The Wellwood Family History

The Wellwood family in Canada began in 1811, the year of birth of Anthony Wellwood,  whom the Nova Scotia Wellwoods are descended. He was born at Ruth, Glass, Ireland with a note that his father moved from England to Ireland. At that time England included Scotland so he might have been Scottish. Family legend claims that the early home of the Wellwoods was at Dunfermline, a community several miles northwest of Edinburgh Scotland.

Anthony and his two brothers (John and Richard) arrived in Halifax around 1828. John continued to New Brunswick settling in Harcourt. Richard went on to Ontario settling in the town of Wingham. Anthony stayed in Halifax a short time before moving to the rich farming country of Centre Rawdon in Hants County, Nova Scotia. He fell in love with a pretty young girl named Mary Barron, the daughter of one of the first settlers there. They were married in 1829 and raised a family in Centre Rawdon for 16 years. They then moved to South Rawdon where they bought a large farm which would be home of the Wellwood clan for five generations.

Anthony died in 1878 and the farm was passed on to his son Hugh who tilled the soil till his death in 1916. His son Everett inherited the farm and continued to make a living on the property but unfortunately he did not have a son to continue the bloodline. In 1940 the farm was sold to a distant relative by the name of Austin Parker whose mother, Enna (Wellwood) Parker, was a sister of Marilyn’s grandfather Marshall. The Wellwood bloodline remains with the farm to this day.

Anthony Edward Wellwood was the son of the first settler Anthony Wellwood from which Marilyn Scribner descends. Anthony’s son, Marshall John Wellwood,  married Gladys McPhee and their offspring was Marilyn’s father Robert Marshall Wellwood. Gladys died when Robert was just 1 year old and his early years of development was with housemaids and relatives. One of the favourite caregivers was Edith Dalrumple, a relative who was very kind to him. Another of his favourites was his Aunt Enna Parker on the farm in South Rawdon.

Marshall Wellwood owned a large farm with a herd of dairy cattle in Belnan and Robert helped his father with the chores. His father was overbearing and life was very difficult for the slightly built lad. Robert inherited the farm when his father died in 1937. About this time a young woman from Elmsdale caught his eye. Her name was Edna Bailey and they married in 1939, raising a family of eight – Patricia, Marita, Douglas, Marilyn, Harold, Myrna, Murray and Graeme.

Farming was a struggle for Robert and so in 1950 they decided to sell, moving to temporary accommodation (a humble structure) in Nine Mile River. Not long after this they were able to purchase a one acre lot in Elmsdale and begin building a new home. Robert and Edna were proud of their new home but were saddened to lose it 15 years later in 1966 when the new highway from Halifax came barrelling through. Not to be deterred they bought a five acre lot in Belnan on the corner of Garden Road and built a lovely bungalow. They continued  raising their family and welcoming all until their deaths – Robert in 1994 and Edna in 1997. Robert was a self-taught carpenter who built a number of homes including two of his own. He was a jack of all trades and over his career was a farmer, a carpenter, a postman and a road construction worker. Edna was a beautiful cook and a loving caring homemaker, mother and grandmother.