Small stone for a big man

 John and I spent a rainy Sunday morning exploring the very large and old Hamilton Cemetery.  There are so many fascinating and large stones there.  This little one for a man with such a powerful sounding name caught my eye. 

Septimus Stuart DuMoulin.  Such an interesting name, with a bit of Latin, Gaelic and French all in one.

Septimus was the aptly named seventh child born on 5 Nov 1879 in Montreal, Quebec to parents Phillip and Francis. In 1877, his father worked as a Bishop's chaplain and was rector of St Martin's church on 120 Upper St Urbain(1). 

Based on the 1891 census (2), it appears that the DuMoulin family moved back and forth between Ontario and Quebec.  In 1891, they lived in Toronto (St James Ward).  John Phillip a minister was born in Dublin Ireland(3) but his parents were born in France.  Frances Mary Brough was born on Manitoulin Island, Ontario (3) to parents who were also born in Ontario.  Septimus' eldest sister Kate was born in Quebec around 1865, while his eldest brother Phillip was born about 2 years later in Ontario. Brother Frank was born back in Quebec around 1871. Sister Mary (1874) and brother Walter (1875) were born in Ontario.  His younger sister Francis was in Quebec around 1881.   Septimus was a strapping 5ft 11.5" man with brown hair and blue eyes (17), and was enrolled in Trinity College School on Jan 12 1889, where he excelled at hockey, football and cricket. (4) .  It was the beginning of a lifetime of sports for Septimus, affectionately known as Seppi.  He played for the Hamilton Tigers from 1899-1906, where he helped them win 6 grey cups, was a member of the All Canadian Rugger team, and later coached several sports team across Canada.(4)  Septimus travelled quite a bit both within Canada and aboard.  The first record I find of his travels in February 1903 when he went to England(24).

I thought that perhaps it was in his sports travels that he met Ms Marjorie Rockwell King but their wedding announcement seems to have revealed it was through the marriage of one of his brothers.  On January 7, 1912, Marjorie's mother announced the marriage of her daughter in the Chicago Tribune, where it was noted that Marjorie's sister Ethel married Septimus' older brother Rev Frank, when Frank lived in Chicago about 10 years earlier.  By 1912, Septimus' dad (Bishop of Niagara (13)) had passed away  and Frank was a dean of the Episcopal church in Cleveland, Ohio (5) Septimus and Marjorie's marriage took place on May 18, 1912 at Marjorie's mom's residence at 152 East Superior Street, Chicago.  Frank presided over the ceremony.  Ethel was Matron of Honour and Marjorie's brother John Andrews served as best man.  Niece Frances and nephew Rockwell King Du Moulin served as flower girl and page respectively.  Unfortunately,  due to the recent death of one of Marjorie's brothers, they had a small intimate ceremony. (6)   I did a quick search on newspapers.com of Rockwell King to see if I could get a little more information about the brother who passed away.  I quickly discovered that the King family was wealthy,  Rockwell was a prominent Chicago business man and a Harvard graduate.  He died of blood poisoning in July 1905. (7) and his will was filed in 1905. He was reportedly worth $800, 000.  Each of his children named in the Chicago Tribune article received $100,000 (about $3 million in today's dollars), which made Marjorie a wealthy woman in her own right. (8)   The brother who died before her wedding appears to have been McGregor Adams King, who died 13 February 1912 (9) at the age of 26.   I've yet to uncover the details of his death and could only discover that he died at his mom's home, had graduated from Harvard in 1910, was coxwain for the champion rowing team in 1910, was a member of several theatrical clubs,  and worked at the company his dad previously ran, Western Cold Storage(10). 

  Coming back to Seppi, in his married years he seems to have gone by Stuart. In 1914, he and Marjorie are living in Moosejaw, Saskatchewan and travelled on the SS Alice from Victoria, BC to Alaska. (25)

Despite his busy life in sports he was also a family man with a day job.  Stuart, a bank manager and Marjorie appear in Moosejaw, Saskatchewan  in 1916 with two daughters, Lucy (3 years) and Marjorie (1 year). (11)

I don't find much more about Septimus until he appears back in Hamilton as a city counselor for Ward 2 in 1931 and then on the Board  of Control from 1932-1935 (12)

In 1931, Septimus (a Treasurer) and Marjorie travelled to Kingston, Jamaica.  They crossed into the US through Buffalo on 27 February 1931 (18) and returned to North America via NYC on 23 March 1931 aboard the SS Sixaola.  At the time they lived at 47 Huntley St in Hamilton and their daughter Frances was listed as their next of kin. (13)(14)

In July 1932, Septimus, Marjorie and the girls set sail and arrived in Belfast Ireland, en route to Ridgeway Ltd in  London, England (20) and returned in August (22).

On 13 September 1936, daughter Lucy Andrews married James Alexander Stephen Corrigall in Toronto.  At the time of her marriage, Lucy resided at a lovely house at 7 St James Place in Hamilton, presumably with her parents.(15)

 

Septimus' older brother Phillip, passed away on Nov 10, 1956 and news of his death was reported in the Okanagan Historical Society Gazette.  Like Septimus, Phillip was active in the sporting community and served as president  of the Kelowna golf club, football club, and Lacrosse club. He also worked as a bank manager at the first bank in Kelowna and attended Trinity College like his brother. He left behind his wife Amy and 4 children.(16)  Earlier that same year,  77 year old Septimus travelled from NYC to Hamilton, Bermuda aboard the Ocean Monarch(19) and then flew back to New York in April .(21)

It looks like Septimus was actively working well into his 80s, I found record of him travelling yet again to Hamilton, Bermuda in 1961(23). His place of residence is 86 Herkimer St in Hamilton, where he would die 2 years later.

In 1963, Septimus was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, he was instrumental in the development of football leagues in Western Canada and well recognized.(26)

(1)Lovell's Montréal Directory, 1881

(2)1891 Census of Canada.  Year: 1891; Census Place: St James Ward, Toronto City, Ontario, Canada; Roll: T-6370; Family No: 6

(3) Frank DuMoulin death Certificate - Archives of Ontario. Registrations of Deaths, 1869-1948 (MS 935, reels 1-694), Archives of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

(4) https://archive.org/stream/trinitycollegesc66trin/trinitycollegesc66trin_djvu.txt

(5) Chicago Tribune 7 January, 1912.

(6) Chicago Tribune 19 May 1912 page 3.

(7) Chicago Tribune 31 Jul 1905, page 5.

(8) Chicago Tribune 04 Aug 1905 page 12.

(9) https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/94061118/mcgregor-adams-king

(10) Chicago Tribune 14, Feb 1912 page 2.

(11) Census of Canada, Year: 1916; Census Place: Saskatchewan, Moose Jaw, 17I; Roll: T-21931; Page: 31; Family No: 351

(12) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton,_Ontario_City_Council

(13) Library and Archives Canada; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Series: RG 76-C; Roll: T-14936

(14) Year: 1931; Arrival: New York, New York, USA; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Line: 5; Page Number: 205

(15) Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Registration of Marriages 1936; Reel: 19-333

(16) https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/ohs/items/1.0132198

(17)The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Manifests of Alien Arrivals at Buffalo, Lewiston, Niagara Falls, and Rochester, New York, 1902-1954; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787 - 2004; Record Group Number: 85; Series Number: M1480; Roll Number: 034

(18)The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Manifests of Alien Arrivals at Buffalo, Lewiston, Niagara Falls, and Rochester, New York, 1902-1954; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787 - 2004; Record Group Number: 85; Series Number: M1480; Roll Number: 034

(19) The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Series Title: Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels and Airplanes Departing from New York, New York, 07/01/1948-12/31/1956; NAI Number: 3335533; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004; Record Group Number: 85; Series Number: A4169; NARA Roll Number: 365

(20) The National Archives of the UK; Kew, Surrey, England; Board of Trade: Commercial and Statistical Department and successors: Inwards Passenger Lists.; Class: BT26; Piece: 979

(21)Year: 1956; Arrival: Idlewild Airport, New York, New York, USA; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Line: 3; Page Number: 192

(22) Ancestry.com. UK and Ireland, Outward Passenger Lists, 1890-1960 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

Original data:Board of Trade: Commercial and Statistical Department and successors: Outwards Passenger Lists. BT27. Records of the Commercial, Companies, Labour, Railways and Statistics Departments. Records of the Board of Trade and of successor and related bodies. The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, England.

(23) Ancestry.com. Bermuda, Passenger and Crew Manifests, 1957-1969 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.
Original data:Passenger and Crew Manifests of Airplanes Arriving in Bermuda. Series A3925. NAI: 2681636. Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787–2004, Record Group 85. The National Archives at Washington, D.C.

(24) Library and Archives Canada; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Series: RG 76-C; Roll: T-496

Photo obtained from Public Member Photos and Shared Documents - Ancestry.com

(25)The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Passenger & Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at Ketchikan, Alaska.; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004; Record Group Number: 85

(26) https://cfhof.ca/members/seppi-dumoulin/

Photo credit Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

The Master Mariner

One of our favourite spots to go to is Niagara on the Lake.  We had a nice long walk through St Mark's cemetery back in Nov 2017 (just finishing the draft of the blog post now!) and this stone caught my eye:

I like the uniqueness and I also like the inscription, William was loved.  The inscription reads:

Feb 14, 1887

Was laid here

In faith hope and love

All that was mortal

Of my dear husband

William R Bartlett

Until the day in meeting the shadows flee away

Captain William Richard Barlett was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, England to parents Richard (25) and Isabella (23) on January 28, 1828.(1)  He was baptized in St Peters in Liverpool on Feb 15, 1828.  At the time, he and his parents were living on Strand Street and his father was a Master Mariner. (2)
14 year old William appears in the 1841 census with his parents in St Martin District, Liverpool.  Both he and his dad are listed as Mariners.  His 9 year old sister and his 1 year old brother Jonathan are also living at the house.(3)

On October 21, 1851, he married Elizabeth Ann Potts in West Teignmouth, Devon, England.  His father was deceased.  Like William and his father, Elizabeth's father William was a Master Mariner. (4)
 
It seems that William traveled the world. I uncovered a Master Mariner certificate that was issued to William 6 days later on Oct 27, 1851. On this certificate, it states that William served as an apprentice mate and master for 13 years with the British Merchant Service in the Foreign Trades.  He was 23 at the time and served with his father from a young age it seems. (5)
  Along with this certificate, was his application for the certificate, dated October 24 of the same year.  The Claim for the Certificate provides a summary of his first experience, which started on April 15, 1838 and completed in the middle of June in 1839.  He served on 4 vessels during this time period:
- The Mary & Ann as an apprentice.  The trade is listed as Monte Video.
-The Robert Whitewall where he served as 2nd mate and chief mate and went to the West Coast.
-The Reliance where he served as mate and went to the West Coast.
-The Mary Woods where he served as master and went to South America.
The claim goes on to state that from June 1839 until the end of July 1846, William served on the Robert Whiteway and the Mary Woods.  Both ships were owned by the same person or company.  His position was Master from January 18, 1847 until the time he filed the claim.  William was in a hurry to get his certificate and requested that he receive it in two days instead of the normal 10.
  A letter from the shipowner John Bartlett (a little nepotism happening here I think) is included in the request for the certificate.  John requests that the certificate be issued quickly because the ship is ready and waiting to sail. (5)  

On February 21, 1857, William received his Master Mariner certificate in Liverpool, England.  At the time he was living at  4 Victoria Terrace in Seacombe, Cheshire, England.  The certificate bears his signature (6)

In 1861, William is a lodger at a house at 31 Church St in Birkenhead, Cheshire.  Two rows above him in the census record is  Eliza Barthill, who I believe his really his wife Elizabeth. She states that she was born in Durham, Sunderland.   In the row above her is a 54 year old widow, Elizabeth Potts who is likely Elizabeth's mom.  She was born in Devonish, Kenton. Neither women have a listed occupation.(7)

In 1871, William and Elizabeth appear together as lodgers in East Teigenmouth in Devon.  The couple have no children.  Elizabeth is more specific about her Devon birthplace - Bishopwearmouth, which is in the Sunderland area. (8)
  I was curious where I would find them in 1881, Canada or Britain but so far I've found them in neither places.  The last record I can find about either of them is William's death registration.  He died on February 11, 1887, as a result of cardiac dropsy, which he suffered from for 10 months. (9)

(1)https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/12006973?h=ae50ec
(2) https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/12001474?h=3c36dd
(3) 1851 England Census, Class: HO107; Piece: 564; Book: 15; Civil Parish: Liverpool; County: Lancashire; Enumeration District: 29; Folio: 12; Page: 17; Line: 13; GSU roll: 438716
(4) https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/tree/22831862/person/29327045320/media/da2e1f3c-6a3b-4588-a5fe-dfd80225e993?_phsrc=Mwv34&_phstart=successSource 
(5) https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/12006973?h=ae50ec&utm_campaign=bandido-webparts&utm_source=post-share-modal&utm_medium=copy-url

(6) https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/12001437?h=d8c82c
(7) 1861 England Census, Class: RG 9; Piece: 2639; Folio: 18; Page: 29; GSU roll: 543004
(8)The National Archives; Kew, London, England; 1871 England Census; Class: RG10; Piece: 2071; Folio: 47; Page: 27; GSU roll: 831776
(9)https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/11992725?h=a73ec0 

The Reaper has come..... to Kilbride

Here is another stone that caught my attention in Kilbride Presbyterian Church for being both ominous and auspicious at the same time.

I did some initial searches for Margaret, James and Samuel on Ancestry didn't turn up a single thing... wow.  I turned to a general google search for James and came across one interesting thing that at least confirms the family did in fact exist.

  Bylaw number 92-2001was filed in 2001 in Burlington to designate 2270 No 8 Side Rd  as a property with historical and architectural value under the Ontario Heritage Act.  This house was 1.5 storey build by two brothers, James and John Harris in 1840 on land that was purchased in 1834.  Ironically,  1/2 acre was purchased from James in 1848 to build the cemetery in which he is now buried.  There's limited information about James in the application but it does mention that James was a magistrate for many years and also ran the general store.  The home remained in the Harris family until 1901.(1)

  I was able to finally find the Harris' in the 1861 census, but only after searching for records for their son Samuel.  The family was living in Nelson with 6 of their children. James, 52 was born in the United States, while Margaret was born in Ireland.(2)  In my next search I was able to find them again in the 1851 census, with their 9 children, again in Nelson.(3)

  Margaret, her 21 year old son Erwin and her 18 year old daughter Margaret J are living with her 36 year old son John, his wife Ann and their children in Nelson Township in 1871(4).  Margaret continues to live with them in 1881 and her granddaughter and namesake, is a school teacher (5).  Margaret's death record and the date on her tombstone do not match.  on March 1, 1886, her son John reported that her death due to old age occurred  January 12, 1886 but her stone records the date as December 14, 1885.(6)  A search of the Canadian Champion does not provide an obituary for her.

  Like Margaret, I had a bit of a hard time finding information on James, I wasn't able to uncover an obit nor a death registration, likely because they were just starting to require people to register deaths in 1869.  I do have one clue about his birthplace from the 1851 census, where it lists S N York, which I think stands for State of New York.

  Last bit not least, aside from the appearance of Hamilton in the 1851 and 1861 census' with his parents, I was able to uncover his death registration, the cause of his death was a falling tree (7), just like Norman Elery Rasberry over at Kilbride Presbyterian Cemetery.....  Kilbride is not the place to chop down trees it seems.  

(1)
(2)Library and Archives Canada; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Census Returns For 1861; Roll: C-1031
(3)Year: 1851; Census Place: Nelson, Halton County, Canada West (Ontario); Schedule: A; Roll: C_11726; Page: 90; Line: 17 
(4)Year: 1871; Census Place: Nelson, Halton, Ontario; Roll: C-9955; Page: 65; Family No: 226
(5)Year: 1881; Census Place: Nelson, Halton, Ontario; Roll: C_13257; Page: 40; Family No: 180
(6)Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Collection: MS935; Reel: 43
(70Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Collection: MS935; Reel: 6

James Douglas Small of Kilbride

On the same day that John and I went to Kilbride Presbyterian Cemetery on Thanksgiving weekend, we also went down the way to Kilbride Presbyterian Cemetery.  A couple of stones caught my eye, in particular this large stone for a child. James Douglas Small died April 2, 1904  in East Flamborough (likely Carlisle) after suffering for 1 week with membranous laryngitis.(1)   James was born Jan 19,1901 to George and Harriet Hamilton in Wentworth County.(2)  George and Harriet were married in East Flamborough on 26 Nov 1890(3).  According to the 1901 census, George was born 7 Jul 1857 and Harriet was born 27 Jan 1859.  James had at least 4 older siblings. (4) I thought that maybe James's parents were perhaps buried in the plot but their names were not written on the stone.  Upon further research, George died of the ripe old age of 85+ on 22 November 1942 in Carlisle and he was also buried there. (5) Hattie died just before him on 8 January 1942 and was also buried in Carlisle. (6)

(1) Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Collection: MS935; Reel: 118
(2)Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; MS929; Series: 156; Reel: MS929
(3)Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Registrations of Marriages, 1869-1928
(4)Year: 1901; Census Place: Flamboro (East/est), Wentworth (south/sud), Ontario; Page: 7; Family No: 67
(5)Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Registrations of Marriages, 1869-1928; Reel: 69
(6)Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Collection: MS 935; Series: M023577; Reel: 692

The Rasberrys of Kilbride

John and I were enjoying the fall weather this Thanksgiving weekend and decided to do a couple of cemetery geocaches up in Kibride, Ontario.  There were a couple of stones in Kibride United Cemetery that caught my eye.

The first stone was for Charles and Melissa Rasberry and included their two sons Charles and Norman.  The second stone was Melissa's original stone.

Charles Sr died in Kilbride on March 24, 1916 at the age of 79 due to la grippe (influenza) and old age.  A secondary cause was asthenia (weakness or lack of energy).  He suffered 3 weeks before he died. (1).  According to his marriage record, Charles was born in 1837 in William and Rebecca and married Melissa on March 4, 1868 in Wentworth County. (2)  The earliest record I can find of Charles is the 1851 census where he is living in Flamboro West, Wentworth County in a one story framed house with his 48 year old mom and his siblings Robert, William and Elizabeth. (3)
  By 1861, he is living in a framed house as a tenant in St Mary's Ward in Hamilton (4).  His occupation was simply labourer.
Melissa and Charles appear in the 1871 census together with their children Charles and William in Milton, Ontario. Charles is a stage proprietor and Melissa is referred to as Margaret. (5) On Nov 21, 1872 Charles published the following article on page 1 of the Canadian Champion, Milton's newspaper:

 In the birth record of their son William John (24 Feb 1871), Margaret Melissa registers her son's birth and states that Charles is a mail contractor.(6)  In 1881, Charles, Melissa and 5 kids are over in Nelson Township and he's a stage coach driver. (7)
The couple appears in the 1891 census with their 9 children ranging from ages 21 to 3 in Nelson Township.  Charles was a farmer and William, a farm labourer. (8)  Charles Jr has sadly passed away on Feb 2, 1889 as per the inscription on the stone.  After Melissa's death, 62 year old Charles married Eliza Jane Griffin on 14 Dec 1899 in Wentworth County.  He lists his mother as Rebecca Watson (9)  They appear together in the 1901 census in Nelson Township. Charles born in May 1835  is now employed for 9 months of the year as a Bridge Teacher earning $360.  Interestingly, his birthplace for the first time is England and not Canada.(10).  Finally, I see them together in the 1911 census, still in Nelson.  Charles born now in March 1835 is a retired farmer and as with the 1901 census Eliza is 5 years older than Charles, however; 4 years younger than him in their marriage record.(11)  Eliza outlived Charles another 6 years.  She died May 25, 1923 at the age of 92 years 5 months of senile dementia.  Her death record provides some nice genealogical information.  She was born in Carlisle, Ontario to John Eaton and Catherine VanDuzen on Dec 22, 1830. (12)
  Melissa, a VanNorman is of particular interest to me because the VanNorman family is one of the more well known early settlers in Burlington.  Margaret Melissa was born to Ellery VanNorman and Eliza.  The earliest record that I can find for her is the 1851 census where 4 year old Melissa and her 2 year old brother John Milton are living with their parents in Nelson Township (present day Burlington).  They lived in a one floor log house with a framed barn. (13)  Elery outlived his daughter and died Dec 28, 1912 at the age of 92.  He was born 1 July 1821 to parents Jacob and Mary Bennet, his mother coming from Ohio.(14)  His dad Jacob, was a son of Ephraim VanNorman who moved with his family from Pennsylvania.  Elery's dad Jacob also lived a long life, dying in 11 Nov 1883 at the age of 90.(15)   I might hunt down Jacob's stone and do some further research on him.  His house was at 4465 Walkers Line and one that I have driven by many times.   It was a heritage farmhouse in the gothic revivial style.  There was a request to have it removed as a heritage property so it could be demolished (16) but it was conveniently burned to the ground  over a year ago.  He also served in the War of 1812 as a private with the 2nd York Militia(17) .  Getting back to Melissa though, she died 18 Jan 1891 of typho pneumonia.(18)


Charles Henry was Charles and Melissa's eldest child.  He appears with his parents in the 1871 and 1881 census records but so far I haven't been able to find his death registration.  I was able find his death notice, again in the Canadian Champion on Feb 7, 1889 and he died after a brief illness on Feb 6, 1889:

Finally, we come to Norman Elery Rasberry.  Norman was born on Feb 24, 1888 in Nelson (Kilbride) (19).  In 1911 census, Norman is living as a "domestic" at his sister Minerva McArthur's household in Nelson Township.  Minerva's 11 year old niece Alice is also living there.(20)  I haven't found a birth record for her yet but perhaps she is William or even Norman's daughter?  I haven't uncovered Norman in the 1921 census as of yet but did find his death registration.  Norman died on Jan 4th as the results of a fractured skull obtained by a falling tree.(21)  His brother Robert reported his death.  Intrigued I again  turned again to the Canadian Champion.  Norman died at 12:35 on Saturday Jan 4 at Hamilton General Hospital from a deep skull fracture. He received the injury the day before in the bush on his brother Robert's farm, on 11th Concession in East Flamborough.  Norman was with two of his brothers at the time and a tree fell in a direction that was opposite of what was expected, crushing Norman.  His brothers carried him to the farmhouse where he was attended by the Kilbride doctor, Dr H.R. McDonald but was then transferred to Hamilton General. (22) Of note is that the newspaper stated he was 35 years old.

(1)Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Collection: MS935; Reel: 220
(2)Ontario, Canada, County Marriage Registers, 1858-1869
(3)Year: 1851; Census Place: Flamboro West, Wentworth County, Canada West (Ontario); Schedule: A; Roll: C_11758; Page: 117; Line: 46
(4)Library and Archives Canada; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Census Returns For 1861; Roll: C-1092
(5)Year: 1871; Census Place: Milton, Halton, Ontario; Roll: C-9956; Page: 32; Family No: 128 
(6) Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; MS929; Series: 6; Reel: MS929
(7) Year: 1881; Census Place: Nelson, Halton, Ontario; Roll: C_13257; Page: 39; Family No: 176 
(8)Year: 1891; Census Place: Nelson, Halton, Ontario, Canada; Roll: T-6341; Family No: 227
(9)Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Registrations of Marriages, 1869-1928; Reel: 100 
(10)Year: 1901; Census Place: Nelson, Halton, Ontario; Page: 8; Family No: 83
(11)Year: 1911; Census Place: 12 - Nelson, Halton, Ontario; Page: 5; Family No: 64 
(12)Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Collection: MS935; Reel: 308 
(13)Year: 1851; Census Place: Nelson, Halton County, Canada West (Ontario); Schedule: A; Roll: C_11726; Page: 130; Line: 5 
(14) Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Collection: MS935; Reel: 175 
(15)Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Collection: MS935; Reel: 34 
(16)https://www.burlington.ca/uploads/21066/doc_636035613937397331.pdf 
(17)Collections Canada, War of 1812: Upper Canada Returns, Nominal Rolls and Paylists, Microfilm t-10384, pages 81-83 & 87-89
(18) Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Collection: MS935; Reel: 60
(19)Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; MS929; Series: 87; Reel: MS929
(20)Year: 1911; Census Place: 12 - Nelson, Halton, Ontario; Page: 7; Family No: 82 
(21)Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Collection: MS935; Reel: 403 
(22) Canadian Champion (Milton, ON), 9 Jan 1930

George Kilts

John was on his was to an auction and stopped to take a pic for me at one of the cemeteries along the way.  He picked George Kilts who died August 27th, 1868, at the ripe old age of  100.  

  I quickly came across some information about George on the Geni website.  According to the Geni website (1), George was born on March 7, 1778 in Stone Arabia, T-Palatine, Montgomery Co., NY and was baptized on the 15th.  His parents were Johan Nickolaus and Maria Catharina Hilts.  He married Mary Catherine Garter. This nice thing about this website is that the person who wrote the info quoted the sources of the information!  Yay!
There were a couple of inconsistencies in the information on this website, one being his birth year (10 years later than reported on the stone) and the other was that George served as a UEL in the American Revolution, which given his supposed age is impossible.  
  Luckily Ancestry has digitized the baptism records and I was able to see the transcription of George's baptism.  It does in fact state the year as 1788.  At the time of his birth, the spelling of his last name is Kiltz.
Next I started to research his dad to see if he was a UEL.    
  His dad, Johann Nickel Kilts was born 30 May 1732 in Henau, Hunsruck, Germany, and was christened 3 Jun 1732 in Kellenbach, Germany. He was the son of Johann Conrad Kilts and Susanna Margaretha Moor. Johann died 15 Dec 1808 in Manheim, Herkimer Co., New York.  He served in the militia in the French Indian wars (1763) and during the American Revolution: 

Nicholas Kell (Kills) was listed as an enlisted man in Col. Frederick Fisher's Third Regiment ofTryon County Militia (Roberts) 
Nich's Kilts is mentioned as a private in the company of Capt. Suts under Col. Klock.  
Finally there a Nicholas Kiltz was a private under Capt. Miller, also under Col. Klock.(2)  

So, definitely no UEL connection there! I decided to return to George and see if he had some sort of War of 1812 connection. Back on his Geni page (3) the author mentions that George submitted a land petition in 1802 while he was living in Humberstone (near present day Port Colborne). I decided to see if I could look up the land petition myself. Archives Canada has done a great job of digitizing the records. My first search of George Kilts, resulted in a hit!

I browsed through C-2117(4), as it is not indexed and I was able to find the record in a few minutes. It was created and signed by him on Sept 24 in York and read by the Eastern Council on Dec 30.  The petition for 200 acres in the neighbourhood of Wainfleet (although it looks like Yonge Street), where some his friends reside. was made to Peter Hunter Esq, the lieutenant governor of  Upper Canada. It states that George came to the province of Upper Canada about 3 years earlier from Mohawk River, has a wife and child with living with him in Humberstone, and a number of cows (52?). No mention of UEL in the petition and I don't see another petition for a land grant that might have come from service in the War of 1812. Seems George was not a UEL, quite the opposite.
I did one last search for George and found him in the 1861 census(5), 84 year old George is a widow living with his son George, grandchildren Mary, Adam, and George, as well as two tenants from Scotland.


(1) (3) https://www.geni.com/people/George-Kilts/5599105463260058381
(2) https://www.geni.com/people/Johan-Nicholas-Kilts/6000000016611236328
(4) http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/microform-digitization/006003-119.01-e.php?PHPSESSID=npfo6qij0n1rpue06msk2mqnj1&sqn=340&q2=29&q3=2497&tt=1033
(5) https://www.ancestry.ca/sharing/15250779?h=6a325c&utm_campaign=bandido-webparts&utm_source=post-share-modal&utm_medium=copy-url

John William Mahon

John and I were travelling around and decided to stop at St David's Cemetery and do a geocache, which we wouldn't find.  I saw this stone which of course caught my eye because the little guy was so young.

John William Mahon was born on Jun 28, 1905 to John William Sr and Innes Lowrey.   His birth and death weren't registered until July 25th, by the attending Dr, and his name was not provided.  The family lived on lot 5 Concession 5 in Nassagaweya Township (Kelso).  John Sr was a farmer.  His parents were married on Feb 26, 1902.  He was their first child and they had a daughter Rachel Rebecca in November of the following year.  She is also buried in St David's cemetery beside her husband Alexander Moore.  Like her parents, she is buried with one of her children Margaret Evelyn, who died as an infant in 1931.