X00193 Is Thomas Leach the Son of Joshua Leach?

Thomas Leach, who died 6 August 1846, is buried in Saint Mary's Cemetery in Oakville, Ontario. According to his gravestone, he was born about November 1804.

It has been long suspected that he is the son of Joshua Leach and Mary Dexter, who were married 14 March 1803 in York, Upper Canada [D00745]. One of the biggest clues in support of that case is that Thomas Leach and Joshua Leach are buried next to each other in Saint Mary's Cemetery.

Being buried next to each other isn't proof of anything but it does suggest that there was a connection between the two.

I have tried looking for a baptism record for Thomas in the St. James Church records (where Joshua and Mary were married) but have not been able to find anything. Nor have I been able to find a burial record. The only reference to Thomas' marriage to Electra Ann Abbott in 1835 comes from William D. Reid's Marriage Notices of Ontario and does not mention parents.

Other sources are inconclusive; Thomas does not appear in Joshua Leach's will, but since Thomas died before Joshua (Joshua died in 1862) this is to be expected. The 1841 Census and 1840 assessment rolls for Oakville show Thomas Leach and Joshua Leach living separately although close to each other.

The one thing that does show some promise is in some early censuses for the Town of York. They only list the heads of household and the numbers of children of certain ages. From them I’ve been able to determine that Joshua and Mary must have had a male child born about 1803 or 1804. That would be consistent with Thomas who was born in 1804 according to his gravestone. Their next (known) child, Robert, was born several years later in 1807.

Again, it’s not definite proof that Thomas was the son of Joshua and Mary, but it is consistent with it. Another way to look at it, Joshua and Mary definitely had a male child that was born earlier than Robert in 1807. So, no smoking gun, unfortunately, but all the evidence seems to point in the direction that Thomas is the son of Joshua and Mary.

Next steps:

• Continue to look for a baptism record for Thomas Leach
• Look for other marriage records for Thomas Leach and Electra Ann Abbott
• Check newspapers for the time period (although they may be frew and far between)
• Look for DNA matches with descendants of Thomas Leach

Sources:
Reid, WIlliam D, Marriage Notices of Ontario (Hunterdon House, Lambertville, NJ, 1980 ISBN 0912606053), 25 Feb 1835, p81. Cit. Date: 4 Jun 2006.

[D00745] St James Cathedral (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), "Marriage Record - Joshua Leach & Mary Dexter". Rec. Date: 16 Sep 2017. ID: D00745. Cit. Date: 16 Sep 2017.

Update on X00055: The Nelson Township Papers

Still looking for more information on the marriage between George Miller and possibly Margaret Farriage (for details so far, look for X00055)

Now that the Township Papers are available on Family Search, I had a look through the Township Papers for Nelson Township to see if there were any papers that mention someone with a Miller surname or something close to 'Farriage'. I found this document, dated 1823, that is signed by both a Thomas Miller and a Robert Partridge.

Could this be a connection? Could Thomas Miller be connected somehow to George Miller? Could Partridge be Margaret's actual last name? It could be a clue.

X00317 What happened to Ernest Ashton after 1912?

Ernest Ashton (sometimes spelled 'Earnest') was the seventh child of Lawrence Ashton and Mary Ann Westwell. He was a brother of both Edwin Ashton and Lawerence Ashton have been mentioned on this blog previously.

Ernest was born 17 October 1891 in Blackburn Lancashire [D00386]. He travelled back and forth between Blackburn and Toronto between around 1910 and 1913 and married Jennie Massie in Toronto on 12 November 1912 [D00753]. He worked as a car motorman.

And, unfortunately, that is where the mystery begins. It's not clear on what happened to Ernest or Jennie after 1912. Or at least it wasn't until some recent discoveries.

According to the Ashton Family bible [D01200], Ernest died 23 Jan 1953. But I have not been able to find a death record, cemetery record or obituary to corroborate that information. I've checked not only the usual cemetery sources such as Find a Grave, but also the Toronto Trust Cemetery records with nothing found. There is an Ernest Ashton who died around that time period in Winnipeg, but there are too many discrepancies: the age, profession, spouse name and date of death are all inconsistent.

I have recently found a birth record for a Clarence Ashton, born to an Ernest Ashton and Jennie Massie in 1913 in Toronto.

This discovery has also led to finding of Ernest, Jennie and Clarence in the 1921 census living in Toronto. So I have now found them up to 1921.

Next Steps

• Wait for the 1931 census to be released
• Check for them in the 1930/1940 US Censuses and 1926 Western Canada census
• Check for British records to see if they had moved back to the UK
• Continue to check newspapers and cemetery records for the family
• Consider the possibility that the date of death in the family bible is not accurate

---

Sources:
[D00386] England and Wales, birth certificate for Ernest Ashton, born October 17, 1891; citing 8e/417/485, D quarter 1891, Blackburn registration district, Blackburn Southern sub-district; General Register Office, Southport.

[D00753] Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Marriages, MS932_244; Reel: 244, 29337, Ashton-Massie; digital images, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Marriages,"(accessed 29 Sep 2017).

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.

X00316 William R. Hoyt Burial Location

Amy Seymore Williams (1856-1929) was the fourth daughter of Isaac Amos Williams and Caroline Seymore Sanders. Her second husband was William Russell Hoyt and from his death registration, he was born 23 March 1848 in Vermont, USA and died 11 August 1924 in Eugene Oregon.

On Find a Grave, there are two potential listings that could be his.

1. William Russell Hoyt, Eugene Pioneer Cemetery, memorial no 60218108
According to the notes on Find a Grave, he died 11 August 1924, aged 76 years 4 months 20 days which matches the information on the death registration that I have. As well, the notes have him listed as the son of William Hoyt & [---] Russell, which also matches the information on the death registration.

It also lists him as a father of Mrs. E. T. Deveraux, which I have yet to verify.

2. William R. Hoyt, Multnomah Park Cemetery, memorial no 46938793
This marker lists a birth year of 1848 and a death year of 1924, which match the information on the death registration.

This William R. Hoyt is buried with a Mary L. Hoyt (1848-1911) and lists a Laurel Milo Hoyt (1872-1956) as a child. I haven't yet verified the two names to see if they are connected


The first one, if the parent names are correct, is definitely the correct one. But the second one also does match. Amy S. Williams married William R. Hoyt in 1912, so his first wife passing 1911 would certainly fit.

Questions:

• Is the information on the first site correct? And what is the source?
• Could these sites be for the same person? Is there a possibility that William Hoyt was never buried in Eugene Pioneer Cemetery, as there is no marker there?

Still to investigate:

• Research Mary L. Hoyt (1848-1911) to see if she was married to the same William R. Hoyt that was later married to Amy S. Williams
• Research Laurel Milo Hoyt (1872-1956) to see if there is a connection
• Research E.T. Devereaux to see if there is a connection

X00315: Amy S. Williams' Marriage Witnesses

I've found the marriage record for Amy S. Williams and William Gaskill, from 19 February 1901. It was a little surprising to find because the marriage took place in Globe, Gila, Arizona. To this point, i have not been able to find out why Amy Williams was in Arizona, or the US, for that matter.

One thing of interest in the marriage record is that the minister performing the ceremony was an F.S. Eastman, and the witnesses were a B. Eastman and an S.C. Eastman. Amy S. Williams had a sister-in-law, Maude Alfreda Eastman. Maude's parents were Benjamin Eastman and Sarah Alfreda. Could they have been the B. and S.C. Eastman? And they had a son named Fred S. Eastman. Could he have been the F.S. Eastman who performed the ceremony? And also, what were they doing in Arizona?

Perhaps, if the witnesses and minister are the in-laws, this might lead to an explanation as to why Amy Williams was in Arizona at the time.

Next steps: Research the timelines for the Eastman family to see if they could have been in Arizona at 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.