📓BN002 || Looking for Lucy

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I’m working on the follow-up to the post on Brockton’s first landowners. I covered everyone but the Brock’s in my previous post. Given their role in developing and naming the neighbourhood in the 1850s, I thought there was a standalone post here.

First stop is a great piece in the Fife and Drum on James Brock. It was a collaboration between Dan Brock, John England, Gillian Lenfestey, Stephen Otto, Guy St-Denis and Stuart Sutherland. The piece is called “Brockton’s Name Recalls Isaac Brock’s Cousin James.” It’s comprehensive, so I’ve been thinking about how best to build off this research for my own James Brock/Park Lot 30 article.

One thread I’m pulling is putting Lucy Brock (Short), James Brock’s wife and widow, at the forefront of the story. If I had to write a working title it is: “Brockton’s Name Recalls the Soldiering Brock family – Isaac, James, and Lucy.”

There isn’t much written about Lucy and it appears she was very much involved in Army life, travelling with James from 1813-1830 as they moved around different post the Empire (England, Ireland, South Africa, India). It was rare for a women to be included in regimental life. To learn more, I’ve got this on my reading list, Women, Families and the British Army 1700–1880 (it’s on the board!).

I’m also peeling back Lucy’s family tree to work out her place in Canada after James died and her property in Brockton was named and subdivided. Rounding out my understanding of basic biographical questions and timelines. Where did she live? When? With who?

I’m experimenting with using a Milanote board above to track research and notes in a way you can explore and comment as well. 

Let me know if you like it by commenting and I’ll consider getting a subscription and making it a regular part of these notes.

– Eric