George Boulton (1740 - 1794)

George Boulton - Third Great Grandfather

George is the shared ancestor of both of Randy's great grandparents, Benajmin and Ann. He is also the reason that my children could apply to have the U.E. designation put after their names as they are descended from United Empire Loyalists. Here is his story, as found in various online sources.

George Boulton was born in the County of Wexford in Ireland in about 1740.  His parents lived in the Ballinvally area of Ireland.  His father was Abraham (1723 - 1753) and his mother was Anne Eyres (1725 - 1772).  I have seen him called George Belton Bolton in some sources too but I am guessing that Belton was likely a spelling variation, not a middle name.

In 1761, George married Nancy Bickford in Ireland.  George and Nancy immigrated to the Philadelphia, PA area between 1765 and 1770 with their first son, Abraham.

He joined the Loyalists in 1777.  George Boulton - along with George Belton (Boulton?)- are named on the Old United Empire Loyalist List, which means he probably arrived in Canada after 1776.  After the war, he immigrated to the Niagra region.  It is said that the rattlesnakes on the land were so bad that they left and walked to York (now Toronto) where they were able to take a boat to Elizabethtown Township.

When they arrived there were no European settlements in the area.  The men blazed trails into the wilderness.  Upon their way, passing through the United States, a boy William was born.  A daughter Alice and 6 sons were born in Canada.  It is said that all these children lived to  ripe old ages. An online source said the George and Nancy Boulton family lived at New Dublin, near Brockville at Concession 6/Lot 24 in 1795.

I have read online that the 1776 Leeds Census has the name spelled Boolton, 1802, 1808 spelled Boulton, 1810 Bolton, 1812, 1819 and 1821 Boulton.  From 1839 forward it was spelled Bolton.  Throughout the census records the brothers change and interchange the spelling of their last name.  These older census records are not yet online but would be neat to see someday!

Children of George and Nancy. 

• Abraham (1762 - 1859) married Mary Elliott (1771 - 1866) in 1792; was a part of the Grenville Militia in 1803 and in the War of 1812.  Buried in McTaggart Cemetery, Huron County
• Alice Eleanor (1764 - ?) married Ephrain Curry
• Thomas (1774 - 1855) married Susannah Hoover/Handstock first and then Ann (Nancy) Higginson.  Their daughter is Ann Henrietta Boulton
• William (1776 - 1859) married Martha Elliott (sister to Mary) in 1805.  Their son John is the father of Benjamin Boulton
• Benjamin
• Henry John (1780 - ?)
• Hugh (1789 - ?)
• Samuel (1789 - ?)

George and (presumably) Nancy are buried in Bolton Cemetery near Lyn, Ontario

Thanks to online sources, Carol Lackey, and here also, and the Weekes Family Site. 

Thomas Boulton (1774 - 1855)

Thomas Boulton - Second Great Grandfather

Thomas  was born on April 9, 1774  and died October 23, 1855.  His gravestone, pictured above, is in New Dublin Cemetery #1.  He was the son of Irish immigrants and United Empire Loyalists, George Boulton and Nancy Bickford.  Thomas married Susannah Hoover (aka Handstock) first and had 3 children -  Mary, Thomas and William.  He then married Ann (Nancy) Higginson in 1832 . One of their four offspring is Ann Henrietta Boulton.  The other were Benjamin, Thomas, and Abigail.

I have found online that more on Thomas can be found in a book called U.E. Loyalist Links Vol V - Leeds Grenville Co. by Russ Waller.  I would like to find out what it says someday!

On November 9, 1789 in Quebec, the "Order In Council" was ordered.  Land Boards were to provide 200 acres of land to each child of American Loyalists. To sons, as soon as they reached the age of 21 years, and to daughters at age 21 years or at marriage some times only 100 acres. This was called the "Order In Council", commonly seen as "OC" and "O.I.C."  Thomas Boulton's land was granted by a OC - Order of Council in 1812 as the son of a Loyalist.

In the 1851 Canadian Census, Thomas can be found living in Leeds County near Elizabethtown. This is near Lamb's Pond in Southern Ontario, a place that is on my list of places to visit there someday! On the same page of the census are many other Boultons including his brother William and Martha, their son William and Ann, his nephew John and Alice and their families.  Thomas' daughter Ann Henrietta is 7 years old and her future husband, John and Alice's son Benjamin is 16.  

Thomas died at age 81 in 1855 and is buried in the New Dublin Cemetery #1 in Ontario.  

William Boulton (1776 - 1859)

William Boulton - Third Great Grandfather

William was born in 1776 near Elizabethtown in Leeds County, Ontario. This was during the years of the American Revolution and his father George fought for the British during that time.  George and his wife Nancy Bickford had immigrated from Ireland to Pennsylvania but moved to Canada in support of the British Empire.  William married Martha Elliott in 1805.  Martha was a sister to Mary Elliott who had previously married William's older brother Abraham.  Matrtha and Mary's father was David Elliott who was born in Dutchess, New York and was also a Loyalist.

William and Martha's eldest son John is the father of Benjamin Boulton.  William had another brother named Thomas who was the father of Ann Henrietta Boulton who married that Benjamin. Are you confused yet?  I certainly was when researching this tree and can blame all my errors on the repeating names in every generation!!

Children of William and Martha

• Nancy
• John (1806 - 1902) married Alice Colbourne January 24, 1837
• Rebecca (1807 - ?)
• Sarah (1807 - ?)
• Thomas (1810 - ?)
• Benjamin (1812 - 1865)
• William (1817 - 1902) married Anoran "Ann Nora" Colborne (sister to Alice)

William died at age 83 on July 13,1859 and his wife Martha Jane died 20 years later at age 100. They certainly must have been doing something right to live such long lives in those days. I have not been able to find their burial spots online so will put that on my "to do list" for a future visit to the area.

John Boulton (1806 - 1902)

John Boulton - Second Great Grandfather

John was born at Elizabethtown, Ontario on September 11, 1806.  He was the oldest son of William Boulton and Martha Elliott and grandson to the Loyalist Irish immigrant, George Boulton.
Online trees say that on January 24, 1837 he married Alice Colborne at Brockville.  This date may be incorrect or John may have had a previous wife as the first two children, Margaret and Benjamin are recorded to have been born before their marriage date.  She was born in Ireland in 1811, daughter of John Colborne.  
The couple and their growing family can be found on Canadian Census documents every ten years from 1851 - 1881  living on their farm with the unmarried children and various other relatives of Alice's.   They had a total of 6 girls and 3 boys from 1835 to 1853.  Some of John and Alice's children were pictured and listed in this blog post. Randy's great grandfather Benjamin was a son as well.  He was the only one I know of that left Ontario as he came to Manitoba in the late 1800's to secure land for his own children.  

 

Alice died in 1886 at the age of 75 but John is listed as a 84 year old farmer on the 1891 census and was enumerated in 1901 before he died January 25, 1902 at the age of 95 as retired, living with his children William and Sarah.  

 

John and Alice are buried in New Dublin Cemetery #2 in plot 325.