A Short Life Remembered

 

The sisters Catherine and Mary Ann King lie buried together in a double grave in Arkell Cemetery.

Catherine was 5 years old when she died in December 1870. Her little sister Mary, aged 14 months, followed her in death 4 days later.

Their mother Mary Ann Kemble, died in childbirth in 1869 when little Mary was born. When Mary died, her husband Thomas King a 28 year old  widower with two young children. I don't think we can imagine how challenging and difficult the next year was for him.

One year almost to the day after little Catherine and Mary Ann were buried, Thomas remarried - another Mary - and their son Joseph was born in December 1872. Sadly baby Joseph died when he was only 9 months old. Another grave was dug in the Arkell cemetery.

Arkell Pioneer Cemetery Gravestones

Next came baby Mary born in October 1876, but this child too was fated to have only a short time on earth. 7 month old baby Mary died and she too joined her brother and half-sisters in the Arkell cemetery.

Thomas and his second wife Mary Ann did go on to have 3 more children, one of whom lived to adulthood. The only reminder of the little King children is their graves in Arkell.

Immigrant Ancestors Meme: Peter Bell

There is a lot of discussion about immigration in America right now. Tempers have flared, and different groups hold various strong opinions. There is also Brexit, where immigration was a large focus of the recent vote which resulted in the U.K. leaving the E.U.

I've been following this for several months and it occurs to me that those of us in Canada, America, and Australia have immigrant ancestors. Have you researched yours? Do you know who they were, why they came to your country and when? Do you know how they fared once settled in their new land? Were they welcomed? Were they shunned? Was their discrimination based on their religion or ethnic origin? These are all questions that are important, and interesting to discover. With that in mind, I'm the dedicating Saturdays (as many as needed) as the day to join me in discussing your immigrant ancestors.

You will be able to read any you are interested in by using the keyword Immigrant Ancestors. I'm going to share each week what I know of my immigrant ancestors to North America (whether that is USA or Canada)


My 3rd. great-grandfather, Peter Bell (1788 Middlewhich, Cheshire England - 1861 Arkell, Wellington Co. Ontario) left England for New York then immigrated to the brand-new settlement of Arkell Ontario in 1831.

Peter was one of the original group of Englishmen who settled this community in the wilderness of what was then Upper Canada.

His wife Betty Higginson and several of their children followed later on the Brig Joseph Charles sailing into New York then on to Upper Canada.

Peter and his wife worked hard to carve out an existence for their family. In 1855 Betty died and Peter followed 5 years later. They are buried in the Farnham Cemetery in Arkell.  

Betty's tombstone was discovered in Farnham Cemetery by Gerald and Chris Thiessen. They dug it from the ground where it lay buried. They interpreted the text on it as "In Memory of Elizabeth, wife of Peter Bell, Sep 1833" In reality the date she died was 1855.

One of Peter's daughters (Mary) married David King, the son of another Arkell pioneer, and my 2nd great-grandparents. I found their adventures so fascinating that I wrote a book "From England to Arkell" which is available at Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, or CreateSpace

An Ancestral Tragedy - Losing a Wife and 4 Children in 7 Years

Yesterday I read a blog post on Grave Mistakes called In less than 2 weeks Margaret Hughes lost quads, twins and her husband.

It got me thinking about the tragedies in my own ancestors' lives. One of the first sad events I uncovered as a genealogist many years ago was the story of great grand uncle Thomas William King.

Thomas was born in 1841 in what was the wilderness of Puslinch Township in Wellington County Ontario. At the age of 25 he married Mary Ann Kemble. Two daughters were soon born to the young couple. The first born was Catherine born April 1865. Next came her little sister Mary Ann born October 11, 1869.

Tragedy struck when a few days after Mary Ann's birth, 25 year old Mary Ann Kemble died. One year later, the widower Thomas faced yet another blow when 5 year old Catherine died on December 9, 1870. Just 4 days later her little 1 year old sister Mary Ann also died. In the space of one year Thomas lost his wife and both children.

The family was buried in the Pioneer Cemetery in Arkell Ontario. The double tombstone of the little sisters reads

Mary Ann died Dec. 13, 1870 age 1 year, 2 months, 2 days
Catherine died Dec. 9, 1870 age 5 years 7 months 16 days
Children of Thomas W. and Mary A. King

Their death registrations showed both young girls died of Diptheria.

It was not long before Thomas remarried. His next wife was Mary Ann Ramsey and they were married in December 1871 almost one year to the day of his daughter's tragic death. Their first born was a boy who they named Joseph. Joseph was born in December 1872 but sadly in October 1873 at the age of 10 months he died of pneumonia.

Baby Joseph's tombstone in Arkell Cemetery reads

Joseph, son of Thomas W. and Mary A. King died Oct. 2, 1873 age 11 months, 9 days

Death was not yet finished with Thomas. Three years after Joseph died a daughter Mary was born. There may have been other children in between but if so they died young. Little Mary was born in March 1876 but did not live long. In October of that year at the age of 7 months she too passed away.

Her tombstone reads "Our Darling Mary died Oct. 12, 1876 age 7 months, daughter of Thomas W and Mary A. King. Sleep on my Mary in calm repose, though parted for awhile, To _ _ _ _ _ on _ _ _ will join praise And grace your happy smile"

In the space of 7 years Thomas lost his wife and four children. Thomas had more children and went on to marry for a third time in 1904 after Mary Ann Ramsey died. Only 2 daughters survived to adulthood.

From England to Arkell - a Genealogy Book

From England to Arkell: The story of two pioneer settlers, Lewis & Thomas King who left Suffolk England for the Wilds of Upper Canada in 1831

A Genealogy to 4 Generations following their descendants in Ontario, Alberta, Australia & Michigan by Lorine McGinnis Schulze




My book on this family is ready for the printer. It is 87 pages (8 12/x11, coil bound) of documents, photos and stories. The will of Lewis King and the estate papers for Thomas King filed by his widow are among the orignal documents scanned and added to the book. Also included is a Genealogy Report of the Descendants of Lewis & Elizabeth King as well as descendants of Thomas and his first wife Harriet King, to 4 Generations.

Read more about this book on the King family of Arkell Ontario and their descendants