Ontario Township Papers For Matthew Moynahan (1770-1860)

Piecing together the story of our ancestors has become increasingly more convenient as many records are digitized and made available online.

The Archives of Ontario's most popular collections have been digitized by Family Search International and made available for free.

Thanks to the Kent Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society, when I reviewed the Ontario Township Papers for Sandwich, Ontario, I discovered 23 pages of correspondence dated 1835 to 1848 from my 4th Great Grandfather Matthew Moynahan (1770-1860)

Talbot Settlement and Survey Maps 1793-1849 Online!

January 2018 has been a GREAT month for genealogists wanting to access early Ontario Land records.

A new project to digitize Ontario land records by Family Search and the announcement of the first phase of the OnLand web portal (in alpha phase) are definitely worth watching as new records will be added throughout 2018.

Genealogists know that land records are a gold mine of information and one of the challenges is locating the property details for our Ontario ancestors.

An Online Ontario Land Records Trifecta!

The good news for folks with ancestors in south-western Ontario is that a third Ontario land record resource is now online!

The Elgin County Archives (in agreement with the Archives of Ontario's Digitization Loan Program), has completed a digitization project and published the following important records:

• Archives of Ontario's Thomas Talbot fonds, F 501 (45 maps from 1802 to 1832, displaying early settlement grants and dates of occupation in the series of townships where Talbot controlled land allocation.)
• Ministry of Natural Resources fonds, RG 1-470 (33 maps from 1796 to 1844, displaying early surveying efforts in approximately the same area, alongside names of settlers) 

If your ancestors lived in south-western Ontario between 1796 and 1844, these records would be well worth investigating.

My 3rd Great-Grandfather Denis Moynahan 

(1787-1885)

Was A Talbot Settler

My Essex county Moynahan ancestors were settled by Thomas Talbot in the early 1800s and I had learned this from a trip to the archives in the early 1980s.

The document below was one of my greatest finds back in those early days! It shows my 3rd great-grandfather Denis Moynahan land petition (spelled Minehan) dated 1847 but with information that Col. Thomas Talbot located him to 6 South Middle Rd., Maidstone (then known as Sandwich) in the year 1830!

One of the very first documents that I found at the Archives of Ontario (c. 1980)

I had several Moynahan ancestors who were part of the Talbot settlement and you can visit my previous posts here:

• 52 Ancestors #19: Maidstone Ontario: Talbot Settlers 
• 52 Ancestors #23: Matthew Moynahan 1770-1860

From my early research, I mapped out where all of the early Essex  county, Ontario Moynahans lived in relation to each other:

My hand drawn map of my early Essex county Moynahan ancestors

The Talbot Fonds

When I explored the Thomas Talbot fonds, F 501 online, I quickly confirmed my Moynahan ancestors in the Talbot Fonds index:

Source: 1824 Plan of the Townships of Maidstone, Rochester and Sandwich, County of Essex - F 501-1-0-0-18

Source: 1824 Plan of the Townships of Maidstone, Rochester and Sandwich, County of Essex - F 501-1-0-0-18

Once I located these Moynahan ancestors on the indexes, I looked for them on the corresponding maps:

Source: 1824 Plan of the Townships of Maidstone, Rochester and Sandwich, County of Essex - F 501-1-0-0-18

The above map enlarged and showing the location of the Moynahans along the Talbot and Middle roads
Source: 1824 Plan of the Townships of Maidstone, Rochester and Sandwich, County of Essex - F 501-1-0-0-18

Ministry of Natural Resources Fonds

In the Ministry of Natural Resources fonds for Essex county, there are four maps ranging from 1790 to 1824

Source: The Ministry of Natural Resources Fonds, RG 1-470

I was not able to explore these records at the time of this posting. I attempted to open RG 1-470-0-0-225 several times with no success. I'm not sure if this is an issue at their server or on my computer. If you are successful, I would love to hear what you found.

Other Ontario Land Records Links 

• Part I: Historical Books: First Registration Book: where genealogists can find their ancestors Crown Patents etc.
• Part II: Historical Books: Abstract/Parcel Register Book: where genealogists can find all the entries of every transaction on their ancestors land from the date the Crown Patent was issued (all instruments recorded) up to January 30, 1981
• Part III: Historical Books: General Register Index: where genealogists can locate information about their ancestors wills, etc.
• Part IV: Historical Books: Canada Lands Index:where genealogists can find information about public lands under the Canada Lands Surveys Act, Navigable Waters Protection Act, Transfers of Jurisdiction and Control, Indian Reserves and National Parks
• Family Search: Digitization of Essex County Land Records 1779-1955 

  
Early Irish Settlers - Essex, Ontario

• The Irishman in Canada by Davin, Nicholas Flood, 1843-1901
• Commemorative Biographical Record Of The County Of Essex Ontario by J.H. Beers & Co. https://archive.org/details/CommemorativeBiographicalRecordOfTheCountyOfEssexOntario
• Madeline's Essex County: ( Interesting note: None of the Irish that Madeline writes about are Potato Famine Irish. They all arrived in Essex County quite a while before the famine.) https://alifeinessexcounty.wordpress.com/madelines-research-an-inventory/  (
• Essex County: Roads and Settlement: https://www.countyofessex.on.ca/en/government/roads-and-settlement.asp 
• The 'First Business of Government': The Land Granting Administration of Upper Canada http://collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/tape17/PQDD_0014/NQ28362.pdf

Circle Of Life: Ontario Vital Records

On Saturday October 20, 2017 I attended a free event: Circle of Life: Ontario Vital Records and Ancestry DNA. This well-attended session was organized by the Ottawa Public Library and held at the beautiful Nepean Centrepointe.

Circle of Life: Exploring Ontario's Vital Records and DNA

At the outset, Lesley Anderson (Ancestry DNA) announced that there would be a draw prize of a FREE Ancestry DNA kit. (Sadly, I did not win)

Ottawa Public Library Nepean Centrepointe.

Lesley Anderson and Glenn Wright did a joint presentation of the "Ontario Vital Records" and did so in a very entertaining and informative way. I thought that I knew everything that I needed to know about vital statistics but I learned a LOT from these two experts.

Lesley Anderson and Glenn Wright

Lesley and Glenn started off joking about some of the alternative names that they had discussed for this presentation (which they have delivered together several times). Names like "Hatch, Match and Despatch" or "Womb to Tomb".

Civil Registration in Ontario

For today, we stayed with "Ontario Vital Records" and Lesley and Glenn proceeded to take us through the slide presentation starting with births, to marriages and finally Deaths. Here are some highlights from my notes:

Births 

Source: Moynahan Genealogy Photographs

 

• In the earliest years, births weren't registered with the government and Churches supplied the information 
• The Vitals Statistics Act of Ontario of 1869 was largely ignored until the 1880s
• 1919 Vital Statistics Act: As of 1 January 1920 a physician was to report a birth within forty-eight hours and the cause of death within twenty-four hours instead of “forthwith”. 
• Delayed registrations are important to note.
• TIP: If you can locate the Registration books in digital format, it is sometimes fruitful to go page by page through the books to locate someone
• TIP: In "birth search boxes", sometimes the forename is not entered so you can try searching using surname and gender only 
• Archives of Ontario: Pathfinder to Birth Registrations - Word, PDF
• Ancestry Ontario, Canada Births, 1858-1913  
• Family Search: Ontario Births, 1869-1912
• Family Search NOT INDEXED Browse through 126,534 images: Ontario, Roman Catholic Church Records, 1760-1923 Description  Baptisms, marriages, deaths and other records from several Roman Catholic parishes in the province of Ontario, Canada. This collection covers church records created 1760-1923, but the content and time period of the records will vary by parish. https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1927566

Marriages

Marriage of Rhea Fern Coughlan to Ernest Joseph Moynhan (1929)

 

• Pre-Confederation, marriage records are found in church records 
• Ancestors in border cities (i.e. Windsor, Ontario) can be problematic because they would cross the border for marriages and divorces
• The most popular months for marriages were (in order) December, October, November, February and January because in these months, farm life was less hectic
• Check the records for interesting remarks
• Take a close loo at the witnesses to the marriage
• Archives of Ontario: Pathfinder to Marriage Registrations - Word, PDF
• Archives of Ontario: Pathfinder to Pre-1874 Marriage Registrations Acquired from the Office of the Registrar General - Word, PDF 
• Archives of Ontario: Guide 210 - Finding Divorce Files in Ontario - Word, PDF
• Ancestry Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1801-1935 
• Ancestry Ontario, Canada, Civil Marriage Registrations, 1869-1873
• Ancestry Ontario, Canada, County Marriage Registers, 1858-1869
• Family Search: Ontario Marriages, 1800-1910
• Family Search: Ontario Marriages, 1869-1927

  Deaths

  

  Located just inside the gates of historic Mt. Elliott cemetery, this stone sits among grand mausoleums, Smithsonian art, and several other zinc monuments.

   

• Archives of Ontario:  Pathfinder to Death Registrations - Word, PDF
• Ancestry Ontario, Canada, Deaths and Deaths Overseas, 1869-1947  
• Archives of Ontario: Guide 202 - Vitals Statistics Records - Word, PDF
• Archives of Ontario: Guide 203 - Understanding the Vital Statistics Indexes - Word, PDF
• Archives of Ontario: Guide 204 - Sources for Birth, Marriage and Death Records - Word, PDF
• Family Search  Ontario Deaths, 1869-1937 and Overseas Deaths, 1939-1947 

 

Interesting Statistics from the Registrar of Ontario's Annual Reports  

Lesley and Glenn offered quite a few interesting anecdotes gleamed from these annual reports.

The Internet Archive: Ontario Registrar Records

• PROVINCE OF ONTARIO - VITAL STATISTICS by Ontario. Office of the Registrar General  Publication date 1881 https://archive.org/details/provinceofontari1881onta
• PROVINCE OF ONTARIO - VITAL STATISTICS by Ontario. Office of the Registrar General  Publication date 1883 https://archive.org/details/provinceofontari1883onta
• PROVINCE OF ONTARIO - VITAL STATISTICS by Ontario. Office of the Registrar General  Publication date 1885 https://archive.org/details/provinceofontari1885onta
• PROVINCE OF ONTARIO - VITAL STATISTICS by Ontario. Office of the Registrar General  Publication date 1930 https://archive.org/details/provinceofontari1930onta

In 1883, December was the most favourable month to be married https://archive.org/stream/provinceofontari1883onta#page/n31/mode/2up

In 1883, there were 150 deaths From Teething https://archive.org/stream/provinceofontari1883onta#page/n67/mode/2up

I will report on the information provided by Lesley Anderson's DNA presentation on my next DNA blog post. Lesley offered us lots of tips about how to read the AncestryDNA results; sort through the matches and much, much more.

Archives of Ontario: Vital Statistics Table of Contents

http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/en/microfilm/v_contents.aspx

Young Timothy: Found At Last?

Young Timothy Moynahan (born May 5th, 1861), who was twelve years old when he suffered an attack of meningitis in 1873 (that resulted in admission to the London Lunatic Asylum in February 11, 1878) is one of my ongoing obsessions.

1878

"Removed To London"

Source: Essex Record; 14 Feb 1878; page 1 of 4

On my recent trip to the Archives of Ontario (September 2017) my obsession with Timothy was renewed following the help I received from the amazing reference staff there. I believe that I am even closer to locating his final resting place.

I also found a reference to a patient ("Tom M.") with some details identical to Timothy Moynahan in a book by Geoffrey Reaume "Remembrance of Patients Past: Life at the Toronto Hospital for the Insane". 

"Remembrance of Patients Past: Life at the Toronto Hospital for the Insane" by Geoffrey Reaume

Geoffrey Reaume's book, "Remembrance of Patients Past: Life at the Toronto Hospital for the Insane" brings to light the stories of the people, like Timothy, who were confined to the Toronto Hospital for the Insane. Geoffrey writes,

"Psychiatric patients as individual human beings, rather than a collection of labels and anonymous numbers, is what this book is all about.The 70-year time frame, 1870-1940, also covers much of the lifespan of many of the people who will be discussed in these pages, as was the case for Tom M., mentioned at the beginning of this chapter. It is the lives of people like him and his contemporaries to which the book is devoted, this remembrance of patients past."

I feel so incredibly grateful for this book and the life-long work of Geoffrey Reaume. Geoffrey has really helped me to understand the life and times of my asylum ancestors so that I can honour them and keep their memory alive.

Timothy Moynahan (1861-?)

Timothy was the son of Timothy Moynahan (Sr) (1813-1902) and Archange Parent (1824-1903). This was Timothy Sr.'s second marriage following the death of his first wife Margaret (Cronin) Moynahan (1811-1859).

I believe that when Timothy's father Timothy Sr.  died in London, Ontario in 1902, that he was visiting with his son Timothy Jr in the London asylum and died there. I have no proof of this but I also have no idea what other business would cause Timothy to travel from Windsor to London, Ontario at 89 years of age? 

The London Asylum
1878 to 1906

 

Archives of Ontario:  London Psychiatric Hospital patient registers 1870-1957

In June 2016, I visited the Archives of Ontario to access the records for Timothy Moynahan Reg. No 1300. Here are some points taken from the Patient Files (note xxxx indicates words that I cannot decipher)

• Oct 17, 1878: Labourer, Roman Catholic, Single, Canadian: About five years ago he had an attack of xxxx-spinal meningitis amid which time he has exhibited symptoms of loss of reason - dangerous and violent -not hereditary - xxxx and temperate habits - inclined to be filthy in his habits - admitted by warrant - February xxxx 1878.
• Condition Feb, 15, 1878: Mania. Across xxxx xxxx fellow. Strong and healthy. Walks up and down halls constantly; pulling at his clothes; makes his water in floors xxx; very little can be got from him because he will hardly talk at all; 
• Mar 1, 1878: Unchanged
• Mar 2, 1878: Put into canvas as he wont keep his clothes on
• Apr 2, 1878: Unchanged
• May 2, 1878: No change
• Jun 5, 1878: Unchanged
• Jul 2, 1878: No change
• Aug 1, 1878: No change
• Sep 2, 1878: No change
• Oct 3, 1878: No mental or physical change
• Nov 2, 1878: Unchanged 
• Dec 2, 1878: Unchanged
• Jan 1, 1879: Remains unchanged mentally and physically; walks up and down hall; still wears canvas suit;
• Feb 3, 1879: Remains unchanged
• Mar 3, 1879: Out of canvas; wearing his own clothes  
• May 2, 1879: Got quarreling with patient Silverthorne; received a slight bruise and cut on nose
• Jan 1, 1880: In good bodily health; unchanged mentally
• Sep 13, 1880: In the last few days has not been eating; Is failing; Handles knives as if he is inclined to commit suicide; Made a slight cut on wrist; Gave him a dose of calormal? to be followed by salts; Also feed him on a milk diet;
• Jan 1, 1881: In good bodily health; unchanged mentally; Eats well; Diet (extra) struck off; 
• Apr 2, 1881: Has not been eating in the last 2 or 3 days; Is in fair bodily health; 
• Jan 1, 1882: In fair bodily health; unchanged mentally; xxxx and untidy; does not work; is quiet
• Jan 1, 1883: No change in his condition in the past year
• Jan 1, 1884: In fair bodily health; unchanged mentally; xxxx untidy; but quiet & stupid; also a little xxxx picking
• Feb 23, 1884: Left cheek swollen; possibly the result of decayed teeth  
• Jan 1, 1885: In fair bodily health; unchanged mentally; works with xxxx pickers & with wagon party
• Feb 22, 1885: Broke a pane of glass lst night and cut the fleshy part of hands; applying xxxx dressing; 
• Jan 1, 1886: Hand quite well; is in fair bodily health; works almost the same as a xxxx xxxx; no mental change xxxx
• Jan 30, 1886: has large blister on bottom of heel produced by slipper
• Mar 15, 1886: Has right eye black; cause unknown; unchanged bodily & mentally
• Jan 1, 1888: In good bodily health and unchanged mentally
• Jan 1, 1889: Remains unchanged bodily and mentally
• Feb 23, 1889: Ditto; Fighting with C. Blatchford xxxx his face and neck scratched 

On August 4 1906, 
Timothy Moynahan (#1300)
Was Transferred to the Toronto  Asylum

At this point in his life, forty-five year old Timothy Moynahan likely was not even aware that he was the last living of his family
His father: Timothy Moynahan died 19 Oct 1902
His mother: Archange (Parent) Moynahan died 28 Jun 1903
His brother James Moynahan died 24 Feb 1899
His brother Enos Moynahan died 8 Aug 1903
His half-sister Mary Moynahan died 8 Apr 1905

With no next of kin, he was transferred to the Toronto Asylum

The Toronto Asylum

1906 to 1921 to ?

I came across the following information in Geoffrey Reaume's book Remembrance of Patients Past: Life at the Toronto Hospital for the Insane 

Quite a coincidence! And there's a photo of the patient in Geoffrey Reaume's book! Could Tom M. be Timothy Moynahan? If so, Timothy who was the last of his kin, has been found at long last thanks to
Geoffrey Reaume!

Based on the census reports below, I know that Timothy Moynahan lived to 1921. More research is needed.

1911 Census
The Toronto Asylum: 999 Queen St.

 

"Recensement du Canada de 1911," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:27XQ-33C : 15 July 2016), Timothy Moynahan, 1911; citing Census, Toronto South Sub-Districts 13-72, Ontario, Canada, Library and Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario; FHL microfilm 2,418,528.

1921 Census
The Toronto Asylum: 999 Queen St.

1921 Census: Reference Number: RG 31; Folder Number: 92; Census Place: Ward 6, Toronto South, Ontario; Page Number: 9

Next Steps?

Thanks to the amazing reference staff at the Archives of Ontario who reviewed the files, they determined that it contained restricted material that is governed by the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act(FIPPA). 

In order for me to access these records I must contact the Senior Manager, Information and Privacy (Customer Service and Preservation Services, Archives of Ontario) in writing. 

I am so grateful for the helpful staff at the Archives of Ontario and will be mailing my request this week



Some helpful links:

• Remembrance of Patients Past: Life at the Toronto Hospital for the Insane ... By Geoffrey Reaume
• “If these walls could talk” - The Walls at the Provincial Asylum at 999 Queen Street West https://katywhitfield.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/if-these-walls-could-talk-final-project-ctl1799-walls-at-999-queen-street-west-katy-whitfield.pdf
• The Archives of Ontario contain records of those admitted to Toronto’s Lunatic Asylum https://www.insidetoronto.com/news-story/5445149-the-archives-of-ontario-contain-records-of-those-admitted-to-toronto-s-lunatic-asylum/
• Toronto Asylum general registers (1841 to 1901) can be searched at http://www.leedickson.ca/qsmhc-v1.html 
• The archives’ reference number for the overall collection is RG 10-268 through RG 10-276 and detailed descriptions of these records can be reviewed online in the archives’ descriptive database (type in "Toronto Asylum") at www.archives.gov.on.ca/en/access/our_collection.aspx
• The Lunatic Asylum http://fortyorkmaps.blogspot.ca/2013/02/the-lunatic-asylum.html
• Memorial Wall Plaques Dedicated to Patient Labourers http://torontoplaques.com/Pages/Memorial_Wall_Plaques.html

My OGS 2016 Conference Notes - The Archives of Ontario

My tweet @cindiforeman

Our gift from the archives of Ontario

I recently attended the Ontario Genealogical Society Conference in Toronto and I was one of the lucky ones who was also able to attend the hands-on research excursion to the Archives of Ontario (AO).

The photo wall inside the Archives of Ontario

Our day started with a tour of the AO building including the preservation room and two of the twelve vaults located upstairs on the second and third floors. (Note: 90% of the AO collections are stored off-site)

The preservation lab on the second floor

Once the tour was completed, we headed to the microfiche to start our research

The microfiche room

I decided to peruse the miscellaneous municipal records for Essex county Ontario hoping to find records of the Essex gaol. There were some records (not what I was looking for) but I did stumble upon records submitted by my great grandfather John Moynahan who served as Justice of the Peace and Municipal Clerk for Ojibway since its incorporation in 1913 to the time of his death in 1933.

Municipal Records - My great-grandfather's John Moynahan's handwriting

I really enjoyed the special presentation "Preserving Your Personal Archives". The slide below that reads, "Record who, what, when with a soft pencil (2B) on the back edge of your photographs" is the best advice of the day and how I wish all of my ancestors had done that!

Advice on how to archive and preserve your own family history records

 "Saving Stuff" by the Smithsonian was the 'go to book'  recommended by AO preservation archivists and there is a great book preview available on Google Books (click here)

It was a wonderful full day, I did manage to locate the will of my 3rd great-granfather Denis Moynahan (1787-1885) and plan to revisit it in detail and see if there is anything that I missed

The group waiting for the bus after a wonderful day of research

LINKS:

• The Archives of Ontario… How do I find what’s in it for me?