Samuel Dutton, Emma Podmore and Annie Young

When Samuel Dutton was born on May 22, 1853, in Lancashire, England, his father, Edward Dutton (1824-1884), a sawyer, was 29 and his mother, Mary Ackerley (1827-?), was 26.

At the age of 26, Samuel married Emma Podmore (20) on September 15th, 1878, at St. Anne’s Church in Warrington, Lancashire, England. At the time of the marriage, Samuel was a carter living on George Street in Warrington. Emma was living at 46 Warwick Street. The marriage was witnessed by George Vernon and Alice Marsh.

Marriage Register

When Emma Podmore was born on March 24, 1858, in Cheshire, England, her father, John Podmore (1819-1885), a tailor, was 39, and her mother, Mary Brundett (1825-?), was 33.

The couple had one daughter together:

    • Emma Smith Dutton (1885-1906) married William Charles Walthen (1880-1937)

    In 1881, census records indicate that Samuel and Emma were living with Samuel’s sister Elizabeth and her family at 7 Bark Street in Hulme, Manchester.  Samuel’s occupation is a labourer, and Emma a Charwoman (or house cleaner). (Click through to Elizabeth’s story to read why I think Samuel is noted on her daughter’s baptismal certificate.)

    1881 England Census (image via Ancestry.com)
    7 Bark Street, Hulme. (image via Google Maps)

    Emigration to Canada

    Canadian census records indicate that the couple emigrated to Canada and settled in Kingston, Ontario somewhere between 1881-2 (I have not located a specific entry record).

    Samuel first appears in the Foster’s Kingston Directory in 1885. The listing suggests he is employed as a labourer and is living at 810 Earl Street (Google Maps doesn’t appear to list addresses on the street past 624 so the house may have since been demolished or the street has been reordered). Wives/women in general are not listed in the directory at this time unless they are widowed or in business for themselves. In the 1887-9 directory, Samuel is listed similarly but now at 275 Earl Street. There appears to be a parking lot now where this home once stood. By the next directory (1889/90), Samuel is listed at 437 Barrie Street.

    Foster’s Kingston Directory 1885-1886
    437 Barrie Street (image via GoogleMaps)

    I can’t make out the occupation for Samuel (possibly GroceryMan?) on the 1891 Canadian Census, but the family is still listed in Kingston. There is no address listed on the census.

    1891 Canadian Census (image via Ancestry.com)
     
    Daughter Emma Smith Dutton was born on November 22, 1884. Her birth record is unusual. The child is named “Emma Smith” (no Dutton), and her mother is also “Emma Smith” on the record. The father’s name is “not given.” As Emma’s date of birth is provided on the 1901 Canadian census, we can confirm that this is the correct record.
     
    Ontario Birth Record (image via Ancestry.com)
    In the 1890/91 thru 1915/6 directories, Samuel is at 459 Barrie Street, still a labourer. 
    459 Barrie Street, Kingston (image via GoogleMaps)

    In December 1895, the younger Emma appears in a 21st Anniversary concert celebration for the Sons of England Benevolent Society. An article in the Daily Whig suggests that Emma played the piano.

    In February 1896, the younger Emma was attacked by a dog while passing Wilson’s livery stable on Clarence street. It appears that the dog was owned by a man named Robinson and bit Emma on the hand. No follow-up articles were found.

    The Daily Whig, February 21, 1896

    A June 1896 article in the Daily Whig suggests that the younger Emma won a gold watch after completing a puzzle that appeared in the Daily News the previous February.

    In November 1896, according to the Daily Whig, the Dutton home was burglarized. Samuel’s wife Emma reported a silver watch had been stolen. The watch was eventually found under a bed in the same room from which it was said to be stolen. A missing brooch was not located.

    The Daily Whig, November 28, 1896

    Samuel is named an officer of the Sons of England Leicester Lodge in January of 1898. He is an outer guard. He holds the same position in 1902, and 1923 and 1925. The Sons of England Benevolent Society (S.O.E.B.S) was a fraternal society for English Protestants, founded in Toronto in 1874. Its purpose was to bring Englishmen together for mutual support, social intercourse, and to provide financial security to them and their families in times of sickness, hardship or death. The society acted as a cultural organization, aspiring to preserve and celebrate the Anglo-Protestant cultural heritage of its members. The society established a network of hundreds of lodges throughout Canada, including one in Kingston.

    In April of 1899, the younger Emma underwent a successful operation to remove a growth on her throat.

    The Daily Whig, April 8, 1899

    On the 1901 Census, the couple’s birthdates and that of their daughter is confirmed. Samuel is 48, Emma is 43, and the younger Emma is 16. 

    1901 Canadian Census (image via Ancestry.com)

    In the 1902/3 Foster’s Kingston Directory, the younger Emma is listed as living the same address as her father, and is working at a bookkeeper for a company called “T.E. Moncreif.” 

    Daughter Emma’s Marriage

    Emma marries in July of that year to William Charles Wathen, a fireman, at St. George’s Cathedral

    The Daily Whig, July 15, 1903

    The younger Emma gives birth to a son (Wilfrid Starr Wathen) in 1904. In that year’s directory, she’s presumably living with her husband at “163 Clergy.” The couple is not found in the next few directories (although other members of William’s family are).

    In August 1906, Emma Walthen and her husband travelled to Toronto to make arrangements for her parents to visit the Industrial Exhibition (now known as the Canadian National Exhibition – pictured here). She died very suddenly, the cause is listed as “metritis” on her death certificate. Metritis is an inflammation of the uterus, usually after childbirth. As there is no indication of a pregnancy in the article, it’s possible that she had sepsis as a result of a miscarriage.

    The Daily Whig, August 20, 1906

    William Walthen remarried in 1908, and raised Emma’s son with his new wife in Toronto.

    A Celebration

    On September 29th of 1908, Samuel and Emma celebrated their thirtieth wedding anniversary in style. According to the Daily Whig, the house was decorated with flowers and Japanese lanterns and guests were serenaded by Salsbury’s orchestra.

    The Daily Whig, October 5, 1908

    A January 1909 article in the Daily Whig suggests that Emma is the president of the Daughters and Maids of England Lodge Number 56 (an offshoot of the Sons of England that Samuel was involved with). Several songs were sung at the party installing the officers, including one by the president. She retired from the position with a great party at the end of the year.

    A mention in the June 28, 1909 Kingston Daily Whig suggests that Emma had an operation of some kind. The operation was successful.

    The Daily Whig, June 28, 1909

    On the 1911 Census, Emma and Samuel are still living on Barrie Street. 

    1911 Canadian Census (image via Ancestry.com)

    In June, 1913, the Daily Whig reports that Emma has filed a legal suit against the city related to injuries from a fall resulting from a defective sidewalk at the corner of Barrie and Raglan Streets. 

    Emma died as a result of chronic heart issues on March 21, 1916, at the age of 57. She’s buried at Cataraqui Cemetery with her daughter.

    Less than six months after the death of his wife, Samuel married Anna Young on September 4, 1916, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Samuel is 64 to his wife’s (much younger) 44. Both are listed as widowed (although as far as I can tell, Anna was not). Witnesses to the marriage are Margaret Lawrence and Archie Young (possibly a relative?) They were married at 110 Beverley Street, which appears to have been a private home at the time (according to the censuses prior to and following the marriage). Both witnesses lived on the same block (and a bit of serendipity, my relatives on the other side of my family, Clayton Loucks and Mary Ann Whalen lived within a few blocks around this time).

    About Anna Young

    When Anna Young was born in 1871 in Québec City, Québec, her father, Alexander Young of Ireland (1830-1910), was 42, and her mother, Esther Jane (née Derry) (1842-1922), was 30. I have not been able to find a record that specifically dates Anna’s birth. Only her obituary says she was born in Québec City.

    Prior to her relationship with Samuel, Anna (Annie) had previously been married to Walter Daniel Mackney, a soldier like her father. They married in Kingston on October 10th, 1887.

    Ontario Marriage Record (image via Ancestry.com)

    Walter Daniel Mackney was born in 1858 in London, England, to parents Daniel Mackney and Mary Goff.

    At the time of the marriage, Anna was only 16 to her new husband’s 29. The couple’s first child, Alexandria, was born only 17 days after they married.

    The couple had three children together.

    • Alexandria Mackney (1887-1957) married Calvin Bearance (1890-1973)
    • Horace Gordon Mackney (1889-1952) married Fanny Elizabeth Chapman (1853-1952)
    • William Henry Mackney (1891-1918) married Nettie Irene Bristow (1896-?)

    There is a July 1898 article in the Kingston Daily Whig that suggests Horace was promoted from Part II to second class and Alexandria was promoted from second to junior third class at the Cataraqui school. 

    The Daily Whig, July 5, 1898 (image via Newspapers.com)

    A July 1899 article in the same paper shows Horace promoted to junior third and Alexandria (Alix in the article) promoted to senior third. 

    Sometime between William’s birth in 1891 and the 1901 census, the couple was likely having some issues. I haven’t been able to locate either William or Annie on the Canadian census for that year. Their children are found in the home next door to Anna’s mother living with someone called “Robert Derry” – likely a relative of Annie’s mother. Unusually, the children all have the last name Derry on the census. It is only their proximity to their grandmother and their unusual names that allowed me to piece it together. I have been unable to piece together the relationship to Robert Derry as I haven’t been able to trace Esther Jane’s family.

    A Kingston Daily Whig article just after Christmas in 1904 shows Alexandria (with the last name Mackney) received a special gift at a celebration at what appears to be a local retirement home.

    I couldn’t find Annie and Walter on the 1911 census, and I was also not able to find their children. There is a border crossing for son Horace to Vermont in March, which may indicate he wasn’t in Canada at the time of the census.

    Alexandria marries Calvin Bearance on December 17, 1912. Her address is given as the 89 Barrack Street.

    The War Years

    Horace enlisted on August 12, 1914. He lists his mother at the Barrack Street address as his next-of-kin. His occupation is listed as a piano finisher. He is sent to France in March 1915.

    William enlisted on November 11, 1914. His initial enlistment has his father listed as next-of-kin. His occupation is listed as a piano maker. He married Nettie Bristow on February 20, 1915, and shipped out in May to the European theatre. His military paperwork is amended to reflect his wife as his next-of-kin. She receives a separation allowance.

    Only two months after being shipped out, newspapers across the country report Horace as a casualty in Ypres in May, 1915. Reports suggest he was struck by a German shell and lost his right eye. He is initially moved to the Netley Royal Victoria Hospital a large military hospital in Netley, near Southampton, Hampshire, England. He’s discharged to furlough at the end of June. Records indicate he continued to serve on return to Toronto, Ontario, where he lived at 22 McCaul Street.

    Netley Royal Victoria Hospital (image source: Wikimedia Commons)

    The next record is the marriage certificate for Annie and Samuel in 1916. It lists Annie as a widow, but as above, Walter is still very much alive and he’s still listed as his son’s next of kin on military documents. No record of a divorce has been found.

    As all of her children were of age and out of the home when they were married, Anna and Samuel settled into married life alone. The 1916/7 directory shows an address change – Samuel is listed at 156 Raglan Road. The house appears to be a duplex attached to 20 Patrick Street. 

    156 Raglan Road (image via GoogleMaps)

    Horace married Fanny Elizabeth Chapman on February 23, 1918. Horace’s occupation is listed as a piano finisher. The witnesses are his neighbours at 22 McCaul Street.

    William caught Tuberculosis and spent some time at the Tooting War Hospital in London in August 1917. He was declared unfit for further duty as of October 1917. He was sent back to Kingston for a stay at the Sir Oliver Mowat Memorial Sanatorium. After a short stay, he apparently ran away, after which he was allowed to stay at home.

    Horace is discharged from the his latest position as a detective in the Canadian Military Police in May of 1918.

    William did not recover from his bout of TB. He died on July 8, 1918 and received a full military funeral. A timeline of his service is on the 21st Battalion website.

    Annie and Samuel’s home is listed as the home address for William at the time of his death. The obituary suggests that Annie’s daughter Alexandria lives next door with her husband at 158 Raglan Road. As all the military documents list William’s wife’s home address in Toronto, I’m assuming he wasn’t able to return to her and there is no mention of her in his obituary. 

    The Daily Whig, July 10, 1918

    The 1921 Census shows Annie and Samuel at the Raglan Road address, and indeed also shows Alexandria and her family next door.

    1921 Canadian Census (image via Ancestry.com)

    Samuel is continually listed at the Raglan Road adddress at least until 1923 – although an ad on March 25, 1922 in the Daily Whig suggests that Samuel may have been attempting to sell it.

    The Daily Whig, March 25, 1922

    Nettie Bristow remarried to George Blake Walker in 1929. I have not been able to trace her further after that date.

    On June 26, 1931, while walking down Wellington Street in Kingston, Samuel Dutton died suddenly. Newspaper accounts suggest he was 76, but math suggests he was 78. The newspaper report suggests he had been experiencing issues with his blood pressure. It also provides information about his employment – he was working the night watch at the city’s incinerator. He’s buried in the Cataraqui Cemetery, possibly with his first wife and daughter, but the cemetery hasn’t been able to provide confirmation.

    The Daily Whig, June 27, 1931

    Loose Ends

    Annie’s first husband, Walter, died on March 22, 1933, in Lanark, Ontario, Canada, at the age of 75.

    The younger Emma’s husband, William Charles Whalthen died on October 29, 1937, in Toronto at the age of 57. He is buried in Kingston. Her son lived in Toronto and survived to the ripe age of 91.

    Horace and Fanny had two children, raising them both in Toronto. Fanny died on March 6, 1952, at age 59, and Horace died on October 30, the same year at the age of 63.

    Annie (Young/Mackney) Dutton died on December 28, 1956, in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, at the age of 84. She’s buried in Catarqui Cemetery.

    The Daily Whig, December 29, 1956

    Alexandria and Calvin Bearance had five children that they raised in Kingston. She died April 16, 1957, and he died in 1973. They are both buried in Catarqui Cemetery.

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    ABOUT AUTHOR
    AG Knapper

    I’ve been researching my tree for over twenty years…and I’ve found some easy branches, and some gnarly ones…

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