New Brunswick Artist   
Anthony Flower

   
Aunt Bird's third floor flat on Adelaide Street had not had a change in its decor for many years. Everything appeared to be very old. It seemed to me she had a wonderful story to go with every item in the household.

Several paintings hung on the walls of the parlour. My  favourite was of a lady, with two wooden buckets by her side, sitting under tall trees at the edge of a small brook. The artist had painted on a board instead of a canvas. I didn't understand why Aunt Bird called this one her anthony flower painting as it didn't have any flowers in it.
   
The years have passed and today in New Brunswick there is a lot of interest in the artist Anthony Flower, who was born in London England on March 4, 1792, the son of Cornelius, a merchant ship owner and Margaret Sargent Flower. The family later moved to Berkhamsted, Hertsfordshire.
 
In 1817, twenty-five-year-old Flower immigrated to Canada via the port of Saint John. The following year he purchased a homestead lot on the Washademoak Lake at MacDonald's Corner, Queens County, where he farmed 50 acres.
 
On July 4, 1820 in Wickham, Queens County, New Brunswick, he married Mary Green, the daughter of Empire Loyalist, Sgt. James Green and Elizabeth Carpenter.
 
He eventually built a small studio on his property where he painted a large number of portraits of family and friends, local landscapes and waterscapes. He also created paintings from images found in the popular publications of the day.
 
Anthony and Mary had four children: Cornelius (1822 - 1892); Margaret (1825 - 1895); James (1829 - 1918) and Mary (1835 - 1922), all of whom grew to adulthood and married.
 
Anthony Flower died on December 9, 1875 and is buried in the Baptist Church graveyard at  MacDonald's Corner.
                
The Flower House, situated on the Washademoak Lake at MacDonald's Corner was recently donated to the Queen's County Historical Society, Gagetown and was moved on September 17 to the village of Cambridge-Narrows. It will be restored to appear as it did during Flower's life and will be opened in 2005 as a House Museum, dedicated to the life and times of Anthony Flower.
 
The Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton owns a number of works by Flower and has undertaken a research project on the artist. Ann Lowe, a volunteer researcher for the Gallery has been gathering information on his personal life and documenting his work. She is interested in locating information on his descendants.
 
Anthony Flower's eldest son Cornelius Flower (1822 - 1892) who married  Eleanor Gale (born 1836) is buried in Princeton, Maine. Cornelius's eldest daughter Anna Flower married H. Vance and moved to Michigan. His youngest daughter Margaret D'Orsey married H. Day and lived in Lincoln, Maine.
 
Anthony Flower's youngest son James Green Flower (1829 - 1918) who married Mary Matilda
Clarke (1828 - 1913) lived his entire life at MacDonald's Corner in the Flower homestead. They had eight children. Information is needed on three of them: Daughter Elizabeth Close Flower (born 1855) who married Joseph Green II lived in Waco, Texas and died in Louisville, Kentucky; Daughter Cordelia Flower (born 1857) married C.D. Lowery, and their daughter Beatrice  Lowery married Henry Stackpole. They lived in Marblehead, Mass; Son Anthony Flower (born 1860) married Flora Tweed and lived in Walpole, Mass. with children, Fred L., George E., Ethel, Mabel, Flora, Marjorie, James, Emma, Charles and Gertrude.
 
Ann Lowe would be pleased to hear from any reader who may be able to provide information on Anthony Flower, his paintings and his descendants. Contact her at The Beaverbrook Art Gallery, 703 Queen Street, P.O. Box 605,  Fredericton, NB, Canada, E3B 1C4. Telephone (506) 458-2024. Fax: (506) 459-7450.  Email to lglenn@beaverbrookartgallery.org.

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Query 1114
Ogden - Fraser
: Maria Fraser (Frasier) was born 11 Nov 1822 in Kings County, New Brunswick and was the oldest of 10 children. She married Stephen Ogden on the 7 May 1847. I need information on their parents and siblings.
CURT TALBOT
705 So. Third,
Worland,Wyoming, 82401, USA.
E-mail talbotcv@Juno.com.

Query 1115
Ryan - Fewings
: I would like to make contact with the children of Christine (Gus) Ryan Fewings.
MARY J. DRISCOLL,
1 Jerome Street,
Taunton, Mass, 02780, USA.
E-mail dandmjdriscoll@webtv.net.

Query 1116
Davidson - Edwards
: Elizabeth Davidson married James W. Wilson in Saint John in 1819. The newspaper account said Elizabeth was the eldest daughter of Mrs. Edwards of the City (Saint John). Elizabeth and James had Peter D. born in Magagaudvic, Helen (Petch & Coughlan), James, Ann, Emma, Frances (Moore & Wayne) and perhaps John. I would like to contact anyone with any information on this family.
DOROTHY WILSON GRAHAM,
236-66A Street,
Delta, B.C., Canada, V4L 1M5.
E-mail dorothyg@dccnet.com.

Query 1117
Bloomfield - Conner
: Alexander Bloomfield married Mary Ann Conner in Saint John County on 7 November, 1845. I want to know names of their parents, siblings and children. Two daughters, Jane 1846 and Nancy 1848, died before Alexander moved to Maine in 1849.
FRED CRUCKSON,
333 E Second St.,
Fond du Lac, Wisc., 54935, USA.
E-mail happyliontamer@prodigy.net.


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