Hester died an infant, en route to Canada aboard the ship Eveline, while the family was emigrating. She was buried at sea.

Hester is mentioned in three letters found in the book "English Immigrant Voices". One letter, by her Aunt Rebecca, can be found here...

In a letter sent to his father, James Rapson, a fellow passenger, wrote: "May 13th, a child died - it was sewed up in a piece of canvas and sunk."

In a letter from Charlotte and William Willard, also in the Petworth group, Hester's death is noted. "I should think it a great mercy that nearly 400 people came over in one ship and only one infant died of them, and there were four births before we got there."

To read more about Hester and this family, please go here...