Catherine was born c. 1831-32, probably in or near Madrid, St. Lawrence County, New York.
She was the the second child of Thomas and Ann and first Cunneyworth to be born in North America.
Source1: According to Mike Wright, the Wright family history, first written down c. 1940, includes a reference to Catherine, a daughter of Thomas and Ann, born c. 1832 in the eastern US.
Source2: In the 1881 Ontario census "Catharine" Prince is listed as age 50, birthplace USA.
Source3: Her parents, Thomas Cunneyworth and Ann Reynard, lived in Madrid, NY c. 1831-32.
Husband's parents: Unknown Prince / Unknown
No information is available about Catherine's husband's birth.
His given name, John, was deduced from City of Toronto Directories for 1877 and 1878 which document a family neighbour, John Prince, although the actual connection was not confirmed at the time.
In a 2010-02-16 email, Eric Prince provided some details of his ancestry through Catherine.
Ontario Genealogical Society, Leeds & Grenville Branch, Census Records for the Township of Kitley in 1839 lists a Thomas Conneyworth as head of a household consisting of 1 male and 1 female adult with 3 male children and 2 female children. This information correlates well with our Thomas and Ann, the 3 male children in this census being John born c. 1829, George c. 1833 and William c. 1838, and the 2 female children being Catherine (born c. 1831?) and Susan (c. 1836?).
Indirect and anecdotal evidence for the existence of Catherine "Kate" Cunneyworth was first derived from 1841 and 1842 Kitley township census records and from other researchers.
Connie Spencer originally informed me by email of the Leeds and Grenville Genealogy Society index for the 1841 Ontario census for Kitley township which includes the following information for a Thomas Conyworth: 1 male adult, 1 female adult, 3 male children and 3 female children. Sometime later I confirmed this 1841 listing myself in the Ontario Genealogical Society, Leeds & Grenville Branch, Census Records for the Township of Kitley publication. The third female child would have been Catherine's sister Ruth Ann, born c. 1841.
I was unable to locate the 1841 census in a subsequent visit to the Ontario Archives. I did confirm, however, that in the 1842 Kitley census, a Thomas "Cunyworth", nonproprietor of real estate (i.e. a tenant), farmer, was the head of a family in one inhabited household, with 3 natives of England, 5 natives of Canada of British origin, and had resided in the province for 10 (or 11?) years. The household included 1 male and 1 female aged 5 or under, 2 males and 2 females older than 5 but younger than 14, 2 married males aged between "30 and not 60" and 2 married females between "14 and not 45". An "8" appears (erroneously) in the column for "Number of lunatic [females] above five and under 14 years of age", next to the column titled (more reasonably) "Number of persons in each family belonging to the Church of England".
This implies that Thomas and Ann had 6 children (3 girls and 3 boys) in 1842 and shared the house with another couple, who were not members of the same church. One girl and one boy were born c. 1837 - 1841 (since the same number of children were reported in the 1841 census), and the remaining 2 girls and 2 boys were born c. 1829 - 1836 (including Catherine), all but one in Canada. Other evidence (Catherine's 1881 Ontario census record) suggests that Catherine was also born outside Canada, however. Both married couples and one child (John) were born in England.
Ontario Genealogical Society, Leeds & Grenville Branch, Census Records for the Township of Kitley in 1844 lists a Thomas "Canningworth" as head of a household consisting of 1 male and 1 female adult with 4 male children and 3 female children. This information correlates well with our Thomas and Ann. The fourth male child in this census would have been Catherine's brother Richard, born c. 1843.
As Mike Wright correctly pointed out to me in an email note 2001-10-19, the above census records indirectly support the existence of an additional female child born c. 1829 - 1836, beyond the three children (John, George and Susan) already accounted for by official records during this time period. (Mike was later able to derive Catherine's approximate birth date c. 1831-32 when he found her, age 50, in the 1881 Ontario census).
In the Ingledew family history there is a Kate Cunneyworth, described as a sister to Susan, with a married name of Prince.
According to Mike Wright, the Wright family history states that Catherine, daughter of Thomas and Ann, married a man named Prince.
The City of Toronto Directories for 1877 and 1878 document the following information for John Prince:
1877: 30 Niagara, occupation: mariner
1878: 30 Niagara, occupation: sailor
Toronto City Directories for 1875 through 1881 document the following addresses and occupation for Catherine's brother, Richard Cunneyworth:
1875-76: 85 Tecumseth (intersects Niagara), occupation: sailor
1877-78: 92 Niagara, occupation: sailor
1879-81: 32 Niagara, occupation: sailor
Note: According to Toronto City Directories for 1871 through 1881 and Vital Statistics birth records for nephews Richard and Charles, Catherine's brother George and sister-in-law Esther were also living nearby on Tecumseth St., Toronto from sometime before Richard's birth in April, 1871 until 1881.
In an email note dated 2002-04-08, Mike Wright informed me that he had found Catherine Cunneyworth/Prince - in the 1881 Ontario census. She is listed as a widow, age 50, origin English, birthplace USA, religion Church of England.
John died sometime prior to 1881, when Catherine was listed as a widow in the 1881 Ontario census.
Note: A search at the ancestry.com web site returns a death record entry for a Catherine Prince, born Jan 1, 1840 in "other country", died Jan 19, 1940 in Humboldt, California, social security number "0" (i.e. none). It is unlikely, however, that this is "our" Catherine.
Children:
In a rough sketch of a Cunneyworth/Wright family tree chart sent to me by Mike Wright, a notation of "6 boys, 1 girl" is written under the box for Catherine and Unknown Prince.
The following children are listed in the 1881 Ontario census:
- John Prince
- "Jas." Prince
- Fred Prince
- Herbert Prince