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.

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.

X00118 Charlotte Emily Tew (1872-1873)

Charlotte Emily Tew was born 16 June 1872 in Meath, Ireland [D01026] and is the daughter of John Armstrong Tew and Charlotte Elizabeth Arthur. I have found her gravestone in Hamilton Cemetery noting that she died 16 September 1873 [D02952].

Transcription:

Charlotte E. Tew
died Sep 16 1873
aged 1 yr & 3 mos

Catherine M. Tew
died Sep. 7 1875
aged 6 years & 4 mos

daughters of John A. Tew

The date of death on the stone agrees with the date of birth found in her birth certificate. I have tried to locate an Ontario death registration for her, but have not been succssful. I suspect that this is a death that may not have ever been registered. I've also checked the Hamilton Spectator for a listing, but it doesn't appear to have been listed, unlike her sister Catherine, who's death did appear appear in the Spectator.

Short of checking for a burial record, the gravestone may be the only evidence of her death that exists.

On the plus side, it does nail down a range of when the family came to Canada: they must have arrived between June 1872 and September 1873.

---

Sources:
[D01026] Ireland GRO Ireland, Irish Civil Regsitration, Births, 12: 783, 407, 75. Rec. Date: 4 Feb 2018. Cit. Date: 4 Feb 2018.

[D02952] Hamilton Cemetery (Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario), Section: CC-C. Rec. Date: 19 Dec 2020.

Update on X00121: Who is Ellen Reynolds?

Back again with another update on the X00121 quest to find out who Ellen Reynolds/Ellen McLeod is and if they are the same person. This time I've been searching to see if I could find some other records on Ellen McLeod.

Some time ago, I found evidence of an Alexander & Ellen McLeod living in Niagara. Since the John McLeod family has a connection to Niagara, could this be the same Ellen McLeod as the one that we're trying to resolve? It would have to mean that Alexander died before 1861. I managed to find their gravestone in Drummond Hill Cemetery in Niagara and Alexander died in 1871. As well, I found the two of them together in Welland County in the 1861 census:



Since we already have the other Ellen McLeod in the 1861 census in Cobourg we can rule this Ellen McLeod out as a match.

Next, when I was searching for possible marriages between an Ellen McLeod and a Joseph Reynolds in Cobourg, I found a marriage record between a John McLeod, aged 34, born in Scotland and an Ellen Thompson, aged 21, born Canada. The marriage date was 30 Dec 1858. Both bride and groom resided in Hamilton.



So, this marriage was intriguing for a number of reasons: the names Ellen & McLeod. The fact that it was in Cobourg and that both parties lived in Hamilton (John McLeod & family have connections with Hamilton). If this were the case, it would mean that Ellen's maiden name was Thompson and her husband John would have died before the 1861 census.

But there are some other issues with the record that suggest that it might not be the same Ellen. For one thing, the age in the marriage record suggests a birth year of 1837, whereas the other Ellen would have been born in the 1820s (the year varies by record). As well, she is listed as being born in Canada whereas the Ellen that we are looking for would have been born in Scotland. Plus, in the 1861 census, the Ellen McLeod we are checking is not listed as being a widow.

But the final blow came when I found John & Ellen McLeod in the 1861 census as well. So we can rule that possibility out as well.

Update on X00121: Who is Ellen Reynolds?

Continuing along the saga of X00121 and the quest to find out who is Ellen Reynolds/Ellen McLeod I took a trip out to Hamilton to do some research.

My first stop was Hamilton Cemetery to see if I could find the gravestone for Ellen Reynolds, and more specifically, if it was located close to the McLeod-Mundy gravestone.

Hamilton Cemetery is a very large cemetery, but fortunately the McLeod-Mundy gravestone is easy to find because it is located near the cemetery office. It did not take me long to find the stone:



And, yes, it is located very close to the McLeod-Mundy stone; it is in the same location, just one row behind as you can see from this picture:



Now, the location of the stone doesn't prove anything of course, but it does strengthen the argument that Ellen Reynolds is somehow related to John McLeod.

Next stop was Hamilton Public Library to do some newspapers searches. I was hoping to find death notices or obituaries for John McLeod or Ellen Reynolds that might offer some clues, such as listing surviving family members. I checked a number of Hamilton Newspapers from the time period but couldn't find anything for either of them. I did find death notices for John's wife Henriette, but they didn't offer any clues to this puzzle. So I can cross this avenue off the list and it's off to the next actions. As an outside chance, I could check Cobourg papers to see if they picked up the death notices.

Next Steps:
* Look for a marriage between 1861 and 1871 for Ellen McLeod & John Reynolds/Runnals
* Look for a death record or cemetery record for a John Reynolds/Runnals between 1861 and 1871
* Check Cobourg newspapers for death notices obituaries for John McLeod (21 Aug 1889) or Ellen Reynolds (21 May 1902)
* Check for Probate records for John McLeod (1889) to see if Ellen Reynolds is mentioned
* Check Scottish records to see if any connection can be found

Another update on X00121: Who is Ellen McLeod/Reynolds

I've posted recently on X00121 - Who is Ellen McLeod/Reynolds and have also posted one update. And here is another update.

I've since contacted Hamilton Cemetery to ask about the burial records. While they weren't able to give me the plot owners, they were able to confirm that the burial plots for John and Henriette McLeod are quite close to the plot for Ellen Reynolds. They are in the same section, different rows, but quite close to one another.

But more importantly, they provided an interesting piece of information. Both John McLeod and Ellen Reynolds listed John E. McLeod (son of John McLeod and Henriette Mundy) as a next of kin. This would likely indicate that Ellen Reynolds is part of the same family as John McLeod.

Neither of the above two pieces of information are definite proof that Ellen Reynolds and Ellen McLeod are the same person, but they are definitely pointing in that direction.

So, here are the next actions:
* Look for marriage between 1861 and 1871 for Ellen McLeod and John Reynolds
* Look for death record for John Reynolds between 1861 and 1871
* Look for Ellen and John in 1841 census Scotland
* Look for an obituary for Ellen Reynolds
* Look for an obituary for John McLeod
* Check for probate for John McLeod 1889 and see if Ellen Reynolds is mentioned
* Search under the name RENNALS/RUNNALS as well.

In the next few months I'll visit Hamilton Cemetery and Hamilton Public Library to check the proximity of the grave locations myself and search for obituaries for Ellen Reynolds and John McLeod.

Update on X00121: Who is Ellen McLeod?

A few weeks ago, I posted about X00121: Who is Ellen McLeod?. Since that time I have made a couple of new discoveries (with help from people on the Hamilton OGS Facebook group):

1) I have managed to find Ellen Reynolds in the 1901 census. The difficulty with finding her is that she was listed under the name "Hellen Rennals". Anyway, at the time of the 1901 census she is living at the same home for the aged in Hamilton that she was living in in 1891. New information found is that she emigrated to Canada in 1855.

2) I've also managed to find her in an 1888 directory for Hamilton where she is listed as a widow to a John Reynolds. So, we now know her husband's name.

Next actions:
* Look for marriage between 1861 and 1871 for Ellen McLeod and John Reynolds
* Look for death record for John Reynolds between 1861 and 1871
* Look for Ellen and John in 1841 census Scotland
* Look for an obituary for Ellen Reynolds
* Look for an obituary for John McLeod
* Check for probate for John McLeod 1889 and see if Ellen Reynolds is mentioned
* Check location of Ellen Reynolds gravestone in Hamilton Cemetery - see if close to the McLeod-Mundy Stone
* Search under the name RENNALS/RUNNALS as well.

X00121 Who is Ellen McLeod?

In the 1861 census, the McLeod family has an Ellen McLeod living with them and is listed as a family member [D01599]:



From the 1861 census, Ellen McLeod was born about 1825-1826 in Scotland.

Then, there is an Ellen Reynolds living with the McLeod family in 1871 and 1881 [D01233] & [D01329]:





She is listed as being widowed.

The ultimate question I'm trying to answer is who is Ellen McLeod. But for the time being, I'm trying to determine if Ellen McLeod and Ellen Reynolds are the same person. I've found Ellen Reynolds in the 1891 census, her death registration and her gravestone and it would appear that she was born around the same time as Ellen McLeod in Scotland.

Analysis
If they are the same person:
- Then Ellen McLeod married a Reynolds between 1861 and 1871
- Mr. Reynolds died between 1861 and 1871

If they are two different people:
- Ellen McLeod should appear in the 1871 or later censuses
- Ellen Reynolds should appear in the 1861 census


Next actions:
* Look for marriage between 1861 and 1871 for Ellen McLeod and Reynolds
* Look for 1901 census record for Ellen Reynolds
* Look for death record for Mr. Reynolds between 1861 and 1871
* Look for ellen and john in 1841 census Scotland
* Look for obituary for Ellen Reynolds
* Look for obituary for John McLeod

A String of Accidents

Continuing the search for the Mundy/Dority relationship I came across this obituary for a Francis Moore that provides a great deal of information:



Unfortunately for Mrs. Moore (I have since found out that her first name is Sarah), it seems that she has faced a great deal of tragedy in her life. But it certainly gives a great deal of information for me to follow up on.

For one thing, it references her brother in law Henry Monday drowning in the Niagara River in 1827 referencing the findings I posted last time. So she is likely the sister of Anne Sidney Taylor. It also mentions that her father was a Sergeant Taylor and that her mother remarried a man named Oakes.

So, here are the new X-Files to investigate:

• Investigate a Sergeant Taylor (likely father of Anne Sidney Taylor) who died at the siege of Badajoz, Spain in 1812 [X00200]
• Investigate a Mrs Oakes (likely mother of Anne Sidney Taylor) who died in St. Catherines in 1828 [X00201]
• Investigate a Sergeant Oakes (likely step-father of Anne Sidney Taylor) who drowned in the Niagara River around 1821 [X00202]
• Investigate a Francis Moore (likely brother-in-law of Anne Sidney Taylor) who died in Hamilton in 1831 [X00203]
• Investigate a Sarah Taylor-Oakes-Moore (likely sister of Anne Sidney Taylor) [X00204]

Investigating the McLeod-Dority Connection

Since I discovered the name Anne Doherty in Annie Agnes McLeod's Death Registration (see previous post) which has thrown up the question of whether Annie Agnes's mother is Anne Doherty or Henriette Mundy, I've been reviewing some of the family records. While I haven't found any definite proof either way, I've found the surname Doherty (or more accurately, Dority) staring me in the face in a number of records.

First, in the marriage record between John McLeod and Henriette Mundy, there is a Margaret Dority as a witness:



Next, in the 1861 census there appears to be an M.A. Dority either living with the family or next to the family



Same with in the 1871 census, when the family had moved to Hamilton:



I've also discovered that one of John & Henriette's daughters as named Amy Dorrity McLeod:



And finally, we find a marriage record for Margaret Dority, and both John McLeod and Annie Agnes McLeod are witnesses. Worth noting: the groom comes from Cobourg.



So what this all means, I'm not sure of yet. But there's definitely some connection between the McLeod family and the Dority surname.

The Tew-Tew Marriage

A number of years ago while searching for a different Tew marriage, I found in the Ontario indexes an 1875 marriage in Hamilton, Ontario where both parties had the surname Tew. Or at least that is how it appeared in the index.

At first I thought that perhaps it was an error with the index, that the indexer accidentally put one surname down for both the bride and the groom. But when I got the microfilm reel and found the actual marriage registration record (shown below) I discovered that there was in fact, no indexing error - both the bride and groom had the last name Tew: Martha Tew and John Armstrong Tew.

My next thought that perhaps there was a remarriage - i.e. perhaps the bride's first husband died, and she was marrying her brother-in-law, which wasn't unheard of at the time. But it appears that Martha Tew hadn't been married before and Tew was her maiden name.

So, next I figured perhaps they were cousins, so I started researching their respective families to see if they had a common ancestor. Now here's the weird thing: John Armstrong Tew (my line) comes from Ireland and Martha Tew's line comes from England.

So, what I can conclude from this, is that either:
a) They are distant cousins, due to a connection that I haven't found yet
b) As a strange coincidence, two individuals both having the same uncommon surname happened to meet and get married.

Can anyone else offer another explanation?