Arthur Herbert Cranstoun Family Tree

Hyacinth Neville Marguerite “Cynthia” Palmer was born February 1929 in Basseterre, St. Kitts and married Arthur Herbert "Artie" Cranstoun on 5 Feb 1929 at St. Marys Chapel, Dieppe Bay, St. Kitts, British West Indies. She was the daughter of Neville Edwin Palmer and Sarah Louise Bernadine Parmenter/Pamenter.

Hyacinth Neville Marguerite “Cynthia” Palmer and Arthur Herbert "Artie" Cranstoun had two children:

Langford Arthur Edwin Cranstoun (1916–1996)
Langford married Sigrid Uddenberg in 1966 in Basseterre, Saint Kitts, British West Indies. It was always said that Sigrid married on the rebound. Maureen and Roland (her parents) were not very happy with the idea, but they were grown people. They had 3 daughters.

Hyacinth Neville “Cynthia” Cranstoun (1918–2002)
Hyacinth married Manley Smith in British Columbia, Canada and had a son.

Arthur Herbert "Artie" Cranstoun had the following children as well:

Melvina "Mel" Roberts from Bethesda, Antigua had Lyda Roberts-Cranston 1929-1972

“Artie” had yet another child with Melvina “Mel” Roberts named Lyda Roberts-Cranston born in 1929 and passing away on January 1, 1972. Melvina Roberts was cousin to Eva Martin. In the words of Frank Sinatra, 1929 was a very good year for “Artie”.

In June 2015 I came across some people from Bethesda on Facebook and uncovered a book by Joy Lawrence called “Bethesda and Christian Hill our History & Culture” which I bought and read and I am glad I did. How do I explain this? In the book it mentions that my cousin Handel Cranstoun represented Antigua in an international track and field meet in Jamaica and his brother Archie was “the best footballer”, so I contacted Archie and he knew of the book and told me Handel and Joy were close friends. I had to chuckle, as here we went again, more information I uncovered and now I was getting the whole story, from the horses mouth, so-to-speak. As it turns out the story takes a rather interesting twist as we learn Joy Lawrence is also a part of the family!

Archie and Handel’s father, Arthur, was a school teacher in Bethesda along with his sister Lyda. Now, the main teacher and the person who sparked my interest to buy the book was a woman named Vida Martin. The name Martin in Bethesda rang a bell for me because Melvina “Mel” Roberts and Eva Martin were cousins. Vida Martin adopted Lyda Roberts-Cranston and moved to Grays Hill. (more alarm bells). Archie told me there was a man named Roberts who would stop him every time he saw him and ask about his father Arthur.

The reason for the second alarm bell was because Lyda’s grandmother Evelina “Effie” Cranstoun lived her final days at Grays Hill. So I wondered if she might have gotten to know her last grandchild, or if Lyda ever knew who she was. I called William McIntosh and told him this story and asked what he thought and he said he didn’t think “Effie” would have made any effort to get to know her as she was kind of stand offish. From my travels around Antigua with Russel Kelsick and Handel Cranston my betting is she did know who she was as the population was smaller then and everyone I’ve met who lives in Antigua seems to know everyone, in one way or another.

So I was to learn from Eric Henry, an older gentleman who lives in Bethesda, that he lived on one side of the Bethesda Methodist Church and the Cranstoun’s lived on the other side and when the fish came in his mother or Handel’s mother would come out and announce to one another that the fish were in. Then he told me when he went to the USA to become a lawyer, Handel and his wife lived in his house. Eric Henry was a policeman and he told me he asked Arthu

Vida Martin

r, Handel’s father, to join the force, which he did. Arthur was also a member of the Antiguan Army. This painted a much brighter picture of Arthur for me than what I had learned about him via newspapers and I’m so happy I purchased the book and found these people because I really like Handel and Archie and I didn’t want them to think all I did was find dirt on people and write it down. As you will see later, I had spoken to their father twice and had some very interesting talks but this news is so much brighter and paints a much better picture of him, for me.

Lyda Roberts-Cranston’s brother was a man named Walter Lawrence. The father of Joy Lawrence, the author of Bethesda and Christian Hill Our History & Culture, was Owen Lawrence who had two brothers named John and Richard. It turns out Joy’s uncle John Lawrence was the father of Walter Lawrence!

Walter Lawrence and his wife Josephie owned a general grocery store in Bethesda. “They were famous for selling “dutty gal”, a sugar cake made of grated coconut, spice and brown sugar simmered to the desired consistency then place on a wooden counter to dry. They sold for one cent each. Village children in the 50’s relished finding a one cent piece, which they would clean and shine to ensure the shopkeeper would accept it for a piece of sugar cake.” - From the book Bethesda and Christian Hill Our History & Culture by Joy Lawrence.

Vida Martin, respected and beloved Bethesda school teacher and adoptive mother of Lyda Roberts-Cranstoun. The unaswered question is her relationship to Eva Martin of Bethesda who was the mother of Arthur Herbert Esedora Cranstoun.

From Joy Lawrence’s book I discovered a list showing Eva Martin was on an “Estate Gang” at Blakes along with Evie Quildan which
raises the question of what was her relationship to Francis Quildan mother of Hermita Quildan.

It seems the more I learn the more questions I have.

Francis Quildan from Bethesda, Antigua had Tamar Elenor "Hermita" Quildan 1932-2017

Tamar Elenor "Hermita" Quildan

“Artie” had another child with Frances Quildan named Tamar Elenor "Hermita" Quildan and she lived in Trinidad and I have spoken to her and her daughter Mystie, as well. Now, Hermita was born in 1932, in Bethesda Village which makes alarm bells go off as “Artie” married Cynthia Palmer in 1929. He also had two other children born the year he was married.

Tamar Elenor "Hermita" Quildan born in 1932, married a man named Franker. She doesn’t know much about her father’s family as they were not mentioned much in the home when she was young. She remembers when she was a child three women, she believed they were his sisters, coming with papers to adopt her. Her grandmother refused. Hermita saw a picture of her father once when she was very young, from correspndence with her daughter Mystie Cato. Hermita's mother was Francis Quildan from Bethesda Village and she died on February 16, 1973 at General Hospital Port of Spain, Trinidad.

I spoke with Hermita in Trinidad and was told she knew some of Arthur's other children, Arthur Hubert Esedora Cranstoun, Lucille, Millicent and Lydia. She attended school with Arthur Hubert Esedora Cranstoun and still communicates with him today in Tobago.

Interesting date of birth, as Arthur was married at the time and he died in June 1932 and Hermita was born August 1932. Bethesda Village seems to be a common thread with Arthur.

Eva "Meme" Martin from Bethesda, Antigua was Arthur Hubert Esedora Cranstoun's mother 1924-2014.

Eva Martin

Arthur Hubert Esedora Cranstoun married Monica Annabelle Thompson 1 August 1945 in the Parish of St George, St Kitts, British West Indies and the had the following children:

Althea Cranston 1949-

Eunice Annabelle Cranston 1950-

Archie William Stanely Cranstoun - 1951-

Handel Bertrum Cranston - 1954-

Amanda Hester Cranston

All of Arthur's children are married with their own families. Some have the "u" and some don't in the lastname.

Arthur Hubert Esedora Cranstoun also had the following children:

Mary "Maisie" Gabriel had Jackie Cranstoun
Margaret "Nan" Brade from Montserrat Island, British West Indies had Phillip Brade
Edith Potter from Potters Village, Antigua had Joe Cranston

Arthur Hubert Esedora Cranstoun married Cynthia Gloria Joefield in 1973 in Togbago and they adopted a daughter

Millicent Mildred Ambrose

Edith Ambrose from Cochranes had Millicent Mildred Ambrose 1924-2011

“Artie” had another child with Edith Ambrose who was a servant at the Thomas Estate owned by the Cranstoun family her name was Millicent Mildred Ambrose born August 7, 1924 and died May 21, 2011. Millicent married Clarkston Milton Ralph and they had a daughter Eileen Mavis Ralph born March 5, 1942. Mavis married Francis Alexander Henry and they had three children Ralph Iton Carl Henry (RICH) born 1971, Dr. Lori-Ann Alicia Suzzette Henry (LASH) born 1972, she is a doctor in Jamaica and Rafig Alex Shridath Henry (RASH) born 1976.

I recounted a story told to me by Myrna Kelsick to Cynthia “Gail” Martineau about Mavis Ralph when we first started talking and this is the story. Myrna, daughter of Florence Ethel “Florrie” Cranstoun-Bethel, was in church one day and this lady approached her telling her that she had a wonderful Hymn Book and could she have it. Myrna said, “No” and the lady said, “They don’t make them any more can I have it rebound for you.” Myrna said, “Yes” and a few weeks later the Hymn Book was returned. The lady looked at Myrna and said, “You have no idea who I am, do you?” Myrna replied, “No I do not”. The lady told her, her grandfather was Arthur Herbert Cranstoun, and that’s how Myrna found out about Mavis Ralph.

I met Mavis and her husband Frank on my visit to Antigua in January 2013 and we had a wonderful chat about the family and I learned a lot of information. At the time I found it very interesting that, for lack of a better word, the illegitimate children of “Artie” all seemed to know each other but the legitimate family knew nothing of them.

Mary Ann "Ethel" Charles had from Diamond Estate had Maude Lucille Hyacinth Charles 1929-1970

Maude Lucilla Charles

Ethel Charles was a servant at Diamond Estate where “Artie” was the Manager and she was from Pares Village, Antigua. They had Gail’s mother Maude Lucilla Charles, born August 29, 1929, at Parham, Antigua. Lucilla married John Martin Martineau and they had the following children. Curletta, Koriet “Margaret”, Cynthia Heather “Gail”, and Sheryl Agnes and a son named Dwight Kay. In 1970 Lucilla and her daughter Sheryl died in the M. V. Christina boating disaster on a trip between St. Kitts and Nevis. When everyone was in the water Lucilla grabbed her daughter and another girl and swam to safety. Unfortunately, the girl who lived was not her daughter and Lucilla died shortly thereafter. Before the accident she married Ivan Benjamin Connor who already had a son Perry Connor. Perry lives in St. Thomas, and Curletta lives in Antigua and is married to Hollis Henry and they have two daughters, Rox-Ann and Ann Marie.

Arthur Herbert “Artie” Cranstoun was the second son of Langford Selly Cranstoun and Evelina Gibbons Harper.