THE FAULKNER FAMILY - CANADA PROJECT 150

In 2017 the Ontario Genealogical Society asked their members for stories about the families who lived in Canada at the time of confederation in 1867.  I thought it was a good idea and decided to write about each family unit. This is the last family of my project

FAULKNER FAMILY

My great great grandparents William Faulkner (1815-bef 1901) and Annie Jane/Hannah Crosby (1819 - 1876) were both born in Ireland, possibly Dublin.  They emigrated to Canada between 1847 and 1849, probably due to the Irish Famine with their 2 sons John Crosby and George Lewis and settled in Ontario.

William and Annie Jane had at least 7 children. John Crosby was born in Dublin in 1844 and George Lewis in 1845.  According to a Family Bible, their next son Ford was born in either 1847 or 1849 (the date has been overwritten) and he was born in Toronto, Ontario

By 1850 the family had moved to Simcoe County, as their son William Joseph was born in Tecumseh, Simcoe County, Ontario on July 1, 1850 and baptised on 18 May 1851.  More children followed, Mary Jane born 1852, Henrietta born 1853 and Annie Margaret born 1855.

Annie Margaret  Faulkner Fawcett (1855-1939)

Ford Faulkner (abt 1847-1929), my great grandfather

Mary Jane Faulkner Rowe (1852-1909)  Photographer John Crosby Faulkner, Mary Jane's brother.

William was a tailor   According to the book entitled Governor Simcoe Slept Here by the Bradford West Gwillimbury Local Historical Association, Volume 1 and 2, William Faulkner was the first tailor in the village of Newton Robinson.  Newton Robinson is a village about 50 miles north of Toronto, in Simcoe County.

A partial transcript of the book:
William Faulkner was the first tailor in the village.  About the year 1852, a building was erected immediately north of the Chantler Store.  William Faulkner occupied it as a dwelling and tailor shop.

Faulkner bought lot "E", built a house and operated a tailor business until 1868,  when he sold the property to John Merrick.   George Ogilvie and J. M. McClean were successful tailors during prosperous years.

The tailor shop stood where the present Women's Institute Hall (Orange Hall ) is now located

Another book from Simcoe County also mentions the Faulkners as being established in Newton Robinson around the same time:   Newton Robinson: A History of the United Church and the Community 1841-1987 by Bernice Merrick Ellis writes that a new church in the Bradford Circuit, Wesley Chapel appears in the June 1849 - 1850 annual report. 

The Latimer's corners log church appears under its own name for the first time.  There can be no doubt that is what it was.  The subscribers are familiar Newton Robinson Church names.....

The Village itself had been formally christened Newton Robinson in the year 1848.

 In the Missionary lists of the next few years more names that would be well known appeared, including......Wm. and Hanna Falkner.....

Certainly William and Annie Jane were in the village of Newton Robinson as William Faulkner, tailor,  is listed in the 1869 Gazetteer for the area.  According to the 1871 Census they lived in Tecumseth and William's occupation was tailor.

Sadly Annie Jane died in 1876 and by that time William and Annie were back living in Toronto.  After Annie's death William seemed to move around to be near his children.  In 1877 he was living in Fordwich, Huron near his daughter Mary Jane Rowe and son Ford.  He was living with Mary Jane and her family according to the 1881 census.

By the time the 1891 census was taken, William had moved to the Muskoka, Parry Sound, Ontario, area to be near his sons John Crosby, photographer and William Joseph, baker who both had businesses in the area.

What happened to William after that remains a mystery.  I haven't located a death certificate, and William doesn't seem to appear on the 1901 Census.  Several researchers have listed his death as January 28, 1896, but further investigation reveals that death certificate is for an Annie Jane Faulkner a farmer's wife. Did he move to North Dakota, USA to be near his daughter Annie Margaret Fawcett?

Annie Jane's burial location is unknown as well.  Are they buried together somewhere in Ontario?

FAULKNER FAMILY - PART 7

Annie Margaret Faulkner was the youngest daughter of William Faulkner (1815 - ) and Annie Jane Crosby (1819 - 1886).  She was born in Newton Robinson, Simcoe County, Ontario about 1857 and died in Consort Alberta in 1939.

Annie Margaret married Joseph Hugh Fawcett in Huron County in 1878.   Joseph Fawcett was listed as a farmer and by the 1881 Census the family was living in Peel , Wellington County.  They had a large family some born in Ontario, but the majority of children were born in North Dakota.  The family moved there in about 1883 where there was land available.

Unfortunately, most of the 1890 US census has been destroyed, so according to the 1900/1910 US census the children are listed as follows:

• William Melville - 1879 - 1891
• John Franklin - 1881 - 1926
• Joseph Ford - 1882 - 1964
• Henrietta Louise - 1884 - 1884
• Nina Irene  -  1885 - 1980
• Matilda Elsie - 1889 - 1968
• Cecil Everett - 1893 - 1951
• Ethel May - 1895 - 1960
• William Dewey - 1898 - 1963
• Charley Eames - 1901 - 1970

Joseph Fawcett owned Timber culture land in  North Dakota according to the   US Bureau of Land Management  His land is listed as 160 acres of land in the Township/Range of 130N-059W, which is in Dickey North Dakota.  The land was sold in 1910 and the family owned a pool hall in Ludden North Dakota.  After that,  the family moved to Alberta and were homesteaders north of Loyalist Alberta west of Consort.

In searching the internet for genealogy information, I have been in contact with a descendant of Matilda Fawcett and he has shared some photos and information with me.  Matilda Fawcett kept a scrapbook of her family's history.  She kept newspaper clippings and photos which has been a real treasure trove of information.  Much of the information in this blog has been taken from the documents that he shared with me.

According to the  Alberta Homestead Records 1830 -1970  Joseph Fawcett owned land in Section 20, Township 36, Range 7, Meridian 4.  Which is near Loyalist Alberta.  It also states that Joseph died in 1916.  The land was then assigned to Annie Margaret Fawcett and there is also an entry for this same property for their sons Cecil Fawcett and William Dewey Fawcett.  There are no dates on the Index, so further investigation is needed to determine when they actually owned the land.  However according to the the Border Crossing - US to Canada information Matilda Fawcett crossed the border in April 1912 and listed that she was going to her father.  She was also travelling with her niece and nephew who stated they were going to their father.  I haven't found Annie Margaret and Jospeph Fawcett on the 1916 census, but did find John Franklin Fawcett, a widower,  his children Blanche and Russell, as well as Dewey Fawcett.  On the 1916 Census John Franklin and Dewey are listed as living in Township 35, Range 7, Meridian 4.  Which seems close to where Annie Margaret and Joseph had land, but not quite.

I find from the scrapbook, Melville Fawcett died in 1891 at the age of 11, in North Dakota, from spinal meningitis and he is buried in the Ludden Cemetery..  There was a lovely poem in the newspaper clipping dedicated to him.  The Enterprise Newspaper from Consort Alberta has an obituary for Annie Margaret Faulkner Fawcett who died in 1939 in Consort.  The obituary confirms that Joseph died in 1916.  It also indicates that Annie Margaret lived in Toronto as a young girl and woman.  I think this is something I need to examine more closely.  I seem to have her living in Simcoe County and then marrying in Huron County.  I do know the family lived at some point in Toronto, so that is something more to check out on the ever growing "Faulkner" list.

Annie Margaret Faulkner Fawcett - taken in Ludden North Dakota

Thankfully the obituary also lists where her offspring were living at the time of death.  I find Dewey is in Loyalist, Alberta;  Ford is in South Dakota; Charles is in Oregon and Cecil is in Saskatchewan.  Three daughters and their married names, hooray, are also listed:  Ethel May has married Adrian Grexton and is living in Ontario; Matilda has married Willard Robinson and is living in Consort Alberta; and Nina Irene is married to Edwin Isamin and is also living in Consort.  Frank, Melville and Henrietta had pre deceased her.  At the bottom of  this obituary, a handwritten note indicates Joseph H. Fawcett was born Apr 3, 1856 and died March 30, 1916.

From another obituary for Frank Fawcett, we learn that he died from a farming accident in 1936.  His children are mentioned as Russell and Blanche who has married an A. J. Canning.

What a wonderful scrapbook, for the family to own.  They also the have William Faulkner's eyeglasses and William Faulkner  family bible.  As any one who traces their family genealogy knows, these artifacts are priceless.  I thank all the extended family members who have shared these with me.  Now if we could only find out more about our elusive William Faulkner and Annie Margaret Crosby in Ireland.









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.