Hi, it's great to see you again ... You just never know where you'll find Yellowknifers. Have a super great evening,, Pat, you deserve it. on 10/12/02 10:48 PM, software at [email protected] wrote: > Can't tell you where in Ontario he came from, but I can give you the > following extract from the book "Heritage: Neepawa Land of Plenty, > 1883-1983" compiled by the Neepawa History Book Committee. > > You may already have this information. > > Kind Regards, > Patricia Sherman > > --- quote --- > pg. 705: > > JOHN SIMPSON > by Catherine (Simpson) Milne > > John Simpson was born in 1853 in Ontario. He spent his boyhood there, > then had the urge to come west. Money was scarce, however he managed to > get to Manitoba. He had a cousin in the men's clothing business in > Portage la Prairie. Funds being very low, he walked from Winnipeg to > Portage la Paririe, probably getting the odd ride along the way. In > Portage he worked with his cousin and it was here that he met his wife, > Jane Bailey. They were married in 1886 and while in Portage the two > eldest children were born - Stuart in 1887, and Ruby in 1888. The > family lived above the store in rather crowded quarters. There was one > disastrous fire while they lived there. Everyone jumped to safety. > After Mr. Hammond saw that they were all out safely, he threw out a > feather tick. On this he landed softly and safely. Jane had a bad knee > for the duration of her life as a result of the early fall. It was > decided to move further west, so Neepawa was selected and the family > settled there in 1890. > > John Simpson was a cabinetmaker by trade. he built and ran a furniture > store as well as a hardware. being a cabinetmaker he was the natural > person to make the caskets when the early settlers died. As a result he > became the local funeral director. The two brick business blocks are > still in use. > > At first, the family lived above one of the stores. here the boys had > chores to do. it was no easy task to carry wood and haul water up a > long flight of stairs, especially on wash day, which was always on > Monday. Soon the family got larger and the brick house was built on > First Street. The house is still there, but the grounds are much > smaller, and many of the evergreen trees that Mr. Simpson planted are > now gone. > > There were seven children in the family, three boys and four girls, > namely, Stuart, Ruby, Margaret, Roderick, John, Verna and Velma. Of > these Velma survives. There are four grandchildren - Catherine (Simpson) > Milne; margaret (Wemyss) Laurence; Robert Wemyss and Jean (Simpson) > Rotton. > > The Simpsons attended the Methodist Church, which later became the > United Church. They had their own special pew with a padded seat. > Anyone who inadvertently sat in that seat was frowned upon. John Simpson > was a member of the Oddfellows and masonic Lodges. He was also a > Shriner and participated in many of their functions. Jane Simpson died > in 1937. John lived to the age of 97. > --- end quote --- > > > Delores Kruse wrote: >> >> Hello List: >> >> I am trying to find the death date of John SIMPSON, b. 16 June 1856 in >> Ontario (R)what does the R mean? He lived in Neepawa and was a furniture >> dealer and I believe he made caskets and had a funeral home. His wife was >> Jane BAILEY and she was born in Ontario 30 Jan 1858. Where did she die? Does >> anyone know where in Ontario they were born. >> >> Any help on this would be greatly apperciated, thank you. >> Delores >> >> ==== CAN-MANITOBA Mailing List ==== >> Manitoba GenWeb Project >> http://www.rootsweb.com/~canmb/ >> >> ============================== >> To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go >> to: >> http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237