X00347 Erastus Leach Death and Burial

At some point I was visiting St. Jude's Cemetery in Oakville, Ontario and found the following gravestone for an Erastus Leach:

Given the name on it was Leach and Leach is one of the surnames that I'm researching - particularly in Oakville - I took a photo of it and figured that I'd try to identify the person.

I figure that it's the son of William Leach and Phoebe Derby, who was also born in 1861. Originally, I had read the year of death as 1933, but I couldn't find a death record for an Erastus Leach in 1933.

I did find him in a voters list from 1935, which suggested that he must have lived beyond 1933 [D07681]:

Having another look at the gravestone, I noticed that the last digit could be a '9' rather than a '3' and so I looked for a death record in 1939. I wasn't able to find anything in 1939, but did manage to find his death record in 1940 [D07680]:

The death record is clearly his, as it identifies his parents. It lists the place of burial as St. Jude's Cemetery, Oakville. The problem is that the death record lists his year of death as 1940 and the gravestone lists his year of death as 1939. As far as I have been able to determine, there are not two individuals named Erastus Leach buried in St. Jude's cemetery.

I'd have to take the death record as being more accurate, and perhaps the gravestone was added after the fact by someone who was not entirely sure of the year of date. And so, I'm going to conclude a year of date of 1940.

Sources:
[D07680] Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Collection: MS 935; Series: M047749l; Reel 655

[D07681] Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Voters Lists, Federal Elections 1935-1980

X00223 John Miller of Markdale

The Miller family creates all sort of mysteries, partly because they were living in pre-confederation Ontario, where it is tough to find records, but also because they have a very common last name.

One of the mysteries is trying to find anything about John Miller, son of George Miller. According to Miller family lore, George and Margaret had two sons, William and John, both born between 1833 and 1835. They may have been twins.

The only sources that I've found to prove his existence and link him with the rest of the family are an appearance in an 1865/1866 Owen Sound Directory and the 1881 census. Unfortunately, the 1851 census for the section of Toronto Township where the Miller family would have been living has not survived, and he was not living with the family in 1861. There are other records I’ve found with a John Miller in it, but since it is such a common name and there were more than one John Millers living in the area at the time it’s hard to confirm if they are the same person or not.

A marriage record might be able to identify him as it might give names of parents. But I have not been able to find a marriage record for him and he doesn't appear to be married in 1881. I've looked into death records, but I haven't found anything definite.

One consideration is a John Miller who died in Markdale, Grey County in 1911, aged 77 (i.e. born about 1834).

The age is right, the location is certainly a possibility, but there's not much else to go on. So I had a look in the Markdale Standard online for 1911 to see if there was an obituary. I checked all of the papers for the month of March 1911 and found nothing. Not even a mention. I even checked the Flesherton Advance to see if they had picked it up. Still nothing.

It seems unusual that there would be nothing in the newspaper about this, because Markdale just isn’t that big. If there was nothing reported, I’m inclined to think that perhaps this isn’t the John Miller that I am looking for. If it were, I would think that there would have been at least a mention about family members coming in from out of town, but there’s nothing. My take is that it’s likely that this John Miller didn’t have much in the way of family and wasn’t really known within the town.

X00222 Marriage date for George Miller and Amelia Grant Munro

One mystery that I have been trying to solve is the marriage date of George Miller and Amelia Grant Munro.

According to a distant cousin who is researching the same tree, the date of the marriage was 5 December 1835. She did not give me a source for this date however, and she has since passed away and so I don't know where she found the date. The date does fit with the timeline, in that George and Amelia's first child would have been born 7 October 1836, and George's last child from his previous wife would have been born around 1834. So, the date does make sense, but where did it come from?

Another question is where the marriage took place. On Ancestry, a number of people have recorded the marriage date as 5 December 1835 (presumably that information has been copied from one source, possibly even mine) but some list the marriage location as Cardinal, Ontario (formerly Edwardsburgh) and others have listed it as having took place in Toronto. Either place is entirely feasible as Amelia Grant Munro came from Edwardsburgh and George Miller would have likely been living in Toronto Township at the time. It's not entirely clear how they would have met, although there seems to be some evidence that members of the Munro family were living in Toronto and Halton region around that time. So the marriage could have taken place in Edwardsburg, Toronto Township, Nelson (if they were still living there at the time) or Toronto (as people often got married in Toronto at the time).

Since I will likely need to look for church records for this X-File, another question is under what religion would the marriage have been conducted? Both George and Amelia were definitely Wesleyan Methodist later on, although according to George's obituary he converted at some point.

Next steps:

• Check early Ontario marriage records for Eastern Ontario locations
• Check church records for early Toronto Township
• Check newspaper records for the time
• Check obituaries for George Miller and Amelia Grant Munro
• Check newspapers in later years for wedding anniversary notices

X00294 Solved!

I posted previously with a profile for Lewis Dyer. One of the things that I didn't have at the time was confirmed birth information for Lewis Dyer.

I had reported a birth date for him of 30 January 1838 in Devonshire, England, based on a number of different sources, but could not find a birth or baptism record for him. I did find a birth record for a Lewis Dyer from 1845, but the parents are named Richard and Mary Dyer, not Joseph and Jane as given in his marriage record [D04846].

So, I decided to broaden my search and look for a wider year of birth range. I came across a Lewis Dyer in the 1841 census in Devonshire. The given year of birth is 1831, which is much older than the previously thought date of birth of 1838, but the parents are named Joseph and Jane [Source Needed].

I then had a look for baptism records in 1831 and managed to find it:

So that seems to have resolved the issue. Although looking at Lewis' given birth dates from a number of sources, his year of birth seems to be all over the map:

Doc Number	Doc Desc	Year of Doc	Age Given	Date of birth
D07666	Baptism Record	1831	0 years	1831
D07667	1841 Census of England	1841	10 years	1831
D07673	1851 Census of England	1851	20 years	1831
D07671	1861 Census of England	1861	28 years	1833
D07672	1871 Census of England	1871	36 years	1835
D04846	Marriage Record	1875	38 years	1837
D04847	1881 Census of Canada	1881	43 years	1838
D05263	1891 Census of Canada	1891	48 Years	1843
D04848	1901 Census of Canada	1901	63 Years	30 Jan 1838
D04855	Death Record	1906	66 Years	1840
D04854	Gravestone	1906	66 Years	1840

Since I’ve found a baptism record confirming a baptism year of 1831 and the earlier census records show a date of 1831, I’m going to conclude that the most likely year of birth for Lewis Dyer is 1831. And given that the only birthdate listed is 30 January, I’m going to conclude a birth date of 30 January 1831.

---

Sources:
[D04846] Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Marriages, Reel 18: 339, 6765, Dyer-Williams; digital images, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Marriages,".

[D04847] 1881 census of Canada, Ontario, district 133, sub-district J, Uxbridge, p. 46, dwelling 218, family 229; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.ca.

[D04848] 1901 census of Canada, Ontario, district 120, sub-district C-8, Lindsay, p. 8, family 82; RG 31; digital images.

[D04854] St James Cemetery (Toronto, York, Ontario), C Ravine.

[D04855] Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Deaths, MS940, Reel 5: 1269; digital image, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Deaths," Ancestry.ca.

[D05263] 1891 census of Canada, Ontario, district 102, Uxbridge, p. 30, family 152; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.ca, Ancestry.

[D07663] 1841 census of England, Silverton, Tiverton and Dulverton District, Devonshire, England, folio 13, page 20; digital images; citing PRO HO 107/226/15.

[D07671] 1861 census of England, Exeter, St. Stephen's, Devonshire, England, folio 9, page 11; digital images; citing PRO RG 9/1398.

[D07672] 1871 census of England, St John Paddington, Kensington, London, England, folio 63, page 7; digital images, Ancestry.ca, Ancestra.ca; citing PRO RG 10/27.

[D07673] 1851 census of England, Torquay, Newton Abbott Registration District, Devonshire, England, folio 215, page 26; digital images; citing PRO HO 107/1872.

Edith Charlotte Hook Death

I was trying to determine the date of death for Edith Caroline Hook. I had recorded somewhere that her date of death was 1941 according to a Hook family bible. And then on Ancestroy.com I found a hint that she had died in 1941 in Lawrence, South Dakota, USA. But that didn't seem to make a whole lot of sense. So I decided to investigate for myself.

I found a probate record from 1943.

It mentions the husband, Joseph Masey White and gives a death date of 28 April 1943. So I looked in the GRO indexes and managed to find the actual death record:

So, not 1941 and not South Dakota. But mystery solved.

X00112 Solved!

Sometime when you wait long enough, an X-File will solve itself.

Such is the case with finding a burial location for Henrietta Fox Addison Rust-D'Eye. She was born 15 November 1838 in Soham, Cambridge, UK but spent time living in Suffolk and Norfolk. She came to Canada with the rest of the family in the 1880s.

Her husband, George Hastings Rust-D'Eye died in 1885. After that, I found her in the 1891 and 1901 censuses in Toronto Junction living with some of her children.

I wasn't able to find anything beyond 1901 for the longest time, until I started searching outside of Canada. I found a death record for her in 1921 in Suffolk, UK. I have not been able to fine her in either the Canadian or English 1911 census, or the 1921 Canadian census.

So, this means that she could have moved back to the UK prior to her death, or could have been there visiting when she died. When the 1921 England census comes out next year (or if I can find her in either 1911 census), it may give some answers. But this means that while she died in the UK, she could have wanted to be buried in the UK or back in Canada with the rest of the family. I checked with Mount Pleasant cemetery (where a number of the family are buried) and there is no record of her having been buried there.

I found a hint on Ancestry recently that pointed me to Gravestonephotos.com and the listings for the Municipal Cemetery in Kirkley, Suffolk, England. I found a listing, but no photo unfortunately, for a Henrietta Fox D.Eye. Although there was no photo there, I was able to find the same cemetery on Find a Grave and found the listing and photos there.

X00346 Potential Irwin Sisters

As best as I can tell, William Hardy had three wives. The first two were named Jane, who lived from about 1832 to 1865 and Sarah Elizabeth who lived from about 1843 to 1880. He married his third wife, Eveline Baker, much later on.

Both Jane and Sarah Elizabeth are buried in the same location in Churchville Cemetery in the same plot:

The interesting thing is that from the records that I've found, they both share the same last name - Jane Irwin and Sarah Elizabeth Irwin. So, the question is, are the two of them sisters? It could be plausible that William Hardy married Jane's sister after she died. Plus, one of William and Sarah Elizabeth's children is named Irwin. But on the other hand, they are eleven years apart in age. As well, some records suggest that Jane was born in Upper Canada, while Sarah Elizabeth was born in Ireland.

So, the next steps are to go back and review the records and review what I know about the two of them and see if I can confirm their last names. Then look to see what information I can find about the surname Irwin in the Churchville area.

A String of Accidents (More)

It was over four years ago that I posted about A String of Accidents.

Not much progress to report on solving this mystery, but I have managed to find the original article. I wasn't able to find it in the Hamilton Free Press (from where the transcription was taken), but instead, I found that the Montreal Gazette picked up the story and published it on Tuesday, 2 August, 1831:

An interesting additional notes (which was not included in the transcription) was that the person who caused the accident had his leg broken by a kick from a horse a few days later.

Henry Mundy and the Wood Duck

Henry Mundy who died in 1827 is one of my end-of-line ancestors (see X00239). I don't know a whole lot about him at this point. Most of what I do know comes from a few individual news articles.

The first one is from July of 1827 and describes a narrow escape as well as establishing Henry Mundy as the captain of the Wood Duck, a two-masted schooner.

Another article, from a few months later, on October 15, 1827 describes his death (as well as a man named Monroe) in the Niagara River due to the upsetting of the Wood Duck.

Definitely some interesting stories and it does give some details on how and when he died. But there's not much else to find about him. He married Ann Sidney Taylor on 12 March 1827, and she would have been pregnant with her first child when Henry died in October of 1827. Unfortunately I don't know a whole lot else about him at this point.

X00327: Researching Joseph Wood Hardy born about 1878

I was researching Joseph Hardy, son of William Hardy and Sarah Elizabeth Irwin who was born about 1878 in Peel Region, Ontario. Unfortunately I don't have an exact date of birth - the Hardy family didn't seem to be great at officially registering vital events - but I know from the 1881 Census that he was born about 1878 [D01370].

When I was doing research on another son of William Hardy and Sarah Elizabeth Irwin, Irwin Hardy (1869-1947), I found a gravestone for an Erwin Hardy and a Della Haas Hardy in Kent, Portage County, Illinois, USA. In the photos, you can see that there is a third grave marker, one for a "Joseph Wood Hardy 1879-1934)" and is marked as "Brother".

So, it would seem that this is the same Joseph Hardy that I am researching and his year of death is 1934.

One hint on Ancestry was for a death record for a Joseph Hardy who died by suicide in Chicago 24 January 1934:

Of course, Joseph Hardy is not an uncommon name, and the death record doesn't give much to go on to identify him as the correct Joseph Hardy: no parents listed and birth place is no listed as anywhere in Canada. The only realy clue is that the burial place is given as Kent, Portage County, Ohio.

I also have not been able to find a Joseph Hardy with the right age, single, born in Canada and living in Chicago in any of the 1910 to 1930 censuses, so I haven't been able to confirm either way as to whether or not this is the same Joseph Hardy.

So the next steps are to look to see if there is any way to confirm whether or not the Joseph Hardy who died by suicide in Chicago is the same one by checking for Joseph Hardy in:

• Obituaries for 1934
• Newspapers for 1934 chicago
• Census records 1910-1930
• City directories

X00212 More on Esther Riley

Some more background information that I've found related to the sawmill accident mentioned in a previous post, related to X00212: Who is Esther Riley.

Below is the transcript of the news item from the Streetsville Review:

I recently connected with some people from Churchville who were able to inform me that the mill owner was note named "Mr. Snewer" as described in the article, but was in fact Jacob Snure who owned and operated a number of mills, most notably the Eldorado Mills, which was located just north of Churchville on the Credit River (where Churchville and Creditview Roads intersect).

From this site, I found that the Eldorado Sawmill originated in the 1830s. A woollen mill was set up in 1842 or 1843, and a flour mill was added in 1858.

It doesn't give us any more information about Henry Raleigh, of course, but it's nice to be able to get some more background information.

Jacob Snure

X00281: More on what Happened to Edwin & Maude Williams after 1921

An update on X00281 and the question of what happened to Edwin and Maude Williams after 1921.

While researching other members of the Williams family, I came across the following obituary for his brother, Frederick Amos Williams from 1950:

In the obituary, it mentions that Fred A. Williams has a brother, Edwin L. Williams age 82 and living in Toronto. So we know that Edwin is still alive and living in Toronto in 1950.

Profile: Francis Ernest Burnet

Francis Ernest Burnet (1889-1918)

Frank Burnet and Louisa Emily Hewett’s eldest child, Francis Ernest Burnett was born on 5 November 1889 [D03783, D04043, D04044, D06723].

With a long history of military involvement, many members of the the Burnet family joined up with the Canadian Expeditionary Forces when the first World War began. Francis Ernest Burnet, the eldest son at twenty-five, was the first of the family to enlist on 12 May 1915 in Saskatoon [D06723]. He was assigned to the 53rd Battalion initially [D06723].

Ernest Burnet arrived in France in June of 1916 and upon arrival was transferred from the 53rd Battalion to the 14th [D06723]. On the 27th September of 1916, at the Battle of the Somme, the 14th Battalion was hit with some heavy losses and Ernest himself received a shrapnel wound in his left arm and was taken to a field hospital. He managed to recover and was able to return to his Battalion by the end of October [D06723].

Meanwhile, Ernest Burnet was still in France, fighting with the 14th at the Battle of Amiens. On the 10th of August, the 14th Battalion was supporting a charge led by the British and suffered heavy machine guns fire. Ernest received gun shot wounds on both hips, which eventually led to his death of septic thrombosis on 20th August 1918 at the age of twenty-eight [D06732]. He was buried in Abbeville, France [D06732] and is commemorated at Veteran’s Memorial Park in Orillia.

X00241: More on Ann Hardy Barnhill and Mary Hardy Hyatt Sisters?

I've posted previously about X00241 and whether Ann Hardy Barnhill and Mary Hardy Hyatt were in fact sisters.

I've recently found Ann Hardy Barnhill in the 1911 census living in Esquesing.

The census record gives a correct age for Ann of 72 years (which she would have been in 1911), but an incorrect year of birth of 1831 (as opposed to 1838). It also says that she came to Canada in 1835, which is incorrect. But if she had said that she came to Canada when she was four years old (which would have been correct) they would have recorded it as 1835.

She's living with her daughter Nancy as well as Everett Barnhill, son of Matthew Hyatt and Mary Hardy. Nancy's relation to the head of household is given as "aunt" and Ann's relationship is given as "Grandma", which further confuses things because if my theory is correct, their relationships would be "cousin" and "aunt" respectively.

So, it looks as if Everett is related to the family, but it's not entirely clear what the relationship is at this point. It looks like I'll have to go back and re-evaluate what information I have at this point.

Profile: Harold Edwin Burnet

Harold Edwin Burnet (1891-1957)

Frank Burnet and Louisa Emily Hewett’s second child, Harold Edwin was born 21 March 1891 [D04043, D04044, D04061, D06760, D06843].

Harold Burnet moved to Battle River, Alberta prior to world war one and worked as a farmer [D04061, D06757]. He married Juanita Fern Harris on 10 January 1916 in Coronation, Alberta [D06760]. In 1923, Frank and Juanita emigrated to the United States, settling in McKenzie, Washington where he found work as the superintendant of the C.A. Harris sawmill [D06764, D06758, D07293].

Harold continued to work at the sawmill until 1944 when he relocated to Wenatchee, Washington and bought the Cascade Auto Court [D07293]. He sold his interest in the auto court in 1947, investing instead in rental properties in Wenatchee [D07293].

His wife, Juanita died 23 December 1948 [D06755, D06769]. Harold married his second wife, Winnifred Opal Funk on 20 January 1950 [D07262, D07263]. Harold died 29 November 1957 in Hood River, Oregon at the age of sixty-eight [D06764, D07293].  

Profile: Reginald K Burnet

Reginald K Burnet [1893-1963]

Louisa and Frank Burnet had six children together. Francis Ernest Burnett was the first, born on 5 November 1889 [D03783, D04043, D04044, D06723]. Harold Edwin was next, born 21 March 1891 [D04043, D04044, D04061, D06760, D06843]. The family moved out to Victoria, British Columbia in the early 1890s, where Reginald Kenneth Burnet was born on 21 December 1893 [D03783, D04139, D04044, D06741]. The Burnet family returned to Orillia about three years later. Their fourth son, Hebert Hewett was born in Orillia 31 May 1896 [D06731]. On 12 September 1898, a set of twins was born, including their first daughter, Helen Louise Burnet and Horace Arthur Burnet [D06709].

With a long history of military involvement, many members of the the Burnet family joined up with the Canadian Expeditionary Forces when the first World War began. Francis Ernest Burnet, the eldest son at twenty-five, was the first of the family to enlist on 12 May 1915 in Saskatoon [D06723]. He was assigned to the 53rd Battalion initially [D06723].

Reginald K. Burnet and his father, Frank Burnet both enlisted on the same day, 26, January 1916: Reginald in Orillia and Frank in Calgary [D04060, D06746]. Frank was so keen to join the fight, he claimed to be ten years younger than he actually was in order to enlist [D04060]. Reginald joined his family’s old regiment, the Simcoe Foresters, which had now become the 157th Battalion [D06746]. Frank was assigned to the 137th [D04060].

Reginald Burnet Sailed to England in October of 1916 [D06746]. In November, he was transferred from the Simcoe Foresters to the 10th Canadian Machine Gun Company and was in France the following March [D06746].

In August of 1917, the 10th Canadian Machine Gun Company was one of sixteen machine gun companies fighting in the battle of Hill 70 . On 24 August, Reginald received a gun shot wound to the left side of his head and lost consciousness [D06746]. He woke up a few days later in a hospital in St. Omer, France with a fractured skull [D06746]. Suffering with memory loss and impairment in his speech, he was sent for rehabilitation and later sent back home to Canada in April of 1918 [D06746].

Reg Burnet began his working career in 1911 with R.H. Montgomery, merchant tailor and men’s furnisher [D07315, D07317]. After the war, he returned to Orillia and found work at the store, which had been taken over from R.H. Montgomery by Jack Sinclair [D04139, D06742, D07313, D07315].

He married Wynona Beatrice Williams in Orillia on 8 April 1919 [D04139]. Wynona only lived for a short time after the marriage, dying in a hospital maternity ward on 1 August 1920 at the age of twenty-six [D04209].

A few years later, Jack Sinclair sold the clothing store to a group of four partners, Reg Burnet among them [D07315, D07317]. They renamed it the Arrow Store [D04317].

Reg remained at the Arrow store for a few years, eventually selling his interest in 1924, when he started his own business, Burnet Men’s Wear [D07312, D07313, D07317].

Reginald married his second wife, Olive Hilda Leatherdale 14 September 1925 [D06741]. They had one child together, Dale, who later joined his father’s business [D07317].

Like his siblings, Reg was highly involved in community associations, and remained involved with the Simcoe Foresters and Canadian Legion. He co-organized an “Across the Lake Swim” event that carried his name [D07314, D07317].

Reginald retired from his clothing store in 1961 [D07212]. He died at his cottage on Bass Lake 27 August 1963 at the age of sixty-nine [D07231, D07212].

Profile: Herbert Hewett Burnet

Frank Burnet and Louisa Emily Hewett’s fourth son, Hebert Hewett was born in Orillia 31 May 1896 [D06731].

Herbert Burnet was the last of the Burnet family to join the Canadian Expeditionary Forces, enlisting in Calgary on 20 May 1918 and being assigned to the 21st Canadian Reserve Battalion, Alberta [D06732]. After training in Canada, he sailed to England in August of 1918, but was never deployed to France during his time in the service [D06732]. Herbert was discharged from military service on 25 June 1919 [D06712] and returned home to Battle River, Alberta where he had lived and farmed prior to the war [D04061, D06732, D06843]. In 1923 he moved to McKenzie, Washington along with his older brother Harold and found work in the lumber mills [D04714, D06733]. He married Sarah Mae Long in Wenatchee, Washington on 28 Jun 1927 [D04714].

Herbert and Sarah moved to Herbert’s birthplace of Orillia in June of 1931 [D06735]. Sarah died less than a year later on 1 February 1932 [D06735].

Herbert went on to open an indenpendant service station in 1940 and later open Orillia’s first motel [D07290]. He married his second wife, Lillian Mae Archer McKay, a registered nurse, on 18 September 1940 [D07278].

In 1960, he was appointed as an alderman on Orillia Town Council, after the death of the previous alderman [D07283, D07284, D07290]. He was appointed deputy reeve in 1962 and then reeve in 1963 on the deaths of those office-holders as well [D07290]. Herbert Burnet himself died in October 1964 at the age of sixty-eight [D07290]. Lillian Mae Archer Burnet lived on until 31 January 1980 when she died at the age of seventy-six [D07297].  

---

Sources:
[D04061] 1916 census of the Northwest Provinces, district 32, sub-district 4a, Battle River, p. 10, dwelling 135, 134; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.ca, Ancestry.ca

[D04714] Washington, Washington Marriage Records 1854-2013, 5144, Burnet-Long, June 28, 1927; digital images, Ancestry.ca,Ancestry.ca

[D06731] Ontario Archives of Ontario, MS 929, reels 1-245, MS930 Reel 21: 501249, 362; digital image, Ancestry.com, "Ontario, Canada Births,"

[D06732] Canada, "Military Service Record - Herbert H. Burnet," 3211402; digital images, ancestry.ca, ancestry.ca.

[D06733] 1930 U.S. census, population schedule, McKenzie, enumeration district (ED) 0024, p. 4A, dwelling 59, family 59; digital images,ancestry.com (accessed 15 Feb 2020); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T626, roll 2342218.

[D06735] Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Deaths, MS935 Reel 449: 105, 30172; digital image, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Deaths," Ancestry.ca

[D06843] 1921 census of Canada, district 1, sub-district 6, Battle River, p. 4, dwelling 44, family 45; RG 31; digital images,ancestry.com

X00305: John Douglas in Amherstburg

Just a quick update on X00305 where I've been trying to find out more about the Douglas and Williams brewers in Amherestburg, Ontario around 1850 and if they were connected to the Douglas and Williams brewers in Guelph from around the same time.

It's not much of a discovery, but going through past issues of the Amherstburg Echo and came across a number of ads like this one posted towards the end of 1849:

It's not much, but it does mean that there was a brewery for sale in the area in 1849. It's certainly not proof of anything, but it's a lead.

George Hardy and Mary Buckton

I've written previously about the Trafalgar Hardy Letter as well as some of the other Hardy gravestones in Mississauga. All of the Hardy surname connections seem to be tied to George Hardy and Mary Buckton, who originated from Yorkshire in the UK. Which caught my interest because my Hardy family also comes from Yorkshire.

I did manage to find the marriage record for George Hardy and Mary Buckton:

Interesting that one of the witnesses is named Hannah Hardy. This one had me wondering if there was a connection to my Hardy family, and that the Hannah Hardy witness was the same Hannah Hardy who was the mother of Lancelot Hardy.

But on further examination, I'm not so sure that there is a connection, or at least not an obvious one. George Hardy seems to have come from a different location in Yorkshire than the rest of the Hardy family and I have not been able to find a definite connection between the two Hardy families. Hardy seems to have been a fairly common name in Yorkshire, and so, it's entire plausible that the Hannah Hardy as a witness would have been a different person. Hannah, the mother of Lancelot Hardy would have been in her sixties at the time of the marriage.

And so, with no definite connection found at this point, I'm going to chalk this up to a coincidence that the two Hardy families wound up in approximately the same area.

Profile: Helen Louise Burnet and Horace Arthur Burnet

Louisa Emily Hewett and Frank Burnet had six children together. Their last two children were twins born on 12 September 1898, a set of twins including their first daughter: Helen Louise Burnet and Horace Arthur Burnet [D06709].

Helen Louise Burnet
Helen Louise Burnet worked as a school teacher in Coldwater, Ontario [D05461] later retiring to Simcoe East [D04719]. She died 14 December 1982 [D04046, D07298].

Horace Arthur Burnet
Helen’s Twin brother, Horace was known as “Lad” to his friends [D07299]. He started work as a bookkeeper in Orillia [D04058] and married Mary Alice Dalton on 26 September 1925 [D04058]. He later became co-owner of the Roweburn Farm to the west of Orillia and of the Orillia Creamery Company [D06719, D07299]. Founded in 1921 by John Lewis Beaton, the Orillia Creamery ran a successful operation until it was bought out in 1958 by Acme Farmer’s Dairy and eventually becoming part of Dominion Dairies Limited [D07299, D07314].

Lad Burnet was also heavily involved in the Orillia community, serving three years on town council from 1933 to 1935, serving on the boards for several community organizations and assisting in volunteer relief work during the depression years of the 1930s [D07299]. Horace Arthur Burnet died in October of 1972 [D07299].

---

Sources:
[D04046] St Andrews & St James (Orillia, Simcoe, Ontario)

[D04058] Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Marriages, 18353, Burnet-Dalton; digital images, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Marriages,"

[D04719] Canada, Canada, Voters Lists, vol. 1965: 2; digital images, Ancestry.ca, "Canada Voters Lists 1935-1980,"

[D05461] 1921 census of Canada, district 126, sub-district 41, Coldwater Village, p. 12, dwelling 120, family 121; RG 31; digital images, ancestry.com

[D06709] Ontario Archives of Ontario, MS 929, reels 1-245, MS929, Reel 144: 453, 038434; digital image, Ancestry.com, "Ontario, Canada Births,"

[D06719] Canada, Canada, Voters Lists, vol. 1968: 19371, M-6104; digital images, Ancestry.ca, "Canada Voters Lists,"

[D07298] "Deaths," Orillia Daily Packet and Times, 15 December 1982, p. 17

[D07299] "Lad Burnet Dies, Well-Known in Club and Church Activities," Orillia Daily Packet and Times, 27 October 1972; digital images.

[D07314] "Orillia Creamery Sells 'Country Club' Business," (Orillia) The Orillia Packet, 24 Oct 1958.

Joshua Leach DNA

One of my biggest brickwalls is no X00050: trying to find the parents of Joshua Leach (1775-1862). According to his gravestone he was born 9 November 1775 in Connecticut and died 3 February 1862 in Oakville, Ontario Canada.

He came to what is now Toronto in Upper Canada around 1797. It's been difficult trying to find his parents or anything from before 1797. The leading theory is that his parents are Joshua Leach (b. 1748) and Clarissa Pierson, because according to Lawrence Leach of Salem, Massachusetts and Some of His Desendants by F. Phelps Leach, they had a son named Joshua born before 1777 in Connecticut. It certainly does fit the time and location, but I haven't been able to either prove or disprove the case.

But now, there's more to the story. I have been notified that I have a DNA connection with a descendant of a Robert Leach 1735-1786 of New London, Connecticut. This Robert Leach is also descended from the same Lawrence Leach of Salem Massachusetts, but from a different branch. It's an interesting new development, that may help break down this brick wall!

Analysis: Harold Edwin Burnet Birth

Analysis: Harold Edwin Burnet Birth

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Details/Background:
I have not been able to find a birth registration for Harold Edwin Burnet. There are a number of different documents that do give a date/year of birth:

Ref.	Source	Details	Birth Date
D04043	1891 Census	Age 0 on 22 Apr 1891	1891
D04044	1901 Census		22 March 1891
D04061	1916 Census	Age 24 on next birthday	1893
D06843	1921 Census	Age 29 on next birthday	1891
D06760	Marriage record	Age 24 in January 1916	1892
D06758	1930 Census	Age 38 in 1930	1892
D06759	1940 Census	Age 50 in 1940	1890
D06764	Passenger List	Age 31 in 1923	1892
D06757	Alberta Homestead	Age 21 in 1912	1889
D06754	Gravestone		1889
D06766	Social Security		22 March 1890
D06763	WW2 Draft Registration		22 March 1890

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Analysis:
The range of dates is between 1889 and 1893. Harold’s older brother was born in 1889 so it was unlikely that he was also born in 1889. Because he appears in the 1891 census, it is also unlikely that he was born after April of 1891.

The only specific dates given were 22 March 1890 and 22 March 1891. So, it’s safe to say that March 22nd is the date, and it would either be 1890 or 1891.

Of the documents that give a full date, the Social Security and WW2 Draft Registration were the ones where he would have given the dates himself, so 22 March 1890 is the most likely date of birth.

---

Conclusion:
22 March 1890 is the most likely date of birth for Harold Edwin Burnet.

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Sources:
[D04043] 1891 census of Canada, Ontario, district 116, sub-district 1, Orillia, p. 20, family 92; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.ca, Ancestry

[D04044] 1901 census of Canada, Ontario, district 113, sub-district I-6, Orillia, p. 17, dwelling 172, family 172; RG 31; digital images

[D04061] 1916 census of the Northwest Provinces, district 32, sub-district 4a, Battle River, p. 10, dwelling 135, 134; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.ca, Ancestry.ca.

[D06843] 1921 census of Canada, district 1, sub-district 6, Battle River, p. 4, dwelling 44, family 45; RG 31; digital images,ancestry.com

[D06760] Alberta, Canada Provincial Archives of Alberta, Alberta, Canada Marriages, 1916: 415, Burnet-Harris; Provincial Archives of Alberta, Edmonton.

[D06758] 1930 U.S. census, population schedule, McKenzie, enumeration district (ED) 0024, sheet 5B, p. 5B, dwelling 92, family 92; digital images,ancestry.com; citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T626, roll 2342218.

[D06759] 1940 U.S. census, population schedule, McKenzie, enumeration district (ED) 4-27, sheet 4A, p. 4A, household 75; digital images,Ancestry.com; citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T627, roll m-t0627-04332.

[D06764] "Washington, Passenger and Crew Lists," online images, ancestry.ca, manifest, CPR, 4 April 1923, 800/79-8.

[D06757] 2646317, Alberta, Canada; Alberta, Canada Homestead Reecords; digital images, Ancestry.ca, Ancestry.ca

[D06754] Wenatchee City Cemetery (Wenatchee, Chelan, Washington).

[D06766] Social Security Administration, "NARA AAD Application (SS-5) Files, 1936 - 2007," database, NARA, entry for 67275826133, SS no. 535076619.

[D06763] "US World War II Draft Registration Cards," database and images, ancestry.ca, Draft Registration Card - Harold E Burnet.

The search for three sisters

Charles Edwin Hewett and Emily Jane Williams had six daughters and one son. Four of the daughters have presented problems as far as finding out what happened to them:

• Annie Frances Hewett [X00309], third daughter, born 10 March 1872
• Clara Augusta Hewett [X00311], fifth daughter, born 5 August 1876
• Olive Jane Hewett [X00312], sixth daughter, born 20 December 1880.

I have posted about Annie Frances Hewett previously.

I have also had difficulties tracking down what happened to their fourth daughter, Norah Eleanor Hewett, but I will save that X-file for another time.

Clara became a school teacher in Orillia and Olive because a nurse.

I have found the three of them living together in Orillia in 1965 from a voters list:

So, they were all three still alive in 1965 and apparently unmarried. But nothing after that. I haven't found any cemetery listings for any of them, nor have I found any death notices in the Simcoe newspapers online. But the search continues...

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Sources:
[D04719] Canada, Canada, Voters Lists, vol. 1965: 2; digital images, Ancestry.ca, "Canada Voters Lists 1935-1980,"

X00291 Update

In my search to find what happened to Hester Sophia Williams, I was looking into the possibility that she may have stayed in England rather than come to Canada with the family. I did come across a marriage record from 1853 in Cornwall, England between a Hester Ann Williams and a Henry Pascoe.

On the plus side, the year of birth is close (1831 vs 1833), and the name of the father is also Thomas Williams. Plus, the location of Cornwall is not far off from where the family originated.

On the negative side, the name is off (Hester Ann vs Hester Sophia) and the father's occupation is given as a miner (as far as I can make it out). I decided to dig a bit further, and managed to find a baptism record for the Hester Ann Williams who appears in the marriage record:

Unfortunately, this would appear to be a different person than the one I'm looking for. The mother's name is different, and of course, I've already found the baptism record for Hester Sophia Williams.

So, the search continues. I do think that it is unlikely that she would have stayed in England by herself at age ten, but I want to look for all possibilities.

X00212 Who is Esther Riley Part 2

In last week's post, I was verifying information found on a tree in Ancestry.

In the post, it mentioned that

• Henry Raleigh died 1848 in Meadowvale due to a sawmill accident
• Henry married Esther Tricker in 1843 in Churchville, Ontario
• Esther Tricker lived 1822 to 1851
• They had three children: William b. 1844, George b. 1846 and Henry b. 1848

So far, I've been able to verify a number of the facts including Esther's birthdate and the names and birth dates of the children.

While doing these verifications, I had another look at Lancelot Hardy and Jane Tricker in the 1861 census and realized that the Henry listed with them is actually Henry Reilly, son of Henry Raleigh and Esther Tricker, which not only confirms the family connection, but adds further evidence to the idea that Esther had died by that time.

But the biggest piece of confirmation that I was able to find was this transcription of an obituary from the Streetville Review:

I still need to confirm with the original record, but from the transcription it does seem to confirm that Henry Raleigh did in fact die in a sawmill accident (albeit in 1849, rather than 1848).

So, this means that I've been able to confirm all of the details from the other tree, except for the year of marriage between Henry Raleigh and Esther Tricker and Esther's date of death.

X00212 Who is Esther Riley Part 1

One of the mysteries that I've been searching is the question of who is Esther Riley. Thus far, she had only appeared in a marriage register from 1850, listing a marriage between a Lancelot Hardy and an Ester Riley:

Unfortunately, that's all the information that I have on her. No death information, nothing about her parents, or when or where she was born.

I had originally thought that Esther Riley was the second wife of the older Lancelot Hardy (born about 1794), remarrying after Ann Wood Hardy had died, and that the younger Lancelot Hardy (born about 1827) had married Jane Tricker. But I've since changed my opinion on that - more on that issue in a future post.

I've come accross some additional information and Esther Riley recently. A cousin who is researching the same family pointed me to a family tree on Ancestry. The tree mentioned a Henry Raleigh who died in Meadowvale in 1848 due to a sawmill accident, married an Esther Tricker (1822-1851) in 1843. They had three children together, William Raleigh born 1844, George Raleigh born 1846 and Henry Raleigh both 1848.

On the plus side, the timeline fits quite nicely: Esther Tricker marries Henry Raleigh in 1843. Henry dies in 1848 and the widowed Esther Raliegh (or Riley) marries the younger Lancelot Hardy in 1850. She then dies in 1851 and Lancelot Hardy goes on to marry Frances Snowden in 1853. The fact that her maiden name is Tricker also suggests that there is a connection with Jane Tricker. On the minus side, there are no sources given in the Ancestry tree for any of the information given. So, I decided to treat the Ancestry tree information as a clue and do my own verification.

The first thing that I did is find a baptism record for a Hester Tricker, baptized 7 April 1822, the daugther of James Tricker and Sarah Wade, the same parents as Jane Tricker (see X00214). So, Esther and Jane Tricker were sisters.

Next, I had a look at the children.

I found the death certificate for Henry Raleigh who died in Tacoma, Washington in 1935. In the death certificate, his birth date is given as 10 July 1848 in Meadowvale, Ontario and his parents are listed as Henry Raleigh and Esther Tricker.

I managed to find a marriage registration for a William Riley and a Mary Ann Hyatt in 1866 where William's parents are listed as Henry and Esther Riley. It also confirmed a birth year for him of 1844.

Verifying the connect with George was a little harder to do, but I found that from census records he was living with James Tricker and Sarah Wade in Indiana and is buried in the same cemetery as them.

So, I've been able to verify dates of birth for Esther and the children and everything checks out with the details on the Ancestry tree. Next week, I'll look at some of the other details from the tree.

X00118 More about Charlotte Emily Tew (1872-1873)

I posted previously about X00118 and Charlotte Emily Tew. She was born 16 June 1872 in Meath, Ireland and died 16 September 1873 in Hamilton, Ontario.

The only confirmation that I had of her death was the gravestone in Hamilton Cemetery, but I have since heard back from the Cemetery. According to their records she was originally buried 18 September 1873 in a single, unmarked grave, but then removed and re-interred in the current location 25 September 1875.

So, the original burial date of 18 September 1873 would agree with a death date of 16 September 1873. As well, the re-interrment was around the time that her sister had died in September 1875, so I figure that the family bought the plot around that time and had her re-interred there.

Profile: John James Douglas (1860-1938)

John James Douglas (1860-1938)

John James Douglas was born 7 November 1860 in Guelph [D00307, D00335, D00766, D00862, D01131, D01559, D01597, D02022, D04768], the third son of Thomas Williams and Sybel Foxwell. When he was about two or three years old, the family moved from Guelph to Owen Sound [D02412]. In Owen Sound, JJ Douglas attended school at what was known at the time as the old Hill Street School, but later renamed Strathcona School [D02412] and is now closed. He later attended the Ottawa Grammar School, where his brother-in-law Joseph McDowall was a teacher [D02412].

In the mid-1870s, the fifteen-year old JJ Douglas began his training as a watchmaker. He returned to Owen Sound from Ottawa briefly before apprenticing in Toronto. After three and a half years in Toronto, he relocated to Bracebridge, Ontario and ran a watchmaking business there for five years [D02412].

He returned to Owen Sound in the 1880s and purchased a forty-foot schooner, named Caliope with his older brother Frederick [D02412]. The two fitted up the boat to serve as a floating jewellery store and watchmaking shop and sailed back and forth between Owen Sound and the north shore of Georgian Bay, doing business with the crews building the Canadian Pacific Railway in Northern Ontario [D02412].

The floating store business lasted for only a short while and J.J.Douglas opened up a jewellery store on Division Street in Owen Sound. He married Janet Highet Kennedy 16 December 1886 in Tara, Bruce County [D05698].

Janet Highet Kennedy was the daughter of Dr. James Kennedy and Margaret Thom and was born about 1866 [D00766, D04771, D01131, D03075, D04772, D06970].

The couple had two children together, Norman Kennedy Douglas, born 29 May 1888 [D00410] and Clarence Cecil Douglas, born 30 January 1890 [D00409]

Around 1896, Janet Douglas became sick with consumption [D02412, D06977, D06981]. JJ Douglas gave up his business and moved the family out to Rat Portage, now known as Kenora, Ontario in an attempt to aid her failing health. Unfortunately the move had the opposite effect and so after a year and a half, the family moved to the warmer climate of Los Angeles, California along with Janet’s mother [D02412, D06977, D06981].

Sadly, the change of climate did not improve her health, and Janet Kennedy Douglas passed on 27 November 1898 in Los Angeles [D01131, D03075, D04772].

Shortly after the death of his wife, JJ Douglas returned to Owen Sound and began working for A.J. Frost, later buying out his business [D02412].

On 29 August 1901, JJ Douglas married his second wife, Edna Pearl Galbraith in Owen Sound [D00862, D02746]. They had twon children, John Gordon Douglas, born 18 April 1906 [D01535] and Helen Henrietta Douglas, born 23 November 1913 [D00465].

In 1910, JJ Douglas partnered with David Creighton Taylor to form the business of Douglas and Taylor Jewellers and Watchmakers [D02412, *]. Douglas and Taylor knew each other from their apprenticing days [*]. The two ran a successful business located at 941 2nd Ave. West in Owen Sound for several years [D04768, D04932, D04934, D04939]. In 1928, both Douglas and Taylor had sons who were of age to being working in the business and so the two dissolved the partnership and went their separate ways [D02412, *].

J.J. Douglas continued on in his business by himself, and became a successful jeweller and watchmaker and was very well-known for his skills throughout Ontario.

On the eventing of Friday 29th July, 1938, J.J. Douglas was returning from a Rotary Club meeting held in Paisley, Bruce County. He was in a car with three other Owen Sound Rotarians that collieded with another car near Arkwright, Bruce County. J.J. Douglas was critically injured in the accident and was taken to the General and Marine Hospital in Owen Sound [D02412, D05685]. After being in the hospital for a week he contracted pneumonia, which ultimately led to his death on 8 August 1938 [D02022, D02412, D05685].

John James Douglas’ funeral was held two days later at the Division Street Church in Owen Sound and he is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Owen Sound [D01131, D03816, D05719].

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Sources:
[D00307] 1901 census of Canada, Ontario, district 65, sub-district D-8, Owen Sound, p. 11, dwelling 89, family 100; RG 31; digital images.

[D00335] 1911 census of Canada, Ontario, district 73, sub-district 48, Owen Sound, p. 17, dwelling 173, family 189; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.com.

[D00409] Ontario Archives of Ontario, MS 929, reels 1-245, MS929; Reel: 98: 700, 10866, 44; digital image, Ancestry.com, "Ontario, Canada Births,".

[D00410] Ontario Archives of Ontario, MS 929, reels 1-245, Series: MS929; Reel: 98: 700, 10865, 43; digital image, Ancestry.com, "Ontario, Canada Births,".

[D00465] Ontario Archives of Ontario, MS 929, reels 1-245, MS929; Reel: 240: 268, 27039, 64; digital image, Ancestry.com, "Ontario, Canada Births,”.

[D00766] 1891 census of Canada, Ontario, district 68, sub-district Owen Sound Center Ward, Owen Sound, p. 59, family 282; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.ca, Ancestry .

[D00776] 1891 census of Canada, Ontario, district 68, sub-district Owen Sound Center Ward, Owen Sound, p. 59, family 282; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.ca, Ancestry.

[D00862] Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Marriages, MS932; Reel: 107: 140, 7796, Douglas-Galbraith; digital images, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Marriages,".

[D01131] “Owen Sound Greenwood Cemetery Interments" (typescript, 2005), p. 81.

[D01535] Ontario Archives of Ontario, MS 929, reels 1-245, MS929; Reel: 179: 708, 20570, 2; digital image, Ancestry.com, "Ontario, Canada Births,”.

[D01559] 1871 census of Canada, Ontario, district 37, sub-district 1-G, Owen Sound, p. 67, dwelling 258, family 262; RG 31; digital images.

[D01597] 1861 census of Canada East, Canada West, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, Guelph, Guelph, p. 14; RG 31; digital images,Ancestry.ca.

[D02412] "JJ Douglas Dies Result of Injuries," Owen Sound Sun-Times , 9 August 1938, p. 1, col. 1; digital images(accessed 1 Nov 2020), Grey County Surname Collection.

[D02022] Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Deaths, MS935, Reel 607: 54, 017136; digital image, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Deaths," Ancestry.ca.

[D02412] "JJ Douglas Dies Result of Injuries," Owen Sound Sun-Times , 9 August 1938, p. 1, col. 1; digital images, Grey County Surname Collection.

[D02746] Douglas-Galbraith marriage entry (1901); issued 2011, First Methodist Church (Central United) (Owen Sound, Ontario).

[D03075] Greenwood Cemetery (Owen Sound, Grey, Ontario), G-BLM- 37-.

[D03816] Greenwood Cemetery (Owen Sound, Grey, Ontario), G-W34- 4-.

[D04768] 1921 census of Canada, district 83, sub-district 45, Owen Sound, p. 11, dwelling 5, family 5; RG 31; digital images, ancestry.com.

[D04771] 1881 census of Canada, Ontario, district 156, sub-district C-2, Holland, p. 24, dwelling 114, family 120; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.ca.

[D04772] California California Department of Public Health, 1849-1880, 74; digital image, ancestry.ca, "California, County Birth Marriage and Death Records,".

[D04932] Vernon's City of Owen Sound Street, Alphabetical Business & Miscellaneous Directory for the year 1924 (Hamilton, Ontario: Henry Vernon & Sons Publishers, 1924), 104.

[D04934] Vernon's City of Owen Sound Street, Alphabetical Business & Miscellaneous Directory for the year 1922 (Hamilton, Ontario: Henry Vernon & Sons Publishers, 1922), 106.

[D04939] Vernon's Town of Owen Sound Street Directory, 1917 (Hamilton, Ontario: Henry Vernon & Sons Publishers, 1917), 72. [D05685] "J.J. Douglas, Owen Sound, Died From Injuries Received in Car Accident," Grey County Surname Collection , 11 August 1938; digital images, Grey County Surname Collection.

[D05698] (Owen Sound) The Advertiser, Owen Sound, 23 December 1886, p. 2, col. 4.

[D06970] 1871 census of Canada, Ontario, district 37, sub-district a-2, Sullivan, p. 63, dwelling 200, family 203; RG 31; digital images.

[D05709] Grey County Surname Collection , 1938; digital images(accessed 31 Oct 2020), Grey County Surname Collection.

[D06977] (Owen Sound) The Advertiser, Owen Sound, 29 Nov 1898, p. 1, col. 3.

[D06981] (Owen Sound) Owen Sound Times, 1 December 1898, p. 5, col. 3.

[*] p99 "Owen Sound The Port City by Paul White. Natural Heritage Books Toronto c2000

Other Hardy Gravestones

With the research I was doing with X00216: The Trafalgar Hardy letter, I was able to answer some questions I had about some other Hardy surname gravestones that I found in both St. Peter's Cemetery in Erindale and Springcreek Cemetery in Clarkson.

On previous trips to St. Peter's and Sprincreek Cemeteries I had photographed some stones that had the Hardy surname on them, in the event that they were connected. I've since been able to connect many of these to the George Hardy and Mary Buckton who are buried in St. Peter's

The above stone, for George H. Hardy was found in Springcreek. This George, I found, was the son of George Hardy and Mary Buckton. He married an Emma Gilby, which accounts for a number of stones I found in both locations with the names Hardy and Gilby.

George and Mary had another son, J.C. Hardy and I found his stone in Springcreek as well

So, it seems that many of the Hardy names that I've found in Clarkson and Erindale are all connected to the George Hardy and Mary Buckton line (to which I'm still investigating if they are connected to mine). It would appear that there were at least three Hardy families living in Toronto Township at the time: One in Churchville (mine), one in Streetsville and one in Clarkson/Erindale. If there is a connection between any of the three of them, it was before they arrived in Canada.

William Bastoph Civil War Stories

I was doing some research on William Bastoph, who was the second husband of Edith Williams.

From some of my initial research, it appeared that William had quite a history to him, having been a civil war veteran. But his background story became potentially more interesting when I found an unsourced story about him in Ancestry that someone had posted.

In the story it mentions that William Bastoph was wounded in battle at one point and left on the battlefield for dead. A friend of his went out after the battle, found Bastoph and rescued him. The article went on to say that after the war he went on to become a civil engineer and built bridges throughout the American West. It also mentioned that he evidently had enlisted in the war because of a fallout with a girlfriend.

So, I decided to look into some of these stories to see if any of them could be backed up with sources. I checked with Newspapers.com and Newspaperarchive.com and found a number of articles that confirmed his civil engineering history

To investigate the Civil War side of things, I found through his service record that he served in the 103rd Regiment

I then managed to find a Battallion history for the 103th Regiment

and sure enough there is a personal account of the Battle of Seven Pines that mentions William Bastoph:

"When we got back to the open space where we had rallied our force we saw a line of soldiers in the woods to the left of that position. They stood, in grim silence, and in good order, and as we had not expected to see an enemy there we thought they were our own men ; but noticing straw hats and gray uniforms among them, we were perplexed with doubts. I stood on a stump to have a better view, and halloed out to them, 'show your colors.'

It was not a discreet thing to do, and I realized that when their guns came to an aim. I dropped quickly behind the stump, and their bullets splashed sand and water in my face. Our doubts were dispelled it was now every man for himself with us. I crawled into a thicket towards the rear, and when I came out at the other side I saw Corp. Bostaph of my company staggering from a wound under his arm. Sergt. Rimer and I took hold of him and helped him along. A man of Co. D, told me that Gillespie had fallen. As we came in view of Couch's line men called to us to hurry back.

Within the lines I met again the colonel of the 96th New York, and he advised our party to seek our Regiments. By this time we had had enough fighting for one day, and so we took his advice and continued our course to the rear. We placed Bostaph in an ambulance. It was five o'clock when we found our regiment, a mile to the rear."

And so I've found some more documentation to back up the story. Plus a whole lot more to research about that battle and his war service. As for the fallout with a girlfriend story, that may take some more research to verify