Another in the year-long challenge, #52Ancestors by genealogist Amy Johnson Crow. I am a little behind, but every post is another post! Today I am writing about John Lewis AIKEN, in the LEWIS-RICE lines. And no, John's middle name does not make him a Lewis-line relative...
John Lewis AIKEN was the 3rd of 11 children of Robert AIKEN & Martha PURDY - Martha being the granddaughter of the United Empire Loyalist, Gilbert PURDY, sr. The link to my blog on Gilbert may be found here. Note that the surname is often spelled AKIN or AKINS, but in this particular line, by the late 1800s it seems to have settled into AIKEN. The Aiken line goes back to Londonderry, Northern Ireland, with the first settler, Edward AIKEN sr & wife Barbara EDWARDS arriving before 1722. The families settled in Londonderry, New Hampshire, moving to Kingston Ontario, before 1818. On the 1842 Census of Canada West, ON, his father Robert Akins is shown as a Farmer. This census did not list family members, nor how many people were in the household. Thank heavens for the 1851/52 Census which listed everyone, including a married daughter, visiting from her home in Loughborough, a nearby township.
On March 2, 1853, John Lewis AIKEN married Eliza Jane BAKER in Kingston ON. Unfortunately I have not found a marriage online - Ronald Makin Family Records [UEL} has a copy of their Kingston ON marriage certificate. Note Ontario began civil registration in 1869.
Children of John & Eliza are the following four, born in the region around Kingston ON:
1. Robert Edwin, b. 23 Dec 1853; m. 9 Nov 1881 to Frances E. Ely;
6 children
2. Alma Jane [ancestor], b. 28 May 1858, d. 11 Dec 1954 Vancouver
BC; m.1st to Melancton Odell Andrews, 1 dau; m.2nd to 3 Dec 1885
in Winnipeg MB to Isaac Charles LEWIS; 7 children
3. Charles C., b. abt 1860
4. Minnie C., b. abt 1861; m. Archie Thompson
John died unexpectedly, aged only 38 years, on Feb 16, 1861, leaving his wife with 4 very young children. I have not found his cause of death. Nor have I found his burial place, but it is likely in Kingston ON.
His widow, Eliza Jane, married John's older brother, Peter Clark Aiken, aka Clark, on July 1st, 1862, in Kingston. They had 2 girls:
1. Annie E., b. 1865, Kingston
2. Mary C., b. 1867, Kingston.
It is clear that I need to dig deeper for more details of John Lewis AIKEN, perhaps in local newspapers in Kingston, directories, land records. I would like to have more information on his wife Eliza as well. I have a to-do list. Also I was surprised to see Eliza married her deceased husband's older brother. I have seen that type of intermarriage only once before.
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If these are your ancestors, I am happy to share what little I have on these ancestors. And if there are errors, please do let me know, via calewis at telus dot net, or in the Comments below and I will get back to you either by email or in the Comments. I appreciate the opportunity to correct any issues in these family trees.
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