MATERNAL NAMES
OLIVE MAY CLEMENTS 1891-1966
The oldest daughter of Henry Clements and Maria Trotter, Olive May Clements was born February 11 1891 in Toronto Ontario. The Clements lived in the same neighbourhood as the McEwan's, just one street west of them at 54 Strange Street. Unlike Benjamin, Olive was the eldest in her family, while Benjamin was the youngest boy in the McEwan family.
Olive grew up in a family of ten children born over a span of twenty-four years. Her birth was followed by Percy, 1892, Louie, 1894, Sarah, 1897, Frances, 1897, Robert, 1904, Margaret, 1906, Hazel, 1909, Ruth, 1911 and finally Russell born in 1915. All survived into adulthood except Frances' twin sister Sarah, who died before the age of three. She does not appear on the 1901 census.
Benjamin McEwan met Olive not long after the death of his first wife and they were married in less than a year after they met. He was ten years her senior.
Olive and Ben moved into a house on Pape Avenue soon after their marriage and Ben’s two eldest children, Frances and Edgar lived with them for a brief period. The two children went to live with their maternal grandmother out west in Saskatchewan before 1916. Ben’s youngest child, Lilly, just two when he remarried, remained with Ben’s from the time Ben and Olive married. Ben and Olive would have five children from their union. Unfortunately, the two families had little to do with one another and only saw each other at family gatherings.
Ben died in 1953, leaving Olive a widow. She would live for another thirteen years. She died on August 18th, 1966, and Ben’s new family buried her alongside her husband and his first wife at St. John’s Norway Cemetery and Crematorium in Toronto.
​
​
CITATIONS
​
(1) B. 1891 Clements Olive 1931 Census of Canada
(2) M. 1911 Clements Olive May/McEwan Benjamin Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1826-1940 Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Registrations of Marriages; Reference Number: 80-05-0-2738
(3) D.1966 McEwan Olive May Canada, Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current
CHILDREN OF BENJAMIN McEWAN AND OLIVE CLEMENTS
MARGARET MCEWAN 1911-1931
Margaret was Benjamin and Olive's first child, born September 3rd, 1911 in Toronto. The family knows little about Margaret.
She married Harry Moule February 9th, 1931. She died suddenly just one month later, on March 12th, 1931.
Margaret died tragically, from septicemia, resulting from self-harm on March 2 1931. She was just 19 years of age. We noticed from the photos we have of her that she had an infectious smile and appeared to have a love of life. The circumstances of her death would prove this not to be so.
The fur neckpiece she is wearing was most likely made from mink or fox and would have been fashioned by her father, Benjamin, a furrier by trade. These were very popular at the time.
CITATIONS
(1) B.1911 McEwan Margaret Archives of Ontario; Series: MS929; Reel: 216 Ontario, Canada Births, 1858-1913
(2) M.1929 McEwan Margaret/Moule John Henry Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1826-1938
(3) D. 1931 Moule Margaret Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Collection: MS935; Reel: 431 Ontario, Canada, Deaths, 1869-1938, 1943-1944, and Deaths Overseas, 1939-1947
(4) Bur. Find a Grave East York, Toronto Municipality, Ontario, Canada St. John's Norway Cemetery and Crematorium The Beaches, Toronto Municipality, Ontario, Canada
KENNETH ROY 1912-1973
Kenneth Roy McEwan the first son of Benjamin McEwan and Olive Clements-McEwan was born 19 Oct 1912 in Toronto, York, Ontario, Canada, barely more than a year after Margaret.
He married Helen Jesse Cook, daughter of Ernest Cook 1890–1956 and Violet Ida Mary Hay 1891–1965. Jesse was born on April 21, 1917, in Toronto, and was nineteen whe she and Ken married April 18th 1936. Ken and Jesse would havethree children, two girls and a boy.
Ken died April 15th, 1973 still a young man of fifty. His wife survived him by thirty years and died on October 8 2003.
*This was my mother's favourite of the stepchildren and always said she considered Ken like a brother.
​
CITATIONS
(1) B.1912 McEwan Kenneth Archives of Ontario; Series: MS929; Reel: 225 Ontario, Canada Births, 1858-1913
(2) M.1929 McEwan Kenneth/Cook Jesse Ontario, Canada, Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Registration of Marriages 1936; Reel: 2-666 Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1801-1928, 1933-1934
(3) D.1973
​
CHILDREN OF KENNETH MCEWAN AND JESSE COOK
​
Private McEwan
Robert McEwan 1940-2022 married Private
Private McEwan
​
HARVEY BENJAMIN MCEWAN 1915-1994
Harvey, the second son of Ben and Olive was born on January 5th 1915 in Toronto, Ontario. When he reached adulthood, he married a girl by the name of Elizabeth (Unknown). They lived in Toronto for a time, but Harvey worked for Union Gas and eventually moved to Sarnia.
Harvey had the initial "B" which apparently stood for Benjamin. Frances and Ben's first son was named John Benjamin but was either stillborn or died the same day of his birth, so it makes sense that Benjamin would like to have a namesake.
I was in contact with Harvey's grandson and but never got any concrete information about the family
​
CITATIONS
(1) B.1915 McEwan Harvey
Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Registrations of Births and Stillbirths, 1869-1913; Series: Registrations of Births and Stillbirths, 1869-1913; Reel: 256; Record Group: Rg 80-2 Ontario, Canada Births, 1832-1914
(2) M.1929 McEwan
(3) D. 1992
(4) Bur. 1994
​
CHILDREN OF HARVEY MCEWAN AND ELIZABETH R.
​
CITATIONS
​
MARY OLIVE MCEWAN 1919 - 2016
Marie McEwan was born September 21st, 1919, and was the second youngest of Ben and Olive’s children. Her baptism occurred on 13 July 1924 at Queen Street East Presbyterian Church, in Toronto.
She and her younger sister Bernice were close in age and by this time, Ben was doing very well at his trade.
As a young girl, she worked in retail at Towers, a store that has long since disappeared.
Marie married Lawrence Daley Sr., a chartered accountant from Ottawa. They married before the war and had one son. The marriage took place on November 30, 1939. Lawrence was born in 1916 to parents Robert John Daley and Audrey May McKnight.
He and his brother Emmett were pilots in the war and when Lawrence returned, he and Marie parted ways. Marie raised the son with the help of his parents and the couple remained friends after the separation.
Both Lawrence and Marie would remarry. Lawrence married a girl from England, in 1951 by the name of Vera Goddard, 1920 - 2009. Lawrence died in Ottawa, May 18th, 1984, at sixty-eight years of age.
Marie’s second husband was Gordon Lloyd Bellamy, son of George Bellamy and Elizabeth Skinner. George was the youngest in a family of eleven children. George was born April 29th 1923 at Todmorden Mills, now a heritage site in Toronto. His father was originally a teamster for the Don Valley Brickworks but later became the stable foreman.
Gordon Enrolled in the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps/Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps on 9 November 1942. He was 22 years old.
While in service, he received a Defence Medal, Canadian Volunteers Service Medal and a Clasp. They discharged him from the army on 16 Mar 1946. May 25, 1951, marked the day of Marie and Gordon's wedding in Toronto..
Gordon would also work for the Brick Works. His family lived in the infamous “Helliwell house” from 1906 until late in the 1930s.
Gordon died on the 17th of May, 1991 in Scarborough, Ontario, at the age of at sixty-eight years.
Marie died December 17, 2016, at ninety-seven, in Brockville, Ontario. Her remains were interred at the Kemptville Union Cemetery, Kemptville, Ontario, the following spring.
Obituary for Marie Bellamy
Peacefully at the St. Lawrence Lodge, Brockville on Saturday, December 17, 2016, at the age of 97 years. Beloved daughter of the late Benjamin and Olive (née Clements) McEwan. Predeceased by her loving husband Gordon Bellamy. Loving mother of Larry Daley (Sharon). Cherished Nana of Joanne Hawkins (Curt), Karen Daley and Brenda Giuseppin (Ed). Great-Nana of Jacob, Noah, Ruth, Joseph, Hana and Tiana. Survived by her sister Bernice and predeceased by her sister Margaret and brothers Harvey and Kenneth. Marie will be sadly missed by her nephew Harvey McEwan (Suzanne) and their family. A special thank you to the staff of St. Lawrence Lodge, Brockville for their wonderful care and compassion. Friends may visit the Brown Chapel of Hulse, Playfair & McGarry, 805 Prescott Street, Kemptville, on Tuesday, December 27, 2016, from 2 to 4 pm & 7 to 9 pm. Burial will take place at Kemptville Union Cemetery in the spring. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the St. Lawrence Lodge Foundation or charity of your choice.
*Thanks to Karen Daley for the information on her grandparents, Mary McEwan, Lawrence Daley, and Gordon Bellamy.
CITATIONS
(1) B.1919 McEwan Marie OLive taken from 1921 Census Reference Number: RG 31; Folder Number: 101; Census Place: Toronto (City), York South, Ontario; Page Number: 7
(2) M.1939 McEwan Marie Olive/Daley Lawrence Canada, Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 Publication Date: 1/ Dec/ 1939; Publication Place: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; URL: https://www.newspapers.com/image/456594516/?article=e3775f44-1fc2-4aa5-8863-75624090d5c5&focus=0.16063455,0.5496431,0.2814256,0.65755844&xid=3398
(3) M. 1951 McEwan Maie Olive/rBellamy George (not found)
(4) D.2016 McEwan Marie Olive Find a Grave https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/176470926/marie-olive-bellamy
​
CHILDREN OF MARY MCEWAN AND LAWRENCE DALEY
​
Private McEwan
​
BERNICE MCEWAN 1922 - 2017
​
Bernice was the youngest of Benjamin McEwan and Olive Clement’s children. Unfortunately, we have little information about Bernice, but we learn more as time passes. Bernice McEwan was born on July 6 1922, in Toronto and baptised on 18 July 1924 at Queen Street East Presbyterian Church, Toronto.
The 1940 voters list has Ben and Olive, and Bernice's brother Ken, and his wife living on Langford Ave next door to the Shadoff family. The voter lists George, John, Constantine, Mary, Gladys, and Miss E.
Bernice married George Shadoff, a butcher in Toronto, November 12th, 1940. George was the son of Constantine Shadoff and Mary Evanoff. Bernice was eighteen years of age at the time. Her brother Ken was a witness at the wedding.
In the 1949 Greenwood voters’ list, Bernice was living with her husband, George, on Dufferin Street in North York. The 1963 voters' list recorded George's occupation as a grocery manager and Bernice's occupation as a cashier. They were living on Black Creek Boulevard.
The final listing I have on voters’ lists is the 1965 voters list. They are living in the same place, but young George is now on the list as a doctor, Bernice as a nurse, and George, the elder, as an accountant.
Young George became a dentist and he died in 2002, leaving a wife and four children. His father died prior to his death.
Bernice died December 28th, 2017 in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
​*Thanks again to Karen for the added information.
​
CITATIONS
(1) B.1919 McEwan Bernice Louise taken from 1921 Census Reference Number: RG 31; Folder Number: 101; Census Place: Toronto (City), York South, Ontario; Page Number: 7
(2) M.1940 McEwan Bernice Louise/Shadoff George Bruce Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1826-1940
(3) D.2017 McEwan Bernice Louise https://gw.geneanet.org/sbellbois?n=mcewan&oc=&p=bernice
​
CHILDREN OF BERNICE MCEWAN AND GEORGE SHADOFF
​
George Shadoff 1942 - 2002 married Private four children