| John Wesley Winters, Mary Ann Cook and Annie McLean ... William and Audrey Winters ... |
| John Wesley Winters Born October 15, 1860 Marmora Township, Hastings County, Ont. Died August 26, 1940 Winnipeg, Manitoba Wesleyan Methodist Baptismal Register of Marmora Township, Hastings County, Ontario - Volume 3 - Page 795: Baptismal #: 119 ... Winters, John Wesley ... son of John and Sarah ... of Marmora ... born in Marmora ... October 15, 1860 ... Baptised April 28, 1862 ... in Marmora ... Minister P. Rose Port Hope Weekly Guide and News - February 8, 1884: Winters, John Wesley of Port Hope married Mary Ann Cook of Hamilton Township on February 5, 1884 in Hamilton Township. Mary Ann Cook Born 1857 Died 1913 Cemetery Records from Bethel Grove, Hamilton Township - C6 L31: Winters, Mrs. M.A. ... Born 1857 ... Died 1913 ... Maiden Name: Cook Daughter of William Cook Mary was the daughter of Willam George Cook and Elizabeth Rebecca Nixon. It was always suspected that John Wesley had a wife other than that of our grandmother Annie McLean and this has now been proven. Mary can be found in the 1901 Canadian Census record of Orillia Township in all probability living in the house our grandfather owned there. The property was discovered empty after John's death in 1940. Annie McLean Born February 28, 1873 Bruce County, Ontario Died June 11, 1924 Poplar Point, Manitoba It is possible that John and Annie got married after Mary's death. However it was also possible to get married without a liscense in the early part of the century. I believe that Annie thought she was legally married to John and that they were either married in a church in High Bluff, Manitoba or in the United States. John used to say that they had been married in the USA but a search of all the town records along the border found no evidence of this being the case. Annie and Mary probably had no knowledge of each other. John was the sixth child born to John and Sarah Winters in Marmora, Ontario. Sometime between 1869 and 1872, his father died leaving the family destitute. His mother was forced to find work and had to put some of her children in foster homes to ensure their survival. John was fostered out to the farm of Abraham and Elizabeth Murphy in Marmora. This was possibly the home of his sister, Elizabeth. The other six children were found scattered among family and neighbours. The farming in the area of Ontario he grew up in was very poor as it was mostly bush country. Mining, lumber and a local foundry were some of the industries that support the surrounding towns. School was a five mile hike and when John was about fourteen years old some citizens of Marmora banded together to remove him from his foster home as he was being brutally mistreated. At the age of fifteen he went to the United States with his two older brothers, Nicholas and Silas. William was to join them later. The young men painted during the summer and worked the lumber camps during the winter months. John later went to Port Hope, Ontario to take his apprenticeship as a paper hanger and decorator with his oldest brother Nicholas. When Nicholas passed away he continued to ply his trade in the area. In 1884 he married Mary Ann Cook and in 1885 he joined the Midland Regiment under the leadership of Colonel Middleton to fight in the Northwest Rebellion. His army records recorded that he was married and that he made a whole fifty cents a day for his service to his country. After the rebellion was quelled, John applied for a land grant in Orillia where he moved with his wife Mary and again took up his paper hanging trade. John was a loyal member of the Orangemen Lodge all of his life and archival records were found that confirmed the following: ONTARIO WEST ... WORSHIPFUL PRIMARY LODGE MASTERS (1891) ... Lodge No's. 290 - 455 ... 296 ... J.W. Winters ... Orillia He apparently also organized a group known as the Protesant Apprentice Boys though this information could not be confirmed. John always boasted that he had served in the Boer War in South Africa. It was not possible to confirm nor deny this claim. Records concerning Canadian involvement in that dispute were incomplete though the ones that were kept made no mention of our John Wesley. Sometime around the turn of the century, John sold his business in Orillia and moved to Winnipeg leaving his wife Mary in Orillia. He joined the Scantleberry Painters and Decorators in Winnipeg as a partner. This enterprise eventually went bankrupt when one of the partners took off with all of their money! Around this time he met Annie McLean was working as a cook at Government House for the Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba. It is thought that John was involved in renovations taking place in the house at the time. Annie was the daughter of Archibald McLean and Catherine Sinclair of Strathclair, Manitoba and had left her parents home to train as a nurse in St. Boniface Hospital. Due to a hearing defect, she was forced to give up her training and look for other work. John related that he and Annie were married "somewhere in North Dakota" but a search of every record available has never turned up any evidence to prove this as fact. After their "marriage" John and Annie showed up in Strathclair to take up farming. On April 27, 1904, after the last snow, they moved to their first farm. On entering their gate the sleigh upset and scattered their chickens and live stock to the four winds! Three weeks later, on May 21, 1904, their first child, a son was born and John proudly named him Nathaniel Clarke Wallace Moody Winters after the "Great Orange Evangelist Moody", Grand Master of the Loyal Orange Lodge in Canada at the time. Four other children followed: James Born 1905 - Died in infancy Audrey Ida Lillabelle Catherine Born July 12, 1906 Ivan John Wesley Born June 15, 1908 Howard William Orange Born July 12, 1910 *** James was located in the 1906 Canada West Census records. *** Between frost, hail, cold weather and inexperience, John's farming effort was not very profitable. In 1911 he sold the farm to a man by the name of Sam Glover. John started to buy grain for the Western Canada Flour Milling company. He operated the grain elevator at Strathclair from 1911 until 1913. During those years he bought a farm at Poplar Point and on August 7, 1912 he moved his family out to the new farm. He bought farming equipment in 1913 but hired a man to summer fallow and put his first crop in for him in 1914. |
Paul and Audrey 1950 ~ |
Paul and Audrey Wedding picture 1937 ~ |
Annie, Audrey and Howard |
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| John Wesley Winters 1884 |
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| Audrey Ida Lillabelle Catherine Winters Born July 12, 1906 Strathclair, Manitoba Died May 4, 1952 Winnipeg, Manitoba Married 1937 in Flin Flon, Manitoba to: Paul Oliver Franklin Born 1909 Portage La Prairie, Manitoba Died January 12, 1995 Kelowna, British Columbia Audrey attended West Poplar Point School until the eighth grade. After her mother's death in 1924, she moved to Winnipeg with her father and brothers. She completed grade nine at Westly College and entered the nursing program offered at the St. Boniface Hospital. She graduated as a registered nurse in 1928. In 1937 Audrey went to Flin Flon, Manitoba where she met and married Paul Franklin. He was the manager of the local Commerce Bank and after they were married they moved to Port Arthur, Ontario. Audrey and Paul were very active in their UnitedChurch and she nursed in the Port Arthur Hospital. She was also the midwife who delivered the older children of her sister-in-law, Iola, at home! One winter Audrey slipped on ice and fell down a hill severely injuring her back. Six weeks later she fell unconcious and was taken to hospital. It was found that she had suffered a stroke caused by a blood clot that had formed as a result of the bad fall. She never regained the use of her right side nor did she ever speak properly again. Paul and Audrey moved back to Winnipeg where she died in the Grace Hospital on May 4, 1952. A beloved wife and sister Audrey was buried in the Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg. Paul Franklin always stayed in touch with my grandmother, Iola until his death in 1995. When he re-married quite a few of them attended the wedding. After his marriage Paul moved to Kelowna where he passed away in 1995. |
Annie, Audrey and Howard 1910 ~ |
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My grandmother thought that these may be John & Annie's wedding photographs. You can see a wedding ring on Annie's left hand. |
Clarke, Ivan & Audrey |
(L) Field hand, John and Clarke |
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| Annie holding Clarke. John holding either James or Annie. |
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| Howard William Winters Born July 12, 1910 Strathclair, Manitoba Died September 7, 1922 Poplar Point, Manitoba His full name was actually Howard William Winters of Orange, ohn being ever faithful to his Orange Lodge commitment! Howard attended school in Poplar Point and helped on the family farm during harvest time. He loved to fish and hunt. On September 7, 1922, Howard was out with his eldest brother Clarke hunting rabbits. Howard hopped over a barbed wire fence ahead of Clarke and when Clarke went to go over it he became tangled in the barbs. His gun accidently went off and Howard was killed instantly. Clarke never forgave himself for what happend and lived with the guilt of his brothers death all of his life. Howard was buried in the West Poplar Point Cemetery. |
Annie, Audrey, Howard, Ivan and Clarke ~ |
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John in his Orange Regalia |
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