Bayfield, Helen

Helen Bayfield was born in 1839 in Quebec City, Quebec, daughter of Admiral Henry Wolsey Bayfield (1795-1885) and his wife Fanny Amelia Wright (1813-1891). Admiral Bayfield was born in Kingston upon Hull, England and joined the Royal Navy at age 11. He enjoyed a distinguished career as a naval officer and hydrographic surveyor. He was stationed in Quebec City for a number of years and carried out numerous surveys throughout eastern Canada. He was commissioned to survey the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the St. Lawrence River and many coastal areas in the maritime provinces. He met and married Fanny Wright, daughter of Charles Wright, Royal Engineers in Quebec City. They were married there in 1838. Admiral Bayfield relocated his office to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, in 1841 from where his surveying of the coasts of Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia occurred. His family settled on Queen Street in Charlottetown and joined Charlottetown society. In 1856, Bayfield retired from active surveying. Other children of Admiral and Mrs. Bayfield were Henry (1840-1856), Charles F. (1842-1919), Horace Osborne (1843-1917), Edward (Ned) (1847-1926), and Fanny Gertrude Mary (1852-?). Helen Bayfield died, unmarried in 1867.