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 Jeannetta 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
(probable) Father: someone surnamed Stuart. (Possibly he was James Christie Stewart. See the Commentary section.)
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
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
Jeannetta’s parentage
The argument for Jeannetta’s parentage is unusually convoluted, with much conflicting evidence. In what follows, I will call Jeannetta “Jane”, which is how her name is usually recorded in primary documents. I will start with the evidence identifying Jane’s mother.
The registration for Jane’s 1865 marriage to George Brewster records her name as Jane Graves and her mother’s name as Agnes.
The registration for the 1879 marriage of Jane’s brother William James Greaves gives his mother’s name as “Agnes Richardson (nee Graves)”.
Jane’s 1913 death registration records her mother’s name as Jane G Greaves. The informant was Jane’s son in law John Crozier.
The registration for the 1919 (second) marriage of Jane’s brother William James Graves records his mother as Agnes Fortingham.
In the 1881 census, Agnes Richardson, widow, aged 50, born in Scotland, is living with the family of George and Jane Brewster. Relationships are not specified in this census.
In the 1871 census, next door to George Brewster, is living 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 the 1891 census, Agnes Richardson, 63, born in Scotland, is living with the family of William James Greaves and is recorded as his mother.
The 1875 will of John Fotheringham of Heathpool in the county of Peebles, Scotland, names “Mrs Agnes Fothringham or Grieve my niece widow of Robert Grieve Mason residing at Cherry Creek Canada West”. James Greave is 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.
James Grieve married Agnes Fothringham in 1852 in Peebles.
Taken together, the evidence shows that Jeannetta’s mother was Agnes Fotheringham. Agnes married James Greaves in 1852 in Peebles. James died in the late 1850s, and Agnes married Moses Richardson not long after. It is fairly simple to explain the discrepancies in the evidence:
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. He 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 son in law John Crozier must have simply gotten Agnes’s name wrong. Agnes had died fifteen years earlier.
The evidence identifying Jane’s father is less straightforward.
The register entry for the 1852 marriage of Jane’s mother Agnes Fothringham gives her husband’s name as James Grieve.
The registration for Jane’s 1865 marriage to George Brewster records her name as Jane Graves and her father’s name as James.
The 1875 will of John Fotheringham of Heathpool in the county of Peebles, Scotland, names “Mrs Agnes Fothringham or Grieve my niece widow of Robert Grieve Mason residing at Cherry Creek Canada West”.
The registration for the 1879 marriage of Jane’s brother William James Greaves gives his father’s name as “William Greaves”.
Jane’s 1913 death registration records her father’s name as William J Greaves. The informant was Jane’s son in law John Crozier.
The registration for the 1919 marriage of Jane’s brother William James Graves leaves his father’s name blank.
So far, the evidence seems fairly clear that Jane’s father was named William James Greaves. (I have mentioned the problems with the 1875 will above.) However, there is other evidence that makes this identification doubtful.
First, consider Jane’s age. Jane’s 1865 marriage registration gives her age as 17, implying a birth date of about 1848. Jane’s 1913 death registration gives her age as 64, implying a birth date of about 1849. Her age is given as 20 in the 1871 census, 30 in the 1881 census, and 40 in the 1891 census. The 1901 census gives her birth date as 28 August 1850 and the 1911 census as August 1850. The 1850 date appears to have be correct. George and Jane had a reason to exaggerate her age at her marriage as she appears to have been only 14 years old at the time and seven months pregnant.
Jane’s mother Agnes married James Grieve in Peebles in 1852, two years after Jane was born. Jane’s family can be identified in the 1851 census. In this census, taken 30/31 March 1851, Agnes Fotheringham is still unmarried and Jane is named “Jane Stuart”, aged 6 months, and is described as a “Candle Makers Daur”. Agnes’s first husband William James Greaves was a stone mason.
The most obvious explanation is that Agnes had a child, Jane, with a candle maker surnamed Stuart in 1850. In 1852 Agnes married William James Greaves. Jane seems to have regarded William James as her father. The only candle maker named Stuart I have identified in Scottish censuses is James Christie Stewart of Linktown, Fife, across the Firth of Forth from Edinburgh.
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