Hello
I am Steve Cavell from Ontario, Canada. I found this site when a relative, Gordon Cerniglia, was looking for information about Gordon Alfred Cavell. We got some of that sorted and now Gordon and I are in touch and he is also in touch with a cousin who lives quite near to him.
Our branch of the Cavell family in Canada and the USA is pretty simple. But if we go back to my great grandfather, and Gordon's as well, it is not so clear.
His name was Alfred Cavell and he claimed to be from Ramsgate, Kent and there are conflicting dates of birth in 1869 and 1871. Some records show his middle name to be Lewis but he told my mother it was Stephen....He claimed to have come to Canada with an uncle when he was around 11 years old. He also claimed to be related to Edith Cavell and had a photo he said was her with him and some dogs...but that is well and good lost. He also claimed his mother was named Elizabeth.
We do know he had some trouble sorting out what was a fact and what may not have been accurate. In Canada he settled in Magog in the Province of Quebec and worked as a cook and gardener. All of his children, except my grandfather, and his wife migrated to Schenectady, New York. My grandfather stayed in Magog and had one child who then went on to have four of us.
I will be in Ramsgate this October to poke around and hope to learn more.
Thanks for a great site.
Steve Cavell
