Obituary Alice H Hunt 1928

 

Alice H Hunt widow of Rev W Homer Hunt of Omemee Ontario died in Toronto 1928

Alice was daughter of Walter House

Search for more information in genealogy records on Ancestry.com,  Ancestry.ca or FamilySearch.   

Montgomery's inn and My Husband's 4th Great Grandpa

There is a historical site run by the Etobicoke Historical Board on Islington Ave. in Toronto known as Montgomery's Inn. The Inn was owned by our William Montgomery's brother Thomas.  A great stroke of luck has meant that the Inn has quite a bit of correspondence between the different members of the Montgomery family. 

The inn has a letter from William Montgomery,in Durham Quebec, to his brother Thomas, in York, concerning his children.  It isn't dated but would probably be around 1860.  It was invaluable in terms of knowing who is daughters married and where those that left Durham ended up. It is interesting to note how the two brothers, living some distance apart, wanted to make an effort that their two families know about each other. 

This letter is displayed at the Montgomery Inn at the corner of Dundas St.and Islington Avenue

From a blurb on the Inn, "Thomas Montgomery was a young man when he emigrated from County Fermanagh, Ireland early in the 19th century. He brought with him, however, a good head for business.  ... Thomas' account books show that whiskey was the most popular drink, but that he also sold peppermint an shrub (mixed drinks), beer, rum, brandy, white wine, port, gin, 'sider', and, one one ocassion, a hot brandy sling. ... During the surge of patriotism that followed the Rebellion of 1837, Thomas obtained an officer's commission in the local militia, eventually rising to the rank of Captain".

The letter:

"Dear Brother if God spares, nothing will be wanting on my part in making our offsprings, ? acquainted, that they may know to cherish and feel for each other where ever they meet on this earth, happy you are the first to  introduce this most natural introduction of everlasting knowledge of friendship and unity handed down by your  proposition, and suggestion, which I with heart felt pleasure acquiese, and I know brother Johnston say he will also.    I will give you a copy of Journal, of all my childrens names and age of births.

1. J. Mary, born at QuÈbec, August 4th 1813.  Married Brickley.
2. Raechel born Auguest 28 1814.  Married Andrew Bothwell
3. Jane born April 18th 1816 at Drummondville.  Married Charles Bothwell. Died Feby 14th 1837, left 7 children.
4. Elisabeth born May 17th 1818.  Married James McCullogh.
5. Charlotte born May 23rd 1820.  Married John McCullogh.  (Both Charlotte and Elisabeth in Blanchard.)
6. Ellenor born Sept. 23rd 1822.  Married Wm. Mafser [Note: for Mafser read Massey], native near Dublin.
7. Margret born Nov. 14, 1825.  Married Samuel Ployart.
8. Ann born Feby. 9th, 1828.  Married Dr. Wm. White of England.
9. Lucinda born April 13th, 1830.  Died 1849, no family.
10. James born 1833 and William Thomas Joseph born Feby 14th 1835.

Brother in next I will try and give you an account of my grandchildren.
Samuel Ployarts father died last fall, his  uncle in Germany died previously and left a great legacy to his father, brother and sisters two old maids, there is to  come Sam 440 and some pounds.  I know you and Mrs. will be glad to hear Margrets welfare, they have 3 children.  Sam and brother Fredrick is now the Sensus of the township.  I have pleasure in the connection."

The Story of Toronto's Oldest Home and an Electrican

This may be Toronto's oldest home. It sits at an odd angle on a residential street. Other homes on the street are tall and narrow but this unassuming stucco home is a wide bungalow.

A recent visit by an electrician revealed that behind the stucco were, not red bricks as expected, but old logs.

 

original square cut logs

A search of land records revealed that the original owner of this log home was the Loyalist John Cox who was granted the land in 1796. The log home was built sometime between 1796 and 1807 when John Cox died and his widow Mary sold the land.  

In April of 1813, the house shuddered as the fort’s magazine, which held hundreds of barrels of gunpowder, blew up. British troops, forced to abandon the fort to attacking Americans, had set a fuse to the magazine before fleeing. [Global News story]

 

1793 Petition from John Cox for land

Global News has the full story at How an electrician’s visit led to the discovery of Toronto’s oldest home

Toronto City Directories 1910-1926 Online

Thanks to Gail Dever's article Toronto city directories digitized, 1910 – 1926 I learned that missing city directories for 1910, 1915, 1916, 1920, 1923, 1924, 1925 and 1926 have been digitized and are now searchable online.

The first Toronto directory was published in 1833. Most directories contain an alphabetical list of inhabitants (usually heads of households and others working outside the home), and a list of occupants arranged by street.

Genealogists with Toronto-based ancestors won't want to miss this set of city directories.

Sis Munro, Who Are You?

Hubs and I love antiques. There is nothing we enjoy doing more than spending a day antiquing. My favourite is when an antique has some written history with it. That was the case recently with this very old blanket box.

The outside was stenciled with the initials "S.M." and inside on the lid someone had written in pencil "Sis Munro" and then "Landed in Toronto July 5, 1911"

It was too exciting and intriguing for me to pass up so I bought it.  My hope was that Sis Munro would be easily found in the online Ships Passenger Lists on Ancestry.com.

Unfortunately it hasn't been that easy to find Ms. Munro. Ocean going ships did not land in Toronto but further east - Quebec or Halifax for example. So if the writing was the correct date I needed to find Ms. Munro landing earlier than July 5th. Of course she may have arrived from America across Lake Ontario to Toronto in which case it was unlikely I'd find her.

I did find an interesting candidate to possibly be "my" Sis Munro but it's not quite fitting for me. A Susie B. Munro age 28, with Grace age 2 arrived in Halifax on July 11, 1911. She stated she was coming from St. John's Newfoundland and had been in Canada previously, in 1903. That seemed a strange notation but it isn't really, as Newfoundland was not part of Canada until 1947. But oddly, a second notation in brackets reads "in transit to England". I don't think this is the right Sis Munro but I'm at a standstill.

So here are photos of the inscriptions inside the box. Perhaps I'm reading them incorrectly.

 

 

I still hope to find Sis Munro and if any of my readers have ideas or suggestions, please leave a comment on this post.

1841 List of Tavern Keepers in Toronto

List of Persons to whom Certificates In in the City of Toronto for Tavern Licenses have been granted to and Liberties for the year 1841 


1 John T Smith 
2 William Campbell 
3 James Bell 
4 Thomas Moore 
5 Thomas Thomas 
6 William Phair 
7 John Manns
 8 Thomas Pearson 
9 Steers Robinson 
10 John Henry 
11 Geo W Post 
12 Bernard Short 
13 Robert Anderson
 14 William Griffith 
15 John McCarthy 
16 Arthur McMahon 
17 John Earnest 
18 John Earls 
19 John Parsons 
20 Thomas Bolterell 
21 James Trotter
 22 George Herron 
23 James Mil field 
24 Thomas Naylor
 25 William Wallis 
26 Charles T Gardiner 
27 John Elegia 
28 William Rolph 
29 John Murphy
 30 John Stone 
31 John Raper 
32 John O Keefe 
33 Thomas Buttery 
34 George McCallum 
5 John Henderson 
36 Richard Woods
 37 John C Scholfield 
38 James McConib 
39 James Piatt 
40 John Baldry 
41 James Thompson
 42 Joseph Abraham 
43 Andrew Gibson
 44 WH Boss 
45 Peter Nangle 
46 Daniel Peterson 
47 John Fleming 
48 WH Elliott 
49 William Noble 
50 Robert McMichael 
51 Robert Bar wick 
52 John P Dunn 
53 Thomas Earls 
54 Joseph Beatty 
55 Robert Alexander 
56 John Baker 
57 Thomas Ryan 
58 Thomas McConkey 
59 John Trueman 
60 John Anderson 
61 John Healy 
62 John Powers 
63 John Short 
64 Thomas Baily 
65 Hugh Henderson 
66 Joseph H Smith
 67 George Price
 68 John Bennett 
69 Susannah Mathews 
70 John Baker 
71 Hugh McNeal
 72 David Boss 
73 Samuel Bain
 74 George Evans 
75 James Feehan 
76 Dennis McEnery 
77 John Harley 
78 Patrick Ingoldsby 
79 Patrick Mitchell
 80 Alexander McGregor 
81 Richard Crispin
 82 Charles Nonhcote 
83 William Turriff 
84 John McManus 
85 George Brown 
86 Thomas Wright
 87 James Dill
 88 Alexander Dill 
89 FM Rossi 
90 Lewis Boore 
91 Francis Bond
 92 Daniel Dewdney 
93 James Hickman
 94 James Graham 
95 James Walsh
 96 John Thomas 
97 John Wesley 
98 Asa Reynolds 
99 Stanous Daniels 
100 Hemy Gillentson 
101 Thomas Fanning
 102 James Campbell 
103 Thomas Durilop 
104 Thomas S Cowan
 105 James H Hutchinson do
 106 Ebon Barclay 
107 Francis Berry 
108 James Thomas
 109 William Heather 
110 Robert Scott 
11 1 Peter Harkin 
112 Herod Noble 
1 13 William L Stewart 
1 14 Robert Defreise 
115 John M Tuis 
116 John Earls 
117 David McDonald 
118 Isaac Johnson 
119 William White 

Source:
Journals of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada From the 14th Day of June .. Being the First-8th Provincial Parliament ..., Volume 1(Google eBook)

Possible 1830s American Schooner found in Toronto Harbour Ontario

An antique ship has been found in Toronto Harbour in Ontario Canada. During excavations for a condominium, archaeologists  discovered what appears be the remains of a 19th century wooden schooner. Experts believe the ship might be American dating back to the 1830s.

Read more and see the photos at http://www.blogto.com/city/2015/05/condo_dig_unearths_antique_ship_in_toronto_harbour/ 

Photo courtesy of April's Museum

 

Patients in Toronto Insane Asylum 1841

Was your ancestor one of these troubled individuals below?

Following are the names of patients in the Toronto Insane Asylum in 1841 taken from the image above: James Watson, Keeran Flyn, John Gibson, Hugh Husson, James Beaty, Daniel Izord, Daniel McNab, John Stewart, Francis Lindsay, Elijah Chappell, John Lambert, Ellen Dunn ,Letitia Stevtns ,Eliza Murphy, Mary Kelly, Elizabeth McLean, Mary Campbell, Mary Thompson, Jacob Barnhart, Nancy Henly, Mary Erskine ,George Daniels, Edward Bevans, William Ridley, Anne Wallis, Mary Thompson, Martha Spotswood, John Beare, Nancy Hcnly George Winters, Samuel Morrell, Mary Thompson

For more information on existing medical records for Ontario see http://www.olivetreegenealogy.com/can/ont/medical.shtml 

A 1922 Orphan School Photo - Do You See an Ancestor Here?

While sorting and organizing my thousands of old photos, I came across this photo in my mother's cousin Doris Simpson's papers.  Doris was my grandmother's brother's only child and when she died in 1998 at the age of 89, all her photographs and photo albums came to me. Even though I do not know any of the people in most of her photos, I can't bear to throw them out without sharing them here. 

Perhaps a descendant of one of the children in this school photo taken in Toronto Ontario Canada in 1922 will recognize an ancestor! Doris labelled the back with names which I have typed out below:

George Syme School, 844 Windermere Ave., Entrance Class of 1922. Teacher Miss Margaret Evans

Back row: George Sidney, Frank Arnott, Sydney Waterman, Sydney Hasted, Percy Marshall, Edwin Downes, Alfred Tempest, John Arnott, Leslie Horton

Middle row: Blanche Syme, Verna Williams, Mary Russell, Doris Simpson, Clarence Syme, Reginald Dounes, David Lyons

Front row: Maird Bannerman, Florence Martin, Leah Dempster, Hazel Turner, Anne Foulds, Grace Kirk, Grace Coe, Blanche Grey

If your  ancestor is in this photo and you would like the original, just email me at olivetreegenealogyATgmailDOTcom and I'll be happy to mail it to you at no cost. 

Soldier's Letter from WW2 found Sixty Years Later and Returned

Representation of WW2 letters

This is touching story about a woman who found a letter written by a soldier that was 60 years old. She tracked down descendants and sent the letter home.

The letter was found in a pile of paperbacks that Sandi Blood purchased and was dated November 1951 and sent from a G. LeBlanc. U.S. Army Pvt. Gilles LeBlanc wrote the three-page letter to his girlfriend, Carole Petch in Toronto, Ontario Canada. 

With the help of social media, Blood was able to find the now 83 year old soldier living in Detroit Michigan

Read the complete story at "Woman finds love letter 6 decades old and tracks down soldier who wrote it" on the Washington Post.

WW1 CEF Soldier Letters Found Under Porch

CEF Attestation Paper
Leslie George Currell

24 year old CEF soldier Leslie George Currell wrote to his sister Gertrude just before Christmas 1917. He was a soldier on the front lines in France at the time. The letter was found under the front porch of the Currell home with other letters and a money order from Leslie during the same time period.

Larry McLean, owner of the home on 76 Bertmount Ave. where the family lived, wants to return the letters to descendants.  Read the full story including the letters at The Last Post: Leslieville Man Finds WW1 Letters Under Porch

I did some research online and found the burial of Leslie (1893-1954) on FindaGrave. The memorial to him includes a photo of him in his CEF Uniform and details about his son George and daughter Marguerite.

Marguerite was born in 1936 and died in 2004 while George was born in 1938. His grave is not found so it is possible he is still living. Leslie George is buried in Resthaven Cemetery in Scarborough.

Leslie George's brother William Lawrence Currell is also buried in Resthaven.

Leslie is found as George in the 1901, 1911 and 1921 census on Ancestry.com . In 1901 and 1911 the family is in Goderich which is where Leslie was born. 1921 records the family at 80 Bertmount Avenue in Toronto.

The family appears to consist of father George Leslie Currell born ca 1860 in Ontario, mother Margaret (nee McBride as per her marriage registration in 1884) and children Letitia Gertrude (Gertrude) born ca 1884, Elisabeth A. born ca 1889, George Leslie (our CEF soldier) born 1893, Mary M. born ca 1895, and William Lawrence born ca 1902.

The newspaper article mentions another letter to mother Margaret signed "Blanche" and sent from Saltford Ontario which was found under the porch. A search online revealed a Family Tree submitted to Ancestry.com with a photo of the Currell family in Saltfort, including mother Blanche Currell. I have no doubt this is the author of the letter.  Blanche was married to Edward Currell who was soldier Leslie Currell's uncle.

I am sure that contacting the submitters on Ancestry and on FindAGrave would yield descendants who would be interested in the letters.

Another Genealogical Mystery Solved

This photo was taken in Ramsgate Kent England in April 1906. It is one my grandmother Fuller gave me many years ago, of her brother Frank at age 16.

Grandma always told me that her little brother drowned in Ramsgate Harbour at the age of 18 and that was why she herself was terrified of the ocean and never swam. In fact when I was a little girl and went to stay with her one summer, she would only let me have about 1 inch of water in the bathtub!

I never thought to question Grandma's story.... but on looking through Doris' Genealogy Box I spotted a receipt in the name of Ernie Simpson.
It was dated August 1, 1908 from F. W. Matthews, Funeral Director in Toronto Ontario (Canada) and showed a $40.00 bill paid for "Funeral Furnishings and Services" for the "late Frank W. Simpson" This was Grandma's brother Frank!

Further searching turned up an earlier receipt dated July 24, 1908 from St. James Cemetery in Toronto for $4.00 paid for "...the ground of North Grave Lot 134, Block C, Ravine" in the cemetery.



Realizing this must be for Frank's burial I searched Ancestry.com Vital Statistics for Ontario and found Frank's death certificate.


Grandma's brother Frank Simpson died of appendicitis in St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto Ontario on 22 July 1908 at the age of 18, he did not drown in Ramsgate Harbour. I think now that Grandma made up the death by drowing story to cover her own fear of the water and to keep her grandchildren cautious when around water.

A search of Ancestry.com Ships Passenger Lists revealed that Frank arrived in Quebec Canada in May 1907 on board the ship Southwark. 14 months later he was dead.

When I was a teenager Grandma gave me a book The Blacksmith of Boniface Lane that Frank had won for perfect attendance in the Cavendish Baptist Sunday School in Ramsgate in October 1902.

Frank was 13 years old and I don't think he ever read the book as it is in perfect condition.

But I treasure it as a memento of the brother who meant so much to my grandmother. I would never have known the true story of Frank's death nor where he is buried, had it not been for different preservers saving documents. And if it were not for my Grandmother giving me Frank's book and photograph, I would not have been able to piece together a little visual tribute to Frank's memory.

A Photograph Leads to More Genealogy Discoveries

In my mother's boxes of items from her apartment, I found 2 photographs both marked on the back in my grandmother's writing. One was a photo of Grandma's brother Ernest (Ern) Simpson with his daughter Doris.


Ern's photo was written on the back "April 21st 1923. Wait[ing for t]he Canada on the [dock?] at Liverpool" My mother had added the names "Doris & Ernest Simpson" in block printing

The second photo was of Ern's wife Cordelia Cook. Auntie Cordie's photo was harder to read but it said "[-----------] alone S S Canada April 1923" I love that Auntie Cordie is on board the SS Canada and you can see the funnel and other ship structures in the background.

Ernie was born in 1883 in Ramsgate England, the eldest child of my great grandparents David & Sarah (Stead) Simpson. As kids We saw quite a lot of Uncle Ern, Auntie Cordie and their daughter Doris. They would often drive from Toronto to Ajax for a visit.

I know quite a bit about Ernie as he and his wife Cordie came to Canada in 1908 and settled in Toronto where he ran a Grocery Store.

A search of Ancestry.comlast year found Ern and Cordie's arrival in Canada in 1908 but I had never gotten around to checking other years in case they went back to England to visit family. So the 1923 photo was a very nice surprise!

The photographs in Mother's possessions sent me scrambling back to Ancestry.com but nothing was found for their sailing from Liverpool to Canada in 1923. I did find their departure from Canada to Liverpool in 1922 and the passenger list shows that they were headed for his mother's house in Ramsgate.

His paternal grandmother Sarah (Page) Simpson, shown here in the picture of Ern in 1885, lived with his mother until her death in 1921 so sadly Ern would not be seeing her on the 1922 trip.

When Doris died in her 90s, all of her papers and photographs came to me for safe-keeping. She and her parents were preservers, there were oodles of documents. Curiosity compelled me to look through the box at the time but I confess that I never scanned or studied them in depth.

Although I am bogged down with boxes from my mother's apartment, off I went to pull out the tub with Doris' belongings - and to my delight I found several documents that provide more detail on her father Ernie.


Ernie's original birth certificate from 1883 was in Doris' Genealogy Box, as was his wedding certificate (the original) from 1907. In a strange "small genealogy world" kind of way, I happen to have my great grandmother's bible which has the entry of his marriage written the same day it occured.

I also have several lovely wedding day photos of Ern and Cordelia, found in an antique photo album belonging to Doris. One is the full wedding party and the rest are of the happy couple.

The bible is another story. After Great-Grandmother Simpson died in England, the bible was given to my grandmother's sister's step-daughter who gave it to her daughter who immigrated to Australia to live! That's confusing isn't it? So Great-grandma's bible was in the hands of a non-blood distant relative who very graciously mailed it to my mother when she asked for it many years ago.

So now I am digging through my mother's cousin Doris' Genealogy Box and will write about what I find there that relates to my Uncle Ern Simpson and his family.

Toronto Ontario 1861 Census Transcriptions

The Old Census Scribe has a new blog online called Toronto 1861 The Blog description states:

A progress history of transcribing a big Canadian city census from 1861, including my method and organization, and the social and geographical details of the area at that time.

The Old Census Scribe has been making a transcription of the 1861 censuses of Toronto and York Township over the past few years. With the New Year she has decided to write a blog, outlining her progress and also looking at the people who made up Toronto in the 19th century.

At present, the transcription (not proofread!) is complete for St James's, St David's and St Lawrence's Wards, and for York Township. You can ask for lookups via the "comments" feature on the blog if you leave your e-mail address. The comments are moderated, and lookup requests will not appear on the blog. But she will answer your requests as soon as she can.

Toronto Chair Dies While Filming Ancestors in the Attic

Sent: Saturday, October 25, 2008 1:56 PM
Subject: Toronto Branch Electronic Bulletin - October 25, 2008

Shocking and Sad News

Toronto Branch has been informed that our chair, Paul McGrath, died of a heart attack in Scotland. He was there filming for Ancestors in the Attic.We will advise you when we know what arrangements have been made.

We will observe a moment of silence in Paul's memory at the meeting on Monday evening (October 27) and there will be a proper tribute at our November meeting and in the November/December issue of the Toronto Tree.

Please meet with other branch members in the Burgundy Room on Monday evening.

What do my Grandma, Eaton's Department Store, William Massey and American Express have in common?

As a child I never experienced going to stores. We lived in a village where the only store was a tiny variety store which sold a bit of everything.

My mother didn't take her children with her when she shopped, so it was not until age 10 that I experienced a store for the first time. My grandmother took me to "The City" (Toronto) to Eaton's Department Store. Timothy Eaton founded a dry goods store on Yonge Street in 1869, and that small shop ultimately became the largest department store chain in the country. Timothy Eaton's first store was occupied by the 20th Century by Eaton's large Main Store, the Eaton's Annex and a number of related mail order and factory buildings. Eaton's is now defunct and where the huge store once stood is a large mall called The Eaton Centre. It is the 3rd largest shopping mall in Canada, and an important Toronto Tourist attraction.

For me, as a 10 year old, a trip to "The City" was an adventure on its own, as the only time I ever went there was our family's annual trip to the Santa Claus parade in downtown Toronto every November. The number of people in Eaton's overwhelmed me and I don't remember much about the store itself! I was impressed, but scared, as I rode on an escalator for the first time. I'd never seen a store with more than one floor or taking up so much space so it felt very alien to me and definitely outside my comfort zone. I do remember how lovely my grandmother looked in her skirt and jacket, nylons and high heels. And I chuckle at the thought of seeing someone dressed that way in any store now!

But what do Timothy Eaton, William Massey and American Express have in common? In a convoluted, six degrees of separation kind of thing, Timothy Eaton, the founder of Eaton's Department Store, moved to the town of St. Mary's Ontario in the 1860s and opened a small store. St. Mary's was a very small town and my husband's 3rd great-grandfather William Massey also lived there.

William, a teamster, worked for the newly formed American Express Company which had an office in St. Mary's in the mid 1800s. In 1862 William was charged with stealing over $800.00 from the Company (approximately $20,000.00 now) and arraigned for trial. One of the jurors at his arraignment was non other than Timothy Eaton!