William Gillaspy
Founder of St. Williams
A founder of St. Williams, William Gillaspy was said in some records to have given his name to the village. He was born in New Jersey to William Gillaspy Sr. And his wife Ann Everingham on October 1, 1791 according to his family Bible in the possession of the author. William struck out for Upper Canada as a young man in 1812. This picture was taken before his death on December 23, 1867.
Harriett Anne (Monro) Gillaspy
Harriett Anne Monro, born in the Niagara District of Upper Canada on December 27, 1798, was a daughter of Long Point Settler John Monro and his wife Sarah Hatheway. She came to Norfolk County with her parents about 1806 and grew up along the Walsingham - Charlotteville town line about a mile north of Long Point Bay. The picture at the right was taken before her death on September 16, 1888.
William and Harriett married on November 19, 1815 and lived for a few years in Townsend Township until buying the Monro Crown Grant in Lot 24 Concession 2 Walsingham Township. The cabin was situated on the northwest side of the present village of St. Williams a short distance north of the former railroad right-of-way.
During the late 1830's and early 1840's, William severed off one acre and one-half acre lots along the southeast side of his farm for the village of St. Williams which, according to local tradition, was named for William Gillaspy, who was “a saintly man.”
Home to Reverend George Neill's early church meetings, this barn stood on the Gillaspy-Woodward-Mutrie farm in Lot 24 Concession 2 Walsingham Township on the Townline Road north of St. Williams until the 1940's when it was razed and replaced by a new barfn. The painting is by Norfolk artist W. E. Cantelon and hangs in the Eva Brook Donly Museum in Simcoe.
The Gillaspy-Woodward-Mutrie house built by William Gillaspy located just north of the village limits on the original Monro farm. The structure to the side is older and said to be the original cabin of John Monro. The couple in front are John Monro Merritt, son of John William Gillaspy Merritt and a nephew of Harriett (Monro) Merritt. With him is his wife Martha Mariah Dease. The Victorian front addition built in 1872 and not pictured here, was erected by Hallum Woodward after the time of this picture.