Thomas Henry Grantham

https://www.northmymmshistory.uk/2018/03/the-grantham-halse-faithfu...
He was the oldest child of Francis Grantham and Elizabeth Ellen Cox. After his father’s death, in 1851, he lived on the Isle of Man with his mother, where he received proper schooling for a young boy, probably with a tutor.

We have no further details on his sister Elizabeth Frances.

It is not known how Tom Henry and Kate met, but since the two families lived in Sidmouth, co. Devon, which was then just a village by the seaside attracting families who enjoyed good quality of life, the introductions were easily accomplished by the offering of a personal greeting card.

Thomas Henry and Kate were married in St. Nicholas church in Sidmouth, on July 8, 1869, in the presence of their respective families. In 1870, they lived on Sadler Street, in the heart of Wells and their rear window faced the Wells Cathedral and the Cathedral Green, an excellent view that could easily inspire a future minister of the Church.

However, they were members of the St. Cuthbert parish where our grandfather was baptized. He was accepted in the College of Theology of Wells in January 1871 and was ordained curate by the Reverend Henry Philcott, Lord Bishop of Worcester on December 21, 1873.

He officiated in the Holy Trinity Church of Great Malvern during his entire ministry except for a few months preceding his conversion to Catholicism, in the fall of 1875. His annual salary was 80 pounds sterling, payable quarterly. The diocese paid the expenses for his Glebe House residence.

The children were born at a fairly steady pace. According to the Sidmouth Journal and Directory, we can follow the many moves of the family with the arrival of the children since each birth was announced.

The four boys, including our grandfather Thomas Edgar were born either in Malvern, co. Worcester, or Wells, co. Somerset, between 1870 and 1874 while Tom Henry was studying or after he was ordained Anglican minister.

The girls, except for Norah who was born in Canada, were born in Littlehampton, Sussex (Catherine); Plymouth, Devon (Gertrude); Tunbridge Wells, Kent (Monica) and Bromley, Kent (Winnifred). None of the girls married. On January 8, 1875, he was sent to Slinfold Church, in Horsham, co. Sussex.

The last certificate carrying his signature as minister of that Church is dated April 3, 1875. On October 9, 1875, we find the following note in the Malvern Advertiser:

Secession to the Church of Rome "Some interest, not to say excitement, has been caused in this neighborhood by the announcement that the Rev. T.H. Grantham and his wife have joined the Church of Rome".

To appreciate what attracted our ancestors to convert to the Catholic religion, one must refer to the Oxford Movement.

This Movement took root around 1845 among the intellectual elite in Oxford under the influence of John Newman, eminent member of the Anglican Church and professor of theology at Oxford.

His influence was such that a wave of new converts followed, including many nobles and government representatives, but also many ministers from the Anglican Church. Tom and Kate immigrated to Canada in 1884, eventually settling in Deschambault, Quebec.

Thomas Edgar, married three times and gave life to 18 children, 13 of them surviving to adulthood. Most of the descendants of Thomas Edgar live in the Quebec City area and use French as their first language.