CAN-ONT-KENT-L Archives

From: "mckimmy" <>
Subject: [KENT] CORNWALL, Essex County, 1806
Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2001 19:01:31 -0400

I'm seeking some definitive evidence that Mary CORNWALL, wife of Francis
RICHARDSON (m.c. 1823, Essex County) is indeed the daughter of Wheeler
CORNWALL (son of John CORNWALL, U.E., and Mary BENEDICT) and Sylvia Unknown.

Wheeler CORNWALL had a daughter, Mary, born 22 SEP 1806, Essex County, Upper
Canada, christened 1 MAY 1808, St. John Anglican Church, Sandwich, Essex
County. Following his death in 1816, she inherited Lot 94, Concession 1,
Colchester Township, Essex County.

This has been my brick wall for about 5 years. I'm very familiar with
Wheeler's ancestry so a shovel to dig under the wall (or a pickax to go
through it) would be greatly appreciated to link to earlier information.
I've been through probate, land, church, civil, military, census and
cemetery records, county and family histories and obituaries at the Harrow
Early Immigrant Research Society (HEIRS) in Harrow and the Marsh Collection
Society and Park House Museum in Amherstburg, Essex County; the Library of
Michigan; the Windsor Public Library; the Burton Historical Collection at
the Detroit Public Library; the DAR Library in Washington, D.C.; and the
Family History Library in Salt Lake City.

My best clue to date that Wheeler's daughter Mary was Francis's wife:

Mary's paternal grandmother, Mary BENEDICT CORNWALL, sold 100 acres in Lot
2, Concession 2, Colchester Township, to Francis RICHARDSON for the paltry
sum of 5 shillings (according to the township's Abstract Index) in 1833.

The grandmother, Mary BENEDICT CORNWALL, then wrote a will 7 days later,
leaving land to all of her grandchildren - excluding Wheeler's daughter,
Mary CORNWALL. The property for those grandchildren surrounded the land she
had just sold to Francis RICHARDSON.

I assume that families tried to keep large tracts of land intact. Would a
potentially savvy old woman (she'd been granted land herself as the wife of
a U.E., and inherited his when her husband died) sell 100 acres in the midst
of her hundreds of acres to someone who wasn't family? (She lived another 4
years after the will was written and died at age 87.)

If it helps any, Mary CORNWALL and Francis RICHARDSON had 10 children:

1) John Wheeler, b. 1823, d. 1902, m. Deborah LYPPS
2) Sarah Ann, b. 1824, d. 1913, m. Alexander LARAMIE (my line)
3) Mary Jane, b. 1826, d. 1905-1910, m. George BEETHAM [aka BEATHAM]
4) William James, b. 1828, d. 1890, m. Sara SMITH
5) Lucinda, b. 1829, d. 1918, m. Edward ATKINS
6) Francis Gore, b. 1830, d. 1916, m. Jemima BALDWIN
7) George Cornwall, b. 1833, d. 1910, m. Alvira Maria LYPPS
8) Julia Ann, b. 1834, d. 1887, m. Alexander QUICK
9) Melissa, b.c. 1837, d. bef 1902, m1. Henry BUTLER, m2. Oren GRIFFIN
10) Charles Wheeler, b. 1842, d. 1916, m. Alzora PULFORD

The fact that Mary CORNWALL RICHARDSON gave two of her sons the middle name
of Wheeler might also be significant, but the name originated as a surname
in the family and appears frequently through the generations (George Wheeler
CORNWALL, Wheeler Prindle CORNWALL, etc.).

Do I have a preponderance of evidence? Where else can I search for
something definitive?? Any and all suggestions welcomed.

Mary Beth McKimmy
Williamsburg, VA

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