Two Brothers – Two Wills

In my ongoing quest to figure out the story of the Fenner family in Essex County, I was able to locate the will of my great great grandfather Adam Fenner and his brother John Fenner.

(Note: the person who found them was Sharon Moore, who is the grandaughter in law of Lila Fenner Brown, my late great aunt. Thanks for all your digging, Sharon. It’s really helped my research).

I needed the will of my great great grandfather so I could find out for sure who my great great grandmother was, and to try to figure out the complicated family relationships in the Fenner family (see previous post about GG Grandpa Fenner.)

I also asked Sharon if she could look for the will of John Fenner of Comber because I thought there might be a mention of Adam in his will (the Fenner children were all under 18 when Adam died, so I thought there might be a mention of Adam’s family in John’s will.)

There weren’t any clues about the relationship between the two men or even any confirmation that they were related (living down the road from each other in a county that had only two Fenners is a pretty good clue that they were. And the fact that John and his family is listed as living with Adam in Ruscomb a couple of years after arriving from Germany. Historical note: John, his wife and two children arrived in New York City on June 5, 1857 on the barque The Laura. They bought a piece of bushland in Comber, and were probably living with Adam until the house was built).

Back to the wills. What I discovered were two very different personalities. Adam’s will is formal, somewhat legalistic and rather restrained in tone. It is only two pages long and leaves the farm to his son Adam Jr. and a modest dowry to each of his two daughters. The son of Mary (but not Adam) William Henry is not mentioned in the will. The will does confirm that my great great grandmother was Marie Elizabeth Dietrich. That mystery is now cleared up.

John’s will, on the other hand, runs six pages long. It is written in a colloquial style, so is probably worded by the man himself rather than a lawyer. The detail in the will is really remarkable. He specifies who should get what, and what they should do with it when they get it. He specifies that each of his children should get an acre — he is specific that it is for a garden, and he specifies which plot everyone should get. He wills his cows to his children .. by name, specifying which son or daughter should get which cow or horse “I give to my son the following property – one bay horse called Charley”.

He then goes on to specify penalties against said son if he fails to live up to expectations – “I order that if the said son should neglect to pasture and feed and care for the same he will give my wife one third of the hay”.

As long as his wife remained his widow, that is. He left her all of his money unconditionally. But if she remarried she was supposed to lose the house.

What a contrast between the wording of the two wills. What does it say about the personalities of the two brothers, eh?

I Know There are Relatives Reading this Blog

Always interesting to look at the stats and see who’s reading. I can’t tell exactly who you are because it doesn’t get that precise. But I can see the search terms that are entered. So I know there are some Fenners, some Dodsons, and a lot of Delauriers who are reading my posts. And I know there’s a fair number of people from Maidstone who are reading too because the name comes up on a fairly regular basis.

So if you’re a relative, or a neighbour, or even somebody who just pops by, please leave a comment. Good to know that people are finding this site useful.

Coming up in the next post … I found the wills for two brothers — Adam Fenner (my great great grandfather) and John Fenner (his brother from Comber). The two wills are so different … and, from what I can tell, so were the two brothers.

Later.

The Last Will and Testament of Adam Fenner Sr.

I just got back from a research trip to the ancestral homeland to dig into the archives in my quest to find out everything I can about the Fenners.

One of the things I’ve been looking for is my great great grandfather Adam Fenner’s will. I must thank two people — Wini Herlihy Collis, a friend of mine who searches land titles for a living (who told me the file number to look for in the registry office); and Sharon Moore, grand daughter in law of great aunt Lila Fenner Brown. Sharon went to the registry office and actually found the will and I was especially thrilled when she sent me an email to tell me she actually found it.

What I wanted to discover in the will was a) was my great great grandmother’s name indeed Mary Elizabeth Dietrich?; b) was there any mention of her in Great Great Grandpa’s will? (since she was in the London Asylum when he died) and c) were there any clues about the family relationships?, especially William Henry, the son who was Mary’s son but not Adam’s.

What I discovered is that my great great grandfather was not a wealthy man, but he made sure his family was taken care of. I also found further evidence that William Henry, who lived with them and was said to be a son of Mary Elizabeth but not Adam, was not Adam’s son. Why I figure this is the case is that the entire farm was left to Adam Jr., who was younger than William Henry.

One really interesting thing — the will indicates that Great Great Grandpa was trying to buy 50 acres next to his farm. The will stated that if he was successful in obtaining the land, it was to be given to a William Helliweg Dietrich. I haven’t been able to find that name in any of the census. I am wondering if William Helliweg may have been a brother of Adam’s wife Mary Elizabeth. Could this have been Grandpa’s way of leaving money to Mary even though she was in the asylum. Or perhaps William Helliweg Dietrich was really William Henry Fenner? This is quite curious … William Henry went by the name Fenner until the day he died. But since he was Mary’s son but not Adam’s, perhaps Adam did not acknowledge him as a Fenner even though William Henry lived in the Fenner home for his entire childhood.

It is entirely a matter for speculation as to how William Henry came to be part of the Fenner household. Regardless of how he came to be there, it seems that Great Great Grandpa was a decent man who tried to do right by the people in his life. Great Great Grandpa also made sure his two daughters Mary and Elizabeth each had a dowry to help them become established.

Little by little the pieces are coming together. It’s impossible to know exactly what was happening in that little log cabin in the bush, but every little piece reveals a bit more.

Note to people researching the name Adam Fenner – there were three Adam Fenners in Essex County — Adam Sr. who arrived from Germany in Rochester Township around 1850; his son Adam R, who was born on the family farm in Ruscomb in 1865 and married Agnes Irwin; and Adam who was the son of John Fenner of Comber and born there in 1861 and married Martha Hutchinson. Though I have never been able to prove what the relationship of the two Fenner families is, it is quite likely that John and Adam Sr. were brothers. The fact that John and his family and Adam Sr. were shown as living together in Ruscomb when the 1861 census was done, is one of the things which shows me that there was a family relationship (John bought a farm in Comber in 1858, likely he was living with GG Grandpa Adam because there was no house there yet. Adam had been living on his farm since 1850 so no doubt it was better set up than John’s place in those early years) Also, there were no other Fenners this side of Kitchener Waterloo, so why would two unrelated families with an obscure name both decide to pick the same uncleared part of the bush to establish their home? Hence, my belief that they were related.

Richard Dodson

An Appreciation of the late Richard Elisha Dodson
Written by Will Wood

In 1841 a party of three related families left their home in Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire England in a sailing vessel aimed for the New World. In this party was Richard B. Parr and family; John Parr and family; and George Dodson, wife Esther Parr and children — John, George and a ten month old blue eyed baby. This baby boy beheld with wondering eyes the city of New York on July 4, 1841. On April 20, 1922 the kindly twinkling eye of Richard Elisha Dodson, pillar of strength and servant of God, closed on an active useful life of over 81 years.

This party made their way by boat, up the Hudson River and through New York State until they reached Whitby Canada where the late Wm. E. Dodson was born. Leaving Whitby the families separated and George Dodson took up land in Tilbury West. (ed note: on the Middle Road and The Gracey Sideroad).

In this forest grew up R.E. Dodson, and while a young many had the great misfortune to lose his right arm while hunting. This handicap would have ruined the lives of many but he was of a sturdier mental and moral character. He became a school teacher, and later resumed farming. Always an enthusiastic and earnest worker in the community, he became School Director, Justice of the Peace, Reeve and Liberal candidate for Provincial Parliament. Straightforward and frank, he would go down to defeat rather than swerve one iota from the right as he saw it. As a businessman he was a success accumulating considerable wealth.

He was an Elder in the Presbyterian Church (St. Andrews Presbyterian in Comber), but his stern religion was modified by hard headed common sense which recognized that men might walk various paths towards the same destination.

“How firm a foundation, ye Saints of the Lord is laid for your Faith in excellent word”. Daily was his sonorous voice heard in a reading from The Book, his preference seeming to be for the Epistles of St. Paul, the stately Psalms and the writings of Solomon. The reading finished, he led his family to the throne of God “in whom we live, and move and have our being”.

His sorrow over the death of his oldest daughter in 1910 (Nellie Dodson Wallace) was softened by his satisfaction at finding her Bilble marked in many passages of consolation and hope.

Sociable and intellectual, he delighted in both a good story and a profound discussion. Hospitable, his latch string was always out and relative, friend, preacher, teacher, agent or tramp found himself received with fine discernment of true hospitality.

Ed note: Richard Elisha Dodson was my great great grandfather, father of Nellie Dodson Wallace cited in the above article. I found this article in scrapbook of my grandmother’s that I hadn’t seen before. I have only started learning about this great great great grandfather, but what I have read shows me that we likely would have enjoyed each other’s company very much. And what a coincidence that I discovered the above article about his life just this week — the anniversary of his death was yesterday, Which is also the birthday of his great great great grand daughter Lori Fenner Kujbida)

A bit more about Richard’s life: He was only a year old when the family left England. He was baptized in Godstone, Surrey, which was the place where the first public railroad in the world was constructed (the Dodsons were railroad contractors. After coming to Canada, the eldest son John Parr Dodson continued in the trade, working for the Great Northern Railroad in Barrie.)

Richard lived all of his life in Tilbury West (except when he was a tiny baby in England, that is). Having shot off his arm in his teenage years, he went into a career where the missing limb would not be an impediment to success. He studied to be a teacher in Toronto in 1861. After returning to Tilbury West, he was a teacher for 12 years at the Ruscomb School, which at the time was on the south side of the middle road just west of the Ruscomb River (farm of Diggery Hobbs). His wife, Emma Morris, lived with his parents on their farm, Royal Oak Farm, west of Comber near the Gracey Sideroad while he maintained his position. The distance of approx. 7 miles was too long a trip to be able to return every night. He would have been the teacher of my Great Grandfather Adam Fenner Jr., whose grandson William married my mother, Helen Wallace (Nellie’s grand daughter). Emma Morris, Richard’s wife, was a daughter of one of the founding families of Tilbury West. She was born in 1844, and passed away in 1922. She married Richard in 1868. Richard also ran for provincial parliament in the 1894 election under the banner of the Patrons of Industry, a Canadian farmers’ organization formed in 1890 that cooperated with the urban labour movement to address the political frustrations of both groups with big business (sounds pretty socialist to me — I like that). My Grandfather (Richard’s grandson) was also very involved in public service. Seems like it’s in the Dodson blood.

A Family Secret

The picture you are looking at is the Fenner Family Homestead at the corner of The Middle Road (now County Road 46) and the road that goes to St. Joachim.

When Great Great Grandpa Fenner came over from Germany sometime between 1840 and 1850, it was all bush. In 1851, according to the agricultural census, only four acres were cleared. He had one cow, one horse and four pigs. He had a wife named Annie, and a child had been still born that year.

The following census was in 1861. The census said that he was living in the same household as John and Augusta Fenner and their three children, two of whom had been born in Germany.

The 1871 Census reveals that Great Great Grandpa had three children — William Henry, who according to the Census was born in Germany; Adam (my Great Grandfather who was 6 at the time); and Mary Ann (5). As I stared at the old fashioned handwriting on the scan of the document, I couldn’t help but wonder why there was no woman living in this household. It didn’t seem to make any sense that here was a single man (over 50 at the time) with three small children and no female presence at all.

So I did some scrolling around just to see if I could find a clue. And I sure found one. A big one, one that took my breath away. Scrawled in the margin was the note “His wife is in the Asylum”.

I think it took me a couple of weeks to get my breath back. At first I didn’t want to believe it. Don’t we all want our ancestors to be Important People — politicians, leaders in society, things we can be proud of? I went into a strange little bit of denial at first, thinking that it must be somebody else.

But my curiosity got the better of me, and so I started digging into the historical records of the asylums which had been newly established in Upper Canada, starting with the Toronto Lunatic Asylum around 1850. In the 1860s, the former Fort Malden was turned into a temporary asylum while the brand new London Insane Asylum was being built.

Short version of a long story — I found her. (Note that this woman was not Annie, wife number one — Anna Barbara Wolfe, whom he married in 1850. Though I haven’t been able to find a death certificate for Anna Barbara, the census of 1861 says that GG Grandpa had been married in 1853. So the woman in the Asylum would have been his second wife, Mary Elizabeth Dietrich Fenner.)

First, I found her in Toronto, from 1858 to 1862. The Toronto records (which I have seen, again in the original handwriting) said that she was transferred to the Malden Asylum. I never did find her in the Malden Asylum, likely because of poor record keeping. And then, in 1870, I found her again in the London Asylum.

Of the thousands and thousands of patients at the London Asylum over the years, Great Great Grandma Fenner was Patient 49. She must have been on the first train from Malden to the newly opened London Asylum when it first opened.

A big part of me wants to believe that this is a mistake .. that it must have been another Fenner family. But it’s not very possible that she was one of those OTHER Fenners. Other than John Fenner’s family in Comber, and my grandfather’s family in Ruscomb, there were no other Fenners in Essex County. Or even Kent County. The closest Fenners were in Waterloo. And I know the woman in the asylum wasn’t John Fenner’s wife. Augusta Fenner, John’s wife, was present and accounted for in all the Census in Comber until she died of old age. So the woman in the asylum must have been my great great grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Dietrich Fenner.

I am gradually piecing together this fascinating (though sad) story. I have found some amazing things, including the handwritten case book from the London Asylum. The records say that Mary was a good worker. She knit. And she sewed. And she worked in the kitchen. And that physically she was very healthy. As for her mental state, the diagnosis was “dementia” (I have discovered that there were three diagnoses at the time — melancholia; mania and dementia. My guess is that dementia was a catch all word for people who were not just depressed, but rather really out of touch)

The records also say over and over again — “She scolds people”. In otherwords, she told people off a lot. There are two instances where she was admitted to the infirmary — once because another patient (or could have been a staff person) whacked her with a mop and broke her arm. Another instance, she got an eye infection when another patient scratched her eye. The notation after that last instance said “She’s back on the ward, noisy as ever”.

Quite a picture emerging of Mary Fenner. In the hospital records, there is no mention of my grandfather or her four children (whom she appears to have given birth to in the eight years between her release from Toronto in 1862 and her readmission to London in 1870). The Toronto records say that she was 39 when she was admitted to the Lunatic Asylum, had no living children, but had given birth to five stillborn children . The records say that she was married, though it didn’t say who her husband was. That she could read and write, that she was born in Germany and her religion was Lutheran.

She must have come back to the farm for a time. My Grandma Wallace’s records (which were based on oral history rather than the census), said that Mary Elizabeth died when Elizabeth the fourth child was only one day old. So, based on that, it would seem that the official story was that she died in childbirth.

In reality, she didn’t die until 1901. She lived for 31 years in the London Insane Asylum. She had 19 grandchildren by the time she died. It would be nice to think that her children might have visited her and introduced her to at least one of her grandchildren.

But that’s not too likely. For all intents and purposes, I’m guessing she was declared dead by the family when she was committed to London.

Squire Foster and the Naming of Leamington

Ralph Foster

By Earl Robson, in Memories of Lake Erie Shores

September 6, 1951 .. The visiting mayor of our Leamington namesake will set foot in a far different place than did the first Englishmen to arrive in this Spa. The first Foster (Ralph Foster and wife Ann Wilthew) either came from the vicinity of the Royal Spa, or was familiar with the country. Among the persons dear to my memory is my Grandmother Foster, Canadian born, to whom I listened when a boy as she told fascinating tales of people and incidents in the pioneer days, when scattered log houses were set in clearings along Talbot Road East. If in her descendant’s dribble, something of a taste for aesthetics shows up, then it belongs to her lineage. Books she held sacred, from the simple fairy tale to the profound and sonorous Milton; flowers symbolized the culture that was yet to come into a crude, handmade settlement. I heard her tell of the joy expressed over the first picture to come into the drab little home. It was the frontispiece of a stray old country periodical, the first to find its way far into the gloom of the New World. A visitor in those times was met by ox-cart.

Our grandfather, John Foster, a Steadfast and purposeful farmer of pioneer times, was the Canadian born son of Ralph (and Ann), the original transplanted stock. Ralph had broken away from the established life in England, attracted by the adventure of a new world. He, like the rest of the hardy home-seekers, braved the terrors and tortures of long months aboard a wooden windjammer then the hazardous overland trail to reach the Leamington Spa, not yet born of a forest. There was no grand reception awaiting his arrival. Only brutal challenge to his strength and courage faced him.

Ralph took up a section of wooded land a mile down Talbot Road and began the titanic work of hewing out a kingdom from the wilderness. In time he became the central figure in a rugged settlement, modelled as far as he could mould it after the social strata of his native land. He became known as Squire Foster and for hears held the office of magistrate. Tradition hands down the claim, that it was he who renamed the Village of Gainesville to Leamington. The naming, I have heard from my elders, took place in the old council chambers, a a small cabin sized building located on the farm of Leonard Wigle, grandfather to Leonard and Ernest. the historical old lodge still stands on the original homestead of the first settle, Leonard Wigle, now the property of Hattie Wigle, wife of the late Forest and mother of Whitney.

Out of a dim, frowning forest of yesterdays is handed down by our grandmother a little incident of life as it once was: Once when Squire Foster was burning logs back on his bush farm, two men approached him. the brawniest of the two explained he was bringing the little fellow to justice for pilfering. The plaintiff insisted the magistrate go into the village council chamber and open court. The old squire was reluctant to leave his fire, so set the culprit on a stump – the dock, and opened the case. He himself acted as counsel for the accused man, against the evidence of the plaintiff, found the stumped one guilty, and after a severe lecture and a solemn promise on the part of the wrong doer to mend his way, let him off on a suspended sentence.

Ann Wilthew Foster, wife of Ralph Foster

Thus a thin beam of light back into the dim past! It would be enlightening to the people of England, as well as to the younger generation of Canadians, if a glimpse of raw pioneer life could be thrown on a screen. the more we pride ourselves on advancement, the more we lose sight of the fact that the grandest victory recorded in English history was the one won over monster wilderness by the brave, stout-hearted pioneers.

And for them, we honour their memories with neither holiday nor tablet!

(Ed. note: Ralph Foster and Ann Wilthew Foster were the great grandparents of Madeline Wallace, and thus, the great great great grandparents of me. VF).

Happy Birthday Grandpa Fenner

And oh, how I wish he was here so I could say it to him.

Grandpa Fenner was in my life for only twelve years. He died too young at the age of 66. My younger sisters Lori and Cyndy barely remember him. I am very thankful that I can still remember him well.

Grandpa was a very soft spoken man. He had a very quiet presence about him. He lived all of his life either at the Ruscomb home farm where he was born, or on the farm down by the tracks that his dad, my Great Grandfather Adam and my great grandmother Agnes (Irwin) bought sometime before Great Grandpa died in 1910.

It’s that farm by the tracks where I remember Grandpa best. My dad told me that my grandpa took a different life path from his father Adam. Adam, dad says, didn’t walk. He ran. For town council. For the next meeting. He was going concern. He died at 45. One of dad’s favourite cautionary words are about “flying too high”. Grandpa’s main objective in life was to be a humble man of the soil, devoted to his mother, wife and children; his community (through church and Oddfellows Lodge where he was a very active member); and to his grandchildren.

Grandpa Fenner was the best of grandfathers, often as a co-conspirator with his grandchildren. One of my most fun memories is that he would tell my cousin Robbie (who lived in the city) to go hide in the barn when they were about to leave so he didn’t have to go home. It usually worked, much to the exasperation of my Aunt Audrey. I don’t remember a lot of things I did with my grandfather. I just remember him as being this solid presence who was always there for us, and I had the quiet security as a kid of knowing that he always would be.

We lived just down the road for the first eight years of my life, and we were at Grandma and Grandpa’s as often as we were at home. It was hard on all of us when my mom and dad bought their own farm near Harrow, about a 40 minute drive away. We still were in Ruscomb a lot, but it wasn’t quite the same as living there. My grandfather, I think, had the dream that he and his son would farm side by side until the end of his days. As often happens between father and son, my dad wanted to be on his own. My grandfather cried when dad told him he was moving away. I’m not saying that to be critical of my dad .. especially since that independent streak is something that is part of me too. He needed to do what he needed to do. I mention it because it’s something that affected my grandfather deeply and acknowledging these things helps me understand the person he was. Joy and pain. It’s all part of a life.

Miss you Grandpa. I’m glad I got twelve years with you. Even if I wish you’d been given more years.

Irish Essex County – Part 2

Further to my St. Patrick’s Day posting, I’ve still got my nose in the archives trying to complete this list. After this is done, I’ll start on the Germans.

Brett – a well known family in Essex County, having been the publishers of the Essex Free Press. John Brett was born in County Sligo, Ireland in 1826 and came to North America when he was a young man. He travelled around a bit before settling down in Amherstburg in 1865. His son Richard was the journalist of the family, working first for the Windsor Herald and the Amherstburg Echo. In 1896 he became co-owner of the Essex Free Press. His great great (?) grand daughter Laurie Brett just sold the Free Press last year, an end to one of Ontario’s most enduring family dynasties in journalism.

Motherwell/Campbell — I never can figure out how to pay tribute to the Irish mothers of Essex County since their family names often did not endure. So I’ve decided to pair them up with their husband’s name so the descendants can find them. Rebecca Motherwell was born in County Sligo in 1806. She married John Campbell, a prominent Windsor businessman. I haven’t been able to ascertain when Rebecca came over from Ireland, though they likely met in Canada since there was no mention that Mr. Campbell had a wife when he emigrated at age 18.

Maxwell/Hosely – The Maxwells were originally English, coming to Ireland at the time of Cromwell. Alexander and his wife Ann (Hosely) emigrated to Canada in 1837, settling in Middlesex Township. Their son David moved to Essex County in 1878 where he was inspector of schools.

Buchanan – County Donegal – John Buchanan emigrated to Canada as a young man, settling in Tilbury West Township in 1855 after living several other places in Ontario and Michigan.

Hanrahan – Edward – came from Ireland to Amherstburg with his wife Margaret Manning in 1849, later moving to Windsor where he worked for the railway, then establishing a hotel on Glengarry called, not surprisingly, “The Hanrahan”

Finlay – John, married Jane Kyle in County Tyrone before coming to Canada in 1846. They first went to Montreal, then Dundas, then Huron County. Son John moved to Pelee Island in the late 1800s where he grew grapes and also struck oil.

******** I am starting to realize that this listing could take weeks to finish. I knew there were a lot of Irish in Essex County, but I didn’t think there were that many. So at this point, I will go out of order and write the biographies of my two Irish families — the Totten and the Irwins. ********

Totten – my paternal grandmother was Edith Totten, born at Maidstone Cross. William Totten, son of Thomas and Mary Totten came to Canada in 1840. He met his wife, Grace Stokes, daughter of John and Elizabeth Stokes. My research shows that William was born in County Armagh, which is Northern Ireland. The Tottens have always been Protestant … some of the early Catholics who did not speak French converted. But this is likely not the case with the Tottens since there were many Irish Catholics in Maidstone and Woodslee at the time. Some early settlers became Protestant because the only Catholic churches in their communities were French. But I doubt that was the case in Maidstone. This and the Northern Ireland address makes me think they were Protestant.

Irwin – my father’s grandmother was Agnes Irwin of Blytheswood/Albuna. I know they were Protestant, because one of the earliest Irwin settlers was a member of the Orange Lodge. William Irwin was born in County Armagh, marrying Eliza Cowan before coming over to Canada in 1834. Three of their children came to Canada with them on a sailing ship which landed in New York City. The route to Essex County was The Hudson River; then the canals to Buffalo; and then by ship across Lake Erie to Detroit. Not sure which route they took from Detroit to Mersea township but it was likely not a comfortable journey because there were practically no roads, the bush was thick and Essex County was notoriously swampy in those days. And there was no house on their 100 acres on the 7th concession. Just bush. William and Eliza’s son Thomas married Agnes Gardiner in 1862. One of their daughters, also named Agnes, married my great grandfather Adam Fenner and lived until her death on the Fenner homestead at the crossroads in Ruscomb.

Wallace — The Wallaces, my mom’s family, were originally Scottish but had lived in Ireland for a couple of hundred years. My ancestors came to Canada from County Tipperary (ggg grandfather was born in 1839), settling first in Tuckersmith Township, Huron County in 1865 where he married Jessie Jane McCartney; then moving to Comber in 1887. My great grandfather John Wallace bought a farm halfway between Ruscomb and Woodslee on the 4th Concession.

A Shilling for Your Thoughts

All of this talk about the abolition of the penny got me wondering just when Canada first started using the penny in the first place.

Being a colony, first of France and then England, the first European currencies were metal coins. To deal with a shortage of coins in the 1600s, the colonists of New France used playing cards for a short while. This was happening between 1685 and 1713, when the practice was banned.

After the British conquest, the main currencies were British coins. Furs were also a kind of currency .. sort of like a barter system.

There were also a lot of Spanish coins making their way up to Canada. In Prince Edward Island, someone had the idea of creating a Canadian shilling by punching out the centre of these Spanish coins.

In 1821, Banks in Canada started issuing their own bank notes. They also issued coins sometime around then, based on shilling and pence.

In 1858, the first Canadian coins were issued, and the penny made its appearance. The first coins were minted in London (England) and had the image of Queen Victoria on one side.

Essex County Irish Part 1

Because this is St. Patrick’s Day weekend, I thought it would be a good idea to locate as many Irish family names from the County as I can.

I’ve been working for a couple of hours and am not yet halfway through the list, but I will continue until I think I’ve found them all. (Which isn’t too likely .. more and more names will pop up but at least I can get started).

The source for list is the Commemorative biographical record of the county of Essex, Ontario : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens and many of the early settled families. It’s a great resource for information on local pioneer families (though I do have to wonder what the criteria for inclusion in this book was .. there are some families who are missing.)

So here are the names I’ve found so far:

McHugh – from County Cavan, Ireland. Came to Maidstone in 1840.

Wilkinson – County Tyrone, originally, then Virginia. Came to Malden in 1801. (likely a loyalist)

Cleary – County Fermanagh – came to Montreal first, then to Windsor in 1841.

Cowan – Northern Ireland, County unknown – came to Mersea about 1842

Curry – Northern Ireland – came to Windsor in 1838.

Burke – Mary Ann (came from Montreal and married John LaMarsh).

McNamara – Mary – born in 1822 in Ireland — Married Leonard Scratch (Kratz) of Gosfield.

Mooney – came to Sandwich South in 1836 after 15 years living in Valcartier Quebec. Home county in Ireland unknown.

Hanna – first came to Lanark County from Ireland in 1820. Came to Essex County in 1884.

McKeough – from Ballymackeough, Tipperary. Came to Paris Ontario in 1829, settled in Chatham sometime thereafter (the source book includes some Kent county settlers too so I will include them here)

Catherwood – first came to Peel County, then bought land in Colchester North in 1887.

McCarthy – County Cork. Came to Sandwich South about 1839.

Atkin – originally English but fled to Ireland during the time of Cromwell. Came to Essex County in 1840 from County Wexford.

Osborn – Jane – Dublin – married to Walter Atkin, came with him in 1840.

Askin – came to Sandwich in the late 1700s

Brien – Fermanagh, Ireland. Came to Essex in 1846.

Kenning – came to Canada in 1834, didn’t move to Essex County until 1887.

Miller – Louise – married into the Vermette family.

Gardiner – came from Ireland in the early 1800s and originally settled in New York State. Son James Gardiner moved to Canada, eventually settling in Chatham in 1870.

Beacom – County Fermanagh. Came to Mersea Township in 1853 after several years in Quebec (the family arrived in Canada in 1841)

McCormick – County Down and Belfast. Originally the McCormicks came to the British American colonies back in the early 1700s. Came to Colchester South in 1795. There have also been McCormicks on Pelee Island.

Hincks (Rev. John Perrot Hincks) – Dublin and Belfast. Came to Canada in 1860 and to Windsor in 1880 as rector of All Saints Anglican.

Golden – County Sligo, Ireland. The Goldens of Ireland were originally English but were forced to flee to Ireland during the time of Cromwell. Came to Anderdon in approximately 1850.

Henderson – Ernest – came to Canada in 1883 from Ireland where he worked for the Great Northern Railroad of Ireland.

O’Connor – originally came to Boston in 1824, settling up in Canada in Maidstone in the 1830s.

To be continued .. I’m only on page 146 of the Commemorative Biographical Record and I haven’t even started looking at The Irish Settlement in Maidstone. Nor have I written about the Tottens and the Irwins, my Irish ancestors. Interesting note: None of the Irish I have written about are Potato Famine Irish. They all arrived in Essex County quite a while before the famine.