Wordless Wednesday ~ Cousins

My Dad (John) with his sisters and their Toronto cousins, mentioned in the previous post.

(L-R) Mary, Thomas, John, Peggy, Reta

Mary, Reta and John are the children of John J. Manley Jr. (Jack)

Thomas and Peggy are the children of Edward J. Manley

© 2010 Kindred Footprints

Edward J. Manley (1886-1939)

When I was a child I remember asking my father if he had any relatives other than his two sisters and he replied that he had a couple of cousins in Toronto. So my next question was ''how are they your cousins'' and he would answer that they were from his Uncle Ed. Being a child and having no idea who Uncle Ed was, I just left it at that. I didn't realize then that Uncle Ed was dead. Over the years I heard the names Tom and Peggy mentioned as cousins but I don't recall ever meeting them. Years later I found a funeral card tucked away in my mother's prayer book that had the name Mary Theresa Manley on it and I always wondered who that was. This funeral card was from St. Patrick's church in Merritton so I didn't make the connection with the mysterious Uncle Ed in Toronto.

As it turns out Uncle Ed was my grandfather's brother and Mary Theresa was his wife. Edward Joseph Manley was the 1st child of my great grandparents, John Manley and Maggie Flynn. He was born on the 6th of April, 1886 in Thorold, Ontario and grew up in the small village of Merritton where he attended the local Catholic school. It was there that he met Mary Theresa McGarry who was to become his future bride.

Mary Theresa and Edward at Merritton Separate School

Circa 1895

Ed and Mary Theresa were married at St. Patrick's church in Merritton on the 10th of January, 1911. The witnesses were Thomas Manley and Margaret McGarry. Father J. Carberry officiated at the ceremony. Mary Theresa McGarry was born on the 8th of September, 1886 in Merritton and was the daughter of James McGarry and Ann Hurson.

Ed followed in his father's business and worked in the canal construction and dredging business with his father while he and Mary Theresa began to raise a family. They had 2 sons, Thomas Patrick and James Edward and a daughter Margaret Anne who was known as ''Peggy".  Ah, these are the cousins I heard tell of. I guess I didn't hear James mentioned because he passed away when still a young man. Sometime around 1933 Ed and Mary Theresa moved their family to Toronto, where Ed became the President of The Toronto Drydock Co. and the General Manager of the C.S. Boone Dredging and Construction Co. Both were companies that his father, John Manley had been involved with. They lived at 40 St. Clair Ave. West. which was a ''prime'' address but the home that was located there has since been replaced with an office tower. The photo to the left is Edward, Mary Theresa and their son Thomas, circa 1913.

Uncle Ed passed away at his home in Toronto on the 26th of May, 1939 at the young age of 53. Mary Theresa remained a resident of Toronto and passed away on Oct 18th, 1963 in Alliance, Ohio while visiting at the home of her daughter Peggy. The funeral's for both Ed and Mary Theresa were held at St. Patrick's church in Merritton and they are buried together at Lakeview Cemetery in Thorold, Ontario.

Obituary, The Toronto Star, May 27, 1939;

BUILDING EXECUTIVE EDWARD MANLEY DIES

Edward Joseph Manley, president of the Toronto Drydock Co., and general manager of the C.S. Boone Dredging and Construction Co., died Friday at St. Clair Ave. W. He was in his 53rd year. Born at Thorold, Ont., he had resided in Merritton for some years before coming to Toronto six years ago. He was a fourth degree Knight of Columbus and a member of the Holy Name Society. He attended the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. He is survived by his widow, Mary McGarry Manley; three children, Tom, James and Peggy Anne, and a brother, Rev. Thomas J. Manley of St. Brigid's church.

Obituary, The Toronto Star, October 21, 1963;

MANLEY, Mary Theresa -

At Alliance, Ohio on Friday, Oct. 18, 1963, Mary Theresa McGarry, beloved wife of the late Edward Joseph Manley, dear mother of Thomas Patrick, Mrs. J.D. Dolan (Peggy) and the late James Edward Manley, and sister of Jane McGarry. Friends may call at the F. Rosar Funeral Residence, 467 Sherbourne St. until 8 am Tuesday. Requiem mass in St. Patrick's Church, St. Catharines, Ont at 11 am. Interment Thorold, Ont.

Children of Edward Manley and Mary Theresa McGarry:

Thomas Patrick (1912-1992)

James Edward (1914-1947)

Margaret Anne aka Peggy (1916-1998)

Parents of Edward Manley:

John J. Manley (1854-1933)

Margaret Flynn (1857-1894)

Parents of Mary Theresa McGarry:

James McGarry (1850-1914)

Ann Hurson (1855-1911)

© 2010 Kindred Footprints

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Edward and Mary Theresa Manley

Edward Joseph Manley (1886 - 1939)

Mary Theresa McGarry Manley (1886 - 1963)

James Edward Manley (1914 - 1947)

"Requiescant In Pace"

Lakeview Cemetery, Thorold, Ontario, Canada

© 2010 Kindred Footprints

Skating Memories on Wordless Wednesday

  In all the years we've lived here, this has only happened ONCE!

Cold temps, high winds and no SNOW. The lake froze over like glass giving us
the WORLD'S BIGGEST SKATING RINK!

© 2010 Kindred Footprints

Niagara Road Trip

We just returned from another great weekend in the Niagara area. I love going there and Valentine's day gave me the perfect reason to go, along with a few genealogy things I wanted to get done. We headed out Saturday morning and our first stop was the St. Catharine's Public Library. A few days earlier I had found the burial location of my maternal great grandfather, James Carey Walker. He is at the Fonthill Cemetery and it turns out there are 5 other family members buried there with him. The cemetery had provided me with death dates for all of them. The library in St. Catharines has microfilm of many newspapers including the St. Catharines Standard so I was able to look up the death announcements and obituaries for all of them. This was a huge find for me.

From there we checked in to our hotel with only enough time to drop off our bags before heading to Thorold to meet Cathy. Cathy was the subject of a post I had written last week titled ''Sharondipity Strikes Again'' about an amazing blog connection. She is the lady who had googled the name of an unrelated priest, found her way to my blog, found her Great Aunt and Uncle featured on my main page and then discovered that I was the 1st cousin of her childhood best-friend, Jinny. She said she would be waiting outside the place where we planned to meet holding a picture of Jinny and sure enough, there she was. I knew it was her right away. We spent almost 2 hours talking away to each other. She has lived in Thorold almost all of her life and knows everyone in my family and everyone else that I know in that area. It was so great to talk to her and I can't wait to do it again.

Next, we headed to Fonthill to visit the cemetery where James C. Walker and family are buried. It's a fairly large cemetery but we located the grave site right away and took some pictures. This plot contains my great grandfather James, his wife Isabelle, daughters Mary Alice and Helen, son-in-law William and their granddaughter, Andrea.

From there we were going to go do a little shopping in St. Catharines, but decided at the last minute to go back to Thorold and visit Holy Rosary RC Church. We had stopped there once before because I had heard that there was a stained glass window in memory of a family member but the church had been locked up. While we were visiting with Cathy she also mentioned the same thing so we thought we would try again and happily this time it was open as they were preparing for the 5 o'clock Mass. With a little help from a nice lady and Fr. Matthew we found the window. It is in memory of Margaret Manley (my 2x great grandmother from Ireland) and right next to hers was one in memory of Timothy and Margaret McKenny. Their son John was married to Margaret's daughter Mary. I can't even tell you how thrilled I was to find this and it moved me to tears. I also can't believe that I've been in that church so many times over the years and had never noticed the window. Usually when I'm there I'm looking up at the ceiling because of the beautiful paintings on it. I have to work on my ''observation'' skills.

After that amazing discovery, we did a little shopping, relaxed for a while in our hotel room and then went for another awesome dinner at Frado's, which is quickly becoming one of our favorite Italian restaurants. Coincidentally, Fr. Matthew was sitting 2 tables away from us with about 6 other priests.

On Sunday after breakfast and checking out of the hotel we headed for the international bridge at Queenston-Lewiston. My great grandfather James Walker (mentioned above) was originally from Lewiston, NY and this is where his parents and grandparents are buried. I don't know what's up with this but it took 2 hours to cross that bridge which didn't leave us a lot of time to explore Lewiston. I did find the cemetery and the gravestones that I was looking for and my brilliant husband rubbed the names with snow so they would be more visible. After stopping for a cup of Java at the Water Street Landing overlooking the Niagara River we headed back and spent another hour on the bridge. Not fun!

On the way home we made our final stop to visit Frank and his wife Lianne, a cousin that I had discovered a couple of weeks ago on Ancestry.com. This was the first time we met in person and we both talked each other's ears off for 2 hours. It was so great to meet him and I'm really looking forward to having someone in the family to share my research with. Frank's wife and my husband deserve a lot of credit for sitting patiently through 2 hours of Manley family chatter.


© 2010 Kindred Footprints

Wordless Wednesday ~ Garden of Remembrance

Garden of Remembrance
An Gairdín Cuimhneacháin
Parnell Square, Dublin, Ireland

© 2010 Kindred Footprints

Merry-Go-Round ~ Port Dalhousie

Merry-Go-Round, Lakeside Park, Port Dalhousie, Ontario
Memorialized in the song ''Lakeside Park'' by ''Rush''
Just like the song says we used to go to there to watch
the fireworks on the 24th of May
and this is the merry-go-round I rode as a kid.
It's still there, it still costs 5 cents and yes, I still ride it ;-)

Midway hawkers calling
'Try your luck with me'
Merry-go-round wheezing
The same old melody
A thousand ten cent wonders
Who could ask for more
A pocketful of silver
The key to heaven's door

Lakeside Park
Willows in the breeze
Lakeside Park
So many memories
Laughing rides
Midway lights
Shining stars on summer nights

Days of barefoot freedom
Racing with the waves
Nights of starlit secrets
Crackling driftwood flames
Drinking by the lighthouse
Smoking on the pier
Still we saw the magic
Was fading every year

Everyone would gather
On the twenty-fourth of May
Sitting in the sand
To watch the fireworks display
Dancing fires on the beach
Singing songs together...
Though it's just a memory
Some memories last forever

© 2010 Kindred Footprints

John J. Manley Jr. (1893-1936)

John Joseph Manley Jr., familiarly known as ''Jack'' was my Grandfather. Jack was born on the 24th of August, 1893 to John Manley and Maggie Flynn in Morrisburg, Ontario. He was their third and youngest son. The family lived in the village of Merritton (now part of the city of St. Catharines) but my great grandfather's involvement in the construction of the canal systems in the St. Lawrence Seaway led him to spend much of his time in the Morrisburg area throughout the  1890's.

In August of 1894, just a couple of weeks before Jack's first birthday, his mother Maggie passed away. With their father away working in Morrisburg, this created a difficult situation for Jack and his brothers. Maggie had three siblings, Thomas, John and Sarah, who were all unmarried and still lived in the Flynn family home. Thankfully, they took the boys in and cared for them while their father was away.

Aunt Sarah Flynn, Thomas, Edward and John Jr. (Jack) Manley

The 1901 census in Merritton shows the three Manley boys, Edward, Thomas and John Jr. (Jack) living with Thomas, John and Sarah Flynn. It also shows their father, John living in Morrisburg. The 1911 census shows the three Manley boys and their father living in the household of Thomas Flynn along with John, Sarah and Peter Flynn and Peter's two boys. John Sr. and his boys remained very close to the Flynn family for the remainder of their lives.

On the 10th of January, 1916 Jack and Marguerite McDonald were married at St. Patrick's RC church in Merritton. Marguerite was the daughter of James McDonald and Sarah Honsinger. She was born on the 5th of October, 1895 and had grown up in the village of Merritton with Jack. The witnesses were John Flynn and Minnie McDonald and Rev. Fr. K. McRae officiated at the service. Jack and Marguerite had three children; Mary Margaret (1916), Reta Ellen (1920) and John Edward (1929). John Edward is my father.

Jack followed in his father's footsteps and worked in the dredging and construction business. He passed away on August 1, 1936 at St. Mary's hospital in Montreal, Quebec while he was there on business.  He was only 42 years old when he died and left my father who was only 7 years old at the time. It was a tragic loss for the entire family.

Following Jack's death, Marguerite married Thomas Brennan, also of Merritton. She died on the 8th of September, 1955 and is buried with Jack at Lakeview Cemetery in Thorold, Ontario. Sadly, both Jack and Marguerite passed before I was born so I did not have the privilege of knowing my grandparents.

Funeral, St. Catharines Standard, Aug 4, 1936;

FUNERAL OF J.J. MANLEY
Large Crowd Pays Final Tribute to Well-Known Merritton Man

Funeral services for the late John Joseph (Jack) Manley, who passed away in St. Mary's Hospital, Montreal, following a short illness, were held this morning from the family residence, 16 Hazel Street, to St. Patrick's Church and thence to Lakeview Cemetery, Thorold, where interment took place. A large crowd of sorrowing friends and relatives attended and there were many spiritual and floral tokens.


Rev. Father Thos. Manley, a brother of the deceased, celebrated a High Mass of Requiem at the Church, with Very Rev. Dean Michael Cullinane of St. Catharines as Deacon and Rev. Father Ambrose O'Brien as Sub-Deacon. The service at the graveside was taken by Rev. Father W.J. Kelly of Merritton, and other priests in attendance were Monsignor Cline and Monsignor McCann, Rev. Fathers Felix, Smith, Haffey, Hickey, Mogan and Sweeney. The Bearers were Messrs. Edward Doyle, Mathew Welsh, Vincent Phillips, Eden Darling, Thos Coady and Alex McKinnon.


''Jack'' Manley was well-known in a wide circle of friends and was employed by Porter Brothers at Montreal. He was a member of St. Patrick's Church and leaves to mourn his demise, besides his sorrowing widow, Margaret, two daughters and one son, Mary, Reta and John, all at home and two brothers, Edward Manley and Rev. Father Thos. Manley, both of Toronto.

Obituary, St. Catharines Standard, Sep 9, 1955;

MRS. MARGARET M. BRENNAN

A life-long resident of Merritton, Mrs. Margaret Manley Brennan, wife of Thomas Brennan, died last evening at the family residence, 25 Hazel Street, after a lengthy illness. She was born at St. Catharines, and had lived in Merritton practically all her life. She was a member of St. Patrick's Church and the CWL of the church.


Besides her husband, she is survived by two daughters and one son, Mrs. Peter Fortura (Mary), of Merritton, Mrs. John Kennedy (Reta), of Ancaster, and John E. Manley, of Merritton; two sisters and two brothers, Mrs. Patrick Hurson, of Merritton, Mrs. Walter Tunney, of Erie, PA, John McDonald, of St. Catharines, and Thomas McDonald, of Toronto; also three granchildren.


The late Mrs. Brennan will rest at the funeral home of Winter and Winter until 8:30 a.m. Monday. Requiem High Mass will be sung at St. Patrick's Church, Merritton, at 9 a.m. Monday. Interment will take place in Lakeview Cemetery.

Children of John Manley Jr (Jack) and Marguerite McDonald:
Mary Margaret (1916-2002)
Reta Ellen (1920-1994)
John Edward (1929-1988)

Parents of John Manley Jr:
John J. Manley (1854-1933)
Margaret Flynn (1857-1894)

Parents of Marguerite McDonald:
James McDonald (1855-1938)
Sarah Honsinger (1856-1929)


© 2010 Kindred Footprints

Sharondipity Strikes Again ;-)

I think by now most people know that I have a thing for the word "Serendipity", which means to make desirable discoveries by accident. Hence, the nickname ''Sharondipity''.

Over the past few months I have been writing little bios about my ancestors and posting them to this blog. I was working on the children of my 2x Great Grandparents and had one left to do. It was for their youngest son Francis Manley and I finally finished it and posted it on Monday. On a side note I had gone to Toronto the day before specifically to find and photograph the gravestone of Francis' son William.

On Tuesday I received an email from a lady named Cathy. A school in her hometown had asked her if she knew of any priests that had come from that area. She remembered the name of one from her childhood and googled it. This led her to my blog because that same priest was mentioned in the obituary for Francis Manley that I had posted the day before. Imagine her surprise when the first post she saw was about Francis Manley and his wife Amelia Cartmell, who just happen to be her great Aunt and Uncle. She hadn't been looking for them, but there they were. She was so excited, she sent me an email introducing herself and asking if I had any information on Frank and Amelia and their children, especially William. (The one I had just gone to visit the day before).

On Wednesday I sent her a descendant list of Francis and Amelia so that she would be able to fill in their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, along with a few pics.

Later in the day, I received another email thanking me for the information. Then she added that she was 'particularly interested' in an old childhood friend. Her father had told her that she and her friend were actually 2nd cousins and she thought that her friend must be descended from Frank and Amelia. She told me everything about her friend, including who her friends mother and aunt were and the names of a couple of her cousins. Imagine my surprise when I realized that she was talking about my Dad's sisters and all of my 1st cousins. Her childhood friend was my cousin Jinny. The mother and aunt she mentioned were my Aunts Mary and Reta, and the cousins were Reta's boys; Tommy and Patrick. In fact Reta and her son Tommy are my Godparents.  It was very surreal to read someone trying to explain your own family to you.

I gave her the news of who I am and how I fit into this family. The next email she sent had ''Unbelievable'' in the subject line. She told me that she and Jinny had been BEST friends all through elementary and high school. They had lost touch after Jinny got married and moved away but had seen each other over the years when Jinny came home for visits. The last time was in 2002 when my Aunt Mary (Jinny's mom) passed away. She had so many great memories of their childhood together and said she would treasure the picture that I sent her. She also said that Jinny would be LOL'ing in heaven about how we found each other.

My beautiful, funny, cousin Jinny passed away (way too young) just over 3 years ago. It's been great talking to Cathy about her and I look forward to many more chats. She and Jinny weren't 2nd cousins after all (Jinny is descended from Frank's brother and Cathy is descended from Amelia's brother) but they certainly share common cousins. They came from such a small town it wouldn't surprise me if there is a relation there somewhere. I already have one or two possibilities in mind. We'll have to meet for coffee next time I'm down that way and chat some more. And all of this, because she googled the name of a priest who isn't even related to either one of us.

I call that 'Serendipity'.


© 2010 Kindred Footprints

Wordless Wednesday ~ Irish Famine Monument

National Famine Monument

Croagh Patrick, Murrisk, Co Mayo, Ireland

© 2010 Kindred Footprints

Francis J. Manley (1864-1927)

Frank Manley was the youngest child of Edward Manley and Margaret Dixon. He was born in Thorold, Ontario, Canada on the 28th of May 1864. He appears in the 1871 and 1881 census listings with his family. His mother, Margaret passed away in 1881 when Frank was only 17 years of age. By the time of the 1891 census, Frank and his father, Edward are living with his sister Mary Manley McKenny at her home at 23 Carleton Street S. in Thorold.

On the 11th of January, 1893 Frank and Catherine Amelia Cartmell were married at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Catholic church in Thorold. Witnesses were John Cartmell and Loretta Cartmell. Amelia was born on the 26th of March, 1863 and was the daughter of William Cartmell and Ellen McDonald of Thorold. Between 1894 and 1903, Frank and Amelia had 3 children, a son and 2 daughters.

Frank became involved in the canal construction and dredging business along with his brothers, John and Edward and worked as an engineer at this throughout his life. Sometime around 1919 Frank moved his family from Thorold and settled in Toronto, Ontario. Frank became ill and died at St. Michael's hospital in Toronto on the 24th of April, 1927 at the age of 62. He had been pre-deceased by his parents Edward and Margaret, his brother Hugh and his sister Mary. Obituaries for Frank were published in the Toronto Star, the St. Catharines Standard, the Welland Tribune, the Niagara Falls Review and the Catholic Register.  Amelia died at St. Joseph's hospital in Toronto on the 13th of October, 1947. Frank and Amelia are buried together at Mount Hope Catholic Cemetery in Toronto.

Obituary, Frank Manley, Catholic Register, 1927;

At the time of being stricken with his last illness, he was engaged on the work at the harbor, Port Colborne. His fortitude and patience in bearing the pain of his severe illness, his thoughtfulness for all about him, his calmness at the thought of death, and his perfect resignation, have left a lasting impression on all who came in contact with him.


The funeral was held from his late residence, 123 Riverdale Ave., on April 27th, to St. Ann's Church, where Rev. T.J. Manley, nephew of the deceased; was the celebrant of the solemn Mass of Requiem, Rev. Thomas Battle of Schomberg, a native of Thorold, was deacon, and Rev. Father Kelly, assistant at St. Ann's was sub-deacon.


To the solemn strains of the requiem music, the funeral cortege left the church and proceeded to Mount Hope cemetery, where interment took place, all three priests again officiating in the prayers at the graveside. The pall bearers were Messrs Harry Dixon, Toronto; James Dixon, Dalhousie; Edward McKenny, John Cartmell, William Cartmell, Thorold; and John Manley, Jr., Merritton.


Besides his sorrowing widow, formerly Miss Amelia Cartmell, of Thorold, Mr. Manley leaves two brothers, Capt. John Manley of Merritton and Edward of Montreal, one son, Mr. William Manley, Westmoreland Ave., Toronto, and two daughters, Mrs. J.J. Burns, Parkfield, Ont., and Miss Helen at home. To these the sympathy of the entire community is extended in their bereavement. R.I.P.

Obituary, Amelia (Cartmell) Manley, Catholic Register, 1947;

Mrs. Amelia Manley, widow of the late Frank J. Manley, died at St. Joseph's Hospital, Toronto on Oct. 13. Mrs. Manley had been in ill health for some time. The deceased is survived by one son, William, and one daughter, Helen, (Mrs. R. Cresswell), both of Toronto. Another daughter, Mrs. Margaret Burns, predeceased her. Also surviving are two sisters, Mrs. M. McGill and Mrs. J. Hannah of Thorold; two brothers, John Cartmell of Thorold and Joseph Cartmell of St. Catharines; 16 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.


The funeral was held at St. Anthony's Church on Oct. 16, where solemn requiem Mass was celebrated by Rt. Rev. J.J. McGrand, with Rev. W.F. Carvill as deacon and Rev. F.C. Robinson as sub-deacon. Thomas J. Manley, a grandson of the deceased and a student at St. Augustine's Seminary, was master of ceremonies at the Mass. The pallbearers were H. Burns, Wm. Burns, J. Burns Jr., F. Manley, Wm Manley Jr., and L. Manley, all grandsons of the deceased. Interment took place at Mount Hope Cemetery, with Rev. John Bolger officiating at the grave. R.I.P.

Children of Francis Manley and Amelia Cartmell:
William Matthew (1894-1956)
Margaret Mary (1896-1945)
Ellen Frances (1903-?)

Parents of Francis Manley:
Edward Manley (1819-1903)
Margaret Dixon (1821-1881)

Parents of Amelia Cartmell:
William Cartmell
Ellen McDonald


© 2010 Kindred Footprints