This is the study of the marriages of the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren of Hugh Simpson and Mary Kidd who arrived in Canada in about 1833 from County Down, Ireland. In 1867 the Irish consisted of 24% of the Canadian population. Now (2011) the Irish make up about 14.5% of the population. So in 1867 if marriages were completely random we would expect a person to marry another of Irish origin 24% of the time. Almost a one in four chance of marrying an Irish person. In 2006 we could expect a person to marry another of Irish decent 15 % of the time. In 1901 18.4%. In 1901 and 1911 Canadians were asked what their country or place of birth was, what their racial or tribal origin was and what their nationality was. They were not given the opportunity to select multiple options (e.g., German-Irish-French). Given the era people selected the origin of their father.
Of some interest is the fact that the Irish in Canada had quite a different geographical distribution than in the USA. In the USA the Irish tended to remain quite urban, perhaps being trapped in the urban areas of first location due to poverty. In Canada the early Irish immigrants, although coming from the same locations, were very rural, they tended to be farmers. This is so for the Simpson family. It is not until the third generation that we see a few family members locating in urban areas and taking on non-farming occupations. For this reason there may be less chance of geographical clustering of ethnic groups.
1st generation – marriages from about 1850-1870
Margaret Simpson married Robert Ard, born in Ireland
George Simpson married Jane Manes from Ireland
Joseph Simpson married Mary Stewart, father from Fermanagh County, Ireland
Hugh Simpson married Margaret Cooney from Ireland
Mary Simpson married William Cooney of Ireland
Sarah Jane Simpson married Charles Monford born in Ireland
So all of the first generation children married Irish partners. 100%.
2nd generation – marriages from about 1870 to
1900
kids of Margaret
Hugh Ard married Margaret Ann Cooper family from England or
Scotland.
Alexander Ard married Mary Manhassel (Macheseny) family from
Ireland lived in Bruce county north
Robert George Ard married Georgina x
Sarah Janae Ard married Thomas Coatham of English origin.
Margaret Ard married Robert Morton or Irish origin.
John Ard married Jane Martin of English origin.
Esther Ard married Richard Thomas of English origins.
Isabelle Dunne Ard married William Richard Jones of England.
kids of George
Hugh Simpson married Helen Thornton of English origin.
Jane Simpson married Thomas James Robinson (1863) of English
origins.
Mary Ann Simpson married William Pritchard of Irish origin.
kids of Joseph
William George Simpson married Annie E. Smith of English
origin.
Eva C. Simpson married William Bellamy of English origin.
John A. Simpson married Ada Theodora Adams of English
origins
Robert Simpson married Sarah Elizabeth McDonad family from
Orkney Islands
Hugh Thomas Simpson married Annie Thompson origins in County
Antrim, Ireland.
kids of Hugh
George Wilbert Simpson married Ethel “Effy” May White of
English origin.
Edith Simpson married Harvey Roseborough probably of Irish
origins.
kids of Mary
John H. Cooney married ??
Cordelia Elizabeth Cooney married John Williamson (father was
Robert) probably Irish
Mary M. Cooney married George E. Williamson (father was
Jason) of Irish origins.
William George Cooney married Margaret Pirie (probably
Scottish).
Joseph Edward Cooney married Laura Willmot Roberts of English
origins.
kids of Sarah Jane
Charles Monford married Elizabeth L. Gordon of Irish origins
then Mary Ann Cook
Mary Jane Monford married Robert Henry Thompson or Irish
origins.
Agnes Monford married Charles Cook of English origins.
Margaret Monford married William Henry Hutchison of Scottish
origins.
Elizabeth Monford married George Hutchison of Scottish
origins.
George Monford married Mary L. Bailey of Irish origins.
Joseph Monford married Isabella McDonald of Scottish
origin.
Sarah Monford married Don Gilchrist probably Scottish.
Hannah Monford married Hugh Black of Scottish origins.
32 marriages of 36 individuals I can account for. I have excluded those that died young or those I know did not marry. So about 10 of the 32 married some one of Irish origin. 32% of the time. Still higher than we might expect by chance.
3rd generation
Robert Hugh Ard (1888-1964). Married Jane E. Burgess
(1889-1983) of Scottish origin.
Margaret Emma Ard b. 1890 married Charles F. Rutherford of
Scottish origin
Robert Ard (1880-1945). Served in WW1. Married Eliza x
Margaret Ard b. 1885 married Robert McMenemy (1888) father
Thomas of Irish origin
Mary Agnes Ard b. 1888 married Joseph curry (father James)
of Irish origin.
Edward Ard b. 1890 married Josephine Sutton of English
origin.
Sarah Ann Ard 1882) Married Squire Ralph Longley. ??
Irene Ard (1893-1956). Sam Wright Barcus probably of distant
English origin.
Thomas Coatham (1901-1969) married Kathryn Elizabeth Kay
(father James and Christina)
Robert Ernest Otto Coatham (1895-1980) married Hilda Hazel
Burgess of Scottish origin.
Mary Esther Coatham (1898-1992). Married Cecil Nevi Stapleton
(1894-1991) English
William Morton (1880-) married Ada Ann Beatty or Irish
origin
Frederick A. Morton (1889-). Went to USA in 1911
Ernest S. Ard (1884-). married Mary E. Langford of English
origin.
Elsie Ard (1893-). mzrried Arthur W. Crawforth(1889-1960) of
English origin.
Harold Ray Simpson married an English woman during WW1
Durward Simpson married Ella Wilson born in Ireland.
Mable Pritchard (1891-) married Royal A. Hutchinson (1884-) in
1918 of English origins.
Suttle Joseph Pritchard (1895-1983) married Mary Florence Jane
Miller in 1921 of Irish origin.
Ella May Simpson married Alexander Dunn, German.
Eva Mary Simpson (1913-1995) married Frederick Stevens,
Irish
Helen Marion Simpson (1913-) married Frances William Doyle,
probably Irish.
Iva Jean Simpson (1914-1993) married Fred Fiander in 1945,
believe she died in Lady Smith, BC.
Aileen Edith Simpson (1915-2007) married Wesley Harold Adams,
English.
Evelyn Simpson married Ray Ferguson, English
John Joseph Simpson married Margaret Johnston, Irish
Lyall Simpson married Jean Heather, Irish
Harold Simpson married Jessie Hagyart
Ada Simpson married Louis Braaten, Norway
Mabel Louise Simpson married x James, Irish
Harold Simpson (1907-1992) married Margaret Pepper
(1911-1989). English
Perl Roseborough (1911-) married Percy Cruickshank,
Scottish
Laura Josephine Cooney (1922-1992) married Alvin Benjamin
Evans (1917-1997), ??.
Charles M. Thompson (1893-1979) married Laura M. Hammond
(1894-1978) Irish
Henry Wilton Thompson (1897-1953) married Nell Lorraine
Huffman from USA.
Wilbert Simpson Thompson (1905-) married Velma Vennona Ostrum.
Arthur Simpson married Nellie McDonald, Scottish
George Hutchison Cook (1901-1975) married to Dorothy Edith
Yeoman (1904-1999), English.
Olive Jane Cook (1903-1985) married John E. Elder, Irish.
Ira Edward Cook (1905-1936) married Jean Sherman, English.
Hugh Simpson Cook (1907-1977) married Janet Martin
(1909-1997), French.
Harold Cook (1911-) married Delmer Fenwick (1911-1938),
Irish.
John Gordon Cook (1909-) married Ila Marie Margaret Ann
Keyes, Irish
Grace Beatrice Hutchison (1899-) married Robert Charles
Staterlow Davenport, English. William Henry Hutchison (1904-)
married Hazel Loretta Rachel Dale (1906-), Scottish.
George Stanley Hutchison (1900-1984) married Susanne Jurik
William Hutchison (1903-) married Olga x in 1940,- born in
USA. in 1916. probably non-Irish, non-British
Clara Ethel Hutchison (1904-1992) married x Tennant,
Scottish.
Edgar John Hutchison (1908-2004) married Hope x (1905-2001) ??
Elisha Bailey Monford (1897-1980) married Constance (or Helen)
Appleby, English
George (or Gordon) Monford (1926-2012) married Joyce x. ??
Lorne Monford (1929-2005) married Eve X in 1952.
Hugh John Elmer Black (1909-1980) married Hannah Jane Chatwell
(1911-2003) English
Marriage summary
Since I now know a great deal about the Simpson family that emigrated to Canada in 1833 I thought it of interest to check marriage patterns to see if the Irish tended to marry in (endogamy) or to marry out (exogamy).
It is necessary to know the number of Irish in Canada over the years before attempting to look at whether people were endogamous (marrying in) or exogamous (marrying out). In 1867 approximately 25% of the Canadian population were of Irish ancestry. In 1901 approximately 18% of the Canadian population were of Irish ancestry. In 2006, approximately 15% of the Canadian population were of Irish origins.
First generation: All six Simpson children married Irish partners. Significantly higher than one might expect. To make sense of this you need to know something of the geographic distribution of the Irish. If they tended to settle together and have limited means of transportation there would be a great chance of finding a partner of the same ethnic origin. As ethic communities began to separate and as transportation improved we would expect the rate of endogamy to go down.
Second generation: 10 of the 31 marriages I was able to trace married Irish partners, 32%. In 10 couples both partners were Irish. This is about 33% of all couples so suggests a degree of in-marriages. Irish individuals had a better than random chance of marrying someone else of Irish background.
Third generation: It was harder to trace the great grandchildren of the original family but I did identify 45 marriages. It is difficult to be confident of the origins of the mate since there were probably multiple origins. However, only 14 of the 45 marriages were to Irish partners, 31%, or better than choosing an Irish partner at random However, if I look only at those who claimed Irish ancestry, 10 of the 30 (33%) people married someone of Irish ancestry, significantly better than choosing an Irish partner by chance and the same rate as for the second generation. So we can conclude that by the third generation the specific ethnic origin (Irish) of a person still had some influence on their selection of a marriage partner.