Since beginning my genealogy journey, I had
very little family information about my Dad’s paternal grandmother - Agnes McAllister Simms. I knew she was born
April 1859 in Ireland,married William Simms in March of 1880 in Antrim and left
for Canada with him shortly after. William and Agnes were farmers in South Mountain, Ontario just south of Ottawa. Recently, to my delight, more details about Agnes' family has emerged.
First, I had a message from an Ancestry contact
Jimsummers54 who was able to tell me the names of her parents. They were Alexander McAllister (1830-1901)
and Mary Ann McIlwaine (1831 - 1908).
This couple were married at Inver, Antrim on January 19, 1853 and farmed at
Duffs Hill northwest of
Carrickfergus. His father’s name
was Ephraim (1794-1860) as well. Another
generation back was also revealed from the same source, Arthur McAllister
(1770-1846) and his wife Mary Templeton (1772-1841).
Then I had another message from a researcher
who was looking for Agnes' brother Ephriam.
I had researched him before but she gave me the more specific locale of
Penhold, AB and that Google search gave an amazing result here!Ephraim (pictured left) married Mary Jane Niblock (below) and went on to have a family of nine. One son Arthur died in WW1 and is buried in Lapugnoy Military Cemetery in France. His service file has been digitized and is online here. Ephraim’s descendants continue to farm his original homestead, Antler Valley Farm.
I had been told that my grandfather Alexander Simms made a trip to Alberta when he left home in Ontario about 1903. Now I wonder if he was visiting his Uncle Ephraim and Aunt Mary at Penhold? I do not yet have a picture of Agnes McAllister Simms but this latest success makes me keep searching. Thanks to those fellow genealogists and my McAllister cousins for their help!
