Author: admin

• Thunderstorms and Lightning
  (from Wayne’s Storyworth memories) These events happened a lot on our farm in the 60’s. Mom was terrified of them. She would get us all out of bed and down to the living room. Often the power was out so we all sat in the dark till it has over. In the dark you could look out the window and watch the lightning racing across the sky. You would often see Beatrice, Melvin and Randy Sullivan driving around in the middle of the night. Beatrice was so afraid she wouldn’t even stay in the house. The belief was that… Read more: Thunderstorms and Lightning
• Making Butter
  (Wayne’s Storyworth) Before the government decided that only their supporters could sell milk , farmers had a way of making a few dollars by selling milk, cream and butter.(More on this in a future story about Chester). We had many chores on the farm in the 60’s . I was six years old in 1960 and was expected to contribute to the vast enterprise of dads farm when I was able to walk and carry something. Often what I had gladly done to be more like dad quickly turned into something that I wished I had never learned how… Read more: Making Butter
• Flying Emmett (Wayne’s Storyworth)
  Answering the question “Have you ver feared for your life?” Dads tractor had no brakes among other broken stuff . Learning to drive this way was truly dangerous. Its funny how it became normal to expect things to suddenly go from boring to near death in a few seconds on the farm.  We were haying in the back field which required going over a hill to get to and from the field.  The normal setup was Dad on the tractor pulling the baler with Emmett on the wagon behind the baler stacking the bales. The second tractor sat idle.… Read more: Flying Emmett (Wayne’s Storyworth)
• Favourite Childhood Memories
  Lets see. Getting my Electric Train. Getting my Mold Master. Using Wendy’s Easy Bake Oven. Getting my Red Tractor when I was two(That I still have) Christmas in General Phillip coming for a visit in the summer (we built the tree house together) The sound of rain on the roof (I could sleep in, didn’t have to work) Hiding in my tree house (having a smoke). Building the tree house. Learning to drive the tractor ( I was about 5 ) Going swimming at Joe and Jake’s Going swimming at Edna and Cliff’s Going swimming at Champlain park and… Read more: Favourite Childhood Memories
• My Childhood Bedroom
  My bedroom from when I can remember till we moved away from Rutherglen when I was 13 in 1967. It was on the second floor north-east corner of the old farm house. Part of the ceiling was slanted to match the roof of the house. It had one window facing east. Had bunk beds with wagon wheels on them on the North side. Had a tall dresser on the south-west corner. Book shelf on north-east corner. Closet with a door north-west corner.  I can remember catching fire flies and letting them go in my room at night. I could… Read more: My Childhood Bedroom
• My Hospital Adventures
  Oh yes . I was there several times. I can remember four.  It was a 20 mile drive from Rutherglen to the Civic Hospital in North Bay Ontario. Once for stitches on my right knee. Caused by a peace of glass on the ground and wearing short pants .  Once to get a sliver ( it was very large ) removed from beside my right eye. Caused by following Buster under a spruce tree without paying attention. Once to get a burn on my back bandaged up. Caused by reaching across the kitchen table and bumping moms arm that… Read more: My Hospital Adventures
• Music in My Life
  In the beginning I tried to take piano lessons from Aunt Edna. This didn’t work out. I couldn’t sit still long enough. Music was all around me however when I was little.  Uncle Emmett was an excellent fiddle player . He competed in fiddle contests in Mattawa and won a few. He also played at square dances . Its a shame he didn’t make use of this skill when he retired. I think he tried giving some lessons .I guess living in Rutherglen wasn’t a great place for a music teacher. Elmo’s wife Marie was a fiddle player too.… Read more: Music in My Life
• Childhood Moves
  Yes we moved in 1968. I Was 13 and living in Rutherglen ,Ontario GPS co-ordinates 46.256409, -79.080538. Dad and his brother Emmett ran 400 acres as partners . Dad also drove school bus to make ends meet. Dad slipped a disk in his back throwing hay ,around the summer of 1966. The building they where putting the hay into was an old brick school house. It was never intended to store hay in . The windows where too small and too high off the ground. They should have knocked a bigger hole in the school house. It was difficult… Read more: Childhood Moves
• Christmases
  The best Christmas we had was when I rented the chalet on Sylvan Lake in Alberta. But I already told that story. Most Christmas’s we managed to get together some where. Red Deer , Bentwood Bay, Saskatoon . It depends a lot on the weather . Last year 2023 was great there was no snow believe it or not. We drove to Red Deer no problem. I can remember when we lived in Blind River we would load the kids into the car and head for Timmins then load them up again and head from Timmins to North Bay.… Read more: Christmases
• Pets I Had
  I grew up on a farm so my world was full of animals. Not many were considered pets however ,even my dog Buster had a job to do . We had 1 dog, 13 cats , 20 cows , 1 bull, 2 horses , 50 chickens , 1 rooster, 20 sheep and  1 pig. Busters was the same age as me and was sort of my brother. He was a white and orange border coley(Heinz 57) .His job was to bark like crazy if any wild animals came around . He saved my life once by attacking the bull… Read more: Pets I Had
• Admiration for My Dad (by Wayne Smith)
  Dad was a farmer who quit farming when he was 50 because he hurt his back. To go from farming to being an hourly paid employee took a lot of courage. With some help from his friends he pulled it off.  One of dads sayings was “If you can’t say anything good about somebody don’t say anything at all” . Dad was a past master of the Mattawa Masonic Lodge 268. Much of what dad did was because he was a Mason. I know they helped many people that were in trouble. Dad was a supporter of the United… Read more: Admiration for My Dad (by Wayne Smith)
• Most Beautiful Places
  Helmcken Falls, in Wells Grey Provincial Park in BC.  Desolation Sound Marine Park , Lund , BC. I’ve been to Europe , Australia , Arizona  all over Canada but the two above are pretty unbelievable. To see Wells Grey properly you need a canoe and tent . You can see the falls with a car but not the volcanoes and true wilderness of the park .  Candle Lake Sask .. Northern Lights Candle Lake Sask .. 50 teenage Canada Geese with 5 mothers all in one flock on the beach. The mothers were watching me very carefully but they… Read more: Most Beautiful Places
• What was Mom like (from Wayne)
  What was my mom like? My mom was awesome. She always had my back . Even made my sisters angry because she spoiled me so much.  She was a city girl who had to become a farmers wife and she did most things better than the farm girls like. Knitting , CREWEL EMBROIDERY, CROCHET, QUILTING , SMOCKING , she made shirts and pants too. I learned knitting , embroidery and sewing from her. She was into many crafts too like copper tooling, paint by numbers. Mom was a leader / member of the 4H , UCW(United Church Women) and… Read more: What was Mom like (from Wayne)
• Simple Pleasures
  A drink of iced water. When doing hard work like loading and unloading wagons full of hay-bales on a hot summers day there’s nothing better. Camping . watching the fire burn and tending it. Going for a bike ride through the camp ground. Meeting different people at the camp ground. They all seem to have interesting stories about why they are at the camp ground. Like: just got divorced. Looking for a job in Alberta (They were from New Brunswick). Installing wind turbines in the summer and living in Florida in the winter. Watching the wild life .  The… Read more: Simple Pleasures
• Wayne’s Favourite Childhood Store
  My favorite store was “The Joke Shop” on main street in North Bay , Ontario. Why? You could buy itching powder and little fire crackers to put in cigarettes. The itching powder was sprinkled down my sisters back . The little fire crackers were pushed into the end of a cigarette . When somebody bummed a smoke you would give him the one with a fire cracker in it. When you lit the smoke for him it would blow up. The smoke ended up looking like a peeled banana.  The store had many neat things in it. (Originally written… Read more: Wayne’s Favourite Childhood Store
• Random Memories of Wayne and Wendy
  There’s a few things to point out in this picture. Dad had a push-lawnmower that he obviously hadn’t used in awhile. The tub was our “swimming pool”. My memories of it were very exciting. As you can see by my face I was totally happy. The “playhouse” is behind us. I’m told, it used to be the chicken coop and it was in a different location. But Dad moved it here for us to use as a playhouse. It also was very exciting. And then there’s Buster!! Our fantastic, great dog. Half collie, half husky. The best dog ever.… Read more: Random Memories of Wayne and Wendy
• The Clothes Line Stand
  This picture is one that I had developed from a box of negatives that I found in the old Pennell home in Rutherglen.  This clothesline stand is a big memory for me and was still there beside the porch door when we moved from house in 1968.  Although I can’t make out her face well, I’m assuming this is my grandmother, Alice Pennell. This stand was Buster’s (our family dog) summer home.  Off to the left, you can see someone on a ladder, likely picking apples from the small crab apple tree that was beside the house.  It was… Read more: The Clothes Line Stand
• Our Farm
  We moved from the farm in 1968.  Its hard to believe I was close to being 12 years old – I seemed so much younger. This is my “childhood” memory of the layout of the farm.  Aunt Liza’s (Eliza Pennell) house is no longer there and our house burnt to the ground some years after we moved.  The “Pioneer Baby Graves” (“Indian Baby Graves”) were not graves – that’s just what Dad said they were.  They were just different shaped mounds.   Wayne built a fabulous tree house in the Forest (bottom right).  The “Lamb Pasture Hill” (bottom centre) was… Read more: Our Farm
• Living in Rutherglen
  Introductory Memory from Wayne of the fields in front of the house: I can close my eyes and visualize just about any part of the farm. Its all still there. Getting a little foggy but still in pretty good shape. So let’s take a look at the front fields… On the left I see hay which also called timothy. It blows in the wind like waves on the ocean. In the middle on the field there was a rock with a sharp edge on the top of it. Dad had Fielding McLaren dig it out one year. There is… Read more: Living in Rutherglen

Throughout my childhood, I had no idea I was related to the Hones, much the same as I was totally naive to the fact I was related to Alice McLaren and her family. Yet I knew I was related to Alice’s sisters out west because I didn’t clue in that they were all siblings. Stupid. Alice and Kenny McLaren were always at all the family functions and I always wondered why.

HOWEVER, the Hones were never at family functions. I guess once relatives get too many times removed, they stop being invited or an imaginary line is drawn. I seem to remember Jim Hone telling me at some community function that we were cousins. In my mind, it was so distant that it was a gossamer relationship.

James Hone’s wife, Eliza Crew, was Rachel Crew’s (my great-grandmother) sister. The Hones and the Pennells came together to Canada on the S. S. Niger in 1871. They opened a brickmaking business in Carlton Place, but it didn’t work out. So they applied for land grants in Nipissing District and moved to the Rutherglen area to farm and built log homes. They were from London, England and could not have had any idea how to farm, as I suppose was the case with most British pioneers.

1. Bill Hatton 2.James Hone, young 3. Sarah Hone Wallace, 4.Maria Hone Carpenter, 5. Susan Hone Hatton, 6. Dick Carpenter and the 7. other – not sure. 8. Effie, Euphemia Hatton Scott (Frank Scott’s Mother)

Gathered at Pinelake to build the newer Hatton/Hone farmstead. The old log house where George Hone was born is in the background. George, son of James and Florence Gooderham Hone.
They built the new cedar farmhouse that we all visited and which is still standing at Pinelake.

Word document text sent with the photo

Effie is the original source of the deFawcett story and the Rutland story. http://nide.ca/2023/03/08/crew-history-tales-truths/(opens in a new tab)

I just watched a series on TV call 1883 – it was one of the most depressing depictions of pioneers trying to settle in American that I’ve ever seen. The Europeans who had such dreams and hopes for freedom and land ownership, so few actually made it to their destinations. They just didn’t have a clue what they were doing. I would hope that my pioneer ancestors didn’t have to deal with cold hearted bandits who would shoot you dead for your supplies and horses. At least I like to think Canada was a better place – naive?

One of my good friends in primary school in Rutherglen was Susie Hone. She was a petite little thing and super sweet. How I wish I’d realized she was my cousin! I remember my parents talking about George Hone, but really it was never “H”one, it was always George ‘Own – the H was always silent to my ears – funny to think that with an thick English accent, the H would be dropped and the phonetics was handed down for future generations outside of England.

Its only when I began the huge task of laying out the Hone family and their descendants that it is evident that the Hones are interwoven within the fabric of Rutherglen more so than the Crews or the Pennells. Their children’s, children’s, children’s, children still live in Rutherglen.

James and Eliza Hone are buried in St. Margaret’s Anglican Church cemetery in Rutherglen. When they immigrated to Canada, leaving their oldest, Elizabeth, behind, but bringing with them: Sarah, Susan, Job and Maria, then they had 4 more children in Canada: George, Elizabeth, Annie and James. My notes (from Myrtle Connolly) say that James “had a brickyard at Greenwich before moving to Estney Street, London”. Their oldest, Elizabeth married William Charles Higgs Owen on April 23, 1871, about 2 weeks before the S. S. Niger set sail. Myrtle’s notes say that Elizabeth moved into the Hone home (77 Estney Street?) when they left for Canada.

James and Eliza Hone’s children were:

• Elizabeth b. 1849 m. William Owen
• Sarah b. 1854 m. Edwin Nolan
  • James Hone (not a Nolan) (father: Best)
• Susan b. 1856 m. William Hatton
  • Eliza “Effie” b. 1896 m. Henry Scott (lived on Hwy. 17 next to Aunt Sadie “Sarah”)
  • Sarah “Sadie” m. Frank Wallace 1905 Andover, Maine
    • Robert Wesley b. 1920 m. Stella Sawchuck
    • James b. 1922 m. Edith Hone (cousins)
      • Stanley b, 1947 m. Sharon McClellan
    • Lois m. Wayne Graham
    • Dawn b. 1957
  • Frank b. 1935
• Job b. 1860
• Maria b. 1862 m. Richard Carpentor
• George
• Annie d. infancy
• James d. infancy

Sarah Hone had an illegitimate son in 1883 – James William Hone. Sarah then married Edwin Nolan, but Edwin Nolan refused to raise young James, so Eliza and James Sr. continued to keep him.¹ Kaye Edmonds found out from Iva Hone that the biological father of James Hones was Best who could have been from the Perth area.

¹ Kaye Edmonds, Email, January 13, 2001 “I know that they tell me in England that he was referred to as ‘a boy they where raising’. You know how it was in those days.”

George’s dad had no father, his mother was Sarah who married Noland after. He was raised by is grandfather James Hone and his grandmother Eliza Crew.

September 1994 Letter from Irene Hone

James married Florence Gooderham and they had the following children:

• George b. 1913 m. Irene Tyler
  • James Harvey m. Dorothy Oglestone
  • Ruth m. Wesley Sullivan
• Reuben b. 1914 m. Iva Livingston
  • Joyce m. George Cook
  • Judy
  • Linda m. Wayne Green (son of Andy Green)
  • Danny w. Patsy Backer
  • Susan (Susie) m. Randy Furlani
• Edith b. 1920 m. James Scott (her cousin)
  • Stan m. Sharon McLellan
  • Lois m. Wayne Graham
  • Dawn never married
  • Valerie (Edith’s obit says Valerie was her daughter)
• Florence b. 1916 m. Gordon Donaldson
  • Ann
  • Lynn
• Irene b. 1922 m. Kenneth Prescott
  • Richard m. Anna Foley
  • Valerie m. Warren James (son of Christy James, so distance cousins)
  • Ken
  • Kaye m. William Edmonds**

** Kaye is a brilliant amateur photographer and an avid genealogist. She’s done and shared a lot of research into the Hones, Prescotts and Edmonds. You can find Kaye on Facebook (20+) Kaye Edmonds | Facebook

Below are some memories of Jim and Dorothy’s wedding. As of this year (2023), they will have been married 60 years. Beautiful couple – beautiful people.

Below are memories of George and Irene Hone’s 60th Anniversary. Irene provided a lot of genealogy data to me.

Below is an article about Danny Hone from 2003. Danny is the son of Reuben Hone, nephew of George Hone above, and great-great-grandson of James and Eliza Hone.

Iva Hone (nee Livingston) – wife of Reuben Hone, great-grandson to James Hone and Eliza Crew

Thanks Mom for all the years of always saving the newspaper clippings at first for yourself and then for me.

J. J. C. Bradfield is by far our family history’s “claim to fame”. Its unfortunate that he is not known by the Canadian Crew descendants unless they read any family genealogy about the Australian immigration in the mid to late 1800s.

I’m not going into the history and stories surrounding J. J. C. Bradfield here because you can simply Google his name or buy or borrow a book about him from the library. I’ll only summarize:

John Job Crew Bradfield was the engineer behind the building the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the engineer behind creating the specs for another famous bridge in Australia – Story Bridge.

I will relate how I found out about him.

After my Dad died in 1988, and I began to deep-dive into my family history, I visited my cousin Myrtle Connolly in Ottawa. She was an avid family historian and she shared many documents and pictures with me, including letters she’d received from an Alice MacGregor in Australia. I then began to write to Alice myself. It was very exciting to get mail from Australia and, like Myrtle, Alice was very keen to share her family’s history with me – and the biggest story was John Job Crew Bradfield.

I didn’t dwell on it a lot then. I just thought it was great to have a smart relative who had a high-up job building a big bridge in a far off country.

A few years later my mom is remarried and takes a trip with her new husband overseas. She starts chatting with an Australian guy sitting beside her on the plane. My mom knew my Dad’s family history and knew that his grandmother was Rachel Crew and knew that some of the Crew’s immigrated to Australia. So that began the fateful conversation. This guy was over the moon that he was sitting beside a “relative” of J. J. C. Bradfield. I think he could have been Bradfield Fan Club president if there was one. He insisted on getting my mom’s address and sent her photocopies of information on Bradfield, including one of a book on him. It was then that I realized the J. J. C. Bradfield was somewhat of an Australian hero.

Of course, television has made our world so much smaller and “far away countries” are not so far anymore. I usually try and watch the New Years celebrations every year being broadcast from the Sydney Harbour Bridge and it really is a spectacular bridge.

It has been very difficult to pin down the ancestry of Susan Sheppard. Any documents that I can find that I believe to be associated with Susan, is signed with an X, and this is the same for William Crew her husband. So if neither of them could read or write, I’m not sure who determined the spelling of Sheppard as there are documents that could be related where the spelling is Shepherd.

I believe this is Susan and William’s marriage record of July 6, 1817.

Going back further than this has been a challenge. Especially when looking back attempting to link Susan Sheppard with the Marie deFawcett myth. There’s just nothing there.

Census records:

From the above I can safely conclude that Susan was born somewhere between 1799 and 1801, give or take a year on either side.

A crucial name in identifying which family is which is Hone.

In the 1851 census, in the household of William Crew is James Hone, son-in-law, is married Eliza and eventually they immigrated to Canada. Also living with the Crew family is Samuel Sheppard and his wife Sarah. Samuel is Susan Crew’s brother while Sarah’s maiden name is Hone. James Hone and Sarah Hone are siblings.

In the 1841 MEOT census, Samuel Sheppard and Sarah are with a Mary (age 21) and James Hone age 11. In the 1841 Lewisham census, Charles Sheppard, age 80, with Ann, age 50, with Daniel “Own” (Hone) who eventually married Mary Ann Swallow Sheppard. Also with the Sheppard family is Benjamin age 14 and an Elizabeth Brock age 10. I have no information on Elizabeth.

All information leads me to the conclusion that Susan Sheppard’s parents were Charles and Ann (Charles first wife). Two years after Susan married William Crew, in 1819, Charles (widower) marries Ann Swallow. Census indicates that Ann Swallows was 20 years younger than Charles.

So Susan’s mother is Ann somebody, I’m just not sure who. And NOT Marie deFawcett.

This seems the best candidate for the marriage of Charles Sheppard to Ann. This is Charles of Lewisham, who signs with an X. And the date of marriage is 2 years before Susan’s birth.

Basically what it comes down to is me “choosing” who I believe to be Susan’s mother: I choose Ann West.

Images of Susan and William Crew’s Children

These are basically the only children who lived to “adulthood” and to a time when pictures could be taken.

Bill Keech was born June 5, 1920 in North Bay, Ontario. He was the son of Lester William Keech (WW1) and grandson of Jane McNamara. After he graduated from North Bay Collegiate, he married Iola Grace Berry, December 2, 1939, who became a Registered Nurse.

He enlisted in the R.C.A.F. and received the rank of Flt. Lieut. during World War II. On April 27, 1942, Bill was shot down over Belgium and taken prisoner, spending three years in Stalag Luft-3, near Sagan. He participated in the operation of “The Great Escape”.

The tunnel had been under his bunk, but only a few prisoners made it to freedom. The Germans accidently fell into the escape hole and caught several men, and even though they had swiftly surrendered, they were shot.

After being released, Bill, along with many other former prisoners, were entertained at Windsor Castle by King George, Queen Elizabeth and their daughters. Bill returned home and enrolled at Western University in London, Ontario and graduated in medicine.

Bill practiced medicine in North Bay, Ontario, and after being Chief of Staff at both the Civic Hospital and St. Joseph’s Hospital, he retired on June 5, 1985. Bill then ran for council, won his seat and became the Deputy Mayor of North Bay.

Dr. Bill Keech, who as a member of North Bay City Council, lobbied hard to have City Hall declared smoke free and bring in non-smoking bylaws, hopes the addictive habit will one day be banned completely.

“As a physician, I realize the staggering number of people killed every year by smoking,” he observed. While he believes adults who are aware of the hazards of lighting up should still have the right to decide, “children are starting to smoke from a very young age” when they don’t even realize those health risks.

North Bay Nugget (newspaper), February 7, 1993

Jane was born in Ottawa September 1, 1875 and was the daughter of Elizabeth Pennell and James McNamara. Jane was a hairdresser. She died May 5, 1961 in Haileybury, Ontario.

Jane married William John Keech, son of Edwin James Keech and Elizabeth Forsey, all of England, on April 22, 1896, in Ewen, Michigan. William was a Butcher. The Keech’s arrived in Quebec City July 1, 1883. The Captain (Molson) had a farm at Sherbrooke and hired William, who stayed with the Molson family for two years. Then he moved to the U.S., meeting up with his brothers, George and Henry. William worked on river drives and lumber camps before finally opening his own business.

I have a lot of detail on Jane because her daughter was Myrtle Connolly who was an avid genealogist and family historian.

Jane was great friends with my grandmother, Alice Pennell (Smith). Even though my grandmother was Jane’s aunt, they were close to the same age.

Jane and William had 11 children:

There is a lot of information in my postings about the Pennells and the Crews where I give credit to Myrtle Connolly. Myrtle is Elizabeth Pennell’s granddaughter and Jane McNamara’s daughter.

Liza was born September 8, 1872, in Horton Twp., Ontario, the first child of Richard and Rachel Pennell to be born in Canada. She married John “Jack” James, the brother of William C. James who married her sister Mary Ann. Liza lived in a small house right across the road from our farm in Rutherglen.

Even though I never knew her, “Aunt Liza” was very much a part of my life and I explored her abandoned home many times. Liza died March 6, 1955 in a sanatorium in Gravenhurst, Ontario from tuberculosis. She is buried at St. Margaret’s Anglican Church cemetery in Rutherglen.

Descendants of Eliza Pennell

• Alma Alice James m. George Ewart Latimer
  • Mervin Latimer
  • Beulah Latimer
  • Escar Latimer
• Cecil Frank James m. Marie Tremblay
  • son
  • Leonard James
• Escar John James b. 1896, d. 1896
• Eric James b. 1902, d. 1950, m. Gertrude Sampson. Eric died after a lengthy illness.

Mary was born January 19, 1868 in Greenwich, England. She immigrated with her family on the S. S. Niger from Liverpool to Quebec City when she was only 3. She married William C. James of Rutherglen, who was the brother of John “Jack” James who married her sister Eliza. Mary died October 3, 1955 in North Bay, Ontario.

Note picture in gallery of “Mary – Adopted”:

The family gossip is that Mary and William “adopted” a daughter Mary. Mrs. McNeilly felt that Mary was overworking the adopted daughter, so took her from Mary and William to the United States. I have no idea is this is true or who this “Mrs. McNeilly” is. But this is a picture of the adopted daughter Mary and her husband.

Descendants of Mary Ann & William James

• Christopher “Christi” Richard James b. 1885 m. Mary Jane Campbell [FGS* from Bernice Hunt]
  • Grenville Campbell James, b. 1916, m. Irene “Renie” Sullivan
  • Marshall George James, b. 1923, m. Olive Elizabeth Carruthers
  • Stanley William James, b. 1914, m. Hazel Emma Shute
  • Robert Manly James, b. 1921, m. Florence McKenney
  • Bernice Marie James, b. 1925, m. Edward Donald Hunt
    • Margaret Mary Hunt b. 1950
      • Michael Wayne Hunt
    • Alice Elizabeth “Betty” Hunt, b. 1953, d. 1977, m. Ian Gilmore
    • Dennis Edward Hunt, b. 1946, m. Barbara Frost
  • Ross Christopher James, b. 1912 m. Edna Mary Johanna Hill (dau. of Johanna Eady, Leah’s sister)
  • Arnold Warren James m. Gertrude Rose (dau. of Tom and Blanche Rose)
  • Irene Dagmar James, b. 1919, m. John Anderson, b. 1900, m. 1944
    • Martha Mary Irene Anderson m. Richard Gibson
    • John Christopher Anderson m. Mary Ann Kirk
  • Kenneth Roderick James, b. 1927, m. Frances Mitchell
    • Richard Kenneth James m. Ellen Roache
    • Roderick Mitchell James m. Edna Wilsak
  • Clinton John James, b. ?, d. 1933 young
  • Warren Alexander James, b. 1932, m. Valerie Edith Prescott
  • Arnold Wilson James, b. 1933, m. Beth Gertrude Rose
• John Thomas Victor James, b. 1887, 59th Battalion WWI (picture below), member of Orange Lodge and Elk Lake Masonic Lodge, m. Annie Gertrude “Gerti” Smith (dau. of Willard Smith, widow of William Smith, son of Alexander Smith, Willard’s cousin. They had a son “Billy”.), then m. Julia McNulty [NOTE**]
  • Eleanor James w/Gerti, m. Lloyd Lewis
  • Ruth James w/Gerti, m. Lorne Pollard
    • Randy Pollard
    • Larry Pollard
    • Catherine Pollard (twin)
    • Carol Pollard (twin)
    • Cherryl Pollard
    • Tawny Pollard
    • Lorna Pollard
  • Jack James w/Julia
  • Dale James w/Julia
  • Darwin James w/Julia
  • Bill Smith James w/Julia
• James Richard James, b. 1889, m. I. McDonald, WWI vet (picture below)
• Rachel Sarah “Rae” James [picture below], b. 1891, m. R. Colbon
• Alice Maria James, b. 1894, member of Eastern Star, W.A., m. Samuel Stewart, d. 1953
  • Olive “Ollie” Stewart, m. J. R. Green
    • Lois Green
    • Donna Green
    • Jimmy Green, Airforce
  • Jean Stewart, m. Courtney Pennell
• Elizabeth “Lizzie” Frances James, b. 1894, m. Hugh Ferguson
• Florence “Flossie” James, b. 1897, m. P. Riddler
• William James, b. 1900, WWI veteran (picture below), m. Mary Ellen Steep
  • Delbert William James b. 1933 m. Lorna Mae Larson
    • Shane Colin James
    • Shauna Loreen James
• George Matthew James, b. 1902, m. Martha
  • Frankie James
  • Georgina James, m. Cecil Netickshik
• Russell Sylvester James, b. 1904, m. Yvonne Belaire
• Courtney Wilson James, b. 1906
• Violet Marie James, b. 1909, m. Geoffrey Louis Mussell
• Phyllis Eliza James, b. 1911, d. 1915 (funeral card says “Eliza” and grave marker says “Maria”, church record says she was born Phyllis Eliza, so I conclude the funeral card is wrong.)

**Two of the 4 sons of John and Julia are twins. Their marriage was rocky and at least three of the four sons spent time in jail and were known to be a part of the “Kelly Gang” of North Bay.

*FGS=Family Group Sheet

Frances was born May 15, 1865 in Land’s End, England, and would have celebrated her 6th birthday of the S. S. Niger when they immigrated from Liverpool, England to Quebec City. She married Reuben James Smith (not related to my Smiths), on October 22, 1882 in Renfew, Ontario. Reuben was the son of William and Catherine Smith. Reuben and Frances lived in Rutherglen for a short time in the house across the Trunk Road from the maple tree hill once owned by Richard and Rachel Pennell. Some may remember it as Carl and Millie Sullivan’s house.

Frances and Reuben eventually moved to Ewen, Michigan and Frances died there August 4, 1953.

Descendants of Frances Smith nee Pennell

• Mary Ann Smith b. 1884, Rutherglen; m. John McLoughlin
  • George William McLoughlin, Dr., b.1904, WWII veteran
  • Frances Ann McLoughlin
  • Mary Ann McLoughlin
  • John Smith McLoughlin
  • Masie McLoughlin
• William Richard Alexander Smith b. 1886
• Catherine Smith b. 1888
• George Calvin Smith b. 1890
• Reuben James Martin Smith b. 1893, m. Margaret Johnson
  • Henry James Pennell Smith, WWII vet, decorated for bravery, Bronze Medal, Star Medal, Purple Heart
  • Nellie Margaret Smith m. Rowloff; Nellie was a composer
  • William Richard Smith [Myrtle records show “Sgt.”, but I can’t find any military records for him]
  • Frances Ann Smith
  • Mary Catherine Smith
  • Martin Edwin Smith
  • Floy Gertrude Smith
  • John Herbert Smith
• Elizabeth Smith b. 1894
• John Smith b. 1904

Addressed to Mrs. N. Smith
Rutherglen, Ontario, Canada
Post marked February 1918

Dear Alice, this is a store that was here when you were here. It was called Hargraves Store then. Do you remember it. Love to all from sister Frances.

July 2, 1950

My Dear Sister and all

Just received your letter with the sad news of Eric’s death. I cannot tell you how sorry I feel for you all. It is so hard to see our loved one pass away and so young and there is nothing we can do for them. But we must be brave and put our trust in our heavenly Father and know its His will and its all for the best and ask him to give us strength to bear it and he will confort us in all our sorrow and after a while we will see them. God knows best what is best for us although it seems very hard to us now.

I am so very sorry that I am so far away and can not go to see you but I send you all my deepest sympathy and love. May God bless you all. I can’t write much for my eyes are getting so bad. I am almost blind. I am not well and getting weaker all the time. My arm has never got strong as to do all I can with one hand. We are having some cold weather here and rains every day and have just got word that I have another Great-Great-Grand child, Mary Ann had a baby boy. It was a surprise to me for the little girl was only one year old in January. [Pictured above] I think this is all for this time. Will try to write you soon. So with love and best wishes and God Bless you all.

from Sister Frances & John

Susan was born September 27,1860 in London, England and died one month later. She is buried at Forest Hill Cemetery (Plot#1269).

Rachel was born in 1862 in London, England and in infancy.