A Surname Caught My Eye

Yes a surname caught my eye and off I went on a search to learn more. 

I was looking at Facebook and saw that one of my cousins liked a particular author. The author is Canadian author, Antonia Monacelli from Cambridge, Ontario. Her recently released title, shown in the image, was Bullets, Brothels & Blood. The title itself is intriguing. It was in the description about this book where the surnames Wonch and Leppard caught my eye. The Wonch surname was the one of interest as it is one of the family names of a Markham Berczy settler. Now the original spelling would have been Wunsch. The Leppard surname held no special meaning. The book describes a feud between two families over many decades. 

Now I was intrigued, so I did a Google search: wonch leppard ontario murder. In the list appeared 

Sad End.: Grey Highlands Public Library Digital Collections - Our Ontario

images.ourontario.ca/ghpl/1118693/data

A woman and four children burned to death. ... Mr. Wonch is an industrious man who has lived on the Mill road some time, his wife a kind ... Irish woman, daughter of J. Leppard, near Markdale, Grey Co., and four children comprised the family.

Check out the tragic story that appeared in the Markdale Standard (Markdale, Ont.), 11 Jun 1885, p. 5. [Click the link above] [1] Although the story did not appear to relate to the subject of the book that started this search, I wanted to know more about this family.

So off I went to Ancestry to locate the death registrations for Mrs. Wonch and the four children. I kept the search simple - surname Wonch  death date 1885 where Ontario, Canada.

Mary Wonch's death was registered in the township of Vespra, Simcoe County. [2] Mary Wonch was 29 years old and born in Ontario. The original cause of death is listed as "burnt to death".  In the remarks it says "The above Mary Wonch and her four children were accidentally burnt to death by their house taking fire while they were in bed." [3]

The children were Lillian May Wonch, age 6 years; [4] William James Wonch, age 4 years; [5] Peter John Wonch, age 2 years; [6] baby Wonch, age 1 month. [7] They all died 5 June 1885.

Now because the deaths occurred in Simcoe County, it was worthwhile to check if information appeared in a newspaper of the time most likely in Barrie, Ontario, the nearest large community. Barrie Public Library has a link to the index and images of newspapers. There was a write up of the tragedy in the Northern Advance. [8]

The story is told in a much different way with different information provided. The husband is listed as William Wonch in the Barrie newspaper. The article does not give his wife's first name. There is no reference to where she came from or her father's name. In the Barrie newspaper, there is no mention of the coat. Even the sequence of events are different. Very mysterious -- a tragic event.

To be continued

Sources of information

[1] "Sad End" Markdale Standard 11 June 1885 p. 5, http://images.ourontario.ca/ghpl/1118693/data; transcription

[2] http://www.werelate.org/wiki/Place:Vespra,_Simcoe,_Ontario,_Canada

[3] Mary Wonch Ontario death registration (#015790, 15 June 1885); digital image, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 10 June 2017), citing microfilm MS 935 Reel 41, Archives Ontario, Toronto.

[4] Lillian May Wonch Ontario death registration (#015791, 15 June 1885); digital image, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 10 June 2017), citing microfilm MS 935 Reel 41, Archives Ontario, Toronto.

[5] William James Wonch Ontario death registration (#015792, 15 June 1885);  digital image, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 10 June 2017), citing microfilm MS 935 Reel 41, Archives Ontario, Toronto.

[6] Peter John Wonch Ontario death registration (#015793, 15 June 1885); digital image, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 10 June 2017), citing microfilm MS 935 Reel 41, Archives Ontario, Toronto.

[7] Baby Wonch Ontario death registration (#015794, 15 June 1885); digital image, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 10 June 2017), citing microfilm MS 935 Reel 41, Archives Ontario, Toronto.

[8]"Fatal Fire: A Mother and Four Children Cremated Alive" Northern Advance (Barrie, Ontario), Thursday, June 11, 1885, p.1; digital image, http://news.ourontario.ca/Barrie/2765153/page/1?n=2&q=wonch

© 2017 Janet Iles

Check newspaper advertisements

Owen Sound Advertiser 7 April 1870

Do you check newspaper advertisements when doing your family research? You may learn more about what life was like for your ancestors and kin. What were the current fashions? Where might they have shopped? What were the prices for food? You also may be fortunate to find an advertisement for a business they owned.

The above ad is for Mrs. E.W. Bishop's millinery business in Owen Sound, Ontario. It appeared in the Owen Sound Advertiser on 7 April 1870. The date on the ad is the date when the ad first appeared.

While doing research on another project, I discovered this ad. Who was Mrs. E. W. Bishop? She was the wife of Eleazer Wilson Bishop, son of Elizabeth Helmke and Avery Bishop. Her maiden name was Sarah Sophia Kilbourn and she was the daughter of Hiram Kilbourn, Jr. She was the grandmother of Billy Bishop.

No mention of Sarah's business is given in her obituary. It is not known how long she operated this business. Her husband tried his hand at different occupations. In the 1865 Directory of the County of Grey, Eleazer was operating a hotel and tavern near the Swing Bridge. In the 1871 census, he is shown to be a harness maker.

So what was sold in her shop?
Millinery - Bonnets, hats, feathers, flowers, ribbons and laces
Wools -- Fleecy's, Fingering, Berlin and Zephr.
Silk and cotton flos, gloves, woolen scarfs, breakfast shawls, sontags, and other fine goods.

Some of these terms are not familiar to me.
Were fleecy's - socks like those worn by ballerinas to keep their legs warm or were they something else?
Fingering - The craft yarn council states that fingering weight and sock weight yarn are the same.
Berlin - a fine worsted yarn for knitting and embroidery according to Merriam Webster online dictionary.
Zephr would appear to be delicate soft yarns, fabrics, or garments, usually of wool
Breakfast shawls
Sontag  appears to be  a triangle style shawl that has long tails that meet at the wearer's back waist.

Sources

Mrs. E. W. Bishop ad for millinery and fancy goods in The Owen Sound Advertiser 7 April 1870.

1865 Directory of the County of Grey (http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wjmartin/grey1.htm). 

Sarah Sophia Bishop Ontario death registration #003271 (4 August 1903); digital image, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 22 September 2014), citing microfilm MS 929 Reel 109, Archives of Ontario, Toronto

Obituary "Death of Mrs. E. W. Bishop" undated, unnamed newspaper from the Bruce Grey Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society's Surname Collection #1 (clippings that are on microfiche organized by surname).

© 2014 Janet Iles

Read all about William Stiver

Newspaper articles can provide much needed information on a person. In my family tree, I have 11 men named William Stiver. It is easy to get them confused but it helps to carefully read all the newspaper articles and note the details that distinguish them. None of the articles mentioned below give William’s middle name of Henry that shows on his death registration. [1]This William Stiver is a first cousin four times removed.

When searching for a death of a person in the newspaper, I am always excited to find a detailed obituary or death notice. I search for not only the announcement of the passing of the individual but I look for details on the funeral. Although William Stiver resided in the Unionville area of Markham Township, his death was made known in the Toronto World. Some years of the Toronto World have been digitized by Paper of Record. There is no charge to access this database. An article also appeared in the Markham Economist and Sun but not until after his funeral. [2] Although many of the details are the same as those that appeared in his obituary in the Toronto newspaper, the Markham newspaper gives more details about his life.

His grandfather’s name is given only as Capt. Shelts who had served in the War of 1812. This is believed to be Schutze. Various sources spell it as Shoutts, Shultze, Schutze, Shutz and Shelts. William’s parents are not named in his obituary William’s parents were John Stiver and Mary Ann Shutz. [3]

One item I found interesting was that his funeral was to be at 2 p.m. (old time). I am not sure what that means. He died in August. It is not at the time of year when clocks were changed for Day light savings time. [If anyone can explain this, I would be pleased to know.] [4] His nephews were the pall bearers. [5]

When time permits, I like to read through the newspapers to see if I can find information in the community news. This helps round out the character of the person. Scrolling through newspapers is hard on both the eyes and stomach. One article I found about William Stiver also appeared in Toronto World (found through checking matches for the name Stiver). At age 88, he helped his sons with bringing in the last of their harvest. In the morning William assisted his son Robert and in the afternoon his son Reuben. He sounds like a remarkable person. Thanks to newspapers, we get to know him better. [6]

[1] William Henry Stiver Ontario death registration #087192 (1919); Family History Library, Salt Lake City, microfilm FHL 1862969.

[2] William Stiver death and funeral information, Markham Economist and Sun, 14 August 1919 p.1

[3] “Wm. Stiver was Markham Pioneer” Toronto World 11 August 1919 p. 2; digital copy Paper of Record (www.paperofrecord.com ; accessed 1 October 2008)

[4] “William Stiver death notice” Toronto World 11 August 1919 p. 7; digital copy Paper of Record (www.paperofrecord.com ; accessed 1 October 2008)

[5] “William Stiver funeral account” Toronto World 12 August 1919 p. 2; digital copy Paper of Record (www.paperofrecord.com ; accessed 1 October 2008)

[6] “Age no detriment to veteran farmer” Toronto World 19 August 1918, p.7; digital copy Paper of Record (www.paperofrecord.com ; accessed 1 October 2008)

150 Years of Grey County Newspapers

Canadian newspapers are a strange mėlange of politics, religion, abuse, and general information.

Susanna Moodie, 1853.

Elizabeth Myers has been researching the development of the business of newspaper publishing within the County of Grey -- the publishers, the rivalries, the successes, and the failures -- since her retirement from the Ontario Community Newspapers Association. She will be the speaker at the Grey County Historical Society meeting on Wednesday, March 19, 2008 at 1:30 p.m. at Cooke's Presbyterian Church Hall in Markdale, Ontario. Non-members are welcome to attend.

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Because newspapers are such an important tool in both genealogical and historical research, I am looking forward to hearing Elizabeth speak.