Update on X00298 - John Williams Brewing History Part 1

I have posted previously about John Williams and researching his work as a brewer. There are a few questions that I have been trying to piece together:

1. The 1861 Census lists his as a brewer living in Brampton [D03739]. Which brewery could he have been working for?
2. There was a John Williams who supposedly opened a brewery in 1864 in Flesherton (From Whiskey and Wickedness) [D05727]. Is that the same John Williams?
3. His death record lists him as a brewer living in Owen Sound in 1889 [D03737]. Which brewery could he have been working for?

To address the first question, I recently visited the Peel Archives to look at some of their records and also to the Thomas Fisher Rare Books Library to look through the Directory of Canadian Breweries [D06546]. I've found a few breweries that were in operation in Brampton close to 1861, but none that appear to be in operation in 1861:

• Fletcher, E. & R.; brewers 1853-1857
• Fewson, John; brewer and maltster 1865-1874

There are some others who came later in the 1870s as well.

So, it would appear that there are no clear obvious choices as to where he could have been working in 1861. But there are some other possibilities:

• Brain's Brewery, located one mile east of Hornby was in operation from 1832 to 1916 [D06545].
• Richard Church was brewing at the time and moved his operations between Cooksville in Peel region and Caledon [D06546]. Perhaps he also had operations in Brampton?

Nothing clear, but there are some definite avenues to pursue.

Next week, I'll provide updates the second and third questions.

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Sources:
[D03737] Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Deaths, MS935 Reel 54: 395, 5588, 1; digital image, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Deaths," Ancestry.ca (6 May 2018). Rec. Date: 3 Sep 2017. Cit. Date: 6 May 2018.

[D03739] 1861 census of Canada East, Canada West, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, Peel, sub-district Brampton, Brampton, p. 15; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.ca (accessed 13 May 2018). Rec. Date: 5 Feb 2018. Cit. Date: 13 May 2018.

[D05727] Cotton, Larry D., Whiskey and Wickedness Volume V - Wellington and Grey Counties, Ontario. Self-published, 2017.

[D06545] Bowering, Ian, The Art and Mystery of Brewing in Ontario. Burnstown, Ontario, 1988.

[D06546] Sweet, Richard L., Directory of Canadian Breweries (Past and Present); Second Edition. Saskatoon, 1996.

X00298 Research John Williams history as a brewer

Much like the others in the Williams family, John Williams (born 1829) worked as a brewer. He first learned the craft while working as part of his father's brewery in Guelph. But he appears to have branched out on his own later on.

In the 1861 census, his occupation was listed as a brewer [D03739] living in Brampton, Peel.



In his death registration, his occupation was listed as a brewer in Owen Sound [D03737].



But more recently, I've discovered that a John Williams opened a brewery in Flesherton, Grey County in 1864 [D05727], although it's not certain whether or not this is the same John Williams. The 1865-66 directory of Grey County does not mention a brewery in Flesherton or a John Williams living there, so if there was a brewery established in 1864, it was short-lived.



So, there's definitely some more research that needs to be done here to fill in the details.

Next Steps:
* Check with the Brampton Public Library for research on Brampton breweries
* Check Brampton directories from the 1860s
* Check Owen Sound resources from the mid-to-late 1880s
* Check for Grey County/Flesherton directories for the early 1860s


Sources
[D03737] Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Deaths, MS935 Reel 54: 395, 5588, 1; digital image, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Deaths," Ancestry.ca (6 May 2018). Rec. Date: 3 Sep 2017. Cit. Date: 6 May 2018.

[D03739] 1861 census of Canada East, Canada West, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, Peel, sub-district Brampton, Brampton, p. 15; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.ca (accessed 13 May 2018). Rec. Date: 5 Feb 2018. Cit. Date: 13 May 2018.

[D05727] Cotton, Larry D., Whiskey and Wickedness Volume V - Wellington and Grey Counties, Ontario. Self-published, 2017.

X00289 & X00290 Solved!!

I now have a follow up on both X00289 & X00290. Both have been solved!

I posted about X00289 some time ago - I was looking for birth and death information for Annie Louisa Williams.

Then I posted about X00290 where I was looking for the cemetery and death information for Charlotte Ann Perry Williams (mother of Annie Louisa Williams).

The good news is that I managed to get answer for both issues via the cemetery transcriptions for Woodlawn Memorial Gardens in Guelph:



It would appear that both Annie and Charlotte were initially buried in St. George's Cemetery in Guelph, but the cemetery was later closed and the burials were relocated to Woodlawn Cemetery. According to the transcription there are no markers for these graves and it is impossible to determine their locations. But at least there are some records that have survived to give the details

X00290: Confirm death dates for Charlotte Ann Perry Williams

Charlotte Ann Perry (1836-1862) was the first wife of John Williams (1829-1889). For X00290 I'm trying to confirm her date of death. I know that the two of them married in 1858 from the county marriage records [D01325]. Their three children were born in 1860, 1861 and 1862 from the census records [D03739]. But after that, no more children. And in the 1871 census, John is listed as being a widower [D01565].

Then I found someone on Ancestry had posted a date of death for her of 07 July 1862 in Guelph, Wellington Co. but without any sources given. The location would make sense and the date of death would explain why the two would not have any more children after 1862. So, it's plausible, but I need to find sources to confirm.

Some places to check:

• Guelph newspapers
• Cemetery sources such as Find-a-grave and Ontario Cemetery Finding Aid
• TONI
• Guelph Public Library

Sources
[D01325] Ontario, Ontario County Marriage Registers, 1858-1869 37, Williams-Perry, 1858; digital images, FamilySearch.org, FamilySearch (accessed 5 May 2018)

[D01565] 1871 census of Canada, Ontario, district 37, sub-district 01-g, Owen Sound, p. 28, dwelling 105, family 109; RG 31; digital images(accessed 5 May 2018)

[D03739] 1861 census of Canada East, Canada West, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, Peel, sub-district Brampton, Brampton, p. 15; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.ca (accessed 13 May 2018).