James Douglas Tailor?

James Douglas (ca. 1822 to 1891) is the brother of John Douglas, my third great grandfather. I had previously thought that he had been a tailor in Owen Sound, largely based on advertisments and directory entries that I had seen:

James was the Deputy Registrar of Grey County from at least 1870, so this would have been his career prior to that. The ads suggested 1852 as the date of establishment of the business, so he would have been in that profession from 1852 to before 1870. It does make some sense that he might be a tailor as his step-father, Thomas Lunn worked in the garment industry previously and James may have worked with him at some point.

I started, however, having my doubts and started suspecting that there was a second James Douglas living in Owen Sound at the time. Sure enough I found that there was a James Douglas (1830-1898) also living in Owen Sound at the time:

I found an obituary for the second James Douglas, and sure enough he was a tailor who came to Canada in 1852. So my hunch was correct - it looks like there are two different individuals named James Douglas and the one connected to my family is not the tailor.

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.

X00060 Update

Just an update on X00060: Finding Sybil Williams Death Information. The only sources that I have found to support a death date of 13 May 1874 were her tombsone [D01637] and the Greenwood Cemetery Internment listing [D01131].

Since then I've had a look at the Ontario Death Registrations again and was not able to find anything. I've checked the Owen Sound newspapaers and the Grey County Surname Collection with no luck.

It may well be that the tombstone and internment listing are the only sources that exist. The only other thing that I can think of to search are the church burial records for the time.

X00213 Update

I have posted previously about X00213: Finding the death/burial info for Mary Ann Coulson Douglas.

As mentioned previously, I did find the death registration, but I still haven't found anything burial information. But I have also now checked the Greenwood Cemetery listings (as well as other cemetery listings for Grey County and the obituaries for Owen Sound for that time. No luck.

No idea what else to search next. It may be that she was cremated, or there is no listing for her burial.

Who is Lee Ann Bauman - Solved!

A number of years ago I was at Greenwood cemetery and on the Douglas family gravestone I found the name Lee Ann Bauman with no clear connection to anyone else on the stone:



The dates given for her are 1959 - 1967. There is most likely a connection to the Douglas family of Owen Sound, but unfortunately the stone didn't give any further information and the birth and death years are too recent for civil registration. The FindaGrave website did not offer any additional connections either.

Fortunately, I was able to find a newspaper listing for both her birth and death in the Grey County newspapers collection:





So, these two articles not only corroborate her birth and death dates from the stone but also give then names of the parents: Carman and Marjorie Bauman and that her grandparents were Mr. and Mrs. Stewart Douglas and Mr. and Mrs. George Bauman. So there is our connection to the Douglas family. Stewart A. Douglas was one of the sons of Thomas William Douglas (1859-1955), a well-known tailor in Owen Sound and also buried in the same location. I also later found a marriage notice in the paper announcing the marriage of Carman Bauman and Marjorie Douglas.

I have since sent a request to update the connection on FindaGrave.

Profile: Helen Douglas (1852-1936)

Profile: Helen Douglas (1852-1936)

Helen Douglas was born 17 November 1852 in Guelph, Wellington County, Ontario [D00535, D00763, D00744, D01559, D02547, D02555, D03207]. She was the second daughter and second child of John Douglas and Louisa Williams. She moved along with the rest of her family from Guelph to Owen Sound in the mid-1850s and spent the rest of her life in Owen Sound [D00237].

She married Thomas James Decatur on 20 December 1880 in Toronto [D03207]. Thomas was an American-born lawyer living in Orillia, Simcoe County at the time [D02936, D03207, D04726, D05106]. Thomas and Helen lived together in Orillia for a few years [D04726] before Thomas died at the young age of 38 in 1887 [D02963].

After the death of her first husband, Helen moved back in with her mother for a few years [D00763] and then married George Milford, a Toronto merchant on 31 January 1894 [D00744]. They later moved back to Owen Sound where they lived at 970 4th Avenue East, just down the street from the Douglas family homestead [D02509, D02547]. Back in Owen Sound, Helen became heavily involved with the Division Street United Church [D04777].

George died 8 Jan 1925 of acute heart failure at the age of seventy-nine [D01131, D02554, D03816]. After George’s Death, Helen moved into the Douglas family homestead at 962 4th Avenue East [D00237, D02555, D04727, D04776, D04777]. Helen herself died in her eighty-fourth year on 18 June 1936 [D00237, D01131, D02555]. Both Helen and George are buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Owen Sound [D01131, D03816].

---

Sources:
[D00237] "Mrs George Milford Died on Thursday," Grey County Surname Collection , 18 june 1936; digital images(accessed 31 Aug 2019).

[D00535] 1901 census of Canada, Ontario, district 65, sub-district D-8, Owen Sound, Grey North, Ontario, p. 10, family 95; RG 31; digital images(accessed 9 Jul 2017).

[D00744] Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Marriages, MS932; Reel: 81: 16, 4115, Milford-Decatur; digital images, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Marriages,"(accessed 10 Sep 2017).

[D00763] 1891 census of Canada, Ontario, district 68, sub-district Owen Sound Center Ward, Owen Sound, p. 35, family 175; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.ca, Ancestry (accessed 5 Oct 2017).

[D01131] ”Owen Sound Greenwood Cemetery Interments" (typescript, 2005), p. 222.

[D01559] 1871 census of Canada, Ontario, district 37, sub-district 1-G, Owen Sound, p. 67, dwelling 258, family 262; RG 31; digital images(accessed 6 Sep 2018).

[D02509] 1911 census of Canada, Ontario, district 73, sub-district 48, Owen Sound, p. 8, dwelling 72, family 77; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.com (accessed 7 Oct 2018).

[D02547] 1921 census of Canada, district 83, sub- district 45, Owen Sound, p. 2, dwelling 16, family 17; RG 31; digital images,ancestry.com (accessed 7 Oct 2018).

[D02554] Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Deaths, MS935; Reel:324: 745, 14604, 8; digital image, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Deaths," Ancestry.ca (29 Sep 2018).

[D02555] Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Deaths, MS935; Reel:550: 339, 17186; digital image, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Deaths," Ancestry.ca (29 Sep 2018).

[D02963] Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Deaths, MS935; Reel: 49: 225, 15838; digital image, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Deaths," Ancestry.ca (17 Sep 2018).

[D03207] Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Marriages190, 13286, Decatur-Douglas; digital images, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Marriages,"(accessed 29 Sep 2018).

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

[D04726] 1881 census of Canada, Ontario, district 139, Orillia, p. 117, dwelling 525, family 538; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.ca (accessed 17 Oct 2018).

[D04727] Canada, Canada, Voters Lists, vol. 1935: 2690; digital images, Ancestry.ca, "Canada Voters Lists 1935-1980," (accessed 31 Aug 2019).

[D04776] "Died," Grey County Surname Collection , 18 June 1936; digital images(accessed 31 Aug 2019).

[D04777] ”Mrs. George Milford Buried on Saturday," Grey County Surname Collection , 22 Jun 1936; digital images(accessed 31 Aug 2019).

[D05106] 1871 census of Canada, Ontario, district 40, sub-district 04c, Cardwell, p. 42, dwelling 142, family 142; RG 31; digital images(accessed 31 Aug 2019).

Profile: Clarence Williams Douglas & Mary Louisa “May” Leach

Profile: Clarence Williams Douglas [1865-1923] & Mary Louisa “May” Leach [1863-1896]

Clarence Williams Douglas was born on 9 February 1865 in Owen Sound, Grey County [D00329, D00769, D00838, D01559, D04954] and was the youngest child of John Douglas and Louisa Williams.

Clarence grew up in Owen sound and lived most of his there [D02348]. At the age of sixteen he learned the trade of cutter by apprenticing with a tailor in Toronto [D01354] alongside his older brothers, Thomas W. And Frederick G. Douglas. Back in Owen Sound, Thomas W. Douglas opened a tailoring business where Clarence was employed for seventeen years [D02348].

Mary Louisa “May” Leach was born on 20 October 1863 [D00838, D01131, D01236, D01952, D04954] the daughter of Charles Leach and Margaret Delahaye. She grew up in Trafalgar Township in Halton County, Canada West [D01236], later moving to Oakville [D01334]. She likely met Clarence Douglas during the time he was apprenticing in Toronto.

Clarence Douglas and Mary Louisa “May” Leach were married on 27 December 1887 in Toronto [D00838].

Clarence and May lived on Mulholland Street (now 3rd Avenue West) in Owen Sound. They had one daughter, Muriel May Douglas, born 21 May 1889 [D00378, D05264, D05998].

On the morning of Wednesday 26 February 1896, May began experiencing some agonizing pains in her abdomen [D00233]. Several doctors were called in, but they were unable to save her and she died later that day [D00233, D01952]. The cause of the pains and her later death was determined to be an intestinal rupture [D00233].

The entire community was shocked and grief-stricken over her death as she was only thirty-two years of age and left behind a seven-year-old daughter [D00233, D04930, D05999]. Her funeral was held on Friday 28 February 1896 at 3 pm [D00233, D04930, D05999] and being very well-known in the community, drew a procession that was over a mile in length [D04930, D05999]. She is buried in Greenwood cemetery [D00233, D01131, D04954].

After his wife’s death, Clarence sold the house on Mulholland Street to Mr. George W. Patterson [D06017].

Clarence worked as a commercial traveller for a few years in the 1890s before partnering with George Marron to purchase the Paterson House Hotel from W.M. Matthews on 7 April 1903 [D06019]. The Paterson House had been considered on of the best managed hotels in all of Canada just a few years earlier, but took a bit of a downturn after Owen Sound went dry in 1906. Marron and Douglas co-owned the hotel until Clarence’s death in 1923. During their time as co-owners, George Marron and Clarence Douglas became very well-known over all of Western Ontario [D02348].



Clarence and May’s only daughter Muriel May Douglas married Lester Wright Brown on 26 October 1912 in Owen Sound [D00835]. Their first an only biological daughter (as well as Clarence and May’s only biological granddaughter), Frances Eileen Brown, was born 23 August 1918 [D00267, D00345].

In the evening of Thursday, 20 December 1923 passed out while entering his room at the Paterson House. He may have been drinking that evening, leading to the loss of consciousness, as he was known to have been a drinker. As he fell, he cut his leg on the door hinge and knocked over an oil space heater. He was found collapsed on the floor. A doctor was called, but by the time he began treatment, blood poisoning from the cut had already set in [D02348]. Clarence died two days later on Saturday 21 December 1923 [D01951, D02348].

His funeral was held on Monday 24 December 1923 at the home of his daughter, 1104 4th Avenue East [D02348]. The pall bearers were his nephews John Wilfred and Dr. Norman K. Douglas, his son-in-law Lester Wright Brown, his brother-in-law, George Milford and business partner, George Marron [D02348]. He was buried in Greenwood cemetery along with his wife [D01131, D02348, D04954].




Sources:
[D00233] "Deaths," (Owen Sound) Owen Sound Times, 27 Feb 1896, p. 5, col. 3.

[D00267] “Birth Announcements," Owen Sound Sun-Times , August 27 1918, p. 5; digital images(accessed 5 Mar 2017). Rec. Date: 5 Mar 2017. 

[D00329] 1911 census of Canada, Ontario, district 73, sub-district 57, Owen Sound, p. 3, dwelling 36, family 36; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.com (accessed 25 Mar 2017).

[D00345] 1921 census of Canada, district 83, sub-district 36, Owen Sound, p. 5, dwelling 62, family 63; RG 31; digital images, ancestry.com (accessed 2 Apr 2017). Rec. Date: 1 Apr 2017. 

[D00378] Ontario Archives of Ontario, MS 929, reels 1-245, MS929; Reel: 93: 40, 11105, 76; digital image, Ancestry.com, (20 Apr 2017).

[D00769] 1891 census of Canada, Ontario, district 68, sub-district Owen Sound West Ward, Owen Sound, p. 8, family 39; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.ca,Ancestry (accessed 13 Oct 2017).

[D00835] Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Marriages, MS932; Reel: 211, 8620, Brown-Douglas; digital images, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Marriages,"(accessed 9 Dec 2017).

[D00838] Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Marriages, MS932; Reel: 63, 14388, Douglas-Leach; digital images, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Marriages,"(accessed 16 Dec 2017).

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

[D01236] 1871 census of Canada, Ontario, district 38, sub-district 2-b, Trafalgar, p. 25, dwelling 91, family 91; RG 31; digital images(accessed 30 Mar 2019).

[D01334] 1881 census of Canada, Ontario, district 150, Oakville, p. 50, dwelling 260, family 260; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.ca (accessed 8 Jul 2018).

[D01354] 1881 census of Canada, Ontario, district 134, sub-district G, Toronto, p. 136, dwelling 657, family 713; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.ca (accessed 30 Sep 2018).

[D01559] 1871 census of Canada, Ontario, district 37, sub-district 1-G, Owen Sound, p. 67, dwelling 258, family 262; RG 31; digital images(accessed 6 Sep 2018).

[D01951] Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Deaths, MS935; Reel: 301: 429, 15709, 14; digital image, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Deaths," Ancestry.ca (16 Mar 2019).

[D01952] Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Deaths, MS935; Reel: 79: 593, 9512, 17; digital image, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Deaths," Ancestry.ca (17 Mar 2019).

[D02348] "Prominent Hotel Man Passed Away Quite Suddenly,"Owen Sound Sun-Times, 23 Dec 1923, p. 1, col. 1; digital images(accessed 16 Mar 2019).

[D04930] "Deaths," (Owen Sound) Owen Sound Times, 5 Mar 1896, p. 5, col. 3.

[D04954] Greenwood Cemetery (Owen Sound, Grey, Ontario), G-S9-1.

[D05264] “Births," (Owen Sound) Owen Sound Times, 6 Jun 1889.

[D05998] “Births," (Owen Sound) Owen Sound Times, 13 Jun 1889, p.4, col. 4.

[D05999] (Owen Sound) The Advertiser, Owen Sound, 3 Mar 1896, p. 1, col. 7.

[D06017] "Marriages," (Owen Sound) Owen Sound Times, 26 Mar 1896, p. 1, col. 4.

[D06019] "Deaths," (Owen Sound) The Advertiser, Owen Sound, 18 Mar 1904, p. 1, col. 2.

Profile: Jane Emily Williams & William Henry Madden

Jane Emily Williams [1851-1936] & William Henry Madden [1853-1936]

Jane Emily Williams was the first born child of Isaac Amos Williams and Caroline Seymour Sanders. She was born in Guelph, Wellington in Canada West on 23 Nov 1851 [D04285] during the time that Isaac was working for his father’s brewery. She grew up in Guelph and attended school in Guelph [D03763] before the family moved to Mount Forest, Wellington County in the 1860s [D03788] and then Lindsay, Victoria County in the 1870s [D03761].

Jane married William Henry Madden, a Methodist minister on 2 July 1879 in Lindsay [D03761]. Prior to her marriage, Jane was a member of the Church of England [D03763, D03788] but converted to Methodism prior to her marriage [D03761].

William Henry Madden was born 4 Jan 1853 in Napanee, Lennox & Addington County [D03761, D04984, D04981] the son of David B. Madden and Anna James. At a young age, his family moved from Napanee to Otonabee, Peterborough [D04984] where he presumably met Jane Emily Williams as Otonabee is not far from Lindsay.

William’s profession as a minister required him to relocate frequently, and as such, the family lived in a number of different places in Ontario. Shortly after they were married, they moved to Eugenia Falls, Grey County [D03836, D04979], but after three years moved on to other charges including Minden, Haliburton County [D03847], Georgina, York County [D03845], Collingwood, Grey County [D03838], Medonte, Simcoe County [D04980], Meaford, Grey County [D04981] and finally Aurora, York County [D04982].

William and Jane’s first child, Clarence Eugene Madden was born 13 March 1880 in Eugenia Falls, Grey County [D03836]. He died of pneumonia on 16 February 1916 at the age of twenty-one as was about to enter the ministry like his father [D03837, D05047].

Henry Percival Madden was born 5 October 1881 [D03848]. He worked as a banker [D05196, D05194, D05201, D05197] and married Gertrude Lavinia Hart on 2 February 1911 [D05194]. He died on 5 April 1937 [D05193].

Jane and William’s first daughter, Evangeline Louise Madden was born 10 July 1883 [D03847]. She married Dr. Hilary N. Wilkinson, a dentist, on 28 September 1910 [D05198] and died 7 January 1949 [D05209].

Frederick Walter Madden was born 26 January 1885 [D03844]. He followed in his father’s footsteps and worked as a minister [D05210]. He married Stella Evelyn Hames on 21 June 1917 [D05210]. He died in 1957 [D04644].

Olive Seymour Madden was born 26 July 1886 [D03845]. She married William John Broley on 10 August 1904 [D03838] and died in 1963 [D03855].

Jane and William’s youngest child, Lillian Southmayd Madden was born 26 January 1889 [D03838]. She died of tuberculosis at the young age of twenty-five on 8 September 1914 [D03839].

Jane Emily Madden herself died 21 April 1936 of cardiac failure at the age of eighty-four [D03792]. She and her husband were living in Aurora, York County at the time. In her obituary she was remembered for being “of a particularly happy and cheerful disposition, her merry laugh often ringing out.” And for being involved with her religion and children’s lives [D05047].

Reverend William Henry Madden died just over two months after his wife on 29 June 1936 in his eighty-fifth year [D03835, D04875].

Both Jane Emily and William Henry Madden are buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto [D03829].



Sources:
[D03761] Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Marriages, 10516, Madden-Williams; digital images, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Marriages,"(accessed 15 May 2018).

[D03763] 1861 census of Canada East, Canada West, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, Wellington, Guelph, p. 31; RG 31; digital images,Ancestry.ca (accessed 20 May 2018).

[D03788] 1871 census of Canada, Ontario, district 35, sub-district e, Mount Forest, p. 49, dwelling 173, family 173; RG 31; digital images(accessed 20 May 2018).

[D03792] Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Deaths, MS935, Reel 534: 351, 3260, 2371; digital image, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Deaths," Ancestry.ca (26 May 2018).

[D03829] Mount Pleasant Cemetery (Toronto, York, Ontario).

[D03835] Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Deaths, MS 935 Reel 576: 433, 40364; digital image, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Deaths," Ancestry.ca (2 Jun 2018).

[D03836] Ontario Archives of Ontario, MS 929, reels 1-245, MS929 Reel 43: 8401, 23; digital image, Ancestry.com, "Ontario, Canada Births," (2 Jun 2018).

[D03837] Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Deaths, MS935 Reel 01: 579, 5; digital image, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Deaths," Ancestry.ca (2 Jun 2018).

[D03838] Ontario Archives of Ontario, MS 929, reels 1-245, MS929 Reel 93: 168, 11764; digital image, Ancestry.com, "Ontario, Canada Births," (2 Jun 2018).

[D03839] Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Deaths, MS935 Reel 203: 428, 36193; digital image, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Deaths," Ancestry.ca (2 Jun 2018).

[D03844] Ontario Archives of Ontario, MS 929, reels 1-245, MS929 Reel 74: 708, 44798, 13; digital image, Ancestry.com, "Ontario, Canada Births," (2 Jun 2018).

[D03845] Ontario Archives of Ontario, MS 929, reels 1-245, 41815, 8; digital image, Ancestry.com, "MS929 Reel 80," (2 Jun 2018).

[D03847] Ontario Archives of Ontario, MS 929, reels 1-245, MS929 Reel 61: 28254, 1; digital image, Ancestry.com, "Ontario, Canada Births," (2 Jun 2018).

[D03848] Ontario Archives of Ontario, MS 929, reels 1-245, MS929 Reel 50: 494, 26905, 10; digital image, Ancestry.com, "Ontario, Canada Births," (2 Jun 2018).

[D03855] Alliston United Cemetery (Alliston, Simcoe, Ontario).

[D03858] Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Marriages451, 19067, Broley-Madden; digital images, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Marriages,"(accessed 3 Jun 2018).

[D04285] "Births," (Guelph) Guelph Weekly Herald, 2 Dec 1851, p. 3, col. 2.

[D04644] Erskine Cemetery (Durham, Ontario).

[D04875] ”Deaths,"Flesherton Advance, 1 Jul 1936, p. 1, col. 2; digital images(accessed 15 Dec 2018), Grey Highlands Historical Newspapers.

[D04979] 1881 census of Canada, Ontario, district 155, sub-district A-3, Artemesia, p. 13, dwelling 65, family 65; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.ca (accessed 2 Dec 2018).

[D04980] 1891 census of Canada, Ontario, district 116, sub-district 6, Medonte, p. 4, family 22; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.ca, Ancestry (accessed 2 Dec 2018).

[D04981] 1901 census of Canada, Ontario, district 64, sub-district D-2, Meaford, p. 2, dwelling 15, family 15; RG 31; digital images(accessed 8 Dec 2018).

[D04982] 1911 census of Canada, Ontario, district 137, sub-district 31, Aurora, p. 36, dwelling 109, family 113; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.com (accessed 9 Dec 2018).

[D04984] 1861 census of Canada East, Canada West, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, Peterborough, district 12, Otonabee, p. 52; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.ca (accessed 15 Dec 2018).

[D05047] ”Mrs. Madden Passes," Flesherton Advance, 22 Apr 1936, p. 1, col. 6; digital images(accessed 2 Dec 2018), Grey Highlands Historical Newspapers.

[D05193] Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Deaths, MS935 Reel 578: 384, 3465, 2231; digital image, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Deaths," Ancestry.ca (8 Dec 2018).

[D05194] Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Marriages, Reel 159, 3524, Madden-Hart; digital images, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Marriages,"(accessed 8 Dec 2018).

[D05196] 1911 census of Canada, Ontario, district 82, sub-district 40, Hensall, p. 8, dwelling 109, family 109; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.com (accessed 8 Dec 2018).

[D05197] 1921 census of Canada, district 93, sub-district 94, Highgate Village, p. 5, dwelling 71, family 73; RG 31; digital images, ancestry.com (accessed 8 Dec 2018).

[D05198] Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Marriages, Reel 151: 231, 24712, Wilkinson-Madden; digital images, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Marriages,"(accessed 9 Dec 2018).

[D05201] Ontario Archives of Ontario, MS 929, reels 1-245, MS929 Reel 227: 461, 26304; digital image, Ancestry.com, "Ontario, Canada Births," (9 Dec 2018).

[D05209] "Deaths," Toronto Star, 10 Jan 1949; digital images(accessed 15 Dec 2018).

[D05210] Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Marriages, Reel 432, 19013, Madden-Hames; digital images, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Marriages,"(accessed 16 Dec 2018).

Update on X00298: John Williams Brewing History

I posted recently about X00298 and researching John William's history as a brewer. While I haven't looked into the Brampton or Owen Sound breweries I have looked more into the possibility of him operating a brewery briefly in Flesherton. Unfortunately, the findings don't give any positive results either way. Here's what I've found:

• There is a John Williams living in Flesherton in the 1861 and 1871 census, but his occupation is not listed as a brewer in either census and his background is Dutch.
• The John Williams of Flesherton is mentioned and profiled in the book Split Rail Country but brewing is not mentioned.
• The 1865-66 directory for Grey County did not mention any brewery for Flesherton.
• No John Williams a brewer was found in any reference books or reference files for Breweries/Wineries/Distilleries in Grey County
• No trace of a brewery was found on old maps of Flesherton or Markdale.

So, the next step it seems is to check the newspapers around at the time to see if anything is said about the brewery. The only newspapers that I am aware of in Grey County at the time are in Durham and Owen Sound. I've checked the Durham newspapers but couldn't find anything. Will need to check the Owen Sound newspapers next.

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.

X00056 Clarence Douglas in 1921 Census Solved!!

For the longest time, I wasn't able to find Clarence W. Douglas in the 1921 census, I did come across the following person in the 1921 census:



While the name and the age (53) matches, there are a number of things that do not. For one thing the relationship to head of Roomer/servant is a discrepancy. But the biggest one is that he is listed as being from Ireland, of Irish background and immigrated to Canada in 1884, where we know that he is actually of Scottish background and was born in Canada.

On the other hand, the address of the place he was living at was 845 2nd Avenue East, which was the address of the Paterson House where he and George Marron would have been the co-owners in 1921. Sure enough, George Marron and his family are also listed as living there at the time. Owen Sound street directories from show Clarence Douglas living at that same address in 1917 and 1922, which leads me to conclude that this Clarence Douglas in 1921 is the correct one, and the information about his ethnic background was giving incorrectly by someone who did not know him all that well.

X00213 Find Death/Burial information for Mary Ann Coulson Douglas

One of the challenges I've had is find the death and burial information for Mary Ann Coulson, the first wife of Frederick Gabriel Douglas.

He remarried in 1893, so her death would have been before then. Fortunately, with some creative keyword searching I eventually found the death notice (it had been indexed incorrectly):



She died 16 December 1888, according to the record.

So, that's half of the problem solved but now the next issue is finding a cemetery record. I can't find her in the Greenwood Cemetery listings, which is odd considering that Frederick is buried there and most of the rest of her family. As far as I can tell she lived her whole life in Owen Sound so it would only make sense that she was buried at Greenwood.

I can't find any obituaries or death notices that might give a clue.

So the next steps would be to continue looking for a death notice, and check the burial records for Greenwood and other cemeteries in the area to see if her name was indexed incorrectly

Update on marriage date for Adam Smith & Kate Williams Smith

Some time ago, I posted about the marriage date for Adam Smith and Kate Julianna Williams where I concluded that the date of their actual wedding was 23 October 1880.

Since that time I have found some additional information which suggests that I might have the incorrect date.

The first was an article from the Flesherton Advance dated 16 Nov 1930:



The article came out after their golden wedding anniversary celebration and said "As November 23rd was the proper day for the golden wedding anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. Adam Smith..." suggesting that November 23rd was the actual day of the wedding, and that they just had the Golden Wedding celebration on October 23rd. [D04870]

The next was an obituary for Kate Julianne Williams that appeared in the Markdale Standard 28 Nov 1940. In it, the article states that "On Nov. 23rd, 1880 she was united in marriage to Mr. Adam Smith who predeceased her in April 1939". [D05337]



So, based on this new evidence it would appear that 23 Nov 1880 is the more likely date for their marriage.


Sources:
[D04870] "Eugenia," Flesherton Advance, 16 Nov 1930, p. 1, col. 1; digital images(accessed 3 Nov 2018), Grey Highland Newspapers. Rec. Date: 2 Nov 2018. Cit. Date: 3 Nov 2018.

[D05337] "The Late Mrs. Adam Smith," Markdale Standard, 28 Nov 1940, p. 3, col. 3; digital images(accessed 6 Feb 2019), Grey Highlands Historical Newspaper Collection. Rec. Date: 9 Nov 2018. Cit. Date: 6 Feb 2019.

X00257 Solved! Who are Peter, James & William Rutherford?

I first found the names of Peter Rutherford (born about 1859), James Rutherford (born about 1860) and William Rutherford (born about 1863) in the 1871 census for Grey County [D01237]. They were living with John Rutherford (1839-1915) and Sophia Amelia Miller (1838-1921), and so at the time I had assumed that the three were the sons of John and Sophia. That is until I did some more research on the family and found the marriage record for John and Sophia, giving a marriage date of 1866 [D03924].

My first thought was that perhaps John had had a previous marriage. But this would be difficult to determine because marriage records in Ontario in the 1850s are difficult to come by. As well, very few newspapers survive from that time period in Grey County.

But eventually, I did manage to luck out and find a mention of John's first wife in his obituaries. Her name was Margaret Spragge and died in 1865 due to a smallpox epidemic that his Owen Sound at the time. I later found that in the Greenwood Cemetery Interment listings [D01131] give her actual date of death as January 5, 1865

Once I knew his first wife's name I was able to find her in the 1861 census [D04003] along with her husband John and her three sons: Peter, James and William to confirm.

Multiple grave locations for George Miller & Amelia Grant Munro

George Miller and Amelia Grant Munro appear in two different burial locations in Find-a-grave:

Dixie Union Cemetery in Peel County:
- George Miller
- Amelia Grant Munro

Greenwood Cemetery in Grey County:
- George Miller
- Amelia Grant Munro



They also appear in the the transcriptions for both graveyards.

Analysis and conclusion:
I have to think that the Greenwood Cemetery listing is the correct one and that the Dixie Union one is a mistake for a few reasons:
- George and Amelia were known to be living in Owen Sound at the time of their deaths. They left Peel region in the 1860s
- From newspaper accounts, we know that George’s funeral was held in Owen Sound
- I'm more inclined to trust the Greenwood cemetery listing, because the Greenwood Cemetery listing lists the actual burials whereas the Dixie Union one is just inscriptions. I suspect that somebody interpreted the inscription on their son George M. Miller’s stone as being for them as well.

Profile: Private Emerson Claude Smith (1881-1917)

I've decided to start off 2019 by taking Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge. I don't know how far I'll get with it, but I figure it will help start the process of writing and documenting the research that I've found so far.

Each week there is a theme to get you going on choosing an ancestor to profile. For week one, the theme is "First". So, I've decided to profile a First World War soldier. I've been doing some work on the Smith family of Eugenia Falls and so for this week, I'm going to profile Private Emerson Claude Smith.

Private Emerson Claude Smith (1881-1917)
2nd cousin, 3 times removed



Emerson Claude Smith was born 13 October 1881 in Eugenia Falls, Grey County, Ontario Canada, the son of Adam Smith, a blacksmith, and Kate Julianna Williams [D04797, D04735, D04798]. He spent most of his early years in Eugenia Falls, Grey County, Ontario but did work for a number of years in Edmonton, Alberta [D04861]. He did not fallow his father into the blacksmith trade, but instead became a woodworker for a period of time. [D04736]

Emerson enlisted to fight in World War 1 in Owen Sound on 14 December 1915 [D04906, D04798, D04799], about fifteen months after his younger brother, Fred enlisted. His attestation papers give a physical description of him as being 5 ft, 8 inches in height, 165 pounds with blue eyes, fair hair and fair complexion. He had a scar on his right knee [D04798]. His attestation also gives his occupation prior to enlisting as a chauffeur [D04798].

Upon enlisting, Emerson was assigned service no 838414 and assigned to the 147th (Grey) Battalion which began recruiting in late 1915 [D04799].

After training for almost a year, the 147th sailed on the SS Olympic to England, departing on 13 November 1916 and arriving on November 21st [D04799]. Emerson was transferred to the 8th Reserve Battalion on 1 January 1917 and then on April 1st to the 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles Battalion [D04799]. His unit landed in France April 22nd and he was reported as having arrived for duty on April 27th [D04799].

Sadly, Emerson was killed in action on 7 June 1915 at the age of 36. He died at Vimy Ridge, after being in France for only about two months. [D05025 p405, D04861, D04799]. He was buried at Petit Vimy on the slope of Vimy Ridge [D05025 p405, D04861].



Emerson’s mother, Kate Julianna Smith was given the memorial cross for losing her son [D04799]. She may have also received some consolation in a letter that Emerson wrote to her just before his death. The letter in included the following passage that seems to indicate that he was comfortable with whatever fate lay in store for him:

"I am not just as good as I might be, but I am going to try very hard to lead a better life. Do not worry too much about me, because God will bring me through safely if He sees fit." [D04805]

The Smith family printed this memorial in the Flesherton Advance 6 June 1918 in his memory:

In Memory Of Pte. Emerson Smith, son of Mr. and Mrs. Adam Smith, Eugenia, killed in battle June 7, 1917.
Somewhere in France, near the long battle line,
Stands a cross on the grave of that dear son of mine.
He suffered, he died, that his country might live.
Paid the full price, gave all that could give.
Through he lies far from home, over the sea,
I shall meet him again in the life that's to be.
- Father, Mother, Sisters, Brother.[D04863]

After the war, Emerson’s mother was a big part of ensuring that a war memorial was set up in Eugenia Park to commemorate the fallen soldiers from the area, including her two sons. The memorial was officially dedicated on 21 July 1921 and list both Emerson and his brother Fred. [D05025 p 401 & 402]




Sources:
[D04735] 1901 census of Canada, Ontario, district 66, sub-district A-5, Artemesia, p. 14, dwelling 126, family 126; RG 31; digital images(accessed 15 Oct 2018).

[D04736] 1911 census of Canada, Ontario, district 72, sub-district 4, Eugenia, p. 7, dwelling 70, family 70; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.com (accessed 20 Oct 2018).

[D04797] Ontario Archives of Ontario, MS 929, reels 1-245, MS929; Reel: 48: 8357, 26; digital image, Ancestry.com, "Ontario, Canada Births," (25 Oct 2018).

[D04798] Canada, "WWI CEF Attestation Papers, 1914-1918," Attestation Papers: Emerson Claude Smith; digital images, Ancestry.ca(accessed 11 Nov 2018).

[D04799] Canada, "Emerson Claude Smith WW1 Military Service Record"; digital images, Library and Archives Canada(accessed 27 Dec 2018).

[D04805] "Claude Emerson Smith," Flesherton Advance, 16 Aug 1917, p. 1, col. 2; digital images(accessed 2 Nov 2018), Grey Highlands Newspapers.

[D04863] "In Memory," Flesherton Advance, 6 Jun 1918, p. 1, col. 2; digital images(accessed 2 Nov 2018), Grey Highlands Newspapers.

[D04906] "Eugenia Soldiers," Flesherton Advance, 30 Mar 1916, p. 3, col. 2; digital images(accessed 10 Nov 2018), Grey Highlands Newspaper Collection.

[D05025] Mildred Young Hubbert, editor, Split Rail Country: A History of Artemesia Township (Owen Sound, Ontario: Stan Brown Printers Limited, 1986),

Marriage Date Found: Adam Smith & Kate Williams

I just realized that it has been a few months since I've posted here. So, here's a quick update. I'm currently working on researching some branches of the Williams family, in particular the Smith family of Eugenia Falls, Ontario.

I was trying to determine the date of marriage for Adam Smith and Kate J. Williams. All evidence pointed to about 1880; their first child was born in 1881, and an article I found suggested that they got married about a year and a half after her older sister Jane Emily Williams married William Henry Madden. The date of that marriage was July 2 1879. So, towards the end of 1880 would seem the most likely date.

The problem is that I couldn't find them in the civil registration marriages for Ontario. So I had a look in the newspapers next. Fortunately, the Grey Highlands Public Library has a collection of Grey Highlands newspapers. I found this article in the Markdale Standard, Dec 3 1880:



The article suggests that the marriage had occurred recently, but didn't give an exact date. I checked earlier newspapers, but found no mention of the actual date. So, knowing that both husband and wife lived past 1930, I decided to look for a 50th anniversary article and found one in the 29 October 1930 issue of Flesherton Advance that mentioned they celebrated their golden wedding anniversary on 23 October 1930. So there you have it, I was able to find their marriage date of 23 October 1880 via a roundabout way