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Williams Family

  • RC0183
  • Family
  • 1793-1930

Lord Alfred Spencer Churchill was the second son of the sixth Duke of Marlborough (1793-1857). He was born on 24 April 1842. He served in the military and also as Member of Parliament for Woodstock, 1845-1847 and 1857-1865. He was a member of the Society of Arts, serving as chairman, 1875-1880. He married Harriett Gough-Calthorpe in 1857. Their daughter, Adeline ("Daisy") Spencer Churchill was born in 1861. Lord Alfred died in London on 21 September 1893. His daughter married Colonel William Hugh Williams on 1 August 1895. They had two sons, Herbrand Alfred Collam ("Sam") Williams, born 30 June 1896, and Geoffrey Williams. Both sons served during World War I. Herbrand was a Lieutenant in the 3rd Battalion, Kings Royal Rifle Corps. He later rose to the rank of Captain. Herbrand married a Russian, Xenia Poushkine, on 8 April 1927. Geoffrey served on H.M.S. Queen, H.M.S. St. Vincent and H.M.S. Dragon.

Trotter family

  • RC0133
  • Family
  • 1853-1984

Thomas Trotter was born in England in 1853. He held pastorates in Woodstock, Ontario, Toronto and Wolfville, Nova Scotia and later in Toledo Ohio. From 1890-1895 he taught Homelitics and Pastoral Theology at McMaster University. From 1897 until 1908, he was President of Acadia University. He returned to McMaster University in 1910 as Professor of Practical Theology and remained there until his death in 1918.

Ellen Maud (Freeman) Trotter was born in 1860 in Wolfville, N.S. She taught school in Fredericton and Saint John before attending Wellesley College in Boston for two years. In 1885 she went to Woodstock College as Lady Principal. She married Thomas Trotter in 1887. After his death she served for ten years as Dean of Wallingford Hall at McMaster University in Toronto. She was editor of The Canadian Missionary Link and then editor of the foreign news section of the successor publication The Link and Visitor until 1934. She died in Toronto in 1938.

Reginald George Trotter was born in Woodstock in 1888. After attending Acadia and McMaster universities, he accompanied his brother Bernard to California. He taught at the Thacher school and then went to Yale where he graduated in 1911. To earn money for graduate school he taught again at Thacher school for three years before going to Harvard in 1914. He taught history at Stanford University from 1919-1924 and then at Queen’s University, Kingston until his death in 1951.

Marjorie Trotter was born in Toronto in 1894. After graduation from Moulton College in 1913, she attended McMaster intermittently and graduated with a B.A. in 1923. In 1930 she became Principal of Moulton College in Toronto. After retirement in 1952, she taught for three years in Greece. She died in Toronto in 1970.

Frances Trotter was born in Wolfville in 1899. She attended Moulton College and then graduated from McMaster in 1922. She attended library school in Toronto and joined the Toronto Public Library where she worked until her retirement in 1964. She died in 1984.

Thompson Family

  • RC0170
  • Family
  • 1843-1933.

Sarah Robson was born on 19 October 1816. She married William Thomas Thompson in a Quaker ceremony on 9 February 1842 at Newcastle-on-Tyne. They had two sons, Thomas Phillips (born 25 November 1844; died 22 May 1933) and Theodore (born 2 September 1846; died 16 June 1874). The family emigrated to Canada in 1857, settled first in Lindsay, Ontario, and by 1865, moved to St. Catharines. In 1878 Sarah and her husband returned to England. They were back in North America in 1882, living in Charlottesville, Virginia. The couple died within a few hours of each other on 23-24 April 1883. Thomas Phillips Thompson, Pierre Berton's grandfather, was a journalist, author, and labour organizer. He wrote under the nom de plume of "Jimuel Briggs". He married Delia Florence Fisher on 2 March 1872. One of their children was Laura Beatrice Thompson (born 13 March 1878), the mother of Lucy Woodward and Pierre Berton.

Simpson-Reid Family

  • Family
  • 1786-

The Simpson and Reid families were both based in Aberdeen, Scotland during the early nineteenth century.

Thomas Bassett Reid, the patriarch of the Reid family, originally hailed from London. He was active as a bootmaker in that city from at least 1786. In 1820 he dissolved a business partnership with one Edward Eld, leaving the latter in control of all its assets, and sometime afterward he moved to Scotland.

There he met Lilly McLachlan of Aberdeen, whom he subsequently married in 1828. The banns were published in Glasgow and the two were wed at St. Cuthbert’s Church in Edinburgh, where the couple settled. They had at least five children: Thomas, Alexander, George (b. 1832), Anne (b. 1835), and Amelia. Some time after Anne's birth, the family relocated to Aberdeen, which was to be their home for a generation.

Thomas the elder, the family patriarch, died sometime prior to 1851; his daughter Amelia died in 1857.

Thomas the younger served in the British Army; being appointed assistant surgeon in 1851 and full surgeon in 1858. During this time period — which coincided with the Rebellion of 1857 — he served for several years in India. His correspondence home provides a valuable insight into his life and impressions during this period. After returning home, he enrolled in medical school at the University of Aberdeen and subsequently became a licensed physician. He later set up a private practise in Aberdeen.

His younger brother George, an engineer, died at Suez (presumably during the construction of the canal) in 1865, leaving all his worldly goods to his mother Lilly.

Anne, a teacher by profession, married James Walker Simpson in 1861. By the time of their wedding, neither of James’ parents (James and Margaret) were still living.

Little is known of Alexander’s education and life save that he followed in his elder brother’s footsteps and became, like Thomas, a physician.

Over the course of the late nineteenth century, at least one branch of the family relocated to Canada. Alexander, his sister Anne, and her husband James Simpson all made the journey during this period. Alexander settled in Hamilton, and James is known to have relocated to Montreal some time prior to 1911.

In spite of time and distance, the Simpson, MacLachlan, and Reid families remained in contact for many years. Descendents of the family live in and around Hamilton to this day.

Secord Family

  • RC0622
  • Family
  • [18--]-

The Secord family settled in Barton township, county of Wentworth, Ontario. The Secord family was connected by marriage with the Powell and Miles families.

Samuel and Nathaniel Buck

  • RC0832
  • Family
  • 1696-1779

Samuel (1696-1779) and Nathaniel Buck were English engravers and print makers known for their depictions of castles and landscapes.

In 1727, Samuel Buck and his brother Nathaniel commenced sketching and engraving a series on the architectural remains of England and Wales. This series included 83 engravings of 70 principal towns in England and Wales. This endeavour took 28 years to complete, and differences in their style can be noted over time. Later engravings often include figures and subtler landscapes in the foreground. In 1774, Robert Sayer obtained the plates, added page numbers to them, and published them as Buck's Antiquities.

Powys family

  • RC0182
  • Family
  • 1872-1963

The brothers John Cowper Powys, Theodore Francis Powys and Llewelyn Powys were members of a family of eleven children born to the Reverend C.F. Powys, an Anglican clergyman and vicar of Montacute, and his wife Mary-Cowper Johnson, a descendant of the poet William Cowper.

John Cowper Powys was born on 8 October 1872 in Shirley, Derbyshire. He was a novelist, essayist, poet and lecturer. He attended Corpus Christi College (M.A.) and was awarded an honorary doctor of letters from the University of Wales. He was a lecturer in England and United States, spending nearly thirty years there, mostly based in New York city. He married Margaret Alice Lyon in 1896 and had one son. He published the novels Wolf Solent (1929), A Glastonbury Romance (1932), and Owen Glendower (1940). His essays include The Meaning of Culture (1930), The Pleasures of Literature (1938), and The Art of Growing Old (1943). He died on 17 June 1963 in Blaenau Ffestiniog, Merionieth, Wales.

T.F. Powys was born on 20 December 1875, in Shirley, Derbyshire. He attended Dorchester Grammar School. He was a farmer and ran his own farm, White House Farm at Suffolk, before “retiring” to Dorset to write. A man who rarely left home or travelled in a car, he married Violet Dodds in 1905 and had three children. From 1904-1940 he settled in the village of East Chaldon and wrote novels short stories and essays. His works, such as Black Irony (1923) and Mr. Weston’s Good Wine (1927), are set in Dorset. He also wrote a number of short stories and fables. T.F. Powys died on 27 November 1953.

Llewelyn Powys was born at Rothesay House, South Walks, Dorchester on 13 August 1884 and spent his childhood in Montacute, Somerset. As an adult he lived for periods in Kenya, the United States, Dorset and Switzerland. He wrote 26 books, amongst them Black Laughter about life in Africa, Skin for Skin, a memoir of his residence in a Swiss sanatorium for tuberculosis, and Impassioned Clay, a statement of his philosophical outlook. He died in 1939.

Philp brothers

  • RC0418
  • Family
  • 1896-1968

The Philp brothers both enlisted to serve in World War I, Herbert (1889-1920) on 23 September 1914 and Norman (1896-1968) on 10 May 1915. Their parents were Mary Elizabeth Healey and William Philp, a bandmaster, and they lived in Guelph, Ont. One of their sisters, Helen Isabel Philp was the great-grandmother of the writer Trevor Cole.

Herb began his military service as a trumpeter in first Canadian Contingent, Divisional Signal Co. He later was assigned to the 8th Battalion of Winnipeg. He served in the battle of Passchendaele in November 1917 and received the Mons Star on 13 January 1920. Although he returned to Canada, he died of pneumonia on 19 January 1920 at the age of 31. At the time of his death he was on the editorial staff of the Guelph Mercury.

Herb wrote letters home which were published in the local newspaper, the Daily Courier, beginning with “Good Omen Meets Canadian Contingent” which was written on 17 October 1914. His letters were also published in the Guelph Evening Mercury and Advertiser. He describes the third Battle of Ypres, June 1916. His writing continues to 1919 when he describes the occupation of Germany. He collapsed shortly thereafter. His brother Norman also wrote letters home which were published. He served with the Canadian Ordnance Corps.

McDaniel Family

  • RC0332
  • Family
  • 1916-2005

Cpt. Bernard J. “Ben” McDaniel (1884-1947) was born in Margaree, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. In 1916, having moved to Saskatchewan, he joined the 209th Infantry Battalion of the CEF as a lieutenant. McDaniel then went on to practice law in Regina, rising to the status of King's Counsel. A Liberal, he entered politics by winning a provincial by-election for the riding of Regina City in 1938 but lost his seat in the general election of 1944. He was also a member of the local council of the Knights of Columbus and of a Saskatchewan Maritime association. Bernard J. McDaniel died in 1947. While in England during the First World War, he married Beatrice “Beattie” Minshull (b. 1895). She was the daughter of Frank Minshull (1863-1941) and his wife Anne, who by 1940 lived at Fordcombe in Kent. Beatrice had four sisters, Gertrude (Mrs. Bertschinger of Guildford, Surrey), Hilda, and Olive (also in England) and Jessie (Mrs. William Higginson of Windsor, Ontario) in Canada. Beatrice was active in several organizations in Regina, often connected with Liberal politics, and was an accomplished pianist.

Bernard J. McDaniel and Beatrice Minshull had five children. During the Second World War, the two elder sons joined the RCAF. Bernard M. “Bain” McDaniel studied at No. 1 Technical Training School in St. Thomas, Ontario in 1940 as an aircraft maintenance crewman. After a brief time at No. 4 Service Flying Training School in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in 1941, he departed for England at the end of the year. He was assigned to No. 408 (Goose) squadron, working on a variety of bomber aircraft. For a time he was attached to No. 9408 Echelon. He met Gwen Murray of Stonehouse, Scotland while stationed at Leeming, Yorkshire, and they were married in June 1944, leaving for Canada early in 1945. Francis Joseph “Wit” McDaniel (1921-2005?), his younger brother, also studied at No. 1 TTS in St. Thomas, and thereafter spent time at No. 5 Bombing and Gunnery School in Dafoe, Manitoba. He embarked for England in May 1942. There he served as ground crew with No. 409 (Nighthawk) squadron. He was briefly attached to 3063 Echelon. In May 1944 he transferred to No. 408 squadron, his brother’s unit. He returned to Canada in the middle of 1945. Their friends from Saskatchewan in military service included P/O Bernard Heintz and O/S Charles “Baz” Bazinet. The other McDaniel children remained in Regina during the war: Muriel “Babe” McDaniel (b. 1924); Mildred “Millie” McDaniel; and Maurice Roy “Maury” McDaniel (1931-2002).

Kilmaster family

  • RC0207
  • Family
  • [18--]-[19--]

The Kilmaster family lived in Brantford, Ontario. There are documents relating to three family members in this fonds: George B., W.G., and Eliza, the widow of George A. Kilmaster. The only document pertaining to Eliza is her funeral notice of 23 January 1904. She died in South Walshingham. W.G. Kilmaster is noted as acting in the same play as George B. The remaining documents are all addressed to either George B. or Mr. Kilmaster. George Kilmaster was a Lance Corporal with the Dufferin Rifles of Brantford in the 1880s.

Jackson family

  • RC0623
  • Family
  • [19--]

Claude William Jackson served with the 5th London Regiment in World War I. His son, Allen Claude Jackson, served with the Royal Army Ordnance Corps and then the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during World War II. He was awarded the Burma Star.

Hurst family

  • RC0104
  • Family
  • 1894-

The fonds contains information largely relating to George Alexander Hurst (1894-?) and his daughter Jean M. Hurst (1921-). After serving in World War One, George Alexander Hurst married Kathleen May Coutts in 1920. During the 1930s and 1940s he was the secretary of the On-to-the-Bay Association (now known as the Hudson Bay Route Association), an organization dedicated to the promotion of the Hudson Bay Railway as an efficient and cost effective means for western farmers to transport grain to Europe. Completed in 1929, the railway extended from The Pas to Churchill, Manitoba. He also worked on the National Harbours Board, a group responsible for the business and service operations of ports across the nation (it is now known as Ports Canada). Jean Hurst worked as a librarian at Mills Library from 1944 until 1987; her career as a McMaster librarian is documented in her unpublished manuscript, “A Librarian's Recollections Mostly of McMaster, 1944-1987.”

Havens family

  • RC0518
  • Family
  • 1829-

William V. Havens was born in 1829. He lived much of his life in Aldborough, Elgin County, Ontario, with his wife Mary and daughter Ciscelia.

Harrison, Thomas and Mary

  • RC0097
  • Family
  • 1872-

The Harrison family traces its roots to Yorkshire, England. The family consisted of Thomas, a gentleman farmer, Mary (née Loy), and their children, Thomas, Richard, Gertrude, Hilda, Dorothy, Mary and Elsie. Correspondence to the parents reveals that son Thomas Loy Harrison, after serving for Great Britain in the Boer War (1899-1902) in South Africa, immigrated to Canada in 1902 and began farming in Saskatchewan. He later settled and continued to farm near Minnedosa, Manitoba and was joined by several siblings including Hilda, who came to Canada for health reasons, Mary and Gertrude. Gertrude married Jack Dyer whose family also owned farmland in the Minnedosa area. Mary Loy Harrison traveled to Canada in 1911 and returned to England where Thomas Sr. died in early December that same year. Bess Ready, wife of William B. Ready, McMaster University Librarian and Professor of Bibliography (1966-1979), was a daughter of Gertrude Harrison Dyer. Robin Harrison (1883-1953), a lawyer, immigrated to Canada in 1911 and settled in Minnedosa, Manitoba with several siblings. He practiced law there and served with distinction in World War I. A reference appears in the Manitoba Historical Society Archives.

Evans family

  • RC0901
  • Family
  • [18--]-

Robert and Susan Evans lived in London, England. They had two sons, Victor and Cecil and a daughter, Winifred. Not long before the start of the First World War they moved to a farm in Gaston, Oregon, and later to Portland. They maintained contact with a number of people in England, including Robert’s sister Emily, Susan’s sister Mary, and a family friend William Waterson.

Victor and Cecil Evans were brothers who fought in the First World War. Cecil (2557483) served as a gunner and Victor (2557484) was a driver.

Victor Roland Evans, 27 July 1896, and Cecil John Robert Evans, 7 April 1898, were born in London, England, to Susan and Robert Evans and later moved to Portland, Oregon. The brothers travelled together from Portland to Victoria, BC and enlisted on 1 March 1918.

Both brothers were sent to France and served with the Canadian Field Artillery.

Crombie Family

  • RC0001
  • Family
  • [17--]-

The Crombie family, still resident in Brant county, has antecedents in England, the Isle of Man and in Ireland. Some of their earliest ancestors were active in the British military service: Richard Hedges Cradock (married in 1767) served in America, Spain, Portugal, France and the West Indies and his son, Adam Williamson Cradock, established himself in Canada for a time before returning to Dublin.

One of the primary unifying links in this collection of family papers covering more than two centuries is Agnes Georgina Cradock (1839-1916) who although being born in Hamilton, Ont. lived in Ireland as a young girl, going back and forth to Canada with her family. She married Henry Archdall Wood in1861 and after his death in 1874, she married George Thomas Atkins in 1877. She died in Paris, Ont. The Atkins family were neighbours of the Cradocks; George’s father, Major Thomas Atkins, served in India before purchasing a property in West Flamborough in 1840. The elder daughter of Agnes and George, Hilda Georgina Isabella Atkins (1878-1949), married into the Crombie family. Edward Rubidge Crombie (1874-1937), Hilda’s husband, was a farmer and writer whose literary efforts form a significant part of this fonds. Their son Edward H. Crombie (1909-1994) married Margaret C. Reynolds (1918-2003), daughter of V. Ernest Reynolds and Estella M. Craig.

Clingan family

  • RC0624
  • Family
  • 1894-2009

George Francis Clingan (1894-1964) of Virden, Manitoba joined the Canadian military in October 1915. He remained in the military, serving with the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa during World War II. He was Commanding Officer in 1942. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. His daughter Peggy married Lt. Colin Murray who served with the 27th Canadian Infantry Brigade at the time it was based in Hannover, Germany as part of Canada's contribution to NATO.

Caiger family

  • RC0384
  • Family
  • 1889-

Percy Thomas Caiger was born on 3 November 1889 and entered the Post Office as a boy clerk in 1905. He became a career Civil Servant, retiring as Staff Officer with the Ministry of Food in 1947. During World War I he served as a Sergeant with the 60th (London) Divisional Cyclist Co. He was a founding member and Hon. Secretary of the Old Comrades' Association. He died on 27 February 1953.

L/Cpl. Eric Caiger served in the Royal Suffolk Regiment of Great Britain during World War II.

Arnold family

  • RC0392
  • Family
  • 1930s

The Arnold family lived in Kitchener, Ontario in the 1930s. They had an interest in travel as well as aviation.

Anholt and van Dijk family

  • RC0405
  • Family
  • 1930-

Emma van Dijk was born in 1930, to Philp and Juliette van Dijk. Philp and Juliette divorced when Emma was six years old. Philip married Keetje Kalf in 1941. Juliette and Emma took on different identities when the Nazis invaded the Netherlands. Emma was a hidden child. Her father and step-mother were killed in the Holocaust.