ENGLAND/USA Robert Quaife - Brother of Charlotte Quaife Wickenden

ROBERT QUAIFE

Robert Quaife was instrumental in helping his younger sister Charlotte and the rest of the Quaife family reach Rochester, Kent, England, after a voyage from Canada, when their ship was wrecked on the northern coast of Ireland.  At the age of 12, after surviving the wreck of their ship, he walked alone across England to Rochester to get help for the family, arriving before any news had reached relatives there.  When first James, and then Thomas, left their mother Charlotte in Rochester, Kent, England for Ohio, USA, Robert welcomed them into his home until they were older and well-situated enough to build their own homes.   This picture of the combined Wickenden and Quaife families, with Robert and his wife in the center, demonstrates the centrality of his role and the closeness of the two families.

Photo taken in fall of 1888. Front Row (left to right): Lottie Lillis Wickenden (b. 1880), William Elgin Wickenden (b. 1882), unknown girl, Leroy Wickenden (b. 1877), unknown girl, Rollin Horton Wickenden (b. 1881), Ernest Wickenden (b. 1878). Middle Row: Ida Consaul Wickenden (wife of Thomas) (b. 1855), Thomas Rogers Wickenden (b.1853), Thomas Howard Wickenden (b. 1888), Charlotte Quaife (b. 1827), Rev. Robert Quaife (b. 1826), his granddaughter Bessie, James William Wickenden (b. 1850), Lucy A.E. Wales (wife of James, b. 1858). Back row: all currently unknown.