Category: Rutherglen

Family rumor was that Alexander Cecil Pennell was gassed during the war and this was the cause of his death, so its with no surprize there’s no mention of “gassed” in his death certificate..  It says coma due to diabetes. Included in his military records is how they were treating him with insulin and watching his diet.

He is buried in Mount Pleasant cemetery at Ogleston’s Corners in Rutherglen.

In the slide show below, you see Miss McCullough, the teacher who married Herb Pennell.

Lester was born March 13, 1897, Ewen, Michigan. He served in the 228th Regiment.

Lester was the son of William Keech and Jane McNamara. Jane was the daughter of Elizabeth Pennell and John McNamara. Elizabeth was the sister of my grandmother, Alice Smith (nee Pennell).

In the picture below, Lester is in the 2nd row, middle.

The following is from Myrtle Connolly’s book “Growing Up On A Farm”.

How well I remember the day that my brother Lester came home from Camp Borden to bid us goodbye. How smart he looked in his uniform, so tall and handsome. He knew he would have to go so he enlisted in 1916. We didn’t see Lester again until May 1919, the ar ending November 11, 1918. The sick and wounded were sent home first.

Mother sent him a box of goodies every month. He received them all except three. He used to go to Uncle Johnnie’s in London on his long leaves. He also spent some time with his grandmother Mrs. Edwin Keech (Elizabeth Forsey). Lester was her first grandson. It was a real reunion. All she could talk about weas Father who left England at the age of seventeen.

Finally Lester called Mother that he was coming home and would be stopping at the Bay to see his grandparents, the McNamara’s, which was on a Sunday, but instead came home on Sunday, therefore, there was no one to meet him from our family. Mother was preparing a big dinner. I was the one that saw a soldier coming up the road. I called Mother and sure enough it was Lester. Everybody was excited. He had changed. The war had taken away his youth. He bumped his head on the door, then on the stovepipes. He said, “I guess I had forgotten that I am taller than the door and stovepipes.”

He just stay home a short time, then went to North Bay and got a job on the railroad as a baggage man. He decided that was not for him, became a fireman on the railroad, and then an engineer.

He married Eva McChesney, bought a bungalow beside his grandparents that his grandfather had built. During the war he brought supplies by railroad up the the front lines. With bombes dropping all around this was not the most desirable place to be.

Lester died February 21, 1957, sitting in his car on Main Street, North Bay. He was so looking forward to his retirement. He had two sons, William Albert, M. D., a graduate of Western University, and Gerald Lester, PH.D., McMaster University. Bill was in the Air Force during World War II, shot down over Belgium, a prisoner of Stalag III, was in the Great Escape, which was made into a movie, and also took part in the Wooden Horse Escape.

Mrs. Hugh Ferguson, a cousin, told me “that they don’t make men like Lester Keech anymore”. She bought his bungalow after his death.

“Growing Up On A Farm” by Myrtle Connolly, pages 15-16

George Jr. was born March 22, 1883. He was the son of George Mathew Pennell Sr. and Charlotte Edmunds of Rutherglen, Ontario. George Sr. was the brother of my grandmother, Alice Smith (nee Pennell).

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George joined the war effort February 25, 1916 with the 159th Overseas Battalion, 1st Algonquin and had belonged to the 97th Regiment of Active Militia. He sailed on the S. S. Empress on October 31, 1916 to England. On August 31, 1917, he was hospitalized for a schraple wound in his back and he received the Military Medal for bravery.    He later was transferred to the 58th Battalion. He was promoted from Private to Lance Corporal.
On August 27, 1918 George was killed in action with R.F.B. (Retained Foreign Bodies) and the family legacy was that he died at the Battle on Mons. In fact, George’s sister, Emma, who married L.J. Rose, named her 10th child and first child after George’s death, George Mons Rose (although we all knew him in Rutherglen as Jiggs).

However, the Battle of Mons took place in November 1918, months after George was killed. On August 21–30, 1918, the 58th Canadian Infantry Battalion was in Arras and specifically on August 27 they had just moved into Bois du Sart, France.  George was among 30 “other ranks” killed on the 27th.  There were many small battles in the Hundred Days Offensive that eventually lead up to the Battle of Mons, which ended the war on November 11, 1918.

“Whilst taking part in the advance North West of Boiry-Notre Dame, he was hit in the head and instantly killed by an enemy machine gun bullet.” George is buried at the Vimy Ridge Cemetery in France.

Scroll the images below. The “M.M.” beside George’s name means he received a Military Medal.

Cecil was born February 1, 1898 in Rutherglen, Ontario, to Eliza (nee Pennell) and John “Jack” James.

Cecil married Marie Tremblay and had two sons. From his will below, I can only make out the name of his 2nd son, Leonard.

He fought in World War I in the 12th Reserve, 1st Corp., 75th Battalion CEF, D Co., #3035764 and held the rank of Private. He was discharged May 12, 1919 and returned home in June of 1919 on the R.M.S. Mauretania.

In 1950, Cecil was living in Kapuskasing, and later in New Toronto. He died February 12, 1959.

Cecil-James-2Marie-James-parcel-318

James was born December 27, 1889 to Mary Ann Pennell and William James of Rutherglen, Ontario. He married Margaret I. McDonald and died October 12, 1976. James served in World War I. In 1953, he lived in Englehart and operated Tray Express Company.

John was born December 29, 1887 in Rutherglen, Ontario. He served in the 59th Battalion during World War I. He was a member of Branch 23 of the Royal Canadian Legion in North Bay where he received a 50-year pin. He was also a member of the Orange Lodge and a founding member of the Elk Lake Masonic Lodge No. 507. John also spent some time in jail and he worked for the ONR as an engineer.

He married Annie Gertrude “Gerti” Smith, who was the daughter of Willard Smith and Mary Johnson on Rutherglen. Gerti was a widow, having married William Daniel Smith, and had one some “Billy”. Gerti and John had two daughters: Eleanor James and Ruth James. Gerti died in 1926.

John then married Julia McNulty and had three sons: Jack James, Dale James, Darwin James. All three of these sons spent time in jail and were known to be part of the notorious “Kelly Gang” of North Bay.

William was the son of Mary Ann Pennell and William James of Rutherglen, Ontario.

William was born January 12, 1900 and served in World War I. He lived in Lac Vert, Sask, and died February 10, 1978 in Miracom, Sask.

St. Margaret’s, Rutherglen was built around 1855. In 1891, St. Margaret’s was entirely rebuilt after being blown down in a storm. The church was consecrated by Bishop Charles Hamilton on October 30, 1896. In 1951, construction of a new St. Margaret’s began and the church was consecrated by Bishop Robert Jefferson on July 6, 1952. The log frame of the old church was torn down and removed. St. Margaret’s is part of the parish of Mattawa.

Source: http://archeion-aao.fis.utoronto.ca/ , March 9, 2009

St. Margaret’s Cemetery

Plot #	Markings	Plot #	Markings
1	JAMES	2	In memory of
	In loving memory of		Phyllis JAMES
	Courtney W. JAMES		Died Aug. 26th, 1915
	1907-1961		Aged 4 Yrs.
	At Rest		Deeply Mourned
3	JAMES	4	SMITH
	In loving memory of		In memory of
	Mary Ann PENNELL		Elmo
	Beloved wife of		1907-1950
	William C. JAMES		Gone but not forgotten
	Died Oct. 3, 1937
	Aged 69 Years
	Beloved husband
	William C.
	1858-1947
5	FARMER	6	Thy will be done
	John 1859-1907		In loving memory of
	Charles 1896-1957		Richard PENNELL
	Jemima 1863-1936		Died Nov. 24, 1916
	B. FARMER		Aged 82 yrs 9 mos
	Died June 15, 1899		Also his wife
	Aged 12 years		Rachel S. CREW
	W. FARMER		Aged 81 yrs. 5 mos
	Died March 6, 1904
	Aged 10 mo’s
7	In memory of	8	In loving memory of
	Elize CREW		John JAMES
	Wife of		Died Aug. 21, 1942
	James HONE		Also a son
	Died Mar. 7,1897		Escar John
	Aged 73 yrs		Eliza JAMES
	Blessed are the dead in the Lord		Born Sept. 3, 1872
			Died Mar. 6, 1955
9	PENNELL	10	Jas. R. MCNAMARA
	George PENNELL		Died July 12, 1888
	Born Apr. 27, 1858		Aged 15 yrs & 3 mos
	Died Aug 31, 1930		He Giveth His Joy
	His wife		Elizabeth MCNAMARA
	Charlotte E. EDMONDS		Died June 14, 1888
	BornFeb 2, 1858		Aged 9 yrs 11 mos
	Died Feb 17, 1909		Ann C. MCNAMARA
	Their daughter Rachel S.		Died June 13, 1888
	Born Mar 9, 1890		Aged 3 years & 4 mos
	Died Aug 28, 1890		John MCNAMARA
			Died June 28, 1883
11	JAMES	12	Hugh SHIELDS
	In loving memory		Died Oct. 10, 1910
	Eric Alexander		Aged 76 yrs
	Died June 25, 1950		At Rest
	Age 48 yrs
	Some day we will understand
13	In memory of	14	HONE
	Anne TREMBLE		James Wm.
	Beloved wife of		1883-1957
	Peter DOERE		Florence A.
	Died Jan 9, 1895		1882-1971
	Aged 63 yrs
	Native of County Down, Ireland

I tried to find out the full list of burials at St. Margaret’s Church. I was told that there were way more than the head stones showed. So I wrote to the Anglican Church Diocese. Since it cost (at the time) $40/hr for them to do a search for all burials at the cemetery, I gave them a date range of when I thought the church was built to when I was told burials there had ceased and asked only for the surnames of Pennell and James. The following is what they were able to find.

“D” are Deaths/Burials; “B” is Baptisms; “M” is Marriages

B/D/M	Surname	Name One	Name Two	Parents	Year	Parish	Register Ref.
B	Pennell	? [Edna Eliza]		Richard & ? [Rachel]	1905	St Alban’s, Mattawa	236/20
B	Pennell	Abigail Amanda		(Adult Baptism)	1916	St Alban’s, Mattawa	236/29
D	Pennell	Alex Cecil			1945	St Alban’s, Mattawa	236/252
B	Pennell	Alexander Cecil		George & Charlotte		St Alban’s, Mattawa	236/8
B	Pennell	Alexander Cecil		Richard W. & Mary Ellen	1916	St Alban’s, Mattawa	236/29
M	Pennell	Alice Maria	Adoniram Smith		1904	St Alban’s, Mattawa	237/18
B	Pennell	Alice Maria		Richard & Rachel	1885	Parish of Petawawa	149/39
B	Pennell	Annie Seeley		Geo. & Charlotte Emily	1886	Parish of Petawawa	149/50
B	Pennell	Carrie Margaret		Richard W. & Mary Ellen	1917	St Alban’s, Mattawa	236/30
D	Pennell	Cecil Murray			1929	St Alban’s, Mattawa	236/249
B	Pennell	Charlotte Emma		Richard W. & Mary	1920	St Alban’s, Mattawa	236/31
B	Pennell	Earl Robert		Austin G. & Mrs	1940	St Alban’s, Mattawa	236/41
M	Pennell	Eliza Jane	John James		1894	St Alban’s, Mattawa	236/71
B	Pennell	Francis Iva		Obadiah & Abagail	1917	St Alban’s, Mattawa	236/30
B	Pennell	Gabrielle Mary		Alexander E. & Dorothy G.	1922	St Alban’s, Mattawa	236/32
D	Pennell	George Matthew			1930	St Alban’s, Mattawa
B	Pennell	George Matthew		Richard W. & Margaret		Parish of Petawawa	149/39
B	Pennell	George Matthew		George & Charlotte Emily	1886	Parish of Petawawa	149/50
B	Pennell	George Matthew Austin		Richard W. & Carrie M. E.	1906	St Alban’s, Mattawa	236/20
B	Pennell	Herbert Gordon		George & Charlotte E	1899	St Alban’s, Mattawa	236/16
B	Pennell	James Victor		George & Charlotte E	1890	St Alban’s, Mattawa	236/4
M	Pennell	Linda Charlotte	James Clifford Russell		1961	St Alban’s, Mattawa	610/35
B	Pennell	Melville Jerome		Obadiah & Abigail	1919	St Alban’s, Mattawa	236/31
B	Pennell	Abadiah		George & Charlotte Emily	1888	Parish of Petawawa	149/64
D	Pennell	Rachel Sarah			1916	St Alban’s, Mattawa	236/248
B	Pennell	Rachel Sarah		George & Charlotte	1889	Parish of Petawawa	149/11
D	Pennell	Rachel Sarah			1889	Parish of Petawawa	149/313
D	Pennell	Richard			1916	St Alban’s, Mattawa	236/248
M	Pennell	Richard William	Mary Farmer		1909	St Alban’s, Mattawa	236/89
B	Pennell	Richard William		George & Charlotte	1996	Parish of Petawawa	149/49
B	Pennell	Velma albiena		George A. & Mary Velma Riley	1935	St Alban’s, Mattawa	236/38
B	Pennell	William Henry Esca.		George & Charlotte	1894	St Alban’s, Mattawa	236/11
B	Pennell	William Herbert		Richard W. & Mary Ellen	1916	St Alban’s, Mattawa	236/29

B/M/D	Surname	Name One	Name Two	Parents	Year	Parish	Parish Ref.
B	James	? [Elizabeth Francis “Lizzie”]		William & Mary	1894	St. Alban’s, Mattawa	236/11
M	James	Alice Eliza	Hughes, Gerald Allen		1960	St. Alban’s, Mattawa	610/31
B	James	Alma Alice		John & Eliza	1906	St. Alban’s, Mattawa	236/20
B	James	Bernice Marie		Christopher R. & Mary Jane	1925	St. Alban’s, Mattawa	236/34
B	James	Betty Edna		Ross C. & Edna Mary J. Hill	1935	St. Alban’s, Mattawa	236/38
M	James	Betty Edna	Whalley, Keith Elmer		1955	St. Alban’s, Mattawa	610/14
B	James	Cecil Francis		John & Eliza Jane	1897	St. Alban’s, Mattawa	236/15
B	James	Christopher Richard		William & Mary Ann	1886	Parish of Petawawa	149/41
M	James	Clifford Russell	Pennell, Linda Charlotte		1961	St. Alban’s, Mattawa	610/35
B	James	Eric		John & Eliza Jane	1901	St. Alban’s, Mattawa	236/18
B	James	Florence Flossie May		William & Mary Ann	1897	St. Alban’s, Mattawa	236/15
B	James	Francis Elmer		George & Martha	1929	St. Alban’s, Mattawa	236/36
B	James	George Matthew		William J. & Mary	1902	St. Aban’s, Mattawa	236/18
M	James	Georgina May	Nitsehkie, Cecil Alfred		1952	St. Alban’s, Mattawa	610/9
B	James	Grenvill Campbell		Christopher & Mary	1921	St. Alban’s, Mattawa	236/32
M	James	Grenvill Campbell	Sullivan, Irene Sarah		1952	St. Alban’s, Mattawa	610/8
B	James	Hilda Beverley		Russell S. & Mrs	1938	St. Alban’s, Mattawa	236/40
M	James	Hilda Beverley	Sullivan Kenneth William		1957	St. Alban’s, Mattawa	610/20
B	James	Irene Dagmar		Christopher & Mary	1921	St. Alban’s, Mattawa	236/32
D	James	James Norman			1944	St. Alban’s, Mattawa	236/252
B	James	James Richard		William & Mary	1890	St. Alban’s, Mattawa	236/2
M	James	John	Pennell, Eliza Jane		1894	St. Alban’s, Mattawa	236/71
B	James	John Thomas Victor		William & Mary Ann	1888	Parish of Petawawa	149/64
M	James	Joycelyn Yvonne	Conning, Murray Carman		1951	St. Alban’s, Mattawa	610/6
B	James	Lanny Ross		Ross C. & Edna J.M.	1940	St. Alban’s, Mattawa	236/41
B	James	Marshall George		Christopher R. & Mary Jane	1924	St. Alban’s, Mattawa	236/34
M	James	Mary	Duffy, Isaac		1886	Parish of Petawawa	149/208
D	James	Phyllis			1915	St. Alban’s, Mattawa	236/248
B	James	Phyllis Eliza		William & Mary Ann	1911	St. Alban’s, Mattawa	236/27
B	James	Rachel Sarah		William & Mary Ann	1891	St. Alban’s, Mattawa	236/7
B	James	Reta Janet		Russell S. & Yvonne Bellaire	1936	St. Alban’s, Mattawa	236/39
B	James	Reta Janet		Russell & Yvonne Bellaire	1941	St. Alban’s, Mattawa	236/43
B	James	Robert Manley		Christopher & Mary	1921	St. Alban’s, Mattawa	236/32
B	James	Ross Christopher		Christopher & Mary Jane	1912	St. Alban’s, Mattawa	236/24
B	James	Russell Sylvester		William & Mary	1904	St. Alban’s, Mattawa	236/19
B	James	Stanley William		ChristopherR. & Mary Jane	1916	St. Alban’s, Mattawa	236/29
M	James	Stanley William	Marshall, Hazel Emma		1946	St. Alban’s, Mattawa	236/155
B	James	Violet Louise		William & Mary	1909	St. Alban’s, Mattawa	236/22
M	James	Warren Alexander	Prescott, Valerie Edith		1962	St. Alban’s, Mattawa	610/36
B	James	William Henry		William J. & Mary	1900	St. Alban’s, Mattawa	236/17

Alexander Pennell, b. 1892, son of George Matthew Pennell (Gramma Smith’s brother) and Charlotte Edmunds.  This Alex served 4 years in WW1 as a gunner.  He was severely wounded twice and sent to England where he met his future wife, Dorothy Rhodes, a nurse.  Alex worked as a Game Warden in Gravenhurst.  He had one child, Gabriel Pennell.  Alexander’s brother was Herb Pennell, who also served in WW1.

Alexander Pennell’s brother, Richard William Pennell married Carrie Sullivan (Melvin’s sister). He was a Fireman. Their children were Walter Pennell and Austin Pennell. Then Richard married Mary Ellen Farmer (Aunt Hazel’s sister).  One of their children was Alex Cecil Pennell who would be the Alex Pennell who is buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery.