Also known as “Jeannetta”
Events
Date of Birth: 28 August 1850.
Place of Birth: Edinburgh, Scotland.
The date is given in the 1901 census of Canada. The 1911 census gives “Aug. 1850”. The 1851 census of Scotland, taken on 30 March 1851, gives an age of 6 months, and gives the place of birth as Edinburgh. The marriage record implies a date of birth of about 1848, which was presumably an intentional fib since Jane appears to have been 14 years old and seven months pregnant at the time of her marriage.
Date of Death: 13 December 1913.
Place of Death: Muskoka, Ontario, Canada.
The death registration gives the 13 December date. Her gravestone gives 15 December.
Place of Burial: Uffington, Muskoka (Uffington United Cemetery).
A digital image of her gravestone from the Canadian Gravemarker Gallery.
Relationships
Father: William Stewart.
Mother: Agnes Fotheringham (1821 - 1894).
See the Commentary section.
(supposed) Father: William James Greaves. (See the Commentary section.)
Spouse: George Brewster (1840 - 1888). Married 13 April 1865 in Innisfil, Simcoe, Canada West.
The marriage is recorded in the County Marriage Registers.
Spouse: William Ashdown (1841 - 1906).
This marriage is given by the 1901 census and Jane Ashdown’s death registration.
Children (by George Brewster):
(Complete source citations for facts about the children on this page are currently outside of the scope of this project.)
Mary Ellen Brewster (14 June 1865 Innisfil, Simcoe, Ontario - 12 October 1931 Dorset) married William Samuel Crozier 23 September 1891 in Draper township, Muskoka.
Agnes Elizabeth Brewster (3 July 1868 Draper township, Muskoka, Ontario - 19 October 1918 Bracebridge, Muskoka) married John Crozier 16 May 1888 in Draper township, Muskoka.
Ann Brewster (born 2 May 1871 Draper township - died 5 May 1871).
Francis James Brewster (born 3 February 1873 Draper township - died (1)5 October 1892; buried in Uffington, Ontario).
Thomas George Brewster (born 24 March 1878 Draper township - died 9 July 1944 in Whitby, Ontario).
Jessie Jane Brewster (19 December 1883 - 1953) married William Gavin 3 May 1905 in Muskoka.
Evidence
1851 Census (Edinburgh)
Edinburgh St John, Riddles Close 322 Lawn Market
James Fotheringham; Head; Widower; 58; born Lanark, Lanarkshire; Candlemaker Journeyman
Agnes Fotheringham; Daughter; Unmarried; 25; born Coulter, Lanarkshire; servant
Mary Anne Fotheringham; Daughter; Unmarried; 17; born Peebles, Peeblesshire; Dress Makers Mistress
Margaret Miller; Lodger; Unmarried; 21; born Edinburgh, Midlothian; Dress Makers Mistress
Jane Stuart; Grand Daughter; 6 Mo; born Edinburgh, Midlothian; Candle Makers Daur
George Brewster - Jane Graves marriage registration
Name: George Brewster
Birth Place: Normanby, England
Age: 21
Father’s Name: Francis
Mother’s Name: Mary
Spouse Name: Jane Graves
Spouse’s Age: 17
Spouse’s Birth Place: Scotland
Spouse’s Residence: Innisfil township
Spouse’s Father’s Name: James
Spouse’s Mother’s Name: Agnes
Marriage Date: 13 Apr 1865
Marriage County or District: Simcoe
The will of Jane’s second husband William Ashdown:
This is the last Will and Testament of me William Ashdown of the Township of Draper in the District of Muskoka and Province of Ontario made this Seventh day of February in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and Two. I revoke all former wills or other testamentary dispositions by me at any time heretofore made and declare this only to be and contain my last Will and Testament. I direct all my just debts, funeral and testamentary expences to be paid and satisfied by my Executor hereinafter named as soon as conveniently may be after my decease. I give devise and bequeath all my Real and Peronal Estate of which I may die possessed in the manner following, that is to say:-- I give, devise and bequeath to my wife Jane Ashdown all my Household Goods and Furniture of which I am possessed and she is also to have a home and a living on our Homestead as long as she may live single and she is also to ahve all moneys that I may die possessed of (if any)
I give devise and bequeath to my step daughter Jessie Jane Brewster one cow on her wedding day, and she is also to have a home on our homestead as long as she may remain single. I give devise and bequeath to my son David Ashdown all my Real and Personal Property and chattels not otherwise disposed of and of which I may die possessed. All the residue of my estate not hereinbefore disposed of, I give, devise and bequeath unto my son David Ashdown.
And I nominate and appoint John Crozier of the Township of Draper in the District of Muskoka to be Executor of this my last Will and Testament
In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand the day and year first above written
(sgd) William Ashdown
Signed published and declared by the said William Ashdown the Testator as and hor his last Will and Testament in the presence of us who both present together at the same time in his presence at his request and in the presence of each other have hereunto subscribed our names as witnesses
(sgd) Henry Byham Henry Buckler
[William died on or about 11 September 1906, and John Crozier took the oath as executor.]
Jane Ashdown death registration
Surname of Deceased: Ashdown
Christian Name: Jane
Sex: Female
Age: 64 years
Date of Death: December 13th 1913
Place of Birth: not known
Place of Death: Lot 21 Con 6 Draper TP
Occupation: ---
Single, Widowed, or Divorces: Widow
Name of Father: Greaves William J
Maiden Name of Mother: Greaves Jane G
Cause of Death, if known: Heart Failure
Name of Physician who attended Deceased: McGibbon P B
Name of Informant: Crozier John
Address: Uffington P O
Date of Return: Decr 15th 1913
Physician’s Return of Death
Surname of Deceased: Ashdown
Christian Name: Jane
Date of Death: December 13th 1913
Disease Causing Death: Heart Failure
Physician’s Name: McGibbon Dr P B
Address: Bracebridge P O
Date of Return: Decr 15th 1913.
Commentary
Jane’s parentage:
The documentation for Jane’s parents is tangled and contains conflicting evidence, but ultimately a definite conclusion is attainable.
Jane’s 1865 marriage registration gives her name as Jane Graves and her parents as James and Agnes.
In the 1871 census, next door to Jane and her husband George Brewster is this family:
Richardson Moses/ male/ 78/ born Ireland/ C. of England/ Irish origin/ farmer/ married
[Richardson] Agness/ female/ 40/ born Scotland/ C. Presbyterian/ Scotch origin/ married/ cannot read or write
[Richardson] William J. / male/ 12/ born Ontario/ C. Presbyterian/ Irish origin
In his 1875 will of John Fotheringham of Heathpool in the county of Peebles, Scotland, named “Mrs Agnes Fothringham or Grieve my niece widow of Robert Grieve Mason residing at Cherry Creek Canada West”. James Greave was recorded as a mason living at Cherry Creek in an early directory of Canada West. Cherry Creek is in Innsifil township in the county of Simcoe, Ontario. Innisfil township was Jane Graves’s residence at the time of her marriage to George Brewster there in 1865.
In his 1879 will, Moses Richardson named his wife Agnes and his step-son William James Greaves.
In his 1879 marriage registration, William James Greaves gave his mother’s maiden name as “Agnes Richardson (nee Graves)”
In the 1881 census, Agnes Richardson, widow, 50, born Scotland, was living with Jane and her husband George Brewster.
In the 1891 census, Agnes Richardson was living next door to the Brewsters, with her son William James Graves, 33, born in Ontario.
The last will of Agnes Richardson, made in 1894, does not name her children, but names her “grandson” John Crozier and granddaughter Agnes Crozier. These are Agnes Elizabeth Brewster, daughter of George Brewster and Jane Greaves, and Agnes’s husband John Crozier. It is not clear why Agnes does not mention any children in her will when there were two alive, but it is probably because settlements had already been made. In 1881, Agnes had transferred 100 acres of land to William James Greaves for $1.
Jane’s 1913 death registration gives her father’s name as Greaves William J and her mother’s maiden name as Greaves Jane G. The informant was her son-in-law, John Crozier. It appears that mistakenly gave (what he believed) was Jane’s maiden name rather than her mother’s.
In the 1919 marriage registration for his second marriage, Jane’s brother William James Greaves gave his mother’s name as Agnes Fortingham.
Taken together, the evidence suggests that the actual maiden name of Jane’s mother was Agnes Fotheringham. This is confirmed by an 1852 marriage in Peebles between James Grieve and Agnes Fothringham. James and Agnes moved to Canada, where James is attested in Cherry Creek, in Innisfil township, Simcoe, Canada West, in the late 1850s. James died sometime in the late 1850s, and Agnes remarried Moses Richardson not long after.
It is fairly simple to explain the discrepancies in the evidence about Agnes’s identity:
The 1875 will. Agnes’s uncle John Fotheringham got her first husband’s name wrong in his will, and was unaware of her second marriage. There is a clear indication in his 1875 will that John Fotheringham’s information is out of date: he gives her residence as “Canada West” but the name Canada West was officially changed to Ontario in 1867. John had probably not seen Agnes, or perhaps even heard from her, in over twenty years when he wrote his will. John was probably relying on memory.
The 1879 marriage registration. The “nee Graves” in this registration was clearly the result of a miscommunication. William James Graves gave the former name of his mother, not her maiden name. Agnes was then called “Agnes Richardson”, but had been “Agnes Graves” during her prior marriage.
The 1913 death registration of Agnes’s daughter Jane. Agnes’s grandson-in-law John Crozier gave Jane’s maiden name rather than her mother’s.
Discrepancies in the evidence about Jane’s father run deeper.
As mentioned above, Jane gave her father’s name as James Grave in her 1865 marriage registration and in her 1913 death registration, John Crozier gave her father’s name as William J Greaves. Jane’s brother William James Greaves gave his father’s name as William Greaves in his 1879 marriage registration.
However, Agnes Fotheringham had married William James Greaves two years after Jane was born. In the 1851 census, Agnes Fotheringham is recorded living with her father James Fotheringham. Also living with the family is James’s granddaughter, Jane Stuart, aged 6 months. Jane Stuart must be identical with the Jane Greaves of this page. This evidence suggests that Jane’s father was a man surnamed Stuart, with whom Agnes had a relationship before her marriage to William James Greaves.
DNA evidence clearly establishes the identity of this Stuart.
A William Stewart married Mary McKay in 1850 in Peebles, and had several children with her. Several descendants of this couple share significant amounts of DNA with descendants of Jane Greave – between 9 cM and 67 cM, with several matches sharing between 20 cM and 40 cM. This amount of DNA is consistent with the matches being half third cousins once (or twice) removed, which is what they would be if William Stewart were Jane’s father. Considering paper-trail evidence, there is no other way to account for the matches.
Taken together, the evidence clearly shows that Jane’s parents were Agnes Fotheringham and William Stewart.
References
George Brewster - Jane Graves marriage registration, County Marriage Registers, 1858 - June 1869. Archives of Ontario, (Toronto, Ontario). Microfilm MS 248 reel 14.
Jane Ashdown death registration, Ontario death registration No. 021169; Draper, Muskoka page 355; digital image Ancestry.com (accessed 29 March 2014) citing Archives of Ontario. Registrations of Deaths, 1869 - 1938. MS 935, reel 188. (Archives of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.)
A digital image can be viewed at FamilySearch: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JDDV-HVC
James Fotheringham household, 1851 census of Scotland, Piece 685, Folio 47, Page 2; indexed on Findmypast.co.uk (accessed 29 March 2014).
George Bluster household, 1871 census of Canada, Ontario, Muskoka (district 85), Draper Township (subdistrict H), page 15, family 59; digital image, Library and Archives Canada, Censuses (accessed 29 March 2014), citing LAC microfilm C-10023.
A digital image can be viewed here: http://data2.collectionscanada.ca/1871/jpg/4396312_00133.jpg
George Bruster household, 1881 census of Canada, Ontario, Muskoka (district 131), Oakley and Ryde and Draper (subdistrict H), page 5, family 20; digital image, Library and Archives Canada, Censuses (accessed 29 March 2014), citing LAC microfilm C-13243.
A digital image can be viewed here: http://data2.collectionscanada.gc.ca/e/e338/e008443516.jpg
Jane Brewster household, 1891 census of Canada. Ontario, Ontario North (district 100), sub-district E, family number 151; digital image, Library and Archives Canada, Censuses (accessed 29 March 2014), citing reference: RG31, item number 2239710.
A digital image can be viewed here: http://data2.collectionscanada.gc.ca/1891/jpg/30953_148159-00660.jpg
William Ashdown household, 1901 census of Canada. Ontario, Ontario North (district number 97), Draper (sub-district E), division number 1, family number 91, page 10; digital image, Library and Archives Canada, Censuses (accessed 29 March 2014), citing LAC microfilm T-6486.
A digital image can be viewed here: http://data2.collectionscanada.ca/1901/z/z002/jpg/z000088626.jpg
John Crozier household, 1911 census of Canada, Ontario, Muskoka (district 98), Draper Township (subdistrict 5), page 7, family 64; digital image, Library and Archives Canada, , Censuses (accessed 9 March 2014), citing LAC microfilm T-20385.
A digital image can be viewed here: http://data2.collectionscanada.gc.ca/1911/jpg/e002003474.jpg
William James Graves - Hattie Nottage marriage registration, Ontario marriage registration No. 017787, Ontario, Canada Registration of Marriages 1869 - 1928; digital image Ancestry.com (accessed 29 March 2014) citing Archives of Ontario microfilm MS 932 reel 496. A digital image can be viewed at FamilySearch: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:27DS-3DY
Muskoka. Probate Records 1888-1918. [FHL citation:"Muskoka, Ontario, Canada records," images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS54-RSYM-6?view=explore : Nov 25, 2025), image 464 of 777; . Image Group Number: 008265670]