In October 2021 I finally visited (with my daughter) the Wellington County Museum and Archives, a trip that I was obliged to postpone for two years due to the COVID pandemic and the resultant restrictions on public activities in Ontario. On this trip, we also visited the Drayton, Ontario cemetery where ancestor William Foreman (1820-1900) is buried.
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| Photo taken on drive through Wellington county, Ontario (October 2021) |
The beautiful drive to 0536 Wellington Rd 18, Fergus, Ontario from my daughter's Toronto apartment took close to two hours which made me wonder about the Foreman family and the conditions they must have endured traveling in the early 1800s when they chose to settle on the 11th Concession Lot 6, Township of Peel, Wellington County ( not to be confused with Peel, the County).
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| Reviewing Wellington County Maps at the Wellington County Museum and Archives (Oct 2021) |
This report of my trip to the Wellington county archives,museums, libraries and cemeteries is in three parts:
- The research you must do BEFORE you visit any archive or cemetery
- The research you do while you are at the archive and/or cemetery.
- The research you do to follow up after you’re home.
Preparing To Visit The Archives
It is important to be clear about what you know, what you don't know and what you hope to achieve on your visit to the archives.
I had previously researched and written a blog post about William Foreman (1820-1900): "From England to Wellington County Ontario"
I had information about:
- both of his wives Mary May McCauley (1821-1878) and Jane Blake (1851-1923)
- his six children from his first marriage and his daughter from his second marriage.
- His land records for 11th Concession Lot 6, Township of Peel, Wellington County
- His census records 1861, 1871, 1881 and 1891.
- His death records
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| William Foreman's First Marriage |
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| William Foreman's Second Marriage |
William was born in England and I wanted to know the precise location. I also wanted to know:
- Which newspapers might be available and was there an obituary for William?
- Where could I find William Foreman's will?
- Were there any local histories that could provide more information about the Foreman family
This was the small, reasonable and achievable list of items that I hoped I could locate at the archives on my visit..
Visiting The Archives
An appointment was required as was proof of COVID vaccination and COVID screening questions were asked when we arrived. We were greeted by Kyle Pugh, Archivist Assistant who was incredibly helpful.
In the video below, my daughter reviews newspapers looking for a possible obituary for William Foreman (died 1900)
Wellington County Newspapers
Archivist Kyle Pugh provided us with a list of newspapers for Wellington county. He even loaded one microfiche, however we learned that it did not cover 1900 - the year of William Foreman's death.
The archives has several microfiche readers and cabinets of microfiche holding a large selection of newspapers
What I learned that day was that most of the newspapers are also online (fully searchable) and other newspapers (not yet digitized) can be found at the Wellington public library.
The current digitized newspapers are found on the Wellington County Archives website under "Collections and Research"
William Foreman's Last Will and Testament
While we did not locate William Foreman's Last Will and Testament while visiting at the archives, archivist Kyle Pugh called me as I drove home to let me know that he had managed to locate it and had sent it to my email. This is one of many pages.
I love the line "and distribute the balance (if any) remaining as follows, one third of it to my widow and two thirds among my children share and share alike".
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| William Foreman's Last Will and Testament |
Wellington County Local History
I was grateful to be reminded by archivist Kyle Pugh that the Wellington public libraries are a great source of local history. This is true no matter where you are searching for your ancestors. Local libraries are treasure troves of information and often overlooked.
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| Reviewing the Lewis - Foreman Family File (Ref. A1994.402) |
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| Source: https://www.wellington.ca/en/discover/mus-collectionsandresearch.aspx |
Follow-Up Research
I learned a great deal in the days following my visit to the Wellington County Museum and Archives. In particular, I discovered information about some of the other members of the Foreman family tree that I had not known previously and who had remained in Wellington County for most of their lives.
Daniel Foreman (1862-1938) who shares the same headstone as his father William Foreman (1820-1900) was the most exciting discovery.
Not only did I find this youngest Foreman son and his family to bear a striking physical resemblance to older brother (our) William H. Foreman (1855-1919), I also discovered photos of the Foreman family home in Moorefield. All of these photos were put online by Meryl Foreman on his MyHeritage Foreman Web Site, and I have been unsuccessful locating contact information for Meryl.
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| Daniel, Mary, Oscar, Justin and Pearl Foreman. Wellington Co. Source: Foreman Web Site, managed by Meryl Foreman |
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| The Foreman House in Moorefield, Wellington, Ontario Source: Foreman Web Site, managed by Meryl Foreman |
I am hoping to establish a connection to the creator of the Foreman Web Site Meryl Foreman to learn more about the Foreman story in Wellington county, Ontario (and perhaps in England as well).
Visiting The Drayton Victoria Cemetery
Just like the archive visit, I also prepared in advance for my visit to the Drayton Victoria Cemetery by purchasing the cemetery transcripts from the Ontario Genealogical Society Wellington Branch.
The documents states that William Foreman's headstone is in Section A, Row 12, plot 5 which would be roughly in the area of the red arrow below. This narrowed down my search area for when I visited the cemetery.
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| Drayton Victoria Cemetery, Mapleton, Ont. |
Arriving at the Drayton Victoria Cemetery
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