Slee family of Devon – Wales – Solihul – Canada

Posted on September 15, 2011 by Gary

As noted in other posts, Charles Kirby (1880-1944) married Elizabeth Helen Radley Slee (1883-1955)  in Broadview, Saskatchewan.   So, I need to say a little about the Slee family.  The Slee family name was, and is, very common in Devon, Britain.  Elizabeth, however, was born in Swansea, Wales where her parents James Slee (1850-1918) and Ellen Radley (1852-1919) had moved from Devon around 1880.  Their last child was born in Solihul, Warwickshire in 1895.  In 1901 they are in parish of Sparkhill St. John Evangelist,  in Solihul.
It was here that Charles and Elizabeth met and made arrangements to emigrate to Canada and marry upon arrival.  (They may have met at the 1907 marriage of Eliza Kirby and James Radley Slee.)  Charles already had a sister, Daisy (Kirby) Trigg, living in Broadview, SK until 1910, and another sister and her husband (Eliza Kirby and James Radley Slee) moved to Broadview, Canada in 1910-1911.

A note on the Radley family.  Ellen Radley was the daughter of James Radley (1811-1880) and Eleanor Westacott  (1815- 1888) who married in 1841 and  had 5  children:  Mary Radley (1842-) , John Radley (1843-), Elizabeth Radley (1849), Ellen Radley (1851) and James Radley  (1854).  In 1841 James and Eleanor are living in the toll house at Cooks Cross, South Molton, Devon.  He an agricultural labourer and toll keeper.   In 1871 Ellen Radley and James Slee are living next door to her parents.  (Thanks to Ian and Pat Burtonshaw for this info.)

Here is a brief family tree:

  • John Slee (1780s-) married Mary X (1786-)
    • Mary Slee (1813-)
    • Elizabeth Slee (1815-)
    • Maria Slee (1820-) married James Leworth (had 14 kids)
    • William Slee (1822-) married Charlotte Cornish
    • James Slee (1826-) married Elizabeth Harding
    • John Slee (1819-1853)  See below.
    • Susan Slee (1834-)
  • John Slee (1819-1853) married Mary Ann Facey (1822-) in Devon. After the death of John, Mary Ann married Charles Blackmore.
    • Henry Slee (1846-1912).  Was a quarry owner in Wales.   Henry married (1) Matilda Francis (1852-1895) and they had several children  living in Wales:  Henry (1875-1947), Alice (1892-), Matilda (1887-),   Beatrice (1886-), Mary Ann (1884-),  Florence (1881-), James Edward (1877-1909), and Eva (1874-).  (2) Bessie Rapson (1863-)
    • Emily Slee (1848-1904)
    • James Slee (1850-1918).  Married Ellen Radley (1852-).  In 1911 they are both living in Solihul.
      • John Henry Slee (1872-before 1901)
      • Emily Alice Slee (1875-1884). Born in Devon and died  in    Swansea.
      • James Radley Slee (1878-1958). Moved to Saskatchewan around 1910 with his wife Eliza Kirby (1874 -1928) and in 1925  they moved to Cleveland, Ohio where he died in 1958.
        • Edna Slee (1918-) born in Saskatchewan.  Married Jack Shelby.
      • Archibald Stanley Slee (1881-1911).  Born in Swansea and married in Solihul in 1909 to Mabel Ann Lewis (1881-1965).  After Archibald’s death she remarried and had several children.
      • Elizabeth Helen Radley Slee (1883-1955).  Born in Swansea, died in Broadview, Saskatchewan.  Married Charles Kirby, the brother of Eliza Kirby.  See the Kirby posts.
      • Emma Alice Augusta Slee (1885-1946).  Married Albert Hancox (1885-1950).  They had Alec Hancox (1913-1930), Albert Sidney Hancox (1919-2000) married Joyce Evelyn Neale (1922-2007) and they had 4 kids
      • Sidney Slee (1887-).  Married Annie Nichols in 1908.
        • Winnifred Emma Marion Slee (1909-1979))
        • William James Slee (1913-1977)
        • Jenny Slee
        • Sidney Patrick Slee (1913-1985
        • Thomas Slee
      • Stuart Slee (1895-) Born in Solihul, Warwickshire. Married Ellen Masterson (1893-1980).
        • Margaret Millicent Slee (1924-2006).  Married Walter John Pepper (1924-1988)
        • Ellen Veronica Slee (1926-1932)
        • Annie Mary Slee (1930-1975).  Died in Washington, DC.

      Robert Blackmore (1856-)

    • Charley Blackmore (1858-)
    • Edwin Blackmore (1861-)
    • Philip Blackmore (1864-1895)

    * Thanks to Ian and Pat Burtonshaw of Swansea for some of this material.

    This is a photo ofJames Slee.

Below:  a photo of Ellen Radley and James Slee with their daughter Emma Slee Hancox.

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Roy Parkinson and Ruth Kirby

Posted on September 15, 2011 by Gary

Roy Parkinson (1914-1996),  the son of Albert Parkinson (1870-1950) and Alice French (1871-1922), was born in Edmonton, Alberta.  Due to what sounds like a very troubled family Roy was estranged from his family of origin and reconnected with his sister after 30 years.  He was forced to begin paying rent as a teenager, left school to work and left the family home.  Working for the bank he was sent to two or three communities in  Saskatchewan, eventually ending in Broadview.  There he was a border with the Kirby family and quite quickly married Ruth Kirby (1913-1993).  Ruth was the daughter of Charles Kirby (1880-1944) and Elizabeth Helen Radley Slee (1883-1955).   Roy and Ruth married in Regina due to bank policy which discouraged young men from marring, a policy which led to Roy being fired after one year.

(photo taken in 1935)

In late 1939 when war appeared to be certain Broadview became a collection point for recruits from the region and Roy was quickly made a supervisor (sergeant) in charge of recruiting and making arrangements for a substantial camp on the edge of town. This was the 110th Field Battery, part of the 15th Canadian Field Regiment.  The troops left Broadview on July, 1941 to reposition in the Halifax area.  They remained there until embarking for England in August 1942.   Ruth took her two young children to Halifax to keep the family together and the photo below may have been taken there in late 1941 or 1942.  Roy saw action in France, Holland and Germany for the last year of the war, serving as the quartermaster in the divisional office.

Roy returned from Europe in time to learn that a consolidation of school divisions had been made possible by legislation:  he became the secretary/treasurer for the first of these large school district.   Roy and Ruth died in Saskatoon where they had retired.

The Parkinson children, all born in Broadview,  were:

  • Douglas Roy Parkinson (1937-1998)
  • Gary Parkinson (1940-).  Married Shirley Simpson.
  • Beverly Parkinson (1953-)  Married Don Fry.
  • Verdyne Parkinson (1955-). Never married.

Gary Parkinson married Shirley Simpson, also of Broadview, and her family is covered in many other posts, which finally brings the story of all these posts to a conclusion.

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Parkinson family of Huddersfield – Batley – Canada

Posted on September 15, 2011 by Gary

The map below shows Huddersfield and Batley just below Bradford and Leeds, and the town of Scarborough in the upper right.

Albert Parkinson arrived in Canada in 1907, taking up residence in Edmonton, Alberta.  In this post I explore the history of the Parkinson family until that time and a subsequent post will explore the history of the family in Canada.

What I know to date is derived almost exclusively from census records and marriage records.  Here in brief is my history.

1. James Parkinson (1790-), mentioned on Joseph’s marriage certificate.  Living in Chester.

2.  The first Parkinson I have found is Joseph Parkinson (1819-prior to 1881) who reports that he was born in St. Martin’s, Chester but at the time of his marriage on December 25, 1841 to Elizabeth (Betty) Netherwood (about 1823-?) was living in the Huddersfield area.  Elizabeth’s father was John Netherwood (1777-), a family name that appears to have originated in this area, and Sarah (1785-).   This area was built around the wool industry and many of the family are found engaged in  related activities.  Prior to marriage Betty was a spinner and Joseph was a cloth weaver.  Huddersfield was the home of the Luddites who revolted against the use of the machine in the wool industry.  Joseph and Elizabeth’s children were:

  • John Henry Parkinson (1842-before 1895).  See below.
  • James Parkinson (1850)
  • Fred Parkinson (1851) and may have died early.
  • Albert Parkinson (1852).
  • Emily Parkinson (1857-).  After Joseph’s death Elizabeth is living with Emily and her husband John Burton.  Emily was married in Bradford in 1880 and her father was alive at the time.  The marriage certificate states that her father was an”overlooker”.  An examination of the wool industry from the late 1830s shows that the “overlooker” was the most highly paid in the mills.  In 1891 Elizabeth is living with Emily Burton and so his Ann, Emily’s sister, as well as a nephew named George H. E. Parkinson.  Not sure who George was.   Was he the son of one of the Parkinson men, or is it possible Ann had an illegitimate child? Or since in latter years Emily and John report having a son name Herbert who is of the right age, could it have been Emily’s child prior to marriage?
  • Ann Parkinson (1860).  Unable to find her after 1891.

3.  John Henry Parkinson (1842-prior to 1881), a woolen spinner,  married Mary Ann Restall (1844-) in 1864 in Stroud, Gloustershire, the birthplace of Mary Ann.  (Her father was Henry Restall (1816-).)  Stroud , like Huddersfield, was built around the wool industry where there were a great number of mills and again this was the family activity.  (Of interest is the colour “Stroud red” used in dyeing the uniforms for the British army and made from the conchineal cactus bug from Mexico, a little insect that made the Spanish rich even though it took two centuries to figure out what it was).  Their first child, Emily A. Parkinson, was born in 1864 in Stroud, and the remaining children around Huddersfield.  She may not have married as she is living with her mother and grandfather after the death of John Henry.

  • Emily Ann Parkinson (1864).  In 1901 her mother, Mary Ann, is living with her.  So, she may not have married.
  • Frances Parkinson born in 1865.
  • Albert Parkinson in 1870. Married Alice French and moved to Canada in 1907.  (see a separate post for Albert Parkinson and Alice French)
  • Restall Parkinson in 1874-1948.  Restall Parkinson married Nancy Ellen Pearse in 1897 in Batley  and they had 3 children:
    • Walter Parkinson (1901-) who seems to have died very young.
    • Frank Parkinson (1911-1978)   Frank married Ivy Robinson (a rug maker and daughter of George Robinson) in 1931.
    • and Jack “John” Parkinson (1910-).

4. Albert Parkinson (1870-1950) married Alice French (1971-1922), also of Batley, Yorkshire.  Alice was the daughter of Joe French (1831-about 1875) and Sarah Charlesworth (1842-).  (Note: this is where my father gets his middle name – Roy Charlesworth Parkinson.)  Joe French was the son of John French (1802-) and Rachel (1806-).  Sarah was the daughter of William Charlesworth (1810-) and Mary (1813-) both of Netherthong, Yorkshire – again very close to Huddersfield.  Alice’s father died quite young and she joined her mother in a blended family.  Albert and Alice married on Dec. 28, 1895 and they seemed to have been living in Scarborough, Yorkshire (about 100 miles from Huddersfield).  I don’t know why the move. From a historical point of view Scarborough had become a tourist destination from around 1850 with the building of a railroad to the east coast of Britain and the town boasted of having one of the largest hotels in the world.  Could they have been among the first to follow tourists looking for work?  In 1901 Albert is living in Scarborough and working as a “fish fryer” – not sure what this means.

  • Frances Mary Parkinson (1898-1954), born in England, moved to Canada with her parents then moved to California with her second husband.
  • Wilfred Parkinson (1900-).  Born in England, but no trace of him as it is rumored he moved to the USA and changed his name.
  • Roy Charlesworth Parkinson (1914-).

5.  Roy Parkinson (1914-)  born in Edmonton and moved to Broadview, Saskatchewan were he married Ruth Kirby.  See a separate post on this family.

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Charles Kirby and Elizabeth Slee

Posted on September 15, 2011 by Gary

As we saw from the post on the Kirby family of Warwickshire, Charles Kirby (son of John Kirby (1838-abt. 1883) and Eliza Gardener (1841-1918)) was born in 1880 in Birmingham and died in 1944 in Broadview, Saskatchewan.   During his youth he worked in small factories, the last being a bicycle factory.  Birmingham was the locus of a burgeoning manufacturing sector in England and the Kirby family would have been familiar with the labour and urban pains associated with the rapid growth.  In 1906, at the age of 26, Charles emigrated to Canada, traveling with his brother-in-law Thomas Trigg, with a destination of Winnipeg.  In 1909 he married Elizabeth Helen Radley Slee (1883-1955), born in Wales but as of about 1895 was living in the Birmingham area. In 1901 she and her sister Emma are working as servants in Kings Norton which is very close to Birmingham.  Elizabeth arrived in Canada on August 13, 1909.    The marriage was planned for Canada as the ship manifest for Elizabeth, who appeared to be traveling alone, states the purpose of her voyage was “to marry”.  We know that Thomas Trigg was in Broadview by 1907 so I imagine Charles followed the same route.  Interestingly the marriage of Charles and Eliza took place in the home of Thomas Trigg and Daisy Kirby Trigg and the two were witnesses at the marriage.  For additional information see the post on the Slee family.

On arrival Charles found a job as a “drayman”, probably moving goods around the town by horse and wagon.   The next year he began working for the CPR and became a boilermaker until he had to retire due to his health.

I do not know why Charles and Elizabeth chose Broadview as their destination but I assume they must have known someone there or were seduced by government advertising.  We now know that Charles arrived with his brother-in-law and his sister Daisy was to arrive in 1907.  Elizabeth’s brother, James Radley Slee, moved to Broadview (arriving in Canada on June 10, 1910) shortly after his sister, and, like Charles, worked for the CPR. I recently discovered that James R. Slee had married Eliza Kirby, the sister of Charles. James and Eliza moved to Cleveland in 1925 where they both died, she in 1928 and he in 1958.  When James and Eliza left Broadview in 1925 it was to live close to Daisy.  Charles had a cousin Lucy Sargeant (1883-1956) who arrived in Broadview in 1913.  Lucy was the daughter of Lucy Kirby, an aunt to Charles.   She and her husband, Charlie Talkington moved to Surrey, BC on retirement.

The family:

  • John (Jack) Stanley Kirby (1911-1948).  Married Astrid (Audrey) Sophia Erickson in January of 1941.  They had one child (John William Douglas Kirby), born in Nipawin, Saskatchewan in 1943,  before John’s early death.  Audrey was to remarry and have one other child.
  • Howard Kirby (1912-1912).
  • Ruth Helen Kirby (1913-1993) married Roy Parkinson in 1935 and they had four   children, all born in Broadview.  Died in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.   See the Parkinson post for more details.
  • Geoffrey Charles Kirby (1914-1975).  Married Merle Middleton and had three children (Melvin, Shirley and Rodney) prior to a divorce.  He remarried to Jememia Aitken.   Geoff worked for the CPR and died in Brandon, Manitoba.
  • Joan Eliza Kirby (1916-1969).  Began working as a telephone operator in Broadview and in 1942 moved to Regina as a supervisor for Saskatchewan telephones until her early death.  Never married.

Photo of Charles and Elizabeth Kirby.  Not sure of the event: could it be their 25th anniversary in 1934?

Now, their grave stone in Broadview, SK.

And, the four children as young adults.  From left:  Geoff, Ruth, John, Joan.  I would think about 1934.

A photo from about 1911-1915 of men working on an engine in the Broadview CPR roundhouse.  From the right: James Radley Slee, Charles Kirby.  Photo courtesy of the Broadview Museum.

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Kirby family of Warwickshire, UK

Posted on September 15, 2011 by Gary

Now time to get a little closer to my family.  My grandfather was Charles Kirby (1880-1944), born in or near Birmingham, Warwickshire in 1880 and in 1906 arrived in Canada and by 1907 settling in Broadview, Saskatchewan.  See the post for “Charles Kirby” for more on his life and his children.

The father of Charles was John Kirby (1838-about 1883).  First, the family tree as I have been able to piece it together so far.

  • John Kirby and Mary Kirby of Warwickshire.
    • Thomas Kirby (1816-1853) of Leek-Wootton, Warwickshire married Maria Treadgold (1814-) in about 1836.  He was working as a Smith and later as a Grate Fitter.  Maria’s parents were Joseph Treadgold (1769-) and Sarah Butcher (1775-1831).   They had other children, Lucy Treadgold (1816-), James Treadgold (1803-1847), Sarah
      Treadgold (1808-1828), Maria Treadgold (1815-).   It is possible that on the death of Thomas, Maria married George Chambers

      • Jane Kirby (1837-). Born in Emscote, near Warwick.
      • John Kirby (1838-about 1883) Married Eliza Gardener (1841-1918).
        • Lucy Kirby (1866-).  Married Edward Lowe (1863-).
        • Louisa Kirby (1870-)
        • Daisy Kirby (1876-1934).  Married Thomas Robinson Trigg (1877 -1933).  Moved to Canada in 1906-07, living in Broadview and then in 1910 moved to Ohio.
          • Gladys Lucy Trigg (1902-).  Married Lonzo Ernest Hudson (1891-1946) in Indiana in June, 1924.  In 1930 they were living in Norwalk, Ohio.
            • Lois E. Hudson (1925-)
            • June B. Hudson (1926-).  Married George Louis Spaulding (1925-1982)
          • William Trigg (1903-)
        • Eliza Kirby (1874-1928).  Married James Radley Slee (1878-1958).  Moved to Broadview in 1910-1911 and in 1925 they moved to Ohio.
          • Edna Slee (1918-) born in Broadview, SK.  Married Jack Shelby (1915-) in 1938.
            • Paul Shelby
            • Mary Shelby
        • Charles Kirby (1880-1944).  Married Elizabeth Helen Radley Slee of Wales (1883-1955) in 1909 in Broadview, SK.
          • John Stanley Kirby (1911-1948).  Married Astrid Sophia Erickson in 1940.
            • John William Douglas Kirby (1943-)
          • Howard Kirby (1912-1912)
          • Ruth Helen Kirby (1913-1993).   Married Roy Charlesworth Parkinson (1914-1996) in 1935.
            • Douglas Parkinson (1937-)
            • Gary Charles Parkinson (1940-)
            • Beverly Joan Parkinson (1953-)
            • Verdyne Parkinson (1955-)
          • Geoffrey Charles Kirby (1914-1975).  Married (1) Merle Middleton in 1939. (2) Jememia Aitken (1918-)
            • Melvin Kirby (1940-)
            • Rodney Kirby (1946-)
            • Shirley Kirby (1941-)
          • Joan Eliza Kirby (1916-1969)
        • William Kirby (1877-)
        • Fred Kirby (1883-)
      • William Kirby (1841-)
      • Thomas Kirby (1844-1880) married Clarah (or Eliza) (1837-).
        • Pachant (Marie) Kirby (1867-)
        • Anne Kirby (1870-)
        • Alice (1876-).  Married Thomas F. Harwood,
          • Norah (1901-)   Married Alfred Worms(1900-1970) in New Zealand.
          • Gladys Harwood (1903-)
          • Barbara Harwood (1905-)
          • Frances Harwood (1907-)
          • Thomas Harwood (1909-)
        • Thomas (1879-)
      • Lucy Kirby (1854-1898).  Married James Sargeant (1851-) in 1879.In 1871 she was living with Thomas Kirby above.
        • Lucy Sargeant (1883-1956).  Married Charles Wilson Talkington  (1887-1972) in Broadview in 1916.
          • Leslie Talkington
          • Wilfred Talkington
        • Alfred Sargeant (1878-)
        • James A. Sargeant (1880-1939)

The family seem to have had a somewhat unsettled life as evidence by a different address in Birmingham at least once a decade.  They were part of the large industrial working class as we can see from the occupations of the children.  For example:  Lucy a chandelier laquerer at age 25, Louisa a spirit lamp presser at age 21, Eliza an electro bronzer at age 17, Daisy a collar stud maker at age 14, William an errand boy at age 13.  So, we see that two of the Kirby children 3 migrated to Canada and 2 of these later moved to the USA.  One wonders if there were not more.

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Mary Ann Thornton (1815-1899) and Thomas Best

Posted on August 25, 2011 by Gary

Mary Ann Thornton  (22, Jan 1815-o3, April 1899) was the oldest child of John Thornton and Frances Bowler.  The Thornton family  arrived in Port hope in 1829 and remained there for a few years.  I believe Mary Ann was the first to move into Clarke Township where she married Thomas Best (1810-1859) in 1832.  Mary Ann’s brother, John J. Thornton had married Eliza Powers who gave birth to a son named Richard Thornton  (1843-1938)  and it is believed she died in childbirth.  Mary Ann then adopted this child and his name became Richard Best Thornton -R.B. Thornton.   Another brother, Thomas Thornton, wishing to make the move to Clarke Township moved in with Mary Ann and her husband for sometime.  It is unclear if he would have been there when the baby was adopted, but judging by the photos that were held by Helen Thornton  I believe a strong connection was built among all of these people.

It is not clear to me if Mary Ann had any children of her own, but after her first husband’s death she married William Cobbledick (1816-1878) in October of 1860.   See the post for Richard Best Thornton to learn more of his life.

A photo of the grave stone of Mary Ann Thornton

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Rebecca LaRue

Posted on August 25, 2011 by Gary

Rebecca LaRue (1792-1856) was the daughter of Hendrick (Henry) LaRue (1755-1850) whose French Huguenot family arrived in the USA in 1670 and the family of his wife Marritje (Mary) Mandeville, also Huguenots, arrived in 1647.

Rebecca married Nathaniel Hart Powers (1987-1862) and their daughter married a Thornton.   You can learn more about Rebecca and Nathaniel Powers in other posts but in this post I only want to show a photo which I now think is Rebecca, but I may be wrong.  The photo is in the collection of family photos from Helen Thornton so it has some connection to the Thornton-Powers-Larue line.  I first thought the photo was of Rebecca Thornton (Helen’s sister) but on closer examination I now think it was Rebecca LaRue.  We have two version of the photo, one in which the subject clearly shows her age and second photo containing instructions to the the printer on how to clean it up.   Rebecca Thornton lived longer than did Helen Thornton so I believe this “cleaning” wouldn’t have been necessary.  The photo must have been important to the owner and the “cleaning” done after the death of the subject.  So, to repeat, I think this is Rebecca LaRue.  Help or comments appreciated.

First the untouched photo.

and now the “fixed” photo

and now a photo of her husband Nathaniel Hart Powers.  They do look like they may be a couple.

and here  a photo of Rebecca’s damaged grave stone located in Orono, Ontario.  Don’t be confused by the spelling “Powars” as this spelling seemed to appear at times.

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Abner Powers

Posted on January 20, 2011 by Gary

This post began with an attempt to understand the family photo with the date 1902 on the reverse and a list of first names.  Who were these men and what was the event that brought them together?  I had thought it might be the death of Wesley Powers, hero of the Civil War, who died very late in 1902.   Wesley was a cousin of Helen Thornton, Shirley’s grandmother.

Then I came on a story about Abner Powers born in 1760 and a hero of the War of Independence.  Abner Powers lived in Canada for many years, arriving in Eaton, Quebec in about 1796,  but died in St. Charles, Kane County Illinois at the age of 91.  Over the years his grave became neglected and perhaps during a bout of national spirit and rediscovery of the War of Independence a movement arose to rebuild Abner’s grave.   A 30’ monument was erected and unveiled on July 4, 1902.  According to newspapers of the day 30,000 people attended and special trains ran from many directions to bring in people.  Would this have been the event some of the Powers and Thorntons gathered for and had their photo taken?   Could they all have  been men from Ontario?  First, who was Abner Powers?

Abner Powers was the uncle of Nathaniel Hart Powers (born 1787) – grandfather of Helen Thornton – and brother of Nathaniel Powers (born 1754).  Abner joined the military at age 15 and saw many of the famous battles of the war of Independence.  For some reason he and his wife Sabra and son Manly (born 1789) arrived in Quebec in 1796 and stayed until late 1811, leaving to avoid the war of 1812 – his son probably fought in this war on the American side.   He did return to Canada as he is listed as living in Eaton, Quebec in 1832 and in Clarke Township, Ontario in 1842.  He returned to the USA in 1844 where he lived with his son Manly and died in September, 1852.     His son Manly and his wife Roxana Caldwell had a child named Lucinda Manly Powers who was born in Canada in 1821.   She married James Powers (born 1818 in Canada) the son of Nathaniel Hart Powers, making these two Powers families very closely related.   Their son Wesley Powers was born in Canada in 1845 and he and his father’s family moved to the USA just prior to the Civil War and Wesley was to become a hero and earn the Congressional Medal of Honor.

The men in the photo according to notes on the reverse, which I am not sure are to be trusted:  See Photo. Thomas (look like Thomas Powers), John (there was a John Thornton still living in USA), Charles (perhaps this is Charles Jonas Thornton), George (there was a George Thornton still living in USA), Edgar.  I also think Benjamin Thornton and Jonas Thornton are among the men.  Could the Edgar be Charles Edgar Thornton, son of Jonas.   I don’t think so as he would be too young.

I now have a copy of Wesley’s obituary and it gives a detailed list of family members from out of town.  It does confirm that Thomas Powers was there (although late) as was Ulysses Thornton; Jonas Thornton, cousin James Powers; Ambrose Powers; perhaps Simon Powers and Henry Larue Powers; and many members of the DeWitt family (Wesley’s daughter married a DeWitt).  But none of this  confirms that the photo we have was from the funeral.

Generations

Nathaniel Powers – Nathaniel Powers – Nathaniel Hart Powers – James Powers- Wesley

Nathaniel Powers – Abner Powers – Manly Powers – Lucinda Powers – Wesley J.

Manly is buried next to his father.

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Bowler Thornton (1816-1876) and Hannah Blackburn

Posted on August 20, 2010 by Gary

Bowler Thornton (1816-1876), son of John Thornton and Frances Bowler, married Hannah Blackburn (1821-1905) in 1841.  Hannah and Bowler were born in England, arriving in Canada with their parents.  The family migrated to Winnebago, Illinois in the 1860s.

  • Thomas Henry Thornton,  (1842-1910).  Married Sarah E. Ross.  Thomas was an M.D. in Prince Edward County, Ontario.  (Their children were Esther, Alfred, Leila, Florence and Frederick Barton).
  • Hannah Thornton, (1844-1926)
  • Almyra Thornton,  (1846-1923)
  • Adelide Thornton,  (1848-1913)
  • John J Thornton,  (29 Oct 1849 – 23 Aug 1852), Clarke Township, Durham County.  Stone in Orono.
  • George B. Thornton,  (Nov 1851-1863), Kirby, Durham County, Ontario. Stone in Orono.
  • George J. Thornton    (1857-1923).  Married Ida Corlett.  (Is this the George who became and M.D.?)
    • Birdie Thornton.  Died in infancy.
    • Bessie
  • Emmiline Thornton, (1853-1927).
  • John Bowler Thornton, (Dec 1855-1863), Kirby, Durham County, Ontario.  Stone in Orono.
  • Frederick Octavius Thornton, (1862-1940) Kirby, Durham County.  Married Mary Serena Wilcox (1860-1926).   (A more complete tree is available for this family).
  • Martha Belle Thornton, (1867-), Illinois, USA.
  • Lillian
  • John

First photo taken in 1874.  Thanks to Staci Zabell for photo and information.

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John James Thornton (1879-1968) and Gertrude Davey

Posted on August 11, 2010 by Gary

John Thornton (1879-1968), son of Jonas Thornton (1850-1932) and Elanor Hughson (1853-1938) of Durham county, married Gertrude Davey (1880 -1951) and in 1922 the family moved to Manor, Saskatchewan, to farm.  John had worked in the area in 1921, arriving on one of the harvest trains, and found the area good for his health, so returned to live the next year.  They packed all of their furniture, two horses, two cows, farm equipment and other supplies on to the train, and with three kids in tow headed for an adventure.  They had been living in the Peterborough area prior to this

They had three children:

  • Charles Edgar (1909-1980), married Hazel Rowley (1912-1997) who brought 3 children into the marriage from a previous relationship.
    • George Thornton.
    • Glen Thornton.
    • Evelyn Thornton.
  • Kenneth Thornton (1909- ).  Married Beth Crawford.
    • Ann Thornton
    • John Thornton
  • George Thornton (1916-2008) married Violet Potter (1919-2007).
    • Sylvia Thornton (1945-2004).  Married Robert Fraser.

John and Gertrude in about 1920.   Notice how “modern” people look all of a sudden.  Both photos downloaded from the online version of Memories are Forever:  Centennial Tribute of Manor, SK, 1982.  This explains the poor quality of the reproduction.

Charlie and Hazel Thornton.

And the grave stones of John and his wife Gertrude in Manor, SK.

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