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 It was in April 2012 that I had acquired enough information on the family that I decided I had to make the trip to Antigua to find out about the family. My wife could not find the time to go and she told me to go by myself, so I did. 100 years after my grandfather left the island of Antigua his grandson returned to find his family, one I and my father never knew existed. But before we go on we must take a few steps backwards to see why I had to make the trip.
Dr. Susan Lowes had become a mentor to me and put me back on the right track when I was wavering in my search and one day she said that she thought there was a descendant named McIntosh living in Ontario. I searched records and talked with my cousin Laurie and she told me of a Leonard William McIntosh she had visited in Whitby, Ontario and he had pictures of the family. I told my father and contacted William and in late February 2012 two cousins who never knew each other existed met for the first time, both being in their 80’s, after all the work, and in a relatively short period of time, this was the one discovery I found to be truly amazing. Little did I know at the time it was only the beginning, it was like I had walked through a door into another world.
"The Cranstoun's are the one family for which there is a direct line from the free coloured family into the twentieth century. But although the Cranstoun's differ from the other families in this respect, in other ways they follow a similar pattern, not least in the fact that the living Cranstoun's had no idea - until I told them - that their great-grandfather had been a prominent free coloured gentleman.
As with the Shervington's, the family begins with the petition signers: there is no record of any white Cranstoun, and there is no Cranstoun genealogy in Oliver. By the 1830's, however, the free coloured family was prominent: two brothers, David and George, signed the free coloured petition, while a sister, Ann, was president of the Female Orphan's Asylum. Ann never married, but a second sister, Jane, married into another prominent free coloured family, Wesston." From Dr. Susan Lowes dissertation.
William welcomed us into his home and we talked and looked at each others family pictures for hours and we have remained in contact and visit each other frequently, in fact when he calls my father he asks how the “Baron” is doing. I introduced William to my brother and when I returned from Antigua I contacted my cousin Lori, and surprised William with another member of the Cranstoun family, another exciting and enjoyable moment and William surprised us by introducing us to his daughter and her son.
Previously, William had told me he had a sister who lived not far from mel and I went to visit her. It struck me when I entered her house that she was very proud of her family as she had pictures of the family on the main wall in her living room. William is a funny man, he provides bits of information and when you find out more he fills in the missing parts. He informed me there was another family member alive and well living in Toronto, “Ted” and my father and I will be meeting him on April 25, 2012.
So with all this information and knowing there was at least one family member in Antigua who I had contacted and informed I was on my way, Myrna, the matriarch of the family on Antigua, I set off. I’m not sure who talked to who but I am sure both William and Myrna contacted family members to tell them that a descendant of Duer’s was on his way and the family welcomed me into their homes and lives with open arms.
So I gathered all my information together, made a list of places and people I wanted to see and off I went. When I landed in Antigua I rented a car so I would have the freedom to travel around by myself. I had heard and read about the roads but I did not expect a “hump”, speed bump for those North American relatives, to appear in the middle of nowhere, in the dark and when I hit it at 60 mph my attention was greatly awakened. When I hit the second hump I got the idea to slow down as I weaved my way along the coast and finally arrived at my hotel.
I went to the bar and met people from the plane and a bartender and told them why I was there by myself and they called me “Ancestor Man”. Having no plans other than to contact Myrna the next day I hired the bartender to take me around the island the next day so I could get my bearings. The next morning returning to the lobby of the hotel, after breakfast, to wait for the bartender to arrive the receptionist asked me if I was “Ancestor Man” because she had a phone call for me, it was Myrna. She told me she had plans for the afternoon and she’d pick me up around 12:00PM. I told her of my plans but that I would meet her but I wanted to find the grave of my great grandfather Langford Selly, she told me he was buried along the road. I figured this was going to be a breeze...little did I know what I was in store for.
So off we go to St. John’s Cemetery to find the grave of Langford Selly and we drive through the main gates and park and get out. The bartender asks me what we’re looking for and I tell him the grave of Langford Selly Cranstoun and it’s supposed to be along the road. He stops dead in his tracks and asks me which road, not knowing, I say this road how many are there, he smiles and says, “three”. Oh, oh, I had a feeling I was in trouble, so we set out on our search, 3 hours we searched and walked around the whole St. John’s Cemetery looking. As we were leaving I see a headstone for Kelsick, I know that is a name that is part of the family so I take a picture and leave, vowing to return and find my great grandfather’s grave. Now I was on a mission.
Below is the Cranstoun lineage of the family on Antigua.
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Cranstoun Family of Antigua
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James Cranstoun
Birth - 1775 St. Kitts, British West Indies
Death - 1815 St. Paul's, Antigua
Wife (Partner) - Jane Spencer
(cannot find any records proving marriage and other records suggest they were never married)
Death - 1832 St. John's, Antigua
David Cranstoun - son of James Cranstoun
Death - 1865 St. John's, Antigua
Married - Elizabeth Symes 1st wife
Death - 31 March 1831
Buried - 1st Ebenezer Methodist Churchyard
Father - John Symes
Children:
• John Duer Cranstoun
• George Augustus Cranstoun (1823-1873)
• David Anderdon Cranstoun
• Jane Ann Cranstoun
• James Edmund Cranstoun
• Elizabeth Margaret Cranstoun
• Sylvanus Robert Cranstoun
Married - Sarah Sawcolt Tait - 2nd wife
Father - Dr. Robert Tait
Children:
• Sarah Rigg Cranstoun
• William Oke Cranstoun
• Mary Spencer Cranstoun (1846-1896)
George Cranstoun
(David's brother)
Death - 1842 St. John's, Antigua
Brother of David Cranstoun
Never married
Ann Cranstoun
(David's sister)
Birth - 1794
Death - 1874 St. John's, Antigua
Sister of David Cranstoun
Never married
Jane Cranstoun
(David's sister)
Married - Edward Wesston
Children: none
Edward Wesston was named in George's Will. There are no records as to what happened to any of David Cranstoun's children other than John Duer Cranstoun.
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John Duer Cranstoun - son of David Cranstoun
Death - 1881 St. John's, Antigua
Married - Sarah Ann Elizabeth Ashford -1st wife
Birth: 6 July 1811, St. John;s, Antigua, British West Indies
Death: 1845, St. John;s, Antigua, British West Indies
Children: Ann Elizabeth Ashford Cranstoun - disowned
Married - Sarah Elizabeth Bell -2nd wife
Father - John Bell
Mother- Sarah Brand
Death - unknown
Children:
• Langford
Selly Cranstoun - born April 10, 1857
• Mary Angelica Cranstoun - born 1847 - unmarried
• John David Anderdon Cranstoun - 1865–1867
There are no records as to what happened to John Duer Cranstoun's daughter Ann Elizabeth Ashford Cranstoun as she married a seafarer name McQuire whom he didn't like and he disowned her..
• Mary Angelica Cranstoun his daughter lived her life with her brother
Langford Selly.
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Langford Selly Cranstoun - son of John Duer Cranstoun
Born - 1857 St. John's, Antigua
Death - 1920 St. John's, Antigua
Married - Evelina Gibbons Harper
Father - William Henry Harper
Mother- Anna Constable Watkins
Birth - 1866 Montserrat
Death - 1947 St. John's, Antigua
Children:
• Langford Duer Cranstoun
- 1892-1966, moved to Canada 1912
• Arthur Herbert Cranstoun - 1893-1932
• Irene Evelina Cranstoun - 1891-1954
• Edith Eliza Maud Cranstoun - 1896-?
• Alice Ann Louise Cranstoun - 1898- 1982
• Mary Olive Cranstoun - 1900–1991
• Florence Ethel Cranstoun - 1902-?
Irene Evelina "Irenie" Cranstoun - daughter of Langford Selly Cranstoun
Born - 1891 St. John's, Antigua
Death - 1954 St. Kitts
Married - Walter Frederick Malone
Children
• Cecil Malone
• Doreen Malone
• Eileen Malone
• Mildred Malone
Edith Eliza Maud Cranstoun - daughter of Langford Selly Cranstoun
Born - 1896 St. John's, Antigua
Death - date unknown St. John's, Antigua
Married - Percy Bennett Kelsick
Children
• Arthur "Artie" Kelsick
Jane Kelsick
• Donald Kelsick (moved to England)
• Percy Cranstoun "Cran" Kelsick
• Reginald Herbert Kelsick
(moved to England)
Alice Ann Louise Cranstoun - daughter of Langford Selly Cranstoun
Born - 1896 St. John's, Antigua
Death - 1982 St. John's, Antigua
Married - Arthur Edward Mercer
Children
• Edward Langford Mercer (moved to Canada)
• Alice Eileen "Bobbie" Mercer 1929-1992
Married - Clive Cave of Barbados
Mary Olive "Maisie" Cranstoun - daughter of Langford Selly Cranstoun
Born - May 10, 1900 in St. John's, Antigua
Death - Dec 3, 1991 in St. John's, Antigua
Married - Leonard William McIntosh
Children
• Alice Irene McIntosh
• Sybil Pauline McIntosh (moved to Canada)
• Leonard William McIntosh (moved to Canada)
• Arthur Herbert Cranstoun McIntosh PhD (moved
to USA)
Florence Ethel "Florrie" Cranstoun - daughter of Langford Selly Cranstoun
Born - 1902 St. John's, Antigua
Death - date unknown St. John's, Antigua
Married - Hugh Hamilton Bethell
Children
• Myrna Florence Bethell
Married Cyril George Kelsick
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Arthur Herbert Cranstoun - son of Langford Selly Cranstoun
Born - 1893 St. John's, Antigua
Death - 19 June 1932 in Holberton Hospital, St. John's, Antigua
Married - Hyacinth Neville "Cynthia" Margueritte Palmer
Legitmate Children:
Langford Arthur Edwin Cranstoun - 1930–2007 (Moved to Canada)
Married - Sigrid Uddenberg
Children
Hyacinth "Cynthia" Neville Cranstoun - 1930 (Moved to Canada)
Married - Manely Smith
Children - Stephen Smith
Illegitmate Children:
Mother - Edith Ambrose
Child - Millicent Mildred Ambrose 1924-2011
Mother - Mary Ann "Ethel" Charles
Child - Maude Lucille Hyacinth Charles 1929-1970
Mother - Francis Quildan
Child - Tamar Elenor "Hermita" Quildan 1932-2017
Mother - Malvina Roberts
Child - Lydia Roberts 1929-1972
Mother - Eva Martin
Child - Arthur Hubert Esedora Cranstoun Only child he gave his name to.
Birth - 1924
Death -2014
Married - Monica Annabelle Thompson 1925-2006 - 1st wife
Children
• Althea Cranstoun 1949-
• Eunice Annabelle Cranstoun - 1950
• Archie William Stanely Cranstoun - 1951
• Handel Bertrum Cranston - 1954
• Amanda Hester Cranstoun
Married - Cynthia Gloria Joefield - 2nd wife
Children
• Chantelle Khadija Cranstoun - adopted
Illegitmate Children:
Mother - Mary "Maisie" Gabriel
Child - Jackie Cranstoun
Mother - Margaret "Nan" Brade
Child - Phillip Brade
Mother - Edith Potter
Child - Joe Cranston
Mother - Malvina Roberts
Child - Lydia Roberts 1929-1972
We are able to fill in the family tree further from this point on however as all children are living we will stop anymore information here.
Langford Arthur Edwin Cranstoun and his sister "Cynthia" Hyacinth Neville Cranstoun both left the Island of Antigua and moved to St. Kitts after the death of their father. Although the family name Cranstoun on the Island of Antigua ended with their leaving, there were still descendants of the Cranstoun family on the female side who reside on the Island of Antigua to this day.
Cranstoun Family Canada
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