FAULKNER FAMILY - PART 5

Mary Jane Faulkner was born May 1, 1852 (per her death certificate)  in Ontario.  She died in 1909, in Fordwich, Huron, Ontario.  Mary Jane was the oldest daughter of Willliam Faulkner (1815 -) and Annie Crosby (1819 - 1876).  The Faulkner family had emigrated to Canada from Dublin Ireland around 1847-1849.  Mary Jane's older brother William Joseph Faulkner was recorded as baptised in Simcoe County in 1851, so it is probable that Mary Jane was born there as well, possibly in Newton Robinson.



 

 This picture of Mary Jane Faulkner appears to be from a larger group photo.  The photographer is shown as "Faulkner, Sundrige".  This is Mary Jane's brother John Crosby Faulkner, who had a photo studio in Sundridge Ontario.  The back of the photo says "Aunt Mary" according to a distant relative who sent me this copy.  The photo belongs to the Annie Margaret Faulkner family.  Annie Margaret is the younger sister of Mary Jane.

Mary Jane Faulkner married James Rowe in 1873 in Simcoe County.  James Rowe was from Cornwall, England and his parents are listed as James and Susan Rowe.  James and Mary Jane settled in Howick, Huron County according to the 1881 Census.  William Faulkner, Mary Jane's father is also living with the family.  A few doors away, Ford Faulkner, his wife Sarah Newton Faulkner and her brother Edward Newton are also living in Howick.  James Rowe was listed as a brickmaker, a farm labourer and also an insurance agent on the various census.

Mary Jane and James Rowe had at least 7 children:

• William Henry 1874 -
• Henrietta Gertrude 1876 -
• Susan Jane (Elsie) 1878 -
• Alberta 1881 -
• Matilda "Tillie" 1885 -
• Annie Mary 1887 -
• Elmer Austin 1894 - 1918

Henrietta Rowe married Charles W. Ruttan in Huron County in 1906.  Susan Rowe married John Thompson in 1903 also in Huron. Tillie married Herbert Bricker Huron in 1918.  Lance Corporal Elmer Austin Rowe was killed in the First World War and is buried in France.  He was attached to the Fort Garry Horse Unit, so he must have been in Manitoba prior to enlisting in the Army.

When Mary Jane Rowe died in November 1909, her daughter Alberta wrote a letter to Annie Margaret Faulkner Fawcett.  Annie Margaret Fawcett was living in Ludden North Dakota at the time.  It's a lovely letter from Alberta expressing her sorrow at her mother's death.

The letter indicates that Will had just been married and returned home with his new bride and did not return for the funeral.  I'm not sure where home is, but I think perhaps it is Manitoba.  The letter also mentions Etta (Henrietta) had returned for the funeral with her  3 month old baby and expects to stay all winter as it is a long journey home.  Once again, I believe that Henrietta and Charles Ruttan lived in Manitoba.   At the time of Mary Jane's death Alberta, Tillie and their father James Rowe were at her bedside.

The letter goes on to say that Uncle John and Aunt Jennie (John Crosby Faulkner and his wife Jennie Stewart) and Uncle Ford and Aunt Sarah (Ford Faulkner and his wife Sarah Ann Newton) "came up" for the funeral.  The letter closes by wishing her aunt Annie Margaret a Merry Christmas and is signed "Niece, Alberta xxx"

There was a notice in a local paper in Huron County that indicated " On account of the late Mrs. Jas. Rowe's funeral, there will not be any service at Newbridge on Sunday afternoon."  Newbridge was a small village in Huron County.

Mary Jane Faulkner was buried in Fordwich Cemetery.  Her husband James Rowe died in 1919 and he was buried with her.  The tombstone inscription  also lists their son Elmer Austin Rowe.