My Family Tree

Susanna Ashton Dyment, also known as Susan Ann or Susannah Mae Diamond, was born in 1824, and baptized in the Kilkhampton Bible Christian Circuit, Devon, England, the daughter of Humphrey Dyment and Mary. "Susanna Ashton, daughter of Humphrey Dymond of the parish of Bradworthy, labourer, and of Mary, his wife who was the daughter of William and Mary Ashton was born 19 October 1824 and solemnly baptized 17 November 1824 at Bradworthy Cross by Thomas Courtice." (Bradworthy Devon: A supplement to the Parish Registers, 1816-1909).

Name Susanna Ashton Dymond
Gender Female
Christening Date 17 Nov 1824
Christening Date (Original) 17 NOV 1824
Christening Place BIBLE CHRISTIAN, KILKHAMPTON CIRCUIT, CORNWALL, ENGLAND
Father's Name Humphrey Dymond
Mother's Name Mary
Citing this Record "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JMJX-DHQ : 11 February 2018, Humphrey Dymond in entry for Susanna Ashton Dymond, 17 Nov 1824); citing , index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 0590672 IT 8.

She gave her date of birth as November 1822 in the 1911 census. In Humphrey's will and in her brother Humphrey's obituary she was called Susan McArthur. It is possible that she was named after Susan Ashton, who married George Locke, a witness at two Dyment weddings. She was possibly the first Dyment child to be baptized in the Bible Christian church.

According to other family trees, she married, on 21 April 1841, Hugh Malcolm MacArthur, the son of Malcolm MacArthur and Ann MacDougall. Although I was unable to find this marriage in the PEI Marriage Registers, the marriage license confirmed the date: Hugh McArthur (B) Lot 13 and Susanna Diamond (S), of Lot 12, by license by Rev. A. V. Wiggins on 21 April 1841.

Twelve children are generally attached to Susan and Hugh. The nine children in the PEI Baptism database born to Hugh McArthur and his wife Susan were: Sarah Ann, b. 6 October 1848, Duncan b. 20 May 1851, Edward b. 22 September 1855, Louisa b. 19 May 1853, Nathaniel Theodore b. 25 December 1867, Abraham Sturgeon b. 15 February 1863, George Gordon, b. 23 December 1865, Robert Henry b. 15 December 1860, and William James, b. 14 April 1858. All were baptized in O'Leary. On their death records, both Mary and Ellen gave their parents as Hugh and Susan, and John's death record gave his father's name as Hugh. A note says that Hugh and Susan were guardians to another child, Allan Major Wright McArthur, born 30 September 1866.

Only one entry for a Hugh McArthur was found in the Canadian 1861 census, and this was for Hugh McArthur in Lot 7. There were 9 members living in the Bible Christian household: 3 males under 5 (Robert & William), 2 between 5-16 (Edward&Duncan), and one male between 46-60 (Hugh). There is one girl between 6-15 (Louisa), one between 16-21 (Sarah? age 13), and one 21-45 (Susan). This is a reasonable fit for the children in the baptismal index, but it doesn't include the two older girls usually listed with Hugh and Susan, or John McArthur. The older girls could have left home to find work, but John, at age 12 would be too young. Another possibility is that this is one of the other Hugh McArthurs in Prince County.

This Hugh McArthur was 6 years into a 999 year lease in 1861.

In 1881, Susan (age 54, b. 1827 in England) and Hugh (64, b. 1817 on PEI) were living in Lot 7 with their children Louisa (26), Abraham (17), George (15), and Nathaniel (13), all Bible Christians and all born PEI. The older boys were working and Nathanial was going to school.

In 1891, Louisa (age 37, b. PEI) was at home with her parents (aged 76 and 66), by now living in Lot 8. Their son Nathaniel McArthur, age 22, is identified as a lodger, and he gives his occupation as farm labourer, not farmer's son. The house they were living in was described as wood, one and a half story with two rooms.

In 1898, Hugh and Susan received $300 from Charles Dyment for land in Lot 7; in the same year, Nathaniel Dyment of Milburn, Lot 8 paid Charles Dyment $300 for land in Lot 8.

Susan (77) and Hugh McCarther (89) were living with Nathaniel and his wife and their two children in Lot 8 in 1901, and by 1911 only Susan was living with her youngest son and his family. Susan was 88 in this last census.

On the 1901 census form, Susan said that she arrived in Canada in 1876, and that both she and Nathaniel were born in England, although on earlier census records Nathaniel's place of birth was PEI. In 1911, the date of arrival was given as 1896. This date is so far off the date the Dyment or McArthurs arrived on the Island. Either they lived in the States for a few years, or, they may have misunderstood the question, and this was the date they settled in Lot 8.

Seven of their children left Canada for the United States, namely John, Duncan, Ned, William, Robert, Abraham, and George. After his mother's death, Nathaniel moved to Amherst, Nova Scotia, and then Saint John, New Brunswick .

Nathaniel's death certificate gave his parents' names as Hugh MacArthur and Susan Ashton Diamond. Edmund's marriage certificate, for his second marriage, gave his father's name as Hugh and his mother's as Susan Mae Dymont.

Susanna died 19 May 1913, and was buried in the Milburn Cemetery, Prince Co, P.E.I.

Name Susan A. McArthur
Age 88
Residence Milburn
Date of Death 15 May 1913
Entry Number 7107
Source RG19/s2/ss6: Death registration books, 1913-1919, p. 162

HUGH MALCOLM MACARTHUR was born 14 March 1812 in Prince County, PEI. He died between 1901 and 1911. Again, no gravestone found, but the record for Hugh McArthur in Milburn in 1906 fits this Hugh, and was signed by a Nathan. McArthur.

Information on McArthur families came mainly from McArthur family trees on the Island Register and the Dyment genealogy of Roger Dyment and Connie Ladner. Some information has been checked against census, birth and marriage records where available.

research also done by Jane Dyment