FAULKNER FAMILY - PART 1

William Faulkner was born about 1815 in Ireland, possibly in Dublin.  He married his wife, Annie Jane Crosby in Ireland before 1844.  William was a tailor and they settled in Simcoe County in Ontario.

According to the book Governor Simcoe Slept Here , published by the Bradford West Gwillimbury Local Historical Association, William was the first tailor in the village of Newton Robinson.   Newton Robinson was a village in the township of Tecumseh, County Simcoe about 20 miles south of Barrie and 50 miles north of Toronto.  I believe the village is now part of Bradford.  In 1852,  he occupied a  building as a tailor shop and a dwelling  in the village.  He sold his tailor business in 1868 to John Merrick.

Before emigrating to Canada, William and Annie Jane or Hannah as she is sometimes recorded, had at least 2 children:

•  John Crosby Faulkner born about 1844 in Dublin, Ireland
• George Lewis Faulkner born about 1845 in Ireland

After they arrived in Ontario, they had at least 5 more children:

• Ford Faulkner born 1847-1849  in Ontario, possibly Toronto
• William Joseph Faulkner born in 1850 in Tecumseh, Simcoe, Ontario
• Mary Jane Faulkner born about 1852 in Simcoe, Ontario
• Henrietta Faulkner born about 1853 in Simcoe, Ontario
• Annie Margaret Faulkner born about 1855 in Simcoe, Ontario

The forenames of Crosby, Ford and Lewis are used quite a bit in this Faulkner family.  I know that Annie Jane's maiden name was Crosby and so that is often used as a second name.  I've been wondering if Ford was also a family name.  There was a Jane Crosby born in Dublin, Ireland around 1829.  She came to Ontario and married a John Southeran/Southern/Sotheran.  According to some research on the Southeran family, Jane Crosby lived in Simcoe County and then moved to Huron County with her husband John.  On her death certificate her father is listed as Ford Crosby.  This branch of the Southeran family also uses Crosby and Ford as surnames.  I have no proof, but I think this Jane Crosby is somehow related to Annie Jane/Hannah Crosby.

Annie Jane died in 1876 and after that William Faulkner lived with his children.  On the 1881 Canada Census he was living with his daughter in Howick, Huron County.  By 1891, he was living in Muskoka, Parry Sound, living next door to his son William.  I don't know when he died.  I have not found him on the 1901 census.  So I have been assuming that he died between 1891 and 1901.

However, another researcher who is a descendant of William Faulkner, has his  eye glasses and glass case.  I'm wondering if William went to live with his daughter Annie Margaret in North Dakota.  Is a pair of glasses something you would leave in a will?  Or possibly it is just a family memento to remember a father?