MATERNAL NAMES
JANET STEPHENSON 1844-1925
great-grandmother
BIRTH
Janet Stevenson, born February 18th 1844, was the eldest daughter of Jannette Munro and Capt. Robert Stevenson. It's possible that Robert once served as the captain of a ship on Lake Ontario after he arrived in York in the mid 1800s. (I am still in pursuit of any confirmation of this.)
Janet’s mother, Jannette Munro, was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and her father, Robert, was born in Ireland. She had eight siblings, one older brother, three younger sisters and four younger brothers.
Janet’s parents came to Toronto in 1848, when they were in their mid-twenties and she was just four years old. They lived in the city centre in St. David’s Ward on King Street West south side in a small one-and-a-half story frame house. By 1861 the house identified as the family residence was 396 King St. east.
The family identified their religion as the Church of Scotland, but whatever the family was, they instilled firm beliefs in Janet. She was the eldest girl of their nine children. "The Ward" was the name given to the area where she grew up in Toronto, being well documented, so people would later refer to it as such.
MARRIAGE
Janet married John McEwan, son of William McEwan and Mary Brown. They were married in the Methodist New Connexion Church, Toronto, on Nov 25th 1862 by Reverend McClure. The 1858 Handbook of Toronto documents the Church as a plain structure in spurious Gothic Style. “The building is 45 feet on Temperance by 85 feet deep. On the 25th of August 1846, they laid the foundation stone, and the building opened for worship by the close of the same year. Adjoining the church is Temperance Hall.”
John was a jeweller living in the same area where Janet lived. Could she have possibly met him through one of her brothers, who was also a jeweller?
Janet and John’s union would produce thirteen children. Of those, thirteen ten would survive to adulthood and most of them would live long lives. All the boys entered a trade, as you will see from their bios. Two of the girls did as well.
For the last twenty years of her life, she had lived at 27 Saulter Street, in Toronto’s east end. After her death, the railroad bought the home for expansion. This area is now considered part of Leslieville.
Cameo Broach: John's wedding gift to Janet
JANET STEVENSON 1844-1925
DEATH
Janet suffered from myocarditis and nephritis caused by anginal attacks during the last six months of her life. She was eighty-one at the time of her death. My mother, raised by Janet and John has told me stories of how strict Janet’s moral standards were. Like the minister who married her, her staunch belief that strong drink was a terrible sin. My great-grandfather enjoyed the odd drink now and again displeased her, and she believed he would pay for it in the afterlife. Both she and John were against marriage of their children to someone of the Roman Catholic religion as well, which caused hardship for one of their daughters.
Janet's burial occurred on Good Friday of that year, following her death on April 7th, 1925. A newspaper write-up, mentioned her father, Robert, as a well-known man. Some of the family believed he took part in the Civil War. Since he was a sailor, perhaps he captained a ship on the lake?
They buried Janet alongside John, her husband of fifty-five years, in St. John's Cemetery Norway, 256 Kingston Rd Toronto, Sec 2 Range 9. An interesting observation regarding the tombstone is that while Janet died eight years after John, it would seem that the inscription of his name on the gravestone occurred only after her death. The listing names her first — not the usual order. Did the family not have enough money to erect a stone until her death? Had Janet squirrelled away money for a nice headstone? And why does she have top billing? All questions that will remain unanswered.
Citations
(1) B.1844 Stevenson Janet (birth registration not found based on other documents)
(2) TD 1851 Stevenson Robert, mariner, Albert-street Rowsell's city of Toronto and county of York directory for 1850-1
(2a) C.1861 Census of Canada Library and Archives Canada; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Census Returns For 1861; Roll: C-1102-1103
(3) TD1861 396 King St. Stephenson, Robert, wharfinger.Brown’s Toronto General Directory, 1861
(4) M.1863 McEwan John/Stevenson Janet
(5) TD.1863 Hutchinsons Toronto City Directory, 1862-1863
(6) TD 1865 Mitchell’s Toronto City Directory, 1864-1865
(7) C.1871 Census of Canada Census Place: St Davids Ward, Toronto East, Ontario; Roll: C-9972; Page: 27; Family No: 97
(8)1881 Census of Canada Census Place: St Thomas Ward, Toronto City, Ontario; Roll: C_13246; Page: 135; Family No: 716
(8a) TD 1886 Canada, City and Area Directories, 1819-1906
(9) C.1891 Census of Canada Census Place: St Lawrence Ward, Toronto City, Ontario; Roll: T-6371; Family No: 112
(10) C.1901 Census of Canada Census Place: Toronto (East/est) (City/Cité) Ward/Quartier No 1, Toronto (east/est) (city/cité), Ontario; Page: 14; Family No: 142
(11) C.1911 Census of Canada Census Place: Year: 1911; Census Place: 1 - Ward 1, Toronto East, Ontario; Page: 5; Family No: 41
(12) D.1925 Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Collection: MS935; Reel: 321, Canada, Deaths, 1869-1938, 1943-1944, and Deaths Overseas, 1939-1947
(12a) D. 1925 Janet Stevenson McEwan 7 Apr 1925 Findagrave Publisher date 7 Apr 1925 Publisher location The Beaches, Toronto Municipality, Ontario, Canada
(13) D.1925 Web: Global, Gravestone Photograph Index, 1265-2014
(14) D.1925 Web: International, Find A Grave Index
CHILDREN OF JOHN McEWAN AND JANET STEVENSON
FREDERICK W MCEWAN 1865-1866
Frederick was the first child of John McEwan and Janet Stevenson. Born 1865 in Toronto he would live but eighteen months according to records found. Frederick died July 4th 1866.
Frederick was buried in the Necropolis Cemetery in Toronto in a plot owned by his paternal grandfather Robert Stevenson.
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Citations
(1) B.1865 McKeown John (birth registration not found based on other documents
(2) D.1855 Ontario, Canada, Toronto Trust Cemeteries, 1826-1989 Toronto Trust Cemeteries; Toronto, Canada; Cemetery: Necropolis Cemetery; Volume: 03; Year Range: 1864-1869
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ROBERT STEVENSON MCEWAN 1866 – 1931
Robert Stevenson McEwan, the second child of John McEwan and Janet Stevenson was born in Toronto on November 17th 1866.
He became a lithograph artist and early in his career moved to Chicago, Illinois sometime around 1885.
According to his naturalisation papers, he arrived in the USA on July 3rd 1898 and was naturalised September 26th 1919.
There he met and married Annie Baker 1867-1942. The couple were married on May 15th 1889 in Cook County Illinois when Robert was twenty-one.
Robert immigrated to Chicago in and around 1885 where he worked as a lithographic artist. I am unaware of where he worked but his trade forced him to travel somewhat. He was in St-Louis, Missouri in 1890, when his first child John Baker McEwan was born, then back to Illinois in 1891. Next was St-John’s, New Brunswick in 1894, before returning to Chicago permanently. His youngest son Digory William was born in Chicago in 1903.
Robert continued his career in Illinois and he and Annie had four children
Robert died December 23 1931 in Chicago, Illinois. He was just sixty-five years old. Robert is buried in Lyonsville Cemetery in Lyons, Cook Co., Illinois.
Citations
(1) B.1841 McEwan Robert Stevenson (birth registration not found based on other documents)
(2) M.1889 McEwan Robert S/Baker Annie R -- Illinois, Marriage Index, 1860-1920
(3) D.1931 McEwan Robert Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths Index, 1916-1947 Film 1684270
(4) D.1931 Findagrave
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CHILDREN OF ROBERT STEVENSON MCEWAN AND ANNIE BAKER
John Baker McEwan 1890–1948 married Nathalie Barbara Waterman 1888–1969, 1912 -two children
Robert Wilson McEwan 1891–1945 married Phylis K Longe 1896-unknown, 1919
married Irene Doob 1900-1985, 1923, 1 child
married Gladys Viola Smith 1909-1975,1942, 1 child
Mildred Adelaide Mcewan 1894–1973 married Robert Sinclair Cuthbertson Jr. 1894-1976, 1918, 3 children
Digory William McEwan 1903–1966 married Marian Shorney 1903–1989, 1927, 2 children
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WILLIAM BROWN MCEWAN 1868 – 1961
William Brown Mcewan third child to John McEwan and Janet Stevenson was born in Toronto March 7th 1868.
Like all of John's boys William learned the trade of shoemaking. He did not remain with his trade however and instead joined and insurance firm. Working his way up the ladder William became a manager for the London Life Insurance Company.
At age twenty-six he married Annie Grinnell on September 4th 1894 in Toronto. Annie (1869 – 1953) was born in Chiltenham, England.
William and Annie had two children.
After his wife died Will went to live with his daughter Myrtle Watts, on her farm just north of Toronto, near Newmarket.
William lived to the ripe old age of ninety-three. When he died in 1961 he was buried in Toronto at St-John’s Cemetery, Norway, Toronto, Canada,
My mother told me fond stories of her Uncle Will. She often visited her cousin Myrtle in Toronto
Citations
(1) B.1868 McEwan William Brown (birth registration not found based on other documents)
(2) M.1894 McEwan William/Grinnell Annie -- IOntario, Canada, Marriages, 1801-1928, 1933-1934
(3) D.1961 McEwan William Brown, St John Norway, Toronto, Ontario, Web: International, Find A Grave Index [database on-line]
(4) D.1961 Findagrave
CHILDREN OF WILLIAM BROWN MCEWAN AND ANNIE GRINNELL
Myrtle Evelyne McEwan1895–1989 married Henry Watts 1915-1931, 1915, 3 children
William Halford McEwan1901–1986 married Alda Lady Collett Smith 1900-1986, 1920, 2 children
NOTES:
*Will's daughter Myrtle married Harry Watts born in 1894 in Toronto. On May 22, 1915, at Woodbine Racetrack, Watts rode Tartarean to victory for the King's Plate, finishing in 2:09.20.
They had three children. The family owned a longstanding butcher shop in Toronto's East York until Watts died in 1940, in Toronto. He is buried in Toronto's historic St John Norway's Church Cemetery.
More on HARRY WATTS
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JOHN 'JACK' MCEWAN 1869–1949
The fourth child of John McEwan and Janet Stevenson was born in Toronto on November 1st 1869.
John followed his brother Robert to Chicago and later moved to New York City. He worked as a bookbinder. While working there he met a young girl Marion Dempsey who would work for him and later become his wife. According to family she never realized how much older he was until they tied the knot.
John married Marion Dempsey 1884 – 1937, daughter of Charles John Dempsey and Carlena Phillipina Reinhardt, on April 8th 1909. The marriage took place in Newark, New Jersey.
Once married and planning to have a family they thought New York City was not the best place for them to raise their children.
They moved to North Bergen, New Jersey where their first child was born, and then to Woodcliff Lake New Jersey when the second child arrived.
Finally, the couple settled in Little Falls, New Jersey and raised the remainder of their family of five. children.
All these towns were within commuting distance of Manhattan by train
Jack died in Little Falls, on April 24th 1949 and was buried In Laurel Grove, Totowa, New Jersey.
Citations
(1) B.1869 McEwan John 'Jack' (birth registration not found based on other documents)
(2) M.1909 McEwan John/Dempsey Marion New Jersey, U.S., Marriage Index, 1901-2016 for John McEwan
(3) D.1949 Findagrave McEwan Little Falls, Passaic County, New Jersey, United States of America CemeteryLaurel Grove Memorial Park
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CHILDREN OF JOHN MCEWAN AND MARION DEMPSEY
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Victor John McEwan 1910–1984 married Martha Ann Post 1912-1997, 1935, 1 child
Marion Ruth McEwan 1912–1916
Ralph Irving McEwan 1914 –1990 married Alberta Jean Singerle 1913-2012, 1937, 1 child
Effie Janet McEwan 1916–2004 married Robert E Moore 1915-1975, 1940, 2 children
Robert McEwan 1922–2014 married Miriam Louise Ferguson 1926–2010, 1947, 2 children
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*A little aside tale as told by my cousin about the first encounter between Jack McEwan's daughter Effie McEwan and her future husband Robert Moore.
Jack’s nephew John Baker McEwan (son of Robert Stevenson McEwan) introduced his cousin (Effie) to the man who would become her husband. John Baker McEwan was a travelling salesman from Chicago in the luggage hardware business. He did business with a man Thomas Moore who was in the luggage hardware business and lived in Chicago for a short time in the 1920's.
JB came to NJ in 1937 to see Mr. Moore. While visiting the Moore household he mentioned that his Uncle’s wife had recently passed away and he wanted to check how the family was doing. Robert, Thomas’ son agreed to accompany JB on the mission and drove him from Glen Ridge, NJ to Little Falls where the McEwans lived.
The attractive young Effie was not home at the time but there was a photo of her on the table, which, Robert being an eligible bachelor took notice of
Either Robert Moore communicated to JB that he wished to meet the lovely young lady or maybe, JB just wanted to visit with his cousin so they inquired as to her whereabouts.
Effie’s father told them she was at a church meeting in Glen Ridge, NJ.
Armed with that information Robert told JB that he would drive him to the church so JB could visit her. After all, it was on their way back to Glen Ridge.
They went to the church and summoned Effie out of the meeting.
Happy to see her cousin JB (whom she knew from previous visits ) Effie kissed him and assuming Robert was also her cousin JB's son (whom she had never met) she kissed him too. The rest was history.
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EDITH MCEWAN 1872–1957
Edith McEwan, fifth child but first daughter born to John McEwan and Janet Stevenson, came into the world on August 5th 1872, Toronto, Ontario.
Edith was to become a dressmaker when she became an adult. She would never to marry and remained with her parents until their death.
She was a major part of the upbringing of her younger brother, Benjamin’s youngest child. Lily came to live with her grandparents when her mother died in 1911. Lilly had no one else to fill the role of a mother figure like Edie, resulting in an indescribable lifelong connection between them.
After the death of her father John McEwan in 1917, and until the death of her mother Janet, in 1925, Edith stayed in the family home. Two younger sisters, Emma and Helen (Nell) along with Lily, her niece, shared the house. Nell married in 1922, several years before the death of their mother, but Emma only married in 1926 after her mother’s death.
Lily also married in December 1926, after the death of Janet. The estate sold the house on Saulter Street to the railroad and Edith moved to a smaller home. It would appear that her parents provided for her with selfless care, as she purchased her little house on Eastern Avenue according to my mother but I have yet to find this fact. Edith was fifty years old then. I do know that in 1931 she was living with her sister Janet, and her family on Kingston Road.
Edith came to live with Lily and her family after incurring heart problems. She would remain with them until her death. Through her trade, she earned her keep and ensured Lily's children were well dressed and cared for.
Edith died at the family cottage July 26th 1957 in South Lake, Minden, Ontario. I still remember that day. Her niece Lily and husband Kelvin buried her at the St-John’s Norway Cemetery and Crematorium.
Citations
(1) B.1872 McEwan Edith (birth registration not found based Canadian Census' particularly, 1901
(2) C. 1931 Spinster Kingston Road with Janet Walker, her sister.
(3) D.1957 McEwan Edith Obituary:Toronto Star Monday July 22, and 23, 1957, pg. 27
(4) Bur.1957 Findagrave
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HENRY 'CHUM' MCEWAN 1873-1905
Henry McEwan was born on July 11, 1873, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His father was 31 and his mother, 29 and this would be their sixth child. 'Chum' was the name he went by with friends and family..
Henry was born with a ‘caul’, a veil of skin that covered his face. This means that he was born with a piece of the birth membrane covering his face. The caul is harmless and the attending doctor or midwife removes it at birth.
According to folklore, a caul is considered good luck. It occurs in 1 in 80,000 births, and so extremely rare. Not so in Chum’s case.
A legend from seafarers suggested that possessing a baby’s caul would give its bearer protection from that person’s death by drowning. It was believed by others that those born with a 'veil' were destined for greatness.
My great-grandparents must have believed in such legends because Chum’s caul folded and placed in a locket made by my great-grandfather became Chum’s watch fob when he became a young man.
Chum would become a pitcher for the Toronto All Stars when he was a young man. This was a professional baseball team in Toronto before the American and National Professional Baseball Leagues came into existence.
Henry’s first married Elizabeth Gorrie 1877-1899, daughter of Samuel Gorrie and Isabelle Riddell, January 2, 1899. Chum was working as a printer. Elizabeth died within the first year of their marriage on December 3, 1899. The death states the cause as postpartum pre-eclampsia (see note), a rare condition that occurs when you have high blood pressure and excess protein in your urine soon after childbirth. Elizabeth was just twenty-two.
CHILDREN OF HENRY MCEWAN AND ELIZABETH GORRIE
Unnamed child 1899-1899 Stillborn
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Chum's second marriage took place June 4th 1902, in Hastings, Ontario. Esther Gorton 1877-1950 was the bride, daughter of William Gorton and Jane Wright. Esther and Henry had one child.
CHILDREN OF HENRY MCEWAN AND ESTHER GORTON
Marjorie Jane McEwan 1903-1983 married Harry Francis Ryan 1898-1960, 1926, no children
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Death
Henry, sometimes called Harry, other times “Chum”, died from an abdominal abscess when Jane was just two years old.
His death was on April 2nd 1905, in his thirty-first year. The family buried him at the Toronto Necropolis Cemetery.
* Many of the family remember visiting with his daughter Jane and her husband Harry Ryan who lived in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Jane and Harry never had children.
Lilly McEwan-Bell and Jane were not only cousins, but close friends as well, and Lilly and her husband Kelly spent many a weekend with Jane and Harry when they moved to Niagara Falls. I remember going with my parents going to see Jane and Harry. We always went around Easter and visited the beautiful greenhouses in Niagara Falls and a visit to the Falls itself.
Citations
(1) B.1841 McEwan Henry ‘Chum’ (birth registration not found based on other documents)
(2) M.1900 McEwan Henry/Gorrie Elizabeth Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1801-1928, 1933-1934​
(3) M.1902 McEwan Henry/Gorton Esther Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1801-1928, 1933-1934
(4) D.1905 McEwan Henry Ontario, Canada, Toronto Trust Cemeteries, 1826-1989
(5) D.1905 McEwan Henry Ontario, Canada, Toronto Trust Cemeteries, 1826-1989 Necropolis Cemetery
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MARIAN ‘MAE’ MCEWAN 1876-1958
The seventh child to come into the world of John McEwan and Janet Stevenson was Marian Mae. She was born in Toronto, Ontario, October 1st 1876.
Mae married Robert James Wilson 1877–1962, son of Robert Wilson and Adelia, on May 31st 1899 in York County, Ontario, Canada. Robert's original roots were Stouffville, Ontario.
James and Mae had two children
In 1901, they were living with James’ father, Robert, who was a widower. They lived in East York and Robert James was working as a tailor. Jessie was just a few months old.
They remained in East York while James continued working as a tailor. In 1921, the family was living at 78 Langley Avenue. Robert was earning an annual salary $5000 at his trade.
Mae died in Brooklyn, Ontario, part of Whitby in 1958. She rests at St-John’s Norway Cemetery and Crematorium in Toronto, Ontario, next to her husband James.
In the early 1930s the family reunited at Aunt Mae’s summer home on Lake Simcoe. The reunion saw a grand success, with over forty attendees coming from far and wide. Many from Toronto, but also Illinois, New Jersey, and London, Ontario.
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CHILDREN OF MAE MCEWAN AND JAMES WILSON
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Jessie Edith Wilson 1900-1976 married Lincoln Whittier Burt 1899-1985, 1926, 1 child
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Citations
(1) B.1876 McEwan Marian ‘Mae’ (birth registration not found based on other documents)
(2) M.1889 McEwan Marion/Wilson Robert James Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1801-1928, 1933-1934
(3) D. 1958 Findagrave Proof of Death not found
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JANET McEWAN 1877-1963
Janet, named for her mother was born August 24th 1877 in Toronto, Ontario. She was the eighth child of John McEwan and Janet Stevenson. I remember her being referred to as Jessie but most often she was called “Toots”.
Janet married Edward Joshua Walker 1873–1934 on June 8th 1898 in Toronto, Ontario. Joshua worked on the Board of Assessors for the city of Toronto.
Toots and Edward had three children. All were born and raised in Toronto and were buried at St John’s Norway Cemetery and Crematorium, Toronto, Ontario.
Much of the family has mentioned "Toots" place in Presqu'ile Point. My mother visited her aunt there with her Aunt Edie when she was young.
Janet McEwan died in Toronto on October 6th 1963. She and her whole family are all buried at St John’s Norway Cemetery and Crematorium, Toronto, Ontario.
CHILDREN OF JANET MCEWAN AND EDWARD WALKER
Frank Leslie 1899 -1981 married Alice Hill 1898-1992, 1921, 1 child
Viola Mabel 1901–1930 married Gordon Ellwood Hanks 1895-1986, 1927, 1 child, unknown if it lived as Viola died in childbirth
Mildred Ethel 1903–1903
* There is some mention of another child Valda but I am unable to find any evidence of her other than the name. Perhaps Valda was Mabel's child.
* Years after Edward died Janet married Ryan Switzer 1872-1947, sometime between 1943 and 1947. I have yet to find the exact date. Ryan was also a widower.
Aunt Toots was an aunt my mother spoke of often and she was a witness at Mabel’s wedding in 1927. Perhaps due to a childhood friendship as they were close in age.
Mabel only lived three years after her marriage. According to family members, she died in childbirth.
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Citations
(1) B.1876 McEwan Marian ‘Mae’ (birth registration not found based on other documents)
(2) M.1889 McEwan Marion/Wilson Robert James Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1801-1928, 1933-1934
(3) D. 1958 Findagrave Proof of Death not found
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BENJAMIN McEWAN 1879 -1953 Grandfather
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Benjamin's first wife and my grandmother was Frances Gertrude Ostrom 1883–1911. The couple married in Toronto in 1900.
In their brief marriage before her death, they had six children, of which three survived, my mother being the youngest survivor. May Irene (1900–1901), John Benjamin (1901–1901), (Frances Munro (1902–1985), Edgar Irwin ( 1905–1990), Lilly (1908–1998), (1911–1911).
Benjamin’s second wife was Olive Clements (1891–1966). They married 1911 in Toronto and had five children from their marriage. Margaret (1911-1931), Kenneth Roy (1912-1973), Harvey B (1915-1992), Marie (1918-2016), and Bernice (aft 1922-20217).
Benjamin was a furrier and worked for Reilly and Company in Toronto. He died in 1953, and his family buried him with Frances. The grave also contains Olive, his second wife, and Margaret, a daughter from his second marriage. His body rests at St-John’s Norway Cemetery and Crematorium, Toronto, Ontario.
*more on Benjamin McEwan and Frances Ostrom.
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Citations
(1) B.1877 McEwan Benjamin (birth registration not found based on other documents)
(2) M.1898 McEwan Benjamin/Ostrom Frances Gertrude Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1801-1928, 1933-1934
(3) D.1963 McEwan Benjamin
(Bur.)1953 Findagrave
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More to come on Benjamin and his family
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EMMA MCEWAN 1881-1957
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Number ten in the John McEwan, Janet Stevenson line, Emma was born in Toronto on December 9th 1881.
Emma was still at home when Janet and John took in my Mother to care for when the death of her mother occurred. She would be one of the three maiden aunts responsible for her rearing.
Emma worked as a legal secretary and met her future husband, Raymond O’Donahue 1891-1963. Raymond was a lawyer working at the same firm. Raymond’s parents were Daniel John O’Donoghue 1844-1907 and Margaret Cloutier 1852-1891.
Emma and Raymond were married October 1st 1926, in Toronto, Ontario.
Raymond O’Donahue was transferred to the United States in 1924, two years prior to their marriage. She is documented as arriving there in 1928.
Emma and Ray lived in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1930 and remained there until after 1940, when Ray retired. They relocated to North Carolina once he stopped work.
In 1942, Raymond had to apply for the draft. His draft card states he worked for Chicago Title & Trust Co., 69 W. Washington St. Chicago, Cook Co., IL. His position is not mentioned but one would assume as legal counsel.
Sometime after 1940, they both became US citizens as their names appear on the US Naturalisation Indexes. Unfortunately, the indexes do not give the exact date.
According to Emma’s death certificate, she had only lived in North Carolina during the previous eight months prior to her death.
Raymond would live another six years.
Emma McEwan-O’Donahue’s death certificate states she died on August 16th 1957. Raymond buried her in Tryon, North Carolina. Her death followed that of her elder sister Edith by just twenty-one days. The cause of death was colon cancer, which had metastasised over the previous two years. Em was seventy-five years of age when she passed.
Raymond died March 4th 1963 at age 71. His cause of death was bilateral bronchial pneumonia. He also suffered from cardiovascular disease.
The couple never had a family as Emma married when she was forty-four years of age and past her child-bearing years.
*My Mother always spoke of her Aunt Em as being the strictest of the three aunts at home as she grew up.
According to Em’s niece, Em, and Raymond fell in love when they were young, but because he was Catholic and she was Protestant, their parents would not approve a marriage. I imagine age might have also been a factor. They met again years later or kept a clandestine relationship and married after her parents were deceased.
Such a marriage would have faced disapproval from both sets of parents who held very strict religious views.
According to that same niece, her grandparents were anxious when they heard that their son (her father) Jack McEwan was marrying Marion Dempsey because they thought she was an Irish Catholic. Her father was Catholic, so they were not completely wrong.
The said niece’s mother told her this and said that the family had related the situation to her when she first travelled to Canada after her first child was born. It would have made for a bit of an awkward first encounter.
Citations
(1) B.1881 McEwan Emma Ontario, Canada Births, 1858-1913
(2) M.1826 McEwan Emma/O’Donahue Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1801-1928, 1933-1934
(3) D.1957 McEwan Emma North Carolina, Death Certificates, 1909-1976
*According to death certificate she is buried at St John’s Norway in Ontario, but I cannot find it.
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EDWARD MCEWAN 1886-1887
Edward, the twelfth child for John McEwan and Janet Stevenson was born August 14th 1886 in Toronto, Ontario Canada.
He died at the family home in Toronto on 17 Aug 1887, from cholera infantum. Edward was just one year old at the time of his death. He is buried at the Toronto Necropolis Cemetary Section 1 Lot # 153
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Citations
(1) B.1886 Ontario, Canada Births, 1858-1913
(2) D.1887 Ontario, Canada, Deaths and Deaths Overseas, 1869-1950 for Edward McEwan York
(3) Ontario, Canada, Toronto Trust Cemeteries, 1826-1989 for Edward Mcewan Necropolis Cemetery Volume 07, 1883-1891
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ALMA MCEWAN 1881-1957
Alma, John McEwan and Janet Stevenson thirtheenth and last child was born March 21st 1888 and died May 3rd 1888, surviving only a few months.
Janet would have been forty-four years of age when Alma was born. Considering she had just lost a child less than a year before, it would seem that she probably was not in the best of health. That child had been just a year old as well which would have meant she had not had much time to recuperate from the birth before she was again with child. Her age and physical condition would most certainly have impacted this pregnancy.
Alma's burieal was on the 4th of May 1888 at the Necropolis Cemetery.
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Citations
(1) Ontario, Canada, Toronto Trust Cemeteries, 1826-1989 for Alma McewanNecropolis Cemetery Volume 07, 1883-1891
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