Henry Welsh

  General Notes:

Two years later, that is in 1830, another son Henry arrived from Ireland bringing with him his wife the former Ann Bell. Those were the days when vessels were driven by sails. Sails were hoisted and driven by the wind. Henry Welsh and his wife were thirteen weeks crossing the ocean and reaching their relatives. The voyage taking so long, some on board ran out of provisions, for at that time they brought along their own provisions. Grandfather Welsh, for so I will now call him, still had provisions, and the people on board, becoming hungry, would have taken his food by force, so that he was compelled to stand over it with his pistol in hand to defend it. He told them he would share with them, but would do the dividing himself. That pistol is now in William Bishop's (1211) possession, it having been given to Abraham Bishop (2202) by Aunt Cherry (4001). Well finally they arrived and on the 15th of December of the same year 1830 our mother was born. She was eldest of the family of whom there were eight, our mother Eliza Welsh Bishop who married John Bishop on January 6th 1860, Joseph Welsh, Ann Welsh Moore, Abraham George Welsh, Sarah Jane Welsh who died in young womanhood, John Welsh, Charity Alicia Welsh, Henry Welsh. Grandmother brought amongst other things from Ireland her grandmother's spinning wheel, a small wheel on which she spun linen and wool. It is now in the home of Joseph Martin, her great grandson, having been given to Peter J. Bishop by Aunt Cherry Alicia. Grandfather Welsh died in 1867 and Grandmother in 1876.
Now to write more especially of Henry Welsh, our grandfather and his family. He came from Ireland as already stated in 1830. As his family grew up and the county of Huron opened up for settlers, he came west to Godrich the county town of Huron and took up lots on the 3rd and 4th concession of Grey township, Huron county, also lots on the 5th and 6th concession Grey township for his sons, Joseph, Abraham George, and John. Our mother, Eliza Welsh came to keep house for her brother Joseph and so met with our father, John Bishop.
Joseph Welsh settled in (Concession 3, lot 13 & 14) Grey Township in the year 1856. Abraham George settled in (Concession 6, lot 17 & 18) Grey Township in the year 1861. John Welsh was educated as a schoolteacher and never lived on his farm lots (Concession 5, west half of lot 17). Henry Welsh the second never married, he was born, lived, and died on the farm left to him by his father. He died on June 13th 1926 in his 83rd year. His sister Charity Alicia kept house for her brother until her death on the 19th of November 1920. Uncle Henry died without a will and his nephew Peter J. Bishop was appointed administrator. The farm had to be sold and so passed into the hands of strangers. There were twenty five beneficiaries, all was amicable settled.
Before our mother was married and was keeping house for her brother Joseph, she had a pet deer she had fed and petted it and raised it from a fawn. One night the wolves got after it and chased it, so that it ran and jumped through the window into the log house, taking sash and all with it. Of course the wolves ran howling around the house, but that hole through where the window was, looked too much like a trap to catch them, so they gave up the chase and shrinked off after other prey. In the spring of the year the deer failed to return as usual and so was lost to the one who petted and fed it.
Source: Excerpts from Elizabeth Bishop's (family page 2204) Welsh family history.

Henry married Ann Bell, daughter of John Bell and Sarah Currie, about 1829 in Canada.²⁶⁴ (Ann Bell was born in 1801 and died on 4 Dec 1876 in Canada.)