I received some very sad news yesterday morning.
As I was applying the finishing touches to my next to be posted blog, an email arrived from Roger Parris of New York, informing me that his mother, Hortense Parris, had died on Thursday 28th March 2019. She was 98 years of age.
Hortense Parris (née Hodgson) was born on the 7th October 1920 at Southfield Pen Great House, Saint Elizabeth, Jamaica, and was the youngest and last surviving child of Mabel Victoria Bent & Edward Hugh Hodgson (Mass Teddy)
I once asked her about her name and she told me that she was named after Hortense Clacken, the wife of a popular Jamaican lawyer of Epping forest, Saint Elizabeth.
She was an intelligent and attractive lady. In her younger years, my father told me she went on a teacher exchange to Bogata or Venezuela in South America, before later moving on to New York and marrying fellow Jamaican, Terrence Parris about 1946. Their two children, Roger and Laverne Parris both being born in New York.
Hortense has left a legacy behind and now has the distinction of being the longest living ‘Southfield Hodgson’ of all time. She came very close to being the first centurion in our long history.
During the 2000’s, she spoke to me about the oldest existing photograph in our family, a black & white one, taken of her parents, Mass Teddy & Mabel about 1916. I will always remember her asking me to make sure that the photo of her parents was handed down from “generation to generation” “for all to see” This was her exact words. I would like to honour her wishes.
My father Renford Hodgson and myself would like to express our condolences to her family. I would like to think that I speak too on behalf of the rest of our American, Jamaican, Canadian and English members.
On a personal note, thank you aunt Hortense for all the warm conversations that we had over the years, and the wealth of information you passed on, helping to inspire me to write yours and our history. You will always be remembered with great fondness.
R.I.P Aunt Hortense
Your great-nephew, Robert Roy Hodgson
(West Bromwich branch of the Southfield Hodgson’s)
Please save and hand down Hortense’s parents from “generation to generation, for all to see”
To Jamaica And Beyond 
Accept condolences. Still a beautiful story, even in death. RIP Hortense
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Thanks Claire, she was our oldest family member, but yes her story will continue even though she has gone. Thank you for the nice comment.
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My condolences🙏🏽. To my understanding Cissy/Cecilin was adopted by Dorcas Bent-Speid. Dorcas Bent-Speid was also my grandmother’s adoptive mother. Apparently Dorcas had a brother named Mathias Bent which was my grandmother’s biological father. I’m familiar with Frank Bent’s (Dorcas and Mabel’s Brother) son Stafford Bent. Our family seems to be very huge.
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Hi, I’ve been offline for quite sometime but am just starting to respond to all the comments and messages that I’ve missed.
Thank you for the Condolences.
Cissy is my Aunt and I knew Stafford Bent. This is all very welcome information about our family, especially that Dorcas and Mabel had a brother named Mathias. Very interesting.
Thanks for visiting the blog, glad you enjoyed it.
Rob
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What a lovely photo! And she sounds like a wonderful person.
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Thanks Lenore, yes she was really nice to talk to and always told me interesting old stories about the family. By the way, thank you for being a follower of my blog.
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Thank you for this post. Aunt Hortense was exuberant and fun to be around when I was a child and in my adulthood. Thanks for the wedding picture.
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I’m happy that you enjoyed the post Michelle, you must have known her very well. I only met her once (in 1987) and the sad thing about that occasion was that I can’t remember having a conversation with her that day, I was too young and immature. In the early years of first making phone contact with her in 1999, I soon discovered that she was very proud of her Jamaican roots and where she came from. I loved listening to the old stories that she told about when she was living in Jamaica.
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My condolences to those left behind to mourn the loss of the much loved Hortense.
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Thanks for the lovely comment Carol, it is very much appreciated.
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I’m so sorry for your loss, Robert, she looks like she was a wonderful person.
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Yes she was Val, and she will be sorely missed, especially by her close family.
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Hello Robert, I’ve been doing some research on my mother’s family , the Bents of Top Hill, and ran into your wonderful, informative blog. It so happens that Mabel Bent Hodgson was my mother’s aunt. Her mom was Ettie Maud Bent, daughter of Matthew Bernard Bent. So Hortense who seemed like an ebullient person, was my 2nd cousin. Incidentally, I live in NY and it would’ve been an honor to have met her. Belated condolences to you & your family.
D’Oyen
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