George & Mary Clist's Family Bible

by Roger Clist

Much of the information on this page has been written from entries in the register section of my great-grandparents' Family Bible, which was passed to my possession in November 1996 from my father's cousin Dorothy Jenkins who was at that time living in East Bergen, New Jersey, just across the Hudson River from New York, where she worked. I was in Boston on business and happened to phone Dorothy, who, knowing of my interest in the Christian heritage of the family, asked if I would be willing to take care of my great-grandparent's Family Bible. When she knew that I was indeed interested in caring for this Bible, she sent it to me by courier. Imagine my surprise when I saw it - this massive book weighs 6 Kg and has its own "suitcase" for storage and carrying. I can't remember how I brought it home - I suspect I carried it with me as hand luggage.

The Bible has been rebound at some stage. It is the Authorized Version with an introduction, marginal references, explanatory notes and reflections by the Rev. John Brown of Haddington, with many thousand additional notes by the Rev. Henry Cooke of Assembly's College, Belfast, and re-edited with further additions by the Rev. J. L. Porter of the same college. It was published by The Gresham Publishing Company, London and Glasgow, but like many books of that era, is undated. (Printed by) Blackie & Son, Limited, London, Glasgow, and Dublin, 1446 pages, with numerous illustrative engravings. It is inscribed in George's hand inside the front cover "George Clist and his dear wife Mary Clist, 1902". An heirloom which I treasure.

The Bible contains the following inscription in my great-grandfather George Clist's handwriting: You can see it in one of the photos above.
"My dear wife Mary Clist entered into rest April 2nd 1934. Aged 74 years. Untill the day break and shadows flee away. Song of Solomon, Ch. 2, v17. Saved by the grace of God.
"My dear Son-in-Law Alfred Jenkins went to be with Christ Sept. 16, 1927. Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord, from henceforth that they rest from their labours."

I love my great-grandfather's expression of faith and hope of eternal life. These lines must have been written only days before his own death, because the above is immediately followed in a different hand:
"Our dear Father entered into Rest May 4th, 1934. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. 1 Thessalonians 4, v14.
"Also our dear sister Joy passed away Feb 28th, 1935.
"Our dear brother Sid entered into rest Aug 31st 1959.
"Our dear sister Edie called Home 11th April 1965."

The same person has inserted Mary's birth "Born 22 Oct 1859" and for George "born 12 May 1862". So George was younger than Mary.

We do not know for certain who wrote these lines, but it was someone in the immediate family who shared George's faith. I strongly suspect it was George and Mary's daughter Dorothy (after whom Dorothy Jenkins would have been named) for the following reasons:
(a) She was the oldest child not listed among the deaths. Dorothy died in 1966, which was the year following the most recent inscription.
(b) The Bible likely passed to Joy after her parents' deaths, presuming that she lived in the Ivy Cottage with them, at that time. Joy's death certificate records Tiverton as her place of death, not Taunton. Dorothy lived at Tiverton, and may well have been caring for her sister during her illness. This was confirmed to me by Dorothy's younger sister Betty Sipowicz when we visited her in Córdoba, Argentina, in March 2009.
(c) Annie is the only other sibling in England. If the above inscriptions were witten by her then she would not have omitted her sister Dorothy's and brother John's deaths as she survived them by several years.

I think that Dorothy's husband Tom Bellamy would likely have given the Bible to his niece Dorothy Jenkins after his wife died. Tom told me in 1973 that he and Ted Rossiter attended to the shipping of some items of George's furniture that were bequeathed to his brothers-in-law Sidney (my grandfather) and John in New Zealand, so he was obviously involved in the tidying up of George's affairs, and likely did the same for his sister-in-law Joy.

Page 3 of the inscriptions simply lists George and Mary's children's names and dates of birth, in George's hand. Also included is their foster-son Charles Rossiter (George spells it as "Rossitter" but Charles' birth certificarte confirms the spelling "Rossiter"). Strangely, George makes no reference to Charles' older brother Edward "Ted" Rossiter, who was also reared in the Clist household. I suspect that in the culture of the day, Edward at age 13 would have been considered an adult and independent.

In this section, I add more details concerning each of George and Mary Clist's children.

Name	Notes (from Roger Clist's perspective)
Rossiter, Edward James      b. 1 Aug 1884      d. 21 Jul 1973	Not listed in George Clist's Family Bible, but Ted became like the eldest son to his Uncle George and Aunt Mary. He carried on the blacksmithing business until it closed in 1959. We met Ted in May 1973 at The Forge, Shoreditch. His mind was clear, and he explained that he was orphaned. We later found out that he died shortly after our visit.
Clist, Edith Mary      b. 29 Dec 1884      d. 11 Apr 1965	Emigrated to Argentina in 1909 and married Alfred Jenkins in 1910. They served as missionaries in Argentina for many years. Four daughters. Widowed when the girls were still quite young. Refer to The Argentine branch for an expanded history.
Clist, Sidney George      b. 09 Jan 1886      d. 31 Aug 1959	My grandfather. Emigrated to New Zealand in 1910 aged 24, because of asthma. Became a Police Sergeant and served in Taneatua, Te Awamutu, Cambridge, Taumaranui, and other North Island centres. He took up wrought iron work in his retirement, and was teaching me to make ornate wire scrolls not long before he died.
Clist, Dorothy      b. 23 Dec 1889      d. 10 Aug 1966	Known as "Auntie Doll". Married Tom Bellamy and lived at Valley View, Tiverton. No children. Died of tetanus poisoning after getting a prick from a rose bush. Tom remarried after Dorothy's death, and we visited Tom and Elsie at their home at Capel-le-Ferne, Folkestone. She was formidable, and Tom seemed afraid of her!
Rossiter, Charles      b. 7 Feb 1891      d. 29 Apr 1972	Younger brother of Ted and cousin to the Clist children, being son of Mary Clist's sister Elizabeth. Orphaned at age 5 and reared with the Clist family. Emigrated to New Zealand in 1910 with Sidney and John. Served in WW1, and married soon after his return. Took up farming, and settled in Christchurch. Son Raymond lives in Blenheim.
Clist, John      b. 29 Nov 1891      d. 4 Jan 1968	Came to New Zealand with Sidney and Charles when aged 18 yrs 11 mths, but this proved to be a temporary move. Later went to Canada where he married Kate Trim. Their three children were born in Toronto. Emigrated to New Zealand a second time, permanently. Visited his parents at Shoreditch at least twice during his married life.
Clist, Annie      b. 30 Dec 1892      d. 11 Jan 1974	She became Mrs Knight. I visited her in Bristol twice while living in London. She died not long before we returned to New Zealand. My parents were with us at the time, and they visited her two days before her death. My father had the privilege of taking her funeral. I have a copy of her Will, in which she is referred to as a widow. No children.
Clist, Helen Joy       b. 12 April 1904      d. 28 Feb 1935	My father's "Auntie Joy". Very little is known of her, except that she used to post books to my father Eric Clist for his birthdays, as some are in my possession. I also have one postcard written to Eric. Contracted tuberculosis at age 30. Buried at Orchard Portman Churchyard with her parents George and Mary Clist. Did not marry.

The following details are recorded in the family Bible, in my great-grandfather George Clist's hand:
"Dear Father, John Clist, died 20th day of August 1891. Aged 56 years. Laid to rest in Orchard Portman Churchyard.
"Dear Brother, Mark Clist, died 26th day of July 1899. Aged 27 years. Laid to rest in Frome Cemetery until the Resurrection Morning.
"Our dear Mother, Elizabeth Clist, died April 22, 1918. Aged 82 years. Laid to rest in Orchard Portman Churchyard.
"Our dear sister Elizabeth Ann Clist died on the 17th of May 1931. Was laid to rest in Winterbourne Churchyard, Berks. near Newbury, aged 66 years."

I love reading George's comment about his brother Mark. One day I hope to visit Mark's grave and read his headstone inscription. He is buried in the Frome Dissenters Cemetery, Vallis Road, Frome which has about 6,000 graves, if I remember correctly. I might have more chance of finding Ann's grave, which will be at the Chapel of St James the Less, a 12th Century church about half a mile west of the village of Winterbourne, but the churchyard looks heavily overgrown in the views from Google Maps satellite images.

Offsite links (open in a new window): Frome Dissenters Cemetery (Society news) and Chapel of St James the Less (photo).

George's younger brother Frank and sisters Ellen and Lucy survived him, and are therefore not mentioned.

In August 2008 I received photos of a 2-page typewritten summary of family history from my second cousin Allan Easdale in Argentina. These photos may be viewed by clicking on the preview images at the top right of this page, or on the page links below. These notes were compiled by Dorothy Jenkins (1920 - 2004) based on what she read in George Clist's Bible, and from her own knowledge. She kept in touch by letter and Christmas card with several of the families in England, USA, Canada and New Zealand. She had unusually large handwriting. Here is a transcript of her typewritten notes and my commentary on same.

Dorothy Jenkins' notes (contain some errors)	Roger Clist's commentary and corrections
Page No.1 John Clist born 1835, died August 20th, 1891 age 56 years. Married Elizabeth Mansfield, born 1836, died April 22, 1918 age 82 years. Both John and Elizabeth Clist are buried in Orchard Portman Churchyard across the fields from Grannie's house. Six children were born to the couple.	Dorothy begins with her great-grandparents. John and Elizabeth were both born before the registration of births started in 1837, therefore it will be hard to determine their parents unless we can locate baptismal records. According to the 1881 census records, John was born in Hemyock, Devon and Elizabeth was born in Sheldon, Devon. Elizabeth's surname is spelt Manfield on George Clist's birth certificate, so I assume Manfield is correct. Families with both spellings seem about equally common in census records. " Grannie" is Mary Clist (neé Quick), and the house would be the Ivy Cottage (still so-named, though greatly enlarged and with remodelled exterior).
1.- George Clist born May 12th, 1862 died May 4th, 1934. Married Mary Quick, born October 22nd, 1859, died April 2nd, 1934. Both are also buried at Ordchard Portman.	Mary died of cancer, and George died a month later of injuries. He was out visiting neighbours in his wheelchair and got hit by a motorcycle. Remarkably, their daughter Edith Jenkins and girls were on furlough in the UK at the time. Edith's daughter Betty told me that she was at Mary's burial, but only her mother was at George's burial.
2.- Annie Clist (mother's godmother) remained single, died May 17th, 1931.	Her full name is Elizabeth Ann Clist, and she was likely born in 1865 as George Clist's record in the Family Bible says she was aged 66 when she died.
3.- Frank Clist born 1870 died October 4th, 1954 (Frank was a school master) Married Alice Hudson, 1892 Alice died in 1941	Frank became a headmaster.
4.- Ellen married T. Brewer. This couple had children, but I do not know all their names. They had a flourishing farm in North Curry outside Taunton. Ellen died in 1953.	Ellen's husband was actually Henry Brewer and they married in the Parish Church, Stoke St Mary, on 20 Apr 1898. Their Marriage Certificate records that Henry was a policeman at the time, and that his father Samuel was a farmer. The 1901 census gives their firstborn as a daughter. The book of North Curry lists Thomas John Brewer and William Brewer as being farmers in Kelly's 1939 Directory of Somerset, with their farms being named Goulds Farm and Higher Hunthan Farm, respectively. The book says that the Higher Huntham Farmhouse is a listed building and built in the 16th century, though much altered. It is likely to be the old family farm where my grandparents visited in 1931. Sidney wrote "Taken at Aunt Ellen's old farmhouse at North Curry", and gives the names of two sons as Will and Tom. There is no mention of Henry, so I suspect she was a widow by then.
5.- Lucy lived in North Devon. I do not know her married name or how many children she had.	She married in 1899. Her marriage certiicate will reveal more information.
6.- Mark Clist born 1872 died 1899 (age 27 yrs) buried in Frome, Somerset. Mark was a policeman.	Mark (25 yrs) married Bessie Louisa Cooper (24 yrs) in the Congregational Church on 12 May 1897. It was sad that Bessie was widowed so young. I do not know the cause of Mark's death.
Going back to George Clist Married January 3rd, 1884 (same day as your wedding in 1947.........) George and Mary Clist (our grandparents) had the following six children:	The marriage date was news to me. A mid-winter wedding! From this we learn that Dorothy was writing for her younger sister Betty, whose wedding is referred to.
1.- Edith Mary born Dec. 29, 1884 Married Alfred Jenkins, born May 17th, 1884 died Sept. 16th, 1927 (50 years this year). Edith and Alfred's children are well known to you.........	From this we learn that Dorothy was writing the document in 1977. Alfred was one of the younger members of a large family in Bristol, and was orphaned and raised in George Müller's Orphanage. He emigrated to Argentina as a missionary in 1907. Edith also emigrated as a missionary, in October 1909. They were married on March 24th, 1910.
2.- Sydney George born Jan. 9th, 1886 died August 1959 Married Mercy in 1912. Mercy died in 1970. One son: Eric Sydney George, born 1913, married Bessie (date unknown) Eric and Bessie live in Auckland, New Zealand, they have four children a) Maurice (or Morris) married has 3 daughters b) Roger born 1946, married 1971 Geunnesse (Australian) c) Heather (still unmarried) d) Alan (still unmarried)	Sidney George Clist died on 31 Aug 1959. I was at the funeral. Mercy (neé Clare) was born on 13 Jan 1891 and died on 3 Apr 1970. Ditto. They married on 15 Apr 1913 in Gisborne. I have two wedding photos. Eric Leonard George was born on 12 Jan 1914. Eric died 29 Sep 1995. Eric married Bessie Eunice Scarlett on 30 Nov 1937. Bessie died 1 Dec 1990. a) Maurice Sidney George born 1941, married Audrey Elliot, 3 daughters, 3 sons b) Roger Selwyn born 1946, married Jeunesse Chappell (Brisbane) 29 Dec 1971, 2 sons, 3 daughters c) Heather Elisabeth born 1950, married Peter McGregor on 13 May 2000 d) Alan Albert Eric born 1955, married Kathleen Carruthers 22 Apr 1978, 2 sons, 1 daughter
Page No.2 3.- Dorothy (Auntie Dolly) born Dec. 23, 1889 died August 10th, 1966. Married Thomas William Bellamy. No children.	I didn't know Tom's middle name was William until reading this. I might have a better chance of finding them in the census records - no luck so far.
4.- John born November 29th, 1891 died 1969 married Kate in Canada. Then went to live in New Zealand. Kate died 1975 (Dec.) 3 children a) twins: John (Jack) and Olive Jack married Lucy (their children are unknown to me) Olive married Roy Clark who died in 1971. They adopted a boy and a girl (Lorraine). Both are married. b) Edith (Edie) married Garnet Jacobsen. First child (adopted) Joy married Allan, they have 2 children. Ruth (second child) (their own) married in March of this year. See enclosed letter. Graham married about 2 yrs ago (is a farmer in N.Z.), they have one child Neila married this past March, see letter attached	John emigrated to New Zealand with Sidney and Charles Rossiter in 1910. He was at Sidney and Mercy's wedding in 1913, as I recognise him in the wedding group photo. I believe he became homesick and returned to England. He couldn't find work, so he emigrated to Toronto, Canada where he married Kate Trim, of an ex-Somerset family. Their three children were born in Toronto. They emigrated and settled in New Zealand. They lived in Auckland for many years, then moved closer to family in Tauranga. Alan and Joy Smith have 2 sons and 1 daughter Bruce and Ruth Parry adopted twin sons Graham and Jenny Jacobsen have 3 sons John and Neila Barnes have 1 son, 1 daughter. They married in March 1977, which again tells me that Dorothy wrote these notes in 1977.
5.- Annie Clist born Dec. 30, 1892 married Met Knight. Annie died Jan. 1974, no children.	I was unaware of Annie's husband's name until I read this. Annie told me she "was the black sheep of the family" but I cannot guess why.
6.- Helen Joy Clist born April 12th, 1904 died Feb. 28th, 1935. Never married. A. Joy is buried with Grandad and Grannie in Orchard Portman.	Joy is my site "mascot". We cannot let her brief life disappear without fond remembrance.
Back to Frank Clist and Alice Hudson union, three children (Leonard, Elsie and Hubert). Elsie died, Hubert lives in Birmingham. Leonard married Doris Woodward. Leonard died Feb. 1976. One son, Trevor born 1921 married Margaret King (they live in Ottawa, Canada). Trevor and Margaret have three children. a) Sarah Jane will marry July 30th, 1976 Randall Oliver. Sarah born 1954 (April) b) Jonathan born 1957 c) Michael born 1962	My father Eric's second name was Leonard - I think he must have been named after this Leonard, who was my grandfather's cousin, but I never heard my father mention anyone in the family with this name. Sadly, Hubert died in a house fire in 1978 as mentioned by the Worcester News when reporting the retirement of Hubert's son Timothy. Dorothy used to keep in touch with Trevor and Margaret. It was Trevor who told me of Dorothy's move back to Argentina shortly before she passed away, and he has also supplied me with several photos and historical notes of our forbears.
Going back to Mark Clist, he had one son Leslie Mark born 1898, married Lilian Rattle. 1) son Richard, who married Audrey, one son Mark. 2) son Peter married Sylvia, April 1961, two children, Paul 1963 born, Catherine 1965 born	We visited Leslie and Lilian at their home in Flax Bourton, near Bristol, in 1973, along with Dick and Audrey, and Peter and Sylvia. It so happened that Dorothy Jenkins (the writer of the notes at left) and her sister Lydia were visiting at the same time. It was a very happy day. You can read more of Leslie's history in the Clist & Rattle website, especially on the Who We Are page.