George Miller in Esquessing

I've book looking through property records in hopes of finding some more clues about George Miller. Unfortunately it is a common name. I did come across a reference to a George Miller living in Concession V in Esquessing, Ontario:

I figured that it was somewhat unlikely that it would be the same one, but he did live in Halton region at one point.

So, I managed to look up the record and found that it was Lot 1, Concession V. A George Miller bought the land in 1826 and sold part of it in 1831. THe timing there might be ok, but then part of it was transferred via a will in 1848:

That makes it very unlikely that it's the same George Miller, because the one in my family died in 1891. I've confirmed that it was transferred via a will.

So, unfortunately, not the same George Miller. But at least I was able to rule it out

X00253 Who is Eliza Ann Hyatt - Solved!

In the book, Halton Sketches Revisited by John McDonald, there is a reference to an Eliza Ann Hyatt in connection with Lucy Maude Montgomery, who lived in Norval, Ontario at one time. I was wondering if this Eliza Ann Hyatt is connected to the same Hyatt family that I am researching, also from Norval.

So, I managed to find her birth record from 1884, daughter of William Hyatt and Jane Magill.

I next found the marriage record for William Hyatt and Jane Magill from 1870, showing his parents as John and Mary Ann Hyatt, and that he was born around 1846.

I've also come across an index of a marriage record (I haven't found the original record yet) for a marriage between a John Hyatt and Mary McMahon in 1842. Now, my theory is (although I haven't verified it yet) is that this marriage is the second marriage for John Hyatt and that he is the same John Hyatt who married Rachel Ostrander.

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

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.

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!

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.

X00241: Are Ann Hardy Barnhill and Mary Hardy Hyatt Sisters?

One of families that I’m researching at the present time is the Hardy family who came from Farndale, Yorkshire, England to what is now Peel Region in Ontario Canada in the 1840s. Lancelot Hardy and Ann Wood had several children and I’ve been able to trace most of them to Ontario.

Right now I’m trying to determine if Ann Hardy Barnhill and Mary Hardy Hyatt are sisters.

Ann Hardy married John Barnhill (1824-1868) around 1862. They had two children (that I have been able to identify so far): Nancy Maria Barnhill (1863-1929) and William John Barnhill (1867-1909).

Mary Hardy married Matthew Hyatt (1846-1909) around 1869. They had several children before she died in 1884. Matthew remarried after she died.

I’m definitely sure that Ann Hardy is the daughter of Lancelot and Ann; one record I’ve found gives their names as the parents. I haven’t found the same for Mary yet, but Lancelot and Ann did have a daughter named Mary and the information is definitely consistent with their daughter being the same one that was married to Matthew Hyatt. But I have yet to find definite proof.

The two families were definitely close. They lived in the same area and after Mary died, some of her children started living with the Barnhills and adopted the surname Barnhill. So, it's very likely.

The genealogy sad dance

In my tree, I have a marriage between a George Miller and Margaret Farriage in Toronto Township in 1832 (October 25th, 1832 to be specific).


I was able to find a bit more information on George Miller - he was born 1809 in Poughkeepsie, New York - but not much on Margaret Farriage. It certainly doesn't help that the surname Farriage takes on a number of variations - sometimes there is only one r, sometimes e's replace the a's and sometimes there is no letter i.

I managed to find a Margaret Farridge through FamilySearch.org born May 1st, 1804 in Rothbury, Northumberland, England, daughter of William Farridge.



The name is close enough and the timeline is not outside the realm of possibility. As well, George and Margaret's second son was named William, so it all fits. But I was a little hesitant to make the jump that this could be the same person in both Nelson Township, Ontario and in Rothbury, Northumberland, England without more proof.

Now, this was back in the early days when I was just starting out in genealogy. I managed to get in touch with a distant cousin who had spent many years researching the Farriage line and she had the two as the same person, so I made the connection in my tree, figuring that I would verify it with my own research later.

So, fast-forward to a few months ago. I'm now getting around to verifying that line. There was a wavy leaf on Ancestry.com that led me to some other people who had Margaret Farriage in their tree. Most of them either had the same connection as I did or no date of death. But interestingly, two of them had a death date of 1809 with no source. I contacted them, but (like many people with trees on ancestry) neither of them know where the information had come from, and had likely copied it from someone else.

So, I ordered the microfilm reel for Rothbury and sure enough I found the burial entry:



It's blurry, but it's a Margaret Farriage, daughter of William Farriage died October, 1809, aged 5 years. It's definitely the same person.

So, the Rothbury Margaret Farriage born 1804 is not the same as the Nelson Township Margaret Farriage. I checked the Rothbury Baptisms to see if the family had named a later child Margaret, but didn't find anything. So, I now have to delink that branch of the family, and go back to square one as far as finding Margaret's actual birth date, place & parents. It's a bit of a genealogy sad dance, but finding out the truth is far better than wasting time researching the wrong family.