m. Ann MCILRONE (c. 1784-1873)
They emigrated to Canada from Ireland in the 1820s. In 1826 they appear to be living on present day Cashion Road, in Glengarry County, on the north side of the South Branch of the Raisin River. This is in Charlottenburg Township, north and east of Cornwall Township. In the 1852 census for Cornwall Township, Stormont County, Patrick is listed as a shoemaker. They appear to be living on the 6th Concession East, Cornwall Township, Middle Branch Raisin River, northeast of St. Andrews. Living with him and his wife Ann are their daughter Ann, aged 20 years, their son James aged 15 years, also listed as a shoemaker, and their granddaughter Ellen Ogle who must have been visiting for the day as she was already included in the list for her family. In the 1861 census for Cornwall Township, Stormont County, Patrick is still listed as a shoemaker with his wife Ann. In 1861 Patrick and Anne were living on Lot 24, Concession 6/7, about 4 miles west of St. Andrews on the north side of the Raisin River. They must have been renting the land as they did not own it. It was located on the McQueen Estate. Later their daughter Ann married a McQueen. They are living in a 1 storey log house on 2 acres of land with their son James, his wife Ann and their children. Their grandson Patrick Ogle is also living with them. The census taker noted that they had 1 cow and 3 pigs worth $20 and had $500 invested in custom work (must be their materials and tools as a shoemaker). According to his death registration Patrick was 87 years of age and died of pleurisy, an inflammation of the lungs, on August 28, 1870.
They had the following children:
• Ellen Helen (c. 1816-1885) m George OGLE. In the 1852 census they appear in Cornwall Township, Stormont County with the following children: Margaret, aged 12; James, age 10; George, age 8; Ellen age 7; Patrick age 5; and John age 3.
• Bridget (c. 1818-1889) m Mathew CLEARY
• Francis (c. 1825-1850) m Margaret MCINTOSH in St. Andrew’s Roman Catholic Church, St. Andrew’s West, Ontario on May 15, 1850.
• Patrick (c. 1826-1883) m Ann CUMMINGS in St. Andrew’s Roman Catholic Church, St. Andrew’s West, Ontario on June 19, 1851. They appear in the 1852 census for Cornwall Township, Stormont County. Patrick is listed as a shoemaker. They are living in a 1 1/2 storey, frame house with three other families
• Ann (c. 1829-1912) m John MCQUEEN on July 24, 1866
• James (c. 1832-1877) m Ann MURRAY in St. Andrew’s Roman Catholic Church, St. Andrew’s West, Ontario on November 18, 1860 (see below)
• Catherine (c. 1834-1922) m. John LANE
• Andrew (c. 1833-1906) m Mary Margaret MCCARTEN in St. Columban’s Roman Catholic Church, Cornwall, Ontario on February 10, 1861. Andrew, age 18, appears in the 1852 census, Cornwall Township, Stormont County, with the family of Benjamin Wood, working as a labourer.
• Hugh (1841-1841)
2. James (c. 1832-1877) m. Ann MURRAY (1837-1919) in St. Andrew’s Roman Catholic Church, St. Andrew’s West, Ontario on November 18, 1860. In the 1861 census James and his family are living with his parents. His occupation is listed as a shoemaker. In the 1871 census they are still living in Cornwall Township, Stormont County but James is now listed as a farmer, age 34 with wife Ann, age 32 and children Patrick, age 9; John, age 7; Mary, age 5; Susan age 3 and Francis, age 1. James farmed 40 acres of land in Cornwall Township west of St. Andrew's West at a bend in the Raisin River. James died in 1877. The land still appears under his name in the 1879 Illustrated Historical Atlas for Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Counties even through he had died two years previously.
In the 1881 census Ann is listed as a farmer and head of the household with children Patrick, age 19; Ann, age 16; Jimmy (John), age 14; Susan, age 12; Joseph, age 10; Lizzie, age 8; Andrew age 6; and, Hugh, age 4. By 1891 Ann had moved her family to the Town of Cornwall where work was easily found in the busy and prosperous woollen and cotton mills. In the 1891 census Ann, age 50 is seemingly retired as she has no occupation listed. The children living with her include: Susan age 23 working in a Cotton Mill (where I suspect she met her future husband Israel Sauve' Jr.); Joseph age 22, working at the same place; Elizabeth age 20 listed as a tailoress; Andrew, age 18, working as a weaver in the Woollen Mill; and Hugh, age 16.
The Cornwall Manufacturing Company Woolen Mill where Andrew McAlear worked. Later it would be taken over by the Canadian Colored Cotton Mills Company and converted to a cotton mill called the Dundas Mill
Courtesy of Lily Worrall
Courtesy of Lily Worrall
Dundas Mill 1916 - Previously the Cornwall Manufacturing Company Woolen Mill - Excerpt from Goad's Cornwall Fire Insurance Plan 1895 (revised 1916)
courtesy Library and Archives Canada
Courtesy Library and Archives Canada
The Canadian Cotton Mills Company Ltd. where Susan McAlear and her brother Joseph McAlear possibly worked (the company had 3 mills in Cornwall)
Courtesy of Lily Worrall
Canadian Colored Cotton Mills Company Ltd., Cornwall - Interior View
Courtesy of Lily Worrall
By 1901 Ann is living with her son-in-law Charles LaRose who was married to her daughter Elizabeth McAlear. Charles worked as a butcher with an annual wage of $480. In the 1901 census, Ann indicated that she emigrated to Canada in 1842. In the 1911 census, Ann indicates that she emigrated to Canada in 1840. She remained living with them for the rest of her life until her death in 1919.
Their children included:
• John (1863-1878).
• Mary Ann (1865-?), 20, St. Andrew, Ont., Cornwall m. Edward M. GANNON, 28, baker, Cornwall, s/o Patrick GANNON and Sarah Ann at Cornwall on June 24, 1889. Witnesses: James KAVANAUGH and Susan McALEAR, both of Cornwall.
• James (1866-1939) married Mary Nevins (1876-Dec 25,1930). James emigrated to the United States in the 1880s where he seems to have lived in Ironwood, Michigan, attended Purdue University in the early 1890s and then moved to Chicago. In the late 1890s James and his brother Joseph went to the Klondike as part of the gold rush. Both were recorded by the North West Mounted Police as they entered Canada through the Chilkoot Pass on June 3, 1898.
Miners climbing the Chilkoot Pass into the Yukon Territory of Canada 1897-98
An undated article from what I think is the Cornwall Freeholder newspaper states that “The Freeholder of the same date announced the arrival of James McAlear and Joseph McAlear, Cornwall natives, in the Klondike for the gold rush. Writing home, they said that they reached the Stewart River, near Dawson City. They found their first gold on the Big Salmon River but not in paying quantities. They expressed the hope they would strike it rich in the Stewart River.”
James returned to Chicago and was married to Mary Nevins (1876-Dec 25,1930) circa 1901. He established the McAlear Manufacturing Company in 1916. In 1919 he was also President and Treasurer of the Kieley Specialty Company and the Automatic Vacuum Pump Company.
McAlear Manufacturing Company Logo
He appears in Chicago in the 1910, 1920 and 1930 census. In the 1920 census he indicated that he emigrated to the US in 1880 (according to his obituary he emigrated to the US when he was 17 years of age in 1883). They did not have any children. Mary Nevins, daughter of Edward Nevins of Highland Park, died on Christmas Day 1930 at their home at 1263 Pratt Blvd, Chicago. James then appears to have moved to the Belmont Hotel near Lake Michigan in Chicago and met Philomene Garvy (Mrs. Alfred E Walsh). In 1935 James McAlear would marry her at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Chicago. The marriage would be performed by Philomene's brother Rev. Arnold Joseph Garvy SJ. Philomene had a daughter Dorothy from her previous marriage. James McAlear died in January 1939. The funeral on January 7, 1939 started from his home at 70 Cedar Street to Holy Name Cathedral and then to All Saints Cemetery. His estate was probated in 1939 and left to his wife Philomene. The main asset of the estate was the 1175 shares representing 84% of the McAlear Manufacturing Company along with a membership in the Knollwood Club, 17 shares in the Nippersink Lodge (which was liquidated in 1933 and considered worthless), a Swiss gold wrist watch valued at $50, and a 1934 Pierce Arrow sedan in "very bad condition". At the annual shareholders meeting of the McAlear Manufacturing Company held on March 7, 1939 the company purchased the 1175 shares for $234,812.50 (about $3.6 Million today). Sometime after James' death Philomene McAlear and her daughter Dorothy moved to Palm Beach, Florida living at 200 Jungle Road. They would live there until Philomene's death in April 1963. Philomene would be buried in Chicago next to James McAlear at All Saints Cemetery. Dorothy E. Walsh lived at the house in Palm Beach until October 1964 when she joined the order of the Poor Clares at their monastery in nearby Delray Beach, Florida. She died there on October 18, 2006 at the age of 93. The McAlear Manufacturing Company, located at 1901 South Western Avenue, Chicago, made metal fittings and valves, and appears to have been very successful (note the stylized "M" with a small "c" underneath on the top of the brick pillars of the building). James McAlear filed a number of patents in the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s for various mechanical devices. Though James McAlear died in 1939, and his widow sold his shares, the company continued. I found a reference to the company making munitions during WW II near Rochester, Michigan. The munitions were tested on land now owned by the city and called Bunker Park after the still extant concrete bunkers. I also found two patents from the 1950s that were assigned to the McAlear Manufacturing Company. The McAlear Manufacturing Company existed as a separate entity until 1960 when it was acquired by White Consolidated Industries Ltd which by 1969 was the 100th largest company in the United States.
• Susan (1868-1949) m. Israel Hugh SAUVE in St. Columban’s Roman Catholic Church, Cornwall, Ontario on September 23, 1891
• Joseph Francis (1869-1958) Joseph and his brother James both went to the Yukon during the gold rush of the 1890s. Joseph and James were recorded by the North West Mounted Police passing through the Chilkoot Pass checkpoint into Canada on June 3, 1898. Their were both living in Chicago at the time. Joseph later moved to Vancouver. He made a claim of $5,466.27 against his brother James' estate in 1939. At the time he was living at 656 Seymour Street, Vancouver.
• Elizabeth (1871-?) m. Charles LAROSE in 1894. In Cornwall in the 1911 census Charles' occupation is listed as a butcher. There are no salary figures but he did indicate that he had $1500 worth of life insurance with an annual premium of $15.35. They were living on 4th Avenue East, Cornwall, in 1939 according to her brother James' probate file.
• Andrew (1873-1969) m. Elizabeth Celina BACHMAN in 1898. By 1911 Andrew was in Rockwood, Ontario working at the Woolen Mills for $940 a year according to census information. He would have had previous experience working in the woolen and cotton mills in Cornwall. He had $1000 worth of life insurance with an annual premium of $18. I have a wonderful photo of his family standing along the river behind their house. The mill where he worked was founded in 1867 by the Harris family. The mill burned down in 1884 and was replaced with a stone structure. The mill closed in 1925 and burned to the ground in 1967. Today the ruins are maintained by the Grand River Conservation Authority and lie in the Rockwood Conservation Area where they are a popular location for weddings. According to the 1911 census Andrew and Elizabeth had the following children: Pearl b. 1899; Frieda b. 1901; Vincent b. 1903; James b. 1909. James entered the Armour Institute of Technology (present day Illinois Institute of Technology) in 1928 and became a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. He attended in the summer session of 1928 and 1930 but never graduated with a degree (contrary to his engagement notice). In 1935 James was engaged to Miss Betty O'Neill daughter of John Henry O'Neill of Chicago. The engagement notice in the Chicago Tribune mentions that Betty was a graduate of Northwestern University. In 1939 Andrew and his family were living on East Haydn Street, Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, according to his brother James' probate file. Prairie du Chien is one of the oldest communities on the upper Mississippi River. He most likely moved there to work at the Woolen Mill which was the largest employer in the town from when it opened in 1892 until it closed in the late 1940s. Andrew and his wife ended up in Toledo, Ohio. Elizabeth died there in February 1962 and Andrew passed away in 1969.
• Hugh (1875-1961) m. Catherine JARVO in 1905. He was living at 56 Marlborough Street, Cornwall in 1939 according to his brother Jame's probate file.
Ann Murray died in 1919. Her obituary, clipped from an unknown newspaper (perhaps the Cornwall Freeholder) stated that she died at the home of her son-in-law Charles LAROSE on Fourth Street and remarked upon her remarkable life including the ability to keep her family together after the death of James McAlear in 1877. She was born in Country Ross Common, Ireland and was 82 years old. "She was a women of exceptional ability, and when her husband died 45 years ago she was left with a family of nine children, all of whom she raised and educated, keeping them together until they were able to do for themselves. She was very much loved and esteemed by her many friends and relatives who showed by their spiritual and floral offerings, not only their kindly feeling towards the deceased, but also their sympathy for the bereaved relatives. To mourn the loss of a loving and affectionate mother, Mrs. McAlear leaves five sons and three daughters - John of Calumet, Mich.; James and Joseph of Chicago; Andrew of Rockwood, Ont.; Hugh of Cornwall; Mrs. I. H. Sauve of Toronto; and Mrs. Charles LaRose and Mrs. Ed. Gannon of Cornwall."
3. Susan (1868-1949) m. Israel Hugh SAUVE Jr. in St. Columban’s Roman Catholic Church, Cornwall, Ontario on September 23, 1891 - my great grandparents. I wonder if they met at work in the Cotton Mill in Cornwall?
I would be interested in hearing from anyone researching my family. Please contact me at kikoamoki at yahoo.ca
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