Eden Cemetery, Toronto Township

An email arrived from Find A Grave with a photo request from Eden Cemetery which is close to where I live. So I thought I'd go and see if I could find the grave.

I have visited the cemetery before because there are some Miller headstones in the cemetery and my Miller family lived in Toronto Township for a time. There is, however, no connection between the Miller family in this cemetery (who came from Ireland) and my Miller family as far as I can tell.

It's a samll cemetery and very easy to cover the entire cemetery in a short period of time. So, I'm surprised that there were any gravestones there that were not photographed. As it turns out, there was. I wasn't able to find the gravestone requested, but I did find a stone with the name Rosalind on it (last name could not be read). Rosalind died in April of 1860.

X00357 Sarah Jane Hardy and Maria Hardy

OK, so here’s a new puzzle.

Maria Hardy and Sarah Jane Hardy are, from what I can tell, both daughters of the same person (Lancelot Hardy), born to different mothers. Maria born to Ann Wood Hardy and Sarah Jane born to Jane Tricker Hardy. Both appear to have been born in 1844. A number of different sources imply that their birth years were 1844, including their gravestones:

I had thought that perhaps Maria Hardy's birthday of 29 October 1844 was accurate, but perhaps that Sarah Jane Hardy was born in 1845. Then it would all fit if Ann Wood died in 1844 and Lancelot remarried Jane Tricker in 1845. But it got a little more complicated when I recently discovered the birth of Harriet Hardy in July of 1846.

We now know that Harriet Hardy was born in July of 1846 from the baptism record and was the daughter of Lancelot and Jane. Which means that Jane would have become pregnant sometime around November of 1845. So then if we have Maria Hardy born in October of 1844 and somewhere in between October of 1844 and November of 1845, you have the birth of Sarah Jane Hardy. Which seems a lot to have happened in a short period of time, if my original timeline is correct. So, rethinking the information that I have, here are the possibilities as I see them:

1) The dates that I have or 1844 and 1845 are correct.
Which means that in the span of about year, Ann Wood Hardy gave birth to Maria Hardy, then died, then Lancelot Hardy married Jane Tricker very shortly thereafter, she got pregnant and gave birth to Sarah Jane Hardy and then got pregnant again shortly thereafter. That’s a lot happening in a very short period of time.

2) The dates I have are not correct
Which seems the more likely case, but then what dates are wrong? Was Maria born earlier than 1844? That is going to take some more analysis to determine if it is a possibility.

3) Lancelot had an extramarital affair and/or abandoned Ann Wood
This one could be a possibility. Divorce would have been unlikely at the time, but Lancelot could have had an extramarital affair and/or abandoned Ann Wood. This option would certainly fit within the time line. But if this the case, it opens up some other questions, particularly as to when Ann Wood Hardy died. It had been assumed that she died in 1844, but this opens the door to a number of possibilities.

4) Twins
In this scenario, Maria Hardy and Sarah Jane Hardy were twins, born to the same mother (either Ann Wood or Jane Tricker) and I have the wrong mother for one of them. This seems a bit unlikely though, because it goes against all the other evidence.

5) Different Lancelots
The last possibility is that there are two different Lancelot Hardys. I have looked at this possibility before. We know that Lancelot born about 1793 was definitely married to Ann Wood. The Lancelot Hardy born 1827 can’t have been married to both Jane Tricker and Frances Snowden. So, it would have to mean that there was a third Lancelot Hardy living in Toronto Township at the time, which seems very unlikely.

So, given the above, I’m thinking that either #2 or #3 are the most likely possibilities. But technically any of them could be. Unfortunately, there aren't a whole lot of documents available from that time period to help.

---

Sources:
[TBD] Churchville Cemetery (Canada, Ontario).

[D02014] Churchville Cemetery (Canada, Ontario).

X00359 Alice Hallam Skusky Date of Death

Alice Hallam married Charles Skusky on 14 January 1890 in Meadowvale, Peel Region, Ontario, Canada [D07195]. The couple had a number of children over the next decade, although it would appear that only two of them (Jennie May and Charles Harold) survived by the time of the 1901 census [D07197].

The 1901 census shows the four of them living in the town of Erin, Ontario in Wellington County [D07197]. And it would also appear to be the latest record in which I have found Alice Hallam Skusky...or is it?.

I have found Chrales Skusky in both the 1911 and 1921 census records living in Algoma County, Ontario and he is listed as a widower in both records [D08038, D08039]. He is also listed as a widower in his death record [D08023]. Based on that information, it would appear that Alice died somewhere between 1901 and 1911. I have not been able to find any death or burial records however.

But then, I've come across a 1940 directory that lists a Mrs. Alice Skusky living in Meadowvale, Ontario.

This certainly makes things interesting. Could this be the same Alice Skusky? Skusky is a very rare name in Ontario, so there is a good chance of it. It would mean that Charles and Alice separated some time between 1901 and 1911, Charles moved up to Algoma and Alice stayed with family in Meadowvale. And both of them claimed to be widowed, rather than explain the separation. It is certainly plausible, particularly considering that it appears Alice's grandmother Jane Tricker did the same thing when her husband William Carthew moved to Manitoba.

But in order to prove that I would need some additional evidence that she was alive and living somewhere else after 1911, which I have yet to find.

So, it would appear that she either died between 1901 and 1911 or after 1940. To prove the former, I'd need to find a death or burial record. To prove the latter, I'd need to find either death or burial records, or some other evidence to suggest that she was alive after 1911.

---

Sources
[D07195] Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Marriages, Reel 68: 291, 9598, Skusky-Hallam; digital images, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Marriages,".

[D07197] 1901 census of Canada, Ontario, district 126, sub-district 6, Erin, p. 4, dwelling 34, family 35; RG 31; digital images(accessed 27 Feb 2022).

[D08023] Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Deaths, MS935, M023566, Reel 681: 315, 9556; digital image, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Deaths," Ancestry.ca (6 Mar 2022).

[D08038] 1911 census of Canada, Ontario, district 55, sub-district 32, Bruce Mines, p. 20, dwelling 198, family 198; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.com (accessed 12 Mar 2022).

[D08039] 1921 census of Canada, district 66, sub-district 4, Plummer Additional, p. 3, dwelling 42, family 42; RG 31; digital images, ancestry.com (accessed 12 Mar 2022).

Harriet Hardy

I was requesting some look ups from the Anglican Church archives, and although they weren't able to find what I was looking for, they did manage to find something that I was not expecting: A daughter of Lancelot Hardy and Jane Tricker that I did not know about previously, named Harriet.

Her baptism record gives a date of birth of 11 July 1846 and a baptism date of 11 July 1847:

Her burial record gives a burial date of 13 January 1851

So, she died before civil registration started in Ontario and did not live long enough to appear in a census (although the section of the 1851 census where the Hardy family would have been living has not survived). I've never come across a gravestone for her. So these two records might be the only records that survive for her.

X00356 Lancelot Hardy and Frances Snowden death information

You may remember Lancelot Hardy b. 1827 from X00192. He is the son of Lancelot Hardy and Ann Wood and from married Frances Snowden in 1853 in Toronto Township [D07213].

I'm trying to find the death information for both Lancelot Hardy and Frances Snowden.

At the time of the 1861 census [D07143], Lancelot and Frances Hardy were living in Blanshard Township, Perth County. They had a child, Harriet Hardy, born about 1860 in Meadowvale, Ontario according to her marriage registration, so it is likely that they moved to Blanchard Township sometime between 1860 and 1861.

Frances Snowden remarried a William Johnson on 20 April 1868 in Perth County [D07145] so it is likely that Lancelot died before then. The last child that the two had together (as far as I can tell) was born about 1866 in Perth County. So, that would suggest a death range for Lancelot Hardy between 1865 and 1868.

As for Frances, she remarries William Johnson in 1868. They appear together in the 1871 census, but then William Johnson appears in the 1880 US census in Minnesota as a widower. In the 1880 census, he is living with only his children; the children that Frances and Lancelot had together are all living in Canada. So, it would appear that after Frances died, he moved to the US with only his children.

The last child that I’m aware of Frances having was born in 1875, so that would put her year of death between 1875 and 1880.

So, I have estimated ranges of date years for the two of them, and likely locations of Blanshard Township, Perth County. But nothing more definite than that.

Lancelot Hardy died prior to the start of civil registration in Ontario, so no death record is to be found. Frances died after the start of civil registration, but I have not been able to find a death record. I haven't been able to find cemetery records for either of them.

---

Sources
[D07143] 1861 census of Canada East, Canada West, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, Blanshard, district 02, Blanshard, p. 26; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.ca

[D07145] Ontario, Ontario County Marriage Registers, 1858-1869, GS Film Number 001030063: 194, Johnson-Hardy, 1868; digital images, FamilySearch.org, FamilySearch

[D07213] (Toronto Township, Canada West), "Marriage Registration - Lancelot Hardy and Frances Snowden"; United Church of Canada Archives, Toronto.

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.

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.

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.

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.

X00192 Part 2: Sorting out the Lancelot Hardys

I previously mentioned X00192 and the sorting out of multiple Lancelot Hardys.

To add to the confusion, the book Meadowvale: Mills to Millenium by Kathleen A. Hicks has the following passage about Jane Tricker:

“Joseph (b. 1823), operated a shingle factory. He lost his wife, Isabella, and was left with six children, Ella, 1855, Eliza, 1856, Rebecca, 1862, John, 1864, William, 1866, and Henrietta, 1860. In 1875, he married a widow named Jane….”

This would suggest that it was Joseph Wood Hardy who married Jane Tricker, rather than one of the Lancelot Hardys.

There's quite a bit that seems to be off with that above passage. Not only are the number of children and their birth years off, but according to my research, Isabella outlived both Joseph Wood Hardy and Jane Tricker. She was at least alive in 1901 [*].

But also, the marriage registration for Sarah Jane Hardy, lists her parents as Lancelot and Jane Hardy [D00170]. Sarah Jane is buried in the same plot as Jane Tricker in Churchville Cemetery [D02104].

Perhaps the author was mixing up Joseph Wood Hardy with one of the Lancelots, but I think it’s safe to rule out the hypothesis that Joseph Hardy married Jane Tricker.

---

Sources:
[*] Year: 1901; Census Place: Toronto (West/Ouest) (City/Cité) Ward/Quartier No 4, Toronto (west/ouest) (city/cité), Ontario; Page: 9; Family No: 91

[D00170] (Meadowvale, Peel, Canada West, Canada), "Marriage Record - Hallam & Hardy"; FHL microfilm 1,030,063. Marriage Registers of Upper Canada / Canada West

[D02104] Churchville Cemetery (Canada, Ontario).

X00192 Part 1: Sorting out the Lancelot Hardys

I have recently come across some new information about the Hardy family and Lancelot Hardy (born 1827) that has me re-examining what I have found about him and his father, also named Lancelot, born about 1793.

In the process, I keep finding records for another Lancelot Hardy living around the same time in Exeter, Huron County, Ontario. Including a few property records in the property atlases for Huron County:

Based on has 1922 death record and various census records, I've been able to piece the following information together about the Lancelot Hardy of Huron County:

• Born 14 January 1836 in Tipperary, Ireland
• Came to Canada about 1841
• Spouse: Eliza Bissett
• Died 26 December 1922 in Exeter, Huron, Ontario
• Parents: Michael Hardy & Judith Ardell

Other than coming to Canada bout 1841, none of the above items matches with the Lancelot Hardy born 1827, so I'm going to rule out a connection between this Lancelot Hardy and the family that I'm researching.

More options for the Margaret Farriage query

A few months ago, I posted an analysis of query X00055 - the search for more information on Margaret Farriage. I was at the OGS conference this weekend and talked to a few people about this brick wall. The people that I talked to made a number of suggestions for further research:

• Investigate the names of the marriage witnesses to see if there are any clues there
• Check ships passenger lists for the late 20s or early 30s and see if there are any similar names that could be possibilities
• Check church records for Nelson Township and Toronto Township for the time period
• Check land ownership for George Miller or names similar to Farriage. Check for neighbours - was Amelia Grant Munro living in the area?
• Research the children of George Miller (both with Margaret Farriage and Amelia Grant Munro)
• Possibly consider Scottish naming patterns, and look for a father named William for either George or Margaret
• Check out Ryan Gilcrest's book on marriage records
• Check out OGS' TONI database

The people that I spoke to were largely in agreement with my theory that the surname of "Farriage" is likely an error.

X00199 - Solved!

A couple of years ago I went to the Peel Archives to look up the Perkins-Bull collection for the surname Hardy. In it, I came across this record:



The record indicates that Lancelot Hardy the younger lived from about 1860 to 1896 and was buried in St Peter’s Cemetery in Erindale.

According to the record above, there was a Lancelot Hardy who was born about 1860 and died in 1896 and was buried at St Peter’s Anglican church in Erindale. The problem is that:

• I can’t find a death record in the Ontario death registrations for a Lancelot Hardy in 1896
• The cemetery transcriptions for St Peter’s Cemetery do not show a Lancelot Hardy
• I’ve contacted the Anglican Church archives and they don’t have a burial record

I also went to the cemetery and couldn’t find a stone.

I was about to conclude that Perkins-Bull had the wrong information, or that no stone existed, but then I checked the cemetery transcription for the nearby Erindale Cosmopolitan Cemetery and found a listing there.



Then I went to cemetery and actually found the stone. It’s very worn and difficult to read, but you can make out some of it.



Next, to see about finding a death or burial record.

Finding Margaret Farriage: X00055 Analysis

Some time ago, I had posted that the Margaret Farriage that is married to George Miller is not the one born in Rothbury, England in 1804. So, it's time to re-evaluate and take a look at what is known and what is unknown.

Known facts about Margaret Farriage:

• The only source that I have found that gives her full name is from the Marriage Bonds of Upper Canada p 239 [D00800]
• She married George Miller, carriage maker on Oct 25, 1832 in Toronto Township (now Peel Region). Church not known. [D00800]
• At the time of her marriage was living in Nelson Township (now Burlington, Ontario) [D00800]
• She appears to have given birth to two sons, John born about 1833 and William born 10 May 1834. I don't have sources identified at this time to confirm John Miller's birth, so that may not be reliable.
• William Miller's Marriage Records lists his parents as George & Margaret Miller [D03152]. No maiden name given.
• She likely died some time between May 10 1834 (likely date of birth for William Miller) and Dec 9 1835 (likely date when George Miller married Amelia Grant Munro) [need source]
• According to the 1891 Census, she is of Scottish Origin [D00772]. That being said, this was several years after she had died and William Miller would have been very young when she died.
• At some point, the Miller family moved from Nelson to Cooksville [Need Sources].

Analysis:

• To this date, I have not found the surname Farriage elsewhere in Halton, Peel or southern Ontario for that matter, so I am questioning whether or not that is the real surname. On the marriage licence record itself, the name Farriage was spelled exactly like carriage and marriage which also appear on the form, so it could easily be something that sounded like Farriage.
• Based on the fact that she was married in 1832 and George Miller was born in 1809, a likely range for her year of birth would be 1805 to 1815
• Based on her last child birth and when George got remarried, a likely range for year of death would be 1834-1835
• As mentioned in a previous blog post, there is a Margaret Farridge born in Rothbury, Northumberland, England in 1804 [D00089], but I have ruled out that individual as a possibility because she died in 1809 [D01638] [See D03104]. I have checked the Baptism registers to see if the family renamed a later child Margaret but did not find anything.

Research Strategies:

1. Investigate the possibility that her last name was not Farriage. There is only one source that mentions a name. Note that the written name Farriage appears exactly as carriage. Could it have been that the person writing the bond spelled it the same way as carriage or marriage? We can rule out this possibility if we find a second source that corroborates the name. Some things to pursue:
   • Look for a second source that mentions the marriage and check the name: church records, newspapers, etc. George Miller was strongly Weselyan Methodist
   • Look for a marriage record for William Miller & Jane Hardy (married 1857) [D03152] Marriage record does not mention a maiden name
   • Look for records (marriage, death, census etc) for John Miller born 1833 [X00223]
   
   
   
2. Look for records of a Margaret Farriage, or Farriage family living in the Burlington Area
   • Check with the Burlington Public Library for directories, news, anything from the time period
     • Gravestones/cemetery records
     • Directories
     • Tweedsmuir Histories
     • Newspapers
     • Old books on early settlement
   • Check Hamilton Public Library - same list as above
   • Check Mississauga Public Library - same list as above
   • Check Halinet search
   
   
   
3. Investigate the possibility that William and/or John were born later than 1834. Look for:
   • Birth information for William Miller [X00158]
   • Birth information for John MIller [X00223]
   • 1851 Census information for the Miller family [X00082]
   
   
   
4. Look for a Margaret Farrish (or other variant names) born in Scotland around 1810
   • Check with Scotlands People

X00080 Solved!

Question: Multiple William Hardys in Peel in the 1871 Census. Which one is the correct one?

Details/Background:
The 1871 Census of Ontario has two listings for a William Hardy born about 1830 in Peel Region. One in Meadowvale [D01576] and one in Streetsville [D03311]. The question is which one is the one that is the son of Lancelot Hardy?



Analysis:
The William Hardy of Meadowvale [D01576] appears to be the correct one for a number of reasons:

• The other Hardy family members also settled around Meadowvale
• The names and ages of the other family members seems to coincide with the family in other censuses.
• William Hardy’s profession is listed as a blacksmith, which coincides with other census results as well as the profession listed in the marriage record between him and Aveline Burns [D00733].

Sources:

D00733 - Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Marriages, MS932; Reel: 96: 615, 4, Hardy-Burns; digital images, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Marriages".

D01576 – 1871 Census of Canada, Ontario, District 39, Sub-district 03, Toronto Township, p. 22, Dwelling 81, Family 86; RG 31.

D03311 - 1871 Census of Canada, Ontario, District 39, Sub-district b, Streetsville, p. 22, Dwelling 66, Family 68; RG 31.