Chapter 5: Henry Lewis and Elizabeth Barnes
Henry Lewis and Elizabeth Barnes immigrated to Canada from England about 20 years before William Ross and
Isabella Murray immigrated to Canada from Scotland. Like the Ross family, the Lewis family used
‘chain migration’. Henry came to Canada first, and the rest of the family followed later.
This was a common pattern, and Genealogists look for it whenever there is a gap between
the last child born in the old country and the first child born in Canada.
Henry Lewis was born in Sudbury, Suffolk, England on March 23, 1823. This date was obtained from his Death Registration in Ontario, and we believe it is correct. There was some confusion about his year of birth. An incorrect year (1812) was carved on the Lewis gravestone in Zion Cemetery, and both years were printed in the Death Notice in the Wiarton Echo:
Elizabeth Barnes was born in Alford, Lincolnshire, England on May 19, 1824. Alford and Sudbury are in the southeast of England, about 115 miles apart.
We don’t know what Henry Lewis did as a young man in England. He might have worked on railway construction, which was the first job he had when he came to Canada. That could be how he got to Alford to meet Elizabeth Barnes, but we don’t really know.
In any case, Henry Lewis and Elizabeth Barnes were married in Alford, Lincolnshire. We have not found the exact date. Their first child was Frances Lewis, born in the District of Spilsby in December, 1844. Their second child was Henry2 Lewis, also born in the District of Spilsby, in June 1849. The town of Alford is in the District of Spilsby.
The 1851 Census of England shows Henry and Elizabeth Lewis living in Great Grimsby, Lincolnshire. Their son Henry2, age 1, is living with them. Their daughter Frances, age 6, is living with an aunt and uncle in Alford. Henry recorded his occupation as labourer.
Their third child was a daughter, Sarah Lewis, born in England in March 1853.
Henry2 Lewis and Sarah Lewis were both careless when they gave their ages to future census takers in Canada. This causes confusion when census records are reviewed, because the ages vary considerably from census to census. We are quite sure that Henry2 was born in 1849 and that Sarah was born in 1853, and that the conflicting information in some Canadian records is incorrect.
In 1854 Henry Lewis immigrated to Canada. The book ‘Green Meadows and Golden Sands’ (GMGS) tells us that Henry came first, and found work building the Buffalo railroad. A brief history of this project follows:
‘In the early 1850’s, a group of citizens from the Brantford, Buffalo and Goderich areas began investigating the possibilities of constructing a railway. The reasons for each community were straightforward. Buffalo was looking to expand its local trade area and influence, protect its water based transport route via the Erie Canal to New York City, and for an improved trade route to regions on Lake Huron and points west (grain traffic from Chicago). Brantford, having been bypassed by the Great Western Railway, was as well hoping to broaden avenues of trade, market and influence. Meanwhile, Goderich, the administrative centre for the Canada Land Company with significant land holdings and harbour rights, was looking for an improved use of its acquired lands. This all led to the incorporation of the Buffalo & Brantford Joint Stock Railroad Company in 1851, a name that was changed to the Buffalo, Brantford & Goderich Railway Company in 1852. Funding was found from the communities participating, and by 1856, the company had completed 83 miles of track between Fort Erie and Paris. Service was inaugurated shortly thereafter.
By mid 1856, train service was halted given the dangerous condition of the track bed, embankments and bridges, and the company had used up all available funding. Entirely bankrupted, the company was reorganized in 1856 as the Buffalo & Lake Huron Railway Company. Construction and railway service recommenced and by September 1857, the line was well advanced between Paris and Goderich.’
GMGS also tells us that Elizabeth Lewis and her three children were reunited with Henry Lewis in Paris, Ontario, after a six-week voyage from England to New York on a sailing vessel named the ‘Emily Smile’. In fact, the name of the sailing vessel was the ‘Emerald Isle’. This was a transcription error, resulting from the fact that much of the information in GMGS was written down by one of the older residents of Park Head as it was being recalled by another.
The Emerald Isle was a sailing vessel built in the United States to capitalize on the business opportunity to transport the large numbers of immigrants coming from Ireland at that time. The Lewis family sailed from Liverpool to New York, arriving on April 24, 1855.
On November 19, 1857, Annie Elizabeth Lewis was born in Goderich, Ontario. Annie was the fourth child of Henry and Elizabeth Lewis, and the first born in Canada. She will become one of the central figures in this book. We can assume that Henry was still working for the Buffalo Railroad, which had just reached Goderich in 1857.
At the same time that work was winding down on the Buffalo Railroad, a sale of Indian Lands was being announced at Owen Sound. The area known as the Indian Peninsula was one of the last areas of the Queen’s Bush left unsettled. A treaty signed in October 1854 had made this land available for homesteading.
‘At Owen Sound on Tuesday September 2, 1856, and following days, will be sold at public auction about 144,800 acres of Wild Land, consisting of the Townships of Keppel and Amabel . . . The terms will be one-third of the whole purchase price in cash at the time of sale, and the balance to be paid in six equal annual instalments with interest at 6 per cent per annum.’
We don’t know exactly what attracted Henry Lewis and his family to homesteading, or if Henry had any experience in farming. He may have come from a farming background in England, or maybe Elizabeth did. In any case, Henry Lewis purchased Lot 5 on Concession 5 in Amabel Township, and the story now moves to the area around the little village of Park Head.
The land had been surveyed and the future farms and roads were laid out in the pattern used in Southern Ontario. The roads were 1.25 miles apart, which was exactly 100 chains (one chain is equal to 66 feet). The farms were all 20 chains wide and 50 chains deep, making an area of 1000 square chains or 100 acres. A map of Amabel Township is shown below, with the Lewis farm marked with the letter ‘E’.
Henry Lewis was born in Sudbury, Suffolk, England on March 23, 1823. This date was obtained from his Death Registration in Ontario, and we believe it is correct. There was some confusion about his year of birth. An incorrect year (1812) was carved on the Lewis gravestone in Zion Cemetery, and both years were printed in the Death Notice in the Wiarton Echo:
|
April 8, 1909
‘Died: Lewis W. Henry Lewis of Park Head on March 22, 1909 age 86 years. (1812- 1909) was pioneer settler of Amabel Township coming in September 1858. Was preceded by Wm. Simpson 1855 and Edwin Spencer who settled about that time just across the road in Keppel Township. He had been an invalid the last 3 years, was born in Sudbury, Suffolk, England in March 1823 (1812?) married Miss (Elizabeth) Barnes of Alford, Lincolnshire in 1844 and came to Canada in 1854. He is survived by his aged widow and family of four sons and four daughters, 28 grandchildren and 22 great grandchildren. Children are Miss Frances Lewis of Staunten, Michigan, Henry Lewis of Emo, Rainey River, Mrs. Mayhew and Mrs. Longmire of Park Head, Mrs. John Walker formerly of Palmerston, now of Gravenhurst, Muskoka, Wellington of Park Head, John of Emo and Walter of Hope Bay. Willie Ross one of the victims of the Jones disaster was a grandson of Mr. Lewis.’ |
Elizabeth Barnes was born in Alford, Lincolnshire, England on May 19, 1824. Alford and Sudbury are in the southeast of England, about 115 miles apart.
We don’t know what Henry Lewis did as a young man in England. He might have worked on railway construction, which was the first job he had when he came to Canada. That could be how he got to Alford to meet Elizabeth Barnes, but we don’t really know.
In any case, Henry Lewis and Elizabeth Barnes were married in Alford, Lincolnshire. We have not found the exact date. Their first child was Frances Lewis, born in the District of Spilsby in December, 1844. Their second child was Henry2 Lewis, also born in the District of Spilsby, in June 1849. The town of Alford is in the District of Spilsby.
The 1851 Census of England shows Henry and Elizabeth Lewis living in Great Grimsby, Lincolnshire. Their son Henry2, age 1, is living with them. Their daughter Frances, age 6, is living with an aunt and uncle in Alford. Henry recorded his occupation as labourer.
Their third child was a daughter, Sarah Lewis, born in England in March 1853.
Henry2 Lewis and Sarah Lewis were both careless when they gave their ages to future census takers in Canada. This causes confusion when census records are reviewed, because the ages vary considerably from census to census. We are quite sure that Henry2 was born in 1849 and that Sarah was born in 1853, and that the conflicting information in some Canadian records is incorrect.
In 1854 Henry Lewis immigrated to Canada. The book ‘Green Meadows and Golden Sands’ (GMGS) tells us that Henry came first, and found work building the Buffalo railroad. A brief history of this project follows:
‘In the early 1850’s, a group of citizens from the Brantford, Buffalo and Goderich areas began investigating the possibilities of constructing a railway. The reasons for each community were straightforward. Buffalo was looking to expand its local trade area and influence, protect its water based transport route via the Erie Canal to New York City, and for an improved trade route to regions on Lake Huron and points west (grain traffic from Chicago). Brantford, having been bypassed by the Great Western Railway, was as well hoping to broaden avenues of trade, market and influence. Meanwhile, Goderich, the administrative centre for the Canada Land Company with significant land holdings and harbour rights, was looking for an improved use of its acquired lands. This all led to the incorporation of the Buffalo & Brantford Joint Stock Railroad Company in 1851, a name that was changed to the Buffalo, Brantford & Goderich Railway Company in 1852. Funding was found from the communities participating, and by 1856, the company had completed 83 miles of track between Fort Erie and Paris. Service was inaugurated shortly thereafter.
By mid 1856, train service was halted given the dangerous condition of the track bed, embankments and bridges, and the company had used up all available funding. Entirely bankrupted, the company was reorganized in 1856 as the Buffalo & Lake Huron Railway Company. Construction and railway service recommenced and by September 1857, the line was well advanced between Paris and Goderich.’
GMGS also tells us that Elizabeth Lewis and her three children were reunited with Henry Lewis in Paris, Ontario, after a six-week voyage from England to New York on a sailing vessel named the ‘Emily Smile’. In fact, the name of the sailing vessel was the ‘Emerald Isle’. This was a transcription error, resulting from the fact that much of the information in GMGS was written down by one of the older residents of Park Head as it was being recalled by another.
The Emerald Isle was a sailing vessel built in the United States to capitalize on the business opportunity to transport the large numbers of immigrants coming from Ireland at that time. The Lewis family sailed from Liverpool to New York, arriving on April 24, 1855.
On November 19, 1857, Annie Elizabeth Lewis was born in Goderich, Ontario. Annie was the fourth child of Henry and Elizabeth Lewis, and the first born in Canada. She will become one of the central figures in this book. We can assume that Henry was still working for the Buffalo Railroad, which had just reached Goderich in 1857.
At the same time that work was winding down on the Buffalo Railroad, a sale of Indian Lands was being announced at Owen Sound. The area known as the Indian Peninsula was one of the last areas of the Queen’s Bush left unsettled. A treaty signed in October 1854 had made this land available for homesteading.
‘At Owen Sound on Tuesday September 2, 1856, and following days, will be sold at public auction about 144,800 acres of Wild Land, consisting of the Townships of Keppel and Amabel . . . The terms will be one-third of the whole purchase price in cash at the time of sale, and the balance to be paid in six equal annual instalments with interest at 6 per cent per annum.’
We don’t know exactly what attracted Henry Lewis and his family to homesteading, or if Henry had any experience in farming. He may have come from a farming background in England, or maybe Elizabeth did. In any case, Henry Lewis purchased Lot 5 on Concession 5 in Amabel Township, and the story now moves to the area around the little village of Park Head.
The land had been surveyed and the future farms and roads were laid out in the pattern used in Southern Ontario. The roads were 1.25 miles apart, which was exactly 100 chains (one chain is equal to 66 feet). The farms were all 20 chains wide and 50 chains deep, making an area of 1000 square chains or 100 acres. A map of Amabel Township is shown below, with the Lewis farm marked with the letter ‘E’.
PLEASE CLICK ANYWHERE ON MAP TO MAGNIFY
Early Map of Amabel Township
The Lewis family arrived at Lot 5, Concession 5 on January 11, 1859. Henry was age 35, Elizabeth was 34,
Frances was 14, Henry2 was 9, Sarah was 5, and Annie was 1. They were the second family in the settlement.
Their only neighbours lived on Lot 1, Concession 5, one mile away in what would become the village of Park Head.
It is hard to imagine what it would have been like to arrive in mid winter. The land was covered with trees that needed to be cleared, so there was lots of work to do and no shortage of firewood. Their first log cabin had a dirt floor. According to GMGS, they did not even have tallow candles. The only light in the house was from wood slivers, lit with a flint and tinder. They must have arrived by wagon or sled, and brought food with them. The snow would have been deep, because Park Head is in a snow belt region just 7 miles east of Lake Huron.
According to GMGS, Henry2 Lewis learned to swing an ax at seven years old. His young sister Annie must have tried to copy her older brother. On Oct 25, 1861, when she was almost four years old, Annie Lewis cut off her little toe with an ax.
It was not an easy life for the first settlers in Amabel. They found the township covered with virgin forest. It took backbreaking labour to clear that forest away by hand, and they were not always rewarded with good soil. The original Lewis homestead is still a farm today, but Lot 6 next door has been abandoned and allowed to grow back to bush. In the 1950s Lot 6 was still being used as pasture land, but the soil was very thin and there were huge rocks everywhere.
Henry and Elizabeth Lewis were successful settlers, and more children were born on the farm – Mary Jane in 1860, Wellington in 1863, John in 1865, and Walter in 1867. The first school in the Park Head area was built on the Lewis property in 1867.
By 1871 the Lewis family was established in Park Head, and the family members were recorded in the 1871 Census.
1871 Census of Canada - Enumerated 2 Apr 1871
** Sarah was not recorded living on Lot 5. She had married and left home.
Four years later Annie Lewis married William2 Ross. Later chapters of this book will tell the stories of Annie and William2, and their descendants. For the sake of completeness, brief stories about Annie’s seven brothers and sisters will be included here, in sequence by age.
Frances Lewis:
Frances Lewis never married and was still living at home for the 1881 Census and for the 1891 Census. By 1901 she was gone. When her father died in 1909 she was living in Staunten, Michigan. The GMGS notes tell us she died in Los Angeles, at the age of 100. We don’t have any other information about her life.
Henry2 Lewis:
The GMGS notes tell us that Henry2 was working in Port Allegheny, Pennsylvania in 1873, peeling hemlock bolts used for tanning leather. By 1880 he was back in Park Head, where he married Eliza Jane Doubt on July 19, 1880. They had three children in Park Head, in 1881, 1886 and 1887.
Sometime after 1891 Henry and Eliza moved to Emo Township near Rainy River, Ontario to begin homesteading again. Two more children were born in Rainy River District, in 1897 and 1899. Eliza Jane Lewis died in 1905 at the age of 46. She is buried in Emo Cemetery. Henry2 Lewis moved on to Jumbo Butte, Saskatchewan in 1909, and began homesteading for a third time. He lived to be over 100 years old, and died in Regina, Saskatchewan.
Sarah Lewis:
Sarah Lewis was only 15 when she married Alfred Mayhew on September 21, 1868. Alfred Mayhew was 24. They lived in the Park Head area, and had nine children and at least 32 grandchildren.
Their youngest daughter was Pearl Mayhew, who married Joseph Stevenson. Three of the daughters of Joseph and Pearl Stevenson are in the photo below, which was taken at the Park Head School in 1917.
Sarah Lewis Mayhew died in Park Head on April 2, 1914, at the age of 61. She was buried in Zion Cemetery, where her father had been buried 5 years earlier. Alfred Mayhew died in Listowel, Ontario in 1929, and was brought back to Zion Cemetery for burial.
Mary Jane Lewis:
Mary Jane Lewis married John Walker on July 19, 1880, when she was age 20 and he was 24. Initially they lived in the Park Head area, on a farm near French Bay. They had four sons and at least 18 grandchildren. We have not completed the research for all the branches of this family.
Mary Jane appears to have been the closest sibling to her sister Annie. Her name will appear in future chapters, as Annie’s story is told. One of Mary Jane’s sons was Lewis Walker, who married Annie Spencer, the granddaughter of another pioneer family in Park Head. Lewis and Annie Walker had five children, three of whom also appear in the photo below.
It is hard to imagine what it would have been like to arrive in mid winter. The land was covered with trees that needed to be cleared, so there was lots of work to do and no shortage of firewood. Their first log cabin had a dirt floor. According to GMGS, they did not even have tallow candles. The only light in the house was from wood slivers, lit with a flint and tinder. They must have arrived by wagon or sled, and brought food with them. The snow would have been deep, because Park Head is in a snow belt region just 7 miles east of Lake Huron.
According to GMGS, Henry2 Lewis learned to swing an ax at seven years old. His young sister Annie must have tried to copy her older brother. On Oct 25, 1861, when she was almost four years old, Annie Lewis cut off her little toe with an ax.
It was not an easy life for the first settlers in Amabel. They found the township covered with virgin forest. It took backbreaking labour to clear that forest away by hand, and they were not always rewarded with good soil. The original Lewis homestead is still a farm today, but Lot 6 next door has been abandoned and allowed to grow back to bush. In the 1950s Lot 6 was still being used as pasture land, but the soil was very thin and there were huge rocks everywhere.
Henry and Elizabeth Lewis were successful settlers, and more children were born on the farm – Mary Jane in 1860, Wellington in 1863, John in 1865, and Walter in 1867. The first school in the Park Head area was built on the Lewis property in 1867.
By 1871 the Lewis family was established in Park Head, and the family members were recorded in the 1871 Census.
1871 Census of Canada - Enumerated 2 Apr 1871
| Name | Sex | Age | Married or Widowed | Occupation | Corrected Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henry | M | 48 | M | Farmer | 48 |
| Elizabeth | F | 47 | M | 46 | |
| Frances | F | 25 | Labourer | 26 | |
| Henry2 | M | 21 | Farmer | 22 | |
| Sarah** | 18 | ||||
| Annie | F | 13 | 13 | ||
| Mary Jane | F | 11 | 10 | ||
| Wellington | M | 8 | 7 | ||
| John | M | 5 | 5 | ||
| Walter | M | 3 | 3 |
** Sarah was not recorded living on Lot 5. She had married and left home.
Four years later Annie Lewis married William2 Ross. Later chapters of this book will tell the stories of Annie and William2, and their descendants. For the sake of completeness, brief stories about Annie’s seven brothers and sisters will be included here, in sequence by age.
Frances Lewis:
Frances Lewis never married and was still living at home for the 1881 Census and for the 1891 Census. By 1901 she was gone. When her father died in 1909 she was living in Staunten, Michigan. The GMGS notes tell us she died in Los Angeles, at the age of 100. We don’t have any other information about her life.
Henry2 Lewis:
The GMGS notes tell us that Henry2 was working in Port Allegheny, Pennsylvania in 1873, peeling hemlock bolts used for tanning leather. By 1880 he was back in Park Head, where he married Eliza Jane Doubt on July 19, 1880. They had three children in Park Head, in 1881, 1886 and 1887.
Sometime after 1891 Henry and Eliza moved to Emo Township near Rainy River, Ontario to begin homesteading again. Two more children were born in Rainy River District, in 1897 and 1899. Eliza Jane Lewis died in 1905 at the age of 46. She is buried in Emo Cemetery. Henry2 Lewis moved on to Jumbo Butte, Saskatchewan in 1909, and began homesteading for a third time. He lived to be over 100 years old, and died in Regina, Saskatchewan.
Sarah Lewis:
Sarah Lewis was only 15 when she married Alfred Mayhew on September 21, 1868. Alfred Mayhew was 24. They lived in the Park Head area, and had nine children and at least 32 grandchildren.
Their youngest daughter was Pearl Mayhew, who married Joseph Stevenson. Three of the daughters of Joseph and Pearl Stevenson are in the photo below, which was taken at the Park Head School in 1917.
Sarah Lewis Mayhew died in Park Head on April 2, 1914, at the age of 61. She was buried in Zion Cemetery, where her father had been buried 5 years earlier. Alfred Mayhew died in Listowel, Ontario in 1929, and was brought back to Zion Cemetery for burial.
Mary Jane Lewis:
Mary Jane Lewis married John Walker on July 19, 1880, when she was age 20 and he was 24. Initially they lived in the Park Head area, on a farm near French Bay. They had four sons and at least 18 grandchildren. We have not completed the research for all the branches of this family.
Mary Jane appears to have been the closest sibling to her sister Annie. Her name will appear in future chapters, as Annie’s story is told. One of Mary Jane’s sons was Lewis Walker, who married Annie Spencer, the granddaughter of another pioneer family in Park Head. Lewis and Annie Walker had five children, three of whom also appear in the photo below.
 No. 16 in 1917800.jpg)
PLEASE CLICK ANYWHERE ON IMAGE TO MAGNIFY
U.S.S. (United School Section) No. 16 in 1917
Three of the girls in this photo are Wilma, Evelyn, and Muriel Walker. They are the daughters of Lewis
Walker and Annie Spencer, and the granddaughters of Mary Jane Lewis. Three others are Guiulla, Gladys, and
Iona Stevenson. They are the daughters of Pearl Mayhew and Joseph Stevenson, and the granddaughters of Sarah
Lewis. They are all second cousins of each other, and of Eila and Bruce Ross, who are grandchildren of Annie
Lewis.
In 1907 John and Mary Jane Walker moved to Gravenhurst, Ontario, where Mary Jane died in 1923 at age 62. She is buried in Bracebridge United Church Cemetery.
Wellington Lewis:
William Wellington Lewis had a reputation for being one of the more colourful members of the Lewis family. He was 17 in 1881 when Annie Lewis returned to the family farm with her two boys, and he taught them life skills like how to chew tobacco and ‘spit quite a distance’.
Apparently Wellington had left home by 1891. He does not appear in the 1891 Census. The 1901 Census data shows us that Wellington was back home and living on the family farm. In 1901 Henry was 78, Elizabeth was 76, and Wellington was 37. He remained on the family farm and helped his aging parents.
Henry Lewis died in 1909 and Elizabeth Barnes Lewis died in 1914. Shortly before Elizabeth died, Wellington married Martha Montgomery on March 16, 1914. Wellington was age 50, and his bachelor days were over. I also observed this pattern in another farm family in Park Head that I knew quite well. Unmarried sons who stayed on the family farm with their widowed mothers often married very quickly when the mother died. A woman was needed to help run the farm.
Wellington and Martha Lewis sold the family farm to Newton Philip in 1926. His son Cameron Philip owned and operated the farm when I worked in Park Head in the early 1950s. Since then rural consolidation has taken place, and one owner operates four or more of the old 100-acre family farms. Lot 5 Concession 5 is now operated this way. The barn is not used and has fallen down. The house is still standing and is a rental property.
Wellington and Martha Lewis moved to Hepworth, where Martha died in 1928. Wellington also died in Hepworth, in 1934, at the age of 70. They are buried in the Lewis family plot in Zion Cemetery.
John Lewis:
John Alfred Nelson Lewis married Jessie Ann Matches on May 24, 1888, when they were both 23 years old. This created a connection with the Matches family, one of the other large pioneer families in Park Head.
After they were married, John and Jessie Lewis lived in Park Head for about 9 more years, and had five children there by 1896. Then they moved to Emo Township near Rainy River to begin homesteading again. They may have moved to Emo Township at the same time as Henry2 and Eliza Lewis, or perhaps just afterwards. They had four more children there, between 1898 and 1907. Two of their daughters were Margaret and Eva.
In 1907 John and Mary Jane Walker moved to Gravenhurst, Ontario, where Mary Jane died in 1923 at age 62. She is buried in Bracebridge United Church Cemetery.
Wellington Lewis:
William Wellington Lewis had a reputation for being one of the more colourful members of the Lewis family. He was 17 in 1881 when Annie Lewis returned to the family farm with her two boys, and he taught them life skills like how to chew tobacco and ‘spit quite a distance’.
Apparently Wellington had left home by 1891. He does not appear in the 1891 Census. The 1901 Census data shows us that Wellington was back home and living on the family farm. In 1901 Henry was 78, Elizabeth was 76, and Wellington was 37. He remained on the family farm and helped his aging parents.
Henry Lewis died in 1909 and Elizabeth Barnes Lewis died in 1914. Shortly before Elizabeth died, Wellington married Martha Montgomery on March 16, 1914. Wellington was age 50, and his bachelor days were over. I also observed this pattern in another farm family in Park Head that I knew quite well. Unmarried sons who stayed on the family farm with their widowed mothers often married very quickly when the mother died. A woman was needed to help run the farm.
Wellington and Martha Lewis sold the family farm to Newton Philip in 1926. His son Cameron Philip owned and operated the farm when I worked in Park Head in the early 1950s. Since then rural consolidation has taken place, and one owner operates four or more of the old 100-acre family farms. Lot 5 Concession 5 is now operated this way. The barn is not used and has fallen down. The house is still standing and is a rental property.
Wellington and Martha Lewis moved to Hepworth, where Martha died in 1928. Wellington also died in Hepworth, in 1934, at the age of 70. They are buried in the Lewis family plot in Zion Cemetery.
John Lewis:
John Alfred Nelson Lewis married Jessie Ann Matches on May 24, 1888, when they were both 23 years old. This created a connection with the Matches family, one of the other large pioneer families in Park Head.
After they were married, John and Jessie Lewis lived in Park Head for about 9 more years, and had five children there by 1896. Then they moved to Emo Township near Rainy River to begin homesteading again. They may have moved to Emo Township at the same time as Henry2 and Eliza Lewis, or perhaps just afterwards. They had four more children there, between 1898 and 1907. Two of their daughters were Margaret and Eva.
PLEASE CLICK ANYWHERE ON IMAGE TO MAGNIFY
John Lewis and Jessie Matches
Cornett Shannon married Margaret Lewis and they had 3 children; Elwood, Lila, and Harvey. Then Margaret Lewis died in the great influenza epidemic in 1919, and Cornett married her sister Eva. Cornett Shannon and Eva Lewis had 10 children; Leonard, Thelma, Bob, Ardeth, Fred, Muriel, Luella, Clayton, Patricia, and Keitha.
John and Jessie Lewis first lived on a farm near Barwick in Emo Township, Ontario. Later, John and Jessie Lewis moved across the border to the USA, where they had a farm near Birchdale, Minnesota (just across the river). Several of Thelma Shannon’s siblings were born ‘at Grandma’s’ in the USA. Before the war, they all went freely back and forth, particularly in the winter when the river was frozen.
John and Jessie Lewis both died in Birchdale, Minnesota.
Walter Lewis:
Walter James Lewis was the youngest child of Henry and Elizabeth Lewis, born in 1867. In the 1891 Census he was recorded as a farmer age 23, living at home.
The GMGS notes tell us that Walter Lewis was a saw-mill owner at Hope Bay on the Bruce Peninsula. In 1893 he married Annie Lemcke in Lion’s Head, and recorded his occupation as ‘sawyer’. At the time of the 1911 Census they were still living in Hope Bay, with their family of six children. One more child was born after 1911.
The GMGS notes tell us that Walter and Annie Lewis went west with their family in 1914, and farmed near Summerberry, Saskatchewan until 1939. They celebrated their 50th anniversary in 1943.
We don’t have any information about the grandchildren of Walter and Annie Lewis, but they probably had quite a few, since they had seven children.
The death notice for Henry Lewis in 1909 stated that he was survived by his aged widow, four sons and four daughters, 28 grandchildren and 22 great grandchildren. At the time of writing this book, we have found records for 37 grandchildren and 77 great grandchildren. Whole families are still completely missing from the research, including all of the grandchildren of Walter and Annie Lewis above. The missing great grandchildren would add to the total of 77.
We do not have enough information about the next generation to even estimate how many great great grandchildren there might be. We know that one grandchild, Maurice Vincent Walker, in turn had 45 grandchildren. Henry and Elizabeth Lewis had 36 other grandchildren, so the potential exists for a very large number. One of them is the author of this book.
Zion Cemetery:
The Lewis family grave is in Zion Cemetery, about four miles from the Lewis farm on the road between Hepworth and Sauble Beach. Henry and Elizabeth Lewis are buried there, along with their son Wellington and his wife Martha.
Walter James Lewis was the youngest child of Henry and Elizabeth Lewis, born in 1867. In the 1891 Census he was recorded as a farmer age 23, living at home.
The GMGS notes tell us that Walter Lewis was a saw-mill owner at Hope Bay on the Bruce Peninsula. In 1893 he married Annie Lemcke in Lion’s Head, and recorded his occupation as ‘sawyer’. At the time of the 1911 Census they were still living in Hope Bay, with their family of six children. One more child was born after 1911.
The GMGS notes tell us that Walter and Annie Lewis went west with their family in 1914, and farmed near Summerberry, Saskatchewan until 1939. They celebrated their 50th anniversary in 1943.
We don’t have any information about the grandchildren of Walter and Annie Lewis, but they probably had quite a few, since they had seven children.
The death notice for Henry Lewis in 1909 stated that he was survived by his aged widow, four sons and four daughters, 28 grandchildren and 22 great grandchildren. At the time of writing this book, we have found records for 37 grandchildren and 77 great grandchildren. Whole families are still completely missing from the research, including all of the grandchildren of Walter and Annie Lewis above. The missing great grandchildren would add to the total of 77.
We do not have enough information about the next generation to even estimate how many great great grandchildren there might be. We know that one grandchild, Maurice Vincent Walker, in turn had 45 grandchildren. Henry and Elizabeth Lewis had 36 other grandchildren, so the potential exists for a very large number. One of them is the author of this book.
Zion Cemetery:
The Lewis family grave is in Zion Cemetery, about four miles from the Lewis farm on the road between Hepworth and Sauble Beach. Henry and Elizabeth Lewis are buried there, along with their son Wellington and his wife Martha.
PLEASE CLICK ANYWHERE ON IMAGE TO MAGNIFY
Lewis Family Gravestone
However, there are three mistakes on the stone. Wellington’s name is misspelled, his wife was Martha, not Eliza, and Henry Lewis was born in 1823, not 1812.
Several other descendants of Henry and Elizabeth Lewis are also buried in Zion Cemetery. We will tell some of their stories in future chapters.
Descendants of Henry Lewis and Elizabeth Barnes