Lenna Boulton King (1889 - 1951)

The middle child of 12 born to Thomas and Margaret in 1889 was Lenna Margaret Boulton.  She grew up on the farm and  married Henry "Elton" King in Lyn, Ontario on February 22, 1911 with her sister Mary and her future husband George Herbison as witnesses. She was 21 years old and he was 22. Elton's sister Ethel Jane "Jennie" had married Lenna's brother Abraham earlier that month on February 8 in Brockville as told about in their blog entry here.  

Lenna and Elton were farmers near Yonge Mill, Ontario.  They didn't have children of their own but a son was born in 1931 to the Westcombe family and was adopted by Elton and Lenna.  It became official on March 21, 1938 at Brockville and they changed his name to Donald Elton King.  The photo above is cousins Audrey Morris (daughter of Edith) and Donald at the King home in about 1940.  Looks like garden produce they've been harvesting - corn at their feet and paint pails of tomatoes or potatoes and a pumpkin!

Lenna and Elton are pictured above with their nephew, Edith's son Ray Morris.  They also had Ray living with them for a time when his parents Edith and Moulton were working out east. The two scans of a panoramic photo of the  Number 17 Platoon in June of 1945 indicates Ray was second from the right on the first row.  He gave this picture to his Aunt Lenna signed "Raymie". His daughter tells me the official name on his birth certificate was actually John Raymie Morris.  At some point he started using John Raymond on documents like his driver's license but was always known as Ray or Raymie.   

Lenna died in 1951 and Elton in 1966.  They are buried outside of Lyn, Ontario in a beautiful cemetery that I was able to visit in 2015. Some of the oldest grave markers have been mounted on the stone walls surrounding the grounds which have been in use since 1784. A peaceful resting place after lives well lived.

The Church in the Photo

 We found this photo at the Boulton farm recently, appearing quite old and mounted on back cardboard.  I was thinking possibly it was a church in England connected to the Bushby family until I turned it over in just the right light and saw this:

Then I knew why it looked sort of familiar, I'd been to that spot!  In the summer of 2015, I took a trip to southern Ontario to visit my sister and we toured the area where Benjamin and Ann and their family originated from.  The church is known now as St. John Evangelist Anglican Church and it sits at 6543 New Dublin Road in the community of New Dublin, near Lamb's Pond.  Link here for the Google Map.  It appears that regular services are no longer held at this church.  I wonder if Benjamin and Ann were married in that church?  A few tombstones were behind and beside it but across the road were many more, as pictured below called New Dublin Cemetery #2.

 Lorne and his wife Elma were featured in a blog post here and the almost illegible and overgrown one beside it is for Margaret Johnson Boulton, wife of Thomas as written about here. 

 John and Alice were Benjamin's parents, which makes them Randy's second great grandparents.

Abe and Ethel's story is recorded here and I believe Leslie Travers was their son.  

It was a narrow but long cemetery that followed New Dublin Road for quite a ways and I'm sure there were more Boulton/Bolton stones but we were getting tired of walking that day! 

  The picture above is the only other building I photographed that day in New Dublin.  It seems to be their public library, day care center, government office and community center.  The plaque above the door indicates it as being the town hall, erected in 1890 - two years before our Boultons left on their Manitoba adventure!

Edith Beatrice Boulton Morris (1905-1995)

Thomas and Margaret Boulton's youngest daughter of 12 children was Edith Beatrice, born on February 11 in 1905.  Her father left for the west shortly after her birth and she was raised by her mother with the help of the older siblings at Graham Lake, Ontario.  

On the first of June in 1926, Edith married John Moulton Morris at Lyn, Ontario.   He was a 22 year old Anglican farmer and she was 21.  Moulton, as he was known, was a hard worker throughout his life.  Moulton and Edith were initially farmers in their married life and then went on to road construction.  He was the foreman who built many roads on Canada's East Coast and Edith cooked for the crew.  He later owned a Shell Service Station in Athens, Ontario until he passed away in 1966.

Edith was a working Mom in the 30's, 40's and 50's at the Post Office in Athens.  After Moulton died, she moved to Winnipeg in 1967 where she bought a rooming house on Chestnut Street and later a duplex on Lenore Street. Her granddaughters recall that she spelled her given name "Edythe" as well as "Edith" over her lifetime. She had a first cousin, Edythe Boulton (daughter of Ben and Peggy) who lived to be 102 and is buried in Elmwood cemetery in Winnipeg where she lived unmarried most if her life.

Edith and Moulton had three children - Ray, Vernon and Audrey. In the above photo left to right is Edith, Audrey, Moulton and Vernon .  Their daughter Audrey Yvonne (pictured below with "Georgia") was author of a book in 1968 called Gentle Pioneers about Canadian pioneers - The Moody family.  Audrey led a very interesting life in Ottawa and Winnipeg and her lovely home in the Wolseley area of Winnipeg is now the home of the next generations of the family.  

Ray was an excellent mechanic.  His daughters told me that someone could call him up and hold the phone near the running car and he could diagnose the problem over the line! Ray lived with his aunt and uncle on their farm (Lenna Boulton King and her husband Elton) when Moulton and Edith were out east and after they returned.  
"Vernie" as Vernon was known, worked in the mines for INCO in Sudbury, Ontario for 44 years.

Edith Beatrice Boulton Morris was involved in the Rebekah Lodge and was a member of the Anglican Church. Her obituary says that her many interests included travel, gardening, theatre and animals. After living in Winnipeg for 28 years, she passed away in July of 1995, the last surviving Boulton sibling.  She is buried in Oak Leaf Holy Trinity Cemetery with her husband Moulton, near Athens.  

Vernon, Audrey, Moulton, Ray and Edith Morris - 1960's

Thomas William Boulton (1882- 1952)

Thomas William Boulton was born in New Dublin, Ontario in 1882, second son of Thomas Boulton and Margaret Johnson. He can be found on the 1891 census living in Front of Younge as a ten year old with 6 siblings in Leeds South in Ontario.  This township is located along the St. Lawrence River in the Thousand Islands region.

Brothers Abe and Thomas Boulton are pictured above, likely taken in Manitoba in 1904.  Thanks to Don for sending it to me.

At some point Thomas decided to head west in search of open farmland and followed his father's sister Ann and her husband Benjamin who had settled near Reston, Manitoba in 1892.  In 1900, he homesteaded NW 36-5-28 near Reston and is on 35-5-28 in the 1906 census although he is a 24 year old labourer owning 5 horses.  

On December 12, 1906 a marriage is recorded between Thomas William Boulton and Mary Agnes Montgomery in Melita, MB.  A subscription website called Newspapers.com was the source for the clipping below from the December 20, 1906 edition of the Manitoba Morning Free Press.

There is a Peter Montgomery listed as a landowner at nearby SE 24-5-28 near Broomhill and Kilkenny's Store.  According to the RM of Albert history book written in 1984, Peter and his wife Mary Montgomery came from Ireland to be cattle farmers in the area and have a large family.  It says that their daughter Mary married Tom Boulton and had 3 daughters and two sons.  The only one mentioned is Margaret Jane  who was born in July of 1911 and lived  at Vernon  in 1984.  It also mentions a Wilfred who lives in Edmonton.  Frank told me about their son Earl Edward who was born in 1909.  It seems the marriage between Tom and Mary didn't last however and Mary left the Reston area.  She may be the Mary Agnes (Montgomery) Nicol that it says died on March 28, 1945  but I'm not sure of this.

Using census records, I can find that in June of 1916, 34 year old and listed as "married", Thomas resided in 7-27 in RM of Pipestone with his seven year old son Earl.  He was enumerated as a farm worker and his sister Abbey and her husband Richard Johnson are employers on the line above so I presume he worked for them.  

The 1921 census finds Earl living in the second avenue home in Reston of William and Etta McDougall as a lodger and student but no Tom can be found.  As pictured below, Earl was a soldier in WW2, married and later died in Burnaby, BC in 1988. He is with his Aunts Mary Herbison and Lenna King in the top photo.

Corporal Earl Boulton

Uncle Frank recalled going to the Brandon Fair with Thomas William Boulton, who he called "Long Tom Boulton", and they stayed with his sister sometime in the thirties.  That sister would have likely been Abbey Johnson.  Frank told me that he had the nickname "Long Tom" to distinguish him from Frank's dad, Thomas.  Thomas certainly is a favourite name back in Boulton history and it continues today as the middle name of both my husband and our oldest son.

Thomas William Boulton died on July 8, 1952 at age 70 and is buried in Brandon Cemetery in section 31 plot B-44. The photo on the left is his son Earl at his grave and his brother Abe is on the right. 

The photo above is a copy from cousin Don.  I think the man at the back is this Tom.  The original picture had written "Mrs. Thos Boulton  November 27" on the bottom.  The right hand corner is stamped "Davidson Co. Melita, Man  Photographers".  Research on the  Manitoba Historical Society website says that photographers with the last name of Davidson are in Melita from 1889 right up to 1925.  Any information about who is in the photo or any further details about Tom would be welcome to my email at ssimms@escape.ca or reply in the comments below. 

Mary Boulton Herbison (1887-1989)

Mary was the second daughter born to Thomas and Margaret Boulton.  Her brothers Abe, Thomas, Stanley, Ernest and Lorne have been featured in this blog also.

Mary lived to be 102 and much of the information in this biography comes from a newspaper clipping sent from a relative in Ontario about her passing.

She was raised on Lake Street near Graham Lake.  This area along the St. Lawrence River was settled by many United Empire Loyalsits after the War of 1812, including Mary and my husband's common ancestor, Thomas Boulton (1774 - 1855).  As the fifth child of a family of 12 children, Mary would have known the value of hard work.

On February 26, 1913 she married George A. Herbison of Caintown, a nearby community on Front of Younge Township.   He was a well known builder and carpenter in the area and they lived there during their married life. George completed building their home and all the furniture with his own hands before they were wed. 

The couple did not have any children of their own but Mary was a midwife and stayed to help with the household after a baby's birth.  George died in 1939, leaving Mary as a widow for the next 50 years of her life.  
After his death, Mary moved to Kingston as a live in caretaker for an elderly woman.  Next she moved to Brockville to continue her caretaking role as a nanny and housekeeper.  Finally she was caretaker for a 100 year old man named Clifford Hall when she was 80 herself.

The photo above is of Mary in 1981 with her brother Abraham.  Her sister Edith Morris's grandaughters Cindy and Mary Rae have fond memories of her.  She went with them on a trip to Florida and remember that her first snowmobile ride was at the age of 80 years young!

1977 Newspaper clipping

In 1970, she moved into St. Lawrence Lodge where she was one of the first residents.  She kept busy there with bingo, knitting, euchre and dominoes.  She lived there for the next 19 years until she passed away at the age of 102 on March 31, 1989.

Abraham Boulton (1885 - 1981)

Abraham was a son of Thomas and Margaret Boulton, sibling to Ernest, Lorne, Stanley, Thomas and Mary along with 6 others.

He was born at Graham Lake, Ontario on June 8, 1885 as the fourth child. His given name was that of his grandfather Thomas' brother Abraham (1762-1859) who had married Mary Elliott (1771-1816) and lived in the Usborne Township of  Huron County in Ontario. Abe was in Manitoba at one time and his son said he would have like to have stayed but was needed back home to help his mother with the farm and the younger children after his father Thomas left for the west.  

Abraham married Ethel Jane King (1888- 1972) on February 8, 1911.  Thanks to their son Don for this picture of the couple that day.  On the 1921 Canadian Census, they have 3 young children along with her father George King in their farming household.  She is called Jennie in this document. 

 The couple are pictured with their nephew Earl Boulton from Manitoba.  He must have been training in the area as there are several pictures of him with his Ontario relatives. 

Abe and Ethel Jane celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1961 and much of this biography was taken from a newspaper clipping from then sent by their family to my brother in law, Russell.  To quote the clipping:

The couple can well remember the snow and cold of their wedding day fifty years ago when the wedding was two hours late as the couple struggled for nine miles through the drifts with a horse and cutter at 30 below weather to reach Brockville.  However, they finally arrived and Rev. F. D. Woodcock performed the ceremony at Trinity Church.  The bridesmaid was Rose Cromwell and the bestman was George Herbison.

After returning from a honeymoon in Ottawa, they took up farming at Graham Lake, moving to Yonge Mills in 1920 and to Hallecks in 1925. Six years ago (1955) Mr. Boulton retired and built their present home on number 2 highway a mile west of Long Beach.  

Abraham is at the back in the middle of this picture with his son Albert on the left and Leslie on the right.  His mother Margaret is in front. 








They had a family of 4 boys and a girl and in 1961, had 16 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren. Irene and Albert are on the left below, Leslie in the middle, and Abe and Jennie on the right.  Their legacy has no doubt increased many times since that count.  Abraham passed away in 1981 and his wife in 1972.

As an interesting aside, "Googling"  the location of their wedding found some cugaretrrent results.   The Trinity Anglican Church made the news in June of 2014 and has since been torn down.  That seems to be the same story with churches everywhere  with congregations shrinking.  Finding new sources of funds and uses for the buildings is the only way they will survive for the next generations.

November, 2019 The Lyn Museum Facebook page posted some pictures of Abe's family and thanks to John, I will add them to this post. Sons Ernest, Don, Leslie and Albert stand together in the first photo and Ernest and Don are together in leather jackets in the second. These were in an album with Clow photos and I believe that Albert's wife was Margaret Isobel Clow so that makes sense.   

Leslie in his uniform during WW2

Stanley Boulton (1892 - 1979)

Stanley Bolton was the seventh of twelve children born to Thomas Boulton and Margaret Johnson. He was born in 1892 and grew up on the family farm at Graham Lake, Ontario.

The photo below of the Benjamin and Ann Boulton home near Reston, MB in about 1910 has Stanley's name written on it that identifies him as the man on the far left. Ann was his aunt, his father's sister. Other members of the family including his sister Abbey Johnson, brothers Abraham and Thomas William and his father Thomas spent some time in the Reston area as well.
  

At some point, Stanley, or Stan as he is often referred to, moved to Griffin, Saskatchewan near Weyburn.  Here is an article about modern day Griffin a tiny town that is showing regrowth due to the oil activity in the area.

A history book that is found online at OurRoots.ca called More Griffin Prairie Wool written in 1967 by Mary Scarrow and Mabel Charlton offers the following information about Stan on page 113 .  My thanks to Debbie Sheardown from Davidson, SK for finding this gem for me.  Stan is identified as the man standing on the right in this wonderful studio picture likely from that time. 

This book also says that a man named Bill Grimes bought the garage in the early 1920's and went into partnership with Stan.  The 1921 Canadian Census finds 29 year old Stanley at Griffin in a wood house on Main Street along with his 87 year old father Thomas.   

During the depression, the garage business seemed to die so Bill Grimes retired.  The lack of money for gas and car repairs meant people went back to using horse and buggy and the services of a mechanic in small town Saskatchewan were no longer required.  Luckily for Stan, he seems to be an adaptable fellow and took his mechanical aptitude to harvest equipment instead.  Playing the harmonica was also one of his talents.  

 

The photo above was likely taken in the forties of Stanley with 2 of his siblings, Abe and Mary Herbison back in the Brockville area. Thanks to Ontario family for sending it to me.

He is pictured above in Winnipeg with his sisters Mary Herbison and Edythe Morris where he died at age 87.  The local RM of Albert History Book written in 1984 says he pioneered the mechanical harvesting industry and I am left curious for more details on that.  Please contact me if you know more of Stanley's story.

Great nieces of Stanley's recall meeting him and tell me he had kept his tools, even at quite an elderly age.  Many of these tools belonged to his father Thomas it seems.  His niece Audrey Morris was able to reunite him with his siblings Mary and Edith for a meal in her home in the seventies.