Ralph Crawford (1789 - 1857)

Born 1789 in Parish of Curran, County Monaghan, Ireland

Husband of Mary Ann (Mulholland) Crawford — married 1816 (to 24 Aug 1824) in Clones, County Monaghan, Ireland

Husband of Jane (Hillock) Crawford — married 5 May 1829 in St. James Cathedral, Toronto, ON

Descendants

Died 14 Dec 1857 at about age 68 in Chinguacousy, Peel, Ontario, Canada

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Biography

Ralph was born in Monaghan, Ireland in 1789. He married Mary Ann Mulholland in Ireland in 1816. The family then emigrated to Canada, with their first son born on the boat over. Ralph and Mary Ann's second son was born on Toronto. Three other children are listed on the McKane Family Tree but they are not mentioned by Mabel or the censuses.

The family settled in York (Toronto) and had one daughter, Amelia, who may have died young. Mary Ann soon died of dysentery.

In 1832, Ralph bought 200 acres of land from Henry Pope at lot 7 in the fourth concession in Chiguacousy, where he farmed with his two sons, Robert and Eli.

He remarried after 1832 to Jane Hillock at the St James Cathedral in Toronto and had two more children, Susan and William Porter. Records show that he may have had a second son with Jane. Jane and Ralph later separated sometime before 1851.

The 1851 census shows Ralph living with his son Eli and his family. Mabel Bedford remembers him living with his other son, Robert, until he died in 1857.

Sources

• 1851 Census with Ralph living with Eli
• McKane Family Tree
• Biography as remembered by Mabel Bedford: "Ralph Crawford was born in Co. Monaghan, Ireland in the year 1789. He was married in Ireland to a woman whose surname was Mulholland. At the age of 27 Ralph emigrated to Canada in 1816, with his father and his brother Robert. Ralph's oldest son, Robert, was born on the boat on the way over (1816). Ralph settled in York (Toronto) and a second son, Eli, was born there in 1820. His wife died in Toronto from dysentry. In 1832, Ralph bought 200 acres of land from Henry Pope at lot 7 in the fourth Con. in Chiguacousy Twp. Henry Pope received the Crown Deed for this land only 13 days before he sold it to Ralph. Ralph was a widower at this time when he and his two sons, Robert who would be 16 and Eli who would be 12, move to this farm. Later, he married a woman whose surname was Hillock. They had two sons. They separated and she moved to live near Owen Sound. Ralph lived with his son Robert on the farm until his death at 68 in 1857."