William Barnes (1814 - 1895)

Born 6 Jun 1814 in Ireland

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 2 Feb 1895 at age 80 in Canada

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Fred Nix [send private message]

Biography

William was born on June 6, 1814 in Dublin, Ireland, the son of Thomas Barnes (1762-1852) and Jane Smith (c1772-1838).

He emigrates from Dublin in June 1834. His brother George (1812-1877) follows in 1835. After living in Toronto (York) for a while, the brothers move to Green River in Pickering Township where they settle. William calls his farm “Ballybrownogue.” One of the first things they do is build a sawmill. In today’s geography, Green River is on Highway #7 just east of the line dividing York Region from Durham Region. It is about half a kilometre north of the Highway 407 toll road.

From a letter written by the father (Thomas) to William on April 1, 1835, it is known that both William and George received about £250 from their father. It is not possible to be too precise here because, from the letter, it may have been that some of this money was in the form of things bought by the father for the sons and some may have been money that was coming at some point. However, the main point to note is that borh William and George were relatively well off when they arrived in Upper Canada. A web site that converts money from past years to current values gives a very complicated answer to the question "how much is £250 worth today?" Suffice to say, it is a lot. For example (one of about nine possible answers), it would buy about $300,000 (CDN) in labour time.

George Barnes leaves Green River to move to Hamilton at some point where he operated a succesful wholesale stationary and book company.

William marries Nancy McNeely on July 20, 1844. Nancy was also born in Ireland and her parents had settled near Locust Hill, which is just to the west of Green River on (today's) Highway #7.

The 1851 census (conducted in 1852) shows William as a lumber dealer in Lot 33, Concession 6 of Pickering Township. He has a 60 acre farm with 40 of those acres under cultivation. The 1877 map of Pickering Township shows a W. Barnes with a 50 acre lot and, beside him, a G. Barnes with a 45 acre lot. (George Barnes may still have been the owner but, as far as is known, he no longer lived in Green River.) These farms are just to the north of the Green River Post office -- the northeast corner of Lot 33, Concession 6.

William and Nancy had the following children:

• Anne Barnes (1845-1923)

• Thomas Barnes (1847-?) + Victoria Chambers

• Jemima Barnes (1849-1923) + William Alverns McGregor

• Eliza Barnes (c1852-?) + Edmund Powis

• George Barnes (1853-1917) + Sarah Annette Gregory

• Susan Barnes (1856-1864)

• Jane (“Jennie”) Barnes (1860-1941) + Ira Albert Freel

• William G. (1863-1924) + Mary Monkhouse (1867-1923)

• Minnie (1866-c1955) + William Stark

The first five of these children were all baptised on the same day -- September 21, 1854 -- at Grace Church in Markham Township.

The 1861 census shows William as a farmer in Pickering (he has a wood-related industry but this is not shown), with his wife, Nancy, and the following children: Ann (16), Thomas (14), Jemima (12), Elias (9), George (8), Susan (6) and Jennie (1). (Several of these names are not legible or clear on the census record.) The 1871 census shows the family in Pickering -- in this case William is shown as a "manufacturer." One daughter, Susan, is not shown as she was killed in 1864 when she was "trodden by a horse." But the census record is odd in that it misses the two youngest children -- William and Minnie. William has been found as a seven year old a few household's away from the Barnes -- this may be because he is in school, according to the census record, and perhaps these neighbours lived close enough for a 7-year old to walk (this is speculation). But the "baby", Minnie, is simply missing (perhaps whoever answered the census taker's questions just forgot about her?)

In the 1881 census, William is now 66-years old. The census shows him as farmer, although it is known he was still operating a wood-working business. There are only four children left at home: Ann (30), Jane (18), William (17) who would eventually take over his father's wood-working business and Minnie (14). There are also three other gentlemen living in the household and they appear to be either employees are perhaps (a 76-year old man) an ex-employee. In the 1891 census, William is now described as a basket manufacturer (the wood-forming business started a basket line in 1875) and there are still four children at home: Ann (45), Jennie (30), William G. (27) and Minnie (24). In addition there are three other people in the household - a lodger, a person working in the 'factory' and a person doing the farming. (One of these people, a 17-year old Alice Fraser, has lost her parents and that is why she is living with the Barnes. William and Nancy's son, William G. Barnes, and his wife will eventually take her in.)

William dies on February 2, 1895 in Pickering Township. He dies within a week of Nancy, both from the “Grippe” (influenza). They are buried in the Brunswick Hill Cemetery, Green Hill, Pickering Township (now the Regional Municipality of Durham). They are buried with their daughter, Anne Barnes (1845-1923), their son, William G. Barnes (1863-1924) and his wife, Mary Monkhouse (1866-1923).

(The Brunswick Hill cemetery was at the site of a Baptist Church. The cemetery has been moved into Green Hill. One thing that is not understood is that, even though William and Nancy were Church of England, they were buried in a Baptist cemetery.)

This profile is a collaborative work-in-progress. Can you contribute information or sources?

Sources

[1] Files of Barbara Paterson (née Barbara Carolyn Boake 1927-2009): Barbara's extensive notes on the Barnes family were the start of this biography. These notes include the birth and death dates. They also include the baptism records for the first 5 children.

[2] Anne Barnes 1905 notes: "I Anne Barnes cut these lines out of Wm Barnes (my father) old account book as they contain all the record we have [of] our family." signed by Anne Jany 20 1905. [In biographies earlier than this one, this source is refered to as "Anne Barnes 1905 notes." For William Barnes' biography, these are the important points from these notes: "came to Canada in June 1834. Married 20 July 1844 to Nancy McNeely of Markham Co. of York." The notes then list the children of William and Nancy. The writing is faint, so it is possible that this transcription contains errors. Beside each child's name (if they married) William shows the name of the spouse: (1) Anne born 14th April 1845; (2) Thomas born 18 July 1847 + Victoria Chambers; (3) Jemima born 22 August 1849 + Wm Alverns McGregor; (4) Eliza born 15 February 1852 + [almost impossible to read hand-writing but looks like "Edmund Powis" or "Pervis"]; (5) George born 25 Dec 1853 + Nettie Gregory; (6) Susan born 1 Jan 1856 killed 22 Oct 1864 being trodden on by a horse; (7) Jane born 26 Sept 1860 [there then is a line leading down past the list of other children to this: "Jane married Nov 28th 1893 to Ira Freel M.B." it is beleive the "M.B." is meant to be "M.D."] (8) William born 21 June 1863 [at the very bottom of the page there is this further note: "William married Sept 16/03 Mary Monkhouse of Altona" this must be a note that Anne Barnes added to her father's notes]; (9) Minnie born 7th Oct 1866 + [initials very difficult to read but could be "A. J."] Stark ap 18th/95 [or 96]

[3] A Third Brother: In Barbara Paterson's notes, there is a question mark about a third brother, Thomas, also coming to Upper Canada in various correspondence Barbara had but the best guess is that there was confusion over the son (not a brother) of William and Nancy -- a Thomas Barnes who was actually born in Canada West. In a copy of a letter from Thomas Barnes (father of William) written on April 1, 1835 to his son “Willy” in “Toronto or York Town Canada”, there are two things to note: (1) William was already in Canada by January 1835 (because he wrote his father in Jan 1835), and (2) it appears to say that George has just left. So it seems that William arrived in Canada a year or two before his brother.

[4] value of £250: Lawrence H. Officer and Samuel H. Williamson, "Five Ways to Compute the Relative Value of a UK Pound Amount, 1270 to Present," MeasuringWorth, 2014. URL: www.measuringworth.com/ukcompare/ They provide answers ranging from £20,840.00 for the real price of commodities to £755,900.00 for "economic power" (the value of that income or wealth).

[5] Wood, William Robertson "Past years in Pickering : sketches of the history of the community," pp 217-218: "BARNES.— In 1836 [it was 1834] the Barnes brothers, George and William, came from Dublin, Ireland, to Canada, and after spending a year about Toronto settled on Lot 33, Con. 6, naming the farm Ballybrownogue. Erecting a sawmill they operated it for several years together, but George ultimately went to Hamilton, where he engaged very successfully in the wholesale stationery and book business, retiring in 1870 and dying seven years later. William built a new sawmill in 1857, which is still in operation. In 1870 he began the manufacture of tubs, pails, fork-handles. Two years later he included brush handles and blocks, and in 1875 a basket-making business was added. These he carried on successfully till 1894, when he retired from business. His wife was the eldest daughter of the late J. McNeely, and their family consisted of three sons and four daughters, all of whom are still living. His youngest son, W. G. Barnes, still continues the business established by his father."

[6] 1851 agricultural census, Ontario, Ontario County, Pickering, enumeration district 13, 279, line 6, Wm Barnes, Conc 6, lot 33, 60 acres, 40 under cultivation, 36 under crop, 3 under pasture, 1 under garden or orchard, 20 in woods or wild; wheat – 15 acres, 320 bu.; no livestock shown.

[7] 1851 census, Ontario, Ontario County, 245 Pickering Township, p 36d, 37a, automatedgenealogy.com , lines 43-47: William Barnes (38), born Ireland, lumber dealer; Nancy (28), born Ireland; Ann (7); Thomas (5); Jemima (3). Children were born Canada West. The family’s religion is Church of England.

[8] 1861 census, Ontario, Township of Pickering in the County of Ontario, pg (? maybe 2): William Barnes [looks like “Barns”] (47), place of birth [not legible but definitely not Canada], farmer; Nancy (37), place of birth [again, not legible but same as William]; Ann (16); Thomas (14); Jane (12) [this is Jemima]; [female name not legible] (9); George (8); Susan (6); [Jane or Jennie] (1). All children born in Canada [Upper Canada or Canada West].

[9] 1871 census, Ontario, Ontario South, Pickering, pg 20, household 81: William Barnes (56), born in Ireland, manufacturer; Nancy (46). Born in Ireland; Jemima (18); George (17); Jane (10); Kesiah Woodruff (19); Ellen Woodruff (13). The Barnes children were born in Ontario and the Barnes family is Church of England. The two Woodruff young woman were also born in Ontario; their religion is shown as Christian. And on pgs 18-19, household 74, there is a family of Robert and Ann [last name not legible but could be something like Underhill] who are English (and Wesleyan Methodists) and who have a 5-yr old boy. But they also have a William Barnes (7) who is Irish and Church of England. He is in school. This is almost certainly the son of William and Nancy Barnes (?possibly he lived with these people to be closer to school?)

[10] 1877 map of Pickering: http://digital.library.mcgill.ca/countyatlas/search.htm

[11] 1881 census, Ontario, Ontario County, Pickering, pg 17, household (?) 83: William Barnes (66), born Ireland, farmer; Nancy (76) [she was 56], born Ireland; Ann (30) [more like 36]; Jane (18); William (17); Minnie (14). It shows all children born in Ireland [they were born in Canada West] The Barnes family is Church of England. In addition to the Barnes, there appears to be three other men living in the household. It is not clear what their relationship is with the Barnes – one is 43-yrs old, one is 70 and one is 76; they all appear to be widowers. Two have “E” showing in the column for occupation which may mean they are employees. The third, the oldest, has “gentleman” for occupation.

[12] 1891 census, Ontario, 102 West Ontario [County], Pickering, pg 24, household 138; William Barnes (76), born Ireland, occupation is shown as “basket manufact” with one employee; Nancy (66), born in Ireland; Ann (45); Jennie (30); William G. (27); Minnie (24); Alice Fraser (17) [the “L” under relation to head of household may mean lodger]; William C (?) Bryan (38), born England, factory hand; Frederick (?) Postle (19), born Ontario, farmer. The Barnes children were born in Ontario. Everyone in the household is Church of England.

[13] Brunswick Hill Cemetery, headstone: "William Barnes died February 2, 1895 in 81st year. A native of Dublin Ireland / also Nancy wife of William Barnes died February 9, 1895 in her 71st year."

[14] The author of this biography (Fred Nix) is the gg grandson of William.