Peter Crouse and Rebecca Jones were another of my ancestral families that lived in tiny Burtts Corner in York County, New Brunswick, Canada.

Peter the son of Loyalist Phillip Crouse and his wife, Sarah Burt, and Rebecca, daughter of Loyalist Richard Jones and Mary Boone, were both from large families. Peter was the 7th of 18 children and Mary was the 11th of a dozen. They appeared well on their way to having a large family of their own when Peter died.

Peter was born on 2 February 1800 in Keswick, another little town near Burtts Corner. Rebecca was born on 19 March 1809, in Fredericton, also in York County.

Peter and Rebecca married about 1827, most likely in York County, but no marriage record has been found for them. Their family grew quickly, with Rebecca giving birth to four children in five years:

1. Elias, born c1828, probably Keswick, York, New Brunswick, Canada; died between the 180 Maine census and 15 February 1866, when his wife remarried; married Cyrene A. Cook, 18 January 1858, Calais, Washington, Maine. Cyrene was born April 1837, New Brunswick, Canada; died 13 May 1920, Calais, Washington, Maine. She married (2) Captain Joshua Pettigrove, 15 February 1866, Calais, Washington, Maine. Joshua was born 11 July 1818, St. Andrews, Charlotte, New Brunswick, Canada; died 19 February 1896, Red Beach, Calais, Washington, Maine. It appears Cyrene had no children with Elias or Joshua.
2. Dean, born about 1829, probably Keswick, York, New Brunswick, Canada; died between the 1860 and 1870 Maine censuses; no marriage record or evidence that Dean ever married has been found.
3. Samuel, born about 1831, probably Keswick, York, New Brunswick, Canada; died between 1865 and 1880; married (1) Matilda Jane Carlow, 24 February 1855, Calais, Washington, Maine. Matilda was born about 1836 and died about 1858, both likely in Calais, Washington, Maine (2) Eliza Smith, about 1860. Eliza was born about 1840 and died before 1880. Samuel’s family adopted the Blyther surname, as his mother had married Benjamin Blyther after his father died. Benjamin was the only father he had ever known.
4. Sarah Moriah, born 7 May 1833, Keswick, York, New Brunswick, Canada; died 18 October 1930, Calais, Washington, Maine; married William Coleman, 6 February 1855, Calais, Washington, Maine. William was born 10 June 1834, Nelson, Northumberland, New Brunswick, Canada; died 30 May 1905, Calais, Washington, Maine.

Peter seems to have died unexpectedly, as there is no will for him. No land deeds have been found in his name, nor in that of his widow, Rebecca.

Peter died sometime after August 1832, when Sarah would have been conceived and before Mary Elizabeth Blyther, Rebecca’s next born child, arrived on 10 February 1836.

From the timing of these births, I’d say Peter probably died in 1834 or early 1835.

Peter and Rebecca have but a handful of descendants living today.

Neither Elias nor Dean Blyther had any children.

Samuel had two children with second wife, Eliza Smith:

1. Sarah Maria, born about 1860, Maine; died after 1930; married George Frank Ford, 2 January 1881, Calais, Washington, Maine. They had two children, Evelyn Gertrude, born 1883, and Elmer Leo, born 1886, both in Boston, Massachusetts.
2. Dean Samuel, born 2 October 1865, Maine; died 11 June 1944, Arlington, Bennington County, Vermont; married Eunice B. Parker, 8 January 1900, Gardner, Worcester County, Massachusetts. Eunice was born about 1882, Massachusetts; died 24 May 1914, Arlington, Bennington County, Vermont. Four of the six children born to Dean and Eunice lived to adulthood: Walter Parker, Mary Ella, Effie Evelyn and Royal Raymond Blyther, but Effie never married. The other three children have descendants.

The youngest child of Peter and Rebecca Crouse was Sarah Moriah. I have written quite a bit about Sarah Moriah Crouse Coleman, my 2X great grandmother and her son, William Coleman, and have previously written quite a bit on the Blyther clan when I became curious about what had happened to Sarah’s half siblings. You can read several other Blyther posts found by scrolling down the topic list on the left side of this blog.