Is it my 'Hood' Family or my 'Dubois' Family?

For many years now I have been researching my mother's Hood family. 

When I began my research I was fortunate  that my mother was able to share  some stories about the Hood family that she had learnt from her grandfather, Andrew William Percival Hood. These stories were wonderful starting points for my research all of which I have been able to confirm with facts and records. I have managed to take the Hood family back 5 generations to my mother's 3x great grandparents' marriage in 1813. However, despite years of effort, I cannot take the tree any further back.

4 generations of the Hoods in Australia
L-R: Andrew William 'Percy' Hood, Raymond Hood, Leslie Raymond Hood and Robert Hood.
Taken in Perth, Western Australia about 1928.

In 2018, I made contact with a DNA match, Gwynne who shared the same Hood family. Communications with Gwynne enabled me to hear many stories about the Hood family, including a very interesting story that perhaps explained why I was experiencing such difficulty in taking the family tree back before 1813.

I was informed that the surname 'Hood' was not the original name of this family. If this was true, then it meant that I had been researching the wrong name - and clearly why I was hitting a brick-wall with my research.  

The story that Gwynne and her siblings grew up hearing was that the Hood family were Huguenot descendants and their family name was originally 'Dubois.' Mainly for political reasons and because of their hatred of the French Catholics, for the pain and sorrow caused to their ancestors, the Dubois family, when they escaped France and eventually made their way to Canada, anglicised their name to 'Wood.' (Dubois means: 'of the forest or wood.' ) At some point, and no one knew exactly who, a family member had a sign made for their business. (There was some conjecture it may have been the family member who owned a soap and candle business).  When that sign was completed, it arrived with the name 'Hood' inscribed, instead of 'Wood.'  So from that point forward the family decided to continue to use the surname 'Hood.' 

My immediate reaction on hearing this explanation was that it all sounded rather bizarre - but was it? Could there be some truth about a changed name? Why were the stories my mother heard through her family so different to the stories from the family of my DNA match? Did this explain why I was hitting a brick wall with my research at a certain point and unable to find records for earlier generations?

To answer these questions we need to go back to my mother's grandfather Andrew William 'Percy' Hood and to what she learnt about her family from him.

Andrew William Percival Hood, known to Mum's family as 'Percy', was  born in Mt Gambier, South Australia on 7 June  1880. His parents were Robert Hood and Eliza Jane Pitman. Percy was the first born child and only son of Robert and Eliza Jane. They went on to have five daughters: Millicent Margaret Louisa Hood (1881-1975); Myrtle Ruth Hood (1883-1972); Ethel Annabella Hood (1884-1967); Jessie May Hood (1886-1965) and Dora Mary Hood (1888-1974). All six of the Hood children were born in Mt Gambier, South Australia.

Robert and Eliza Jane Hood nee Pitman with
L-R: Millicent, Ethel, Myrtle, Andrew William 'Percy', Dora and Jessie.

By the time of my mother's birth in May 1930, the Hood family were all living in Perth, Western Australia. My mother lived with her grandparents Percy and Eliza Clace Hood from the time she was two until she was fourteen years of age. Percy's father, Robert Hood had died in Perth in 1929, the year before my mother was born. So although Mum never met her great grandfather Robert, she grew up seeing photos of him in her grandparent's family home. She had heard stories about Robert including the fact that he was born in Canada and that his father before him was a soap and candle maker in Montreal. She had not however, ever heard any story related to the Hood family name, especially anything about a name change.

Back L-R: Percy Hood, Dorrie Hood
Front: L-R: Joan Hood, Eliza Clace Hood nee Cummings, Raymond Hood
My mother Joan and her brother Raymond lived with their grandparents Percy & Eliza Hood and her aunts Dorrie and Ollie in Perth, Western Australia from 1932 until 1946

Through my research I was able to confirm many of the facts my mother had learnt from her grandfather. 

I discovered that Robert Hood was born to Andrew William Hood and Margaret Adams on 24 September 1848 and baptised in the Wesleyan Methodist Church in the Province of Quebec on 14 March 1849.

Robert Hood Baptism, Wesleyan Methodist Church Province of Quebec, 14 March 1849,
 Quebec, Canada, Vital and Church Records, (Drouin Collection) 1621-1968.

Robert Hood is next found at age 4 in the 1851 Census of Canada, where he is shown to be living with his parents Andrew (36) and Margaret (33), his siblings Margaret (9), Peter (7), Mary Jane (5) and Andrew (2).

Confirming my mother's stories about her family, Robert's father Andrew is described in this census as being in the soap and candle trade.  This provides added information to Robert's baptism record where his father is referred to as a 'chandler.' The other important pieces of information shown on this census is the birthplace of each member of the family. Robert and his siblings were born in Quebec and at the time of this census they were still living in Quebec City. 

The census records that Robert's father Andrew was born in 'New FLand' ie Newfoundland and his mother Margaret was born in Ireland. This single record therefore provided further information to follow the family further back in time.

1851 Census of Canada East, Canada West, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia for Andrew Hood, in Quebec City, Quebec;  Library and Archives Canada.

A search of the Newfoundland records required significant browsing as the combined Church and Vital records for Newfoundland are listed under the various religions and then particular churches for each religion. After extensive searching I was fortunate to find the birth and baptism information for Robert's father Andrew, as well as Andrew's parents' names. Luckily my searching also revealed the information for the birth of Andrew's siblings and the marriage of his parents, all in Newfoundland. 

Andrew William Hood, Robert's father and my 3x great grandfather was born on 25 April 1816 in St John's Newfoundland and was baptised on the 29th June of 1816. His parent's names were given as Peter and Anne Hood. The baptism took place in the Cathedral of St John the Baptist (Church of England) in the District of St John's, Newfoundland.

Newfoundland, Canada, Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1757-1901 for Andrew William Hood, born 25 April 1816 and baptised 29 June 1816 at the
Anglican Cathedral of St John the Baptist in St John's, Newfoundland.

Having found Andrew William's birth and baptism registrations led me to look for any evidence of the marriage of his parents Peter and Anne Hood.

Fortunately, I discovered their marriage, again in the Church of England Cathedral of St John the Baptist in St John's Newfoundland on 28 September 1813. It provided two further pieces of crucial information. Firstly, Peter Hood was a sailor by occupation. Secondly it gave the maiden name for Anne as Greenlaw and stated she was a resident of St John's.

Anglican Cathedral of St John The Baptist, St John's Newfoundland
from: Canadian Illustrated News, 15 April 1871.

                                

Newfoundland, Canada, Births, marriages and Deaths, 1757-1901 for
Peter Hood and Anne Greenlaw, marriage November 28 1813
at Cathedral of St John the Baptist (Church of England), St John's Newfoundland.
The last record on this register is for Peter Hood and Anne Greenlaw.

Having discovered the name of Andrew William Hood's parents as Peter Hood and Anne Greenlaw enabled me to discover a further two sons for this couple, who were also registered in the same Cathedral of St John the Baptist in St John's Newfoundland.

They were: Peter Hood, born 10 September 1814 and baptised 2 October 1814 and Thomas Desery Hood, born 24 February 1819, baptised 30 Feb 1819.

Interestingly the registration for Thomas Desery names his parents as Peter and Anne Wood. Was this simply a transcription error or was it a sign that the family did also use the name 'Wood', signalling some truth to the story about a name change within the family?

The Hood family are next found in the 1842 Census of Lower Canada in Rue Campeau, Montreal naming Peter Hood as head, charpentier (ie carpenter) with 6 members of the household. Given Peter and Anne's eldest son Peter Jnr was married in 1841, it would appear that Peter Jr's wife Marianne Rosewell was likely the sixth person living in the household of Peter Hood snr in 1842.

1842 Census of Canada East for Peter Hood, Public Archives of Canada.

With many years of extensive research into this family, I have discovered a huge amount of information regarding the Hood family. I have not however, ever been able to locate any further information regarding the origin of Peter Hood senior.

Peter Hood snr died in Montreal between 1843 and 1849 and is memorialised among many other family members in Mount Royal Cemetery, Montreal. Given that the Mount Royal Cemetery was not consecrated until 1852, it was not clear whether Peter Hood's body was reinterred in this cemetery from elsewhere, or whether he was simply remembered here by his family. 

However, in August 2018, I was fortunate to visit the Mount Royal Cemetery and able to speak with staff at the Cemetery Office.  They were able to retrieve a file for the burial of Peter Hood which indicated he had been reinterred in this cemetery, but there was no record as to which cemetery he had originally been buried. Their file unfortunately held no further information about Peter Hood or his origins.

Peter's wife Anne Greenlaw died in October 1863. Her funeral service was held in the Methodist St James Church in Montreal and was witnessed by her two sons, Andrew William and Thomas Desery Hood. She was then interred in the Mount Royal Cemetery.

Quebec Canada, Vital and Church Records, (Drouin Collection) for Anne Greenlaw Hood,
Methodist St James Church, Montreal, Quebec, October 1863.

Hood Family Graves in Mount Royal cemetery, Montreal, Canada.

Memorial to Peter and Anne Hood "Father and Mother"
on the headstone
of their son Thomas D Hood
in Mount Royal Cemetery, Montreal, Canada.

Some years ago I was fortunate to make contact with a member on Ancestry who lived in Montreal and who was researching the Hood family in Canada. Through this contact, I was blessed to be sent photographs of the Hood family plot in Mount Royal Cemetery in Montreal, Canada. The biggest surprise of all was to receive close up photos of Andrew William Hood's headstone, which had plaques around all four sides of the base. These plaques were memorials of many of the extended Hood family - AW Hood's children and grandchildren. I couldn't believe my luck! 

Within a few short weeks of extensive research and the use of Canadian and US newspapers, I was able to confirm who each of these plaques belonged to and how each person related to Andrew William Hood and the Hood family tree. I had begun with just a handful of names and ended up with hundreds of people belonging to the Hood family - my extended family! None of these names however, gave any indication of the surname Wood or Dubois!

Headstone of AW Hood in Mount Royal Cemetery, Montreal, Canada with surrounding memorial plaques for many of Andrew William Hood's extended family -children and grandchildren.

The many plaques surrounding the base of this headstone in Mount Royal Cemetery, Montreal have provided excellent genealogical information regarding the extended Hood family in Canada and the USA.

Prior to my visit to Montreal in 2018, I was fortunate to spend several days in Wisconsin, USA where I met the DNA match, Gwynne, who had told me about the Hood family name being changed from 'Dubois' to 'Wood' and then finally to 'Hood'. 

My few days in Wisconsin were wonderful as I had the opportunity to meet many members of the wider family, discuss family stories and memories as well as seeing many photographs, artefacts and places that were important to the family. What was evident was that many of the family, including cousins of Gwynne who descended from different lines of the Hood family tree, all knew the story about the surname change. Not only did they know the story, but various members had been given the name 'Dubois' as a middle name, in memory of their family origins!

Deep in 'Family Genealogy Day' discussions in Wisconsin USA with my newly discovered cousins Gwynne and her brother Allan.

So why was it that Gwynne and her cousins knew of the story about the surname change in this family while my mother had no such knowledge?

My only explanation of this has to do with time and place. 

Mum's 2x great grandmother Margaret Adams died suddenly in 1856 when her son Robert was just 8 years of age. Robert's father, Andrew William was left with five young children ranging in age from 6 to 13 years and an expanding business and no wife. So, within a year of his first wife's death, Andrew William Hood remarried and went on to have a further seven children with his second wife, Mary Anne White.

Throughout these traumatic years of his young life, Robert was in schooling in Montreal and then in 1865 at just 17 years of age, he joined the military. He was firstly attached to the Queen's Own Rifles in Toronto and later with the Number 1 Troop Mounted Cavalry. During his time in the military he lived away from home in Toronto, Ontario and then for a short time in Ottawa.

Capt Robert Hood, Montreal QU 1867.
Musee McCord Museum, William Nottman Collection.

Queen's Own Rifles on Parade at Toronto Armouries.
Photographer -Frank W Micklethwaite Credit: Canada.
 Patent and Copyright Office, Library and Archives Canada. Copyright expired.

In essence, Mum's great grandfather Robert,  was living away from his family for nearly 13 years before he decided to leave Canada in May 1869 to emigrate to Australia. I suspect that being away from family for such a long period, meant that Robert was not present with his family to hear the many stories of his ancestors that may have been shared with his other siblings and half siblings. 

Robert's older brother Peter, (who was the direct ancestor of my DNA match Gwynne) did however remain in Montreal and worked closely alongside his father Andrew William in the soap and candle business. He had significantly greater opportunity to spend time with his father and uncles and aunts and would have heard the many stories about their distant ancestors. If stories regarding a change of family surname were ever discussed, there is little doubt that Peter Hood would have had the chance to hear these stories. Similarly Peter's other siblings all remained in Montreal with the family and likewise would have had similar opportunity to hear these same stories of their ancestors.

The home and soap and candle shop of Andrew William Hood on the corner of Rue Jacques Cartier and Rue Notre Dame in the heart of the Old City of Montreal, Canada.

According to Gwynne, my DNA match, Peter's children and grandchildren were very close. They were brought up within the Methodist faith in Montreal, before eventually moving to different areas of Canada and the USA. Gwynne heard stories from her grandmother about her life as a young child including the fact the she and her siblings were not allowed to play with any children who were of the Catholic faith. Living in the mainly Catholic community of Montreal, this placed some very real restrictions on the Hood children and made life for them quite difficult. It was understood by the children that the family's strong opinion regarding  Catholics in their community was due to the ill treatment their Huguenot ancestors were subjected to in France many generations earlier. When one of the sons of Peter Hood married a Catholic woman he was disowned by his family and that line of the family tree grew apart from the rest of the Hood family. 

So, it seems evident that unlike my mother's great grandfather Robert who lived away from Montreal for many years, Gwynne, her siblings, and cousins would have all heard similar stories regarding the family origins from their parents and grandparents. Some  cousins, descendants of Andrew William Hood, were given the middle name 'Dubois'. It is apparent that this would not have been the case  unless the name 'Dubois' held some significant meaning for the family. 

So, while my initial response to hearing the story of the surname change within the family was that it seemed highly unlikely; I now believe that there clearly was a change of name and that it seems very likely that the original name of the Hood family was 'Dubois.' 

The difficulty I face with proving this now is that at least up to my 4x great grandparents Peter Hood and Anne Greenlaw, I have not yet found any connection to records using the name Dubois. The second difficulty is that the name Dubois is a very common name, hence tracing the Dubois tree is not easy. 

I believe that if I am ever to find a link between the Dubois and the Hood family, it is most likely to be through DNA. My mother has had her DNA tested and the raw data is uploaded to all the various DNA websites. She does have a number of unknown match clusters which are yet to be identified. One such cluster includes a group of people with French origins and names in their trees and who were living in areas along the St Lawrence River between Quebec and Montreal in Canada in the period that the Hood family were in this same area.

A group of people sitting on a hill overlooking the shipyard in Quebec, Canada, on the St Lawrence River 1870's, by William England - Scan from Ian Jeffrey: An American Journey – The Photography of William England. Prestel Verlag. Munich, London, New York 1999, ISBN 3-7913-2158-7, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=86499098

Some of the family trees among this unknown match cluster also include the name Dubois. None of their trees however, show evidence of any Dubois family members suddenly changing their name to Wood or Hood. To date, I have not had any replies to the numerous messages sent to the DNA matches in this cluster. However, I am hopeful that one day, from this group of unknown matches I will be able to confirm that my Hood family were in fact originally known by the name 'Dubois' and from that information, hopefully I can discover their Huguenot origins in France. 

Any discoveries I do make will obviously be shared in a future blogpost. So till then, I will keep my fingers crossed that the information I need will come to light!