FAMILIES OF THE PICKFORD AREA |
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The Bathos originated in England. William James Batho, the first to come to this continent came to Ontario. There he married Agnes Isabelle Brown. In 1881 he came to Pickford and homesteaded a farm. His homestead was located four miles north and one-half mile east of Pickford. William came alone to Pickford to find a homestead for his family. After he found his homestead, he brought his wife here. He farmed his land until later years when he sold his farm to Joe Payne and moved into town in the house now owned by Mrs. Hazel Hillock. For many years he served as Justice of the Peace in the Pickford area. Many will remember him as Judge Batho. William was born September 26, 1956, and died April 25, 1937. His wife, Agnes, was born December 26, 1852, and died May 5, 1925. They had six children.
JEAN BATHO was the first child born. She married Bill Elliott. They had no children and both are deceased
DAVID THOMAS BATHO was born July 17, 1887, and died June, 1952. He married Elsie Louise Graham and lived on a farm two miles north of Pickford. They had eight children. Wilna Agnes married Melbourne McDonald. Their daughter Maxine died in 1946. A son, Robert, married Beatrice Nayback and they have five children: Daniel, Kathleen, Keith, Bonnie, and Dean. Another son, David, married Shirley Haske and their children are Thomas and William. Irene married Leo Nettleton and their children are Raymond, Ronald, and Marlene. Barbara Jean died in 1940 at the age of 3 1/2. Beatrice married Eldred Rye and lives in Pickford. Their daughter, Donna married Duane Clegg and they live in Westland, Michigan, with their four children: Jill, Chris, Scott, and Todd. Sandra married Fredrick Sill and they live in Jackson, Michigan with their children Susan, Elizabeth and Debra. Marcia married Joe M. Woods and lives in Phoenix, Arizona, with their sons, Darrell and Kenneth. Patricia married James Strickler and lives in New York with their sons, Jeffery and Brian. Betty married Gerald T. Harrison and lives in Pickford with their children, Rhonda and Michael. Isabell Irene (deceased 1943) married Lloyd McDonald. Their daughter, Vera Mae, married Clark Taylor and their children are Dennis, Joan, Victoria, Mark, and Angela. William married Yvonne Izzard and they live north of Cedarville. Their children are Rhonda, Randy, Shelly and Tracy. Corrinne married Roger Fountain and lives southeast of Pickford with their children Debra, Scott, and Sandra. Janice married Melvin Lockhart and they live west of Pickford. Their son James married Nancy House and they had two daughters: Shelly (deceased Sept. 1972) and Sherry. Their son William married Virginia Splan and they live in Rudyard. Their daughter, Judy, married Frank Nixon and their children are Richard, Lori Ann, and Randall. Shirley married Clifford Harrison and they live north of Pickford. Their son, Wayne, married Marilyn Ross and they live in Colorado with their three daughters, Gina, Amy, and Nicole. Dennis married Sharon Snorf and lives in Rapid River. Thomas married Janis Hopkins and lives in Algoma, Wisconsin, with their daughters, Joan and Christine. Neil married Sue Ann McHaney and they have both graduated from Lake Superior State College and are living in Pickford. William David died in 1943 during World War II in a plane crash in North Africa. Phyllis married Orries Huyck and they live on Huyck's Poultry Farm two miles north of Pickford. Their son, Stephen, married Marilyn Adams; they have one child and live in Lansing. Catherine married Greg Young and they live in Mt. Pleasant with their child, Chris. Bernard married Marion Skinner; they have three children and he is stationed near Detroit with U. S. Coast Guard. JoAnn married William Bawks and they live in Pickford. Doris (Mona Lou) married Wayne Storey and they live west of Pickford. Their daughter, Beverly married Robert Huyck and they have one child. Their son, Martin, is attending Spring Arbor College. Amy is at home.
AGNES ISABELLE BATHO (BELLE) was born August 14, 1884 and died May 28, 1961. She married Joseph Taylor and later Charles A. Vetter. She had two children. Her daughter, Dorothy Estelle Ann Taylor, married Earl Mowry. Their two children were Dorothy Ann (Mrs. Gerald Schreiber) and Roger. Her daughter, Donna Louise Vetter married Donald Strong and their children were Barbara Ann, Donna Gayle, Michael David, and Gary Brian.
JAMES DOUGLAS BATHO was born September 22, 1891. He married Nina Mae Bentley and lived on the farm across the road from the farm his father homesteaded which formerly belonged to his mother. They had seven children. Kenneth Morrill married Frances Lapish and they live four miles north and one-half mile west of Pickford. They have seven children. Judith Ann married Dick Landers and has two children. Robert James married Deloras Klosterman and they have one son. William Frederick married Susie Sodergren. Donald Kenneth married Kathy Becks. Mary Alice married Richard Storey. Frances Ann and Larry Bruce are at home. William Adelbert Batho (Mike) was born in 1919. He married Betty Chapaskey. They have no children. They live in Sault Ste. Marie where he is employed with the Soo Line Railroad. Eva Jane Batho was born in 1921 and married Elmer Eagle. They have six children and live in Berkley, Michigan. Their daughter, Connie, married Donald Tate and they have two children. Their daughter Karen Ann married Ed Applegate and they have two children. Their son, Elmer Lawrence married Judy Kliensaucer, and they have four children. Charles Edward, Donald James, and Donna Jean are at home. June Evelyn was born in 1925 and married Ted McGlinch. They have three children. Marilyn Kaye married Bill Emerich and they have two sons. Ted McGlinch, Jr., married Barbara Nettleton and they have one son. Robert is the other son. Dorothy Mae was born in 1933 and died that same year Geraldine was born January 8, 1935, and married William Wise. Their four children are Michael Lawrence, Gary William (deceased), Beth-Anne and Kelly Jean. James Grant was born May 3, 1941, and married Donna Lundy. They live on M-129 and he is employed with the Soo Line Railroad. They have three children: Rodney James, Randall Scott, and Rhonda Michelle.
HELEN BATHO married Edward Turner (deceased) and lives in Detroit. They had no children.
WILLIAM (PADDY) BATHO (deceased) married Lottie Lougheed (deceased January, 1970) and they had three children. Douglas married Jean Allen and they own and operate the Pickford Dry Goods Store. Patsy (Mrs. Matvin Potter) has one son, Audie. They live on the Paddy Batho farm and Patsy works for the General Telephone Company in Pickford. Bernice (Mrs. Joel Littlefield) lives in Sault Ste. Marie has has one daughter. Gwen (Mrs. Richard Michel) lives in Plainwell, Michigan.
Robert and Isabell Bawks and their son, HERBERT, came to Pickford, Michigan, in 1879 from Kincarden, Ontario. Their first home for one summer was on the William Blair farm one-half mile south of Pickford. The family consisted of three girls: ESTHER (Mrs. Robert William), MARY (Mrs. Norman McDowell) (deceased), and NELLIE (Mrs. William J. Crawford); and six boys: HERBERT (deceased), WILLIAM (deceased), GORDON (deceased 1969), ORVILLE, FORD and FRANK. All of the boys were farmers in this area.
HERBERT BAWKS (deceased 1950) married Nina Patton (1885-1928) and they lived at Rockview most of their lives. They had twelve children, seven of whom are still living: Clifford, Ray, Effie, Violet, Vern, Robert, and Dean.
Clifford married Lela Pennington. They live in the Soo and have two children: Gerald and Joan. Gerald married Ina Winzer and they also live in the Soo with their four children: Debra, Wallace, Bonnie, and Lori. Joan married Clarence Wegner, Jr., and they live in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Their four children are Linda, Donna, Larry, and Pam.
Ray married Irene Pudelko. They live in Pickford and he is employed at Lipsett Chevrolet Garage. Their son, Raymond, married Judy Cabanough and they live in Muskegon with their twins, Steven and Sally.
Effie married Ivan Leach and they live in Pickford. They had six children: John, William, Lila, Ivana, Richard, and Duane. John married Ruth Finlan (deceased l972) and they have five children: Mike, Anna, Jesse, Joe, and Jerry. William married Karen Huyck and they live in Lennon with their three children: Duane, Joan, and Amy. Lila married Gary Williams. They live in Muskegon and have four children: Marty, Julie, Robin, and Todd. Ivana married Robert Jones and they live in Pickford with their three children: Robert, Jr., Pauline, and Roger. Richard married Judy Palmroy and they live in Muskegon. Their three children are Pattie, Faye, and Allan. Duane died in 1948 at five years of age.
Violet married Sam Cruickshank and they lived at Rockview until Sam's death in 1959. She then moved to Pickford. Their daughter, Theora, married Robert Bosley and they live in Stalwart. with their five children: Francis, Harris, Penny, Bobby, and Cheryl. Wanda married Vern Sawyers and they live in Donaldson with their three sons: Jeff, Steven, and Douglas. Diane married David Seward. They live in Texas where he is in the service and have one son, Billy. Donald is sailing and Debra graduated from Pickford High School in 1972.
Vern married Irene Rose and they live in Mt. Clemens. Their two children are Carol and Wayne.
Robert married Bertha Kramer and they live in Hessel. Their son, James, graduated from L.S.S.C. in 1972 and Ronald is in the service.
Dean married Mae Huyck and they live in Pickford. Their son, Larry, is a truck driver. Jerry graduated from Spring Arbor College in 1972 and married Cindy Porter. Bruce is at home. Dean works on construction jobs during the summer and does snow removal at Kincheloe Air Force Base during the winter.
WILLIAM married Clara Beacom in 1913 and moved to their farm two miles south, one mile west, and 1/4 mile south of Pickford which they spent their married life. William died February 20, 1941, and Mrs. Bawks died March 8, 1967. They had six children. Kenneth has been an employee of the Chippewa County Road Commission for the last 28 years. He married Edna Nettleton and they have three children. Wayne is in the construction business for himself in summer and forest products in winter and has a half-ownership in Bawks and Beacom construction. Two daughters, Ada and Adrianne are both at home. Ivan has been a construction worker at Kincheloe Air Force Base for the last 17 yeers and married Dorothy Leib. Their children are Barbara, Carol, David, Duane, and Dianne. Howard is self-employed as a construction worker and contractor. He married Doris Postma of Rudyard they have three children. William is also in the construction business working in partnership with his father and married to the former Joanne Huyck. Julia is studying nursing at Northern Michigan University. Cheryl is in high school. Lela married James E. Hill of Flint, Michigan. They have seven children: Robert is in the U. S. Marines; twin daughters, Shirley and Sharon, both work in Flint; Sandra is employed in Flint; Jim, Sharlene, and Kim attend Flint schools. This makes a total of 18 gianachildren for William and Clara Bawks. Two children, Glen and Ada, predeceased their parents.
GORDON married Sarah Kennedy. They had three children. Mac married Evelyn Jewel. Their son, Gary, is a music major at Northern Michigan University. Mac is presently married to the former Marion Wise and lives in Cedarville. Doris is married to Al Pollard and lives in Cedarville. They have two children, Neva and Elgin. Ferne (Mrs. James A. Stewart) of Port Huron, Michigan, has three children: Clark, John, and Jeanne Gayle.
ORVILLE married Della McDowell. They have two children. Alvin and his daughter, Aleta, live in California. His son, Charles, a graduate from Bob Jones University, is teaching in Florida. Mary (Mrs. Robert Howell) is Elementary Principal and 6th Grade teacher in Pickford Public Schools. Orville taught for 39 years in the Pickford area. Orville and Della celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary Aug. 21, 1971.
FRANK married May Lee and they have one son, Dale. He married Ardyth Wallis and they live on M-129 near 6 Mile Road with their children Roger, Rhonda, Joanie and Janet.
FORD married Margaret Patton. They have two children: Eldon of Brighton and Helen (Mrs. James Crisp).
In 1880, Dave and Bob Beacom left their childhood home in Canada and rode the Old Mackinac to Jolly's Landing at Stirlingville. They just arrived here when Dave got sick and Bob sent him back to Canada to get well. You can imagine Bob's loneliness at being all along in a strange country. However, Dave recovered his health and acquired a bride, Louisa Green of Clinton, Ontario, and came back to this country to make his home. Later on Jennie and Lizzie Beacom followed their brothers to this country. Jennie became Mrs. James Stirling, but Lizzie remained a humorous old maid and resided with the Dave Beacoms until their deaths. John, Sarah, and Emma Beacom remained in Canada.
Dave's first home in this country was one mile south and two miles west of Pickford. He and Louisa had six children, five girls and one boy of whom two girls are still living. MRS. LOTTIE ROE is a widow and lives in Orlando, Florida. GRACE MAC LEAN is also a widow and lives in Santa Maria, California. ETTA ALLIASON, CORA GOUGH, AND FORD BEACOM are deceased. The farm was across the road ftom his brother Bob's farm.
After farming awhile, Dave moved to Pickford and lived over a warehouse where Gordon Bawks' house now stands. Several business adventures were to follow: Frank Taylor and Dave started operating a store at the location of the present bank. Then Mr. Taylor sold his interest to Fred Green, Dave's brother-in-law. About this time Dave decided he would rather be in the machinery business so Jim Stirling and he became partners in that business. Sometime later he sold his interest in the machinery business and helped to establish and operate the bank. He was still working in the bank until the time of his death at the age of 70 on Dec. 18, 1928. He was one of the first in Pickford to have an automobile, which was quite a novelty, about 1907.
FORD and Annabelle (Hessel) Beacom had three children: Marjorie, Kaye, and David. Marjorie Herman has two sons, Allen and Paul Blair, who live in Cincinnati, Ohio. Kaye Candler has three daughters, Cynthia, Pamela, and Susan, all at home in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan. David Beacom (deceased) and his wife, Myrtle (Mrs. Arthur Adam), had two sons, David Charles, II and Richard Brent. They both teach in Sault Area Public Schools. David and Carolyn (Toretta) have one son, David Charles, III. Richard and Sharon (Skinner) have a daughter, Kristin Kaye.
In 1880 Bob homesteaded 80 acres, 1 mile south, 2 miles west of Pickford on the north side of the now Blair Road. He began to clear his land using his team of horses he brought from Canada. He immediately built a log house. Margaret Jane Blair came from Ontario in 1881 and became Bob's bride In 1883. William Wise built a kitchen to the west side of the log house for the Beacoms. This house was dismantled in 1922 and replaced with a two story frame house. The Beacom's children were all born in the log house, Bob brought a threshing machine with him when he came from Ontario which was operated by horse power. He threshed many acres of grain for farmers in the area, and several years later bought a Port Huron machine which was steam operated. Disaster struck when this machine burned in the MacInnis barn when he was threshing there.
This union brought forth six children: HERBERT, OLIVER, MABEL, CLARA, ERNEST, and EVA. HERBERT married Nettie Nettleton and they had four children: Ruth married Bill Ames and had four children: Neva (Mrs. James Perry), Margaret (Mrs. Charles Izzard), both of Pickford; Velma (Mrs. James Graham) of Flushing, and William, Jr., of Pickford. Morris died as a young man. Rena married Ellsworth Lordson. Wallace married Jean McKinzie. The Lordsons had three sons and one daughter: Marion (Mrs. Jim Miller) and Melvin (Tony) both of Pickford; Allen and Robert, both of Petoskey. The Wallace Beacoms have six children: William of Rockview Road, Ann (Mrs. Ed Sara) and Marilyn (Mrs. Douglas Hunt) of Sault Ste. Marie: Ronald, Gary, and Terry at home. HERBERT now lives alone since his wife's death in 1970.
OLIVER married Lily Hillock and they are still living on their farm where their son, Clarence, also lives. They have six children: Marie, Leslie, Margaret, Clarence, James, and Vera. Marie married Ellwood Harrison and had one son, Lyle, now living in Lower Michigan. After Ellwood's accidental death in a shooting accident, she married Kenneth Smith, the television repair man in Pickford and they have one daughter, Rosa (Mrs. Roger Bennin). Leslie married Maude Alford and they live in Ripon, Wisconsin. They have four children: Marion, Carl, Jack, and Steven. Margaret married Ephraim Cottle and they live on their farm on the Town Line with their two sons, Donald and Gary. Clarence married Phyllis Thompson and they live on the home farm that they purchased form his father. They have two daughters and a son: Joyce (Mrs. Mike Cook) and Barbara, both living in Huntington, Indiana, and Francis at home. James married Alberta Waybrant and lives in Madison Heights. They have four daughters: Nancy, Linda, Peggy, and Beth. Vera married Lyle Jenks and lives in Sault Ste. Marie. They have three children: Cheryl, Laura, and Dennis.
MABEL was married to William Leach and they had five daughters and a son: Elwood, died at birth, Myrtle (Mrs. John Sterling), Edna (Mrs. Kenneth Harrison), Hazel (Mrs. Herman Gough), all of Pickford; Erma (Mrs. Grant Leach) and Alma Crawford, both of Sault Ste. Marie. MABLE died Nov. 6, 1963.
CLARA married William Bawks and they had six children. Glen and Ada died when very young. Ivan (Bill), with his wife, Dorothy, and children Barbara, Carol, Duane, David, and Dianne lives north of Pickford on a farm. Kenneth and his wife, Edna, live on a farm west of Pickford with their three children, Ada, Adrianne, and Wayne. Howard lives with his wife, Doris, and three children, Julia and Cheri, in Pickford. Their son Bill married Jo Ann Huyck and lives in Pickford. Lela married Jim Hill and lives with her husband and family in Flint. William, the father, died in 1941 when the family was quite small and CLARA died March 8, 1967.
ERNEST and EVA lived on the farm until 1965 when they moved to town. Neither of them ever married.
Bob Beacom died in March 1929, at the age of 74.
The following reminiscences were set down in November, 1972, by Cecil Beacom, whose father was one of the earliest settlers in Blairville. Cecil and his wife now live at Kinross.
David H. Beacom came here from Canada with three other young men - - Will and Dick Allan, the third name I cannot recall. One day Robert Beacom and my father were riding horseback past our old farm in Blairville when Bob said, "Now, Dave, this is the farm you bought." My father replied, "Quit! You are crazy!", because by then they were holding their feet up on the horses so they would not get wet. But sometime later in the summer, my father made his way to the rear of the farm and on top of the river bank cleared a spot where he built a shack.
Some time later he married my mother, Helen C. Allan. Well, the shack grew into a little farmhouse.
But just a note to tell of a little of the hardship. My mother told me she had gone to bed and cried, because she was so sick of eating syrup and Johnnycake. My father told me he was called on the jury. So at night my mother put him up a little lunch and he walked all night down the Mackinac Trail in mud and water. At daybreak in St. Ignace he sat down on a stoop and wrung out his socks and put them back on - they felt dry. He had his lunch, sat on the jury, got off duty early, bought their first alarm clock and a pair of shoes for Mother, and waIked home that night.
But the good Lord was with them and a family of five was raised there on that farm: LULU, ROY R., GORDON, OLA, and CECIL. Now time has marched on. When my father was about 55 years old, he, my mother, Ola and I moved to Rudyard. Mother lived to the age of 82 and died in 1944. My father lived to the age of 85 and died in 1947. They are buried in Cottle Cemetery. LULU, ROY, and OLA have died. GORDON BEACOM lives in Punta Gorda, Florida.
I, Cecil Beacom, with the memories of my farm life, the old church and school, friends and the old Beacom homestead, turn the pages of time back and I am glad to bring the names of my family to light again.
William H. Best was born in Newbiggin, Cumberland, England, in 1851. He came to Coderich, Ontario, Canada, with his parents in 1859. He was married to Mary Henderson of Sarnia, Ontario, in 1874. The Bests came to Pickford in 1882 and homesteaded a farm one mile east of the present village of Pickford. Their farm was across from Mrs. Best's brother, John Henderson, who had come to this area some time before the Bests. The Hendersons later returned to Goderich. The Best farm is presently owned by Louis O'Brien.
Mr. and Mrs. Best had three children: THOMAS, ETTA, and HARRY. THOMAS married Edna Hadden of Shelby, Michigan. They had one daughter, Virginia. She married Warren Goetz and had one son, Hadden, now deceased. THOMAS and Edna lived in Pickford until 1944 when they moved to Ann Arbor. He died in 1961 and Mrs. Best in 1968.
HARRY married Dora Denny. They operated a grocery store in Pickford for many years. Mrs. Best operated it for a number of years after Harry's death in 1940. They had two children, Wlliam (deceased) and Lois.
ETTA married Fred Taylor and had one son, Aldren. Mrs. Taylor died in 1941.
Aldren presently owns the hardware business established by his father in 1897.
Mr. and Mrs. Best were active in community and Methodist Church affairs. Mr. Best was the first president of the Pickford Agricultural Society and an early member of the school board. After his retirement from farming, he created a collection of stuffed birds and animals, part of which is on display in the Pickford High School. Mrs. Best died in 1928 and Mrs. Best in 1934.
William Blair was born on April 2, 1829. He married Katherine Allen, who was born in Enskillan, Ireland, on Aug. 20, 1832, and emigrated to Ontatio in 1839. They were married in Goderich on April 17, 1850, and moved to Pickford in 1881. They took up a homestead one mile south and two miles west of town. Their eldest son, Hugh, preceeded them here, arriving with William Wise in 1880. Their first home still stands on the farm owned by Delores and Donald Nettleton. The Nettletons built a new home when they bought the Blair farm, which they purchased from Artie Blair, a grandson, who had lived there all his life, passing away at the age of 79.
The Blairs were members of the Methodist Church, Mrs. Blair being a member for 65 years. William died in March 1898, and Katherine in April, 1917. They are buried in Bethel Cemetety.
Their nine children were William James, who died at the age of 7 and was buried in Canada, Hugh, George, Annie, Margaret Jane, William John, Mary Elizabeth, Susanna, and Emma.
HUGH married Tillie Smith. He died in July, 1932, and was buried in the Cottle Cemetery west of Pickford. To this union was born five children. William Oliver never married and lived on the home place until four years before he died in a nursing home in McMillan. He is buried in Cottle Cemetery. Ann married Warry McCondra and lives in Sault Ste. Marie and had two children, Everett and Virginia. They are both married with families and living in the Soo area. Effie married Adam Roe, a blacksmith in Pickford for many years. After his death, she married George Shaw and went to live in DeTour where she died. Millie married William Wise of Blairville and after his death, she married Charley Sawiles, a widower with two children. They lived in the Soo and had a daughter, Catherine, who married Herbert Hopper of the Soo and moved to Indiana with their family. Charley passed away and Millie lives in Sault Ste. Marie. Clifford married and moved to Indiana where he is presently in a nursing home.
GEORGE married Elizabeth Hillock and they had two daughters. Laura married Samuel Nettleton and had seven children: Russell, Harry, Glen, Mary, Barney, Edna, and Eva. Lottie married Albert Bassett and had two children, Harold and Beatrice. Laura and Lottie are both deceased. George's wife died when his family was quite young. He was a farmer and his team ran away with the threshing machine, running over him. He was recovering nicely when he died suddenly on Nov. 2, 1902, and was buried in Bethel Cemetery.
ANNIE was married to William Wise and died in February, 1945. They had seven children. Fred married Sadie Harrison and had three children: Izetta (Mrs. Conrad Galer), Marie (Mrs. Harold Lockhart), and a son Harrison (deceased). Lawrence married Emily Beadle and they had five children: Thelma (Mrs. James Yeack) of Dafter, Dorothy (Mrs. Oren Barber, deceased), Pearl (Mrs. John Burtt, deceased), Morrell of Sault Ste. Marie, and Lois (Mrs. Niewiadomski) of Coloma. Lawrence and Emily are both deceased and buried in Cottle Cemetery. Charlie Wise was married to Marion Wilson and they had five children: Wilson, Emery, Donald, Joan (Mrs. Tony Gerrish), and Marion. The mother, Marion, passed away Shortly after Marion's birth, so Nellie raised four of the children, while Minnie raised the baby, Marion. Charlie was married a second time and died of a heart attack while on a vacation out West and is buried out there. Nellie Wise married Alex Crawford and had one daughter, Allyene (Mrs. Lewis Cowan). Nellie and Alex are both buried at Donaldson. Ivy Wise married James Crawford and they had two daughters and two sons: (Mrs. Russell Bye), Anneta (Mrs. John Allen), Reid married Jean Roe, and Jay (deceased) married Alma Leach. He is buried at Donaldson Cemetery. Minnie Wise married Vern Wood, the father of two children, Robert and Elsabelle. She raised her niece, Marion Wise, who is now Mrs. Mac Bawks of Cedarville. She passed away a few years ago and is buried in Cottle Cemetery. Harold passed away after Minnie's death. Carrie Wise married Alex Harrison and lived on a farm on the Town Line. They had six children: Reta (Mrs. Russell Cottle), Kenneth, Edwin (deceased), IsabelIe (Mrs. John Rye), and Stanley, all of Pickford, and Elizabeth (Mrs. Warren Hill) of Sault Ste. Marie.
MARGARET JANE BLAIR was married to Robert Beacom and died in February, 1945. They had six children: Herbert, who married Nettie Nettleton; Oliver, who married Lily Hillock; Mabel, who married William Leach; Clara, who married William Bawks; Emest, and Eva.
WILLIAM JOHN BLAIR lived here a few years and was married to Mary Hillock. They returned to Goderich where he died in January, 1956.
MARY ELIZABETH BLAIR died in Canada on Jan. 9, 1872.
SUSANNA BLAIR married John Hillock and died in July, 1948. They had nine children. Myrtle died as a small child with scarlet fever. Maude martied William Lockhart. They had four children: Carl, Harold, Etta, and Myron. Both Maude and her husband died in the Flu epidemic in 1919 a few days apart. Their grandparents finished raising the children. Bert Hillock died in march, 1930. Otto married Joyce Lines and lived in the Sault. They had a daughter, Verna (Mrs. Fred Norton) and Joyce died when their infant son was born. Otto then married her sister, Delphyna Lines, and they have two children, Erva (Mrs. Roy Atkinson) and Leonard. He is retired and lives in Rosedale. Frank Hillock was married to Mrs. Ethel Riddle, a widow with a daughter, Verna (Mrs. Jim Cuthbertson). After her death, he married Mrs. Ina Finn, a widow with one son, Herbert. After Ina's death, he married Mrs. Doris Brownlee, a widow with six married children, and they live in Sault Ste. Marie. Hazen Hillock married Bessie White and they lived in the Pontiac-Lake Orion until he retired and moved to Sault Ste. Marie. He died in September, 1972. Olive Hillock married Sam Girvin and lived in Rudyard on a farm where they raised their seven children: Vicinta (Mrs. John Feltis), Willard, Donald, Robert, Rolland, John, and Jerry. They moved to Warren several years ago and their family have all married except Jerry. They live in the Detroit and Pontiac area. Merrill Hillock married Valarie Richard of Dryburg and they have six children: Lawrence, Lorma (Mrs. Lyle Ames), Carol (Mrs. Bernard O'Connor), Richard, Hartwell, and John. Merrill is a retired postmaster and spends his winters in Florida. Lucille Hillock married George Fountain. They had two children, Joyce (Mrs. Lewis Jones) and Barlin (Bill). Both Lucille and George were killed in a car accident in 1957.
EMMA BLAIR never married and died in July, 1958.
Harvey Blair, a grandson raised by the William Blairs, lives in Pickford with his wife, the former Margaret Kirkbride. They have three sons: Edward, married to Etta Hart in Sault Ste. Merie. They had two daughters, Geogia and Mary. Geogia is married and has one child. Blaine and his wife, Mary, in Gaylord. Leland and his wife, the former Virginia Zwolinski, in Sault Ste. Matie. They had three children Richard Lee, Ronald Edward, and Cheryl Margaret. Richard married Beverly Benoit and they have one son Brent. Ronald married Donna Kirkbride and they have four sons, Robert, Roger, Richard, and Ronald. Cheryl married Tom Thoreson and they have a son Steve and a daughter Julie.
JOHN JACOB BRINDLEY was born in the Netherlands, Europe and his wife (Mary Campbell) came from Goderich, Ontario in October 1881. They sailed on the "Northern Bell" from the Soo to a point at Sterlingville known as Jolly's Landing. From there the family went to Fairview and settled on a farm five miles east and two miles south of Pickford. On the south west corner of this farm was an excellent spring which not only served as a water supply for the family but was also used to keep perishable products cool. Over the spring was built a small house called the "milk house". In lieu of modern refrigeration this was a good place to keep milk, butter and meat. Meat and butter were placed in tightly covered containers and the spring water tunning over the containers kept the contents cool. Milk was put into large pans, placed on shelves and allowed to "set" for a day or more. The cream would rise to the top and by carefully insetting a saucer along the edge of the pans the cream could be held back and the skim milk poured off. Some of the skim milk was allowed to sour and used to make "curds" now more often called cottage cheese. The buttermilk, whey and skim milk was fed to the farm animals, especially calves, pigs and poultry.
There were nine daughters and three sons born to this union. Margaret (Mrs. Jasper Brindley) had one daughter, Ruth (Mrs. Percy N. Elliott). Mary (Mrs. Thomas Ames); See Ames history; Levine (Mrs. William Cryderman) had six sons and three daughters. William, (Deceased), Joseph, Ethel (Mrs. James Ball) deceased, Forest, Ida (Mrs. Al Reich) deceased, Russell, Sarah (deceased), Basil and Lester. After the death of their daughter, Ethel in 1918 a grandson, Fred Ball was raised by his grandparents. Carrie (deceased at age 3), Dorothy (Mrs. William Sutton) had two sons William and George. Louisa (Mrs. Samuel Parker) had one daughter Helen. Alice (Mrs. John Steele - see Steele history). Sarah never married. Eliza (Mrs. John Sourby) had two sons Elbert and Wilbur. John married Carrie Ball and they had three children Eunice, William and Margaret. William had one daughter, Frances. Frank married Mae Lordson. They had no children.
All the original members of this Pioneer family are deceased. Many decendants of the Brindley family extending to the sixth generation are living in the surrounding area.
Mr. Brindley died April, 1909 and Mrs. Brindley died December, 1922. They are buried in Bethel Cemetery.
Sam Brown's father, John, came to Pickford about 1884. He bought a farm one mile north of Pickford from William Pickford. John Brown had eleven children with him in this country, five having remained in Canada.
SAM BROWN (deceased) was custodian at the Pickford School for many years. His widow is a patient in the long-term unit of the War Memorial Hospital.
Gordon Brown, a grandson, married Beatrice Miller. They had six children: Dean, Duane, Dale, Ted, Hazel Margaret (Peggy), and Jean.
Duane married Glenda Rutledge and lives on what was his mothet's farm. They have four boys: Danny, David, Pattick, and Michael*. Dean married Atbutus lzzard and lives north of Stirlingville. They have four children: Wayne, Marcie, Kathryn, and Sharon*. Dale lives in California; Ted at Barbeau; Peggy (Mrs. Dutcher) at Cedarville; and Jean (Mrs. Peck) at Allegan, Michigan.