 1891. Beginning at that time, all clergy were required to register with the government, every baptisms, marriage and burial conducted within their jurisdiction. Prior to 1891, no such central registry existed, so the only record of baptism, marriage or burial was the one held by the church. During the Commission of Government in the 1930's and 1940's, Sir John Charles Puddester was the Commissioner of the Department of Public Health and Welfare. In the early 1940's, Sir John was apparently disturbed by the fact that the original parish registers held by some churches were in a fragile condition and that the records of some other churches had already been lost through fire. To prevent any further loss of records and so that the government could have some record of vital statistics prior to the start of the 1891 system of registration, he initiated a program to have churches transcribe these pre 1891 records. The Department of Public Health and Welfare offered ten cents a name as compensation for those clergy who arranged for the transcription of the baptism and marriage records of their parishes. Burial records were not requested, although a few churches did submit a number of these records. These volumes which came to be referred to as the DPHW volumes of the "Black Books" are now known as the registers of Vital Statistics. 1

N.B. This sets to rest the old family controversy which had the Chisletts as being from Northern Ireland. 1

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 1

111211: Just to clarify my level of certainty as to the parentage of Jane Chislett, the names of her parents but not her siblings are recorded in the family bible of Jacob Bishop which is in the possession of John Wheeler. There it indicates that Jacob was married to Jane Chislett "of James an [sic] Susannah". What little I know about the family beyond that came from my mother and she was not at all either communicative about them or knowledgable. I had the impression that the Chisletts were looked down upon by the Bishops and that they (the Bishops) had little or nothing to do with the Chisletts after the marriage between Jane and Jacob. As I indicated above, the names of her parents do not appear in full in any family bible or other written documentation so I do not know the surname of Susannah.Mom did not know her surname or had forgotten it by the time of my enquiries late in her life. 1

I have further identified Jane's parents as James "Henry" Chislett and Susannah (?) based upon accounts by others, primarily David Chislett. But I suspect that his information was somewhat tentative and may not be 100% trustworthy so the middle name Henry is a bit suspect. David also was the one who suggested the names of the parents of James Henry, but there again that is also very tentative. 1

230112: There is another James Chislett who is shown as being born on the same date as this man and whose parents have the same name as his. I have not yet merged the two because of the fact that the other James Chislett was christened at the Weslyan Methodist church in Hants Harbour and I have no evidence to support the contention that Jane Chislett's father and family were of this religion at any point in time. 1

250814: NB: They have now been merged. 1

260615:

I have discussed the question of the validity of the middle name Henry for James Chislett born between 1790 and 1800 as well as for his son, also known as James (or James Henry) born 1824 with Paul Cohen. There is no solid evidence to support the middle name and it may be apocryphal. 1

270615:

In his 2004 article in the Newfoundland Ancestor, Eldred Chislett noted that he was unable to find the name of the spouse of James Chislett II. 1

He also notes that information on the early years is scant because of a fire at the Anglican Church in Heart's Content that destroyed the church register which contained information on baptisms, marriages and burials in the Islington (and Cavendish) areas. That may well be true but the reality is that there were no parish churches in this area much before 1900 except in Green's harbour. Here is the list of the churches in the parish from the Heart's Delight Parish website: 1

St. Matthew's Church, Heart's Delight-Islington (since 1893).

Church of the Good Shepherd, Cavendish (since ca. 1906).

St. George's Church, Whiteway (since 1913). Matthew's Church, Green's Harbour (since 1880).

So it seems possible that many of the BMD events never were recorded in a church register until late in the 1800s. Eldred gives the date as 1879 in fact. 1

Also Eldred has many more children and their spouses attributed to the family of James Chislett II. Since he does not even know the name of his spouse, I seriously doubt that he can connect any of the additional children he links to James. Here is what he has just for the record but I am not adding this information into the family tree until someone else with source information backs it up. 1

2 James No 2 Chislett (b.24 Sep 1824 - Islington Nfld; d.7 Jan 1876).

Sp UNKNOWN.

3.James No 3 Chislett (b. Abt 1845 Islington, Nfld. Bef 1884) sp. UNKNOWN.

3 Diana Chislett (b. 1848 Islington; d. 1926) sp Elias Jerrett (b. 1846.

Cavendish, NL).

3.Noah Chislett (b.1851 Islington Nfld, d.15 Jan 1899) sp: Mrs. Chislett (married name).

3.John Chislett (b. 1855 -Islington Nfld, d.2 1 Aug 1942).

sp: Naomi Reid (b. 1856 - Hearts Delight Nfld; d.4 Feb 1932). Daughter X Chislett (b. Abt 1864 Islington Nfld; m. did not marry; d. Abt 1880).

i. Willis Chislett (b. 1857 - Islington Nfld; d.30 Mar 1949).

sp: Sarah Bishop (b. 1852 -Hearts Delight Nfld;d.28 Feb 1909). Maria Crocker (b. 1858 -Hearts Delight Nfld; m.15 Apr 1912;d.2t) Jan 1930).

3. William Chislett (b. 1859 - Islington Nfld).

sp: Sarah Naomi Legge (b. 1863-Hearts Delight Nfld). Aseneth Hall (b. 1867-Hearts Content Nfld).

3. Jane Chislett (b.1863 Islington Nfld).

sp: Jacob Bishop (U. l853 Islington Nfld; m.6 Dec 1881).

3. Liza Chislett.

Sources

1. ↑ Source: #S79 Vol. 59a Birth registry of Hants Harbour Wesleyan Methodist Church Certainty: 3
2. ↑ Source: #S242 Certainty: 3 27 Jun 2015
3. ↑ Source: #S806 David Chislett provided a middle name for James Chislett but he is not 100% certain of it. Certainty: 3 26 Jun 2015
4. ↑ Source: #S426
5. ↑ Source: #S114 Ancestry Family Tree Certainty: 3
6. ↑ Source: #S806 This from his Ancestry.com family tree but without sources cited Certainty: 3
7. ↑ Source: #S79 Vol. 59a Birth registry of Hants Harbour Wesleyan Methodist Church Certainty: 3
8. ↑ Source: #S242 Certainty: 3 27 Jun 2015
9. ↑ Source: #S242 Eldred quotes the information from the headstone in St. Matthew's cemetery in Islington which gives this date. Certainty: 3 27 Jun 2015
10. ↑ Source: #S79 Vol. 59a Birth registry of Hants Harbour Wesleyan Methodist Church Certainty: 3
11. ↑ Source: #S242 Certainty: 3 27 Jun 2015
12. ↑ Source: #S242 Eldred quotes the information from the headstone in St. Matthew's cemetery in Islington which gives the date of death was 7 Jan. 1876. Certainty: 3 27 Jun 2015
13. ↑ Source: #S31 Certainty: 3 7 Jul 2015
14. ↑ Source: #S806 This from his Ancestry.com family tree but without sources cited Certainty: 3
15. ↑ Source: #S79 Vol. 59a Birth registry of Hants Harbour Wesleyan Methodist Church Certainty: 3

• Source: S114 Ancestry Family Trees Publication: Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.; Repository: #R4 Paranthetical: Y
• Repository: R4 Ancestry.com Ancestry.com
• Source: S242 Eldred Chislett Family Tree, emails and Newfoundland Ancestor articles Eldred Chislett Publication: 8 Webb Place Mount Pearl NL A1N 3T2 Canada chislett@nl.rogers.com Eldred is a distant relative descended from the same ancestor, James Chislett as Mom, the first immigrant by that name in Island Cove (Islington) Trinity Bay. I was put onto the fact that he had published his preliminary family tree in the Newfoundland Ancestor by Bruce Burden, who also believed he was descended from this same line. I spoke with Eldred about these things on the phone on May 11, 2011 for the first time. Italicized: Y Paranthetical: Y
• Source: S31 Vital Statistics Births, Marriages and Deaths at PANL Source Medium: Book Note: Source Quality: 3 Source Quality: 3 Online 030704 Paranthetical: Y
• Source: S426 Canadian Genealogy Index, 1600s-1900s Genealogical Research Library, Ontario, Canada Publication: Name: Name: The Generations Network, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2005;; Note: Source Quality: 3 Record for John H. Lemessurier Repository: #R38 Paranthetical: Y
• Repository: R38 Amazon.com Amazon.com
• Source: S79 Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador Vital Statistics Note: Source Quality: 3 Source Quality: 3 Source Medium: Vital Repository: #R12 Paranthetical: Y
• Repository: R12 The Rooms PO Box 1800, Stn. CSt. John's / NL / Canada / A1C The Rooms
• Source: S806 David Chislett of Mount Pearl, Newfoundland Emails and conversations David Chislett Publication: David and I got in contact via Ancestry.ca in the summer of 2011. He is from a branch of the Chislett family that has been in the St. John's area for several generations but has a family tree that indicates they are the same family as those in Islington/Heart's Delight area. He is 69 at this time and a retired telephone company worker. Note: Source Quality: 3 Source Medium: Internet Repository: #R245 Paranthetical: Y
• Repository: R245 David Chislett Mount PearlNewfoundland and Labrador / Canada David Chislett