Another, somewhat notable, Prowse line in Canada was the Beaumaris line, with origins in Liverpool, and before that from Teignmouth, Devon.
Beaumaris is a small town on Tondern Island in the middle of the Muskoka Lakes area, about 200 kilometres north of Toronto. Today, that region is an upscale cottage and resort area favoured by the upwardly mobile but many attribute it's start to Edward Prowse, b. 1840, 3rd generation of the Liverpool shipping magnate Prowses, and his brother-in-law John Henry 'Harry' Willmott.
William Prowse, b. circa 1784 in Teignmouth, Devon (per 1851 Census) was by 1804, when he married Jane Birchall, living and prospering in Liverpool. By 1841 he was already well established as a ship builder and merchant, having founded William Prowse & Co with Peter Colliver. Here is an interesting account of the Lalla Rookh, one of the ships of the William Prowse & Co. fleet. William, himself, retired to Bridgport, Dorset, where he died in 1858. Bridgport was where some of his ships were built or repaired by John Cox, including the largest ship ever built in the yard there, the 'Speedy'.
Several of Williams sons and grandsons would also become involved in, and eventually assume control of, the company. The company built and operated sailing ships that moved goods and people all over the world, whilst also importing and selling much of those goods in England. William's eldest child (of eight) was Joshua Prowse, who joined the firm and was a ship chandler. Joshua married Ann Bridson and they had seven children, the fifth of whom was Edward. Ann died in 1861 and Joshua in 1871. With four older brothers and the family business in freefall from the advent of steamships, which they failed to anticipate, Edward was ripe for new adventure when his brother-in-law told him about Beaumaris, so off he set with his wife, four young children, his brother-in-law, and his brother Robert.
John Harry Willmott was a banker and had heard about the Muskoka region from others and so checked it out on his way to a posting in South America. A year later, in 1873 he and Edward came to the area and bought a farm on the island, which included the 'White House' on the shores of the lake for the princely sum of $1,560. They saw the potential of the area as a 'get-away' destination for the well-to-do of Toronto and began to develop it with cottage and resort properties, all of which was accelerated with the building of a railway from Toronto to Bracebridge.
Edward and Mary Ann Margaret Willmott had five more children after arrival at Beaumaris. All-in-all, they had ten children, six boys and four girls. Their second child, a son, died in infancy in England. All of the remaining nine died in Canada: one son died in 1883 and two other sons in 1887; none of them had married. Also, only one of the four daughters ever married, so in total only 3 of their children ever married and went on to have children of their own. Two of them were sons that survived into the mid-1900's; Horace Edward Prowse (1869-1955) and Norman Everett Prowse (1882-1946). Horace had four children with his wife Annie Elizabeth Broadley; two sons and two daughters, and from those children, records of a few grandchildren and great grandchildren are known. Norman had a son and daughter with his wife Irene Margaret Kelly but unfortunately no further records from this branch have yet been found.
Though perhaps not completely, the Beaumaris line has suffered the all-too-common process of 'daughtering-out'. I'm aware of one descendant of this line, Josh, from a maternal connection, though I'm waiting for info from him to connect him back to the line itself. I wonder if there are others out there?
