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(Last message sent: 04 May 2023)



Paul Abell (paulabell7117@gmail.com)
Researching ARMOUR, BURTON, and MEREDITH families.
Doing research on my mother's family, ARMOUR. Several members of our family have lived in Port Hope at various times in the past. Robert Armour, an attorney, lived there for a time from 1847 to 1851. He had two children born in Port Hope: one was Edward Armour, who became a well-known attorney in the area. We are also related to John Kay Armour, a resident of Port Hope.
Robert Armour married Marianne BURTON, cousin of the famed explorer Sir Richard Burton, in Port Hope in 1848. Her brother, Francis Henry Burton (1817-1872), represented Durham East in the first Canadian Parliament. He operated a mill and distillery in Port Hope. His step-brother Henry Howard MEREDITH, was also his brother-in-law.


Miranda Anderson (kermit22@telus.net) Edmonton, Alberta
Looking for information on the family of Captain George WRIGHT (1823:England-1900:Port Hope), married Ann FOX (1825:England-1883:Port Hope); second wife Elizabeth Thomas HAM m.1884. Children: John Edward, Elizabeth, George, William Henry(my gggrandfather), Mark, Annie, Mathew 'Mathis', Mary Jane, Harriet and Albert.


Christopher Ashby (cpa@intelmat.com) Toronto, Ontario
Thomas ASHBY (1809-1883/1901) came to Port Britain c1841/2. In 1829, he married Mary Ann GUDGEON (Jan 1809-1841) in Bugbrooke, Northamptonshire, England. Mary Ann died on the trip to Canada and Thomas arrived with four children: Thomas, Charles, Harriett, and Maria. Thomas (1809) remarried to Frances Regan (Smith) and they added six more children to the family. The original four children all married in the area: Charles Ashby (1841-1918), my gggrandfather, married Margaret GIBSON (1846-1950) in 1867 in Port Hope. They moved to Pontypool and then to Havelock, where Charles opened a sawmill at the south end of Belmont Lake (Ashby Bay). They had three (plus two who that died as infants) children: Thomas, Wilbert and Mary. Thomas (1875-1958) moved to Peterborough while Wilbert and Mary stayed in Havelock.
I have done extensive work and have over 3000 names in the tree, but one of my greatest missing links is to figure where Thomas (born 1809) died. I have found a death in Bloomfield, Prince Edward Co. in 1883 but the death simply states his "son" as informant - I have no records of any of his sons in Bloomfield or PEC. I can not find him in 1901 census.
My full research can be viewed at www.christopherashby.ca.


Myrna Austen (austenhm@yahoo.ca)
Researching two British Home Children originally placed in the Minden area (1911 census) but ended up in the Port Hope area. They were sisters: Beatrice Maud HAWKINS and Daisy Millicent Hawkins.
Beatrice (1899-12 Jul 1975) married Arthur George SMITH (1899-25 Aug 1967) on 05 Oct 1928 in Port Hope.
Daisy (1901-17 Jun 1978) married John Syme LAURIE (1864-01 Apr 1939) on 31 Oct 1927. John was a widower and some years older than Daisy when they married. After John's death, she married (date unknown) Charles Thomas MARSHALL. An Albert Hawkins of Port Hope (or Hope Twp.) was a witness at both weddings but I have not found if he was a relative or not or where he went from there since he does not appear to be buried in the area.
Any help anyone can give regarding the above research would be greatly welcomed.


Nancy Borland Baker (nrbakergirl@gmail.com)
I found my ancestor, William BORLAND in the 1802-1807 Hope Twp. Assessment Rolls and the 1803 Hope Township census returns.
Willam Borland is buried in the Bowmanville Cemetery and that he had several children. I am looking for my ggggrandfather, Benjamin Borland (born 1802).
If William is in Port Hope records for 1802 and 1803, chances are that Benjamin was born in that area. Any information would be appreciated.


Marisol Barría (marisol_barriad@yahoo.com)
Researching the family of Samuel DAVISON & MaryAnne MORGAN. Arrived in Port Hope area in 1824 with four children: George, Samuel Jr., William, & MaryAnne.


Lee Batchelor (acre97@outlook.com) Port Hope, Ontario
Researching descendants of Alexander BATCHELOR who emigrated from Scotland and established a gunsmithing business in Montreal c1885.


Barbara Benson (yabutt_ca@yahoo.com) Orillia, Ontario
My ggrandfather, James BENSON, was married to Jane WOOD. They had 8 children: Jennifer, Mary, Anne, Harriett, Rachel, Mina, William and James (my grandfather). They settled on Lot 28, Con. 7, Hamilton Twp., Northumberland Co. c1846. They may have had another child who died as an infant.


Anne Bigelow (anne.bigelow52@gmail.com) Winnipeg, Manitoba
BIGELOW, BARKWELL, BULLIED, PALMER: interested in all persons with these surnames in Hope Twp. and surrounding area in the 19th century. They all emigrated from Devon, England, in the 1830s and later to Port Hope and area.


Jeanne Bletcher (JBletch@aol.com) West Covina, California
BLETCHER, SMITHSON, STRONG, PHILP, KITTREDGE and any WRIGHTs who moved from the New England States ca 1800-1840.


Sue Broadbooks (sbroadbooks@gmail.com)
My grandfather is Louis RAYMOND, b1887. He was an Orphan Train Rider from the New York Foundling Hospital to Iowa, USA, in 1900/01. DNA evidence helped us to find his biological mother, Margaret Raymond, b1865 in Cobourg. Louis's biological father is a man named "Lake" from Palmyra, New York (near Rochester). Margaret later married George B. SUTTON, who became a world-famous billiards player. They lived in Cobourg, Toronto, Paris, and eventually settled in Chicago, Illinois. Margaret's parents are Manley Wellington Raymond, bc1821 in Port Hope and Matilda RYAN/RYDER b1846 in Ireland. They had two other children together: John Caleb and David Crippen. Matilda later married Alexander BOATE b1840. Manley was previously married to Mary HETORICK/HETRICK, and they had 7 children together in Port Hope. Manley was also married to or living with Louise DOLLY/DAWLEY/DOLLEY and a woman named "Eliza." Manley can be traced to a Raymond family from pre-colonial United States - see "Genealogies of the Raymond Families of New England, 1630-1 to 1886, with an Historical Sketch of Some of the Raymonds of Early Times, Their Origin, Etc," by Samuel Raymond, 1886.


Dave Brown (speedy-brown@hotmail.ca)
Researching: Robert Bruce BROOKS (1888-1955)
Wife, Annie Pearl Clark (1898-1974); married 1915
Children of Robert Bruce & Annie Pearl Brooks:
Doris Brooks (1918-1996)
Douglas Clarke Brooks (1918-1953)
Burritt Blake Brooks (1920-1998); wife, Elizabeth Jane/Jean BROWN (1923-1996)
Any Descendents of Burritt Blake & Elizabeth Jane/Jean (Brown) Brooks


Sherry Burrows (bella_2000_sb@yahoo.com) Vancouver, BC
Researching the family of Irish emigrants Bryan SHERRY (1827-1921) and Johanna WALSH (1836-1898). One of their children, Bryan (1869:Belleville-1919:Port Hope), and his wife, Lillian NIXON (1872-1925), had six boys: Leo Henry (1894), William Roy (1896), Frederick Luke (1899), twins Wesley Irwin & John Willis (1901) and Francis Bryan (1909) - all born in Port Hope.
Luke married Winnifred Caroline INCH, d/o Fred H. & Gertrude Ann (MEADOWS), 03 Dec 1919:Port Hope. I am looking for descendants of this Sherry clan.


Evelynn Cartwright (ecartwright3@cogeco.ca) Wheatley, Ontario
Researching John QUINTON and wife Mary GIBSON, who came from Ireland to the Port Hope area in time for the 1838 Hope Township census. Six children are registered in the Wesleyan Methodist Baptismal Register for Clarke and Hope Townships between 1841-1850. They settled in Dover Twp., Kent Co., Ontario and in 1851 were in the Dover Twp. census.


Don Chesney (dchesney8@cogeco.ca) Burlington, Ontario
My wife's ggrandfather was George Henry BARKWELL, b1880 in Dongola, Victoria County, married to Annie May DAVIS. His father was George Henry Albert BARKWELL, b1856 in Devon, England, married to Mary Ann McKEE. George Henry Albert's father was Mathew BARKWELL, b1837, married to Mary Ann COOPER. Mathew's father was John BARKWELL, b1789 in Holsworthy, Devon, England, married to Grace HOLE. John was said to be Governor of Port Hope at one time.


Bill Chislett (magbillchisbauk@aol.com) Bath, Somerset, England
Researching CHISLETT worldwide. William/Charlotte and Charles/Emma (MARSH) from Somerset and families appear in the 1861-1901 Port Hope census returns.


Orion Clark (oracle.clark@gmail.com) Ottawa,Ontario
James CLARK Sr, 1784, Currin Parish, County Monaghan, Ireland m (~1812, Monaghan) Eleanor FOWLER, 1798-1857; moved to South Monaghan township, Northumberland County (now Peterborough County) c1835. Part of their family is shown in the 1851 Census for this township. While some information has been found for Anne(1813); Jane(1815); George(1817) as well as John Robert (1822); Alexander(1824) and Joseph (1826), the remainder of the family have not been traced. James Junior, baptized Nov 21, 1819, appears in the 1851 census but then disappears; Mariah(1832); Margaret Ann(1836); Harriett(1839) and Hannah (1841) never appear in any census records and marriage records have been hard to verify.


Judy Cotton (nee Whitney) (jcotton3@cogeco.ca)
Searching for the parents of Peter Smith Harris (1807:Port Hope, ON-13 Jan 1887:Doaktown, NB). I suspect he is descended from Myndert Harris. Peter married Frances Mitchell 20 Sep 1827:Doaktown. He is buried in the Old Mitchell Cemetery, Harris Road, Doaktown. Their children:


Patty Craft (mpcraft@nexicom.net) Peterborough, Ontario
Searching for information on my ggggrandparents, George & Amarilla SHACKLETON. Their daughter, Elizabeth Jane Shackleton, my gggrandmother, was born in Hamilton Twp., Northumberland County, on Oct 2, 1846. I believe that, after George's death, Amarilla married a Thomas McILMOYLE (before 1851), being raised as Elizabeth McIlmoyle until her marriage to George FREEBURN in Smith Twp., Peterborough County, 29 Apr 1862. Any other information on the rest of the family (i.e. did Elizabeth have any brothers or sisters? Where are her parents buried?) would be sincerely appreciated. I'm especially trying to find out exactly when George died and where he could be buried.


Joan Dench (canrose@rogers.com)
I have been researching these BEST families from Ireland to Port Hope for many years. George and Martha Best and brother Robert Best lived in Hope Twp in the 1800's and a brother John Best lived in Collingwood.


Frances Barrett Dyer (SuperScot777@gmail.com)
Looking for information on BARRETT family who settled in Hope Township and Port Hope, Ontario probably in the 1830's. The earliest certified information I have is that Charles Barrett, born in England in 1807, married Ann COBBLEDICK in 1840 and settled in Orono. Hoping to verify that William Barrett b.1785 married to Elizabeth b.1785 are his parents. I understand that Port Hope has several references to Barretts such as Barrett's Terrace, etc.


Lori Farrow (lfarrow@kos.net)
Enoch FARROW and his wife, Frances PARRISH, emigrated from Lincolnshire, England in 1850. There were eight of their children in their home on the 1861 census. Two of their sons, Alfred and George, married DORLAND sisters, Harriet and Philinda.


Roger Farrow (oakwood67r2@gmail.com)
Interested in the following family surnames: ALLIN, BRAGG, Bray, FARROW, HAW, LUXON/LUXTON, MOISE, PERRIN, PETERS, SCAMAN, WALTER, WALTERS, and WILLIE.


Daphne Fry (daphnefrymail@gmail.com) Ottawa, Ontario
Seeking information on the death of Mary RICHARDS (b c1800:Ireland, maiden name unknown), mother-in-law of harbour master Andrew COCHRANE, and living with him and his wife Mary (nee Duffy) in the 1861 Census? Her likely death is between 15 Jan 1861 - 30 Jun 1869.


Margaret Gaven (gavens@telus.net) North Vancouver, BC
Researching the entire BROWNSCOMBE family, many of whom lived in Port Hope or Hope Township in the mid 1800s. John Brownscombe was a potter who left the Hope area in 1870 and died in 1881 in Kinloss rescuing people from a well. His son, John R., was a shoemaker in Port Hope as was his brother, James, who later moved to Uxbridge and died there in 1899. I have lots of information to share and would like to contact any Brownscombe descendants.


Skip Gottfried (Witan1@aol.com) Memphis, Tennessee
Researching the families, ancestors, and descendants of:
William Levi BROWN, (1835:NY-1902:Port Hope; s/o Francis BROWN & Nancy ???) m. 1861:Port Hope to Mary HEWSON (1843:Port Hope-1924:Cobourg; d/o Henry HEWSON [1817:Cornwall, Eng.-1892:Port Hope] and Ann CRUISE [1819:Cornwall, Eng.-1902:Port Hope]). Their children were all born Port Hope, and lived there unless otherwise noted:

Sarah O'NEILL (1852:Cobourg or Port Hope-1880:Stalwart, Mich.; d/o John O'NEILL and Mary Eliza ???). 1st w/o Robert KINGHORN (1843:Scot.-1918:Stalwart, Mich.) m. 1871:Cobourg. Their children, born in Colborne:


Stephen L. Gray (slgray@shaw.ca) Victoria, BC
Researching the BENSONs of Peterborough, (emigrated to Winnipeg late 1870s), particularly the children of John Robinson Benson (c. 1805-1875). John R. Benson's brother, Thomas Benson (1804-1857), lived in Port Hope and I have some information on his family too. I would like to get Thomas Benson's obituary from a Port Hope newspaper. Ann Benson (c. 1810s-?), sister of John R. Benson, married Dr. John R. Dickson (1819-1882) of Kingston. Hon. James Rea Benson (c. 1811-1885) of St. Catharines and Dr. Joseph W. Benson (c. 1810s-1885) of Chicago are brothers. Would like to know who all their other siblings were.
Clara Cynthia Benson 1875-1964 (dau. of Thomas M. Benson 1833-?, of Port Hope) was one of Canada's first two women Ph.D.s in chemistry (1902 U. of T.). Would be pleased to hear from anyone researching these Benson families.


Martyn Greenaway-Rowe (martyn.familyhistory@googlemail.com)
Researching the GREENAWAY line of my family. William Greenaway, from Kilkhampton, Cornwall, England, who emigrated with his wife and family to Canada in 1846, eventually buying a farm at Port Hope, Ontario. There is a possibility they were accompanied by members of the ANDREWS family, also from Kilkhampton.
Can anyone in the district help me further with my researches, please?


Ken Greer (greer649@gmail.com)
Trying to find information on Mary Jane FLYNN whom I believe was in the Port Hope area 1851-1861.
I have a letter from her brother dated April 17, 1876 to my gggrandmother who responded to an ad he placed in the Port Hope Times looking for his sister Mary.
It is believed she married a man named BEGGS and had a child in 1855. Her husband died on June 3, 1856 and Mary Jane died in 1861. Her son was adopted by George and Jane GREER of Lindsay, Ont. His name was William Edward Greer. I am trying to find any information on their marriage and their son's birth.


Barb Gustafson (barb.gustafson@shaw.ca) Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
Interested in connecting with others linked to the family of George LAING (1842-1917) & Sarah Jane COOK (1846-1941), my great grandparents. George came to Canada from Fife, Scotland in 1868. Sarah was born in Hamilton Township to Samuel Cook & Jane TINNEY, immigrants from Cornwall, England. George & Sarah Laing farmed near Cold Springs and are buried at the Baltimore Presbyterian cemetery. Many of the family members moved to Saskatchewan and Alberta in the early 1900s. The Cook family story is less well known and I would especially appreciate connecting with any other descendants of Samuel and Jane Cook.


Gary S.A. Haslam (gshaslam@telus.net) Surrey, BC
William HASLAM (b c1835/37:Ireland) married Margaret Emma HICKS(ON) in Port Hope 31 Aug 1865. They had a son, William H., (b c15 Aug 1866, possibly in Port Hope or Napanee); a daughter, Adelaide Victoria (b c01 Apr 1867/68 in Napanee), and then the family moved to Lindsay. They were in Lindsay from about 1870 to 1906, with an unknown amount of time in Port Perry as they are on the 1881 Census for Port Perry and back in Lindsay for the 1891 and 1901 Census (1911 Toronto). They had several children in Lindsay. William, a brewer and hotel keeper, died in Lindsay 19 Jan 1890. Adelaide died of Typhoid Fever 25 Oct 1904 in Lindsay and shortly after the family is believed to have all moved to Toronto.


Robert Hawkins (rhawkins62@comcast.net) Oak Brook, Illinois
Trying to find information on my ggggrandfather, Michael MURPHY, and his wife, Honora SHERRY, who lived in Port Hope in the late 1850's. He was born about 1832 in Ireland and didn't emigrate until the Great Famine, so it would have been c1847. He was a bricklayer killed in a work-related accident in Port Hope, but I have no facts about the death. His first child, John Joseph Murphy, my gggrandfather, was born in Port Hope or Lindsay on May 15, 1857.


Linda Holdaway (lassiehold@yahoo.ca)
HOLDAWAY: The family (John, Mary and children) originally came to the Port Hope area in time for the 1842 assessment rolls. Son George stayed in Port Hope area, other members of the family settled in Brant, Grey, Kent and Waterloo Counties.


Julie Huffman (jhuffman@lapl.org) Los Angeles, California
Surname: HUFFMAN. Head of the family was Peter Huffman, a black man originally from the United States (immigrated approx. 1814). I believe he and his family were in Port Hope from about 1826-'38 and then moved to Hamilton Twp., Northumberland county by 1840. I think his children were Rachel, John Luther, Henry, Hannah, Abraham, Robert James and Lucinda Ann.


Gordon Irvine (gordonjcons@sympatico.ca)
Researching the family of Samuel George William ELDRIDGE who settled in Port Hope in 1906 after arriving from England. Samuel joined the CEF using his second name George. He was killed in France in 1917 and appears in the Port Hope Book of Remembrance. The family lived on Elgin Street, according to the 1911 census. He came to Canada with wife Clara, and children Alice, George, Florence, & Charles. I am looking for any information on a daughter, Elizabeth, born in Canada c1914, as she was not with the family after the war when they moved to Toronto. They went to England in 1919, returning to Canada on the Melita in 1920.


Anne Jones (l_d_jones@sympatico.ca) Midhurst, Ontario
Looking for info regarding Thomas Cruse who lived at Lot 2, Con. 7, Hope Twp. from 1833-1874. I am also interested in info about his children.


Richard Jordan (rmkm.jordan@sympatico.ca)
Tracing the ancestry of two brothers, John and Johnston JORDAN, who came to Port Hope in the 1840s. I believe they also had two other brothers, David and William, who farmed in Hope and Clarke Townships in the same era. William came from Co. Longford, Ireland.
Unfortunately I have no family pictures (even of my family) but I have gathered something of a family history of the Port Hope Jordans and I would love to share it with my distant cousins, the descendants of this branch of the CURTIS family.
I would like to add that I am particularly interested in information about John and Sarah Jordan's only daughter, Matilda Jordan, who married an English-born veterinary surgeon, William Alfred TURNER, in Port Hope in 1870. They apparently left the province before the 1871 Ontario census.


CA (Kit) Kennard (kit.kennard@sympatico.ca)
Patrick Clemes (patrick_clemes@yahoo.com) of Sandy, Utah.
Also being researched by Patrick Clemes (patrick_clemes@yahoo.com) of Sandy, Utah.
My gggrandfather, Charles CLEMES (1816-1878), a Cornishman, lived at 57/59 King Street (the "Clemes Duplex") and operated from a store front on Walton Street diagonally opposite the St. Lawrence Hotel in Port Hope. His second wife, married in Port Hope, was Phoebe LONSDALE - possibly from the Oshawa/Bowmanville area. Charles' first wife, Ann(e), arrived with him from Cornwall.


Bob Kirvan (rkirvan@interhop.net) Uxbridge, Ontario
(1) Roger CULVER (1771-1852) and Sarah WILCOX (1772-1858: d/o Moses Wilcox and Thankful Spencer of Connecticut) arrived in Hamilton Twp., Northumberland County 1805 and moved 1823 to Hope Twp. Children: Orvilla (Mrs. John Kirvan), Maria (Mrs. Nathaniel Edwards), Sarah (Mrs. Hiram Wilcox), Lovinia (Mrs. John Edwards), Hannah (Mrs. Jonah Haskill), Sybil (Mrs. Jacob Kreiger) and Sabrina (Mrs. Thomas Holden).
(2) John KIRVAN (1787:Galway, Ire.-1862) and Orvilla CULVER (1804:Oyster Bay, NY-1882). John and two brothers, Edward and Thomas, came to Cavan Twp. 1810. John and Orvilla were married 1820 at Ida, Ontario and moved to Hope Twp in 1823. In 1841 they moved to Sydenham Twp near Meaford, Ontario. Children: Mary (Mrs. James Lemon), Samuel, Martin, Elias, Maria (Mrs. Jim Atkins), Olive (Mrs. John Lemon), Sarah Jane (Mrs. Joseph Atkins), John, Schuyler, Caroline (Mrs. George Johnson), William and Helen (Mrs. William Blackshaw).


Allyson Latta (alatta@sympatico.ca) Toronto, Ontario
Seeking information on (Findley) Harold BATTY of Port Hope (1882-1946), and the origins and descendants of the BATTY family of Haldimand Township, c1800-1961. F. Harold Batty worked as a printer for the Evening Guide. In Canada his family stretches back to Samuel and David Findley Batty, who settled in Lakeport, Haldimand Township, c1809. I have not been able to find their parents or where they were from, though it seems they came up from somewhere in the US, possibly of Irish descent. Samuel married Lucinda (surname unknown) and David F. Batty married Mary LOYST of South Fredericksburg. One of David's sons, (David) Calvin (Matthew) Batty, moved to Michigan in the mid-1800s and raised his family there, changing the surname to Beatty. Harold's mother, Melissa Batty, nee LENNOX, died in Colborne, Ontario -- near Lakeport -- in 1929. His father, (Findley) Lafayette Batty, predeceased her, but I have been unable to find any record of his death or burial. Harold's uncle, George W. Batty, was buried with his wife in Lakeport in 1935, and George's daughter, Bertha Lelia, was buried there in 1961, following her husband, Frederick C. MOORE. F. Harold Batty, who died 1946 in Port Hope, appears to be the last male of this Batty line in Canada. Leads on the Battys will be gratefully received!


Colleen Lill (sassenach@shaw.ca)
Researching the family of Thomas BROWN and Harriet WARREN. They arrived at Port Hope c1875 from Norwich, Eng. and it is believed they remained in the area for approximately 10 years before moving their family to the area around Deloraine and Elgin, Manitoba.


Robin MacGregor (robjmac@usa.net) Minnesota
Would love it if you would post the SOWDEN-JONES-MacGREGOR family on your Surname search list. I'm still in the process of writing up a few pages on Charlotte Sowden Jones Macgregor for the Library's genealogy section which I'll mail to them. I just discovered that in addition to Charlotte Macgregor emmigrating to Minnesota, her father Henry W. Jones and her brother Richard C. also came down. I'm just starting to track down the rest of Richard's family.


Janice Mann (justsayitmd@gmail.com)
William GENOE (bc1811) and Sarah RAY (bc1814) were married in Bailieborough, Co. Cavan, Ireland in 1834. They had one daughter Jane, baptised 1835 in Knockbride Parish, Church of Ireland, County Cavan (they lived in nearby Seefin townland) before leaving for Canada - probably around 1837. They settled in Hope Township where they had more children (William, Margaret, Mary Ann, Sarah, Susannah, Robert) before leaving for Artemesia Township, Ontario, c1851. There they had 3 more children, John James, Thomas, and Richard, and received a deed from the Crown for their land in 1873. When and where William and Sarah died and are buried is unknown.


Marcia Mason (marcia@eastlink.ca) British Columbia
James DUNFEE was born in Ireland c1842 and moved to Port Hope in 1852. He married Catherine COANSTAIN/CONESTAIN/CONSTANTINE, date unknown but must have been in Ontario. He died in Port Hope in 1896. He had a son James Jr, and daughters Mary Ellen and Annie. Thank you for any help you can give.


Janis McCahill (janismccahillgenealogy@gmail.com) Forest, Ontario
Researching the family of Stephen BEDFORD (25 May 1768-11 Feb 1833:Norwich, Oxford Co.), married to Susan BEDFORD (no info on her birth/death). He resided in Hope Twp. ("Newcastle District") until at least 1820. His Will lists the following children: Stephen, Paul, Daniel, Mary Permilia(?) and Fanny Permilia(?) as well as granddaughters Susan PERRY and Hannah PERRY. Daniel gives his place of birth as "Newcastle".
I believe they came from the US. Paul and Daniel were involved in the 1837 Rebellion and part of the Duncombe Revolt. Both were imprisoned and Daniel was hung for "treason". I have information on the descendants of Paul and Daniel but have no information on their siblings. Paul and Daniel came to Oxford Township but the others may have stayed in Hope Township.


Duncan (Don) McKenzie (shandi@cogeco.ca) Port Hope, Ontario
Researching ancestors/descendants of William Marshall McKenzie/Mary Beattie (c1880) and Duncan Gillis McKinnon/Jessie Samson Smith (c1890) - all of Scotland. I emigrated to Toronto in 1951.


Kathy McMullen (kathymc@aol.com) California
Researching McMULLENS in Port Hope (mid to late 1800s).


Dick Moore (rmoore284@btinternet.com) Liphook, Hampshire, England
Researching the following names that crossed paths in Port Hope: WHITT, ROBERTSON, ORTON, MASTERS, BERTOLOTTO, BROWN, MONTIZAMBERT, BAINES, PETRIE.
John Whitt (b 06 Feb 1799:Nottingham, Nottinghamshire), s/o Samuel Whitt & Elizabeth (Alcock), married Elizabeth Orton (bc 1796 Kegworth, Leicestershire) 18 Dec 1827 at Beeston Parish Church, Nottinghamshire.
The family emigrated to Canada via New York in two tranches (1842 & 1843) to stay with Elizabeth Orton's brother, Dr. Henry Orton, who had already emigrated to Guelph.
1st son, John, returned to England to further his studies at Cambridge (my wife's ancestor); 2nd son, Samuel, stayed in Toronto; Sarah, 1st daughter, married Peter Roberton; 3rd son, Frederick, married Mary Jane Ryan and lived in Clinton; 2nd daughter, Elizabeth, remained a spinster and took care of 3rd daughter Adelaide's son, Arthur Gordon Petrie (or Gordon McMurdo Petrie, as he was later known.
Peter Robertson later married Emily Julia Masters (nee Bertolotto). Of Peter's and Sarah's children, Minnie married John J. Brown; Ella married William C. Montizambert & Maud married Thomas T. Baines.


Glenna Morrison (glennamorrison64@gmail.com) Quebec
Looking for descendants of the Co. Monaghan KENNEDY family. Working under the assumption that four Kennedy brothers left Ireland c1847 and went first to Quebec. Two went almost immediately to Port Hope (why?) but only one, David Kennedy, remained there. His brother James Kennedy stayed in Port Hope for three years and then returned to settle near another brother, Lawson Kennedy. The fourth was a printer and settled in the US where he began publishing a Christian periodical called The Good News.
David was born c1821 in Co. Monaghan, Ireland. A descendant believes he came from an area near Castle Blayney but does not appear to have proof positive of this. He is installed in Hope, Durham by the time the 1851 census was done. He lists his occupation as a cooper. We believe he married c 1850 in Durham to Elizabeth BATESON and they went on to have nine children: William, Esther, Elizabeth, Joseph, Mary Ann, Robert, David Lawson, Isaiah John, and Jane Maria.
We can track him through the 1861-71-81 and 91 census in Durham. He apparently died of pneumonia in Port Hope on November 2, 1892 and is buried in St. John Cemetery. In every census he lists his occupation as Cooper and his religion as Presbyterian (in 1871) and a member of the Free Church by 1891. There are some descendants today who believe he is of Scottish descent rather than Irish and his parents may be Lord William Kennedy and Lady Esther Lawson. We also think he may descend from William and Esther but have never heard of a Scottish connection or of any titles. The trees that we've seen with this information do not have any documentation to back it up. We have always believed William and Esther were born and died in Ireland -- they had at least six sons and we believe all but one emigrated to Quebec orginally.
Our aim is to find proof positive of his parentage and we wondered if any land records from when he first settled in Port Hope (1847-1850 time frame) would shed any light on his history.


Russ Morton (drmorton@sympatico.ca)
Researching my great-great-grandmother, Mary Ann MOISE or MOYSE (b1836:Devon, Eng.); married John SANDERS, lived in Cannington 1881 - 1901, died Toronto 1912. Some of her family lived and died in Hope Twp. (mother, Grace Moise d1912; brother, William d1912; brother, Joseph d1933). I am interested in any information about those families and in contacting any descendants.


John Noble (nobility1817@gmail.com) Sudbury, Ontario
Researching NOBLE in Northumberland – in particular Cobourg, Baltimore, Cold Springs, Perrytown and Garden Hill– from circa 1839 to present. My great grandfather was John Noble, married to Jane McMANN and one of his children was William, my grandfather, married to Susan McBRIDE, daughter of Richard McBride and Mary Armstrong. John had two brothers, Ralph and Alexander. William’s siblings were Alexander, Robert, John, Mark, and Mary.


Carol Brown Parker (parkerar@nbnet.nb.ca) Westfield, NB
My gggrandparents, Thomas HUNTER and Mary A. MATHER, were married 1853:Port Hope, and all seven children were born there. In 1889, my ggrandfather, Henry Oscar Hunter (b1863) married Elizabeth Jane OGDEN (d1897:Amigari/Fort Erie), from the Orono area. Her father, Miles Ogden, was managing a hotel in Port Hope (c1871-1881) before moving to Toronto. Henry and Elizabeth moved to Amigari (where my grandmother was born) and then to Welland c1893-1897. Mary and Thomas were not living together by 1871. Mary was with son, Henry, when she died in Welland at age 88. Thomas was still living in Port Hope in 1911. His other children may have remained in Port Hope.
http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/p/a/r/Carol-L-Parker


Tamie (Brad) Partridge (tpartridge@inetlink.ca) Manitoba
Looking for information on the deaths of Joseph and Lydia (PORTER) McASKIE, who emigrated from Ireland to Alymer, Quebec, 1855 with their 5 children: Margaret, Timothy, James, Rebecca, and Jane Anne. They resided in Alymer for one year before relocating to Durham Co., Ontario. It is believed that Joseph and Lydia died in Hope Township, Ontario. However, I can't find any supporting documentation. Their son, Timothy, my gggrandfather, married Jane LENARD in Nepean, Ontario, in 1863, before settling in the Beaver Creek area of Manitoba.
Variant spellings include McAskie, McCaskie, McAskey, McKasky.
Information on the family can be found on the Heather Hunter website:
http://www.mccaskie.org.uk/Timothy-James.htm


Cyndi Peck (halesweb@aol.com) Yuma, Arizona.
Surnames: HALES, KEELER


Janet Petrak (janetpetrak@peii.org) Sierra Vista, Arizona
Trying to confirm the birth place of my ggrandmother, Susan Emma Davis BUCK, who may have been born in Port Hope 12 May 1844. I think her parents were John DAVIS and Margaret WILSON. She married Charles Roe (aka Elijah Rowe) BUCK of Cobourg, possibly at home. Her father died and her mother remarried (John DILL) and moved to the US. Her brother, John DAVIS, also moved to the US as a child and ended up in Minnesota. I would love to find Margaret's parents (father, WILSON of Scotland and mother, EVANS of Wales). Any help would be greatly appreciated!


Scarlett Cooper Pirtle (scarlettshelby84@gmail.com)
Searching for information and descendents of Joseph and Frances (LITHGOW) COOPER. They lived in Port Hope in the latter half of the 1800s and early 1900.


Steve Quaife (stevejquaiafe@gmail.com) Wasaga Beach, Ontario
Seeking information on the following: Thomas QUAIFE/QUAIF/QUAIFFE (born c1779:the Battle, Sussex, Eng.), h/o Sarah WOODIWISS (born 02 Mar 1788: Mountfield, Sussex Eng.). Also looking for QUAIFE'S from the Huntsville and Muskoka area: approx. 1700, 1800, and 1900. Thomas William QUAIFE married to Nancy Ellen FETTERLEY. I have considerable info on the Quaifes in Huntsville.
Also Frank H. BRITTON (born 1921:Seattle, Wash. State);
John Llo​d​y BRITTON (16 Aug 1922-1779:Vancouver) - Wife, Marie Frances Ruby (born 1881:Scotland?); and
Grace (QUAIFE) KELLOUK (05 Sep 1886-19 Apr 1960:Vancouver, d/o John Wesley QUAIFE), w/o Samuel KELLOUK (22 Dec 1888-Apr 1960?:Delta, Tsawwassen, BC. Children: Samuel David, James Stanley, John Kenneth, Grace E, and Mary Margaret.
Also looking for any ships they may have used to get to Canada.
Any info on these people would be greatly appreciated.


Alan E. Richards (alanilderton@gmail.com) London, Ontario
Researching my grandmother's ancestors. She was Zilla Maud PARKIN, d/o Albert Parkin & Martha GIBSON. Martha was d/o John GIBSON (hotel keeper c1870s on Queen Street, Port Hope) and Matilda SLOAN. Albert Parkin was s/o Wm. Parkin and Ann BULLIED (Ann was a tailoress, age 27, widow, in 1861 census). I am particularly interested at this time in finding any SLOANs in Port Hope and area c1850-1880, and tracing descendants of John GIBSON.
On my wife's side, Hugh KENNEDY, who apparently lived in Hope Township in the 1850s before moving to Cavan Township, where he and his brother Hamilton KENNEDY are well documented from c1861 onwards.
Also, a family named McQUADE, who lived in northern Hope Township for about three years before moving to Cartwright and Emily Townships.


Walt Sammis (walt@sammis.com) Plantation, Florida
My gggrandfather William HAMILL, wife Martha KIRKPATRICK and 10 children came to Garden Hill, Hope Township from Co. Armagh, Ireland c1841. My ggrandfather Robert Hamill was born April 15, 1835 and died May 19, 1920. He married Mary Ann GRAY in Garden Hill and had 8 children. The Hope Township/Port Hope surnames I am related to include at least HAMILL, GRAY, MULLIGAN, LITTLE, THORN, LAPP, CALDWELL and FINLEY.


Valerie Schweers (schweersvalerie@hotmail.com)
Looking for any information on parents and siblings of William BOULTON and wife Janet Ann LIVINGSTONE. They lived in Port Hope at some time not sure when. They had two children Mary and William. They died in Cobourg c1931 and are buried in Cobourg Union Cemetery.


John Sheffield (sheffieldj67@gmail.com) Arthur, Ontario
Looking for the HARTLEY family who once lived in Port Hope. William, wife Jane, sons John and Robert, and my great-grandmother Elizabeth show up in the 1881 Port Hope census. The 1891 census has William and Jane. Elizabeth is missing in 1891, but may have married by then. Her children were John Stanley THOMPSON, Walter Thompson, and Mary Hartley Thompson, who were living with Elizabeth's mother, Jane, in the 1901 census. I have not been able to find a marriage between Elizabeth and a Thompson. William, Jane, and I think Elizabeth are buried in St. John's Cemetery, but there are no headstones.
There is an Elizabeth Hartley, working as a servant in the Furby household in the 1901 census, but her age is incorrect by ten years. If this is the same Elizabeth, she was never married to a Thompson, even though her children have that surname. She later married a David John LEADER in Port Hope. I belong to Ancestry, but I can't find any leads. There are no birth records for her children, and no marriage record with a Thompson. Any help appreciated.


Ron Silver (rsilver429@rogers.com)
Researching the CARSONs of Port Hope. Thomas and his wife Martha were in their mid-forties at the time of the 1891 census.


Lori-Anne Simpson (lasigns@lasigns.ca) Port Hope, Ontario
Researching ROBERTS (Barnardo girls: d/o John Roberts and Marion GRAHAM) of Emily Twp.; FIELDS (Ire.>Manvers); and KING (William and Emily) of Hope Twp.


George Smith (geosmith@telus.net) Kamloops, BC
Seeking information on my gggrandfather, Robert RIDDELL, of Hope Township.


Daniel Smothergill (dsmothe1@twcny.rr.com)
My names are SOTHERGILL and SUTHERGILL. I know that both were in Ontario in the late 1800's. Both are spelling variants of my surname.
The earliest entries in the Kilmore Parish Registry (Church of Ireland, Belturbet) indicate that the original was Smothergill. I found no Sothergills, Southergills or Suthergills among the early entries. But as years progressed, some people whose names had been spelled Smothergill appear as Sothergill, Suthergill, or Southergill. And for some of them the spelling switches back later on. I wouldn't want to rule out any possibility of distinct Sothergill and Suthergill families, but the spelling for some individuals definitely varied over the years. The Thomas Sothergill who appears in York East on the 1871 Census of Ontario is a good example. His father's name appears as Smothergill on the birth entry. Later his name becomes has Sothergill.
An interesting aspect to this is that the Smothergill spelling survived only among those that went to the Danish West Indies. Siblings that went to Connecticut mostly used Southergill; Sothergill to a lesser extent. But I've never found the Smothergill spelling in Connecticut. One woman born on St. Thomas and known all her life there as Smothergill became Southergill in Connecticut on the 1900 Census.


Kim Snihur (kim.kunselman@gmail.com)
Would like information on the CURTIS (Frederick Laurie Curtis was Mayor of Port Hope 1921-1923) and the JORDAN (his wife) families.


Dawn Somers (dawnsomers1957@gmail.com)
So far we know of several families that either immigrated or lived in Port Hope. Family oral history has always claimed the town as where they came from before settling in IL: HAMLIN, SOMERS, POTTER, SMITH, GRANT and MERKLEY/MERCKLE.
The Smith connection is through Elias Smith's grandaughter, Catherine Potter Merkley Hamlin. She was married twice, first to Christopher Merkley then to Calvin Hamlin.


Bob Symons (bsymon2481@rogers.com) Waterloo, Ontario
I have, and am willing to share, information for the following families of Hope Township, combined counties of Northumberland-Durham, and some westward into Clarke Township and Bowmanville: SYMONS/ALLIN/PEARCE/RICKARD and little bits of WADE/ROWE/BOSNELL/MOORE/PHILP/HOLMES.
My father, Paul SYMONS, was born in Port Hope in 1921 and lived on a farm on Lot 13, Con. 3, a quarter-mile north of Welcome. A school marks the north end of the farm. His father, Reuel Clare Symons, died in a farming accident in 1929, so they had to sell the farm and move to live with his mom's dad, Rev. W.A. BUNNER (a Methodist minister at Welcome from about 1917 to 1921) in Bowmanville. I have an impressive family tree developed and I am trying to fill it in a bit more, with the help of Don Moore who was born in Port Hope in 1943.
My grandma is Muriel Symons HARDING. She married second husband Rev. AW Harding in 1957.


David Thompson (djt1423@hotmail.com) London, Ontario
Researching ancestors and descendants of William THOMPSON and Jane MARSHALL from Newry, County Down, and of John RODDY and Eliza ROBB, also of County Down.


Janice Trenouth (janglen17@hotmail.com) Radville, Saskatchewan
Would love to find the death of William Henry TRENOUTH, born c1833 in Ontario, married in Port Hope 1854. His residence in 1863 was Cavan Twp. He was probably still alive in July 1863. His wife had remarried and was having children c1867. Family story says he fell off a bridge and drowned at Millbrook. Any help would be greatly appreciated.


Will Trewin (wtrewin@rogers.com) Courtice, Ontario
Looking for a "Rebecca PARSONS" death or burial. Born 1837, West Woolfardisworthy, Devon, England, her father was Arthur PARSONS, and her mother Elizabeth BRENT. They lived in Hope Twp. and listed as Methodists. Rebecca married John TREWIN (Bible Christian) from Darlington Twp. north of Bowmanville, but I have no record of an actual marriage.
They had a son, Arthur William TREWIN, born 08 Dec 1857, who appears in the 1861 census to be living with his grandparents. John, her husband, is on his farm and Rebecca is no where to be found. She does not appear in any following census. I'm not sure if she died during child birth, or maybe left the marriage, and returned to Hope Twp. I have done numerous searches for Rebecca and have found nothing.
Would anyone happen to know if she is buried in a Hope Township cemetery? Any information would be appreciated.


Bev Viner (r_bviner@nexicom.net) Millbrook, Ontario
Researching NICHOLS - Port Hope to Buckhorn.


Edgar Walker (willedgar@aol.com) Ottawa, Ontario
Researching all descendants of Hugh WALKER who came to L 16, C 3 Hope Twp in 1797. Tombstones to the early family can still be seen beside Highway #2 west of Welcome.


Marian Wight (Marian.Wight@telus.net) Vancouver, BC
Researching info on Abner CUNNING and wife, Hannah ROSE, both of whom came from Gaspe, Quebec and were listed in the 1871 Port Hope census. A descendant from their son, William Angus, I'm interested in finding information on his siblings, Arthur Stillman and Frederick Louis.


Debbie Wilbur (deborahwilbur@rogers.com) Oshawa, Ontario
Looking for the surnames WOOD, ANDREWS, MOFFATT, JACOBS, GREENAWAY, McNALL.


Carol Wilson (genealogy@cheqnet.net) Northern Wisconsin
Researching Henry S. GREENE who, according to his obit, was ..."born in the North of Ireland in July 1833. His father died when he was a child; his mother, a highly educated and accomplished woman, emigrated to Canada in 1838 and settled on the north shore of Lake Ontario. She hoped to support her family by teaching; but she found it a difficult task, so when the boy reached his 9th year, he began supporting himself. He varied his occupations at times by sticking type in a printing office and afterwards by editing a weekly paper, which he did at the age of 18 years."
I have learned that his mother was probably Margaret FOSTER. Hugh Crea, his childhood friend, was an editor at the Port Hope paper, so I believe he may have worked there. I have found several FOSTER and GREENE families in the 1841 and 8151 census records, but can't be sure which is my ancestor. I also found a marriage record in Mahalide twp. for Henry S. GREENE and Elizabeth HOGLE in 1854.
Any help is greatly appreciated.


Peter Wordley (peter@jpci.net)
Undertaking research for my Step-Father, Edmund (Ted) Slack of Northumberland, England, who has lost contact with relations who emigrated to Canada and lived in Port Hope in the early part of the 20th Century - around WWI time I believe. Mr. Slack was a miner in the Dudley, Ashington and various other coal pits in Northumberland until his retirement after the miners strike of the 1980's. He is very keen to contact his relations.
The name of the original emigre was Cybil SLACK. She married a Ken SIMPSON. I believe at one time they ran or worked on a chicken farm and then they became fruit pickers. They had two sons, names unknown and Mr Slack met one of them very briefly during WWII when he was stationed nearby in the UK - purely by chance I believe.
Obviously the 'Slack' name will not be in evidence but is there any way anyone can assist in me trying to track any 'Simpsons' who may be on this particular lien or indeed, ascertaining if Cybil (Slack) or Ken Simpson are still alive.


Peter and Barbara Bolton - Port Hope, Ontario
www.alivingpast.ca