31 Aug 1848 - 29 Nov 1928
pg 2 of 4
Last Updated: Tuesday, 28 July 2009
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William Fenwick Calvert 31 Aug 1848 - 29 Nov 1928 pg 2 of 4 |
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Last Updated: Tuesday, 28 July 2009 |
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Now William Calvert was in an unstable partnership with Samuel
McDonald. Together they had a family consisting of (1) matriarch Jane Calvert,
(2) spinster Anna Calvert, sons (3) Joseph and (4) John from Samuel's first marriage aged 17 and 16,
son (5) William, aged 1 and daughter (6) Mary Ann age two months, from his second marriage and their
mother (7) Margaret Calvert McDonald. These 9 people were meant to live off the
profits from the operation of the Victoria Hotel. When Samuel bought the hotel he assumed two large mortgages. By the end of 1882 it was clear that the cash flow from the hotel was insufficient to maintain the mortgage payments and the 9-member family. During the winter of 1882-3 there were plans for more changes. Samuel's teenage sons from his first marriage left home and went to work. Samuel leased the hotel to William Allen, a failed merchant in International Bridge, and made plans to leave for Winnipeg. (newspaper notice) Perhaps Samuel intended to obtain a land grant in Manitoba and ultimately move the families there or perhaps he was just giving up on his family and leaving on his own. Whatever the case, William Calvert sold his lot next to the hotel, bought an 86-acre farm along the Niagara River just north of International Bridge, and moved onto it with his mother, two sisters, nephew and niece. By now he was 35 years old and the sole supporter of a family of 6.(Farm Purchase Record - page 1 - page 2) From mid-1883 through 1891, the family lived on the Niagara River farm. On 1 May 1891, Jane Calvert died at age 86. (Death Notice) (Gravestone) She was brought to Stamford and buried beside her husband James Calvert in the St. John the Evangelist Church burial ground. (Cemetery Memorial) With the family matriarch gone, William sold his farm and moved the whole family to Niagara Falls. (Sale Record) He was making plans to begin leading the life he was never able to lead while his mother was alive. In the fall of 1893, Jane Calvert's sister, Anna Massie, died in Chippewa, Ont. leaving a major part of her estate to William and his sister Anna but nothing to either Mary Halburd or Margaret McDonald. For some reason she called William her "nephew by marriage". We know Jane and Anna were sisters because in her burial record, Anna is shown as the "sister of Mrs. Calvert". (burial record) The effect of this bequest was to leave Anna Calvert with independent means to support herself meaning that William's responsibilities now consisted of only his sister Margaret and her two children. The eldest child, William Calvert McDonald was 13 years old. According to my father, he was made to quit school, lie about his age, and go to work as a clerk for the Grand Trunk Railroad in Niagara Falls. |
