The Brookses of Oshawa

Brook House c. 1900 Oshawa Museum

One of the few records that I have for my great-great grandfather Jacob Brooks is this marriage registration from 1852 District Marriage register. 

Home District Marriage Register, Archives of Ontario

Jacob married Mary Fleming on March 8th 1852 at Port Oshawa. The marriage was performed by the Reverend S. Thomas Henry and the witnesses were Jacob’s brother Hill and Mary’s sister Anne. Why I wondered was the couple married in Oshawa when both families resided in Scarborough or Markham (in Hial’s case)? Investigating further I found an interesting story. 

The oldest child in the family of my great-great-grandparents Jacob Brooks Sr. and Elizabeth Jones was Michael. Michael was born around 1815 in Scarborough. He was married to Alvira Young in 1838 by Reverend Jenkins at his Presbyterian Church in Richmond Hill.

Home District Marriage Register, Archives of Ontario

The couple took up residence with Michael’s parents in Scarborough as seen here in the 1846 Home District Directory. 

By the time the 1852 Census was taken they were living in Pickering where most of their children were born. According to this census and the subsequent censuses the family were now worshipping at the Christian Church.

The Christian Church was an American Church first organized in the Durham region in Darlington in 1821. In 1831 the Oshawa Christian Church was established by Reverend Thomas Henry.
Reverend Henry was an Irish immigrant from County Cavan who had fought in the War of 1812 and later settled in Oshawa becoming a major figure in the early history of the town. He took up preaching holding meetings in private homes or schools until 1843 when the first church was built at the corner of Richmond and Church Streets in Oshawa. I couldn’t find an image of the church but Henry’s home still stands in Lakeview Park near the former Port of Oshawa, and is open for visitors as part of the Oshawa Museum. 

Henry House 

It’s not clear why Jacob and Mary were married by Reverend Henry. Mary’s family were staunch Presbyterians and the couple could have been married by Reverend Jenkins who was also the minister of St. Andrew’s Bendale in Scarborough where Mary and her parents are buried. Perhaps Jacob was persuaded by his brother to give the Christian Church a try. I’m hoping to locate church records that may tell me more.

But back to Michael. In the 1852 census he described himself as a farmer but by 1861 he had become a merchant. More interesting is what I found in the 1869 Canada directory and the 1871 census. Michael had moved to Oshawa and become the proprietor of the Railroad House.

1869 Ontario Gazetteer and Directory, Library and Archives Canada

1871 Canada Census, Library and Archives Canada

According to the Pedlar manuscript, an early history of Oshawa, Michael and Alvira moved with their family to Oshawa on 1 March 1868, purchasing the Rail Road House at the corner of Simcoe Street South and Baseline Road (now Bloor Street) that same year.

Michael managed the hotel until 1879 when he retired, passing the business on to his son Jacob M. Brooks, though by 1873 the tavern licence was registered in Jacob's name. He continued to work as a grocer until his death, alongside his daughter Elizabeth

Oshawa Reformer, March 7 1873

Oshawa was a major stop on the Grand Trunk Railroad. A hotel near the train station would have been a lucrative business both for travellers and locals. According to the 1892 Ontario Gazetteer the hotel charged $1 a night, comparable to other hotels throughout the province and a bargain at approximately $35 in today’s currency. Not only was the Brooks House a hotel and a tavern but it also served as a community centre hosting an inquest and perhaps a questionable pigeon match.

Oshawa Reformer, December 29 1871

Oshawa Reformer, June 2 1871

The Brook House remained in the Brooks family until around 1895 when it was taken over by R.T. Kirkpatrick upon Jacob’s move to Peterborough. The hotel no longer exists. I’m not sure when it was torn down but it still existed in 1911 as shown on the Goad Fire Insurance map.                 

By 1921 the hotel was closed and the property was taken over by the Oshawa Iron and Metal Company.  Here’s what it looks like today - the structure on the lot used to house the Oshawa Visitor Information Centre which is now closed. The trees at the front of the lot may have been the little ones shown in the old photo above.

1911 Goad Fire Insurance Map of Oshawa

North East corner of Simcoe Street South and Bloor Street, Oshawa

Another Brooks was a prominent Oshawa citizen in the late 1800s. Michael’s son Lorenzo ran Brooks Livery and Stable at 54 Simcoe Street North, next to the fire hall.

Running a livery stable was hard work - the owner would board horses, provide storage for carts and carriages, as well as provide transportation services. This business tied in nicely with the family hotel as not every traveller arrived by train. The building was originally used by the McLaughlin Carriage Company before Lorenzo moved in and was a fine looking structure though it too no longer exists.

Brooks Livery, c. early 1900s, Oshawa Museum

Brooks family graves, Oshawa Union Cemetery

Michael passed away in 1892 and was followed by his wife Alvira two years later. They are buried in Oshawa’s Union Cemetery with Lorenzo, who died in 1916, and Elizabeth, who never married and died in 1909 buried near by.

 Though I didn’t learn much more about my direct ancestor it was interesting learning more about this branch of the Brooks family.

Arthur Davis Moorecroft: Conductor

The TTC and its red streetcars have been a fixture on Toronto streets for over 100 years. Before that the Toronto Street Railway ferried Torontonians around. So it was exciting to learn that a Moorecroft ancestor worked for the Toronto Transit Commission.

Trolley Car 22 About 1904 Baldwin Collection of Canadiana

Arthur Davis Moorecroft, my husband’s great grandfather, was born in Northern Ireland on 12 July 1865, the fifth of six children born to Robert Moorecroft and Ellen Hunter. Ellen tragically died at the age of 40 in 1870 leaving Robert to make the move to Canada on his own. In May of 1873 the family crossed the Atlantic, travelling from Belfast to Quebec City. 

Manifest from the Missouri, Library and Archives Canada

The Moorecrofts settled in the village of Norway in the east end of Toronto with Robert purchasing a plot of land at the corner of Woodbine Avenue and Kingston Road (imagine what that land is worth today!).  

1886 Toronto City Directory, Baldwin Collection 

Looking through census records and city directories I was able to trace Arthur’s path.He first shows up in the 1886 Toronto City Directory working for Charles Ferguson.

From here on Arthur had a varied career path. When his first child, Ethel May, was born on 30 August 1886 he is listed as a cricket ball maker, working for Prest & Braun. The skills Arthur gained working with leather harnesses were transferable to creating cricket balls. Cricket was still popular in Toronto at this time, however, most cricket equipment in the 19th century was imported from England so this might not have been the most lucrative of career paths. It was time to change jobs as well as location.

1887 Toronto City Directory, Baldwin Collection

Ethel, Alma and Arthur, the first three children of Arthur and his wife Agnes Jane White were born in Toronto. But by the time the 1891 census was taken the Moorecroft family had moved to Markham where Agnes had been born and raised. Her father, William White, had been a hotel keeper up until his unfortunate death on 16 December 1880 following an 11 day bout of typhoid fever. His widow Sarah Jane had carried on with the inn but by 1892 she was on her third marriage and ready to move on. It was perfect timing and Arthur was ready for his new career. The Globe and Mail published a list of those granted licenses to sell liquor for the next year on 4 May 1892. Arthur was included on the list.

Being an innkeeper worked for Arthur a while. His next two children, Herman and Frederick, were born in Markham and the entire Moorecroft brood was baptized at the Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church in Buttonville on 20 June 1894. Arthur’s younger sister Maggie and her husband Robert Lewis joined the family in Buttonville as well. We’ll never know what went wrong but by the time Percy was born in 1895 the family had returned to Toronto. Perhaps running a hotel was not to Arthur’s liking. I haven’t been able to determine the name or location of the White/Moorecroft Inn. Further research needed! In the 1898 Toronto directory Arthur is listed as a brick maker, working with his brother Thomas for Isaac Price. Manual labour was apparently not to Arthur’s liking either. Fortunately he was able to find a job that suited him until hist retirement in 1937.

In the 1900 Toronto City Directory the entry reads:

Subsequent censuses and city directories confirmed his ongoing employment first with the Toronto Street Railway and later the Toronto Transit Commission. Interestingly, in the 1908 and 1909 directories Arthur is listed as a Helper at the A B Ormsby Roofing Company—perhaps there was a temporary layoff? In any event, every other directory through 1937 reflects his job as a conductor.

The City of Toronto archives houses the TTC collection which includes employment records and more, for both the TTC and the Toronto Railway Company. Record of Conductors and Motormen, the register for employees covering the years 1885 to 1908 contained the following entry:

Fonds 16 Series 96 File 1,  City of Toronto Archives

His route was King East and his badge number 727. Some of the other employees were scratched out with a resignation or termination date noted. Sadly a few employees were killed on the job. Arthur was not scratched out, which seems to verify that his tenure continued on into the next century. Perhaps management did not return to older volumes to update employment status.  

Toronto Star 24 April 1901

Transit employees appeared to be a tight knit group, as evidenced by the this clipping from The Toronto Star. Perhaps a few after work pints were involved?

Arthur would have seen great changes during his years with the agency. When he began in 1899 horse drawn streetcars had only recently been retired. He would have worked on the first electric cars in the city. The process of operating a streetcar was on a two man basis with the motorman driving the streetcar. The conductor was responsible for collecting fares, issuing transfers, keeping the coal stove running and helping ladies on and off the streetcar. In the early days it was a cold hard job. The first streetcars had no protection from the elements so passengers and employees both would freeze in the winter. A running board extended along the length of these cars. The conductor would have to manoeuvre along this board to collect fares from passengers. It was eventually abolished after multiple injuries sustained. The trolley pole connecting the car to the overhead wire was the conductor’s responsibility. If it broke while rounding a curve the conductor would be charged 75¢ to replace the pole. 

The streetcars themselves evolved from early models to the beloved Peter Witts of the 1920s to the streamlined modern PCC (Presidents’ Conference Committee) types introduced in the late 1930s (which included electric heaters!). Arthur endured through the end of the Toronto Street Railway and the creation of the brand new Toronto Transit Commission in 1921.  In 1899 the starting wage was 16 2/3¢ an hour for a 11-12 hour shift. By 1915 wages had risen to 27 1/2¢/hour and no employee was expected to work more than 10 hours/day. At the time of amalgamation in 1921 Arthur made 66¢ an hour with an additional 4¢/hour paid on Sunday. Two weeks annual vacation was awarded. The depression hit the TTC hard as Torontonians were not taking transit. The transit union workers took extra days off each month, accepted pay cuts and gradually the number of operators on streetcars was reduced from two to one, much to the operators’ dismay. 

Fonds 16, Series 836, Subseries 3, Item 268, City of Toronto Archives

In 1899, cash fares were 5¢, rising to 10¢ for overnight rides. Tickets were sold by the conductor at a cost of $1.00 for 25, good for any time between 5:30 am. In 1937 day fares were 10¢ with 4 tickets coming 25¢ and 16 tickets $1.

 

Arthur died in 1940 and was buried in St John’s Norway Cemetery, across the street from where he first resided upon his arrival in Canada. Here is the one picture we have of Arthur Davis Moorecroft, taken from an article in The Toronto Telegram discussing the war service of his four sons.

Toronto Star 16 July 1940                      After his retirement in 1937 he likely still rode the red rocket. To conclude, here’s a neat clip of streetcars running in the 1939-40 period. Times have changed but streetcars will always be a constant in downtown Toronto. Arthur’s legacy lives on!

The Kingswells in Kingston

 

My great-grandparents Charles and Frances Kingswell left England in 1885, arriving in Quebec City on July 3. From there they headed to Ontario where they settled in Kingston, at the time a city of approximately 16,000 inhabitants.

The 1887 City Directory described Kingston as "...being the soundest city financially, its merchants being considered the most prudent and safest men to deal with". Further, “The Limestone City, as it is sometimes called, is also the cleanest and healthiest city in Ontario, being built on solid rock”.

The city must have been welcoming to English emigrants with a newspaper named The British Whig. The nearby village of Portsmouth (home to the Kingston Penitentiary) would have reminded Charles of the Isle of Wight where he was born and raised. The Kingswells settled in the working class neighbourhood of Williamsville. 

Newspapers helped me get a fuller picture of the lives of the Kingswells. One of the first articles I found was in The Kingston Whig-Standard’s 26 December 1888 issue: 

This was actually Charles'older brother Edward who sailed from Liverpool in 1874, landing in Quebec City on 21 May with a destination of Quebec. 

I wasn’t able to locate Edward in Kingston until he surfaced in the 1881 census so he may have remained in Quebec until that time. Edward hadn’t married and he must have been terribly lonely in this city far from home. There was only two years difference in age between Edward and Charles and they were likely close. It made sense that Edward encouraged his brother to relocate his young family to Kingston. This answers the question of why Charles and Fanny emigrated to Canada though we may never know what prompted Edward to leave his home. 

The 1887 Kingston Directory listed both brothers but the following year Edward returned to England, no doubt homesick for his family. 

Seven years later the following sad report appeared on 11 July 1895 in The Kingston Whig-Standard. 

Edward had been living his parents and working as a gardener. The coroner's inquest found the incident was a pure accident and that death resulted from a severe concussion. Membership in the Ancient Order of Foresters guaranteed Edward a proper burial. The Kingston piece exaggerates a bit. According to a piece in The Isle of Wight County Press Edward fell 14 feet and about 200 brethern attended the funeral.

This was just the start of a streak of bad luck for the Kingswell family. The following report appeared in the 22 February 1896 Kingston Daily News: 

I was surprised to find out that a disease like diphtheria was still common almost at the turn of the 20th century. In the late 1880s a new 120 foot steel water tower had been constructed in Williamsville, new iron pipes had been laid and new pumping stations built in an effort to improve working class living conditions. Unfortunately these provisions weren’t enough to save the Kingswells as the highly communicative disease spread through their home. The first to fall to the disease was young George, the eldest Kingswell child who had made the trip from the Isle of Wight.

  

 

He was only 11 years old. William (9), Ernest (8), Lizzie (6) and Olive (2) survived the disease but young Charles aged 3 died on 25 February in Hotel Dieu after the article was published. To add to the stress Fanny was pregnant. She gave birth to a healthy baby boy on 8 March 1896 and named him George after his deceased brother. 

 

The family moved house yearly for the next few years no doubt trying to find a safe home for their growing family that they could afford on a working man’s salary, moving from Victoria Street, to Stanley Street, to Fifth Street finally settling at 783 Princess Street in 1898. 

This was the year the family made another dramatic appearance in the local papers captioned as “Trouble in Williamsville”

Henry Thomas Barnes was a local businessman who operated a blacksmith shop at 787 Princess Street and lived next door at 789 Princess Street according to the 1898 City Directory. This made him a close neighbour to the Kingswells. The first indication of the “Trouble” was reported in the October 28 issue of the Kingston Daily News. Mr. Barnes filed a complaint against young Willie Kingswell.  The following day Willie's mother marched down to the News office to deny the confrontation. Though she couldn’t prove or disprove the stone throwing incident she had witnesses to prove that Barnes pulled Willie from the streetcar and roughed him up so much that he had to be rescued by bystanders.  

The case came before the court on the following Monday, October 31. Witnesses claimed that Barnes dragged young Kingswell off the car striking and kicking him and dragging him through the mud. All agreed that the boy was “treated roughly”. Willie’s dad testified to seeing the boy’s bruises. Barnes admitted to seizing the boy but as the latter squirmed and kicked he had difficulty holding him. In the counter suit Willie denied throwing the stone. The Magistrate had no patience with the conflicting evidence given and dismissed both suits but not before chastising Barnes for his behaviour about which others had complained.

This incident was no doubt the talk of the neighbourhood for some time. Problems with neighbours is obviously nothing new! The Kingswells continued to move residences, sometimes on a yearly basis. From Princess Street they moved to Durham Street, Nelson Street, Stanley Street and Albert Street, all in Williamsville. They spent two years in Portsmouth before returning to Kingston in 1911 settling at 13 St. Lawrence Avenue. Hopefully their neighbours were more congenial than Mr. Barnes! 

 

Kingston Collegiate

 I found more mentions of the Kingswells after the Barnes incident but most were for happier reasons. There was some trouble. In 1901 William and his friend Harold Doyle were charged with stealing another young lad’s rooster. I couldn’t find a resolution for this matter, perhaps it was dismissed. In 1916 Alfred, who had “filled up on American Old Tom” was fined $15 for being drunk and interfering with the police. But no major problems.  All the Kingswell children did well in school, passing their exams and moving along to the Collegiate. They attended church picnics and outings, funerals and weddings.

My grandmother Gertie was mentioned a number of times in the papers. The first was a dog bite on 4 April 1912. Fortunately this incident had not impact on her lifelong love of dogs. Then an illness was reported on 1 November 1918. Wonder what she had? 

By the time my grandparents married in 1921 all the Kingswells had relocated from Kingston to either Toronto or Buffalo. My grandmother had fond memories of her childhood home though many of the locations she recalled were long gone by the time we visited when I was a child. I've plotted out the various landmarks on this map.