Caroline Jeffery

Caroline Jeffery was born to parents Robert Jeffery & Elizabeth Tipper on April 22, 1821 in Quebec City. She was baptized on the second day of May of the following year in St. Andrew’s Church. Her godparents were John McCourt and Catherine Chamberland.

The Jeffery family moved around a bit as Caroline’s father Robert worked as a stone mason traveling to wherever he was hired. When Caroline was 13 years old the Jeffery family was living in St. Etienne, Beauce as their father was building a mill for George Pozer. The next record (if I could find it) for Caroline would be when she married Frederick Yeates/Yates about 1840, she would have been 18 years old. Frederick possibly was a militia volunteer for the British Army as this name shows up on Muster Rolls at Ancestry.

The young couple had two daughters both named Elizabeth. The first Elizabeth was born in 1841, and baptized on the same day as her aunt, Julia Heathfield Jeffery.

The death of little Elizabeth has not been found but another Elizabeth was born to Caroline and Fred in 1845. She died two years later in 1847, her father’s occupation is noted as a merchant.

Shortly thereafter Fred also died although no record of his death has been located.

In 1851 Caroline (Jeffery) Yates marries James McKay in Montreal’s Erskine Presbyterian Church.

1859 brought another attempt for children with the arrival of baby Caroline in Cleveland, a village close to Richmond, Quebec. She did not live very long, and a son James followed her but it is likely he only lived a few days.

In the 1871 census the McKay’s are living in Richmond, and I finally learn a little about Caroline’s husband, his occupation is a painter and he was born in Ireland about 1819. A painter leaves me with the question, did he paint houses or was he an artist?

The 1881 census does not reveal anything new about the couple.

Caroline dies May 20, 1885, I am still looking for the record of her death, she is buried in Saint Anne’s Cemetery, Richmond, Quebec.