The Doidges & the Veales: From Devon to Lakefield & Beyond
Part 2 of
The Veales, as land owners, were of a higher social class than the Doidges and they were not happy when their daughter married William, an employee on the Veale farm. William, a farm laborer in the UK, possibly realized that he would not be a land owner in England, but he could be in Canada. Perhaps they did not want to be near her disapproving family.
Maria apparently returned to England once about 1903 when she inherited some Veale money or property, but William did not go. Perhaps he did not feel wanted or welcome?
Mary Doidge had married a John Northcott (and there is some evidence to suggest that Mary Doidge and William Doidge were cousins). According to the 1871 UK census, their son William was born in England and was 11 months old on 02 Apr 1871, census day. Both families lived on Chippewa Street or Avenue in Lakefield not too many houses apart. The Northcotts died in 1919 and 1927 respectively a bit before William and Mary Maria. The two families appear to be close. Provided support for each other. This may be why why both settled in Lakefield.