Anne ( Campbell) Smith was born July 21, 1938 in Farran's Point, a small community near Cornwall, Ontario. Despite her birthplace, Anne's family roots were firmly entrenched in Oakville. Her mother, Daisy (McCleary) Campbell was born here in 1902, as was Daisy's father, Joseph McCleary in 1862, and Anne spent much of her youth living on the McCleary family farm in the village of Sheridan (Queen Elizabeth Highway and Winston Churchill).
At the time, she didn't realize she was living in what would become an historic log cabin relocated to the Country Heritage Park in Milton (formerly The Ontario Agricultural Museum) where pioneer demonstrations take place today.
Anne remembers a time when horses were more dependable than tractors. Her Uncle Roy would prepare his team of workhorses and Anne, at an age as young as 6, would be in the "driver's seat" on the wagon while the others loaded the hay. Anne was too young and weak to provide the horses much guidance with the reins but Jerry and Polly knew just what to do by commands, 'getty up' and 'whoa'.
Anne remembers the strong sense of community that existed in rural Oakville. Her Aunts Ethel and Hazel spent countless hours quilting. The quilting bees provided a social, productive team environment for the women of Sheridan. How, these handmade quilts are precious heirlooms to be protected and passed down through the generations -- Anne remembers when quilts were simply standard bedding material.
After the family farm was sold in the late sixties and the clapboard farmhouse was finally demolished to make room for commercial development, the original log cabin was discovered. Turns out that the log cabin was built in 1830 by pioneer Joseph Clark on Lot 2, Concession 1 in Trafalgar Township. It was purchased by Anne's grandfather, Joseph McCleary, in 1900.
Anne met her husband, Darrell Smith, on a blind date. They raised their family in a home in southwest Oakville, Anne is pleased that her three children attended Gladys Speers Public School. You see, Gladys Speers was born Gladys McCleary, one of Anne's aunts. Gladys was a school teacher and secretary of the board. In recognition of her many contributions to the education community in Oakville, the school was named in her honour.[2]
↑ Archives of Ontario. Registrations of Births and Stillbirths – 1869-1913. MS 929, reels 1-245 (#126). Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Archives of Ontario.
↑ Library and Archives Canada. Census of Canada, 1901. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Library and Archives Canada, 2004. Census Place: Trafalgar, Halton, Ontario; Page: 9; Family No: 71.
↑ Library and Archives Canada. Census of Canada, 1911. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Library and Archives Canada, 2007. Census Place: Trafalgar, Halton, Ontario; Schedule 1 Microfilm T-6471; Page: 8; Family No: 76.
↑ Library and Archives Canada. Sixth Census of Canada, 1921. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Library and Archives Canada, 2013. Series RG31. Statistics. Reference Number: RG 31; Folder Number: 61; Census Place: Trafalgar (Township), Halton, Ontario; Page Number: 2.
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It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Sarah by comparing test results with other carriers of her ancestors' mitochondrial DNA.
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