HENRY NEWTON AND MARY BRYAN/BRYANT - CANADA PROJECT 150

First Published in the Halton-Peel  Branch of the Ontario Genealogy Society Newsletter - Special Edition Halton-Peel KINections - Canada 150 Project - July 2017


The Halton-Peel Branch of the Ontario Genealogy Society invited members to share stories about ancestors who lived in Canada at the time of confederation in 1867.  Henry Newton and Mary Bryan/Bryant are my paternal 3x great-grandparents


Henry Newton and Mary Bryan family

Henry Newton and his wife Mary Bryan/Bryant were born in Ireland, possibly Kings County and came to Canada in the 1830’s.  Not much is known about them, but according to family history they both died in the late 1840’s or early 1850’s and have not been found on any census record.

According to the St. Lawrence Steamboat Company Passenger list there was a Henry Newton and wife and children listed as arriving from Quebec City to Montreal on 2^nd June 1831.

Certainly by 1837 Henry Newton was shown in the City of Toronto and Home District Directory as living on Concession 1, Lot 27, Albion Township, Peel County.  Their children have been identified as Robert (1821-1895), Henry (1824-1905), William (1826-1923), Maria (1828-1918) and possibly George Newton (1823-?).  There is also an entry in the 1847 Brown’s Directory for the same address for Henry Newton.

Maria Newton, aged 16 and Henry Newton aged 21 were confirmed in the church on October 28, 1844 in Albion.  Their address was listed as Lot 20, Concession 2, Albion, per the Index for Baptismal Register for the Mission of Chinguacousy, Gore of Toronto and Parts adjacent.

Robert Newton (1821-1895), farmer married Margaret Fallis before 1848 and they lived in Albion.  They had 5 children: Ester Ann (1848-1933), Mary (1849-1937), William Henry (1851-1921), Susan (1853-1864) and Margaret (1855-1912).  Margaret Fallis, a native of Enniskillen, Fermanagh Ireland died in 1855 in Wallace Perth County.  Her parents James Fallis(1802-1882) and Ester Spence (1803-1869) also of Fermanagh died in Albion and are buried in Crawford Cemetery. Robert married Isabella McKnight in 1857 Wallace, Perth County.  They had 11 children together and lived in Perth County and in Howick, Huron County, before moving to Manitoba.  When Robert Newton died in Elton Manitoba in 1895, his death Certificate stated he was from Queen’s County, Ireland.  More information about  Robert Newton part 1

Henry Newton (1824-1905), Storekeeper was living in Albion according to the 1851 Census, but by 1861 he had moved to Howick Huron.  He married Lydia Hill Bloomily, a widow in 1862.  Lydia died in a fire in Howick in 1864 and Henry married Susan Ghent Sutherland in 1865 in Wellington County.  By the 1901 Census Henry had moved to Kootenay East, B.C.  Henry died in 1905 in Athalmer B.C.  His place of birth was listed as Kings County, Ireland.

William Newton (1826-1923), farmer must have lived in Albion when his family first emigrated, but by the 1851 census he is living in Waterloo.  He is living with his presumed brother George Newton and his wife Letitia McFadyen Newton.  William married Eleanor Holt in 1855 in Waterloo.  Eleanor Holt is the sister of Thomas Holt.  Thomas Holt married Maria Newton.  According to the 1901 Census William emigrated to Canada in 1834.  On the 1911 Census his emigrated to Canada in 1837.

Maria Newton (1823-1918)  married Thomas Holt in 1846 in Albion and according to her obituary in 1918; Maria was born in Kings County Ireland. The Newton family including her parents and 4 brothers left Ireland on April 18, 1835 and landed in Toronto on July 11, 1835.  They moved to Albion, Peel County and she lived there until she married and moved to Wellington County.  The 1901 Census state Maria emigrated to Canada in 1843, but the 1911 Census states 1835.

MCKNIGHT FAMILY - PART 3

 The Historical Atlas of the County of Wellington, Ontario has an obituary for George McKnight, that lists his wife Mary Smith and his children.  George McKnight was born about 1817 according to the various census, but this biography/obituary states he was born in 1827 in Fermanagh, Ireland and he emigrated to Canada in the early fifties (1850) with his family.  This is incorrect  as Isabella his daughter, was born in Ontario about 1839.  So while some of the information is suspect it does give a sense of who George McKnight was.

From other sources, I know he came to Wellington County by 1854 as he is listed as one of the first owners of land in Minto Township at Concession 1, lots 41 and 42.  The biography states "There were no roads at this time and the McKnight found their way through Wallace and up to their location the 'blazed' path.  Here Mr. McKnight made a small clearing and built a log house, eventually clearing the whole farm and living upon it until his death."  The article also states that he was a Conservative and the family were members of the Church of England.

The most valuable part of the biography lists his children and more importantly who they married.  Unfortunately the daughters are listed by their married names, i.e.:  Mrs. Robert Newton.  This takes some sorting out to discover which daughter it means.  Luckily the  men fare better, they are listed by name and the full name of their wives.

By using the biography as well as information from other sources here are the family marriages:

Isabella   (1839 - 1913)  m. Robert Newton

Ann J.      (1841 - 1894) m.  Leonard Denney/Denny

Margaret (1843 - 1920)  m.  Moses Aldrich

Sarah      (1847 - 1929) m.  Robert Magwood, George Adams, E. G.  Harris

John        (1849 - 1911) m.  Elizabeth Phillips

James     (1850 - 1931) m.   Sarah Rutherford

George   (1857 - 1931)  m.  Mary Jane Lovell

Mary       (1861 - 1938) m.  Charles Heuckerote 

Elizabeth (1862 - 1867)        --

Samuel   (1865 - 1957) m.  Elizabeth Rothwell

Most of the family seemed to stay in the Wellington County area and George McKnight's farm stayed in the family for years after his death.  I believe there are still quite a few McKnight family descendants in the area to this day.

MCKNIGHT FAMILY - PART 1

This is a picture of George McKnight (1817 - 1884) and Mary Smith (1817 - 1909)

George and Mary McKnight

 

George is my 3x great grandfather and came from Enniskillen, Fermanagh County Ireland.  He emigrated to Canada before 1839 as his first known daughter Isabella McKnight was born in Upper Canada in 1839.  There are quite a few researchers working on this family and the general consensus seems to be that George and Mary were married in Ireland before they came to Canada.

I met a new researcher on the Internet last month, who is a  Mcknight.  He asked me if I had a tree on the Mcknights.  The George Mcknight family was one of the first families I researched.  As their daughter Isabella married Robert Newton and that started me on my genealogical research, I thought I had done quite a bit of work on this family, but now I see there is a lot more to do.  So while I have put together a family tree, it is sadly lacking in information, backed up by sources.

I think there are several reasons for this.  The first reason of course is that I've learnt more about how to document properly.  The second reason is that because there are so many trees out there already, I left this tree on the back burner to pursue another day.   But I think the most compelling reason that this family has been left is because I find Irish genealogy hard to get a handle on.  I never know whether a place name is a Civil Parish, a Townland,  a county, a post-town. etc.  And as  I have found it can be all of those things.

So for now I think I'll just concentrate on the Canada side of my research.  I need to fully explore George McKnight's family since he came to Ontario and tidy up the information I have.  Maybe then I'll feel brave enough to tackle those Irish sources, if I can find them.

I've just realised another reason I've been procrastinating about the McKnights:  they had very large families.  When there are 10 children in a family, the documentation piles up.  There is also the added complications when the families inter-marry.

George McKnight's parents were James McKnight and Hanna/Ann/Sarah Colwell (1796 - 1870).  They were born in Ireland and while there is no documentation, it is thought that they both came to Ontario.  Ann McKnight is found on the 1851 Census as a widow.  The thinking is that the family came in the late 1830's - 1840's and settled in Ontario, but James died around 1845.  I'm not sure there is any proof of this, but it seems to be a possibility.

The 1837 Toronto & Home District Directory lists a Mcknight & Saxon on Yonge Street Toronto as Wholesale Merchants and Wholesale dry goods store.  I wasn't sure if this was my George McKnight as I first found him in Albion, Peel County, Ontario with his family.  However several other trees have indicated that he was a shop owner and perhaps that it was a family run business.  Recently, another researcher Laurence kindly sent me an obituary for Mary Smith McKnight who died in 1909.

I think the obituary was from the Listowel Standard Newspaper, May 28, 1909, and it states that Mary Smith was born in 1815 in Fermanagh Ireland; she married George McKnight in 1835, in Fermanagh and they came to Canada in 1836.  They settled in Toronto where George McKnight was "engaged in mercantile business for two years".  After Toronto they moved to Albion, Peel County where they farmed.  In 1854 they were some of the first families to acquire land in Minto Township, Wellington county.  According to the obituary, their land was a dense forest and they had to clear the land to make a home for themselves.

So this confirms the story that George and Mary first settled in Toronto.  Unfortunately I couldn't find George Mcknight's address in the directory, perhaps he lived above the store.  Also Mr. Saxon is missing as well.  It also confirms that George and Mary married in Ireland.

It appears that George McKnight's siblings also came to Ontario and settled in the same area.  I've found 7 children listed as James and Ann Colwell Mcknight's family in Peel and Wellington counties.  But I think I shall leave that for another day.

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.

LEST WE FORGET - WORLD WAR 1

My grandfather Joseph Henry Down died in the Great War in 1915 at Ypres Belgium.  When I started researching my genealogy I didn't realise how many of my family had gone to war.  I felt sad that my grandmother had lost her husband to the war.  I felt even sadder when I realised her in-laws,  my great grandmother and great grandfather had lost 3 of their sons to the war.  Here is my list of my family and my husband's family from England who served in World War 1.  We appreciate your dedication to your country.  We wouldn't be here without you.




CANADA

 As a general note for the Down family 4 brothers served in WW1 and only 1 son survived.

JOSEPH HENRY DOWN 1889 – 1915

Joseph Henry Down was a Sapper in the Army.  He was assigned to the Canadian Engineers, 2nd Field Coy and died on April 24, 1915, killed in action by a bullet to the head.  He is commemorated on the Menin Gate (Ypres) Memorial, Belgium.  The following information is from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

 

The Menin Gate Memorial is situated in the Town of Ypres, now Ieper in the Province of West Flanders, on the road to Menin and Courtrai.  It bears the names of 55,000 men who were lost without trace during the defence of the Ypres Salient in the First World War. 

 

Carved in stone above the central arch are the words: 

 

TO THE ARMIES OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE WHO STOOD HERE FROM 1914 to 1918 AND TO THOSE OF THEIR DEAD WHO HAVE NO KNOWN GRAVE.

 

Over the two staircases leading from the main Hall is the inscription:

 

HERE ARE RECORDED NAMES OF OFFICERS AND MEN WHO FELL IN YPRES SALIENT BUT TO WHOM THE FORTUNE OF WAR DENIED THE KNOWN AND HONOURED BURIAL GIVEN TO THEIR COMRADES IN DEATH.

 

The dead are remembered to this day in a simple ceremony that takes place every evening at 8:00pm.  All traffic through the gateway in either direction is halted and two buglers move to the centre of the Hall and sound the Last Post.  Two silver trumpets for use in the ceremony are a gift to the Ypres Last Post Committee by an officer of the Royal Canadian Artillery, who served with the 10th Battery, of St. Catharines, Ontario in Ypres in  April 1915.

 

CHARLES OTTER DOWN 1886 – 1915 
 

Charles Otter Down was attached to the Quartermaster Service of the 12 Cavalry Field Ambulance during the first World War.  He died the 17th of June 1915 in Toronto.  He was diagnosed with tuberculosis and released from active service.

 

WILLIAM GEORGE DOWN 1888 – 1916 
 

 William George Down was a Private in the Army.  He was assigned to the Canadian Army Service Corps, 4th Ammunition Sub. Park  Division.   He died on October 5, 1916 and is buried in the Puchevillers British Cemetery, Somme, France.  Sadly William was run over by an army vehicle in the lines and died from his injuries.

 

A newspaper article in the Toronto Star, described  him a strapping fellow:

PTE WM DOWN of the Mechanical Transport Division is the third son of Mr. and Mrs. C. W. Down, 20 Bellefair Avenue to make the supreme sacrifice.  He died of wounds.  Two brothers, one older and one younger than himself, were previously killed in action.  The only remaining  brother, Pte. Richard E. Down, is on service at Moore Barracks, England.  Pte. William Down, a big, strapping fellow, who feared neither man nor devil, left Canada last May.  He was 28 years of age.  Before enlisting he was partner with his father in the cartage business at the corner of Queen east and Munro streets.

Toronto Star October 14, 1916.

 RICHARD EDWARD DOWN 1883 – 1957  

Richard  Edward Down, service # 34554, enlisted on Sept 23, 1914.  He was assigned to the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps, 2nd Field Ambulance.  At the time of his brother Wlliam's death, in 1916, he was stationed at Moore Barracks Hospital, Shorncliffe, Kent, England.  He was the only one of the three brothers to return from the war. 

 

 GEORGE EDWARD NEWTON 1897 - 1917

George Edward Newton was a Private in the Canadian Infantry, Manitoba Regiment, 52nd Battalion, service # 234581. He was killed in action October 28, 1917. He is buried at the Menin Gate, Ypres Belgium.
(See the entry for Joseph Henry Down, regarding the monument at Ypres)
 

  

ELMER AUSTIN ROWE 1894 - 1918

Elmer Austin Rowe was a Lance Corporal in The Fort Garry Horse, Manitoba, serial # 117519. He was killed in action on March 23, 1918, in the vicinity of Faillouel France. He is buried in the Chauny Communal British Extension Cemetery, north of Chauny, France

 

 

ENGLAND

ALBERT HAROLD “JACK” LEGG 1894 – 1970
 

Albert  Harold  "Jack" Legg enlisted in the Army on September 19, 1914 and was demobolised in March 1919, with the rank of Sergeant.  He was attached to the 2nd division of the 6th Royal Warwickshire Regiment.  He fought at the Somme, Ypres and St. Quentin.  He was awarded  the  British War Medal, the Victory Medal and the 1914-1915 Star.  His decorations included One Gold Wound Strip and Four Blue Chevrons.  The Chevrons indicates that he was overseas for 4 years.

 

CHARLES HENRY KENNARD 1889 – 1967 
 

According to the WW1 Attestation form Charles Henry Kennard enlisted in The Buffs East Kent Regiment on 28 Oct 1915 and was discharged on 09 Oct 1916 due to health: "Irregular astigmatism and deafness not aggravated by service".  His regimental number was 8437.  He did not go overseas.
 

 GEORGE ARTHUR KENNARD 1885 - ???? 

At the time of his marriage, in 1911 George Arthur Kennard was stationed in Simonstown South Africa.  He is listed as a Gunner in Company 17 and served with the Royal Garrison Artillery, Service No. 25551.  The marriage was recorded at Alderney, Channel Islands, while the marriage took place in Capetown, South Africa.

 

NEWTON FAMILY - PART 6 - FIRE, WHAT FIRE?

If you have been following my blog, I've been tracing the Robert Newton family recently.  I believe that Robert Newton (1821-1899) was the brother of  William, Henry, Maria and possibly George Newton.  I know from documentation that William, Henry and Maria are siblings, and their parents are Henry Newton and Mary Bryan(t).  Robert Newton was a witness to the marriage of George Newton in Simcoe County.  George may be a brother or a near relative.

My last post discussed Ester Ann Newton the oldest daughter of Robert Newton and Margaret Fallis (1827-1855).  Ester Ann (1849-1933) married Thomas Campbell and she died in Manitoba  in 1933.

My internet buddy, Heather is descended from Ester Ann and Thomas Campbell's family.  She was also researching the Newtons.  She had a scrapbook with newspaper articles that someone in her family had collected.  Unfortunately there were no dates or names of the publications attached to the articles.  Nevertheless, her family still lived in Huron County in Ontario so that is probably where the newspapers were published.  That was where Robert Newton and his family had lived before they went to Manitoba.

Heather had an article that recounted Ester Ann Campbell's death.  The article from a paper in Huron County was entitled:  Mrs. Thos. Campbell Passes - Mother of Mrs. J. Patterson, Fordwich was Last Survivor of Fire Tragedy in Fordwich in 1864.   The article seemed to be a reprint of the article in the The Recorder, Bossevain Manitoba (see this blog Newton Family - Part 5) with an added paragraph:

"The death  of Mrs. Campbell will recall to the minds of pioneer settlers in this district a tragic fire which occurred in Fordwich on January 12, 1864.  Mrs. Campbell was the last survivor of three persons rescued when a store, located just north of where Wm. Wade's stable now stands, was burned to the ground and in which five lives were lost.  The victims were William McAuly, 60 years of age; John Miller, 35 years; Michael Bloomly (sic), 18 years; Susan Newton, 11 years, all burned to death, while Lydia Newton died a few days later from effects of burns sustained.   The latter two were sisters of Mrs. Campbell who as at that time in her 16th year."

Michael Bloomily, Susan Newton, Lydia Newton were all names I had researched.  Susan Newton, age 11 was the missing Susan Newton (1853-1864) from the 1871 census.  She was a daughter of Robert Newton and Margaret Fallis.  There was another Susan listed on the 1871 born in 1864 to Robert and his second wife Isabella McKnight.

Michael Bloomily (abt 1843-1864) was the son of Lydia Hill (abt 1806-1864) and Michael Bloomily (1803-bef Mar 1862).  When  Michael Bloomily senior died, Lydia married Henry Newton.

I believe that last part of the article is incorrect. "The latter two were sisters of Mrs. Campbell..."  I think, Susan was the sister and Lydia was an aunt.

The fire started in a store owned by Henry Newton.  Further investigation revealed another article in the Huron and Bruce Advertiser - Semi-weekly Signal newspaper that it was a two-storey house and store owned by Henry Newton.  This article indicates that indeed Susan Newton is a niece of Henry and Lydia Newton and Ester Ann Newton is described as a "relative".  Apparently Ester Ann Newton escaped by leaping through a window while the others perished in the house.   How sad.  It was thought the fire had been set deliberately.

And there was my link.  Susan Newton, age 11 is the daughter of  Robert Newton and Margaret Fallis.  She is listed as the niece of Henry and Lydia Newton.  That makes Henry Newton her paternal uncle which makes Robert and Henry et al siblings.

I now feel confident adding Robert's parents as Henry Newton (senior) and Mary Bryan(t).

NEWTON FAMILY - PART 5

There was quite a lot of genealogy information on Robert Newton (1821 - 1895) and his first wife Margaret Fallis  (1827- 1855).  They had at least 5 children:  Ester Ann, Mary, William Henry, Susan and Margaret.  When I started my research I didn't follow up with the first marriage as I didn't think of them as direct descendants.  Then I thought of my mother's sister Aunt Marjory.  She was from my grandmother's first marriage; after her husband died my grandmother married my grandfather.  My mother never referred to Aunt Marjory as her half sister and she took umbrage with anyone who did.

As I thought of that I decided to follow the Robert and Margaret Newton line just as vigorously as my Robert and Isabella Mcknight Newton line.  I'm glad I made that decision because it gave me what I think is the link to Robert, Henry, Williiam and Maria Newton.

Ester Ann Newton (1849 - 1933) married Thomas Campbell (1841 - 1927).  Ester was the first child born to Robert and Margaret Newton and was born in Ontario, probably Peel County.  Thomas Campbell was born in Ireland.  They married in 1865 in Peel and lived in Huron County for some time.  Robert Newton had moved to Manitoba by 1881 per the Census and Ester Ann  and Thomas Campbell stayed in Howick until at least 1891.  By the 1901 Census they had moved to Brandon Manitoba where Thomas Campbell was a farmer.

The Manitoba Legislative Library will copy obituaries from the Manitoba newspapers for a small fee for around $5.00 to $10.00.  The last time I used the service 2 years ago the  e-mail address was:
Legislative_Library@gov.mb.ca  .

Unfortunately they didn't find any obits for Robert and Isabella Newton, but they did find obits for Ester Ann Newton and Thomas Campbell.

Thomas Campbell died 16 December 1927.  According to an obituary in the Winnipeg Free Press, he was born in the county of Tyrone Ireland and came to Canada in 1857.  He lived in Tottenham and then Fordwich in Ontario.  He married Ester Newton, in 1865 and  his parents were listed as Edward and Mary Ann Campbell.  The family moved to  the Minto area of Manitoba in 1888.

Ester Ann Newton Campbell died 15 November 1933.  Her obituary appeared in The Recorder, Boissevain, Manitoba.  The article states that Ester Ann Campbell was living with her daughter Mrs. Rice in Brandon, Manitoba at the time of her death.  The article also lists her children and where they are living:

• Mrs. J. Patterson, Fordwich Ontario
• Liskum Campbell, Minto
• Mrs. C. D. Sparrow, Russell
• Mrs. R. E. Rice, Brandon
• Mrs. L. Sparrow, Silverton
• John Campbell, Froud, Saskatchewan
• Edward Campbell, Vancouver
• Mrs. Mackie, Minto
• Russell Campbell, deceased
• Mrs. E. Cunningham, deceased

There is also a sister mentioned a Mrs. R. Armstrong of Harriston, Ontario.  The burial services was from the First Presbyterian Church and Ester Ann Campbell was buried at the Brandon Cemetery.

There was certainly a lot of information in the obituary and lots of names for me to check out.  It's often hard to find the married names of daughters in families, but this article listed not only the names but also their residence towns as of 1933.

About this time a lady named Heather contacted me about Ester Ann Newton and Thomas Campbell.  She was a descendant of this family.  We were sharing information that we had found from our research.  Someone in her family had started a scrapbook and had pasted various articles about the family in the book.  Unfortunately, Heather didn't know where the articles came from or when they had been published.  As I had just received the 2 obituaries around this time I asked Heather if she needed a copy.  She didn't have a copy of Thomas Campbell's obituary and she wasn't sure about Ester Ann Newton's obituary.

She asked me this simple question: " Is it the obituary that mentions the fire, because I have that one?"

Fire, what fire?


 

NEWTON FAMILY - PART 4

As I started my research into Robert Newton (1821 - 1895) and Isabella McKnight's (1839 - 1913) children,  I sent out various e-mails and added my information to genealogy message boards.

One of my contacts Carol, lived in the USA and was following the family history of Edward  George Newton (1858 - 1939) and his wife  Mary Harriett Everett (1872 - 1947) .  Edward was the 2nd son of Robert and Isabella Newton.   Carol's ancestors were on the Everett  side of the family.   We shared information back and forth and commiserated on our lack of progress.  We first "met" on the ontariogenealogy@yahoo.com  forum.  There are lots of people on this site that share their ideas and some who go the extra mile and dig into the research. 

One of the posters came up with this gem from the Our Roots website:   Edward Newton family
The book is called the Furrow to the Future and it was published by the Oxbow-Glen Ewen History Book Committee in Saskatchewan.    Edward had moved from Huron County in Ontario to Saskatchewan or the Assiniboia Territories as it was known then.  He moved between the 1881 and 1891 Census.  According to  Furrow to the Future, he worked for the CPR railway as a brakeman and was in Portage La Prairie, Winnipeg Manitoba and latterly in British Columbia before settling in Saskatchewan in 1887.  There are some nice photos on this site of the Edward Newton family.

Robert and Isabella Newton had moved to Manitoba by the 1881 Census and were living Lisgar Manitoba at the time with most of his children.  Their son Stewart (1863 -)   had also moved to the Assiniboia Territories by 1891.  He married Victoria Adelaide Everett (1877 - ).  Victoria was the sister of Mary Harriett Everett.

This was a nice side diversion, but I still needed to get back to the research on Robert Newton.  Was he related to the other Newtons:  Henry, William, Maria and possibly George?

FAULKNER FAMILY - WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?

I have several pictures of the Faulkner family.  The picture below was in my grandmother's possession and we know it is a picture of  at least some Faulkners.  The question is who?   Here's my working theory, still to be proven.




Theory:
Top row:  Sarah Ann Newton, mother,  ?Ford  Faulkner, father
Middle row:  Baby Faulkner
Bottom row: Mary Smith great grandmother, Isabella Mcknight Newton, grandmother

It looks like it is 5 pictures that have been placed in one frame.   I've been working on assumption that the man and women in the top row are the parents of the baby.  Of course, the question remains, who is the baby.  It could be my grandmother Isabel May Faulkner Meehan (1885-1959).  And does that make the other two ladies the grandmothers?

I believe the lady on the top left is Sarah Ann Newton (1860-1933). I've based that assumption on this picture:

This is a picture of my grandmother's family. In the front from left to right: Isabel Faulkner, her parents Ford Faulkner, Sarah Ann Newton Faulkner.  The back row from left to right: her brothers  William Robert* Faulkner, Stewart Faulkner, Ford Crosby* Faulkner and Clifford Faulkner. (* I'm not sure if I have these 2 brothers in the right order).

Comparing the two photos I think I see a resemblance in Sarah Newton.  I'm not so sure about Ford Faulkner, the nose and cheeks look different.

Then I found this picture on the Internet.  It is a picture of George Mcknight (1807-1884) and  Mary Smith (1821-1909).  They are the grandparents of Sarah Ann Newton

As you can see its not very clear.  Its a copy of a copy.  I've been told it is a daguerreotype and it is printed backwards.  It looks to me that Mary Smith is the lady wearing the hat in the first picture.  Maybe its just the hat, but I think I see a resemblance.

If it is Mary Smith in the picture, could that mean that the lady on the bottom left of the picture is Isabella Mcknight Newton (1839-1913), the grandmother of the baby?

So the question remains:  who are these Faulkners?  My cousin who shared these pictures with me isn't sure.  We've come up with our assumptions but no definitive proof.  We know they belong in the family, but it's just another piece of the puzzle for now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEWTON FAMILY - PART 3

As I continued my search for Robert Newton's parents I spent quite a bit of time researching the other Newtons in the area.  My research into William, Maria and Henry Newton took a lot of digging and at some points I wondered if I was just spinning my wheels.  Sometimes my husband asks me how the family "shrub" is progressing, as my research seems to spread sideways like a shrub instead of vertically like the tree it is supposed resemble.

Here's what I knew for sure:

• Henry, William and Maria were brothers and sister.
• George Newton was also a possible relative.
• They were born in Ireland about the same time as Robert.
• They were Protestant.
• They were farmers.
• They lived in the same geographical area of Ontario.
• Their parents were Henry Newton and Mary Bryan(t) or a variation.

Question:  Were they related to Robert Newton born about 1820, in Ireland, a protestant who lived in Albion, Peel County, Wallace, Perth County, Howick, Huron County and Manitoba?

I started my search using Ancestry and Family Search to see what information was available.  I had already  found the marriage registrations for Henry Newton , who had been married twice.  It was his  marriage that gave me his parents names.

Henry Newton born about 1828 married Lydia Hill in 1862 in Waterloo.  It turned out that Lydia had been married before to a Michael Bloomily and they had a son Michael Bloomily.  Lydia died in 1864 and Henry remarried in 1865.  He married Susan Ghent in Wellington County. Susan Ghent had also been married before to a Daniel Sutherland who died in 1862.  Henry and Susan had a daughter in Fordwich, Huron County in 1868.

Willliam Newton born about 1826 married Eleanor Holt about 1855 in Waterloo County and they had at least 8 children born in the Waterloo area.

Maria Newton born about 1828 married Thomas Holt about 1847, possibly in Toronto.  They had at least 12 children born in Welllington County.  Eleanor Holt and Thomas Holt were brother and sister as were Maria Newton and William Newton.

George Newton born about 1821 married Letitia Eason in Simcoe County, Robert Newton was a witness.

I contacted several researchers through Ancestry who had trees on the website.  They were researching the Holt family and had little information on the Newtons.  However one researcher indicated that Henry Newton senior had died when Maria Newton was a teenager around 13 years old and her mother Mary Bryan(t) had died before that.  This information was from family knowledge and I have not found any concrete proof of this information.  However if Henry Newton senior died about 1841, it would explain why he was not listed in an 1851 census Peel County.

At this point I decided to turn my attention to Robert Newton's children.  Some moved to Manitoba and some children stayed in Ontario.  I was hoping perhaps by researching these children, I might uncover some further information to help me.  If you have been following this blog and the Newton family you might remember that Robert Newton was the father of at least 16 children.  Oh, boy.

NEWTON FAMILY - PART 2

When I was researching Robert Newton (1821 - 1895) I thought I would look to see if there were other Newtons in the area that might be related.  All I knew was that he was Irish, he was a Protestant and he was a farmer.  He was in Ontario in 1851 according the the Census and he was living in Peel County.  By 1861 his first wife Margaret Fallis had died and he had remarried Isabella McKnight and he had moved to Wallace, Perth County.

It was rather a slow start.   The Toronto Family History Centre  has a weekly newsletter and there is an opportunity to have your  question published with (hopefully) a solution provided, either by the volunteers or another newsletter recipient.   Several years ago I sent in my question asking how I could find out when and where Robert Newton married Isabella McKnight.  Robert's first wife Margaret died in 1855 in Wallace Perth County and Isabella and Robert's first son Robert T. was born about 1857.  It looked like I had a two year window and a possible location of Wallace.

The answer came back that records for that period and that location were very scarce and it would be difficult to find out.  Great I thought, I'd already figured that part out, that was why I was asking where I could start my search.  My goal always to find out the parents names of Robert.

The next week however I received this reply from genealogist Fawne Stratford-Devai:

Fawne Stratford-Devai writes:

“Regarding the question for the Perth County marriage records pre-1869, we are very fortunate that the returns to the clerk of the peace were found and transcribed by Dan Walker and myself some years ago. The full transcription with index is available from Global Genealogy at: http://globalgenealogy.com/countries/canada/ontario/perth/resources/258034.htm

Perth County Baptism, Marriage & Burial Register, 1852-1859

Compiled by Dan Walker & Fawne Stratford-Devai

[Also available at the Toronto Reference Library and North York Public Library]

When I checked the transcriptions, I found the following entries for Newton/McKnight:

Marriages by Rev’d John Armstrong Wesleyan Methodist Minister

Robert NEWTON, to Isabella McKNIGHT. 11 Jan. 1857, Wallace, by Licence. Rev. ARMSTRONG. Wit. William McBRIDE and S. ARMSTRONG

Hooray for the internet.  A source for the marriage and where I could locate the source.  Not the complete answer I was looking for but it did confirm the marriage date between Robert and Isabella.

I decided to go back to the Census and see if I could find any other Newtons in the general area that were Irish, Protestant and possibly farmers.

Here's what I found on the 1851 Census:

William Newton born about 1826 in Ireland living in Waterloo County
George Newton born about 1821 in Ireland living in Waterloo County
Maria Newton Holt born about 1828 in Ireland living in Waterloo County
Henry Newton born about 1828 in Ireland living in Peel County

There was also a Henry Newton listed in the City of Toronto and Home District Directory and Register 1837.  He was listed at Albion Township, Peel County, Concession 1 Lot 27.

Could these be relatives of Robert?  The Henry that owned land in Albion, was probably not the same Henry in the 1851 Census.  That Henry would be just 9 years old in 1837. 

I did some more digging and found that William, Maria and Henry Newton (1828) were related.  Following their marriage registrations the parents for all three were listed as Henry Newton and Mary Bryan or Bryant.  I also found that when George Newton was married Robert Newton and William Fallis were the witnesses.  Fallis is the maiden name of Robert's first wife.

George married a Leitia Eason and  on the 1851 Census there is a William  Newton (1828)  living with the family in Waterloo.  Henry (1828) is also living quite nearby as well. Perhaps George is related to the other 3 Newtons.

A very helpful volunteer a the Peel Region Ontario Genealogical Society looked up some information for me as well.  She reported that a Henry Newton age 21 and a Maria Newton age 16 appeared on the Index for Baptismal Register for the Mission Chinguacousy,  Gore of Toronto and parts adjacent.  They had been confirmed 28 October 1844 in Albion, Peel, living at Lot 20 Concession 2.
Now that is not the same Concession and Lot where the other Henry was living but it was in Albion.

Also according to the Peel Region volunteer, the original land for Henry Newton - Lot 27, Concession 1 had been owned by an A.J. Fallis, by 1859.  Once again the Fallis name appears.

Now all I had to do was connect these Newtons to Robert.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEWTON FAMILY - PART 1

This bible represents my starting point in researching my genealogy.  I knew that my paternal grandmother's maiden name was Faulkner, but that was all I knew.  This gave me dates, names and places to commence my journey.



Bible presented to Sarah Ann Faulkner by her father R. Newton 1884

Holy Bonds of Matrimony Ford Faulkner & Sarah A. Newton June 25, 1879, Fordwich, Ontario

Robert Newton is my great-great grandfather.  He was born about 1821 in Ireland and came to Canada before 1849.  He lived in Peel County, Perth County and  Huron County in Ontario and then in Manitoba and was a farmer.  Robert married twice.  His first wife was Margaret Fallis she was born in 1827 in County Fermanagh in Ireland.  It's not clear where Robert and Margaret married, but possibly in Ontario.   Sadly she died in 1855 in Wallace, Perth County, Ontario, probably shortly after giving birth to her daughter Margaret.  Margaret Fallis' parents were James Fallis and Esther Spence.

Robert and Margaret had at least 5 children born in Ontario:

• Ester Ann  1849 - 1933
• Mary           1850 - 1937
• William Henry 1851 -
• Susan          1853 - 1864
• Margaret     1855 - 1912

On the 1851 Census Robert and Margaret Newton were living in Albion, Peel County.  According to The Christian Guardian, Margaret died 24 February 1855, in Wallace Township, Perth County.  Therefore the family must have moved between 1851 and 1855.


In 1857 Robert Newton married a second time.  His wife was named Isabella McKnight.  They married in Wallace, Perth County.  Isabella was the daughter of George Mcknight and Mary Smith of Fermanagh Ireland.  Isabella was born in about 1839 in Palmerston, Minto Township, Ontario.

Robert and Isabella had at least 11 children:

• Edward George  1856 - 1939
• Robert T.   1857 - 1927?
• Sarah Ann   1860 - 1933   - My direct line - great-grandmother
• Simon A.    1861 - before 1881?
• Stewart A.   1863 -
• Susan  1864 - 1892
• Mary Matilda   1868 -
• Anna Maria 1870 - 1915
• Elizabeth Jane   1874 -
• Christina  1875 -
• Thomas John  1876 -

On the 1861 Census, the family was living in Wallace Township, Perth County, Lot 37, Concession 8.  Margaret Newton, born 1855 to Robert & Margaret Newton was living with her grandparents James and Esther Fallis in Albion.  By the 1871 Census, the family had moved once again, this time to Huron County.  They are listed in Howick, the  North Huron District of Huron County.  Robert Newton  owned 50 acres of  property on Lot 24, Concession 2.

The family moved to Manitoba between 1871 and 1881, as the 1881 Census shows the family living at St. Clement, Lisgar, Manitoba.  The children included in the census were: Robert, Stewart A., Maria, Christine, Elizabeth and Thomas, ranging in age from 22 to 6. 

My great grandmother Sarah Ann had married Ford Faulkner in 1879  and they stayed in Howick, Huron County along with her brother Edward who was staying with them.  Edward was to move to Manitoba later to join his family.

Ester Ann married Thomas Campbell in 1865; she and her husband stayed in Howick until the 1901 Census indicated they had moved to Brandon, Manitoba .

Mary Newton married Robert Armstrong and they stayed in Ontario.  William Henry Newton married Louisa Ann Mosier, in 1879  and by 1911 they had moved to Saskatchewan. Margaret Newton (1855) didn't live with her father, first she was living with her grandparents James and Esther Fallis and by 1871 she was living with her uncle Robert Fallis and his family in Peel County.  In 1880 she married Samuel Cornish Saunders .

Sarah Ann and Ford Faulkner eventually moved to Toronto between the 1881 and 1891 Census.

At this point in my research I had now "lost" both of the Susan Newtons I had recorded.  The first Susan born to Robert and Margaret was born in 1853 and the second Susan born 1864 to Robert and Isabella.  I assumed the Susan born 1853, must have died before 1864 as another Susan was born in 1864.  That detail was to become very important to my research later on.  Susan, born 1864 was not with the family in 1881 in Manitoba.

Robert Newton (1821) died in RM N. Cypress, Manitoba, 11 November 1895.  His parents were not listed, but his birthplace is listed as Queen's County Ireland.  Isabella McKnight Newton died 15 May 1913, in Elton Manitoba.  Her birth date is listed as 6 April 1839 and she was born in Palmerston, Minto Township, Ontario according the the death certificate.

Now, I don't know if you have been keeping count, but Robert Newton and his two wives, produced 16 children, that I am aware of.  I can only hope he was as productive as a farmer as he was as a husband.

THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF RESEARCHING TRANSCRIBED INDICES.

When I took my first genealogy research class, I remember the instructor stressing that we must be flexible when searching for our ancestors' surnames.  This was due to many factors.  Back in the day, a lot of people could not read or write and so the concept of how their name was spelled was not a big issue.  In most cases for farm workers or labourers this did not impact their day to day life.

Emigration played a large part of this name game as well.  An English, Scottish or Irish accent changed how the name sounded to the North American ear and therefore how it was written down.  Another factor to be considered is that when the census were taken, the person taking down the information may have misheard the information given and basically guessed at what they thought they heard.

Therefore I thought I was ready to search and try out variations on a name.  I started with my Meehan surname and tried to think of all the different variations I could.  When I started thinking about it there were quite a few:  Meehan, Mehan, Mechan, Meecham, Meighen, Meaghan, Meaghen, Meagher, etc.

Other names such as Howson, had similar variations:  Howson, Hawson, Honson, Houston (this being the most popular), Howard.  The Faulkner surname became, Falconer, Falkner, pretty close to the original.  The easiest name so far to search has been Newton, it seems to have escaped the many and varied spellings that happened to my other surname searches, although I did find a Hewton.

Then there is the added fact that when these census or vital statistics documents are indexed there is another layer of human intervention that can lead to a completely different surname altogether.  So what we have is potentially a name that is taken down incorrectly in the first place being transcribed incorrectly as well.  It's the written equivalent of playing broken telephone.

When I was researching my Meehan family, I was looking for the marriage for Teresa Meehan and Norman Dunne O'Leary on the Ancestry website.  What I came up with was Teresa Mechan and Roman Dunne Breaw.  That one stumped for a while and I did have difficulty finding the marriage record until I took out most of the information in the search box and just left the parents names.  Even then George Meehan was recorded as George Mechan and his wife Emma Howson became Emma Teresa Danson Mechan.  Not too far off for the Meehan surname, but how in the world can you transcribe Breaw for O'Leary?  The only part of Norman Dunne O'Leary's name that was correct was the middle name Dunne.

My latest search for George Howson is even more bizarre.  I knew that George Howson died, at the age of 85 years, in March 1879 in Belleville, Ontario, as I had his burial record from St. Michael's Church in Belleville.  I realised I didn't have his death certificate recorded.  Easy peasy I thought and went to Ancestry to do a search.  No George Howson appeared.  I then tried New Family Search and  I found him.  Unfortunately New Family Search does not have images.  But it does have the certificate number.  So I went back to Ancestry and searched in the Belleville deaths for 1879 and found the certificate number I was looking for.  George Howson's  name was recorded as Genya Snorton, aged 0.  Of course how silly of me!

Now I'm wondering how many more Roman Breaws and Genya Snortons are out there waiting for me to find them?

FAULKNER FAMILY - PART 3

 Ford Faulkner was my great grandfather he was born about 1847 in Ontario.  According to his death certificate he was born in Toronto, Ontario.  There is a written notation in the family bible that suggests he may have been born in 1849.  The family were Methodists but to date I have only found one Methodist baptism record.  Unfortunately not for Ford, but for his brother William Joseph who was born 01 July 1850 in Tecumseth, Simcoe County and baptised in Bradford, Ontario.

Ford married Sarah Ann Newton in Fordwich, Huron County in 1879.  Sarah Ann's parents were Robert Newton and Isabella McKnight.  Sarah was born in 1860 in Wallace, Perth Ontario.

By 1851 Ford Faulkner's family were living in Simcoe County.  At some point before 1879, he and some of his family moved to Huron County.   The 1881 Census shows the family living in Howick, Huron County along with Sarah's brother Edward Newton.  At this time some of the other Newton family had moved to Manitoba, where Edward was to join them.  

The 1891 census shows the now growing family had moved to Toronto, St. Thomas Ward.  They are listed as lodgers with a Joseph and Ellen Kearney.  In 1901 they are living at 50 Blair Avenue in Toronto.

Ford and Sarah Ann had at least 8 children:

• William Robert  1880-1938
• Ford Crosby  1882 - 1920
• Bella May "Isabel"  1885 - 1959
• Stewart Clement  1887 -
• Edna (Twin)  1893 - 1893
• Gilbert (Twin)  1893 - 1893
• Herbert Russell  1894 - 1895
• Clifford Carlyle  1900 - 1942

Now back to the Family bible, the book that really got me interested in genealogy.  My paternal grandmother Isabel Faulkner Meehan gave the bible to my mother in the 1950's.  Isabel Faulkner had been raised in a strict Methodist family.  When she married George Meehan she became a Roman Catholic.  The bible had belonged to Isabel's mother Sarah Ann Newton.  It was presented to Sarah Ann by her father Robert Newton in 1884.   My mother didn't know at the time why she was given the bible and it remains a mystery to this day.  Perhaps, because it was a Protestant bible and my mother was a Protestant?

There are many names and dates in the bible, which have been very helpful in my research. I'm not sure whose hand writing appears in the book or if the dates were written as they occurred or after the fact.  Never the less, it's a wonderful artifact.

Ford Faulkner died in 1929  and Sara Ann died in 1933.  They are buried in St. John's Norway Cemetery in Toronto.

Why am I a budding genealogist?

When my mother died in 1999, I inherited a small red suitcase filled with old black and white photos, along with her family photo album.  I knew who most of the people were by rote.  They were my grandmother, grandfather, aunts, uncles and cousins etc.  There was even a picture of “Sparky” the terrier dog.  He didn’t really belong to my mom, but to a lodger.  Sparky didn’t know, my mom was not his owner and he adopted her.  As a child, sometimes I would drag out the photo album and my mom would tell me the stories behind the photos.    Of course, there were far more pictures that were a mystery to me.  I started to wonder how these people were related to me and wished I had asked more questions at the time.

In 2004, we were travelling in England to visit my husband’s family.  Over a family lunch in a restaurant, his cousin told me she was researching her family.  She started asking me questions about when I was born, who my parents were and so on.  She said she would add me to her database and suggested I join Genes Reunited so she could share her information with me.

In the next month or so, I had lunch with my cousin, on my dad’s side of the family. We hadn’t seen each other for a while so we chatted endlessly.  Out of the blue, she asked me if I knew our grandmother’s maiden name.  Somewhere from my memory bank came the name Faulkner, but I couldn’t remember her first name.   Elizabeth was my guess, but my cousin said her first name was Isabel.   We discovered between the two of us we knew very little about our family.  We knew our grandfather was George Meehan and now, we both knew our grandmother was Isabel Faulkner.  I think George and Isabel separated before I was born and I don’t remember ever meeting my grandfather Meehan.

When I got home from our lunch, I suddenly remembered a family bible that my mother had insisted I take years before her death.  It was in her basement and it was very musty.  At the time, I didn’t really want the Bible; it’s very large and quite frankly it smelled.  I aired it out and stuck in on my book shelf and promptly forgot about it.  This was a Bible from the Meehan side of the family. 

When I opened up the Bible, I was confused.  The names in the Bible were Sarah Ann Newton and Ford Faulkner.  Who are these people?  I was looking for Meehan and Faulkner.  Then it donned on me, this Bible was dated 1884.  Could this be Isabel Faulkner’s parents?  With beginner’s luck I had just gone back a generation.  Further investigation showed me the Bible had been presented to Sarah Ann Newton and Ford Faulkner by her father R. Newton.  Now I also knew Sarah Ann’s father was R. Newton.

In the next few weeks I happened to go to the North York Central Library (NYCL) in Toronto.    The NYCL has a floor dedicated to Genealogy specializing in Ontario Genealogy.  I wandered up to the 6^th floor just to see what was there.  A very friendly librarian asked if I needed some help.  I explained that I was interested in researching my grandparents George Meehan and Isabel Faulkner.  He introduced me to the Ancestry Library Genealogy Program and suggested I try the Census as a starting point.

I entered  my information and was rewarded immediately with some information that I could verify through my own limited knowledge and some new information as well.  Beginner’s luck once again, I now know.

From that point on, I was hooked.  I joined Ancestry.ca and became a regular visitor to the NYCL.  I have met many wonderful people on the internet who are also searching their families.  More importantly, I have also been in touch with some of my cousins who I haven’t seen for years.  We have also shared some of those family photos.  In some cases, we have been able to put the faces and names together.