Cecil Earnest Simms (1902 - 1975)

The youngest member of the Simms family and brother to my grandfather Alexander was born on September 9th in 1902.  My grandfather was 20 years older than Cecil and he left for the west the year after Cecil was born.
The form below was downloaded from Family Search and seems to be a declaration made in 1930 by Agnes rather than a birth certificate.  It seems to have been filled in and signed by Robert Bryan, Justice of the Peace. Her first name is written with two s's and I have never seen it spelled that way.  I believe her maiden name is McAllister not McCallister as it's written here.

Regardless, Cecil Earnest Simms was the youngest son of William and Agnes.  His father died when he was 16 years old and although he had two older brothers, both were gone to find their own fortune and the home farm near Mountain would have been his responsibility.

It seems he was not successful at farming and the property and home was taken over by others.  A grandson of his sister Mary Simms Bryan is the present owner and took me to see the property and home.  Although it now has white siding and has had additions, the original red brick home is still standing where Cecil and his siblings were born and raised.  

Cecil remained a bachelor and died in 1975.  He is buried at South Gower Cemetery with his parents and sister Eleda.

The Ottawa Journal

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Mon, May 26, 1975 – Page 30

Eleda May Simms (1895 - 1973)

Eleda May Simms was the second youngest of eight children born to Irish immigrants William Simms and Agnes McAllister on January 25, 1895.   Her birth certificate online at Family Search indicates her given name was Lydia May but she known as Eleda.

I have not found evidence of her being trained as a nurse but I do know she was the family caretaker of her mother Agnes and others.

The only photo I have of her is on the far right in the above photo.  She seems to be in mid bite of a picnic sandwich.  Her nieces Doris and Gwen were visiting Ontario for the first and only time.  At this time, family records indicate she lived at Carp, Ontario which is west of Ottawa and home of the "Diefenbunker".  

The letter below was written by Eleda in 1941 to Mary upon the death of Mary's husband Alexander, Eleda's older brother.

Kemptville, Ont
Dec 15/41
Dear Mary & all
Received your telegram on Wednesday of Alex's death and was very sorry indeed.  We were waiting for better news but when one is called they must go.  You have our deepest sympathy and trust in God that you may be spared for many years to carry on and look after the family.  What was his trouble had be been sick very long  He will be where there is no suffering or pain.  We were shocked to hear of it so suddenly as Mother is not very strong.  She would have liked very much to have gone out and see you all but Mother was not strong enough to travel so far.  We have not even been to Montreal.  I wrote to them all and told them about Alex's death.
There is a great deal of sickness down here both young and old being called away very suddenly.  Was Doris teaching school.  I thought she told me Robert was called for 4 months training.  You will need him on the farm, he will be a great help.   Well please try and write and let us know all about him and take good care of yourself and God will look after you all.
Sincerely,
Mother and Eleda

Eleda came to Manitoba to help with the house when my grandmother, Mary Sinclair Simms, was ill.  Aunt Dodie's diary from May 14, 1959 says:

Got telegram from Aunt Eleda and met her at the 12:15 train in Rivers.

Seven months later the December 17, 1959 entry:

Don and I took Aunt Eleda to meet train at Brandon.  Left at 8:28 am. 

Eleda died in 1973 at age 78. She is buried with her parents and younger brother Cecil in the South Gower Cemetery.

Ethel Martha Simms Scott (1893 - 1934)

Ethel was the sixth child and fourth daughter born to William Simms and Agnes McAllister.  She came into the world on July 15, 1893.

On June 30, 1915 Ethel married James Edgar Scott (1893-1942).  He was a 21 years old farmer and she was 22.  The marriage was performed at Saint Andrew Manse in Mountain by H.W. Clitte.  The above record was found in a book of transcribed records in Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa.

The congregation of St. Andrew's Presbyterian South Mountain was dissolved in 1997.

The 1921 Canadian census showed Ethel with her husband James and one year old son Donnie as farmers in Mountain Township who own their own six room wood house.  Presbyterian is their declared religion.  Her brother-in-law Erroll Murdock is the enumerator on this document.

Ethel Scott died in 1934 and James in 1942.  Any further information or pictures about Ethel and her family would be most welcome!

100 Years Ago Today

July 28, 1915

• It was a Wednesday and the weather forecast for Winnipeg was fair and warm.
• World War One had been raging for exactly one year and the Manitoba Free Press and Tribune listed on their front page the many local boys who were casualties, wounded or missing in action.
• Other Headlines - Railways Prepare to Move Big Crops; Successful Fair at Regina is Promised; Portage Greets Premier Norris with Enthusiasm; Women's Reserve Corps is Formed
• Advertisements from the Winnipeg Free Press:

In my family, this day in history was the wedding day of my paternal grandparents, Alexander Simms and Mary Tait Sinclair.

The 1911 Census shows Alex working on the Sinclair farm north of Oak River.  The next year he took up farming himself south of the village on 10-13-22. Then on July 28 of 1915, they were married in Blanshard, likely at the home of her parents James and Elizabeth Sinclair.   There are no photos of the couple that I have seen except the one below, taken of them with their family on their 25th anniversary in 1940. 

Back row - Bob, Mary and Alex.  Middle - Doris and Gwennie  Front - Donald and Dorothy

Their legacy continues with grandchildren and great grandchildren carrying their genes and making their own contributions to the world.  

Road Trip - July 20, 2015

My cousin Rea took a group of us on a recent tour of some of the places important to our ancestors around Hargrave and Virden.  It was wonderful to see the places I've heard and wrote about during my research.

My grandparents, Frank and Frances Kinnaird lived in this home north of Hargrave.  It now sits near Lenore, facing south as it did on the farm.  It was moved several years ago and was added onto to make the beautiful farm home of the Hunter family.  Aunt Marge grew up here and recalls living in the downstairs portion of the house in the thirties and not using the second story, likely due to winter weather.  She slept in what we called the piano room at the west end with her parents and Uncle Keith was on a couch in the living room.  The window above the front door was originally coloured glass and Karen recalls a trunk with a plant on it always sat under that window.

This is the lone pine tree that marks the former farm yard of John and Christina Carruthers O'Neil, south of Hargrave.  The photo below is likely from the forties on this farm. The back of the original photo identifies May Kelly (a Carruthers connection) on top of the combine, John O'Neil with George and Ivans Reddons who were neighbours across the road.

 The O'Neil stone house is pictured above with J.J. and Christina and Frank Kinnaird to their left.

The pictures above are from a yard where my great grandparents Alexander and Jeannie Milne lived north of Hargrave. More pictures including how it looked in an aerial photo from 1959, are on a blog post about Jim Milne. The bottom left picture shows the two rows of trees that mark the location of the original lane up to the house.  Aunt Marge recalled the hollyhocks that used to grow and bloom in this yard, in the black and white photo above.

Hargrave School was the educational institution for 3 generations of the Kinnaird family along with many of their family and neighbours.  It was built in 1909 and remained in use until 1969.

The grounds are beautifully mowed and kept up as is the former stables for the school.

The bell is still in place.  Next was the short trip south to the Kinnaird farm.  I remember visiting my Grandma there in the 60's and early 70's but it seems so much bigger now. The aerial photo below dates from 1968.

Rea showed us the grain scoop that Grandpa Kinnaird would have used to move the grain before augers. He commented that it makes his back hurt just to think of all that labour to move grain from the cart to the granary.  Cousin Karen enjoyed the trip down memory lane too, recalling where Grandma lit smudges for the milk cows to keep the mosquitoes and black flies from biting.  

This is the lane looking west where the photo on the right may have been taken about 77 years later.

We had a look in Uncle Keith and Aunt Aida's former home in the farm yard.  It contains many treasures and wonderful memories!

Next on the tour was the farm home of cousin Lyle and his family, north in the Montgomery district.   This home was where Alex and Jeannie Milne lived when the 1921 census was taken.  It was later occupied by family friends Charlie and Bella Gardner and their daughter Violet, who was a special friend of Aunt Marge.  Below she is pictured on the right with Marjorie and little Margaret Kinnaird.

Rea had one more special stop to end the tour.  As we were driving along I commented about the neat hilly country ahead and his daughter Chelsey (who was in charge of the maps as our navigator) said, that's where we were going!  It was a beautiful piece of land that they call "28".  My Mom recalls going there to pick saskatoons but now there's a clearing on top of the hill that used to be a farmyard.

An old stone barn with one wall and window remaining.

A wonderful farm home on "28".  Rea told us there were 3 chimneys since each room upstairs had its own wood stove for heat.  An interesting thing about this yard is that it has no road or lane leading to it.  It's all cross country to get there.  The view from the yard is spectacular!

We left with a final look at some Kinnaird cows, who were looking for a treat.  Sorry girls!