George Cleveland Boulton (1887- 1977)

George Cleveland was born on May 23, 1887 at New Dublin, Ontario.  He is the son of William Benjamin "Ben" Boulton and Margaret "Maggie" Chapman.  Cleve, as he is known,  was at Brockville with his family in the 1891 census but by 1901, they were found in Manitoba.  Thirteen year old Cleve was enumerated with his parents 2 sisters and 2 brothers that year.    By the 1906 census, Cleve was living with his brother Nels and his wife Annie at 20-6-27.  They own 18 horses according to this document.

In 1907 a marriage is registered in Pipestone, MB between Cleve and Nellie Parker Archibald.  His brother Nels' wife's maiden name was Archibald and their sister Elizabeth married William Archibald later in life but I'm not sure if this was a coincidence or if any of the in-laws were related.  Nellie was born in 1879 in Nova Scotia.

The following clipping from the Manitoba Morning Free Press tells that Cleve suffered the greatest loss in the Reston area of 1300 acres of uninsured crop due to a vicious hailstorm the same year he was married.  Not a very rosy start to married life.

Found on Newspapers.com

The 1911 census has Cleve his wife and daughter Helen May were living on 28-6-27 along with his younger brother Travers and two hired labourers. 

Very early in the war, on October 24, 1914, 28 year old George Cleveland signed Attestation papers in Regina for the First World War.  He is given registration number 73756 and declares he was a member of the 12th Manitoba Dragoons for one year previously.
His digital service file online at Library and Archives Canada tells he served with the 28th Northwest Battalion in France from September 17, 1915 to January 1, 1916.  He then moved to the Third Canadian Tunnelling Company from January until June of 1916.  He served at Ypres as well as other battlefields in France and Belguim.  Cleve was wounded  with a gun shot blast to his left chest wall on June 10, 1916.  He was in hospital about 2 weeks and was eventually discharged in March of 1918.  Cleve returned home on February 7, 1918 to a farm at Reston where his wife Nellie age 40 and his 9 year old daughter Helen May were waiting for him.  At times while he was overseas according to the file, she was living at Moose Jaw and Condie, SK. 

George and Nellie were recorded on the 1921 census living near Reston, MB on 21-6-27.  Family information says there was a second daughter named Margaret Evelyn as well.  I believe he continued to farm the east half of 21-6-27 until the mid thirties.  After this, I am not sure how his story continues.  Any further details would be welcome in the comments below or via email at ssimms@escape.ca.

George Cleveland Boulton died in Vancouver on November 30,1977.  Nellie had predeceased him in 1965.  They are buried in the Hatzic Cemetery in the Fraser Valley region of B.C..

Thomas Nelson "Nels" Boulton (1880 - 1957)

Thomas Nelson was born on January 15, 1880 in  New Dublin, Ontario near Brockville.  He was the third child of William Benjamin "Ben" Boulton and Margaret Chapman.  The family lived and farmed the family lot near Lamb's Pond until about 1900, when they moved west following Ben's sister Ann and her husband Benjamin to the southwest Manitoba area.  Ben bought many acres of farmland and his sons would have been involved in that business as well but at some point headed farther west and went into the retail hardware business.

In the 1901 Manitoba census he was living with his parents and siblings and in 1906, he was enumerated as a 26 year old farmer with his 21 year old wife Annie at 20-6-27 with his brother Cleve.  

Thomas Nelson or "Nels" as he seems to be more commonly known, married Annie Archibald who was born in Saskatchewan 1885.  They went on to raise 4 children;  Gladys born in 1900, Gertrude in 1907, William Archibald in June 1908 in Tyvan and Bessie in 1910. Bessie was likely the daughter of his brother William Benjamin who died suddenly in 1916 and his young wife who died in 1909. Nels, Annie and these four children are recorded on the 1911 census in Tyvan.

An online book available at our roots.ca, written in 1987 by Myles C. Kinney called As It Was in the Beginning, gives the community history of Tyvan, Saskatchewan.  The above picture shows Nels on the far right in 1912 as one of the curlers.

  

Photo postcards above of Tyvan are from the website prairie towns.ca put online by Glen Lundeen.  

On page 204 of his book, Mr. Kinney says Nels was the third man in Tyvan to own an automobile, a 1911 Ford Model T.  Nels had purchased the Hardware Store in Tyvan in 1908.  He was a member of the Village Council in 1909, 1910 and 1912.  He sold the business in 1915.  The following tale is told on page 214 of the book:

In 1907, the T. Eaton Co. started their Western Canada mail order business in Winnipeg.  The variety of their stock, and generally lower priced items appealed to a great many.  No doubt business in small Centers was affected.Nels Boulton, Tyvan's hardware merchant at the time, displayed a canny way of illustrating the advantage of shopping locally.It appears that a certain farmer (who will remain nameless) asked Boulton the price of an axe handle, then complained about the price saying that he could get the handle for less money from Eatons.  Boulton obliged by agreeing to meet Eaton' price.  The customer waited some minutes then requested his axe handle.  Boulton asked, "When would you get it from Eaton's?"  The farmer had to admit it would take a week for mail order delivery.  "Well", replied Boulton, "Come in next week and your handle will be here."When next in town the farmer went in for his axe handle only to be informed (regretfully) by Boulton that the handle had been broken in shipment and had to be returned (as might have been the case had it been ordered from Eatons).  The next week the farmer called at the store again, and this time got his handle at Eaton's price.  It looked suspiciously like the handle he could have bought for a few cents more than the Eaton's price a few weeks earlier.  No doubt , Mr. --- got the message.  Boulton thought it was a huge joke.  The story made the rounds of the community.

The pictures above were sent by Keith Sly and were identified on the back of the originals as Boultons.  I believe the one on the right look like the curler above so guess that it is Nels and Annie.  The one on the left would be one of his brothers Travers or Cleve and his wife.  Any readers of this blog with any further information, please let me know.

On the 1916 census, the same family of six is living at 1205 5th Street in the city of Moose Jaw and Nels is listed as owning a hardware store.

A digital service file under regimental #55514 and can be found online at Library and Archives Canada and it contains over 80 documents pertaining to his military service.  On April 28, 1916 at age 36, Nels signed attestation papers to enlist in WW1 in Moose Jaw, SK.  He was described as 5 feet 8 inches tall with fresh complexion, brown eyes and grey hair. Nels would have bid goodbye to his wife and family of four young children ages 9 down to 5 and then arrived in England on April 22, 1917. Unfortunately, he was seriously injured in combat on September 29, 1918.  At Cambrai in France, he was hit with a shell in the left side of his chest.  It resulted in damage to his left arm causing impaired function of his left hand and arm.  As a result, he was discharged from service on December 11, 1919.  

In November 1923, a border crossing record was made of Nels passing through International Falls, Minnesota on his way to Morrisburg, New York to visit his brother in law William Bell.

The only other fact I know is that Nels died in Vancouver on April 27, 1957.  His injury in the war no doubt made earning a living much more difficult.  Any further information to tell Nels' story can be included in the comments below or email me at ssimms@escape.ca.

William Benjamin Boulton Jr ( 1877- 1916)

Death by Beefsteak

 

 

William Benjamin Boulton Jr., born June 9, 1877,  was the son of Ben Boulton and Maggie Chapman.  Ben was the sister of Randy's great grandmother, Ann Henrietta.  William is listed in the 1881 and 1891 Canadian Census living on a farm near Elizabethtown, Ontario.  He was referred to as "Willie" in 1891.  His parents and remaining siblings 2 sister and 3 brothers were farming near Reston, Manitoba on the 1901 census but he wasn't present.  By the 1906 census, they had moved to 545 Furby Street in Winnipeg.

 

On December 17, 1906, William married Bessie Irene Nixon of Wapella, SK.  Sadly she died in 1909 as did their infant daughter Margaret a year earlier.  Both are buried in the Wapella Cemetery.

 

The next record for William is when he signs Attestation Papers in 1915 to join the fighting in WW1.  He lists Reston as his residence as he is a widower, his next of kin is his mother, Margaret whose residence is also Reston.  

 

As I hoped would be the case with this blog, I received "the rest of the story" by email from by fellow Boulton genealogist, Keith Sly. He was in touch with Susan Bracken who shared this story about the unfortunate death of William in January of 1916. 

 

From the Manitoba Free Press, January 10, 1916:

  W. Boulton, a soldier whose regimental number was 718126, went into the Boston Beanery, Albert street in company with a lady friend at 8 o’clock last night. He ordered meals for himself and friend, and about 15 minutes later, when he had just commenced to eat a juicy beefsteak and chip potatoes which he had ordered for himself, he was taken suddenly ill. Annie, the waitress, and several customers went to his assistance the impression being that he had only fainted. The police ambulance was summoned, and Constable Burnett and Dixon rendered first aid. Boulton was taken to the General hospital, never having regained consciousness, and on being examined by a doctor at that institution was pronounced dead. Boulton’s antecedents could not be traced by the authorities last night. Prior to enlisting he had been in the real estate business and is believed to be the owner of one or two houses in the city and some vacant lots in a western town. He was about 40 years of age, height 5 ft 11 in. weighing about 200 pounds, hair brown, tinged with grey and slightly bald, full face clean shaven. Saturday night he occupied a room at the Congress hotel. Coroner McConnell is investigating the case and a post mortem examination will probably be held today.

From the same day in the Winnipeg Tribune:

William Boulton Expires at Table in Boston Beanery - Accompanied by Woman
     William Boulton, a private in a battalion stationed in Winnipeg, died suddenly when partaking of a meal in Boston Beanery, Albert street, Sunday night. He was in the company of a woman whose name is not known.
     Boulton ordered meals for two, and when his portion was brought he started eating, showing no signs of weakness. Suddenly his head dropped on his chest and his features became drawn and white. City police constables who were patrolling that beat were called and hurried the soldier to the General hospital where a doctor pronounced him dead.
     The man’s antecedents cannot at present be traced. The only clues the police have to his identity are his regimental number and his name. Coroner BJ McConnell will hold a post mordem today.

 

 

From Tuesday, Janaury 11, 1916 Winnipeg Tribune:

 

     Pte. William Boulton, who died suddenly while eating in the Boston Beanery, Albert street, Sunday evening, was choked to death through the lodging of a piece of beefsteak in his windpipe, according to Dr. Capt. Turner and Dr. Gordon Bell, who conducted the post mortem examination Monday afternoon. The relatives of the soldier have not yet been found, but it is believed his mother resides somewhere in Western Canada.

 

The style of writing of the day is really something. There is not the concern like today for privacy, political correctness, or graphic descriptions. William Benjamin Boulton Junior is buried in the Elmwood Cemetery in Winnipeg.

 

Thanks to Keith Sly and Susan Bracken for their help with this biography.



William Benjamin Boulton (1847 - 1910)

William Benjamin "Ben" Boulton (1847 - 1910)

William Benjamin "Ben" Boulton was the younger brother of Randy's Great Grandmother Ann Henrietta Boulton.  He was born in 1847 when his father Thomas was 73 and his mother, Ann Higginson Boulton, was 36.  The Boulton family lived on the west side of Lamb's Pond near New Dublin in Elizabethtown Township, Leeds County, Ontario. 
On February 9, 1875 Ben Boulton married Margaret "Maggie" Polly Chapman (1853 - 1934) at the home of the bride's stepfather, George Berry.  Ben and Maggie lived on a farm near his family in Elizabethtown.  In about 1896, they followed other family members to Manitoba where  he homesteaded SE 30-5-27 W1, 2 miles straight North of Broomhill.  He also aquired many other quarters in the area and also later farmed 21-6-27 W1 near Reston, Manitoba.  
The backs of the following pictures all say "Boultons" and we presume they are children and spouses of Ben and Maggie.  The black mountings say they were taken at Martel and Sons Studios in Brandon (1900-1904) and the white one is from Steele & Co Winnipeg and Calgary (1902-1908).

Six Children of Maggie and Ben Boulton

• Elizabeth Jane (1875 - 1951) married B.J.Smith and later William Archibald
• William Benjamin (1877 - 1916) married Bessie Nixon
• Thomas Nelson (1880 - 1957) married Annie Archibald
• Edythe May (1883- 1989)
• George Cleveland (1887 - 1977) married Nellie Archibald
• Travers Macdonald (1891 - 1971) married Lauree Allen

On the back of the original photo is written "To Leita, Aunt Maggie Boulton's house in Winnipeg.  Maggie Boulton is Grandma Sly's sister".  The house is at  575 Furby Street.

The information and four last photos in this biography came from Keith Sly from Seeleys Bay, Ontario.

Found on Newspapers.com
Ben's obituary in the Winnipeg Tribune says he came to Manitoba in 1900.  He aquired 1600 acres of land in the Reston area but moved to Winnipeg in 1906 due to poor health.  He had a business there called the Boulton Smith Land Company, presumedly with his son in law, BJ Smith.  The address given in ads for their office is 255 1/2 Portage Avenue as well as 11 Alberta Block.  At the time of his death in 1910, sons Thomas Nelson and Travers Macdonald lived in Tyvan, SK, son George Cleveland was in Reston, daughter Mrs. BJ Smith, son William and daughter Edith Boulton in Winnipeg.